Limin And His Aming Coffee

I always have a dream of producing talkshow that features our friends who, I think, have made it in their lives. It must be very inspiring to hear about how they worked hard to reach where they are today. I tell you a little secret here: there was supposed to be a section for this particular programme when I organized our High School Reunion 2014 that took place in Jakarta. Out of the three candidates, one was actually with us on that day, but due to time constraint, the talkshow was eventually cancelled. Since then, the idea would always resurface from time to time, until I recently realized that I actually have a platform to execute it in the form of writing. Now, for the first time ever, I proudly present the story of our dear friend Limin.

His story began with the coffee powder staring back at him. His Dad had been doing this business since the 70s, so Limin was no stranger to anything related to coffee. Limin might not know it yet at that time, but that fragrant and exotic smell that he grew up with would one day change his life forever. Long before that fateful day, though, he was just a kid like any of us. He studied, he played, he graduated and he got a nine-to-five job, a typical path of life for many young men in Pontianak.

Hanging out at Aming Coffee.
From left: Gunawan, Limin, Anthony and Harry.

It was only in 2002 that Limin thought of opening a coffee shop as an extension of what his Dad already did. Since the family business was producing and selling coffee powder, why not brewing and serving the drinkable form to customers? However, Pontianak was far from ready for coffee culture then. Only old men would frequent coffee shops. Young people, especially girls, would be frowned upon. Limin himself, then in his twenties, was also still finding his way and trying his hands on other ventures, too, but none was proven to be successful.

As luck would have it, a few years later, Limin found himself stuck with the coffee shop, the only business that survived the test of time. In fact, it started to look rather promising, partly thanks to the changing landscape. That was when he gave 100% of his time to focus on it. 

Limin picked up where he left off. He put on effort to master the art of coffee making and learnt that the best coffee drink should be served in a freshly made condition, not mass-produced only to be kept aside and heated up when there were orders. He also observed what the public demand was like. Robusta was the way to go, but the sour tasted coffee was a complete no-no.

Then he added in some personal touch that made his customers feel welcome. This was achieved by knowing what the preference of each and individual customer was, ie. some would like it sweet, others would like their coffee filtered and so forth.

Last but not least, he started to realize the importance of branding and presentation, something that many from previous generation overlooked or ignored. When coffee culture was becoming more and more trendy, Limin understood that a comfortable atmosphere was something that would differentiate his coffee shop and others, hence the innovations such as modern interior, free wifi and charging points, wide screen TV, etc.

The effort above was done without forgetting the quality of the most important ingredient: the coffee itself. Everything, from the purchase of the coffee bean, the roasting and every single process that were required to produce a cup of coffee went through a strict quality control routine. To ensure the consistency of the coffee taste, the man himself would have coffee several times a day.

The hardwork was for nothing if it wasn't properly advertised. In a small town such as Pontianak, word-of-mouth marketing was the way to go. Apart from that, advertisement was also done via social media or the more conventional mass media in order to reach out to a bigger audience.

Success didn't happen overnight, of course. Nevertheless, Limin was on the right track and before he knew it, Aming Coffee was the talk of the town. He was then sought after, interviewed and God knows what else, because the best is yet to come. Always a humble person to begin with, Limin is smart enough to know that the next step is what brings him ahead of the competitors. A coffee expert these days, he never stops improving his Dad's original formula and refreshing the look and feel of the packaging. The result eventually goes to supermarkets and other distribution channels.

When President Jokowi came for a cup of coffee.

A bright future lies ahead for the humble and happy family man who keeps expanding his business to a new territory such as Kopi Luwak. He won an award from Go-Food in 2017. He also got a chance to serve a cup of Aming coffe to President Jokowi recently. The coffee is what his success smells like. As you can see now, his is a story of passion, hardwork and persistence combined together, but still this doesn't deter the non-believers to come and ask, "what's your secret?" 

Unlike many others, perhaps Limin does have a secret. He did tell me that the coffee served at Aming Coffee has this special ingredient that makes it stand out among the rest. I'm afraid I didn't really get it when he mentioned about the chewy feeling (how is it possible or what does it even mean?), so I don't think I should describe it until I give it a try. Oh, talk about what I wouldn't give for a cup of Aming Coffee now!

The man and the coffee
Image credit: Limin

Limin Dan Warkop Aming

Setiap orang mempunyai cerita. Satu impian yang ingin saya kerjakan dari sejak dulu adalah menyelenggarakan talkshow yang menampilkan teman-teman seangkatan dimana mereka bisa berbagi kisah dan pengalaman. Tentunya menarik jika kita mendengarkan langsung kisah perjuangan mereka yang akhirnya mengantarkan mereka ke posisi mereka hari ini. Jika boleh saya membuka rahasia, sebenarnya acara talkshow ini sudah dijadwalkan sebagai bagian dari rangkaian acara Reuni SMA tahun 2014 di Jakarta. Satu dari tiga kandidat acara talkshow bahkan hadir dan sudah bersedia untuk tampil. Sayang sekali, karena kendala waktu, acara tersebut akhirnya dibatalkan. Semenjak itu, idea ini selalu terngiang-ngiang di benak saya, sampai akhirnya saya sadar bahwa saya sebenarnya bisa mewujudkannya dalam bentuk tulisan di blog ini. Sekarang, untuk pertama kalinya, saya persembahkan hasil wawancara jarak jauh dengan teman kita, Limin.

Kisah Limin bermula dari bubuk kopi yang selalu ia lihat di masa kecilnya. Ayahnya sudah menekuni usaha ini sejak tahun 70an, jadi Limin kecil tidaklah asing dengan segala sesuatu yang berkaitan dengan kopi. Sebagai seorang bocah, ia tentu tidak menyangka bahwa aroma wangi yang ia hirup setiap hari itu akan mengubah hidupnya suatu hari nanti. Jauh sebelum hari itu tiba, Limin hanyalah anak biasa seperti kita. Dia bermain, sekolah, lulus dan kerja kantoran. Selangkah demi selangkah seperti pemuda Pontianak lainnya.

Di tahun 2002, Limin membuka usaha warung kopi, suatu pilihan yang masuk akal mengingat ayahnya berusaha di bidang bubuk kopi. Akan tetapi Pontianak di awal tahun 2000an bukanlah tempat yang ramah bagi penikmat kopi. Di kala itu, warung kopi identik dengan hal-hal negatif sehingga anak muda di kota kecil ini, apalagi seorang wanita, jarang mengunjungi warung kopi. Limin sendiri, waktu itu berusia 20an, masih mencoba menemukan jalan hidup dengan cara menjajal beraneka usaha yang ada, tapi seringkali kandas di tengah jalan.

Pada akhirnya hanya tinggal warung kopi yang bertahan. Bukan cuma itu, seiring dengan perubahan zaman yang membuat warung kopi mulai diterima sebagai tempat yang lumrah, usaha ini tampaknya kian menjanjikan. Di saat itulah Limin merasa barangkali ia harus terjun 100% untuk mengelolanya. 

Limin mulai lagi dari awal. Ia belajar menguasai seni menyeduh kopi dan dari percobaan yang terus menerus ia lakukan, Limin menyadari bahwa kopi yang disajikan haruslah dibikin langsung, bukannya dibuat dalam jumlah melimpah dan dihangatkan ketika ada yang pesan. Dia juga mulai mengamati seperti apa sebenarnya minat pelanggan, misalnya jenis kopi yang digemari adalah Robusta, lalu kopi yang enak seharusnya tidak terasa asam. Lebih lanjut lagi, ia pastikan bahwa ia mengenal pelanggan dengan baik sehingga sebelum mereka memesan, dia sudah tahu seperti apa penyajian kopi yang pelanggan inginkan. Limin juga memahami pentingnya branding dan image, hal yang seringkali diabaikan oleh para senior warung kopi dari generasi sebelumnya. Pentingnya suasana bagi pengunjung membuat Limin memperhatikan tata ruang, menyediakan wifi dan charging gratis serta TV layar lebar dan fasilitas lainnya.

Segala upaya di atas adalah penting, tapi yang terutama tentunya adalah rasa kopi itu sendiri. Segala sesuatu yang berkaitan dengan kopi, mulai dari pembelian biji kopi mentah hingga pengolahan dan pengemasan dikontrol secara rutin supaya kualitasnya terjaga. Di Warkop Aming, Limin turun langsung untuk menikmati kopinya demi memastikan agar rasanya tetap konsisten.

Semua kerja keras ini tentunya tidak berarti jika tidak dipromosikan. Di kota kecil seperti Pontianak, tidak ada yang lebih ampuh dari bisikan mulut ke mulut. Nama Warkop Aming pun mulai terdengar berkat para pelanggannya. Akan tetapi Limin sendiri tidak tinggal diam. Dia jeli dalam melihat dan memanfaatkan peranan media sosial yang gratis tapi bisa menjangkau massa.

Sukses tentunya tidak terjadi dalam semalam, namun Limin sudah berada di jalur yang tepat. Warkop Aming senantiasa dibanjiri pengunjung dan bahkan Presiden Jokowi pun mampir ke sana untuk menikmati kopinya. Warkop Aming juga memenangkan penghargaan dari Go-Food di tahun 2017. Popularitasnya melejit belakangan ini, sehingga koran pun mewawancarai pemiliknya untuk memuaskan rasa ingin tahu publik, seperti yang bisa kita baca di link berikut ini: https://goo.gl/9fo3vd

Satu hal yang patut diteladani dari pria yang telah berkeluarga ini adalah di dalam kesederhanaannya, dia mengerti bahwa langkah berikutnya adalah apa yang membedakan dia dan para pengusaha warung kopi lainnya. Limin terus mengembangkan usaha bubuk kopi yang telah dirintis ayahnya dan memasarkannya ke supermarket dan berbagai jalur distribusi lainnya. Ia juga mencoba terobosan baru seperti Kopi Luwak. Asalkan ia tetap memiliki visi selanjutnya, niscaya masa depan terbentang cerah di hadapannya...

Aming Coffee bisa ditemukan di Google, lengkap dengan jam buka dan tutup dan info lainnya
Image credit: Google

The Plastics

A cook in my first working place (it was a hotel with a restaurant in Pontianak) once told me, "Young Man, whatever it is that you'd like to do, even if it is as low as cleaning shit, you'd better be the first." It sounded crude, alright, but yet at the same time it made sense and was easy to understand. Furthermore, I always love weird stuff and what he said was indeed unusual, so it totally nailed it as one of the advices that I'll remember for life.

I already told you the story of how I obtained my first credit card. This was back when we just finished high school, when having a credit card was a rarity among our peers. While I was partly motivated by the need to do online purchase, the other half of the reason was me toying with the advice from the cook. While I can't be too sure if I was ever the first, I was encouraged to go for it and got myself both Master and BCA card in 2001 (the client services staff told me it was compulsory to apply for a BCA card, so there was no runaway from it if I'd like to get Master).

The urge of having credit cards should have been quenched then and there. If it wasn't, at least it subsided for a while. Then I moved to Singapore and was exposed to many more options. That was when the card application frenzy that lasted years really started.

Apart from Master and Visa, I began to notice that there was another one called American Express, the best way to earn Krisflyer miles. When I was single, I liked the idea because I was fond of traveling. These days, however, the priority has shifted to earning rebates because cashback makes more sense once you have a family, haha. And, oh, American Express True Cashback card is one of the best around and it doesn't come with all the nonsense that requires you to read the tedious fine print.

There was also Diners Club, which offered the access to airport lounge (something I haven't used after applying) and was intriguing because it seemed like not people having it. I only learnt later on that there weren't many outlets that accepted Diners as compared with the big three (Visa, Master and American Express), but I still keep one because in Singapore, Diners can be used for payments via AXS, especially for those government related stuff.

It was also through the Diners experience that I realized what I applied for was not always called credit card. Apparently there was this other type called charge card. Wikipedia describes that charge cards are typically issued without spending limit (which doesn't seem to be the case in Singapore) and, unlike credit cards, the spending amount needs to be paid in full or else the cardholder will be subjected to late fees. To this day, I'm still not entirely sure what the selling point is as compared with credit cards, hehe.

The next one was UnionPay. When I went to China for the first time in 2009, I didn't have enough Renminbi so I had to visit a local bank in Guilin to exchange my USD. The cumbersome experience got me thinking that perhaps I should have had something that worked locally. At that time, it seemed like Visa or Master wasn't widely accepted, so the obvious choice was UnionPay.  However, China grew so fast that when I visited the country again in 2012, at least Visa and Master were already quite common then.

The last one I ever had was JCB. I applied for the card prior to my visit to Japan simply due to curiosity reason and the fact that I never had one before. Outside Japan, actually the card can't do much except for giving us a discount when we do a transaction at Kinokuniya book store, perhaps.

There you have it, the story of the magnificent seven: Visa, Master, American Express, Diners Club, UnionPay, JCB and BCA card. You'll have to decide which one that works for you best, but it's safe to say that in this time of day, even when we strike off the need to do online purchase (which has been a basic necessity for many), having at least one card will ease up your life a lot. For example, you can actually consolidate all the household expense payments into one card.

Personally, as one who never carries so much cash (there were times when the wallet had only coins, so no point robbing me, please), I always love the idea of cashless transaction. Such concept works almost flawlessly in Singapore, except in one memorable moment when I brought my wife to hospital for our second baby delivery. Only after we arrived that I realized I had no cash in my pocket and my bank account was empty! That was when, of all cards, Diners came to the rescue with its capability of cash withdrawal.

While we are at this subject, for those who are not aware of it, the logos at the back the cards actually mean something. If you go and take a look, you'll see logos such as Cirrus, Maestro and so forth on both the cards and the ATM machines. That means you can withdraw cash on that particular ATM that has the same logos as your card if needed, a feature that can come handy when you are visiting foreign countries. However, do take note that, apart from interest, it also comes with some processing fee per transaction, so you may want to withdraw a sufficient amount at once rather than doing it multiple times. Recently, companies such as YouTrip, Revolut and TransferWise also issued their own card that carried either Visa or Master logo. The rates were more competitive than the conventional credit cards from the banks, so they were a rather good option for travellers.   

Having said that, the practical lifestyle that comes with credit card indulgence does have a catch: you could end up with an accumulating debt if you are not careful with it. The key is don't spend more than what you can afford and don't pay only the minimum payment. You do the don'ts and you'll be fine. However, if it's hard for you to maintain a certain level of discipline, probably you shouldn't go for it.

Last but not least, the dawn of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay also signal the changes in the world we're living in. I'm not a big fan of this method of payment, but from the look of it, they are here to stay. From magnetic stripe, EMV chip, 2FA, PayPal (which I find it quite useful) and now the payment apps, credit cards have evolved and gone through a long way since I first knew them, when it was just a card that was placed by a cashier onto a sliding device in order to get it imprinted on a carbon copy...

The magnificent seven.

Kartu Plastik

Koki di restoran Hotel Kartika, tempat kerja pertama saya, pernah berkata, "Anak Muda, apa pun yang ingin kamu kerjakan, meski hanya sekedar membersihkan tahi, pastikan kamu jadi yang pertama." Mungkin ini terdengar kasar, tapi masuk akal dan mudah dimengerti. Saya selalu menyukai hal-hal yang aneh seperti ini, jadi nasihatnya senantiasa saya ingat selalu. 

Saya sudah bercerita tentang bagaimana saya mendapatkan kartu kredit pertama saya. Ini adalah ketika saya baru saja lulus SMA, tatkala memiliki kartu kredit adalah sesuatu yang langka di angkatan saya. Motivasi saya saat itu adalah setengahnya karena pembelian secara online yang ingin saya lakukan, sedangkan separuhnya lagi adalah karena nasihat dari sang koki. Walau saya tidak pernah tahu apakah saya yang pertama, saya terdorong untuk mengajukan aplikasi kartu Master dan BCA di tahun 2001 (karyawati di bank memberi tahu bahwa kartu BCA adalah kartu wajib, jadi harus diajukan jika saya ingin memperoleh Master). 

Keinginan untuk memiliki kartu kredit harusnya sudah terpenuhi pada saat itu juga. Namun saya pindah ke Singapura dan menyadari bahwa saya memiliki begitu banyak pilihan. Dari sinilah bermula hobi mengoleksi kartu kredit yang berlangsung hingga saat ini. 

Selain Master dan Visa, ternyata ada kartu lain yang disebut American Express yang juga merupakan alternatif untuk mendapatkan mil Krisflyer. Ketika saya masih bujangan, saya suka bonus yang satu ini karena bisa ditukarkan dengan tiket Singapore Airlines. Setelah menikah dan memiliki anak, prioritas pun berubah dan mendapatkan kembalian dalam persentase kecil lebih menarik sekarang. Sejauh ini American Express True Cashback sangat jelas cara pakai dan persentasenya, jadi sering saya gunakan. 

Ada lagi kartu lain yang bernama Diners Club. Kartu ini bisa digunakan untuk akses ke banyak ruang tunggu eksklusif di bandara (walaupun saya belum pernah coba, haha). Awalnya saya heran kenapa tidak banyak yang memiliki kartu ini. Setelah saya memilikinya, baru saya sadari bahwa tidak banyak tempat yang menerima Diners, apalagi jika dibandingkan dengan tiga besar (Visa, Master dan American Express), tetapi saya masih menyimpan satu kartu karena Diners bisa digunakan untuk pembayaran lewat AXS, terutama untuk segala sesuatu yang berkaitan dengan pemerintahan. 

Lewat Diners, saya juga menyadari bahwa yang saya ajukan tidaklah selalu merupakan kartu kredit. Ada tipe lain yang disebut kartu charge. Wikipedia menjelaskan bahwa kartu charge adalah jenis kartu yang tidak memiliki batas kredit dan pembayaran harus dilakukan sepenuhnya pada saat tagihan di bulan berikutnya atau akan ada biaya penalti. Sampai hari ini, terus-terang saya masih belum mengerti, di mana daya tariknya.

Selanjutnya adalah UnionPay. Ketika saya ke Cina untuk pertama kalinya di tahun 2009, saya tidak mempunyai cukup CNY sehingga saya harus ke bank lokal di Guilin untuk menukar USD saya. Pengalaman ini cukup bertele-tele sehingga saya merasa perlu memiliki sesuatu yang bisa saya gunakan di sana. Pada saat itu, Visa dan Master tidak digunakan secara meluas di Cina, jadi satu-satunya pilihan yang masuk akal adalah UnionPay. Akan tetapi Cina berkembang begitu pesat. Saat saya ke sana lagi di tahun 2012, pemakaian Visa dan Master sudah tergolong lumrah di sana. 

Jenis lain yang pernah saya miliki adalah JCB. Saya mengajukan aplikasi kartu ini sebelum kunjungan saya ke Jepang. Alasan saya sederhana, hanya karena saya belum pernah memilikinya. Di luar Jepang, kartu ini tidak banyak gunanya selain memberikan diskon saat kita berbelanja di toko asal Jepang. Kinokuniya, misalnya.

Demikianlah cerita tujuh serangkai: Visa, Master, American Express, Diners Club, UnionPay, JCB dan BCA card. Anda harus memilih kartu apa yang paling cocok untuk anda. Di zaman sekarang, memiliki setidaknya satu kartu akan memudahkan hidup anda. 

Secara pribadi, sebagai orang yang jarang membawa banyak uang kontan (bahkan ada saat di mana dompet saya hanya berisi koin, jadi tidak ada gunanya merampok saya), saya selalu menyukai konsep transaksi non-tunai. Konsep seperti ini sangat cocok untuk kehidupan di Singapura, kecuali pada suatu peristiwa dimana saya membawa istri saya ke rumah sakit untuk kelahiran anak kedua saya. Saat kita tiba, saya baru sadar bahwa saya tidak memiliki uang! ATM pun kosong karena saya hanya menyisihkan sedikit uang di bank yang biasa saya pakai untuk kebutuhan sehari-hari. Di saat itulah, dari semua kartu yang ada, Diners berhasil menolong saya dari kesulitan karena saya berhasil menarik uang tunai dengan kartu ini. 

Selagi kita berbincang tentang topik ini, bagi yang tidak pernah menyadarinya, logo di belakang kartu sebenarnya memiliki arti tersendiri. Jika anda membalikkan kartu anda dan melihat logo seperti Cirrus, atau Maestro dan anda juga melihat logo serupa di mesin ATM, ini artinya anda bisa menarik uang dari ATM tersebut. Fitur ini cukup berguna, terutama saat anda berada di negara lain. Meskipun demikian, perlu diingat bahwa selain bunga, menarik uang dengan kartu kredit juga dikenakan biaya transaksi, jadi pastikan bahwa anda menarik jumlah yang cukup dalam sekali transaksi. Oh ya, perusahaan seperti YouTrip, Revolut dan TransferWise juga mengeluarkan kartu kredit yang berlogo Visa atau Master. Kurs yang ditawarkan lebih baik dari kartu kredit dari bank, dengan demikian bisa menjadi alternatif bagi yang mau berlibur.   

Penting untuk diperhatikan juga bahwa cara hidup yang bergantung pada kredit kredit memiliki resiko: anda bisa menumpuk hutang jika tidak berhati-hati dalam penggunaannya. Kuncinya adalah jangan sampai pengeluaran lebih besar dari pendapatan dan jangan pula hanya melakukan pembayaran minimum. Jika ini sulit anda terapkan, mungkin anda tidak seharusnya menggunakan kartu kredit. 

Baru-baru ini juga muncul Apple Pay, Samsung Pay dan Google Pay. Walau saya tidak menggemarinya, metode pembayaran ini akan mengubah gaya hidup kita. Saya mengenal kartu kredit dari era pita magnetik, chip, 2FA dan PayPal (yang saya sukai karena praktis) hingga berbagai aplikasi pembayaran sekarang. Kartu kredit sudah berubah jauh sejak era kartu yang dimasukkan oleh kasir ke kotak khusus yang digesek untuk mendapatkan cetakan kopi karbonnya...

Tujuh Serangkai.

The King Of Monsters

The biggest problem with King Kong by Peter Jackson is the titular monster dies, but this could be forgiven as it was the remake of the original and not meant to be a Kaiju movie, anyway. The one by Edward Gareth, on the other hand, is plagued by the problem that Godzilla is so shy it appears only one hour later, after the movie has been showing half way. As for the latest Gojira, it was a rather strange, live report kind of movie that leaves you thinking whether it's really Gojira that you are watching here. Then comes Kong: Skull Island and everything is alright again. The movie gets right to the point and gives us enough screen time of Kong, the main star of the show. If Hollywood is going to do a rematch between King Kong and Godzilla, I'm now convinced that Hollywood is on the right track.

And you may wonder why I care. Yes, I do care because I am a big fan of the Kaiju, especially Godzilla, and had been watching it since my childhood days. I still remember vividly the one I watched as a kid: Godzilla vs. Hedorah. In the eyes of a four years old, it was dark and grim and awesome. I was scared that the cool monster with dorsal spines on its back would lose to the smog monster and I was extremely relieved when Godzilla eventually beat the hell out of Hedorah, which was easily one of the toughest battles for the king of monsters. 

Looking back at it again as a grown up, the particular movie is really cartoonish. I find it hard to believe that I actually bought the idea that Godzilla could fly in such an unorthodox way that was shown in the movie. It's amazing how the perspectives of a child and an adult differ, but this doesn't change the fact that I fell in love with Godzilla and was a die-hard fan since then. This also explains the piece of story about Tony. In the small town where I came from, it was difficult to obtain any Godzilla movies. It was like a miracle that my late friend actually had Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla video cassette.

Godzilla is stomping my desk!

I watched many Godzilla movies as I grew up. The original Mothra vs. Godzilla is one of the best, despite the fact that I was staring in disbelief as I saw Godzilla defeated by Mothra. In the 90s, I also watched two Godzilla movies that were shown in the cinema: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mothra (not exactly a remake, but was still very good, if not better). Then came the VCD era, where I watched some those that were produced in the 60s, 70s, as well as all from Heisei era, except the Return of Godzilla. Frankly speaking, not all are good and some, especially those from the 60s, are unbearably bad. However, nothing prepared me from what was coming next.

The one made by Hollywood was supposed to be a big deal, but they totally screwed it up. It was like watching Godzilla in name only. Whatever monster that was on the screen, it was nothing like Godzilla I know and love, not even the distinct roar or the radioactive breath was retained in the movie. This Godzilla kept running here and there before it was killed by missiles. It was an insult, really, because no missiles killed Godzilla before, but at the same time, it was a relief that this pretender finally died. There was an encore few years later in the form of Godzilla: Final Wars, when the real Godzilla trashed the monster now known as Zilla within few seconds. That felt triumphant!

Godzilla 1998 was really, really horrible that it must due to this the movie was featured on the front cover of Time magazine on July 6, 1998. I spotted this magazine on the stack of secondhand magazines and bought it, my first Time ever, just to read about the article. Even the one that Hollywood released in 2014 doesn't feel like up to standard, so how to trust them doing the remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla (a 1962 classic that I haven't watched until now)?

With such track records, I guess you can understand why I am skeptical about the American Godzilla. This point of view was eventually redeemed by Kong: Skull Island. It's a good Kaiju movie. If they maintain such quality, we'll have the greatest show on earth in 2020...

Sang Raja Monster

Masalah terbesar dari King Kong yang disutradarai oleh Peter Jackson adalah matinya King Kong, tapi ini bisa dimaklumi karena film ini dimaksudkan sebagai pembuatan ulang dari versi aslinya, oleh karenanya tidak bisa digolongkan sebagai film Kaiju. Beda halnya dengan film Edward Gareth yang berani memakai judul Godzilla, tetapi Sang Raja Monster baru muncul satu jam kemudian, setelah filmnya separuh jalan. Untuk versi Jepang, film Gojira yang terbaru terkesan aneh karena lebih mirip siaran langsung yang kebetulan ada Gojira. Kemudian hadirlah Kong: Skull Island dan semuanya terasa pas di sini. Film ini bukan saja tidak membuang waktu, tetapi juga memberikan cukup waktu bagi King Kong dalam kapasitasnya sebagai bintang utama. Jika Hollywood akan membuat ulang pertarungan King Kong dan Godzilla dengan cara yang sama, niscaya mereka sudah berada di jalur yang benar.

Dan anda mungkin berpikir, kenapa saya peduli. Ya, tentu saja saya peduli, sebab saya adalah penggemar berat Kaiju, terutama Godzilla, dan saya sudah menyaksikannya dari sejak kecil. Saya masih ingat dengan jelas film yang saya saksikan pertama kali: Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Di mata seorang bocah berumur empat tahun, film ini gelap, seram dan luar biasa. Saya sempat khawatir bahwa monster dengan lempengan duri di punggung ini akan kalah dari monster cairan polusi dan saya baru bernapas lega ketika Godzilla menghabisi Hedorah dalam pertarungan sengit.

Kalau dilihat kembali sekarang dalam sudut pandang orang dewasa, Godzilla vs. Hedorah sebenarnya sangat tidak realistis. Aneh rasanya bahwa saya pernah percaya bahwa Godzilla bisa terbang dengan cara yang sangat tidak masuk akal di film tersebut. Terkadang perbedaan perspektif antara orang dewasa dan anak kecil sungguh bagaikan bumi dan langit. Akan tetapi ini tidak mengubah fakta bahwa saya menggemari Godzilla. Hobi yang satu ini menjelaskan sepenggal kisah tentang teman saya Tony.  Di kota kecil tempat saya berasal, tidaklah mudah bagi saya untuk mendapatkan film Godzilla. Bagaikan sebuah keajaiban, almarhum teman saya ini ternyata memiliki video kaset Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

CD Godzilla, rekaman tahun 1984-1995.

Saya berkesempatan menyaksikan banyak film Godzilla dari kecil hingga dewasa. Versi pertama Mothra vs. Godzilla adalah salah satu yang terbaik, meski rasanya sulit diterima bahwa Godzilla bisa dikalahkan oleh Mothra dalam bentuk dua ulat sutera. Di tahun 90an, saya juga menonton dua film Godzilla yang ditayangkan di bioskop Pontianak: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah dan Godzilla vs. Mothra (meski judulnya hampir sama, tapi ceritanya berbeda dan sama bagusnya, atau bahkan lebih bagus). Lantas, saat tiba era VCD, saya menonton beberapa judul yang diproduksi di tahun 60an, 70an dan semua dari era Heisei, kecuali the Return of Godzilla. Terus-terang, tidak semuanya bagus dan beberapa, terutama yang berasal dari tahun 60an, tidak tertahankan jeleknya. Kendati begitu, yang berikut ini jauh lebih mengejutkan lagi buat saya.

Film buatan Hollywood seharusnya menakjubkan, tetapi mereka benar-benar mengacaukan segalanya. Karya perdana Hollywood itu menampilkan monster aneh yang diberi label Godzilla. Apa yang ditampilkan di layar itu jelas bukan Godzilla yang saya kenal baik. Bahkan raungannya yang khas dan pancaran radioaktifnya pun tidak dipakai di film ini. Godzilla palsu ini berlari ke sana kemari di sepanjang film sampai akhirnya terbunuh oleh peluru kendali. Ini namanya penghinaan, sebab tidak pernah ada sejarahnya Godzilla mati oleh senjata seperti itu. Pada saat bersamaan, rasanya lega juga melihat Godzilla tiruan ini dibasmi. Beberapa tahun kemudian, film Jepang Godzilla: Final Wars menampilkan pertarungan singkat antara Godzilla dan monster gadungan yang kini diberi nama Zilla. Hanya dalam kisaran detik, Zilla langsung terbantai. Yang asli memang terasa beda kualitasnya!

Godzilla 1998 benar-benar parah, sampai akhirnya ditampilkan sebagai cover majalah Time tanggal 6 Juli 1998. Saya melihat majalah ini dalam tumpukan majalah bekas dan langsung membelinya, majalah Time saya yang pertama, hanya untuk membaca artikel tersebut. Bahkan yang Hollywood rilis di tahun 2014 pun sebenarnya tidak memenuhi standar, jadi bagaimana kita bisa percaya kalau mereka bisa bekerja dengan becus dalam membuat ulang King Kong vs. Godzilla, film klasik keluaran tahun 1962? Dengan rekam jejak seperti ini, anda bisa mengerti kenapa saya ragu dengan Godzilla Amerika. Kendati begitu, suksesnya Kong: Skull Island sedikit-banyak membantu. Jika mereka mempertahankan kinerja dan kualitas yang sama, kita akan menyaksikan pertarungan monster paling hebat di tahun 2020...

Coba dibaca headline-nya...
(Image credit: time.com)

Book Review: My Brave Action

You know the saying, "book is man's best friend because even the most active chat group on your phone gotta be quiet sometimes?" No? That's alright, because I just made that up. In case you are wondering, I was staying overnight in the hospital, accompanying my Dad while he slept through his chemotherapy session, so I got nobody to talk to and a plenty of time to kill. That was when I pulled out this book, my Christmas present from the man himself, and read it.

A bit of a background here before we get into the book: the writer, a formidable force to be reckoned with in insurance world and then some, happened to be my schoolmate and thanks to our mutual friend, we are on-and-off friends since we were kids. This privilege gave me a rather unique insight when I read this book. At least one part of the book got me chuckled as I tried to guess whom he was talking about and, just like any other readers, it got me motivated, because that's what the book is basically all about: motivation.

This is his second book. A similar attempt was tried previously when he was younger, resulting in a book with a youthful and funky writing style. This second book is still about the same topics, but it feels more mature and focused. It talks about three things: vision, belief and action; with each part cleverly dissected into few chapters to make it easier for him to explain and us to digest. I definitely like this book better than the first one.

As for the content, some parts of it are strangely familiar. It seems like we ever talked about them nine months ago, when we had the Jakarta's infamous super spicy noodles in the middle of the night. As I read about names such Mochtar Riady and Liem Sioe Liong, I could still picture him talking about them. He loves their stories and as he told them over supper, I could see in his eyes that business is his passion.

Which brings us to next question: if business is not something that you like, will the book still be relevant? Fortunately, the answer is yes. While most parts of the book will try to sell you the idea of being your own boss and making more money (it can't be helped as the book was based on his personal experience and, frankly speaking, the idea of making money is not horrible at all), the concept behind it is applicable in whatever that you want to do. In fact, many of the samples offered in the books are not business related (and I also like the part where he quoted Bruce Lee, my hero).

Hence, back to the saying above, if you believe that book is man's best friend, go have a read. If you know him personally, especially from school days, then all the more reason you must read. This is a guy who already walked the talk, so we'll definitely learn a thing or two from him.

PS: The title of the book is uncannily similar with a Jackie Chan's biography called My Life In Action...

3 in 1 book: Vision, Belief and Action

Ulasan Buku: My Brave Action

Anda tahu pepatah, "buku adalah teman terbaik karena group chat paling aktif di telepon genggam anda pun terkadang bisa sepi?" Tidak pernah dengar? Tidak apa-apa, karena saya baru saja mencetuskannya. Saat itu saya sedang bermalam di rumah sakit, menemani ayah saya yang terlelap sambil menjalani kemoterapi, jadi saya memiliki banyak waktu tapi tidak ada teman untuk berbincang. Oleh karena itu saya pun mengeluarkan buku ini, yang saya terima dari penulisnya sebagai hadiah Natal, dan mulai membacanya.

Sedikit latar belakang sebelum kita mengulas bukunya: sang penulis, nama besar di dunia asuransi, satu sekolah dengan saya dan berkat seorang teman yang menjadi perantara di dua sisi, kita berkumpul di berbagai kesempatan sejak SMP. Pengalaman ini memberikan saya sudut pandang yang unik ketika saya membaca buku ini. Paling tidak ada satu bagian yang membuat saya tersenyum geli saat saya mencoba menebak, siapa yang dia bicarakan di bukunya. Secara umum, sama seperti pembaca lainnya, buku ini juga membuat saya termotivasi, sebab pada dasarnya itulah tujuan dari buku ini: motivasi.

Ini adalah buku keduanya. Upaya yang sama pernah dilakukan sebelumnya ketika ia jauh lebih muda dari hari ini dan hasilnya adalah buku yang gaul bahasanya. Buku ini masih membahas topik yang sama, tetapi terasa lebih matang dan fokus. Intinya ada tiga: visi, keyakinan dan aksi. Setiap tema ini dipecah lagi menjadi beberapa bab sehingga memudahkannya untuk menjelaskan maksudnya. Saya pribadi lebih suka buku yang ini daripada yang pertama.

Beberapa bagian dari buku ini sepertinya pernah saya dengar sebelumnya. Mungkin karena kita pernah membicarakannya saat kita menikmati Indomie goreng super pedas di Jakarta. Ketika saya membaca nama-nama seperti Mochtar Riady dan Liem Sioe Liong, saya masih bisa membayangkan bagaimana dia berbicara tentang mereka. Dia suka cerita tentang para pengusaha ini dan, selagi dia berkisah tentang mereka saat kita bersantap malam, saya bisa melihat bagaimana bisnis adalah gairah hidupnya.

Dan ini membawa kita ke pertanyaan berikutnya: jika bisnis bukanlah sesuatu yang menjadi minat anda, apakah buku ini masih relevan? Jawabannya adalah iya. Sebagian besar isi buku ini akan mendorong anda untuk menjadi bos anda sendiri dan menghasilkan lebih banyak uang lagi, akan tetapi konsepnya bisa diaplikasikan pada apa pun yang anda lakukan. Buku ini bahkan menggunakan banyak contoh yang tidak berasal dari dunia bisnis (dan saya suka bagian dimana dia mengutip Bruce Lee).

Kembali ke pepatah yang saya ciptakan di atas, jika anda percaya bahwa buku adalah teman terbaik manusia, maka anda perlu membaca buku ini. Ini adalah buku yang ditulis oleh orang yang sudah membuktikan apa yang dikatakannya, jadi kita pasti bisa belajar dari pengalamannya...

Tampak belakang buku.

A Trip To The Past: Stonehenge And Bath

If you like unique and historical places, why don't visit Stonehenge and Bath? Located less than 100 miles away from London, we can take a day trip either by train or bus. For us, we decided to take a one day bus tour to those places when we were in London last year. There are many bus tour providers available and with the cost around GBP 60-70 per person, we can get return bus service and entrance tickets to Stonehenge and Roman Bath complete with audio guides. The audio guides are really useful in giving us more understanding about the places we are visiting.

The trip from London to Stonehenge take around 1.5 hours by bus. Stonehenge is a prehistoric stone monument located in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It was a sunny day when we arrived in Stonehenge, the blue sky and green grass became a perfect background for the picture we were taking. We were given audio guide headsets before we walked closer to the stone. While walking, we listened to the information about the history of the stone monument, the name and the meaning of each stone's construction. We were in awe that these stones were raised 4500 years ago by the sophisticated prehistoric people. How the stones could be transported to that position without the aid of the wheel or pulley system? Nobody knows. The stone monuments that were built in alignment of the movement of the sun were originally a place of burial. Recent theories proposed that Stonehenge was a place for healing and also used as ancestor worship. Whatever it is, the construction itself is really attractive. We took picture from many direction as we went around the stone monuments.

From Stonehenge, we went to Bath. As we can roughly tell from its name, Bath is well known for its public bath built by the Romans. The city became a spa with the latin name Aquae Sulis in AD 60 when the Romans built a bath house and a temple in the valley of the River Avon. The bath house is a must see tourist attraction in Bath. That was exactly what we did the moment we arrived in this small but beautiful city.

The Roman Baths complex is located below the modern street level. They consists of four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum. Again, we listened to the story of this historical site through the audio guide. The hot water in Bath spa coming from rain water that falls on the nearby Mendip Hills. It percolates down through limestone aquifer to a very depth ground level where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 69-96 Celcius. Under pressure, the heated water comes to the surface. Hot water at the temperature of 46 Celcius rises here at the rate of more than 1,000,000 litres everyday.

We also watched how the Romans from several social stratas used to live and socialize in this Roman Baths through video projector. Bathing was not only one of the most common daily activities in Roman culture, it was also a communal activity. The technology made us feel as if we were living in those era. Very interesting. We cannot take a bath in the Roman Baths because the water that flow through the Roman Baths is considered unsafe for bathing. However, we still can pamper ourselves at the Thermae Bath Spa, a modern spa that uses the hot natural water to sooth and relax. Unfortunately we did not have much time to enjoy the spa in Bath so we skipped this activity.

Just next to Roman Bath, there is Bath Abbey, an Anglican Parish church. It was founded in 7th century  and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th century. We did not have a chance to go inside the church so we could just admire its Gothic architecture from outside. The architecture of the church is really beautiful.

Bath is relatively small and compact. Most locations in Bath are walkable from city centre. We want to visit Jane Austen Centre but didn't due to the time constraint. After visiting the Roman Baths, we only had 1.5 free hours in this city so we just spent our time for lunch, walking around the city centre, parks and took some pictures. We saw Sally Lunn's Refreshment House and Museum, claimed to be the Oldest House in Bath. The place is very small with many people inside.

Guess where we finally had our lunch? KFC, hehe. Yes, KFC. When it comes to food, I am not so adventurous. After lunch, we continued our city sightseeing. Bath's city centre are full of shops with sophisticated design. Many well known brands that we found in London are also available here. Not far from the shopping centre, there was a park where a lot of people were sitting down, having a chat, reading a book or simply sunbathing. The atmosphere was so relaxing. We took pictures of the park, the city and also the church.

We eventually departed from Bath in the late afternoon. We regret we didn't visit the Royal Crescent, a row of 30 terraced house with Georgian architecture laid out in semi-elliptical crescent. It seems like half a day in Bath was not enough. If we want to fully explore this city, we need at least one full day tour. A two days and one night stay will be even better. The sun was going down when we left the city. This is my last shot before we left this beautiful city. Goodbye, Bath. Hope to see you again one day. 

The ASEAN Tour: Malaysia

We've talked about Indonesia in the first part of ASEAN Tour series, so let's move on to the next country. Why Malaysia, if you need to ask? Well, coming from Pontianak, Kuching was my first impression of how a foreign country looked like. It's the nearest, used to be about 9 hours car ride. Here's the commentaries of places I've visited in Malaysia, starting with Kuching.

I've been going to the city as a kid, young adult and man in his thirties. At first Kuching was grand, unlike anything I'd ever seen before (anything means Jakarta, Singkawang and Pontianak itself, and this was back in the mid 90s). Kuching was a city with a beautiful waterfront. It had a shopping centre called Sarawak Plaza that sold all the stuff that I saw previously on Malaysia's TV channels, from cereals to Mamee. It was a brilliant place for a while, but as all this is a matter of perspective, it's not so much of a great place these days. The kolo mee is still awesome and few years ago, I also sort of rediscovered Sarawak as a wonderful place to explore the cave system, but the city itself, it still retains the sleepy atmosphere that I grow to dislike. However, if you just go there for a short trip, you'll be fine.

In Kuching with Ardian and Parno.

Next to Sarawak, we have Sabah. As much as I can recall, the city center of Kota Kinabalu was kind of small. My friend and I had a touch and go experience there, as we dropped by to see the city on foot and rushed back to fly to Brunei. Demographic-wise, I seem to remember that unlike the cities in West Malaysia, KK had more Filipinos than Indians. We did fly back to KK after our visit to Brunei, but instead of climbing Mount Kinabalu, we stayed at Shangri-La and relaxed at the beach. On our way back, we went to 1Borneo Hypermall, the biggest shopping mall in Sabah that happened to be in the middle of nowhere.

West Malaysia definitely has more to see. Next to Singapore, there's a state called Johor, with Johor Bahru as its capital. Quite a bustling city and, being the first gate from Singapore to Malaysia, you'll always have the good sensation that things are three times cheaper down there. Can't say I travel often to the city for the past ten years and if I go there, it's normally limited to the mall and eating nearby the border. There's also Legoland in Johor, but I'd only been to Hello Kitty Town (not bad for kids and it's indoor). Larkin bus interchange is also somewhere nearby the border. We took bus once from there to Melaka.

Now, if there's a place I really like in Malaysia, it must be Melaka. It has some sort of big square where you can walk around to nearby tourist spots. Being a mix of Portuguese and Baba cultures, Melaka is nice for a family outing over the weekend. Roughly about three hours ride from Singapore, one can spend time exploring the food, museum and night market along Jonker Street. There's also a big resort with Wild West show called A'Famosa, but going there could be a problem if you don't drive. Not sure how the transport is nowadays, with the advent of Uber and Grab.

In Malacca with Nuryani.

Going further up a bit, there's Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. KL is a mixed bag of everything Malaysia, from giant shopping malls to street food, but I personally don't find it charming like Jakarta or Bangkok. In fact, after a couple of visit, I'm still having a hard time remembering my experience there as it was almost like a blur.

Genting, the casino on the top of the mountain and about an hour ride from KL, is more memorable. I don't how it feels for those who like to gamble, but gambling in MYR feels more affordable to me, haha. Not that I'm a big fan, because I'd get bored very quickly. That's when the amusement park, eating places and cinema make a difference. The cold weather is lovely, too!

In Genting with Nuryani.

The westernmost city I'd been in Malaysia was George Town in Penang. I went with Malaysian friends and we decided to rent a car, a decision that made a vast difference in term of experience. We went to Kek Lok Si, a very serene temple with a lot of turtles in the pond. We also visited the Snake temple, Bukit Bendera and, as Penang is famous for its food, then Gurney Drive was part of the list.

Overall, while I don't buy the slogan Truly Asia or have much affinity with Malaysia, the country is still alright. My recommendation? Apart from Melaka, I tend to think that it's best visited with a bunch of friends for cost saving. Taxi are aplenty, but the need of haggling the price is really a turn off...

Visiting Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang.

Tur ASEAN: Malaysia

Kita sudah berbicara tentang Indonesia di bagian pertama tur ASEAN, jadi mari kita beralih ke negara kedua. Kenapa Malaysia? Karena, seperti kebanyakan orang yang berasal dari Pontianak, Kuching adalah kesan pertama saya tentang bagaimana luar negeri itu sebenarnya. Kuching boleh dikatakan sangat terjangkau dan dulu bisa ditempuh dalam sembilan jam perjalanan. Oleh sebab itu, bila berbicara tentang Malaysia, marilah kita mulai dengan Kuching dulu. 

Saya mengunjungi kota ini dalam tiga fase yang berbeda dalam hidup saya, mulai dari saat saya bocah, bujangan di Singapura dan juga sebagai pria di pertengahan umur 30an. Saat saya pertama kali melihat Kuching di tahun 90an, kotanya tampak megah, tidak seperti kota-kota lain yang saya lihat sebelumnya (kota-kota lain di sini berarti kota yang pernah saya kunjungi sebelumnya, yakni Jakarta, Singkawang dan Pontianak). Kuching memiliki pesisir sungai yang tertata rapi, tidak seperti alun-alun Kapuas pada saat itu. Kuching juga pusat perbelanjaan bernama Sarawak Plaza yang modern dan menjual barang-barang yang hanya saya lihat di siaran TV Malaysia, mulai dari Koko Krunch sampai Mamee. Ini tempat yang luar biasa sampai suatu ketika, tatkala sudut pandang saya berubah setelah wawasan saya bertambah. Kolo mie di Kuching masih saya gemari dan beberapa tahun silam, saya juga ikut serta dalam eksplorasi gua di Sarawak. Kendati begitu, saya tidak lagi merasa cocok dengan suasana kotanya yang pelan dan agak sepi.

Swee Hin di tengah sebuah jalan utama di Kota Kinabalu.

Di sebelah Sarawak, ada negara bagian Sabah. Sejauh saya bisa mengingat, pusat Kota Kinabalu agak kecil. Swee Hin dan saya sempat mengunjunginya selama beberapa jam. Saat itu kita transit sejenak di Sabah dan bergegas menjelajahi kotanya sebelum kembali lagi ke bandara untuk bertolak ke Brunei. Kota Kinabalu agak unik karena memiliki lebih banyak orang Filipina dibandingkan orang Indian. Kita sempat kembali ke Sabah setelah pulang dari Brunei, tapi kita lantas bersantai di pantai pribadi hotel Shangri-La dan bukannya memanjat Gunung Kinabalu yang terkenal. Dalam perjalanan ke bandara, kita sempat mampir di 1Borneo Hypermall, pusat perbelanjaan terbesar di Sabah yang terletak jauh dari mana-mana. 

Malaysia Barat memiliki lebih banyak tempat tujuan wisata. Negara bagian Johor terletak persis di samping Singapura. Ibukotanya adalah Johor Bahru yang cukup ramai dan jika anda mampir setelah kunjungan anda ke Singapura, barang-barang di sana terasa tiga kali lebih murah karena nilai mata uangnya yang lebih kecil. Saya jarang berkunjung ke sana dan kalaupun ada, biasanya hanya terbatas di sekitar pusat perbelanjaan di dekat perbatasan Malaysia/Singapura. Di Johor juga terdapat Legoland, tapi saya baru pernah mengunjungi Hello Kitty Town yang berada tidak jauh dari sana (tempatnya lumayan dan berada di dalam ruangan sehingga tidak panas). Bagi yang berminat mengunjungi daerah Malaysia Barat lainnya lewat jalan darat, anda bisa naik bis dari teminal Larkin. Saya pernah mencobanya dan berangkat dari Johor Bahru ke Malaka.

Bersama Franky, Benny dan Sudarpo.

Bicara tentang Malaka, ini adalah tempat favorit saya di Malaysia. Saya suka berjalan-jalan di pusat kotanya yang ramah pejalan kaki. Sebagai kota yang berbudaya Portugis dan Baba (perkawinan antara Melayu dan Tionghoa), Malaka menawarkan sesuatu yang unik untuk liburan singkat keluarga di akhir pekan. Berdurasi kira-kira tiga jam perjalanan bis dari Singapura, aktivitas turis di sana mencakup makan, museum dan pasar malam di Jonker Street. Di Malaka juga terdapat sebuah tempat tetirah bernama A'Famosa yang menawarkan banyak atraksi seperti pertunjukan koboi dan Indian Amerika. Kunjungan ke tempat ini, seperti halnya berbagai tempat di Malaysia, akan terasa tidak praktis jika anda tidak mengemudi. Sekarang, dengan adanya Uber dan Grab, mungkin lebih membaik transportasinya. 

Bila kita bergerak ke utara dari Malaka, kita bisa mencapai Kuala Lumpur mungkin dalam satu setengah jam. Sebagai ibukota negara, KL memiliki semuanya, mulai dari pusat perbelanjaan kelas dunia sampai makanan khas Malaysia yang dijual di tepi jalan. Meski begitu, secara pribadi saya lebih menyukai Jakarta dan Bangkok daripada KL. Walau saya beberapa kali mengunjungi KL, baik dalam rangka kerja maupun liburan, saya masih kesulitan memikirkan kesan yang saya dapat selama di sana.

Markus, Tommy dan teman-teman menaiki monorel di stasiun Raja Chulan di Kuala Lumpur. 

Genting, kasino di puncak gunung yang jauhnya sekitar satu jam dari KL, juga cukup mengesankan. Saya bukan tipe yang senang berjudi, tapi berjudi dalam Ringgit Malaysia terasa lebih terjangkau, haha. Kalau sudah bosan di kasino, kita bisa mengunjungi berbagai wahana hiburan yang bisa ditemukan di dalam dan di luar gedung. Cuacanya juga sejuk sehingga terasa sangat nyaman. 

Tempat paling ujung yang pernah saya kunjungi di Malaysia Barat adalah George Town di Penang. Saya berangkat bersama teman-teman Malaysia dan langsung menyewa mobil setibanya di bandara. Ini adalah keputusan yang bijak karena kita jadi gampang bepergian ke mana-mana. Kita pergi ke Kek Lok Si, sebuah kuil yang teramat sangat tenang dan memiliki banyak kura-kura di kolam. Kita juga mengunjungi kuil ular, Bukit Bendera dan, karena Penang terkenal dengan makanannya, Gurney Drive juga termasuk dalam daftar kunjungan.  

Secara keseluruhan, walau saya tidak pernah percaya dengan slogan Truly Asia dan juga tidak pernah merasakan keinginan yang menggebu-gebu untuk kembali mengunjungi Malaysia, negara ini sebenarnya tidak terlalu buruk. Rekomendasi saya? Kecuali Malaka, saya merasa tempat-tempat lain di Malaysia enaknya dikunjungi bersama-sama teman yang pintar menawar. Ada banyak taksi terutama di Kuala Lumpur, tapi kalau harus tawar-menawar harga, saya sungguh jadi tidak berminat...

The Crowdfunding

A young life was born to this world yesterday. It was a tad too fast, I'm afraid, as she was premature. Her father, sounded unsure if he was to be happy or worried, asked me if I could lend some monetary assistance. I was stunned when I heard such request. We'd been friends for the longest time and gone through thick and thin, but I didn't recall him ever asking this, so it must be serious. However, a single person could only help so much. That was when I resorted to the crowdfunding. Again.

To understand what again means, let me bring you back to the first time we did this. The original crowdfunding was meant to be a one-off. What happened was rather accidental: as I was going through the messages that came flooding in our chat group, I suddenly spotted a peculiar remark from a friend. The particular person said that he was trying to obtain a reference letter from a local church so it could be used to appeal for a considerate hospital bill.

Witnessing a glimpse of his problem got me thinking that as friends, we weren't supposed to be just about happy occasions. There should be something that we could do in the times of need, too. Then I bounced the idea with some close friends and the enthusiasm was running high. As the momentum was right, what was just an idea was then immediately transformed into a concrete action: our first crowdfunding ever. The result surpassed whatever expectation that I had in mind.

I remember the night I contacted this friend of mine to inform him that we had gathered some amount to lessen his burden. I could see from Whatsapp interface that the man was typing, but nothing ever came out for at least twenty minutes, perhaps he was so caught by surprise he was utterly out of words. He was really thankful afterwards, but for us, what mattered was a hope that this little gesture from us would make a difference. That was supposed to be it, but little did I know that I was to find out myself how it felt to be in his shoes.

As some of you might already know, my Dad was diagnosed with cancer. The doctor consultations were not only frustrating, but also financially draining. Sometimes I would bitterly joked that I would sell a way one of my kidneys, to which the others would reply, making fun of my fondness of drinking beer, that an alcohol-soaked kidney wouldn't have much value in the market. Then out of the blue, after a well-done conspiracy to play me out, it was revealed to me they had did crowdfunding v.2 for my Dad. It was very touching, really.

I've been an organizer, recipient and participant since then, until the very recent case above brought me back to a full circle. After taking each part of the roles, what I can tell you is this: it was like you know life could be tough, but suddenly you were made aware that you were not alone in facing it. That feeling was wonderful. Personally, I tend to think that the moral support, the fact that we care, is the actual value of the crowdfunding.

Watching the thought being put into action was an experience like no other. It was very encouraging to have a closer look at the display of humanity, to be in the middle of it and see that everybody was actually willing to help. If one ever thinks the little that we give won't help much, it can't be more wrong than that. The final result is a combination of many, including your contribution!

And finally, regardless what the amount is, I can assure that it makes a difference. Imagine a life where you already got so much to worry about, but suddenly there's this little help from your friends that lifts you up a bit, giving you a room to breathe. It always means a lot and it definitely can be put into good uses.

This is the story of good intention, participated by many unsung heroes (you know who you are) who never asked anything in return. I'm sharing the story to the world so that many more will learn that such act of kindness can be done. In good times and bad times, that's what friends are for...

The day I was "duped"

Seorang bayi terlahir di dunia ini kemarin. Ia lahir sebelum waktunya sehingga menjadi bayi prematur. Suara ayahnya terdengar tidak yakin, entah harus sedih ataukah bahagia, saat dia bertanya apakah saya bisa membantu dalam perihal keuangan. Saya tertegun saat mendengar pertanyaan ini. Saya dan pria ini sudah berteman bertahun-tahun lamanya dan melalui berbagai hal bersama, tapi baru kali ini saya mendengar permintaan seperti darinya. Ini pastilah masalah serius, namun kemampuan satu orang tentunya tidak bisa membantu banyak. Oleh karena itu saya kembali menggalang dana. 

Ini bukan pertama kalinya kita melakukan kegiatan ini. Ketika saya pertama mengorganisirnya, aksi ini dimaksudkan hanya untuk satu kali itu saja. Asal mulanya pun tidak lebih dari sebuah kebetulan: saat saya sedang membaca dialog teman-teman di WhatsApp, terbaca oleh saya sebuah komentar yang tidak lazim dari seorang teman. Sahabat ini berkata bahwa dia sedang meminta surat referensi dari sebuah gereja supaya bisa bisa mendapatkan keringanan dalam biaya pengobatan.

Masalah yang ia hadapi membuat saya berpikir bahwa hendaknya kita tidak menjadi teman-temannya di kala gembira saja. Seharusnya ada yang bisa kita lakukan juga saat dia susah dan membutuhkan bantuan. Oleh karena itu, saya bertukar pikiran dengan beberapa teman dekat dan mereka ternyata sangat antusias untuk membantu. Apa yang awalnya hanya berupa sebuah ide segera berubah menjadi kenyataan: aksi penggalangan dana kita yang pertama. Hasil yang terkumpul bahkan melebihi apa yang saya duga!

Saya ingat ketika saya menghubunginya di malam hari untuk memberitahukan bahwa kita sudah mengumpulkan sedikit dana untuknya. Saya bisa melihat dari WhatsApp bahwa dia sedang mengetik, namun saya rasa dia cukup terkejut sehingga tidak ada balasan darinya kira-kira selama 20 menit. Setelah itu dia mengucapkan terima kasih. Akan tetapi, yang penting bagi kita adalah harapan bahwa apa yang kita perbuat ini bermanfaat untuknya. Sampai di sini, saya menyangka cerita ini pun berakhir. Tidak pernah saya sadari bahwa saya pun akan berada di posisi yang sama. 

Seperti yang mungkin sudah anda ketahui, ayah saya didiagnosa menderita kanker. Konsultasi dokter tidak hanya membuat frustrasi tapi juga menguras banyak biaya. Kadang saya bercanda bahwa sepertinya saya harus menjual sebuah ginjal saya dan yang lain pun akan menjawab bahwa ginjal yang sudah sering terendam alkohol tidak akan bisa terjual mahal. Kemudian, setelah sebuah konspirasi iseng yang cukup panjang untuk mempermainkan saya, teman-teman mengabarkan bahwa mereka telah diam-diam menggalang dana untuk membantu. Saya benar-benar tersentuh dengan kebaikan mereka. 

Saya telah menjadi koordinator, penerima bantuan dan peserta aksi pengumpulan dana. Setelah berada dalam tiga posisi yang berbeda ini, saya bisa bersaksi sebagai berikut: walau hidup terkadang terasa susah, saya menyadari bahwa saya tidak sendiri dalam menjalaninya. Ini adalah sebuah perasaan positif yang luar biasa. Secara pribadi, saya berpikir bahwa inti dari penggalangan dana adalah dukungan moral yang kita terima. Fakta bahwa orang lain peduli sungguh menyejukkan hati yang risau.

Pengalaman sebagai koordinator juga sangat berharga. Sangat menggugah rasanya ketika melihat setiap orang menggebu-gebu ingin membantu. Jika ada yang pernah berpikir bahwa anda tidak bisa memberikan banyak, percayalah hasil terakhir yang terkumpul itu karena kontribusi anda juga. Jika bukan karena anda, hasilnya tidak akan pernah sama. 

Dan akhirnya, berapa pun jumlah yang terkumpul, saya bisa menjamin bahwa itu akan sangat bermakna. Bayangkanlah seseorang yang sudah memiliki banyak kekhawatiran dalam hidupnya, lalu tiba-tiba ada kabar baik seperti ini. Bukan saja kita memberikannya sedikit ruang untuk bernafas, tetapi juga benar-benar bisa dimanfaatkan untuk hal-hal penting baginya. 

Ini adalah cerita tentang sebuah maksud baik yang diperankan oleh begitu banyak pahlawan tanpa nama (anda tahu siapa anda) yang membantu tanpa berharap imbalan. Saya membagikan cerita ini supaya semua bisa belajar bahwa perbuatan baik seperti ini pantas dan bisa untuk dilakukan. Di saat suka dan duka, itulah gunanya keberadaan seorang teman...