Gili Nanggu

Right after we climbed up the second highest volcano in Indonesia, we went straight down to the beach baby! Got bored of those 3Gili's, I decided to come up with a new Gili which isnt as famous as those 3Gili's but it's better, it's called Gili Nanggu. Located on south west of Lombok, near the harbour, it isnt main tourist destination. It isnt the place where you go out and drink or dance or party like in Gili Terawangan. It's actually a place for those who wants to hideaway from the hush and rush of the city life, this place is like the antonym of Kuta beach Bali or Lombok's Terawangan or Senggigi, a small stranded private island where you can just lay down on the beach alone, stargaze, and ponder just about anything that crosses your mind.

As far as I can remember I think we went offshore with our rented small boat from a small motel called Dolphin Bay, and once we got ashore, I knew that this place was going to be a great restful place! White sandy beach and turquoise clear water welcomed us, we walked to the receptionist and voila! A small brownish Kintamani dog greeted us! (Im not sure about the breed of the dog though, i think it's kintamani but i dunno) The island was very quite and desolate, and we met only a few other tourists. They only has dozens of cottages run by the island owner and one restaurant in that island.

When the sun was setting, I took a walk by myself around the island, but adorably, this dog (Bintang was his name) kept on following me. Well i thought i could use a company. So we walked along the shoreline, as the sun was setting, reflecting both of our shadows, a girl and a dog. Then we found this huge peculiar flat stone and just sat there.

The sun had set, and I walked back to the restaurant and had dinner there. After a while, me and Aby had some fun talks with the chef and the boys who worked there. There was also a young navy who guarded the island and he was soo hillarious! He told me that it was very peaceful there but too boring and he was hoping to be placed somewhere else. But everytime his commander checked him on that island, all the other workers there told the commander that he had been doing a very good job in guarding the island, thus the boss wouldn't think of placing him somewhere else. Poor navy ahahaha.

After chatting with the guys there, I walked around to find Bintang, they told me that usually at this hour Bintang would be lying down alone on the beach. So there I went, to the beach, and I saw this small cute dog lying down alone on the beach. I lied down and put my arms around him, the water kept on tickling my feet as we both stargazed and just set silent, under the moonlight, listening to the night wind breezing. It was one of my most peaceful moment of my life.

The next morning, it was time for SNORKELLING!! I rent the snorkel mask for 30rb and instantly ran to the beach. The weather, the water, everything was perfect sunny day there! The underwater life was soo amazing,  i just snorkelled near the beach but i could see so many vibrantly colourful fish!

the left one is that foolish navy!

Oh we had one funny incident when we were snorkeling!! I was just calmly snorkeling, watching the fishes moving, feeding the fishes, Aby was just peacefuly kayaking offshore, when suddenly I heard a scream from the water "HELP! HELP! HELP!!" and it was my mom!!! A foreign guy was sitting with his family on the beach when he suddenly ran to the water and helped my mom. I really didnt have any idea what was happening to my mom at that time. But the guy kept on telling her "step on! step on!", and my mom kept yelling "HELP ME! HELP ME! IM DROWNING!" then the guy, "YOU CAN STEP ON!!!". *zap* my mom stepped on the sand..................... HAHAHAHAHA HOW COULD SHE DROWN WHEN THE WATER WAS JUST AS HIGH AS HER KNEE!!! I think she was so embarassed but i just couldnt stop laughin!! Plus she had all the people there panicking. What a very embarrassing moment. I pretended that I didnt know her huahahahaha.

So after staying a night there we, we packed our bags and left that small desolated tranquil island. That was just the best beach I've ever been to! No beach can compare, not even gili terawangan or bali or anywhere I've seen. I am definitely coming back there somewhen, and I hope  Bintang still be there :-)

Stay cool as always,
TAMI!

Gunung Rinjani

Remember my posting about my ultimate 10 trans Indonesia in which Mount Rinjani was on number one? Now I can proudly say that I'VE CONQUERED THAT THING! It was truly one of my best travelling experience and now i'm gonna tell you my story :-)

We left Malang straight for Mataram, Lombok, by bus. It was a 23hours ride, with couple of roadbumps and mogok for couple of hours somewhere in Bali. Indeed it was very tiring so once we arrived in Lombok we decided to take a rest for one night in Senggigi before hiking Mount Rinjani. Oh and I think it was the night when Germany defeated England by 4-1 in WorldCup 2010. Muaha! The weird thing about our hotel was that they have this huge transparant glass window from the bedroom to the bathroom... Hmm.

We were picked up in the morning by our guide and went straight to the Sembalun, a small village on the base of Mount Rinjani, it was there where we started our trek. Actually there are two options if you wanna trek Rinjani, you can either start in Sembalun or Senaru, both have their own advantage and disadvantages. Trekking from Sembalun, the sun was REALLY burning us, and we trekked ups and downs through these hills which looked like those hills in Telletubies. I didnt count but Mas Amed told me there were at least 7 hills to go to get up to the crater. Since my mom kept on stopping like in every 5 steps, the guide told me and Aby to go first and follow the porters. The trek wasnt hard cause we didnt cross this huge jungle or anything, basically if you start from Sembalun all you're gonna go through will be this vast open prairies and the sun burning on top of you, you will go inside a forest but only for a couple of minutes and then you'll get out again into what people call i t as "BUKIT PENYESALAN" (Hill of Regret?). The trek wasnt THAT ascending, sometimes you go up but then you go down, and then up and up and up, and down.... and up again times seven hahaha.  If it wasnt because of Aby who kept on PUSHING me to go up I could've given up and decided to open the tent wherever I was stopping, but everytime I looked back, the field where I started the trek had become such small dot and it motivated me that I could go this far from that point.

But along the way, I saw these sceneries I woudnt have seen anywhere else, on top of that mountain, it was so peaceful, so tranquil, you can just sit back and relax as you see the horizon in front of you. There was nobody else except the trees, the birds, the sound of wind breezing, while the cloud was coming down at you. And yes I did touch the cloud!!! So happy at that time i could actually touch the cloud.

After hiking up and down for aroudn 9 hours, fell for couple of times, tired as dead, finally, I saw this magnificent view, the crater of Mount Rinjani. I instantly shed tears!!! Really, the feeling when you got to that point was just unexplainable. It was too beautiful to describe, and yet I felt so content after all the efforts I've made to get there. From where I was standing at that time, I could see the Segara Anakan lake and the new Mount Barujari. Gosh.... the view was out of this world, the best one I've ever seen in my whole entire life.

foto terakhir kece beradh sob

After sheding couple of tears and taking a rest for some minutes, we continue to trek to our campsite called Pelawangan, it is the fourth and last post of the trek. Night came, the sky got darker and darker, and voila! I saw this vibrant colours on the sky, and in an hour it got even darker and gazillions of star started to appear. I had never seen that many stars before, it really wow-ed us! Dark is always affiliated with cold, yes it was FREEZING. Even colder than Bromo. I mean, i wore 2 layered jackets, gloves, and I was still chilling inside a sleepingbag, imagine that! The cold pretty much was a pain in the ass.... I couldnt wake up to go to the peak of Rinjani, Aby did though and he told me he could see the 3Gili's, Bali, and Mount Tambora from up there *gigit jari aja deh

Satu2nya gambar agak beres yang diambil Aby dari puncak Rinjani, Mount Barujari

The next morning we went down, back to that "Bukit Penyesalan". and stayed one night in one of the post. On those prairies, we just opened our mat and lay down under the stary stary night~ contemplating about anything we could talk about, counting the shooting stars we caught on our eyes. I could just lay down there forever. But it was getting even colder outside so we went back to our tent and slept.

The next morning, i looked out and the sky was really clear and bright, Mount Rinjani was just so great and glorious under the ray of the sun. We took some great photos at that time and it was so perfect it looked like in a photo studio -_-

  

After taking some pics, we packed our bags and tent and walked down down down back to where we started this trek. Wow, i finally did hike the second highest volcano in Indonesia, and my mom has fulfilled one of her to-do-list-before-she-dies hahaha. Thank you for all who have helped us during the hike, mas Amet, and all the porters! We couldnt have made it without you guys! :')

Stay cool,

Tami

P.S. If you decide to start the trek from Senaru, they told me that the trek was rather difficult than Sembalun. From Senaru, it is pretty ascending so it'll be more tiring, BUT it isnt gonna be as hot as in Sembalun cause you're gonna go through the jungle. But the view of Segara Anakan is better if you take it from Senaru, you'll get to see Gunung Barujari much clearer than from Sembalun.

Gunung Bromo

Heiya blogwalkers! Now I'm back to tell my trip to Gunung Bromo in 2010, right after I visited Pulau Sempu. Well in fact, I've been to that volcano for three times yet I never get bored and am still amazed at how stunning it is. Gunung Bromo (Bromo Mount) is located in north of Malang, Probolinggo to be exact. Gunung Bromo is an active volcano, yes it is although it may seem not so threatening but it is. Anyway, I think after 4 times visiting that amazing place it's time for me to share it to the world!

Renting a car from Malang, we went up to Probolinggo, uphill and downhill we went, the sky was getting darker and darker, moreover the air was getting even colder as we got higher. As far as I can remember, we arrived at dawn and it was FREEZING COLD. Yes, you're gonna need a hell of warm clothes, jacket, and gloves if you plan to go to Bromo, though there're gonna be abang2 yang jualan begituan disana, but better prepare so you dont have to spend on things you shouldn't have to. Since I was supersuper tired, i decided to just stay in the hotel. Which wasnt exactly a hotel, it was a 3x3 room with 2 narrow VERY REYOT beds costing us  100ribu (yes for all of us, which means 25ribu each person.... ) but i forgot the name of the hotel, it has the bestview and the best spot though and the oldest hotel there as far as i can remember.

the scenery in front of our hotel!

well uh, we slept like canned sardines

Right after we arrived, Aby and Rio decided to hike through the Pananjakan to see the sunrise up there. I was  fuckin tired, its cold, and i've done that before so i wasnt crazy enough to follow them and i chose to stay in bed until morning came. I've seen the sunrise before in Pananjakan, and to get there you must wake up at around 3 and then you either hike or rent a jeep which cost you 600ribu vice versa or an ojek but i dont know how much it cost. I would definetly recommend you to rent a motorbike or share jeep with other tourist, although it may cost more, but walking at dawn in the dark in that freezing cold air without any preparation of warm clothes can be very dangerous. As what happenned to two of my friends, Rio got hypothermia cause he wore jeans and it was wet to dews -_- IF you have prepared everything enough then i think it will be safe to walk up there, but if you're not then you better rent.

View of sunrise from Pananjakan

Once i woke up in the morning at around 8 or 9, I decided to go to the crater of Bromo. I went up there alone since Rio and Aby werent back yet and my mom was tired. I rent an ojek to get me down to the sea of sand( I dunno the exact name of it but thats how i always name it), and then i walked up (there's an option to ride on horseback as well you can bargain it until 25rb i think) and climbed that hundreds of stairs -_- it was super tiring but the scenery? Worth all the energies. Bromo indeed is always one of my favourite destination :-) So after quite a time contemplating about life on top of that stunning mountain with breathtaking scenery *wussah* i decided to step down down down back to the sea of sand, back to abang ojek who took me back to my hotel. I gave him 90 for taking me up, waiting for me, and taking me back to the hotel. 

It was the fourth time for me, but it always feels like the first time and that's Bromo.

 

(Abaikan tiga foto terakhir. Apalagi foto yang terakhir...)

All photos are taken by myself and you should ask my permission first to use it or smth.

Stay cool as always!

Tami

Pulau Sempu

Halo blogwalkers! Akhirnya gue ada kesempatan juga untuk mengupdate ini blog untuk hal-hal yang (agak) lebih berguna sedikit. Kali ini gue mau cerita pengalaman gue trekking di Pulau Sempu, padahal kesana udah dari tahun 2010 tapi baru sempet cerita sekarang hehe.

Ohya dalam postingan gue yang berjudul My Ultimate 10 Trans Indonesia gue menyebutkan 10 spot impian yang pengen gue datengin sepanjang hidup gue di Indonesia. And voila, dreams really do come true! Dalam postingan tersebut gue menyebutkan Gunung Rinjani  di urutan nomer 1. Postingan gue itu bulan Januari 2010, dan gue berhasil mendaki Gunung Rinjani di bulan Juli 2010, yak kira-kira 7 bulan kemudian. Dan sampai sekarang bulan Oktober 2011, gue udah berhasil menyambangi 3 tempat di postingan tersebut (out of 10) yang bakal gue ceritain di postingan gue selanjutnya. Berhubung ini adalah pengalaman gue tahun lalu, jadi gue mungkin agak lupa-lupa juga detil ceritanya gue sepanjang perjalanan ke Pulau Sempu gimana, haha jadi maaf ya kalo kurang lengkap :-)

Okay! *menarik nafas panjang* Perjalanan gue mulai bersama nyokap gue naik kereta dari Gambir sampai Jogja, dimana di Jogja gue ketemuan sama dua temen gue yaitu Aby dan Rio yang juga tertarik untuk ikut perjalanan gue dan nyokap gue ini. Kemudian dari Jogja sampe Malang, kita naik bus sampe terminal di Malang dan kemudian di lanjutkan nyewa mobil ampe selatan Malang, tepatnya Sendang Biru

Pulau Sempu itu pulau kecil di bawahnya Malang (kalau di peta), pulau ini sebenernya untuk konservasi burung. Jadi untuk masuk pulau tersebut kita perlu perizinan (yang cuman basa-basi). Sesampainya di Sendang Biru, pelabuhan kecil untuk nyebrang ke Pulau Sempu, kita disuruh izin dulu sama empunya konservasi, bayarnya 20ribu kalo gaksalah waktu itu untuk 4 orang. Setelah dapet 'perizinan' kita carter kapal nelayan kecil untuk nyebrang, tapi gue lupa berapa waktu itu. Kalo nggak salah 200ribu diantar dan dijemput. Pokoknya setelah tawar menawar dan menemukan titik temu, akhirnya kita nyebrang juga tuh ke Pulau Sempu. Ternyata yang namanya laut bagus tuh ga cuma di Bali Lombok doang loh, daerah pantai pantai selatan Jawa juga keren!

Sendang Biru, pool perahu yang mau nyebrang ke Pulau Sempu

Sesampainya di Pulau Sempu, jangan bayangkan pulau ini sebagai pulau yang well developed, well maintained, ada penginapan-penginapan lucu dan keren, ada resto-resto dan bar yahud. Kaga usah ngarep ada begitu-begituan deh. Nggak usah resto&bar, orang penginapan aja nggak ada. Satu-satunya cara supaya kita bisa memiliki tempat bernaung ya cuman bawa tenda. Nggak ada juga trek yang mumpuni untuk ngeguide lo jalan kaki di pulau tersebut. Terus sebenernya ngapain gue bela-belain nyebrang ke pulau itu dong? Gue juga nggak tau, orang nggak ada apa-apa. Haha nggak deng. Di Pulau Sempu itu ada laguna yang tersembunyi dan belom diekspos, namanya Segara Anakan (Nanti lo akan sadar bahwa banyak banget tempat di Indonesia yang pake nama Segara Anakan -_-) . Nah Segara Anakan ini adalah tujuan utama orang-orang itu melancong ke Pulau Sempu. Nanti gue bakal jelasin kenapa.

Ok jadi ceritanya gue ke Pulau Sempu tanpa persiapan apa-apa. Gue sama sekali nggak tau medannya kayak gimana, gue sama sekali gatau itu tempat untuk apaan. Yang gue tau cuman.... Ya nggak cuman juga sih, gue emang nggak tau apa-apa tentang pulau itu. Si Aby ngajakin, dia udah pernah, dan katanya keren banget kaya di film The Beach itu lagunanya. Ya gue sih manggut-manggut aja deh. Jadi tanpa pengetahuan apapun tentang Pulau Sempu, gue kesana cuman bawa tas kecil isinya kamera (SLR&Analog), sendal jepit, dan berbalut baju&celana pendek yang gue pake. Udah. Dan gue sangat amat menyesal kenapa gue cuman bawa begituan doang. Kenapa? Karena treknya parah banget. Dan ketika gue bilang parah banget, emang segitu parahnya. Lo bayangin aja, gue trekking 3 jam. Jalannya kaga ada yang beres. Men. Beres disini at least tanahnya bisa ditapakkin lah ya. Lah ini? Kagaaa. Gimana mau napak, orang tanahnya becek, lumpur, licin, dan dibalik becek-becekan itu ada karang-karang yang siap menusuk kaki! Gue cuman pake sendal jepit. Dan sendal gue udah nggak berbentuk, warnanya udah coklat semua. (Emang aslinya juga coklat sih). Gue nyesel tau gitu medannya begini gue pake boots karet sekalian! Alhasil gue nyeker, dan itu juga bukan ide yang bagus, soalnya kaki gue udah ketusuk karang-karang yang sembunyi dbalik genangan-genangan air itu. Seru banget deh jalan disitu, berasa jalan di hamparan paku yang digenangi air.... Terus udah gitu tanaman-tanaman di sekitar kita suka berduri gitu, jadi kalo mau kepeleset atau pegangan, kebeset gitu tangannya sama duri. Hutannya juga masih hutan beneran, lebat, hijau, dan gelap. Tapi sumpah itu tantangan banget jalan di trek itu hahaha.

Beristirahat dalam damai: sendal gue.

Setelah 3 jam trekking, di ujung pandangan gue melihat ada sesuatu kebiru-biruan agak kehijau muda-an sedikit, bergoyang-goyang, naik turun pelan-pelan................ MEN. Itu air. Gue seneng nggak karuan, karena ya setelah selama itu berjalan di medan minta ampun tanpa persediaan makanan apa-apa. Paling cuma biskuit. Dan kita cuma bawa 1 botol minum masing-masing. Gue nggak bawa, nitip nyokap aja. Haha. Akhirnyaa kita sudah dekat dengan destinasi kita! Saking udah nggak sabarnya kita untuk berenang-renang di laguna itu akhirnya kita berloncatan aja kebawah, padahal kalo mau turun dengan lebih manusiawi ada treknya, tapi kita udah cukup banget dengan jalannya dan kita pun berloncatan ke air. Untung airnya belom dalem, cuman setengah betis lah kira-kira.

Pemandangan Segara Anakannya Pulau Sempu bener-bener menakjubkan. (Apaan dah diksi gue 'menakjubkan') Serius. Ini kaya di film The Beach --walaupun gue gak pernah nonton tapi katanya sih gitu. Ini bener-bener diluar ekspektasi gue, gue ga pernah membayangkan bahwa diujung hutan belantara yang sialan tadi itu ada pantai seindah ini. Pasirnya luas dan putih banget, airnya jernih banget dan nggak dalem-dalem banget, bener-bener turqouise, dan laguna itu dikelilingi sama tebing-tebing tinggi warna hijau dan goa-goa tersembunyi. Di ujung garis pantai ada karang bolong tempat air laut menerjang masuk. Suasananya bener-bener damai, tenang, sunyi, dan tranquil. Nyokap gue langsung yoga disitu. Gue... kecimpang kecimpung di air. Puas bermain-main di air, gue Aby dan Rio memanjang bukit karang ke suatu tebing, dimana dari tebing itu lo bisa ngeliat samudra Hindia yang limitless. Gue ngeri banget ngeliat ke bawah tebing, allahualam kalo gue ampe jatoh kebawah deh.

Karang bolong lobang keluar masuk air ke laguna

Sayangnya kita nggak rencana untuk nginep, kita nggak bawa tenda makanan atau apapun jadi kita memutuskan untuk balik sebelum gelap. Dan ini bener-bener disayangkan karena jatohnya capek banget, nikmatin cuman berapa jam doang, tapi perjalanannya jalan kaki 6 jam. Sepanjang perjalanan balik gue berpapasan dengan sekelompok mahasiwa yang dalam perjalanan kesana, mereka gotong-gotong ikan, gotong-gotong botol minyak, ampe tumpah-tumpah ke bawah, ikannya jatoh-jatoh ke bawah. Dan gue, udah nggak kuat lagi jalan di medan kaya gitu. Alhasil? Gue ngesot sepanjang jalan, beralaskan pantat gue yang tahan banting, gue menerobos semua medan dengan berani. Karena jalannya licin jadi menurut gue ini cara yang paling efektif, gue nggak bakal jatoh, dan kaki gue nggak bakal ketusuk-tusuk karang. Ya paling pantat gue rata nyampe ujung. Nyokap gue cepet banget pula jalannya, gue ditinggal dibelakang bareng Rio. Aby ditengah-tengah. Nyokap gue seakan-akan uda expert banget udah entah dimana di depan gue. "Si Ibu yang meninggalkan anaknya". Bukan anaknya yang durhakain emaknya.

Sesampainya di ujung kita menunggu perahu yang menjemput, matahari udah mulai turun dari singgasananya, dan laut yang mulai surut memantulkan cahaya-cahaya ke-merah mudaan, gue membersihkan kaki di genangan-genangan air surut yang tersisa. Mengingat-ngingat perjalanan gue tadi yang bener-bener bombastis dan diluar perkiraan, sambil nyampering nyokap bilang "Tam di pulau tadi kan sebenernya masih ada macan jawa nya yang dilindungin, terus itu pulau kuburan masyarakat di Sendang Biru." Gue tersenyum miris, diujung sana terlihat perahu nelayan menghampiri, kami pun melambai-lambaikan tangan kami, naik ke atas perahu, dan membayangkan petualangan kami berikutnya.

Gue, Rio, dan Aby sedang menggambar mahkluk-mahkluk imajiner di pasir

Pemandangan laguna dari atas bukit karang

Pemandangan samudra hindia dari tebing karang

Gue sebenernya nyari foto emak gue lagi Yoga, tapi nemunya  yang beginian

Nama: Rio Status: Suku anak dalam

3 penjelajah tersesat dalam hutan akhirnya keluar menemukan peradaban

Sekian cerita perjalanan kali ini, selanjutnya gue bakal ngomongin tentang Gunung Bromo yang nggak ada habisnya!

Stay cool,
Tami

I Fall in Love with a Cat

I don’t know whether to call this love, I don’t know if this is love, but this feeling has made me feel so joyful yet so miserable, and for the first time ever, I really do care about something else other than myself, and for that I would call it love, my first true love which I feel deep within myself. This love is unconditional for my first true love isn't a human, it's a he, yes, but he had 4 legs, 2 pointed ears, 2 big eyes, his colour is beigish-yellow, yup he's a cat. His name is Sir Diego Lemony Potato Chips.

He was born on a sunny October 11th 2001, inside a wardrobe, with two other of his siblings, Lola and Liga. His mother was named Liam. There they were, so tiny and vulnerable. Let alone walking; they couldn’t even open their little eyes. Lemon, Liga, and Lola grew up together in my backyard. After school I would go there to play with them, fed them and gave them milk. Lemon and Liga grew up as cheerful happy cats, but not Lola. She's kind of a loner; she's always been an outsider for Lemon and Liga. I don’t know why she didn’t want to get along with her siblings. She was always alone and she wasn’t that active as a kitten. Until one rainy night, when I arrived back home after spending a night in Bandung, I checked my backyard right away to see if they were safe, my backyard was pretty flooded, and they were meowing from on top of a cupboard. I saw Lemon and Liga there, but I didn’t see Lola. Where is she? I looked around, and i saw her lying down, drenched with rain, not moving.  I tried to wake her up but she didn’t give any sign of life. I knew soon that she's not there anymore. She was less than a year old when she died :’( Meanwhile Lemon and Liga were meowing from on top of the cupboard. I took them and tried to calm them down. Those terrified little kittens :'(

I don’t keep cats as pets, I don’t "cage" them inside my house not letting them to go out. I set them free during the day, it’s up to them if they want to hang around outside or they just want to sleep inside the house, and then when it was getting dark usually those cats came back to my house, I fed them and then they slept there. They slept in the sofa but sometimes we would sleep together in my bedroom. And then they would poop in the corner of my room. My mom would get angry and I was the one to clean up their mess. *SIGH*

But one night, while the other cats were home, Lemon wasn’t home yet. I started to worry, and I walked around the neighborhood looking for him. But he was nowhere to be found. The next day me and my sister made this paper with a photo of him, "if anyone see this cat please call this number, and there will be a reward" something like that. After a couple of day waiting, suddenly we heard a familiar "meow" from our kitchen's door. We opened it and there he was! Running exhaustedly towards us, he was so dirty and skinny. Maybe he just had a little adventure and got lost :-(

In 2004, me and my family had to move back to Jakarta. But since Liam kept on giving birth to many more kittens and my dad wasn’t really fond of cats, he only allowed me to bring one cat. And in a hope that the cat wouldn’t give birth anymore, we chose a male cat, and that's Lemon. We left them in a restaurant so that they could still have food to eat. It was very tough leaving the other 6 cats behind, I cried for 2 days, whole day long. I didn’t want to talk to my dad for a week. Me and that family of cats had been through so much together. I woke up early morning to pick those kittens up every time they fell into the gutter. But then what could have I done? I looked at Lemon, and he's the only cat I have left and I didn’t want to lose him either.

So we started a new life back in Jakarta, Lemon had to adapt to the new house, the new neighborhood, and he was not young little kittens anymore. But since he was the only cat in the house, I put more attention to him. I got to know him much better, what food he liked, his hobbies, his love life... He grew up really fast, and he grew up BIG. My friends who saw him were always shocked at how big that cat was, "WOW He's sooo big like a cub! You sure he won’t grow up as a tiger?" and yes, He WAS big compared to other cats.

Lemon, sometimes I saw him not as a cat, but as another human being. But he was in fact very humane. I don’t know why, but I guess it's because he had been living with human beings for so long that he lost his own cat's nature. Such as, cats don’t like vegetables right? And cats don’t eat fruit! But not Lemon, he was very peculiar. He ate durian, in fact, he LOVED it. Every time my mom brought durians home, he would get so excited running around the durian trying to open it. And he always got the part of cleaning up the durian we had left. And oh! He also ate kangkung. Now about his love life, Lemon was such a loyal cat. And being loyal, as a cat, is WEIRD. Cat isn’t supposed to be loyal! They're cats; they don’t stick with one partner for a long period of time. That's why I said Lemon is anomalous, since he kind of had a girlfriend. He used to hang around with this one cat, a female cat, eeeeverywhere. He even brought his girlfriend home; he SHARED his food with her! Isn’t that amazing? He was so not cat-like. That's why sometimes I just couldn’t see him as a cat. He's not a pet, he's like my friend, more than a friend, he's my best friend. Every morning when my mom's door was opened, he would ran to the room and just jumped to my mom's lap and then to my mom's shoulder and he would just sit or lay there, as if telling her to wake up. Even though we couldn’t communicate with proper language, i used to tell him stories i couldn’t tell to anyone. He would just lay down on my bed calmly, listening to my stories. Somehow I understood what he was trying to tell me, and somehow he always understood what I meant.

Then one day, I was back home from school and I didn’t see Lemon. "Maybe he was hanging around outside", I thought. Night came and he wasn’t home yet. Morning came and he didn’t come home at all. The next day, I asked my maid if she saw Lemon by any chance, unfortunately she hadn’t seen him at all. I didn’t see him for the next couple of days. I looked everywhere for him, in my neighborhood, even outside my neighborhood in case he played that far and got lost. Every time I went somewhere I would eye-scan the road, hoping I would see a big beigish-yellow cat, hoping I would see him again and brought him home safe and sound. Some people said they saw him here and there; I kept on looking for him in every cat’s face. But I was searching in vain; Lemon was nowhere to be found. Losing my hope of finding him, I began to accept the fact that he's gone forever.

I thought about him day and night, it's still hard to accept the truth he's not here anymore. He was 6 years old when he went away. It’s pretty old for an age of a cat. I've heard somewhere that if a male cat knew his time is coming soon, he would leave his home and die somewhere far from his home.

It's been 5 years since he's gone, yet at night sometimes I would think about him. Wondering what he's doing... Recalling those moments we had together, and at those times, I would really miss him. 6 years together, Lemon :') I'm sure you are up there in the heaven, safe and sound, resting in peace. But one thing you should always remember, no matter what happen I’m always be with you, always. You are so special to me, how many times have I told you, if you were a man I would marry you, Lemon. (I know this sounds crazy but I do feel that way until now).

Maybe someday I would find my way to you, maybe one day you and I, we will be together for once again. I hope you're listening to me Lemon :) and at that moment, we will stay that way, you will be here forever, never gone away. All my thoughts are with you forever, until the day we'll be back together.

Sir Diego Lemony Potatochips, I miss you.

I love you, always, forever.

Your old-friend,

Utami Sandyarani

  

Cruelty Against Cats!

They actually dyed this kitten yellow just like Pikachu!! OMG They are not canvas!!

They also made tattoo on a Sphinx cat! IT HURTS!

they didnt forget the piercing as well. Geezus.

Tossing his cat to the air. You think it's a basketball or something??!! 

Whats wrong with you people?! Cat is the most adorable creature on earth. Care to give a little bit more compassion would you?

Berakit-rakit kehulu, terus tenggelam kemudian?

Kadang gue ga ngerti dengan pola pikir manusia yang telah terbentuk selama ini, salah satu quotes yang seringkali jadi pegangan semua orang: berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian, bersakit-sakit dahulu bersenang-senang kemudian. Di buku pelajaran SD, di buku peribahasa waktu SMP, sampe sekarang kayanya ga ada henti-hentinya orang ngingetin peribahasa itu.

Setelah sebuah pembicaraan random dengan seorang kawan, sebut saja Rano, gue memutuskan untuk tidur tapi ada sesuatu yang mengganjal gue daritadi karena pembicaraan tersebut. Apa sebenernya yang manusia lakukan selama ini? Selalu mencari dan mengejar masa depan sampai-sampai dia melupakan ‘kehidupan’ dia yang sekarang. Itulah mengapa gue ambil contoh peribahasa ‘bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian.’ Gue rasa ada sesuatu yang cacat dari peribahasa tersebut.

Seperti semua manusia pada umumnya di muka bumi ini, sejak dilahirkan kita udah dicekokin dengan berbagai macam hal yang akan membentuk kita di kemudian hari, waktu kita masuk sekolah kita ditaro orang tua di sekolah-sekolah yang terbaik, untuk apa? Supaya bisa mendapatkan pendidikan yang bagus dengan harapan kita bisa jadi ‘ORANG’ nanti. Saat kelas 3 SMP kita berusaha keras ngerjain modul dan latihan soal-soal tiap hari, kita belajar, kita ngafalin mati-matian, kita mengejar 2 tujuan yang namanya, lulus dan masuk SMA yang kita inginkan. Begitu kita masuk SMA, kita berusaha keras lebih mati-matian lagi untuk masuk universitas yang kita dambakan. Begitu kita  masuk universitas yang kita dambakan, kita berjuang keras ngerjain tugas-tugas dan ujian-ujian yang kadang hampir bikin kita nyerah, tapi terus kita inget peribahasa ‘bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian’, kita kembali berjuang demi mendapatkan nilai bagus. Nilai bagus untuk apa? Supaya di transkrip nilai kita nanti terpampang IP bagus yg bisa mendukung kita mendapatkan pekerjaan yang kita impi-impikan selama ini. Kemudian kita lulus, dapat IP bagus, dan mendapatkan pekerjaan yang selama ini kita impikan, selanjutnya apa?  Terus bekerja mencari uang supaya bisa nabung buat nikah, beli rumah, beli mobil, dan memberi penghidupan pada keluarga nanti.

Sadar atau tidak, itulah lingkaran hidup yang sebagian besar dari kita jalani. Ada sesuatu yang salah dari sistem pemikiran manusia selama ini. Selama kita hidup, kita terus mengejar sesuatu, selalu dan selalu, kita terlalu banyak berfikir tentang masa depan yang semu, yang bayangan-bayangan saja. Sampai-sampai kita lupa tentang kehidupan SEKARANG, yang SEKARANG sedang kita jalani. Kita terlalu disibuki untuk membangun masa depan, tak sempatkah kita berhenti sejenak untuk menikmati hidup yang kita jalani sekarang? Rugikah kita jika sebentar saja kita lupakan masa depan, dan menghargai setiap udara yang kita hirup dan keluarkan SEKARANG? Menghargai setiap orang yang kita temui SEKARANG? Menghargai setiap receh yang kita punya SEKARANG, bukan jutaan yang akan kita punya nanti?

Mungkin sudah saatnya kita berfikir ulang dalam menggunakan peribahasa 'berakit-rakit kehulu, berenang-renang ke tepian, bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian." Yang ada, kita terus bersakit-sakit, dan begitu kita seharusnya sampai pada titik 'senang', kita akan tetap harus bersakit-sakit lagi demi mengejar 'kesenangan' selanjutnya, dan terus berlanjut seperti itu. Pada akhirnya kita bertanya-tanya dimana 'kesenangan' itu?  

Seandainya kita sudah pensiun nanti, mungkin kita akan sadar akan segala moment yang terlewatkan. Mungkin  kita sadar mungkin kita tidak. Tetapi begitu kita sadar, kiranya kita sudah terlalu tua, sudah terlalu lelah, untuk ‘make-up’ the time and the moments that we have lost. Kita sudah terlambat.

Mengutip dari sebuah buku ‘Like The Flowing River’ karya Paulo Coelho,

“ The funny thing about human being is our contradictories. We are in such hurry to grow up, and then we long for our lost childhood. We make ourselves ill earning money, and then spend our money on getting well again. We think so much about the future that we neglect the present, and thus experience neither the present nor the future. We live as if we were never going to die, and die as if we have never lived.”