je m'aime

 

art gallery yogyakarta

I watched this several days ago and it instantly reminded me of this art gallery in Yogyakarta.

I get this glimpse of the life i've never lived in my mind, from the reels, vlogs, or any medias I consume. I had open my heart to new experience last time in 2023 and indeed it opened me to magnificent memory. And each places have the tie to the other, like the video I mentioned above, my brain immediate catches the similarity with the art gallery @ Yogyakarta I visited last August.

Expansive landscape, massive water area, exposed cement, raw wall, lots of trees.

At that time, I was at this cafe in Kotagede and I scrolled away the social media. One post caught my attention and it's about this free-entry art gallery. Huh? Free entry? I travelled to Yogyakarta to visit the annual Artjog, while this art gallery is free entry? That intrigued me and when I commuted there (by my motorbike), it turned out it's only several miles away from my hotel. 

Amazing.

The place was deep inside the neighborhood, I almost rode past it if there's no big sign. The vacant parking lot showed that not many people discovered this place, or at least at 3 PM in Sunday afternoon. I trudged my heavy limb due to over-packed schedule that day and I drove around since the day before. But then when I walked passed the façade, the lush environment immediately greeted me.

The sun was no where in sight so it made the ambience a little bit gloomy. Extra green, exposed cement wall, and large windows. As I took in the scenery, the staff immediately called me to write down my name and contact before entering the area. No chaperone or anything, we're free roaming the sites under the obvious rules: do not go past the line, do not touch, do not litter.

KINIKO ART

what caught my eye in the first glance

Not gonna lie, but "is this SHINee????" was the first came into my mind.

I can't help but thinking of Jonghyun. And I dont know what direction this artwork lead to but it's beautiful. Understand and supportive eventhough you guys seen each other's soul (both good & bad).

Feels like i was getting pulled in.

what is my most favorite piece

I would love to take this and put it on the wall outside my bedroom.

Kiniko Art is open to everyone. Free. All you need is to write down your name and email, I think? I dont remember. It's been one year ago, the same time as ARTJOG happened.

They are having new exhibition from May 24 - June 7 with new ambience. Check here.

I'd love hanging out into this magical spot and have a long conversation about each painting but we just had to go after 2 hours cause it's closed at 5 PM. 

One episode of me waiting for my mother, I stood in the entrance of Candi Ngempon located in Kelurahan Ngempon, Kecamatan Bergas, Kabupaten Semarang. I parked my ride a little far from the entry way. It was right in the sharp curve of the countryside road. So that I didn't block anyone's from entering or leaving the gate.



Three elder men, who were guarding the entry way, made effort to talk to me and Fitri from afar. They asked if we were college students or old enough to be a worker. Worker, we said. They asked again, if we worked in garment or any factory, he started to mention several factories in the area (Semarang-Ungaran). Yes, mebel/furniture factory, I answered. The men nodded, okay, if both of you wanted a change, you could apply the factory near here: dinnerware, garment, snack factory.

Even though it's a small chit chat between strangers, the elders always make effort to provide life insight to the youngsters. The way they stretch life perspectives, based on their personal experience, and share them is adorable. At least for me. I grew up with late grandmother who was equally taciturn like me, worrying inwardly about family members, took care of her off springs not by talking but behaving; I rarely gotten lesson on how to perceive life.


That reminds me of the experience back in 2017 when my mom and I went to Tlogo Putri Kaliurang  by riding minibus that was full of elder people. They were on the way back to their respective house from local market. They chirped in, talking about what they bought earlier, menu for lunch, the breakfast menu last week, etc. Mundane things, very light and daily topic.

Then, I thought to myself that was how it was for elder people living in rural area. Full of tranquility, superficial satisfaction, yet possessing thick layer of happiness. Maybe it's too premature to capture the happiness level by simply observing them in that minibus trip. However, the peaceful atmosphere engulfed me, made my heart infected by their lightheartedness.

Surrounded by the breath-taking view of greeneries, the trip made me desired to go to explore more about various people with different perspective of life. It was such a healing moment.

Nothing is going on right now, except that I lost three cats (one was my favorite) and I try the hardest to push the sadness in, the weather is too cold. Instead of making a fuss about it, I hope the cold weather won't go away.

If someone ask me what I would prefer: cold or hot weather, I definitely choose cold. But actually, I am more of cool weather-type rather than cold. I remember trying to keep myself alive, from freezing toes and cheeks at Dieng. Every breathe I took sent sharp pain in the chest because I didn't expect it to be that cold.

There are temperature limits for human body. According to Vox, cold stresses the heart and lungs as the body works to maintain its core temperature. On the contrary, unseasonal heat event will also become more risky.

Cool weather. Light drizzle. Mist. Goosebumps creeping in your sleeves.

Contemplating over everything like always but this time im gonna write about this little escape I had last March. Teehee. 

dorky pic of me

I was initially to stay home when we had a day off on the last Friday of March. Being a home fairy (the term for someone who stays home so much), I began to think I need holiday! So, I asked my friend, Fitri, if she wanted to go somewhere. After exchanging ideas, we agreed to go to Kopeng Treetop Adventure Park. Moreover, nature recharge is the best recharge of all. If you're tired of daily routine, go see nature. If you wish for a weekend escape, go seek nature!

i was on the passenger seat taking this, hence the blur

trying be fierce but nah

If anyone ask what I would choose between beach vs mountain, well, I would take the current weather as the reference. If it's cold, I would answer beach. If the weather is warmer, I would answer mountain.

I've never been to mountain though. The mountain I mean here is hill. I've been to Gedongsongo (Bandungan), Sikunir (Dieng), Taman Nasional Kaliurang KM 0, and many more. It's nice to have an exchange for the hot weather in Semarang. 

Okay, so, Kopeng Treetop Adventure Park it is!

the famous spot for picture, not for me tho

They have variety of outbonds for children to adult age. Not to mention, they also have camping sites for family troops or group of friends.

It takes 1-1,5 hrs to get there from my place, Semarang. I am glad that Fitri knows the road and the exact place so it's not a hassle. If you guys don't know, it is located in Jl. Raya Kopeng, Batur, Getasan, Semarang, Jawa Tengah. You need to go straight to Pasar Kopeng and then there's this billboard to locate Kopeng Treetop Adventure Park.
The road inside is a bit steep and narrow. You can hardly put two cars side by side there. But don't worry, the employees will cooporate to avoid road jam. 

Fitri brought a broken camera, we couldn't even use it

For I bring motorcycle with a friend, we need to pay 25k each and 5k for the vehicle. I'd say it's a moderate cost for the private adventure park (means not owned by the government). It's a wise decision because not everyone want to to do outbonds. I go there not for outbonds, we initially don't know what's in there and we just want to enjoy the pine tree landscape. I am immensely satisfied with the view. According to the site tripyuk, this Treetop Adventure Park is one of adventure parks that has been built all over the world. 

And then if you want to do outbonds, you need to pay extra: (125k for children and 180k for adult). Or if you come with your family, they offer a full package consist of 2 adults and 2 children for 430k.




the 'it' spot for instagram

































They also have restaurant, they serve both Indonesian and Western cuisine. But sadly, I don't get to try because the limit of time. The restaurant is up at the background of the pic above. Like a tree house, it's so pretty. 

Apart from my mobile phone, I thought to myself I gotta try my aunt's camera to shoot my vlog. I forget the brand, I'll get the info and attach it here later.



It was my second time going here because of the pink sky and the vast ocean. If you come by here at 3 in the afternoon, you can try to walk the path, it will lead you to a mangrove forest. This ocean side is the result of the increasing sea level. It used to be a wide neighborhood, fyi.

As you can see above, i am easily amused by the remarks that my friend made. Fitri, she's one heck of funny person. 

I really enjoyed the time to lounge in the sea side and indulge the pretty sunset.

Place: Pantai Morosari, Demak

It's not holiday season yet but I already took one day off to see sunrise at Punthuk Situmbuh, Magelang. It was located near Borobudur Temple. I arrived there by ride around 5-8 mins. The day hasnt cracked yet but I met several people riding motorcycle/cars into the same way as I was, to see sunrise at Punthuk Situmbuh.

The ride there was chilly eventhough I wore long sleeves and sweater. Mind you, I came from a hot town. And I rarely had morning stroll so yeah.

The moment I arrived at the park area, there were already so many motorcyle and several cars. Big lamps here and there. But sadly there were no decent lamps on the way up to the sunrise spot. I climbed for 3-5 minutes from park area and I cursed all the way. /laugh/ because my legs were still weak from fatigue the ride yesterday (3 hours from Semarang with motorcycle) and hunger. The little hiking needed at least a bite of chocolate or bread, rite? My legs wobbled badly on the uneven pavement. Not to mention, it was so dark. The workers there stood beside the unlit lamps, I stared at them as if saying 'why is the lamp not lit yet??' but they couldnt do anything but to wait from the main source. 

On the sunrise spot uphill, I could see the clouds, slightly lower from where I stood. That was cool. The sky was dark blue, waiting to absorb morning light to turn into lighter blue. 

I immediately munched on biscuits to fuel my body. As the veil uncovered, my mum called me to the one side and said 'this is the best spot!'. There were already a short line of people who wanted to take pic on the spot. Mum smugly said 'they line up after me getting up there and take pic! I led them here'. I rolled my eyes. Jokingly, of course.

It's kinda embarassing to me to post in front of people waiting in line, there were a group of Jakartans elders, and also youngsters. One of them said, 'The cloud is spreading up. We should take pic soon before it's gone!'. So, it's kinda kill my mood. But hell, at least I've taken video for my instagram story :p 
The spot below!

My friend and I went to seek another spot. I found this two-floors gazebo. We climbed up for better sighting. The clouds were thick and the sun came peeking on the background. I could see the peak of Borobudur temple from here. It's like magic. Sunrise and magic sounded great together, right? I highly recommend you to see sunrise at Punthuk Situmbuh. 

Actually, the local people told us that we could see Gereja Ayam (Church with the shape of chicken at the top) by walking 10 mins from Punthuk Situmbuh. Sorry, not just walking, but hiking (up and down). For one reason, I didnt get to visit that place. Maybe some other time.

My journey isn't ended here. Lemme tell you some other time. 

Greetings from Punthuk Situmbuh, Magelang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.

(long post ahead)

Tetiba sudah ganti tahun ya? 2016. I havent let that sink in. Yet. Karena setiap mau nulis tanggal kadang masih salah nulis tahun 2015.


Sebenernya nih ya, ada beberapa postingan yang pengen aku tulis sejak setahun lalu, atau bahkan tahun 2014! Kebanyakan postingan tentang jalan-jalan. Misalnya, dulu tahun 2014 pas ke Cirebon, muterin kota buat mendatangi 3 Keraton Cirebonan. Sejak dari situ, aku jadi semangat kalo mau berlibur ke destinasi alam atau tempat-tempat bersejarah karena selain bisa belajar, aku juga bisa jepret jepret. Iya, jaman sekarang udah jarang yang gak main sosmed yah. Jepret jepret, cakep dikit, aplod ke path/facebook. Aku sih seringnya aplot di instagram.
Sesekali lah pake bahasa Indonesia. Lagian, ada temen yang komplen kalo dia males baca postinganku yang bahasa Inggris. HAHA. YEAH YOU NOVI. But nevertheless, she still read some of it though.
Postingan hari ini mau membahas unfortunate event bulan April tahun lalu.
Gak unfortunate banget sih tapi yah....

Hari Minggu (26/4) dimulai dengan bangun pagi dan bersih-bersih rumah secara kilat. Jam 9 lebih ada acara mau ke Panti Asuhan diajak Fitri. Fitri ini anaknya up to adventure but she's damn sympathetic. Dia aktif mengajar anak-anak di deket rumah, sering berbagi dengan yang kurang beruntung (panti jompo, panti asuhan, anak jalanan, dll), dan dia tahu tempat tempat bagus. Haha. I just tagged along. Aku waktu itu belum bisa ikut iuran, jadi cuma ngasih tenaga bawa-bawa makanan doang. Cuma ada 4 orang sih. Pergi ke Panti Asuhan di Mangkang. Anak-anaknya dari mulai 13 tahun sampai 18 tahun kalo gak salah. Pemiliknya memiliki mindset untuk mau menampung anak yang sudah bisa bebenah sendiri, yaitu setelah lulus SD. Nanti setelah lulus SMA, mereka dianggap sudah cukup dewasa untuk bertanggungjawab terhadap hidupnya sendiri, lalu 'lulus' dari panti tersebut. Ada beberapa yang memang dikirim keluarganya dari desa untuk pergi ke sana untuk mendapat pendidikan yang lebih baik. The girls are so shy. Kita ajak foto tapi mereka cuma bersembunyi di belakang satu sama lain. Rumah untuk yang perempuan terdiri dari 2 lantai. Mereka memiliki jadwal piket yang terbagi menjadi kelompok masak dan bersih-bersih. Yang laki-laki rumahnya di dekat halaman belakang dan luas. Jadi walaupun tidak tingkat 2, tempat mereka lebih luas. Mereka menanam sayuran secara mandiri sehingga tidak perlu pergi ke pasar. Setiap Kamis malam, mereka mengadakan acara rebana dan shalawatan. Pemiliknya cerita kalau tiap tahun SMA 3 mengirim siswanya untuk menghabiskan waktu di panti tersebut.
Hah? Iya? Mungkin untuk kegiatan social care. Memang, setiap tahun ada acara itu menjelang kelulusan. Aku dulu kebagian ke Panti Sosial (?) yang bertanggung jawab Dinas Sosial. Mereka menampung orang-orang jalanan yang tidak memiliki keluarga (jelas) dan kebanyakan cenderung mengidap penyakit mental seperti Skizofrenia. Ternyata sejak dulu aku udah bersinggungan dengan mental ward (?). Maksudnya, sebelum masuk ke Psikologi.
Kunjungan kami yang mendadak membuat pemiliki panti asuhan kelabakan dan cenderung menolak kedatangan kami. Bukannya apa-apa, tetapi mereka belum menyiapkan acara apapun untuk menyambut kami. Anak-anak khusus menghabiskan waktu Minggu mereka untuk mencuci atau kegiatan bersih-bersih lainnya. Jika kami membuat jadwal terlebih dahulu, mungkin mereka akan lebih siap dan malah menyambut kami dengan kegiatan khusus. Ah, kami tidak bermaksud begitu. Kami hanya ingin berkunjung dan berbagi. Gak ada acara penyambutan juga gak apa-apa. Panti Asuhan An-Nisa kalo gak salah.
Selesai kunjungan, kami berempat makan siang, lalu lanjut ke Tapak.



 
Kami jalan makin masuk ke dalam buat nyari hutan Mangrove. Tiba-tiba ketemu sama sekelompok nelayan. Mereka menawari tumpangan naik perahu. Fitri mengiyakan langsung. Aku mah yang gak ngeh, tau-tau suruh ikut naik perahu aku juga bingung. Ah, ya udahlah ya. Asek ada foto di perahu.




Kami yang gak tahu harus berhenti dimana, kami bilang ya gas aja pak. Tau-tau sampe ke deket Graha Padma. WHAT. Itu kan deket bandara? Bapak nelayannya, yang kira-kira ada 4-5 orang itu, ternyata sudah jamnya pulang. Mereka parkir kendaraan di pelabuhan kecil deket Graha Padma. Aku sama yang lain celingukan? Gimana inih?
Tenang aja mbak, ini bapaknya yang punya perahu balik lagi ke Tapak, kata salah satu bapak nelayan. Mereka ternyata juga bukan nelayan asli, mereka nyewa perahu buat mancing. Buset.
Begitu mau balik ke Tapak, kami udah gelisah, ada dimana, gimana pulang, dan HUJAN TURUN.

Man, hujannya gak yang gerimis atau hujan biasa, HUJAN LEBAT CUY. Wa kesel tapi mau gimana lagi, kami lagi di TENGAH LAUT WOY. Aku cuma bisa menghibur diri dengan melihat langit biru mendung di atas yang menurunkan hujan lebat. Kalau bahasa novel sih: Aku menatap nanar ujung perahu ini yang tidak jelas dimana ia akan berlabuh.
Beuh. Aku bawa jaket jeans yang lumayan tebel buat tutupan kepala tapi karena hujannya lebat, gak lama kemudian udah basah. Dulu waktu aku suka hujan-hujanan, it didnt end well. Kalau gak sakit demam yang gejala tipes. Wa udah berdoa cemas gitu, jangan sakit, semoga gak apa-apa.
Tiba-tiba bapak perahunya bilang mau menghampiri nelayan di sebuah gubuk di tengah laut. Bapaknya bilang mereka harus dijemput dulu baru kita bisa pulang.
Lah aku mau bilang apa? And im lyke whatever. Punya pilihan apa aku?
Di sisi lain, aku berpikir well this is gold. Great story for blog. Tapi inih baru 9 bulan kemudian baru jadi nulis ceritanya. My inner adventurous side whispered that this was a sweet coincidence that I wouldnt get in another 20 years. Be happy!
Beneran, ada sebuah gubuk di tengah laut....  Wa lemes sama amazed. Lemes karena entah kita jadi pulangnya jam berapa. Amazed karena wow aku terdampar di gubuk tengah laut! Gubuknya satu di tengah kira-kira bentuknya persegi, gak ada pintunya, ada atapnya. Di luar gubuk, ada jalan kecil yang dibuat dari kayu bambu panjang. Bayangin aja lagi ada di tambak. Ada kolam di tengah, dikelilingi oleh jalan setapak, di satu sisinya ada gubuk buat istirahat. Nah, begitu. Sayang, aku gak punya fotonya. Karena aku gak punya hape yang bagus buat foto, selain itu kamera hape yang lain dibuat foto-foto oleh pemiliknya masing-masing. Ini aku sempet foto karena aku pinjem sejenak setelah si pemilik hape selesai foto telentang di pinggir gubuk. HAHAHAHA. Di samping gubuk ada kayak tempat nongkrong gitu, doski foto telentang di situ. Memanfaat kondisi backlight. Karena di sisi satunya ada matahari sore sekitar jam 4-an. 

Eh, bapak nelayan yang lagi ngiup di gubuk itu ada 2 orang. Salah satunya langsung menawarkan untuk mengambil foto kami berempat. It's like unspoken rule, kalo ada cewek sekumpulan cewek yang terdampar di suatu tempat, mereka ngeluarin hape, trus bakal minta orang di sekitarnya untuk mengambilkan foto mereka bebarengan. Just because.
......it turns out better than we thought.....
 




Hujannya berenti beberapa saat setelah kami ngiup di gubuk. Bapak nelayan kembali memancing. Bapak perahu ikutan duduk di sebelah bapak nelayan di jalan setapak agak jauh dari gubuk. Kami berempat? Selfie, ngakak-ngikik, becandaan sampe perut sakit, selfie lagi, tiduran berbantal tas. 

Dan voila tahu-tahu sudah hampir matahari tenggelam. Kami pun naik perahu untuk pulang.
Finally.

Postingan ini dipersembahkan oleh Fitri yang mengatur jadwal piknik hari itu, bapak-habis-mancing-yang-menyesatkan-karena-turun-duluan-di-graha-padma, en bapak yang menyewakan perahu.
Pulang-pulang, baju atasan kami sudah mulai mengering tapi masih lembab, celana jeans yang masih basah-sah, lalu dilanjutkan makan mie ayam bakso di Krapyak. Kemudian, pulaaaaaaaaang. Ibu di rumah sambil geleng-geleng kepala lihat anaknya bak kucing kecemplung got: kotor dan basah. Tapi kantong tertawaku sudah lumayan terisi. And the darn adventure, plus natural view, it's really worth it. Di ruang makan, aku disambut ubi keju goreng. Nyamm~~

Sampai ketemu di postingan selanjutnya!

(maapkeun wajah kami yang lungset) (haha) (this is no edit yo)

I managed to got to Klayar for weekend last month. Mother's been pestering me to go look at this amazing corner of the world in Pacitan. Not that I'm complaining, haha.
So we went there by car, it took maybe 3-4 hours there? We had our lunch after we arrived at Pacitan. Although I dozed off a few times but the view from Pacitan to Klayar (beach) really worth a look. At first, it was mainly a really long and straight road. We saw small house here and there and mostly field. 30 minutes later we got closer to Klayar, the road began to resemble roller coaster. No, I aint kidding. It was narrow and long curvy road. Up and down. Up and down. I almost broke into cold sweat because in some uphill, then the sharp downhill coming right up. The sense of riding roller coaster you'd get there. That was fun, anyway.
Then when I thought the journey wont end soon, there came a lodge in sight with many cars on its parking lot. Yeah, it was weekend and it made sense there were bunch of people coming there. Lodge? Uhm, mother planned stay 1 night and got home next afternoon. 
It was almost 2 pm when we got down to the beach. It wasnt that far from the lodge. It hardly takes 5 mins to walk. The beach can be seen in front of the lodge and it was really amazing.

It was spacy and only several groups of people on the beach. The sand was pretty and the sea glowed really beautiful. On the right corner where there were some kind of headland, big rocks scattered around. The wave was high. I didnt really think that jumping in and swimming was a great idea. I didnt mind to dip my feet into the water but the wave... was pretty fierce. So instead I spotted this shadow place where I intended to build something from the sand. You know in the movies people always build something from the sand and it seems pretty cool.
Well, it's not that cool if you built it alone without any descent ability.
I gave up after a while and started to wander around.

I saw some tiny shells and gathered 12 of them.
The shells got pretty color too..

When you walked to the east, you'll find different crook of the beach. Crook? Well, come and see it yourself. The sand is different from the side I walk before.




If you go to that rocky land in the picture above, you'll be able to witness 'seruling samudra'. There's this small hole on the rock, if the wave coming some of the water will go up from the hole like this shower on your garden. If not, the wind will fill up the hole and make noises like 'seruling'. Mother said it was the main attraction of the beach but I aint that giddy to see it. Maybe because we need to walk again and it seems to be high place. I was quite satisfied seeing the gleaming blue ocean. Nyehehehehe. 

The next day, we explored the west side of the lodge which consisted of dry field and grass. It seemed that someone burnt down the entire field. 

Why should we go there? I forgot what it's called -____- it was some kind of bay and other beach. We could go there by taking around road by vehicle and it'll take 30 minutes there. But we could see it from this near side of Klayar beach and still got the pretty view of the beach. 
The wave was pretty up high too on that beach. It slapped the enormous rocks with monstrous sound. Pretty and scary in the same time. The ocean was also glowing on this side. No sand on the beach, only enormous rocks enveloped the island. Too bad I didnt get to take picture here.

In the middle of nature, I didnt know how to pose well. So...

We went home that afternoon. We came by Goa Tabuhan before we jumped in the bus taking us home.
Mother intended to take me to other goa, near the lodge, but it was so darn crowded at that time and we came here instead. The cave was wide, tall but not that deep. It consisted of cold stalaktit, oh or stalakmit? The one hanging from above? What is it called? The weather inside was rather chill compared to the outside's. I couldn't take any picture inside without proper light. 

Some fun weekend I got there. Aside from 7 hours journey, I didnt think there were some regret going to this place. Klayar beach is your secret runaway that contains tiny part of paradise. Thanks for bringing me along here.