WW: Happy Chinese New Year












Happy Chinese New Year

 ðŸ§§Happy Chinese New Year 🧧

Gong Xi Fat Cai

May the Year of the Rat bring peace, joy and prosperity for all of us.


Many celebrated the Chinese New Year in Jakarta and like many other festivities, elaborated decorations were put on display. Mostly red and we have rats everywhere as well. Good things they are not real 😇



Here are a few snaps I took here and there during the week of Chinese New Year celebration in Jakarta, Indonesia. Cute mice are dominating as I said but red is also brightly displayed. 



The cute mice and the fortune cookies



lucky oranges
Giant tea pot..with flowing tea!
The colorful lanterns


I love them all..
the complete setting seen from above.. so fun!

And I wore my red kebaya with peacock embroidery (I don't have the rat version LOL) to celebrate this occasion. Too bad I didn't get any ang pao or niangao, famously know as kue keranjang in Indonesia.



Cheeers..

So how'e the Chinese New Year celebration in your place?
Is is festive as well?
What do you like about this celebration?

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Wonderful Places to Visit in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia.


Welcome to the Mangkunegaran Palace
Wonderful Places to Visit in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia

Solo.

Have you been visited this beautiful city in Central Java?
I have
And I love it!


Solo has always been special for me.

This peaceful city has long been famous for its Palace, cultural live, and wonderful people. No wonder it has a special place in my hearts.
Particularly since this is the very place where the door to the blogging world was opening up for me.
Yup..this is where I joined  Asean Blogger Festival back in 2013.

It all started when my office, Directorate for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs of MOFA assigned me to join ASEAN Blogger Festival as one of the speakers for Freedom of the Expression session as well as the Master of Ceremony for the opening session and welcoming dinner. It was kind of work I love to have. So I joined the event and I loved it!

I met so many bloggers from ASEAN (p.s.: to those who are not familiar with what ASEAN is, it's the Association of South - East Asian Nations which comprises of Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and the Philippines). as well as from all over Indonesia. As this is one of the biggest blogger events in the region at that time,  I met many senior bloggers and those who have been famous for being one. Lucky me! 

This is the place where I met the founders of my blogging community, Kumpulan Emak Blogger, and some other blogging communities that have been active for quite some times. I instantly joined them and I have been blogging since then! Another great thing is that we manage to keep our friendship up until now. Precious indeed.

And Solo couldn't be more than perfect for that. Its cultural richness and historical sites for many special occasions, - including the site of the first human 

Pura Mangkunegaran



Rasanya kunjungan ke Solo akan kurang lengkap jika tidak mengunjungi Pura Mangkunegaran yang sangat terkenal sebagai istana resmi Kadipaten Praja Mangkunegara dan kerap menjadi pusat aneka kegiatan, terutama kebudayaan. 

Pura Mangkunegaran or the Mangkunegaran Palace is the official palace of the Mangkunegaran royal family, the ruler of the kingdom in Solo.

Ada beberapa tempat yang bisa dilihat oleh publik dan ada beberapa bagian yang privat di istana yang dibangun oleh Pangeran Samber Nyawa atau Raden Mas Said yang menjadi  Pangeran Adipati dengan gelar Mangkunegaran I. Rasanya kalau sedang berkunjung ke keraton seperti ini, aku ingin mendengar lebih banyak lagi berbagai cerita dan hikayat jaman dulu, termasuk aneka affairs LOL #anaknyakepo.

Foto by my friend Vienna

Sebelumnya saya juga sempat menghabiskan waktu di salah satu pendopo yang terbuka saat Mangkunegaran Art Festival digelar. Sepertinya gelaran ini dilakukan setiap setahun sekali but I gotta check on that. One thing for sure, this festival is too good to miss!



Berbagai tarian tradisional cantik dipersembahkan olhe para penari yang cantik dan keren. Bener- bener menyenangkan deh! Karena acaranya diselenggarakan secara profesional dan tarian serta kesenian yang ditampilkan pun juara!


I love this one as well!

Museum Keris Surakarta - Surakarta Keris Museum

Have you heard of Keris or Kris, Indonesian traditional dagger?
Famously known for its asymmetrical shape and unique pattern of laminating the iron and nickel, Keris has long been famous as part of Indonesian culture, particularly in Java.
It is very distinctive so that Keris has been nominated as UNESCO  Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
And Solo, or the city of Surakarta, has a special museum for this.

Sudah ada yang pernah mampir ke sini? 
Saya baru tau kalau Solo punya Museum Keris yang lumayan lengkap dan unik.
Saat ke sini, terasa sekali kalau museum ini memang baru dibuka.
Di museum ini kita bisa mengetahui sejarah keris yang merupakan bagian budaya Jawa yang sangat erat eksistensinya dengan masyarakat Jawa. Oh ya, Keris juga telah resmi menjadi UNESCO  Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity! Keren kaaan...Membanggakan sekali ya! Keris telah menjadi salah satu karya seni budaya yang menjadi warisan budaya kemanusiaan lisan dan nonbendawi.



Selain itu, kita bisa melihat proses pembuatan keris dari awal saat jaman dahulu, penyebaran keris di berbagai wilayah Indonesia maupun kawasan Asia Pasifk,  dan berbagai jenis keris yang unik dan kerap 'berisi', untuk mereka yang percaya.



Some of the traditional Indonesian Keris

Kalau ada kesempatan, jangan lewati museum yang satu ini ya.
Banyak hal menarik yang bisa dilihat.
Dan jangan lupa untuk pakai sepaut yang nyaman. Waktu kami ke sana, somehow liftnya tidak berfungsi, jadi lumayan juga turun naik sampai lantai 4 or 5 untuk melihat beranek ragam koleksi keris yang dipajang ini.

Belanja Batik dan Souvenir tradisional

Solo dan Batik adalah satu kesatuan yang tidak bisa dipisahkan. Meskipun banyak tempat di Jawa yang juga terkenal dengan batiknya, Solo memiliki kekhasan tersendiri untuk warna dan pola Batik yang dihasilkan. Bahkan Solo juga kerap menggelar Karnaval Batik Solo yang makin terkenal karena keunikannya. One of the batik collections that I admire while visiting Solo is the one they use to adorn the wayang displayed in the Royal  Surakarta Heritage hotel. Batik Solo is awesome indeed.

Kami sempat mampir di beberapa toko sepanjang Kampung Batik Lawean dan Kaumna. Buat kalian yang cinta Batik, siap - siap kalap yaaa karena banyak sekali kain Batik cantik yang rasanya sayang dilewatkan. Selain itu, kami juga belanja beberapa souvenir khas dan makanan asli Solo seperti intip dan serabi Solo. Pokoknya enak-enak semua juga! Kalau tanya yang saya beli apa saja, saya akan jawab semuaaa LOL. Memang pulang dari Solo kemarin, saya sempat membeli aneka keripik, abon Solo yang sangat terkenal dan juga intip serta jajanan pasa. Bahagia deeh pokoknya.

I believe there are so many beautiful places you can visit in Solo but since I only have one and a half day here (including my full day meeting, mind you), these are a few wonderful places you should not miss when you are visiting this lovely city.
So, which place that you think you will visit in Solo when you get a chance?
Tell me in the comments, please.
See you on the next adventures, dear friends!

Wonderful Wednesday with My Purple World, Oh My Heartsie Girls

I kinda miss NYC
Here comes another week with heavy rains here and there in Jakarta and the surrounding cities! I miss the clear blue sky!
The good thing is, we are much more prepared this time compared to the beginning of the year but still... rainy season makes me feel gloomy.
Sometimes it feels romantic looking at the drops of rain outside the window.
But still...

Anywaaay... now, let me invite you to our weekly party with My Purple World, Oh My Heartsie Girls and friends. Are you ready? let's go!

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WW: Jatiluhur Dam, Purwakarta, West Java


On our way back from Bandung, we decided to stop by at Jatiluhur, Purwakarta.

This city is famous as the location of the biggest dam and hydropower in Indonesia, Waduk Ir. H. Juanda or famouly known as Waduk Jatiluhur.

Built in 1957 by the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and inaugurated in 1967 by his successor, President Soeharto, this rockfill dam is surely huge. Surrounded by Mount Lembu, this lovely water reservoir provides a serene and calm ambience, with natural landscapes and fresh air. Truly a lovely spot to spend some times with your family.

We stopped here to admire the green scenery  and to have our late lunch.

Guess I have to visit this place again to explore more of the area.
Enjoy some photos we took along the way and hope you like it.





There is a hotel and resort here as well, d'Jatiluhur, managed by Grama Tirta company.
There are various rooms and cafes as well as restaurant by the dam where you can enjoy traditional cuisine and the sunset.



the tree house near the hotel..

Have you visited similar place as well?
Do you like it?

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