Travelling

Exploring Indonesian's magnificent places is my passion

Mountain Bike

The most exercise I did during my free time

Photography

To capture the beauty of the places I've visited

Culinary

The other reason why I love to go traveling

Engineering

Because big dreams never come so easy

Moto-Adventure

Graze the road and enjoy the adventure from each and every miles

Rafting Dan Perang Paintball Di Sejuknya Udara Pangalengan

Tepat 1 jam menuju tengah malam, saya menunggu travel door-to-door Cipaganti yang akan mengantarkan saya ke Bogor,  di pintu tol ini, sendirian. Tidak banyak kendaraan yang melewati pintu tol ini, malah menurut saya sudah kategori sepi. Janji si supir Cipaganti tadi sore, yang katanya saya penumpang terakhir dan harus on-time, membuat saya memaksa supir mobil ELF tancap gas mulai dari daerah Cililin. Nyatanya, sampai jam segini masih belum ada tanda-tanda mobil jemputan itu. Sepi dan sendiri, namun keseruan sepanjang hari sebelumnya yang terekam di kamera outdoor ini, seakan menghibur di tengah kesepian ini. Keseruan arung jeram dan perang paintball di dinginnya daerah Pangalengan masih terasa hingga sekarang.
Memasuki jeram domba // Entering Jeram domba
One hour to midnight and I was still waiting the door-to-door travel service Cipaganti to picked me up back home, at this toll exit, alone. There was less vehicles passing by and the road light was dimmed. The Cipaganti's driver promised me that I must hurry up to catch him at this toll exit this afternoon, because I will be his last passenger to picked, then went straight to Bogor via Cianjur. I rush my ELF driver from Cililin for that, but the fact is, now I stranded here alone waiting for him till this late. But this loneliness is cured by looking at the photos captured in this outdoor rugged camera. I was enjoying my traveler's group outbound program, rafting and paintball wargame
Rekan pendayung // My paddling partner

Arung jeram dan perang paintball dilakukan di daerah Sungai Palayangan, Pangalengan. Karena sungai ini sebenarnya keluaran dari pintu air Waduk (Situ) Cileunca, jadi debit air sungai ini terjaga konstan tiap tahun, tidak seperti arung jeram di sungai jeram alami yang level kesulitannya tergantung musim. Selain itu, karena posisinya di pegunungan, air sungainya dingin segar dan jernih, mirip sungai-sungai di Eropa. Level jeram ini adalah level 3, sepanjang 4.5km, ditempuh selama 2 jam. Jeram-jeram semi-alami juga membuat arung jeram ini menantang, namun sangat aman. Jeram terjun hingga setinggi 2 meter bisa dilewati dengan sukses oleh perahu saya yang ditemani empat anggota regu yang semuanya wanita cantik. Haha.
The outbound location was at Palayangan riverside, Pangalengan. This river's water supply is regulated from Cileunca Dam, so the river stream is safely controlled and can be adjusted depend on water stock. This is the advantage of rafting in this river rather than natural streams, because at natural streams, the rafting's level of difficulty, varies depend on the season. The other advantage is the water clarity and freshness, because it is located at mountainous upstream rivers, differs with other streams that usually located near estuary. As default, the stream in this river is set at level 3, 4.5 km long, and aprroximately 2 hours rafting duration. The cascades and rapids are challenging but safely designed. Yes, the cascades in this river are both naturally and human-made for this purpose. The most challenging cascade was Jeram Domba, which is 2 meters tall. I successfully surpassed it assisted by my rafting team of four beautiful ladies and a skipper
Jeram curam lainnya // Another steep cascade

Arena perang paintball terletak di perkebunan karet. Dari lokasinya, kategori perang paintball ini adalah woodball. Skenario yang bisa dimainkan bermacam-macam. Saat itu, skenario yang kami mainkan adalah defend the flag, artinya pemenang ditentukan bila pemain lawan habis terkena hit atau berhasil membawa bendera lawan ke benteng pertahanan tanpa terhitung hit. Hit dihitung bila sekali terkena rompi atau dua kali terkena bagian tubuh lainnya, atau peluru habis. Tapi ya namanya geng rusuh, lupakan strategi atau taktik, tidak ada yang kepikiran merebut bendera, apalagi mempertahankannya. Kejar-kejaran dan tembak-tembakan liar ala koboy yang terjadi. Tapi yang seperti ini yang malah mengundang gelak tawa.
Wargame scene was located at rubber tree plantation. The skirmish type was woodball. The scenario chosen was defend the flag, which is winner team is determined if all enemy team got hit or successfully capture the enemy flag without getting hit. Hit is counted if the paint bullet popped once on the vest or popped twice at another body parts, or if the ammo run dry. But at the game, we were not care to the rule. Nobody guard the flag nor did attempt to capture enemy's flag. Wild shot like a cowboy war, chasing each other, and most of us counted hit due to ammo run dry. But that was the fun part
7 orang tim merah melawan 7 orang tim orange // 7 red team vs 7 orange team

Mengenai Pangalengan
Pangalengan terletak di Bandung Selatan, terkenal karena perkebunan teh dan kina, serta peternakan sapi perah. Jika di rumah ada gerobak tukang susu yang memainkan jingle yang sudah sangat familiar, bertuliskan KPBS, maka susu tersebut berasal dari sini. KPBS adalah Koperasi Peternak Bandung Selatan, lengkapnya sering disebut KPBS Pangalengan.
About Pangalengan
Pangalengan is located at Southern of Bandung, famous for tea plantation and kina plantation, and milch cow. If in your neighborhood there is a milk seller playing a familiar jingle, and KPBS label on the products, the dairy product came from this district. KPBS stands for South Bandung Stockbreeder Cooperation, which its full name is KPBS Pangalengan.

Menuju Kesana
Untuk menuju kesini, perjalanan selama 3 jam ditempuh dari Kota Bandung ke arah Selatan.
How To Get There
To get there, ride south from Bandung for approximately 3 hours. The terrain is mountainous, but road is in good condition.
Saya sebagai seorang yang tidak terhitung hit menghabiskan peluru tersisa dengan berlatih menembak target, saya tertembak sekali di kaki kiri // I survived from hit and fire remaining bullets for target practicing, see I got shot once on my left leg, but it doesn't count as hit

Kerlap-Kerlip Cahaya Suramadu

Hari ini adalah hari penutup ekspedisi 12 hari saya menjelajah Jawa Timur, mulai dari keindahan Bromo, air terjun Madakaripura, menginap di Pulau Sempu, mendaki Semeru, hingga menjelajah kota Surabaya dan Bangkalan di Madura (yang ini numpang lewat saja sebenarnya). Dari dua tempat yang saya sebutkan terakhir, pasti sudah bisa ditebak, tempat ikonik yang kami kunjungi. Tempat itu adalah jembatan nasional Suramadu.
Today is the last day of my 12 days exploring East Java, starting from Bromo, Madakaripura Waterfall, Camping at Sempu Island, To the top of highest mount ins Java : Semeru, until now I will end this trip by city exploring Surabaya and Bangkalan Madura. From the last two place I mentioned, we can guess the landmark I visit here. The landmark is the National Bridge Suramadu.

Jembatan prestisius ini dibangun untuk mempercepat pembangunan di daerah Madura. Jembatan yang diresmikan tahun 2003 ini, merupakan jembatan terpanjang di Indonesia saat ini, yaitu 5.4 km. Sepertinya bakal tersaingi jika jembatan Selat Sunda jadi dibangun. Jembatan ini dihiasi proyeksi sorotan sinar LED berwarna-warni saat malam tiba. Keindahan jembatan ini terlihat indah dari pantai Kenjeran, dan pasti bisa lebih indah lagi jika bisa berada di atasnya. Namun, ada larangan bagi pengendara untuk berhenti di tengah jembatan tersebut.
This prestigious bridge was built to accelerate the city development in Madura Island. This bridge was first opened for public in 2003 and was the longest bridge ever built in Indonesia, approximately 5.4km in length. This record will be defeated if Sunda strait bridge is built. This bridge will become more attractive in the night, thanks to the LED light that reflecting various colors onto the bridge pillars. The scenery will be visible from Kenjeran Beach, and I assumed it will be more beautiful if we enjoyed it on the bridge itself. But, there is a ban of intentionally stopping the vehicle in the middle of the bridge.

Sedikit kucing-kucingan dengan patroli jalan raya, saya dan teman-teman saya berhasil berhenti dan mengambil foto di atas jembatan yang berwarna-warni tersebut.
A bit hide and seek game with the highway patrol, we managed to stopped long enough to take pictures of ourselves on the colorful lighted bridge before the patrol reached us.
Berada di tengah Jembatan Suramadu
Jembatan Suramadu terlihat dari Pantai Kenjeran

Eksperimen Dengan Puding Instant

Ide untuk eksperimen puding ini sebenarnya karena iseng. Karena sedang nganggur nge-trip dan kebetulan sedang libur lapangan, saya jalan-jalan ke supermarket besar di Botani Square, mencari ide makanan yang kira-kira nggak mainstream. Sambil jalan di lorong makanan instant, mata saya tiba-tiba tertuju pada sekotak puding instant. Dulu dengan merk yang sama, saya pernah berhasil membuat es krim, sekarang kenapa tidak mencoba dengan puding? Sambil mengingat-ingat stok buah-buahan yang ada di kulkas, saya mencoba me-matching kan rasa puding dan buah-buahannya... Kebetulan di rumah ada sisa lengkeng tadi malam dan kebetulan sedang musim mangga. Maka saya memilih puding rasa vanilla dengan saus fla coklat. Tidak beberapa jauh dari tempat itu, di area buah-buahan, ada diskon buah strawberry, lumayan buat garnish (atau cemilan hahahahahaha).

Saya beri nama:  
 

Puding Mangga Lengkeng dengan Saus Fla Choco-Strawberry

  
Puding Mangga Lengkeng
 
Bahan:
  • Puding bubuk instant lengkap dengan saus fla, 2 kotak.
  • Gula semanisnya.
  • Buah mangga harum manis, 1 buah.
  • Buah lengkeng, kupas buang bijinya, kira-kira saja.
  • Buah strawberry, setengah kotak, potong-potong 1 buah bagi 2 sisakan daunnya. 1 buah strawberry dicincang halus buat campuran saus.
  • Susu full cream, bubuk 1 sachet kecil.
  • Kayu manis dan cengkeh, seadanya di dapur.
  • Air matang dan gelas belimbing hadiah mie instant buat takaran.
 Cara buat Puding:
  1. Blender mangga dan air sesuai anjuran di kotak puding instant-nya, lebihkan airnya setengah gelas masing-masing kotak (artinya 1 gelas), jangan pakai gula dulu.
  2. Masukkan jus mangga tadi ke panci.
  3. Sambil terus diaduk-aduk pelan, lalu masukkan susu bubuk dan puding bubuk. (Fla-nya jangan dulu, untuk bagian saus).
  4. Nyalakan api kecil saja, di bawah skala 1. Terus diaduk sambil dirasa, sudah pas manisnya apa belum, kalau belum, tambahkan gula sedikit-sedikit.
  5. Kalau sudah agak mendidih, masukkan lengkeng.
  6. Matikan kompor, lalu tuang ke cetakan.
  7. Masukkan potongan strawberry.
  8. Biarkan dingin dan uapnya hilang, baru masukkan ke kulkas.
Cara buat Saus Fla:
  1. Nah, disini bagian fla dari kotakannya dipakai, tuang bubuk fla ke panci.
  2. Masukkan air sebanyak anjuran di kotak pudingnya, harus pas!
  3. Aduk-aduk, sambil masukkan batang kayu manis dan beberapa cengkeh.
  4. Kalau sudah agak mendidih, masukkan strawberry cincang.
  5. Tuangkan ke mangkok.
Cara menghidangkan:

Standar puding lah, puding disiram saus fla tadi, gitu aja kok repot?

The Beginning : Exotic Sawarna Beach

This is my very first time going to marvelous places since l got this job. My job rotation schedule is the best one ever. 2 Weeks on duty following 2 weeks field break. I can do almost anything during this field break.The first of all, l joined backpackers forum on internet, namely backpacker Indonesia. There, I met with my first destination offered by Abie, member from Bandung. The destination was SAWARNA.

Tanjung Layar, Sawarna

There are no tour leader, we purely sharing cost. Because I live in Bogor, I had responsibility to gather the members from Jakarta at KFC Tugu Kujang. We don't know each other, even it was actually our first time to be met in real world. After all members gathered, we were heading to Pelabuhan Ratu by crazy bus. It was 10 pm when we depart from Baranangsiang Terminal. We arrived at 2 pm and the first resting point at that day was not a motel or homestay, but a school. Yes, English course school. The teacher, Dita, let us spend a night for free. There actually was rendezvous point with our member from Bandung. And we meet Abie there.

The next morning, we walked to Pelabuhan Ratu Terminal where our transportation, Isuzu ELF, is waiting. The ideal capacity is 20 persons, but we were more than that. Along with our bags, some of us, including me, sit on top of the car. It was the best decision I've ever made. The air was fresh and beach fragrance were filling my lungs. The view, Astonishing! a very jaw dropping Panorama wherever I looked around. The road is quite hard for common city car, but for an ELF like this, it was just a plain road. 

Sit on top of Isuzu ELF was the best decision
But watch for incoming trees
  
Three hours or so, finally we arrived at the entrance of Sawarna Village. A bridge made of Bamboo bound with natural fiber rope is the only entrance and exit. walked through a welcoming village, we arrived at our home stay. A big and beauty house where we rent four of eight rooms available. At noon, after a brief lunch, we start our adventure to Goa Lalay "Bat Cave". Walking through paddy field and riverbank, we arrived at the cave's entrance. It's actually oneway cave, where the end of it is a dead end, where the underground river is at other sidewall of the cave. It was river where all of the water as high as my knees along the tunnel come from.

After Goa Lalay, a little bit trekking via forest and palm plantation, we arrived at Lagoon Pari beach. It was not a great beach, but fisherman activity and old lady cooking coconut to make sugar, are good objects for photography hunting location.Trekking a little bit further, we arrived at a beach formed from corals, creating a massive wall protesting us from the fierce of southern giant wave. In the middle, lies two abbraded stone like a sail, so that people name this place Tanjung Layar (Sail Bay). Here is the best spot to enjoy the memorable sunset.

How palm sugar is made
 
Not far from Tanjung Layar, there is Ciantir Beach, the ideal place for learning surfing, or sharpen the surfing skill. The beach is shallow, the depth not more than my waist, but the wave, run above my head (I'm 179cm tall). We won't get drowned as long as we are not panic. At afternoon, the waves are getting bigger, attracting international pro-surfer for warm up before surfing competition, or simply enjoying the waves.

Ever see equal places in the world to see the sunset?
 
There were many more destination to be explored, and various adventuring activity can be established here, namely rook climbing, and slick line walking. But l prefer natural photography and exploring.