Hello again, guys.

It is so nice to write another blog post since it has been a very loooooong time I kept this story. Now I am going to tell you about my latest trip in Lombok, which was so amazing!

Well, this was my first solo travel experience outside Java island. After I completed my bachelor degree, I decided to go to Lombok because I deserved it. After 1 year thesis research, lots of up and down moment during that time; I needed a getaway.

This 6 days 5 nights journey was very pleasant since I learnt so much new things. For instance, I tried to talk more especially to strangers (yup, I am always nervous when surrounded by strangers), then I also had the chance to meet very kind locals and fellow travelers.

So, how's the story? Let's start!

OCT 17 - DAY 1
My flight was at 5.00 am from Soekarno Hatta Airport Jakarta. Since I was still staying in Jatinangor, I went from Bandung to Cengkareng at 11.00 pm by taking bus. Arriving at 3.00 am, I still had plenty time to wait and check in.

After two hours flight, finally I stepped my feet for the first time in Lombok. I arrrived at 8.00 am but I could feel the heat was so intense that day.

I was taking Damri bus from Lombok International Airport to Senggigi. It only cost IDR 35.000 per person (around US$ 3) and my ride with the bus was pretty great. The driver even recommended me some places to visit since I had conversation with him from the airport until Senggigi (I was the only person who went to Senggigi in that bus).

The bus was small and only able to carry about 10-15 persons. One of nice things I could find, the bus had special storage for luggage so you don't have to worry about where to keep your big carrier or luggage inside the bus.

Oh, why I went to Senggigi? I thought Senggigi was closer to Gili Trawangan, then I could find minimarket, food stalls, and ATM at ease since it's a very popular spot in Lombok. The consequence was, it took around 1 hour ride to reach Mataram and 1,5 hour ride to South Lombok since they're pretty far from Senggigi.

From mini bus shelter of Damri in Senggigi, I walked to my homestay that I booked from booking.com, Borneo Homestay. It's really close to Senggigi Beach, only 3 minutes by walking. Thankfully I could get early check in so I was able to eat and take a nap first. I also rented motorbike for my trip here, and I could get cheaper rent rate, hahaha.

Since I was extremely exhausted after long trip Jatinangor-Bandung-Jakarta to Lombok, I decided to spend my first day wandering around north Senggigi. I rode my rented motorbike, looking around, and of course, I found so much interesting spots to see.

My first impression about Lombok? BEAUTIFUL. Period.



I gotta admit that I was totally amazed by everything I saw. Just... whoa!! The main road around Senggigi is very close to sea, so you can see those lovely views while driving. And one note: the road in Lombok is mostly so good!!! You can find very minimum damaged road here. But still, you have to be careful since there're lots of winding road around Lombok.

After some hours exploring north Senggigi, I found some best spots to watch sunset. I almost couldn't believe my eyes that time since everything were so magical.





Come on, how can you not dig those views???

I stopped on that spot (2nd picture above), parked my motorbike, then just sat on it. I enjoyed the view peacefully since I was alone. Since it went darker after sunset, I went back to Senggigi to have dinner then spend my night with some people I met at the homestay. Apparently my first day in Lombok was quite amusing.

OCT 18 - DAY 2

Actually I had plan to go to South Lombok this day, but unfortunately I had to postpone it since I woke up pretty late, hahaha. This is one of disadvantages I have since I am not a morning person. But well, I was exhausted yesterday; I only got 1-2 hours to sleep while on bus from Bandung to Jakarta.

So what's the alternative plan? I didn't have to worry much since I had 5 more days in Lombok. I decided to go to Mataram, Kota Tua Ampenan, then north Lombok again. For this time, I visited Pandanan Beach, Nipah Beach, and Melaka Beach.




Other fascinating views I saw while visiting those beaches. At first, the sky was so cloudy, I was a bit worried it would be raining that day, but the opposite happened.

It was almost dark here. I rode my motorcycle from north Lombok to go back to Senggigi. When I saw the right side of the road, I was completely distracted. This probably one of the greatest sunset I've ever seen. I stopped, I captured this beautiful scenery.

Then sky got darker and there was no around. In solitude, I enjoyed every seconds of this moment....


My second day started badly, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable day I had.

This trip apparently kept so much surprises for me. I couldn't wait to see what I'd get tomorrow since day 3 was the day I would explore South Lombok.

See you on the next post!

Source: cnn.com

Seperti yang pernah saya post sebelumnya (klik di sini), jadi mahasiswi ilmu komunikasi (ilkom) itu merupakan hal yang nggak terduga. Bermula ingin belajar DKV, eh banting setir ke ilkom. Sempet kepikiran apakah saya bisa melanjutkan keinginan besar untuk belajar desain grafis selama masa kuliah berlangsung.

Apparently, this alternative direction led me to one of the greatest experiences in my life.

Siapa bilang belajar komunikasi gampang? Uh huh, you got it wrong, pal. Ada banyak banget hal yang perlu dipahami untuk mendalami ilmu komunikasi. Even though I only learnt the basic, basic-nya itu justru cukup complicated lho. Mungkin bagi yang tidak mendalami komunikasi, akan jarang mendengar apa itu komunikasi intrapersonal, interpersonal, kelompok, massa, hingga budaya. Lalu ada juga pelajaran Ilmu Alamiah Dasar (IAD) dan Statistika Sosial, walaupun fakultas saya tergolong dalam fakultas humaniora. Bayangin, saya belajar lagi IPA dan matematika lho di bangku kuliah!

Istilah "We Can Not Not Communicate" dari Paul Watzlawick dan "Who Says What in Which Channel to Whom with What Effect" dari Harold Laswell pun sudah di luar kepala, saking keduanya merupakan bagian dari prinsip dasar ilmu komunikasi. Dua kalimat itu kalau dijabarkan bisa panjang, bahkan butuh satu semester untuk memahaminya; jadi jangan berharap saya akan menjelaskannya di sini karena ini bukan materi kuliah! Ini cuma curhatan di blog pribadi, hahahaha.

Lalu saya juga belajar lebih dalam tentang Bahasa Indonesia, Public Speaking, dan Fotografi. Nah untuk Public Speaking, ini jadi tantangan terbesar bagi saya karena saya bukanlah orang yang gemar berbicara di depan umum. Pastinya kalau bicara di depan umum saya gugup parah, ngomong jadi ngebut, dan merasa takut ada kejadian konyol! But hey, I'm a communication science student, and speaking is definitely one of the essential parts of communication. Ya saya mau nggak mau harus berani ngomong lebih banyak dong.

Fotografi? Ini nih mata kuliah yang membuka mata saya lebar-lebar soal bidang seni ini; sampai sekarang saya kerja sambilan jadi fotografer lepas. Pastinya saat pertama kali belajar fotografi, saya senang bukan main. Sejak SMA saya memang sering jadi 'tukang motret' entah di acara keluarga atau acara di sekolah. Akhirnya salah satu passion saya ini bisa semakin saya kembangkan ketika berada di bangku kuliah.

Itu baru di semester pertama. Semester kedua lebih rame lagi; mulai pengenalan tiga jurusan ilmu komunikasi dan materi perkuliahannya makin spesifik. Jadi di kampus saya (sampai angkatan 2012) program studi Ilmu Komunikasi dipecah lagi menjadi 3 jurusan: jurnalistik, hubungan masyarakat, dan manajemen komunikasi. Salah satunya akan dipilih sebelum semester 3 dimulai. Jadi mahasiswa ilkom akan terpecah ke jurusan masing-masing sesuai minat.

Yap, sesuai minat. Ini ibarat kata sampai lulus nanti jurusan yang dipilih bakal jadi 'jalan hidup' mahasiswa, di luar kemungkinan nanti setelah jadi sarjana mau bekerja sebagai apa. Makanya di sini mahasiswa harus berpikir sangat matang jurusan apa yang akan diambil pada tahun kedua.

Bagaimana dengan saya? Beruntung saya nggak mengalami masa krisis memilih jurusan karena sedari awal sudah memantapkan hati untuk bergabung dengan jurusan jurnalistik.

Di samping itu, ada lagi yang seru di semester 2: komunikasi lintas budaya! Nah ini nih salah satu mata kuliah paling menantang karena tugas akhirnya adalah membuat festival budaya! Di sini saya pernah cerita tentang gimana perjuangan mempersiapkan festival sampai akhirnya harus berpisah dengan teman-teman kelas Ilkom D. Kelas saya waktu itu mendapat negara Jerman (kelompok saya) dan Inggris.

Selama 1 tahun pertama saya juga berjumpa dengan teman-teman baru yang memiliki beragam karakter, pengalaman, dan sikap. Senang rasanya bisa sekelas dengan anak-anak Ilkom D yang rame dan seru! Kami sering main bareng, BBQ-an bareng di rumah Hiji, sampai jalan-jalan ke Bandung juga Kawah Putih. Satu hal yang paling saya nggak bisa lupakan, di saat saya sedang down parah saat semester 2 karena suatu hal, mereka men-support mental saya. Love you, Imbisilkom D!

Tuntas episode ilkom, saatnya beralih ke chapter berikutnya: jurusan jurnalistik.

Jurusan jurnalistik bersama jurusan lainnya pernah mengadakan presentasi di hadapan para mahasiswa sebelum memutuskan hendak ke mana mereka akan berlabuh di semester 3. Salah satu ciri khas jurusan jurnalistik tiap presentasi: bukannya promosi tapi malah membeberkan cerita seram dan keras tentang bagaimana sulitnya menjadi jurnalis, menghadapi model narasumber dari yang riweuh sampai berbahaya, dan gajinya yang tak seberapa.

Jadi jiper atau mundur? Saya sendiri nggak.

Nah, gimana ceritanya jadi mahasiswa jurnalistik selama beberapa semester ke depan ya?

I found it on Twitter and I guess this is an interesting challenge! Music is always being a part of my life, because I listen to music anytime. I even listen to music when drive my motorbike (well using earbud is safer than the in-ear-monitor), but it's not for everyone; stay safe on road!

On the next days I will be posting this regularly, so probably this could be a new thing for my blog and I can share to you about what songs I usually listen to.

Well I will post the very first challenge:

DAY 1: A song you like with a color in the title

Itinerary is crucial to determine which places you will visit, what transportation you’d use, and what activities you’d do on your trip. Making itinerary might be not very exciting for some of you, but actually it really helps you to plan your activities and discover any places you want to come by –especially when you have never known about it– so I can say it’s challenging yet fun.

To be honest I partly agree with let’s-see-what-happens-there idea for your trip, but I still think that itinerary is needed. Without planning, you will waste a lot of time on trivial stuff that you could have easily done at home then you end up missing a lot of great things.

Based on my experiences listing any idea to arrange an itinerary, there’re some important things to consider plus the explanation on each points.

Where are you going? 
Are you visiting one city or more than two cities? If you want to visit more than two cities, of course it requires more work but trust me, itinerary is going to help you a lot especially to arrange your time on the road. Then is it still in your country or abroad? Make sure you check your passport and its expiration date also visa requirements (if needed).