MERDEKA - HAPPY 78TH INDEPENDENCE DAY, INDONESIA

It was windy and cold, as we started assembling for the flag - raising ceremony this morning. 

Yet, our hearts were warm with pride as we saw Merah Putih, our national flag, was gallantly fluttering against Aotearoa’s blue sky. A beautiful, historic day! 

Pengalaman indah di bumi Aotearoa merayakan genap 78 tahun usia negeri tercinta, kebanggaan kita semua, Indonesia. #thefrakarsas beruntung bisa menjadi bagian dari cerita penuh warna tentang jalan panjang perjuangan, indahnya persatuan dan persaudaraan serta memaknai kemerdekaan. Alhamdulillah… merci ya Rabb 🇮🇩🙏.

Saya dan @bofrakarsa were proudly wearing our Tapis from beloved hometown, Lampung. A bit mix and match I know (apologies for that) but proud to wear my Siger and the set of West Lampung Tapis I got as my dowry (thanks sweet 💜 @frakarsa ).

Bo was wearing his Tapis and Kiket, the headrest for Lampungnese males, Manuk Mekhem or the sleeping bird (CMIIW please 🙏😇). Well, again happy and proud to wear them 🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩 

 These are only a tiny bit of fun photos I took today, so bear with me 🤗😉 

 Merdeka 🎉🎉

Welcome to Whakapapa - It’s Snow Time at Aotearoa New Zealand

It’s Snow Time at Aotearoa New Zealand 

 

Kia Ora,

Apa kabar semua? 

Welcome back to indahnuria.com and let’s continue our adventure here in New Zealand. This time, I have a little story about how us, the Frakarsas, enjoys winter time in the land of the long clouds.

This year is the second winter we have here in the Kiwi land. Yet, last year’s winter was a but fuzzy and blurry as we had so many things going on in July- September 2022. I somehow remembered cold, wet winter days last year, which is not too different from now. However, this year we manage to drive up North to see the snow and enjoy a bit of fun out there.

On our way to Ruapehu and Tongariro National Park

So on one long weekend, we drove to Tongariro National Park and went to Whakapapa, a ski area in this beautiful place.It took us 4 hours to drive there and we decided not to stay over night in Ruapehu, the nearby village. After that long drive, welcome to Whakapapa - it's snow time at Aotearoa New Zealand !

We got our ticket for 1-hour sledding in Happy Valley, Whakapapa. The ticket for the 4 of us cost NZD 89.54, including taxes and surcharges.

Got our ticket and we were ready!

Obi and Bo were excited, as the last time we played in the snow was back in New York City. When we arrived, it was foggy and rainy, yet we managed to enjoy riding our sled and go up with the magic carpet ride. Bo actually wanted to try the snowboarding but we were a bit late due to the traffic up to the Whakapapa ski station. Well, fog and rain are not helping.

Bo posing with his sledding board

Yet, we arrived and directly got our ticket at the machine. After that, we went down to the Happy Valley (What a perfect name for the place :) ) and lined up to get to the area for sledding

There were three lanes we could use and it was again fun to play in the snow, screaming around and hitting the snow piles. One hour flew fast and although we wanted to continue, it was too cold and freezing already. So, we called it a day and just wrapped it up the same time as the Happy Valley was about to close.

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!

Enjoying Pulau Rinca, Komodo Dragon and Pink Beach

 

Kia ora!

Morena.. a very good morning from Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Here, we are now enjoying winter as June arrives. Short days with cold, windy weather are welcoming us almost everyday and as the famous meme said, winter is coming! How I long warm, tropical weather back home in Indonesia nowadays.

And looking at my photo albums, I have so many great adventures on my last visit to Indonesia, especially Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.

As I have shared on my previous posts, I have dived in many spots here in Labuan Bajo. Feel free to check it on Diving at Labuan Bajo - Photo Album .

Right after diving at Batu Bolong site, the last dive I did, we stopped by at Rinca Island. This is one of the islands where you can get to see komodo dragons on their natural habitat as well as the pink beach. On top of my diving trip, I added Rp 500K for this additional stops. 

By the time we landed at Rinca island, we walked from the pier to the entrance gate and ticketing office. As we have foreigner visitors, we have different tickets for the locals. It was a bit confusing for us as the officials were asking for the new tariff which is quite expensive. But we all know that the new tariff was still being heavily debated at that time so at the end of the day, our tour guide negotiated and we paid in accordance with the prevailing regulations.

Happy me arriving at Rinca island, ready to make a rendezvous with komodo

Long story short, we chose the short trail and being helped by one of the local guides here. He showed us the way and told us many interesting stories and facts as well. since the very beginning when we landed in this island, I have already read the sign saying that tis is the natural habitat for the komodo and we were basically walking alongside their trails. Cool, right! But surely we have to be careful as well. 

Nevertheless, after seeing the real komodo for the first time in the Komodo museum at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and seeing the giant lantern of komodo in Wellington lantern festival, you can imagine how excited I was to meet these magnificent creatures in their original homes.

So we went through the trail, the Loh Liang walking trails, listening attentively to our guide. I feel bad of not remembering his name! He spoke English well and patiently answered so many of our questions.

Check out these photos and you will see how cool this place is. Rest assure I took the photos from safe distance and under strict supervisor of our guide. And again, komodo dragons are magnificent creatures. 

Done enjoying the walking trails in Rinca island, we moved to the other side of the island and stopped at the pink beach. And it was totally AWESOME!

As I have seen in so many posts in various social medias, pink beack is just unique and stunningly beautiful. I enjoyed my time here although it was not that long. I was kust dipping my feet, so tempted to swim again and I was just tired from my 3-times dives. I prayed that I would go back here again soon with my hubby and the kids. 

I bet we will!

Welcome to the pink beach! Lovely isn't it?

Mini - me is super excited too

Hope we can go back soon 

So, have you visited East Nusa Tenggara, especially Labuan Bajo?

Did you visit Rinca island and manage to meet komodo dragons and have fun at the pink beach as well? 

Share your story here.

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?

Traveling through time at Batu Cermin, Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia

Welcome to Batu Cermin Cave

Welcome back!

I would love to take you all further to see the beauty of Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. 

I know perhaps many of you have visited this wonderful place and I hope you can share your experience with me and the rest of us here.

So on the last day of my visit in Labuan Bajo, my friends and I decided to go to Batu Cermin cave, had lunch at La Cecile and went straight to the airport. I was thinking of heading to Pulau Padar at dawn but I was just drop dead tired after diving 3 times in Komodo Island.

Batu Cermin cave is not so far from the city center. It’s easily accessible and parking are abundant. Nevertheless, to those using wheelchair or have issues with mobility, it will be challenging to fully explore and browse the cave.

We paid the entrance ticket (which I forgot how much, apologies for that) and we’re assisted by one of the local guides. Our guide, Sasmita, is one of the interns from the local vocational school majoring in tourism. 

We have to go with the local guides because the cave is relatively a natural place which has to be visited with caution. We also need to bring flashlight as some parts of the cave is totally dark and we need to wear helmet as the cave ceiling can be low and pointy. All of these are provided on the spot.

We went to the cave and stopped by at Batu Payung first, a natural rock which looks like an umbrella. Well, I can argue it looks like mushroom, too.

After that, we went to the cave and in some parts of it you will see the wooden platforms and stairs.

The cave is recently discovered, I think if I’m not mistaken it was found in 1951 by Theodore van Houven (apologies for wrong or misspelling). The name Batu Cermin, or literally translated as Mirror Rock, derives from the fact that when the sunlight hits the rocks on the cave, they glimmer like mirror. When I saw them close, that’s exactly what happened and it’s cool! Moreover, this area is believed to be underwater thousands of years ago as you see many underwater animal fossils on the wall!

The three of us enjoying the cave :)

The stairs

We went inside the cave and at some point, we had to wear helmet, crawled inside to reach the particular area and were mindful of the surroundings. It was humid and a bit claustrophobic (well, it’s a cave nonetheless) but what you can see inside is amazing.

The walls are pretty much glittery and some are so smooth and cold to touch. I can see many shapes of jellyfish and corals dotting the wall along the cave as well. It took us around 1 hour to enjoy everything, take tons of photos, and listen to the stories from Sasmita.

Here are some photos I took during the visit. You will see how unique this spot is! Let’s take a look..

what do you think when you see this?

I have to see this is like underwater

and it reminds me of the movie, Alien

different side of the cave

me enjoying the rocks

Cheers..

What do you think? Very interesting, isn’t it!

Worth a visit and you can admire this historical natural landscape in Labuan Bajo. Enjoy!