Cikelin Chronicle

cruising milford sound Dua tahun lalu, saya menulis di blog ini kalau saya pengen banget melakukan perjalanan ke New Zealand, terutama Milford Sound. Well, impian itu terlaksana awal bulan ini. Saya percaya sekali dengan impian atau cita-cita. Kalau kita punya impian, menuliskan, mencari jalan dan berusaha dengan sadar mencapainya, dengan kuasa Tuhan akan tercapai. Ketika saya menuliskan rencana perjalanan dua tahun lalu, saya tidak tahu bagaimana dan kapan saya bisa kesana, dan terutama pakai duit apa :p Tahun ini saya banyak sekali traveling, mewujudkan impian saya yang terpendam sejak dulu. Harus diakui, tidak mudah traveling dengan membawa keluarga dengan dua precils. Selain anggaran yang membengkak (tiket pesawat kalikan 4, penginapan tambah extra bed, beli makan kalikan 4), juga kerepotan mengurus si kecil yang masih 3 tahun. Terus terang kadang saya iri kalau membaca cerita atau pengalaman teman-teman yang berpetualang/backpacking keliling dunia. Pantes saja bisa bebas jala...

Saya pernah melihat foto dan link berita ini sekilas di status FB teman. Tadinya saya cuekin saja karena saya pikir anak-anak ini sedang outbond. Sampai kemudian foto ini beredar di timeline twitter. Ternyata murid-murid SD Negeri Cicaringin 3, Kecamatan Gunung Kencana, Lebak, Banten ini sedang meniti kawat baja menyeberang Sungai Ciliman untuk berangkat ke sekolah. Lambannya pemerintah membangun infrastruktur membuat mereka harus rela berjalan kaki sejauh enam kilometer pergi pulang untuk mencapai sekolah dan berisiko terjatuh ke sungai. Link berita lengkapnya ada di sini: http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2011/10/25/15580236/Berawal.dari.Foto.Menjadi.Gerakan. Saya menangis... Teringat anak-anak saya, yang baru dua minggu lalu bermain-main jembatan tali di Darling Harbour, Sydney. Anak-anak saya dengan teman-temannya bebas bermain di taman yang aman, dan gratis. Saya tidak khawatir Anindya akan terjatuh ketika meniti jembatan tali di Darling Harbour, karen...

Acara tahunan Festival Indonesia di Sydney digelar Sabtu kemarin (3/9) di Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. Saya bersama keluarga sempat mampir sebentar ke festival ini, yang lumayan mengobati rasa kangen akan suasana yang Indonesia banget :) Festival semacam ini, selain untuk kangen-kangen-an dengan makanan Indonesia, juga untuk memperkenalkan budaya (dan makanan) Indonesia ke masyarakat Australia, khususnya yang tinggal di Sydney. Biasanya festival ini digelar setiap Agustus, sekaligus untuk memperingati Hari Kemerdekaan. Namun karena 17 Agustus kemarin masih masuk puasa, acara diundur menjadi September, sekaligus untuk memperingati Hari Raya Idul Fitri. Nggak tanggung-tanggung, festival kali ini diadakan di jantung kota, Darling Harbour. Sudah beberapa kali memang diadakan di Tumbalong Park ini. Beberapa tahun lalu, festival serupa dengan nama Pesta Kampoeng diadakan di Sydney University dan kemudian di Fox Studio dekat University of New South Wales. Menurut say...

Mayoritas muslim di Sydney merayakan lebaran pada hari Selasa, 30 Agustus 2011. Sholat Ied digelar komunitas muslim di masjid, taman, aula dan Gedung Olahraga. Kami ikut sholat Ied bersama komunitas muslim Indonesia di Sydney, yang dimotori CIDE (Centre of Islamic Dakwah and Education) NSW . Komunitas CIDE ini yang mengelola masjid Al Hijrah di daerah Tempe, yang sering mengadakan kegiatan keagamaan untuk masyarakat muslim Indonesia. Tahun ini, sama seperti tahun sebelumnya, CIDE menyewa gedung olahraga Borgia Community Centre di Marrickville sebagai tempat sholat Ied. Berlebaran di negeri orang, apalagi bukan di negara mayoritas muslim memang tidak senyaman dan seramai di negeri sendiri. Pertama kali berlebaran di Sydney, 5 tahun lalu, saya sempat menangis di malam lebaran karena tidak mendengar takbir. Perasaan was-was apakah besok benar-benar lebaran atau tidak. Saya baru lega setelah paginya melihat orang-orang Indonesia dengan baju khas batik sarimbit berb...

A cold Thursday morning, but I felt warm inside my heart. Nino agreed to take me for a lunch date. Yay, chance to dress up for a special occasion :p Anindya, as always, was not impressed with me dressing up. "Why do you dress up like that? Isn't it just lunch together? I always have lunch together with my friend at school." Oh, well :p But lucky, there's Ayesha, who admired my dangling ear-rings. She's holding it all the time while I carried her all the way to school. "Can I borrow it later, Mommy? After school?" Yes, of course, Darling ;) We chose to have early lunch at Kammadhenu, a South Indian-Malaysian-Sri Lankan restaurant at 171 King St, Newton. It's just a short stroll from Sydney Uni. When we got there, only two tables were occupied. People not up for lunch, yet. Photo from www.streetfood.com.au Nino asked the waiter whether we could use the $19 voucher I bought at www.deals.com.au worths $50. We didn't want a nasty surpr...

Train is our number one choice of transportation mode in Sydney. We have a car, but most of the time, we can't afford the parking fee in the city or near the beach. When we can afford it, we couldn't get the spot. Usually we're not lucky enough. There is no Sydney bus run directly from the suburb we live, to the city. Well, there is an old Punchbowl bus service (private bus). Just by looking at that tired bus, you know that it's not for you :p Back to Train. It is so far the most convenience way to go anywhere. It is faster than a car, and way cheaper (if you count the petrol, the car maintenance, and the parking fee). More, we have special fare on Sunday. We can go around Sydney by any public transport for only $2,50 per person. This special fare called Family Sunday Funday only available for family or at least one adult and one children. If you have no children, sorry, have to pay the full fare. Our girls love the train. Because they have much room to wander around an...

Oh, sh*t! I've been to a river cruise, a birthday party, an eating out with British friends, a Pakistani wedding since the promise, and no single blog post from me? I am a bullsh*t. Lemme explain. A big idea hijacked my mind since then and I couldn't let it go. So I did what necessary to make it happened. I need a lot of time to study new things in totally different language. This is tiring, complicated but making me happy. It's just like falling in love with a new guy. No worries, Hubby, this is NOT a new guy, just a new BIG IDEA. I can't tell you what it is now. Give me a month to deliver. I hope everything running smoothly. Wish me luck! Write to you soon. Double promise now. *grin* A.K.

This might be my last year in Sydney. Which reminds me: I haven't written enough about this lovely city. The beaches, the food, the neighborhood, the books, the sales, the all-year-round festivals. So, now that I reclaimed my abandoned blog at blogspot, I'll write more. Promise! A.K.

Wooosh... time does fly. And how destiny dragged me to another path I've never imagined before. Just last December I dared my sister Dila to set up our own business. That idea just haunt me like crazy until I decided: yep, it's time for action. We rode the wave of fashion consciousness among hijabers around the worlds. They mixed the latest trend of fashion with hijab. This wave actually started in the 'west' countries when young muslim women need to be covered but don't want to wear their Mom's boring abayas ;) So they're forced to mix and match whatever available in mainstream fashion with hijab. I'm inspired by these young girls (mostly in their twenties). No, actually I am consciously following the stream. So here you can see me from ignorant-drab-writer into self-proclaim hijabi fashionista (Oh, dear, that label!). At Malabar beach, last week. At Sydney Park, Dec 2010 At Melbourne, Dec 2010 At Circular Quay Station, Nov 2010 Yes, finally...