1st Anniversary

Today, one year ago my husband and I had said our everlasting vows in front of our God, priest, families and friends.
Yes, a year has gone by since the day I married to my husband.
Time fly so fast.

Few days before my D-day, I wrote a post about my feelings yet my thoughts about the marriage itself at the time
(title: Check-In Times).
I didn't feel nervous at all, on the contrary I felt so relaxed.
I don't know why.., usually people get nervous when they're about to marry their lover.
But it doesn't happened in my case.
I felt so relaxed and ready to make a life time commitment with the one that I believed as my soulmate.

I knew him since I was in my sophomore.
We've been together for 12 years with all ups and downs, on's and off's. :')
When we broke up years ago, we promised that we'll let everything fall in it's place.
Let it go and let it be.
If we're MEANT to be together, the love will find a way and we'll be together again, somehow, somewhere.
But if it's not, than we're not meant to be together.

Since than we lived in different continent, far away from each other.
So much things happened along the way, either in my life or his.
People comes and goes, some stay in our life and heart left some footprints.
People changes, and so do we.
Life has been easy and tough sometimes.
Still, we always shared everything happened in each other life.
We're always there for each other no matter how far we're from each other.
We're like a brother and a sister.., always looking for each other for comfortness.

Slowly but sure, life has led and guided us to walks on the same path again.
The love's still there. Though we're a different person now which I believed in a positive way,
we still have the same feeling and we know each other very well.
Love has found the way back.., which means we're MEANT to be together.

So here we are, on our first anniversary saying a little prayer:

Dear Lord,
help us to remember when we first met and the strong love that grew between us.
To work that love into practical things so nothing can divide us.
We asks for words both kind and loving, and for hearts always ready to ask forgiveness as well as to forgive.
Dear Lord, we put our marriage into your hands.
Amen.

Looking back on those wonderful days during the first year of our marriage, I'm so grateful that God
has sent a great husband yet a guardian angel in my life.
Eventhough, we still lives with my parents it doesn't prevent us from being happy and enjoy every single moment
of our blissful marriage.

I know, that we still have a long way to go but I have no doubt to face the future and keep on walking side by side with my husband
because I know very well, that God works on our marriage.
Our first year of marriage has teached us about respect and understanding.
Praise the Lord, that we're almost never had a fight because we're always respect and understanding each other no matter
how bad the situation is.

Thank you Lord for a WONDERFUL year that you've been given to us.
May we always learn to nourish the love that you gave to us, and always gives our best to each other.


PS: I love you hon.., thank you for being a great husband for me.

Kuala Lumpur & Genting Highlands

Last week, I've had a family trip to Malaysia.
This was my second trip to "Negeri Jiran" but in fact I do still feel so excited to explore
their capital city, Kuala Lumpur and their world famous city of entertainment, Genting Highlands
together with my family.

Since there are so many things to be seen in quite a short times, I had warned my family to
prepare for a tight schedule.
Actually this was my first experience to arranged 'a group' traveling overseas together.
Traveling itself wasn't a new thing for me, but being responsible for 'a group' journey
is absolutely a NEW thing for me. :)

At first, I was a bit affraid how if there's something happens beyond my/our expectations
during our journey, how if I couldn't met people expectation, how if I couldn't satisfied
everybody in this group, and the list goes on and on and on.
But then I decided to take it as a challenge. There's always a first time for everything, right..?

So, get started with hunting a good bargain for our tickets.
That's a first thing to be considered, if we want to traveling with a minimum budget.
Thanks to Air Asia, we've got a ticket to Kuala Lumpur (return) @ for only 500rb IDR nett.
The price was inclusive airlines tax and fuel surcharge.
We paid extra 100rb IDR for seat reservation and a skybus ticket from LCCT to KL Sentral (return).
Such a good deal right?

And then, go to next level. Accomodation.
This one was not an easy thing to do. According to a different standart of comfortness and different
financial condition between one and the other.
So I need to be extra careful and sensitive in order to make a silver line between those differences.
If we want to be efficient in traveling, we should looking for a hotel which is near to the main area of the city.
It will gives us a lot of flexibility to get around, get some food, shopping, etc.
And the most valueable thing if we stayed in the centre of the city is that we're able to get the rythm of the city.
One of the most important essences from traveling is that we should be able to get to know the soul from the city.
And the closest place to the soul is the main/centre area of the city.

For example:
I found that, the soul of Paris is beautiful in the darkness. Full of sorrow and loneliness.
So ironic, that something really gorgeous can be extremely dangerous for someone who can't stand the poison of the beauty itself.
No wonder that a suicide rate in Paris is getting higher every year.

Well, it's totally fine if you can't understand/follow what I mean...hehehe:p
Obviously you just need to pack your bag and go travel. :)

So, anyway I booked the Radius International Hotel (thanks to my best friend, Deasy) in Bukit Bintang area.
Bukit Bintang is one of the main areas in Kuala Lumpur, just like Orchard Road in Singapore, Champ Ellyses in Paris,
Maria Hilfe Strasse in Wien, Sudirman in Jakarta, Kuta in Denpasar, etc.
It's a very strategic area for a traveler. There are so many hotels and shopping malls in the area from * to *****.
In the evening, you can easily find any kind of food stalls along the street, blend in a perfect harmony with the cafes.
If you want to go to another area in Kuala Lumpur, you can just hail a taxi from wherever you're standing just like in Jakarta. ;)
Or if you want to do some exercise, just try the monorail and LRT. It's very simple & cheap to use.

In short way, ticket checked, hotel checked.
So there we were. Spent 4 days in Kuala Lumpur and Genting Highlands just felt like a blink of an eye.
Time flies so fast. It feels like we're just arrived on LCCT when we're about to leave back to Jakarta.

Day 1: Soon after we're checked in, we put our luggages in our room. Headed toward Pavilion (5* shopping mall in Bukit Bintang)
to get our lunch in Food Republic.
Of course, you better check for their famous NASI LEMAK when you're in Malaysia.
It's so damn good! ;)
After lunch, we surveyed the Bukit Bintang area including the malls, the markets, walked on pedestrian area, along with the cafes
and the stores.
Took some rest in the hotel while my nieces and their Uncle (my husband) went to swim.
Soon after taking a shower, we're wandering around Alor Street to find a good restaurant for our dinner.

Alor Street is an area which is full of restaurants and food stalls, you can decide whether you want to sit outside or simply
inside the restaurant. Everything is so flexible here.
The food's so delicious!


Finished with dinner, my mother and my niece bought a barbeque sausage already. It's sooooo tempting honestly. :)
The shopping spree mood SET ON, so we went to Bukit Bintang Plaza, Sungai Wang and Lot 10 (3* plaza) to checked their price.
I told them not to buy anything in a hurry, but check the price first compare with another store.
Sometimes the sales are very tricky to persuade the customers. Be smart!
To close our first day in Kuala Lumpur, we're having a cup of tea in a street cafe. Simply enjoyed the scene.


Day 2: Destination of the day, Genting Highlands Resort.

Had an early breakfast. Went to Puduraya Station straightaway to buy a ticket of Go Genting Express Bus.
The ticket price is very cheap. Only RM 3,5 for the bus and RM 5 for Genting Skyway (one way).
We took the bus until Genting Skyway Terminal then continued our journey with a skyway.
Note: Genting Skyway is the longest and the fastest skyway in Southeast Asia (3,38 km start from Gohtong Jaya Hill to Highlands Hotel at the top).
Located on the widest and the oldest mountainous area in Malaysia, 6118 feet above sea level surface.

Though I have no phobia being in a high place, still I had a nervous feeling when we're about to climb the hill with the skyway.
It's extremely fast comparing to one in Hong Kong, Ngong Ping Island. Geez!
But the green scenery below us was really..really..amazing! Breathtaking. What a nice distraction. :)

Finally, we landed in Highlands Hotel.
Felt so damn hungry because of the nervous feeling we had before, we soon found the Good Friends Restaurant.
The one that has been recommended by Genting Guidance, so famous with their Chinese Food and roasted Duck.
And yes, again the food was delicious! Only for RM 15, I've got Wonton Soup + Duck with Rice + Mango Juice + Ice Lemon Tea.
What a good deal, isn't it?
Next time you come to Genting, you should try the Wonton Soup in this restaurant. The best Wonton Soup I've ever had!

After lunch, we explored the Genting Highlands Gallery.
From where we could learnt the history of Genting itself, the founder, the development process, the design, etc.
Done with the knowledge, now it's time to having fun kiddo... :D
We went straight to First Plaza Indoor Theme Park. The place is so nice. Full of imaginations.
With a complete series of attractions, from Reindeer Rider to Jet Coaster, from Sky Venture to Snow World and many more.
Your kids will having a real GOOD times being here, believe me.
It feels that you're in a different world which only playing, games, toys, foods are exist. :D

Besides First World Plaza Indoor Theme Park, there's also Genting Outdoor Theme Park.
More than 60 kinds of games available in this park. Space Shot, Pirate Ship, Flying Coaster, Bumper Boat, Corkscrew,
X-pedition Wall, Spinner, Mini Train, and so on and so on.
When you're here, make sure to break your leg guys! :')
Find a missing piece from your childhood here, together with your children.
You'll definetely need to stay at least 2 nights to experience all those things above.

And when you're not having a child, doesn't mean you can't enjoy the atmosphere.
Just go straight to the casinos, try your luck, having a dare to win or lose moments with your partner or friends.
The city is never sleep. Almost anything available for 24 hours a day.
And don't worry about the accomodation here, it has almost the same price as in Kuala Lumpur.
You can find a good hotel starting from RM 100 per night.

After getting breezed by the temperature of -5' C inside the Snow World, we desperately need a cup of hot chocolate and
some cakes of course would be nice... :)
While sipping our hot chocolate, with a great companion of cheese cakes..our eyes were pampered by the beautiful scenery of green montainous
with the haze very close to the street. Life is indeed so beautiful. Thank you Lord.

For those shopaholicers who maybe getting bored with the casinos, don't worry you can find the coolest ( I mean literally..)
shopping mall in Malaysia, First World Plaza with 90 world famous outlets.
Or simply pampered your body on the massage chair while you're watching your favourite movie in First World Cineplex.
It's absolutely true that they called Genting as a city of entertainment.

After the last bit of the cakes, we're getting ready for our last agenda in Genting which is going to Chin Swee Caves Temple.
People said this temple located at the most prettiest spot in Genting Highlands.
Unfortunately, the Awana Train has been grounded at the moment.
So we're not able to go to the temple. Dissapointed of course, but what can we say?
We're having SO MUCH FUN already since yesterday, so we don't feel like complaining at all. :)

Before getting dark, we're headed to Genting Skyway Terminal.
With a big smile on the face of each one of us.
We treasured the moment that we've just experienced.
Enjoyed every single moment of the skyway riding.
Back to the elegant city of Kuala Lumpur.

Soon after took a nice shower in the hotel, we're wandering again in another area of Bukit Bintang.
Enjoyed our dinner while sitting on the chairs outside the restaurant.
Getting recharged by the night bliss.


Day 3: Destinations of the day were, Petronas Twin Towers and Hop on Hop Off.

In order to get an ID pass from Petronas, we woke up very early and had a quick breakfast.
Because this was the first experience of my niece getting abroad, we'd like to show her how to use public transportations here.
Get started with the lesson how to buy a ticket both in the counter and from the machine, we went through monorail and LRT.
My nieces were so excited! They're enjoyed the ride every seconds of it.
It's totally hillarious, to see their happy faces, young and restless spirits. :)
So, finally when we're arrived in KLCC we took a line in a very long queuing (already!) in front of the Petronas ticket counter.
It took almost 2 hours until we got the free pass. And we'd come back at 11.45 to get a short introduction before we go upstairs.
We still had 2 hours before that time, so for killing time, we went to Petronas Sains Discovery Centre (Level 4, Suria-KLCC).
And took a nice brunch at the foodcourt.



Finally, we went up to the Skybridge only in 41 seconds!!
It's an amazing experience being at the tallest twin towers in the world.
No times to expressed our admiration to a human majestic creation.
Every group are only allowed to enjoy and taking some pictures of the backstage view for 15 minutes.



Note: Petronas gives a free ID pass daily for those who wants to visit the famous Skybridge on 41st floor for an exhilarating 'top of the world' feeling.
We should take a queue early in the morning, otherwise we'll run out of the tickets as only a limited number are allowed.
The towers are the centrepiece of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), consisting of the state of the art Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Suria KLCC shopping mall,
a five star hotel, the immaculately landscaped KLCC park as well as mosque.
The area is a major draw for visitors and locals alike.



Finished with a magnificent Petronas Twin Towers, we're waiting for a Hop on - Hop Off Bus at the shuttle in front of Petronas Philharmonic Hall.
Hop on Hop Off bus will take you to look around doing the sights in Kuala Lumpur.
This bus is the most efficient and convenience way to take you to many major attractions in the city.
Visitors can enjoy the sights at their own leisure, either stay on board for the full circuit or hop on and off at any of 22 designated stop.
The tours come equipped with on board commentary in 8 languages. Available from 8.30 am to 8.30 pm daily.
From modern landmarks to heritage sites. From Petronas Twin Towers to Sultan Abdul Samad Building.
From market squares to tropical enclaves. From museums to shopping malls.

Note: Tickets can be purchased on the bus, at authorised agents or via the internet.
RM 38 for adults and RM 17 for children, students and senior citizens.
You can also check the places of interest on their website: www.myhoponhopoff.com

Soon after we've done with 22 attractions in the city, including souvenirs and local foods hunting in China Town and Central Market,
we're landed soundly in Bukit Bintang area to finish our shopping list.
While hunting for this and that, we've got a very nice surprise from Vinnci at BBP. Crazy SALE, only RM 10 a pair!!
You know what happened afterwards, right...? ;')

Since we're pretty tired, the seniors went first to the hotel while the rest of us went to Pavilion to grab our dinner.
Then we're headed back to the hotel with no energy left. :D


Day 4: Destinations, LCCT & Jakarta.

Had our breakfast. Packed the luggages. Closed the bill and checked out.
Settled ourselves on the bus transfer to LCCT. Feeling exhausted yet recharged and motivated by the-just-ended-trip.
With a big smile on our faces, we said a prayer and great thanks to our FATHER in Heaven to made it all possible.
Amen.