#FidaWrites

Sunday Afternoon Tea session brought me and my husband here. Setelah siangnya menghadiri kawinan, kami berdua memutuskan untuk mencari tempat duduk-duduk sore yang nyaman untuk melanjutkan brainstorming pekerjaan kami. Setelah melihat beberapa "saved" list saya di Instagram, kami mendatangi kawasan Cikajang dan Pasar Santa. Awalnya mau di salah satu kafe yang sudah banyak review online di jalan Cipaku I, tapi ternyata tempatnya kecil dan parkirnya pun susah. Akhirnya maju sedikit melewati Pasar Santa, lihatlah sign board bulat besar, "Ruma Eatery".



Tempatnya persis di depan Masjid besar, Daruut Tauhiid. Tempat parkirnya cukup luas dan restonya tampak besar dengan jendela kaca lebar. Karena menjelang asar, kamipun berhenti di sini agar dapat solat di masjid sebrang. Di depan pintu, kami disapa promo stand bertulisan "Nyemil Sore: Kue + Kopi = 35 ribu.  Pukul 15:00 - 17:00". Langsung terpaku dan merasa PAS sekali nih, affordable and just what we aimed for.

Setelah masuk, ternyata tempatnya memang besar, sepi dan dingin. Homey dan nyaman sekali pula! Saat kami ke sini sedang mendung dan hampir hujan lebat sekali, which made this large window-filled place so tempting and beautiful! Resto ini terdapat dua lantai, lantai 1 adalah tempat memesan makanan, kue dan kopi, serta kursi dan meja ala cafe. Lantai 2nya cukup luas juga dengan tempat duduk sofa-sofa yang nyaman dan dingin juga karena adanya AC berderet di dinding. Ruma Eatery ini semacam menjunjung tema rustic dengan railing besi dan dinding bata alami yang dipenuhi dengan tumbuhan hijau sebagai dekorasi. Cantik sekali!



Tidak hanya menjual kue-kue dan minuman, ternyata di Ruma Eatery juga menjual makanan lauk rumahan yang enak sekali. Pilihan lauk untuk "nasi rames" ini juga banyak sekali, contohnya Ayam Rica Rica, Ayam Betutu, Daging Sapi Cabe Hijau, beragam sayuran dan banyak lainnya. At first, kita tidak expect rasa yang gimana-gimana, tapi ternyata we were amazed at how delicious it is. Kopi, Hot Chocolate dan kue yang kami pesan pun cukup mendukung dari segi rasa dan estetika. Resto ini juga sudah dilengkapi dengan wifi yang cukup kencang untuk kami berdua bekerja dengan laptop kami. Ambience dan musiknya juga sangat cocok dan pas untuk bekerja atau sekedar hang out catching up with your friend.

Kalau kamu mencari tempat nyaman anti mainstream di daerah Pasar Santa, saya sangat merekomendasikan Ruma Eatery. Tempatnya yang nyaman, dengan makanan rumahan dan minuman yang enak, serta harga yang juga masih sangat affordable untuk kawasan kafe-kafe hits masa kini. Pembayarannya pun sudah didukung oleh hampir semua digital wallet, debit dan cash. So, next time you need a place to hang with your friends or work remotely, coba deh ke Ruma Eatery ini.

Ruma Eatery (@rumaeatery)
#jendelarumakami
Jl. Cipaku I No.16, Petogogan, Kby. Baru
Jakarta Selatan, 12170

Myanmar merupakan salah satu negara yang didominasi oleh umat Buddha, dan mungkin kamu merasa ragu untuk mengunjungi Myanmar. Andita Frida menuliskan pengalamannya saat mengunjungi Myanmar, yang ternyata banyak kesamaan dalam gaya hidup dengan masyarakat Muslim. Simak ceritanya berikut.

Salah satu negara berbudaya menarik lainnya yang terletak di Asia Tenggara adalah Myanmar. Sering disebut dengan kata lain Burma, Myanmar menjadi salah satu negara dengan kaum Buddha terbanyak di negaranya, dengan kuil dan pagoda dimana-mana. Walaupun begitu, Myanmar memiliki beberapa kesamaan dalam gaya hidup masyarakat Muslim lho. Jadi, jangan ragu untuk mengunjungi Myanmar apabila Anda seorang Muslim, karena masih banyak restoran halal, masjid dan kebiasaan-kebiasaan masyarakat tersebut yang tergolong Muslim-friendly. Berikut beberapa contohnya:

1. Budaya Minum Teh

Sering kita ketahui, bahwa di negara-negara Timur Tengah dan Afrika Utara seperti Turki, Moroko, Jordan, Oman, dan Mesir itu sangat menghargai budaya minum teh. Tidak jarang kita menemukan berbagai macam brand atau racikan Moroccan tea atau Turkish tea dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Ternyata di Myanmar, terutama di ibu kota Yangon, budaya minum teh sangatlah diperlukan dan menjadi salah satu kegiatan yang wajib dilakukan terutama oleh para laki-laki. Kegiatan ini akan sering Anda temukan di sore hari, dimana para pengunjung dapat duduk-duduk santai sambil bercengkerama.

Di Yangon, Anda akan sering menemukan Tea Shop atau Kedai Teh, yaitu kedai yang menjual makanan dan minuman di beberapa jalan kecil dekat pertokoan. Uniknya, kedai-kedai tersebut justru menyediakan tempat duduk dan meja kecil di luar areanya agar para tamunya dapat duduk sambil menikmati lalu lalang kegiatan di luar. Bahkan beberapa kedai akan menaruh meja dan kursi hampir ke tengah jalan! Teh khas Myanmar adalah teh racikan rempah yang dilengkapi dengan susu. Jangan ditanya soal rasanya, sudah pasti nikmat!

2. Pakaian Tradisional yang Modest

Hal yang unik saya temukan di Myanmar, adalah dimana-mana orang memakai sarung! Hampir mirip seperti umat Muslim yang ingin solat bukan? Tapi ini bukan sarung biasa, tapi Longyi, itulah sebutannya dalam Bahasa Burma. Longyi adalah sarung atau kain tradisional Myanmar yang biasa digunakan sebagai pakaian sehari-hari. Laki-laki dan perempuan biasanya memiliki motif longyi yang berbeda, dan cara memakainya pun beda. Untuk laki-laki, biasanya diikat pada bagian tengah, sedangkan perempuan diikatkan di samping pinggul. Pada saat acara yang lebih formal, atau saat bekerja biasanya longyi merekapun disesuaikan dengan motif dan warna yang lebih bagus. Hampir sama seperti umat Muslim, pakaian yang digunakan dengan longyi juga lebih cenderung tertutup atau modest.

3. Makanan Sehat dan Halal 

Jangan salah sangka, walaupun bukan negara Islam atau dengan penduduk Muslim yang banyak, di Myanmar kamu juga tetap dapat menikmati makanan-makanan halal dan sehat! Kenapa sehat? Sudah menjadi salah satu budaya kaum Buddha yang menerapkan keseimbangan gaya hidup dan kesehatan di kegiatan sehari-hari, maka akan sering juga Anda menemukan makanan vegetarian di Myanmar. Salah satu makanan khas Myanmar yang sehat adalah Tea Leaf Salad, yaitu salad sayur dengan daun teh, kacang-kacangan, tomat dan sayur-sayuran lainnya. Selain sehat, biasanya salad tersebut menggunakan saus atau dressing yang asam manis sehingga segar untuk dikonsumsi! Selain Tea Leaf Salad, Myanmar juga memiliki menu khas yaitu Shan Noodle dan Fish Curry. Shan Noodle berupa mie putih dengan topping ayam atau ikan, sedangkan Fish Curry adalah gulai ikan khas Myanmar yang rasanya gurih dengan sentuhan asam kemanisan. Enak!

Selain makanan yang sehat, makanan halal juga ada lho! Terdapat beberapa restoran berlogo Halal di beberapa kota besar, termasuk di Yangon. Pilihannya kurang lebih mirip dengan makanan Asia lainnya, namun sudah pasti aman untuk para Muslim yang berkunjung!

4. Kegiatan Beribadah 

Walaupun dikelilingi oleh pagoda dan kuil, Myanmar memiliki populasi Muslim yang cukup berperan di masyarakat setempat. Di Yangon, saya pun dapat dengan mudah menemukan beberapa Masjid besar. Lantunan adzan di setiap lima waktu solatpun tidak asing didengar oleh masyarakat beragam budaya dan agama ini. Sedikit tips untuk memasuki Masjid di Myanmar untuk perempuan, perhatikan dulu daerah sekitarannya, jika lebih banyak laki-laki, ada kemungkinan perempuan tidak dibolehkan masuk ke dalam masjid tersebut, karena ada area khusus lainnya untuk perempuan. Jangan lupa juga untuk tetap berpakaian sopan dan menutup aurat, tentunya Anda akan lebih nyaman dan tenang beribadah di dalamnya.

Firzi and I are two young (ngarep boleh ya) couple who are still thriving for financial stability, whereas we mostly leave it up to Allah to give us the rizq, we also try to enjoy what we have by doing something fun yet simple and inexpensive. Then there comes our Bandung getaway for our honeymoon on April 17-20.

Some friends and family would ask us where we would go on our honeymoon and they expected us to say somewhere abroad or adventurous or challenging (considering what my instagram usually showed through #FidaTravels). But all I would answer was, "Bandung!" with pure genuine excitement. Because it's true, why would we spend shedload of money just for something we'd later be spending hours in bed anyway? LOL. I mean, we could go on a hot air balloon ride in Turkey sure, or a safari in Africa, but only to look forward to spending the rest of the night cuddling with each other. After all, it's a honeymoon, am I right?

So Bandung was the most affordable, distanced, perfect honeymoon getaway that we've planned. And yet, we were still able to make memories out of it! Here are the list of places and what we did during our Bandung honeymoon getaway:

1. Post Wedding Photography at Stone Garden, Padalarang

I was looking forward to this day for months before the wedding! I've always wanted to do a post-wedding photography instead of pre-wedding for many good reasons. And what a perfect timing that I've found a Bandung-based photographer that does perfect sessions on relationships photography. Anorumi Photo was chosen and they had the best location scouts for us to choose from. They allow us to do 2 locations for this post wedding photography and we chose Stone Garden as our first location and our hotel as the second.
I've been to Stone Garden in 2015, funnily with my later-wedding organizer friend, Andrika. And we enjoyed that time so much. I thought this time, Stone Garden is the most closest location from the city where we stayed and it hasn't been as popular as Tahura (Taman Hutan Raya) or Ranca Upas for Prewedding or Post Wedding photography.
Our photographer shown us some really unique places to pose on and what perfect location to dwell our eyes on nature as we could also breathe clean air up there during that chill morning session.
$$ Details $$:
Post Wedding with Anorumi: Rp. 4.250.000
Stone Garden Entrance Fee (for photography session): Rp. 300.000 (as a group)

2. Utara Cafe

What is a Bandung getaway without going to the latest hip and Instagrammable cafes? So I've been eyeing on some cute cafes to go to on Instagram and we manage to squeeze one for the book. Utara Cafe is located on the uphill Dago atas at Jl. Dago Pakar Utara, on the way to Tebing Keraton. The place is quite enjoyable and cool, especially when you went before the sunset, you could almost see the sun setting across the lowest horizon of the city. I suppose it would be magical hour, but when we were there, it was quite cloudy, so we just spent our time enjoying the shabu-shabu meal and snacking our face away. There was quite a long queue of waiting list when we were there at about 4pm, and to be honest, if it wasn't our honeymoon, we'd probably hate it there. LOL. The food was basic, the toilet was not as tamed, there was cats hanging out around our tables and the grassy setting you'd see on their Instagram page was not as beautiful anymore.
Overall we enjoyed our time anyway!
$$ Details $$: Approx. Rp. 200.000 for two people

3. Dasa Rooftop

Not far from Utara Cafe, we continue to enjoy our time in the upper Dago area after the sun sets, this time at Dasa Rooftop. I managed to change into a simple dress, just to try to go with the "mood" of the restaurant and we had a nice meal and dessert. We got a table just by the look out window, so we were actually pleased by the cool night air looking at the pearly light up Bandung city below. It was quite memorable.
$$ Details $$: Approx. Rp. 250.000 for two people

4. Se'i Sapi Lamalera 

Whoaa, one of the best meat-ful meal I've ever had in Bandung! And the queueing does not lie! It is actually really good, and very affordable. Found this on Instagram from several friends that had been there before, and Firzi and I really enjoyed every menu we picked. Se'i sapi sambal luat and se'i lidah rica rica, anyone? Firzi even told me he wanted to open a franchise in Jakarta or make one just as nice one day! Pray for us? :)
$$ Details $$: Approx. Rp. 150.000 for two people

Credit: Instagram/seisapilamalera

5. Art Deco Luxury Hotel & Residence

One of the best well-maintained Airbnb experience in a beautiful hotel setting I've ever found in Bandung! And very affordable for a two-night stay. We stayed in a jacuzzi suite at Art Deco Hotel, which was the most expensive room rate there, and we only got it for about Rp. 3.200.000 for two nights! Where as in other booking platforms, you can spend at least Rp. 2mio for 1 night. Not a bad deal, isn't it? And perfect for us honeymooners because look at these facilities in one place! Also, what a great spot to do a jacuzzi right? (Although Firzi freaked a lot of times, afraid people would see us :P)
Firzi and I also brought some groceries in the nearby supermarket and ended up making dinner and breakfast. We continue to enjoy our time, wondering what home with only the two of us would feel like. Netflix and wifi provided with a smart tv, we ended up just spending a lot of times in the hotel instead. Here is also where we took the rest of our post wedding pictures, and it did not disappoint!

Credit: Airbnb

Here is the hotel link where you can book at reasonable price through Airbnb, or sign up using my LINK to get extra $$$ and more discount!
$$ Details $$: Approx. Rp. 3.200.000 for two nights

As seen on Alezalabel.com

India, negara dengan jumlah populasi terbanyak ke dua di seluruh dunia adalah salah satu destinasi yang tidak boleh kamu lewatkan. Setidaknya sekali seumur hidupmu, kamu perlu bertamu ke negara yang memiliki Taj Mahal ini.

I am not a person who grew up having pets or close to animals. Unlike many of my friends who are animal lovers, I find it hard to relate how they are able to have such close relationships towards animals. But the older I get, the braver and more experiences I have with animals. I am also more aware of the kind of animals I am more fond of. For example, I prefer dogs better than cats. I am no where happy to be in contact with lizards, but the most random animals I grew to love are those who has huge bodies yet very tender. Yes, I have humongous respect and love for God's creation, the gentle giants.

Okay, okay, so the title might be too promising, but I am certainly not kidding about how amazing it was to be lift up in a huge Ferris Wheel looking out at the vast land of Jakarta. Though I never been to London Eye myself, but I'm sure this is how it would feel <3



J-Sky Ferris Wheel is the name! It is located at AEON Mall Jakarta Garden City, Cakung, East Jakarta. At the top level of the mall, it stood largely at 69 meters above the ground and 50 meters in diameters. Since its opening on September 2017, J-Sky Ferris Wheel has been recorded as the tallest ferris wheel in Indonesia by MURI Indonesian Museum of World Records!

This amusement ride has become a popular site to visit among the people of the greater Jakarta region. Not to mention that this newly established area (Jakarta Garden City) is still very wide with greens, easily accessible and location-wise, quite strategic. With the hopes of combining crowds from Jabodetabek area and other regions in Indonesia, J-Sky Ferris Wheel and AEON Mall Jakarta Garden City will become the hottest public attraction in Jakarta.



J-Sky Ferris Wheel has 32 pink gondolas ready to carry up to 6 people in one round (about 15 minutes). However if you plan to go on a date with your loved one on a couple sky adventure, you can pay extra for more rounds and some gondolas opt with a romantic table settings!





J-Sky Ferries Wheel gondolas are equipped with its own air conditioning and offers a beautiful view of Jakarta. The facility is open up to 10 pm at night, so you can definitely experience the night time view from above. Other than J-Sky Ferris Wheel, AEON Mall Jakarta Garden City is also facilitated with kids playground, great for sushi and Japanese restaurant-hopping, as well as an ice skating rink! Definitely a one stop destination for all amusement activities for you, your friends and family!

J-Sky Ferris Wheel Ticket Price:
Single - Rp. 50.000
Couple - Rp. 160.000
VIP - Rp. 350.000

If you ever feel bored of your regular coffee shop that you've been to many times, maybe it's time to make a change.



The latest cafe in town, KLTR Coffee Roaster has emerged, joining thousands of coffee shops in Jakarta. But here's a special twist. Their coffee shop addressed to the widest and humblest customers in the middle of the bustling Jakarta CBD. Located at the ground floor of Apartment Pavillion Retail Arcade (next to Sudirman Citywalk to ease you), KLTR coffee has me stunned for their delicious meals and drinks!

Ever since their 'welcoming party' in late September, Hu Chun and Cai Tao have stolen the spotlight from many other animals existed in Indonesia. Well, those are actually the names of two furry fellows, the giant pandas that have been brought to Indonesia all the way from China!



The wonderfully fluffy and FAT animals are under breeding loan for about 10 years and have been treated special in Taman Safari Indonesia at Cisarua, Bogor. Like many other citizens in Indonesia, the existence of these two pandas excite me! As the virtuous opportunity approach to handle werk perks relating to these furry fellows, I obviously didn't want to miss out!

[caption width="3000" align="alignnone"]The Chinese folk story of how pandas got their black and white colors. Click to zoom and read, it's pretty amazing! [/caption]

As they got out after a month of quarantine and adaptation to their new habitat in Taman Safari Indonesia, Hu Chun and Cai Tao were ready to finally be exhibited! The wonderful Taman Safari have erected a new building, elevating at 1800 meters above sea level with the temperature and surrounding area similar to the gentle giants' old habitat back in Chengdu, China.



Istana Panda Indonesia-- as the building called--is where the two pandas going to spend their daily eat-sleep-play-repeat. Istana Panda Indonesia is three storeys high, designed similarly like a Chinese castle with strong bright pallete, symbolic to many Chinese buildings such as green, red and gold. Not only that the castle exhibits the pandas, it's also home to two other Chinese animals, Takin and Red Pandas.



Istana Panda Indonesia is also complimented with restaurant with awesome food choices and a merchandise store that is all panda related! On the third floor, it has interactive panda learning center that covers knowledgeable insights about Pandas and even a dummy exhibit of a panda hospital! A replica of their check up bed, where Hu Chun and Cai Tao is treated regularly by professional vets in Taman Safari.



This is also something you shouldn't miss when you come to this place: the many unique photo spots and framing with views of the large Gede Pangrango mountain! It will make you feel like you're actually in the uphills of China!

[caption width="2250" align="alignnone"]Breathtaking view of the Gede Pangrango Mountain from Istana Panda[/caption]



Taman Safari promise to keep these animals under a lot of care, as they use them to conserve and reproduce. Although pandas have very little mating period (1 week/year) and known to only have 2 days to actually mate to reproduce, we hope that they will eventually able to grow a family here in Taman Safari! 

Okay, enough now, here's a collection of adorable pictures of Hu Chun and Cai Tao in their new habitat at Istana Panda Taman Safari:





[wpvideo qwlpwNNE]

[wpvideo p0MYGhxA]