Tour De Java: Yogyakarta

Our trip to Yogyakarta started with an incident at Kampung Laut restaurant in Semarang. If you might recall from the previous story, Endrico and Alvin headed to airport after lunch. We should have been on our way to Yogyakarta, too, but Hengky's car engine failed to start. When he turned the key, there wasn't any light on the dashboard.

Budiman and friends pushing the car.

Then we thought of starting it up manually. Hengky and Jimmy took turns as the driver while Budiman and others were giving the car a push, but that also didn't help. We eventually called the car mechanic and a quick diagnosis showed that the car battery had totally run out of juice and needed to be replaced. So what Jimmy said to us during our stay in Semarang was proven to be true. Most of the problems in life could be solved if you were willing to pay, haha.

By the time we got the car's engine up and running, it was too late for us to visit Borobudur, so we went straight to Yogyakarta instead. I just learnt that there was no highway to the city when we exited the toll road in Boyolali. From there onwards, it was a country road that jammed horribly as we approached Yogyakarta. The speed was reduced to crawling for the last few kilometres and the total madness only ended after we passed by Malioboro.

Meeting Frans at Lombok Idjo.

It'd been almost 9pm when we checked in and came out for dinner, so we took a walk to a nearby restaurant called Lombok Idjo. The food was too Javanese for my liking, but it was edible. Before the night ended, Frans came to meet us. That was probably the first time I saw him since we last met in Kuching two decades ago. We had a quick chat before calling it a night.

The next morning, Budiman woke up early to buy us lupis, a local delicacy that Yuliana told us before (I swear it tasted like putu songkok, something that Pontianak people of my generation would be familiar with). Hengky then bade us farewell as he was needed at home. We were left with only Jimmy's car now and as we all squeezed in it, what came next caught me by surprise. The boys actually planned to go to Borobudur since it didn't happen yesterday! The temple is located roughly in the middle of Semarang and Yogyakarta. I was a bit hesitant as the road trip we had the day before was unnecessary long, but the journey to Borobudur turned out to be fine.

Hengky's farewell.

It was a right decision to go there, because the wonder of Borobudur was impressive! The last time I went there was 15 years ago. I had seen Angkor Wat since then and now that I looked at Borobudur again, it was indeed smaller when compared with its counterpart in Cambodia. Anyway, they were architecturally different. Angkor Wat was designed like a palace that we could enter whereas Borobudur wasn't anything like that and we could only climb up. And climb up we did, just to touch the Buddha statue inside the stupa. 

When we left the temple via the nearest exit, we lost our way as we got out from the maze-like market. We entered the nearby ticket office and the good staff there tried to redirect us based on the entrance that we described to her, but we only got a vague idea of the location she was talking about. As we walked, we ended up returning to the place where we took a break earlier. We were clearly getting nowhere and it was getting late in the afternoon, so we decided to have our lunch first at Manohara Restaurant. Ever the street-smart one, Budiman negotiated and got the buggy car driver to send us to where our car was parked. The guy sure knew the place well and somebody, probably Jimmy, made sure that he was rewarded.

Hendra posed as Budiman made an effort to touch the Buddha statue. 

We wasted no time to head back to hotel. After a quick shower, we walked to Malioboro. It took us easily two hours to get in and out. The place was flooded with human! Apart from the batik and dinner we had, I barely remember anything we did there. It seemed like we just walked towards the end and turned back right after that, haha.

It was on our way back that we bumped into Hartono. He was having dinner before meeting us. When we chilled out at the hotel restaurant, Teng Lai and Frans came to join us as well. It was a good catch-up as most of us hadn't seen each other for years! Teng Lai got us chuckling with the origin of a legendary secondary school mockery popularised by Susanto Phang. That's right, the culprit was one of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings. Oh yeah, that's what they called themselves then. It was so hilarious that Hendra stared at me in disbelief, haha. 

Budiman was leaving Yogyakarta on the following afternoon. As we still had some time, we did a quick visit to Pengger Pine Forest. It was quite alright, though it felt like it was made for local tourists. After taking a few photos, we went to the airport and wished Budiman a safe flight. The journey continued with only the three of us now (and Jimmy's boy, too). Stay tuned!

Budiman at the airport. 

Tour De Java: Yogyakarta

Perjalanan kita ke Yogyakarta dimulai dengan sebuah insiden di lapangan parkir restoran Kampung Laut di Semarang. Jika anda baca cerita sebelumnya, Endrico dan Alvin meluncur ke bandara setelah makan siang. Seharusnya kita pun berangkat ke Yogyakarta juga, tapi mobil Hengky ternyata mogok. Ketika distarter, tidak ada lampu di panel pengemudi.

Lantas terpikirkan oleh kita untuk coba distarter secara manual. Hengky dan Jimmy silih berganti menjadi pengemudi sementara Budiman dan kawan-kawan mendorong mobil, tapi upaya ini tetap saja tidak berhasil. Akhirnya kita memanggil montir dan setelah dicek, ternyata aki mobil sudah habis dan perlu diganti. Jadi apa yang Jimmy ucapkan sewaktu di Semarang pun terbukti. Hampir semua masalah di dalam hidup ini bisa diatasi, asalkan anda bersedia membayar, wahaha. 

Jimmy memeriksa mesin mobil. 

Ketika mobil siap jalan, sudah terlambat bagi kita untuk mengunjungi Borobudur, jadi kita langsung menuju Yogyakarta. Saat Hengky keluar di Boyolali, barulah saya ketahui bahwa hingga saat ini belum ada tol yang menghubungkan Yogyakarta dan Semarang. Dari Boyolali, kita melintasi jalan biasa yang kian lama kian macet. Mobil bagaikan merangkak saat kita menempuh beberapa kilometer terakhir sebelum tiba di hotel. Kemacetan baru terurai setelah kita melewati persimpangan Tugu Yogyakarta yang juga mengarah ke Malioboro. 

Tatkala kita selesai check-in dan keluar untuk bersantap malam, hari sudah gelap dan jam menunjukkan hampir pukul sembilan, oleh karena itu kita makan di Lombok Idjo yang terletak di seberang hotel. Menu masakannya terlalu khas Jawa dan tidak terlalu cocok dengan selera saya, tapi masih bisa disantap. Sesaat setelah kita usai, Frans datang menjumpai kita. Ini mungkin adalah pertama kalinya saya bertemu Frans sejak berpapasan dengannya di Kuching dua dekade silam. 

Budiman mengantri lupis.
Foto: Budiman.

Keesokan paginya, Budiman bangun pagi untuk membeli lupis bagi kita semua. Ini adalah kue lokal yang diceritakan Yuliana pada kita. Rasanya mirip putu songkok, kue yang tentunya tidak asing bagi orang Pontianak generasi saya. Di pagi yang sama, Hengky pun pamit karena dipanggil pulang ke rumah. Yang tersisa sekarang hanyalah mobil Jimmy dan kita menumpang mobil tersebut ke Borobudur. Candi ini berada di Magelang yang terletak di antara Semarang dan Yogyakarta. Saya sebenarnya agak ragu untuk ke sana karena macet yang saya alami di malam sebelumnya, tapi syukurlah perjalanan kali ini lancar jaya. 

Keputusan untuk pergi ke Borobudur adalah tepat, sebab Borobudur memang menakjubkan! Terakhir kali saya ke sana adalah 15 tahun yang lalu. Semenjak itu, saya sudah melihat langsung Angkor Wat. Ketika saya berdiri di depan Borobudur lagi, memang kelihatannya candi di Indonesia ini lebih kecil dari sepupunya yang ada di Kamboja. Akan tetapi rancangan dua candi ini memang berbeda. Angkor Wat mirip istana yang bisa dimasuki, sedangkan Borobudur hanya bisa didaki sampai ke puncak. Dan kita pun mendaki. Budiman juga mencoba memegang patung Budha yang ada di dalam stupa.

Di Borobudur.
Foto: Budiman.

Sewaktu kita meninggalkan kawasan candi lewat pintu keluar terdekat, kita tersesat setelah melewati pasar tradisional yang berliku-liku. Kita hampiri kantor penjualan tiket dan berdasarkan penjelasan yang kita berikan, karyawati di sana pun memberikan panduan arah ke tempat parkir mobil. Kita lantas bergerak ke arah yang ditunjuk, namun malah muncul di tempat kita beristirahat setelah meninggalkan candi. Jelas sudah bahwa kita salah jalan lagi. Karena hari sudah sore, kita akhirnya menuju ke Restoran Manohara untuk makan siang dulu. Budiman yang cerdik dan sigap bernegosiasi dengan pihak restoran supaya kita diantar ke tempat parkir setelah selesai makan. Dan benar saja, pengemudi mobil buggy itu tahu lokasi yang kita maksudkan. Salah satu dari kita, Jimmy kalau tidak salah, pun memberikan tips atas jasanya.

Kita akhirnya kembali ke hotel. Setelah mandi, kita berjalan kaki ke Malioboro. Butuh waktu dua jam untuk menuju dan keluar dari kawasan tersebut. Malioboro benar-benar bagaikan lautan manusia! Selain makan malam dan batik yang kita beli, saya tidak ingat lagi apa yang kita lakukan di sana. Sepertinya yang kita lakukan hanyalah berjalan dan terus berjalan, haha.

Bersama Budiman di Malioboro.
Foto: Budiman.

Dalam perjalanan pulang ke hotel, kita bertemu dengan Hartono yang sedang makan malam di warung. Kemudian, saat kita sedang santai di restoran hotel, Teng Lai dan Frans datang bergabung. Senang bisa berkumpul lagi setelah tidak bersua selama puluhan tahun. Teng Lai membuat kita tertawa dengan asal-usul ejekan legendaris masa SMP yang dipopulerkan oleh Susanto Phang. Ternyata pelopornya adalah salah satu dari Empat Raja Langit. Anak SMP memang gila-gilaan kalau soal julukan. Saat mendengar julukan tersebut, Hendra sampai menatap saya dengan tatapan tidak percaya, haha.

Budiman meninggalkan Yogyakarta di sore hari berikutnya. Karena kita masih punya waktu, di pagi itu kita mengunjungi Hutan Pinus Pengger. Tempat wisatanya lumayan, tapi kesannya hanya dibangun untuk turis lokal. Setelah berfoto sejenak, kita bergegas ke lapangan terbang dan mengucapkan selamat jalan pada Budiman. Petualangan kembali dilanjutkan, meski hanya tersisa tiga orang plus anak Jimmy. Nantikan kisah berikutnya!

Di Hutan Pinus Pengger.
Foto: Budiman.

Tour De Java: Semarang

The Semarang trip is a classic example of saying something often enough to others until it sounded like a good idea, haha. I always wanted to go to Semarang simply because it was the only capital city in Java that I had never been to. That's why I kept hyping about it. The plan was initially bashed by many (Semarang is boring, Semarang is hot, Semarang got nothing, bla-bla-bla), but some eventually found it intriguing and decided to join in. That, my friends, is how it happened.

Came the big day, Surianto and I flew in early from Singapore to Jakarta. We took our time to visit an old friend named Sunarto who's now selling noodles, just like what his parents did 20 years ago. And what a bowl of teenaged goodness we had for lunch! Crab Noodles Hong Tian rocked!

Hanging out at Nasi Campur Alu.

The good day got better later on, when we hung out at Nasi Campur Alu. It felt right to have the unmistakable taste of our hometown with old friends from Pontianak! Alvin and Hendra met and ate with us there. Susan and Mul also made time to join us for a while. CP, the host, suddenly declared that Susan had paid for the meal, though Susan clearly didn't acknowledge that. Anyway, free meal was definitely welcome. Thanks!

When the evening came, we made our way to the train station. Endrico said he was already at the parking lot, but only God knows why it took him half an hour to meet us. He was the last to arrive, appearing few minutes after Budiman. Then off we went. The train was punctual, clean and comfortable. I was actually impressed! And throughout the six-hour trip, we chatted, ate (again) and slept as much as we could.

The train ride, as viewed from Endrico's camera.
Left: Anthony. Right: Surianto. 

It was 1am when we reached Semarang. We headed to Simpang Lima, the landmark of Semarang, because that's where our hotel was. After checked in, we decided to have a supper. We explored the eateries in Simpang Lima before we settled with bakmie Jawa and tongseng. We called it a night after that. Endrico shared room with Alvin, I was with Surianto and the last room was occupied by the other two.

The next morning, as we were on the way to Soto Bangkong for breakfast, Jimmy and son joined us. Not long after that, Hengky came, too. Our group members were finally complete! As we had our breakfast, Jimmy suggested Eling Bening and Gedong Songo that were located outside the city. I liked the fact that we were a bunch of easy-going guys. Without a second thought, we agreed to Jimmy's idea immediately!

When we were in Eling Bening.
Photo by Hengky.

First stop, Eling Bening in a city called Ambarawa! Jimmy and team reached there first as Hengky made a wrong turn, haha. But it was nice ride. There were four of us in a car and we had a good chat, including that unorthodox but sexy way to compliment a wife, haha. 

Eling Bening is about scenery viewed from highlands. It's so high that we could see Rawa Pening Lake from afar. The view was beautiful and the weather was cool. There was a white dragon boat replica that looked as if it was floating in the air. None of the attractions could hold us for long, though. Guys being guys, after taking pictures and a short break, we left for the next destination, haha.

The first team to reach Gedong Songo.
From left: Hengky, Anthony, Hendra and Surianto. 

The second tourist spot we visited was Gedong Songo in Bandungan (and no, it's not Bandung). The same entourage travelled with Hengky again. Much to my surprise, we made it first this time! As Jimmy and friends were still on the way, we went into a shop to have late lunch and tried the rabbit satay. It tasted quite alright.

Gedong Songo is a collection of few candi or temples. The location of one is quite a walking distance from another. To make it more challenging, Gedong Songo is sitting on the hillside, so we got to hike. The first candi was the only one that could be reached by all of us. The next one was an uphill battle. When Jimmy said we were almost there, I suddenly remember him saying the same thing 21 years ago, when we were lost in the forest of Temajoh: the truth is, we were nowhere near the destination, haha. After trying for a while, the few of us who attempted eventually gave up and turned back.

At the first temple.

We had a snack before we returned to Semarang. This time Hendra, Surianto and I switched to Jimmy's car. We headed to Kedai Beringin, a spacious restaurant that sells Chinese food. The dinner was surprisingly cheap dan good, but it's also interesting to learn that such a big establishment doesn't accept credit cards. 

Then came the most memorable night of the trip. The eight of us hung out in one room, just sharing and talking about life. There was a certain but indescribable closeness, perhaps due to the fact that we were old friends from the same school in our hometown. Family life, or even life in general, is never without problems and this is the thing that guys generally suffer in silence. But for once we discussed about it among us. It was good. Funny at times, the session was also very constructive, too.

From left: Jimmy (in white shirt), Endrico and Hendra, trying their best to enjoy Bakmie Siang Kie in a very limited seating space.

We checked out the next morning and we went to Gang Lombok for breakfast. There are two things  that are famous there: the spring rolls and noodles. Both had very long queues, but the spring rolls would take hours! While waiting for Siang Kie Noodles, we explored the area. Kay Tak Sie, a temple dedicated to Admiral Zheng He, was just around the corner. There was a rest area next to the temple, too, where we had our milk coffee later on. Back to the noodles, it was quite alright. I don't mind having it again if I don't need to queue. 

After eating, we rushed to Bandeng Presto to buy local delicacies before continuing to Sam Poo Kong, another temple dedicated to Zheng He. Believe it or not, Budiman and Hendra ended up playing airsoft gun there! From the temple, we drove to Kampung Laut, a big seafood restaurant, to have lunch. Haha, ya, we could really eat! The scallops, known locally as simping, was the special menu there. 

And that was our last gathering together. Endrico and Alvin went to the airport after lunch while the rest of us embarked on our journey to Yogyakarta. There was an incident before that, but hey, let's save the story for another time. Stay tuned, okay?

With Endrico at Kampung Laut, before our lunch.

Tour De Java: Semarang

Liburan ke Semarang trip ini adalah contoh klasik tentang sesuatu yang disebut terus-menerus sehingga lambat-laun terdengar seperti ide bagus, haha. Saya selalu ingin pergi ke Semarang karena inilah satu-satunya ibukota di Jawa yang belum pernah saya kunjungi. Saya lantas berkoar-koar tentang Semarang di grup teman-teman SMA. Awalnya rencana ini ditentang banyak orang (Semarang membosankan, Semarang tidak ada apa-apa, Semarang panas, bla-bla-bla), namun lama-kelamaan ada yang tertarik untuk turut-serta. Akhirnya terjadilah liburan ini. 

Ketika hari-H tiba, Surianto dan saya terbang di pagi hari dari Singapura ke Jakarta. Karena banyak waktu luang, kita pun mengunjungi teman lama bernama Sunarto yang kini berjualan bakmie, profesi yang juga ditekuni oleh orang tuanya 20 puluh tahun silam. Dan semangkok mie buatannya bukan saja lezat, tapi juga membawa kita kembali ke masa remaja! Bakmie Kepiting Hong Tian memang dashyat!

Bakmie Kepiting Hong Tian di Pademangan.

Hari pertama liburan terasa kian menyenangkan ketika kita berkumpul di Nasi Campur Alu pada sore hari. Makan nasi campur bersama teman-teman lama dari Pontianak sungguh sedap rasanya. Alvin dan Hendra akhirnya datang bergabung dan juga bersantap bersama kita. Susan dan Mul juga mampir. Ketika kita hendak pamit, CP tiba-tiba mengatakan bahwa apa yang kita pesan sudah dilunasi oleh Susan, meski Susan tidak pernah mengiyakan pernyataan CP tersebut. Siapa pun yang traktir, kebaikannya takkan dilupakan. Terima kasih!

Saat hari menjelang senja, kita pun bergegas ke stasiun kereta. Endrico mengabarkan bahwa dia sudah berada di lapangan parkir, namun hanya Tuhan yang tahu kenapa dia butuh setengah jam untuk menjumpai kita yang sudah menunggu di gerbang masuk. Dia baru muncul setelah Budiman tiba beberapa saat lamanya. Kemudian berangkatlah kita. Keretanya tepat waktu, bersih dan nyaman. Saya sungguh terkesan! Dan selama perjalanan berdurasi enam jam itu, kita mengobrol, makan (lagi) dan tidur sebisanya.

Menanti kedatangan kereta di Stasiun Gambir. 

Jam menunjukkan pukul satu pagi ketika kita tiba di Semarang. Kita pun menuju ke Simpang Lima karena hotel kita berada di sana. Setelah check-in, kita memutuskan untuk makan lagi. Kita mengitari tempat makan yang mengelilingi Simpang Lima dan akhirnya menyantap bakmie Jawa dan tongseng. Setelah perut kenyang, barulah kita tidur. Endrico sekamar dengan Alvin, saya dengan Surianto dan sisanya ditempati oleh dua kawan lainnya. 

Keesokan paginya, selagi kita berjalan kaki ke Soto Bangkong untuk sarapan pagi, Jimmy dan putranya datang bergabung. Tidak lama setelah itu, Hengky juga tiba di rumah makan. Saat kita menikmati soto porsi kecil ini, Jimmy mengusulkan tempat wisata Eling Bening dan Gedong Songo yang berada di luar kota. Tanpa ragu, semuanya pun setuju. Saya suka gaya para pria yang cepat dalam bersepakat dan praktis dalam bertindak! Bayangkan kalau ada yang cerewet, pasti susah untuk jalan bersama.

Berjalan kaki dari hotel ke Soto Bangkong.

Pemberhentian pertama, Eling Bening, terletak di kota yang bernama Ambarawa. Jimmy dan rombongannya tiba terlebih dahulu karena Hengky belok ke arah yang salah, haha. Tapi kita gembira menumpang di mobil Hengky. Ada empat orang di mobil dan kita bercakap-cakap tentang banyak hal, termasuk cara seksi untuk memuji istri, haha.  

Daya tarik Eling Bening adalah pemandangan dari dataran tinggi. Lokasi kita cukup tinggi sehingga bisa melihat Rawa Bening yang berada di kejauhan. Pemandangannya indah dan cuacanya pun sejuk. Ada kapal naga putih yang dibuat seakan-akan melayang di udara. Akan tetapi kita tidak berada lama di sana. Setelah foto-foto dan minum sejenak untuk melepas dahaga, kita lantas berangkat lagi ke tujuan berikutnya.

Budiman di Eling Bening.

Dari Eling Bening, kita menuju ke Gedong Songo yang berada di Bandungan (ini kota yang berbeda dengan Bandung). Rombongan yang sama kembali mengikuti Hengky dan kali ini kita sampai lebih dulu. Karena Jimmy dan kawan-kawan masih dalam perjalanan, kita mampir ke rumah makan untuk santap siang. Menu hari itu adalah sate kelinci. Rasanya lumayan. 

Gedong Songo adalah satu kawasan dengan beberapa candi. Jarak satu candi ke candi lainnya bisa dicapai dengan berjalan kaki, tapi terasa menantang karena jalannya menanjak. Akhirnya kita semua hanya bisa berkumpul di candi pertama, haha. Candi yang berikutnya tidak gampang dicapai. Ketika Jimmy berkata bahwa kita hampir tiba, mendadak saya teringat ucapan serupa yang ia lontarkan 21 tahun yang lalu, sewaktu kita tersesat di Temajoh: sebenarnya kita masih jauh dari tujuan, haha. Kita akhirnya menyerah dan berjalan pulang.

Separuh jalan di Gedong Songo.
Foto oleh Endrico.

Kita mengisi perut sejenak dengan ubi Cilembu sebelum kembali ke Semarang. Kali ini Hendra, Surianto dan saya pindah ke mobil Jimmy. Kita meluncur ke Kedai Beringin, sebuah restoran besar yang menjual masakan Cina. Makan malam ini enak dan murah. Pokoknya mantap. Kendati begitu, kita cukup terkejut juga karena restoran sebesar ini ternyata tidak menerima kartu kredit. 

Apa yang terjadi selanjutnya adalah malam yang mengesankan. Kita berkumpul di kamar, berbincang dan bertukar pikiran tentang kehidupan. Ada nuansa keakraban yang begitu terasa, mungkin karena kita semua adalah teman lama yang berasal dari sekolah yang sama di Pontianak. Biasanya pria hanya berdiam diri dalam menjalani kehidupan dan rumah tangga yang tidak luput dari masalah, namun di malam itu kita berdiskusi tentang topik ini. Kita tergelak, geli mendengar komentar yang benar tapi lucu. Pokoknya serius tapi santai. Sangat bermanfaat.

Saat kita berkumpul dan berbincang.

Kita pun check-out di pagi berikutnya dan mengendarai mobil ke Gang Lombok untuk sarapan pagi. Ada dua makanan khas Semarang yang terkenal di tempat ini: Lumpia Semarang dan Bakmie Siang Kie. Dua-duanya perlu antri, tapi antrian lumpia membutuhkan waktu berjam-jam lamanya! Selagi mengantri Bakmie Siang Kie, beberapa di antara kita menjelajahi kawasan tersebut. Di balik toko lumpia ternyata ada Klenteng Kay Tak Sie yang memuja Laksamana Cheng Ho. Ada semacam kantin di dekatnya dan di sanalah kita menikmati kopi susu dan lumpia setelah sarapan. Bicara tentang bakmie, rasanya lumayan enak. Saya tidak keberatan untuk mencicipinya lagi, asalkan jangan antri seperti tempo hari.

Sesudah makan, kita lanjut ke Bandeng Presto untuk membeli oleh-oleh, lalu mengunjungi Klenteng Sam Poo Kong yang juga dipersembahkan untuk Laksamana Cheng Ho. Percaya atau tidak, Budiman dan Hendra justru main airsoft gun di sini! Setelah usai tembak-tembakan, kita pergi ke Kampung Laut untuk makan makanan laut. Yaa, kita kuat makan, haha. Menu masakan yang istimewa di sana adalah kerang simping.  

Dan itu adalah perjamuan terakhir bagi rombongan kita. Endrico dan Alvin langsung ke bandara udara seusai makan siang. Kita pun melanjutkan perjalanan ke Yogyakarta. Ada satu kejadian tak terduga sebelum kita berangkat, tapi lebih cocok bila saya simpan cerita ini untuk kisah berikutnya. Nantikan saja, ok?

Menanti makan siang di Kampung Laut.

Domestic Helper: An Angel In Disguise

You might have heard of the term domestic helper. Some may call it housekeeper, nanny or maid, depends on which country you came from. Who are they and what do they do? They are doing everything mundane in our home, from running errands, cooking, doing household chores to the extended duty of simply staying at home and be the "security guard". Yet oftentimes, their existence is sadly neglected. They are the ones with needs, opinions and aspirations less valued than others. 

I had read and heard their stories, be it from the news or what happened around me, on how badly treated the domestic helpers were. I am not saying that all of us ill-treat our helper, but there are some concerning number of employers in Singapore who unfortunately did so. The fundamental problem is, if they are meant to lighten our chores and help taking care of our family and home, why are they not treated with dignity and compassion? 

Let's talk about our own precious "angel". We call her S and she, too, has her families and loved ones that she left back home in Purbalingga, Indonesia. S came to Singapore in search of a better life for the sake of her family. Her first husband passed away and she got remarried to someone that S's family doesn't approve. Well, I think her family is right for disapproving. Her current husband is just like a leech, sucking her dry. So fate brought S four years ago to our household. Back in 2015, we need a second helper to help around with the twins. 

In our household, S sleeps with the kids. I personally feel that sharing a space with people of different class (though I don’t even think she is any different from us) or ethnic background would cause neither my kids nor us any inconvenience. We feel good about the bond that my kids and S have. S treats our kids like her own. S is very patient, she takes good care of the kids' well-being and their meals. These tasks may seem menial, but I don't think I can ever manage them ourselves, not with 4 kids and a job. 

S takes care not only the kids' need, but our needs and home as well. We trust her with all her delicious cooking, with her taking care of our home and also the kids' welfare at home.

We take S traveling with us wherever we go. We treat it as a reward for S, that she is given a chance to travel and see the beautiful world out there together with our family. S is like our own sister, like another mother figure to our kids and most importantly our trusted aide.

To me, the way that we treat our helper sends a strong signal to our children on the ethics we live by and the kind of culture and values we embody. Hence I just don’t get it when employers treated their helper unjustly.

I know someone who doesn’t allow a second helping of a plate of rice. I seriously don't know what this person is thinking. Will another plate of rice dig a big hole in your pocket!? Another example that I came across on the news was a helper being treated like a punching bag. Why can't all of us be more gracious and considerate towards our helpers? Aren’t they human beings, too, like any one of us? Being poor and less-educated do not mean that they can be taken advantage of. 

I am an employee too, and I certainly wouldn’t want my boss to be abusive, disrespectful or exploiting me. Everyone of us including our helper would want a conducive environment to work at, where they can be treated fairly, respectfully and with dignity. 

As Teo You Yenn, an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the Nanyang Technological University said: 

“The relationships with domestic workers shape many of our homes, and increasingly influence our social ties and interactions beyond the home. 

All of us, like it or not, produce “cultures” around domestic labour and the people who perform them. The attitudes we take, the behaviours we model for the children, shape our present and future. 

The values and beliefs that make up a culture are not passed on through textbooks or formal education alone. Culture is produced through everyday practice. Values are learnt through micro interactions and everyday observations.” 

Embracing good cultures and values starts from home, where our kids can pick up and learn. Our helper, at least to us, is our angel in disguise. Thank you so much S for all your hard work and dedication. And thank you to all other domestic helpers too, you have been a really great help to your employers. 

Perhaps in this new year, we can try to establish a better relationship and bonding with our helper. They, too, would like to be cared and love for.

Written by: DeViLsHGaL

Puisi Resah

Zaman sekarang luar biasa
Ada tanda tangan kering, ada pula yang basah
Sah atau tidaknya tergantung berita
Berita membuat muka pemimpin cerah
Itu sudah pasti tanda tangan yang sah
Misalnya penghargaan transparansi dana
Walaupun lem Aibon membahana
Belum lagi pembelian komputer super mewah
Harga fantastik tanpa guna
Semua ini di anggap transparansi dana

Tanda tangan tidak sah
Jika mencoreng muka
Pura-pura tidak tahu apa-apa
Semua salah anak buah
Contohnya penghargaan diskotek nan mewah
Hari ini dibela dan dipuja
Dua hari kemudian dicabut dan dicela
Inilah pemimpin gila tahta

Pemimpin berkata
Air hujan turun merata
Haruslah antri masuk ke tanah
Dasar air hujan yang salah
Tidak mengerti kata-kata
Mungkin juga banyak lem Aibon di tanah
Sehingga air girang melekat dan betah

Perang bisa menghancurkan kota
Namun perlu waktu dan senjata
Yang satu ini luar biasa
Hanya sekejap hancurlah sebuah kota

Kota tempat tinggalku yang megah
Tiba-tiba terendam dan basah
Dulu Sangkuriang membuat candi dalam satu masa
Sekarang dalam sehari muncul ratusan kolam raksasa

Tentu ini adalah berkat bagi warga
Bisa berenang dan berolah raga
Tanpa perlu mengeluarkan biaya
Kapan lagi dapat kolam gratis seluas samudra

Kota tempat tinggalku yang indah
Akan tinggal kenangan belaka
Ditenggelamkan dalam semalam saja

Unta berpunuk dua.

Memory

I knew my friend Jimmy quite well. Trust me when I said he wasn't the sentimental type. Having said that, it must be pure coincidence that one day in December 2019, we ended up having lunch at Ikan Bakar Cianjur in Pandaan, East Java. He didn't brought me there on purpose. 

I had no idea that we were there six year earlier. Furthermore, it was the pre-Swarm era and I hadn't discovered the check-in app yet. In short, it was one of the few occasions that I totally forgot that I'd been there before, but as I stepped into the restaurant, there was a certain familiarity coming back to me.

From left: Anthony, Alfan, Setia and Jimmy in 2013.
Photo by Endrico. 

I was so excited that I told Jimmy, "but we came here before!" Then I rushed to the backyard to see the seats under the big tree. The seats were empty, but in my mind, I could see the younger version of ourselves sitting there. There were four us talking. I was only 32 then, so full of life, never worried about what tomorrow would bring.

Then, as fast as it came, the image of us faded away. Six years later, out of the four (or five, if we counted Endrico who took our picture), only two of us came back to the same place. I walked back to our table, feeling bittersweet. I was deep in thought, recalling what Jimmy said few nights before in Semarang.

The empty seats in 2019.

"What is the most expensive thing we have now?" asked Jimmy. The room was silent for a while before Hendra replied. His answer was only one word: togetherness. "That's the thing," grinned Jimmy, "and definitely not the tickets that we paid for to get here."

He was right. Between our responsibilities as a sole breadwinner and the head of our family, we had a lot things going on in our lives, but we decided to make time for this to happen. Semarang might not seem to be an interesting destination, but we compromised, believing that it was the journey that counted. Eventually the eight of us made it and created a memory only we would remember.

When we were in Semarang.

Memory... the one thing that's left behind as time pushes us forward. I couldn't help thinking of the time when Alfan, Setia, Endrico, Jimmy and I were there as I began to enjoy the fried fish and goat thigh. Then I suddenly stop eating and sent them the picture of the empty seats, asking them to guess where the photo was taken. Setia attempted to answer, but it was Endrico who got it right when he replied with a picture of us. 

And I smiled. Once upon a time, we were there. It took six good years for just the two of us to go back there. Only God knows when all of us will be together again. But I treasure that memory. No amount of money we earn can pay for that single moment, one memory that made my life more memorable than before. DeViLsHGaL, a fellow Roadblogger, recently said that life is all about choices. Well, I'm glad that the choices I made had been very rewarding thus far...

The goat thigh and the fried fish.

Kenangan

Saya cukup mengenal baik teman saya Jimmy dan percayalah bila saya berkata bahwa dia bukan tipe orang yang sentimental. Oleh karena itu, kunjungan kita ke Ikan Bakar Cianjur di kota Pandaan, Jawa Timur, pastilah suatu kebetulan belaka dan sama sekali tidak disengaja. Di akhir Desember 2019, kita pun bersantap siang di restoran itu. 

Saya tidak tahu bahwa kita pernah singgah di sini enam tahun silam. Saat itu adalah era sebelum Swarm dan saya belum menemukan aplikasi untuk check-in yang sering saya pakai itu. Singkat kata, ini adalah satu dari beberapa peristiwa dimana saya sama sekali lupa bahwa saya pernah makan di sini. Saat saya memasuki restoran, barulah kenangan itu perlahan-lahan kembali.

Dari kiri: saya, Alfan, Setia dan Jimmy di tahun 2013.
Foto oleh Endrico.

Begitu girangnya saya saat menyadari hal itu, sampai-sampai saya berkata kepada Jimmy, "tetapi kita pernah mampir ke sini sebelumnya!" Kemudian saya berjalan ke taman di belakang restoran untuk melihat tempat duduk di bawah pohon besar. Kursi-kursi itu kosong, tapi di dalam benak saya terlihat sosok saya dan teman-teman yang Iebih muda dan sedang duduk berempat di sana. Saya baru berusia 32 pada saat itu, masih begitu muda dalam mengarungi kehidupan ini.

Lantas bayangan masa lalu itu pudar secepat kedatangannya yang tiba-tiba. Enam tahun kemudian, dari empat (atau lima orang, jika kita hitung Endrico juga), hanya dua yang kembali ke tempat yang sama. Saya berjalan kembali ke meja saya dengan perasaan campur aduk antara gembira dan sedih. Apa yang saya rasakan pun membawa saya kembali pada apa yang Jimmy katakan sewaktu kita berada di Semarang beberapa malam yang lalu.

Kursi-kursi kosong di tahun 2019.

"Apa hal paling mahal dan mewah yang kita miliki saat ini?" tanya Jimmy. Ruangan kamar pun hening sejenak sebelum Hendra akhirnya menjawab. Hanya satu kata yang terlontar darinya: kebersamaan. "Ya, itu dia," gumam Jimmy sambil tersenyum. "Itu yang paling mahal, bukan tiket yang kita bayar untuk ke sini." 

Dia benar. Di usia sekarang ini, kita sibuk menjalani hidup sebagai kepala keluarga dan orang yang mencari nafkah, tapi kita memutuskan untuk meluangkan waktu untuk berkumpul. Semarang mungkin bukanlah tujuan wisata yang menarik, tapi kita kompromi dan percaya bahwa petualangan kitalah yang lebih penting. Delapan orang berkumpul, menciptakan sebuah kenangan yang hanya akan diingat oleh mereka yang berada di sana.

Ketika kita di Semarang. 

Kenangan... satu-satunya hal yang tersisa ketika waktu mendorong kita untuk senantiasa bergerak maju ke depan. Saya jadi teringat saat-saat Alfan, Setia, Endrico, Jimmy dan saya berkumpul di restoran itu saat saya mulai menyantap gurami goreng dan paha kambing. Mendadak saya berhenti makan dan mengirimkan foto kursi-kursi kosong itu kepada mereka sembari bertanya, apakah mereka tahu di mana lokasi di dalam foto ini. Setia mencoba untuk menjawab, namun jawaban yang tepat datang dari Endrico ketika dia membalas pertanyaan saya dengan sebuah foto dimana kita duduk di sana. 

Dan saya tersenyum. Suatu ketika di dalam hidup kita, ada lima anak muda di tempat ini. Butuh waktu enam tahun lamanya bagi dua di antaranya untuk kembali lagi ke sini. Hanya Tuhan yang tahu kapan kita semua akan berkumpul lagi. Mungkin tidak akan pernah lagi, tapi saya tidak akan melupakan kenangan tersebut. Tidak peduli seberapa banyak uang yang kita cari dan dapatkan, kita tidak akan bisa membeli kembali saat tersebut, sebuah kenangan yang membuat hidup menjadi lebih kaya dan berarti. DeViLsHGaL, sesama Roadblogger, baru-baru ini berkata bahwa hidup adalah pilihan. Saya gembira bahwa semua pilihan-pilihan yang saya buat sejauh ini terasa berkesan bagi saya...

Paha kambing dan gurami goreng yang membisu.

Before The Year Ends: Be Grateful, Be Thankful And Be Blessed!

I thought it would be great to write something before the year ends: a way to reflect what had happened, to improve and be better.

Many of us are pursuing this thing so called happiness. So what is happiness? If you look up the dictionary, happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. But what exactly is happiness to different groups of people? Have you ever wondered if your are happy with your life, your job, your health, etc.?

If only... perhaps the world will be a better place to be?

To the poor
As easy as it may sound, these are some examples of happiness to the poor: food on the table, a roof over their head, a fresh new set of clothing, etc. So why some of us aren't happy when we have all these?

Well, one thing that I learnt, as you become wealthy, you also become poor in attitude. Simple happiness doesn't satisfy anymore.

The poor, they don't have much requirement to be happy as they focus on their needs instead of what they want. However, sad to say, this is also the group of people that have a lot to worry about, which can dampen the mood.

To the middle income
This group of people, in my opinion, is the "happiest". What's with the inverted comas? The middle-income people might feel pretty good about their lives, reason being that they have a satisfaction level of income even if they don’t actually have a lot of net worth. But, to some extent money can just do so much and it will just lose its charm.

To the wealthy
In my field of work. I surely meet many of such people, where money and wealth are never an issue. However, the question remains. Are they really happy with what they had?

To the wealthy, the problem is not about having not enough of everything. The problem they have are:
1. Not having a great health, which they tend to neglect.
2. Family disputes, where money is the root of all evils.
3. Neglecting their own desired passion just to be in the family business.
4. Faux relationship, where they enter into a marriage without love in the equation, merely just a partnership between the two families.

The list can just continue...

Of Life and the Pursuit of Happiness

2019, if I put it into perspective, had been a year of life-lessons. I saw many deaths and sicknesses that revolving around my neighbours, my colleagues, my friends and their family members.

Well, as many said, death is inevitable and it's a course of life. You celebrate the joy of life, not only at birth but also at death.

In my career, all I can say is everything will be perfect in His time. I might not get what I aimed for this year and yes, of course, I am pretty upset. However, I think that I still consider myself to be lucky that I still have a job and my boss is a nice lady.

To me, happiness is simple and am blessed to have these:
My loved ones (including my neighbours, my colleagues and my friends) are happy and healthy.

I have food on the table served by my most dedicated helper.

I have a job.

I have a roof over my head.

I have a great husband, who helps around the house and family.

My parents are healthy and we got to travel together.


I get to meet up and travel with friends.

Quote: Happiness can be defined as “the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his life-as-a-whole” (Schimmel, 2009).

So, what is your happiness?

Onward 2020, let us be better, be happy and healthy all the time!

Happiness is in the air!

DeViLsHGaL

Roadblog303

After 102,020 page views and 1092 days, here we are, reaching our 303rd blog post. It's Roadblog303! Yes, it took only 1.5 years to belt out 202 blog posts, so you might wonder why it also took roughly another 1.5 years to do just half of what we did before. Am I getting sick of it? Or running out of ideas?

I'd say none of those. I wrote because I liked it, not because I had to. At first, it was like a child discovering a whole new world. There were plenty to do! Lots of potentials and I'd like to test the limit. However, as time went by, what was fun started to feel like work. It was like, I was responsible for churning out stories on daily basis if that was even possible. I didn't want that, so as I began the third year, I decided to take it slow. Just a blog post per week. I loved the freedom of time that I had since I adopted that mindset, but most importantly, it felt great to have the unnecessary pressure removed!

Now, let's get sentimental and see what we had done before this one. I had new guest writers such as Wawa and the one with pseudonym DeViLsHGaL joining me this year. I had a great time retelling the life lesson I learnt from Hilary. I got busy imagining the grand adventure done by my friend Eday. I let go my grief and remembered the good times I had with my Dad. I looked back at the one and only time I saw Nagasaki. It had been a wonderful ride and a lot had happened since Roadblog202. 

There'd be more stories to come after this. If you recalled, the tagline of the blog said, "because we, the commoners, have stories to tell." That's basically what the guest authors and I are doing here. Some people, the Beatles for instance, changed the world. We could do that, too, even though what we did probably had a lesser impact and in a smaller scale. Good and inspiring stories are what we need to make the world a better place.

Some people told me writing was a daunting task and somehow I made it look easy. I'm afraid I did no such thing. Writing is indeed easy. If you could tell a story verbally, you could also put it into a writing form. Simple as that. Don't worry about copying any fancy writing styles, for your own style is what works for you. What's more important here is, don't let good stories go unnoticed. Write it and share it.

Exploring and hanging out with friends! You'll read the story soon!
Photo by Endrico Richard. 

Roadblog303 

Setelah dibaca 102.020 kali dalam 1092 hari, tibalah kita pada artikel ke-303. Ini adalah Roadblog303! Ya, hanya dibutuhkan waktu satu setengah tahun untuk menghasilkan 202 tulisan, jadi kenapa butuh satu setengah tahun pula untuk menghasilkan setengah dari total yang dicapai sebelumnya? Apakah saya sudah mulai bosan? Atau mulai kehabisan ide? 

Jawabannya bukan karena hal-hal yang disebutkan di atas. Saya menulis karena saya suka, bukan karena saya harus menulis. Ketika saya mulai menulis blog, rasanya seperti seorang bocah yang menemukan dunia yang baru. Banyak yang bisa dikerjakan. Begitu banyak potensi yang bisa dicoba. Akan tetapi, seiring dengan berjalannya waktu, apa yang semula terasa seru mulai menjadi seperti sebuah pekerjaan. Rasanya seperti sebuah kewajiban untuk menghasilkan sebuah artikel setiap hari. Saya tidak menginginkan hal seperti itu, jadi begitu memasuki tahun ketiga, saya memutuskan untuk menulis dengan santai. Cukup satu tulisan per minggu. Setelah saya coba, saya suka dengan waktu luang yang saya miliki dan yang lebih penting lagi, lega rasanya setelah beban yang tidak perlu itu hilang.

Sekarang mari lihat kembali apa yang telah kita lalui. Beberapa penulis baru, Wawa dan DeViLsHGaL bergabung tahun ini. Saya menikmati saat-saat bercerita ulang tentang pelajaran hidup yang saya dapatkan dari Hilary. Saya sibuk membayangkan petualangan Eday yang luar biasa saat mengunjungi negara-negara yang eksotis. Saya menuangkan perasaan duka dan mengingat kembali masa-masa yang lebih gembira bersama ayah saya. Saya juga merenung tentang kunjungan saya ke Nagasaki. Singkat kata, menulis blog sungguh merupakan suatu hobi yang menyenangkan dan banyak yang telah ditulis sejak Roadblog202. 

Dan masih akan ada banyak cerita setelah ini. Jika anda ingat, moto dari blog ini adalah, "karena kita, orang-orang biasa, memiliki cerita untuk dibagikan." Ini adalah apa yang saya dan para penulis lainnya kerjakan. Beberapa tokoh, misalnya the Beatles, mengubah dunia. Kita bisa melakukan hal serupa juga, meski mungkin dalam skala dan dampak yang lebih kecil. Cerita yang positif dan memberikan inspirasi adalah apa yang kita butuhkan untuk membuat dunia ini menjadi lebih baik. 

Beberapa orang berkata pada saya bahwa menulis adalah sebuah pekerjaan yang sulit dan saya membuatnya terlihat mudah. Saya rasa tidak begitu, sebenarnya. Menulis itu memang gampang. Jika anda bisa bercerita secara langsung, anda pasti juga bisa menuliskan cerita anda. Sesederhana itu. Jangan pusing dengan gaya penulisan yang pernah anda baca di buku-buku lain, sebab gaya anda sendirilah yang paling cocok untuk anda. Yang lebih penting lagi adalah, jangan sampai cerita yang bagus hilang begitu saja. Tulis dan bagikanlah pada orang lain.