Nature's Blessing

People are becoming more environmentally aware every day, and as they do that they are thinking more about how to ply their skills in a way that can make a difference. Corporations around the globe – as well - are going green and contributing to environmental causes. They do this both to bolster their marketing image, and simply to be good citizens and contribute positively to their communities.

These outdoor activities such as (morning trekking, painting, catching fish) were done during ‘Green Forest Programme’ held by a 3 stars hotel in Purwakarta. The Corporation was undertaking a wide variety of projects with regard to Eco Energy Sources and encouraged bookers and/or guests to adopt environmentally friendly (and often cost-effective) steps.

Prambanan Temple

Prambanan is located in Central Java, about 15 miles away to the west of Yogyakarta and just beside the main road between Yogyakarta and Solo. So it is easily accessible from both cities. It takes only about half hour to get there from Jogjakarta.

Prambanan is the masterpiece of Hindu culture of the tenth century. The slim building soaring up to 47 meters makes its beautiful architecture incomparable. Prambanan temple has three main temples in the primary yard, namely Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva temples. Those three temples are symbols of Trimurti in Hindu belief. If you feel tired of enjoying the relief, you can take a rest in the beautiful garden in the complex.

The damage caused by the disastrous earthquake in 2006 still can be seen though is being reconstructed by local authorities who are currently working hard to rehabilitate the temple. Further, it’s recommended to see the ballet playing at the temple (Sendratari Ramayana). Do not miss it; this will make your experience unforgettable.

Ice World

This is a long picture taken at Ice World!

Experiencing a cold snap for the first time must indeed be an intense experience.

During the holiday, Ice World, which features a 50-meter-long ice slide and dozens of ice carvings of children's movie characters, had about 2,500 visitors a day. In the first hall there are snow men and a huge ice slide for the children. For some people – including us - who never experienced winter weather before it must be fascinating! Some kids were trying their hand at snowball fights while others seemed to be starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Many people laughed and joked and watched mesmerized as their breath condensed in the cold air.

To enjoy this recreational park, we have to wear long sleeves and trousers and bring hats and gloves (parkas available there). For Rp 50.000,- at that time) you too can experience that quintessential Bule (Westerner's) winter. That is Ice World!

Farewell Party of Walter

This morning I received (again) an email from Walter. He was one of my employer s who moved to South America to take another opportunity in different organization.

Time is flying. It has been more than 2 years he left us …!

I do remember that it was not easy to throw going away party for him. I wanted to remember the great times we’ve had together but there’s a note of sadness in the air. I know that Farewell doesn’t have to be forever coz for me it’s a time to share and enjoy and also celebrate a new beginning of life

Reunion Planning 3rd Meeting

The 3^rd of our meeting was held in Munik Restaurant since this place was considering as the place for the Reunion on Saturday, June 18^th, 2011. The main agenda was how we finance the reunion. Even its only one day affair, we must remember that apart from the usual expenses, there are also chances to have unforeseen expenses. Other discussions were on several issues such as: collecting money, sending invitations to all classmates and teachers, planning menu, etc. Moreover, we must take more efforts to search the whereabouts of our classmates as many of them may have relocated for work or other personal reasons.

Hence, arranging a high school reunion party is a great way of meeting our old friends, thus refreshing the old memories. However, organizing a high school reunion is not an easy task; rather it requires lot of planning and efforts to put together a great reunion. But, we do believe that with proper planning and organization, we can turn our elementary school reunion into an event which will be cherished by all our classmates forever.

Bukittinggi, West Sumatra

When a friend of mine said that she must go to Bukittinggi to visi her parents, my imagination flew to moments I spent in Bukittinggi years ago…

Without a doubt Bukittinggi is probably the most laid-back and friendliest places you could ever visit in Sumatra. The city is surrounded by three volcanoes named Tandikat, Singgalang and Merapi. Bukitinggi was formerly named Fort De Cock by the Dutch and the centrepiece of town is the town’s clock-tower, which is topped with a horn- shaped roof and referred to by the people as Jam Gadang. This is a good place to visit as it overlooks the market square and the city’s beautiful surroundings. Most of the places in the town are within walking distance with each other as Bukitinggi is relatively small. Here are a few of the places in and around Bukittinggi worth visiting:

Maninjau Lake

The splendid Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra, is one of the calmest places in Indonesia. To reach the lake, we must take the steeply descending road from Bukittinggi. This journey will have you on the edge of your seat as the road has sharp hairpin bends and unforgettable twists and turns. The 44 bends in this road give it its name, Kelok 44. The drive down to the lake will amaze you with its remarkable views over the shimmering blue lake and surrounding hills. With inspiring scenery and peaceful surrounds, a visit to Lake Maninjau will leave you relaxed and rejuvenated. If you’re looking for fantastic views, you may go to the top of a hill and get some of the best views of the lake.

Museum Bukittinggi. A traditional extended family house built in the 19th century (Rumah Gadang), it is a fine example of Minangkabau architecture. It house Minangkabau cultural and historical items. 

Anai

 Valley. The surroundings of the Anai Valley are magnificent. The dense tropical forest all around is most impressive and is a nature reserve. Below runs the river Anai with its crystal clear water. Just on the side of the road is a 40 m high waterfall.

Taman Panorama. This magnificent place located on the edge of town overlooks the amazing SianokCanyon. What’s great here is that there is a two-story observation tower that overlooks the whole canyon. Even better is what happens at Dusk. Megabats fly from the gorges into the forest to feed from the fruits on the trees.

Pasar Atas. An insane but delightful and colourful market that gets so big on Wednesdays and Saturdays that the stalls etc can be seen spread across the nearby hills. This is an interesting traditional market where the usual fare of fruit, vegetables and handicrafts can be bought.

Halloween at Lakeside Montessori Cibubur

Halloween is a favorite holiday for kids. They love being able to dress in costumes, carve pumpkins and attend a party. Halloween costumes are costume worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas. Halloween costumes are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as vampires, ghosts skeletons, witches, and devils while young girls also often dress as entirely non-scary characters at Halloween, including princesses, fairies, angels, farm animals and flowers. Whether it's the costumes, the candies or the spooky good fun, who can say? Whichever one it is, though, a school Halloween party is always an event to remember!

Blambangan Post, Mt. Slamet

Mount Slamet is the second highest mountain in Java. To get to the top G. Slamet is 3 lanes and Bambangan Path is the path that is very popular and is the path most often climb.

Bambangan Route

is the shortest route than the route and Kali Batu Raden Wadas. From the town of Navan take the bus to the destination Purbalingga and continued by bus for the purpose of weight down on Serayu sari. Travel spliced using the truck to the village Bambangan rural transportation, the last village at the foot of Mount Slamet.  In 1279 mdpi-altitude hamlets are the climbers returned to check equipment and take care of any administration ascent. 

This was our 1^st trip to Blambangan even our mother in law house is only 10 kms from this post. The weather was so chilly and cold when we were there in the morning. We couldn’t go too far to the top since we brought along kids with us.

Batu Hiu, Ciamis

Batu Hiu (Stone shark) is a tourist attraction in Ciamis, located in the Village district Ciliang Parigi approximately 14km from the area towards the south of Pangandaran. This district renowned for its large rock that resembles a shark which is about 300 m from the beach. In this tourist attraction where visitors can see the panoramic Ocean Indonesia's vast stretches of rolling waves splashing white.

We dropped by on this beach for half hour before continuing the journey to Batu Karas, Pangandaran.

Dieng Plateu (The Strange Beauty of Java)

Early January 2011, I brought my family to visit Dieng in Wonosobo before they spent their school holiday in their grandma village.

Located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, Dieng community should be grateful for the abundance of wealth which conferred upon their beautiful and exotic land. The cold weather has led to the unique style of dress of its people. Temperatures during the day ranged between 15-20 degrees Celsius while in the night between 10 degrees Celsius. Dieng name derived from Sanskrit language which is "di" means the place and "hyang" means Gods. Overall Dieng can be defined as a place of the Gods. While the residents said Dieng derived from the word "edi" which means beautiful in the Java language, and "aeng" meaning strange. In other words Dieng is a beautiful place with a lot of ddities.

Despite centuries of sleep, Dieng has several volcanic craters that are still active until now. One of the most interesting is Sikidang Crater, a heaven for sulfur miners which supposedly likes to jump and move. Sikidang Crater gives another nuance on Dieng’s natural beauty. Fresh green landscape suddenly vanished as we entered this crater complex. As far as the eye could see, there was just a barren stretch of land surrounded by hills with a smoky pond on the other side. A few meters from the entrance there is a warning sign for you to be careful in moving, as well as a fire ban and throwing cigarette butts.

Dieng has an extraordinary natural and cultural wealth. One of the icons is Telaga Warna (the Colorful Lake), a beautiful lake with natural forest around it. Hidden among the rows of hills at an altitude of more than 2000 meters above sea level does not make Telaga Warna (the Colorful Lake) lack of visitors. Its beauty and mystery always attract anyone who visits Dieng. The sound of the wild birds chirped and the thick forest which is wild maintained present a reassuring atmosphere of peace.

Across the street of Complex Candi Arjuna, on the slopes of a hill stood a museum called the Kaliasa Museum. There are 4 buildings in which two showrooms functioned to display variety of objects and artifacts of historical heritage. Most items on display are statues and stones from the complex of temples in Dieng. The most interesting item is the three-headed Shiva statue often referred as Shiva Trisirah. Shiva Trisirah is known as the oldest form of worship to Shiva. In addition, the museum is also displaying various information about the typical life of the indigenous Dieng people, traditional arts, as well as information about the phenomenal of the dreadlocks children. There is also a theater space to play the documentary film about Dieng’s natural and cultural potential that would be played for at least a 10-visitors group.

Friday is .... BATIK day ...!

Who does not know batik? If there are those who are not familiar with batik, truly outrageous!

Batik was one of the traditional cultures in Indonesia and it is also a national treasure of Indonesia. Originally, was mainly used for formal meetings and formal parties. Today, Batik develops in a lot of new ways, there are relax Batik, night gown Batik and modern Batik. Thus, Batik was now used for not only formal purpose, but for going out to malls, cinema, restaurants, cafes and other daily use.

Indonesia itself has confirmed that Friday becomes a Batik day and Indonesians were encouraged to wear Batik on Friday - of course this is an optional decision. A lot of companies had actually apply it and made their employees to wear Batik on every Friday. The Indonesian government encouraged their residents to use Batik and keep it as not only a traditional culture but also as their lifestyle as Indonesians.

So, friends, let’s start wearing Batik from now on and do not hesitate and do not be ashamed to wear batik in everyday. Be proud of wearing BATIK ….

Sikuai Island, West Sumatra

When I was sitting in a lobby hotel in Jakarta this afternoon, I randomly picked a Travel Magazine. Inside it, there is an article about Sikuai Island. My imagination went to the days when I spent the holidays there…

 "SIKUAI" (www.newsikuai-island.com) is a beautiful private island in West Sumatra, Indonesia. It basks in tropical weather all year long and is perfect for a peaceful getaway from the bustle of the city. Sikuai Island is one of the most picturesque destinations in West Sumatra with its untouched forest leading to easily accessible white sand beaches all around the island. The island is rich with the nature of tropical rainforest and coral reefs
I spent 2 days at Sikuai and it was heaven!!!
Our private bungalow, just steps from the beach, was the perfect escape from the busy life.

We were able to relax, snorkel and explore the island together used the jogging track surrounding the island. Plus the resort is absolutely beautiful! I loved our bungalow; it was nice and comfortable and had a front terrace. The staff was nice and service was excellent. I will definitely visit Sikuai again!

Hang' out with Friends

Living and working in the same environment can be a challenge, but having good friends to get you through the hard times and laugh with you during the good times is what it is all about! Over the past few weeks we have had several occasions to get together!

Having fun together with ‘core team of famgath 2010’ is a good reason to have a dinner! What a fun to hang out with friends or celebrate a successful event. Indeed, there are a lot of reasons to get together. First, we went to uphill Café and Bistro in Dago Pakar area in Bandung.The festivities included good food, good company, and of course singing together. We all had a great time just hanging out and celebrating a successful event!

Reunion Planning 1st Meeting

The pre-reunion dinner meeting at Urban Kitchen, Pacific Place was held on Feb 8^th 2011. The place was picked up more or less is in the central location. 12 alumni in attendance – which was good -.It was a happy event happened to see long friends (again). After the successful meeting, we took some pictures together. Again, thank you very much for your time and cooperation. See yaa in the next meeting :-)

Get-Together Celebration of ex-SD Budhaya

A large group of ex students SD Budhaya Cipinang gathered at Ade’s house in Cipinang Kebembem on Feb 3rd, 2011.  The crowd numbered over 20 people and went on ‘till almost late evening.  We realized how great it was to have friends to reunite for this fantastic set of events.  It meant such a great deal for everyone to take the time to get together again!

30 years have passed since we last saw each other on a daily basis.  We unfortunately lost some of our classmates, but we remember each of them warmly.  Each of us has gone thru some really great times as well as sad times.  It was evident that each of us has grown from our experiences.  We have great memories of our past together.  And this informal reunion only proves that the warm and fun memories can continue. As the saying goes... we are 30 years older.. but "all the women are beautiful and all the men are handsome".... We ARE a great group of friends.

And, most importantly of all.... to each and every one of you that attended any or all of these functions... our sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU!  We sincerely hope you enjoyed yourselves... and we will see you for the real Reunion on June 18^th, 2011 …!!!!