You Will Not Travel If You Afraid Of the Unknown -Anonym

When I watched Asia's Next Top Model Season 2 which was held in Malaysia, I was so amazed with the beauty of Batu Cave. I want to go there, I said to myself that time. And finally, that wish could be fulfilled this year.

PS: This was my first trip abroad. Hahaha. 

We stayed at KL Sentral Area for three nights. Why did we choose that area? Because we thought that it is the easiest place to go anywhere. Our hotel is very close to KL Sentral Station which has direct access to airport and Batu Cave. KL Sentral has some shopping center, so we also had easy access to the food.

Comparing with Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur is more humid and hot (but less pollution I guess). I always feel thirsty but there isnt water coming out. Malaysia is relatively more quiet and everything seems in order. But regretfully, some Malaysian is not nice to Indonesian tourist. Maybe because we come from the same ethnic group (Melayu). 

From KLIA, we choose to use KLIA Express to go to KL Sentral Station. It took about 15 minutes to arrived at KL Sentral Station.. Actually, using bus is more cheaper. It took 20-25 minutes by bus. After arrived, we got confused where the exit way is so we just follow other people. We surprised that KL Sentral Station has direct access to the mall and got more confused when we are outside. Actually I already captured the google map but it didnt help at all. Fortunately, there was a passerby that saw the confused face of us and nicely ask where we were heading to. Thanks to him we got the right hotel in no time. 

First Photo - KL Sentral Taken in Confusion

After that we would like to stroll around the area and look for restaurant for dinner. We would like to dinner in Pasar Seni, but got confused how to get there. So we ended up to an Indian Restaurant near the area. 

Next day, we went to Colmar Tropicale, a French-theme resort in Bentong (about two hours driving from KL). There is shuttle service provided from Berjaya Times Square. It cost RM60 (Inclusive  of 1 entrance ticket to Japanese Village and Botanical Garden) per person. From KL Sentral to Berjaya we took monorail to Imbi (took about one hour). Berjaya Times Square is just across Imbi Station, so you could just walk from there. The ticket counter is in 8th floor named The Chateau. For more information you could visit http://www.colmartropicale.com.my/services.php

Here are the photos :

In front of Colmar

Inside Colmar

the black swan couple

Japanese Village

Japanese Village-2

Colmar is huge and is a nice background for our photos. But because it is a resort, there are not much place to visit since we did not stay there. The food is also expensive. So we just walk around and take photos. The thing I regret the most is I should buy the souvenir there, but I didnt, because I think it would be expensive (eventually the souvenir outside is not as cute as there though had higher price).

Next day, we visited Batu Caves, an Indian Temple that is located in Gombak, Selangor. From KL Sentral we took KTM to Batu Cave (about 30 minutes). We should have gotten up early because it was HOT and crowded as the sun gets higher. The statue is so cool and instagram-able. I love it. Other attractive spot is the stone cave. But you should go up, take a very long stairs and accompanied by some cute monkey. It was rather smelly (because of the bats I guess). After the stairs, the view is great. I wonder how long this stone-cave built since the cave is so high. There were not many photos taken because of the lights. 

Batu Caves Temple

After Batu Caves, we visited Masjid Jamek and Merdeka Square, some of Malaysia's Historical Buiding. It get influenced by British Architecture. From Batu Caves, we took KTM again to KL Sentral and then transfer to LRT to Masjid Jamek Station.

Masjid Jamek said to be the oldest mosque in Kuala Lumpur. It had many foreign visitors that time. They were asked to put a robe before entering the mosque. It was a colorful robe. So cute. :3

Hogwarts :3

Merdeka Square or Dataran Merdeka is so close from Masjid Jamek. It is a street full of historical building. I really love the view seriously. I wish I could captured all the view but I dont have enough talent in photography. *grin* There are some museum there. We went to Museum Tekstil and the famous Kuala Lumpur City Gallery. Museum Tekstil showed us the Malaysian Batik. 

Dataran Merdeka

Actually we planed to use HOHO (Hop On Hop Off) Bus to strolling around Kuala Lumpur. But because we arrive at KL Sentral late than we expected. We just used the rides provided in KLCC to go around. I forgot the name of the rides. It cost only RM 5. So cheap comparing with HOHO bus that cost RM 40 though the routes is not so long and we cannot take a long stop. 

After that, we went to Chinatown by walk. It was crowded market and we can not buy anything there because they sold pig. And then we went to KLCC to watch the famous musical fountain that began at 6. From Chinatown we took LRT from Pasar Seni Station to KLCC. It was just 4 station far. KLCC Station is already inside the mall. And when we arrived there were already crowded. Wow. The musical fountain is really famous. It played two songs for about ten minutes. The first is international song and the second is Melayu Song. 

Twin Tower

the fountain

Preparation

This trip actually also part of silaturahim. I and my friends had relatives there. So we used this vacation to meet them. My Malaysian friend said that we should visit Putrajaya because the architecture is more wonderful. Aaa~

Musical fountain was our last stop. Next day we had to go home and makes money again. If you want to know our itin you could download here (https://www.dropbox.com/s/fq9ms4tzml50d9e/Kuala%20Lumpur%2024-27.xlsx?dl=0).

We didnt visit Sri Mahariaman Temple because of limited time.

Travelmates! Kuala Lumpur Trip would not be memorable without them. :)

Travel

3:15 AM

Sudah lama tidak bertegur puisi. Dahulu hampir tiap minggu bertamu puisi. Jadi penikmat sih tidak, penulis pun bukan. Hanya orang lalu pengamat jauh. Tapi di penghujung minggu ini, jiwa ini merindu alunan indah puisi. Melankolisme meraja seiring galau usia. And then the poem starts here...

He. Jangan kau remahkan rasa. Hati berhak bicara. Perasaan berhak memekik. Galau berhak bersuara. Dan disini aku mewakili kalian. Mengurai kata. Bingung aku atas mereka.

Dia. Berbeda. Bertingkah tertata. Senyum tergoda. Busur melepas. Benteng hati bertahan berkata tak seiman. Meski terus berandai jika dia.

Dia berteriak. Riak berpamer. He kau. Lihat lah saya. Disini berpijak pada batu yang benar. Senyum itu pias. Gosip itu gendang. Salah itu musiknya.

Dia banyak bercakap. Sayang pikiran tak menangkap. Menyela disela tak sabaran. Namun simpati tiada cela. Sayang berwujud tanpa kata.

Dia ekspresif. Dikekang lepas namun mengekang. Aku dan dia seirama. Senang mencela dunia. Hanya ada beda menjulang.

Dia melunak sejak dunia mengeras. Hidup keras adalah jalan. Merasa perasa adalah sifat. Apapun itu tetap sahabat.

Dia dia dia.

Hanya satu dia meraja hati. Kumulonimbus dari sekian kumulus.
Asumsi tentangnya bergelombang pecah. Pias dalam otak. Bergulung besar menabrak. Hanya berdoa saat reda biarlah tetap reda. Hingga kemudian

Rasa akan badai terlupa.

Hingga senyumku takkan rikuh bertemu tatapanmu.
Dan logikaku takkan berhenti meski mendengar suaramu. 

Curhat

5:07 AM

Dari kecil, sejujurnya, saya tidak pernah punya keinginan untuk pergi ke ranah Minang. Untuk mencicipi makanannya yang terkenal lezat pun tidak. Namun, nasib akhirnya membawa saya ke sana. Perjalanan ke Minang merupakan salah satu perjalanan paling berkesan saya di tahun 2015.

Ceritanya teman saya menikah. Karena di unit kerja saya dia lah yang paling sering dengar keluh kesah saya, saya merasa wajib untuk datang. Tidak ada ekspektasi lebih mengenai Padang dan Bukittinggi waktu itu, tapi begitu landing saya dengan cepat terkesan dengan bentuk bandara yang dibangun berdasarkan rumah adat setempat.

Setelah itu, saya bersama rombongan langsung dijemput oleh travel. Oh iya. Untuk menuju Bukittinggi hanya tersedia travel. Harga per orangnya 35 Ribu rupiah. Namun, karena kami ingin cepat-cepat sampai di hotel, kami menyewa satu mobil seharga 150 ribu rupiah sekali jalan.

Di perjalanan, saya sangat menikmati alam Minang yang hijau dan berbukit bukit. Rumah-rumah di sana masih memiliki halaman yang luas. Beberapa juga masih memiliki bentuk rumah adat. saking menikmatinya saya sampai berpikir kalau suatu hari nanti akan membeli rumah di daerah sini. Hmmm~ 

Kami berhenti dahulu untuk makan di Sate Padang Mak Sukur yang terkenal di Bukittinggi. Kuahnya kental dan rasanya jauh berbeda dengan sate padang ala Jawa yang pernah saya makan. Harganya pun tidak mahal, hanya 25 ribu rupiah per porsi. Setelah itu kami langsung diantar ke hotel. Saya menginap di Treeli Boutique Hotel, small but nice place to stay.  

Esok harinya, sebelum pergi ke walimahan teman, kami mampir dahulu ke Taman Panorama. Dari taman tersebut terlihat akan terlihat pemandangan Ngarai Sianok, sebuah lembah yang dikelilingi bukit bukit dan sungai. Waw! It was really a great view. Yah. Maklum sudah hampir sepuluh tahun saya tidak pernah melihat pemandangan sehijau ini. Bagi yang merasa pemandangan tersebut biasa saja mohon maklumi saya. Agak Nguto B)

Hanya Allah SWT yang bisa melukis seindah ini. Subhanallah. B)

Di area Taman Panorama terdapat situs Lubang Jepang. Terdapat guide lokal yang akan langsung menawari begitu terdapat pengunjung yang datang. Harganya relatif mahal sih. Untuk ukuran Goa Jepang yang hanya sekelumit itu, kami harus membayar seratus ribu rupiah. Untuk masuk ke dalam, kita harus menuruni 132 tangga. Untungnya terdapat pintu keluar lain sehingga kami tidak perlu menaiki tangga tersebut untuk kembali. Sebenarnya lubang Jepang ini cukup panjang (sekitar 6 kilometer), namun yang dibuka hanya sekitar 1.5 kilometer. Terdapat beberapa jalan keluar yang mengarah ke Ngarai Sianok. Namun jalan tersebut demi keamanan ditutup dengan teralis besi. Pembangun lubang ini adalah para romusha yang berasal dari luar Bukittinggi. Hal ini agar lubang jepang tersebut tidak diketahui oleh masyarakat umum.

Lorong Lubang Jepang

Setelah berkeliling goa Jepang, saatnya berkunjung ke tujuan utama kami. Kondangan alias menghadiri walimah alias wedding party. Again. A 'waw' come from my mind. Masyarakat Minang ternyata sangat total dalam menyiapkan acara walimah. Mulai dari dekor kamar pengantin, pelaminan, tempat menyabut tamu dan lain sebagainya. Makanan yang disajikan juga kece. Meskipun acara tersebut diadakan di rumah sendiri bukan di gedung. Berikut foto fotonya. :)

Hiasan atap depan pelaminan

Kamar Pengantin

Kolesterol. :')

Atap dalam rumah. Tempat makan makan

Nah, setelah kondangan adalah part yang paling seru. Istano Baso Pagaruyuang atau singkatnya Istana Pagaruyung. Istana tersebut merupakan istana kerajaan Pagaruyung, sebuah kerajaan Melayu. Istana ini terletak di Batu Sangkar atau sekitar satu jam dari Bukittinggi. Di istana ini kita dapat menyewa pakaian adat Minang dan berfoto cantik di kompleks istana. Yang perlu diketahui adalah istana ini merupakan replika istana yang asli. Istano Basa asli terletak di atas bukit Batu Patah dan terbakar habis pada sebuah kerusuhan tahun 1804. Istana tersebut kemudian didirikan kembali namun kembali terbakar tahun 1966. Dibangun kembali pada 1976 namun lagi lagi mengalami kebakaran hebat pada tahun 2007.

Istana Baso Pagaruyung tampak depan

Halaman Istana Pagaruyung tampak dari Atas (Lantai Tiga)

View Samping Istana Pagaruyung

Istana Pagaruyung merupakan istana yang sangat tepat digunakan untuk belajar budaya Minang. Selain penyewaan baju daerah, Istana Pagaruyung memiliki ornamen-ornamen khas Minang serta senjata dan peralatan dapur yang digunakan pada jaman kerajaan Pagaruyung. Saat saya berkunjung saya tidak mendapati guide yang menawarkan jasa kepada pengunjung, sehingga masih banyak pertanyaan pertanyaan tak terjawab yang melintas di hati saya. termasuk kenapa kamarnya dipisah sama kain doang dan kenapa kamarnya di depan banget kan mengganggu yang datang. Berkeliling Istana Pagaruyung tidak membutuhkan waktu lama. Yang bikin lama adalah foto-fotonya. Ada banyak spot potret bagus di kompleks istana ini.

Puas berpose dan mengeksplor Istana Pagaruyung, kami kembali ke Bukittinggi untuk beristirahat. Eh, tapi sebelumnya kami makan dulu di RM Evi yang kata ibu ibu rombongan kami terkenal dengan gulai ikannya. But, unfortunately, gulai ikannya habis guys! Mereka kecewa, saya sih enggak karena saya masih bisa mencicipin bakwan ikan bili yang enak sekali. :)

Esoknya, kami pergi ke icon Bukittinggi (Jam Gadang). Jika anda menginap di Treeli atau Limas Hotel anda bisa berjalan kaki sekitar lima belas menit ke arah selatan. Letak Jam Gadang dekat dengan Pasar Atas Pasar Bawah. Jadi bisa sekalian belanja.  

Pemandangan dari Jam Gadang

Karena saya tidak tertarik sama sekali untuk belanja. Saya jalan jalan sendiri sambil googling empat yang menarik. Saat itu lah saya mendapati bahwa ada sebuah tempat bernama Benteng Fort De Kock di dekat situ, Mengikuti apa kata Maps saya berjalan. Benteng tersebut letaknya tersembunyi sehingga jika hanya mengandalkan Maps hampir pasti tidak ketemu. Bersyukur saya jeli melihat sign sign yang terdapat di jalan. Jalannya melewati gang gang kecil dan ujungnya ada di dekat tempat yang ditunjukkan oleh Maps. Namun ceritanya saya kecewa nih. Ternyata benteng tersebut merupakan Kebun Binatang. -__________-

Benteng Fort De Kock

Jam Gadang

Di perjalanan pulang, ada dua tempat lagi yang menarik untuk dikunjungi. Yang pertama adalah Lembah Anai. Air terjun ini sebenarnya terletak di pinggir jalan utama. Namun karena saat berangkat kemarin hari sudah gelap. Kami tidak dapat menikmati pemandangan  yang ada disini. Tempat kedua adalah RM Lamun Ombak. Masakan padang terenak sepanjang perjalanan. Hahaha.

Lembah Anai

Sekian. I dont really like writing diaries. Thus finishing this note takes almost a month. I prefer writing article~! >o<

Travel

12:59 AM

Belitung becomes so famous nowadays. It is because one of its residents writes the best seller series 'The Rainbow Troops' which the stories take place in Belitung. Belitung itself located in the north of Java. Straight above Jakarta in the map. Belitung provides us with the beautiful view, especially, of its beach and some place that become setting of 'Rainbow Troops' series. Unfortunately, I havent visited its popular beaches like Pulau Lengkuas, Tanjung Kelayang, Pulau Burung and so on. I hope someday I could explore those beach.

It is not so hard to visit the attraction. There are many places in Tanjung Pandan, the capital of Belitung, that provide us with car and motorcycle rental. For motorcycle is around 80 thousand rupiahs for 24 hours rent. For car about 500 thousand rupiahs include driver for 24 hours rent. The hotel is not so expensive also. I stayed on Rahat Icon Hotel. It costed about 300 thousand Rupiah per night. The staff was so helpful and nice.

I took morning flight with Garuda Indonesia from Jakarta to Tanjung Pandan. Oh ya, for motorcycle rental you can not ask the rental to meet in the airport. They will say that it is too far away from Tanjung Pandan, so if you rent motorcycle you need to go to Tanjung Pandan first by taxi.

I arrived at Tanjung Pandan at 9 am and went to the hotel afterward. I rent motorcycle at the hotel and went out right after. Our first destination is SD Muhammadiyah Gantong and Museum Kata Andrea Hirata. Actually me and my friend are fans of Rainbow Troops. For us, that stories is beautiful and meaningful. I am in love for Lintang in the novel and became fan of Mahar in the Cinema. Hahaha.

For me, visiting Museum is one of my hobby because I'll find many collection that is old and historical (sometimes I found it weird and funny). In this museum, what I found is memories and imaginations about Rainbow Troop. I could see how is Gulliver, remember when Ikal shouted in the film, remember how handsome Mahar is, remember many beautiful and encouraging statement from Andrea Hirata in the books. And So on. If you are fans of Rainbow Troops you should go there!

By motorcycle, from Tanjung Pandan it would take at least two and half hours to reach this place

There is a small stage to express yourself by performing anything

Ah ya~ Dont forget to visit the School "SD Muhammadiyah Gantong" which took only five-ten minutes from the Museum

After that, because we were curious about how delicious the coffee there, we went to Manggar. But, unfortunately we  could not find the right place to drink coffee. We drink in a small coffee shop near a lake and found that its taste was similar with instant coffee we usually drink. From Gantong to Manggar took at least one hour. From Gantong to Manggar, we stopped by Berage restaurant to eat Gangan (Belitung fish soup).

From Manggar we moved to Dewi Kwan Im temple. This temple has gigantic Dewi Kwan Im statue in the backyard. Unfortunately, at that time the statue was renovated. :(

After visiting the temple, we went straight to Tanjung Pandan. Belitung is typical small town which one village to another is separating by coconut forest and not so many people going out. It is soooo quiet comparing with Jakarta or Surabaya. And after small village there would be a long forest that make me frustating because I worry that something bad would be happened to us. Because of that worry I dont even care about my speedometer. What I only care about is I should have reached Tanjung Pandang before dark. I reached Tanjung Pandan at 6 pm. Hmm~ not so late.

Then we go to Mie Atep in Sriwijaya Street. It was delicious! You should try!

Second day, I went to Tanjung Tinggi Beach and Kaolin Lake. Both of them is beautiful! Tanjung Tinggi Beach has many gigantic rocks that looks stunning. From Tanjung Pandan it took at least one hour. Kaolin Lake is nearer. You would take only 30 minutes. But from Tanjung Tinggi it would take at least one hour drive.

I loved that rocks! :p

In Instagram so many photos taken down Kaolin Lake but at that time none went down just some children who bravely went down and someone warned them. So I just dont know if it is safe to go down or not.

Travel

6:09 AM