The Food Tourism

A few years ago, I did mention that Singapore has a lot of good food. The local delights such as mui fan or chicken rice are delicious and affordable. Then, if you felt like trying something different and foreign, you could go for Thai food, Japanese or even exotic cuisines from Middle East and Europe. 

In normal circumstances, you'd go for your favourite restaurant to have some food your were craving for every once in a while. However, last year had been anything but normal. Many of us, I believe, went through the lockdown for the first time ever. What were normally taken for granted turned out to be privileges that had to be stripped off. With not much left to do, anything that was remotely entertaining suddenly seemed to be worth trying!

From left: Winter Soldier and God. 

Thus began our story at a Lebanese restaurant called Urban Bites. In late August, I had lunch with two friends of mine. One looked like Winter Soldier, the other was nicknamed God. Both, as you might have guess, were such colourful characters. As we enjoyed hummus, flatbreads and kebab, it dawned on us that trying out foreign menus on regular basis sounded like a brilliant idea. Since we couldn't travel at all, the least we could do was to have food from other countries.

Indonesian food with Franky and Winter Soldier.

And we did exactly that for the next five months. We made it a mission to have meals that weren't from Singapore. We went to IndoChili for Indonesian food. Of all the menus that we ordered, tempe orek was the only one that I could remember, but not for a good reason. I mean, this was a roadside food, easily the cheapest one in Indonesia, but priced here in SGD. Felt like sucker for having this, haha. 

French cuisines. The one on the right is Poulet Rotisserie.

A week later, Winter Soldier and I thought we should go for Filipino food at Leslie's, not very far from Bugis, but little did we know that the place had closed down. We walked around and eventually decided that we should go French cuisines at Saveur. We had something called Poulet Rotisserie. It was like eating chicken from chicken rice, but this one came with a French name and therefore had a much higher price tag.

Left: lechon. Right: Directornado and God, after we exited Gerry's Grill.

After that, God and I explored Burmese and Filipino food at Inle Myanmar Restaurant and Gerry's Grill, respectively. I had always love Burmese food, especially the crispy eels, since I first tried it with my ex-housemates many, many years ago. As for Filipino food, of course we had to order lechon kawali. But after tasting it, I still missed the one I had in Cebu. It was the best lechon ever. 

Next lunch was organized by STV, a friend who could speak Thai. We had lunch at Beerthai House Restaurant inside Golden Mile Complex and his skill was proven to be useful. It was easier to order a glass of lemon grass in Thai. The food was not bad and I heard the price was kind of friendly, too. We had omelette, tom yum soup and steamed fish and some other menu.

Top: God and Directornado. Bottom: paneer.

Then we went for authentic Southern Indian food in Little India. Brought them to Anjappar. Not exactly near, but still within the walking distance from the MRT station. What's good here? We ordered paneer, mutton biryani, prawn masala, ghee rice and... probably tandoori chicken, too, since it was red color, haha. I always love eating here. The spice taste is so rich.

Top: pytt i panna. Bottom: with God, Directornado and Winter Soldier at Fika.

The next one was Swedish cuisines. Yes, when it comes to anything Swedish, people immediately think of IKEA and the meatballs, but we went to a bistro called Fika instead. I had something called pytt i panna. I couldn't even pronounce it, but it was basically beef. Tasted quite good, too. 

We planned for Italian or Spanish after that, but I almost couldn't make it due to some unforeseen issues. The original plan was abandoned and we switched to Mexican food at Guzman y Gomez nearby our office. I always love having the pork burrito bowl there! While having lunch, Winter Soldier joked that for all we knew, Guzman and Gomez were just some random Mexicans. It was like calling a restaurant Lim and Tan just to make it sounded Chinese. It turned out that he was right! Wikipedia said this is actually a restaurant chain from Australia and its origin got nothing to do with Guzman and Gomez, haha.

Top: Russian dumplings. Bottom, from left: salted herring fish and a glass of sour milk.

A Russian restaurant called Dumplings.Ru was the next one we visited. I had some salted raw fish there. Really salty, but I liked it! Then we shared a few plates of lamb and pork dumplings. To be frank, I couldn't tell the difference between Chinese and Russian dumplings. Apart from the fact that the Russian dumplings didn't come in soup or weren't served with noodles, they were quite tasty. 

Spanish cuisines and God enjoying his meal.

For our next meal, Winter Soldier suggested an Israeli meal at Miznon, but it was full when we reached there. As a result, we detoured and had Spanish in a restaurant named Gaig. Spanish food was all about tapas. It could be hot or cold. By the way, tapas is not exactly a specific name of food, but a general term for snacks, so tapas came in many forms. As the names on the menu sounded alien, I chose the one with rice. I thought rice would be the safest bet, it turned out to be a plate of sticky rice that tasted quite bland. 

God and dishes from Putian.

The Spanish meal became the last one we had together in 2020. There were still plenty to go, though. We have yet to try out African, Israeli and many more. In fact, we just began this year with cuisines originated from Putian, a city in Fujian province, China. Good stuff, but perhaps a story for another time. The bottom line is, after doing it for few months, I realized that Singapore is indeed heaven for food lovers. You have almost everything here, except food from Laos, perhaps. Just couldn't find it!

The food tourism...

Wisata Kuliner Di Singapura

Beberapa tahun silam, saya pernah bercerita bahwa Singapura menawarkan banyak makanan enak. Masakan lokal seperti mui fan atau nasi ayam terjangkau harganya dan murah pula. Kalau anda ingin sesuatu yang berbeda dan berasal dari luar negeri, anda bisa mencoba makanan Thai, Jepang dan bahkan menu eksotis dari Timur Tengah dan Eropa.

Di situasi normal, kita bisa ke restoran favorit kita untuk mencicipi makanan yang kita idamkan. Akan tetapi tahun lalu tidaklah normal. Banyak di antara kita yang menjalani karantina wilayah untuk pertama kalinya. Apa yang dulunya tergolong biasa, misalnya ke bioskop atau restoran, tiba-tiba tidak lagi diperbolehkan. Karena tidak banyak yang bisa dikerjakan, ide sepele pun terlihat menarik. 

Dari kiri: Winter Soldier dan God. 

Cerita kali ini bermula dari restoran Lebanon bernama Urban Bites. Di akhir Agustus, saya makan siang bersama dua teman. Yang satu mirip Winter Soldier di film Captain America, yang satunya lagi dijuluki God. Seperti yang bisa diterka dari penampilan mereka, perangai dua orang ini sangat unik. Setelah menyantap humus, roti pita dan kebab, kita lantas berpikir bahwa mencoba masakan asing secara rutin sepertinya ide yang bagus. Meski kita tidak bisa berlibur, setidaknya kita bisa menyantap makanan luar negeri.

Menikmati tempe orek bersama Franky dan Winter Soldier.

Dan inilah yang kita lakukan dalam lima bulan ke depan. Misi kita adalah menjajaki masakan asing yang kita temukan. Pertama-tama kita coba yang lebih lazim: makanan Indonesia di IndoChili. Masakannya tidak terlalu lezat dan satu-satunya yang saya ingat adalah tempe orek. Ini sebenarnya masakan kelas warteg di tepi jalan, tapi malah dipesan di restoran. Konyol rasanya harus membayar tempe orek dengan dolar Singapura, haha.

Makanan Perancis. Yang paling kanan adalah Poulet Rotisserie.

Seminggu kemudian, Winter Soldier dan saya berada di sekitar Bugis untuk menjajal masakan Filipina di Leslie's, tapi ternyata sudah tutup restorannya. Setelah berjalan sana-sini, akhirnya kita sepakat untuk mencicipi masakan Perancis di Saveur. Kita pesan menu yang namanya Poulet Rotisserie. Rasanya seperti ayam yang disajikan di nasi ayam, tapi yang dihidangkan di meja ini memiliki nama Perancis dan oleh karenanya menjadi berkali-kali lebih mahal.

Kiri: lechon. Kanan: Directornado dan God, setelah kita keluar dari Gerry's Grill.

Setelah itu God dan saya pergi ke Inle, restoran khas Myanmar, dan Gerry's Grill yang menawarkan menu Filipina. Saya selalu menyukai makanan Myanmar, terutama belut garing yang pertama kali saya cicipi bersama teman-teman serumah beberapa tahun silam. Akan halnya masakan Filipina, tentu saja kita harus memesan lechon kawali. Kendati begitu, saya masih merindukan lechon yang saya santap di Cebu. Sepertinya itu yang paling enak. 

Berikutnya adalah masakan Thai. Seorang teman lain berinisial STV menjamu kita di restoran Beerthai House di gedung Golden Mile Complex. STV bisa berbahasa Thai dan kemampuannya terbukti berguna, sebab pelayannya lebih memahami apa yang kita pesan dalam bahasa Thai. Makanannya cukup enak dan saya dengar harganya pun tidak terlalu mahal. Kita memesan omelet, sup tom yam, ikan kukus dan beberapa menu lain. 

Atas: God dan Directornado. Bawah: paneer.

Selanjutnya kita mengunjungi Little India untuk masakan India Selatan yang otentik. Restoran Anjappar cukup jauh dari stasiun MRT, tapi masih bisa dicapai dengan berjalan kaki. Apa yang enak di sini? Kita memesan paneer, nasi biryani domba, udang masala, nasi ghee dan... kalau tidak salah, ayam tandoori, sebab merah warnanya, haha. Saya suka masakan di sini. Rempah-rempahnya sungguh terasa. 

Atas: pytt i panna. Bawah: bersama teman-teman di Fika.

Yang berikutnya adalah masakan Swedia. Ya, jikalau bicara tentang Swedia, biasanya yang langsung diingat adalah IKEA dan baksonya, tapi kali ini kita ke restoran bernama Fika. Yang saya pesan adalah pytt i panna, semacam masakan berbasis daging sapi. Rasanya lumayan. 

Menu Italia dan Spanyol menjadi topik perbincangan minggu berikutnya, tapi misi kita hampir saja batal karena ada masalah di kantor. Setelah isu selesai, kita hanya bisa mampir ke Guzman y Gomez, kedai masakan Meksiko di dekat kantor. Selagi makan, Winter Soldier berkomentar, jangan-jangan Guzman dan Gomez cuma sekedar nama Meksiko. Ini sama halnya dengan menggunakan nama Lim dan Tan sebagai nama restoran supaya terdengar seperti restoran Cina. Ternyata dia benar! Setelah saya cek di Wikipedia, restoran ini berasal dari Australia dan asal-mulanya tidak ada kaitan dengan Guzman dan Gomez, haha. 

Atas: Pangsit Russia. Bawah, dari kiri: ikan herring asin dan segelas susu asam.

Sesudah Meksiko, kita mencoba pangsit Rusia di Dumplings.Ru, sebuah restoran di dekat MRT Tanjong Pagar. Saya memesan ikan mentah yang luar biasa asin, tapi enak. Selain itu, kita juga mencoba pangsit isi domba dan babi. Jujur saya katakan bahwa saya tidak bisa membedakan pangsit Cina dan Rusia. Rasanya sedap juga. 

Masakan Spanyol.

Masakan Israel di Miznon, Stanley Street, harusnya menjadi menu berikutnya, tapi tempat makannya penuh ketika kita tiba di sana. Alhasil kita pindah lokasi dan makan di Gaig, sebuah restoran Spanyol yang juga berada di jalan yang sama. Menu Spanyol menawarkan aneka tapas, baik yang dingin maupun panas. Oh ya, tapas itu cemilan, jadi banyak bentuknya. Setelah tapas, kita juga memesan menu utama. Saya pilih yang ada nasinya, tapi ternyata lengket dan agak tawar rasanya. Agak kurang nikmat rasanya. 

Dan masakan Spanyol menjadi menu terakhir di tahun 2020. Masih banyak lagi yang bisa dicoba, misalnya menu Afrika. Di awal tahun ini kita baru saja menyantap masakan dari Putian, sebuah kota di provinsi Fujian, China. Enak nian. Setelah saya jalani wisata kuliner di Singapura, saya yakin bahwa Singapura adalah surga bagi mereka yang suka makan. Hampir semuanya ada di sini, kecuali makanan Laos. Sampai sekarang belum berhasil saya temukan!  

God dan masakan khas Putian.

Fear Of Flying

There was a plane crash in Indonesia yesterday and it turned out that a friend's auntie boarded the same plane. Upon hearing the sad news, I couldn't help thinking that I should write about it. You see, as much as I love traveling, I have this fear of flying. Kinda ironic, eh?

Out of the three methods of transportation (by land, by sea and by air), I dislike flying the most. I hate having my feet so far off the ground. I feel insecure to be inside a giant flying metal that rested its wings on invisible air. If anything ever happens to the flight, it's likely to be doomed. 

Aerial view of Pontianak, taken from AirAsia that just took off. 

For the longest time, the duration of the flight I took was roughly about one and a half hours. My first flight that took more than two hours happened when I was working at Kalbe. It was from Jakarta to Medan in 2005. It was also the first time I ever flew at night. I remember staring at the blinking light at the tip of the wing and I looked at my colleague Felik when the turbulence happened, wondering how he could be so calm. 

The shortest flight I had was from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei. It lasted only 45 minutes. Best flight ever. The plane took off, I filled in the immigration card and it landed immediately after that. The longest one was a 2x7 hours flight from Singapore to London via Dubai. It was quite a smooth flight, but I still couldn't have a good sleep. During the round trip, I stayed awake most of the time, watching the first season of the Flash that was available on the in-flight entertainment. 

Happy faces when we landed in Dubai. 

The extremely bad turbulence occurred at least three times. The first one was the worst. When I took Adam Air from Jakarta to Pontianak, the plane shook so violently and passengers started shouting, "Allahu Akbar." Trust me that it wasn't something you'd want to hear when you were flying. I remember holding the amrest tightly and I stared intensely at the ceiling, half-convinced that it would crack open any time soon. It didn't happen, of course. The plane's safety record, as I would learn later on, was awful. 

The second one was the return flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong. Instead of the big and comfortable Cathay Pacific, we boarded a smaller Dragonair. It was a night flight and my Dad had fallen asleep when the turbulence happened. When the stewardess asked if I'd like to have fish or chicken for my meal, the only thing I could think of was the Last Supper. I didn't think I could eat at all, so I told her, I didn't wish to have anything. 

With Lawrence on the runway of Hang Nadim Airport, Batam. 
Photo by James Wu.

The last one so far was when my wife and I flew from Shanghai to Nagasaki using China Eastern Airlines. It was a short flight, but it was bloody bumpy! I stopped filling in the immigration form and told my wife that perhaps we'd just do it later, if we ever landed safely on the ground. 

I guess it was just me and, in all honesty, my tolerance level was low. My track records showed that I was often nervous and jumpy when the plane went through the clouds. Like I said earlier, I have this fear of flying, but I still travel whenever I can. Why?

Another happy faces as we landed in Bangkok.

Well, John Lennon once sang that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. In this context, I take it that when the time comes, there's no runaway from it. What happened with the plane crash was a tragedy. More often than not, we don't get to choose how we die, but we surely get a chance to choose how we live. And that fear of flying? It's part of me, but I choose to live a life well-traveled instead...

Fobia Terbang

Pesawat Sriwijaya rute Jakarta-Pontianak jatuh kemarin dan ternyata bibi seorang teman tercatat sebagai penumpang. Saat mendengar kabar buruk ini, saya jadi terpikir lagi tentang satu hal yang selalu membuat saya risau. Meski saya suka berlibur, saya sebenarnya takut naik pesawat. Ironis, ya? 

Dari tiga sarana transportasi darat, laut dan udara, saya paling tidak menyukai pesawat. Saya tidak suka berada di ketinggian, apalagi sampai ribuan kaki jauhnya dari permukaan bumi. Saya juga senantiasa gelisah saat membayangkan bahwa saya duduk di dalam konstruksi baja yang sayapnya disangga oleh udara, sesuatu yang sama sekali terlihat oleh mata. Jika sesuatu terjadi dengan penerbangan udara yang sedang ditumpangi, besar kemungkinannya bahwa semua akan celaka. 

Kota Pontianak, difoto dari AirAsia yang baru lepas landas. 

Dari usia empat sampai 20an tahun, lamanya penerbangan yang saya tempuh berkisar satu setengah jam. Penerbangan pertama yang lebih dari dua jam terjadi saat saya bekerja di Kalbe. Di tahun 2005, saya bepergian dari Jakarta ke Medan. Perjalanan ini juga merupakan penerbangan pertama saya di malam hari. Saya ingat dengan kelap-kelap lampu di ujung sayap pesawat. Ketika pesawat berguncang, saya serasa tak percaya saat melihat kolega saya Felik yang tenang-tenang saja. 

Durasi paling singkat bagi saya adalah penerbangan dari Kota Kinabalu di Malaysia ke Bandar Seri Begawan di Brunei. Perjalanan ini berlangsung selama 45 menit. Tak lama setelah pesawat lepas landas, formulir imigrasi dibagikan dan pesawat pun mendarat beberapa saat setelah formulir selesai diisi. Akan halnya penerbangan terpanjang sampai sejauh ini adalah 2x7 jam dari Singapura ke London lewat Dubai. Penerbangan ini sebenarnya tergolong lancar, tapi saya tetap kesulitan tidur selama di udara. Alhasil, dalam perjalanan pergi dan pulang, saya hampir menonton habis seri pertama the Flash di pesawat.  

Wajah gembira saat mendarat di Dubai. 

Setidaknya ada tiga penerbangan dalam cuaca buruk yang akan selalu terngiang di benak saya. Yang pertama adalah yang paling parah. Saat itu saya menumpang pesawat Adam Air jurusan Jakarta-Pontianak. Pesawat berguncang hebat, sampai-sampai penumpang lain berteriak, "Allahu Akbar." Ini bukanlah jeritan histeris yang ingin anda dengar saat naik pesawat. Saya sempat menggenggam erat sandaran lengan di kursi saya sambil menatap langit-langit pesawat yang sepertinya akan terbelah dua. Setelah penerbangan tersebut, saya baru menyadari bahwa rekam jejak Adam Air sangatlah buruk. 

Kali kedua saya mengalami hal yang nyaris serupa adalah penerbangan dari Tokyo ke Hong Kong. Berbeda dengan pesawat Cathay Pacific yang besar dan nyaman yang kita tumpangi saat ke Jepang, saya dan ayah saya menaiki Dragonair yang lebih kecil saat perjalanan pulang. Di malam itu, ketika ayah saya sudah tertidur, pesawat mulai berguncang-guncang. Ketika pramugari bertanya apakah saya ingin ikan atau ayam untuk santap malam, satu-satunya hal yang melintas di benak saya adalah Perjamuan Terakhir. Saya langsung kehilangan nafsu makan dan menolak tawaran pramugari tersebut.  

Bersama Lawrence di landasan pacu Bandara Hang Nadim, Batam. 
Foto oleh James Wu.

Tiga tahun kemudian, di tahun 2018, saya dan istri menaiki China Eastern Airlines dari Shanghai ke Nagasaki. Jarak tempuh kali ini sebenarnya cukup dekat, tapi penerbangannya sungguh tidak nyaman. Pesawat berjuang naik-turun melawan angin hampir sepanjang penerbangan. Saya jadi berhenti mengisi formulir imigrasi dan berkata kepada istri saya, nanti saja isinya, kalau kita sampai dengan selamat sampai di tujuan. 

Ya, mungkin saja saya memiliki toleransi yang rendah saat naik pesawat. Saya sering terlonjak dan gugup saat pesawat melewati awan. Seperti yang saya katakan sebelumnya, saya memiliki fobia naik pesawat, namun kenapa saya masih berkelana selagi saya bisa?

Wajah-wajah yang gembira saat mendarat di Bangkok.

John Lennon pernah menyanyikan lirik berikut ini: "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Artinya hidup adalah apa yang terjadi selagi Anda sibuk membuat rencana. Dalam konteks ini, saya merasa bahwa bila sudah waktunya, kita takkan bisa menghindar. Kecelakaan pesawat Sriwijaya adalah sebuah tragedi yang mengajarkan bahwa seringkali kita tidak bisa memilih bagaimana kita berpulang. Tapi saya rasa kita senantiasa memiliki kesempatan untuk memilih, bagaimana kita hidup. Fobia dalam menaiki pesawat adalah bagian dari saya, tapi saya bisa memilih dan saya memilih hidup yang penuh petualangan dalam melihat dunia... 

2020: The Year Of Resilience

Year 2020 was a year like no other. I mean, I'd lived through all sorts of crises in the past 40 years, from local to global ones. When I was 13, I feared dengue for a while right after it killed my five-year old cousin. I remember the '98 riot that happened when I was about to graduate from high school. I vaguely heard about SARS outbreak when I was working in Jakarta. I was inside Futures dealing room when the news about subprime mortgage and the collapse of Lehman Brothers was broadcasted. 

Just when I thought I had seen every crisis there was, a full-blown pandemic happened. None that happened before in my life came close to the impact of COVID-19. Things were fundamentally different this year and certainly not in a good way. Plans were disrupted. Dreams were robbed. Life as we knew it abruptly ended. It changed, almost overnight. Then we were forced to accept the new normal. 

On a personal level, what I described above went like this: I had a plan about how life would begin at 40. I had a dream of how I would celebrate it. I, too, like many of us, had taken certain lifestyle for granted: the movie-going, the drinking, the traveling. You named it. Suddenly, the way I lived, the way I worked, the way the kids studied, they were all gone, replaced by working from home and tons of Zoom calls, online learning, mask-wearing commute, contact tracing, etc. You named it. 

It felt like one hell of a time adjusting to all this. But when I remember how we scrambled, especially during the transition time, everything seemed like a laughable distant memory now. The new normal had become less new and more normal. Regardless how impossible the unthinkable was, we persevered. No matter how unpleasant life ever was, we adapted and changed. Looking back, we were definitely more resilient than I ever thought. Funny how I failed to see it in the first place.

Year 2020 was indeed an unusual one. It stripped my privileges off, shoved all my plans down the drain and showed me that the world literally didn't owe me a living. After that, 2020 reminded me of the resilience that I had long forgotten. I just had to make the best out of the situation and appreciate what I had. Then, as it was reaching the end, 2020 emphasised more on hope: that it'd get better from here onwards. I felt it. I hope you could feel it, too. Here's to a better 2021. Cheers!

Getting ready for 2021!

2020: Tahun Yang Penuh Cobaan

Tahun 2020 sungguh tahun yang berbeda dari biasanya. Dalam 40 tahun terakhir ini saya sudah melewati cukup banyak krisis, mulai dari yang skala lokal sampai global. Di kala berusia 13 tahun, demam berdarah terasa mengerikan terutama karena sepupu saya yang berumur lima tahun meninggal akibat penyakit menular ini. Di tahun 98, ketika saya hampir tamat SMA, terjadi kerusuhan besar-besaran di Indonesia. Sewaktu bekerja di Jakarta, saya sempat mendengar tentang wabah SARS yang heboh di luar negeri. Saya berada di ruang jual-beli kontrak derivatif ketika berita krisis ekonomi dan tumbangnya Lehman Brothers disiarkan. 

Begitu banyak krisis yang saya lewati, sampai-sampai saya kira sudah melihat semuanya, lalu tibalah hari di mana koronavirus merajalela. Apa yang terjadi sebelumnya terasa tidak berarti bila dibandingkan dengan dampak COVID-19. Banyak hal mendasar yang mendadak berubah total menjadi lebih buruk dari sebelumnya. Rencana terganggu, impian pun terampas. Hidup yang selama ini kita jalani sirna begitu saja, berubah drastis dalam waktu singkat. Kita dipaksa untuk menerima apa yang disebut sebagai new normal. 

Secara pribadi, apa yang saya deskripsikan di atas bisa diilustrasikan sebagai berikut: saya sudah rencanakan bagaimana hidup saya bermula di usia ke-40. Saya memiliki impian tentang bagaimana saya akan merayakannya. Seperti sebagian besar dari kita, saya pun terbiasa dengan gaya hidup seperti menonton di bioskop, sosialisasi sambil minum bir dan melanglang buana. Anda tahu apa yang saya maksudkan. Lalu tiba-tiba semua, mulai dari gaya hidup, kerja kantoran, aktivitas sekolah anak-anak, berubah dalam sekejap dan digantikan dengan bekerja dari rumah, konferensi lewat Zoom, sekolah lewat internet, keluar rumah menggunakan masker dan masih banyak lagi. Anda tahu apa yang saya maksudkan.  

Di saat semua itu terjadi, proses penyesuaiannya terasa berat. Namun ketika saya ingat kembali semua upaya tersebut, terutama di saat transisi, rasanya seperti kenangan masa silam yang membuat saya tersenyum simpul. New normal tidak lagi begitu baru dan mulai terasa normal. Apa yang saat itu terasa tidak mungkin, akhirnya berhasil dijalani juga. Meski kehidupan sempat terasa menantang dan tidak menyenangkan, kita bisa beradaptasi dan menyesuaikan diri. Kita ternyata lebih tangguh dari yang kita bayangkan. Lucu rasanya bahwa saya tidak menyadari hal ini di saat COVID-19 baru mulai melanda. 

Tahun 2020 memang tidak lazim. Kebebasan hidup saya direnggut dan rencana saya buyar semua, seakan-akan ini adalah pelajaran bahwa hidup itu rapuh. Setelah itu, 2020 mengingatkan saya kembali bahwa manusia memiliki ketangguhan dalam menyesuaikan diri. Dari situasi yang buruk pun kita bisa mewujudkan sesuatu yang baik dan kita harus menghargainya. Kemudian, ketika mendekati akhir tahun, 2020 menekankan tentang harapan: bahwa semua akan menjadi lebih baik. Saya bisa merasakannya dan saya harap anda pun bisa merasakannya pula. Untuk tahun baru yang lebih baik! Cheers! 

2020: Memory Lane

Some might say we were just too naive when entering 2020. Well, I remember when I had a job as a chauffeur and I picked the children up to go from home to school and vice versa. I enjoyed my side job while doing my main business of opening salted fish shop. I started working as a chauffeur from October 2018 until February 2020. Then it suddenly stopped because of pandemic, wahaha. The virus came to town! After CNY 2020 and the dragon dance event were done, the lockdown announcement began. 

From that time onwards, I was out of side job and lost my side income. I even stopped being an online driver when the pandemic got worse in March. I ended up focusing more on the shop which had been opened by my Mum since 1998. 

Anyway, my activities became monotonous. Opened the shop at 7am and closed the shop at 3pm. At night, I just watched TV at home. That's it. The local news announced that in dealing with this pandemic, we had to stay safe by working from home. We just had to make do so I woke up early to exercise and jogged in the afternoon. It helped in maintaining discipline and good spirit. I liked it!

During this period, surgical mask became very expensive to buy. It became the most wanted stuff in the world. Luckily, after two months of lockdown, the government released the stimulus package to the needy.

Hard though life was, my fortune in earning money actually got better. I could save the profit regularly. Really felt blessed and grateful. On top of that, I could buy Yen, too, for my upcoming trip to Japan. Yes, it looked unlikely now, but I believed yes would be the answer. I would go to Japan, probably next year. This is how I stayed positive all this while. 

Now 2020 would be over soon. The world had struggled to make a better life in pandemic. Vaccines had been produced to wipe out the virus in the world. Here's to hoping a better life in 2021! It'd been tough. Students had studied online for 10 month at home. Every time I passed the schools, they looked empty. So strange and I felt odd, too. All because of pandemic, the worst thing that happened in 2020.

As we entered December 2020, Christmas time was here again. People seemed like they had gotten used to life in the time of pandemic. Some of them didn't care anymore, some of them still obeyed the safety protocol. Well, it's normal, I think, as not all human beings are responsible. Hence I just say the good thing: let's pray for a better 2021. Merry Christmas and happy new year!

PS: I'll be back again😁

Merry Christmas!

The Coast-to-Coast Trail

A while ago, my friend Eday said that he'd want to try walking from one end to the other end of Singapore. For some strange reason, I seemed to recall that the distance from East to West was 42 km (according to Wikipedia, it was actually 50 km). It somehow felt doable, probably because I had seen my father-in-law completing the marathon run in seven hours back in 2011 at the age of 70, haha. 

Then I had a morning walk with my wife a week ago. When we exited Oasis Terrace, the view was... breathtaking. It was so beautiful that I stopped for a while just to admire the view. The sky, the sunlight, the river, the bridge, the buildings, the greenery blended in perfectly. I've always known that Singapore is a nice place to walk, but it was good to be vividly reminded again.

The view behind Oasis Terrace.

Based on the signage, we were somewhere between Punggol Waterway Park and Coney Island. That's when we also saw that the road leads to Jurong Lake Gardens. It's as far as a taxi ride of roughly SGD 30 from Lakeside to Sengkang, the amount we paid last September. The whole route is 36 km. Crazy, huh? But... what if it wasn't that crazy at all? If 42 km felt doable, 36 km should be doable, right?

When we had our dinner later on that day, I convinced my wife that we should attempt the Coast-to-Coast Trail. It'd be great. It'd be fun. We'd give our best and we'd remember this as our last achievement together in year 2020. She was game, so we did it on Thursday morning. We woke up early and took the train all the way to Lakeside MRT station. 

The Lone Tree.

The weather was cloudy, so it was not hot at all. It was 8am in the morning when we started searching for the Lone Tree in Jurong Lakeside Gardens, a sculpture made of recycled materials. From there, we started following the map on the National Parks app and walked to Bukit Batok Nature Park.

When we began our journey, I was expecting the park connector to be similar as the one I passed by from Kembangan to East Coast, ie. walkways isolated from the main road. However, with the next park 6.5 km away from where we were, I reckon it wasn't possible to do so. On top of that, some parts of the trail were also closed down due to construction work. 

The Coast-to-Coast Trail road sign.
Photo by: Yani Evelyn Robinson.

But Singapore is pedestrian friendly. Let's just say that, as long as you are willing to walk, there's literally a way. The road signs are good and we could find one related to Coast-to-Coast Trail every 200 m. The only problem here was a user problem. For example, right after breakfast, I deliberately ignored the sign in front of me, thinking that I could depend on the map. But I didn't zoom in to see the details. Needless to say, I took the wrong path. One overhead bridge later, the GPS showed that I started deviating, haha.

We reached Bukit Batok Nature Park at 10:51am, almost three hours after we started walking. The next stop, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, was much nearer. It only took us half an hour to get there. Then it rained, the first time ever for what would become the on-and-off rain that happened for the next two hours. At the same time, my phone was about to die after five hours of infrequent chatting, picture taking and map checking. Google Pixel 4's battery sucks!

 

Checkpoint #2.
Photo by Yani Evelyn Robinson.

We resumed our journey by relying on my wife's iPhone 12 while Pixel was plugged into a power bank. As we looked at the signage and compared with the next checkpoint on the app, I started noticing that they weren't always the same destination. The third checkpoint wasn't Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, but an obscure signage of Hindhede Drive. 

It was a long walk from there to the next one in Adam Road. By making use of umbrella and the shelter on the road, we were able to reach KAP mall. I had never been to this area before! When we passed by King Albert Park MRT train station, it rained heavily, so we cheated a bit by taking a bus, haha. We alighted at Tan Kah Kee MRT Station and walked to Adam Road Food Centre for lunch. It felt good to sit down, but the first few steps after that were painful and wobbly. 

Checkpoint #4.
Photo by: Yani Evelyn Robinson.

Still we managed to complete what would be the last leg of our walk. It brought us to the eerily quiet Kheam Hock Road (we passed by the Chinese graveyard) and then the long and slightly winding Lornie Road. By the time we turned left, we could see the Zig-Zag Bridge of MacRitchie Reservoir. The entrance, however, was still pretty far. 

The fifth checkpoint, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, was even farther. The weather had been kind thus far, but we could feel the afternoon sun now. It happened that there were a couple of SG Bike nearby, so it was about time that we continued by pedalling. 

SG Bike time!

That was the first time I ever cycled in Singapore. In fact, that was probably the first time I ever cycled that far since my school days in Pontianak. The one I rode wasn't a great bike and the chain had already come off when I first unlocked it so I had to fix this first, but it was nice to be riding a bike again. It was faster, but more tiring than walking, haha.

By the time we locked the bikes and walked towards the fifth checkpoint, we decided that it was going to be the end of the line. When we were at Adam Road Food Center, we still discussed about continuing our walk to Sengkang Floating Wetland, which was the seventh checkpoint. When we took this picture below, it was around 4:15pm. If we were to continue, we'd go home quite late at night and we didn't want that. 

The last one. 

So we boarded bus #88 and went home. Before I dozed off in the bus, I looked back and learnt three things that day. One, my wife went through all this with me, be it shine or rain, without a single complaint. Amazing. Two, Singapore is beautiful. This long walk showed me a side of Singapore that I had never seen before. Three, we woke up before 6am and even after we spent eight hours, we only covered 25 km. After going through this, I wished to say to my friend Eday, "walking from one end to another end of Singapore in one day is, perhaps, a tall order and not a very enjoyable idea, haha."

Coast-to-Coast Trail

Beberapa waktu lalu, teman saya Eday berkata bahwa dia ingin menjelajah Singapura dari ujung ke ujung. Mendengar hal itu, saya jadi teringat bahwa jarak dari Timur ke Barat adalah 42 km (jarak yang benar menurut Wikipedia adalah 50 km, hehe). 42 km terasa bisa dijajal, mungkin karena saya pernah melihat bapak mertua saya menyelesaikan maraton dalam tempo tujuh jam di tahun 2011, saat dia berusia 70 tahun, hehe. 

Kira-kira seminggu yang lalu, saya dan istri berjalan pagi. Ketika kita keluar dari Oasis Terrace, pemandangan di belakang gedung terlihat menakjubkan. Tanpa sadar saya berhenti sejenak untuk mengagumi langit, cahaya matahari, sungai, jembatan, gedung dan pepohonan yang menyatu dengan begitu indahnya. Saya tahu bahwa Singapura adalah tempat yang nyaman untuk berjalan kaki, tapi luar biasa rasanya diingatkan kembali secara spontan lewat keindahan di depan mata. 

Pemandangan di belakang gedung Oasis Terrace.

Berdasarkan papan petunjuk di tepi jalan, saya dan istri berada di antara Punggol Waterway Park dan Coney Island. Kita juga melihat bahwa rute ke arah barat akan membawa kita ke Jurong Lake Gardens (berdasarkan pengalaman di bulan September lalu, bila ditempuh dengan taksi dari Lakeside ke Sengkang, harganya kurang lebih SGD 30). Rute dari ujung ke ujung ini sepanjang 36 km. Gila rasanya kalau ditempuh dengan berjalan kaki, ya? Tapi... bagaimana bila kenyataannya tidak segila yang dibayangkan? Jika 42 km terasa mungkin untuk dijajal, harusnya 36 km itu tidak mustahil, bukan? 

Ketika kita bersantap malam, saya pun meyakinkan istri saya bahwa kita harus mencoba Coast-to-Coast Trail. Ini pasti seru. Ini pasti menyenangkan. Kita akan berupaya sebisanya dan ini akan menjadi prestasi bersama yang terakhir di tahun 2020. Istri saya mengiyakan, jadi kita pun sepakat untuk melakukannya di Kamis pagi. Sebelum matahari terbit, kita sudah berada di kereta yang menuju ke Stasiun Lakeside. 

Lone Tree.

Cuaca pagi itu terlihat mendung, jadi tidak panas sama sekali. Jam menunjukkan pukul delapan pagi ketika kita mulai berjalan mencari Lone Tree di Jurong Lakeside Gardens. Lone Tree bukanlah pohon sungguhan, melainkan sebuah karya seni yang dibuat dari bahan daur ulang. Dari Lone Tree, kita mulai menyusuri peta di aplikasi National Parks dan berjalan ke Bukit Batok Nature Park.

Ketika kita memulai penjelajahan ini, saya membayangkan bahwa jalan dari taman ke taman itu mirip seperti jalur yang dulu saya lalui dari Kembangan ke East Coast yang terhubung lewat jalan kecil khusus pejalan kaki yang terpisah dari jalan raya. Akan tetapi, dengan jarak tempuh sejauh 6,5 km dari Jurong Lake Gardens, sepertinya tidaklah mungkin untuk membuat jalan tersendiri seperti yang saya bayangkan. Selain itu, beberapa bagian dari rute juga ditutup karena adanya konstruksi di jalan. 

Petunjuk jalan Coast-to-Coast Trail.
Foto oleh: Yani Evelyn Robinson.

Namun Singapura adalah negara yang ramah bagi pejalan kaki. Selama anda ada tekad untuk berjalan, maka selalu ada trotoar untuk berjalan. Petunjuk jalannya pun bagus. Setiap 200 m, kita bisa melihat petunjuk yang berkaitan dengan Coast-to-Coast Trail. Yang jadi masalah adalah pengguna jalan, hehe. Setelah sarapan pagi, saya mengabaikan petunjuk di depan mata karena merasa bahwa saya bisa mengandalkan peta di aplikasi. Ketika jalan bercabang, saya tidak memperbesar peta untuk melihat detilnya sehingga saya pun salah jalan. Sesudah melewati satu jembatan, akhirnya terlihat di peta bahwa saya sudah menyimpang dari jalur semula, haha. 

Kita tiba di Bukit Batok Nature Park pada pukul 10:51 pagi, setelah kita berjalan hampir tiga jam lamanya. Pemberhentian berikutnya, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, lebih dekat jaraknya dan hanya membutuhkan waktu setengah jam. Saat kita hampir mencapai tujuan, turun hujan untuk pertama kalinya. Hujan gerimis dan deras turun silih berganti dalam dua jam ke depan. Di saat bersamaan, telepon genggam saya akhirnya kehabisan baterai sesudah digunakan selama lima jam untuk mengambil foto, chatting dan mengecek peta. Google Pixel 4 memang parah baterainya! 

pos ke-2.
Photo by Yani Evelyn Robinson.

Selagi Pixel diopname dengan power bank, perjalanan pun dilanjutkan dengan mengandalkan iPhone 12 milik istri saya. Sewaktu melihat rambu di jalan dan membandingkannya dengan pos berikutnya di aplikasi, saya mengamati bahwa tempat tujuannya tidak selalu sama. Pos ketiga bukanlah Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, melainkan Hindhede Drive. 

Jarak antara Hindhede Drive dan Adam Road adalah 5.6 km. Dengan menggunakan payung dan kanopi di tepi jalan, kita berhasil mencapai KAP mall meski berjalan di tengah hujan. Saya belum pernah ke kawasan ini sebelumnya. Sewaktu kita melewati stasiun MRT King Albert Park, tiba-tiba turun hujan deras, jadi kita pun tergoda untuk naik bis, haha. Kita lantas turun di dekat stasiun MRT Tan Kah Kee dan berjalan ke Adam Road Food Centre untuk makan siang. Enak rasanya duduk di kursi setelah lama berjalan, tapi beberapa langkah pertama setelah itu terasa seperti perjuangan berat karena kaki yang sudah pegal kembali dipaksa untuk berjalan. 

Checkpoint ke-4.
Foto oleh: Yani Evelyn Robinson.

 

Kendati begitu, kita masih bisa menyelesaikan rute berikutnya yang kemudian menjadi rute terakhir kita. Perjalanan ke Macritchie Reservoir membawa kita melewati kuburan cina di Kheam Hock Road dan juga Lornie Road yang panjang dan sepi. Ketika kita tiba di ujung jalan dan berbelok ke kiri, kita bisa melihat Zig-Zag Bridge di MacRitchie Reservoir, namun pintu masuknya masih jauh di depan kita. 

Pos ke lima, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, bahkan lebih jauh lagi. Sampai sejauh ini, cuaca boleh dikatakan tidak panas, namun sekarang kita mulai merasakan cahaya matahari sore. Tepat di tempat kita berada, terlihat beberapa sepeda SG Bike, jadi kita pun melanjutkan perjalanan dengan mengayuh sepeda. 

Waktunya bersepeda!

Ini pertama kalinya saya bersepeda di Singapura. Ini bahkan mungkin pertama kalinya saya bersepeda setelah menyelesaikan pendidikan di Pontianak. SG Bike yang saya pakai bukanlah sepeda yang bagus. Ketika saya mengaktifkan sepedanya, baru saya sadari bahwa rantainya telah copot sehingga saya harus memasangnya kembali, tapi senang rasanya bisa bersepeda lagi. Lebih cepat sampai ke tujuan, tapi lebih melelahkan pula bila dibandingkan dengan berjalan kaki, haha.  

Tatkala saya mengunci sepeda dan berjalan menuju pos ke-5, kita memutuskan bahwa perjalanan akan berakhir di sini. Ya, sewaktu berada di Adam Road Food Center, saya dan istri sempat berdiskusi untuk berjalan hingga Sengkang Floating Wetland yang merupakan pos ke-7. Namun jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 16:13 sore ketika foto terakhir ini diambil. Jika kita tetap lanjut, bisa-bisa kita baru akan sampai di rumah ketika hari sudah larut malam. 

Pos ke-5. 

Akhirnya kita menaiki bis nomor 88 dan pulang. Sebelum tertidur di bis, saya melihat kembali dan belajar tiga hal dari pengalaman hari ini. Pertama, istri saya setia menemani saya di tengah hujan dan panasnya matahari sore tanpa mengeluh sedikit pun. Luar biasa. Kedua, Singapura adalah negara yang indah. Petualangan hari ini menunjukkan sisi Singapura yang belum pernah saya lihat sebelumnya. Ketiga, kita bangun sebelum jam enam pagi dan setelah berjalan sekitar delapan jam, kita hanya bisa menyelesaikan 25 km. Saya jadi ingin mengatakan hal ini kepada teman saya Eday, "berjalan dari ujung ke ujung di Singapura dalam satu hari sepertinya bukanlah ide yang bagus, haha." 

Age Of Calamity

I often said this and I'd say it again, "there are many great games out there, but there's only one legend." Yes, the Legend of Zelda stands out because of three things: a brilliant gameplay, a fascinating story and the music that is worthy of a legend. 

But even within the legend, there's one chapter that we're going to talk about for years to come: Breath of the Wild. The game was so good that it brought the word legend to an unprecedented level that we never knew it existed before. Breath of the Wild was a discovery of what happened 100 years ago, when heroes lost, but one last hope remained. It was masterfully done.

The Princess.

But even after Ganon was defeated, it didn't change the past and how we knew so little about it. This left us wanting more. This made Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity a rather curious spin-off. How on earth could someone make a game out of a legend where the Champions died during the Great Calamity?

Now, when I said spin-off, you needed to know that Age of Calamity wasn't part of the Legend of Zelda. The gameplay certainly didn't feel like one. It was a simple hack-and-slash game. What made it special was the fact that it was endorsed by Nintendo.

The Calamity.

This was important and it resulted in a story so well-crafted, but yet the legend remained intact. The key in making this possible was Terrako. The diminutive Guardian didn't exist in Breath of the Wild. From the moment I saw it appearing in what looked like a time travel scene, I had this strange feeling that it would somehow change the story. True enough, it did, in a good way! 

Spoiler alert: because of Terrako's existence, the Champions survived! The story did follow the history as we knew it closely, but during their final moments, the Champions got a little help from... the future. From here onwards, a new timeline began. 

The Champions.
From left: Daruk, Mipha, Link, Urbosa and Revali.

So, for the first time ever, we had a chance to see the four Champions in action. Yes, we might have seen a glimpse of Mipha, Daruk, Revali and Urbosa in Breath of the Wild, when Link regained his memories. But to actually see the Champions riding the Divine Beasts and play all of them alongside Princess Zelda? That was wild! No pun intended!

One thing I couldn't help feeling about Breath of the Wild was a tinge of sadness that came with it. I mean, there were deaths that Link had to live with, as his victory was 100 years too late. Age of Calamity was a redemption that fans like me needed, an outcome that should have happened. It was good to have a second chance, even if it was only an alternate timeline...

Fixing Terrako.

Age Of Calamity

Saya sering mengatakan hal ini dan akan saya katakan sekali lagi, "ada banyak game bagus dalam 30 tahun terakhir ini, tapi hanya ada satu yang legendaris." Ya, the Legend of Zelda memang berbeda karena tiga faktor berikut ini: cara bermainnya yang unik, ceritanya yang bagus dan musiknya yang pantas disandingkan dengan legendanya. 

Akan tetapi di dalam legenda yang kaya akan beragam cerita ini pun hanya ada satu yang akan dibicarakan bertahun-tahun kemudian: Breath of the Wild. Game ini luar biasa bagusnya sehingga mendefinisikan ulang kata legenda ke level yang tidak pernah kita sangka ada sebelumnya. Breath of the Wild adalah sebuah petualangan yang membawa menemukan kembali apa yang terjadi 100 tahun silam, ketika semua pahlawan telah gugur dan menyisakan satu harapan terakhir. Sungguh sebuah maha karya. 

Princess Zelda.

Sewaktu kita mengalahkan Canon dan menamatkan game ini, ada perasaan bahwa masa yang telah lampau dan tidak banyak kita ketahui ini tidaklah berubah. Kita jadi berandai dan ingin menggali lebih dalam lagi tentang legenda ini. Karena inilah Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity menjadi episode yang unik dari cerita ini. Bagaimana caranya membuat game dari sebuah legenda dimana para pahlawannya gugur dalam era Great Calamity?

Sebelum kita berbicara lebih lanjut, perlu saya jelaskan bahwa Age of Calamity bukanlah bagian dari the Legend of Zelda. Cara bermainnya terasa berbeda, lebih menyerupai game perang Sam Kok yang menebas puluhan musuh di sekeliling kita. Yang membuat game ini istimewa adalah dukungan penuh dari Nintendo.

Link melawan Ganon.

Ini penting artinya dan berkat masukan dari Nintendo, ceritanya sangatlah menarik, tapi tidak mengusik legenda Breath of the Wild. Hal ini menjadi mungkin karena hadirnya Terrako, robot kecil yang sebelumnya tidak dikisahkan dalam Breath of the Wild. Saat saya melihat Terrako di awal cerita yang menyerupai adegan perjalanan ke masa silam, saya merasa bahwa robot mungil ini akan mengubah alur cerita. 

Spider alert: karena keterlibatan Terrako, para pahlawan pun selamat! Alur cerita Age of Calamity berjalan sesuai dengan apa yang kita ketahui dari Breath of the Wild, tapi di saat-saat terakhir mereka, para pahlawan mendapat bantuan dari... masa depan. Semenjak itu, alur cerita baru pun bermula. 

Para pahlawan.
Dari kiri: Daruk, Mipha, Link, Urbosa dan Revali.

Alhasil, untuk pertama kali kita bisa melihat sepak-terjang para pahlawan Hyrule selain Link. Ya, sebelumnya kita sudah melihat kilasan balik tentang Mipha, Daruk, Revali and Urbosa lewat Breath of the Wild, tatkala Link memperoleh kembali ingatannya tentang masa lalu, tapi ini tentu saja tidak sebanding dengan melihat langsung para pahlawan ini menunggangi Divine Beasts dan bermain sebagai mereka dan bertarung di samping Princess Zelda! Sensasinya berbeda dan terasa luar biasa. 

Satu hal yang senantiasa menaungi Breath of the Wild adalah nuansa sedih di sepanjang cerita. Meskipun Link akhirnya berhasil menumpas Canon, teman-temannya telah tiada dan kemenangannya terasa terlambat 100 tahun. Age of Calamity bagaikan kesempatan untuk menebus kembali apa yang gagal dilakukan. Kemenangan dalam game ini adalah sebuah hasil akhir yang seharusnya terjadi. Senang rasanya bisa mendapatkan kesempatan kedua, meskipun hanya di alur waktu yang berbeda dan di luar legenda sesungguhnya...

The Parenting Expectation

Every parents want their children to excel in school. The intention is noble, alright, but in reality, the execution can be quite messy. Children feel like being forced to do something they don't like, parents are exhausted and frustrated by the disobedience and stubbornness.

Case in point was my daughter Linda. Sometimes I couldn't help smiling when I saw her studying under the watchful eyes of her Mum. She did quite alright in mathematics (though she definitely could be better, haha), but she was obviously struggling to maintain her interest in Chinese language. 

This is where it got a bit conflicting. As a parent, I really wished that she studied hard so that she'd do well, but if I recalled how I fared when I was her age, I was not any better. I remember taking English lessons from various tuition centres and none could get me speaking fluently. I would pretend to be sleepy or sick when it was time to go for tuition and Mum would yell at me, too. 

When she was doing her art.
Photo by: Yani Evelyn Robinson

Based on my experience, I learnt almost zilch when I had no interests. It would only work for me when I was motivated. That's how I picked up English. It's because I love the Beatles and was inspired by them. And that daughter of mine was 50% me. It might be too early to tell now, but she was probably the same as me, hence things would work out the same way, too. 

So how to draw the line between the parenting expectation and the fact that she might inherit 50% of my traits? I guess to certain extent, being parents means giving the kids the right amount of exposure. Right as in strict enough for their own good, but not burdening them with unnecessary stress or even our own personal ambition. What good is number one when she's not a happy kid? Not everyone is meant to be academically inclined, anyway.

If there was one thing different from my daughter's young life and my childhood, that has to be the fact that parents these days are more attentive, open-minded and keen to develop the kid's talent. I like this idea better and I think this should be the right thing to do. Linda is a good and happy kid. She's playful, creative in her own way and, most importantly, has an interest in art. That, perhaps, is what my wife and I should really encourage her to do...

Linda's cartoon about COVID-19.
(Read from top left, clockwise)

Harapan Orang Tua

Setiap orang tua pastilah menginginkan agar anaknya sukses di sekolah. Tujuan ini lazim dan mulia, tapi pelaksanaannya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari seringkali tidak semulus yang dibayangkan. Terkadang anak merasa dipaksa untuk mengerjakan apa yang tidak mereka sukai dan alhasil, orang tua juga cape dan frustrasi karena ketidakpatuhan anak. 

Contoh dalam kasus ini adalah putri saya Linda. Ada kalanya saya jadi tersenyum simpul sewaktu melihat dia belajar di bawah pengawasan ibunya. Dia tergolong bisa dalam mengerjakan matematika, tapi terlihat betul bahwa dia tidak memiliki minat dalam mempelajari bahasa Mandarin. 

Saya jadi merasakan konflik di dalam hati saat melihat hal ini. Sebagai orang tua, saya sungguh berharap bahwa dia belajar lebih keras lagi supaya menguasai bahasa Mandarin, namun saya juga ingat bahwa di saat saya seumuran dengannya, saya pun tidak lebih baik. Saya kursus di sana-sini, tapi tetap saja tidak bisa berbahasa Inggris. Bila tiba waktunya untuk pergi kursus, saya juga pura-pura sakit atau mengantuk dan ibu saya pun marah-marah. 

Berdasarkan pengalaman saya, jikalau tidak memiliki minat, hasil dari apa saya pelajari nyaris tidak ada. Beda ceritanya kalau saya termotivasi. Inilah alasannya kenapa saya jadi menguasai bahasa Inggris: karena saya terinspirasi oleh the Beatles. Nah, putri saya ini boleh dikatakan 50% diri saya. Walau terlalu dini untuk menilainya sekarang, mungkin saja dia pun sama seperti saya. 

Ketika Linda sedang menggambar.
Foto: Yani Evelyn Robinson.

Jadi bagaimana caranya agar netral antara harapan orang tua dan fakta bahwa 50% karakternya adalah warisan dari saya? Sampai batas tertentu, saya rasa menjadi orang tua berarti memberikan kesempatan yang layak bagi anak dalam mengenyam pendidikan. Saya harus cukup tegas demi kebaikannya, tapi jangan sampai membuat dia merasa tertekan, apalagi sampai memaksakan kehendak saya. Apa gunanya menjadi nomor satu di kelas kalau dia tidak bahagia? Lagipula tidak semua orang bisa sukses dalam hal akademik. 

Jika ada satu hal yang membedakan kehidupan saya dan putri saya sekarang, maka itu adalah kecenderungan orang tua zaman sekarang dalam memperhatikan dan mengembangkan talenta anaknya. Saya pikir ini adalah ide yang bagus. Linda anak yang baik dan riang. Dia lucu, kreatif dan memiliki minat dalam bidang seni. Mungkin ini yang seharusnya lebih menjadi fokus saya dan istri...