20.12

It’s still 12 days to 2012, but I figure out it’s ok to just make a New Year plan now.

Unlike the previous years, I do feel like making more than just one plan… including a plan to have a break from work, something I already had thought last year but haven’t got the chance to do it until now.

So what would I do during that break?

I’ve always wanted to do something like young Che Guevara did in his Motorcycle Diaries. But since I’m not that expert in riding long-distance so I’ll just use my car, a 2002 diesel Toyota Kijang MPV that can run around 8L/100km highway (10L/100km combined) that I’ve been driving for more than 5 years now. I think that will not hurt my pocket, plus the decent size and power will give me extra safety than a mini-MPV that might have had better fuel economy.

My destination is Central Java, somewhere between where I am now and my hometown.

I’d like to revisit Borobudur and Prambanan (to make up for my useless first visit there when I was 9) as well as exploring the other smaller cities across the province like Pekalongan (famous for its batik) and my friend Ba’in‘s hometown, Banjarnegara. Semarang would be interesting too, since I’ve only just stopped by there overnight on my way home from Jakarta in 2002—so I practically know very little about the city, which according to my grandmother is the origin of her grandfather, or in other word, my ancestor. The food there is also famous, and as a food explorer I surely won’t want to miss this.

There’s also the famous Temple of Sam Poo Kong, in regard to the famous Ming Dynasty’s Admiral Zheng He who visited the city in the 1400s and started the spread of Islam in Java. I didn’t even know about him before my former writer, Rina, visited there 6 years ago during its 600 years commemoration. Poor me…

From Semarang, there will also access to the nearby regencies like Demak (the capital of the first Islam kingdom in Indonesia after the fall of Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit), Kudus, Pati, Jepara (the hometown of Raden Ajeng Kartini, a popular women’s education figure in the late 1800s, and the home of many arts and crafts), Rembang, Lasem (that has old architecture and batik), as well as to the nearby Island of Karimun Jawa that has a national park. Semarang is also close to Salatiga, and Ambarawa that has an old train museum, which I would probably keen to have a look. And the best way to travel without fixed itinerary like this is by car, that’s why I think I would love it. I would stop for a day or two, or more, if it’s interesting and drive on when I’m done. No fixed schedule.

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My other trip plan is East China, to Hangzhou and Suzhou via Shanghai like I posted earlier, which I hopefully be able to do it sooner, like next spring.

If the timing allows, I might be able to watch Shanghai Shenhua as well as enjoying the city and hopefully the fast train to Beijing. From Beijing, I will stop by in Hong Kong to visit my sister and her fiancée before returning to Jakarta. But if I’m more comfortable staying longer in Hangzhou and Suzhou then maybe I’ll go to Hong Kong straight from Shanghai.

To add one more big plan, of course I would like to finish at least one advertising work that can be my work for the year.

Next, the small plans.

Wow, I think there are quite some of them…

To start with, perhaps a plan to significantly be less active at Twitter and Facebook, and allow more time for blogging.

There are 3 blogs I’d like to start next year. The first is a long-postponed new blog to replace my current portfolio web, which couldn’t accommodate videos :-( It’s kinda hard to let it go since the overall look is clean and tidy, but I do need to upload videos, and rather than have 2 separate portfolio blogs I think I’d prefer just one—since I still have some other blogs outside my portfolio. Besides, the operating system takes too long to just display one image, while blogs run faster to display many images at once. So yes, I’ll be migrating.

The second blog is a blog I’ve long promised my writer to make… some kind of library of the DVDs I’ve been collecting intensively since 2009 (plus a few more I’ve bought earlier). I looove films, and it just won’t hurt to have a blog about film. I would probably meet new friends that have the same interest like me, and at least I would just share the films that I have, that you probably have never heard about. That sounds nice.

The third blog would be something that I want to start with my mother, and hopefully she will continue later. It’s a blog about food and cooking, something I admire so much about my mother which I think may have been better if also shared to other people—since me and my sister don’t seem to be able to “preserve” these family recipes. Hopefully with a little luck there’ll be more than just recipe, but also photos and videos. It depends on how successful I can persuade my mother to perform on camera, hahaha… It would be fun, I guess.

Another small plans for next year are to reorganize my room, maybe getting a smaller table for my slim computer and remove many stuffs I no longer need… and I would also want to finish 1 book every month. It would be nice if by January 2013 I can read 12 more books. Regardless the knowledge I would gain, I probably just want to learn more about commitment. It’s something so far I’m very lack of… being too comfortable in the free zone, floating here and there with no destination, maybe this free zone—without I realize it—has turned into a comfort zone. And I need to move on.

Square Journey

This is a fellowship of diving, photography and travel enthusiasts, co-founded by my friend and business associate, Heru Suryoko.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Heru and these guys have just returned from their trip to Lhasa, Tibet. Apparently they brought some souvenirs.

So for those in Jakarta next week, come to THE FACTORY Gallery at Tanah Kusir, Southwest Jakarta near Bintaro, from Friday to Sunday, 10 am – 10 pm, and enjoy the view. It’s open for public and free admission.

Here’s South Jakarta from Google Map with some added highlights to help you get there.

 

Would like to visit China

A little part of me feels ridiculous how as a Chinese I’ve never been to China, though my hometown has been more or less similar to it due to the domination of its Chinese citizens.

While most part of me feels more ridiculous how I can skip such a seemingly heavenly destination, which is now for a much affordable price. My friend Heru just went to visit beautiful Guilin for just less than IDR 8m (USD 850) for around a week, which in a backpack-mode could cost less. He had even finished his second trip, to Lhasa, Tibet, and is about to plan his next trip 4 months from now to Guangdong province.

I’m saving Guilin and Tibet for the next trips, and would probably start with Hangzhou and Suzhou, two important cities during Song dynasty—as I read it through Wikipedia and some other sources—which are rich in water panorama like lakes and canals, and still keep their centuries old temples and other architectures. The canals in Suzhou is most often described as The Venice of Asia, and we can see some parts of it in the end scenes of the film Mission Impossible III (2006). I think I would fancy a boat tour around it, as well as trying the local food, which is supposedly rich in steamed meat and soups like dishes at 369 Shanghainese restaurant in Surabaya and Jakarta.

It is close to Shanghai too, so I can spare a night or two at Shanghai before or after the tour to the cities, and if I still have enough time and money I may be able to try the new high-speed train to Beijing… that is claimed to take just 3.5 hours to reach more than 1100 km up north. If I can take all these itineraries then I would be able to have taste of Beijing as well as having a different route home, which sounds very interesting.

Now back to the saving-mode :-)

 

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Also read…

• Top four water towns in China.