The Unforgettable New Zealand (Part 2): From Queenstown To Lake Wanaka

We arrived in Queenstown when the sun went down. The bus dropped us at our hotel, Mantra Marina. We just realised that the hotel location was actually in Frankton, a 20-minute drive from Queenstown. Luckily the bus stop was very near to the hotel, so we did not have any difficulty to go to Queenstown. The one bed room apartment was very nice and clean but the most wonderful thing of all was the view behind our hotel. When we woke up the next morning and opened the glass door behind our room,  we said, "wow!!"

The Remarkable Mountain. 

                                     

Lake Wakatipu.

                                       

Mantra Marina, our hotel.  

It was a bright sunny day. The combination of the clear blue sky, snowy Remarkable Mountain, serene blue lake and green grass created a breathtaking view. We couldn't get enough of it. After spending a couple of minutes just to sit down, take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery, we started taking a lot of pictures. New Zealand is indeed "a heaven for nature lover" and Queenstown is one of the most beautiful towns in New Zealand.

Located in the shore of crystal clear Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by majestic Southern Alps mountains, Queenstown is really stunning. No wonder it becomes the world's famous destination and a must-visit place if you come to New Zealand. Queenstown also offers a wide variety of outdoor activities such as kayaking, hiking, biking, skiing, scenic flights and more adventurous activities that'll pump your adrenaline like skydiving, bungee jumping and jet boating. Both of us were not adventurous enough to try skydiving or bungee jumping. Just the thought of it already made my knees shaking. We walked around the city instead.

Queenstown, just like Kuta in Bali, is a tourist city. The city is small but vibrant. We found a lot of tourists from many countries even though it was not a peak season. We explored the city on foot, bought our lunch at one of the cafes and then booked a scenic flight trip to Remarkable Mountain and a day trip to Milford Sound for the following day.

Queenstown.

That afternoon we took the helicopter flight and flew from Queenstown to Remarkable Mountain range. As we flew higher we saw an incredible panoramic view of Queenstown landscape and the blue water of Lake Wakatipu surrounded by snowy Southern Alps. It was amazing! One of the most beautiful views I'd ever seen in my life. The helicopter landed in the mountaintop to give us opportunity to take picture. Only five minutes were given and we tried to take pictures as many as possible amidst the blowing wind from the spinning propeller!

The Remarkable Mountain, really remarkable! 

Queenstown viewed from above.

We took the shorter flight due to limited budget. It was only 20 minutes in total, including 5 minutes landing time. If you have more budget, it will be more satisfying to take longer flight such as the 30-minute Cecil Peak Snow Landing, the 50-minute Glacier Landing Flight or the 90-minute Milford & Alps flight. The last one sounds amazing, don't you think so? Can you imagine flying over the fjord, waterfalls, mountain and lake? It'll be awesome!

We spent the rest of the day beside Lake Wakatipu. Taking pictures, watching the ducks and seagulls and enjoying the scenery. We also walked around the garden beside the lake and saw many pretty flowers blooming. The atmosphere was so peaceful. I wished to stay as long as possible but slowly the sun went down and the weather was getting colder, so we went back to our hotel. 

Me and my best friend playing at the lakeside.

The shore of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.

The next day early morning we received the call from our tour agent. The trip to Milford Sound was cancelled because the road was closed due to heavy snow last night. We were very disappointed. Milford Sound was one of our main agendas. We definitely didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the famous fjord, waterfalls and glacier. But what could we do? My best friend put her hand on my shoulder and said, "it's ok. Perhaps it means we have to visit NZ again later in the future." Yeah, I think she was right. I want to go back to this country at least once again in my lifetime and show my beloved family the most beautiful place on earth. Moving from one place to another place with caravan will be a great experience for us.

We finally visited Arrowtown as the replacement itinerary. Arrowtown is a historic gold mining town, rich in heritage and is now one of tourist destinations with world class food and beverage, shopping and attraction. We took a public bus from Queenstown and reached Arrowtown 20 minutes later. The first place we visited was the Lake District Museum. We learnt that back then in the mid to late 1800s, thousand of miners came to the Arrow river to find the gold. We saw the gold mining's tools and artefacts and some pictures that showed the chronicle of this historical city. Despite the small size, the museum was complete and attractive.  

We strolled along the Arrowtown main road and had our lunch in one of the restaurants. We bought a delicious fish and chips before we continued our sightseeing. There were post office, boutiques, art studio, cafe, restaurant and bar along the road. In one of the corner, we found this pretty house that also happened to be a restaurant.

A pretty restaurant in Arrowtown.

                                         

Lake District Museum & Gallery.

Arrowtown is renowned for its stunning autumn colour with red and orange colours on the hillside and the surrounding. But when we were there, we didn't see it. Perhaps it was not the season. We spent few more hours for sightseeing in Arrowtown before heading back to Queenstown. If you stay in Arrow town, you can go for hiking and biking to enjoy the scenery. 

We said goodbye to Queenstown on the next day. We continued our journey to West Coast by car. We were so excited. Travelling in our own (rented) vehicle was the best way to explore New Zealand. We could stop anytime and anywhere we wanted to. We rent a car from Apex car rental in Queenstown and returned the car in Hokitika before we continued our journey by train. Very practical. My friend and me took turn in driving, since both of us drove in Jakarta. Driving in New Zealand was much easier than driving in Jakarta's congested roads. The road in New Zealand was so empty. The only problem was we weren't familiar with the direction, but GPS was a great help! 

Basically there are two driving routes from Queenstown to Wanaka; via Crown Range Road and via Cromwell. The shortest and more scenic route is via Crown Range Road but it is also more challenging because it goes to a steep and windy route that climbs up to Crown Range Mountains. We chose the safer route, via Cromwell, where we passed by vineyards and lakes. We frequently stopped along the way to enjoy the scenery and took pictures. After two hours of driving plus stopover, we finally reached Lake Wanaka, a beautiful village with the alpine backdrop of Mount Aspiring National Park, but we'll save that for the next episode: Lake Wanaka and the journey to the West. Stay tuned! 

Lake Hawea.

Lake Wanaka.

The Home-Cooked Food

For those husbands out there, do you remember those days when you weren't married and you got to decide what to have for your dinner? You could pamper yourself with all sorts of food. You even got the luxury of time and went for supper with friends. Wasn't that fun?

Well, yes and no. For me, there were nights when I was wondering what to eat. There'd be times when I walked from one end to another at the hawker centre, browsing the food stalls, and still I had no idea what I was going to have. I don't know if you'll believe it or not, but I'm actually glad that period of my life is over.

My friend Susanti from Ketapang always said that her husband loves eating at home. I have the same habit, too. Home-cooked food is one of the best things in marriage life. I'd been living alone long enough that I reached the point where buying your own dinner wasn't fun anymore. On the other hand, coming home to find a freshly prepared dinner served on our dining table was a very rejuvenating experience. It's like being rewarded after a long day at work. I feel loved, really.

That colorful home-cooked dinner!

I remember another friend, Wiwi, who always asked for a suggestion about what to cook for the day. In hindsight, it's like we husbands are outsourcing to the wives the headache of deciding what to eat, haha. That's the reason why I never complained about the food at home, regardless how simple it was. On top of that, my wife is a good cook and she knows what I love, so I'm good.

It does help that I'm not a picky eater, too, because it could be a problem due to a very different background of ours. I was brought up by a Mum that always cooked soup and poured it to the rice, but my wife is fond of fried stuff and thanks to her years of growing up with Sundanese food, she's capable of having her meal dry and spicy. But we've learnt to compromise throughout out the years that we're together. I grow to like the fritters, too. Then how's our dinner like? There'll be fried stuff such as perkedel, fried stuffed tofu or fried chicken, then some other dishes that are not entirely dry, like fried kangkong.

Fried kangkong!

By the way, while we're at it, kangkong is my favorite vegetable. Not only it tastes good, but it's also one of the meals that is as cheap as it can be when it is cooked at home (it'll cost you easily SGD 7 per plate outside). My wife sure knows how I like it the most, so a splendid time is guaranteed for all! And, oh, I'm not kidding when I said my wife is the best cook for our family. For every few days of decent looking dishes such as fried bean sprout with tofu, there'll be one day of extravaganza such as soto and other Indonesian cuisines, too! We even got our friend Fendy to join in the feast as well, albeit once in a blue moon, haha.

So how should I end this? Ah, blessed are the wives that cook, for their husbands will have another good reason to be home early. In a fast-paced modern life that is full of distractions (and I'm a BlackBerry addict, guilty as charged), a good dinner time is scarce and therefore greatly appreciated!

Chicken soto. Delicious!

Masakan Di Rumah

Para suami, masih ingatkah kalian dengan masa-masa sebelum menikah dan makan di luar setiap malam? Di kala itu, kita bisa memanjakan diri dengan beraneka makanan yang kita sukai. Kita bahkan punya waktu untuk makan sekali lagi bersama teman-teman saat menjelang tengah malam. Tidakkah itu mengasyikkan? 

Hmm, jawabannya ya dan tidak. Terkadang ada malam dimana saya membayangkan apa yang musti saya makan. Tidak jarang pula saya mondar-mandir di pujasera, berjalan dari satu kios ke kios lain, namun tetap saja tidak memiliki ide untuk santap malam. Saya tidak tahu apakah anda percaya atau tidak, tapi saya sesungguh bahwa masa-masa itu sudah berakhir. 

Teman saya Susanti yang tinggal di Ketapang senantiasa berkata bahwa suaminya suka makan di rumah. Saya percaya dengan pernyataannya, sebab saya pun begitu. Masakan rumah adalah salah satu berkah bagi mereka yang sudah menikah. Saya sudah bertahun-tahun lamanya tinggal sendiri, mulai dari sejak di Jakarta sampai Singapura, dan saya sudah sampai pada ambang batas dimana membeli makan malam sendiri tidak lagi mengasyikkan. Perasaan saat pulang ke rumah dan menemukan masakan yang masih hangat tersaji di meja sangatlah berharga dan menyejukkan hati. Jerih-payah selama di kantor rasanya sepadan dan tidak sia-sia. Secara pribadi, saya merasa disayangi karena telah disediakan masakan oleh istri.

Gorengan: tahu isi dan perkedel.

Saya ingat dengan teman lain yang bernama Wiwi. Dia sering meminta saran, apa yang harus ia masak hari ini. Kalau saya telaah kembali, para suami tak ubahnya seperti menyerahkan persoalan pelik yang diembannya saat bujangan kepada istri, haha. Inilah alasannya kenapa saya tidak pernah mengeluh tentang masakan di rumah, meskipun kadang hanya sesederhana telur dan sayur. Istri saya pintar memasak dan dia tahu apa yang saya sukai, jadi tidak pernah masalah bagi saya. 

Di satu sisi, saya juga tidak rewal soal makanan. Kalau saja saya pemilih, kita bisa menghadapi masalah besar karena bedanya latar belakang kita. Saya dibesarkan oleh seorang Ibu yang selalu memasak sup dan mencampurkannya dengan nasi, sedangkan istri saya menyukai gorengan dan karena dia tumbuh dalam lingkungan Sunda, dia terbiasa dengan makanan yang kering dan pedas. Setelah bertahun-tahun bersama, saya rasa kita menyesuaikan diri dengan baik. Saya juga menyukai gorengan sekarang dan makan malam kita biasanya terdiri dari perkedel, tahu isi goreng atau ayam goreng dan juga menu yang agak basah seperti tumis kangkung.

Tumis toge dan tahu.

Oh ya, bicara tentang sayur yang satu ini, saya paling menyukai kangkung. Bukan saja enak rasanya, tetapi juga murah meriah jikalau dimasak di rumah (kalau makan di luar, sepiring kangkung harganya berkisar Rp. 70.000). Dan saya tidak sedang bercanda sewaktu saya berkata bahwa istri saya pintar memasak. Setelah beberapa hari menyajikan menu sederhana seperti tumis toge dan tahu, biasanya ada selingan istimewa seperti soto dan makanan Indonesia lainnya! Kita bahkan beberapa kali menjamu teman kita Fendy, pencinta masakan Indonesia, walaupun sudah cukup lama kita tidak mengundangnya, haha. 

Jadi bagaimana saya harus mengakhiri tulisan ini? Ah, berbahagialah para ibu yang memasak, sebab suami mereka memiliki satu alasan lagi untuk pulang ke rumah lebih awal. Di dalam kehidupan di negara maju yang cepat dan penuh dengan godaan (perlu saya akui bahwa saya adalah pecandu BlackBerry yang susah untuk berhenti mengecek telepon), waktu makan malam adalah kesempatan langka yang paling saya nikmati!

The Check-In App

Have you ever heard of an app called Swarm? It was previously called Foursquare before it became a separate app by itself. I first noticed it when I saw the icon on my BlackBerry few years ago. It came pre-installed, so I gave it a try. Apparently it was an app for us to check-in. 

Swarm on Android!

I wasn't sure what to with it, but when I did my first check-in, I noticed that I could earn coins. Further observation showed that my friend Chee Seng was also using the same app. He was very active in checking in and at the beginning, he was always on top of the leaderboard. I suddenly felt competitive and had been checking in since then! That's how I got into this. I soon learnt that I could earn more coins by adding photos and stickers as well as tagging other friends (usually my wife, since she joined the app just to see the pictures I posted when we were in Paris) and sharing the post on Facebook.

The leaderboard! I'm leading this week! 

Apart from that, multiple check-ins that we did at one place might also dethrone somebody else whom happened to be the so-called Mayor of the place. As an example, there's an eatery called That Coffee Place nearby my house. I dethroned another app user after my 21st check-in and I've been the undisputed Mayor of That Coffee Place since then, haha.

The day I became the Mayor at That Coffee Place!

I started checking in since July 2014 and, as human is a creature of habits, I eventually developed a check-in pattern. More often than not, the check-in was about food, therefore it came with a photo and the name of the food. Now this is where Swarm gets useful. It can be used as a catalogue of places that I'd been before. I can always refer to Swarm for details such as what the name of the place is, including its address. For instance, there's  this Chinese restaurant that I always like, but I had hard time remembering the name. However, I know where it's roughly located, so what I have to do is to browse it on the map and I can find it straightaway!

That restaurant that I can't remember!

Lastly, I also like Swarm for a sentimental reason. I am lucky that I've been travelling quite a fair bit and, since I discovered Swarm, the app has helped me in recording my journey: the date, the place and the photo. All the check-ins were lined up nicely on map, giving me a better perspective of places I'd been. I can see the check-ins on the world map and zoom into particular details if required. Love this feature, really!

The check-ins all around the world!

Aplikasi Check-In

Apakah anda pernah mendengar tentang aplikasi bernama Swarm? Sebelum dipisah menjadi aplikasi sendiri, dulu namanya Foursquare. Saya pertama melihatnya di BlackBerry saya beberapa tahun lalu. Aplikasi ini sudah terpasang di telepon dan siap dipakai, jadi saya pun mencobanya. Ternyata ini adalah sebuah aplikasi untuk check-in lokasi. 

Swarm alias Foursquare di BlackBerry Passport. 

Awalnya saya tidak tahu apa gunanya, namun saya perhatikan bahwa setiap kali check-in ada hadiah koin. Setelah saya amati lebih lanjut, teman saya Chee Seng juga menggunakan aplikasi ini. Dia sangat aktif check-in dan berada di posisi nomor satu dalam pengumpulan koin. Saya lantas tergerak untuk berkompetisi dengannya dan kebiasaan ini berlanjut sampai sekarang! Saya juga menemukan bahwa saya bisa mendapatkan lebih banyak koin lagi dalam sekali check-in dengan cara menambahkan foto dan stiker serta menandai keikutsertaan teman lain (biasanya istri saya, sejak dia menggunakan aplikasi ini untuk melihat foto-foto yang saya pos sewaktu kita berada di Paris) dan membagikannya lewat Facebook. 

Check-in pertama, nasi bebek di Bugis, 18 Juli 2014!

Selain itu, check-in berulang kali di tempat yang sama mungkin menurunkan orang lain dari tahtanya sebagai walikota tempat tersebut. Sebagai contoh, di dekat rumah saya ada tempat makan bernama That Coffee Place. Saya berhasil mengambil alih tahta orang lain setelah saya check-in untuk ke-21 kalinya di sana dan sejak itu saya menjadi walikota That Coffee Place, haha.

Jadi walikota di That Coffee Place dan tempat lainnya!

Saya mulai check-in sejak bulan July 2014 dan lambat-laun memiliki pola check-in tersendiri. Karena saya sering check-in tentang makanan, biasanya terlampir sebuah foto dan nama makanan tersebut. Dari sinilah Swarm mulai terasa kegunaannya. Aplikasi ini bisa digunakan sebagai katalog dari tempat-tempat yang pernah saya kunjungi. Swarm menjadi rujukan saya bilamana saya ingin mencari tahu apa nama tempat tersebut dan alamatnya. Misalnya ada sebuah restoran Cina yang saya suka, tapi sukar diingat namanya. Karena saya tahu lokasinya di Chinatown, saya hanya perlu mencarinya di peta dan menemukan detil yang saya perlukan. 

Restoran berikut alamatnya! 

Terakhir, saya suka Swarm karena alasan sentimentil. Saya beruntung karena sudah pernah berkunjung ke beberapa negara dan, sejak saya menggunakan Swarm, saya bisa merekam jejak saya, mulai dari tanggal, tempat dan foto. Semua check-in yang pernah saya lakukan terdata rapi di peta, memberikan saya sebuah sudut pandang tentang tempat-tempat yang sudah saya kunjungi. Oh, saya suka aplikasi ini! 

Tempat-tempat check-in di Asia sejak 2014.

Hati-Hati

Sesuai dengan judulnya, tulisan ini saya tulis sesuai opini saya dan pengalaman krisis 1998 dan 2008 yang membuat sebagian orang Indo bangkrut dan kesulitan ekonomi. Sebaiknya pegang cash atau melakukan investasi yang likuiditas.

Berikut hal-hal yang menurut saya akan menyebabkan krisis:

1. Dengan dirilisnya laporan ekspor-impor oleh Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), per 3 bulan ini neraca perdagangan Indonesia mengalami defisit sebesar USD 1,6 miliar, jauh dari prediksi yang surplus USD 700.
2. Pelemahan rupiah terhadap sebagian besar mata uang dunia terutama USD yang mencapai 14 ribu.
3. Keluarnya dana asing di pasar modal Indonesia (karena laporan keuangan Amerika Serikat bagus dan investor lebih trust Amerika Serikat daripada indonesia.
4. Turunnya IHSG karena Asing melakukan pelepasan saham-saham di indonesia.
5. Defisit anggaran.
6. Aksi wait and see investor.
7. Subsidi BBM yang membengkak karena harga minyak dunia naik dan nilai tukar rupiah yang melemah.

Apa yang bisa kita lakukan, Bang?

1. Pegang cash, minimal bisa topang pengeluaran 3 bulanan.
2. Investasi ke sesuatu yang tinggi likuiditasnya (alias gampang dijadikan uang).
3. Belanja dan pakai produk lokal.
4. Kalau punya uang lebih, investasi ke pasar saham Indonesia (laporan perusahaan Indonesia rata-rata untung tetapi turun karena Asing melakukan aksi jual).
5. Berhemat pangkal kaya.
6. Jangan stres.

Tulisan ini merupakan opini pribadi dan saya cukup yakin dengan pemerintahan era Jokowi yang berkerja keras untuk mengurus negeri ini, tetapi mereka membutuhkan dukungan rakyat.

The Happy Hours

Drinking is never part of Pontianak's culture. At least it wasn't back then, when I was still living there. I was brought up with an understanding that drinking was closely associated with bad habits. I remember drinking only once there when I was in college. There was this cafeteria in front of Ligo Mitra supermarket and there I was, I think with Hartono and may be Ardian, too, sharing a bottle of Bintang beer. We drank it with ice and it was a horrible experience.

Many years later, when I came to Singapore, a friend of mine, Endrico, introduced me to Hoegaarden. The Belgian beer was good and I grew to like it. Sensing that he got another drinking buddy, Endrico started encouraging me to hang out with him and his fellow debt collectors in the pub. We went to this place called Addicted in Bugis and... that seemed to be the first and last time we ever went there, haha. I was new in town and I felt kind of guilty that I went drinking when the parting message from my parents advised me to do the exact opposite.

The Gratitude members + two guests.
From left: Jesslyn, Bernard, Isaac, Anthony, Jerold and Tony.

Then I joined a local broking firm and the job often ended with drinking, be it with customers, colleagues (including my best Singaporean friend, Bernard) and, later on, my boss (oh yeah, the man drank more often than having his dinner). I slowly learnt that drinking is part of the culture here, especially in the financial industry. Furthermore, it was actually quite fun and I enjoyed it.

Within our small circle, what was started as happy hours between me and Bernard was developed into a proper dinner and hang out. We called it Gratitude and more often than not, we would meet at the New Harbour Cafe, ordering appetisers such as Hainanese roast pork, beef cubes and escargots before we had the main dish. For the drinks, it was Erdinger for Bernard, Jerold and I while Isaac would be having Guinness. We took turn in hosting the event and it lasted seven years before we ended it recently.

The legendary Hainanese roast pork.

Now, before I explain why I like drinking as part of the hang out activity, I'll share with you the categories that I often use for the alcohols out there. First, there is beer, ranging from Bintang, Tiger, Heineken, Asahi, Budweiser, Kronenbourg 1664 and many more. Then there is wine, the white and the red. I dislike both as wine usually has aftertaste. The last time I had it with Eday, I woke up inside toilet after the bouncer banged the door during the closing time. The last one is hard liquor such as whisky. Some people like it neat, but I prefer it to be diluted with ice and soda, otherwise it'll be very hard to drink. Furthermore, if you have it too much, it may cause hangover when you wake up the next day.

From the description above, I guess you can tell that I love beer the most. It's refreshing from the moment you have the first sip. You'll feel rejuvenated after a long day at work, you'll feel refreshed in a hot and humid evening and you'll feel warm in a cold weather. With beer, it just works. But that's just the beginning. I also like the feeling of getting high when the alcohol kicks in. I always think that our brain has a way to restrain our thoughts, therefore I find alcohol very liberating. It's like you finally overcome the state of consciousness and think further than your brain will normally allow.

The last Gratitude.

In my case, I enjoy the dreamlike, nonsensical conversation. This is why drinking and hanging out with old friends come hand-in-hand. We could talk about everything under the sun. Some are purely for the sake of laughing out loud, others can actually be something that you'll be seriously thinking about on the following day.

Having said that, is drinking a good habit and is there anything that I don't like about drinking? I can't really say if it's good habit or good for health, but I think it's okay if you drink moderately. I don't drink everyday and I don't drink at home, but once in a while, I do drink after work. As for what I don't like about drinking, I don't enjoy bottoms up. That is taxing!

Being forced to "bottoms up" at Isaac's wedding.

Saat-Saat Gembira

Menikmati alkohol bukanlah bagian dari budaya Pontianak, paling tidak saat saya masih tinggal di sana. Saya dibesarkan dengan pengertian bahwa meminum minuman keras itu adalah sebuah kebiasaan buruk. Saya ingat bahwa saya pernah mencoba satu kali, sewaktu saya duduk di bangku kuliah. Ada sebuah kafetaria di depan supermarket Ligo Mitra dan di sanalah saya, Hartono dan Ardian berbagi sebotol Bir Bintang. Kita minum dengan gelas yang dipenuhi es batu. Sungguh suatu pengalaman yang buruk karena tidak nikmat rasanya!

Beberapa tahun kemudian, ketika saya datang ke Singapura, teman saya Endrico memperkenalkan saya pada Hoegaarden. Bir dari Belgia ini terasa mantap dan saya pun mulai menyukainya. Akan halnya Endrico, dia merasa memiliki teman baru untuk menikmati alkohol, jadi dia mulai mengajak saya untuk turut bergabung bersama rekan-rekan kantornya untuk minum di pub. Suatu ketika saya ikut dengannya ke sebuah tempat yang bernama Addicted (yang artinya kecanduan) di kawasan Bugis dan... sepertinya itu pertama dan terakhir kalinya kita ke sana, haha. Saat itu saya masih tergolong baru di Singapura dan ada perasaan bersalah ketika pergi minum, terutama karena salah satu pesan orang tua saya saat merestui saya ke Singapura adalah jauhilah alkohol.

Saat merayakan ulang tahun Ardian yang ke-36.
Dari kiri: Ardian, Rudy, Endrico dan Anthony.

Setelah itu, saya bergabung dengan sebuah perusahaan yang bergerak di bidang jual-beli kontrak derivatif dan seringkali pekerjaan saya berakhir dengan minum-minum bersama klien, rekan kerja (termasuk teman baik saya, Bernard) dan, beberapa waktu kemudian, direktur perusahaan saya (oh ya, bos yang satu ini lebih sering minum dibandingkan makan malam). Secara perlahan saya sadari bahwa menikmati minuman beralkohol adalah bagian dari kehidupan di Singapura, apalagi bagi mereka yang bergerak di bidang industri finansial. Di samping itu, saya sendiri cukup menikmatinya, jadi tidak ada alasan untuk menolak, haha. 

Di dalam lingkup pergaulan kantor, apa yang bermula dari kumpul-kumpul pada saat jam gembira (biasanya beli satu gratis satu gelas bir pada jam gembira ini) pun berkembang menjadi santap malam dan minum yang kemudian kita beri nama Gratitude. Biasanya kita mengadakan acara ini di New Harbour Cafe. Rutinitas ini dimulai dari hidangan pembuka seperti babi bakar Hainan, sapi kubus dan bekicot. Setelah itu barulah masing-masing memesan menu utama. Untuk minumnya, Bernard, saya dan Jerold akan menenggak Erdinger sementara Isaac memilih Guinness yang hitam pekat. Kita bergantian menjadi tuan rumah dari acara ini selama tujuh tahun lamanya sebelum kita sudahi baru-baru ini.

Menjelang Natal di Orchard.
Dari kiri: Rudy, Anthony, Heriyanto dan Endrico.

Oh ya, sebelum saya jelaskan mengapa saya menyukai keberadaan alkohol sebagai bagian dari acara kumpul bersama, saya akan coba jelaskan tipe-tipe alkohol berdasarkan kategori yang sering saya pakai. Pertama, ada yang namanya bir, contohnya Bintang, Tiger, Heineken, Asahi, Budweiser, Kronenbourg 1664 dan masih banyak lagi. Kemudian ada yang namanya anggur, baik yang merah maupun putih. Saya tidak suka anggur karena ada rasa yang tersisa di lidah setelah anggurnya diminum. Terakhir kali saya minum anggur bersama Eday bertahun-tahun silam, saya tertidur di toilet St. James dan baru terbangun setelah karyawannya menggedor-gedor pintu toilet setelah tempatnya tutup. Kategori ketiga adalah minuman keras seperti wiski. Ada yang suka meminumnya tanpa dicampur dengan apa pun, tapi saya lebih suka yang sudah dilarutkan dengan es batu dan soda sehingga tidak terlalu keras aromanya. Selain itu, minuman tipe terakhir ini seringkali menyebabkan pusing yang berkepanjangan pada keesokan harinya jika dikonsumsi secara berlebihan.

Dari deskripsi di atas, anda bisa menerka bahwa saya paling menyukai bir. Rasanya begitu menyegarkan! Cocok diminum setelah hari yang panjang dan melelahkan di kantor, cocok pula di malam yang panas dan juga di cuaca dingin. Pokoknya bir itu cocok untuk segala suasana. Selain itu, saya juga menyukai perasaan melayang-layang yang timbul setelah alkoholnya mulai bekerja. Saya selalu merasa bahwa otak kita seringkali mengekang pemikiran kita dan baru menjadi santai sesudah dibasuh dengan alkohol. Rasanya seperti terbebas dari belenggu kesadaran sehingga kita berpikir lebih jauh dari biasanya.

Menyambut kedatangan Parno di Brotzeit, restoran Jerman.
Dari kiri: Endrico, Anthony, Surianto, Parno dan Jimmy.

Saya senantiasa menyukai percakapan yang ringan dan jenaka. Karena inilah alkohol dan kumpul-kumpul bersama teman adalah pasangan yang serasi. Dengan alkohol, kita bisa berbicara apa saja berjam-jam lamanya. Beberapa topiknya mungkin hanya sekedar untuk bercanda dan tertawa, tapi tidak jarang pula ada topik yang akhirnya membuat anda berpikir serius pada keesokan harinya, sebab itu adalah sebuah ide baru yang tidak pernah anda pikirkan sebelumnya. 

Jika anda bertanya apakah konsumsi alkohol itu kebiasaan yang baik, saya tidak punya jawabannya, jadi kembali lagi ke diri anda sendiri. Yang bisa saya sarankan adalah minumlah secara moderat. Saya sendiri tidak minum setiap hari dan tidak pula minum di rumah. Paling juga sesekali setelah pulang kerja. Sebagai penutup, bila ada satu hal yang tidak saya sukai dari acara minum-minum, maka itu adalah tradisi minum sampai habis setelah bersulang. Rasanya seperti terlalu memaksakan diri. Minum itu harusnya santai!

Eday memulai gelas pertama.

Once Upon A Time In China 3

Now that Dad is not feeling well, I am glad that we had gone on holidays together in the past. Looking back, it's great that we have the memory of happier times. Dad and I went once to Japan, bonding as father and son while crisscrossing the country from Tokyo to Hiroshima. Together with Mum, we also went twice to China. The first trip was actually quite a mess and we were also a bit unprepared for the cold weather, but the laughter and togetherness kept us warm. Now here's the story of the second trip, when we visited Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai.

The vacation happened two years after the first one. As we were more experienced travellers than before, we were more adventurous this time. My parents flew from Kuching and I took off from Singapore to meet them at LCCT, the budget terminal in Kuala Lumpur at that time. We stayed one night in Bukit Bintang, exploring places nearby. We even managed to have an impromptu trip to Genting (where Mum won MYR 600 thanks to her beginner's luck). On the following day, we took the evening AirAsia X flight to Hangzhou.

When we were reaching the West Lake. 

We arrived around midnight. When the plane was descending, I could see that the whole area below us was pitch-black. A very unusual sight because cities normally light up at night! At the airport, I immediately got connected to WiFi only to figure out that Facebook didn't work. Then I remembered the great firewall of China and kissed my Facebook goodbye, haha.

Hangzhou revealed itself to us the next morning. It was quite a bustling city! We stayed at Huachen International Hotel and I found out that the famous West Lake was within a walking distance, so we had a stroll. While we were heading there, we stopped halfway at Kungfu (our favorite fast food restaurant in China) for breakfast. That's when we realised that the menu was not always the same. In fact, it was not as good and quite different than what we had in Guangzhou.

Mum and Dad at West Lake. 

Then, as we carried on walking, West Lake appeared right in front of us. It was a magnificent view. West Lake was so wide that it took us almost one whole day to explore. There were plenty of willow trees waving at us as the leaves were caressed by the wind. It was so inviting and relaxing that we could just sit there and look at the lake. This isn't something that I normally do, but it was just so peaceful that I couldn't help it.

While we were in Hangzhou, we went to Wushan Hill, too. We walked uphill, finding our way to the temple as the direction wasn't exactly clear. However, the temple was right on top, so all roads led to the temple, haha. The view was quite grand because we could see the city landscape. We took a picture that turned out to be the only family picture for the whole trip. Afterwards, we went all the way down and passed by Wushan Square where the street market was. It was meant to have the ancient vibe, but it was too commercialised, therefore it felt less authentic then it was supposed to be.

Posing at Wushan Hill. 

We also went to MixC, the biggest shopping centre in Hangzhou at that time. It was quite inconvenient to reach the mall because it was still very far from the nearest subway station. Apparently it was a high-end mall and not exactly fun for window shopping, therefore we ended up at the food court for early dinner. After going through all the troubles to get there, we took a cab on our way back. As I sat on the front seat, I regretted my choice immediately because the driver and the traffic were equally crazy!

Hangzhou was alright and West Lake was impressive, but in hindsight, we might have stayed too long there. As a result, we only spent one night in Suzhou, our next destination. We reached there around noon time and it didn't help that it was raining heavily the whole afternoon. As we couldn't go anywhere on our own, we took up the rickshaw ride offers. It was better than nothing, but not much to be seen either because the rickshaw was covered. We visited a factory where we had a chance to see how the silk clothes were made. The experience was jaw-dropping, really. Apparently it takes a lot of cocoons to die for one piece of silky garment!

The Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou. 

As the rain continued, we stopped at the museum and browsed the collection instead. The museum was not very far from the Humble Administrator's Garden, but due to the rain, we didn't go there and only had a visit the next day. And the garden would get you wondering why it had such a name, because it was so grand and there was nothing humble about it! The garden was so fantastic that it had a hut just for the owner to listen to the rhythm of the falling rain (such thing was considered as an entertainment back then).

I didn't think we got enough of Suzhou, but there wasn't enough time because right after the visit to the Humble Administrator's Garden, we boarded the train to Shanghai, the last leg of our trip. It was a short ride, only about half an hour. By the time we reached, it immediately felt different. Unlike the first two, Shanghai was a metropolis like Singapore, but a much bigger city! I loved the fact that I could see people from all around the world (including beautiful Russian girls).

The Bund, Shanghai. 

Pacific Hotel, the hotel we were staying at, was situated on the famous Nanjing Road. We passed by the crowded area and headed straight to the Bund, because when in Shanghai, that's what you do! It was like the landmark of all landmarks! Popularised by the movie Shanghai Grand, the Bund is so historical and so iconic that it's like a milestone for a Chinese to be there. I remember seeing how happy Mum and Dad were when they stood there.

The memory got hazy after that. Apart from the Bund, I actually don't recall other places we went in Shanghai. I remember taking the Big Bus tour for sightseeing and we stopped for a while in Pudong to admire the CBD area. We also walked quite a fair bit in Shanghai, in and out Nanjing Road, just like any other tourists. Then I remember some places far that we went, a garden and a mall, but can't remember the name, haha. Finally, after one last dinner at Kungfu in Shanghai Pudong International Airport, we flew back to KL.

One and a half month after Chinese New Year 2014, it was still pretty cold in China (though hotels in the cities that we visited had heaters in the rooms, unlike their Southern counterparts). But the memory about it was warm. I remember talking with Mum as we walked in Suzhou at night, asking her what the secret of her long and lasting marriage is. She told me that after all the ups and downs that she went through with Dad, loyalty was the key. Now I understand why the pictures of them together were always vibrant and heartwarming at the same time...

That smile they had in Hangzhou.

Suatu Ketika Di Negeri Cina 3

Mengingat kondisi Papa yang kurang sehat sekarang, saya bersyukur pernah berlibur bersamanya beberapa tahun silam. Setidaknya kita memiliki kenangan di saat-saat yang lebih gembira. Kita pernah bepergian bersama ke Jepang dalam rangka liburan ayah dan anak, berkelana bersama dari Tokyo sampai Hiroshima. Kita juga mengunjungi negeri Cina bersama Mama. Di kali pertama kita ke sana, saya melakukan berbagai kesalahan dalam perencanaan dan kita pun kedinginan karena dinginnya cuaca, tapi tawa dan kebersamaan membuat liburannya berkesan. Berikut ini adalah cerita tentang liburan ke Cina untuk kedua kalinya, di kala kita menjelajahi Hangzhou, Suzhou dan Shanghai.

Dua tahun setelah liburan pertama, kita kembali ke Cina. Karena kita sekarang lebih berpengalaman, kita pun berangkat secara terpisah ke Kuala Lumpur. Orang tua saya terbang dari Kuching dan saya berangkat dari Singapura untuk menemui mereka di LCCT, bandara rendah biaya dipakai oleh AirAsia pada saat itu. Kita menginap semalam di kawasan Bukit Bintang dan bahkan sempat berkunjung ke Genting (dimana Mama memenangkan MYR 600 ketika bermain rolet untuk pertama kalinya). Di hari berikutnya barulah kita terbang ke Hangzhou dengan menaiki AirAsia X.

Saat mampir ke Genting. 

Kita tiba di tengah malam. Ketika pesawat mulai turun dari ketinggian, daerah di sekitar bandara terlihat gelap-gulita. Suatu pemandangan yang aneh karena biasanya kota-kota menyala terang di malam hari. Setibanya di bandara, saya pun menghubungkan telepon genggam saya ke WiFi untuk mengecek Facebook, namun ternyata tidak bisa diakses. Saya langsung teringat dengan saktinya firewall di Cina yang tersohor, haha.

Hangzhou memperkenalkan diri pada kami di keesokan harinya. Kotanya sungguh ramai! Kita tinggal di Huachen International Hotel yang berada tidak jauh dari Xihu, danau sekaligus tempat wisata yang paling terkenal di Hangzhou. Kita pun berjalan kaki ke sana dan singgah sebentar di Kungfu (restoran favorit kita di Cina) untuk sarapan pagi. Saat itu baru saya sadari bahwa menu restoran ini tidak selalu sama. Yang di Guangzhou dulu lebih enak menunya. 

Mama yang terlihat ceria di Xihu. 

Setelah bersantap pagi dan melanjutkan perjalanan, Xihu pun terbentang di depan kita. Indahnya danau ini bukanlah sekedar propaganda pariwisata. Xihu begitu luas sehingga kita membutuhkan waktu hampir sehari penuh untuk mengitarinya. Ada banyak pohon dedalu yang melambai-lambai karena dibelai angin semilir. Suasananya terasa santai dan damai sehingga cocok untuk duduk dan menyaksikan tenangnya danau. Hal ini bukanlah sesuatu yang merupakan kebiasaan saya, tapi untuk sekali itu saya duduk dan menikmati keindahannya.

Saat berada di Hangzhou, kita juga mengunjungi Bukit Wushan. Kita berjalan menanjak menuju paviliun yang berada tepat di atas bukit. Dari situ kita melihat kota Hangzhou yang berada di bawahnya. Setelah itu kita turun dan melewati pertokoan di Lapangan Wushan. Tempat ini bertema Cina kuno, tapi karena terlalu komersial, kesannya jadi tidak otentik.

Selain itu, kita pun mampir ke MixC, pusat perbelanjaan terbesar di Hangzhou pada saat itu. Tempatnya jauh dari stasiun kereta terdekat sehingga tidak praktis untuk ke sana. Setelah sampai, ternyata MixC hanya menjual barang-barang mewah sehingga tidak terlalu menarik. Kita akhirnya makan di pujasera yang berada di lantai teratas, lalu pulang ke hotel dengan menggunakan taksi. Pilihan ini segera saya sesali karena baik supir maupun lalu lintas Hangzhou sama gilanya.

Suatu malam di Hangzhou. 

Hangzhou adalah tempat yang menarik dan keindahan Xihu sangat memukau, tapi rasanya kita tinggal terlalu lama di kota ini. Akibatnya kita hanya memiliki waktu semalam di Suzhou, kota tujuan berikutnya. Kita sampai di kota ini saat hari menjelang sore dan hujan deras turun hampir sepanjang hari. Karena kita tidak bisa berjalan kaki, kita lantas menaiki angkong berkeliling kota. Kendaraan mirip becak yang ditarik oleh manusia ini ditutupi plastik karena hujan, jadi tidak banyak yang bisa dilihat oleh penumpangnya. Kita lantas diantar ke sebuah pabrik yang memperlihatkan bagaimana caranya kain sutra ditenun. Ternyata dibutuhkan begitu banyak kepompong untuk menenun sehelai kain!

Karena hujan masih berlanjut, kita pun mengunjungi museum dan melihat-lihat koleksi barang antik. Museum ini berada tidak jauh dari taman terkenal yang bernama Humble Administrator's Garden yang hanya bisa kita kunjungi di pagi berikutnya. Oh ya, walau nama tamannya memberikan kesan sederhana, taman ini jauh dari kesederhanaan. Taman ini berada di dalam sebuah rumah yang luasnya sungguh mencengangkan. Keindahannya patut dikagumi. Di tengah taman bahkan ada satu pondok khusus bagi penghuninya untuk mendengarkan suara hujan (di jaman dahulu, rintik hujan tergolong hiburan dan mungkin menjadi sumber inspirasi untuk menulis puisi).

Kalau dipikirkan lagi, saya kian merasa bahwa waktu kita di Suzhou terlalu singkat. Setelah kunjungan ke Humble Administrator's Garden, kita bergegas menaiki kereta ke Shanghai, kota tujuan terakhir dalam liburan kali ini. Lamanya perjalanan dari Suzhou ke Shanghai adalah setengah jam dengan menggunakan kereta cepat. Setibanya di sana, suasana pun terasa berbeda. Shanghai adalah kota metropolis seperti halnya Singapura, tetapi jauh lebih luas wilayahnya! Saya suka Shanghai karena berbagai orang dari berbagai belahan dunia bisa ditemukan di sana (termasuk juga gadis-gadis Rusia yang jelita).

Mama di Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou. 

Pacific Hotel, tempat dimana kita tinggal, terletak di Jalan Nanjing yang terkenal. Kita berjalan melintasi keramaian untuk menuju Waitan. Kenapa Waitan? Karena di Shanghai, semua orang menuju Waitan. Ini adalah tempat wisata yang paling terkenal di sana. Dipopulerkan dalam film Shanghai Grand, Waitan adalah tempat yang bersejarah dan memiliki arti tersendiri bagi setiap orang berdarah Cina untuk bisa berada di sana. Saya ingat betapa senangnya Papa dan Mama saat mereka berjalan menyusuri Waitan.

Dan kenangan saya agak kabur setelah itu. Setelah Waitan, saya kurang ingat lagi ke mana kita sebenarnya. Saat itu kita sempat keliling kota menggunakan Big Bus Tour, bis yang membawa kita ke beraneka pemberhentian khusus turis. Kita sempat turun di Pudong untuk melihat-lihat daerah perkantoran Shanghai yang dipadati dengan gedung-gedung pencakar langit. Kita juga pergi ke suatu tempat yang agak jauh letaknya, ke sebuah taman dan mal, tapi saya lupa namanya, haha. Akhirnya, setelah makan malam di Kungfu yang berada di bandara, kita pun kembali ke Kuala Lumpur.

Di Pudong, kawasan bisnis di Shanghai. 

Satu setengah bulan setelah Tahun Baru Cina 2014, cuaca di Cina masih sangat dingin (tapi setidaknya kota-kota yang kita kunjungi ini memiliki pemanas ruangan di kamar hotelnya, tidak seperti kota-kota di Cina Selatan). Meskipun begitu, kenangan tentang perjalanan ini penuh dengan kehangatan. Saya ingat saat berjalan dengan Mama di Suzhou pada malam hari. Waktu itu saya iseng bertanya, apa rahasia pernikahannya yang langgeng. Mama berkata bahwa setelah mengarungi kehidupan ini bersama Papa, dia merasa jawabannya adalah kesetiaan. Sekarang saya mengerti kenapa foto-foto mereka selalu berseri dan penuh dengan kegembiraan hati...

Book Review: Snowing In Bali

After Hotel K, I had to say that I was a bit reluctant to pick up Snowing in Bali. In my mind, I was thinking, how different could it be? As a result, the book was sitting on my office table, neglected for quite some time. During these few months, there were some colleagues whom came to my desk and happened to glance at the book cover. It was quite amusing that they often took it literally. Since I'm an Indonesian, they'd confirm with me if it was really snowing in Bali. I'd smile and assure them that the weather was fine and it was sunny all year long.

However, since there was such a question once in a while, I eventually decided that I might as well find out what the title actually meant. The first few pages immediately reminded me of Kathryn Bonella's writing style: it was vivid and captivating, just like Hotel K. Once the main character, Rafael, was introduced, I was brought into an entirely different realm that I knew so little about. Hidden beneath the beauty of Bali was the bustling activity of drugs snorting and trafficking. So what was white as snow, plentiful and got you high? That's what snowing in Bali was all about.

Snowing in Bali was very descriptive about the whole drug dealing thing. It zoomed into the drug trafficking, from who did it; how it was done; how well it paid; to where the drugs were originated from (it was interesting to note that there was a certain pattern here: it was smuggled from Peru or Brazil, Amsterdam, Bali to Australia). In short, it was a very lucrative and alluring business. It involved a lot of money, it allowed one to live like a king and it had the most beautiful girls lining up for sex, cash and drugs. How's that not tempting? And Bali was a perfect scene for all this to happen. A tropical island with inviting waves (and also a bunch of crooks as law enforcers), Bali attracted many to try smuggling drugs by pretending to be tourists or surfers.

Rafael was only one of the drug lords in the book. There were many, from locals such as Chino to foreigners such as Marco, Alberto or Andre. Even the leader of Hell's Angels (I remember George Harrison, who chased them away from Apple) would also participate from time to time. Then there'd be small timers, including Ruggiero, dealing it in grams. Personally, I was excited to read about Ruggiero again, the crazy one from Hotel K. He was featured in this book for a short while.

But snowing in Bali could only last so long. It was eventually too hot for all of the drug dealers. As the book ended before the death sentence was ever carried out, I had to check Wikipedia to find out what happened to one of the names above. But bleak though it was, the story actually had a happy ending. It was also a reminder that no matter how promising drug dealing was, it would never end well. If there's one key takeaway from this book, then it must be this: stay away from drugs and you'll get a peaceful sleep in return.

By the way, to answer the question I had earlier, the book was actually quite different than Hotel K. This one focused purely on drugs whereas Hotel K was more of about whatever that happened in Kerobokan prison. Oh, I also noticed there's this new book called Operation Playboy available recently. From the sound of it, they may be related and Snowing in Bali is likely serving as a precursor to the spin-off. Good reading, an eye-opener and it's definitely recommended!

Snowing in Bali by Kathryn Bonella.

Salju Di Bali

Setelah Hotel K, saya sebenarnya agak enggan untuk mulai membaca Snowing in Bali. Di dalam benak saya ada pikiran, seberapa jauh perbedaan dua buku ini? Alhasil buku ini sempat terlantar beberapa lama di meja kantor saya. Selama itu pula, beberapa kolega yang mampir ke meja saya dan membaca judul buku ini sering bertanya, apa benar di Bali ada salju? Saya pun meyakinkan mereka bahwa cuaca di Bali bagus dan matahari bersinar sepanjang tahun di sana.  

Karena pertanyaan yang berulang-ulang itu, saya akhirnya memutuskan untuk mencari tahu apa arti judul ini sebenarnya. Setelah membaca beberapa halaman pertama, saya jadi terkenang lagi dengan Hotel K. Tulisan Kathryn Bonella masih persis sama: deskriptif dan dengan cepat menarik perhatian. Ketika tokoh utama cerita yang bernama Rafael muncul, saya langsung dibawa ke dunia asing yang tidak banyak saya ketahui sebelumnya. Buku ini menyingkap apa yang tersamarkan dengan baik oleh indahnya Bali: aktivitas penggunaan dan penyelundupan narkoba yang semarak. Apa yang berwarna seputih salju, menyebar luas di Bali dan membuat penggunanya melayang? Inilah yang dimaksud dengan salju di Bali. 

Snowing in Bali mengupas secara detil tentang penyelundupan narkoba yang berlangsung di Pulau Dewata, mulai dari siapa pelakunya, bagaimana caranya, betapa besar bayarannya dan dari mana narkoba ini berasal (menarik untuk dicatat bahwa polanya hampir selalu sama: mulai Peru atau Brazil, lalu dibawa ke Amsterdam, Bali dan akhirnya Australia). Singkat kata, ini adalah sebuah bisnis yang sangat menguntungkan dan memungkinkan para pelakunya untuk hidup seperti raja serta mendapatkan wanita-wanita paling seksi yang berbaris dan siap melayani demi seks, narkoba dan uang. Bagaimana tidak menggiurkan? Dan Bali adalah tempat yang sempurna untuk semua ini: sebuah pulau tropis dengan ombak (dan juga para penegak hukum korup) yang mengundang, sehingga banyak yang akhirnya berlomba-lomba menjadi penyelundup yang berkedok sebagai turis dan peselancar. 

Rafael hanyalah satu dari begitu banyak gembong narkoba. Bali memiliki pengedar lokal seperti Chino dan juga pengedar dari luar seperti Marco, Alberto atau Andre. Bahkan pemimpin gerombolan motor Hell's Angels (dan saya jadi teringat dengan George Harrison yang mengusir kelompok ini dari kantornya) juga ikut terlibat. Kemudian ada juga mereka yang menjual kecil-kecilan dalam hitungan gram, misalnya Ruggiero. Ya, si gila Ruggiero dari buku sebelumnya. Dia juga ditampilkan di buku ini lewat beberapa halaman. 

Akan tetapi salju di Bali hanya bisa bertahan beberapa lama. Pada akhirnya Bali menjadi terlalu panas bagi para pengedar ini. Karena buku ini berakhir sebelum hukuman mati dilaksanakan, saya harus mencari tahu tentang apa yang terjadi pada salah satu nama di atas lewat Wikipedia. Meski terlihat suram, buku ini memiliki akhir yang cukup bahagia. Buku ini juga mengingatkan pembaca bahwa meskipun bisnis narkoba adalah cara cepat untuk kaya, hasil akhirnya juga menyedihkan. Pelajaran yang bisa dipetik di sini adalah ajakan untuk menjauhi narkoba supaya tidur pun terasa nyenyak. 

Oh ya, tentang pertanyaan saya di awal tulisan ini, ternyata buku ini berbeda dengan Hotel K. Buku yang satu ini berfokus pada para pengedar narkoba di Bali, sedangkan Hotel K membahas tentang apa yang terjadi di penjara Kerobokan. Saya juga sempat melihat buku baru yang berjudul Operation Playboy di internet. Dari judulnya, buku ini sepertinya merupakan kelanjutan dari dua bab yang berjudul sama dalam Snowing in Bali.  Seperti buku sebelumnya, Snowing in Bali sungguh seru untuk dibaca, membuka wawasan dan tentunya direkomendasikan!