Travel in Simplicity

Because when you travel, the simplest things can mean so much

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Business Center Food Escape: Royani 38

Located behind WTC tower and Mayapada Tower at Sudirman, Setiabudi, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. A canteen with some options for meal-time.

Canteen consist of different meals such as: hot dog booth, roasted chicken booth, Pempek booth (chewy crispy dish made from fish), and chicken satay. The price range starts from 10.000 rupiahs to 35.000 rupiahs.

I went there to visit my friend’s booth, the roasted chicken with original recipe from generations upper from his family. I gotta admit, my friend there should past the skill of making some traditional roasted chicken because it is so lit.

I ordered one portion of roasted chicken, with rice, for 20.000 rupiahs and a tea for 5.000 rupiahs. The location is strategic considering lots of workers come to have lunch there. It’s outdoor only, and the place is non air conditioner facilitated.

My personal tips: wear something airy for the outfit, use motor cycle to reach the place because the street is so narrow.

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Unnoticed but Exotic: Sukaharja Village

Indonesia have one regulation in developing travel destination, one of them is tourism village. Sukaharja, located in West Java, Indonesia.

One time, I was sent to have a gathering with Himpunan Mahasiswa Pariwisata Indonesia ( Indonesia’s Tourism Student Organization ). This gathering consist of many universities in Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung, and nearby universities. We had it at Sukaharja, the village with ancient sites and pine forest as the main attraction.

The local government and local villagers can offer you home stay, I slept at the head village’s office, the building is still made of woods and there are goat’s shed around. The goats belong to villagers, they have roosters too.

Clear water, clear air, warm villagers, and a very peaceful place to stay. The villagers are so nice and very welcome. But, you need permissions and have to reach the destination with car rent. 

There’s a graveyard of a famous ancient king of West Java, called Prabu Siliwangi, and a meditation cave which are really sacred. And, a little waterfall with fresh drinkable water.

That photo is me with my friends from the organization, at the pine forest.

My personal tips: wear trekking shoes, bring water dispenser because there is a little waterfall to drink and wash your face, and never ever curse there because the area is sacred.

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Dunk in The Choco: Dapur Cokelat

Located in Tebet, South Jakarta, Indonesia. A dessert parlor full of chocolate to sweeten your day!

One thing to do when you have a really bad day, is having a ton load of chocolate, because it helps you produce endorphin. Besides, it’s so tasty and I personally never found any person who doesn’t like chocolate.

I ordered red velvet cake for 30.000 rupiahs and hot chocolate for 25.000 rupiahs, so it’s kinda pricey but they are so good. The hot chocolate is very unique. They serve it by using hot milk and dunk a lollipop consist of dark chocolate so you have to stir it to melt the chocolate.

Dapur Cokleat (in English: Kitchen of Chocolate) serves chocolate cakes, chocolate truffles, chocolate bars, even chocolate beverages. They also have different sizes for the cake.

The place is indoor and have two wooden table with big umbrellas, outdoor. The parking lot is spacey and the place is clean. Once you get inside, the first thing you’ll notice is the smell of dark chocolate emerging you. A very, very pleasant experience for a dessert parlor.

My personal tips: The place is quite small, and ask for tester because that’s how you can get the description of the product. I recommend you to buy the Opera cake because it’s my personal favorite variant from Dapur Cokelat.

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KOTARA: cafe inside traditional market

Located in Cawang, East Jakarta, Indonesia. This coffee shop is truly simple yet full of surprises.

They sell manual brewing coffee as main character, even use hand grinder. It’s really cheap to get a coffee here, starts from 5.000 rupiahs only (like, doesn’t even touch a dollar, how great is that?).

The place is quite small, mainly outdoor with no air conditioner, but they open after the sun goes down so it’s fine for non airy space. 

I ordered Singkarak Sumatera Highland for the night, costs 15.000 rupiahs (1,2 dollars). It’s chocolaty, with long aftertaste. 

They decorate the place with drawings from chalk, so creative and innovative for a small cafe. That’s andi on frame, I just met him on the spot and we’re officially buddies now. The owner (only one person manage this cafe) is warm too.

My personal tip: lots of mosquito are around. Common for traditional market especially at night, wear something comfy

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Bogor best coffee shop: POPOLO

This little town in West Java, Indonesia, offers a great cullinary experience. One of my favorite is POPOLO cafe.

A coffee shop located in Bogor kota, near Taman Kencana, with black and white decor and wooden furniture as interior design. They serve coffee beverages, non coffee beverages, also desserts like mille crepe and chocolate cake. I ordered Ethiopia manual brew, with floral aroma and long aftertaste.

I have to admit, this cafe is concern about it’s quality, and so crowded on weekends because of it’s innovative menu. They also serve affogato and they have different variant of beans to explore.

The price is middle range, it cost 20.000 rupiahs for import single origin beans. And they also have indoor and outdoor area which is great for teenagers who loves to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes for hanging out must.

My personal tips: if you want to have a relax chilling out time, don’t come around on weekends because it’s so crowded. Bring some jacket if you want to stay indoor cause it gets chilly sometimes.

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Sea Creatures to Seek: Krakal Beach

My trip to Jogja is a really wonderful time to visit beaches. One of my favorite beach to visit is Krakal Beach.

(please pardon my derp face, and that’s my mom)

Located in Kaliurang, Jogjakarta, Jawa Tengah, near Drini Beach-just fifteen minutes away. You’ll be amazed by how wide the beach is. There is a high coral cliff on the right side with “Welcome to Krakal” text decorating it. The main entertainment of Krakal Beach is the coral garden just right at the shore. So there are plenty little fishes, little prawns, even starfishes and other exotic little animals you can see. I don’t suggest you to bring it home because you will endanger the creature instead.

If you want to relax around, you can sit at the gazebos near the shore. You can also take pictures with local photographers and print your photo even make a calendar with it.

My personal tips: bring some money because they sell a really tasty rujak (traditional fruit salad). wearing flip-flops to walk on top of the coral is a bad idea.

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SOUNDSATIONS: Berisik Gue Berisi

Sometimes it is too hard to find a great gig. Fortunately, I just watched one. Held on 5th March 2017, located in Gandaria City Mall, a well-known cigarette brand held a gig called Soundsations, starring FOURTWNTY, Danilla, Mondo Gascaro, Stars and Rabbit, and Barasuara. 

This is not my first time watching Soundsations gig. The concept of this gig is quite the same from last year’s. Soundsations always colaborate music, arts, and performances into one venue so everybody can enjoy what art really means. Not just bands, they also invited local artist like The Popo who painted mural and one of famous comic illustrator in Indonesia. They also build an interactive digital site for photos.

Hosted with my favorite front man: Jimmy Multazam (singer of The Upstairs and Morfem) and Ricky Malau. They really have great jokes and very interactive with audiences.

The minus part of the gig is I noticed one of the stage light is actually dis-function, and the gig started two hours late than the schedule.

The video is my favorite part of the gig. FOURTWNTY. A band from Pontianak, with the most humble personality I’ve ever seen. The singer even invited his parents to the gig, and I’m sure they are so proud. We (audiences) also get to sing a long one of Indonesian Nationality Anthem together, feeling that our generation needs to follow this band’s culture and norms.

My personal tips: wear sneakers, and t-shirt because it gets too hot sometimes. Bring mineral water to clench your thirst too.

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OLE! Mexican Food in Jakarta

Located in Prapanca, Kemang, South Jakarta, a new place to chat around and munch kinds of food is my new hang out must. Called SOUTHBOX, an urban canteen with industrial design using containers as main building, outdoor tables to seat and eat, and live music performances. They offer diverse kinds of food such as The Halal Bros, Coffee shop, also Jakartos.

The Halal Bros offer you halal-certificated dishes (because Indonesia is one of biggest moslem country). And the coffee shop offers you coffee (duh?). I chose Jakartos to fill the stomach, because apparently the menus are interesting to me. They serve tacos, tortas, and fresh tangy beverages such as tang, orangina, also juices. Prices are quite cheap; nachos for 25.000 rupiahs, tortas range from 30.000-35.000 rupiahs, and beverages for 10.000 rupiahs.

Fortunately, Jakartos held Grand Opening Ceremony there and I ordered the great deal package. I ordered a package of two tortas and one nachos for 30.000 rupiahs. I chose the chicken and cheese French style tortas and beef tortas. For drinks, I ordered Mango tang and Lemongrass juice for 10.000 rupiahs each. So in total, I only have to pay 50.000 rupiahs for three dishes and two beverages. Fantastic for college student pocket.

For the taste, I have to be honest that the chicken and cheese tortas win the game rather than the beef one. It’s cheesy, juicy, and pretty filling. Although, the beef tortas with beans and mayo also taste good.

My personal tip: because it’s outdoor, visitors often smoke. If you’re not comfortable with it, i suggest you to seat near entrance area near the mini stage to get some fresh air.

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Lost in The Horizon: Drini Beach

One of my travel must is going to beaches. I have the opportunity to visit Drini Beach.

It’s located in South Jogja, took two hours with bus to get here. The main attraction of this beauty is a coral cliff standing still in the middle of two shores, like separating the sands into two perspectives. The left eye and the right eye. You can sit around at a gazebo drinking real coconut for 15.000 rupiah only. Some local business also rent mini boats and kayaks. 

Also, if you want to keep the memories with your significant other in a romantic way, there are love signs made from fake flowers and leaves to take a picture with. The sand is pretty white, the water is clear, and the access to reach the site is surrounded with paddy fields.

My personal tips: bring enough money, ask for pictures from local photographer (they shot great results and you can also print a calendar with your photo, or just simply a photo), wear comfortable flip-flops if you want to hike the cliff.

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Ice-Ice Baby: Tempo Gelato

Located in Prawirotaman, Jogjakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. The perfect creamy Italian sweetness will fulfill your day.

This gelato bar serves many kinds of flavor, even the oddest ones. Such as Thai tea, Dragon fruit, and Durian. Price range between 20.000 rupiah ( $2 USD ) until 60.000 rupiah ( $6 USD ). I ordered two flavor cone gelato (salted caramel and Nutella) for 20.000 rupiah.

When you see the picture, don’t be fooled, it doesn’t look that small. It’s melting inside the cone, and it’s so creamy that you’ll get full after you finish it off.

The bar is decorated with collage of people hanging around inside the bar, pictures of the gelato itself, and wooden furniture. The architecture of the building looks like some kind of old city industry style. Match the title “Tempo” which means “time” in Bahasa, and a huge vintage clock sticker outside, perfecting the bar concept. They also serve free mineral water if you get thirsty.

What’s surprising about the gelato, it’s so thick and creamy and unfortunately it’s too sweet for my taste. So I suggest for those of you who bitter-lover like me, ask for the fruits or the tea kinds to match your tongue.

My personal tips: better to use online car service like Uber or GrabCar or Gojek because it’s a bit hard to find, bring camera because the place is Instagramable, also avoid lunch time and afternoon time when you get there because sometimes it’s crowded.

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Little Italy in Jogja: Nanamia Pizzeria

Located in Prawirotaman, Jogjakarta city, Indonesia, the smell of fire stove baked pizza overwhelms this restaurant. They offer you Italian cuisine and fresh beer inside, with 20.000 to 90.000 rupiah price range.

The restaurant have indoor space also outdoor space garden style, with Christmas lights decoration and cute murals. This restaurant is in my top list of the coziest ones I ever visited.

Me and my relatives ordered pizza formaggi, panna cotta, hot latte, and fresh lemonades for the night. What can be more perfect than women having little gossip and eat pizza right?

We definitely love pizza

My personal tips: the restaurant close at 10 pm, so better be here hours before because it feels really cozy to chat around.

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Javanese History in Modern Taste: Ulen Sentalu

Located in Kaliurang, near Merapi Mountain, Central Java, Indonesia, standing a modern looking museum called Ulen Sentalu.

This museum tells about Javanese Aristocracy between Mataram Islam era and Colonial era that acculturate, which now become part of Javanese nowadays culture.

The main displays of this museum are original collection of what Javanese Kingdom usually wear, traditions they did back then, traditional music instruments, paintings from original pictures, and remains of the family’s property.

To get inside, you need to pay 30.000 rupiah for adult and 15.000 rupiah for infant. Once you got the ticket, a guide will lead the tour. No photos or videos allowed inside until you reach the end of the tour where you can take pictures in front of a sculpture. Also you’ll get a free traditional drink called Jamu (believed by Javanese people has anti aging effect) at the end of the tour.

What I like about this museum is that it has philosophy not only about the display, but also the building itself. Labyrinth, sculpture, even an open space surrounded by trees will welcome you. 

My personal tips: bring umbrella because it rain quite often, wear sneakers because it get slippery

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The Gate to Hindia Ocean

On early January, I visited Bali for some chilling time with relatives. A stunning, quiet beach with clear water and white sands; top my destination list. The beach that gives you the perfect jaw drop from the moment you get there:

Nyang-Nyang

Location: Pecatu, Uluwatu, South Bali.

To reach the destination, required 30 minutes downhill trekking. It is a high, narrow cliff with trees and bushes all along the way. There are multiple stops to rest, where local citizens offer drinks, hand made bracelets, and colorful sarong (traditional fabric). Below the cliff awaits a 50 meters lea, and the hidden paradise: the beach.

White sands, clear water, and a shipwreck become the beauty of Nyang-Nyang. Surprisingly, this destination aren’t familiar (yet) among tourists, because when I was there, only few pass by. Most tourists come here to camp for couple of days; according to local citizens. This is the perfect place to relax, surf, even for photo shoots. It surely describes Bali as an island with millions of charm.

These are my tips if you’re planning to travel here:

1. use trekking sandals or comfortable footwear-firm grip

2. if you have breathing problems, bring medicine or inhaler. if you have cardiovascular issue, i suggest you to visit other destination.