pictures – Christa Bercerita

Miss Bee Providore

Located in Ciumbuleuit area up north of Bandung, Miss Bee Providore offers you a homey and spacious place to dine. To me, this is one of the few places I’ve been that suits every dine out occasion that I can think of! Breakfast with family? I did that. Date with your significant other? of course, sit in the outdoor terrace area (facing the garden) and embrace Bandung’s cosy wind. Gathering with friends and family? sit in the indoor area. Don’t worry, it has a children’s playground as well!

I won’t say much about this place, the pictures below say it all. Enjoy! 🙂

Since it’s almost Halloween, they have creative decorations here and there..

Their indoor sitting area is also very nice, and they also have a small shop which sells cute stuffs (including the famous Kou Cuisine’s Jam from Bali!).

If you have kids, you’ll love this place even more as this place has a cute children’s playground 🙂

Now let’s talk about the food. Since we came there early in the morning (7 AM to be exact.. we were the first customer that day!), they only served breakfast menu.

We ordered different kinds of food – mine was Full English Breakfast. Everything was delicious! I love what I ordered, especially the fact that they don’t use canned baked beans and cooked their own. If you prefer sweet breakfast, try their pancakes! it’s soooo fluffy and buttery. Yummm.

That’s about it! do visit when you’re in Bandung. I heard that the restaurant is often full, so if you planned to have breakfast there, I would suggest to come as early as 7AM so you you can still enjoy the atmosphere before the restaurant gets crowded 🙂

>strong>Miss Bee Providore
Jl. Rancabentang No. 11A | Ciumbuleuit, Bandung 40142
Phone: +(62)222033613

Presiden dan Wakil Presiden baru Indonesia!

Hari ini Republik Indonesia punya Presiden dan Wakil Presiden baru! Hore!(?)
Saya tambahin tanda tanya di belakang kata hore karena saya sebenarnya tidak tahu apakah harus se-senang itu untuk urusan ini. Maklum, saya sih sebenarnya bukan pengamat politik.. Sebagai rakyat biasa, saya cuma pengen negara ini maju, aman, dan sejahtera terlepas siapapun Presiden nya. Bener deh. Tulisan ini juga bukan tentang politik kok… hehehe.

Saya cuma ingin berbagi foto – foto di seputaran bunderan Semanggi tadi siang aja. Kebetulan kantor saya terletak persis di depan bunderan Semanggi, jadi saya punya kesempatan untuk melihat rombongan konvoi Presiden menuju ke Monas untuk acara syukuran. Jadwal lengkapnya bisa dibaca disini.

Konon kabarnya rombongan Presiden akan menyusuri jalan Sudirman-Thamrin dari gedung MPR/DPR menuju Monas. Kebetulan jam nya mendekati jam makan siang, jadi pas lah saya bisa kabur sebentar dari kantor dan lihat – lihat keadaan sekitar. Saya turun sekitar pukul 11.30.. situasi sudah agak ramai oleh sesama karyawan gedung – gedung sekitar dan juga (yang sepertinya) mahasiswa dari kampus sekitar.

Inagurasi Jokowi — Karyawan sekitar tampak antusias foto foto

Saya datengnya agak kecepetan sih.. kabarnya kan rombongan baru lewat pukul 12. Mau bediri terus terus di pinggir jalan supaya dapet spot paling depan tapi kok panas banget ya… akhirnya setelah ikutan foto – foto, saya meneduh di pinggir pohon. Hehehe.

11.55 AM – kapan lagi pose kayak gini? hahaha 😛

Nah, sekitar pukul 12 suasana makin ramai. Seneng deh liatnya, orang – orang tampak semangat sekali! Walaupun sejujurnya saya agak parno karena inget film Vantage Point… hahahaha. Selama nunggu itu saya sibuk lihat kiri kanan, apa ada orang yang keliatan mencurigakan? Hahaha waspada lah pokoknya.

Sekitar jam 12 lewat dikit, akhirnya rombongan konvoi tiba. Wuihh semua orang langsung antusias. Ada yang nyanyi lagu kebangsaan, ada yang teriak teriak heboh, tapi semua langsung ngeluarin kamera/hp nya untuk foto foto.. termasuk saya. Terlihat beberapa orang asing juga ikutan antusias berdiri walau panas – panas. Suasana nya agak mengharukan sih, soalnya saya lihat betapa excited nya warga terhadap presiden dan wakil presiden baru kita ini.

Sayangnya, saya nggak kesampean liat Pak Jokowi secara langsung, karena walaupun ada di barisan depan, tapi begitu mobil RI1 tiba dan kaca jendela dibuka (Presiden nya mau dadah dadah ceritanya), orang – orang terlalu antusias dan agak sedikit dorong dorongan. Situasi aman terkendali sih… tapi saya memilih untuk mundur, takut kaki saya yang baru sembuh itu keinjek, hehehe.

Yak, seperti yang bisa dilihat di foto foto diatas, saya cuma berhasil lihat mobil RI1 dan sekilas tangan Jokowi aja (tapi ngga sempet kefoto karena lagi mundur ke barisan belakang). That’s the closest I can get to seeing our new President with my own eyes. Hehehehe. Tapi tetep seru sih pengalaman nya, kapan lagi bisa begini?

Sekian “laporan pandangan mata” singkat dari seputar Bunderan Semanggi, selamat bertugas Pak Jokowi, Pak JK, dan menteri – menteri nya! Semoga bisa bekerja dengan baik dan merealisasikan harapan – harapan rakyat 🙂

From my family to yours.. :)

Hello Taipei!

To Indonesian travelers, Taiwan might be a less popular destination compared to its Asian neighbors – Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea or Japan. Japan has been a popular tourist destination for so long, while South Korea are beginning to grow its popularity thanks to K-Pop culture boom. Of course, Hong Kong is famous as a shopping destination, while Mainland China .. well.. I guess is famous for its scenery and culture.

Now let’s talk about Taiwan. Before I made a proper research on this country, I only knew two cities – Taipei and Kaohsiung. That’s because some of my uni friends are from there. So basically I had zero knowledge. But, since the last two years, Taiwanese food are getting more common in Jakarta – there are more and more Taiwanese food restaurants opening here, especially dessert house and boba tea joints. They are mushrooming in Jakarta, and very often you have to queue to get a seat.

So how did I end up going to Taipei? Well, early this year I went to a travel fair in Jakarta – wanted to find cheap airline tickets for my next travel. There were a lot of booths from different tourist agencies and travel agents, including those popular Asian countries I mentioned before. Then there was a Taiwan booth as well. My initial reaction was.. “Well wouldn’t it be nice to go to Taipei where I can eat authentic Taiwanese food? It must be nice to have boba tea all day long!” Hahaha, not exactly like that but I was interested to go , I wanted to try authentic Taiwanese food. Plus, with my valid US tourist visa, I don’t need to apply for Taiwan Visa, just need to register online as they have some exceptions program. Long story short, I bought the ticket (50% off with China Airlines!), and was scheduled to go in May for 3 nights.

Then came May. The trip was scheduled right a week after my Derawan trip, but I was so excited to go. Though I was traveling alone, I have made some arrangements to meet with my university friends who live in Taipei. I arrived Sunday afternoon after a 5 hour flight from Jakarta, and went straight to my hostel – Mr. Lobster’s Secret Den Hostel which is located within walking distance from Taipei Central Station. I’ll probably write a separate blog post about this hostel but I would gladly recommend it if you’re traveling to Taipei on a budget like myself.

After I checked in and had quick shower, I went to Taipei 101 mall to meet with my university friends for dinner at the famous Din Tai Fung restaurant. The restaurant is famous for its Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) and although it has chains all over the globe now, still worth to try when in Taipei.

The next day, I traveled across town – by foot and by their excellent MRT system. It was sooo easy to get around despite being a non-Chinese speaker. No worries, almost all directions I saw are written in both Chinese and English language.

My first destination that day was Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (tip: they have changing of the guards parade every hour – similar to the one in Buckingham Palace!), then Dr.Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall which is not far away. Besides having pretty architecture, I enjoyed visiting both sites for quick history crash course! 😀

Afterwards, I went to Taipei 101 building again to have lunch and went to the observatory deck. Did you know that Taipei 101 used to be the world’s tallest building until there’s Burj Khalifa in Dubai? It was fun to be able to see beautiful Taipei scenery from the indoor observation deck at the 89th floor. There’s also an outdoor one at 91st floor but I only managed to make it to the stairs hahaha.. too afraid to went outside!

Taipei – seen from Taipei 101’s observation deck

Now, as you can see from the picture above, Taipei has both tall buildings and hills as well as mountains. So.. my next destination was to hike Elephant Mountain! It’s not far from Taipei 101 and it’s included in almost Taipei travel guide I read. The trail is not too long.. I finished it in around 35 minutes one way. They said it’s best to go there in the afternoon, close to sunset time as you would be able to see magnificent Taipei view. Too bad it was cloudy when I was there.. So I did not bother to wait for sunset nor did I managed to get a spectacular shot of the city view I saw. But still, it was worth to visit. And if you decided to visit, hopefully you’ll be able to take a better shot than what I got here…

View from the top of Elephant Mountain, you can see Taipei 101 for a far!

From Elephant Mountain I went back to my hostel, had a quick shower and managed to browse the neighborhood real quick before going to my next destination. Here’s a picture I took :

My next destination was Ximending. I met another friend from university and she took me for a sightseeing/window shopping around the area. Popular to teens, this place is similar to Shibuya in Japan or Times Square in New York (never been to New York but I think it is indeed similar from the pictures I saw!), full of shops and neon lights. There are a lot of shops selling cute accessories and clothes.. also Taiwanese snacks. Do visit for a little shopping spree 🙂

Ximending. Looks like Shibuya or Mini Times Square!

My day did not end there as before I went back to the hostel, I managed to find Eslite 24 hour bookstore.. just because I’m curious to see if people really visit bookstores after 10 PM. Turns out they still do! It was still crowded even when I got there at past 10.30PM! Wow!

The next day was my last day in Taipei. I visited MOCA Taipei which is located near my hostel then traveled far north to Tamsui District… still using MRT – a 40 minutes ride only. I visited the old street and waterfront, as well as the fisherman’s wharf. Again, weather was not on my side as it was cloudy – even raining for a bit! However, I loved wandering around the area, which I think has a perfect mix of culture and modernisation.

In the afternoon, I had an appointment with my friend as I asked her to take me to the best beef noodle soup in town. Her choice was Lin Dong Fang‘s beef noodle soup and I could not agree more with her! The restaurant was small, basically people just come there to eat. My friend told me that during lunch time and after working hours, people would have to queue to eat there. Lucky we came there at 5 – right before people got off from work so there was no queue at all and we could eat happily 😀

From there we traveled south to ride Maokong Gondola to went up the hill. My friend told me it’s a nice place to sit and drink some tea as there are a lot of tea houses. The interesting part about my gondola ride is that they are decorated in Hello Kitty theme, plus some of them has crystal cabins!

Hello Kitty themed gondola at Maokong Gondola… cute!

After spending some time in the hill, we went to Shilin Night Market. I think I don’t need to explain much about this place as the name sort of explains itself. Of all the night markets in Taipei, I think this one’s the most popular.. especially for hawker food. Trust me everything I had there is super delicious.. and cheap. Going there was definitely a feast! Lucky as I went there with my friend and she understands that I don’t eat pork , she chose only the foods that do not contain pork for me. If you don’t speak Chinese and don’t eat pork as well – it might be handy to write down some phrases to be asked to the food seller before you buy something.. as the sellers there speak very limited English, if not at all.

Yummy street food at Shilin Night Market

So that concludes my 3 nights in Taipei, as I left the city very early in the morning the next day. I really love Taipei for its perfect mix of modernisation, traditional culture and nature. I went there only for the food but was able to see so much more even in my short visit. Definitely will go back at some point! 🙂

Those Island Days

I’ve heard about Derawan Islands quite a lot before I finally paid a visit. The islands – located in North Kalimantan – has been frequently reviewed on magazines and travel blogs, but I kind of hesitated to go because I read that it’s still quite hard to reach – you’d have to change several methods of transportation to get to the islands. So the trip stayed in my plans almost forever, I kept talking about wanting to go, but never actually went… until last month. Spoke to a couple of friends and gathered a group of 8 and then we registered ourselves to a travel group, called Kakaban Trip.

With Kakaban Trip, we had to pay IDR 5,600,000 for a 4 day trip, which I think is a pretty good deal considering that all expenses were covered – only exclude airport tax (IDR 40,000) and snorkeling gear rental (IDR 50,000 a day). Plus, they accept installment if you book in advance! (do check again though, price might differ since my visit..)

So we went on a Thursday morning, took the earliest flight from Jakarta to Tarakan. From Tarakan, we then had to take a speedboat for 3 hours (!!!) to finally reach Maratua Island, where our villa was located. Though it was realllly tiring but when we reached Maratua on the afternoon, I suddenly forgot that I was tired because of this view!

Because it’s almost sunset when we arrived, there was not many things to do except settling in to our lovely beach cottages, catching sunset, had some dinner and went to the bed early… because a lot of things were waiting for us the next day.

One of the best sunsets that I've seen! — One of the best sunsets that I’ve seen!

The next day, we woke up at 4, went to catch sunrise on the other side of the island, went back to the villa for breakfast and then left for island hopping! You see, Derawan Islands has a lot of islands, some big ones including Maratua. The smaller ones don’t have villas/resorts, but have beautiful snorkeling/diving spots.

First stop was Derawan Island. As predicted, this is the main island – where there are more resorts (there’s only one resort in Maratua), a lot of homestays, small restaurants, bike rentals, etc. Basically, there’s life in Derawan island. BUT… when there’s life, there’s also… trash. Junk. So disappointing, because the snorkeling spots are not that clean anymore. I spotted a big turtle AND a manta ray while I was snorkeling, so that made me very happy though. Then we went to other smaller islands and did snorkeling again. The experience was waaay better than snorkeling in Derawan Islands, the sea was way more clearer, coral reef were a lot prettier, and the beach, AAAK i lost words. Here are some pictures for your eyes to see 🙂

On our third day, we went island hopping to the smaller islands. I don’t remember all the names, but one that really caught my attention was Kakaban Island. I visited two parts of the island – where there’s a big lake full of sting-less jelly fish (you can swim with them!), and another one to see a pretty lagoon. We swam with the jelly fish, and spent some time in the lagoon. Interesting fact, we had to do some caving to get out of the lagoon. Definitely once in a lifetime experience!

After island hopping, snorkeling, and all the fun times in the islands, it was time to go home. We left the island the Sunday afternoon, went on another 3 hours speedboat ride (!!!), spent some time in Tarakan before finally going back to Jakarta. I really really looooove Derawan Islands, definitely worth the long journey and even the sunburn! :p oh, btw.. Do browse #thisisderawan on instagram to see more pics from me and my friends!

P.S: I would gladly recommend Kakaban Trip if you want to save the hassle in planning, because they will arrange everything for you. It may be a little bit more expensive, but saves you a lot of trouble. But, if you prefer to plan your own trip, i would say to take out Derawan Island from your itinerary and focus on the smaller islands like Maratua or Kakaban instead. Enjoy! 🙂