Sukabumi, Sakurate and Suspension Bridge

Saya lagi lihat-lihat foto dari tahun 2019 dan ...

I was looking at 2019 pictures and...

Wah, gimana sih? Ternyata saya belum masukin ke blog cerita tentang petualangan sehari di kota Sukabumi.

Whoa, hold on.. I haven't shared my one day adventure in the town of Sukabumi.

Ceritanya dimulai ketika seorang kenalan saya bercerita tentang restoran Jepang yang belum lama dibuka yang ada di kota Sukabumi.

It all started when an acquaintance told me about a recent established Japanese restaurant in Sukabumi.

Pikir-pikir sudah lama juga ga jalan-jalan ke Sukabumi.. jadi ya hayo deh.

Since I haven't been to Sukabumi for some time.. well, why not?

Saya ga ngira aja kalau perjalanan kali ini ternyata akan ninggalin banyak kenangan yang rada nyebelin.

I didn't know this trip would leave me lots of unpleasant memories.

*  *  *  *  *

Ketinggalan Kereta!

We Missed the Train!

Rencananya sih pulang pergi ke Sukabumi dengan kereta api.

The plan was to take the train to Sukabumi, round trip.

Kenalan saya belum pernah naik kereta ke Sukabumi jadi rada penasaran dan ngebet pengen naik kereta.

My acquaintance has never taken the train to Sukabumi so she was curious and eager to go there by train.

Tiket sudah saya booking.

I have booked the ticket.

Hari H pun datang...

The D day came...

Saya bangun telat.

I woke up late.

Saya sampai cuma 5 menit terlambat di stasiun dan keretanya sudah berangkat.

I got at the train station just 5 minutes late and the train has already left.

Arrrggghhh!!!

Tepat waktu itu bagus tapi ga bagus kalau kita telat, apalagi kalau telatnya cuma beda dikiiiit banget.. hikkksss...

On time is good but it's not good when we're late, especially if it's just few minutes late... sighhh...

Lantas gimana dong? Kereta berikutnya datang kira-kira 5 jam kemudian.

What now? The next train is scheduled to arrive in about 5 hours later.

Masih ada alternatif lain kok, tapi ya kurang nyaman karena naik mobil elf.

There's another option though it's less comfortable because it's by car.

Bersesakan dengan penumpang lain.

We're all packed in the passenger seat.

Tapi ya gimana lagi, kan rencana tetap harus dilaksanakan. Lagian tiket kereta untuk pulang ke Bogor kan masih berlaku. Sayang kalau dibatalkan.

No choice, the show must go on.  The train ticket to go back to Bogor was still valid. We couldn't cancel it.

Jadi saya bilang ke teman jalan saya, kita pakai elf. Saya yang bayar ongkosnya karena kan salah saya kita jadi ketinggalan kereta.

So I told my travel buddy that we'd take the minibus. I paid the fee because it was my fault that we missed the train.

Dan perjalanan pun berlanjut hingga sampailah kami dengan selamat di kota Sukabumi.

So the travel went on until we arrived safely in Sukabumi.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Resto Jepang

Japanese restaurant

Apa sih istimewanya restoran Jepang yang satu ini?

What is so special about this Japanese restaurant?

Saya juga ga tahu... hehe.. makanya saya pengen lihat.

Well, if I knew I wouldn't want to see it, right? Lol.

Saya nggak googling dulu sebelum pergi. Padahal biasanya kalau mau pergi ke satu tempat pasti saya google dulu. Entah kenapa kali ini saya tidak mau tahu tempatnya kayak apa. 

I didn't google it before I took the trip. It was unlike me because I always search the place I will go to before I take the trip. This time I just didn't want to know.

Gimana nanti aja deh.

Let's just see how it would turn out.

Nah, setelah sampai di Sukabumi, kami turun di tempat yang sepertinya terminal angkot.. yang saya tidak tahu apa nama terminalnya, saya juga tidak tahu kami ada di bagian mana dari Sukabumi.. haha.. nah, petualangan emosi saya sebetulnya sudah dimulai di sini.

So, after we arrived in Sukabumi, we got off at what looks like angkot terminal.. which I don't know its name, I also didn't know in which part of Sukabumi that place is.. haha.. my emotion adventure was actually started here.

Satu, kami tidak tahu lokasi restoran Sakurate.

First, we didn't know Sakurate's location.

Kami juga tidak tahu harus naik apa ke sana.

We also didn't know what should we take to go there.

Yang ada di sana hanyalah tukang ojek.

There were lots of ojek or taxibike.

Mengikuti sifat saya, saya serba gerak cepat dan mau yang praktis aja. Di situ cuma ada ojek, ya sudahlah pakai ojek saja.

I'm a person who makes quick decision and just opt for the practical. There was just ojek there, so let's take ojek.

Kenalan saya itu cuma berdiri diam aja sejak kami turun. Celingak celinguk. Kelihatan bingung. Ntar tiba-tiba cekikikan kecil sendiri. Trus nanya ke saya, naik apa ya ke Sakurate. 

My acquaintance just stood there after we got off the minibus. Looking around. Looking puzzled. Sometimes she giggled a little. Then asked me what would we take to go to Sakurate.

Nanya lho ya, nanya.. ga kasih saran.

She asked me.. not giving me any suggestion.

Jadi ya saya ambil inisiatif dengan manggil ojek dan kenalan saya tidak bilang ya dan juga tidak bilang tidak waktu tukang ojeknya datang tapi dia gelisah.

So I took the initiative by calling out the ojek and my acquaintance didn't say yes or no when ojek came but she looked anxious.

Saya sudah berhasil nego sama dua tukang ojek.

I have negotiated the price with two ojeks.

Dan kenalan saya baru bilang dia ga mau naik ojek. Jadi saya batalin. Trus kita naik apa? Dia ga ngomong.

And my acquaintance said she didn't want to take the ojek. So I cancelled it. So what would we take. She said nothing.

Saya berdiri aja kayak orang bego di pinggir jalan. Hari semakin siang dan makin panas. Kaki saya pegal. Kekesalan saya mulai naik.

I stood there like an idiot on the side of the road. The day was reaching noon and it was getting hotter. My feet hurt. My upsetness increased.

Beberapa saat kemudian...

Few moments later...

Oh, rupanya kenalan saya pengen pake mobil grab ke Sakurate.

Oh, so my ackquaintance wanted us to go to Sakurate by grab car.

Luar binasa. Kalau memang itu maumu, mbak'e.. mbok ya dari awal ngomong. Dari tadi diem aje lu..

Great. If that's what you wanted, lady.. why didn't you say so from the start? Instead, you just went quiet.

Berhubung otak saya masih segar dan belum capek.. ya sudahlah, saya coba untuk tidak jadi sebal berkepanjangan.

Since my brain was still fresh and wasn't tired yet.. well watta heck, I tried not to keep my upsetness longer.

Lagi pula saya lega ketika kami sampai di Sakurate dan bisa beristirahat di sana serta terhibur melihat restorannya yang ternyata unik karena berbentuk seperti kapal.

Besides, I was glad when we finally arrived in Sakurate, could get a rest there and felt better after seeing the unique restaurant was build like a ship.

Banyak spot bagus buat foto-foto di luar dan di dalam bangunan ini.

There are many good spots for photo background outside or inside the building.

Lantas kayak apa sih bagian dalam si restoran ini?

So, how does the inside of this restaurant look like?

Kayak dalam kapal. Saya suka sama gambar-gambar dekorasi yang menghiasi dindingnya.

It's like in the ship. I like the decorations hanging on the wall.

Lantas makanannya gimana? Enak ga?

So how was the food? Yummy?

Sabar. Itu nanti diceritain di bagian agak akhir ya.

Be patient. I will tell about it later.

Sekarang daftar menu berikut harganya dulu aja.

Now is the menu and the price.

Menunya sih standar ya. Maksudnya ya yang biasanya ada di resto Jepang. Ga ada yang luar biasa.. hehe..

The menu is basically same in any Japanese restaurant. Nothing is out of the ordinary.

Daftar menu-nya sih panjang tapi yang saya taruh di sini cuma dua ya.

It's a long list of menu but I just upload two pics here.

So, kami tidak lama-lama di sini karena hari sudah mulai siang dan kami masih mau melanjutkan perjalanan ke Jembatan Gantung Situ Gunung. Jadi makanannya ya... bungkus!!

Well, we didn't spend a lot of time here because it was getting late and we wanted to go to Situ Gunung Suspension Bridge. Take out the food!!

Perjalanan dilanjutkan dengan mobil grab lagi deh.

Took grab car again to get there.

*  *  *  *  *

Situ Gunung

Udara sejuk menyambut kami di Situ Gunung. Yap, kan posisinya ini di Gunung Gede Pangrango, saudara sekalian.

The cool weather welcomed us in Situ Gunung. Well, it's in Mt. Gede Pangrango, people.

Suasananya lumayan rame dan baru belakangan kami tahu kalau ternyata hari itu Situ Gunung dibuka gratis dalam rangka memperingati hari jadi kota Sukabumi.

It was quite crowded and later we learned it's because on that day it was open for free in commemorating Sukabumi's anniversary.

Kelar foto-foto, beli tiket, jalan dikit, dapat welcome snack dan nemuin tempat buat makan siang.. duuuh, saya sudah laper banget. Sukurlah dapat teh manis panas.

After taking pics, bought the tickets, walked a little, we got some welcome snacks and found a spot to have lunch.. gosh, I was starving. Thank God for the hot sweet tea.

Setelah melewati perjalanan panjang dari Bogor sampai tiba ke tempat ini dan mengalami beberapa kejadian yang agak menguras emosi, rasanya legaaaa betul bisa duduk, menikmati udara segar, merasakan semilir angin sejuk, melihat hijaunya pepohonan dan memasukkan makanan serta minuman ke dalam perut yang kosong.. haha..

After taking a long way from Bogor to get here and after had few annoying moments, it felt sooo good to be able to take a seat, enjoying the fresh air, felt the cool breeze, seeing the green trees and put some food and drink into this empty stomach.. haha..

Buka bekal dari rumah dan buka makanan yang dibeli dari Sakurate.

Time to eat the lunch I brought from home and the ones I bought from Sakurate.

Nah, saat inilah saya jadi kesal lagi sama kenalan saya itu.

So, that was when my acquaintance upset me.. again.

Kan kami masing-masing beli makanan di Sakurate buat maksi di Situ Gunung. Terus, waktu kami buka bekal.. ya, sudah.. dia langsung makan aja makanannya. Ga nawarin ke saya sementara saya nawarin makanan saya ke dia dan redo-redo aja waktu dia nyicipin sedikit makanan saya yang dari Sakurate. 

Well, each of us bought our own meals in Sakurate for our lunch in Situ Gunung. When we had lunch there.. gosh.. she just ate hers. Not offering some to me. I offered her the meals I bought in Sakurate and just ok when she tasted it.

Dalam hati saya mikir, ..oh, mungkin dia ga terbiasa berbagi makanan tapi ya dia ga nolak buat terima tawaran makanan dari orang lain.

I thought to myself, .. mm, maybe she isn't used to share her meals but she doesn't mind to take a meal offered to her by others.

Yah, kalau memang demikian halnya.. mau bilang apa coba?

If that's the case then.. I'm just speechless.

Saya pun memilih untuk tidak memperpanjang kekesalan saya.

I chose to shrug it off.

Kelihatannya demikian...

Or so it seems that way..

*  *  *  *  *

Ayunan Raksasa

Giant Swing

Habis makan perjalanan pun dilanjutkan menuju lokasi tempat jembatan berada.

After lunch we went to the bridge.

Jalan kaki ya antara jauh dan tidak jauh. Mungkin karena di beberapa tempat jalanannya tidak rata (jangan mikir ini jalanan beraspal ya.. hehe), ada undakan, kadang juga basah dan berlumpur.. jadi ya rasanya kayak jauh dan bikin capek.

It's not far but not close either. Probably because some parts of the path are rugged (please don't think it's an asphalt path.. haha), there are steps, some are wet and muddy.. made it feel like it was far and took quite an energy to get there.

Sebaiknya berhati-hati kalau datang kemari pada musim hujan. Jalan setapak ini bisa menjadi licin di beberapa tempat dan kalau tidak hati-hati bisa jatuh terpeleset, jadi, tolong diperhatikan untuk anak-anak, orang-orang lanjut usia atau mereka yang punya masalah di lutut atau di kaki.

Better be cautious if you come in rainy season. Few places in this walk path can be slippery and if you are not careful you might slip and fall, so please take caution especially for children, elderly people or those who have kneecap problem.

Bagi mereka yang berusia muda atau terbiasa olahraga, berjalan melalui jalanan yang konturnya naik turun, tidak rata, licin dan berbatu-batu seperti ini tidak akan membuat napas kembang kempis atau otot kaki pegal linu. Jadi kalau boleh kasih saran, sebaiknya biasakan diri dulu berjalan kaki dan naik turun tangga untuk membiasakan otot-otot kaki sebelum pergi ke tempat wisata yang ternyata mengharuskan pengunjung untuk melakukan sedikit trekking.

For those who are young or used to do exercise, walking through this rugged, slippery and stoney path won't give them problem with breathing or giving sore muscle. So if I could give a suggestion, better do lots walking and going up and down the stairs to strengthen your feet muscles before you go to any tourism site that requires you to do a little trekking.

Dulu waktu saya kemana-mana naik angkot, mau tidak mau saya jadi sering jalan tapi kemudian saya milih naik ojek karena hemat waktu dan hemat tenaga tapi ya, akibatnya badan jadi kurang jalan.

When I commuted by angkot, it made me did lots of walking but then I chose to take ojek because it saves time and energy. However, it makes my body don't get the chance to do lots of walking.

Jadi pas lagi trekking menuju ke jembatan, itu otot kaki yang manja pada teriak-teriak protes karena diajak jalan kaki lumayan jauh melewati medan yang tidak rata, licin dan naik turun. Sudah untung telapak kaki saya tidak kram.

So when I went on trekking to the bridge, the spoiled feet muscles were screaming their protests for being dragged to walk quite far through the stoney, slippery and going up and down path. I was lucky my feet sole didn't go cramp.

Tapi segala perjuangan itu terbayar setelah sampai di depan jembatan. Bahkan tidak terpikir lagi karena lebih banyak dag-dig-dug-der ketika melihat jembatan yang begitu besar itu jaraknya tinggal beberapa langkah lagi dari tempat saya berdiri.

But all those hard work paid off when I got to the bridge. I didn't even think about it anymore when I saw that giant bridge was just few steps away from where I stood and it made me nervous.

Duh.. duh... saya takut tapi juga ga sabar ingin menjejakkan kaki di atasnya.

Oh boy.. oh boy... I was scared but also couldn't wait to put my feet on it.

Selain itu saya juga terpesona melihat jurang yang menganga di bawah jembatan itu dan hijaunya pepohonan di kejauhan.

I was also wonderstruck seeing the ravine under the bridge and the green trees afar.

Nah, sementara saya sibuk dengan pikiran yang penuh dengan rasa deg-degan, kagum, semangat dan ingin tahu, rekan saya ternyata sedang sibuk memikirkan... takut ketinggalan kereta!

So, while I was overwhelmed with nervous, amazement, excitement and curiousity, my acquaintance's mind was occupied with... fear of going to miss the train!

Hari itu pengunjung memang ekstra padat karena khusus untuk penduduk Sukabumi diberikan kesempatan untuk masuk ke Situ Gunung gratis dan hanya untuk hari itu saja. Kok bisa? Ya karena Sukabumi sedang merayakan ulang tahun dan inilah hadiah yang diberikannya untuk penduduk di kota itu.

It was extra crowded that day because the people in Sukabumi were given free entrance only on that day to commemorate the town's birthday.

Saya tahu waktu yang kami miliki tidak banyak. Kereta kami akan datang jam 4.46 sore sementara jam digital di atas pintu masuk sudah menunjukkan jam 3 sore.

I knew we didn't have much time. Our train would come at 4.46 pm while the digital clock above the entrance showed it was already 3 pm.

Tapi saya yakin kami tidak akan terlambat sampai ke stasiun jadi saya tenang-tenang saja.

But I was sure we wouldn't get at the train station late so I didn't get anxious about it.

Rekan saya kebalikannya. Makin lama makin gelisah dia. Akhirnya dia minta tiketnya dan saya berikan saja kepadanya.

It was different with my acquaintance. She became nervous from time to time. Finally she asked for her ticket and I just gave it to her.

Yang bikin saya mulai kesal adalah dia tidak berhenti berkeluh kesah penuh ketakutan. Ini sudah jam berapa. Keretanya datang jam berapa. Waktunya makin mepet.

What started to annoy me is that she couldn't stop whining for fearing to miss the train. What time is this. The train will come soon. There's not much time left.

Saya mikir gini, lha, tiket sudah ada di elu. Kalau emang takut banget ketinggalan kereta, gih sono pergi aja duluan ke stasiun. Ngapain juga lu masih di sini, ngantri di samping gue?

I thought, well, you've got your ticket. If you are so scared to miss the train, go ahead, leave and go to the train station. What in the hell are you still here, standing in line next to me?

Dan akhirnya memang saya ngomong begitu ke dia karena tidak tahan mendengar segala keluh kesahnya.

And I did tell her that after I couldn't take hearing her whined.

Takut ketinggalan kereta, sudah pegang tiketnya tapi kok masih aja berdiri di sini. Manusia aneh dah!

Scared to miss the train, already had the ticket but still standing here. You're so weird.

Rupanya doi takut ketinggalan kereta tapi ogah rugi, jembatan sudah di depan mata masa iya ditinggal kabur? Saya rasa itu yang ada di pikirannya. Haha.

Clearly she was scared she would miss the train but she didn't want to leave either because hey, the bridge is right in front of us, way too good to be left. I think that must be what she had on mind.

Iyalah, kalau ngikutin takutnya dia ga bakal menjejakkan kaki dan jalan dari ujung ke ujung jembatan itu.

Well, if fear overcame her, she wouldn't step her foot on that bridge, let alone walking from one tip to another tip of the bridge.

Makanya jadi orang itu jangan takutan mulu. Hidup jadi ga seru kalau apa-apa takut aja bawaannya.

That's why don't let fear control you. It only makes life less fun if you just scared to do things.

Jujur aja, saya lebih takut waktu ada di atas jembatan dari pada takut ketinggalan kereta ... hehe ... pertama karena itu jembatan tinggi amat di atas permukaan tanah dan karena dia tidak terbuat dari beton maka rasanya kayak berdiri di atas ayunan. Angin dan orang-orang yang berjalan di atasnya bikin ayunannya tambah kencang.

To be honest I was more scared when I was on the bridge than of missing the train ... lol ... first because it is so far away from the ground and since it is not made from concrete, it felt like standing on a swing. Wind and people walking on it made it swing even harder.

Mana saya takut ketinggian pula.

And I'm scared of heights.

Toh berhasil juga saya jalan dari ujung A ke ujung B terus balik lagi ke ujung A.

However I made it, I crossed it from A to B point and then went back to point A.

Ketika saya sedang menikmati kegembiraan, kekaguman dan kebanggaan itu, rekan saya sedang dilingkupi oleh rasa cemas, cemas, cemas dan cemas bakal ketinggalan kereta.

While I was overwhelmed by joy, admiration and pride, my acquaintance was consumed by worry, worry, worry and worry about missing the train.

*  *  *  *  *

Perjalanan turun lebih mudah dari pada perjalanan naik menuju jembatan tapi toh tetap dibutuhkan kewaspadaan karena jalannya menurun, becek dan berbatu-batu. 

The way down is so much easier than going up to the bridge but have to keep cautious because the way down path is still the same path, muddy and stony.

Hati saya yang sedang gembira kembali terganggu ketika rekan saya ini 'bikin ulah' lagi setelah kami berada di luar lokasi.

My happiness got another interruption when my acquaintance made another scene after we got out of the location.

Kami harus pergi ke stasiun Cisaat. Nah, naik apa ke sana?

We had to go to Cisaat train station. Now, what should we take to go there?

Di depan berjejer angkot dan ojek pangkalan. Saya langsung menghampiri satu angkot dan bertanya pada supirnya apa rutenya melewati stasiun Cisaat. Jawabnya ya. Jadi tanpa ragu naiklah saya karena pasti naik angkot lebih murah dari pada naik ojek pangkalan.

Outside there were angkot and taxibike. I went straight to one angkot and asked the driver if his angkot passed Cisaat train station. He said yes. So I got into it without any hesitation because surely angkot fee is cheaper than taxibike.

Rekan saya ragu-ragu tapi seperti sudah menjadi gayanya, dia tidak mau bilang pendapatnya. Berdiri saja dengan sikap dan muka ragu.

My acquaintance hesitated but as it has became her style, she didn't say what was on her mind. She just stood with hesitation on her gesture and on her face.

Benar-benar ujian kesabaran tingkat dewa buat saya.

It was really a test of patience for me.

Maunya tidak jelas. Naik ke angkot ogah tapi ga mau bilang apa maunya.

Her intention was a big question mark. She didn't want to take angkot but she didn't say what she wanted. 

Saya akhirnya sampai turun dari angkot dan mengikuti dia karena pengen tahu maunya apa sih.

Finally I took off from angkot and followed her because I wanted to know what did she want. 

Dia pergi ke arah ojek-ojek pangkalan. Lalu berhenti. Celingak celinguk. Menggumam tidak jelas. Menengok ke saya yang lebih bingung lagi setelah memperhatikan kelakuannya.

She went to the taxibikes. Then stopped on her track. She looked around. Mumbling unclearly. Turned to look at me who were more confused upon seeing her behavior.

-To be continued-