January 5, 2013
Theme: Sweet
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Museum/Shopping Day and Jean's Birthday!
The whole day of walking around starts here. The bus station. This is Day 3 of our Jakarta trip. Needed to take a photo since I can't take down notes. Haha!
Since we have made a lot of changes with the itinerary and to do's we were only able to visit 2 museums. The Wayang Museum and the Ceramic Museum. We didn't attempt to go inside the Historical Museum and the Bank Museums since it was so crowded on a very hot humid day. Plus, it will take all our time if we visit all the museums which is impossible with the whole day that we only have. Hopefully, there will be a next time.
The Wayang Museum is where the traditional Indonesian puppets/dolls are showcased. It was actually proclaimed by UNESCO as "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in the year 2003. This originated as a product of the Royal Court culture where it was used as a means to worship the ancestors. And up to now, it is actively being preserved in various communities in Indonesia.
There's a lot to see in this museum. Scary looking dolls and puppets, writings on the walls during the Dutch colonization. You will actually wonder, especially when looking at the wayangs, as to where the Indonesians get the inspiration for the looks of their wayangs. Talk about creative!
Jean, Genna and I had fun looking at the wayangs and watching the show. We were able to watch the performance of Wayang Orang. I forgot what the story is about and also, it was in Bahasa. But we enjoyed it, a taste of the Indonesian culture. :) There are three more performances that are being shown, but you need to stay for the whole day to watch it all. There's still performances of Betawi purwa Wayang Kulit, Javanese purwa Wayang Kulit and Sundanese purwa Wayang Golek. All these three are done with the traditional Wayang puppets while the Wayang Orang is performed by actors with singers in the background.
We've also met new friends there. Hengky and the rest of the Wayang Museum staff are so accomodating. Below is the photo.
More museum walking and of course lunch at this quaint little restaurant that actually looks like a hole in the wall. Nasi Goreng, Bakso and Tahu for a quick lunch as Genna repeated the time and place where we will meet later in the evening and as we take notes on the bus station and directions going to the Grand Indonesia Mall.
There also bank museums in Jakarta. There are a lot of banks in Jakarta! So if you are traveling within the city, you will see their buildings in almost all corners.
After walking and seeing the nearby museums, we decided to head on over to our meeting place which is Grand Indonesia Mall. We would need to go to the train station again and then get off at Bundera HI station then just walk towards the mall. I really like Indonesia's bus system. Its efficient like a train, since it has its own lane, and there are conductors who regulate the number of people who will onboard just to make sure as well that the bus is not over crowded! Kudos! In Jakarta, there are a lot of fountains as well and monuments. Too bad we weren't able to go to Monas and the Museum Nacional. I was dying to see the tall tower that marked their independence. But when you ride the bus, you can actually see it from afar.
Grand Indonesia is such a delight to see. Every floor has a theme. There's Broadway, Japanese, Moulin Rouge to name a few. Christmas is already evident as well in all the decorations. There's also a Magnum Cafe there, which had a long line of people waiting to be seated.
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| Our taxi fare! hahaha |
The trip to Jakarta was so much fun! We felt that four days was not enough since there are so much still to see. Maybe we will be back soon? Yes? =p
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Letting it be.. A 2012 Year Ender Blog Entry
As I bid goodbye to 2012, I can feel the emotions bubbling up again. I honestly didn't know what to write about my 2012 ending.. I can't remember most of the events that happened. I was not sure if the year flew by so fast or if things were happening so slowly or quickly. Or if things are even happening. But I think the best word for my 2012 is emotional.The past year, I have seen a lot of losses and wins. Too many weddings and too many funerals. How ironic to see both new beginnings and endings way too often.
I thought I was feeling and living vicariously through these events and learning life lessons as I share the grief of losing a loved because of death or sharing the joy and happiness of starting a life together and having a damily through friends getting married and having kids. Cliche, but of course you will never know the feeling of losing something or someone not until you experience it or feeling the happiness of having that someone to have and to hold forever.
2012 was a year of change. Again, I was not sure if it was good or bad for me personally. I hated change because I already felt comfortable with a lot of things that I have and I don't want anything or anyone altering that comfort zone. Not realizing that I have also changed. It was a love-hate relationship with myself for the longest of 2012. It was bitter. I was bitter. And it showed.
I apologize for this being such a crappy and emotional entry. I just need to purge these emotions so that in some pathetic way, I can feel relief. I don't know the answer to, "What's the best thing that happened in 2012 for you?", or neither I wouldn't want to answer the question of, "What's the worst thing that happened in 2012 for you?". I was emotional, and for the most part of the year, it was painful and I was angry at myself and a lot of things and people. I always resented the fact that people don't realize how fragile strong willed people can also be, because the expectation is you can always get up, pick up the pieces and move on like nothing ever happened. Last year was also a year of questioning - of whys and hows; the questions that's the hardest to answer.
Then the remainder of the year began to feel like, "Just letting it be.." From the control freak that I am, it was hard just letting things be on a daily basis. I felt lost and unaware. Praying everytime to just give me that willingness to accept the things that will happen on that day. It was a struggle that rocked the core in me. Letting it be also meant, keeping quiet and respecting ones space to think and feel and to accept the matters of the fact and trust that it happens for a reason.
2012 may be the year of the end of a relationship, but it also was the year that reminded me to love myself more, and to accept my weaknesses and celebrate the little successes that mattered for me. It marked an awakening of a deeper understanding of what matters in life for me - the family that never leaves and will always welcome you, the friends that laughs at you when you're drunk and make a fool of yourself or those friends who just gives you a tight hug because they just feel like it, the colleagues that appreciate your hard work, the new acquaintances you meet that adds up to your list of friends, the places you go and experience the gift of being alive and able.
I still thank God for all the challenges that came with the year 2012. But I mostly appreciate all the tight hugs, pats on the back, the smiles, the handshakes, the "I'll pray for you(s)", the "Thank you(s)", and for all the people that made me feel better and loved. To all those people, I hope you know who you are. I will be forever grateful.
The journey to a healing heart and soul is best shared with people who can strengthen and encourage you to move forward. And for this, I will walk on to the unknown of 2013 with a lot of excitement as to what the Lord has in store for me. It will all be good.
Cheers to all the wins and loses for 2013! And may God bless us all! Let's pray for each other!
I thought I was feeling and living vicariously through these events and learning life lessons as I share the grief of losing a loved because of death or sharing the joy and happiness of starting a life together and having a damily through friends getting married and having kids. Cliche, but of course you will never know the feeling of losing something or someone not until you experience it or feeling the happiness of having that someone to have and to hold forever.
2012 was a year of change. Again, I was not sure if it was good or bad for me personally. I hated change because I already felt comfortable with a lot of things that I have and I don't want anything or anyone altering that comfort zone. Not realizing that I have also changed. It was a love-hate relationship with myself for the longest of 2012. It was bitter. I was bitter. And it showed.
I apologize for this being such a crappy and emotional entry. I just need to purge these emotions so that in some pathetic way, I can feel relief. I don't know the answer to, "What's the best thing that happened in 2012 for you?", or neither I wouldn't want to answer the question of, "What's the worst thing that happened in 2012 for you?". I was emotional, and for the most part of the year, it was painful and I was angry at myself and a lot of things and people. I always resented the fact that people don't realize how fragile strong willed people can also be, because the expectation is you can always get up, pick up the pieces and move on like nothing ever happened. Last year was also a year of questioning - of whys and hows; the questions that's the hardest to answer.
Then the remainder of the year began to feel like, "Just letting it be.." From the control freak that I am, it was hard just letting things be on a daily basis. I felt lost and unaware. Praying everytime to just give me that willingness to accept the things that will happen on that day. It was a struggle that rocked the core in me. Letting it be also meant, keeping quiet and respecting ones space to think and feel and to accept the matters of the fact and trust that it happens for a reason.
2012 may be the year of the end of a relationship, but it also was the year that reminded me to love myself more, and to accept my weaknesses and celebrate the little successes that mattered for me. It marked an awakening of a deeper understanding of what matters in life for me - the family that never leaves and will always welcome you, the friends that laughs at you when you're drunk and make a fool of yourself or those friends who just gives you a tight hug because they just feel like it, the colleagues that appreciate your hard work, the new acquaintances you meet that adds up to your list of friends, the places you go and experience the gift of being alive and able.
I still thank God for all the challenges that came with the year 2012. But I mostly appreciate all the tight hugs, pats on the back, the smiles, the handshakes, the "I'll pray for you(s)", the "Thank you(s)", and for all the people that made me feel better and loved. To all those people, I hope you know who you are. I will be forever grateful.
The journey to a healing heart and soul is best shared with people who can strengthen and encourage you to move forward. And for this, I will walk on to the unknown of 2013 with a lot of excitement as to what the Lord has in store for me. It will all be good.
Cheers to all the wins and loses for 2013! And may God bless us all! Let's pray for each other!
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