4 Pantai Asyik di sekitar New York City

Siapakah yang mengaku anak pantai di sini?
Saya!
Acung tangan tinggi-tinggi :).

Lahir dan besar di Lampung, yang nota bene terkenal dengan jajaran pantai cantik, laut biru nan jernih dan wisata bahari yang mempesona, julukan anak pantai memang klop buat saya. Apalagi sejak mendapat lisensi untuk menyelam tahun 2011 yang lalu. Tambah deh menjadi-jadi main ke pantai, pulau, dan laut setiap ada kesempatan. Kalau tidak sempat pulang ke Lampung, pantai di Jakarta dan sekitarnya.


Sejak pindah ke New York City, kecintaan saya akan langit dan laut biru tidak berkurang.

Bertambah malah.
Walaupun memang, frankly speaking, cantiknya laut Indonesia susah dikalahkan. Tapi karena kita sedang tinggal di the Big Apple sampai at least 2 tahun mendatang, kami pun semangat menjelajahi pantai-pantai yang ada di New York City.

Jangan salah ya, semangat memang tinggi tapi karena banyak kesibukan lain seringkali kami harus membagi waktu untuk memastikan #myitchyfeet bisa terus eksis #eaaaa.

Jadi, kembali ke judul, ada pantai apa saja sih di New York City dan sekitarnya?
Banyak, karena memang sebagian New York City, terutama Queens, terletak di pulau yang bernama Long Islands. Sounds familiar? 
Tapi bukan Thousand islands ya hehehe..karena nama salah satu salad dressing ini memang beneran ada tempatnya :).

Ini dia beberapa pantai cantik yang pernah kami kunjungi selama musim panas ini


Coney Island

Bisa jadi, pantai yang satu ini adalah pantai paling populer di New York City.
Selain karena pantainya yang relatif bersih dan berpasir lembut, meskipun bukan pasir putih, Coney Islands yang terletak di Brooklyn ini sejak lama terkenal karena aneka theme parks atau taman permainan dengan berbagai wahana seru, termasuk yang sukses buat kita menjerit sepenuh jiwa raga karena serunya. Luna Park adalah salah satu theme parks seru yang penuh dengan aneka atraksi heboh itu.

ready to try this one :)


Belum lagi tempat jajanan hotdog yang super ngetop, Nathan's, ada di sini. Setiap tahun, Coney Island menjadi tuan rumah kontes makan hotdog terseru di New York City dan juga mermaid parade atau parade 'putri duyung' yang penuh warna. Coney Island juga menjadi tempat New York Aquarium.




Coney island juga relatif mudah dikunjungi karena terhubung dengan transportasi umum, yaitu subway N dan Q. Persis jalur subway yang lewat rumah kami :).

Walaupun kami berenang saat musim panas, tetap saja airnya lumayan dingin untuk ukuran badan Indonesia seperti kami sekeluarga :). Biasanya, kami berenang tidak lebih dari 1 jam di sini. Sisanya main di theme parks, nongkrong cantik atau menikmati jajanan sambil mendengarkan aneka atraksi hiburan jalanan yang tidak kalah seru.

Rockaway Beach

Pantai yang satu ini terletak di ujung Queens, salah satu borough atau setingkat kecamatan yang ada di New York City. Letaknya relatif paling dekat dari rumah kami di Astoria, Long Island City, karenanya kami pun sering menghabiskan waktu di sini.

Pasirnya yang putih dan lembut dan pantai yang tidak terlalu landai menjadikannya tempat berenang ideal untuk Bo et Obi. Tentunya sambil terus diawasi oleh Mama dan Bapak :). Dan memang Rockaway beach selalu ramai saat musim panas atau setiap cuaca cukup hangat untuk berenang. Enaknya, Rockaway tidak sepenuh Coney Island, jadi cukup tempat untuk semua dan tidak perlu berebut kamar mandi atau toilet. Namun memang tempat jajan di sini tidak sebanyak pilihan di Coney Island. Hmmm..ini mau berenang atau mau ngemil yah >_<.

Jones Beach

Jones beach adalah salah satu pantai favorite yang belum lama ini kami kunjungi.



Terletak di Wantagh, New York, pantai ini memang sedikit agak jauh dari New York City atau sekitar 50 menit perjalanan dengan mobil. Saya belum sempat mengecek jalur transportasi umum ke sini, namun saya yakin pasti terhubung dengan baik juga karena saya sempat melihat banyak bus stop  di sepanjang jalan menuju pantai.

Selain pantai bersih berpasir halus, Jones Beach juga terkenal dengan West Bathhouse dan pool alias kolam renang di tepi pantai. Hanya dengan tiket masuk $5 untuk dewasa dan $3 untuk anak-anak mulai usia 6 tahun, kolam renang dan segala fasilitasnya bisa dinikmati.




Oya, dan sunset di sini cakep bangeet juga lho :).




Plumb Beach

Meskipun pantai ini tidak begitu ideal untuk berenang karena airnya yang agak muddy dan pantainya yang relatif kotor dibandingkan pantai lainnya, tapi Plumb beach lumayan seru untuk tempat nongrong cantik sambil menikmati matahari terbenam. Letaknya relatif dekat dengan kota karena masih masuk kawasan Brooklyn, berbatasan dengan Queens.






Sebenarnya masih banyak lagi pantai asyik yang bisa dikunjungi, namun kami belum sempat mendatanginya.
Waktu di Jakarta, saat tidak pulang ke Lampung, kami sering mengunjungi Pantai Marina di Ancol atau ke salah satu pulai di jajaran Kepulauan Seribu. 

Selain perlengkapan 'perang' untuk berenang, seperti baju berenang, sunscreen, ban dan pelampung anak-anak, baju ganti, sabun dan sampai, serta masker dan snorkel sampai fin, tidak lupa kami bawa perlengkapan 'perang' untuk perut hahaha. Apalagi kalau bukan stok air putih yang banyak, makanan berat dan cemilan. Yuuuup..never forget!




Biasanya saya dan keluarga selalu mempersiapkan perlengkapan perang ini dari rumah. Tapi kalau di Indonesia sih tidak masalah, karena keperluan yang kita butuhkan banyak tersedia dan mudah didapat, apalagi untuk urusan cemilan :).


Pernah suatu ketika kami mendadak memutuskan main ke salah satu pantai di Lampung. Dengan pedenya kami langsung menuju tekape tanpa bawa apa-apa. Tapi tenang saja, karena di sepanjang perjalanan menuju pantai, ada banyak tempat yang menyediakan keperluan kita di pantai. Usaha ritel Alfamart salah satunya. 


It's very handy to have it...

Saya ingat pernah membeli sunscreen dan goggle untuk anak-anak di salah satu usaha ritel Alfamart yang terletak di jalur menuju pantai. Apalagi untuk urusan cemilan, komplit deeeh pokoknya. Dan memang, banyak tempat usaha yang tersebar di berbagai tempat strategis ini sangat membantu konsumen seperti saya dan keluarga.

So, that's our story saat menyusuri pantai di sekitar New York City.
Teman-teman suka menjelajahi pantai juga?
Di mana tempat favoritmu?

New York Indonesian Street Festival 2016



"Have you been to Indonesia before?" I politely asked one of the locals who was lining up for sate padang,- or padangnese satay made of beef and tongue with distinct turmeric sauce - right in front of me.

"No, I haven't. But I just can't wait to see your beautiful country myself", she said eagerly. Then we both enjoyed our small talks about Indonesian delicacies and culinary. Apparently she is quite adventurous when it comes to food. That makes the two of us :).

On a different corner, I was again lining up for es teler, a perfect fruit cocktail sans alcohol which is so popular back home. And here as well. Perfect for New York City hot summer day like today. I noticed a blonde boy trying to sneak around to get a cup of that tempting es teler. When I asked him whether he knew about this beverage, he said of course.. He just spent 2 months of vacation in Indonesia, exploring Bali, Lombok and Jogja, and he instantly fell in love with this es teler. Can't blame him!

Welcome to Indonesian Street Festival, where we bring you the taste, the feel, the joy and the beauty of Indonesia, the largest archipelagic state in the world.

Beautifully stretched from Sabang to Merauke, from the western most point to the eastern part, Indonesia is indeed a piece of heaven on earth.

Have you been to Indonesia before?
I will never get bored asking people of that question. 
Sort of a prelude of my various stories of the many beautiful faces of my beloved country.

Nevertheless, not many people know where Indonesia is. Most of the foreigners are familiar with Bali, dubbed as the island of Gods and Goddesses. But they are not familiar with Indonesia as a whole and other parts of my beloved country.

So, as part of the celebration of the 71st Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia hold New York Indonesian Street Festival 2016.

The annual street festival is back this Saturday, August 27, 2016.

Held right in front of the Consulate General of the Republic Indonesia here in New York, East 68th Street, NY, 10065 (between Madison and Fifth Avenue), we all gathered to have a taste of home-sweet-home although we are separated far away.

Starting from 12 - 5 PM, we had so much fun indeed.
It was truly a beautiful day filled with fantastic performances, fashion shows, arts and crafts, kids corner as well as Indonesia's culinary and delicacies.

Opened with a short speech from Acting Consul General of Indonesia in New York, Mr. Benny Siahaan, we all sang our national anthem Indonesia Raya, before the Festival was officially opened by hitting Gong 3 times.

Then series of traditional dances and cool performances, including fashion shows and dancing on the street began.



Photo was beautifully taken by Rima Cempaka

Piring dance,  Selayang Pandang, Tor-tor,  Merak and Lenggang Nyai were just some of the traditional dances graciously performed by Indonesians as well as locals who joined groups of Indonesian arts and cultures here in New York and the surrounding States, including Delaware. We also had some fashion shows and dangdut show. 


more colorful performances depicting Indonesia's vibrant cultures

We had fun dancing Sajojo, the traditional dance from Papua, Indonesia, together with the audience. Lead by Mrs. Lista Damayanti Djani, the spouse of Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, the Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the UN in New York, we all lined up and danced to the upbeat music.

Let's dance :)

We opened a booth for free Angklung lesson as well.
Not to mention free face paintings, for kids (and adults as well :)).
I was one of the volunteers here in the face painting booth and boy, how kids loved us to draw Pikachu and pokemon balls on their face :)

Look at those happy faces with Pokemon Balls. Cheers..

Some beautiful arts and crafts, traditional as well as contemporary ones, were also displayed and sold during the Festival. 




We had more booths of crafts compared to last year, so you can find some beautiful hand-written Batik, batik silk scarfs, bags, pouches, mugs, and more.


Fancy to get one?

For the food department, we had a wide range of those famous Indonesian culinary and delicacies. The street was certainly filled with delicious aroma of sate, ayam panggang, mie pangsit and bakso, some freshly prepared or warmed up on the spots. A complete choices of Padang food, including sate Padang and lontong sayur were also available. 


so many choices..alll super yuum..

Combro, tahu isi, lemper, ketimus, risol, pastel, wingko, bika Ambon and kue ongol-ongol were temptingly displayed on the food corners. Es teler, my favorite, together with es doger and es sirsak certainly quenched our thirst that day. No doubt, Indonesia is a top-notch destination when it comes to culinary experience!


I just can't get enough :)

And there are so many prices from quiz as well, including tickets to Indonesia to visit this beautiful paradise from Garuda Indonesia, our national airline, which will soon resume its routes to East Coast. Questions related to Indonesia were asked to all audience and those who got the right answers surely received their prices.

I have to say that this year we have more and more visitors. Those long lines of food and crowds enjoying the performances at the main stage signal more interests and attentions from New Yorkers as well as Indonesians living in NYC and the surrounding states. We had some tourists visiting NYC who joined our Festival as well. the Consulate strategic location, only one block from Central Park and Madison Avenue, is also a plus point. 

And for sure, great job, Consulate General of Indonesia in New York! Such a great team work and good coordination. Kudos to everyone who put the event together :)

All in all, I had so much fun on the Festival. 
I sincerely hope we will have this Festival again next year. 
So, I can simply say, see you all next year at #NYIndonesianStreetFestival!

Wonderful Wednesday with Oh My Heartsie Girls

Another beautiful week for all of us here in NYC.
The weather is getting friendlier now and we pretty much enjoy it.
As we are not making any summer trip this time, we manage to stroll around the city and the neighboring city in the quest of beautiful beaches and parks.
Last Saturday, we had so much fun at Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY.




The weather was just perfect as it was not too hot nor cold. Bo et Obi had a blast down there :).



Then on Sunday, we explored Socrates Park in Long Island City.




Quite a unique park with interesting exhibitions this year.


And now, let me invite y'all to our merry, weekly linky party!

“Welcome to Oh My Heartsie Girls “Wonderful” Wednesday’s

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Get ready for Indonesian Street Festival 2016

Are you ready for another round of Indonesian Street Festival?
Get ready then.... 
As this street festival is back this Saturday, August 27, 2016.

It will be held right in front of the Consulate General of the Republic Indonesia here in New York, East 68th Street, NY, 10065 (between Madison and Fifth Avenue),
from 12 - 5 PM

come and join us!
Be prepared for a beautiful day filled with fantastic performances, fashion shows, arts and crafts, kids corner as well as Indonesia's culinary haven.
And who knows...you might win some fantastic prices including tickets to Indonesia to visit this beautiful paradise.

See you all there!


WW: Socrates Sculpture Park

Enjoying our leisure Sunday in Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, New York.


the sign..

one of the exhibition for this year...

colorful one!

the four of us enjoying the weekend :)

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