Clear Mind

 

I should lie down facing the sky more often. It gives an amazing feeling.

The First Day of Summer 2020: Prelude

I've never felt more like an adult right now. Before, I saw my self as a girl who desperately hold on to innocence, while navigating her appearence as a young adult. It's a double life kinda thing hahaha. But this minute, this day, this moment, I feel like I'm officially an adult.

I stop fighting the reality, in a way that denying this life is not the one I choose to live in. I realise I tend to swiftly shift the blame to the society: my family, my friends, my environtment, those failed romances. I always find a rational reason to think that whatever I do, it's chain reaction to their action toward me. I always think I'm on the victim's end, which is true at some point but now it's just not the case anymore. Right now, I myself refuse to be in that position.

Every single year, I pray for the same thing: to be kinder, to be wiser, to feel content about myself. I'm so fixed to make as fast progress as possible, leaving no room for a set back or failure. Leaving no room for my mind to process my growth. I just want to arrive at my destination as soon as possible. So when I crashed and burnt back on December last year, I was grey ashes blown by the wind. I lost my way, my purpose and my energy. I was completely an empty shell.

All the confusion I experience in the past 4 months has brought me here. A total awareness of how I have full control my own story. I feel like right now, it's crystal clear to me that I own the power to break down and pick myself up again, with or without people's approval. I finally understand that validation is overated, respect is not the currency and acceptance is for you to give to yourself, not from others. I make peace with uncertainty and decide to build my day on a yoga mat and smile.

In the last 4 months, I've been learning how to start accepting disappoinment in my life. I want to understand that it happens for a reason or two. I want to be able to feel upset and sad, accepting it as a feeling, not unchangable facts. I want to be comfortable feeling that way and I don't have to beat the shit out of anyone, not even myself. Then, when I'm done grieving, I'll let go. I'll let go to empty some space, so the new journey can come in and reside with me. This cycle will rotate for the rest of my life. And I'm fine with it. Finally.

It's funny how my own good intention trapped me in a tiny box. I forgot that if a door closed, there would be other doors I could try to open. I just needed to step back to see the bigger picture. I still pray the same thing this year: to be kinder, to be wiser, to feel content about myself. But this time, I accept whatever coming my way, the good and the bad. I'll keep the joy and take my time to let go the sadness.

This realisation unlocks a brand new chapter for me. Being adult is not bad so far.

Stop and Breath

Last December, I bought myself an early birthday present: a healing yoga trip to Gili Labak. I never been to any healing event, so actually I had no freaking idea how it's gonna be. Back then I just desperately wanted to go somewhere far away from my daily routine, somewhere with limited phone reception. One of my friend, Mb Sitta, also joined the trip. I felt if it's gonna be a flop, at least I had Mb Sitta with me through boredom and awkward moments haha.

The trip itself started off late. We supposed to leave at 8 A.M but delayed to 9.30 A.M and I didn't know why cause everyone had arrived yet the official moved so slowwww to get everything ready. I got uneasy, naturally, cause I liked everything to go as scheduled. Late start is definitely an alarm for me; if we don't do it right from the very beginning, we may not do it right till the end. We were far behind the schedule when we arrived at the harbour at 3 P.M, 2 hours late from the schedule. Me? I felt anxious already. I started to think this was a waste of money and time and I hated both. We had to take the boat to reach Gili Labak and it took 1.5 hour. I had a hard time to not snap and complain about the whole being late thing. Next in schedule should be Sunset Yoga Session at 5 P.M. We might not make it on time too.

All the frustration was left at the sea once we made it on time to our Sunset Yoga Session. 50 minutes of sun salutation, one of my favorite flow. Doing yoga by the beach surely had different sensation than doing it at home or studio. The breeze, the thick salty air, the sand that kept me stumbling during warrior three. And the sunset, the calming sky that melted into purple, pink, orange and everything in between. The yogi told us to let go all the tension so the good energy around us could enter our body, replacing worry with merry. Maybe it's the wind, maybe it's the warmth of afternoon on December, I did feel good. Earlier I was all angst and nasty but when I surrendered in my breathing, I could feel a good energy flow through my blood, reach my heart then bursting to every corner of my body. For the first time I felt really really good from the inside.

The rest of the trip simply fell in to the right place and pace. Tents were build, food were served and they also brought screen to watch Korean crime movie during dinner. I was completely swept out, especially because I played in the water for an hour after Sunset Yoga Session. The night was warmth, thou heavy cloud hanging low and hiding all the stars I planned to map that night. I fell asleep not long after, dreaming about the sunset earlier and how it made me feel inside.

We started the next day super super early, as we were scheduled for another yoga session, The Sunrise Session. I woke up in shock as people rushed to get ready; stumble finding my yoga pants in the dark and washed my face with sea water hahahha.  During this session, we spent more time to meditate, to feel our breathing and distribute it to our whole body. I remembered clearly every second of this session as the sun climbed the sky and the breaking waves lullaby us to fall deeper into the core of our mind. It's almost as if being touched by a divine energy that caressed my cheek, my hands, every centimetre of my skin endlessly. I felt like it's no longer my nose breathing, it's the pores on my body opening up to absorb this warmth.

When we finally open our eyes, the sun was already up, full circle, bright and mighty. We ended the session by going to the water to cleanse our body from any negative thoughts that usually followed us daily. Never once I thought that going to a remote island and praticing yoga by the beach could be this powerful. I think that's why people call it retreat, I felt this trip was indeed a treat for my mind. If I might, food for my soul too.


I think, the fact that I let go everything, desperately to feel good again about myself, desperately willing to try anything, had me experiencing a big impact after.

I felt wholesome that morning, as I floated in the water facing the blue sky. I counted my blessings, I called out my family and friends one by one in my head, I tried to recall all the hardship that made me who I was and who I would be in the future. That day I realised that the cure to my sadness recently was right there in front of me. I needed to stop, breath and enjoy the sunrise showering my body with new hopes and good energy. I did hope that I could spoil myself as often to join healing trips and reuniting with this feeling, this goodness. But it's okay. One day at the time.

Conflicted

The most asked question I addressed to myself for the past 3 months: How do things become this way?

I do feel lost. It's like forgetting how you get tangled in some mess. Then I will trace things down, chronologically. I will look deeper on the reason and the reaction. Does it make me understand my feelings more? Yes and no. Guess at this point, I really can't differ the good and the bad. Everything is a great storm of personal feelings. I watched a Korean Drama last night, one of the character said that the only creature couldn't differ good or bad are humans. Heavenly creatures, on the other hand, wouldn't have the same issue. So we are basically doomed from the start haha.

It's funny thou. If there's anything I am so sure of, this life we live in is more like a comedy night rather than a spiritual journey. Things always change, for the better or worse. People always change, kinder or greedier. Holding on to your faith is so very hard, even though we've been through hell's fire and crocodile pit to reach that high. You can be swayed. Or at least, I can be. I don't know things anymore, that's what I keep whispering to my self.

Last month, I decided to find my self a therapist. I felt like I need one. So bad. I couldn't control my emotions anymore cause the peak and bottom messing me a lot. I feel miserable inside, while putting a good front outside. That made everything twice harder by the way. But I knew I couldn't say anything to anyone, yet. I took my time. But finding a therapist was no easy job. First, the scheduling. Second, the fee. Third, I was trying to find someone that was out of my circles. I haven't found one up till now. And I keep relapsing to this hollow feeling. I wonder will I ever truly be okay again hmm.

On a more positive note, I went to an unplanned trip last week. Alone. I didn't expect it gave me a refreshing air, in the midst of the unstable mental situation I'm in. It felt good to sleep alone, picked my guilty pleasure for dinner and skipped bath. It felt good to have space to rearrange stuffs in my head. It felt good to wake up not by the noise of alarm and the first thought was "I'm truly happy I'm alive". I was so grateful that I was about to cry. I didn't thought I need it a lot. I guess, I was saved by god, one way or another? I did feel he's close by.

I'm walking on a thin thread here. I know the ones that keep me from falling are my friends and family. That's why I try to talk to them as much as possible, as much as I feel comfortable discussing about. I feel extremely grateful that now I have a solid support system, one that I believe has stronger bonds, so I can rely more on others rather than piling everything on my shoulder.

I believe, this is my strenght now :)

A Mission (Im)Possible

Every year I grow more and more faith about coming home to Ubud. Yes, it's a home, a place so dear in someone's heart that you keep longing on coming back. It officially steals my heart and I have a hard time to accept that it will be sometime before I actually move in to the hut. I always come to Ubud with a million of things to resolve in my head. I remember the first time I came, I filled my luggage with pieces of my broken heart. Last week marked my 6th visit to the lovely town and I came with a mission: to find love.

HAHA.

As soon as I wrote that down I realised how cringy it was. But that's how I felt. Well, it's not that I abruptly decided that. I've been thinking high and low and I thought, well, Ubud is always like a lover to me, could I actually find a real one? Or it's probably because the Venus Retrograde that my head kind of making up things, I wasn't sure. But that's how I felt. I wanted to find, or at least encountered, a possibility of romantic relationship.

The thought was driving me a lil bit crazy. I shopped, so I had something chic to wear at Ubud. I masked, cause I wanted my skin to look as amazing as possible. I did a lot of things that I wasn't used to do, all because, I wanted to find love. I have to be honest that I felt silly at first, I felt, embarrassed, cause I put so much effort for this. And I have to also state that I'm all about cool and effortless kind of person so this finding love conquest was surely, terribly, contradicting with me, not to mention how meticulously prepared I was to so many possibility.

But that's how I felt. For the first time in a very long time, I felt that I needed to do this for myself.

I actually worried that I put too much pressure on this trip. I meant, realistically speaking, it's not possible to do thing as complicated as love only in 7 days. Also, I really wanted to get relax and chill at Ubud, to recharge my energy before going back to the city. How on earth did I plan to do this, really? I couldn't explain how my mind work sometimes. It's as if going against a whole different person but it's actually you, your head, your mind. I did it anyway. I was sticking to the love plan and packed all of my brand-new-with-tag clothes to embrace the hopefully amazing journey at Ubud.

To my surprise, it's going pretty well. I didn't take a guy home with me but all of the moments leading me to a brand new perspective and understanding. I did push myself to talk to new person everyday, not just to someone I might romantically interest but also to a lot of amazing individuals I met during UWRF. I even initiated a convo with a girl after she performed her poem on a open mic event. I congratulated her and told her she's amazing. I hugged her for being amazing on stage. And she hugged me back thanking me for coming to the event. Wow. That's amazing, at least for me. That's not what I use to do. There were many more moments like that, moment that I pushed myself so hard to do something I wasn't comfortable to, in a good way. At the end, I felt so so happy cause I gained many new friends and involved in so many interesting conversation. Oh and about finding love, well, a guy asked me out to dinner. Even though it's not really happening cause he got an emergency with one of the writer he liaised. But someone asked me out! Ha! And he seemed like a very good guy too, not the kind that fooled you cause he bet on you with his friends. He's not. So I guessed I wasn't really curse at dating hahaha.

It's all starting with a simple idea of finding love and turning out to be a relaxing and adventurous trip with many new names on my phone book. You know, having courage to put yourself out there facing the world is both scary and exciting. Now, I can say that it's leaning more to the exciting part. And I'm not giving up yet on the quest of finding love, even thou I'm back at the city now. There's always be next journey, next opportunity. But to be able to say it out loud (or write it down, in this case) is such a relieving act. I feel like another door is opening for me. Finger crossed it will lead me to wonderful place.

Still Chasing The Sun

At this point, I'm pretty sure that how fun a trip can be mostly depends on who you travel with. But I won't really complain tho. Being out in the unknown space excites me more than anything. Here is a postcard from Bantul, Jogjakarta.

Hello from The Future

My sister and I took a trip to the north of Surabaya to watch the sunrise on the last day of the holiday. It's just, a beautiful beginning to a new journey. So blessed.

Ubud Archive: Reconnecting

Oct 28th 2017

I was taken by surprise. Ubud was hot, humid-hot kind of weather. I was dozing off as the heat stinged my skin. But the smell stayed the same. I remembered it clearly. A distant smell of fresh flowers from the market and mango sorbet in the air. The wall is still the same: close, intimate. They are not meant to separate, they're just a reminder that even in a city so multicultured, we still have our own space.

It's nice to be home for the weekend.

Ubud Archieve: Gourmet

Naturally, the first thing I did when I reached Ubud was my all time favorite Mexican treat, Taco Casa. It's easily becoming a tradition, like nothing feels more "Zen" than a big plate of chicken nachos and that goddam guacamole combine with Ubud breeze as my welcome drink in the hood. My spot is the table by the window. Best seat at the house.

I don't know why, I always feel like I'm eating better at Ubud, in terms of quality. Probably because it's so easy to find healthy food in the hood. Every time I come home to Ubud, food adventure is always on the list. And every time I come home, there's always interesting places to try. The hip place, the artistic place, the hot spot, the stay-all-night-place. I always find fascinating things that I want to explore. The people, I adore their commitment in crafting the food, the ambiance. It's not always about business, sometime I feel it's more about your passion, something you do over and over again because you can't help but wanting to make the best out of it. That's probably why the food tastes so good there.

Kakiang Bakery now serves gelato and they are to die for. The best gelato I had in Ubud so far!

Tuna Roll at Bali Buda made me rollin in the 7th sky.

I'd done my complete in-depth review about some of my favorite spots at Ubud and the list hasn't changed much. But there is a place I recently found that I love love love so much. Both for the food and the ambiance. I had a lunch there with Fifi, my UWRF mate for the last 2 years and Acid, a new friend I made on The Poet Club at UWRF 2017. It was an exceptionally hot day at Ubud, not to mention it's super humid too. We were looking for shelter from the heat until later in the afternoon when the last session started. So we decided to brave the heat, drove 7 km to Habitat.

Habitat is a well known resto in Ubud, specially because it shares roof with the most talked about co-working place there, Hubud. I was underestimated it at first. I thought, it's probably an overpriced place with so so tasted foods. I was wrong. The foods are delicious. So delicious. So delicious. And I repeat it 3 times because they are that good. I ordered Orange Fried Chicken with steamed rice, Fifi ordered Signature Burger and Acid ordered Chicken and Chips. All of them are so good. We did try out each other menus and we agreed that place would be officially on the list of "Must-Visit".

Actually, the menu they serve is kind of the same with most of the restos/cafes at Ubud. I think what makes them so good is there's no bullshit taste on the food. Do you ever experience reading a menu and the food sounds amazing but when they come it's just, meh? The Orange Fried Chicken exactly tastes like a very good fried chicken with orange glaze, served hot and crispy. There's no secret ingredients or special technique or magic. Habitat serves exactly what they write in the menu and more. That's also implied on the Signature Burger and Chicken and Chips my friends ordered. No bullshit food. What's lacking from the food was just, we didn't take pictures of them. Not even one picture. We went full savage when they served the food hahaha.

What's for dinner? Ours would be Crispy Chicken with Orange Sauce 👌💛💛 it can be yours too #habitatubud #nomnom#yummy #monkeyforest #ubudrestaurant #balifoodies#balilife #goodfood #dinnerinubud #dinnerinbali

A post shared by Habitat Ubud (@habitatubud) on Oct 11, 2017 at 3:15am PDT

Thank you for the beautiful shot Grand, looks stunning ☺☺😍😍 we love it @Regrann from @grandiyusuf - These burger from @habitatubud make me insane. One of my favorite place in Ubud. 👏 _____ #balifoodtalk #topvsco #travelgram #ubud #ubudbali #burger #foodgasm #foodporn #foodiegram #food #foodbali #passionpassport #balidaily - #regrann

A post shared by Habitat Ubud (@habitatubud) on May 1, 2017 at 5:41am PDT

PS: as always, I link the instagram/google maps at the picture so you can find them easier. Just click click ;)

Ubud Archive: Prelude

Oct 26th 2017

I forget the joy of not doing anything. Here I am, sitting at Starbucks alone, phone dead and machiato half drank, not knowing what to do as I wait for my boarding time. I'm the type of people who arrive super early to the airport because a constant paranoia of missing the flight. So yes, I have 4 hours to kill before boarding time. Please don't laugh.

I stop trying to do anything. I day dream, on how the weather will be at Ubud and the excitement of meeting some of familiar faces again. Man, I miss this. Sitting at the coffee shop, choosing the deepest corner so I can freely ponder and do nothing to my heart's content. It's nice to not multitask (haha) once in a while and just waste a little time.

Then I fly.

I love flying. It feels as if I'm in the other world, the closest ever to the sky, the most freeing moment I've ever feel. I love looking out the window, tracing the endless city lights that look like our veins, delivering life to every part of it. It's also the closest I ever be with God, physically speaking. I always have the idea that he can hear me better whenever I'm up in the sky. Ridiculous, but the feeling stays with me even after all this time. So I whisper a prayer, no, a lot of prayers actually.

I ask for a safety till I reach my destination

I ask for a good weather during the trip

I ask for wisdom when meeting new people

I ask for modesty when having fun

I ask for an unforgettable adventure with my friends

I ask for inspirations

I ask for good health and this one goes for every one in my family

I ask for forgiveness

and

I ask for love and compassion

I Keep Coming Back

It's my forth year attending UWRF this year. It maybe a small number compares to other regulars of the festival, not to mention the volunteers, but this is the only festival that I've been so committed to attend every year. At least I always try to make time to go, no matter how short.

Why I keep coming back? A lot of people has been asking me this question, specially my parents and my cousins. What's so interesting there? What can you see there? Is celebrity attending the event?

UWRF is about sitting next to strangers on the first day and having lunch as a new friends the next day. It's about seeing familiar faces from last year, or the previous years before and catching up over a heated discussion about good books, good indie movies and new hip coffee shop in town. It's about unleashing your imagination with your favorite writer, film maker and many other inspiring people in the panel, guiding you through their creative process. It's about getting passionate, inspired and excited just like flipping a story book with colorful images

It's about being reminded that what you think is out of your reach, is actually not that far away.

I think I'll come back a thousand times more.

Feeling Myself, Again

I just got back from Ubud last Tuesday. Dang, it feels reallyyyyy good to be away for a while, especially  if you're going to one of your favorite place on earth. Good news good news, I made some friends during UWRF. Super happy! I told myself that this year I had to be more courageous in starting a convo with the person I sit next to. And I did it! Yay! Proud of myself :D

I also managed to write journals every single day. It felt so easy since I got so inspired by all the sessions I attended. In fact, I never not taking notes out of everything. I have to say journaling is indeed a good way to record ideas in your mind. It really helped me to organised all of the ideas then proceeded them into a writing or video or a content materials for work. I'm truly glad I'm making progress here, considering how I struggled in so many aspects for couple of months.

Now I understand that taking a break is important. And I also understand that "a break" that works for me is a space to rediscover, to explore and to meet new friends. Shopping spree or coffee break don't make a cut anymore. I'm hungry for inspiration and experience, so that's probably why I love being away, on my own. Away from the routine, the people. The idea of discovering my own perspective of the world is one of my main life purpose right now.

It doesn't mean that I hate everything I have back home. It's just, I spend 25 years of my life staying in, circling in my comfort zone, obeying my parents if they tell me not to do something without considering if it can be a good thing for me as a young adult to try. I just need to get out. As I mentioned before, I need to discover my own perspective of the world. It's about time, right?

A Day to Remember

Last month, my parents celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary. 26 years of togetherness, 26 years of ups and downs and in between, 26 years of endless problems with the kids. Haha.

They asked us, the 3 problematic kids, out for dinner. I was hesitating at first. 26 should be a milestone for them and going for a typical Surabaya dining out was just, ordinary. So I proposed we went out of town instead, maybe to Malang or somewhere that could be reached within 3 hours drive. I immediately remembered that mom had never been to Bromo, never witness the magical night sky and beautiful sunrise with active volcano as a backdrop. I told them my plan and with a lil help from my bro and sis, we decided to go to Bromo for their wedding anniversary. I only had less than 24 hours to prepare the trip and also a little surprise for them buttt we made it to Bromo save and sound!

Bromo was packed with tourist that morning. We arrived a little late cause Penanjakan was already jammed with foreigner and local tourist. The sky was so so beautiful that morning. It's crystal clear, displaying the milky way and million of stars glowing just like a diamond *cue Rihanna's song*. Later my brother told me that he saw a shooting stars right before dawn came. Luckyyyyy bratttttt I missed that one :(

I've been to Bromo several times and usually in summer so I only wore my thin sweater and jeans because that would be enough. Little did I know Bromo in September is super cold and windy, like straight to the bone cold. I was obviously undressed thus I clinged to my brother and sister, but it didn't help much. I should have worn my thicker socks and sweater, I kept thinking that way since I felt like frozen up there. Even after the sun was up, the wind was still soooo cold.

Beside the chilly wind, the trip was fantastic. We had a good time playing in the sea of sand and taking gazillion pics together. I'm so happy that my parents enjoyed the trip as much as my sister, my brother and I did. We had breakfast at the jeep, the one that my sister prepared from home, sweet fried noodle with scrambled egg and beef sausages. I brought a thermos of Balinese coffee too so it was perffff breakfast at a beautiful place. Super happy!

My Bromo Itinerary:

11 p.m : departing from Surabaya

2 a.m : arriving at one of the check point, renting a jeep and a tour guide

3 a.m : driving up to Penanjakan, a terrace to watch the sunset and the crater of Bromo. There are several of Penanjakan and I've been to 3 of them. I will highly recommend Penanjakan 2 cause it has the best view of the crater and you can see the milky way clearer there.

3.30 a.m - 6.30 a.m : the sun usually rises from 5 a.m to 5.30 a.m, but as I mentioned before, Penanjakan is already packed around 4 a.m so the earlier you arrive, a better spot you get to watch the sun. I notice some people is already in Penanjakan since 2 a.m to watch the starry sky and the milky way and if you're lucky like my brother, you can spot the shooting star. I personally love to arrive at 3 a.m, brave the cold, and stay at Penanjakan up till 7 a.m because it will be less crowded and you can freely enjoy the view.

7 a.m - 10.30 a.m : we continued the journey around Pasir Berbisik area, checking out the sand dunes and the temple by the crater. You can try horse ride or climb up to the edge of the crater there. I wonder if we can rent ATV there cause it will be so much fun hehe. Most people drive around and stop at some points to take pics. There are also several small stalls there serving hot coffee, tea and snacks so if you don't prepare a meal, you can surely try the stalls.

10.30 a.m - 11 a.m : going back to the first check point, where we parked the car then driving back to Surabaya

That is that. I hope my experience help you if you have a plan to go to Bromo. One thing for sure is, even thou I've been there several times, the place is still so magical. The next time I plan to go there again, I think I will go when the little purple flower blooms at Pasir Berbisik. I see some of the pics and it looks so beautiful!

As Good As New

This is a note I wrote when I was on a bus, going home from Solo. I spent Raya Holiday there with my family and relatives. I lost this note when I arrived at home and it took me 2 goddam weeks to find it back at the draft folder of my email. Talk about stupidity. HAHA.

***

I spent the past 7 days road tripping with the whole family. My dad insisted that we spent the holiday together, he even let me pick where to go during the trip. Wow. That's what I've been waiting for. So, I decided to go to several places within 7 days: some were around Jogjakarta and some were around Solo-Surakarta. Both cities located not very far from each other which was perfect for road trip. But visiting those 2 cities during Raya Holiday is known as a suicidal mission: it's always packed with million of local tourists. Everywhere you lay your eyes on, there will be sea of human.

Apart from the crowd, going on a trip with your family has it's own challenge. Well, the problems were mostly because we had our own plans on where to go or where to eat. We argued and fought a lot during the trip. I know from the beginning that uniting 5 grown ups is no easy task. But somehow, at the end, we still had pretty much fun. I'm glad things were not falling apart ugly. Haha. I learnt a lot about being patience and holding my self back when it's needed. And I guess I'm not the only one learning things. Coming home, I feel like we communicate better as a family, which is a good thing, considering there's a big chance for us to grow apart from each other when you grow up.

But I'm not ready for the next family trip hahaha. One at the time, okay?

Jogja Archive: Oasis

When I decided to spent the weekend at Jogjakarta to attend ArtJog 2017, I immediately thought of YATS Colony and Greenhost Boutique Hotel. YATS Colony has been everywhere lately. Influencers and celebgrams is coming in and going out of that place, making it the hippest boutique hotel at the moment. While Greenhost has captured my attention since 2016 with its rooftop garden and those greenery against grey unfinished walls. It has the calming atmosphere, just like Brown Feather although Greenhost has more urban-dynamic vibes. As I thought, YATS was fully booked for the weekend so I went for Greenhost this time around.

The moment I set foot at Greenhost, there's only one thing in my mind: a perfect hideout with in the center of the city. The building is covered in greens so it looks like a giant tree in the middle of one busy corner of Prawirataman. When you enter the building, you'll be greeted by big blue swimming pool with vines covering the balcony from the highest floor down to the ground. It's like a green waterfall. And all of sudden, my fatigue was vanished thanks to the refreshing view. The interior is quite simple with woods and plants dominating the space. As I told you earlier, they left the wall unfinished without paint. I really really love the place I'm glad I checked in there instead of YATS Colony (even thou I believe YATS Colony is as beau as Greenhost).

10 things I love from my stay at Greenhost:

1. Within walk distance from my favorite coffee spot at Jogja, Ruang Seduh

2. Within walk distance from my favorite gelato place at Jogja, Tempo Gelato

3. I basically love the ambience. It's not fully cold-urban-hipster-place thanks to the greens. They make it more homey and warm and comfy.

4. The rooftop garden is so so beautiful. I think it's using hydroponic system where you don't need soil to grow your plants. Also, all of the harvest are organic and very well maintained, so I believe they have high quality. Oh, I wish I can build one at home.

5. The resto use ingredients planted at the rooftop garden. Talk about super fresh stuffs.

6. It's somehow always breezy inside the property no matter how hot Jogja is.

7. It is peaceful and quite at night which is a bit surprising for me considering it has a lot of rooms and people keep coming and going.

8. The room is super cute. I didn't take any pic of the room because it's a hot mess haha. But I remember they are using environment friendly furnitures. They also encourage the visitor to be wise while using the electricity and the water. They provide reusable bag for laundry (not a plastic bag guys!). They also provide us with natural, eco-friendly soap that wraps in recycled paper. I really appreciate the commitment for creating such an environment where we can contribute for a good cause. From my short stay at Greenhost, I get reminded that I can contribute at home too, starting from small things. Thank you.

9. They have bar at the rooftop! 

10. I didn't get to try any food from their resto but the pricing is quite fair (IDR 50K - IDR 100K). They also have many selection of Indonesian food and light bites.

Will I come back to Greenhost again? I would love to. But I guess I'll be trying out another hotel on my next visit cause there are several places that have quite similar ambience with Greenhost.