Ramadan has been about simplicity. The time when you don’t have to constantly think about what to eat, what to serve, and many more like the other eleven months. I love how simple things are during the day when the little girl has already joined a whole day fasting this year.
The time when you’re naturally drawn to do more good deeds than usual, when you become more conscious in doing something bad or useless knowing it would ruin your fasting.
Dropping any ifthar jama’i outside except for the unavoidable ones since the last 11 years. What is needed after a whole day of fasting is proper rest and silence. Not loud and exhausting dinner.
It’s been a while since this post is on my draft. It supposed to be a post with few lists. But, I couldn’t manage to finish it after several trials.
Something what happened in the little girl’s therapy sessions triggered me to finish this. Also another hard conversation happened in the family last week too.
So, the therapist asked her about what compliments you can give to daddy and she mentioned severals like he’s a good cook and a good anesthesiologist. Then, the next question was about what compliments you can give to mommy. She gave a long pause and said something that was totally unclear. Even I didn’t really understand that myself.
It reminded me with what happened in the family last week between the doctor and his brothers. One of them ‘accused’ their mother for not having enough time for him just because she didn’t text him for a week or two.
Their mother was quite furious about such brutal accusation. Day after, she sent text to the doctor telling him how hurt she was and explained everything that she has been done.Oh, how I totally understand her.
If there’s one person who everyone is so often take for granted is mother. A mother who takes care everything at home so everyone could function properly outside.
Coming home to a tidy and clean house, everything is well-managed, even a single thank you rarely heard. Maybe it’s on the gene, or let’s not blame the gene, but it’s totally depend on the person.
I totally understand why the little girl could mention the compliments for her father, who has, so little time with her, better than her mother, who is on her side 24/7. A mother who do everything with her and for her. It’s simply because someone discussed her father with her, but no one discussed her mother with her until not even a single thing she could mention clearly. Partly, it’s also due to not enough examples given how to appreciate her mother enough and better.
It’s actually a warning sign too for us. What have the parents been doing until an 8yo was so clueless about giving proper and simple appreciation to someone who takes care of her daily?
How easy to take people for granted if they are always there. Taking care little things that are not considered as well as important as the big job outside or things that happen daily which is hard to notice compared to something that happen rarely so it seems so big.
This is why I think mothers or anyone who takes care everything and everyone should be selfish. Try to not put themselves lasts. Do more what they think contributes to their peace of mind. No matter how loud the ustad saying how huge the reward for mother would be, that is not enough.
The bitter pill that they have to swallow and should be accepted and understood is she could take care of everyone and everything but no one would take care of and care about them other than themselves. So, one that every mother should take care the most is herself. Do it for themselves, not for everyone else.
(A very good post from a blog I recently followed related to this).
The more I read, the more I totally understand the grey divorce. How old mothers suddenly ask for divorce after all the children are out of home. They endured more than enough for everyone’s peace of mind along the years.
(About the divorce, couldn’t help adding another beautifully written post by the other Dame Maggie Smith).
But, strangely, I find the over glorification about how great mothers are, is as well cringe. I love the quote from one of my recents readings, which I really forgot which, it says,
“Mothers matter, but it doesn’t make any difference”.
I agree too with this one. In the end, we could only do our best. Whatever happen later with the kid or even ourself, that’s not something for us to decide. Not the slightest control on us about the result.
We have heard enough a kid from nobody becomes somebody while one from respectable family end up being in jail.
In one of my unpopular opinions inside my head, it’s more important to use the head more than the heart when it comes to do what you should do, that you choose on your own. Just remember the responsibilities attached to your roles, then just do it. Most of the time, your feeling is only important to you. It’s something that I feel hard to teach my daughter about because she really cares about the feeling. It’s not bad at all, with terms and conditions.
(That childfree campaign, don’t really agree on that, but totally understand about that).
Well, I guess it’s enough for this.
Other than the problem above, Ramadan is here and that’s another thing often being taken for granted. Many forget how precious it is to be given a chance to meet another Ramadan, in good health, safe and sound.
Another Ramadan is not just another year of fasting session. It’s a precious opportunities to experience this month full of blessings once again that should be treated as it is the most important time of the year. Few past years, I remind myself harder about this.
May this year Ramadan brings more blessings and hope everyone has a joyful one!
I was stuck in the traffic jam after school drop, which is not surprising during even date. Not quite real traffic, just long and long traffic light. Three times red light within few meters.
My mind wandered to the past and couldn’t help going through the memory lane when school drop and pick up looked like this.
Once upon a time, a route to go to school was through the wood with the sound of bird chirping along the way.Sunset view waiting for the school pick up during winter
Stuck in the traffic shouldn’t be a happy situation, but, the control is always on our hand. Looking back to these pictures, instead of sad, I felt happy. And grateful. Instead of wishing the situation now would be like those pictures, I am grateful I had it once. I was truly living all the idea that once only happened inside my head. I found comfort in Dr Seuss words , “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened”.
I actually don’t have any complaints stuck in the traffic jam after school drop. This is one thing I surely miss later in the future. So, I’ll enjoy all the red light while it lasts.
I’ve always drawn about everything related to French. Many reasons have been written here in the past.
Raised by a french teacher gave significant impact to me more than any of my siblings. From the parenting, way of life, and many little things that my late mother did really goes along the way and it influences about the way I raise my little girl now, consciously and unconsciously.
From being adventerous about eating, being strict about sleeping, being details about footwear, the love for pastries and cake, make her wait for everything, that’s why I said before how amazed I was when I read the famous Bringing Up Bébe for the first time. Knowing everything that I have done, those things are done by a whole country, which I thought previously it was only and solely from my mother.
Recently, I just finished a book about a woman who wrote a story how her student exchange experiences in Paris gave meaningful and profound lessons to her and just like me, it gave enormous insight and influence to how she lives her life and raise her kids too. She learned so much from the family she lived with and wrote three books about it. How many pages that I felt like doing high five with her.
I found few pages that really hit home, like these :
From “20 lessons from Madame Chic”.This is exactly what I have been doing from last year. Enjoying the city where I live by foot
There are lots of things that make French parenting and way of life make sense, for me. No matter how much I read about it, I could read another and still find new perspectives from the same method. I am totally blessed to be raised such method although I live thousands miles away from the country.
It might relate to this (or not), but, at the beginning of this week, me and the doctor talked about one of my close relatives.
This aunt of mine has been a ‘fan’ of my mother’s parenting for a very long time. When we look from one side, it seems that she looked up to my mother when it comes to raising children, but on the other side, she was actually someone who tried to beat whatever my mother did with a better result, which was not bad actually.
I was once her benchmark for things like school. His only son went to the same junior high school, to the same music school. She is the real example of true tiger mom. An authorarian and helicopter type at the same time. Study is number one and anything that could disrupt it should be eliminated.
Knowing how ambitious she was, her son obviously did very much better than me and my siblings did. But, it wasn’t surprising at all since she made him worked ten times harder than us. Day and night, weekdays or weekend. No wonder his achievements were all over the places. Always top of the class, yearly rank concert, student exchange to US, volunteering in Middle East, and many other flashy achievements that no one in the family could achieve.
Meanwhile, none of my mother’s kids achieve such things. We were (and are) just ordinary kids that sat on the top ten without too much pressure. Enough time to play and biking around. Didn’t join any other extracurricular activities other than piano lesson (three of us). My mother concerned more if we couldn’t function well at home on our own more than doing well at school. When my cousin was busy doing his lessons, we were busy with lots of chores at home. My aunt was very proud of her son’s achievements and said it loudly. But, what could be bragged from children that are capable of doing chores?😂
Fast forward few years, her son studied at the university and became the doctor’s junior at Faculty of Medecine. I happened to be married to the doctor and I didn’t know when it started, a new benchmark formed. This time is not only me but also my whole family.
From one of the doctor’s colleagues who happens to have quite close relationships to my aunt (they are neighbors), my aunt has been really obsessed about everything that my family do. The way I raise the little girl, how much the doctor’s made, which hospitals he works at, which area we bought our house is, she is pretty curious about us and little things that we do or have.
I felt there were few starting line when this behavior grew. First, when the doctor became a staff consultant of national hospitals in his department after he finished his residency. Second, when we ‘suddenly’ moved to London and he didn’t go for study, but for working. Those two were something that her son couldn’t (or hasn’t) achieve(d) (yet).
It doesn’t stop with the doctor. She also started comparing her granddaughter to the little girl. What kind of lessons she took, what kind of achievements she got, etc.
She sounds so dissatisfied and disappointed because his son couldn’t achieve things like above or some other things in his personal life. The pressure is really hard on my cousin and I felt sorry for him because her mother really projects all her disappointment on him. She told the doctor’s colleague of how his son couldn’t act like a real adult in daily life, couldn’t handle his personal and little important things well, but maybe most of all, he couldn’t meet the benchmark she set based on other’s achievement. It indeed doesn’t feel comfortable when we put other’s shoes on our own feet. It’s hard to be happy too that way.
From my perspective, my cousin is doing okay. He’s fully capable and functional adult, but maybe, he might need a bit of help to get out of his mother pressure and expectations. He might need more space to be free from his mother (and all the helps she gives, until now).
I won’t discuss further but this feels like a wake up call for me. To reflect back everything that I do to the little girl. I am far from tiger, but, I sense there are some characteristics of my aunt that I see in myself. It’s not surprising too actually, knowing that both my aunt and my father shared the same father.
My late grandpa from my father side was a disciplined man and he really thought highly about academic and career achievements. He was once a Bank Indonesia employee and expected his kids to follow his directions. He measured his children (and their spouses) mostly from those things. It’s totally understandable that all my father’s siblings are doing well in that area. Of course, there are buts too. So, what my aunt did was actually just the extension of what she got from her parents.
This shows me that parenting is like an infinite game which the finish line couldn’t be seen in the short term and its influence doesn’t stop in one generation. It will keep going to the next generation and it takes conscious effort to fix what should be fixed. It doesn’t matter how well the child is doing at the start, but it matters more how they would be doing as an adult. Preparing the child to be an adult is the parents biggest homeworks, which often being forgotten by most of us.
Looking at this case, I feel like to remind myself as a mother of the little girl that she’s more than anything that could be measured. She’s not defined by anything that she achieves or doesn’t achieve. My job here is to raise her well within my and our best abilities and it’s never up to me and us how she will end up later in life.
Back to the book I read above, another page explains well what I want for my daughter :
I hope whatever she does later in life, she will be fulfilled, resilient and be passionate about that. I really hope she would find that one thing which could spark joy and happiness in doing that. Even without any titles attached to her name, even when she’s doing a simple thing as walking daily for groceries.
I hope later I forgive myself for everything that I have and haven’t done in raising the little girl and leave the rest to whatever things life assigned to her and find peace with that. I hope no single tiny resentment about everything she would become of. Amin.
Parked my car in little girl’s school while enjoying the morning sunshine from the car and listening to Friday’s storytelling sessions from the students. It’s getting hot here and I think it’s time to go home.
First, lots of writing ideas that have been unavailable for the last few months. Been staring at the blank page often since few last months of last year and nothing came up. Traveling for a week, drafts line up in an instant.
Second, the cleanest period at home. I have this urge to clean everything whenever we want to travel. Not only as far as Sydney, even one as close as Bogor or Bandung makes me want to clean everything before we go. The further we go, more massive the cleaning done.
On the day we departed to Sydney, I ran the washing machine twice, changed all the bed sheets and cushions, cleaning the table, and many more. In my opinion, when we travel, preparing for the trip is not the only thing we should do, but another more important thing is preparing the post travel mood.
Since we have no one to help us with domestic chores, I will be the one who will do and deal with all the post travel mess. Thus, coming home to a clean and tidy house is important to me.
Is that all? Sadly, no. I am the one who also unpacks all the luggages right away, not that kind of the following day right away, but literally right away after we set the foot at home. I couldn’t sit still until all the suitcases are safely stored in the cupboard, clear living room without scattered things, all souvenirs properly packed, washing machine start doing its job, then I could stop.
This is why the arrival time is also being highly considered when I purchase the ticket. But, based on past experiences, no matter how late or early, I always unpack right away. Arrived home from Tokyo at 2am, unpacked done until 5 am. Arrived home from Paris at 11pm, unpacked until 2am. Arrived home at 9.30 pm yesterday, all clear by 12.30 am.
They say people who unpack the luggage right away after traveling is a cold blood murderer.
Maybe 🤔.
Third, traveling reveals the worst in you. It reveals not only how annoying your partner to you, but also how annoying you are to them. There are times when I have been so annoyed by either the doctor or the little girl and I am sure I have been such a nuisance to them for many times. When everyone directly goes lazing on the bed or couch after spending hours outside, my choice is always tidying up here and there and sometimes I expect them to do as I do.
Je sais c’est impossible.
The situation of the room every morning before we left for sightseeing. The golden rule : “You won’t be happy coming home to a messy place”
Last one, traveling brings some stories that are not available in any books out there. The old man while waiting the check in time, the lady in Rudolf Steiner book store, the taxi driver who sent us to the airport, all told stories that I could never find in any book stores. With the old man and the taxi driver, it was the doctor who talked to them while I listened while the lady it was between me and her. I actually like the listening part more than the talking. I found it more interesting (easier) when I listened to other’s’ conversations more than when I was the one who had to do the talk. Lazy girl.
Did I say last above? Well, another one then.
After one trip ends, traveling brings the ‘greed’ to do it another one soon.
The greed that made the four seasons of Ilana Tan trips happen within four years in a row.
Pengalaman pertama kali naik Qantas jauh dari mengecewakan. Standar servis yang mengagumkan sejauh ini masih dipegang JAL berdasarkan pengalaman diikuti Qatar. Qantas sedikit mendekati Qatar.
Waktu berangkat jam 7 malam, flight on time dan smooth landing dan take off. Sehari sebelumnya sudah rekues menu halal baik dewasa maupun anak. Hanya pernah sekali rekues menu anak waktu naik Qatar 2017 dan ngga pernah lagi setelahnya. Terlalu hambar buat bisa dinikmati.
Pesawat pergi cukup penuh dan sempit. Makan malam sekali, snack kecil satu kali dan snack sebelum landing satu kali dan selama 7 jam penerbangan, kru kabinnya cukup aktif menawarkan minuman selama penerbangan.
Proses check in untuk penerbangan pulang di Sydney smooth sekali. Prosesnya dilakukan di mesin seperti self check in mulai dari scan paspor sampai memasukan bagasi dilakukan secara mandiri. Menyenangkan sekali, buat yang masih muda dan gampang ngerti. Buat yang lebih tua agak sakit kepala sehingga petugasnya tetap harus standby.
Waktu pulang, jadwal awal jam 13.55 waktu Sydney tapi delay sekitar sejam setengah.
Di pesawat pulang jauhh lebih menyenangkan. Pesawat lebih kosong, kami dapat duduk middle seat yg konfigurasi 3 meskipun agak belakang (di depan semua baris tengah konfigurasi 4). Pak dokter pindah ke window seat di sebelah selama penerbangan.
Mungkin karena penerbangannya siang, makanan ngga berhenti diberikan. Dari awal air mineral dan kacang, lalu makan siang, kemudian cookie, eskrim, kacang lagi, ngga berapa lama datang coklat, lalu terakhir sebelum landing datang pie dan apel. Cookie dan es krimnya enak sekali.
(Ini ditulis di dalam pesawat ketika snack halal sudah dibagikan. Setelah berapa lama, kereta makan datang untuk membagikan snack ke penumpang lain dengan minuman, dikasih lagi satu kotak berisi 4 biji samosa, subhanallah).
Memang yang namanya manusia suka ngelunjak. Setelah abis satu bungkus jcookie yang buat saya enak banget, waktu ke kamar mandi kepikiran buat nanya ke pantry mungkin mereka punya sisa. Tapi batal karena malu. Setelah dikasih sekotak samosa lagi, akhirnya coba nanya. Kalo ngga nanya jawabannya selalu tidak. Tanya ke salah satu pramugari apa masih bisa dapat cookie ini satu lagi dan dia jawab sudah habis. Baiklah.
Tapi sedetik kemudian, dia jawab lagi,
Asking won’t hurt indeed.
“Wait, hang on, hang on,” lalu dia jalan mundur ke kursi depan dan nanya ke salah satu penumpang. Satu bungkus cookie dari penumpang tersebut berpindah tangan.
Salah satu keuntungan rekues makanan halal sebelum penerbangan, makanan kami selalu datang duluan. Sehingga ketika penumpang lain masih menunggu makanan datang (dan kelaparan) kami sudah selesai makan. Buat saya cukup enak makanannya, setidaknya piring saya lumayan bersih. Flight pergi nasi rendang dan sayur, flight pulang nasi, ayam lemon butter dan buncis. Tapi, saya emang ngga repot soal makan.
Bersyukur waktu pemilihan tiket antara naik SQ atau Qantas dengan sekitar 2,5 juta perbedaan akhirnya tetap pilih Qantas karena dua alasan : tidak ada transit dan bagasi yang lebih banyak.
Transit di Changi ngga jelek sebenarnya, cuma untuk jarak dekat seperti ini, transit kurang menguntungkan karena hanya menambah lama durasi perjalanan. Terutama pas pulang. Selesai traveling yang diinginkan cuma segera sampai rumah sesegera mungkin. Kurang menyenangkan ketika pulang masih harus turun naik pesawat lagi kalo ada pilihan lain. Sedangkan untuk bagasi, SQ hanya kasih 20kg, sedangkan Qantas 30kg.
Pilihan entertainmentnya juga sangat beragam. Jenis film anak juga cukup banyak. Saking banyaknya, film yang sudah disimpan di ipad anak ngga tersentuh sama sekali karena dia sibuk nonton apapun yang ada di layar depan.
Secara keseluruhan, naik Qantas buat ke Australia sangat menyenangkan.
Oh, setelah dengar beberapa kali petunjuk keselamatan, cara pengucapannya ternyata bukan ‘Kantas’ tapi ‘Kuantas’.
Traveling is impossible without itinerary but, I think it’s impossible to follow all the itineraries planned before. In 7 days here, only follow the exact plan for the first two days. We decided the rest along the way, especially every morning.
Our itineraries might be not suitable for everyone because it feels like doing nothing. Walking, sitting, playing, lazying around, even nap time is compulsory during traveling. But, we just enjoy what we like and this is the rest time where we’re granted a lot of time to enjoy all those experiences in a new place.
Life rarely goes according to the plan and I think that what makes it interesting. Here’s what we do in 7 days :
1. Arrived at 6.10 and put the luggages at the hotel and we walked around while waiting the check in time.
We stopped by at Haven for the doctor’s coffee. Followed by playing and rest in the playground near darling harbor where we spent 2 hours there.
We continued the walk to the It’s Time for Thai for lunch then went to Woolsworth for light groceries. We were so exhauste already and after that we just sat still in the hotel lobby until our room was ready.
Day 1 morning : walking around with heavy bag on the back
In the afternoon, we strolled down the Sydney harbor and Opera house then enjoyed the whole afternoon warching people in Royal Botanic Garden with Opera House view.
Day 1
2. We decided to return to the same spot but this time to ride on the ferry to visit the oldest theme park in Sydney. Luna Park is not as big as Dufan, but few times more expensive than Dufan. We still paid for that for one child and one adult while the other adult took care the bags and had nap time in the theme park.
Day 2
After nap time, we decided to have dinner in one of Indonesian restaurants in Kingsford. Our hotel is located in front of tram station and this restaurant is only one tram ride away for 20 minutes. It’s also located in front of the tram stop. So, it was very convenient and I was so excited to see the suburban life.
I recorded the whole trip and it was such a beautiful afternoon. After dinner, we went straight back home and that was when a bit of twist happened. There was fire somewhere so right after we hopped on to the tram, it’s stuck. So, we had to wait for the bus and it was pretty crowded. We couldn’t get on to the first one, but managed to do it on the second one.
We stopped in the front of Hyde Park which became our destination on the following day.
Day 2 afternoon : Trip for Nasduk ayam goreng and Bakso.
3. The plan for day 3 was just to have a morning walk in Hyde Park and coffee then went home to get ready. But, as always, plan was just a plan. Hyde Park was quite big so we spent few hours there. We wanted to visit Paddy Market after that, but, we passed Australian Museum and it was too good to be missed. It was almost 10 and ready to open, so we joined the queue.
Free museum with paid shark section, but it was so good. I really enjoyed the story telling they put in everything.
We went to Paddy Market for souvenir shoppings and some fruits. Then, home for nap time.
For the afternoon, we planned for fireworks watching in Darling Harbor, but it was raining and we had one of a must do itineraries the following day, so we decided to skip and sleep instead.
4. We woke up early on Sunday, prepared the bags and everything we needed to do..
A 6km of coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach.
Normally, the route is from Bondi to Coogee. But, we chose to take the reverse. Because, Bondi is wider and bigger, we want to stay there longer, and it’s easier to go home from Bondi.
Actually, we could just stop at Coogee or Bondi then stayed and played. But, we chose to do the long walk first instead. Some difficulties will add more ‘fun’.
Walking with some weight on the back, climbing up and down with some (a lot of) stairs, scooter on and off, the whinning and grumpiness from both ladies, arguing about this and that, those are not shown in the picture, but they are things that will make you remember the trip better.
Twelve thousands steps taken together will remain in memories longer, if it’s not forever.
Sunday walk with stunning viewTouch down Bondi
We went back and had a nap time then we went out once again for groceries. Enjoyed the night around Central Sydney and the town hall.
Night around Town Hall
5. This was the day where we planned to see some of the stores along the George Street. I wanted to find a proper Mary Jane shoes for little girl upcoming piano exam, paid a visit to Dymocks, the biggest book store here and Bed, Bath and Table in Myers. Didn’t find the shoes but bought something from Dymocks and BBT.
The Arcade
That day was mostly like non-itinerary trip. On the afternoon we just strolled around the George Street for another… groceries.
Wherever we go, groceries is my favorite itinerary.
6. The last full day in the city spent in Centennial Park for morning walk then followed by Bondi Junction to find the Mary Jane shoes for the little girl. The surprise thing was I found William Sonoma store here and so happy about that. One of the places that spark joy for me and the doctor. The beautiful plates, the kitchen appliances, the knives, the pan, the pot, sadly my wallet didn’t really agree.
The heaven
The afternoon stroll spent once again in Dymocks. This time was a Dymocks date with the doctor. Checked out Katherine May Wintering when it’s a signed copy on a sale while he got some cook book stuff.
One last spent for Dymocks
7. Home time.
Final packing and everything, then checked out from the hotel. One last stroll to get a cup of coffee for the doctor.
One last shot from the city.
Overall, Sydney is on the medium range of everything. It’s a good city in every aspect. when Tokyo is on the excellent level of hospitality while Seoul on the other side of the bar, Sydney is surely in the middle. Not a cheap city for our wallet, but not as expensive as Tokyo and Seoul, when it comes to eating expense.
This city is not as sophisticated and as vibrant as London and Paris, but you can still the vibe of Europe here while keep being exposed to lots of Asian cultures. Bahasa Indonesia is often heard everywhere we go, except the road less traveled like Bondi Coastal Walk and Centennial Park.
I used to write everyday during traveling. When it was morning, dark, and quiet. To restore all the memories made on that day into the writing.
But, so little writing made on this trip although the mind has a lot to say. I hope it’s not a sign that I started taking things for granted, because I really (hope I) don’t.
Like I said in the previous post, resumed exercising traveling muscle turns out is not as easy as I thought. Within the 3-4 for years there are a lot of changes happen inside and outside and I am still trying to figure out what’s the most comfortable way to do it.
For example : the little girl. Four years ago, she still sat and sleep on the stroller whenever we went around. Pushing the stroller around, got on and off the bus or train might be tired but we almost heard no whining or grumpy face along the journey. Because when she was well-fed and sit comfortably, she slept. When we stop, it was either time to eat or play in the park and playground.
I am still getting used that we are now traveling with a pre teen that also has a say of what she wants to do, can show her unhappy face whenever it is not the place she’s interested in, could refuse kind of food offered, and keep nagging to visit something to spend her pocket money in a souvenir or accessories store.
Next : money. Unlike four years ago when we were really tight about money during traveling, now we could be a bit relax, with some price of course. One of the reasons why Australia were not chosen few years ago simply because we couldn’t bring food. We brought home made food to all previous countries we visited to save the eating expense. Only lunch spent outside and it was strictly like that.
Now, we still do that by doing groceries store and light cooking. But, we could have options. We could sit in a pretty decent restaurant, then had a takeway for dinner, snacking ice cream and coffee in between.
It’s better of course, but it’s also harder. When you have less it’s nothing to control because it’s not there, but when you’re blessed with more, it’s impossible without an adequate amount of self control. Knowing when to stop is not an easy feat. Just because you can, you should.
Wearing a mask. It’s weird at the beginning that we don’t have to wear mask at all here. I slowly reduce my mask wearing back in Jakarta for the few past weeks. But, it’s sometimes hard because everyone is still wearing them everywhere. Then, one step at a time.
Well, maybe the new era is not bad at all (obviously not bad actually), hopefully, after this first step, more places will follow. Amin.
3: Beaches and coastal walks only 30 mins away from the city.
4. Halal food options are pretty easy to find.
5. The mixture of european and asian architecture in the residence area.
6. Stay in Central is so far the best decision made. Glad I didn’t proceed to cancel the hotel on the last minute just because a wifi issue. Solved quickly.
7. Five days are the ideal length of stay.
8. Late summer soon autumn is perfect weather to travel in Sydney.
9. People are moderately nice. Not that friendly, but definitely not unwelcoming.
10. Independent coffee shop is a real serious bussiness here.
We finally break the fasting of regular traveling after hard thought and long consideration, after putting other priorities ahead for the past three years.
Accidentally exactly three years difference.
Resumed exercising the long traveling muscle turned out wasn’t easy as I thought. The back pain sleeping in sitting position made me think about the comfy bed at home.
The long waiting between arrival and the check in made me wish about this and that.
The messed up routines made me slightly uncomfortable. The only reason choosing this date : Public holiday on Saturday, so no YPM.
Dealing with immigration and customs always makes me anxious.
The high tension of pre-departure where I want the house is clean and clear make me do continuous cleaning even until two hours before going to the airport. Other than Ramadan and Eid, my home is on its best shape when we have traveling plan. Simply because : I don’t want coming back to a messy home. The post traveling mess is more than enough to deal with.
So, then, why bother?
Because being too comfortable and not learning anything new is more dangerous.
Because missing the important years for the little girl training outside her classroom and zoom meetings should make me more anxious.
Because, based on the past experiences, in spite of the hardships and the twists each past travels bring, how intense they were, I don’t have any slightest regrets doing all of them.
We met a mother with THREE KIDS UNDER FIVE traveled alone on the same flight. The littlest one had been crying almost through all the journey. But, near the landing, she had been in so much better mood and I saw them smiling happily when we landed. I was so proud of them. They will surely remember what they’d been through together for many years to come.
At least, it happened to us. First disastrous trip to Paris, where the little girl cried for two long haul flights, the sweat of nursing her a whole night, and she ended up sleeping on the floor until the first transit (that little baby slept in a bassinet), the tension she gave us where it was so packed on that tiny airplane from Istanbul to Paris and she didn’t stop whinning, I sweared after that trip, I would never take any kind of this crazy thing anymore.
Never say never.
After that disastrous Paris, she’s flourished and I broke that promise.
A Penny for My Pensieve 