This is most likely our faces as we get back to our real life in small cubicles in the office.. ha ..ha... (We don't wanna!!!!...we're not ready!!!... ... AARRGHGHH!!!!)
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Back gRouNd (terjemahan ala Rachma... back=belakang ; ground=tanah... tanah belakang.. wah berarti back ground artinya halaman belakang rumah!!! ngawur rek!...)
Finally the two girls, Esti and Rachma decided to meet – kopi darat akhirnya, nengs! –
to finalize their meetings all this time through emails. Imagine the two had never met before! They are both working in the same foreign diplomatic mission but different posts – but surely both have crazy ideas about traveling and they made it and I will tell you all about it in this “Sandal Jepit” travel story.It was all started by daring their buddy “Cigil” who happened not be posted in Phnom Penh – so why not! They picked up their flip flop (so called Sandal Jepit) and getting ready to hang there – lay easy and cool (no HOT!) to enjoy the mysterious Cambodia, the land of the ancient Siamese kingdoms and temples (so called “wat” in Thai and Khmer, but “candi” in Indonesian)
This is of course Rachma’s side of the story (Hey, Yo! Esti, you promise to add on the other link.. work on it, girl!)
Day 1, Friday, Sept 8, 2006 – Phnom Penh! We’re here…
Rushing and cleaning the house before departing Medan – dealing with two little girls, … THEY ARE ANGELS!!! A house and a husband is never a fast task.. One has to deal with tons of little details before
departing for fun… (gosh, I did feel a it guilty leaving them all behind – but this travel is perhaps once in a life time)
Putra, dropped me at the Polonia airport. Quick kiss on his cheek and promises to sms all the time. The kids were just confused. “Amie! Are you going to Malaysia” little Dasha shouted. “No, this is my trip to Cambodia. Behave okay sweety, if you behave and do well in school you’re coming with me next time” I paid the IDR 75,000 International gate tax at Polonia, checked in at the (the best! Airfare was Asia Air.. this is not promotion but the truth!)
In Kuala Lumpur, as I arrived and boredom strike. I put on make up that I never had the chance to put on that morning. Suddenly a shout, from what I found out from a crazy enough girl who is dared enough to travel with me, without even knowing it is going to work out or not. Crazy? Maybe. Spontaneous people? Definitely.
Suddenly a girl in a head scarf shouted in the hall of LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal), “ Rachma, RACHMA!) She ran in excitement to me, with her hmmmm...-pretty big back pack I shall say-and we hugged as we have known each other for years. With big smiles on our faces we went to find a Musholla for praying. Travel is a must, but Allah comes first. From there to a Malay Restaurant in the airport that cost them RM8 per person for a plate of Nasi Lemak and Hot Tea – total up to RM 16.
Talk, talk, talk endlessly until the flight to Phnom Penh was ready to board. More talk on the 2 hours flight. Until they landed in the airport in Phnom Penh. First impression I see in Cambodia is the airport is way nice compared to Polonia. Clean, in order, but only the immigration was asking, confusingly?, NaaaHHH.. for USD 1 for picture since we did not have any for us….
Another immigration guy was asking for USD 2. Anyway, I paid a dollar plus the USD 20 for tourist visa. We passed the immigration point. I smiled to the camera in my best of the best smile. Why not!!, Esti posed in Korean girls’ pose (meaning with two fingers doing the peace sign), we were being nice and friendly to the immigration guy.
As we walked out from the terminal looking for Cigil who promise will pick us up at the airport. Man.. it was hard to notice him among the other Cambodian people. This Cigil is like shadows… so mysterious… NOT! And… there he is! We all hugged and laughed as always. We talked about Indonesia, the work, teasing Cigil as always,… or perhaps as Cigil says is threatening him… but that is our routine! Cigil is a cool man! (Nope, I take that back Cigil, Esti and I are waaaaay cooler!)
Entering the outskirt of Phnom Penh I recall my boss’ explanation (and thanks boss! For convincing me to go to Siem Reap!) that this is definitely like Medan in the 70’s. Activities were seen slow and easy. Everyone was just laid back enjoying the day. Cars moved slowly, and I could see bicycle here and there. But what I love the most is the nice sweet Siamese faces – sort of reminded me of my time of staying in Thai long, long, long ago.
Mr. Pheng, our drover, finally got us to the Imperial Garden. Finally! It was the precise time to straighten my legs. Settled in and chatted again until it suddenly got dark outside. We never realize the night has arrived! We zoomed out to Okay Restaurant just across the stret. The food was good. We had (and managed to strongly force them to make Halal food.. No pork! No pork pleeease….No pork!) beef with oyster sauce, chicken with green pepper, and chicken fried noodle. We shared the dishes and of course, yeah, completed with steamed rice. But the best of the best is the HOT TEA! I was so glad the Cambodian people are really good in making just the right tea, with perfect sweetness and temperature. That hot teas was definitely my energy source. Esti was also a tea person, meanwhile Cigil who is by race should be a tea person but he preferred Coke!!! (What’s wrong with ya Cigil??? Tea is your root!!)
The night was nice for a walk, so we did. I was happy. It was a good long walk under the clear sky and stars. We walked along the Ton le Sap river, passing the front side of the palace. After buying some rambutans, we walked some more to get back to the hotel.
The night became very late, but Esti and I had so many things that we want to share – just about life, about us, about work, about principals, families. We talked up to 2 am until we got so tired and decided to get our full rest for the next day.
Rushing and cleaning the house before departing Medan – dealing with two little girls, … THEY ARE ANGELS!!! A house and a husband is never a fast task.. One has to deal with tons of little details before
departing for fun… (gosh, I did feel a it guilty leaving them all behind – but this travel is perhaps once in a life time)Putra, dropped me at the Polonia airport. Quick kiss on his cheek and promises to sms all the time. The kids were just confused. “Amie! Are you going to Malaysia” little Dasha shouted. “No, this is my trip to Cambodia. Behave okay sweety, if you behave and do well in school you’re coming with me next time” I paid the IDR 75,000 International gate tax at Polonia, checked in at the (the best! Airfare was Asia Air.. this is not promotion but the truth!)
In Kuala Lumpur, as I arrived and boredom strike. I put on make up that I never had the chance to put on that morning. Suddenly a shout, from what I found out from a crazy enough girl who is dared enough to travel with me, without even knowing it is going to work out or not. Crazy? Maybe. Spontaneous people? Definitely.
Suddenly a girl in a head scarf shouted in the hall of LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal), “ Rachma, RACHMA!) She ran in excitement to me, with her hmmmm...-pretty big back pack I shall say-and we hugged as we have known each other for years. With big smiles on our faces we went to find a Musholla for praying. Travel is a must, but Allah comes first. From there to a Malay Restaurant in the airport that cost them RM8 per person for a plate of Nasi Lemak and Hot Tea – total up to RM 16.
Talk, talk, talk endlessly until the flight to Phnom Penh was ready to board. More talk on the 2 hours flight. Until they landed in the airport in Phnom Penh. First impression I see in Cambodia is the airport is way nice compared to Polonia. Clean, in order, but only the immigration was asking, confusingly?, NaaaHHH.. for USD 1 for picture since we did not have any for us….
Another immigration guy was asking for USD 2. Anyway, I paid a dollar plus the USD 20 for tourist visa. We passed the immigration point. I smiled to the camera in my best of the best smile. Why not!!, Esti posed in Korean girls’ pose (meaning with two fingers doing the peace sign), we were being nice and friendly to the immigration guy.As we walked out from the terminal looking for Cigil who promise will pick us up at the airport. Man.. it was hard to notice him among the other Cambodian people. This Cigil is like shadows… so mysterious… NOT! And… there he is! We all hugged and laughed as always. We talked about Indonesia, the work, teasing Cigil as always,… or perhaps as Cigil says is threatening him… but that is our routine! Cigil is a cool man! (Nope, I take that back Cigil, Esti and I are waaaaay cooler!)
Entering the outskirt of Phnom Penh I recall my boss’ explanation (and thanks boss! For convincing me to go to Siem Reap!) that this is definitely like Medan in the 70’s. Activities were seen slow and easy. Everyone was just laid back enjoying the day. Cars moved slowly, and I could see bicycle here and there. But what I love the most is the nice sweet Siamese faces – sort of reminded me of my time of staying in Thai long, long, long ago.
Mr. Pheng, our drover, finally got us to the Imperial Garden. Finally! It was the precise time to straighten my legs. Settled in and chatted again until it suddenly got dark outside. We never realize the night has arrived! We zoomed out to Okay Restaurant just across the stret. The food was good. We had (and managed to strongly force them to make Halal food.. No pork! No pork pleeease….No pork!) beef with oyster sauce, chicken with green pepper, and chicken fried noodle. We shared the dishes and of course, yeah, completed with steamed rice. But the best of the best is the HOT TEA! I was so glad the Cambodian people are really good in making just the right tea, with perfect sweetness and temperature. That hot teas was definitely my energy source. Esti was also a tea person, meanwhile Cigil who is by race should be a tea person but he preferred Coke!!! (What’s wrong with ya Cigil??? Tea is your root!!)
The night was nice for a walk, so we did. I was happy. It was a good long walk under the clear sky and stars. We walked along the Ton le Sap river, passing the front side of the palace. After buying some rambutans, we walked some more to get back to the hotel.
The night became very late, but Esti and I had so many things that we want to share – just about life, about us, about work, about principals, families. We talked up to 2 am until we got so tired and decided to get our full rest for the next day.
Day 2, Saturday, Sept 9, 2006 – Serious sun burn from Ton Le Sap Lake!
Wake up .. wake up…it’s 5 o’clock! Man, my body was all too tired and really want to be just in bed! But, no, I told myself to get up and get ready. The boat to catch is going to leave at 6 am. Besides we had to make the most of that 5 DAYS ONLY TRIP. Brushing our teeth and getting the comfiest dress and rushed to the port (or what Cambodian called “kampong”) 
Mr Pheng (god morning Mr. Pheng! He is sooo NICE and perhaps a bit terrified with our LOUD voice) was already prepared to take us. As we got to the port, we paid USD 25 for the boat tickets and got into the dock that had a very strong kerosene odor. We decided to sit outside, lay lazy and enjoy the sun – let us burn baby!, HAH! (No, at the end we regretted that idea a bit since we had bad burns)
The five hour ride by boat to Siem Reap with our stomachs rumbles playing the salsa every other minute. The trip was again filled with chat. The foreigners (not us… the others) were bugged by our giggles and laughs and non-stop medley chat like chirping birds. Gossip, gossip, gossip (yeah, ngobrol tanpa gossip bagaikan agar agar tanpa garam, masak sayur tanpa panci....nah lo.. gak bakal seru! So go gossip!) it was a constructive gossip!
Through the biggest lake in South East Asia (katanya..) called the Ton Le Sap lake, we enjoyed the sights along the lake sides. First it was local fisherman, just like in Belawan, then nothing else, just fresh water, but as we entered Siem Reap, we were just touched by the poor lives of the fishermen. Even the marine police station or post was so sad.
Khmer? Khmer? (read: khmey, khmey) Thai Thai? Most of the tuk tuk drivers and taxi drivers were asking what we wanted to ride (foreign lady.. you have to choose, or we wil follow you and ask you all de tttiiimmeee!!!)( Whaaaa??)
Khmer was for Esti, with her ‘cat eyes’ and yellowish – not yet burned – skin..and Thai was for me (I really don’t think I look Thai though). We spotted Sareung, our hotel guy and we immediately hop onto the tuk tuk leading to the hotel. No need to pay the port-hotel transport fee, it was included just like a limo pick up in a five star hotel. It was a good drive!
Entering Siem Reap was another experience. I like this place much better. It was began with fisherman village (to tell you the truth I can really smell the fish, reminded me of Asterix comic book, the fish seller hee hee). The architecture was very much like Malay houses in Tanjung Pura area down to Pangkalan Susu. Raised by columns, similar roof type and carved hand rails. Similar window forms.. well, just like every other traditional Asian houses in coastal areas. The town itself is pretty small. Pshar Cas was the local mrket with many goods, but Siem Reap was all about the great Angkor!
We checked in the hotel and met with Suti and Sareung. Suti spoke Thai a bit, just like me! So I could easily tried my Thai and asked situations around. Sareung was our tuk tuk driver. He is a nice guy! These 3 pairs of eyes, plus 2 more belong to 2 Cambodian girls were just staring at us!!! We, as Indonesian, were seemed to be not common to their eyes. No Indonesian in Siem Reap? They claimed that only Americans, Europeans, Japanese and Korean would have trip to Siem Reap, not Indonesian. But then this had made them to like us more and gave us better trip trick in Siem Reap, to do it cheap and fast and cover the most of important spots.
I bluntly said,” Hey, you and I are Asian,.. let’s help us out here.. we don’t have much money! No money!.. can you tell us what to do that does not need money here??? Hee hee” and it’s that smiles we gave to them that made them surrender! Ah hah! Got ya!.. Cool!
Here are the tips if you only have 1 day in Siem Reap:1/2 a day on day 1: Sept 9, 2006 evening
-- You check in the hotel, have lunch which is about 5 USD, then hop on the tuk tuk to get to the War Museum. Spend 3USD for the entrance. You take lots of pictures... you get sad. Then get it over with because you are about to see a sadder scene later on.
-- Hop on the tuk tuk again and go to the Killing Field. This is a MUST trip since Cambodia is part of the world history. You gotta see the evidence of Pol Pot's brutality. And imagine! This just happened in the 75's !!! I was already a year old that time running around and having a great time in Medan - meanwhile they are suffering from the revolution. No fee here but be sure if you get a tour guide that
you give him tip.
-- Finish the Killing field, you go to Pschar Cas, DON"T BUY things there! Way too expensive.. if let say you are going down to Phnom Penh like we did, buy souvenirs in Phnom Penh. If not, then .... spend your cash in Siem Reap then.
-- From there you go the Park, where all the Wats (or temples.. or Candi - buat orang Indonesia) are. Be patient to wait until 5 pm to buy the tickets for the next day. If you buy at this hour, you are then allowed to see the sunset from the ... "Hill" (believe me! this is the name they told me, but there is a great Wat there too. I am so sure the old Khmer people did not name it the Hill)
-- You got your ticket, it is 20USD per day. If you want to go for 3 days (which is also great because then you have a lot of time to explore every single Wats there) will be 40 USD- then with your tuk tuk go to the hill
-- Hop on the tuk tuk again and go to the Killing Field. This is a MUST trip since Cambodia is part of the world history. You gotta see the evidence of Pol Pot's brutality. And imagine! This just happened in the 75's !!! I was already a year old that time running around and having a great time in Medan - meanwhile they are suffering from the revolution. No fee here but be sure if you get a tour guide that
you give him tip.-- Finish the Killing field, you go to Pschar Cas, DON"T BUY things there! Way too expensive.. if let say you are going down to Phnom Penh like we did, buy souvenirs in Phnom Penh. If not, then .... spend your cash in Siem Reap then.
-- From there you go the Park, where all the Wats (or temples.. or Candi - buat orang Indonesia) are. Be patient to wait until 5 pm to buy the tickets for the next day. If you buy at this hour, you are then allowed to see the sunset from the ... "Hill" (believe me! this is the name they told me, but there is a great Wat there too. I am so sure the old Khmer people did not name it the Hill)
-- You got your ticket, it is 20USD per day. If you want to go for 3 days (which is also great because then you have a lot of time to explore every single Wats there) will be 40 USD- then with your tuk tuk go to the hill
-- To climb the hill, you have 2 options, by foot, nice climbing, strongly recommended (as Rachma walked up the hill, some Khmer musicians were playing traditional music... it was Sooooooo nice!) OR, you can take the elephant ride for 15USD per person
As you get to the top, you will be speechless to see the view. You will wish to be with your soul mate! Definitely prepare camera and from my experience, you can feel the warmth all the way into your heart...
But yeah, Esti and I were more in our silly mood. Hee hee..
-- As you finish that, you can go to see a free concert. A Swedish doctor who play the Cello, try to raise fund for Cambodian children. Collaborating closely with the hospital (bring sweater, the nice auditorium was freezing cold!) . The location is at this (I think) Art Hall called... I will find out later for you, I forgot..
-- From there, go straight to Pscar Cas again for dinner. Any restaurant cost about the same. I tried the Angkor Famous Retsaurant - great Spring roll, Ginger chicken, and Mushroom. Definitely the HOT TEA as always. One dinner like what they had cost about 5.30 USD - good deal, eh? But there is a resaturant next to the one we had that also had the Cambodian traditional dance show. No Fee
From Pshar Cas you can go back to the hotel and chat up to 2 am... like Esti and me! HA ha... but be sure you can get up at 4 am to get ready to see the sunrise.
Tuk tuk fee for the first day was 8 USD
1/2 a day on day 1:Sept 10, 2006 morning 
As you get to
Angkor Wat, find a good spot to see the sunrise. It is totally a different experience compared to the sunset at the Hill. Once the sun is all out, explore Angkor Wat. It is humaguous! Take lots of pictures! You'll be sorry if you dont. We met some Cambodian kids who decided to take pictures with each of us. Then we explore the inside of the Angkore Wat, climbing to the top and were just amazed by the architecture. 
Anyway, when I was there we took pioctures with two little monks - it was nice, we gave them little "uang jajan" and Rachma gave him her email address since he was asking to correspondence. (Funny, it was like Mars communication, "lady, lady, internet number..." --Rachma was confused but then "Ooohh,.. yeah, you want your picture to be emailed? Sure what is your email address?" -- Little monk gave a paper with Cambodian characters -- Nah lo! Bingung dah gua! -- So Rachma decided to give her email address and try it from there. Belive it or not, just yesterday Rachma received an email from the little monk! Great ha? Yeah! Coolness..) -- When we got to the site, we drank hot tea for 1USD each. We met a nice kid who kep bargaining her merchandise to us, buddha statue, postcard... "Hi.. foreign lady.. you buy me statue pliisss... my baby buddha pliiiss... oh, foreign lady! or you buy me poska' pliiss only fo a dollaah.... lady pliisss... oh - i know, you give me three dollah, for tea and poska' and I will tell you the capital of Indonisi...." (shhh.. pronounce it like the Cambodian.. it's cute!)
-- Snap shots at Bayon - you will have time to relax a bit. Then from here go to
-- This will be the last Wat then you have to go back to any restaurant, we picked a restaurant at Pscar Cas again, for lunch. We paid 9 USD for lunch. Tuk tuk fee again is 8 USD. Then from there go to the bus station. The bus leave twice a day, one at 7 am and the one we took at 12.30 pm
-- Spend the time at the bus looking at the country side, transitting at local bus stations, watch the Cambodian girls buy some snacks... and as for Rachma and Esti, they were offered the deep fried SPIDER!!!! (No, thank you, we are full.. ha ha)
So those are the tips adn trick.. now back to my story with the chick from Surabaya
Day 3, That Monday in Phnom Penh, September 11, 2006
Okay, starting a day in Phnom Penh is quiet different. Rachma and Esti spent their morning at the Tuol Sleng Prison. This was once a school before Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge turned it into an interrogation spot and prison for too many of Cambodians! They called it S-21. Entrance fee was 3 USD It was so hard to imagine, but surely made the visitors upset. Again this is a MUST SEE object in Phnom Penh just so we can see the history, learn from it and most of all, make us to think of the future, how it should be like and how we h
ave to run our lives. Compared to all the mothers in the pictures, children, men, families.. we are so lucky to be alive today and far from that section of the history. Enough looking around at Tole Seng so both girls hit it to the Central Market. Nothing much to buy for both of the "not to shopping-ish type of girls, besides they were dehidrating from the heat!". Manage to make good bargain on the Cambodian silk, bandana, water! and went around to find Mr. Pheng, who was so patiently waiting for them to come out.
There you go, Mr. Pheng.. a nice guy who then drove us back to the hotel to meet Cigil who managed to get out of work. Finally Cigil! Take some time off! With empty stomach we all went to a Moslem Indian Cambodian Restaurant and Rachma tried her Malay there. Again, the hot tea was the best of all, plus the great Nasi Goreng, and a dish of Manggo salad and beef with string beans. Cigil paid around 7 USD for that. Great!
Then lets be kids! We went for some games at local mall. Boom Boom Car (is that what it is called in English???) and some ice cream. Rachma almost losther sunglasses there! Then trying the Iced Coffee Milk at Nguyen Coffee Shop. Again Cigil managed to pay! (damn... you're nice Cigil!) a cup was 1USD - but better also to hang out at the Buckie's i
n Medan, no? Chatted for abotu an hour on life, religion, soul mates, marriages, culture and values (really Esti and I were the ones did all the talking like experts. Cigil was mostly the victim!)
From there we decided to return to hotel and just chill.. That afternoon, the girls and Cigil watched Pieces Of April. Definitely a good movie (Cigil, I want to collect that too - you are right, it is nice!) and Rachma and Esti never thought of.... okay okay, this has to stop at this point. The "Rain" was pouring and the day was not even cloudy! (hint hint.. know what I mean??)
The night came, they decided to take tuk tuk to go for dinner. The nigth was just perfect! Nice breeze, easy atmosphere, the only thing was we did not reserve the place beforehand. Cigil's plan to entertain Rachma and Esti at the nicest restaurant in town was cancelled, it was fully booked with some rich Cambodian (I supposed) who was celebrating his/ her birthday. So we wnet to another nice restaurant just across the river.
The nice lighting, nice waiter.. (the girls hated the fan though!) and nice food. We chatted again mostly about easy stuff... the whole dinner cost about.. who knows! No-one paid attention anymore! Then it was a funny ride on the moto, cost us 1 USD, to go to the Casino place - just to see what is casino is all about. Rachma saw one from distance before in Genting Higland Malaysia with Putra, but this is up close to the tables. Question that does not need to be asnwered: why spend all that money after you work so hard to get it? Gambling, casino is definitely a NO for Rachma.
Casino place was so close to the hotel - so we took the back road and that night we all slept like babies.. Buoy! the trip was finally made us loosing our energy!
ave to run our lives. Compared to all the mothers in the pictures, children, men, families.. we are so lucky to be alive today and far from that section of the history. Enough looking around at Tole Seng so both girls hit it to the Central Market. Nothing much to buy for both of the "not to shopping-ish type of girls, besides they were dehidrating from the heat!". Manage to make good bargain on the Cambodian silk, bandana, water! and went around to find Mr. Pheng, who was so patiently waiting for them to come out.There you go, Mr. Pheng.. a nice guy who then drove us back to the hotel to meet Cigil who managed to get out of work. Finally Cigil! Take some time off! With empty stomach we all went to a Moslem Indian Cambodian Restaurant and Rachma tried her Malay there. Again, the hot tea was the best of all, plus the great Nasi Goreng, and a dish of Manggo salad and beef with string beans. Cigil paid around 7 USD for that. Great!
Then lets be kids! We went for some games at local mall. Boom Boom Car (is that what it is called in English???) and some ice cream. Rachma almost losther sunglasses there! Then trying the Iced Coffee Milk at Nguyen Coffee Shop. Again Cigil managed to pay! (damn... you're nice Cigil!) a cup was 1USD - but better also to hang out at the Buckie's i
n Medan, no? Chatted for abotu an hour on life, religion, soul mates, marriages, culture and values (really Esti and I were the ones did all the talking like experts. Cigil was mostly the victim!)From there we decided to return to hotel and just chill.. That afternoon, the girls and Cigil watched Pieces Of April. Definitely a good movie (Cigil, I want to collect that too - you are right, it is nice!) and Rachma and Esti never thought of.... okay okay, this has to stop at this point. The "Rain" was pouring and the day was not even cloudy! (hint hint.. know what I mean??)
The night came, they decided to take tuk tuk to go for dinner. The nigth was just perfect! Nice breeze, easy atmosphere, the only thing was we did not reserve the place beforehand. Cigil's plan to entertain Rachma and Esti at the nicest restaurant in town was cancelled, it was fully booked with some rich Cambodian (I supposed) who was celebrating his/ her birthday. So we wnet to another nice restaurant just across the river.
The nice lighting, nice waiter.. (the girls hated the fan though!) and nice food. We chatted again mostly about easy stuff... the whole dinner cost about.. who knows! No-one paid attention anymore! Then it was a funny ride on the moto, cost us 1 USD, to go to the Casino place - just to see what is casino is all about. Rachma saw one from distance before in Genting Higland Malaysia with Putra, but this is up close to the tables. Question that does not need to be asnwered: why spend all that money after you work so hard to get it? Gambling, casino is definitely a NO for Rachma.
Casino place was so close to the hotel - so we took the back road and that night we all slept like babies.. Buoy! the trip was finally made us loosing our energy!
Day 4, Last Day in Cambodia, September 12, 2006
It is never fun to realize you're on the last day of your vacation. I woke up with regret that the trip was way too short. Got to return to my hubby with longer time there. That morning Esti and I started the morning by having breakfast again at Okay Restaurant. Cigil had to work. We only ate for 4.70 USD. Then slowly walked over to the Palace.
To me, the palace is so much as what she had seen in Bangkok when I was smaller. But it was great. The entrance fee was 3USD per person and 2USD for camera. Snap shots here and there but then they got so tired and decided to take moto back to the hotel. The moto agreed on 4000 real, which is equal to 1USD and theywere just crashed in our deepest zzz'z - at least for me who tried to watch the Killing Field movie and never finished it.
Around 1130 Cigil stopped over to pick the girls and off they go to a nice "groovy" restaurant called "Friends". A marvelous idea to upgrade the potential of street kids. The food was good, and I had no idea on the price. To Cambodian rate it was quite pricy but hey, .. Cigil handled it all! (We're cool! ha ha.. ) Lunch was nice, the day was over.. we had to go home.
Driving to the airport was fine until we had to say good bye. Cigil is a cool buddy! (Hey man! Sorry if we made fun of you lots of time! That's just our way of showing we care! You're a nice guy!Lo keren buanget bo! Stay that way! Jangan kapok!) Looking through the glass wall as we checked in. Separating from friends is never fun! But there should be next time, definitely! (Right Esti?right.) We paid 25USD for the airport tax... as we walked to the escalator Cigil was already off to his office. Then off we went with Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur for one night transit.
Around 1130 Cigil stopped over to pick the girls and off they go to a nice "groovy" restaurant called "Friends". A marvelous idea to upgrade the potential of street kids. The food was good, and I had no idea on the price. To Cambodian rate it was quite pricy but hey, .. Cigil handled it all! (We're cool! ha ha.. ) Lunch was nice, the day was over.. we had to go home.
Driving to the airport was fine until we had to say good bye. Cigil is a cool buddy! (Hey man! Sorry if we made fun of you lots of time! That's just our way of showing we care! You're a nice guy!Lo keren buanget bo! Stay that way! Jangan kapok!) Looking through the glass wall as we checked in. Separating from friends is never fun! But there should be next time, definitely! (Right Esti?right.) We paid 25USD for the airport tax... as we walked to the escalator Cigil was already off to his office. Then off we went with Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur for one night transit.
Kuala Lumpur, another little stop, girls talk... September 13, 2006
Esti and Rachma arrived late in Kuala Lumpur and quickly rushed to the skyway bus to get to KL Central. The bus cost 9RM and finally as they got to KL Central, simply just by crossing the park and street they get to the monorail station, which will lead them to Bukit Bintang stop. The one way trip from KL Central to Bukit Bintang was 2.10RMTrying to explain to Esti the best plan for the next half a day - since this was Esti's first time in KL. We got to Bukit Bintang station and walked through the walkway into the Bukit Bintang mall. Dirty, piled up with back packs, they still managed to make a short stop at the Vinnci store... yep! looking for shoes... "Nope, we have no Ringgit yet, can't shop, gotta pay the hotel first" So we rushed to the Tengkat Tong Shin Road just behind Bukit Bintang and checked in at the "Zenned minimalist hotel" called Hotel Delapan. Found the cheapest room there and immediately went out for dinner. The hotel provides bunk beds with shared bathrooms as well as regular rooms. But it was clean, nicely designed, and hommy
The dinner at SK Corner, very close to Hotel Delapan was good. The girls needed the hot tea again. Then girls' talk. Esti talked about her family, and so did Rachma - trying to soothe each other on every littl eproblems we found, trying to make build up confidence that the future will be much better... it was nice and the talk lasted until 11 o'clock until they both decided to return for some rest.
The next morning, after breakfast, gettign ready to go to the Petronas Tower. We hop on the monorail again to go to KLCC, which is just under Petronas Tower. As we got there, we shoot some pictures and return back to Bukti Bintang and again hunt for Vinnci shoes. Their stomachs were unnegotiable - they rushed to a "warung nasi padang" just close to Bukit Bintang and ate deep fried cat fish, beef with coconut sauce and some veggies. As they ate, imagine! they met a Medanese person!!! And that person supposedly the contact of Racham's office in Medan. After chat about this and that, the guy decided to trat the lunch - cool! what else is better than having a nice lunch and suddenly someone decided to pay for you.. ha ha..
Time for Esti to go catch her flight - it was sad good bye. Too much fun hanging out and this is the things Rachma can not find in Medan. Hmm.. ada pertemuan - ada perpisahan... After giving a big hug and promises to keep in touch, Esti hop on the sky bus again to go to LCCT.
Rachma returned back to Bukit Bintang and wondered around. Bought some toys for her two girls, the crazy dancing ball and a remote control car. Then when the time comes, she returned back to KL Central to catch the bus. But damn! there are traffick jam at evening time in KL's toll road. So after fighting with a taxi guy, Rachma found another taxi guy who agreed on 65RM from KL Central to LCCT - what a pain!
Finally home, seeking baby Aqila and Dasha always soothe her heart. Immediately text messaged Putra to let him know on the arrival and continued with long talk with mother.
At around 2 am, she fell asleep and notice in her dizziness that mother had put a blanket over her, just like when she was small. How Rachma miss her Mom dearly for the past months.... if only she knows...
Esti and Rachma arrived late in Kuala Lumpur and quickly rushed to the skyway bus to get to KL Central. The bus cost 9RM and finally as they got to KL Central, simply just by crossing the park and street they get to the monorail station, which will lead them to Bukit Bintang stop. The one way trip from KL Central to Bukit Bintang was 2.10RMTrying to explain to Esti the best plan for the next half a day - since this was Esti's first time in KL. We got to Bukit Bintang station and walked through the walkway into the Bukit Bintang mall. Dirty, piled up with back packs, they still managed to make a short stop at the Vinnci store... yep! looking for shoes... "Nope, we have no Ringgit yet, can't shop, gotta pay the hotel first" So we rushed to the Tengkat Tong Shin Road just behind Bukit Bintang and checked in at the "Zenned minimalist hotel" called Hotel Delapan. Found the cheapest room there and immediately went out for dinner. The hotel provides bunk beds with shared bathrooms as well as regular rooms. But it was clean, nicely designed, and hommy
The dinner at SK Corner, very close to Hotel Delapan was good. The girls needed the hot tea again. Then girls' talk. Esti talked about her family, and so did Rachma - trying to soothe each other on every littl eproblems we found, trying to make build up confidence that the future will be much better... it was nice and the talk lasted until 11 o'clock until they both decided to return for some rest.
The next morning, after breakfast, gettign ready to go to the Petronas Tower. We hop on the monorail again to go to KLCC, which is just under Petronas Tower. As we got there, we shoot some pictures and return back to Bukti Bintang and again hunt for Vinnci shoes. Their stomachs were unnegotiable - they rushed to a "warung nasi padang" just close to Bukit Bintang and ate deep fried cat fish, beef with coconut sauce and some veggies. As they ate, imagine! they met a Medanese person!!! And that person supposedly the contact of Racham's office in Medan. After chat about this and that, the guy decided to trat the lunch - cool! what else is better than having a nice lunch and suddenly someone decided to pay for you.. ha ha..
Time for Esti to go catch her flight - it was sad good bye. Too much fun hanging out and this is the things Rachma can not find in Medan. Hmm.. ada pertemuan - ada perpisahan... After giving a big hug and promises to keep in touch, Esti hop on the sky bus again to go to LCCT.
Rachma returned back to Bukit Bintang and wondered around. Bought some toys for her two girls, the crazy dancing ball and a remote control car. Then when the time comes, she returned back to KL Central to catch the bus. But damn! there are traffick jam at evening time in KL's toll road. So after fighting with a taxi guy, Rachma found another taxi guy who agreed on 65RM from KL Central to LCCT - what a pain!
Finally home, seeking baby Aqila and Dasha always soothe her heart. Immediately text messaged Putra to let him know on the arrival and continued with long talk with mother.
At around 2 am, she fell asleep and notice in her dizziness that mother had put a blanket over her, just like when she was small. How Rachma miss her Mom dearly for the past months.... if only she knows...
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Hari kedua di USNS Mercy
Hari kedua setelah susah tidur di dalam kabin USNS Mercy. Pagi itu aku membantu menterjemahkan semua tenatng Kapal USNS Mercy kepada para pejabat Nias Selatan. "Iya Pak, kit aharu sdenegerin dulu tentang fasilitas Mercy, ntar setelah ini kita atur deh check up khusus buat Bapak dan temen temen yang ingin di check up!"
USNS Mercy yang kayanya dulu kapal tanker minyak memiliki fasilitas UGD yang terlengkap di seluruh rumah sakit di Amerika (termasuk yang di darat) dan juga dilengkapi dengan fasilitas medis yang luar biasa. Mulai dari 2 ruang operasi dan perlengkapan post surgery, ditambah lagi dengan fasilitas rawat inap yang bersih, terawat dan komprehensif. Salu
t bener bener salut! Semua pasien juga ditangani dengan baik dan ramah oleh para dokter dan paramedik kapal. Aku melihat sendiri senyum yang tiada henti hentinya dari merka yang sehari bekerja lebih dari 15 jam. Walaupun demikian tetapi tetap dapat bekerja secara professional. Bahkan karena tanggung jawab moral , salah seorang dokter mau membuat list dari pasiennya yang dirawat saat tsunami dan gempa tahun 2004 - dan tahun ini dia melihat mereka kembali sudah bisa bermain dengan riang... Coba deh! apa yang gak paling menyenangkan daripada mengembalikan kebahagiaan bagi orang lain....
t bener bener salut! Semua pasien juga ditangani dengan baik dan ramah oleh para dokter dan paramedik kapal. Aku melihat sendiri senyum yang tiada henti hentinya dari merka yang sehari bekerja lebih dari 15 jam. Walaupun demikian tetapi tetap dapat bekerja secara professional. Bahkan karena tanggung jawab moral , salah seorang dokter mau membuat list dari pasiennya yang dirawat saat tsunami dan gempa tahun 2004 - dan tahun ini dia melihat mereka kembali sudah bisa bermain dengan riang... Coba deh! apa yang gak paling menyenangkan daripada mengembalikan kebahagiaan bagi orang lain....
Fasilitas untuk 'hidup' di Mercy sendiri tidak kalah hebat. Dengan memiliki alat perubah air asin menjadi air tawar, Mercy mampu untuk hidup selama 6 bulan dilaut lepas. Ini belum ditambah dengan fasilitas olah raga, nonton "mis bar" gerimis bubar" di deck atas, dua helicopter (sea hawk) cafetaria (dengan makanan 'bule abis' tapi aku suka kok! dan mereka juag respect terhadap yang muslim karena menyediakan makanan halal), toko souvenir. Dari semuanya yang paling membuat aku terpana ya di deck kapal... hmm pas sunset begitu bagusnya!
Tiba saatnya untuk pulang... hmm.. ntah kapan lagi bisa ke Nias.. pulau yang begitu eksotis.. hanya sering terabaikan...
Monday, July 17, 2006
Akhirnya.. aku dapat kesempatan ke Nias. Bayangkan! Tinggal di Medan tapi belum pernah ke Nias.. ternyata memang kerja bisa membawa nikmat dan ilmu! :0)Pagi, bangun pukul 4, langsung mandi dan bersiap - tas ransel putih yang memang sudah menemaniku ke mana mana sudah siap tersedia di depan pintu kamar. Sholat dan sarapan dengan cepat. hmmm.. Aqila kecil dan Ka' Dasha masih terlelap.. setiap hari aku menikmati pandangan yang sama... kedua periku terlihat begitu mirip dan lucu.. hanya saja, satu versi yang sudah 4 tahun dan yang satu baru setahun,.. tapi aku dan Putra tergila gila dengan mereka..
Quick kiss as always.. on the cheeks, on the neck.... I smelled their "minyak kayu putih" essence.. hmm..
Zoom, tiba di bandara Polonia dan menjumpai dua teman jurnalis yang
sudah begitu akrab, ditambah bos baru yang juga ternyata, orangnya lucu dan santai - cocok dengan apa yang aku harapkan! Akhirnya kami memulai perjalanan dengan Merpati, yang kabin dalamnya luar biasa 'berembun' sampai sampai terasa seperti ada yang mau goyang dangdut! ha ha...
Pohon kelapa yang berbaris, hamparan laut yang biru dan pasir pantai yang bersih.. betapa aku cinta laut! (meski aku gak terlalu bisa berenang.. ) tetapi laut benar benar bisa menyejukkan hati. Dengan segera kami menyusuri jalan kampung, menujur RSU Gunung Sitoli, di sana aku tersentak dengan barisan masyarakat yang benar beanrtidak punya akses untuk pelayanan medis yang baik. Kasihan mereka.... antrian yang panjang, no! lebih cocok disebut seperti keroyokan... mereka tetap pada budaya 'susah ngantri' sampai akhirnya kami pun pusing melihat tidak ada tanda tanda kemajuan dalam proses pendaftaran. Akhirnya aku minta izin untuk membantu atur barisan - somebody got to do it! dan Ya Allah, memang susah mengajarkan budaya baris... sampai akhirnya aku berhasil juga, setelah bercucuran peluh dan kehabisan suara. Seperti biasa, aku meniru logat setempat, supaya cepat akrab saja dengan mereka.
Satu persatu diperiksa dengan sabar oleh dokter dokter USNS Mercy yang ditugaskan melakukan pemeriksaan awal. Berbagai macam penyakit mulai dari yang ringan, katarak, sampai tumor! Hhh... untung aku bukan dokter! Untung dulu gak jadi milih dokter! Aku bisa pingsan kalau harus mengobati mereka.
Setelah mereka settled, kami ke Pendopo Bupati untuk acara formal, antara Pemda setempat dan official dari USNS Mercy. Mercy menampilkan Band yang keren, semua menikmati. Sedangkan aku juga menghayalkan kalau saja semua warung warung yang membatasi pandangan dari Pendopo Bupati ke lepas pantai bisa dipindahkan.. seandainya saja kota Gunung Sitoli itu lebih tertata... di kejauhan aku melihat laut dan nelayan..
Dari sana kami ke panti asuhan untuk membantu beberapa 'tukang bangunan' USNS Mercy untuk survey, agar mereka juga bisa melakukan perbaikan. Perjalanan kemudian nanti akan dilanjutkan ke pelabuhan baru.
Sebelum ke pelabuhan kami pergi ke Museum Nias yang diwarnai oleh begitu banyak koleksi maket Omohada dan artifak Nias. Di salah satu sudut terlihat baju adat Cina yang sudah usang, dan ternyata para pedagang Cina pernah sampai ke daratan Nias di masa lampau. Kami menikmati juga jalan setapak di pinggir pantai, yang masih termasuk kawasan museum, melihat lagi ke laut lepas, yang di sebrangnya terdapat pantai Sibolga. Museum juga dilengkapi dengan kebun binatang mini.
Pelabuhan baru sudah dipebuhi oleh pasien yang akan dirawat di USNS Mercy, mereka menunggu boat yang hilir mudik untuk membawa mereka ke rumah sakit terapung itu. Satu pandangan yang menyentuh hatiku, 'Mr. Popeye' ntah siapalah namanya.. hanya saja yang aku tahu dia adalah seorang nelayan sipil biasa yang volunteer khusus untuk membantu. Buku buku tangannya berdarah karena terhempas ke dinding dok yang terbuat dari semen kasar, dan karena menarik tali kapal untuk menjaga kestabilan. Salut untuk kamu Popeye! You're great!.. Sesaat aku menjadi malu.. apa aku bisa berbuat yang sama? Apa bangsaku juga sudah banyak berbuat yang sama? hhh...
Menuju ke USNS Mercy, boat kami melaju dengan kencang. Terasa angin laut di wajah, meninggalkan butiran garam yang membuat kulit kami menjdi lengket. Rambutku pun acak acakan. Sesampainya di gerbang USNS Mercy, boat kami disambut oleh komandan kapal. Komandan yang dari tadi juga tidak berhenti bekerja - bukan hanya memerintah... tapi asli! ikut berpartisipasi. Orang orang seperti ini yang kita butuhkan, penuh dedikasi dan tanggung jawab.
Seharian itu kami menghabiskan waktu mengeksplorasi kapal, mulai dari kekaguman kami akan kerapihan kapal dalam menjada peralatan, menjaga kebersihan, fasilitas yang luar biasa... tetapi yang paling penting adalah kuatnya kerja sama. Di USNS Mercy tidak ada yang ingin menjadi bos, tetapi semua berpikir mereka harus bekerja, memberikan kontribusi yang sebanyak banyaknya...
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