Once arrived at the airport, we were welcomed with mountainous view and breezing winds. Then, we went for a lunch at one of the famous local restaurant, which served amazing grilled squid and plecing kangkung – stir-fried vegetables with fish-based and peanuts sauce. The finishing touch itself was also superb. A fresh-sliced of mixed fruits, including star-fruit, papaya, and pineapple.

  Grilled squid and plecing kangkung – a traditional food of Lombok

After that, we continue our journey to visiting Banyumulek, a traditional pottery village. Here we can buy some pottery made by local people, as well as trying to create one. One of the must-buy product was the “Thief’s tea pot”. Only made in Lombok Island, this tea pot is none like other. If most of the tea pot will have a hole on top to fill up with water, this tea-pot is not. We can only fill it from its bottom hole. Surprisingly though, once we turn around the tea pot, although it has hole in the bottom, none of the water will come out.

The thief’s tea pot

A painted-wooden mask

We also went to Sukarere weaving village. Lombok, as well as other area in indonesia, always had its own weaving product, called “songket”. Requires hundred hours of weaving, this hand-made product has a very sophisticated design and difficult technique – which indeed is true, since it needs patience and detail-oriented.  The pattern itself was taught from generation to generation, often started when the girl at an early age. Often made from silk, with various colors and sometimes gold thread, a 3×1 metres square fabric sold at about IDR 800K (~ 90 USD), which i felt quite an understatement – taken into account 3 weeks of weaving and the highly decorated design.

The girl had started to learn weaving technique since 7 years old

Hand-made weaving technique

One of Lombok’s songket

Finish exploring Sukarere village, we went back to Senggigi beach area, where we stayed overnight. On our way back, we were amazed by the richness color of sunset and Lombok’s traditional lifestyle that were quite different than what we used to see in  Jakarta city.  Birds are easily spotted. An elderly chewing piper betle leaves that give their lips and teeths reddish color are common to be seen. This piper betle leaves called daun sirih in bahasa, believed to be anti-bronchitis and can also strengthen teeths.  Lombok also dotted by beautiful paddy rice fields, similar to the one in Ubud village, Bali.

Beautiful sunset frame

paddy field

An elderly with Lombok’s traditional clothes

The second day was started with a visit to a traditional market, where we can buy fresh veggies and fish. Here, we encounter many women who able to lift heavy basket on top of their head. Quite fascinating as it was heavy and balancing act will be a challenge.

A Lady carrying basket on her head

Lombok in Bahasa language means red hot chili, a key spice on Lombok’s cuisine

From there, we continue to  Pusuk Pass forest, where we can see Lombok’s coasts from above and observed as well as interact with a pack of wild grey long-tail monkeys which quite civilized as they were not afraid with human. You can give them a mineral water bottle, of which they will drink directly.

We then embarked on a boat visited Pulau Giri Trawangan, which a famous spot for snorkeling and diving due to its crystal clear water and richness of coral reefs. Notes that Lombok itself was surrounded by many smaller island similar to Giri Trawangan, so.. our options for snorkeling and surfing is quite abundant. Amongst them are Giri Nanggu, Giri Air, etc.

Giri Trawangan’s white sand beach

Cidomo – a traditional horse carriage

At Giri Trawangan, i tried snorkeling there and did like 3 turns to enjoy the undersea beauty. The fishes are so colorful and we can feed them with a piece of bread.  Also, we can spot a huge sea turtle underneath. Quite breathtaking…  The coral reefs are so divine to look at.  Its good to know that the local people also tried to plant new coral reefs to protect this valuable ecosystem.  Biking around the island also quite nice, or.. if we prefer a much more relaxing way to do it, “Cidomo” – a horse-carriage -  is always an option.

We wrapped up the days by watching sunset at Senggigi beach while enjoying numerous bays along the way.

We wrapped up our visit to Lombok with exploring temples. First, it was Puri Narmada temple. Built by the King Anak Agung – the famous king of Karangasem Kingdom – , it was served as a miniature of Mount Rinjani for praying purpose. Due to his aging, the king is no longer able to hike mount rinjani,  where he used to pray and deliver golds or other valuable items as a tribute to Hindunese Gods on his former ages.  Therefore, this Narmada temple resembles a striking similarities to Mt. Rinjani and its Segara Anak.

Last, we visit Pura Lingsar temple. Standing side by side with one of mosque nearby, indicating a peaceful and harmonious relationship amongst diverse religion, this temple is a home for everyone. Whether its Hindunese, Moslem or others.  We can see different believers giving hands to clean up the temple and help each others.  In this temple, there are couple of big fish called “Ikan Tuna” who are believed to be sacred and bring lucks to everyone who able to see them. To call the fish out, we give boiled eggs as a bait – quite a weird diet for any fish, dont you think? . We were able to see them during our visit and the fish itself looks very similar to eels. Very long with a cylindrical body and a fin on both side of its face, with a color pattern similar to a leopard.

And.. thats wrapped our visit to Lombok, at least for now. There were still numerous beautiful places to visit in this island, such as Mount Rinjani and Sekotong Bay.

Recognizing the market potential of Indonesia, there had been some growing websites that provide its user with the possibility to buy and sell stuffs through internet. Amongst those, is http://www.rumahdagang.com/

However, this website is different from others, as its main goal was to create a community of  business-owners, where they can promote their products (through free-ads feature), meet others and build business network and friendship.  The website membership is offered to everyone, including us who might still at the early step of thinking to start business.  The objective was to build a media where everyone can share experiences, credits info, investment opportunity or any potential business partnership.  On top of it, it will also act as a gateway for buying/selling online.

With a warm welcoming on the front page, i was smitten with its design. Clear and colorful with its main features organized nicely. 

With a free membership, each member will automatically given free web (lapak gratis) with 8 templates and 3 background themes that we can choose. This free web is created once we publish an ads (products/services/credits).  The menu features are divided into 2 category : main menu and user dashboard.

Under main menu, we can search ads for different categories, varied from property, automotive, fashion, and others. This ads is not only for selling products, but also for searching products or business partners, and even barter.

Once we create our adds, we can customize our web-page (lapak) to promote our products/services. One of the example can be found here : http://www.rumahdagang.com/BrowniesCassava

What makes this website will be quite useful for any business owner, or a newcomer, is that this website also provide information about credit that u need. Whether its for starting new enterpreneurship, mortgages, automotive, and others electronic equipment. This features served to bridge gaps between enterpreneurs and investors. You can check out the credit ads on the following links : http://www.rumahdagang.com/kredit.php

The personal dashboard was pretty similar to any blog’s dashboard. We manage what ads we post, our profile and adding friends.  It was user-friendly with some room for improvements.  According to the owner, it will be expanded more to serve its main purpose as a gateway to connect all business owners and enterpreneurs. Amongst the idea was to build a simple apps for learning business.  Anyway, i think its pretty cool webs and should be supported so that it can also help the domestic market and enterpreneurs grow bigger

This work presents the story of Ghengis Khan and the Falcon that teaches about the danger of anger, as well as the beauty of a friendship. He also told a story about Manuel, an ordinary man who had spent his whole life busy working..  Which taught us that a work can be a blessing if it help us to think about the meaning of life, but in the other hand, it can also become a curse when its solely use is to keep us busy to truly understand the purpose of life.

There are bunches of other short story of which Paulo tried to show us how life has lessons for us in the greatest, smallest and most unusual of experiences.

Anyway.. after reading this book, i am instantly became one of his fans.

For me, Paulo is spreading a very positive energy and optimism attitude that we all need. Here is a few of his quotes that i am very fond of and would like to share it with y’all :

• “Everything tells me that I am about to make a wrong decision, but making mistakes is just part of life. What does the world want of me? Does it want me to take no risks, to go back to where I came from because I didn’t have the courage to say “yes” to life?”
• “Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.
• “I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of treasure. It’s all a question of how I view my life.”
• “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”

Ok, thats all folks!

Cheers,

- N – writing this post with the background music of Luciano Pavarotti

Please enjoy it :

A pair of love bird, which fall under genus “agapornis” . Lovebird is amongst the smallest parrot species.Not only social, but this species also famous for its affectionate character.

Parrots, not only has beautiful wings, but this species also notorious for its skill in impersonating people.

Green snakes. This scary-looking face actually harmless and non-venomous. Mostly insectivorous.

These baby snakes moving very fast. Creating this fascinating image.

These  turtle was having an air bubble that made him looks like wearing a helmet. Very cute

Though i must say that rat is one animal that i can not stand, but this hamster (which im still having trouble not to categorize it in my enemy list) just so cute with its high-fashion pose.Literally, this hamster was a hearthrob, as whenever i click the camera button, he always stop for pose. Its like the Tyra Banks of the hamster family.

This sour-looking red-headed turtle somehow reminds me of Al-capone.

Koi or also called “nishikigoi” are amongst the longest living vertebrae, with some can reach up to 200 years old. For the owner, koi is also believed to bring good fortune and luck.

And… last but not least, a siberian rabbit. With a pony that is just soooo adorable..

Those adrenaline rush in this type of job is such a pleasure that i am grateful to have the chance on living on it. Yes, there was many challenges to be dealt with, often frustrating at a time.  But those are hurdles to make me grow. Its better to crawl on a pain to become a better person rather than living on a such easy life but yet.. little did we know that we are just walking on the exact same spot, over and over again.  Join this type of job make me realize that there are so many things that myself need to work on. For an instance.. on how to deal with people from different culture and background. How to think smart, act fast and right on spot. How to push ourselves to the limit (which.. i have not able to always apply :p). How to never hold myself back and just go out there, give all the best i can.  Screw what people think! Because.. at the end of the day, the progression is what matter.  What we felt about our conducts or acts is what counts.

However.. i think, what i get the most from this field life is the changing on perspective of life. Interestingly,  i found out that family was amongst the top reason of why people are working in this field at the first place.Most of the wireline crews took this job to ensure their family’s welfare.  Yes, they may be far away from their family, sometimes even for 2 weeks straight, and perhaps even months. But their family, children and friends are always on their minds.  Family also the strongest reason on why we should be safe during the job, at anytime, at anywhere! Never deviate or taking shortcuts just for the sake of saving time if it compromises their safety or other people.

I was surprised by their dedication and love towards their family. It is beautiful and heart-warming!I realize it now that i need to shift from the paradigm of working for myself (and by here, i mean also includes $$$ :p ) to a greater purpose. Its also make me realize of how i was blessed with wonderful parents and much loved brother and yet.. i am still not so good in showing the reciprocation of the love that they have gave and always give (sorry mom & dad..  if i was not always reachable by phone, nor calling you guys on daily basis :p.. As i’ve told u dad.. often i got tied infront of the computer for more than 24 hours straight. And its true!!;).Anyway.. i wish that in the future, i can be as loving as they are towards their family. As people said, what good is 1 $Bn, if it can not replace happiness and love.  What good is that amount if we just enjoy it alone and leave any of the owner die alone!

I think, join wireline is one of the good decision ive ever made. It taught me so many things. Not only in the technical aspect, but rather.. on more personal development and get me back right on track of what we should go after in life. I am saying ” money is good! but hey.. there is something more worthy than that!!” . In addition, this job had brought me to enjoy some of the quirky yet fascinating scenery of the other sea’s face. Enjoy

The ocean and its blue crystal clear water had created this amazing color transformation of lights. Lovely!

Standing on the deck, i never bored to watch over those sparkling reflection on the blue oceans.

These hundreds fish was swimming under the platform, teasing us to catch them. Unfortunately, fishing in the platform is strictly prohibited. So, what we can do so far is just waving them goodbye..  Goodbye our dinner~~

The swirl created by ocean waves, surrounding the platform pipe structure was almost feel like surreal.

Ok.. can you see the big fish?

Diary of a wimpy kid brought us to the thoughts and actions of 6th grader, Greg,which all written in a journal (Journal, not a diary. Coz diary is only for girls. ) Greg is a middle-schooler who happened to be a bit egoist, lazy (ok.. maybe very lazy), and wimpy.  He has a sidekick, named Rowley, and together, they had brought us to the dramatic lives of a middle-school, try to survive from the bullies, maths, and climb to the popularity. He is a bit of a loser, but a very likable character. Portrayed in an illustrated novel, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a hilarious book that was really hard to be put down.  Though i must admit, he wasnt a good role model :p

To give u some example, here it goes :

Anyway.. this book is funny and i hope u will enjoy it too as much as i did

The Tourist told a story of Elise (Angelina Jolie) who sits next to an American tourist, Frank (a mathematician teacher, played by Johnny Depp), on a train going to Venice.  She has chosen him as a decoy, making believe that he is her lover who is wanted for police. So, this had caused both Elise and Frank not only to try to evade the police, but also the mobster who wanted him dead as he had stolen his money.

Considering the great casts they have for this movie (with such name of Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie), “The Tourist” had failed to deliver a result that would catch up with my expectation..

Although i must admit there were many amusing scenes, but the storyline was pretty bleak and surprisingly.. very predictable. From the first 10 minutes, i already expected what would be the ending of this movie. And unfortunately.. that is the exact ending for this movie!  How can i not be disappointed?!~

Also.. i felt like the casts was not leveraged to their optimum capability, though it includes name such as Timothy Dalton (former James Bond), Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany and Steven Berkoff. Though i must admit miss Angelina Jolie delivered a descent acting performance. However.. for Johnny Depp.. (though he is charming and had some smart humor lines),  i could not help to stop the picturesque of Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of The Caribbean) popped up on my head though i supposed to see a totally different character on that movie. This especially true for the scene when Frank has to jump from one roof to another to avoid being captured. I found the way Frank walked on the roof is very similar to the way Captain Jack Sparrow walk.

Last but not least,  I felt this movie was made just for pure  entertainment and not covered enough depth of the human emotions nor the intrigue that will stay with me after walked out of the cinema..

I choose these movies because they are left great impression upon me, or the story was mind-blowing and not so easy to predict, and most importantly the actors and actress had delivered such a great acting performance that worthy enough to be noted and crafted on some space on my brain. So.. here goes the list

• The Ghost Writer

Another great movie from Roman Polanski after “The Pianist” (2002) with Adrien Broody.  Here, i was excited to watch another great acting delivered by one of my favorite actor, Mr. Ewan McGregor -  (“Big Fish”, “Trainspotting”, obi wan kenobi in Star Wars trilogy). He acted as a unnamed ghost writer who land a contract to write the memoir of Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), the UK former prime minister. Maybe at first the pace was a bit slow for some people who got used to the fast-moving modern movie. But this movie manage to get me interested on guessing what’s gonna happen next, and even so.. it still left with a good twist in the end.

• Inception

With such a great casts including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai”, “Letters from IwoJima”, and also act as Ras Al Ghul in Batman Begins),  Ellen Page (whose her Juno surprised everyone including the Oscar jury), Academy award winner Marion Cotillard (which her movie “Jeux D’enfants” is such a classic, and just recently she played alongside Johnny Depp’s John Dillinger in Public Enemies. She also played in Taxi trilogy, the funniest film ever!! I cant help to laugh everytime i remember that taxi was overtake the first place in Paris Dakkar rally when the speed-devil driver carry a pregnant woman due for birth delivery). Not forget to mention Michael Caine and Cillian murphy.

However..  the one that stole the performance for me was Joseph Gordon Levitt who 1 decade ago was just a skinny  teen actor in  “10 things i hate about you”. But look at him now.. He is already emerged as an awesome adult actor that deserved a kudos!

However, what makes Inception became such a remarkable masterpiece is the story and the film-making technology itself. Sooo mind-blowing and top-notch! Even the ending itself still kept me wondering as the brass’s tops is still spinning and left us without any final conclusion on whether the last scene is a reality or a dream. Definitely is a must-see film of the year!!

• The Social Network

I know that David Fincher is a genius. But what i dont know is.. he was able to make the story behind Facebook become very exciting and enjoyable in the best possible way.  I can’t help but to falling in love with the Jesse Eisenberg’s performance,  whom at first i thought was just another kid that trapped in such a nerdy role type as what he did in Zombieland and Adventureland — haha.. even both of the movies has land on it! – .

But.. my standing ovation goes to Andrew Garfield!!! He already stole a place on my list of “the next big thing” in Hollywood when i saw him on “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassum”.  However, his Eduardo Saverin is even better!! He nailed it!

I love every seconds of the movie.  It captured the emotions of each character perfectly.  Not only heart warming and teach us what matter the most than money, this movie was verrrrryyy enjoyable to watch. It reminds me of all the fun i had during college. All the craziness,  nerdyness and geekyness that we embrace and proud of  as an engineering student.

The only thing that left me disappointed is just i dont want it to end yet.  This movie definitely should get Oscar nominations!!

• The Fighter

After the wrestler rocking the Oscar’s stage in 2008, here comes another movie that will fight its way to the top of Oscar’s nominees (i hope!! This movie deserve it!! So much more enjoyable than the Hurt Locker!) .

The fighter tells the story of Mickey Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg), an irish boxer and his tangled relationship with his brother Dicky Ecklund, a former boxer-turned-trainer.  Dicky was played by Christian Bale who delivered a very strong performance this time.  Bale was acting out of his comfort zone, and the result is just a drop-dead superb acting!! Just watch the trailer, and you will find out what im talking about.

I hope mr. bale got his oscar on 2011, especially since he able to transform himself from such a good-looking actor to something…  “bleh”.  Knowing the oscar’s tradition that seem valued the actress & actor transition from beauty to ugly (Remember Nicole Kidman in “The Hours”, and Charlize Theron’s horrifying character as the serial killer in “Monster”), i  think Mr. Bale might got a chance here

Amy adams also starred here, and she kept getting better!!  Yay!!

• 127 hours

Danny Boyle, who also produced smash-hit “Slumdog Millionaire” that wowed us with its fairy tale, this time trying to get real with the true story of Aaron Ralston’s critical 127 hours-event.  With a beautiful landscape and very intense acting delivered by James Franco, this movie is a must see!I think this is by far James Franco’s best performance ever! His dedication toward acting and went so deep into the character itself is worthy for an Oscar!

Another movies that might got into the list is Black Swan. I havent seen the movie yet, but people were buzzing about how great the acting by Natalie Portman is.. Also, knowing that this movie came out from Darren Arronofsky, whom his horrifying picture of drugs addiction in “Requiem of a dream” still very taunting and horrifying even after years watching that movie, i think this one might be on the top list too.  But.. will see…

Oklah.. thats all bout the movies of the year from me Do you agree with my list? Or perhaps you can recommend another great movie that i should watch?