Bank-ok!

Sawadee-kha, people!

Very recently (as in, last week) I went for a short trip to Bangkok with a few of my closest friends. It was a great pleasure, albeit somehow miserable... Why don't I just jump into the story, as I always do? 

Chatuchak, after two hours burning under Bangkok sun.
I obviously looked like I was working out

First of all, it was a great mistake on my side not to do some research before departing to Bangkok. People always say, "Ah, it's a lot like Jakarta!" Well, that's a bit of a bullshit, because Bangkok is scorching HOT! I thought it was just because I never actually walk around the city at home, but then I stopped believing myself. It was thoroughly hot. Like, seriously-biting-my-skin-around-noon hot. Like, please-always-remember-to-reapply-your-SPF hot (God knows I didn't).

Secondly, it's nothing like Jakarta because the street food stalls are to-die-for. I didn't take any food pictures for you, because I was too busy devouring them right after the seller handed them to me, but long story short, I think I gained 2kg just from mango sticky rice. It's that good. There was almost no food stop where my gals and I didn't stop for mango sticky rice. It's like we were on a hunt for the most delicious tom yam goong and mango sticky rice everywhere we went! (P.S. My favorite tom yam goong is from a counter near the Siam Paragon food court. But that's probably just the amateur tom yam-eater in me) Anyway, I came to the city just after the week-long Songkran holiday festivities, and they say it's the right season for mangoes. Yes, the mangoes are that good.

After walking around all day long, trying out the Chao Praya river taxi, BTS, shopping at Chatuchak Market and the upscale Siam Paragon and visiting what's probably the smallest Madame Tussaud's House of Wax I've ever been (oh how I've missed you, London!), we decided to go to this very touristy place called Asiatique, where we can see Bangkok's famous ladyboys show.

The show's pricey, but I think it comes at a cost if you were born with a penis and testosterone running in your blood to look like this:

Feeling inadequate already, ladies?

Since we felt pretty... tired (um yes, 23-year-olds feel tired too) we decided to brace ourselves to get an Uber ride home. We stayed in a very nice, entirely white IKEA furnished AirBnB in a very nice area near Khao San Road, where the loud white people went for some nightlife fun, which is great. But also... it's hardly accessible with public transport other than taxis. And taxis in Thailand seem reluctant to use the meter, plus, they hardly speak English. Ugh. I read from people's experiences (as you would expect, too) that Uber drivers speak better English, so it was a deal. And guess what? The ride is so cheap we swore not to take another public transportation ever again!! Plus, our first driver from Asiatique speaks fair English. Great.

The next day, we were still pretty loaded, so we went shopping at the most famous fashion mall in Bangkok: Platinum. The Pratunam area where it is is not too far, but still we took an Uber after having our very first McDonald's nearby the accommodation. And guess what? We ordered Uber X, but what came to us was a very nice white Toyota Fortuner, where in Jakarta, it's really hard to even get a Fortuner for Uber Black!

Platinum itself is convenient compared to the same scale malls in Jakarta, and the price range is rather lower. I know a lot of online shops in Indonesia bought their supply from this mall, which if you buy clothes in bulk, you'd get even better price than if you shop retail. From there, we went across the street to Pratunam Market, where the place is almost no different than a traditional fashion market near my home in Jakarta's suburbs:

Pratunam Market (that's Meinyda. Say hi!)

And from there, we were still not tired (ha ha lies) so we (again) got an Uber to Sukhumvit, another shopping area. Now, the part where even getting an Uber in a foreign country is a challenge, began.

We were checking out the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, which is the tallest building in Bangkok, where we will be headed that night. Since the tower practically has no other place of interest nearby, we decided to wait at the lobby and get an Uber. One driver rejected us, because, well, who knows? Then one another accepts, and this one drives a sedan. There are 5 of us, and a sedan is pretty small, no? But we literally had no choice, because we ordered a few times and still we were referred to him. Thank God, this one also speaks English, though on the phone, it was still quiet a struggle to understand him. The tower, albeit the tallest, isn't exactly easy to find, I guess, so this guy couldn't find us immediately. Until he did.................. but we put the pick up point wrong.

I thought I put "Baiyoke Sky" but instead it was "Baiyoke Suite", which is in another building, and I was already getting rude to him, to which he responded in high-pitch voice, and turns out I was wrong :)

So, of course, we raced there, went through the parking lot (because the lobby of this hotel building is quiet complicated) and met him in the level 5 car park, sweaty, tired, almost not breathing, and really, really guilty. To that driver who turned out to be very friendly, speaks English, and owns a much nicer phone than the rest of us, if you are reading this, we're very sorry :(( 

The Underground station. (yep, that Meinyda again, and oh, Tiko! Say hi!)

Another thing that sets Bangkok apart from Jakarta: the transportation system is somehow on a whole other level. I could be wrong, but it's unfair to say that we're very similar because of the heavy traffic, especially at rush hour. The thing of the matter is, Bangkok has two support systems that Jakarta doesn't have: the BTS and Underground, and the latter is very much modern like the one we can find in Singapore (not even counting on the river taxi here...) Even though they probably don't serve every parts of the city (the Underground only has 2 lines, I think?) it seems to me that they are way ahead of Jakarta. Do you realize what a very long and complicated way it is to provide an infrastructure project? You should. So that you understand that it's not easy to be a governor, and those guys currently fighting for Jakarta gubernatorial are probably no less in the dark than you at this point.

Hey, Bangkok!

Later that night, after experiencing the second nightmare of the day (the Uber driver doesn't speak English when we really needed him because somehow we ended up in Bangkok Railway Station, like, the grand station where you can go for long-haul train rides) we went up to the Baiyoke Rooftop Bar. The bar isn't really rooftop, since the rooftop is at the 84th, and the bar is at the 83rd, and it was kind of lame, and the drinks just okay... But the view. Oh, the view. Breathtaking.

Too bad we were there during maintenance, and the light was turned off so it was almost pitch black and really hard to take pictures. I even had to take a selfie while my friend showering me with a flashlight. 

Also, the wind was like so... harsh. It's hard to find a picture where our faces are not covered in hair!

Tuk-tuk selfie -- a tourist's obligation

The next day, which is also our last day, we wanted to feel more cultured so we took the tuk-tuk from our AirBnB for 100 Baht to the Grand Place. No, we didn't even bargain for the price. Yes, we could probably get cheaper. Look, it's only because our two previous Uber drivers said, "Never pay for more than 200-250 Baht for a tuk-tuk! Also, they are dangerous. Better take Uber!" So we thought we had a pretty good deal.............

Anyway, (I refuse to feel guilty for paying 100 Baht for tuk-tuk when we'd probably need to pay roughly 20 Baht to the Grand Palace by Uber--but this is just an assumption) we were so impoverished by too much shopping and eating street food so we didn't even take any guided tours in these beautiful temples and palaces, so, we knew nothing about them. Mission to be more cultured: FAILED.

Also, in these places: so. many. Chinese. tourists.

It's harder to get a picture without their presence in the background than to find a halal food in the streets. I'm speaking from fresh memory and experience, you guys.

Supposedly, the Grand Palace's...something?

Supposedly some very beautiful stupas adjacent to Wat Phra Kaew

Supposedly the gate of Wat Arun

Supposedly the beautiful stupas surrounding Wat Arun

All in all, it was a blast. Short, but rather a very remarkable trip. None of us has ever been to Thailand. None of us knew any Thai besides for "Hello" and "Thank you". None of has ever taken Uber in a foreign country (turns out it could really feel like Amazing Race, finding the pick up spot your driver can get you). We did not have much cash at our disposal, but we lived like a royalty anyway (this is probably the mistake). But after all, what's a holiday without making mistakes, without getting lost, without eating food you're not supposed to eat, or without at least try to live like locals? 

Probably just a trip.

Cold Weather

This holiday post has been long overdue--I know, not that I intended to--and it's even started to smell like spring somewhere (where?) But I owe you this in a way. I've been gone, and when I came back, I felt like writing a lot of sad and melancholic posts instead of sharing some bits of my holiday to you... Where were my manners?!

So, yes, I went to the US of A, as you've probably heard people whispered. It was more for the Christmas rather than New Year's Eve, as I didn't even get a proper new year celebration this year. It all started from the East Coast, which meant that I could play Taylor Swift's Welcome To New York a couple hundred times and felt her excitement about the city *cue T-Swift new album on the stereo*

What do I think about New York? Well, try what don't I think about New York! You know how I always have this life-long fascination towards London? Well, it hardly compared to how excited I am about New York City. Every street, every building, every monument, seem to mean something for me, the ever-crazy fangirl of rom-coms based in New York. Empire State Building will always be Sleepless in Seattle, and Bryant Park in winter will forever look like the witness of Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack's impossibly cute love story in Serendipity. It's so interesting. So wild. And I couldn't seem to catch my breath with every city's landmark passed before me.

I love East Coast for how it feels like the laid-back Europe that it is, but I strongly hate the climate. Like normal winters, it was constantly dark and bitter cold there--not to mention in danger of rain and possibly snow. I have terribly dry and flaky facial skin even at home in Indonesia, so could you imagine how wonderful it would be staying in the East Coast for me?! Well, luckily, I was smart enough to visit Sephora on my first day in New York, and the BA generously put me on a proper winter skincare regime that I learned to grasp quickly. She used (of course) very expensive stuffs, but I ran to CVS immediately and get my own version of the products that helped. As a result, when everyone in the tour complained about how flaky their lips and skin became, I didn't experience the same thing (even though I couldn't do anything about my frizzy hair, I'm just glad it's still kind of short) I did, however, complain about how I catch a cold and could not stop sneezing and coughing.

In that sense, I owe a huge gratitude to Josie Maran Argan Oil Light, Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief moisturizer (A gel formula that my skin drinks like serum. This is basically magic to my dry skin!) Aveeno 24 Hour Moisturising Lotion for my body (because I'm an idiot for taking super-long hot showers as it dried my skin even more) and at night time, I practically slathered myself in Egyptian Magic Cream. Oh, and Cherry Chapstick all throughout the day. I bought it originally because of that Katy Perry song (I know, I'm so cliche) but then surprised at how awesome it is at $2!!!!! Sometimes I long for the day my local beauty brands back home could be so cheap and work so well at the same time.

Compared to the first leg of the trip where I spent my days and nights trying to bundle myself up in so much layers and inhaling faux fur from my angora shawl, my West Coast trip was so much better. I can't believe how bitter it is to swallow up the pride that I had several years ago when I told everyone that I'd never been interested to go to LA because it's so shallow and pop and plastic... Well, the younger-than-21-years-old me knows nothing, my friend. Because the 21-year-old me definitely thought that LA is really nice. A really nice place to be--if not live. I took this picture in front of the Tiffany & Co. Beverly Hills Golden Triangle as an aspiration, because, why not? Maybe 40-year-old me would've been able to wear one of his designs on my finger, who knows? (Amen to that, please)

Now, I may be 21 years old, and have been to all of the Disneyland theme parks in the world (well not really, never been to Orlando yet, but, in the American continent) and knows full well of the tricks to be able to enjoy the rides better (Single Rider lines, Fast Pass tickets before everything, early lunch, etc.) but I'm still so excited about it mainly because of the new characters added to their festivities. I spent the entire Christmas Day in Disneyland fighting the cold wind despite sunlight (thanks, Cali winter) yelling at Olaf balloons and whining about the long queues at photo sessions with Elsa and Anna. I got myself an Olaf plush doll (because I collect plush dolls, in case you didn't know) and a Maleficent headband. I think I scared off some kids while wearing it all day, because I saw some little girls look at me nervously as if I was an evil stepmother. Well guess what, little girls? The older you get, the more you'd understand how Maleficent is the closest thing to real-human experience Disney has ever made. And they call me an awful big sister because I tell the truth. *sigh*

The highlight of my LA trip, though, is the Universal City. THIS IS AS SHALLOW AS LA GETS, AMIRITE?

Well, sure. But as a Hollywood enthusiast, life cannot get any better than a visit to the Universal City and getting on that Studio Tour ride hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Yes, he is my ideal kind of husband, but that is not why I love Universal City. I love it because of the diversity of its characters--you can practically see Bart Simpsons walk around Megatron and Minions side-by-side and not feel weird about it. The day I came to Universal City was what the Brits call 'Boxing Day', which is the day after Christmas, and The Mindy Project was shooting that day. Of course I didn't get to see my long-lost Indian big sister Mindy Kaling, but I went passed Stage 27, where they were filming, and I was hysterical. Not really proud of the way I acted that day, but, that was my experience, and I thought I'd share it with you because I know you guys accept me just the way I am and I really love you for that *smooches*

Okay, so this post isn't complete without sharing my thoughts about Las Vegas. I admit that I'm not really a wild soul, and it wasn't like I get to do anything crazy because I was there with my family, but I think I wouldn't enjoy it too much anyway even though I wasn't. Maybe it's just me hating the sticky casino air thick with alcohol and cigarette smoke everywhere I go, but I'm just not into a place where it's constantly evolving in such materialistic way. I didn't really enjoy Dubai, didn't love Vegas, and I suspect I wouldn't enjoy Macau that much (but, what do I know? I was wrong about LA)

Another bucket list ticked off during my trip: GRAND CANYON! (The other one is Disneyland, because it's been an obsession of mine to visit every single Disneyland in all the continents in the world)

The Grand Canyon is a magnificent work of art that clearly wasn't man-made. It's not rocket science for me to believe in the Higher Power while I was here; in fact, it was rather very spiritual to be there. There's a lot of Native Americans working here, which I think is quiet nice of them to acknowledge their existence rather than shoving them off out of the picture. It's hot topic to be talking about racial discrimination these days, but I liked what I see here---and the fact that there was just so many Chinese tourists coming to the US was overwhelming. I mean, wasn't there extreme poverty in China just a few years ago?? Now they massively travel to the US wearing the latest Marc Jacobs coat?? What a great nation it is. 

Okay, so you probably wanna ask me, which city do I like the most? Well, I'm kind of sad to announce that it had to be the last city that I visited that was my favourite. Do you know how my heart beats for London? Well, it beats almost the same way while I was in San Francisco. Better weather, though. Even though it can be foggy and terribly windy, at least it's not constantly under the threat of wet rains everyday. It's really, really nice to be here. They charge you for every shopping bags you need, but at least they have lower tax than New York. I like how open to LGBT Frisco is, with rainbow flags proudly present in many houses and buildings around the city, and, oh, those steep roads... It can be quiet an exercise just strolling around the shops at Union Square. 

And that selfie above, taken right in the middle of the Union Square's infamous Christmas tree on my last day of the holiday, is how much I am willing to ridicule myself to take a bare-faced selfie. I never let myself go bare-faced in the winter because I will look homeless, so I swore by my Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red or my trustworthy pinky coral MAC LE Archie lipstick in Betty Bright (on a bad day, it makes me look like Nicki Minaj, though, so I'm not always so fond of it). Also, I learned to put some colour on my cheeks to look more alive because winter skin could look so dull (and mind you, I'm MAC NC30). So you see, it was a worthwhile experience to be in this winter holiday, beauty-wise, even though it left me longing to stay in that kind of weather, because it never let my face shiny so much.

Now, it's no longer time for me to keep talking about such an ancient holiday story (I've even used up that Josie Maran organ oil because I love it so much and I'm so galau where I could repurchase it). In case you skipped this post all the way to this end, I would like to sum it for you: if you only got a limited time, spend it in SF. I'll leave you with the view from the Peak Point, and I dare you not to swear you'd go there someday the second you have the chance. 

Mediterranean Blues

This winter marks what seems to be one of the most memorable holiday I've ever had so far. Flying to the Mediterranean part of the world and then straight to the Emirates is probably not a very popular choice among Indonesians. But I'm telling you, I would never regret taking this trip and I would never, ever think that the Europe is the only place fascinating enough to spend your vacations in.

Turkey

There's a reason why it's called the Pigeon Valley

Anyone who's been to Turkey knows that there's no place like Cappadocia. It's basically one part of paradise, leaked to the Earth, and dropped to the land of Turks in Anatolia. It's a wondrous place full of magical volcanic peaks and rich histories of the Arabs, Greeks and the Turks themselves. 

The view from the hot-air-balloon ride

Flock of birds in Cappadocia

I would recommend you to go to Turkey if you are craving for the kind of adventure that requires: a) basic body language skills (as very few people in Turkey actually speak English and the language doesn't sound anything quiet like any other languages I've heard of) and, b) lots of historical and natural touch in your trip. Turkey is very rich in history and culture as it is the melting point of East and West, of Islam and Christianity, which resulted in the majority of the country being pretty much secular these days, even though most of their names are still very Arabic. 

Ephesus, the less-maintained ancient city outside of Rome

Pamuk, in Turkish, means Cotton. Which represents the Cotton Castle quiet well.

Let's not forget Pamukkale, the famous city with its beautiful Cotton Castle. It's not a very large area, sure, but it's such a wonder how the volcanoes shaped this all-around-white landscape with some pools of natural warm water among others.

Oh, hi!

No, that's not the snow. That's what they called the calcium carbonate (now excuse me for not knowing how to put that chemically as I survived my high school chem test by writing song lyrics). The snow had just caught up with me while in Konya, as pictured below. There's nothing in Konya. The picture was taken just for the sake of the snow. Because I'm Asian that way. 

Asian tourist's MUST do

Moving on now, to the very, very famous capital city of Turkey, Istanbul. If you read Orhan Pamuk, you'll find out that he gets much of his melancholia from this city where he was born and bred, and the winter season just happened magnify that sensation. Now, I'm sure you all know that this city is divided in two parts: The Asian and The European part. And a few years from now, the Republic of Turkey will be part of the European Union, too. But what I didn't know was how very European most parts of the city is now. From the parks to the public phones and newsstands, not to mention the cobblestoned pathways and the small, relatively maze-like streets between the legendary Hagia Sophia to Grand Bazaar, they all look pretty European to my Asian eyes. My foolish brain almost thought I was somehow transported to Brussels. What's missing was the delicious 1 Euro waffles.

You probably can't see for the buildings, but even the lamps remind me of a good park in London

Now, about other things to be concerned of. Let's just say that the food in Turkey is not something that I would recommend you eating. Six days in Turkey is like a six days series of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. I don't hate them. I'm just not fond of them. But food is all about taste anyway. Eating is part of traveling. In Turkey, it's just one part that I could not be excited about. And about the people. They have the same tendency as Italians to speak loud and with gestures. And many of them don't speak English, even just a simple 'yes' or 'thank you' wouldn't work for them. You will find that even people with the lowest paying job in Turkey would probably land a role in Indonesian FTV, and if they're lucky, as the main character. Haha. I'm not saying that they are so much more good looking than Indonesian people, but they kind of... are. Not to be worried, though. Because secretly, they are very fond of Asian people too. Apparently, they rarely see yellow-skinned people with light complexion and small, slanted eyes that according to some stories, they like to ask Asian tourists to take pictures together! Ah, human. How very similar we could be, wherever we are.

United Arab Emirates

Living in the equator most of time makes me never appreciate the power of the warmth during the day. When I first arrived in Abu Dhabi, I almost cried with so much excitement. The winter-clad Turkey made me miss the light of the sun and how warm it feels on my skin! Turkey made me so much happy, sure. But the sun in Abu Dhabi is what I really missed. It is pretty much sun-drenched but windy, so it is fairly warm without making you sweaty because the humidity is far below what we have here in Indonesia. 

Some ray of light, at last!

Okay, well, there's not a lot to see in Abu Dhabi. I like this city basically just because I missed the warm weather, and they've got so much to offer, and because I like seeing rich people's house, which is plenty here. They're so rich, they even park their yachts just outside their houses even though it's nowhere near the water!

The embossed artwork on Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The same pattern sits all over the walls and floors of the grand mosque

The infamous Swarovski chandelier inside the grand mosque

Other thing you need to expect when visiting Abu Dhabi and Dubai is what I'm guessing is their Arabian philosophy, that is: the more, the better. Semua yang ada di Dubai (dan Abu Dhabi) itu lebay. They're like this new intern in your office that you know could do well, but goes way beyond anyone's expectation. It's like they build and do things with steroids. But I think they put that philosophy to a good cause when they decided to build a spectacular mosque called the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The ornaments and details inside of the mosque is fabulous, that they sure have put the word Grand to the right use. They're also moderately Islamic, because aside of the fact that Dubai's entertainment rivals those in Vegas and Macau, they also let Non-Muslims enter this grand mosque, although not to the parts of the mosque intended for praying.

Public display of Dubai Aquarium

How lebay is Dubai? In Dubai Mall, one of the most popular shopping malls in Dubai where they practically put together every brands, every retail stores known to man, they also have the Dubai Aquarium, and put on display one of its gigantic exhibition for public. In addition to its glory, they have this thing called The Dubai Shopping Festival, where they make the stores give about 50-70% off (even to new arrivals!!) and open until about, well, 3 AM. During normal days, the mall here in Abu Dhabi and Dubai open until midnight anyway, so... 

That's Dubai Skyline for you

Okay, now, things to be concerned of. You will not find a lot of Asian tourists in many tourist attractions in UAE, because they're too busy exploring the malls (Well, it's kind of a shopping pilgrimage anyway). Instead, you will find so many English-speaking tourists whose accent ranged from American to New Zealand, and some Europeans, such as Russian and German (I can't tell if they're visiting or really expats, but since it was in Burj Khalifa so I supposed they were visiting). In fact, the majority of people living in these two major cities are expats. The indigenous people only inhabited about 20% of the population, so whenever you see men wearing tawb or women wearing abaya, chances are, they're not even Emiratis. In fact, it's easier to find a worker from Bangladesh, Philippines, sometimes even Indonesia! And don't worry about the food. Unlike in Turkey, where even finding Chinese restaurant (even people!) requires detailed search, if Arabian cuisine doesn't suit you, you still have so many choices to pick. Because both cities are very international, you won't find a problem finding KFC. Problem solved.

 It's not the Sahara. But I did wait for a little boy to come and ask me to draw him a rose, while I was fixing my broken plane.

In conclusion, do not be tricked when people ask you, Why would you travel to Turkey and UAE? What's in there? Well, it has so much to offer, like the history that the East and the West refused to tell you, or the mind-blowing greatness of Dubai that the Western world never tell you, because they don't want you to think that the Arabs have the money to pay their people to build this small country. Being on a trip should make you change your perspective. And this one, I guess, have changed the way I look at this part of Middle East that is conflict-free, and beautiful, and has the potential to rule the world.

pictures are my own