It was just another day at the Ica Lawendatu's home in Emerald Garden, Bintaro. Everybody was doing his/her own thing. SiBapa and I were just having a casual talk and suddenly he said something like "Let's go to Bromo! Let's go to Kawah Ijen! Let's have a road trip to Banyuwangi!" And that's how it started 😄 So yeah... The next thing I knew I had to set certain dates, find hotels, how many nights and which cities to spend, where to go, what to do and everything else. What kinda upsetting for me was the fact that Kukka had to skip school for a whole week 🙄 And that we had to leave Moochi again 😿 What made me excited was when SiBapa threw the idea that we should take our maids, Dewi and Yuli with us. The Dynamic Duo! Oh my god 😂 With Dewi, it was nothing new. But Yuli??? She has a husband and a daughter who goes to kindergarten. She has a family. But I could imagine how fun it would be if Yuli did come along.
Finally SiBapa told the Dynamic Duo about his plan and asked them how they felt about it. Super thrilled, obviously. But first thing first, Yuli had to ask for her husband's permission! It was like waiting for the next Game Of Thrones episode 😆 You could only imagine how happy Dewi was when Yuli said that her husband said ok. Dewi finally had a friend to be with during the entire trip. Yuli was super thrilled because this was her first holiday without her family since god knows when. She told her husband that everything would be covered by her boss 😂 Surprisingly her husband gave his permission which from what I've heard doesn't happen very often. After that every day I saw and heard the Dynamic Duo shopping online! 😂 What for? For the trip! New swimsuit, jackets, clothes etc. When I heard about it I laughed so hard and told them to calm down. That they should spend the money ON the trip rather that FOR the trip. Anyways... First, SiBapa and I set the dates: January 19th - 25th. Our plan was to go to Mount Bromo, Love Hill Bromo Tengger Semeru, Lautan Pasir Bromo, and the list went on 😆 The cities we were going to spend the nights in were Bromo, Banyuwangi and last, Semarang.
January 20th
Super early in the morning Mas Dika took us to Love Hills Bromo Tengger Semeru to see the sunrise. The weather was super cold! I really didn't expect the temperature to be 11C! I think the last time I was shivering because of cold weather was when we were in Rovaniemi, Finland! Instead of joining the crowd to see the sunrise, I chose to stay in a warong, sipping hot jahe susu to stay warm and healthy 😅 Thank god I bought a thick hoodie and warm scarf! Then all of us went to Mount Bromo and took tons of pictures in Lautan Pasir.
The Emerald Garden Gang walked up and down to Kawah Bromo. I was the only one who rode down on a horse because I was too exhausted. His/her name is Si Ucil 🐎 Then the gang had to climb very high stairs to Kawah Bromo. I told SiBapa that I better stay put than causing trouble to others. What troubles? Oh I don't know... Such as having a seizure and rolling down hundreds of stairs? 😅 Very good decision indeed. Well... We also visited Roemah Tjoeklat, which I'm sorry to say doesn't have very delicious chocolate for a "rumah". To end the day's adventure we hung out in De Potrek which is a very nice place. Then it was time to pack the bags and go to sleep because the next day...
January 21st
Goodbye Jiwa Jawa Bromo! See you when I see you 😊 We took a quick stop to take this must-do picture in Bondowoso 😄
Finally around 3:50pm... IT'S BANYUWANGI BABY!!!!!!! ALHAMDULILLAH!!!! First thing first: EAT! SiBapa took us straight to a restaurant called Ikan Bakar Pondok Pelangi. It was perfect because we were starving! SiBapa practically ordered everything's that on the menu. While the 3 of us were busy eating, Dewi and Yuli were busy taking pictures 😄 Thank god our tummies were eventually full after all 😂 Along the way to the hotels we visited Ijen Geopark and Kaldera Ijen. To end this tiring yet exciting day we checked in to this gorgeous hotel called Dialoog
January 22nd
Today's "menu" was crossing the sea on a wooden boat to Pulau Tabuhan. The gang went snorkling while I stayed in a local warong. I watched them practicing how to use the snorkel and waved goodbye when their boat finally went out to the open sea. It was pretty hot and I didn't have anything to do but taking tons of pictures 😃 It was a beautiful day. So none of the pictures needed any filter to make it look better. They were already perfect 🥰 These are my favorites:
When the whole Emerald Garden gang came back from the sea I was very happy. I was happy because they all came back safely. And I was happy because it looked like all of them had a very good time 😊 Kukka told me excitedly that she saw "Blue fish! Star fish! Striped fish! Also jelly fish! They sting but not lethal", she said 😊 Next stop was Taman Nasional Baluran. Now... Minutes after we entered the park, some asshole hit our right rearview mirror! And he/she didn't even stop or whatsoever! Was für ein Arschloch!!! It happened pretty fast. His/Hers flew away and it took us a couple of seconds to realize that our rearview mirror was total kaputt! 😣 The only way to "safe" it was by wrapping it with tape. I was worried because our trip was nowhere near the end. And SiBapa's driving style... Well you know... 😥 But I tried very hard to relax and to trust my husband that he could handle the long and winding roads without a rearview mirror. Considering his, according to Yuli's comment "Bapak kalo naek motor kaya Valentino Rossi kali ya Bu... 😅" Well said, Yuli... Very well said 😆😆 After a couple of taping here and there, it was safe...-ish to drive again. To be honest I was still very worried. And thinking that tomorrow they'd be leaving to Kawah Ijen very very early in the morning, I was even more worried...
January 23rd
Yes. SiBapa and my Precious Godsend left to Kawah Ijen with Dewi and Yuli around 2.30am. I decided to stay put because from I've read, the way to Kawah Ijen is super tough. Besides it's been a pretty hectic couple of days for me personally... So I kissed my loved ones goodbye and told them to send me tons of pictures. Around 5:40 am my babies called me from the mountain. SiBapa said our Precious Godsend cried and almost gave up. God! From their stories I sure was glad that I stayed warm in the hotel! If not I would've caused troubles for them... Probably even strangers! So when the gang were struggling to reach Kawah Ijen, I enjoyed a nice and delicious breakfast by myself 😄 I also videocalled Ari and asked him to put our furry boy on the line. Some people would say that I'm crazy but I really missed Moochi. And I think he missed us too! The second he heard and maybe also saw me on Ari's phone, Moochi meowed, rolled around on the floor and bumped his head on the screen a couple of times. Aaaw poor boy... He probably said "Bubu! Where are you 😿??" I talked to him like a mother promised her child that I would be home soon. The only thing I didn't say to Moochi was "Mau oleh-oleh apa?" 😅 Anyways... I had a very nice me-time, bubble bath and all. Around 7:56am SiBapa videocalled and told me that they were walking down from Kawah Ijen and headed to the hotel. Alhamdulillah...
It took quite awhile for the whole gang to come back. I was a bit bored and confused. I didn't know what to do. I thought about hanging out downstairs or walking around the hotel. But then I was like "Oh I might as well just pack the bags!" So I did. Everything was ok. Until around 10am SiBapa called again and said that they had an accident! 😱 One of the front tires almost got loose!!!! I think something was...broken? Can't really remember much now but yeah... It was bad. Thank god the Nissan Banyuwangi was 24 hours ready. Seriously I can't thank them enough. I was worried nobody could come because it was a national holiday. While the Nissan guys were fixing the tires, the Emerald Garden gang waited in a nearby warong. Dewi sent me a picture of my Precious Godsend. They were waiting for Grab to take them back to the hotel. I was so happy when I finally had my baby back in my arms safely. SiBapa on the other hand came back to the hotel around 3pm and looked like ...... 😅 To think that the next day we had to leave the hotel around 3:30am to Semarang... But again, I couldn't thank ALLAH enough that everybody was safe.
January 24th
Around 3:30am we said goodbye to Dialoog and off to Semarang. We ate at Rawon Setan Embong Malang Surabaya - Tidak Buka Cabang. Nothing special. Kiddo's comment was "Rawon Mba Dewi lebih enak." 😆 We arrived in Semarang safe and sound around 2:30pm. I jumped on the bed and practically hugged everything on it like I never had before. In Semarang we let the Dynamic Duo to go and enjoy themselves.
The Ica Lawendatus took an evening walk around the hotel and Precious Godsend posed in front of Lawang Sewu. Thankfully we didn't witness any kind of "force" if you know what I mean 😬 Back at the hotel, as always I was the one who pack the suitcase and I prayed that our "driver" would have a good night sleep 😊
January 25th
Around 7:30am it was time to pick up the maids and... Oh man I was shocked to see their fat suitcase! It looked like it was gonna explode! 😂 Plus the plastic bags.
Thank god there was still enough room inside our big car 😂 I think at first SiBapa was worried that the maids' stuff wouldn't fit in the trunk 🤣 I do remember they said something like "Kapan lagi buuu!" 😄 In the car Dewi and Yuli couldn't stop telling us stories about last night's experience. We stopped at Rest Area Heritage 260 Banjaratma. Then around noon...
HELLO JAKARTA!! 🤪
At last at 1:20pm... It's BINTARO ÜBER ALLES baby!!! MOOOOOCCHHHIIIII!!!! Home sweet home!
Alhamdulillah we all arrived healthy and happy. Before they went home, Dewi and Yuli kept thanking us for the exciting road trip. That night I went to bed smiling and feeling grateful. For being able to spend time with my loved ones 👨🏻👧🏻 For sharing new experiences with the people who matter. For the minor seizures. For the laughters. For everything 🥰 Until next time.
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