Off To Sabang!

Right after the Baiturrahman visit, we went to the ferry terminal, to the ferry boat waiting to take us to Sabang islang!

The sky was slightly murky and cloudy, so these didn't make the greatest landscape photos ever, but look at the green land!

Aceh Tsunami Museum and Baiturrahman Grand Mosque

In our short trip to Banda Aceh we made time to visit the Aceh Tsunami Museum and the great Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.

Walking inside the tsunami museum was an unforgettable memory. There was a long, narrow, dark lane that you had to walk through, surrounded with high wall by your sides dripping with water. It gave quite a tensed feeling, as if you were trapped in water. Then you get to a circular room with names of tsunami victims all over the circular wall, a soft serenade of prayers playing over the speaker.

There were also several other things displayed in the museum: photo and video documentations (didn't see the video, we didn't have enough time and I wasn't sure I wanted to see it).

And then we rushed to Baiturrahman Grand Mosque. The sky was clear blue, and this great mosque is magnificent. It is very beautiful, but we only took photos from outside of the entrance gate since we weren't wearing any head covering, it was forbidden to enter the mosque without proper clothing. 

So unfortunately you only get to see a little bit of this mosque's divine beauty. :)

Aceh Part Two: Becak Motor Is The Way To Go!

This is what becak motor looks like from behind. It's a rather entertaining mean of transportation. Kind of similar to bajaj, minus the noise and the vibration. It is faster, and the view you get to see from your seat is the best thing about becak motor!

The cleanliness of the city is pretty admirable. They're doing a fine job at keeping the roads (and the water) very, very clean.

Banda Aceh Part One

Helloooooo! 

Okie here's the story, did you know that on March 27-29 I travelled to Aceh?

Well, now you do. And let me tell you one thing: Aceh is wonderfully gorgeous! 

I went to Aceh with a friend to attend our bestie's wedding. As I was used to Jakarta's hecticness, Aceh is a completely different place. Everywhere you look, there are mountains on the background, clear skies, and a lot of green landscape. It almost feels like a whole new world of wonderful escape.

We passed several cemeteries too, some of them are mass cemeteries for tsunami victims. It gives you an eerie feeling of sadness, it was almost unthinkable that some of the areas that we passed through were completely destroyed to the ground when the tsunami hit eight years ago. But it's also giving a relief to see these areas are now very alive. Showing you that people won't forget, but a hope for a new and better life is taking place right now before our eyes.

Tale of Griffin & Sabine

I took these photos last year, but only managed to finally put it to this blog now. Haha, yes I'm lazy. So many photos, so little time. :)

These are old, secondhand books recycled into notebooks made by Ika Vantiani! The book itself contains the story between two characters Griffin and Sabine, which is shared in removable letters and postcards. A very interesting book, the whole book was filled with envelopes and letters in it! There are three books of Griffin and Sabine, these are the first two, I think. The minute I saw the notebooks, I knew I had to get one of these. So now Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence sits nicely in my wardrobe, slowly being filled up with words page by page. While the other book, Sabine's Notebook belongs to Ika.

Ika kept the hardcover of the book and inserted several pages from the original book between the blank pages. 

Such a lovely idea, isn't it? Turning old, beautiful books, into exciting useful notebooks! Or in these books, because the size of the book is big enough, it's also perfect for sketches dan doodles.

Look at the letters! I wish people still make books like these. It's even so exciting just opening the envelopes and reading the letters over and over again. Besides these books, Ika also has other recycled notebooks available for purchase. Contact her if you're interested in having a one of a kind notebook!

Have you ever seen..

a smile so bright it makes you feel as if it could light up the entire world for eternity?

Well, Abel has that kind of smile. Not only that, her smile also comes with this very loud, happy sound, one that probably never heard of sadness and pain. One of the best sounds in the world, at least that's what I think of it.

I wrote her a love letter a week ago. She can't read very well yet, so she can't understand most of the writings. But one day she will know how much she is loved.

Not many person in this world ever experienced unconditional love, and I feel very lucky that she's around, always ready to give me her biggest smile and the tightest hugs whenever I ask her. 

I've been photographing her since she was very little. I still have archives of her photos from 2007. There are probably thousands of photographs of her. And I plan on keep going, until I get bored of photographing her (not likely) or she gets sick of me and my camera (most likely). By the time I'm done, she will have a massive treasure of almost her entire life moments, freezed and saved forever for her to keep as she grows older.

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P.S. can you see how well aware she is with the camera? Hahaha. That's right, parents. Train your kids to be camera-friendly! It's good training. :P