Yogyakarta-Jogja 3D2N trip

So, Jogja was the last trip I went with my friends before we head back to Malaysia. It's actually a very sweet and comforting trip for me, after a month of stressful student exchange life, we completed our finals and we are finally free. The trip should had been a little bit longer but they could not stay even one day extra as their visa is gonna expired on the 21st December 2018, so we had booked our flight back to Malaysia on the 20th December.

We went from Surabaya to Yogyakarta by train ( it's the cheaper alternative compare to flight ), the journey from Surabaya Gubeng Station to Yogyakarta Station took approximately 5 hours, the ride was pretty smooth , we didn't want to repeat our terrible ride to Mount Ijen so we decided to fork out more and take the executive, where there will only be 2 person per seat, which will be more comfortable since it was a long ride. I'll link my trip blog down there if you are still interested to know why I didn't take the cheaper alternative of economy. But turns out, the Sancaka (Train name) is not alike the train I took for Ijen, even for the economy, the seats are for 2 person and it looks ok. Maybe for the executive, it's more spacious that's all. So make sure and do your research before booking the train cause apparently different trains have different types of economy/business/executive seats. Its really easy to use the traveloka app, just install, book, and if you're a foreigner and your credit card is not working, or you simply do not feel its safe to put you details, just book and confirm purchase. You will have around 30 minutes to go to any Alfamart ( It's a famous minimart/7-11 kind of store, some operate 24 hours, some not ) , go to the cashier, show your booking number and pay on the spot. A charge of IDR 2500 will be apply per transaction. The price per way is IDR 230000 .

There are actually many lodging area just walking distance from the train station. We book our at IDR 320000 per room for 4 pax at Setia Backpacker. The room is pretty standard, but I'm thankful for clean sheets , it has 2 double decker beds, aircond, 4 small cupboard, no table, a small TV. You can only get Wifi at the front lobby (sad) and you can refill your tumblr for free. Cleanliness was ok, they have heater but sometime not really functioning. Host was pretty friendly and always smiling. But I do not get the logic of only providing 2 set of toiletries per room? There is 4 pax, 4 bed, 4 person staying in a room but they only provide 2 towels. And when I question them and asked for extra, they simply said : "Oh, its a family room, we only provide 2 towels for family room ." . Ok, I cannot brain that, how does a family room with 4 person only qualify for 2 towels. But I asked her if she is able to give extra, she nodded , went into the store and gave me 2 extra face towels. Ok, fine, I'll just take it.

Reached on the first day, after putting out stuff in the Hostel, we walked to the famous Malioboro and had our lunch . I had the famous Gudeg, you can get it at almost every stall. It tasted quite good. They have light the dried sweet jackfruit in it and the beef's skin. Yes to dried jackfruit, no to beef's skin. It tasted very weird and oily and gummy. 

After that, we went to our first location. Mind that many tourist location closes early so we were only manage to visit this one on today, Fort Vredeburg Museum . It's also just a walking distance from the place we had our lunch, walking pass row after row of vendors and tender on Malioboro Street. Fort Vredeburg museum offers a pretentious building from the Dutch era, which many character of the  historical background of Yogyakarta as the city and the first King himself. 

Ticket was IDR 3000 ( local price) , foreign price is IDR 10000.

The place itself is suitable for history-lover , but the sculptures are really interesting, the design of and flow of the whole thing was pretty amazing, just a little bit sad that the wordings ( mostly in English ) has either faded or shifted, you will have a hard time reading , especially under dim light etc. On the day we went, there was a bunch of kids from some school that also came here, I presumed they are on an education tour, and they were toooooo noisy, generally not interested to learn and study, just making tons of noise and running around. They have some instagram worthy shots and for that small fee, I say go with it.

And then after that, we went back our hostel, bath, take a nap and head out to dinner.

We had our dinner at a normal Warung, but order this drink for dessert. I don't remember what it is called, but its a combination of ginger water, sweet water, bread, jelly , tang yuan kind of thing. ( Hot ) . It's like one of those healthy hot beverage herb thing that my family always likes to drink.

Then, we started our walking and explore what Malioboro street is all about. There were so many Vendors, and my friend Sermala, the bargain queen started to bargain one shop after another, we didn't really buy anything on the first day, it was suppose to be just a survey day. Haha  You have to familiar yourself of the price range, go store to store and ask for price, bargain for the lowest, do not get cheated because they hike the price up to 200% . Be smart because eventually when we went on the next day, we were already quiet familiar with the price we expected for the things we wanted to buy, so we brought tons and tons of things on the second day. They have stall selling 6 shirts for IDR 100000 only.

Ended the first day after doing the survey and witnessing the night life. Pity the horses were use to work to carry people on carriage , I hope this tourist animal exploitation will stop one day.

Woke up late the next day, and we went to The Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat , which is also located along Malioboro street. Different place, same kids. I guess we were unlucky, or was it a school holiday? A bunch of kids again in the palace, making noise, talking and shouting like their father's house. Not much really in this palace, besides seeing the guards walking around, and they have people playing the traditional instruments, and live human guards actually sitting on the post in front of the temple or specific locations . Many antique and light and vase stuff that were left behind by the British, other than that, nothing much really. Entry fee was quite cheap too.

Then, we took Grab to Tebing Breksit to watch the white wall/ limestone . Entry is fee, but there will be people waiting at the front, and will be collecting " fee" , give as generous as you want. We went for some pretty nice picture taking spots, and then my muslim friends went for prayer. 

After that, we went and had our lunch at Gubug Lestari 88 ( Highly recommended) , there was no one else but us, food was super delicious, we took the set for 4 person. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves, the main reason there were no other customer because the restaurant is not walking distance after you exit the Tebing Breksit, we took grab from tebing Breksit to that location at around 15 minutes. Anyway, food was good, I will definately come back again!

After that, we book Grab again and went to Prambanan Temple ( yes, we didn't go for Borobudor temple , first because its too far, and secondly, its quite expensive ) , we were lucky that we got to purchase the ticket to Prambanan Temple at a local price , it was IDR 40000 . It is one of the world UNESCO heritage and it has three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them. It was not really crowded, but I  do feel a sense of peace and calmness visiting this place. Was not there for the sunset, but we got a sunset view that was pretty decent, I sat and it took literally 10 mins for the sun to disappear. Wonders!

After that, took Grab to a famous Gelato outlet called - Tempo Gelato , serves decent Gelato at a cheap price ( You can't get Gelato at the price in Malaysia ) and then had a quick dinner and back to Malioboro street and our shopping spree continued till the late night. It's quiet exciting and fun actually watching my friends doing the bargaining. Went back to Hostel, slept.

3rd day, woke up and went to Taman Sari Water Castle ( this time we didn't manage to get the local price , hmmm ) IDR 15000 if I am not mistaken. I didn't enjoy that place at all. First, because it was too crowded. Secondly, that day was super hot, like seriously so hot and the place didn't really look as nice as in the pictures. The place is a little bit complicated and turns out we didn't /miss some spots like the Gedhong Lopak that we were suppose to visit . But no one was interested or wanted to put the effort to find that spot as it was a burning afternoon, we called it a off for that location.

Then, we went back the Hostel and we seperated, some wasted to go for the chol=colate factory, some wanted to buy more stuff at Malioboro street but I went with Syed and Yani to a famous place call House of Raminten , the food and atmosphere was amazing. Super cheap! We waited for quite some time as there was so many people, but thankfully our order came in quite smoothly, had a fulfilling lunch and then took grab to the Train station.

Waited for the other guys to meet us there, hop on the train and went back to Surabaya.

We had our late dinner at a cafe and went back to our University. It was a pretty enriching and fun last trip.

Tips if you are travelling alone, try hopping on Transjogja buses,I read that its super cheap and there are stations along Malioboro street, I wanted to try that out  but as we were in a group of 9 person, Grab will be an easier alternative.

Merry Christmas everyone. 

Been watching this latest Jinny Boy series : Love At First Swipe

Till Then, 

Cheers.

Mobility Student Exchange Programme UTeM X ITS Indonesia

Oxwhite shirt review

RM400 luxury dress shirt at just RM69

The title says it all. You get the best, if not one of the cheapest yet high quality fabric formal ware with Oxwhite.

I actually followed them since the beginning, and am currently one of their ambassador, helping them promote and spreading more words to everyone because it is a brand worth sharing, and to know that quality shirts does not need to be expensive at all.

For starters,  Oxwhite was founded by CK Chang. Of course he has a group or dedicated and superd team behind his back, making sure that this waves of goodness will be spread like fire everywhere.

OXWHITE Classic White Shirt, inspired by that shirt I bought on Savile Row, so that I can share the magic of that perfect fit at a price all office workers can afford.

Now, with our pre-order model, we hope to offer you real value at an honest price.

— CK Chang, Founder of OXWHITE

Let me tell you something, their marketing definately did a wonderful job, from engaging customer online offline individually, and their automatics reply on FB messenger allow customer to acquire all the info they need before making their first purchase. For me, their marketing team is already in a winning. All informations and details is listed on their website, from refund to cancellation if you are not satisfied and delivery process etc , so if you have anything that you are unsure about, just click into their website, or better yet, PM them on facebook personally, they normally replied within a few hours. Some question might have preset answers already.

So what makes OXWHITE shirt so special ? Well, they are 100% SUPIMA® cotton, tailored for the Asian physique , as the shirts are made from SUPIMA® cotton, OXWHITE shirts will be able to last longer and feel softer over time, and *drumroll* , they are non iron shirts which will be able to save your time!

While they do not need to be iron, don't expect magic to happen ok if you just leave the shirt in your washing machine after washing them, instead ,after washing your Oxwhite clothes, while they are still damp, you have to take them out, hang them and maybe do a bit of stretching before leaving it to dry. If you want perfect finish, then you will just need to iron gently later, or otherwise, the shirt is ready to be worn the very next working day/ outing.

Besides, when you purchase them, you will have a 365 days return worldwide, if you are not satisfied with the size, quality or if there is any defect, just get an exchange or made a refund. Trust me, you will enjoy it because its 100% craftmanship. This product so far has only received positive review, with maybe a glinch of one or two over here and there.

So here's the not so fun part, after making your order, it can take maybe more than 2 months, or up to 2.5 months before you will be able to receive your order. Why ? And is the wait worth it? 

Here is all you need to know: WHY SO LONG

"Making a good non-iron shirt is a very long and tedious process. This is why there are not many premium-quality, non-iron shirts on the market, especially at such a low price point. We picked the pre-order (120 days) model based on our desire to go green, which will also allow us to more accurately manage our material and production planning, saving factory costs – we then pass these savings on to you." quoted from their Facebook replies

They currently have Slim Fit, Relax Fit , Plus Size shirts (all shirts for Rm69) , Freedom Stretch Pants ( Buy 1 for RM120, 2 for RM110 each, bundle of 4 for RM99 each ) and also will be coming out with colour variant shirts ( RM79 ) this Thursday (29/11/2018 )! So wait no more, go get one now.

They are currently having a mini contest on their Facebook Page, just tag 3 friends in the comment, and you might be lucky and get to buy their shirts at only RM0.99 . (Which was the price I got for mine during their earliest launching sale price ).

Here to even more formal ware and looking even better in future! 

FB Link : Oxwhite FB

Website : Oxwhite Website

Till then,

Cheers.

First Love-of letting go and good-bites

This post is dedicated to my first love and second.

I think everyone have experience first love, that tingling feeling where your heart literally skips a beat when you saw that someone. Mine was probably in Form 4 and Form 5 , both me and her were actually classmates in Form 3, but then we grew closer in Form 4 and Form 5 , we were like puppy love for a period but I just though it wasn't the right time to start dating and all that, plus my parents specifically mum told me not to have one, at that age.

After SPM , we went on our separate ways, she went into a private university , I wanted , really wanted to go after her , and then deep down I wanted to save the money, and I wanted my life, ( on that current stage) , to be about what I want, and what my needs are , and so I gave up on going to the same university as her, instead I went back to Form 6 , we stay connected, chatted at times, but as times passed, there were lesser topic that we can share with each other, she is busy with her new life, and same goes to me. 

I finished Form 6 , and then apply and got into UTeM . That means we were even future apart , she's in Kajang while I'm at Malacca. Technically, we haven't even started dating, but I always felt , always felt that she was the one. I confessed to her sometime in my second year of degree, but she rejected me. Religion , we were both from a different religion , she was my first love, as much as I want to deny it.

You know when you were in high school, and you write those small notes on a small piece of paper, and get your friends to pass them around to the person you wanted the paper to go to, well I gave her a small roll of paper , and she gave me one, I have always kept that paper , and also imagine I will play and read it out loud during our wedding day , but I guess it wasn't meant to be after all.

But with that rejection, came closure and acceptance. I wanted to forget her, and I wanted us to at least be friends.

And there comes another person, she's so attractive in her own ways, she's mature, responsible, funny and cute. She was so comfortable to talk to, but maybe she though that I wasn't being serious or whatsoever, she told me not to even start chasing her , even before I manage to take 2 steps. And that is exactly why I fall for her, her honestly and perfect character. I accepted , it was her choice.

It's so easy to just wish someone all the happiness, and its so easy to say " I'm ok, I'll move on" , but the truth is not easy to move on, I wanted to stay, I wanted to just erase the though of me liking her, I wanted to just block her from my social media, but I wanted to act cool , and wanted to prove to her and everyone else that I'm fine. But sometimes, in the darkest day, where I literally just need someone to talk to, she will be the the first one that came into my mind , but I know that its not right for me to expect her to treat me well and to answer or hear or even share problems with me as I am a nobody to her, but deep down , its the longing. And maybe I wanted, really wanted her to just be a friend. Even since she told me to back out from her life, we didn't even share anything or talk like we usually do , I guess its easy to say " We will still be friends" .

To apply and actually going for this student exchange programme to Indonesia, it wasn't merely about going to a new place and explore, it was more of challenging myself to stand alone, and to go out there, take the stage and be independent , and to let myself know that its ok for her to reject me , and maybe come back with as a better person next semester, no longer feeling the urge to impress her or trying so hard to get her attention and all that, and I wanted , just really wanted to go somewhere alone, and see on what level I am able to achieve. I think I have achieve half of it already , I actually got so stress at one period, I contacted her (why did I do that ??! ), I regretted but guess what it turns out to be even better , I think the last chat was a real record closure and a reassurance to me that she wasn't going to response, and that was a fact, and perhaps the truth fact that I have been seeking and finding all along.

She was living her life to the fullest, and I'm ok with that. 

People often joke to me and tell me that my looks are ok, and my character is acceptable , so why I haven't found the right one at this current stage of my life . And you know what, in Indonesia, in this student exchange programme, I have made and promise and told myself, to never try impress anyone I like in the future, and to never close my heart because of my eyes , because beauty only gets you a distance, but its the journey that we should sought after.

They said in a relationship, there will always require effort from both side, and you should't feel the need to change yourself just to suit your partner , and you should feel instantly connected when both of you click, but in reality, its really hard to meet the right person at the right time. I haven't come to that state where I really meant " I wish you happiness"when I said it out loud.

I am ready to go back to Malaysia, and to rejoin my classmates, and to fight for our degree and graduate in 2020. This student exchange so far, has taught me what independant has to offer , and why sometimes standing alone is the best decision in life.

First love, and my second one, I wish you well. I bid farewell.

Mount Ijen Surabaya, Indonesia One day trip

So, my friends and I went go to Mount Ijen on 13th September 2018 . It was kind of a spontaneous trip , as we have no classes on Thursday and Friday, I thought that it will be a good getaway and explore this touristy place before the Mid Term exam and assignment that may hinder us from leaving ITS anytime soon.

We book the train Ticket using the Traveloka apps, you have to uninstall and reinstall for the Indonesia version of Traveloka to appear. If I am not mistaken, we all got  15% off the original price for first purchase . After we booked from the apps, we went to Alphamart to pay . It was our only option as they do not accept debit card or online banking via debit card, only accept Visa Mastercard. But it is alright as there is an Alphamart just situated near our hostel. The price of the ticket from Surabaya Gubeng to Karangsasem Station, both way total was around IDR 115000 .

We already book a tour package that costed RM315000 /pax for the 5 of us from Koko (Karangsasem Homestay ) ,  we negotiate to get that price and I kept telling him that we are students..Haha   . I will list down his contact number below this blog. We took the 4am++ train if I am not mistaken , so we left the local student hostel at around 3am .We took Grab to Gubeng Railway station .

It was fast and easy for the check in process.

Pictures while waiting for the train to arrive , the train came on time , and it was a long 7 hours ride.

 Along the way, we passed row and row of paddy fields , witness some beautiful scenery and some annoying kids shouting and singing.

Oh and because we went for the cheapest choice which was  the economy seats, we were seated 3 person on a bench (mind you, there is no divider to separate the 3 person )  , and another 3 more person in front of you. It was already a long ride , and having so little space makes the whole journey became from bad to worse. No thanks to the mak cik in front of me that kept resting her leg on my seat , sometimes beside my legs , sometimes between my legs when my leg is open. So , nope , no more.

We vow to take the business class seats if there is a next time.

We almost missed the Karangasem station, luckily Mala was alert ,and we got off the train in a rush. It was sheer luck or else we will have to go down at the last station Banyuwangi and then would have to take the grab/gojek back to Karangasem station , which will cost us money and time.

Yesh!

We went out of the train station, called KOKO to  inform him that we have arrived, and have a quick lunch over at one of the stall just outside the station. The owner was friendly, but food was so so only.

KOKO then drove us back to our homestay , which was just 5 minutes away from the train station. The guys share the bedroom for 2 , while the 3 girls got lucky , and was given the biggest room in the house  , that was suppose to accommodate 4 people actually . Room and toilet was pretty clean and we were all satisfied.

We were extremely lucky this time around. Because as we will only be going to Ijen later that night, we have so many spare time to kill. Initially, I told KOKO that we might just go and visit the Luwak Cafe nearby as there have basically nothing else to visit or go to over there. And guess what, the place was close on that day, but KOKO told us that he is quiet familiar with the owner and that he can request him to let us just tour into the cafe area and also drink some coffee . KOKO even took us there for free. ( the price we paid for the tour and lodging didn't include this ) .

So we basically got a VIP tour in that cafe area as we were the only ones there, and even got to take pictures with their Luwak ( Civet ) , it was a bit sad to watch these furry animals living in a small concrete area , but , I am just gonna be positive and assume that these animals were  treated well and given the right care and respect from the keepers over there .

This is the coffee beans that the Luwak will be eating, digested and poop out.

This is the drying process of their feces .

We actually had a private 1-1 lesson with the owner as well, he explained the steps in brewing a good cup of coffee and all those coffee stuff .

To tell the truth, I was expecting like maybe a normal coffee where they will serve it with sugar and creamer and all. Or maybe like Luwak Cofee Ice blended etc. But the guy actually told us the best way to taste a coffee, is when it is tasted in its original bitterness. The others were not fond of the coffee as it was bitter ( of course its bitter cause no sugar no creamer ) , I have tasted even bitter coffee , so the one we had over there was alright . But we did ask for a few bags of sugar , just to make the coffee experience a bit more bearable . But the high note of that visit was surely witnessing the Luwak and also the aroma and smell of the coffee was perfect!

After that, we went back to our home stay and rest till 12am, where we started our Journey to Mount Ijen. The drive from the home stay to the base of Mount Ijen was about 1 hour. Below is the picture before we started the hike, the temperature was around 10 degree , and we were literally freezing, cause we Malaysians never experience 4 seasons alright , it was way way colder than in Genting or Cameron Highlands.

Along the way, Mala was not able to keep up with the tour guide , and the tour guide was not able to wait for her as there are other tourist too in the group too, I decided to join and follow the tour guide , while  Mirul, Mini , Mala and Dillah went on their own with their own pace . (Eventually some other tour guide helped them along the way, and Mala even took the Mountain Taxi as the hike was a little bit too hard for her) .

 It took maybe around 2 hours to reach the blue flame , by then I was already exhausted. The thing is hiking Mount Ijen , you do need some stamina , and the rocks and pathway are uneven, quiet slippery at some places, so it was actually a challenge for me too. As we were constantly walking, the cold air did not really bother us.

Blue flame was pretty small, but witnessing it with my own eyes, it was something I am gonna remember for the rest of my life , and the poisonous sulfur gas , I brave them just to get this shot! 

Along the way, I saw miners carrying the dried sulfur rocks , the hike itself is already so tough, I really cannot imagine how are the men doing this every single day , and they are suppose to like carry it the whole way, up and down the mountain. While I really sympathizes them, there is nothing else that can be done.

After the Blue Flame, we start ascending and reach the peak where we can get the panoramic view of the whole mountain , and the blue lake. ( As we were already quiet tired, we decided not to walk down to the Blue Lake ).  This is where I rejoin with my friends. 

The sky was so pretty, I would't mind getting this kind of view every other day.

Picture with the group.

A final picture at the base after the long walk back . We had pisang goreng too .

We went and visit a Jagir waterfall after that . I can never get enough of waterfall , there is something about the sound of water that is so addicted, and calming to the soul 

After that, we went back to our home stay and packed our stuff, waited till 2pm and KOKO sent us to the train station , got on the train and arrive back in Surabaya after another 7 hours. It was definitely a fun trip , I was already too tired when I arrive back in my hostel .

Why we did not go with the Bromo Ijen tour? Well , thankful we didn't. I was already so tired hiking Mount Ijen, and the girls are having a hard time too . Besides that , we still have like tons of time to visit Mount Bromo in the future as we will be in Surabaya till December . ( We actually went there on 6th October , will be blogging about that soon ).

Mount Ijen was amazing , the poisonous gas , not so. Will not come back anytime soon, but Mount Ijen is the first Volcano I have ever visited in my life.

And here are the details of the Tour that I book :

KOKO +6282247730535

The price only includes lodging, transport , entrance fee, tour guide , gas mask and touch light , Mineral water and a visit to the waterfall.

“ I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never met.” – John Green.

Been listening to October by Jon D.  One day I'll find where I belong .

Been reading and studying and just completed my Mid Term examination over here at ITS Surabaya, Indonesia.

Currently re-watching Games of Thrones again! Haha , because I saw this poster. Season 9, faster come please.

Stay tuned as I will be blogging about Oxwhite menswear , where you can get non iron , the best quality white shirt at a price of only RM69 ! (orginal priced at RM400 )

Till then,
Cheers.