Greetings dear readers / salam buat para pembaca

Knowing that I say it better in writing, and I do love writing, I decided to write my experiences and thoughts in this blog so this is my e-diary.

Don't speak Indonesian? No need to worry, it is written both in Indonesian and in English.

Happy Reading, everybody !
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Buat saya mengungkapkan isi hati dan pemikiran lebih gampang dilakukan dalam bentuk tulisan dan karena saya juga senang menulis, saya memutuskan menulis hal-hal yang saya alami dan yang ada dalam pikiran saya dalam blog ini.

Untuk yang tidak bisa berbahasa Indonesia, jangan khawatir, blog ini saya tulis dalam bahasa Indonesia dan Inggris.

Selamat membaca !

Monday, April 29, 2019

White Crater - Ciwidey, Bandung

Cuma ada satu kata untuk menggambarkan tempat ini;

There is only one word to describe this place;

Wow!

Tidak percuma saya menempuh waktu kira-kira lima jam dari Bogor untuk sampai di sini.

It's worth it. About five hours drive from Bogor to get here. Definitely worth it.


*  *  *  *  *

Diawali dari tidak sengaja menemukan foto Kawah Putih Ciwidey waktu lagi browsing google.

It started when I found photo of Ciwidey White Crater while I was browsing google.

Ini danau atau apa ya? pikir saya. Katanya kawah tapi kok lebih mirip kayak danau. 

Is this a lake or what? I thought to myself. It says it's a crater but it looks more like a lake.

Penasaran, saya browsing untuk mencari info.

Curious, I browsed to get more information about it.

Lalu saudara-saudara, naluri impulsif saya pun keluar.

So guys, my impulsive urge came to the surface.

Saya harus ke sana.

I have to go there.

*  *  *  *  *

Tapi kok ya buat pergi sendiri.. rasanya kurang pede.

To go all by myself.. I had less confident to do so.

Enak nih kalau pergi bareng temen.

It would be fun to go with friends.

Tanya temen kiri kanan apa ada yang mau ikutan..

Asking friends if anyone would like to go with me..

Dalam prakteknya ternyata tidak semudah itu.

It actually didn't go that easy.

Kagak bisa, Ke. Sudah punya acara.

Can't, Keke. I've already made plan to go out.

Sudah pernah ke sana, Ke.

Been there already, Keke.

Anak gue ga bisa ditinggal, Ke.

I can't leave my kid, Keke.

Cuti gue sudah habis, Ke.

I have used all of my leave days, Keke. 

Kalau ke Bandung harus nginap, Ke.

Have to spend a night when you travel to Bandung, Keke.

Begini ini yang bikin saya kesel kalau mau ngajak temen traveling.

This is exactly what upset me when I'm asking friends to go traveling together.

Doh, gimana dong? Kalau nungguin sampe ada temen yang bisa ikut, berapa lama saya harus nunggu? 

Shoot, what now? If I wait until someone can go with me, how long will I have to wait?

Kalau mau nunggu sampai punya nyali, yah, nggak bakal datang itu nyali.

If I keep waiting until I get the nerve, well, it won't ever come.

Jadi saya pun memelototi kalender, mencari hari libur nasional yang berdekatan sama hari libur saya.

So I studied the calender, looking for public holiday that fall next to my day off.

Saya beruntung. 

I was lucky.

Tanggal 3 April hari libur nasional. Itu hari Rabu.

3rd April was a public holiday. It fell on Wednesday.

Selasa adalah hari libur saya.

Tuesday is my day off.

Kalau saya berangkat hari Selasa berarti besoknya saya punya waktu satu hari buat istirahat di rumah.

If I leave on Tuesday then the next day I can stay home.

Berdasarkan pengalaman, jalan satu harian perlu dibayar istirahat lebih dari sehari.. hehe.. maklum, makin tuwir.

Speaking from experience, one day traveling should get more than one day to recuperate.. haha.. I'm getting older now.

Begitu tanggal sudah ditetapkan, rasanya lega.

I felt relieved once I settled on the date.

*  *  *  *  *

Selasa, 2 April 2019

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Seumur-umur belum pernah saya ke Bandung sendirian naik bis.

All of my life I have never traveled on my own by bus to Bandung. 

Tapi pasti selalu ada kali pertama untuk segala sesuatu.. ya kan?

But there is always the first time for everything, right?

Jadi pagi itu dengan pede saya pergi ke terminal bis Baranangsiang.

So that morning I confidently went to Baranangsiang bus terminal.

Wah, begitu banyak bis, mana yang ke Bandung?

Oh geez, so many buses, which one go to Bandung?

Ternyata bisnya ngetem di sebelah kiri dari pintu masuk terminal. Asyik! Ga usah jalan jauh-jauh.

The bus actually lined up at the left side of the terminal entrance. Yay! I didn't have to walk far.

Begitu naik.. wokeh! Deretan kursi paling depan kosong. Sip.. sip..


Once I got on it.. ok! The front row was empty. Yay.. yay..

Berapa ongkosnya? Lihat stiker foto di bawah ini ya.

How much is the fare? See the sticker on the below photo.


Jam tujuh pagi bis berangkat.

The bus left at seven am.


Saya kira cuma tiga jam. Kenyataannya? Lebih dari empat jam cuy! Macet gila di jalan tol.

I thought it would only take three hours. It turned out it took more than four hours, man! One hell of traffic jam in toll road.


Hampir jam dua belas siang waktu bis masuk terminal Leuwi Panjang Bandung.

It was almost noon when the bus got at Leuwi Panjang Bandung bus terminal.

Untunglah saya bawa bekal nasi dan lauk buat makan siang yang saya makan di bis so saya tidak perlu buang waktu lagi buat cari tempat buat makan siang.

Luckily I brought my own lunch so I didn't have to waste more time to have lunch because I already ate my lunch in the bus.

Turun dari bis, saya langsung cari petugas terminal untuk tanya kendaraan apa yang harus saya pakai untuk ke Ciwidey.

Once I got off the bus, I looked for bus terminal officer to ask what should I take to go to Ciwidey.

Naik mobil L300.

Take L300 car, it's like a mini van.

Kendaraan yang paling tidak saya sukai.

The kind of vehicle that I dislike most.

Karena penumpangnya dijejal-jejal. Supirnya rata-rata ngebut kayak orang sinting.


Passengers were jammed inside it. The driver usually drive like crazy.

Nunggunya lamaaaaa.. karena supir baru mau berangkat kalau kendaraannya sudah penuh.

It took a long wait.. because the driver won't leave until his vehicle is full.

Begitu penuh.. wih, jalannya ngebut tapi sekali ini saya justru bersyukur karena hari sudah makin siang.

Once it was full.. man, he drove as fast as a wind but this time I was grateful because the day was getting late.

Kalau bisa malah keluarin baling-baling Doraemon, bang.. biar sekalian kita terbang aja... hehe..

image: www.wallpapersafari.com
If it would be possible let out that Doraemon's propeler, dude.. let it fly us.. lol..

Btw, link di bawah ini memuat petunjuk buat yang mau ke Ciwidey. Kalau di klik tidak bisa, copy paste ke browser.

Btw, the link below shows direction to go to Ciwidey. If you can't click the link, copy paste it to your browser.

https://www.etransportasi.com/2017/02/cara-ke-kawah-putih-ciwidey-bandung.html

*  *  *  *  *

Transportation to Ciwidey

Begitu sampai di Ciwidey.. rasanya baru saya bisa bernapas lega.

I could take a deep relief breath only after I've got at Ciwidey. 

Mengingat perjalanannya begitu panjang dari Bogor ke Bandung naik bis. Belum lagi macetnya yang bikin waktu jadi mulur.

Considering the long trip from Bogor to Bandung by bus. Not to mention the traffic jam that has wasted lots of time.

Trus dari terminal bis Leuwi Panjang di Bandung harus transit pake mobil L300 sampai mentok di pasar Ciwidey. Itu belum di kawah putihnya ya.


From Bandung Leuwi Panjang bus terminal must take a minivan best known as L300 car to Ciwidey market. That is not the white crater, people.

Dari pasar Ciwidey itu ganti lagi kendaraan. Pake angkot ke kawah putih.

From Ciwidey market must change vehicle. This time take angkot to the white crater.

Angkot cuma berhenti di depan pintu masuk kawasan wisata kawah putih.   


Angkot just stop at white crater entrance.

Dari pintu masuk kawasan wisata kawah putih ke lokasi si kawah putih itu harus pakai mobil yang disediakan sama pengelola kawasan wisata itu.


There in the entrance is vehicles provided by the management to take visitors to white crater.

Emang ga bisa jalan kaki aja dari situ ke kawah putih?

Is it not possible to walk from there to the white crater?

Kagak bisa. Jauh. Pake mobil aja perlu waktu kira-kira 10 menit.

No you can't. It's far. It takes about 10 minutes by car.

Jadi jangan nekad ya jalan kaki.

So don't even think to trek to the white crater.

Sebetulnya sih asyik juga kalau mau trekking karena jalurnya kayak lewatin hutan kecil. Yah, asal kuat aja tuh kaki diajak jalan jauh sampe sejam atau mungkin malah bisa lebih kalau mau jalan ngeslow.


It actually would be fun to go trekking to location because it passed this sort of forrest. Well, as long as your feet can walk for an hour or probably more than an hour if you walk slow.

Yang pasti sih kalau harga tiket masuk sudah termasuk kendaraan buat ngantar ke lokasi, ngapain harus nyiksa diri tergempor-gempor jalan kaki.. tul nggak?

One thing for sure if the entrance fee already included vehicle to take you to the location why do you have to torture yourself to trek there, right?

Lebih enak lagi sih pake kendaraan sendiri atau sewa mobil.

It is more convenient if you take your own vehicle or rent a car.

Kalau sewa mobil dari Jakarta atau Bogor berasa mahal, ya ngeteng aja pake bis dari Jakarta atau Bogor ke Bandung. Nanti minta mobil sewaan jemput di terminal bis di Bandung. Harga sewa mobil jadi lebih murah.

If car rental cost a lot from Jakarta or Bogor to Bandung you can take bus to Bandung and ask the rental car to pick you up at Bandung bus terminal. This makes car rental fee cheaper.

Kalau pengen ongkos sewa mobil jadi lebih murah lagi, ajak teman dan kalau bisa lebih dari satu. Nanti ongkosnya kan ditanggung rame-rame.

If you want to makes car rental fee more cheaper, ask a friend to come along, if it is possible take more than one friend. All of you can split car rental fee fairly.

*  *  *  *  *

What to expect.. 

Capek, bete dan laparnya saya seperti hilang begitu sampai di kawah putih.

All my tiredness, bad mood and hunger seemed to just gone once I arrived at the white crater.

Dari jauh sih belum kelihatan kawahnya.


You can't see the crater from afar.

Yang langsung terasa adalah udara dan anginnya yang ... hampun makk... dingiiiiiiiiinnnn banget.

The freezing wind and low temperature were like a welcome greeting.

Saya yang terhitung sudah terbiasa dengan udara dan angin dingin karena tinggal di Bogor saja bisa menggigil.

Even I who used with freezing wind and low temperature in my hometown Bogor found it chiling.

Jadi ingat ya, harus bawa jaket, syal atau topi kalau mau ke kawah putih.

So do remember to bring jacket, shawl or hat when you are going to white crater.

Satu lagi yang wajib dibawa: masker.

Face mask is another must bring item.

Karena bau belerangnya lumayan keras. Saya saja sampai terbatuk-batuk.

Strong smell of sulfur. It was strong enough to make me have coughs.

Kalau tidak bawa, ada yang jual kok.

If you don't bring it, there is a mask vendor.

Enaknya sih kalau masker sudah termasuk dalam tiket masuk.

It would be more convenient if face mask is already included in entrance fee. 

Tapi ini nggak. Jadi keluar duit lagi lima ribu perak.

But it's not. So you have to get it for five thousand rupiah.

*  *  *  *  *  

What planet am I in?

Sambil menahan dingin dan napas sedikit sesak yang bikin sesekali terbatuk-batuk, saya lanjut berjalan.

Shivering with cold, short breath and cough didn't deter me from kept going.

Di ujung tangga.. mata saya melotot..

At the end of the staircase.. my eyes were bulding out..

Dari kejauhan saya bisa melihat kawah putih!

I could see the white crater from a far.

Airnya yang berwarna putih kehijauan itu dengan tebing tinggi dan kabut di latar belakangnya..


Its light turquoise water with the tall cliffs and fog on the background..

Napas saya langsung terasa sesak dan itu bukan karena menghirup bau belerang.

I felt I had to catch on my breath and it wasn't because of the sulfur.

Indahnya ciptaan Tuhan.


How beautiful God created it.

Saya ga berpanjang cerita deh. Biar foto-foto ini yang bicara.


I don't have to say much. Let these pictures do the talking.


Indah. Memukau. Misterius.

Beautiful. Riveting. Mysterious.

Kadang seperti berada di planet lain.


Sometimes it feels like being in another planet.



Luar biasanya ciptaan Tuhan. 

How magnificent God created this place.

Yang belum pernah ke sini, kalian harus datang dan lihat sendiri.

For those who have never been here, come and see it yourself.

*  *  *  *  *

Lesu, capek, ngantuk, lapar dan kedinginan mengiringi perjalanan pulang dari Ciwidey ke Bandung.

I felt lifeless, exhausted, sleepy, hungry and cold all the way back from Ciwidey to Bandung.

Sampai terminal bis Leuwi Panjang Bandung mata saya langsung jelalatan cari tempat makan.

I went to see food vendor once I got at Leuwi Panjang bus terminal in Bandung. 

Saya butuh makanan dan minuman yang panas.


I need hot food and hot drink.

Perjalanan balik ke Bogor masih panjang jadi saya perlu isi perut sekenyang-kenyangnya.

It was a long way to get back to Bogor so I better filled my stomach with enough food.

Setengah satu malam baru saya sampai ke Bogor.


I arrived in Bogor at twelve thirty am.

Satu perjalanan yang luar biasa.

What an amazing trip.