FIFA Women World Cup in Wellington

Do you like football?

I do! Although I don’t fully understand the regulations and the latest updates from the field but I always enjoy the festivities and the vibes during big matches and competitions.

This year, Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia are co-hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup.  Can you imagine the excitement we have here!

the match between New Zealand and the Philippines

Poneke Wellington is also selected as one of the cities in Aotearoa New Zealand which will be hosting the matches, besides Auckland, Hamilton, and Dunedin.

Obviously, the Frakarsas won’t miss the chance to see the matches! We got the tickets for the match between New Zealand and the Philippines, which was held on Tuesday, 25th of July, 2023. The match was held in Wellington Regional Stadium.  It was quite a match and we were supporting the Philippines as part of the ASEAN Sisterhood, but we also hoped New Zealand would play well on this match.

What a game indeed! For the first time, the Philippines won and beat the host New Zealand 1 - 0. There was an offside goal made by New Zealand so unfortunately it didn’t change the scores. New Zealand team was very aggressive and offensive, sent many shots on goal but the Philippines’ goal keeper or goalie is so good! No wonder she became the player of the day! 

I hope we can watch more games as the matches continue till mid August. It’s time to get more tickets. 

The three of us after the game..

Me holding the scarf of the match of the day, between NZ and the Philippines

Do you like watching football as well? How about women’s football? 

Do you like watching it directly at the stadium if you get the chance or you prefer watching it on TV? Share your experience here on the comments and see you on the next adventures!

Sensational Lunch at La Cecile Komodo Labuan Bajo

ready for Sensational Lunch at La Cecile Labuan Bajo? join me

"Let's see more of Labuan Bajo from above", said my dear friend and mentor, Mba Ani.

"More place to explore? we have enough time before our flight?" I asked with extra excitement as we got to our car after finishing our trip at Batu Cermin cave. Day 7 at Labuan bajo and we just finally had some time to explore after the successful conduct of the 42nd ASEAN Summit. We were heading back to Jakarta and our flight would be later that afternoon.

"Yes, we do, and we can even have our lunch here. Let's go to La Cecile then," Mba Ani asked our driver to take us to La Cecile straight away. 

And after a short drive, we arrived at the designated area and once again, I was blown away by Labuan Bajo's beauty, especially from above.

welcome to La Cecile

Well, welcome back and I hope you are not bored yet with my stories from awesome Labuan bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. Another place where I stopped by is La Cecile Hotel. Located in Jl. Goro, Silatey, Labuan Bajo, this hotel offers luxurious and comfortable stay with a breathtaking view of the city from above. It is also famous for its unique design, cutting-edge cafe and restaurant plus delicious Indonesian as well as international food. Perfect spot to enjoy Labuan Bajo!

A bird's eye view of Labuan bajo from la Cecile

During the series of meetings of the 42nd ASEAN Summit, this hotel has been used as one of the meeting venues as well. I just got a chance to actually stop by here after the Summit was concluded.

We came here for lunch and as we were super hungry after our adventure in Batu Cermin cave, we ordered a lot. No surprise LOL. Luckily we managed to get the table for the three of us, - me, mba Ani and mba Tika, both my darling seniors at the office. 

La Cecile restaurant

So we ordered kangkung plecing, cumi bakar or grilled octopus, sup ikan or fish soup, chicken wings, and telur dadar or  fu yung hai, complete with steamed rice and various sambals, including sambal kecap, sambal terasi, and sambal matah. Everything was super good! Kangkung plecing was fresh and spicy, as we like it. The grilled octopus was tasty, so rich in spices and perfectly grilled. The soup was freshly made and also very authentic, and for the fu yng hai or the omelet, it's always been our comfort food at home so it can never go wrong. I have to say we ate all of them! We were certainly starving LOL.

In terms of the price, it's still reasonable and manageable, considering that we are dining in a beautiful ambience.

Some of the food we ordered! Delicious..

I couldn't concentrate on taking pictures of the food anymore as I was starving!

can't wait to eat them all!

While waiting for the food, mba Ani was patient and kind enough to stroll around the hotel ground to take some pictures. As always, mini me was enjoying a pose or two at this lovely place. 

It was one sunny day!

There are specific spots you can go to while enjoying the vista, including the pool, the cafe, and the mini chapel (I guess it looks like one) here in La Cecile.

Here are some photos I took.

posing at the bell and the cross at la Cecile Komodo Labuan Bajo

Mba Ani and I..

Cheeers..

Once we were done with the photo session, the food was ready and without further a do, we started our feast. What a lovely meal! 

my drink that day...I forget the name but it was fresh!

And the fact that we were having our tasty lunch and enjoying the view, I have to say we really have a sensational lunch at La Cecile Labuan Bajo. With happy tummy and huge smiles, we left the hotel and headed to the airport. But wait.. not without shopping for more souvenirs here at La Cecile! Yup.. we bought t-shirts, Labuan Bajo coffee and bolu gulung istimewa. I have to say those are lovely merchandises from Labuan Bajo.

So, that's my little story of exploring Labuan Bajo and enjoying sensational lunch at La Cecile Komodo.

Hope you can get a chance to visit this place one day and see you on another adventure!

Diving at Labuan Bajo - Photo Album

chasing the manta...

It's diving time!

How excited I am sharing this story and as you have probably been aware of from my last posts here, I have just visited Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. Well, it was done in the middle of May and now it's June already!

You have seen a glimpse of Labuan Bajo's exquisite beauty, above and under, and now I will take you deeper to its astonishing underwater world. Let's dive with me! Are you ready?

Right after the successful commencement of the 42nd ASEAN Summit, I had one free day before heading back to Jakarta, then New Zealand. So, I instantly decided to go diving, as I haven't done so after leaving Indonesia to Aotearoa back in November 2021. Been a long time, right! As I joke with my hubby and my kids, God the Almight knew I haven't wet my gills for a long time and God has kindly gave me the chance to visit one of diving paradise, Labuan Bajo. Alhamdulillah.

So, long story short, I joined a diving tour with Blue Marlin operator and got a chance to dive at Penga kecil, Makassare Reef, and Batu Bolong sites. There were 13 of us, with 9 divers from China, one from Indonesia (yours truly :)) and 3 dive masters from NTT, Sweden and France. Quite a diverse group indeed. After that, I stopped by at Rinca Island to see the komodo dragon and pink beach. Lucky me, right!

Before I spill more beans, here are the photos I took.

the manta! So graceful..

giant cuttlefish...

clear visibility...

happy me :)

healthy and colorful reefs

more colorful reef

one spot at Makassar Reef

Don't forget to check my YouTube video as well here.

I was so blessed to be able to dive in Labuan Bajo and meet amazing sea creatures in these divine nature. Hopefully Labuan Bajo will stay beautiful, clean and well preserved till many years to come.

Do you like diving and/r snorkeling too? Where is your favorite spot and have you dived or snorkeled here in Labuan Bajo as well?

Ramadhan cooking with the Frakarsas

Ramadhan cooking with the Frakarsas

Assalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

I hope your Ramadhan goes well and this blessed month will give us ample time to reflect and revisit our journey in this life, so that we can be a better person.

Ramadhan has always successfully brought my family together. I manage to go home early, prepare the meals with my hubby and my kids, and as much as we can, we always pray together in jamaah. The sense of togetherness and family spirit really brings us together and that what makes Ramadhan special.

Ramadhan cooking with the Frakarsas

Salah satu kegiatan favorit yang kerap saya lakukan bersama anak - anak dan juga suami adalah berkreasi di dapur. 

Entah kenapa, saat Ramadhan, kami sering sekali berkumpul di pojok ini sambil memikirkan apa yang akan disiapkan dan dimasak. Mungkin karena saat Ramadhan jam kerja kantor juga lebih pendek sehingga bisa pulang lebih awal atau karena menahan lapar, jadi berbagai kreatifitas dan keinginan memasak pun muncul. Entahlah. Yang pasti, kami berempat menikmatinya dan saat di dapur ini pun kami banyak bertukar cerita, sharing berbagai hal termasuk hal - hal penting dalam Islam dan dalam berpuasa, maupun bercanda sambil menunggu waktu berbuka. 

Saat berada di Indonesia, kita seringkali dimanjakan dengan berbagai kemudahan, termasuk jajan takjil atau makanan berbuka. Bahkan sampai makanan utama pun banyak yang menjualnya dan rasanya enak serta harganya juga bervariasi. Tapi saat di luar negeri, seperti di New Zealand, kami seringkali membuat sendiri makanan yang ingin kita makan, terutama makanan Indonesia. Memang ada yang menjualnya atau membuka PO, tapi biasanya harganya lumayan banget dan juga tidak selalu ada. So, pilihannya adalah masak sendiri deh.

Nadine was preparing for kaastengels

Biasanya kami masak setelah selesai sholat Ashar berjamaah. Atau kalau di waktu weekend, selesai dzuhur bersama, kalau ada masakan atau kue yang akan dibuat, kami pun mulai memasaknya bersama. Tidak jarang kami recook atau memasak ulang beberapa resep keluarga yang banyak diwariskan dari mama saya ataupun almarhumah mama Rudi, my hubby.  There are times when we called our family back home just to have a chat or ask about the recipes. It was fun indeed!

Karenanya, saya jarang berbuka di luar rumah selama di Wellington. Selain sulit memastikan makanan yang kita beli dan santap 100% halal, berbagai restoran di Wellington tidak memiliki tempat sholat. Bahkan di mall sekalipun, yang hanya ada satu di antero kota Wellington (nanti saya cerita lebih banyak lagi ya :)), tidak ada mushola atau tempat untuk sholat. Well, tidak heran sih karena memang Wellington dan New Zealand pada umumnya memang negara sekuler. Pilihan berbuka di rumah, atau bersama komunitas muslim adalah yang paling tepat memang.

Here are some of the food that The Frakarsas managed to cook during this Ramadhan. Can you guess what they are?

Pastel for Ifthar

Besides the food for our sahoor and ifthar, we had cooked some cookies for Lebaran or Eid al Fitr as well. We usually cook kaastengels or the cheese cookies, nastar or the pineapple jam cookies, and putri salju or cookies with icing sugar.

our favorite kaastengel..

don't you just love the chilies!

And psst, my hubby is a great cook as well. He got so excited in creating his late mom's recipes that we all miss from home. Sometimes he checks the Cookpad and YouTube as well to get some inspirations. I love working with him in the kitchen. He can be super meticulous (and noisy) but the results are usually superb as well. Thanks, love!

can you guess what he was making?

Udi really loves meat.. so he's very good at preparing them

So, that's a little story from our family in this Ramadhan. We are truly enjoying our family time in the kitchen. But of course we didn't spend the entire time in the kitchen as Ramadhan is the perfect month to enhance our observance, worship and prayers to the Almighty. 

Do you love cooking as well? Any particular dishes you and your family love to make during Ramadhan? Share the stories with us at the comment ya.

See you on the next post!

Wassalamualaikum warrahmatullahi wabarakatuh

Cardrona, A Unique Stop at South Island, New Zealand - South Island, Here We Come

 

As we continued the trip in our South Island, New Zealand road trip, here's one of the special place I'd like to share to you all.

To those who have been following the stories of our travel recently, you know that we had a road trip starting from Christchurch to so many cities along the way to the southern part of South Island Aotearoa New Zealand. Some of the cities we visited include Akaroa, Fairlie, Lake Tekapo, Mt. Cook, Twizel, and Cardrona, then down to Wakana, Queenstown, Invercargill, Bluff, Balclutha, The Caitlins and Dunedin. A lot of cities indeed and we were 11 days on the road!

Anyway, on our way down from Mt. Cook area heading to Queenstown, we stopped at Cardrona. Cardrona is famously known as the ski-resort area dotted with amazing landscapes and slopes, with historic spots deriving from the gold mining era in this region. 

We drove here from Twizel, after enjoying our remarkable stay near the Aoraki Mt. Cook area and tasting various delicious salmon plates.

Welcome to Cardrona

We didn’t really stop for a long time in this city but we managed to stop at Cardrona Hotel and one unique stop, Bradona.   

Cardrona Hotel is one jewel in the middle of picturesque valley, famous for its rustic and charming setting as well as historical episodes, originating from the gold rush era in this area. 

the story goes back in 1863...

I have to admit I was so intrigued to see what's inside the hotel. Imagine throwing yourself on the gold rush era, starting from 1863, while people were flocking from different corners of the world and tried their luck. Having this hotel as one of the hubs, I can imagine the merry and colorful stories from those episodes of history.

Obi and I in front of Cardrona Hotel and its antique car.

We didn't stay here and although I was originally planning to sit down for a quick coffee or tea, we were already behind scheduled and tired. We managed to take quick pictures in front of the hotel and even when I tried to get some souvenirs, the shops were closed for a while. Well, just our luck. So we skipped enjoying this unique hotel and hopefully we will get a chance to visit this place again. 

There is an Olde School House next to the hotel and we managed to have a quick look as well here. 

Judging from the name, perhaps it used to be the school building back in the days. But now, it becomes shop, art gallery, and artisanal hub where we can get souvenirs and merchandise.

I just love this green corner

After a quick photo at Cardrona Hotel and the surroundings, we stopped at Bradrona.

the panoramic snap of Bradrona

Beautifully placed in the middle of picturesque valley of Central Otago, between Wanaka and Queenstown, the fences in Bradrona were packed with hundreds (or perhaps even thousands) of bras serves as a great reminder about the importance of taking care of ourselves and at the same time spreading the awareness about breast cancer.

Many left their bras with some writings and notes on it, telling a little story and where they are from. Some stated the countries they were originally from, some shared stories about the fight against breast cancer, others wrote the memoirs of their loved ones. So much love in there. It really warms my heart.

Posing with Obi at Bradrona :)

As a breast cancer survivor, I feel like this is the spot that I should not miss while visiting the area. Bradrona is not just a quirky place where people put and left their bras as a form of solidarity to breast cancer survivors, but it also signifies the strong support and love to all cancer fighters. In the reel that I have shared in my Instagram account @insav, you can see more of the place. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Indah Nuria Savitri (@insav)

There is a box for donation for New Zealand Breast Cancer foundation @pinkribbonnz so you are welcomed to contribute to the fight against breast cancer as well.

the donation box at Cardrona

Btw, World Cancer Day 2023 is celebrated in February each year. So when I stopped by here at the end of January and witnessed the overwhelming support to breast cancer fighters and survivors, I feel so blessed that I have received so many supports, help and assistance from my friends and family. Lucky me indeed. And hopefully, in the future, there will be more breakthrough in cancer treatment so we can witness the world with less or even with no cancer. 

In sya Allah.

Right after Cardrona, we stopped by at Wanaka and relaxed at Lake Hawea, and even briefly enjoyed Lindis Pass. Will get back with more stories on those marvelous places.

will get back to you on this...