Once Upon A Time In China 3

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

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

When we were reaching the West Lake. 

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

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

Mum and Dad at West Lake. 

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

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

Posing at Wushan Hill. 

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

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

The Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou. 

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

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

The Bund, Shanghai. 

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

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

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

That smile they had in Hangzhou.

Suatu Ketika Di Negeri Cina 3

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

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

Saat mampir ke Genting. 

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

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

Mama yang terlihat ceria di Xihu. 

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

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

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

Suatu malam di Hangzhou. 

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

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

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

Mama di Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou. 

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

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

Di Pudong, kawasan bisnis di Shanghai. 

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

Book Review: Snowing In Bali

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

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

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

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

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

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

Snowing in Bali by Kathryn Bonella.

Salju Di Bali

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wish List

This story began with me wondering, where exactly I could go using Indonesian passport without the need of applying visa. If such need was unavoidable, then it'd be great if it was visa on arrival. The result was ranging from those obscure countries such as Gambia and Belarus to interesting destinations such as Peru, Uzbekistan and Qatar. Then of course there was Armenia in the list.

Armenia means a lot to me, because it was the latest one that went into my wish list. I have this habit of browsing Wikitravel just to read about places and dream that I'll be there one day. I had even planned for the trips, too, but for some reason, the visits weren't materialised.

It was all started with Darwin in Australia. There was a Jetstar promo back in 2009 and the return tickets were unbelievably cheap. Upon seeing that, I read about Darwin and was very much fascinated by the salt water crocodiles in the wild. I imagined sitting on a beach and saw one crawling out nonchalantly from the sea. That'd be one hell of an experience! I immediately formed a travel group and booked the flights. But the trip wasn't meant to happen, unfortunately. As we were approaching the departure date, one by one bailed out. The tickets were burnt and the price was never that cheap again since then. I've been asking my wife if she's keen to go Darwin, but it may take visits to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth before Darwin got its turn.

The next one that came to mind was Bhutan. I was intrigued by the fact that the country is based on Gross Happiness Index. People must be smiling a lot there! So I read about places in Bhutan such as Paro and Thimphu. I found out about Tiger Nest Dzong, a monastery that sits on the cliff. Then there was takin, a strange looking animal (that I eventually saw in Guangzhou zoo). Bhutan was a place of wonders! Apart from reading a lot, I even visited Druk Asia, the official Bhutan travel agency in Albert Street. I learnt that not only it'd be quite an expensive trip, but the nearest airport for me was the one in Bangkok (we could only fly with Druk Air to Bhutan and the Bhutan-Singapore flight route only started in September 2012). That's when the plan to Bhutan was canned. Up until now, my friend Steva would often ask jokingly, "so when are we going to Bhutan again?"

After Bhutan was Mongolia. After the cancelled Paul McCartney concert in Japan, I planned a trip to Mongolia. Suddenly the idea of the bright blue sky meeting the land of green was very appealing. Further it's the country of Genghis Khan, the great warrior. What's not to like? I remember planning to go from Beijing. Once we reached the capital city of China, we'd do a road trip to Erenhot in Inner Mongolia, then stay one night there (the small town happened to be a place where dinosaurs lived million years ago) before crossing to Zamyn-Üüd in Mongolia. Then on our way back, we could take Trans-Siberian train from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing. It sounded exciting, until I heard of Paul McCartney's concerts being rescheduled. The plan was immediately scrapped to make way for another Japan trip.

Kazakhstan came after my trip to Myanmar. I bought a book about Myanmar and its neighbours. The book talked a lot about beautiful places in Yunnan province, from Kunming to Shangri-la. It was very inspiring that I toyed with the idea of travelling from Yunnan to Xinjiang, another province in China that I'd like to visit, too, simply because the people there that don't look very Chinese (or Han, to be precise). It was either that route or flying from Guangzhou to Ürümqi. Then, from Xinjiang, I could do a road trip to Almaty in Kazakhstan. Central Asia is like a road less travelled, that's why I'm very curious about Kazakhstan. But the visa was very hard to get! I'd need an invitation letter and even obtaining it didn't mean that the visa would be automatically approved. I just gave up there and then. May be next time, when the visa requirement gets easier.

Indonesian passport got a better luck with Armenia, apparently. I almost couldn't believe it when I realized that I only needed visa on arrival. I was excited by the thought of visiting a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia, so beautiful and rich in history. Then further reading showed that I could also have a short getaway to Georgia, the neighbouring country, perhaps for a bite of khinkali, the Georgian dumpling. Armenia seemed like my next destination! I remember trying my best to figure out how to transfer my luggage from Emirates to flydubai without crossing the checkpoint. But while I was on fire, the enthusiasm wasn't shared by many. I eventually relented and came up with more mainstream destinations instead.

Out of all places that i'd really love to visit, I'd only been to Vientiane, Hiroshima and Liverpool. But that's life, really. Even though the trip has been planned, sometimes it just doesn't happen. But it's alright. I'll revisit the list again someday. May be when I'm 40. I hope the big 40 is a valid reason, because visa application starts at home, haha...

No, it's not Bhutan, but at Ion Orchard!

Daftar Keinginan

Kisah ini dimulai dari satu pertanyaan di benak saya, bisa ke mana sebenarnya pemegang paspor Indonesia tanpa visa. Kalau memang butuh visa, lantas negara-negara apa saja bisa dikunjungi dengan visa setelah ketibaan (visa on arrival). Dari Wikipedia, jawabannya berkisar antara negara-negara yang jarang menjadi tujuan wisata seperti Gambia dan Belarus sampai negara-negara yang terdengar menarik seperti Peru, Uzbekistan dan Qatar. Kemudian tentu saja ada Armenia di daftar tersebut.

Armenia mempunyai arti tersendiri bagi saya, sebab negara tersebut baru saja masuk daftar keinginan saya. Saya memiliki kebiasaan membaca Wikitravel dan terkadang saya bayangkan bahwa saya akan pergi ke tempat yang saya baca ini. Saya bahkan telah membuat rencana untuk bepergian ke sana, namun terkadang tidak terlaksana.

Daftar ini dimulai dengan Darwin di Australia. Di tahun 2009, Jetstar mengadakan promosi dan tiket pulang-perginya luar biasa murah. Saya lantas membaca tentang Darwin dan saya rasa pengalaman melihat buaya air asin merangkak keluar dari laut dengan acuh tak acuh pasti akan tidak terlupakan. Saya lekas mengajak mereka yang berminat dan membeli tiket. Akan tetapi perjalanan itu tidak ditakdirkan terjadi. Mendekati hari-H, satu persatu teman batal dan merelakan tiketnya hangus. Sejak itu harga penerbangan ke Darwin tidak pernah lagi semurah itu. Saya kadang bertanya kepada istri saya, apakah dia mau ke Darwin, namun tampaknya dia baru berminat ke sana setelah Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane dan Perth dikunjungi.

Negara berikutnya yang menjadi fokus saya adalah Bhutan. Saya tergelitik oleh fakta bahwa negara ini berdasarkan filosofi Indeks Kegembiraan. Kalau begitu, penduduk di sana pasti senantiasa tersenyum. Oleh karena itu, saya baca tentang tempat-tempat seperti Paro dan Thimphu. Dari situ saya tahu tentang Dzong Sarang Harimau, kuil terkenal yang berada di tebing curam, dan juga tentang takin, hewan berbadan sapi tapi bermuka kambing (yang akhirnya saya lihat di kebun binatang Guangzhou). Bhutan benar-benar tempat yang menakjubkan. Selain banyak membaca, saya juga pergi ke Druk Asia, biro perjalanan resmi dari Bhutan yang berkantor di Albert Street. Dari situ saya tahu bahwa perjalanan ke Bhutan ini bukan saja cukup mahal, tapi juga repot karena bandara terdekat buat saya adalah di Bangkok (kita hanya bisa ke Bhutan dengan maskapai Druk Air dan rute penerbangan Bhutan-Singapura baru dimulai bulan September 2012). Karena alasan-alasan tersebut, akhirnya perjalanan ke Bhutan dibatalkan. Sampai saat ini, teman saya Steva masih sering iseng bertanya, "jadi kapan kita ke Bhutan?"

Setelah Bhutan, negara selanjutnya adalah Mongolia. Rencana ke Mongolia ini mulai setahun setelah batalnya konser Paul McCartney di Jepang. Saat itu saya merasa bahwa berkunjung ke tempat dimana bumi dan langit bertemu adalah ide yang menarik. Lagi pula itu adalah negara asal Genghis Khan, tokoh sejarah yang tersohor. Saya lantas merencanakan sebuah petualangan yang bermula dari Beijing. Dari ibukota Cina ini, kita bisa menempuh perjalanan darat ke Erenhot di Mongolia Dalam dan menginap semalam di sana (berjuta-juta tahun silam, kota kecil ini merupakan tempat dinosaurus berlalu-lalang), kemudian barulah menyeberang ke Zamyn-Üüd di Mongolia. Pada saat pulang, kita bisa menaiki kereta Trans-Siberian dari Ulaanbaatar ke Beijing. Rencana ini terasa mantap sampai saya mendengar bahwa Paul McCartney kembali menggelar konser di Tokyo. Akhirnya Mongolia pun dicoret dan saya kembali ke Jepang.

Kazakhstan mulai muncul di benak saya setelah perjalanan ke Myanmar. Saat di bandara Yangon, saya membeli buku tentang Myanmar dan negara-negara tetangganya. Buku tersebut bercerita banyak tentang provinsi Yunnan, mulai dari kota Kunming sampai Shangri-la. Deskripsinya sangat memberikan inspirasi, sampai-sampai saya terdorong untuk berkelana dari Yunnan to Xinjiang, sebuah provinsi di Cina yang juga ingin saya kunjungi karena penduduknya tidak mirip orang Cina (atau orang Han, tepatnya). Jadi rute pilihan saya adalah, kalau tidak lewat Yunnan, maka alternatifnya adalah terbang dari Guangzhou ke Ürümqi. Sesudah itu, dari Xinjiang saya bisa menempuh perjalanan darat ke Almaty di Kazakhstan. Asia Tengah adalah kawasan yang jarang yang dikunjungi, oleh sebab itu saya sangat ingin tahu tentang Kazakhstan. Akan tetapi visa ke negara ini sangat susah didapatkan. Saya membutuhkan surat undangan dan seumpamanya bisa saya dapatkan, itu tidak berarti permohonan visa saya pasti dikabulkan. Saya langsung mengurungkan niat saya. Mungkin lain kali saja, kalau persyaratan visanya sudah menjadi lebih ringan.

Paspor Indonesia lebih mendapat kemudahan di Armenia. Saya nyaris tidak percaya ketika membaca bahwa saya bisa mengajukan visa setelah tiba di sana (visa on arrival). Bagi yang belum tahu, Armenia adalah sebuah negara yang terletak di persimpangan Asia dan Eropa, begitu eksotis dan kaya akan budaya yang sudah ribuan tahun lamanya. Lebih dari itu, setelah saya baca-baca lagi, ternyata saya juga bisa mengadakan perjalanan singkat dari Armenia ke Georgia (dan mencicipi khinkali, pangsit Georgia). Saya sempat bersibuk-ria mengirim email untuk mencari tahu bagaimana caranya memindahkan bagasi dari Emirates ke flydubai pada saat transit tanpa perlu keluar untuk cap paspor (karena ini juga membutuhkan visa Uni Emirat Arab). Meskipun saya bersemangat, namun tidak semua orang seantusias saya. Akhirnya saya mengubah tujuan liburan menjadi tempat yang lebih populer untuk berlibur. 

Dari berbagai tempat yang ingin saya kunjungi, saya hanya berkesempatan untuk pergi ke Vientiane, Hiroshima dan Liverpool. Namun beginilah hidup. Terkadang, walaupun sudah direncanakan, belum tentu terjadi. Tapi tidak apa-apa. Suatu hari nanti saya akan melihat kembali daftar saya ini dan ke sana, mungkin pada usia 40. Ya, saya harap alasan bepergian di usia 40 ini bisa diterima, sebab aplikasi visa bermula dari rumah, haha...

Perjalanan ke Darwin yang tidak kesampaian. 

Friendship in Kindergarten

For the third time, my five-year-old daughter came to me with a sad face and said:

Linda: My friend Helen (not the real name) is going to give me Math Card today. I don't want to do it. She said this time is about Minus (Subtraction). She told me I have to do it by myself, I can't ask help from my parent.

Mummy: No worry. We just see it first. I'll teach you to do it and then you do it by yourself.

Linda: She said that I can not use my fingers to count.

Mummy: It's okay to use your fingers to count.

Linda: But Helen said I can't. She can count without using her fingers.

Mummy: Perhaps she joins Kumon, therefore she can do that. She practices counting every day so now she can count without using fingers. But you are still learning so it's okay for you to use your fingers now.

Linda: But how if she asked me how I count? Can I tell her a lie?

Mummy: No, you shouldn't tell a lie. Just tell her you count using your fingers.

Linda: But I'm afraid she will be angry and scold me. (She started to cry).

Mummy: I don't think she will be angry.

Linda: Yes, she will.

Mummy: Then you find other friend. She shouldn't scold you and you shouldn't be afraid with your friend.

Linda: But I want to be her friend (she was crying again).

It is interesting to see how my daughter evolves day by day. From the tiny little baby who was fully dependent with her parents to a toddler who explored the world with her curiosity and now a pre-schooler in kindergarten who begin to be independent. She has started to have a circle of friends and she tried to adapt with many kids with different personalities. She told me that she and her three friends made a noisy girl gang and apparently Helen was the leader of the gang. Like other kids, she liked and adored Helen. She was very happy when Hellen gave her a card with her handwriting "I love Linda. You are my good friend." But she was very sad and worry when Hellen gave her Math card with many questions to do.

Sweet letter from Helen.

Math card from Helen.

Her problem above might be a small problem for us as adults. But for a five-year-old, it was a big problem. She was worried to go to school because she was afraid that her best friend would give her difficult tasks to do and she couldn't do it. She dared not say no because she didn't want her friend to be angry with her and stop being her friend again. She felt sad when her friend said she couldn't do Math as good as her or spoke Chinese properly. I guess peer pressure started to happen in Primary School but apparently it came sooner.

As a parent, as much as we want to help her directly, we need to teach her to solve the problem by herself. She will be the one who faces her friend everyday at school, not us.  Hence we try to help her by encouraging her three main things:

1. To have confidence

We convince her that she is a smart girl and she can do Math and Chinese as good as her friend (or even better) if she keeps practicing. Her friend joined Kumon and practices counting everyday. She also come from the family who speak Chinese at home. Of course, she will be better in Math and Chinese now. But if Linda learn Math and Chinese harder, one day she'll be as good as her friend, too. It may take a longer time for her without the help of tuition course, but surely she can count and speak Chinese well.

The fact that there are many parents who put their kids in tuition centres increases the expectation from the kids. Sometimes tuition centres teach subjects earlier than school. Kids who do not join tuition might seem "left behind" but actually they are just on the right track in school.

2. To have courage

Some kids have strong personality. They are dominant and a bit intimidating, especially to the sensitive ones like my kid. It may be difficult for Linda to reject her friend's request but she needs to have the courage to say no. When she continues her next chapter in primary school, she will meet more friends with all sorts of characters. She needs to be flexible but also stand her ground.

3. To be honest

Honesty is one of our family value. Whatever mistakes or problems one has, the person has be honest and dare to admit it. It also works the other way round. If we as parents make a mistake, we also admit it to them and say sorry. We hope it could give them a good foundation in life. As they grow older and face many problems, they will always remember to be honest with themselves and with other people.

Parenting is a long journey. We are still learning and trying to do our best. To keep the balance between showing them love and discipline. To teach them good values and implement them in our life because action speaks louder than our words. It is not easy but we believe it is worth the while. At the end of the day, we realise we can't control our children's future but we play a crucial part in shaping it...

That smile that brightens our world!

Life Before College

After Life Before Marriage, Before Singapore and Before Jakarta, I'm wondering if this is the farthest I can go for this series. Yeah, that's because after this, I may need to go back to Pontianak to look for any pictures from the earlier times of my life that can go along with the story, haha. Those days before handphone with camera, we could only rely on photographs! But those were simpler time, though.

Or may be not. Life was actually quite difficult then, with Dad's financial situation changing overnight, forcing my family to leave Pontianak for a new beginning. It was a miracle that I came through such a life turbulence almost unscathed. Despite the hardship, I managed to retain the happy-go-lucky demeanour. I remember telling my Dad that whatever happened in the past, it was alright and I didn't blame anybody for it. The way I look at it, it was just meant to be that way.

My earliest recollection about this period was me telling my Mum that I'd stay in Pontianak. I could have just left my hometown with them, especially when I just began studying in high school, but for a reason that I can't remember now, I chose to stay back. My Auntie took me in and I saw John, Paul, George and Ringo on TV soon after that. As the first major influence in my life, the Beatles provided me a much needed optimism: "it's easy," they sang, "all you need is love." And I believe that. The Beatles shaped not only the way I thought, but also inspired me to take up English course willingly, a life changing decision that was proven to be useful in the future. I remember introducing the band to Leo, my high school and gaming friend back then.

Talk about gaming, I was so into it back then. Apart from playing Super Nintendo with Leo (the man had the Legend of Zelda, a big deal for me), I also frequented the gaming arcade, Orbit Wonderland, with Agus Yanto. We were very good in playing Final Fight, often reaching the last boss with only one coin (although Agus would always play as Cody, leaving me to handle Guy or Haggar). After a coin or two, we would cross the street to Tanjung Mulia to enjoy something that is locally known as Shanghai ice. It was also through Agus that I got to know Michael Learns to Rock, a very popular band in Pontianak at that time. His favorite song was 25 Minutes.

That 17th birthday.
From left: Eday, Mul, Anthony and Hartono. 

The second year in high school was memorable because things went really well during that period. I had good friends that were always there for me. Eday and I did all sorts of pranks back then. I would visited Mul and he'd invite me to have dinner cooked by his Mum. Together with Angelia, Lisna, Taty, Yoviana and Hartono, we had various activities from cooking on Sunday to late night barbecue. I celebrated my 17th birthday with them, too. Academically, within our group of close-knit friends, I was second only to Taty.

Apart from the classmates above, I also hung out with Suhendi and Hardy. Suhendi was a weird one, an unlikely friend of mine, but yet we were quite close then (and even in the Jakarta days). We were even punished together simply because he smoked on my balcony that faced our school directly! Hardy was my band mate, definitely the best guitarist of our generation. Every time I listen to November Rain, I'll remember him performing the song.

Suhendi at ITC Cempaka Mas, Jakarta. Few years later in 2004.

Then there was another group that I befriended, those that weren't my classmates but yet we were as close as we could be: Endrico and friends, including Parno. This bunch was normally my weekend buddies, the mild-mannered and studious ones. We'd spend time at Endrico house, playing games (mostly Mortal Combat) or watching the latest Stephen Chow's movie. I also remember watching the pirated version of Stallone's Daylight at Heriyanto's house. The film was so dark that the only time we actually managed to see anything was when the movie ended.

That second year ended with Eday, Lisna, Hartono, Parno and I taking a four-day, three-night voyage to Jakarta. It was hilarious and could be a standalone story by itself. I remember Tuty was there, too. Good times, really. You see, while it's true that I wasn't living with my parents, I was never neglected in life because I was well-loved by my friends. This is why I believe in friendship.

Tuty and Yoviana, 1997.

As we reached our last year in high school, we had to choose a discipline between natural science and social science. There was this misconception that natural science was for smarter students, so I opted for the class only to fail spectacularly on the natural science subjects. Frankly speaking, I didn't understand how I could have graduated with such marks, but I certainly didn't complain!

The academic decline was partly due to my own doing, though. When I realised that I could write, I gradually lost interest in studying. It also didn't help that I was apparently not as smart as I originally thought. Physics was the worst lesson ever. Even with a calculator and a cheat sheet full of scientific formulas, I still didn't know how to do the exam. I had at least one attempt of stealing Hengky Hermanto's exam paper, but I didn't get a chance to copy it down as the teacher suddenly stood in front of me until the bell rang.

Lickersfull Football Club.

Other than that, it wasn't that bad. We had a football team called Lickersfull (a word play of Liverpool) and we won the tournament with a single goal scored by Mul (I think the cup is with Yak Kheng). By the way, when I said we won, I mean I was a fan standing outside the soccer field to watch the match. I was never a sporty type and the only time they'd allow me to join a team was when there wasn't enough people playing volleyball.

I was also very poor then. In order to earn some pocket money, I'd be taking orders and sprinted to canteen the moment recess time began. In a way, I invented Grab Food! But the lucrative business ended when the sport teacher spotted me carrying a lot of food to the class, something that was forbidden. I managed to distribute the orders before I was dragged into his office. There was a commotion right after that as my satisfied customers, from Eday to Jimmy, gathered to ensure the safety of their errand boy. My homeroom teacher, God rest his soul, eventually stepped in to guarantee that I wouldn't repeat what I did.

The last year was bittersweet, really. I remember Titanic, watching it twice in cinema. I had a trip to the haunted island with Jimmy, Ie Siang and many more. Eday and I even went uninvited to wedding parties (we gave only ang bao of IDR 500). But all good things must come to an end. As we finished the exams, I performed one last time with Eday, Endrico, Susanto and Hendri Muliadi during the graduation ceremony. Then we all sang about the moments in high school, how they were beautiful, funny and full of memories. It was true. 20 years down the road, I still remember them well, as if it was only yesterday...

That morning before we performed.
From left: Eday, Hendri Muliadi, Susanto, Endrico and Anthony.

Kehidupan Sebelum Kuliah

Setelah Kehidupan Sebelum Pernikahan, Sebelum Singapura dan Sebelum Jakarta, saya jadi berpikir apakah ini akan menjadi cerita terakhir untuk serial ini. Ya, karena setelah ini, saya mungkin harus ke Pontianak untuk mencari foto-foto dari masa sebelum SMA, haha. Di hari-hari sebelum jaman telepon genggam berkamera, kita bergantung pada foto cuci-cetak. Tapi hidup lebih sederhana di kala itu. 

Atau mungkin tidak sesederhana itu. Kehidupan saya saat itu sebenarnya cukup sulit karena kita mengalami masalah keuangan yang akhirnya mendorong keluarga saya untuk memulai lagi dari awal di tempat lain. Saya rasa saya cukup diberkati karena tidak terlalu terpengaruh oleh kejadian ini. Meskipun susah, saya tetap ceria, sifat yang tetap saya miliki hingga sekarang. Saya ingat bahwa suatu ketika, saya berdiskusi dengan ayah saya tentang masa lalu dan saya meyakinkannya bahwa saya tidak menyalahkan siapa pun atas apa yang telah terjadi. Saya rasa apa yang saya lalui ini telah ditentukan dan terjadilah kehendak-Nya.

Hal pertama yang saya ingat dari masa ini adalah saat saya memberitahukan ibu saya bahwa saya akan tetap di Pontianak saja. Saat itu SMA baru dimulai dan saya sebenarnya bisa pergi bersama mereka, tapi entah mengapa saya memilih untuk ditinggal. Tante saya kemudian menampung saya dan tidak lama setelah itu, saya melihat John, Paul, George dan Ringo di RCTI untuk pertama kalinya. Sebagai pengaruh penting dalam hidup saya, the Beatles mengajarkan saya rasa optimis yang saya butuhkan di waktu itu. Saat mendengar mereka bernyanyi, "it's easy, all you need is love," saya langsung percaya. The Beatles bukan saja membuka wawasan saya dalam berpikir, tetapi juga menginspirasi saya untuk belajar bahasa Inggris dengan sungguh-sungguh (dan niat saya ini menjadi keputusan yang terbukti berguna di kemudian hari). Saya juga ingat bahwa saya sempat memperkenalkan grup musik ini pada Leo, teman SMA sekaligus teman main game.

Agus Yanto dan foto close-up era 1998.

Bicara soal game, waktu itu saya benar-benar tertarik. Selain bermain Super Nintendo di rumah Leo (dia mungkin satu-satunya orang di Pontianak yang memiliki kaset the Legend of Zelda), saya juga sering mengunjungi Orbit Wonderland bersama Agus Yanto. Kita adalah pasangan yang cocok dalam bermain Final Fight, sering kali bertarung sampai raja terakhir hanya dengan satu koin seratus rupiah (Agus selalu menggunakan Cody, sehingga saya harus memilih antara Guy atau Haggar). Setelah bermain kira-kira seratus atau dua ratus rupiah, biasanya kita akan menyeberang ke Tanjung Mulia untuk menikmati es Shanghai. Agus juga orang yang memperkenalkan saya pada Michael Learns to Rock, grup populer di angkatan kita. Lagu favoritnya 25 Minutes.

Kelas kedua SMA adalah masa yang paling penuh kenangan karena banyak hal menyenangkan yang terjadi. Saya punya teman-teman dekat yang selalu hadir untuk saya. Eday dan saya sering kali terlibat hal-hal jenaka saat pelajaran berlangsung. Terkadang saya mengunjungi Mul dan dia pun mengajak saya untuk turut menikmati makan malam yang disajikan oleh ibunya. Bersama Angelia, Lisna, Taty, Yoviana dan Hartono, kita memiliki banyak aktivitas, mulai dari acara memasak sampai panggang ayam. Saya merayakan ulang tahun saya yang ke-17 bersama mereka juga. Bicara tentang pendidikan, di grup kecil kita ini, saya hanya satu peringkat di bawah Taty. Dia memang senantiasa lebih pintar, hehe.

Hardy di Mal Taman Anggrek, setelah lulus sekolah. 

Selain para sahabat di atas, saya juga berteman dekat dengan Suhendi dan Hardy. Suhendi adalah seorang yang eksentrik dan aneh rasanya kita bisa menjadi teman, sebab karakter kita jauh berbeda. Akan tetapi nyatanya kita akrab, bahkan tetap bersama setelah kita lulus dan mengadu nasib di Jakarta. Kita berdua bahkan dihukum bersama hanya karena dia merokok di balkon saya yang tepat berhadapan dengan perpustakaan sekolah. Hardy juga teman dekat Suhendi, tapi bagi saya, dia adalah teman satu grup musik dan gitaris terbaik di generasi saya. Setiap kali saya mendengar lagu November Rain, saya pasti terkenang dengan penampilannya saat membawakan lagu ini.

Kemudian ada lagi mereka yang tidak sekelas, namun menjadi sahabat karib saya. Kelompok ini adalah Endrico dan kawan-kawan, termasuk juga Parno. Mereka ini tipe yang tidak nakal dan rajin belajar. Saya kadang kumpul bersama mereka di akhir pekan. Di rumah Endrico, kita bermain game (biasanya adalah Mortal Combat) dan menonton film terbaru Stephen Chow. Saya juga ingat bahwa Endrico dan saya pernah kumpul di rumah Heriyanto untuk menonton versi bajakan dari film Daylight yang dibintangi oleh Stallone. Film itu luar biasa gelap dan sesekalinya kita berhasil melihat sesuatu adalah pada saat film berakhir, ketika mereka mencapai cahaya di ujung terowongan.

Tahun kedua ini ditutup dengan perjalanan laut selama empat hari tiga malam ke Jakarta. Petualangan yang saya jalani bersama Eday, Lisna, Hartono dan Parno ini lucu dan bisa menjadi cerita tersendiri, hehe. Kalau saya tidak keliru, kita juga sempat bertemu dengan Tuty yang kebetulan menumpangi kapal yang sama. Sungguh masa yang indah. Walau saya tidak tinggal bersama orang tua, saya tidak pernah merasa diabaikan karena saya dikelilingi oleh orang-orang yang baik dan menyayangi saya. Ini alasannya kenapa saya percaya dengan persahabatan.

Di tahun terakhir SMA, kita harus memilih antara jurusan IPA dan IPS. Saat itu ada pola pikir bahwa IPA lebih bergengsi dan pintar muridnya, jadi saya pun masuk jurusan IPA dan gagal dengan spektakuler di penghujung tahun ajaran. Dengan nilai 3, 4 dan 5 untuk Fisika, Kimia dan Biologi, saya juga bingung bagaimana ceritanya saya bisa lulus, tapi saya tidak akan protes karena telah diluluskan, haha!

Kalau saya lihat kembali, buruknya nilai di kelas tiga ini juga karena salah saya sendiri. Setelah saya menyadari bahwa saya berbakat menulis, perlahan-lahan saya mulai kehilangan minat belajar sesuatu yang gagal saya pahami. Di samping itu, saya juga tidak sepandai yang saya kira. Fisika adalah pelajaran yang paling parah bagi saya. Bahkan dengan kertas contekan rumus dan kalkulator pun saya masih tidak bisa mengerjakan ujian. Saya pernah merampas kertas ujian Hengky Hermanto, tetapi Pak Budi langsung berdiri di depan saya sampai lonceng berbunyi sehingga saya tidak sempat menyalin jawabannya.

Di luar itu, sebenarnya kelas tiga tidak terlalu buruk. Kelas kita memiliki tim sepakbola yang bernama Lickersfull (yang berasal dari plesetan kata Liverpool) dan kita menjuarai turnamen berkat gol tunggal yang dicetak oleh Mul (saya rasa pialanya disimpan oleh Yak Kheng). Oh ya, saat saya berkata bahwa kita menjadi juara, maksud saya adalah saya berdiri di pinggir lapangan sebagai penonton. Saya bukan tipe olahragawan dan teman-teman baru akan mengajak saya untuk turut serta apabila tidak cukup orang untuk bermain bola voli di jam pelajaran olahraga. 

Saya juga tidak memiliki uang di kala itu. Untuk mendapatkan uang saku, saya akan mencatat pesanan teman-teman dan berlari secepatnya untuk membelikan mereka makanan ke kantin begitu lonceng tanda istirahat berbunyi. Dengan demikian saya bisa mendapatkan komisi dan membeli roti. Boleh dikatakan bahwa saya adalah pelopor Grab Food! Akan tetapi bisnis ini berakhir ketika saya tertangkap oleh Pak Udin, guru olahraga yang kebetulan melihat saya membawa belanjaan berisi makanan ke dalam kelas. Ini adalah sebuah pelanggaran. Saya bergegas membagikan makanan kepada pelanggan saya sebelum diciduk. Setelah itu saya diseret ke kantor guru. Pelanggan seperti Eday dan Jimmy pun menghampiri kantor guru untuk mencari tahu apa yang terjadi pada saya. Akhirnya Pak Agus, wali kelas saya, datang membela dan menjamin bahwa saya tidak akan mengulangi perbuatan saya lagi.

Ada berbagai kenangan manis dan pahit di kelas tiga. Saya ingat Titanic karena saya menontonnya dua kali di bioskop Nusa Indah. Saya ingat petualangan ke Pulau Temajo bersama Jimmy, Ie Siang dan beberapa teman lain. Saya juga ingat bahwa saya dan Eday sering menjadi tamu tak diundang di pesta pernikahan (kita memberikan angpau 500 rupiah dan menggoreskan nama Witono di buku tamu, lengkap dengan alamatnya di Jalan Serayu). Namun semua itu harus berakhir. Setelah selesai ujian, saya tampil di acara perpisahan bersama Eday, Endrico, Susanto dan Hendri Muliadi. Kita semua juga bernyanyi tentang masa SMA, masa indah, lucu, banyak cerita. Itu bukan hanya sekedar lagu. 20 tahun kemudian, saya masih ingat semuanya...

Susanto di hari perpisahan. Almarhum Pak Buaton duduk di belakangnya. 

Malaysia Boleh: Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is likely to be the only city I had been for work, transit and leisure. I also went there by various types of transportation, from taking coach, train and flying. However, if you think that I must have been very familiar with the city by now, I have to say I'm not. Despite the fact that I mentioned above, I don't go there very often. As luck would have it, I only went there once in a blue moon, just enough for me not to forget how the city roughly looks like.

Yet KL managed to secure a place in my heart in a strangest way possible. My first business trip to KL was to meet up with my customer, CIMB. On the next trip I had few years later, CIMB was now my employer. As for transit, let's not forget that KL is the home of AirAsia. I stopped in KL when I travelled to Laos and China. I also alighted at KL Central (after a seven-hour train ride from Johor Bahru) when I visited Kota Kemuning, the suburb where my friend Wiwi is staying. For some strange reason, KL and I would cross path from time to time.

Visiting the Petronas towers.
From left: Hendyono, Markus, Sudarto, Tommy and Setia.

Come to think of it, I only had two proper visits to KL so far. The first one was a bus ride together with my housemates then. The duration was roughly around five hours, I think, and we arrived at the wee hours since we departed at night. We hung out at a local coffee shop for an early breakfast before we decided to walk to Radius International Hotel in Bukit Bintang area. After checking in, we took the train to visit the Petronas towers and Suria KLCC. Later on that day, we went to Sunway Lagoon for lunch (and that's where I had Nandos for the first time). The day was ended with dinner at Alor Street Food and a short visit to Berjaya Times Square, right before it was closed for the day. We went to Puduraya bus interchange and headed to Malacca on the following day.

The second trip I had was also with another group of housemates, Jimmy and Ng Lina. We flew there to meet Endrico who worked in KL at that time. The first day we were there, we went to Genting for cold weather and casino. Day 2 was more of shopping mall visits, then we went back for a nap before we headed to KL Central and returned to Singapore.

Truth to be told, even though I had visited KL a couple of times, I didn't get to explore and see much of KL. What I can tell you is, I think KL is like a hybrid of Singapore and Jakarta, but feels like none. I don't find it charming or brimming with strong personality, but hey, what do I know? Perhaps a proper visit with a native Malaysian will change all that, haha...

The second proper visit to Malaysia.
From left: Anthony, Endrico and Jimmy.

Malaysia Boleh: Kuala Lumpur

Sepertinya Kuala Lumpur adalah satu-satunya kota yang pernah saya kunjungi dalam rangka kerja, transit dan liburan. Saya ke sana dengan berbagai macam sarana transportasi, mulai dari bis, kereta api dan pesawat. Kendati begitu, jika anda mengira saya mengenal KL dengan baik, harus saya katakan bahwa itu tidak benar. Meski deskripsi di atas memberikan kesan bahwa saya kerap kali ke sana, sesungguhnya saya jarang mengunjungi KL. Saya hanya pergi ke sana beberapa lama sekali sehingga cukup untuk mengingatkan saya bahwa KL itu kira-kira seperti apa. 

Akan tetapi KL berhasil mendapatkan tempat khusus di hati saya dengan cara yang teramat sangat unik. Perjalanan bisnis saya yang pertama adalah untuk bertemu dengan CIMB, nasabah saya saat itu. Di kali berikutnya saya ke KL untuk hal yang sama, CIMB sudah menjadi tempat saya bekerja. Kalau bicara tentang transit, KL adalah markas AirAsia. Saya singgah di ibukota Malaysia ini saat saya mengunjungi Laos dan Cina. Saya juga merapat ke KL Central (setelah perjalanan selama tujuh jam dengan menggunakan kereta dari Johor Bahru) saat saya bermain ke Kota Kemuning, daerah pemukiman tempat teman saya Wiwi berada. Untuk hal-hal seperti inilah saya datang ke KL dari waktu ke waktu. 

Markus dan teh tarik, saat kita tiba di KL di pagi hari.

Kalau dipikirkan lagi, sampai sejauh ini saya hanya pernah dua kali mengunjungi KL sebagai tempat tujuan liburan. Kunjungan pertama adalah bersama teman-teman serumah dan di kala itu, kita menaiki bis dan menempuh perjalanan darat selama lima jam. Karena berangkat di malam hari, kita tiba di pagi buta. Kita mampir sejenak di warung kopi untuk sarapan, lantas berjalan ke Radius Hotel yang berada di kawasan Bukit Bintang. Setelah check-in, kita menaiki kereta menuju ke menara Petronas dan Suria KLCC. Menjelang siang, kita pergi ke Sunway Lagoon (dan saya pertama kalinya mencicipi Nandos di situ). Hari tersebut pun kita tutup dengan makan malam di Jalan Alor serta kunjungan singkat ke Berjaya Times Square, sesaat sebelum pusat perbelanjaan itu tutup. Keesokan harinya, kita berangkat ke Melaka dari terminal bis Puduraya. 

Liburan kedua di KL juga saya lalui bersama teman-teman serumah, kali ini pesertanya adalah Jimmy dan Ng Lina. Kita berangkat untuk menjumpai Endrico yang saat itu bekerja di KL. Di hari pertama, kita berangkat ke Genting untuk kasino dan cuaca yang sejuk. Pada hari kedua, kita bertualang dari satu mal ke mal lain, lalu kembali ke apartemen untuk beristirahat sejenak. Setelah itu kita berangkat ke KL Central dan bertolak ke bandara untuk kembali ke Singapura. 

Berdasarkan ringkasan di atas, anda bisa mengerti kenapa saya tidak begitu mengenal KL. Meski saya berulang kali ke sana, saya tidak pernah benar-benar menjelajahi kotanya. Kesan yang saya dapat sejauh ini adalah, KL mirip seperti perpaduan Singapura dan Jakarta, tapi tidak memiliki daya tarik keduanya. Namun mungkin ini adalah pendapat orang yang minim pengalamannya, haha. Suatu hari nanti, mungkin perjalanan bersama orang Malaysia lokal bisa mengubah pandangan ini...

Jimmy, Ng Lina dan Endrico bersantai di apartemen, sesaat sebelum kita menuju ke KL Central.