In Memoriam Dede

Picture 001
Originally uploaded by cynth_18.

It is that girlie smile of hers that break hearts and spread warmth to those around her. Can't you just see it? She's radiant in her pinkish top, even when we had been waiting around working. That photo was taken in KL, a few months ago. It was my first encounter with Dede.

I can't say we're super close friends. We met through work and we got along. We hardly see each other outside work but the most amazing thing is that was enough.

When you're sincere in all you do, the love radiates all around. It doesn't take very much to leave love behind.

Rest In Peace Dede...
We love you...

Teko

Teko
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

The last stop for the day is a cozy resto-cafe called TEKO. Located on Jl. Neglasari No.4 -- It is a house that has been converted to take guests for long hours into the night. Open air patios and eclectic furnitures created a homey feeling.

And oh, they serve great coffees and teas. And yummy poffertjes and fries and sausages. It was with a contented feeling that we left TEKO, ready to tackle the remaning 2 hours drive back to Jakarta. But of course, Hani being the distracted driver that she is, saw a cafe with film/books sign at the front and decided to make a stop. The book/film cafe turned out to be a student type of library where one can borrow books and DVDs and just average. The finale for the night was a little shop about 3m x 2m in size with a bit of jewelry, bags, shirts, sunnies, etc. That little shop saw us parting with the last scraps of money that we had. Evil. Evil. Evil. I don't even remember the name of that shop!

It was 2230 when we got back to the highway. This time I was driving and Ruby was sitting next to me. Her sole assignment for the night was to make sure I don't fall asleep behind the wheel, whilst Lia and Hani got into sleeping position and went to slumberland in no time. Many trucks later and a really sore right foot after, we got in to Jakarta. Safely. What a night!

Batagor Kingsley

Batagor Kingsley
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

More shopping aside, lunch time had finally arrived. The hustle and bustle of Batagor Kingsley was not like anything I imagined. The place was so full of people that the four of us must split up and wait for different tables. Yeah, to ensure a place whenever somebody finishes.

Our wait would have been longer if Hani didn't go down to the counter and pester them for our order. Heck, she even carried 5 teh botols herself. Viva Sudarmini!

Yoghurt Cisangkuy

Cisangkuy
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

Three factory outlets after and a few shopping bags later, we were ready for something else. We arrived to Yoghurt Cisangkuy to get a taste of the infamous refreshing drink. Hani made a point of taking us only to places that are full and therefore serve the best. The specialty of the house is the strawberry yooghurt juice. That was we decided upon, plus a grape one for me. Just to be different... And a slice of brownies kukus. The brownies is actually more of like a sponge brownies than a real one, because it's soo... spongey??! All of that for 30,000 rups. Yumm...

Eating in Bandung

Mie Naripan
Originally uploaded by Spunkycynth.

As the long weekend approached, we wondered on travel possibilities. But as usual our last minuteness left us with not much option. We decided that a culinary travel to Bandung would enlightened our stomach horizons and expand our taste buds. We were fully aware that Bandung on that day is going to be a traffic nightmare.

The call time was set at 5 am. It felt like a shoot day. We were slightly sleepy but excited. There were 4 of us in the car: Hani, Ruby, Lia and myself. Each of us gave 200,000 to Lia -- she's the acting cashier. That pool money will take care of us the whole trip. Food and pterol. I drove all the way to Bandung, using the new highway that cut travel time down to just 2 hours. The view on that highway is very beautiful too, which made it a very pleasing ride, but our stomachs were making noises and we needed to shut them up fast.

I swapped with Hani once we got to Bandung, since she's going to be our guide/driver for the day. We drove around to get this porridge place, we drove around to 2 places but naa... no porridge for us that day. Both places were no longer there!! So, we settled for Mie Naripan instead.

This infamous noodle place was packed by families, having noodles and fried meat balls for breakfast, and possibly lunch. It's hard to imagine why such a 'simple' place could attract such crowd. When the noodles came, so did the answer of my question. They're to die for!! And you know what? When the bill arrived, there was a price to pay. Four bowl of noodles and six pieces of fried meat balls worth 98,000 rups. Nobody complained. It was our first in our long day's adventure and nothing beats the feeling of a full stomach.