11 Hours In Tianjin

I had only one reason to visit Tianjin: Hard Rock Cafe. This had been the plan since the first time I went to Beijing, but timing was an issue then. Learning from the past failure, it was different this round. 

Together with my colleague Fulton, I landed in Beijing two days earlier. This gave me the ample time to enjoy one night in Beijing before heading to Tianjin on the following morning. Departing from Beijing South Railway Station, I arrived in Tianjin about 10 AM. As we had about an hour before Hard Rock opened, we had our breakfast at McDonald's: a bowl of porridge!

At Tianjin Station.

After that, we headed to the metro station, bought our one way ticket and headed to Tianta. The metro station was linked to Luneng CC Plaza and it turned out that Hard Rock Cafe Tianjin was part of the mall. The Rock Shop was tiny and it had only limited selection. It didn't take long for me to get what I came here for. 

As we were paying at the cashier, Fulton figured out that Alipay could be used for metro ticket payment. It is amazing how integrated China is these days! We went for a bit of supermarket browsing, then jumped into the metro to go to Wudadao, which was one of the highlights according to AI.

Visting Minyuan Stadium.

The nearest metro station was still about 15 minutes walk to Wudadao. When we reached there, we only saw Minyuan Stadium. And, well, it was a stadium. The appreciation lasted only for a few seconds before we started wondering what Wudadao actually was. After a quick ice cream waffle, we circled the stadium and saw the map. So Wudadao is apparently a large area encompassing five lanes and housing a lot of colonial buildings. 

It would have taken us the whole afternoon if we really did the sightseeing, so we opted for lunch and left Wudadao instead, haha. On our way out, I saw Post Coffee, a unique combination of coffee stall and post office, similar to the one I saw in Chongqing. I quickly dropped by for a decade old tradition. 

The view from Dagu Bridge.

From Wudadao, AI recommended us to walk along the riverbank. Fulton refined the suggestion by heading to the last subway station before Tianjin Station, then it wouldn't be a long walk and yet we could still explore the riverside a bit. We did a slight detour for Pop Mart at the Tee Mall, then we crossed Dagu Bridge and headed to the Century Clock.

Tianjin Station is next to the clock. It was around 3 PM when we got there and we thought we would reach Beijing in no time. Much to my surprise, the next available tickets were the ones departing at 8.38 PM! Well, either that slot or train rides at later timing. I immediately secured them, then we headed to McDonald's to let the reality sink in. Once we had a break and accepted that we'd be here for another four hours, we decided to make good use of our time and walked towards the Ancient Culture Street.

Fulton explored the Ancient Culture Street.

It took us about an hour of walking at the riverside before reaching our destination. The experience somehow reminded me of Shanghai. It might be the river, I reckon. And I suddenly had a fatigue. It's like, after visiting four China cities in one year, Tianjin as the fifth one somehow looked pretty similar. 

And exploring the Ancient Culture Street clearly didn't help. It only enhanced the impression that cities in China are basically having the same layout: high rises buildings, the long and winding river, ancient street or town for tourists. After one round, we hopped onto the subway and returned to the train station. The last meal I had was spicy! But my last memory of Tianjin? Our business class seats! 

Fulton grinning on his business class seat.

11 jam Di Tianjin

Saya cuma memiliki satu alasan untuk mengunjungi Tianjin: Hard Rock Cafe. Ini sudah menjadi rencana saya sejak kunjungan pertama ke Beijing, tapi ternyata ada kendala waktu. Belajar dari pengalaman tersebut, kali ini beda pengaturannya. 

Bersama kolega saya Fulton, saya mendarat di Beijing dua hari lebih awal. Dengan demikian saya memiliki banyak waktu sebelum berangkat ke Tianjin pada keesokan paginya. Dari Beijing South Railway Station, saya tiba di Tianjin kira-kira jam 10 pagi. Karena masih ada satu jam sebelum Hard Rock buka, kita makan pagi di McDonald's: semangkuk bubur dan kopi pahit!

Di Stasiun Tianjin.

Setelah itu, kita naik metro menuju Tianta. Stasiun metro ini tersambung ke Luneng CC Plaza. Hard Rock Cafe Tianjin ternyata merupakan bagian dari mal. Rock Shop-nya mungil dan terbatas koleksinya. Tak butuh waktu lama untuk mendapatkan apa yang saya mau. 

Selagi kita melakukan pembayaran di kasir, Fulton menemukan bahwa Alipay bisa digunakan untuk membayar metro. Integrasi sistem di Cina memang luar biasa! Setelah mampir sejenak ke supermarket, kita kembali menaiki metro menuju Wudadao, salah satu destinasi turis menurut AI. 

Mengunjungi Minyuan Stadium.

Stasiun metro terdekat masih berjarak sekitar 15 menit berjalan kaki ke Wudadao. Saat tiba di sana, yang kita lihat hanyalah Minyuan Stadium. Dan, berhubung ini cuma stadion, apresiasi kita luntur dalam beberapa detik. Jadi Wudadao itu sebenarnya apa? Saya beli es krim sejenak, lalu kita berjalan mengitari stadion dan menemukan peta. Di situ terlihat bahwa Wudadao adalah sebuah kawasan lima jalur yang memiliki banyak bangunan peninggalan zaman kolonial. 

Butuh setengah hari bila kita hendak melihat semuanya, jadi kita memilih makan siang dan pergi, haha. Dalam perjalanan keluar, saya melihat Post Coffee, kombinasi warung kopi dan kantor pos, mirip seperti yang saya lihat di Chongqing. Saya lekas mampir menunaikan tradisi. 

Pemandangan dari Dagu Bridge.

Dari Wudadao, AI menganjurkan agar kita berjalan di samping sungai. Fulton menyarankan bahwa sebaiknya kita naik metro dulu sampai ke pemberhentian terakhir sebelum Stasiun Tianjin, baru jalan dari situ sehingga tidak terlalu jauh. Menuruti usulnya, kita juga sempat singgah sebentar ke Pop Mart di Tee Mall, lalu berjalan melewati Dagu Bridge dan menuju ke Century Clock.

Tianjin Station berada tepat di samping Century Clock. Jam sudah menunjukkan pukul tiga sore saat kita sampai di sana. Berjalan santai menuju loket, saya sudah membayangkan bahwa kita akan segera tiba di Beijing. Siapa sangka tiket berikutnya adalah jam 8:38 malam? Pilihan kita cuma itu atau yang lebih malam lagi. Saya lekas membeli, kemudian kita duduk sejenak di McDonald's untuk meresapi kejutan yang baru saja terjadi. Setelah menerima kenyataan bahwa kita masih akan luntang-lantung di Tianjin selama empat jam, kita memanfaatkan waktu kita untuk mengunjungi Ancient Culture Street.

Di Ancient Culture Street.

Kita berjalan di samping sungai sekitar sejam lamanya sebelum mencapai destinasi. Pengalaman ini entah kenapa mengingatkan saya pada Shanghai. Mungkin karena sungainya. Dan mendadak saya merasa lelah dengan Cina. Rasanya seperti, setelah mengunjungi empat kota Cina dalam setahun, Tianjin sebagai kota ke-lima terlihat sama saja. 

Dan eksplorasi di Ancient Culture Street tidak membantu. Keberadaan kita di sana yang menguatkan kesan bahwa kota-kota di Cina memiliki tata kota yang sama: gedung-gedung tinggi, sungai yang panjang dan berkelok, kota lama atau jalan kuno untuk turis. Setelah satu putaran, kita naik metro dan kembali ke stasiun kereta. Makan malam saya terasa pedas nian. Tapi kenangan saya yang terakhir di Tianjin? Kursi kelas bisnis di kereta! 

Fulton tersenyum di kursi kelas bisnis.

Mega Man

Some days began with innocent wishes. About three weeks ago, right before the Seremban trip, it was like, "hmm, I haven't listened to the Mega Man soundtrack for a really, really long while. How about a little bit of it to start the morning?" And it turned out to be a blast from the past. As I walked to the bus stop, images from distant memories appeared in my head.

It was nostalgic. And for a good reason. I was listening to Mega Man 2 OST, the one that really started it all for me: good music, good game play, bigger and better. But in order to understand this, let me bring you back to Pontianak in the late 80s. 

We were young then and we were at the dawn of Nintendo Entertainment System. Every now and then, we'd have something new that was game-changing, pun intended. After Super Mario Bros and the Legend of Zelda, came Rockman. Yes, in the pre-internet world, we only knew the Blue Bomber as Rockman. And the first release wasn't exactly great. In hindsight, it was one of the most difficult entry in the original series!

It was still the first, though. It laid the foundation. It gave us iconic characters such as Cut Man or Guts Man. By the time Capcom came back with Rockman 2, they made it so much better that it became the default version of anything Mega Man to me: more bosses, from 6 to 8; a game long enough that I could call it an adventure; a difficulty level that I could handle; cool weapons that would became the template of subsequent games; and of course the music.

Yes, Mega Man 3 did introduce the sliding ability and Mega Man 4 got me standing in awe at Ligo Mitra, a local supermarket in Pontianak, because of the new ability called Charge Shot (and I bought the cartridge after saving enough money). However, it was Mega Man 2 that made me fall in love. 

It was through that game I became a fan, charging forward as Mega Man, combating the likes of Metal Man, Wood Man and more, accompanied by the electrifying music that got me going. The final battle against Dr. Wily was unforgettable. Players could only use Bubble Lead, the lamest but only weapon that worked!

If there were times in your childhood that made you feel like you were a hero fighting the evil force in order to save the world, this was the definitely one of the moments. The soundtrack resonated with this memory, forever securing Mega Man a spot in my life... 

Mega Man in action!

Rockman

Terkadang ada hari yang bermula dengan keinginan yang polos. Kira-kira tiga minggu lalu, sebelum liburan ke Seremban, saya tiba-tiba kepikiran, "sudah lama saya tidak mendengar musik Rockman. Bagaimana kalau saya putar sejenak?" Dan dampaknya bagaikan kilasan masa lalu. Sewaktu saya berjalan ke halte bis, aneka kenangan berkelebat di benak saya. 

Saya terbuai nostalgia saat mendengarkan musik Rockman 2, game yang memulai segalanya: bagus musiknya, seru pula game-nya. Untuk memahami deskripsi ini, mari saya bawa anda kembali ke Pontianak di akhir tahun 80an. 

Generasi saya masih muda pada saat itu dan kita tepat berada di permulaan hebohnya Nintendo. Setiap beberapa bulan, kita akan dengar game yang populer dan terkini. Setelah Super Mario Bros dan the Legend of Zelda, muncullah Rockman. Ya, di dunia sebelum internet, kita cuma mengenalnya sebagai Rockman, bukan Mega Man. Dan episode pertama dari serial Rockman ini terkenal sebagai salah satu yang paling sulit! 

Kendati begitu, sebagai game pertama, Rockman 1 menjadi fondasi bagi episode berikutnya. Dari game ini lahir pula karakter-karakter yang populer seperti Cut Man dan Guts Man. Di saat Capcom kembali dengan Rockman 2, hasilnya jauh lebih bagus dan menjadi versi yang paling saya sukai: bosnya bertambah, dari 6 menjadi 8; game-nya cukup panjang untuk sebuah petualangan; tingkat kesulitannya tidak membuat frustrasi; delapan senjata yang diperoleh dari bos pun menjadi standar bagi game berikutnya; dan tentu saja musiknya.

Ya, Rockman 3 memperkenalkan aksi selancar dan Rockman 4 membuat saya terpukau, tanpa sadar berdiri di samping etalase Ligo Mitra, melihat anak pemilik supermarket mengontrol Rockman menghimpun energi sebelum menembakkan Charge Shot (dan saya membeli game tersebut setelah uang tabungan saya cukup). Namun yang membuat saya jatuh cinta tetaplah Rockman 2.

Lewat game ini, saya menjadi penggemar, menerobos marabahaya sebagai Rockman, melawan musuh seperti Metal Man, Wood Man dan lain-lain, diiringi dengan musik yang saya ingat hingga hari ini. Pertarungan terakhir dengan Dr. Wily juga tak terlupakan. Sebagai Rockman, saya yang bisa menggunakan Bubble Lead, senjata gelembung yang lemah tapi satu-satunya yang berfungsi! 

Jika ada kenangan masa kecil yang membuat anda merasa seperti pahlawan memberantas kejahatan demi menyelamatkan dunia, ini ada salah satunya! Dan musik yang melantun di telinga saya ini membuat saya teringat lagi dengan kenangan tersebut, selamanya mengabadikan Rockman sebagai bagian dari hidup saya... 

The Budget Airline

This story was inspired by a moment I experienced at the end of the Seremban trip. I was inside the plane, waiting for it to depart from KLIA. As I browsed the shopping magazine, I saw a t-shirt with a tagline that caught my attention: Seek adventure. Now everyone can fly. Since 2001.

How it rang true. Before AirAsia, it was a different time. Flying was a luxury in the late 90s. There was a time when my friends and I had to take Lawit, a passenger ship that sailed for four days three nights from Pontianak to Jakarta. It was the cheapest option then. 

My first encounter with AirAsia wasn't exactly a pleasant one. I first heard of it in 2005 from Yani when we worked together at Kalbe Farma. She told me about the IDR 0 promo. As online booking was so new then, I didn't know how it worked. I kept clicking next and entered my credit card number unsuspectingly. Lo and behold, I actually paid the full price instead! So off I went to Bali by myself. 

Only God knows how many times I had taken AirAsia since then. The memorable ones, such as trip to Laos, usually departed from KL. The furthest route I took, from KL to Hangzhou, was the AirAsia X flight. The last one before COVID-19 was the flight from Pontianak to Bangkok, with an overnight stay at KLIA. The rather unusual one was the flight to Bandar Seri Begawan in 2009. I flew from Johor Bahru and transit in Kota Kinabalu. Managed to see the town before I resumed my flight to Brunei.

Looking back, it'd been 20 years since I boarded my first AirAsia flight. While budget airlines may seem common now, AirAsia was revolutionary back when all this started. It was a game changer, that flying was no longer out of reach. AirAsia enabled people like me to see the world. That's when I called the steward, telling him that I needed the t-shirt that had just inspired me...

Seek adventure!
Photo by Linda Emily

Maskapai Penerbangan Murah

Cerita ini terinspirasi dari apa yang saya lihat di penghujung liburan ke Seremban. Saat itu saya berada di dalam pesawat, menanti lepas landas di KLIA. Selagi saya membolak-balik majalah, tiba-tiba saya melihat kaos dengan tulisan yang menarik perhatian saya: Seek adventure. Now everyone can fly. Since 2001.

Betapa benarnya kalimat tersebut. Dunia sebelum AirAsia adalah masa yang berbeda. Bisa naik pesawat adalah sebuah kemewahan tersendiri di akhir tahun 90an. Saat itu, saya dan teman-teman harus naik Lawit, kapal yang mengarungi laut selama empat hari tiga malam, hanya untuk bepergian dari Pontianak ke Jakarta. Itu adalah pilihan paling murah di zaman itu. 

Interaksi saya yang pertama dengan AirAsia sangat berkesan, tapi kurang menyenangkan. Kala itu tahun 2005 dan saya mendengar nama maskapai ini dari Yani, saat kita sama-sama bekerja di Kalbe Farma. Waktu itu dia bercerita tentang promo Rp. 0. Karena sistem pembelian tiket secara online masih baru, saya tidak paham cara kerjanya. Saya isi setiap bagian yang kosong, termasuk data kartu kredit, lalu klik next sampai usai. Siapa sangka tiket terbeli sesuai dengan harga yang tertera? Akhirnya saya pun ke Bali seorang diri.  

Sejak itu, entah berapa sering sudah saya menaiki AirAsia. Yang berkesan, misalnya perjalanan ke Laos, biasanya lewat KL. Rute saya yang terjauh, dari KL ke Hangzhou, dilayani oleh AirAsia X. Penerbangan saya yang terakhir sebelum COVID-19 melanda adalah rute Pontianak ke Bangkok, plus satu malam menginap di KLIA. Yang sedikit berbeda adalah petualangan Bandar Seri Begawan di tahun 2009. Saya terbang dari Johor Bahru dan transit dulu di Kota Kinabalu. Setelah berjalan-jalan sejenak, barulah saya lanjut ke Brunei.

20 tahun sudah berlalu sejak saya pertama kali menaiki pesawat AirAsia. Penerbangan murah mungkin terlihat lumrah sekarang, tapi AirAsia sangatlah revolusioner sewaktu semua ini bermula. AirAsia mengubah situasi pada saat itu dan memungkinkan orang-orang seperti saya untuk melihat dunia. Tersentak dari lamunan saat pramugara lewat di samping, saya pun memanggil dan berkata padanya bahwa saya perlu kaos yang baru saja membuat saya terinspirasi...

The Seremban Trip

I think it's fair to say that the Seremban trip began right at the tail end of the Pontian noodles trip in August 2024. We were at Johor Bahru City Square when I found a Negeri Sembilan postcard. I was telling Surianto that, "well, looks like we have to go to Seremban now."

So a plan was made. Nobody I know ever went to Seremban for holiday before. Further investigation using AI only confirmed that the sightseeing destination and food in Seremban could only sustain us for half a day. But at the same time, Seremban is not exactly far from Kota Kemuning.

The postcard that started the trip.
Photo by Linda Emily.

That's why the trip commenced with a bus ride. We had all the time to waste to compensate to make up for the little sightseeing we would do in Seremban. Then we'd go to meet Wiwi for breakfast. Months later, I also learnt that I could continue our way to Genting for a quick visit to buy the Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. After a night in KL, we would fly back to Singapore. This trip was going to be packed with togetherness and adventures!

From then onwards, and especially after my India trip, the name Seremban appeared incessantly in our group chat. More often than not, it was either me or Jimmy asking people to join. If it was me, then I was simply gathering friends for a short togetherness. If it was Jimmy, it had to be a not-so-subtle mockery. Can't blame him, though. Because you had to be crazy enough to go where people don't go!

The departure.
Photo by Surianto.

In the end, only some of the regulars who had trusted Robinson Travel enough that joined willingly. Surianto, Cicilia and Taty, long time members since the Japan trip, boarded the bus at the Golden Mile Tower with me. Off we went to Seremban. About 5.5 hours later, we dropped off across Terminal 1. We were officially in Seremban!

First thing first, we went to our hotel and checked in. Then we headed to Quinn (Seremban Beef Noodles) for late lunch. If look can be deceiving, this unassuming eatery certainly fits the profile. The beef noodles was soft and tasty. A godsend to my liking! I personally loved it very much. As a comparison, if Hock Lam Beef in Singapore was good, then this one was way better!

Seremban beef noodles.

It was raining before and after our meal, so we got stuck at Palm Mall instead. Nothing special there, so we hopped onto Grab and went to Empayar Seremban Siew Paw. We shopped a bit, then quickly headed to Haji Shariff Cendol. Too bad, it was already closed when we got there, so we resumed our journey to Lorong Seni Seremban. 

After paying our homage to Abbey Road, we entered Lorong Seni. This area is covered with murals, quite similar to those you'd find in Chinatown Singapore, so pictures were taken there. The other end of the tunnel led us to Dataran Seremban, a landmark with the words SEREMBAN N9 on the grass patch. From there, we walked to Taman Tasik Seremban that was located next to our hotel. The night was ended with a dinner at TC Keong. 

Visiting Taman Tasik Seremban.
Photo by Angela Baby.

By then, we were basically done with Seremban. The next morning, we made our way to Kota Kemuning. After a short visit to Wiwi's house, we had breakfast at Samy and Min Bak Kut Teh. Good stuff, especially the dry bak kut. Then, much to Wiwi's surprise, her husband actually encouraged her to join us to Genting Highlands.

Thus began our ride to the mountaintop. I actually didn't realize that Rock Shop is not located in the main compound, but adjacent to it. But since we were already there, we explored a bit and that's when Surianto's beginner's luck won him some casino chips. Only after that we went to the tiniest Rock Shop I had ever seen so far. 

In Genting. Not very far from Rock Shop.

On our way down, we stopped at the Premium Outlet. Never a fan of shopping, I soon found myself sitting at Coffee Bean, enjoying ice blended coffee and ondeh cake. Both were equally sweet! When they were done, we went to the city and checked into our hotel. 

For dinner, we decided to visit Jalan Alor. Wiwi wasn't exactly a great host in KL as she didn't know much about public transport and the tourist area. Instead of being our guide, she joined us and became a tourist as well, haha. The food at Cu Cha Restaurant was decent. Good to eat the mud creeper snails again.

Jalan Alor.
Photo by Angela Baby.

We joined the crowd for sightseeing on Jalan Alor afterwards. It is amazing how crowded the first half of the street was! We made a U-turn when we reached the end, then walked towards Wiwi's car. Her husband had bought Musang King durian for my friends to enjoy. I stayed away from it because it doesn't matter if it is the king of fruits. To me, it was as smelly as it used to be. That horrible smell that got me running away when I was three years old! A good glass of tea c then finally ended both the night and Wiwi's worst nightmare of being remembered as the host who didn't serve tea c. 

The next morning, Surianto was keen on going to Batu Caves, but not before he persistently rang the door bell and woke me up as he forgot something. Few hours later, the rest of us were in the largely inactive Bazaar Baru Chow Kit. It was Hari Raya, so almost all the stalls were not open for business. 

At Bazaar Baru Chow Kit. 

As we looked around, I recalled what Wiwi said the night before, as we walked towards the monorail station. This area has a big Indonesian muslim population, hence the Nusantara food from nasi Padang to ayam penyet. That brought me back to the time when Surianto and I decided to book a hotel in Chow Kit to find out what's there. Now we know the answer. 

After check out, Cicilia moved to another hotel in Bukit Bintang as she is staying for another night before heading to Ipoh. As for Taty and I, we went to KLIA via KL Sentral. We had Uncle Roger's Fried Rice because I had to review it for Fried Rice Mania. Surianto joined us there and we eventually flew back to Singapore.

Uncle Roger's Egg Fried Rice.

Liburan Ke Seremban 

Saya rasa bisa dikatakan bahwa liburan ke Seremban mulai dicetuskan di akhir liburan ke Pontian di bulan Agustus 2024. Saat itu kita berada di Johor Bahru City Square dan saya menemukan kartu pos Negeri Sembilan. Saya lalu berkata pada Surianto, "wah, sepertinya kita harus ke Seremban sekarang."

Jadi rencana pun digarap. Setahu saya, rasanya tidak ada kenalan yang pernah ke Seremban untuk berlibur. Setelah saya cek dengan AI, sepertinya tempat wisata dan makanan Seremban hanya bisa menarik perhatian kita selama setengah hari. Tapi di satu sisi, Kota Kemuning tidaklah jauh dari Seremban. 

Kartu pos yang memicu liburan ke Seremban.
Foto oleh Linda.

Jadi inilah alasannya kenapa perjalanan dimulai dengan bis. Kita punya banyak waktu untuk menempuh perjalanan darat karena tak banyak yang bisa dilihat di Seremban. Setelah itu kita bisa sarapan pagi dengan Wiwi. Beberapa bulan kemudian, saya menyadari bahwa telah dibuka Rock Shop di Genting, jadi kita bisa ke sana juga. Setelah bermalam di KL, kita bisa pulang keesokan harinya dengan pesawat. Liburan kali ini akan dipadati dengan kebersamaan dan petualangan! 

Sejak itu, dan terutama setelah kepulangan saya dari India, nama Seremban dikumandangkan terus-menerus di grup SMA, biasanya oleh saya atau Jimmy. Bilamana saya yang berkoar-koar, ya karena saya suka berjalan-jalan dan berkumpul. Kalau Jimmy yang mengajak, biasanya cenderung karena olok-olok. Tapi keisengannya bisa dimengerti. Hanya yang sepaham dalam hal jalan-jalan dan kebersamaan yang akan pergi ke tempat yang bukan destinasi turis. 

Saat keberangkatan, foto ala Ghibli.

Pada akhirnya, hanya beberapa anggota lama yang sudah percaya dengan Robinson Travel yang turut serta. Surianto, Cicilia dan Taty, para anggota yang sudah turut serta dari sejak liburan ke Jepang, bersama-sama naik bis di Golden Mile Tower. Pergilah kita ke Seremban. 5,5 jam kemudian, kita turun di seberang Terminal 1. Akhirnya kita tiba! 

Pertama-tama, kita ke hotel dulu, lalu menuju ke Quinn (Seremban Beef Noodles) untuk makan siang menjelang malam. Jika penampilan bisa mengecoh, maka tempat makan ini adalah salah satunya. Mie sapinya lembut dan lezat. Benar-benar sesuai selera saya. Sebagai perbandingan, Hock Lam Beef di Singapura memang enak, namun yang ini jauh lebih lezat! 

Mie sapi Seremban.

Hujan turun sebelum dan sesudah kita bersantap, jadi kita pun berteduh di Palm Mall. Tidak ada yang istimewa di sini, jadi kita pun memanggil Grab dan melaju ke Empayar Seremban Siew Paw untuk berbelanja sejenak di sini, lalu lanjut lagi ke Haji Shariff Cendol. Akan tetapi kedai cendol ini tutup lebih awal, jadi kita berjalan ke Lorong Seni Seremban. 

Setelah menyeberang jalan dengan gaya Abbey Road, kita memasuki Lorong Seni. Kawasan ini memiliki banyak mural dan konsepnya mirip seperti yang bisa kita temukan di Chinatown Singapura. Ujung lorong ini mengarah ke Dataran Seremban yang memiliki tulisan SEREMBAN N9 di lapangan rumput. Dari sana, kita berjalan ke Taman Tasik Seremban yang bersebelahan dengan hotel kita. Malam tersebut pun berakhir dengan makan malam di TC Keong. 

Mengunjungi Taman Tasik Seremban.
Foto oleh Angela Baby.

Setelah itu, boleh dikatakan Seremban pun usai. Keesokan paginya, kita naik Grab ke Kota Kemuning. Setelah kunjungan singkat ke rumah Wiwi, kita sarapan pagi di Samy and Min Bak Kut Teh. Makanannya mantap, terutama bak kut kering. Setelah itu, suami Wiwi mengusulkan agar Wiwi turut ikut ke Genting. 

Lantas mulailah perjalanan ke puncak gunung. Saya berasumsi bahwa Rock Shop berada di kompleks yang sama, tapi ternyata lokasinya di hotel baru yang berjarak sekitar 15 menit jauhnya. Karena sudah terlanjur berada di situ, kita eksplorasi sejenak dan Surianto yang pertama kali mencoba peruntungan di kasino pun menang beberapa ratus ringgit. Setelah itu barulah kita pergi ke Rock Shop paling mungil yang pernah saya lihat sejauh ini. 

Di Genting. Tak jauh dari Rock Shop.

Ketika kita turun, kita mampir di Premium Outlet. Karena bukan orang yang suka berbelanja, saya icip-icip makanan dan minuman yang manis di Coffee Bean. Setelah mereka usai melihat-lihat dan berbelanja, kita lantas kembali ke kota dan menuju hotel. 

Untuk makan malam, kita mengunjungi Jalan Alor. Wiwi tidak berkutik di KL karena dia tidak paham transportasi umum dan Bukit Bintang. Bukannya jadi pemandu, dia akhirnya malah jadi turis bersama kita, haha. Makanan di Cu Cha Restaurant lumayan rasanya. Sedap rasanya bisa sedot-sedot kerang tengkuyung lagi. 

Jalan Alor.
Foto oleh Angela Baby.

Sesudah makan, kita sempat bergabung dalam keramaian dan menikmati suasana di Jalan Alor. Takjub juga dengan ramainya wisatawan yang berlalu-lalang! Kita berbalik arah setelah sampai di ujung jalan, lalu menuju ke mobil Wiwi. Suaminya membeli durian Musang King untuk teman-teman. Saya sendiri refleks menjauh karena raja buah atau bukan, baunya tetap sebusuk yang saya ingat sejak berumur tiga tahun. Satu gelas teh c akhirnya mengakhir malam dan juga kecemasan Wiwi yang tidak ingin dikenang sebagai tuan rumah yang gagal menyediakan teh c. 

Keesokan paginya, Surianto pergi ke Gua Batu, tapi dia lupa sesuatu dan terus membunyikan bel pintu sampai saya terbangun. Beberapa jam kemudian, kita berjalan menyusuri Bazaar Baru Chow Kit yang nyaris tidak ada ada aktivitas. Berhubung hari tersebut adalah hari pertama Lebaran, hampir semua kios tutup.  

Di Bazaar Baru Chow Kit. 

Setelah saya amati, saya ingat apa yang dikatakan Wiwi di malam sebelumnya, sewaktu kita berjalan menuju stasiun monorel. Kawasan ini memiliki populasi muslim Indonesia yang sangat besar, makanya ada banyak makanan Nusantara seperti nasi Padang dan ayam penyet. Saya jadi teringat saat saya dan Surianto memutuskan untuk tinggal di Chow Kit karena ingin mencari tahu tentang kawasan yang masih asing bagi kita ini. Sekarang kita tahu jawabannya. 

Setelah keluar dari hotel, Cicilia pindah ke hotel lain di Bukit Bintang karena dia masih bermalam lagi di KL sebelum berangkat ke Ipoh. Taty dan saya lanjut ke KLIA lewat KL Sentral. Kita sempat menyantap Nasi Goreng Paman Roger karena saya ingin mengulasnya di laman FB Fried Rice Mania. Surianto yang sudah tiba di bandara juga memesan satu porsi. Pada akhirnya kita pun terbang pulang ke Singapura... 

Nasi Goreng Telur Paman Roger.

Life Story

One of the questions that is frequently asked by my friend Bernard is this: "what is the meaning of life?" From time to time, when I was in the mood, I'd tell him that, "we're here to make a dent in this world!" But to be frank, I don't think I know the answer to the question. 

Eight years and counting. Year nine now!

However, I learnt this one thing from doing Roadblog101.com for the past eight years: life is a story you want to write about. Yes, it's never about a series of mundane activities that you do on autopilot mode everyday. No, not that. Life has much to do with things that piqued your interest, so much so that you voluntarily put effort into it.

Listening is never as easy as it looks!

Life happens when you are the husband that listens to your wife enthusiastically. So not one that merely mumbles, "oh? Hmm. I see. Okay," or any one-liner that comes out of your mouth. I can vouch for this because that automatic response sometimes happened to me, too, haha.

She's growing up now!

Life happens when you realize that your daughter, that baby you carried dearly years ago, is now a teenager that is independent enough to commute on her own. Life happens when you went out with the other one, only to notice something that suddenly brought out your fatherly instinct to check and ensure that she was fine. 

With the staff in office.

Life happens when you are in office, planning and doing things not only because you are paid to do so, but also because you are passionate about your work and want to see it happen your way. If you work from 9 to 6 and you take half an hour to rise above the daily routines to make a difference, that half an hour is when life happens. 

Traveling! The thing I want to do, see and experience!

And finally, life happens when you have a vision of how you are going to live your life. Exciting stuff you want to do, things you want to see and experience while you are alive. Life is never about how long you live, especially if you live just to do nothing. No, that is just sad. Plainly sad.

So life happens when it inspires you. And you think it probably will inspire others, too. That moment, that achievement, even that failure that you sincerely hope won't be repeated by others. That kind of life is so worth living that I had been writing about it throughout the entire lifetime of Roadblog101.com. I may not know the meaning of life, but looking back, I surely know how to give a meaning to it...

Cerita Kehidupan 

Satu pertanyaan yang sering diulang oleh teman saya Bernard adalah, "apa sesungguhnya arti hidup ini?" Kadang selagi iseng, saya suka jawab seperti ini: "kita di sini untuk membuat perubahan di dunia ini." Kendati begitu, sejujurnya saya tidak tahu jawaban dari pertanyaannya itu. 

Sudah delapan tahun. Sekarang tahun ke-sembilan!

Meskipun demikian, saya belajar satu dari pengalaman saya dalam mengerjakan Roadblog101.com selama delapan tahun terakhir: hidup adalah sebuah cerita yang ingin anda tulis. Ya, hidup bukanlah rangkaian rutinitas yang sudah anda kerjakan sampai hafal setiap hari. Bukan, hidup bukan tentang itu. Anda hidup karena hal-hal yang memicu minat anda, yang menyebabkan anda mengerjakannya dengan sepenuh hati. 

Mendengarkan tidaklah segampang foto ini!

Hidup terjadi ketika anda adalah seorang suami yang mendengarkan istri anda dengan antusias. Jadi bukan hanya jawaban singkat seperti, "oh? Hmm. Ternyata begitu. Baiklah," dan lainnya yang terlontar dari mulut anda. Saya bisa menyokong pendapat ini karena respon otomatis seperti ini juga terkadang terjadi pada saya, haha. 

Setiap hari bertambah dewasa...

Hidup terjadi ketika anda menyadari bahwa putri anda, bayi yang anda gendong bertahun-tahun silam, kini sudah menjadi remaja yang mandiri dan bisa bepergian sendiri. Hidup terjadi ketika anda bepergian dengan putri yang satunya lagi dan menyadari sesuatu yang membuat anda secara naluriah menjadi seorang ayah yang memeriksa dan memastikan bahwa dia baik-baik saja. 

Bersama staff di kantor.

Hidup terjadi ketika anda berada di kantor, merencanakan dan melaksanakan berbagai inisiatif bukan saja karena anda digaji, tapi juga karena anda menyukai pekerjaan anda dan ingin mewujudkan ide anda. Jika anda bekerja dari jam 9 sampai jam 6 dan anda menyempatkan setengah jam saja untuk mengeksekusi ide anda, maka setengah jam itulah masa ketika hidup terjadi. 

Jalan-jalan! Sesuatu yang ingin saya kerjakan, lihat dan alami!

Dan akhirnya hidup terjadi ketika anda memiliki visi bagaimana anda ingin menjalani hidup anda. Misalnya hal apa yang menarik dan ingin anda kerjakan, apa yang ingin anda lihat dan alami selama anda masih hidup. Jadi hidup bukanlah tentang berapa panjang umur anda, terutama bila anda hanya hidup tapi begitu-begitu saja. Itu menyedihkan. Sangat menyedihkan. 

Jadi hidup terjadi ketika hidup itu sendiri menginspirasi anda. Dan anda jadi berpikir bahwa hal yang sama mungkin akan membuat yang lain terinspirasi juga. Kenangan, prestasi atau bahkan kegagalan yang anda harap tidak terulang lagi oleh mereka yang anda kenal. Hidup seperti ini sungguh layak, sampai-sampai saya sudah menuliskannya sepanjang usia Roadblog101.com yang kini sudah memasuki tahun ke-sembilan. Ya, saya mungkin tidak tahu arti dari hidup ini, tapi saya tahu bagaimana membuat hidup ini menjadi lebih berarti... 

A Father's Thought

Becoming a father is one of those life experiences you can never fully prepare for. No matter how much I tried to get ready, I had no real idea of what I was stepping into. The moment my daughters were born, I felt a mixture of awe and fear. Holding them for the first time felt like witnessing a miracle—here was life itself, entrusted to me. But along with that miracle came an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I knew from the start that I wouldn’t be able to be with them 24/7, and that thought haunted me. Questions swirled in my mind: will I be a good dad? Can I work as a team with their mum to raise them well? What will my daughters be like as they grow through the phases of their lives? The road ahead seemed long and uncertain, but one thing was clear—I was committed to never giving up on them. 

Having three daughters has been both a blessing and a challenge, but it’s also been the most rewarding experience of my life. All babies are born innocent, trusting the people closest to them completely. My daughters were no different—they were curious, pure, and full of joy. They listened (most of the time) to what we told them, even when it was something silly. Their smiles and laughter were genuine, lighting up every corner of our home. Of course, parenting wasn’t always smooth sailing. There were tantrums, stubborn moments, and times when their manners tested my patience. But even in those moments, they reminded me of the beauty of being their father—the good and bad, happy and sad, all woven together into this incredible journey. 

Daughter No. 1

From the very beginning, I saw her as cheerful, quick to learn, yet shy. As she started school, her personality became more defined—she was quiet, less confident than I had hoped, and preferred writing her feelings down instead of speaking about them. There was even a phase where we had this inexplicable distance between us; she just refused to confide in me. That was hard for me as her dad because all I wanted was to understand her better.

Things have changed over time. Today, she has friends, she does okay in her studies, and we’ve grown closer again. Some moments with her will stay with me forever—like when she held both my hand and her mum’s during an afternoon walk or when she wrote me a letter saying she understood why I wasn’t always around when she was little. She even asked me once to write her encouragement notes—a request that I never thought of. 

Now at 13 years old, she’s developing into her own person. She’s into her phone quite a bit but also enjoys jazz music (Laufey and Wave to Earth are some of her favorites). She loves making paper crafts, has cultivated her own unique fashion sense, and spends money wisely for someone her age. She’s incredibly health-conscious. Who at age 13 eats yogurt with chia seeds for breakfast and avoiding snacks like French fries! She dreams of becoming a psychologist one day. I also thought she has areas where she’s still growing—she can be complacent at times and often thinks she’s always right. Taking feedback isn’t easy for her yet, but I know she’ll get there in time. 

Daughter No. 2 

My second daughter was adorably chubby as a baby—so much. But there are some unfortunate event too - a one point we had to have all her teeth extracted out! She used to sing Kasih Ibu so sweetly that it would melt anyone’s heart. Some of her memorable birthday - Her love for Snorlax (her giant soft toy) brought so much joy, pulling money out of birthday cakes to loving Popmart Figurines—Joy and Pisces. 

Today as a 12-year-old, she still has that chubby charm. She has excellent English skills who can hold her ground in an argument! She listens closely to her mum but doesn’t have the highest tolerance level—she gets scared of ghosts sometimes and easily annoyed when disturbed. Touch is definitely not her love language—she values space more than anything else. She has specific tastes: she loves dark chocolate, waffles, and desserts that aren’t too sweet; sometimes we catch her smiling to herself while watching dessert-making videos online. She is the one that always taste my alcoholic drink; beer, tonic gin, baileys, soju, makgeolli.

She's incredibly disciplined; every morning without fail, she leaves for school at the exact same time. Her interests include Korean movies, science fiction novels, and drawing. She dreams of working in forensic science someday. 

Daughter No. 3

My youngest daughter has always been the cheeky one in the family! As a baby, she was adorably chubby—but one day that chubbiness just disappeared as she grew older. Being the youngest meant learning alot from her older sisters while also carving out her own identity. 

She loves trying new things—ballet and piano when she was younger; now it’s guitar lessons, rollerblading and the piano lessons that remain. But despite trying so many activities over the years, nothing seems to capture her heart completely yet. 

At 10 years old today, she’s our little spender who loves snacks like cheese-flavored treats or Daffa. But strange that she does not really like ice cream. She can be stubborn at times and sometimes ignorant—going silent whenever she’s upset or angry instead of expressing herself openly. Academically, she isn’t as disciplined as her sisters. And she was the only one who wanted friends over for her birthday party (10)! 

She’s also entrepreneurial in spirit—offering massages for a fee! While Roblox gaming keeps her hooked (sometimes too much), she also enjoys keeping streaks on Duolingo for fun language learning. And yes—she still sleeps with us at night. Oh, she is definitely not a morning person. She sometimes will crave for food before going to sleep.

Now, back what I said earlier, as a father, what I think I can do right now is not to give up on them but to continue guiding them throughout—even if they don’t always agree with me now or understand my intentions fully yet. 

My biggest fear is seeing them stray away from their values or losing sight of what truly matters in life. In today’s world where information is everywhere—some good but others are often misleading—I hope they learn to use it wisely.

More than anything else, I want them to stand up for themselves, able to make decisions and never forgetting the importance of family. I also need them to know that life is full of ups and downs and when something bad happens, you learn from it and stand up again. My hope is that no matter where life takes them or how far apart we may be someday—they will always carry with them the love and lessons we’ve shared as a family. Things will still change and let's embrace changes for the better.