When Poetry meets Illustration

Yes, I'm still busy with my academics but I still doodle, draw and paint when I have the time to do so . And I actually keep diaries and handwritten stories, poems and novels too. Posting out some of the snippets and please let me know if you enjoy 'em, wouldn't you? *winks*

Illustrated on: 9th August 2013, Story in four lines: 16 May 2016

Thanks for reading and I hope you love it. 

Till then, 

x.

Semarang in 10 Points

If you have already done reading my previous post on our trip to Karimun Jawa, you will now be reading the sequel of our remaining trip from that day.

So we transitted at Semarang ( 三宝垄) before resuming our journey back to our place. It took us approx 3 hours reach Semarang from the Jepara Harbour as it was also quite jam on the road. Was totally energy drained from the long hours of the ferry ride so most of us dozed off in car while we travel to this city.

Just a brief introduction, Semarang is the capital city of Central Java province and it's the 5th largest city in Indonesia. Due to its history, many chinese immigrants moved here and that explains why the place here is influenced greatly by the chinese culture.

So we stopped by Kedai Beringin after arriving in Semarang for our dinner.

1. Kedai Beringin 

Cheers to Chinese food! It has been a while since I last had a proper and satisfying oriental meal. This fried oriental mee cost IDR 26k (approx RM8) and I kinda like it. We also ordered the char siu pao (IDR 15k) but it was not up to our expectation yet.

2. The Hotel

 The morning view from the hotel.

Rise and shine. As usual I woke up early to get washed up and everything to prepare for our new journey ahead for the day. Being an early riser makes me a side sleeper for all of my vacation previously when staying with friends. But this time there was a twist. It was my first time being a sandwich sleeper between the girlfriends hahah omg and tragedy happened. But that's not important...

 ANYWAY

Breakfast was pure awesome. I think this was one of the best memory that was etched inside my heart. Uhh.. being too much of a breakfast person myself..

Another breakfast sans presentation. 

Due to time restriction, I think I just have time to eat and no time to arrange nicely to put in instagram ._. I just want to concentrate on indulging my food and ditch the phone aside that's all rawr.

So my fuel of the day consisted of:

Laksa Fish
The fish were so fresh and everything was so nice!

Fried Fish Fillet
You know I love fish!

Milk and cereals 

I just simply can’t resist the temptation of fresh milk in combination with other cool cereals. It has always been my weakness.

Banana cake

One of the best cake I ever had. Love the moist texture

Bubur manis

and etcetra... I don't think you even give a damn on what else I eat :P

My favourite meal of the day and now you know my secret.

3.  Pecinan Semarang Morning Market 

So here we are, at the Chinatown of Semarang. You will see many vegetable and fruit vendors here. Otherwise you would see tau fu fa, hiong beng.. tau sa beng and even yao zha guai here.

The kuehs you can find here

Come and follow me and I will tour you around the market here bahaha macam yes only

The snapshots I took around the market

And keep getting knocked off by these basket-bearing ibus (aunties) because they have no idea how big their basket is  ._.

Live tour

I forgot what was with that grimaced face for already.

Stopped by a chinese shop to have my Wan Tan Mee. I still miss my hometown's one.

4. Wingko Babat

After that, us people went to look for something know as the Wingko Babat. It's one of the local delicacy here. Apparently it's a Javanese coconut pancake snack and I personally think it's not bad. Well.. I don't hate coconut.. so yeah :P

The Wingko Babat. The boss was friendly and he offered us some of the wingkos to try at the shop.

5.  Lumpia Gang Lombok

So along the street of Gang Lombok lies a mystery greater than the pyramid of Giza: The Lumpia Gang Lombok shop.

And I have no idea why is their Lumpiah so famous in Semarang. The queue was long and you have to wait for like 2 hours to get your order (Actually it was more than 2 hours). I didn't get to try it, but according to my peers it seems they are not as good as it's cracked up to be. Well, if you happened to drop by there, I wouldn't mind being a food connoisseur for it *winks*

6. Tay Kak Sie Temple

Also nestled within the city of Semarang, this temple accommodates worshippers from buddhism, confucianism and taoism.

It's quite a good place to pray here. There's also a Zheng He statue in front of the temple. Quite interesting to know about his story and his influence of the temples in Semarang.

 

Taming my guardian lion

7. Lawang Sewu

Address: Komplek Tugu Muda, Jl. Pemuda, Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

Entrance Fare: IDR10k

Lawang Sewu, also known as Thousand Doors used to be a railway headquarter built by the Dutch dating back to history. It is a famous landmark in Semarang and also widely rumoured as a haunted house. It has 600 large windows. It's the name doesn't imply that it has 1000 doors but just many doors.

The facades of Lawang Sewu

Cute choo-choo trains

Left: Standing in front of the glass stained window but I didn't go inside. What was I thinking.

Top left: The building / Top Right: The attic / Lower right: the staircase

The emptiness inside

Psychedelic illusion?

Took us forever to wait for the moment where there's completely nobody crossing the corridor for a perfect shot.

The attic

 *Pretty stained glass (pic courtesy of HY) Such a waste that I actually missed out this place :(

The landmark monument of Semarang

8. Sam Poo Kong 三保洞

Address: Klenteng Sam Po Kong, Bongsari, Semarang Bar., Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

Entrance Fare: IDR 5k

Also known as the Stone Building, it is one of the oldest chinese temple in Semarang.

 

 It's quite a pretty place for photography. Look at the cascading roof. If you notice there are many animals perching on top the the roofs.

One of the building here.

You are required to pay another IDR 20-30k to pray inside. *rolls eyes*. But anyway, can you tell what animals are perching on top of the roof? ;)

 

The columns in the temple. 

Anyway, there is a saying that goes “a hungry man is an angry man”. But when you’re not just hungry, but also severely dehydrated, sleep deprived and the traffic is just miserably upseting, the effect could be more horrendous.

And no matter how hard you try avoiding the crowd...

In the end you still get photobombed... ._.

9. Paragon Mall

Address: Jl. Pemuda No. 118, Sekayu, Semarang Tengah, Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

Shopping has never been my thing on a holiday. But it could be a great place to chill down for some cool air from the temperature outside. Anyway, the cineplex is quite huge here.

10. Waroeng Semawis

Address: Jalan Gang Warung No. 50, Semarang Tengah, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

Yeah you're probably thinking: Isn't this place the same as the morning market? That's right. So there would be more food at night, just like the pasar malam we have in Malaysia.

There's also Bak Kut Teh here. Never tried it too.

Tried the waffle that my friend bought from the vendor and it was not bad at all! (Top left). The pisang plenet is one of the local delicacy of Semarang too. It tastes.. oklah. The rest of the photo you see on top is the lumpia of the great queue that I didn't try. Perhaps you can try it and lemme know if it taste like rainbow the next time you visit there.

More food here! 

 

Soo here are my picks: Fruit Salad Ice-cream (IDR 18k), Avocado and Durian Sorbet (IDR 20k) and Tahu Petis (IDR 1.5k)

But frankly, I think I just enjoyed my fruit salad ice-cream. For the durian ice-cream, I'd prefer to eat the durian just by itself. Neither am I particularly appealed by the Tahu as well. It somehow doesn't suit my taste.

That pretty much sums up our trip to Karimun and Semarang. Hope you enjoyed *winks*

and let me know how do you think of it :)

Till then,

x

Summer Paradise in Karimun Jawa

***Credits to my awesome friends who helped me to take down those wonderful memories in Karimun Jawa. Photos in this post belongs to yours truly otherwise indicated by an asterisk (*).

So here we go.

Mesmerizing scenic sight at the harbour.
 

Karimun Jawa, literally means a stone's throw from Java in the Javanese language. It consist of 27 islands and is considered part of the Jepara City (Central Java) located at the north east of Semarang. And if you still remember about the history class we studied in Secondary 4/5, Jepara is the birthplace of the female rights fighter, Raden Adjeng Kartini in the past in Indonesia. So it's no surprise that you will see a lot of places here named after her over here (just like Pantai Kartini).

 

 CHAPTER 1: PRE-DEPARTURE

Straight after our anaesthetic lecture we hurried ourselves from the campus back to our hostel. All the time we had was only to put our uni stuffs back to our room, grab our handcarry and get up the waiting travel car. (Well, at least for me..)

It took us a painstakingly 11.5 hours to reach by a van from Bandung.  We reached the harbour around 4.15am at the crack of dawn, where the day breaks at around 5.15am here. Had a small portion of bubur ayam (chicken porridge) as breakfast while waiting to board our ferry. (We departed earlier and reached super early so as to avoid any possible jam on the road as it was a public holiday on Thursday and Friday). And as you can see from the pictures above, people crammed the waiting place at the harbour, much to our disappointment.

The people at the waiting place that makes you go Rawrrrrr.

The first picture was taken from inside of the ferry while I got my seat. Apparently that place is called Pantai Kartini Jepara with a gigantic sea turtle architect (Kura-kura Ocean) overlooking the great ocean.  I would love to visit that place, perhaps if I happen to revisit here again? Well.. anyway..

 

CHAPTER 2: THE ARRIVAL

We arrived to Karimun Island in a fastboat which took merely 2 hours to reach and was welcomed by another bunch of crowd and scorching sun.

Once we have reached, we were escorted to a place to have our lunch. Rided a small van that fits 6 people each time. Our lunch consist of rice, fried fish, rolled egg, fried tahu (tofu), coconut syrup and vegetable soup. 

After filling up our growling stomach, we were then sent to our homestay to settle down before going on to the next activity place. It was around 12-1pm and apparently, there was no electricity inside the homestay, much to our disappointment. But on a bright side, it's a chance to disconnect with the world, at least just for a while. The electricity would only come back after 2pm.

-------------------------------------------

TIPS ♥

If you're planning to come here for a trip, make sure you slapped on your trustable sunscreen and preferably water-proof type as you will be engaging in lotsa water activities. Stock up on your hydration essentials so that you won't end up getting sun stroke or getting sick.

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CHAPTER 3: DIVE IN!

At around 1.45-2.00pm we left the harbour and boarded on a wooden boat to do snorkelling somewhere in the middle of the sea. Here are some underwater shots taken by the guiding guy.

 *Corals

*Tips: Look out for the sea anemone to find the clown fish easily. It's a home for them

 *Oh helle there, Nemo. So where's Dory?

*And the pièce de résistance of the day: my potato grin ._.

Don't really fancy snorkelling that much and I didn't really get to dive here yet, though that would have been amazing. But I would definitely want to dive one day at some other places and it's still on my bucket list.

So we frolicked at the sea for a while and after what seems like an hour or so, we then headed back to our wooden boat which sent us to the next destination: to watch the sunset at another small island. I have no idea what is the name of the island so I should just call it: The Sunset Beach.

*Another destination marked in Karimun Island.

*Messy hair silhoutte.

CHAPTER 4: DINNER SIN

After a shower, we went for our dinner where we were served:

• Rice
• Peyek Ikan Teri (Fried anchovies cake) - Something special which I really love!
• Tempeh (I'm a tempeh queen so needless to elaborate further) 
• Fish Crackers
• Curry (Too mild for me)
• Vegetable Soup

 Time for a real jog and workouts yikes. Anyway..

After our dinner, we went to the Alun-alun for a walk. There were nothing much but you will be able to bargain for some souvenirs here and also dine here under the night sky. Just look at the seafood! You are welcome to drool over them now *evil*

Supper time. Not something which I would normally do though but it's holiday!

Lots of fresh fish everywhere and I was really thrilled.

So our supper was served at 9.30pm with grilled Ikan Kakak Tua (parrot fish/青衣) which looks so poisonous by it's colour (luckily didn't choked off and die touch wood) and another fish name which I forgot. And I particularly like the one on the left where the texture is incredibly smooth and satisfying. Not forgetting our grilled sotong (squid) that was served after that. Everything cost IDR95k (approx.RM30) after negotiation. T'was simple, yet satisfying. Have always been a fond of Ikan Bakar (Grilled fish).

*A sky full of stars. Not a perfect place for stargazing yet though.

CHAPTER 5: THE DOCK

Woke up extra early coz me and ze girlfriend planned on taking some photographs at the dock nearby our homestay.

Love the serene atmosphere

The seawater was calm, so tranquil and there was like almost no horizon as the seawater merges with the sky. And the ocean was akin the mirror, and it looks as if one could actually walk on top of it.

Bridge on a bridge. Another destination checked.

Macam yes take 1.

Macam yes take 2.

  

So here's my breakfast, sans presentation: Fried Vermicelli noodle, hard boiled egg with sauce.

CHAPTER 6: BEWARE OF THE SHARKS

So the much awaited moment has finally arrived. After our simple breakfast, we jumped onto our wooden boat again and went to the little park just opposite to the harbour in a short distance.

The therapeutic ocean.

And yeahh. We are here to visit some really cool creatures here at Hiu Karimun Java.

The sharks here are friendly and docile. You can swim with them here but you should still always be under the supervision of the people in charge there for safety purpose.

The beautiful scenery

Tired but excited at the same time

*I call this the mini pool of marine wonders. Marine stuffs never fail to appeal me.

Being a kid once again marveling at the anatomy of a starfish. It's not as slimy as it seems but it's almost rock hard and stiff. But honestly I couldn't really tell if they are still alive, yet.

On the left featuring the chocolate chip sea star (no joke intended!) or aka the Protoreaster nodosus starfish. On the bottom right featuring the blue sea star Linckia laevigata (if I'm not mistaken!).

*With the uber mainstream tourist-board shot.

Can you spot the sharks?

Sadly the sharks won't come to me so I desperately chase them for photos. Woe is me.

So here's the bapak (uncle) attaching the fish to the rod behind the scene.

Shark feeding! With just a simple branch rod attached with a fish.

I actually touched the shark in the mini wonder pool.

So wonderpooooooool. Ohhh and it cost IDR5k to take picture with these creatures pfft.

Starfish.

So the starfish refused to cooperate with me to conform its shape to my head. NG photo hahas.

And here's a mini inflated pufferfish and a friggin humongous one. You just have to watch how they conform back to their original size when you release them back into the water. So mad chio when you see them swimming belly facing up and roll back into the water. So cute can melttttttt.

NOTE: The pufferfish is very poisonous. Be extra careful when handling them so that you don't prick yourself with their spines.

EPILOGUE

So we bid our farewell to Karimun Island at 12.30pm in a slow ferry, and when I said slow, it's really slow. We arrived here in 2 hours as mentioned before but it took us 5 hours plus to reach back to Jepara's harbour. It was a horrible experience but still not our first.

Boarding the slow ferry.. good gracious

 

The sea again.

Inside the ferry was stifling hot I feel like a baked muffin in there.

The sunset upon arrival at Jepara's harbour and me in my sun-kissed skin.

Stay tuned for my upcoming Semarang trip post :)

Thanks for reading!

xx