2011 Best Finds

We're saying goodbye to 2011 in a few days, so many memorable moments, laughter and tears, things that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Here are some of my best finds in 2011.

1. Kramersbooks and Afterwords Cafe
The coolest bookstore ever. It's located in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC, and I was lucky enough to visit the store when I went to DC this past summer. The bookstore has a certain cool vibe,with shelves full of books at the front area and a bar in the back. And thankfully, it's not as pretentious as Aksara! And the books are cheap too =) My perfect kind of place. I wish there's a place like this someday in Indonesia.

2. My birthday is on Thanksgiving day!
I've never celebrated thanksgiving before, but this year, for the first time in my office's history (and my history as well!), we celebrated thanksgiving. Complete with two huge turkeys, so many delicious traditional food, and the best home made pumpkin pie ever, made by my American colleague's girlfriend. And the best part? We had the celebration on my birthday! So it's considered my birthday celebration too! (without me even spending a dime, hee hee!)

3. Book Blogger Indonesia
I bumped into this crowd on the internet when I was in my lowest moment. Suddenly my spirit was lifted again, knowing these people who shared the same passion with me: books! Since I joined the group, I only had chance to meet with two of them, but it felt like I know all of them forever =)

4. Hummingbird
Bandung is still at the top of my list if I want to find a good place to eat. Frankly speaking, so many overpriced restaurants and cafes in Jakarta, making the good culinary experience turn into a not so good financial situation. So I'm so happy everytime I went to Bandung, there are new places, affordable but nice places, ready to be tried. Hummingbird is one of my favorites this year. A cute little restaurant, has a warm ambiance, and quite good food too. Try the roast chicken with rosemary and their peach tea. Yummy! =)

5. Discount time, baby!
One of the best inventions in internet era so far is the promo and discount site! Me and my colleagues are addicted buying the promos from sites like Deal Keren and Ada Diskon. It's so much fun! Not only the feeling that we had been saving money (a mexican buffet lunch for only IDR 40k, or fancy karaoke for IDR 15k per person, hurray!), but also the chance to try something we never did before. I found a good dentist from one of the promos, and I even tried to do a treatment here, for a very very cheap price. I love discount sites! Who doesn't??? =p

6. Meat is still my choice
I'm totally not against vegetarian. I admire them! But from what I experienced this year, vegetarian is not my way (yet). Especially since I found some places serving really nice carnivore-dish =D One of them is Moe's Place, a great place in Kemang, their specialty is ribs (my choice is baby-back pork ribs, it's heaveeeen!!!!). The quality is almost the same as Tony Romas, but with almost half the price. We celebrated our anniversary there (without even planning it), and we had a great surprise, 25% discount! When I asked until when they'll have the promo, the waiter answered "We haven't decided yet". So go there, hurry! =) Ow, and I also had the best steak of the year, in Outback (I tried the one in Ratu Plaza). Their Outback Special is ridiculously delicious, a very juicy sirloin (ask them to serve the medium one). It’s indescribable =)

7. Time.com
My most favorite site of the year! Their articles, especially the ones in "Top 10" category, saved me in the most boring day at the office or even the most stressful ones. I love how the editors write in a witty, smarty-ass way but still delightful to read. I envy their creativity. Read this Top 10 Everything of 2011 and you'll be taken into a great journey of the year =)

8. BCL
What? The singer? Are you kidding me? Certainly not. Luckily, I'm still sane =D And I found an old school amusement park in Bandung, called Bandung Carnival Land (or BCL!), thanks to my sister =)I took Yofel there and it's a great change from an overly expensive playground at the malls. The simple yet terrifying roller coaster, the as bright as carnival lights, and even the ancient haunted house with the "real" ghosts =) Crazy fun!

9. Sriti Hotel
This is a hotel we stayed at when we had Christmas holiday last week in Magelang. The hotel is surprisingly good, with clean and tidy rooms, nice pool, and warm Christmas-y feeling. It's not that expensive too, about IDR 350k per night for standard room (but a bit more expensive during holiday seasons),located in the center of the city. I will definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to crash in Magelang.

10. Bookish Me
2011 had offered me many great moments as a bookworm. I found several very great books this year. One of them is Special Topics in Calamity Physics. This is not a new book, but it's my best book of the year. Been a while since I read a book that can haunt me long after I finish it. Marisha Pessl had written a really nice debut novel about a girl who tries to find her identity, in the middle of a mysterious murder. The other book is Jellicoe Road, a coming-of-age novel by Melina Marchetta, very intense but enjoyable at the same time. Both novels have brilliant slash crazy epilogue, not to be missed for anything. Probably my favorite epilogues ever!!! I do look forward to reading more good books next year. Fingers crossed!!!
Ow, and another great bookish experience is when I was asked by The Urban Mama to represent them as a speaker for Aleph (Paulo Coelho) Book Discussion with Times Bookstore. Crazily nervous, but in the end, I loved the experience! =)

11. Dinosaurs Rule!
Yofel is in love with dinosaurs. Literally =) And the good news is, I found so many great things related to this ancient animal. Cool books, movies, t shirts, birthday cupcakes and even a big T Rex baloon we bought in ELC. And I found so many interesting facts about dinosaurs too, thanks to Yofel and his obsession =) At least he's not into guns and robot (yet!), but if he does reach that stage, I will let his Dad take over the stage =D

Anyway, it's been a great year, of course lots of stumbling too along with the climbs. But I am very grateful for this wonderful 2011, and looking forward to a great 2012 as well. Wishing everybody more adventures to come! Happy new year! =)

Slurrrpppp....

Mari memulai 2011 dengan bermimpi =) Salah satu hal yang menjadi impian gue sepanjang masa adalah traveling ke sebanyak mungkin tempat. Dari yang bapuk, penuh petualangan, sampai yang serba lux dan penuh kenikmatan, semuanya pengen gue jalanin =D

Gue udah pernah tinggal di satu youth hostel di Barcelona dan sekamar sama cowok aneh yang tiap malem tidur setengah telanjang. Gue juga pernah kejebak booking hotel di internet pas lagi ke Belgia, dan ternyata kamar yang gue (waktu itu jalan sama nyokap) dapetin ternyata super duper busuk! Toiletnya, yang hanya berupa shower, dijadiin satu sama kamar tidur tanpa ada pintu atau apapun juga. Bleh. Gue sampe berantem hebat sama pengelolanya, dan akhirnya pindah ke hotel Ibis.

Tapi jangan salah!!! Pengalaman hedon pun pernah mampir dalam hidup gue. Syukurnya, kebanyakan gratis karena rejeki kerjaan. Gue pernah ngerasain spa paling enakkkk dalam hidup gue pas lagi liputan Kriya Spa di Grand Hyatt Bali. Asli, baru sekalinya gue dipijit sampe bener-bener ketiduran. Enak banget! Ditambah dengan ruangannya yang emang keren, minimalis sekaligus homey. Oh, pernah juga dulu gue dan keluarga jalan ke New York, dan salah satu kolega om gue mengatur penjemputan kita di airport dengan limousin putih panjang. Waaa...berasa jadi artis sehari deh. Meskipun menurut gue sih, naik limo itu nggak enak-enak banget kok. Tempat duduknya sebenernya kayak angkot, dengan kursi panjang yang saling berhadapan, hehehe..Tapi interiornya yaaa emang keren, lengkap dengan TV, mini bar dan telepon.

Anyway, karena semangat mimpi lagi menggebu-gebu, mariii kita berkhayal setinggi mungkin. Dan inilah beberapa tempat atau tujuan liburan yang menjadi impian gue. Hmm, siapa tau kan, ada yang mau ikut nyumbang, hahaha!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Kayaknya, semua yang mengaku fans beratnya si Mas Harry pasti bakalan ngiler berat ngeliat tempat ini. Theme park yang menjadi bagian dari Universal Orlando di Florida ini memang belum lama dibuka, jadi isinya pun tidak sevariatif theme park lainnya. Tapi siapa sih yang nggak penasaran naik roller coaster berbentuk naga, berpetualang di Hogwarts, dan jalan-jalan di Hogsmeade sambil belanja tongkat sihir, permen Berty Botts atau minum Butterbeer? Arghh...serasa mimpi yang jadi kenyataan! Ada beberapa pilihan tiket yang bisa dibeli kalau mau mampir ke dunia Harry Potter ini. Yang paling murah bisa dibeli online di sini, harganya $82 untuk dewasa dan $74 untuk anak 3-9 tahun. Sebenernya, nggak terlalu mahal banget untuk dipakai seharian sih. Jadi, kalau memang ada rencana liburan ke US, silakan sempatkan mampir dan bergabung dengan dunia ciptaan JK Rowling ini.

Orient Express

Naik kereta api sih udah biasa, apalagi cuman dari Bandung ke Jakarta doang (eh, meskipun sedih juga sih, kereta Parahyangan yang legendaris malah udah nggak ada, huhu). Tapi naik kereta lux keliling Eropa? Lalalala....pastinya menjadi pengalaman luar biasa. Apalagi kalau keretanya adalah kereta legendaris Orient Express yang super duper lux. Mulai dari kabin yang mewah, service yang membuat kita merasa seperti bangsawan, sampai pemandangan di sepanjang perjalanan yang breathtaking. Ada beberapa tujuan yang ditawarkan, dari mulai Eropa sampai Asia Tenggara. Tapi yang paling populer adalah Venice Simplon Orient Express yang menjelajahi daratan Eropa. Salah satu paket "termurah" yang ditawarkan adalah jurusan London-Venice yang ditempuh dalam waktu dua hari satu malam. Harganya? $3,210 saja untuk kabin yang dishare berdua! Hehehe...Kapan ya bisa kesampaian?

Disney Cruise

Naik kapal pesiar mungkin adalah salah satu keinginan yang dimiliki oleh hampir semua orang (kecuali orangnya gampang mabuk laut ya, hehe). Tapi entah kenapa gue sangat penasaran dengan kapal pesiar keluarannya Disney ini. Kayaknya fun dan seru aja. Biasanya kan cruise itu identik dengan orang-orang kaya yang sudah pensiun dan bingung bagaimana menghabiskan uangnya =p Tapi Disney Cruise sepertinya seru dijalani, terutama untuk ibu-ibu kayak gue yang nggak pernah mau kehilangan masa kecil, hahaha..Kebayang serunya cruising dengan tujuan Karibia bersama Donald Duck di sepanjang perjalanan. Belum lagi entertainmentnya, seperti pertunjukan musikal sekelas Broadway yang bisa ditonton seluruh keluarga. Oya, untuk tahu perkiraan harga, bisa coba-coba masukin planning kita ke sini. Nanti keluar deh harganya berapa sesuai tujuan dan jenis cruise yang kita mau. Misalnya, gue coba masukin cruise dengan tujuan Karibia, berangkat dari Florida, selama 7 hari, untuk 2 dewasa dan 1 anak, total perjalanan kita adalah sekitar $2,880. Not bad kan ya? Tapi yang mahal adalah tiket menuju titik pemberangkatannya. Bahagialah wahai kalian penduduk Amerika!

Atlantis The Palm, Dubai

Gue sangat terkesan dengan hotel Atlantis di Dubai ini karena menonton salah satu episode The Amazing Race, di mana challengenya adalah meluncur dari perosotan super curam yang melewati kolam berisi hiu. Awww...adrenalin's calling nih! Semakin tua gue emang makin penakut sih. Kalau dulu mungkin cuek aja naik segala macam permainan gila di theme park, sekarang mikir seribu kali. Tapi kayaknya kalau udah sampe di Atlantis sih harus banget ya, meluncur di perosotan edan ini. Otherwise I can't sleep thinking about it, hehe. Selain marine dan water parknya, hotel ini juga terkenal karena fasilitasnya yang mewah dan bangunannya yang unik. Tapi ternyata tarif satu malamnya nggak semahal yang gue bayangin. Untuk deluxe room, tarifnya sekitar AED 1,490; atau $405. Itu untuk kamar paling standar loh ya...Kalau mau yang gila, misalnya Poseidon Suite yang pemandangan kamarnya adalah under the sea, lengkap dengan private butler 24 jam, semalamnya adalah....AED 29,500; atauuuuu $8,030 sajah sodara-sodara...hehehe...Mari berkhayal!!



Hmm, kayaknya segitu dulu aja deh berkhayalnya. Mungkin lain kali akan dilanjutkan dengan tempat-tempat lain yang sama gilanya...Life is indeed good (especially if you have money!)

2011

Nggak muluk-muluk deh, tahun 2011 temanya adalah passion (eh, terlalu terpengaruh sama Rene Suhardono sepertinya hahaha). Mencari passion, mengejar mimpi.

Don't waste too much time, since we only live once!

Happy new year folks =)