Mangga, Mango.....Mango

we're on our way back home after Friday prayer...when we stumbled upon these mangoes. OMG..I thought mangoes are over or out of season..since now..the rambutan season takes over. 

But, since it is out of season, it is a bit expensive, for the best quality, 1 kg costs about 10,000 rupiah...but..we did not buy that since we got a great deal of having 3 kg of mangoes for 20,000 (2,000 Won) only.!!! 

This is the whole view of what what the mango street vendor may look like. 

I would love to enjoy eating mango while we stay in Indonesia.

Camping Out In the House!!!

Kids. They're always cunningly sleek...in a good way, I guess. Today...I got no clues as to what they're about to do. They dragged along bed cover and bed sheets from the wardrobe..and then....the next thing I knew...I got to get myself involved in a camp-out in the house.  

They got the tent up and even used a rechargeable lamp so as to imbue a real camping experience. They never stop playing until... 

Freya was so tired that we called for a massage therapist to come over. Eyra finally got her first massage in Kediri.!!!

A full body massage for kids was also available. ...and then..we did not want to 'waste' the chance of letting Eyra have an experience. 

Nasi Goreng Kediri (Fried Rice ala Kediri)

What's the fuzz about it? I mean..I knew this street-side vendor even when I was back in my junior high year. So..it was more than 20 years ago...but boy..the atmosphere and the way they prepare the fried rice does not change a bit. 

They're still using a wooden charcoal instead of gas or any electric appliances to prepare the food. Yes, we went to Mbah Man or Bu Pur's nasi goreng. 

It's located at Jalan Stasiun ..which means Station street where the city main railway station is located. This nasi goreng vendor seems to be 'preserved' in time. 

As soon as I stepped to take a seat, I could smell the used-to-be so familiar smell and flavor..and atmosphere...

One cook with 3 assistants. The main cook (the owner) prepares all ingredients while his assistants stir, fry, and garnish the fried rice before being presented in its simple presentation. 

DA..DA.....aaaa...---> 

It just look plainly simple without any additional servings. Wait...some cucumber pickles do 'ignite' the flavor. Even the rice and all of other ingredients seem to be perfectly mixed and blended into one famous Nasi Goreng Kediri. 

Apa pun makannya, minumnya Teh Botol Sosro. Yes...Sosro Tea is an indispensable beverage that accompanies most Indonesian ( not all ) in enjoying the food. 

My Mom and her grandchildren....that means..my daughters....were enjoying their food. 

*the downside: we got to wait for almost 45 minutes before even granted with what we've been missing^^

Alhamdulillah..we could taste what the fuzz bout nasi goreng.

Travelling Sisterhood Wear

 A sisterhood in the making? sort of. Eyra and Freya are excited to meet again with their cousin, Lala.

They prepared the same outfit for the occasion. They're like..inseparable starting from day One when we arrived in Kediri. 

Okay...their pants are..at least...different from one another. Though they cannot 'create' travelling sisterhood pants..at least..for the time being...they have something in common...in term of what they're wearing. 

Then...another what-are-you-doing kind of .....activities that only kids can do without any worries of other's stern look...which is... 

Enjoying donuts. NOT JUST any other donuts..it IS J.CO Donuts we've been craving for ..even when're still in Seoul.

Hope Seoul..will have its first J.CO Donuts soon.
Even Shanghai has opened some...so....Seoul....Seoul...Seoul...

back to the sisterhood: I do hope that all of you, girls, will always be happy and faithful to one another. 

"Did you have a great J.CO partying?"

3 Week Without Internet Access? That SOUNDS horrible:)

 So, the only solution for that is that...I bought TELKOMSEl's SpeedUP modem bundle package.

My friends told me that it was an outrageous move from my part for not telling them that I would want to use internet only for 3 week..and for that I got to spend around Rp 400,000 or around 40,000 Won. Well...since I cannot just sit around doing nothing...much less to my being an internet (hope not true) addict....I got no choices but to buy this TELKOMSEL modem.  The package itself is pretty eye-catching with full of downloadable content...to start with.

But..the biggest 'surprise' was this. It had a unique SIM card that usable only for Facebook. er, whaaaatttt? 

I didn't need this. To make up for it, a customer service agent who helped me decide what package I should choose....suggested me that I should buy instead a free 3-month package with only a slight additional cost to the price of modem I bought in the first place.

And...here I am now: floating away in the internet..with this SpeedUP modem.

what to use afterwards? I will leave this gadget at home in Kediri so as to enable my family back home to 'communicate' with me after we go back again to Korea.

Not that they do not have internet access, they do. It's just..that..this is way simpler than the one they're currently using.

Going Back Home to Kediri, East Java

What?????? one way trip from Jogja to Kediri by train cost Rp 160,000 (16,000 Won). Well, of course...it looks considerably cheap by Korean standard...but boy...oh boy...it's a bit expensive in Rupiah. Gosh...after leaving the country for 2.5 years...inflation does infiltrate all curves of lives, including transportation fee. Since we wanted to have a hassle-free trip to Kediri, we decided to take a night train  (Malioboro Express) which take only around 4 hours to Kediri. (way faster than by taking a coach that would usually take 7 hours!!!!) 

Okay..the day arrived and om Didik, tante Yuni as well as..of course...Razqa...bid us goodbye at Tugu Railway station, Jogjakarta.

it's almost 10 pm and I guess we got to hurry up..but why not take a pic, first?:) 

On board the Malioboro Express. It passed midnight and Freya just woke up and ....had an urge to munch something...and she DID.^^

"Have a great vacation, honey?"

Luncheon @ Bumbu Desa, Yogyakarta

 

Up to now, I still ask and wonder as to what I am doing here in Jogja. I mean..I am officially on a vacation!!! But, boy, it feels like I am not having a vacation since ..well...a couple of times I got to get myself involved in our department-related occasions. What about this one? having a luncheon with guests from Korea? 

hmm...this sounds to be a not-to-missed 'assignment' since I am all for it.:) 

come on...I would surely not reject having this superb lunch at a traditional restaurant called Bumbu Desa (Village Recipe).  Before the guests came in, we had to make sure that everything's set. Okay...they were. 

One by one...our guests came along. Dignitaries from PAS (Pacific Asia Society), Prof. Yang Seung Yoon from HUFS, and of course..us...a bunch of young lecturers ..^^ 

A courtesy chit-chat was thrown into the air..even before we even started the lunch. But...with all that in mind...we could 'spice up' things a little bit. 

The whole group of people we met during the lunch.
Bumbu Desa deserved my 'rave' rating for being able to cater the needs of everyone..anyone ...longing for authentic Indonesian cuisine in a fancy and eye-popping display of food (too bad: The arrays of food I should have taken picture of....are not here, for they were back there...:)

Meeting One of My Former Academic Advisors Back in College

Whenever I had a chance of coming back home to Jogja, one of the must-do things is meeting my friends, colleagues, and of course my lecturers back in those days when I was still at Gadjah Mada University.

This time, I met one of my favorite teachers, Ms. Ni Gusti Ayu Roselani. Yep, judging from her name, she is a Balinese. She never fails to amaze and surprise me in so many ways. Okay, not boast, but...ms. Roselani happens to be a vivid lover of Korean dramas:-) hahaha...how cool is that, eh?

and even the Muslim wear that she's wearing (in the picture) is her own rendition of Hanbok-inspired Muslim wear. (too bad the picture does not capture the whole lower part of what hanbok may have looked liked, otherwise...one would easily say that it IS hanbok:)

Ms. Roselani, till we meet again....in Seoul, perhaps? Insyaallah.

...yes..and that's the plan.

Timezone: We'reeee Baaaacccckkk....for a while!

One of the so-called 'weekly' routines that Eyra and Freya used to do back then. They had this reload-able membership card with which they could play at the playground area--with extra cost, of course. But, as I remembered correctly, they more often than not...offered discounts with which they could spend extremely 'not-that-cheap' amount of time at Timezone:)

So, they're so excited to find out that we brought them back here. 

Though they could do most of these stuffs @ android smartphones, I still could not believe how they're still attracted to 'DO' this picture-scratching game. :-) I guess..the only reason lies in the fact that they could print out the picture along with their picture right after they finished 'drawing' the picture. 

While their Mom and auntie were busy playing supposedly kid-game, Eyra and Freya were asking me what other options they had...to 'use up' all the points in the card. 

"So, did you have a greaaat time, Mom and Tante Yuni?" 

Yeaach....they seemed to be having a great time, though. 

One last click of the mall with its Imlek decorations hanging and dangling down at the main atrium of Amplaz. 

Though it may sound weird, but...I got to admit that the 'sense' and 'smell' and 'sound' of Amplaz kind of made me feel 'homey' (hmm..though I still wonder if it is the right diction to use).

An Early Imlek (Lunar New Year) Celebration?? Not Quite So.

Ready to get set and go for the first night-out again in Jogja? You betcha. We sort of 'dragged' ourselves out of the 'lair' of our remote neighborhood about 45-minute drive from downtown...to go 'downtown' and..what we meant by downtown was no other than Ambarukmo Plaza a.k.a. Amplaz--as we affectionately call this home-sweet-home plaza.

As soon as we got out of the car, the bell boy at the entrance greeted us by saying that it had been quite a while since we last visited the plaza.

hahaha...we're so distinguishable from other guests..since we're used to coming to Amplaz once a week. 

Happy Chinese New Year or Imlek in Indonesia or 설날 (Seollal) in Korea.

This year, it so happens that we're spending the holiday in Jogjakarta & Kediri. 

Then....it would not have been 'US' had we not deliberately 'invited' ourselves to Pizza Hut. Yes, we never went to Pizza Hut in Korea. First, it's so expensive in Korea. Second, there are none we could eat. Well....we're so excited that we could 'savor' our appetite or longing for PH. And...avocado juice...was the highlight. It's so yummy and delicious.   

Eyra, Razqa (their cousin), and Eyra: the trio who are always on their best energy and shape whenever the term 'dine-out' came out of our 'vocabulary list' during our visit to hometown: Jogjakarta.

A Green Getaway IN the CITY***

Going back to Jogjakarta this time, I could savor a half-day tour with my sister's family. They took me to a newly-renovated zoo after the earthquake. For a zoo that was badly damaged by a natural disaster, it was a pretty worth-visiting zoo in itself.

So, when people look up at the picture above, one might wonder...is that IN the zoo?

yes..and it is IN the city. 

Gembira Loka Zoo with a picture for a memory. 

Got to love these pictures posted on the glass-pane of the boat that took us go around the lake. 

Inside the 'catamaran' (just a name!!) since it is way too 'cheap' and 'simple' to call this 'touristy boat' a catamaran!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

But..this is indeed a great way to circle the zoo and have a picnic.

The bright color DOES color the spirit & energy to explore my city again. 

And...as someone who loves nature, I love the fact that GREEN is the buzz-word in Gembira Loka Zoo.

***only one downside: just like in any other parks in Indonesia, I wish that the management pays attention to those smokers!!!!  I hate them.

I wish they design a place for smokers. Smokers are not allowed to smoke everywhere!!!

Gembira Loka Zoo (part 3): A Family Excursion

Got a chance to take a closer look at the orangutan. After the animal show, we got a chance to see Orangutan up close and personal :-). No, not personal...just a close look. This female orangutan is one of the orangutan in the conservation area of the zoo.

Then, off we went to the lake area where we're about to board the ship/boat. 

I just love the green and its surrounding. I am sure that it would just like any normal day in Jogjakarta for most of us. But, since we came from winter-freeze Korea with basically no leaves on trees....so, we're like..wow..this is so greeeeen. 

I mean..Jogja as a city (though small in size) could be proud of having this facility within a city. It's nestled right in the middle of the city..so it's also functioning as a LUNG for the city. 

Thanks Om Didik and tante Yuni for taking us here again...after 6 years.^^

Gembira Loka Zoo (part 2): A Feast for the Kids

Eyra and Freya kept on trying to shake 'hands' with the elephants. I didn't know what they're doing...but it's just interestingly silly to think that...they 'could' communicate somehow. Or..I guess..the elephant thought Eyra was holding something on her palm.^^ 

Got some time to see the orangutan.... 

and some deer. I was thinking to myself..as to whether we should go all the way down here to see them...since we saw them many times in different occasions. 

But..one of the reasons as to why we went here was that....Razka...their cousin wanted to go to the zoo again. So....why not go out together, then. 

After all, a half-day out would not be that exhausting. Or wouldn't it be?

At least we managed to take a rest while enjoying the animal show. 

Nicely nestled in the midst of green surroundings. Even though it was hot, we could still enjoy the whole show...