the chronicles of an extraordinary woman

One of amazing moments is when the sun rises from east. Have an opportunity to witness it in the right place, right time, and with the right person, it’ll be excellent. I heard the sunrise is more than just beautiful if it witnessed from a high place like mountain. In my previous experiences with mountain, I had never seen the sunrise. That’s why the mission of my newest adventure was sunrise.

Sikunir, was the destination of my adventure to hunt the sunrise. This hill is in Dieng Central Java, not far from Wonosobo or Banjarnegara. I made a plan to visit this place long time ago, but several damned reasons caused me to cancel it. But this time, I’ve made it! Yippie!!! As always, I told my partners in crime about the plan and they just accepted it without any comments (man, I know there’s no reason to refuse this good idea). However, it would be so boring if we come to Sikunir just for sunrise since there are some good places to be visited in Dieng Plateau, and then we listed how we would fool around there. The plan was like this: Friday 23^rd in the morning we would have the trip from Semarang to Dieng. Friday at noon we would arrive and find a cozy place to spend the night before the sunrise mission. In the afternoon we would explore Dieng Plateau, and hunt the sunrise at the top of Sikunir on the next day. To spend the time, we could continue the exploration or maybe sleep before we back to Semarang. Everything was settled. Buuuuuut, on the D day one of my partners in crime was sick (the ‘nyemingo’ one). Nothing we could do but postpone the plan… *sigh

On Saturday, we finally started the journey (Yay! Sikunir here we come!!!). It was 9.30am when we left Semarang, and we took the alternative route (Bandungan-Sumowono-Temanggung). FYI, the route to reach Wonosobo is more than one, from Semarang we can choose Ungaran-Bawen-Ambarawa-Temanggung or Ungaran-Bandungan-Sumowono-Temanggung. From Temanggung there’s an alternative route: Temanggung-Parakan-Ngadirejo-Jumprit-Tambi-Dieng but the road is narrow and not too good. Another route is Temanggung-Parakan-Ngadirejo-Wonosobo-Dieng, the road is wide and good but farther. We arrived in Wonosobo at almost 12pm (actually, if we had no troubles we could arrive earlier in this town). We had a yummy lunch called Mie Ongklok, it is a special cuisine from Wonosobo. Mie Ongklok featuring satay (roasted chicken or mutton) with sauce is the best combination. After we were full, we needed to full-tanked our motorcycle. FYI again, from Wonosobo to Dieng there’s only one gas station in Krasak, a smart driver will full-tanked the vehicle before leave for Dieng. But don’t worry, for those who are not smart they can find gas retailers around Dieng with higher price and not guaranteed quality (well…not smart, huh?).

After more or less an hour journey, we reached Dieng (this place is so damn cold but the sun is so bright… not good for our skin, trust me). We had to find home stay to spend the night right away. Since it was weekend, home stay in this place would be full in the afternoon. Well actually we could build a tent in a camp ground, but the temperature was too low for us. Several days before we arrived, the temperature in Dieng was around -1^o (me and partners had already known it would be a bad idea, in addition the ‘nyingo’ was still in his recovery). The home stay we can choose is so various. Cheap, expensive, clean, dirty, narrow, or wide just up to you. For those who don’t want to spend too much money, please DON’T ask the villagers to find the home stay, the price will be higher (they will keep some of the money for themselves and give the rest to the owner). It’d better we find it by ourselves and meet the owner to choose the room (or to bargain maybe). As we did, we got a great home stay: new building, wide, clean, comfortable bedroom, bathroom with hot water, acceptable price, living room with television, usable kitchen, and kind-hearted owner (Pakuwojo home stay). It is located near the Sikunir hill, in Sembungan village. Sembungan village is the highest village in Java (2200 masl), and 800m from the top of Sikunir.

In the afternoon we visited Kawah Sikidang, a cauldron full with sulfur water. The smell of sulfur is not too good (smells like fart everywhere haha…). The water is hot so visitors can boil eggs there. Other tourisms in Dieng are Telaga Warna (a lake with unique color), Telaga Blambangan, Telaga Menjer, Telaga Cebong, Pakuwojo Mountain, Sikunir Hill, Curug Sikarim (waterfall), Arjuna Temple, Bima Temple, and the rest I don’t remember eheheee… unfortunately, we just visited Kawah Sikidang that afternoon. One day is not enough to explore Dieng I guess.

 

Kawah Sikidang II

The next day we woke up at 3.30am and got ready to hunt the sunrise at Sikunir’s top. We started to walk from home stay at 4am, I still remember it was so cold and windy. We just needed 30 minutes to reach the top. Additional info, visiting Sikunir on weekend isn’t good idea. The top is too crowded, hard to find a nice spot to see the sunrise, and almost impossible to get a real magic moment with someone special. We were already there, no choice but enjoy everything as much as we could. Good things about that place in that time were the clear sky full with stars, crescent moon, awesome horizon, mountains (from the top we could see top of Merbabu, Merapi, Sindoro, and Ungaran), and the golden sunrise itself (the cold and strong wind were not included). Agree, sunrise is more than just awesome. The view from above is also amazing. Before went back to home stay, we visited Telaga Cebong. A lake surrounded by hills, field, and trees. I think I love Sikunir, yay!!!

View from the top

In the home stay we cooked our breakfast and took a rest. At 11am we left Sembungan and took the shorter route (Jumprit-Temanggung). We passed Tambi, a beautiful large tea plantation. It would be nice if we could take some picture there, but we didn’t. We bought bakso bakar (roasted meatball with spicy taste) and bakso uleg (special cuisine from Temanggung) for our lunch in Temanggung before we left for Semarang.

I love adventure and travelling more and more. Looking forward for the next agenda, unyanya :3

Another double date

24-25 August 2013

Dieng Plateau- Central Java

(with my Bebiihui, Pasku-Nopai)

“Masa lalu jangan biarkan berlalu, mari kita ungkit-ungkit kembali.” (buku Generasi 90-an)

Ini artikel edisi special, didedikasikan buat mereka yang lahir dan tumbuh di tahun 90-an khususnya di Indonesia (jadi tau kan ya  alasan kenapa kali ini Indonesian version banget). Masa kecil kita (iya kita) emang indah banget, dari masa di mana kita menikmati dunia anak yang sebenarnya dan menjadi saksi hidup transisi ke era modern yang serba online. Di sini bakal di ulas semua yang bisa membawa kita kembali ke jaman kita kecil dulu, coba deh ada berapa hal yang benar-benar pernah kita alami sewaktu kecil dulu. Let the past comes back…

Yang namanya anak kecil gak bisa lepas dari mainan, jaman 90-an juga ada beberapa mainan yang booming banget. Masih inget gak sama mainan hadiah chiki gitu? Namanya tazos, bisa dikoleksi sampe ratusan yang berarti jajan terus buat ngoleksinya. Dulu tazos tuh hadiah dari chiki, cheetos, jet-z, sama chitato kalo uda punya banyak dibawa ke sekolah trus dipamerin deh. Kerenan dikit ada mainan numpuk bata namanya “gimbot”, trus mainan Mario Bros sama tembak-tembakan Contra pake Nintendo ato Sega, yang paling modern dari masa 90-an adalah playstation 1 dengan game Harvest Moon, Daytona ato Crash Bandicoot. Buat para cowok yang paling booming tuh mobil tamiya, yang punya ini bisa modif-modif sendiri trus balapan sama punya temen (udah berasa keren kalo udah punya tamiya). Ada juga yoyo yang kalo dimainin kelip-kelip ada lampunya. Masa kejayaan tamagochi juga kejadian di tahun 90-an, dimana kita bisa pelihara hewan kesayangan secara digital. Buat anak perempuan, pada inget bola bekel warna-warni kan? Yang jadi gede kalo direndem di minyak tanah (dulu minyak tanah masih merakyat gak kaya sekarang), trus BP a.k.a bongkar pasang yang kalo keseringan dimainin orang-orangannya sampe putus lehernya. Buat yang ortunya pulang haji kemungkinan dapet mainan kamera-kameraan (biasanya warnanya merah) yang kalo dipencet-pencet sama diintip kita bisa liat Kakbah, hajar aswad and all about Mekah, ada yang masih punya? Ada juga mainan mancing ikan yang ikannya tuh muter sambil mulut buka-nutup trus kita pancing pake pancingan magnet, kalo bundarannya ada dua biasanya buat balapan sama temen cepet-cepetan mancing gitu deh. Sewaktu kecil dulu kita juga pernah kan beli mainan di warung yang ada sedotan kecilnya, sama benda kenyal berbau menyengat yang kalo ditiup pake sedotan bisa jadi balon transparan gede, kadang ada yang ditempelin diwajah pas balonnya uda jadi gede, simple thing that could make us laugh that time (paling seneng kalo beli ini trus dapet undian hadiahnya mainan). Trus masih inget gak jaman kita tuker-tukeran kertas surat warna-warni, file (kalo sekarang isi binder) bergambar, ato stiker tokoh-tokoh kartun gitu? Jaman kecil kita beneran valuable, dimana berbagi dan bertukar koleksi bisa bikin kita akrab sama temen. Satu lagi permainan gak jelas yang cukup terkenal, main ramal-ramalan yang dipercaya bakal memprediksikan masa depan kita mau nikah sama siapa, hidup kaya ato miskin, punya anak berapa dan bermobil apa (emang gak mutu, tapi memorable banget).

Hal lain yang disukai anak kecil: jajan. Siap-siap deh flash back jajanan apa aja yang famous waktu kita kecil dulu. Anak mas, mami, jagoan neon, permen sitrun buah, permen karet yosan (yang sering dikumpulin bungkusnya, kalo bisa ngumpul Y.O.S.A.N konon bisa dapet hadiah), coklat jago, permen cicak warna-warni, chiki, pindy mint (yang dingin-dingin empuk itu looh), sama hollanda chocobear. Kalo mau makan tinggal dibeliin abon merk ajibon bergambar doraemon.

TV adalah benda yang gak pernah ditinggalkan sampe sekarang. Nah kalo buat anak-anak 90-an hari Minggu pagi bisa jadi surganya kartun mulai dari Doraemon (yang sampe sekarang masih eksis), Dragon Ballz (sekarang juga masih eksis lho, cuma diputar ulang aja), Saint Seiya, Astro Boy, Remi (kartun yang hawanya sedih banget), Candy Candy, Power Puff Girls, abis itu ada pendekar kapak naga geni 212. Ada juga kartun Kobochan, Chibi Maruko Chan, Shincan, Bakabon, Hysteria, Sonic Underground, Animaniac, Felix the Cat atau Kitaro. Kalo jagoan biasanya pada milih Kotaro Minami dengan belalang tempurnya, Power Ranger yang ada Zordon-nya itu, Winspector yang ost-nya “Jibaaan… Jibaaan” gitu ato malah Beetle Borg yang transitnya di rumah tua berisi mumi, vampire sama Frankenstein. Kalo cewek sih lebih suka Usagi sama Usagi kecil di Sailormoon ato nggak ya Wedding Peach, kartun para cewek cantik pembela kebenaran berbaju pengantin (emang gak nyrimpet gitu ya?). Kalo emak-emak jaman 90-an nonton telenovela Marimar, Rosalinda ato Maria Mercedes (pemerannya sama semua), yang anak-anak gak mau kalah dong. Kita punya Amigos (inget dong sama Ana, Pedro dan kawan-kawan?), Impian Chabelita, sama Maria Bellen (yang paling catchy ya rambut kuncir duanya yang kaya per itu). Kalo serial mandarin nontonnya Pendekar Rajawali (siapa sih yang gak kenal Bibi Lung sama Yoko?), Siluman Ular Putih yang tokoh cowoknya (suaminya Paisuchen) diperanin sama cewek, Kera Sakti yang main ganteng-ganteng, Giok di Tengah Salju, Kabut Cinta atau tiap sore nonton Putri Huan Zhu. Serial Jepangnya ada kali yang masih ingat sama Rindu-rindu Aishawa (“Tetes air mata mengalir sedih…” gitu opening ost-nya), drama percintaan Tokyo Love Story yang ada Rika sama Kanji nya, atau Oshin yang mengharu biru. Yang buatan Indonesia asli juga banyak, ada Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Doel-nya milih Sarah daripada Jaenab), Keluarga Cemara yang kalo pergi sekeluarga naik becaknya Abah, Si Manis Jembatan Ancol yang seksi pake baju putih ketat, atau Moody Juragan Kost yang main Pak Tile. Buat emak-emak sinetronnya yang diminati ada Tersayang (sumpah ini sinetron famous banget, saking terkenalnya sampe pada ikutan beli topi yang ada tulisan “tersayang”nya), Tersanjung (dari jaman SD sampe lulus belom tamat dan gak tau gimana ending dari sinetron ini), Noktah Merah Perkawinan (kalo nonton ini inget kali sama Mas Pri, Ambar, Tante Yulinar, Bagas sama Ayu haha…), Karmila, sama Janjiku yang tokoh utamanya Paramita Rusadi (di sinetron ini mbaknya meranin dua tokoh ibu-anak yang namanya Laras dan Nada). Sinetron remaja yang dibintangi Agnes Monica tuh judulnya Pernikahan Dini (rada ngerusak dunia anak nih), Olga Sepatu Roda, Lupus, sama Catatan si Boy (jadul asli).Film juga ada yang ditayangin di TV, inget dong sama Boboho, Ten Brothers, inspektur Vijay di film-film india, vampir China yang bikin anak sekolah pulang cepet-cepet di hari Sabtu trus nonton TV kadang masih pake seragam (hayo ngakuuuu) kalo sekarang ada juga sih vampir tapi gak serem ato bikin kita harus nahan napas tapi justru berwajah tampan dan kalo kena matahari kulitnya bling-bling (udah kaya kalung penyanyi RnB aja daah), dan yang paling modern ya Petualangan Sherina. Tontonan lainnya ada Spontan (uhuy), Goosebumps (tayangnya sore pas Trans TV baru nongol), paginya kenal sama Telletubbies, Tweenies dan Sesame Street yang dibikin versi Indonesia dengan judul Jalan Sesama.

Beruntungnya jadi generasi 90-an, anak-anak dimasa itu bisa menikmati lagu dan music sesuai umur. Kalo sore mesti gak ketinggalan nonton Cilukba acaranya penyanyi cilik berambut panjang namanya Maisy, ada lagi Chikita Meidy, Bondan Prakoso si Lumba-lumba yang sekarang uda jadi mas-mas ganteng, Trio Kwek-kwek (“wek wek wek goyang goyang, menari di pantae…”), Eno Lerian yang nyanyi “kamu makannya apa?” trus dijawab “tempe” gitu. Kalo siang tuh di RCTI ada Tralala Trilili bareng Agnes (yang masih polos dan belum seterbuka sekarang) sama kak Fery anggota boyband ME (inikah namanya cintaa, oh inikah cintaa…) kalo sekarang anak SD lagunya uda cinta-cintaan, gak kenal lagu Abang Tukang Bakso.

Hal lain yang berbau 90-an adalah jepit kupu-kupu yang bisa goyang-goyang sayapnya kalo kita gerak, bando jaring-jaring yang katanya bernama “bando Cassandra”, sama satu lagi: topi Susan, jadi ini topi yang ada rambutnya panjang dikepang gitu kiri kanan kalo dipake jadi kliatan punya rambut panjang yang dikepang.

Ada yang inget ato ngalamin sekolah pake sepatu yang belakangnya kerlap-kerlip tiap kali kita jalan? Kalo pake ini udah ngerasa gaul pokoknya, sayang batrenya cepet abis keseringan diinjek. Sepatu udah keren, gak ketinggalan alat tulis juga harus up to date. Punya kotak pensil gede warna-warni (kalo cowok ya gambar power ranger lah), isinya penghapus dengan berbagai bentuk berbau wangi kalo gak ya penghapus kotak alphabet yang bagian atasnya ada warna ijonya, gak lupa pulpen wangi (konon katanya itu bau narkoba loh). Waktu istirahat paling asyik main tebak-tebakan yang idenya dapet dari tutup karet fanta, coca cola ato sprite (karetnya warna putih tulisan tebak-tebakannya warna merah, inget dooong).

That’s all I can write about 90-an, for more memorable reminder about 90’s you can follow @generasi90an on twitter and instagram. In the end, I’d like to say that I’m proud to be 90’s generation. I think 90’s generations have beautiful, great and amazing childhood, right?

Source: generasi90an book, memories of mine and my friends and other sources.