So I crossed the road successfully

*photo taken in Panganlengan, July 2018

Having to cross the crazy road in Bandung everyday is just nearly inevitable, especially when your made mode of transport are your legs! 

I remember, getting stuck by the roadside because the traffic was too hectic and nobody was giving ways. I guess the drivers were oblivious to anything by the roadside except for the road in front of them. I stood there, never letting my slightest attention in milliseconds to escape so that I will be able to cross the road whenever I could. 

Just then, I noticed a granny who was also just as helpless as me; the traffic was crazy and it was impossible to even make a step. I looked at her and she looked back at me the same way. It's telepathy I guess; we felt equally miserable. If I'm trice as young as her but already had a difficult time to cross the road, it would even make her more impossible to do it. I heaved a heavy sigh from the sight of the terrible traffic, then I turned to her to ask if she would want me to help her across. 

Instantly without hesitation she nodded profusely and exclaimed,"Ya neng!" (Yes, little girl) *eventhough I'm not so little anymore but anyways*, she grabbed my arms so tightly as if if there's an incoming car toward us I would be able to shield her. Funny thing was, when I started to cross the road (coz I couldn't care less anymore I can't be standing there forever) the cars slowed down, rendering the road in front of us to be cleared. 

It seems, it all happened because I had a granny by my side! We crossed the road successfully, then the granny make a smooth entrance into the angkot (aka the doorless public transport) and thanked me while it moves. It's nothing but sometimes when these memories are revoked, I still have to laugh it off again. 

Dreamt of you

17th July 2018

Dreamt of you.

Woke up and no wonder, it's your birthday.

But if there were to be a cake for you, the number of candles wouldn't increase by another stick.
Occasionally, you will still appear in my dreams. I would still be there to nag you when you are eating something that you shouldn't, like:

"Can you eat that??"  

Everything was vivid, real. But you don't really talk much.

I just wanted to say, Happy Birthday.

"I'm depressed, are you scared?"

Disclaimer: Some contents may have been changed to protect the person's identity. 

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After a few long months away from your homeland, your heart gets so tired it tells you that "it's time to go back. You've been out there for too long".

Literally. Carrying backpack and a hand luggage strapped on my shoulder, I retrieved my luggage from the conveyor belt. Wasting no time I headed straight to the train for a transit to another airport for a bus ride. Just as I reached, I heaved a big sigh from all the weight that I bore. Nothing can still compare with the heaviness of my heart. I have missed home.

Just as I waited for my bus to arrive, I approached a girl near me just to confirm I was at the right gate for the bus. "Excuse me, may I ask if this bus is going to XX station?"

She wore a white long-sleeved top, had a luggage in her hand and wore a cap. Her hair was short, and I thought she was one of the most outgoing girl out there.

"Yes, it is! I'm going there too". She gave a friendly reply.

I got up the bus and had chosen a seat near the huge window. I have always loved to sit by the window so that I could look outside for the beautiful scenery. As I settled for a seat near the window, the same girl approached me and asked me if anyone is sitting next to me. I shook my head and told her she could have that seat.

She sat down, heavily. Slumped down on her back she started to stick her nose to her handphone, like any typical people in their teens, tweens or even elderlies. Her phone screen illuminated her face in the semi-dim bus. I looked outside the window for the beautiful view. The sun was about to set, the whole sky was a lovely velvety faint bright pink and purple hue like smudges of watercolour on a canvas. The silhouettes of the palm oil trees accentuated from the sun setting behind. My country is indeed a beautiful place.

In the midst of the bus trip, the bus rocked the passengers to sleep during the journey, as if the roaring of the bus has turned into a sleeping lullaby. Except me and this girl. Somehow, someway, a conversation just striked up within us.

"What's your name? You can call me XX!"

We exchanged conversation, asking where we were from, and why were we on this bus trip. Random questions were posed.

"Are you a Taurus? Or if not, you might be a Capricorn!" she asked.

I looked at her skeptically. "Whyy do you think so?"

"I don't know. It's an aura". she said. "I always read about horoscope and I know it quite well"

I don't know there's such aura for horoscopes. And my understanding for horoscope is just superficial. Then she started talking about her own sign, Aquarius. And the conversation gradually drifted to her personal life. She said her parents had once looked out for her because she was not reachable by phone. She was also nowhere to be found where she was suppose to be at her hostel. The conversation got even more personal and she stopped and looked at me:

"You might see that I'm pretty normal, like right now, talking to you. But I'm really quite different when I'm alone.."

Certainly not a sign of an aquarius, I thought.

She revealed that she sometimes do self-harming. After that, I got to know that she was on medication to control her condition.

"I thought of very weird ideas, sometimes I even get very dark thoughts.." she continued.

"I'm depressed, are you scared? I don't tell this to anyone".

"No. Not at all" I answered.

"People will tend to avoid people who are weird"..

I knew she needed a room for ranting, or someone who could listen to her. Perhaps any stranger could be the best person to talk to. She wasn't the first depressed person I have met, and I certainly don't see her like any abnormal person. I just see her as a normal person who needed someone to listen and accept her.

We bided our goodbyes and that's where I had to go. My family was waiting for me.

"Wait, may I have your number?" I gave her mine, and we said we should keep in touch.

Little did I know that it was the first and last time we were going to meet. I haven't heard from her since. Had I given her the wrong number by mistake? Or had she mistaken my number? Or had she forgotten to add the country code?

People might appear so normal on the surface, but have you ever wonder what they are going through in their lives? Stop prejudice, stop bullying, stop the discrimination, stop the damn judgement about people. But indeed there are many sickening things in this society that we can't possibly control.

How about this, take some time to understand how truly blessed you are now. When you can do something good to people, why not just do it? You can definitely change another person's life.

Doing no harm is already an act of kindness. When you have nothing nice to say, sometimes the best way is just to shut up. I hope I could do something to help her but it seems I wasn't fated enough to meet her again. If you ever suspect anyone, be it your family, neighbour or your friends going through some tough times, don't ever just assume they are doing fine.

Depression is silent and not a joke. If you ever think you care for the people around you, just show it before it's too late. 

Staying positive and thinking perhaps one day, we could meet again. It's still a little friendship that I cherished, with a duration that lasted a bus journey ride.

Bukit Moko Bike Trip

Decided to go on a bike trip for at the end of year 2017 with le babe <3

Homemade Overnight Oats

Due to some request, I decided to share my personal recipe with you readers! If you've tried it, I would love to hear feedbacks from you too! Enjoy the process and may this recipe motivate you to eat healthier everyday. Namaste!

Homemade Overnight oats Recipe

You'll need:

• Mason jar/ any glass jar with a cap
• some patience while waiting for your oats to be ready to be eaten ;)

Ingredients

• Instant oats
• Milk
• Chia Seeds
• Yogurt
• Biscuit (Optional,and I used raisin biscuits)

Steps

1. Take around 3-4 spoonful of oats into your jar.
2. Pour in milk until it fills up the oats.
3. Layer it with some chia seeds.
4. Put in another layer of oats on top of the chia seeds.
5. Repeat step no.2.
6. Put in a piece of biscuit. You can crumble it into pieces first before putting in.
7. Last layer, my favourite. Scoop some yogurt of your favourite flavour into your jar.
8. And voilaaaa. Chill it in your fridge and enjoy it the very next morning :)

You are not alone

Of all chaos,
I'm grateful.

Of all blames,
I'm grateful.

Of all changes,
I'm grateful.

Of what I can't control,
I'm grateful.

Of all loss,
I'm grateful.

Grateful to have all the ups and downs in my life.

Don't let the downs crumble you.

I know you have seen your loved ones left before you;
I know you have seen betrayal before your eyes;
I know you have heard unpleasant things with your own ears;
I know you have been taken for granted;
I know you have been blamed for the wrongdoings of others.

the law of conservation of energy states that:

energy can neither be created nor destroyed, rather it can only be transformed from one form to another.

Imma just gonna convert the bad energy anyway.

Tips on Travelling Solo

Due to some requests from the readers months ago, I've planned to write about some tips on how to travel solo. I'm not a person whom had travelled to many places, nor do I have a rich experience on travelling alone. In fact, it's actually my first experience on travelling by myself. I wouldn't say that I was totally sure about how my plan would have worked. I just... plan. And all the while I was just praying that everything would be smooth; at the same time preparing to embrace the worst if my plan didn't go well.

And that, requires lots, lots and LOTSS of planning. Getting plan Bs and a few more options for you will help you to get through problems. So here are some tips that you could perhaps use if you plan on travelling on yourself soon! Some tips are also useful even if you are travelling in groups.

Read back
Part 1: Departure
Part 2: Puerta del Sol
Part 3: Of Palace and Parks
Part 4: Solo Trippin' Thoughts 
Part 5: Gastronomic Spain 
Part 6: Jewels of Toledo
Part 7: Hola Barcelona! (Part I)
Part 8: Barcelona! (Part II)
Part 9: Travel Video/VLOG


Research on your destination
Take into account of the season, weather forecast, crime rate, culture and other details on the area.

Prepare the right clothing suitable for the season. If it's summer, you can benefit more from the luggage weight as you would pack soft, light clothes. Pack along a scarf too, it might come handy when you would like to visit some conservative places like certain religious church and etc. Despite that, do bring along your jacket too in case it gets too cold on the plane/airport/certain places. Dress versatile, so you can avoid bringing too many clothings. Always estimate that your return luggage will be heavier than the weight to the place. Buy the luggage weight that will fit your belongings.

Get a brief idea of how's the weather there during your travel period so that you can pack up umbrella/raincoat for unpredictable weathers (from searing hot sun/abrupt rain/storms).

You should also research up the crime rate of the place you will be going. Europe is relatively a safe place for people to travel alone. Mind you, stressing on the word relatively. There are also some places that are more prone to crimes. Avoid those places if possible.

Know the culture of the place you are visiting will bring you more benefits (no culture shock when suddenly greeted by kisses) and you will be able to avoid doing something that is against their culture. Learning some basic regional language will also help you tremendously through your journey.

Check whether the country that you want to visit requires a visa or not. And also check whether if you need extra travel requirements.

*EXTRA TIP: If possible, wear like the locals and that won't attract unnecessary attention highlighting yourself as a tourist.

1. AIRPORT- adjust your time appropriately especially at transits to avoid not being able to catch your flight. Sometimes your landing time will past your boarding time for your next flight. If neccesary, you might need to contact the airline beforehand (in case of such problem so they will take note of it) and waste no time lingering at the airport, just rush to your gate.

2. TRANSPORT- some transport tickets can be purchased online. It would at a cheaper fare and you can avoid queues and maybe possibly "sold off" tickets.

3. ACCOMODATION- Hostels can be cheap and you can get to know new people. Just compare your travel need/budget to decide to go for what kind of accomodation.

4. PLAN YOUR ITINERARY

Packing Up

If you're on medication, bring along your medicines and also consult to your doctor about your condition and your plan on travelling, especially travelling alone.

A pair of comfortable shoes is absolutely necessary too!

*Know your priorities
The number rule should always be SAFETY FIRST. Your ownself and your belongings. Bags should always be carried in front whereby they will always be in your vision. Between your life and your belongings, don't opt the latter. Therefore, don't keep your important things all in the same place.

Meeting people
Meeting new people can be exciting but never let your guards down either. If you sense something wrong, you can just ignore and best not to talk so much to them. Avoid being followed (be vigilant, always). I do met some weird ones, but showing them you are absolutely not interested should be able to get away with it (your first-line defense).

Being alone
There will be equal pros and cons travelling on oneself and in group. Let's talk about the cons; you can't share off rooms/big meals you can't finish; nobody to help you with photos. That's just basic stuffs. Travelling alone requires you to be more vigilant. You need to think of how to guard your luggage when you need to enter the small bathroom and other sorts of encounterings you hope you can split into multiple selves. However, you open to more opportunities in meeting more people. And personally, I think everyone should at least travel by themselves, well at least once! It's a lifechanging experience, but safety always comes first. Everyone will have a different story on their own journey. I met many people along the journey whom are also on their own. You're never alone.

Photography
This is the most interested question that people have asked me. How do you get your photos taken?
Part of them- I used the timer function to take; set 5 seconds, get into position, JUMP!
Another part of them (which is majority)- photography credits go to anonymous strangers.
Trust your instincts whether you could trust that person for your gadget or not. Don't do a model backpose and turn back to find your "photographer" missing with your stuff. (amitofo don't let that happen).

Getting lost might be unavoidable, but getting lost leads you to another adventure! Travel safely and don't forget to enjoy your process!

I have basically covered the things that were frequently asked by people here. Hope these tips might help you for your solo trip! Thanks for reading and let me know what you think ;)

till then

xx,

Yinnnn.

Barcelona (Part II)

Woke up early on my second day so that I could at least visit Camp Nou at BCN. Got my city map from the hotel receptionist and I started replanning my itinerary again since there were some last minute changes with my tickets. My initial plan was to tour inside the stadium, but since I had visited Santiaga Bernabeu in Madrid I decided not to spend so much on visting football stadiums (sorry, BCN football fans!).

Read back
Part 1: Departure
Part 2: Puerta del Sol
Part 3: Of Palace and Parks
Part 4: Solo Trippin' Thoughts 
Part 5: Gastronomic Spain 
Part 6: Jewels of Toledo
Part 7: Hola Barcelona! (Part I)

Outfit of the day. A lot of walking will be done!

On the way to Camp Nou, I spotted a fruit store which was much to my delight. Got a banana to get my morning started since I hadn't had the time to grab my breakfast.

And a bakery store which I've tried the Ensaimada

1. Camp Nou 

Address: C.d'Aristides Maillol, 12, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

You can take the metro from your nearest station to the Collblanc to visit Camp Nou.

 Coincidentally, there was a marathon going on when I paid a visit there. I noticed many people were wearing the same jersey making their ways into the same direction.

Tourist shot #1

 The marathon was just about to start.

 Tourist shot #2

2. Casa Mila

Address: Provenca, 261-265, 08008, Barcelona, Spain

aka La Pedrera (the quarry)

Casa Mila is also another modernist building designed by Antoni Gaudi. The designs are organic, where they were inspired by vines, acorn and other natural textures. The facades are all undulating like waves and the rooftop is simply surrealistic.

Walked along Passeig de Gracia to get to Casa Mila.

Passing by Casa Batllo again 

 La Pedrera finally!

 The patio

 The audioguide for Casa Mila

 The iron wrought designs inspired by twirling vines

Loving the colourful watermarks-like design on the walls

Tourist shot #3 (at the roof)

Looking down from the roof.

And it's quite amazing to spot Sagrada Familia from the distance

Spiral staircase..

The attic

Elements that Gaudi used as inspirations for his designs.

The furnitures in the apartment are just so rustic and elegant!

3. Catedral de Barcelona

Address: Pla de la Seu, s/n, 08002, Barcelona, Spain

The streets around Barcelona Cathedral is quaint and really beautiful. I'm appealed to the streets over there and have wandered around there to feast my eyes on the beautiful architectures.

Finally at the cathedral. Since it's peak season at BCN around aug-sept, everywhere were swarmed with people.

Inside the cathedral was amazing too. And the camera would fail to catch the feeling of it unfortunately..

The glass-stained window

Sculptures

Street performer

4. Gothic Quarter

This narrow medieval street has many Catalan restaurants, clubs and bars.

5. Picasso Street and Picasso Museum  

Food never cease to appeal me

Picasso Museum

Graffiti door

Beautiful alley

6. Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia is the world biggest unfinished Roman Catholic church, also designed by Antoni Gaudi. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site..

By the way if you plan to ever visit here, thou shalt always buy your ticket online for convenience. You can avoid the queue and best, get your visit guaranteed.

That's from the exterior. As yours truly reached a little earlier from my purchased ticket time, I had some time to loiter around the shops nearby.

Bakery again. Well, it's everywhere

A variety of bun, croissants and desserts to choose from. 

Torron Vicens store. The nougats were amazing!

Artisan nougat, anyone?

Bought water and some grab and go snacks to replenish some energy. Back to the sacred tower...

Intricate and meticulous designs of the façade. Every part tells a story of the bible...

I really love this cipher thingy, they call it the magic square. There are several specific patterns you can make from the four numbers, having a magic constant of 33, which is the age of Jesus Christ at the crucifixion.

Gotta stare at the ceiling in awe

There are names on the stained glass windows of religious pilgrimage sites

Going up the Nativity tower

If you are scared of height + a little bit of claustrophobic, maybe it wouldn't sound like a good idea to go up the tower. There's no way down from the tower, not even by an escalator. Once you are up there, your only choice would only be descending the narrow corkscrew staircase by your ownself. I had to stop for a while because making my way down makes me so dizzy! There won't be any handrail at the other side of the staircase, so if you glance down you will be able to see a seashell shape from the dwindling spiral pattern. It's the golden ratio, well I guess :P 

Terrific view 

A lil claustrophobic

It's really narrow!

Golden ratio?

Couldn't take the effect through the camera lens..

7. Tibidabo 

To get to the church at Tibidabo, you can get up from the station through a slope. You can walk, if you have ample of time for your travel (I would! But I didn't due to the lack of time). But a more practical way would be going up by a bus/tram. I haven't use a tram before, therefore I decided to give it a ride.

After you arrive at the stop, you will need to take another funicular up to the peak. 

Anddd.... finally arriving at the surrealistic land!

This is the tibidabo theme park..

And the oh-so-amazing church!

Tibidabo is the land nearest to the heaven of BCN. You can see the entire BCN here. The wind is strong up here, and the view is absolutelyyy stunning!

Mirablau

8. Placa d'Espanya

Reluctantly, bidded a goodbye to Tibidabo. Since I had a little more time left before I bid farewell to BCN, I decided to drop by Espana Plaza at around 8pm. My plan was to visit the Magic Fountain but decided not to go for it. There were too many people especially foreigners.

The fountain is just right there, in front of the palace! I didn't wait for it though since it only starts at 9.30pm

Espana Plaza is a really beautiful place. There were many restaurants there too. Even the small fountains by the roadside were already beautiful enough! Walked back again to reserve my energy for my return journey.

Truly grateful to have a  solo journey here at a land with no common language and not knowing anyone here. It really changes me a lot. In case you have missed out my previous BCN post, you can read back at here.

Solo travelling

Another thing on my bucketlist checked! Thank you for the amazing memories, Espanaaa!

Thank you for reading too! If you have anything that you would like to ask, feel free to drop me a message. Hopefully my post have shed some light to those who plan to travel here at Spain or planning to do a solo travel (well, to generally safer places). Stay tuned for more coming up travel post!

Till then,

signing off,

Suuuuuuuuu.

:)

xx