Once upon a crazy night...

Hello again! (See? I do everything but studying!) 

Anyway, last night I went to the super famous Sky Bar! You know, the one in The Hangover Part II: Lost in Bangkok movie! And it's so awesome! You could see the skyline and everything -- which is so beautiful, but unfortunately last night is a little bit cloudy so we couldn't see the stars. But it's still super awesome though :D

We actually planned to go there on Thursday, and we did, but Mikkel wore short pants and they did not let us in...... So we just left. The dresscode policy is just too crazy, they didn't allow people to use sandals, guys to wear shorts, girls to use t-shirts, and many other restrictions. And what's crazier is that they are often not consistent with it, sometimes they will follow the rules and prohibit people without the 'proper' dress to go in, and sometimes, they will just randomly let them in. For example when I'm there, I actually saw some guys wore shorts. But nonetheless, it's still quite an experience!

The Famous Dome from Hangover II: Lost in Bangkok

Bangkok's Skyline

After finished enjoying the view, we went to Khao San Road (what else...) to get some drinks (or for me, watch them get some drinks) and then just hanging around and have some fun! I left my phone to one of my friend, Joris, just because I didn't have any room left in my bag and I didn't have a pocket in my dress. And turns out, he took 1600 scrap pictures (selfies!) in my phone!! So guys, lesson number one: never give your phone to your drunk friend.... Well, I need to admit that some of the pictures are quiet funny and worth to save though, and I believe that every picture snapped must worth a piece of memory, even if it's only a tiny bit. And last night was so fun and of course, worth remembering! So yes, hereby I attached some of my 'company' last night! (Picture courtesy to Joris! -- even though the pictures are so bad)

Me and Maureen, the crazy-picky-typical German girl!

Amie, a lovely yet naive American girl and Mikkel, a Danish who spend more time being drunk than sober

Joris, the suspect of last night 

Flo and Gareth, a German & British guy who love Thai girls! (This pict is so bad!!!)

Life as an exchange student in Thailand

On Friday, I have one midterm exam about International Studies at 6 PM. So on Thursday I went out with some friends and since my midterm for the next day is in the evening, we just keep hanging out all night long. The next day, I already have plan to go to the Friday Market in the University. So at 10 AM we went to the market, and it's amazing! They got some stalls -- which is more than enough -- and it's not as overwhelming as Chatuchak Market. So we got some meals there, shop a little bit until 2 PM. At first I was thinking about just staying in the University and study at the library. But thinking about it again, I don't think I'm into studying for four hours..... So I decided to go home with the others.

So I got back to Greenpark, I check my phone and reply all the chats because I could only do it when I'm encountered with wifi (I don't know why but I think my simcard is broken! It suddenly didn't show any 3G anymore!). And suddenly, I don't know what hit me, I feel like trying to enter my University's academic webpage. So I log in only to find out that my exam is on Friday............... at 2 PM. And the clock already turns 3........

I was startled! I was confused whether to just go for it and do my exam late, or just didn't showed up and make a good excuse later. Well then I decided that I just have to go for it, so I ran to a cab and go to the University straight ahead. I'm already an hour late, so I'm so nervous about that. But nevertheless, I looked for the teacher, and I apologize and try to explain what just happened. 

Turns out, my teacher is the best! He told me to just do my exam straight ahead and he will give me an extra 30 minutes. I still lost 30 minutes of my time, but it's better than if he didn't allowed me to do my exam! So yes, I made it even though it is obviously not my best one and I didn't finished it. But it's still okay though!

And now.. I actually have an exam for tomorrow. But it's so hard to find motivation to study. And right now I do anything but studying; when I should've do nothing but studying. Xxx

00:00 - Happy Birthday

"The time when you feel lonely, is the time you most need to be with yourself."


♥,
P




PS: But if I'm wrong, I'll be here.

My Weekend at the Weekend Market (Chatuchak Market)

The only thing I hate more than shopping is shopping with people.

So yes, yesterday I decided to go to the Weekend Market (also  known as Chatuchak Market or JJ Market) all by myself. And it was super fun!

I planned to go to the market at 10 AM, but plan is just a plan. I can't wake up early because the night before I didn't get enough sleep (some of my friends share some very inspiring stories, but that's another story), so yeah I got a few good excuses to not being able to wake up early. So I finally went there around 12.30 PM. I took the 539 bus from across my dorm and get off at the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai). Well, so the day before I already searched the way from my dorm to the Chatuchak Market. And because there is no direct bus from my dorm, I need to make a transfer to another bus. I remember that I could get off at the Southern Bus Terminal and then take another bus to the market, but I forgot which bus that I should take. And the stupidest thing is, I didn't know that I already used up all my data plan; so I didn't have internet in my phone. Well enough for that. I finally figure out that I should take either the 28 bus or 177 bus. But the thing is.... I already sat at the bus stop for about 45 minutes, and there is no sign of both of these buses. So I decided that I need another plan. So I know that the Chatuchak Market location is close to the Northern Bus Terminal (Mochit), thus I decided to take one of the buses that heading to this terminal -- which is the 170 bus.
'
Long story short, I finally arrived at Mochit (after an hour ride); and it turns out that it's not as close as I thought. Well I only need to walk for about 20 minutes...... but still. There are many taxis and motorcycle taxis that offer me a ride to the market, but no, I don't want to spend anymore money for unnecessary things like transportation. So yeah, a 20 minutes walk it is.

So I actually already went to the Weekend Market before, and at that time I went there in the morning from 9 AM and got back at noon; so it was just the perfect time to avoid the people and the hot weather. And this time, I came at the wrongest time possible! The hot weather itself I can handle, but the people.... No, I just can't. But because I have a mission to accomplish -- I need to buy souvenirs and gifts for my family and friends since I would go back to Jakarta in some time soon -- I won't give up! Besides, I already spent 2,5 hours on the road and I don't want to go back for nothing.

Well so, Chatuchak is the best place if you want to find...... everything! It is the biggest weekend market in the world, and they have the broadest product line. You could find literally everything, from cloth to pets, souvenirs to spices & herbs, furniture to shoes! So if you are the typical of a mass shopper, this is definitely the best place for you.

So yes, I just go through the souvenir section (which is hard to find because of the huge size of the market) and then... shop! I tried to speak a few Thai words (I'll mention some of it in this post later!) just because I just love to blend in with the locals (since my face already looks like one), and who knows, maybe I could get some extra discounts because I'm Thai! :p

And the amazing thing is, it actually worked! I got a huge discounts, and it's not because of I'm Thai (well they finally figured out that I'm not Thai after a few words more), but it's because they appreciate my effort to learn Thai! So guys, this is a major lesson: learn a few words of a country before you go somewhere, because the locals would feel respected!

Long story short, after a few hours I finally got everything that I needed with a very good price. And that's all that matters. So yap, I'm so happy right now -- mission accomplished!

Here's some Thai words that might come in handy: (the polite particular for girl is kha and boy is krab)

• Sawadee kha/krab --- Hi/Hello/Goodbye
• Sabai dee mai --- How are you doing?
• Sabai dee kha/krab --- I'm good
• Kho tod kha/krab -- Sorry/Excuse me
  
• Tao lai kha/krab --- How much?
• Aniy -- This
• Lot day mai -- Can you give discount?
• Khap kun kha/krab -- Thank you
• Neng - One
• Song - Two
• Sam - Three
• Si - Four
• Ha - Five (that's why Thai people often say 5555 while chatting which means hahahaha)
• Ho - Six
• Jet - Seven
• Pet - Eight
• Kao - Nine
• Sip - Ten
• Sip et - Eleven
• Sip song - Twelve
• Yi Sip - Twenty
• Loy - Hundred
• Song loy - Two hundred

My Thailand Bucketlist!

Okay so, having been here for about one and a half months make me love Thailand so much! I've already been to several places (not much though), but I'm really looking forward to some places that looks really cool!! Thus, here is all of my bucket list (that I'm really hoping to come true) for the next 1,5 months!

So here is the places that I've already been to:

Bangkok:
1. Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)
2. Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)
3. Chatuchak Market
4. MBK
5. Siam Paragon, Siam, Discovery, Siam Square, and other Siams...
6. Khao San Road
7. Cabbages & Condoms
8. Lumphini Park
9. Terminal 21
10. Chinatown
11. Little India
12. Sukhumvit Road
13. Victory Monument
14. Sampran Riverside

Outside Bangkok:
1. Koh Phangan
2. Khao Yai National Park
3. Sukhothai
4. Ayutthaya

And my bucket list is:

Bangkok:
1. Grand Palace
2. Ocean World
3. Madame Tussaud
4. Floating Market
5. Drive in Bangkok!
6. Jim Thompson's House
7. Boat tour at Chao Phraya River
8. Moon Bar (or any other Sky Bar)
9. There are so much more, but I don't know why I forgot.... 

Outside Bangkok:
1. Koh Chang
2. Koh Samet
3. Koh Larn
4. Koh Tao
5. Pattaya
6. Krabi
7. Phuket
8. Hua Hin
9. Khao Luang Cave
10. Kanchanaburi
11. Loy Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai
12. Chiang Mai in general
13. Chiang Rai & Pai
14. Ride an elephant and give them a shower!
15. Ride a motorbike (or not..)

Neighboring countries:

Cambodia
1. Siem Reap

- Angkor Wat

- Angkor Thom

- Ta Prohm

- Pre Rup

- Phnom Bakhaeng

- Banteay Srey

- Thommanon

2. Phnom Phen

- Tuol Sleng Museum

- Royal Palace

- Silver Pagoda

- National Museum

- Choeung Ek

- Sunset cruise!

Vietnam
1. Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

- Jade Emperor Pagoda

- Night cruise

- Thien Hau Temple

- War Museum

- Notre Dame of Saigon

- Saigon Opera House

2. Muine

- Muine Beach

- Lotus Lake

- Yellow Sand Dune

- Fairy Stream

- Cham Temples

- Ke Ga Lighthouse

3. Hanoi

- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

- Temple of Literature

- Old Quarter

- Hoan Kiem Lake

- Thang Long Water Puppet Theater
Halong Bay

- Basically just chill and relax by the beach....

Laos
1. Vientiane

- Mekong River

- Wat Sisaket

- Wat Phra Keo

- Wat Simuang

- That Dam

- Pangkham Street

- Nam Phou Fountain

- Patuxay Monument

- That Luang

There goes all my bucket list (for now!) in Thailand and other neighboring countries. I'll keep updated whenever something suddenly pops up in my mind!

A love letter to Mr. President

I love Pak Jokowi, I really do. But he really needs to start acting like a President. I mean, I don't mind at all having a humble President (I actually long for one), but I do mind having a President with low self-esteem. I mean, if you, a President, didn't have the confidence and self-esteem, how do you expect your people to have one? I mean, I'm not saying that Pak Jokowi has a low self-esteem, he probably not, but I personally think that he acts like one. Hi Mr. President, just in case you don't know, we (the world!) are looking up to you right now!

I still love you though.



PS: Please don't ever get tired of us being too demanding, we just love you way too much :-)

Saturday, 18th October 2014. 01:32 AM.

I feel bad about myself that I've been reading this one book -- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami -- for 2 months and I haven't finished it yet. It's crazy because I used to finished a book for a maximum 3 days. Well I know this book is like a thousand page long.... But still.

It's funny how time changes your habit & behavior towards things -- towards your priorities (even if it's only your priority of how to spend your free time).

Good night.

Full Moon Party - October, 2014

So as I already told you, last weekend we all went to the famous Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan. Everyone takes their own mode of transport, depending on how much money and time they have. I personally choose to take the cheapest one because I'm running out of money here.... So anyway, I bought a combine train-ferry ticket for about 2100 baht round trip. The train will take you to Surat Thani station, and then you'll take a bus organized by the ferry company to the pier, and finally you'll go to Koh Phangan by a ferry. The overall journey was okay, you just can't expect anything fancy and super clean from a 2nd class in developing countries. But the train that take me back to Bangkok is having a terrible delay for 90 minutes, and since there is nothing around the station, I just sit there for about 5 hours.... And that's sucks. And I heard that the trains in Thailand is often late, so if you are tight in time, maybe it's better to choose other mode of transport. Some of my friends choose to get the bus-ferry ride, and they had to pay about 2500 baht for round trip. It's not bad at all remembering that the bus is way more faster than the train. And some of the others choose to take a flight (they still had to take the ferry though) and had to pay about 3500 baht for round trip. Any modes has their own advantages and disadvantages, just look at your current condition and choose one that's best for you!

I arrived in Koh Phangan on Wednesday, 8th October at around 16:00. Wednesday is the day of the Full Moon Party, so we just go somewhere to eat, shop some stuffs for the party, and then just chill and wait for the night to come. The party took place at Haad Rin beach, so we chose a hostel in a walking distance to the beach, so that everyone can go home safely even if they are drunk. At around 6 pm everyone starts preparing themselves and we paint our whole body with colorful paintings! This is how we look:

Around 8 pm we went out for dinner and after that we go straight to the party! The party is not as crazy as I thought (before coming here, I heard a lot of scary stories like people will put drugs in your drinks, or people will put roofies in your pocket, or people get stabbed with no reason) -- well, some of my friends searched a little about it and turns out that this Full Moon Party is the tamest party ever up to now (don't ask me why!). But I actually thank God about it, because I'm not the kind of party person or anything close to it. But if you are a party person who look up for those crazy Full Moon Parties, you should go there on new years because I bet it'll be crazy! Oh, and if anyone is planning to go to Thailand at the end of this year, on the 4th of January they will celebrate their 30th Full Moon Party and they said they will make the craziest Full Moon Party ever! So I'm calling all the party people here to go to Koh Phangan on the 4th of January 2015!

Though it is not as crazy as I thought, I could still found some 'craziness' at the beach! Some are a fun crazy, and some are just...... not funny. You could still found people making out everywhere (well for some people this is not crazy... but for me......), or even making love at beach! You could still found lots of drugs and shrooms everywhere, and saw people getting high (it's actually funny though). And, one of my friend actually saw a guy with broken ribs........Well crazy or not, you decide!

Lastly, here are some pics from the (tamest) Full Moon Party ever:

One more bucket please!

Sawasdee Haadrin Koh Phangan!

#20factsaboutme

1. I'm the second daughter of my parents, I have three sisters - one older sister, and two younger sisters which are twins! I love my family so much, they are the best mom, dad, and sisters that God could ever sent to me. I'm actually a family-person by heart, but I just can never show my feelings to them - which leads to the #fact number two!
2. Maybe no one realizes this, but I'm pretty much an introvert who strives to be an extrovert for my whole life. That's why I'm having a super hard time showing my feelings to people, even to my closest ones. I'm having a love-hate relationship with new people, because I really hate to introduce myself and start talking nonsense; but at the same time, I always feel exhilarated and thrilled to do that. Even though I'm not so good at meeting new people, once I become acquainted with them, they have to prepare their ears to listen to me all day long.
3. I always love to do things by myself. I love to shop alone, watch a movie alone (as long as it's not a horror movie), travel alone, go to a hair salon/massage alone, or just sit somewhere and see how the world works around me... alone. I don't know why, but by nature, being alone is just my comfort zone. I will never feel lonely when I'm alone, while sometimes (just sometimes!) I feel lonely when I'm with people.
4. But the thing is, I love people! Just because I love to do things by my own, doesn't mean that I'm such a loner and I hate people and I'm such a dark gloomy kind of person. In fact, I'm pretty sure my friends think that I'm such an extrovert who loves to be surrounded by people. Which I do. I love to spend my time with my friends; just hanging out in new cafes or restaurants we haven't been to or just go to someone's house and talk about random things. Either way, I always love it. 
5. I love to do and figure out something new. This leads to my all time favorite thing to do: travel! I will not refer myself as a traveler (which I'm not) because I don't do travel that often (because of budget and time constraint). But if I have all the time and money in the world, I would definitely do it as much as I can!
6. I always have a thing with volunteering. Which is odd because I never actually do it. Deep inside, I always find the hunger of helping others and share some happiness that I have. I actually already searched opportunities to volunteer, but I don't know why I always ended up didn't do it. Well I know why. At first, I'm so busy with things that I shouldn't be busy with (like conducting events in my university and stuffs). Then when all those not-so-important things had done, I start being busy with the things I should be busy with (family, college, etc.). After all, procrastinating is the reason why.
7. I'm afraid of heights. I don't know why, but as long as I can remember, I'm always afraid of heights. It's so severe that I even find it scary to be in the upper berth of bed, looking down when I'm only at the 2nd floor of a mall, or to just stand on a chair. I don't know why, maybe I'm just afraid of falling.
8. My biggest dream in life is to own an orphanage and a school. This two things just combined two of my favorite things in life: volunteer and kids. I'm going to make a high-quality school for free, for kids who didn't have any pennies for education yet struggles to have one. I hate how people give children schools for free, but they didn't maintain the quality at all. It's like giving someone something to eat, but didn't allow them to drink.
9. I'm a big believer of love requires sacrifice and some work. You will never, ever, find someone who clicks with you in every single aspect. But you will find someone who would love to figure things out together with you, compromise, and try to make everything work out.
10. I sneeze like a cat. I have those small sneezes with a minimum of 5 times every time I sneezes. I used to have those big relieving sneezes, but then my stomach will hurts and my nose will sore. So eventually, those big relieving sneezes turn to be a 5 times small silent sneezes.
11. I didn't really know what I wanted to do for a living - work-wise. I like economics because it's logical and it simply make sense. But I never find myself willingly searched the web for research papers and read it without an order. I didn't find it hard, though. I didn't really enjoy reading those papers and literatures, but no, I don't hate it. And I still do it quite often! And this leads to the #fact number 12.
12. I was not born a rebel. I do what people asks me to do, whether I like it or not. I think it's a part of my eastern culture where people find it offensive when you bluntly express your actual feelings. But the thing is, I didn't have a hard time doing things that I didn't fond of. Well, I never actually have a hard time doing anything. Up to now, I never really work on something really hard that I push myself to my limit. Without any intentions of being cocky, I actually find everything to be so easy to get. That's why I start to question myself, whether I already set a high enough goals and expectations for myself. Well I guess the answer is.... no, I haven't.
13. I never believe in love at the first sight, but I do believe in hate at the first sight. Every time I met someone, I start to analyze and voilà! I will immediately make a conclusion whether I'm going to like this person or not. Of course after knowing them, there is a possibility that somehow I soften my views. Maybe they are not as bad as I thought, or on the other hand, maybe they are not as good as I thought. But there is also a possibility that my first analysis is right, and knowing them more just deepen my interpretation even more. And most of time, my first analysis is right. Because I think it's not just about the appearance and stuffs, I believe that it's also a mixture of your instincts and signs from the universe.
14. I love to read so much! I didn't refer myself as a bookworm, because I know there's a lot more people who read so much more than me. But yes, if I had some free time, book is the first thing I will run into. I didn't read all kind of books (which proved that I'm not a bookworm even more), I mostly read fiction and science fiction. I prefer reading than watching movies, because I think that movies limit my imagination. They already provide everything for you: the pictures, musics, dialogues, gestures; and the only room for you to imagine is the prologue and epilogue. Which is not good.
15. Before I go to sleep, most of time (if I'm not too tired that I'd passed away right after touching the bed) I will imagine what I'm going to be 1, 5, 10, 50 years from now - depending on my mood. Sometimes my imagination will be wild and unrealistic, but sometimes I will make a very good story that I would really love it to come true. 
16. I am not an ambitious girl, but I do hate it when someone (especially when I didn't really like them) is better than me and I will do something to prove them (and myself) that I'm better. This is a part of my selfishness that I keep to myself, and I believe that no one knows about it up to now. And, as a matter of fact I hate it when people show their ambitiousness. I mean, you could go get gold for a hundred competition or attend hundreds of conferences all around the world, but I will never have any respect for you if you post all your achievements in all of your social media. No one needs to know that at 10:00 you are making a paper, at 13:00 you are in the middle of a business meeting with someone important, at 15:00 you are meeting a Professor to check your paper, at 17:00 you are attending a technical meeting for a competition, at 20:00 you are practicing for your debate competition, at 22:00......... get it? There you go.
17. I always want to marry in a young age. I want to raise my children when I'm still young, strong, and healthy. I want to be more like a friend to my kids, not just a mother that they have respect to and period. I want them to have me as their best friend, to not be afraid of telling the most taboo things, to be able to communicate with me as a grown up. I want them to love me as a mom, a friend, a teacher, and everything possible.
18. I always try to be that toughest-independent-strong-happy girl in my peers. I want them to think that I'm strong, that I can handle every obstacles in my life, that I'm always happy no matter what. That's probably another reason why I never really share it to people when I feel sad or mad. That's also the reason why I always have a big dependency to my partner, I will rely on him in most everything. I couldn't cry or show my weakness in front of my friends, thus the only choice that I have is to show it to him. And that would make me look a bit pampered to whoever my boyfriend is.
19. Lately, I just can't tolerate foolishness.
20. People with ideology, goals, and visions never fails to astonish me. I love to see the sparkles in someone's eyes when they talk about their long-term goals, what they wanted to be, what their passions are, and what they had done in life. If you wanted to amaze me, never ever even think about saying how much you earned, how many cars you owned, how many branded names you memorize, how many galas you are invited to, how you smoke weeds three times a day, how you take five shots and still didn't get drunk. To startled me, just talk about life, how you wanted it to be, how you strives to work on you passion, how you cry when you see people in need, how you try so many times but still fails. I love too see sparkles in people's eyes, it's the thing that proves you're living, not just alive.

So, here's the #20factsaboutme! Shoot, that was long..... Told you I love to talk!

Sawadee Ka!

Hi there! Or should I say...... Sawadee Ka!

I'm writing this in my dorm in......... Thailand! Isn't that crazy? I'm taking an exchange program to Mahidol University for one semester, and up to now (I've been here for a month) I'm having a super-great time. I just simply love it here; the people, the attractions, the culture, the foods, the scenery, the landscapes, everything. Who doesn't? I'm in The Land of Smiles! I found it crazy that I'm only three hours flight away from Jakarta, and everything is just so different. Well not necessarily everything, the climate, the traffic jam, the behavior (dirty-ness and so on) is merely the same; but other than that, I learned tons of new things - which is amazing! Moreover, I'm surrounded by a lot of people from different cultures here. I'm living in an international dorm, and it's literally multinational! There is a bunch of Americans (and I learned that America is a really big country, so different states means different cultures!), Germans, Austrian, Dutch, Colombian, Canadian, British, Danish, and of course Thais! Isn't it awesome that you can learn an itsy bit of every culture just by staying in one place? I learned how Germans are so insecure and so afraid of risks. I learned how Americans really do worship freedom than anything else. I learned how Colombia is not a jungle, and not as scary as how the movies described (some of the movies didn't even shoot it in Colombia!). I learned how Danish are really proud of being Danish, and they will brag about their country all the time. I learned how Thai people really respect and love their Kings and their country; they even play their national anthem in theaters before a movie starts and everyone will stand up and sing a long. I learned how different the eastern and western cultures are, in a good way.

I've only been here for about a month, and I already been to several places inside and outside Bangkok (In fact, right now I just came back from the famous Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan!). Starting from now, be ready to read my Thailand experiences, and maybe my other experiences that I hadn't write before. I don't why but before, I don't want to write anything about my experiences because I'm afraid that people will find me a boaster. But after this whole month of experiences, I don't know why but I don't care anymore! I write because I wanted to share a glimpse of my life, not because I wanted to brag. And if someone thinks that I boasted, well sorry no sorry, that's your problem not mine.

After this post, I will immediately post another one about #20factsaboutme just because I'm in the mood of writing and it looks like some fun! And if I still got some mood of writing, I'll post another one about my short trip to Koh Phangan! Just for a sneak peek, the Full Moon Party is so crazy but actually, it's not as crazy as I thought!