Makassar ☺

Since August 2009, my one and only brother has been stationed in Makassar by his work place, one of the government's department. At first I thought, "Wow, that's so so far away." But another part of my mind gets really curious and really really wanting to go see this new city my brother is living in.

So, here I am, after waiting for months to get a chance to go, finally went to Makassar. Which was really new for me, since I never visited any other big Islands in Indonesia aside Sumatra and Java.

I went to Makassar early this month, from the 9th until 19th April. Well yes, I spent around ten days there, which is sooooo fun.

We left Pekanbaru on the 8th April 2010, in the afternoon. Arrived in Makassar after midnight, so automatically it's already tomorrow. The flight was okay, even though there were sometimes when the weather was bad, the plane was shaking hard. We arrived a bit late in Jakarta, and already really afraid that we missed the flight to Makassar. We arrived just the same time as the flight scheduled to take off to Makassar. But I was really glad that we didn't have to wait another hour or two for the next flight. And the good part is, they put us on the Business Class.. Hehehe..
So, I sat beside a quite old Italian man, who happened to be really friendly and nice. We chat about somethings, about his country, about his family and about Indonesia too, of course. He said that he didn't like Indonesia now, he likes it better in years before, when everything is still natural and not too crowded. When he was here in 1977, so no wonder there's so much difference compared to today.

Well, another thing happened as we arrived in Makassar (at midnight). After waiting around 30 minutes for our luggage on the conveyor belt, none of it was there. Oh my, this was a disaster. So after contacting the officers there, they said that our luggage will be sent to us in the morning. But because there were several foods and other important things in it, we decided to wait for it. So, there we are, in the middle of the night, in a big and nearly empty airport, waiting. With my nephew, Ali, who's already really tired and sleepy. Alhamdulillah, the luggage arrived around 2 in the morning, so now we're heading to my brother's place.



The next day, we rent a car to go around the city. Since it was my first time there, it was really funny for me seeing the street names there. Rappoccini, Bau Mangga, Todopulli, and all other catchy yet funny-sounded street names. Well, that day my brother didn't join us, he still had to go to work. So we went to Trans Studio, a theme park, that they acclaimed as the biggest in the world. But as we arrived their, I insisted not to go in the park and play, because my brother wasn't there.
We just hang out there, and ate some frozen yogurt. Yum! :)
On the day after, we went to Trans Studio again. This time, me, my brother and sister, went in the theme park and played on some of the games there. It was fun, but a little expensive to get in and play on the games.
After that, we went around Losari Beach, took some pictures and enjoyed the view. We also spent more time sitting in a coffee shop, with a view overseeing the beach. Which is sooo nice. :)
Then, we went to Somba Opu street. Here, they sell souvenirs, T-shirts, Traditional cloths (batik, tenunan, etc), and also some traditional snacks.



In the afternoon, I went to a Mall near the house with my brother. We went their using Bentor. it's one of public transport in Makassar, it's like a pedicab, but instead of bicycle, they use motorcycle.
After going to Mall Panakukkang, I asked my brother to stop and buy one of the traditional food there, Jalang Kote. It looks like pastel, but the fillings is much more, lots of vegetables, especially bean sprout, carrots and some eggs. It is served with a hot and sour sauce. It tasted really good.

On the other days, we just went around the city or to some other market or malls.

I really enjoyed my time there, and really looking forward to come visit again. See you again Makassar.. :)

Every Silence Has a Story

I didn't actually read both side of the book, because it is written in English and Indonesian. I only read the English version.

At first, I was a bit bored with the story. It was too monotonous. Only about a little girl living with her filthy rich family, have a wonderful life but didn't get much attention from her mother.

But, by the end of the first chapter it gets more and more interesting. Zaira, the main character, starts to experience things like magic and her discover of writing. She started to write following her friend's, Ali, suggestion. He said that Zaira should write all her thoughts, so that her mind won't explode. Because she thinks too much. She has way too many problem solving in her head.
She grew up to be a great author of best selling books, a model and also a producer.

But when she loose her father. She felt as if it was the end of her life. She didn't feel love anymore, she didn't even feel anything at all. Even just the taste of food.
It was until one day when she met Jody. He was a friend of Zaira's best friend, Linn. They became so close and have a nice love story.
Jody has so many similarities with Zaira's father. She didn't realize that she always compared Jody with his father. It hurts Jody. So they were separated, even though they still really love each other.

One day, Zaira was really tired of all the condition in her life, tired of the problems, tired of keep losing love in her life. She then ask God to give her solutions. She then heard a voice inside her, telling her to stop everything else and start to listen. Listening to everything around her. She remains silent for months. This made Jody and her friends worried. People think she went crazy. Even her mother, who she thought never care enough, came to see her. And her grandma too, who really loved her came to see her.
Jody felt that this was all his fault, her silence and her insanity. But then when she at last talked to him, he knows what actually happened.

It is a really good and interesting story. The author wrote it nicely. I kind of admire the way she writes. I never actually read any of Zara Zettira's novel, but this one was really good.