stay awhile

so, She & Him newest album came out just in time for the starting of rainy-sentimental season here in Indonesia. my favourite tracks are.....all of them. lately, I've been listening to a lot of musical soundtracks from Chicago to Smash. and also Destiny's Child. something are simply irreplaceable, rite? :)

warm heart and an ear-to-ear-smile

I mentioned earlier in another post that I was spending some time at Lembongan Island, Bali. it is indeed one of the best experience I've ever had in so many level. first because I practically traveled with bunch of strangers. that's nerve wrecking and exciting since well, I've never done such a thing before so that was the first (and I like it! they are nice people). second, I have enough time to explore the island to the fullest. I actually planned to spend only a night there but some things came up and I decided to extend my stay. I didn't regret my impulsive decision. the extra time was well spent by biking around Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. I was acompanied by a new friend of mine I met at UWRF 2014 cause the rest of the party gone diving. we woke up by 5 to hunt down sun rise from the bridge connecting the two island, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan. we were told by the locals several good spot to watch sunrise and the best so far is the bridge. we got there early so it's still quite and dark. it seems like the bridge isn't a common place to watch sunrise (or people simply don't wake up that early at Lembongan unless you are a fisherman) so it's easy to get a good spot to capture the sun rising.

I think it will be absurd if I try to explain how beautiful it was, standing there with my camera hung around my neck, ready to crystallised the moment. what happened before me was magical. for me it's like watching an orchestra. first it was dark and then a strike of pink and orange cut the dark sky. the water was still and the fog was heavy. I could only hear the sound of boat's machine and bird chirping from a far. a fisherman's boat then coming from the direction of the sea crossing under the bridge as more orange popping up from behind the hill at Nusa Ceningan. I experienced the same feeling I had once at Bromo. I was freezed and amazed witnessing the nature performing one of its best show. everyday the sun rises from the east. it's something we take for granted, it's something certain and yet, if we really pay close attention, watching it happens is such a joy. being there makes me want to wake up early everyday just to greet the sun, despite the fact that I live in a big city where buildings competing to grow higher and higher blocking our view to the sky. the sun making an appearance, the fog lifted and the water reflected the sky. it was a beautiful morning, considering it's really cloudy the night before making me worry I couldnt get a clear view of the sun. we spent like, 3 hours at the bridge admiring the view, regretting that we didn't bring our best lenses and coffee along because man, we don't wake up everyday to a breath taking view like that.

next on list was beach hopping. we were crossing the bridge to go around Nusa Ceningan, looking for a hidden beach or two. we ended up at Secret Point, a resort that has a nice cafe by the beach. the food was okay and the beach was better hehe. we didn't stay long there. not much to see. we accidentally found much more interesting place as we made our way back on the road. there's a pretty view right in front of Secret Point. it's a high cliff facing directly to the sea. the water is the bluest I've ever seen. it's the blue that I usually see at the sky when the day is really bright. we were able to climbed down to get closer to the sea and got even a better view while looking up.

Lembongan basically is an island surrounded by cliffs that's why there are lots of hidden beach in between them. there are several interesting place at Nusa Ceningan but more at Nusa Lembongan. after visiting Secret Point and the great cliff (cause I don't know what the cliff called), we went around Nusa Ceningan expecting another discovery. but the island is really quite and not many locals live there. I think not many tourist explore Nusa Ceningan cause the development there is far behind Nusa Lembongan (with resort and high end restos climbing the hill). we crossed the bridge around 11 am, went straight to the hotel cause we couldn't stand the heat. it's October already but there's no sign of rain or cooler temperature just like how it supposed to be. on the other hand, somehow it's a good thing cause rain can be troublesome if we want to explore all the attractions at the island.

at 2 pm, after a really pleasant lunch at a little warung near by, we went boating at the mangrove forest. the guide was really nice that we got chances to take over the steer. turned out running a boat is super hard. I gave up at my first try haha. the mangrove was a really amazing place. I've never before going inside one so I was super happy with my first experience since it's nothing like I ever imagined. too bad we went there when tide was low so we couldn't go deeper inside the forest. the guide said the best time to explore the forest is around 10 am.

the rest of the afternoon was spent at the Devil's Tears, one of the famous water blow at the island. the place deserves the popularity since it was really amazing there. the cliff is shaped like the devil's horns and the water blows really high to the sky. I still couldn't figure out how the water can be so blue, the kind of blue I've never seen on other place so far. it's almost turquoise but in different lighting, it becomes grey. to end the day, we decided to watch the sunset at Panorama Point, where you have a clear view of the whole island and the harbour. the bad news is, it's not the best sunset spot. we spent hours waiting for something spectacular but nothing really happened. at the last minute, we rushed back to Devil's Tears cause we predicted a better view there. we only had about 20 minutes before the sun perfectly gone while we needed about 15 minutes to get there. it was a gambling cause we didn't have another chance to enjoy sunset at Lembongan. we'd be going back to Sanur by the earliest boat tomorrow so it's kind of do or die haha. by some miracle we made it to Devil's Tears in only 10 minutes, setting up the camera in lightning speed, holding our breath as we scanned the best spot to capture the sun. the place was more crowded than when we came earlier but not many climbed down the cliff like we did. as we had thought, the view was incredible from the cliff. we got the sun, the burning sky, the black water and cliffs shined by the last light of the sun. it was picture perfect. I didn't take many picture there. instead, I sat back and enjoyed the scenery. I've came so far to be there at Lembongan, with a thought of someone that kept hanging in my mind and some trouble with my study. I originally didn't expect to have so much fun since I was travelling with people I just knew for 2 days and also the fact that I failed to find an answer to my problem. but sitting there, for a moment it didn't matter anymore. I stopped thinking. I just being present there starring at the sky not blinking. after all the things that happened to me that day, I couldn't feel anything but blessed. sometime, at a hard time like that, I tended to feel hopeless and mad. I'd been trying so hard to please everyone but it seemed like nobody cares how much effort I put cause the outcome was not what they expected. I forget that the only person I should please is myself. so there I was, letting myself to be a lil bit careless and just enjoyed what's before me.

and man, for the first time of the week, I felt truly happy to be alive.

PS: I went to several restos at Lembongan and the best was Ware Ware resto by the hill. the other one was the little warung I went to before my mangrove tour but I didnt remember the name. they have delicious balinese homecooking which suits my taste better that those cafes by the beach. 

eyes wide open

I feel super tired and sleepy as Iam writing this post but there's a lot of thing popping up in my mind that I cant stay still. I feel like writing something but actually have no idea what to write in the first place.

for the last two weeks I watched several thriller and slasher movies specially those with twisted mind characters. not my usual cup of tea, yes. it's probably because I've been really lost with my current romance situation that I feel the need to watch other soul also loosing their mind in even worse situation than mine.

I baked several times. I tried some cookies and brownies recipes. some turned out great, many just got burnt (or I forgot putting something in or I put too many in or I put strange ingredients just because i thought it would taste even better. it didn't). I try really, really hard not to think that I really have no talent at the kitchen. it's fine, nothing is impossible. eventually, I'll get to the point where my cooking is save to consume, finger crossed. it's just the matter of time, fellas..

another thing I did the last two weeks was gardening. my mom and I bought a lemon tree and Iam glad to tell you that he is still very much alive, healthy and growing bigger. this is a good news for me since the last time I planted sunflower it only lasted for a week. now Iam devoting my self raising up my lemon tree till i can enjoy the fruit of my effort, literally and figuratively. I wont let any other living soul die in my hands (so sorry for being careless all this time ;"(().

hmm. I hit my limit. will go to get some sleep before Monday begins. ciao!