Thank You, Malaysia

Mmm no. If you think that the country had done anything good to me and my life, no. I still hate them for whatever they did to my nation—but hey! Let’s not talk about that now. Let’s talk about, real goodness that Malaysia did for a particular interest of mine.

Yep, Formula One.

Sorry guys, the topic is not over yet.

I believed I mentioned that this year’s Malaysia Grand Prix is the last one ever, right? I know, it’s really sad. Although this guy inside of me felt a bit happy because if us Indonesians can’t enjoy the race, what makes you Malaysians can? But when I get to think it thoroughly, yea, it’s plain sadness.

Because I just realized that the GP is the cheapest I could get in the world. Singapore may be closer, but the price of the ticket is criminal. They’re so fucking commercialized that people are forced to spend SGD200-300 to get the shittiest spot, for just one day entry –come to think of it, I was so robbed, fuck! I paid less than half of Singapore for Malaysia, and guess what, I got to access all three days of its event! Now that the GP will no longer be there, the cheapest I could get would be China or Japan. But getting my ass up there would cost me the same price for the ticket alone in Singapore last year. Am I screwed?

My heart is broken, for real. I discovered just the most suitable way to fulfill my budding F1 hunger, exactly on its last time running. But who am I kidding? If there are people whose heart break more, it should be those Malaysians.

I mean, seriously. It’s been on for 19 years, and has been an integral part of the country’s annual agenda. Malaysian guys my age grew up watching each and every single races, and Malaysian kids were raised knowing that the GP has always been there. And now, what, it’ll all be gone.

I met an Indian-Malaysian guy while queuing –uselessly– for the drivers’ signing. He was from Johor Bahru, going all the way to Sepang only for the race. When I asked how he felt knowing that this’d be his last race, he said he was okay. Maybe because he just began to like F1 for the last 2 years. But I knew he lied. He liked F1 just as much as I do –as we talked about F1 really a lot, making my useless 2 hours of waiting didn’t seem that long, and if I were him, I would really be devastated.

Because it’s one hell of a pride, hosting an F1 race. It’s such a big brag to see the name of your country lined up with other exclusive nations who are eligible to hold a Grand Prix.

But well, I think that new friend I met wasn’t fully lying. Because when I looked around, I didn’t see even one Malaysian looking all sad and gloomy –one thing I’m pretty sure I’d fail to do, if I were in their shoe.

Everybody seemed to be enjoying their finale. Everybody acted like there would be another race next year, as what they had always feel every year. The whole event was a blast, and I must say, as a customer, I was more than just satisfied. They did great. And ended things up with such awesome dignity.

I wonder how it feels to create the line....

So dear Malaysia,

Personal hatred aside, I feel your sorrow.

And for that first yet last race I had last week,

I thank you

Closer, Closer

So I missed the plan for the second half of 2017.

Damn I've been crazy busy lately you won't ever imagine how it's like to be me -lol who am I again?? But seriously. Juggling with three jobs, two personal projects, and one busy life as an adult at the same time is not quiet like a good idea. I feel like I barely breathe, and have much too limited time to do stuff including to update this blog, and the next thing I know, boom, it's October, and I missed the plan for the second half of 2017.

But no worries. On July, I still had no idea what I was going to do for the rest of the year anyway, so the post will only be full of bullshit. Oh but wait. I knew at least one plan. One, thing, that I did last year so randomly, and I kinda suspected that I'd do again this year. One thing that really matched my "Restart Project".

Formula 1 Race.

Yep. I did it again this year. Was talking to a co-worker about F1, and this little -yet awesome- spontaneous guy inside of me somehow urged me to "buy the ticket for a Grand Prix like right now!" and ta-dah, there I was, in front of my desktop, with my credit card raped.

No, it wasn't Singapore again -man, the price of the ticket was such a ripoff!- so I bought the other one that you might guess. Because as the second GP ever in my entire life, of course I would try the second closest one from home. Yea, it was

Malaysia Grand Prix 2017

Pic's from here.

No considerations. But no regrets. Especially because the ticket consisted all three days of the Grand Prix -the freaking expensive tix I bought for Singapore, was only for the Race Day. But nothing made it better when they announced that it was going to be the last ever Grand Prix in Malaysia. The image of me being a part of the ending of what had been going on for the last 19 years, and how it matched my coming there, I couldn't be any more grateful of that.

The waiting was extra draining, but it was worth the excitement. As when I saw the drivers arrived one by one in Sepang, knowing that they were only 5000kms away and one hour ahead of me, I INSTANTLY FORGOT ABOUT ALL THE WAITINGS!

Then came the weekend. It was oh another spontaneous trip I haven't done for a fair long time. Only packed one bag, which I brought to the office -yes, I didn't want to lose any dayoff so I still went to the office before my flight, caught a late night flight to Malaysia, arrived early on  Saturday morning, took a quick power nap by the airport lounge before heading straight to the circuit which was only several kilometers away from the airport, and decided to stay at a capsule hotel at the airport, well, I must say, I never know anybody who can plan a trip more effective than myself! HA-HA.

Okay enough talking about the trip.

This is not a post about traveling, Vick.

Okay, day one! Day one, was quiet of a bummer at the beginning. Overall it was unbelievable, of course, to be able to wander around the F1 circuit one more time. Plus, this one was much better as I had more access. But I missed the first session of the drivers interview on the stage. And it was Red Bull, the team I'm supporting! Still I got to see Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa, even Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel but, I WAS FLYING THERE FOR DANIEL RICCIARDO OH GOD AND I WAS SO CLOSE IN SEEING HIM!

Alright! Chill.

So I missed the interview, not a big deal. It's not like Daniel talked to the fan one by one -if that's really what happened, I wouldn't forgive myself for missing the interview. I still got to enjoy the whole day by taking photos here and there, getting free 360 and free podium jump celebration photo ops, shopping trinkets, enjoying the Free Practice and hell yeah, the main course of the day, the Qualification. After all I returned to the airport fulfilled and hopeful, because on the following day, there was still the drivers signing thing I could take part of.

And so I woke up earlier on Sunday.

Checked out early from the hostel, had early breakfast, and took the earlier bus to the circuit. But of course, when you thought that you did good, somebody else did better. When I got there, the line was like that of a Justin Bieber concert. And that's only the line entering the circuit. When I reached the stage where the signing would take place, God I swear, I felt like I lost any faith in life. It was too long, the queue. And all the people around me were pretty sure that we didn't stand even a chance. But what the heck I tried anyway. Even if it was only Jolyon Palmer, I wouldn't mind -at least he could tell Daniel that I said "hi" to him.

But I think God still wanted me to try harder.
And so they announced that the signing was over.

I was so pissed. Two hours standing, less than halfway to go. If only I woke up even earlier, and ran even faster, I could at least be close enough to the stage that I could shout to attract Daniel's attention. But well it was just a bonus. The main dish was still the main race, and so I kept my head held high and stepped to the grandstand I was assigned to.

Luckily, the race was damn good.

I was so worried that rain would ruin the whole race, but it only showered until a minute before the lights out! So all my worries about this race would end up so boring-ly like Singapore two weeks earlier, it all washed out along with the rainfall. And the race itself was, I may be biased because I was there and it might sound a bit defensive, but the race was to me one of the best in 2017.

The drama was real. The leader changed from the default Hamilton to Verstappen, who had been a bit underestimated because of all the engine problems he suffered. The slippery track made it even more exciting. But of course, the one I screamed so loud about, was Daniel's attempts to regain his place on Top 3 from the Force Indias and Bottas, and, to defend himself from Vettel who surprisingly accelerated like devil from the bottom to P4.

I swear I was all squeaky like an old lady. It was so tight towards the end, between Daniel and Sebastian -I'm sure if there were one or two extra laps, he's done. Best part was, I was surrounded by Ferrari fans. So being all so loud and cringy while Vettel was trying so hard to reach Ricciardo's ass, I swear people were looking at me. But I don't care because I WAS FLYING THERE FOR DANIEL RICCIARDO OH GOD AND THOSE MANEUVERS WERE SO CLOSE!

Finally it ended, and Daniel finished third. Never once in my life I felt so manly -or not?- for supporting some sport stuff with all my heart. Well. What a race. If my day ought to end on that exact second, I wouldn't mind.

But I think God still wanted me to try harder.
And so they opened up the gate for us to go down under.

My adrenaline came rushing. This could be my only chance to get closer to Daniel, remembering that I missed both of the first two chances. Plus, he got podium. Along with Verstappen who finished first. There had to be something going on around the main grandstand.

So I pushed whatever was in front of me. I swifted like an antelope, snatched any empty spot like a cat squeezed itself inside a cardbox half its size. I ran like I've always trained myself days before the race, leaving those slow weaklings before me and joined they who had arrived there in front of the main grandstand. The Dutch national anthem finished playing, and the trophies were all distributed when I arrived in front of the podium. I was so close to him...

I took photos like it was my wedding: A LOT. And even after the drivers left, and people got fed up taking pics, I stayed. I didn't know why but I told myself that I needed to stay, just to fulfill my need to be around the atmosphere. After 30 mins I felt like I had enough, so I began to clear away from the podium front, and walked along the garage.

And I saw these people climbing up the fence in front of a garage. I was too tired to do the same, but like a spotlight from heaven, I saw this one empty spot among these people, ONLY ONE AND I'M NOT TRYING TO MAKE IT LIKE A SWEET SERENDIPITY, calling me with such grand bliss, waiting to be climbed.

You wouldn't believe what happened next. Or you would: I climbed, of course. But what you wouldn't believe is what I saw in front of the fence I climbed.

It was Red Bull's garage.

I don't know how else to say how lucky I was. To stand right in front of their garage. Exactly theirs like, theirs only! And the cars were being dragged inside, the mechanics and engineers were working on some parts with such joy, and us here lining up the fence looking at them with pure happiness. It was quiet for a long time, me standing there doing nothing but looking at the garage. But my guts once again told me to stay for at least 15 more minutes, without knowing why.

And he was right.

People from my right started shouting. That kind of shout in a concert where people realize that it's about to start. That kind of atmosphere in a gig where the main star shows a bit of his presence.

Yep, Daniel appeared.

With Max. And the old lady I unleashed earlier during the race, suddenly came back. As a crazy fanboy who seemed ready to jump in and crouch the idol. My brain was blank, and my mouth kept shouting Daniel's name. Only the name, nothing else. I was blinded by excitement I think I forgot other words but his name. No shame at all, because thanks to that restless shouting, he FUCKING WAVED AT ME, WHAT THE HELL WHY AM I SO EXCITING AND TYPING IN ALL CAPS AGAIN? OH YEAH BECAUSE IT WAS DANIEL RICCIARDO WAVING AT ME, AND HELL YEA IT WAS THE CLOSEST I COULD BE TO HIM!

Fuck, chill Vick, that's not even the best part.

No, I lied. Of course it was the best part.

Although what happened after that was also unforgettable to me. They were appearing in front of the garage to do the trophy shots, as they got double podium that race. My camera never once stopped working. Photos, videos, photos, videos, stupid selfies, photos, I didn't want to miss even one second.

Because I was too lucky, and I wanted to keep this forever.

It looks like a photo taken by journalist, eh? But no. IT'S ME!

No considerations.

But no regrets, at all.

Because all my random plans paid off. All my tight, not-staying-in-downtown-not-even-staying-away-from-the-airport schedule succeeded. And most importantly, my wish to get real close to my idol came true -lol it made me sound like a freaky psychopath BUT TO HELL WITH THAT!.

But I think God still wants me to try harder.
Because after all, I still don't have any photo with the honey badger.

Maybe next time, next time for real.

In Japan, China, or maybe his home Australia,

I'll be actually that close

Classic Jealousy

Before you go on I must warn you that this is about F1 again. Well, I did tell you the likeliness of me "won't be over it any time soon" yes?

Although honestly, this time's not specifically about the race nor the tournament as a whole. It's more about, you know, ripple effect caused by the championship.

Well duh, I'm blabbering way too much now. Before you turn confused and run away, let's just get down straight to business.

It's about Malaysia.

Pic's from here.

After the best night race in Singapore two weeks ago -still can't move on, by the way, the next set of Grand Prix will be held in its neighbor—MY "neighbor" too: Malaysia. It'll be fun, I'm sure, yet at the same time, well, I don't know, it feels a little bit like, umm, to me, it's more like a...

A torture.

I've always had this rough relationship with that country. With all its one-sided claims, its fiery soccer encounters with us, its attempts to look international, its "oh we're so Asia we're rich in culture in which we're actually not but we're just smart enough to look like one" lalala well okay I'm biased. And okay I visited that country once, but I don't know, I can't seem to be able to sincerely like that country.

And now F1 is entering their region. A thing I'm starting to show my love to, is entering the country I don't really love. And if I may say, it bugs me. A lot.

Starting with how the social media rants about the drivers having fun in Malaysia—it hurts me somehow. Then how Malaysia's culture being adored by the F1 universe—it really fvcking irritates me. And every single time I see name Malaysia mentioned by either the account of F1, or Red Bull, or worse yet, Ricciardo, I really just, ugh, want to shut down the digital world and live in the peace of olden-days.

I don't mind about Singapore being loved because, for me, that country is on a whole different level. They're goblin. I don't know how they could do it, but I got to admit that they're not supposed to be a Southeast Asian country. They're on the same level with Europeans. Indonesia on the other hand, without a doubt, is far far left behind. So admitting that Singapore held a Grand Prix so spectacular that it awed people from all corners of the globe, wouldn't be hard to me. I'll submit wholeheartedly to that.

But Malaysia? What's so special about them? Culture? Indonesia's got it all -except the mental. Nature? Indonesia's much more beautiful -except the fact that we have no idea how to make the most of it. Indonesia's not that different from that nation, that it's so unnecessary to have a Grand Prix there and skip it here!

But then again,

Despite this stupid jealousy,

It's their prize to enjoy the Grand Prix.

Because no matter how hard I try to deny it, it's obvious that Malaysia's much developed on so many levels.

But still I just can't take it.

Because this is not just about F1.

This is MUCH bigger than just races.

It is pride,

In which Indonesia

Doesn't have yet

A Beginner Backpacker Story

Halo, semoga pada gak bosen deh ya ngebaca postingan gue soal perjalanan kali ini haha. Gak peduli deh mau dibilang apa. Tapi yang pasti, gue suka banget trip kemaren like, banget banget!! Dan postingan ini lebih kayak summary nya gitu karena ini bener bener kali pertama gue jalan jalan ke 

Bukan cuma itu aja, di trip ini juga kali pertama buat gue dalam berbagai macam hal di dunia per-traveling-an.

First time traveling alone

Should I tell you more about this? Haha please percaya sama gue. Gue jalan sendirian. Gue kemana-mana sendirian. Gue ngatur skejul, ngurus uang, makan, mandi, berak sendirian. Dan gue gak ngerasa itu menyedihkan. Gue justru ngerasa ketje. Karena setiap ada yang nanya gue pergi sama siapa, dan gue jawab gue sendirian... I've always liked the reaction appears on their face :)

First time staying at and hanging with locals

Meski demikian, gue nginep di tempat temen-temen gue yang emang asli sana -kecuali di Penang, gue nginep di dorm. Walopun resikonya, gue harus nyesuain skejul gue sama mereka, tapi ngobrol ngobrolnya sama berbagi ceritanya itu gak ada duanya.

First time suburban visit

Di Kuala Lumpur, temen gue si Joseph ngajakin gue ke daerah Ara Damansara. Semacem suburban gitu, dimana yang tinggal disana adalah keluarga berpenghasilan rendah. Jadi si Joseph ini anggota gereja gitu dan tiap dua minggu sekali harus ngasih bantuan makanan ke salah satu keluarga disitu. Kebetulan hari itu gue lagi bingung mau kemana, jadi ya gue diajak kesana. Two sides of KL in one trip, eh?

First time uncommon overnight experiences

Jadi dari KL ke Bangkok, flight gue itu pagi. Nah kan dari pusat kota ke LCCT itu jauh kan ya, daripada gue grabak grubuk pas pagi, jadi gue pikir mendingan nginep aja di airport! Haha seru parah, apalagi ternyata banyak orang yang ngelakuin itu juga.

Nah trus pulang dari Bangkok, sampe KL jam 9 malem. Gue pun buru buru ke Puduraya Bus Terminal karena jam 12 nya harus naik bis ke Penang. Seru gak sih?? Gue sengaja pilih tengah malem biar sampe Penang pagi dan gue punya banyak waktu buat jalan jalan. And gotta tell ya, bis nya pewe parah!

First time university observation

Di Bangkok, gue kan nginep di dorm temen gue yang sekolah di AIT (sekolah khusus master degree). Nah jadilah gue punya kesempatan ngeliat liat kampus di Thailand haha. Apalagi AIT itu deket banget sama Thammasat University (sekolah khusus bachelor degree) jadi hampir tiap hari gue ketemu anak anak seumuran gue yang sedang menuntut ilmu.

First time massage

Seumur hidup gue gak pernah yang namanya pijet. Jadi mumpung lagi di negara asalnya, Thailand, dan kebetulan gue lagi capek parah waktu itu abis jalan jalan ampe betis segede semangka -dan besoknya balik ke KL jadi yaaa foya foya bath gitudeh haha- jadilah gue pijet Thai dulu sebelum mamam malem.

First time CNY experience

This was the best. Read more in here.

First time being a truly annoying 'bule'

Selama di Bangkok sih emang gue gabisa berkomunikasi kalo gak dalam bahasa Inggris. Nah tapi di Malaysia, sebenernya kan gue bisa bisa aja dan ngerti ngerti aja bahasa Melayu. Tapi berubung ini trip abroad kan ya, gue maunya bahasa Inggris dong haha. Jadi kalo gue lagi nanya orang di Malaysia dan ternyata dia gak ngerti bahasa Inggris, gue mulai sok sok nanya pake kata kata Melayu dengan logat bule gitchu haha trus mereka yang kayak bahagia gitu karena gue bisa sedikit berbahasa lokal hahahahaha oh Lord I miss those moments so bad...

I'm addicted. I never thought, traveling alone could be that exciting. I didn't have to discuss of where to go, I didn't have to face confusing ideas from different confusing heads. It's all about me and myself, and my own choice!

And damn I'm proud of myself. Gue selalu iri sama temen temen gue yang bisa keluar negeri karena ada proyek nari misalnya, atau marching band, atau delegates dan semacamnya. Tapi mereka pergi juga karena sebagian uang mereka kan, bukan sepenuhnya ditanggung si pembuat project.

And yet, they went there in groups.

Not all alone like I did, not a single fighter like I was.

I must reward myself for these brave things I've done.

A trip to Vietnam, maybe?

City Three: The Best Closure

George Town, Penang

Three days of calm and prosperity

After a wild, hectic life in Bangkok, I flew back to KL and then took a bus straight to Butterworth, Penang. Another indescribable experience, I must say, because it was a night bus and then I had to take the ferry so early in the morning to the island.

But that long, exhausting journey to get to the city was all so worthed. You know why, because George Town is a paradise for, uh, how do we say that... Yeah, a peaceful seeker.

It was a small town, clean, quiet, with a few number of cars, as well as the pollution. The tourist spots are close one another and for me, those are all in a walking distance. If I want to take a bus around the city, they have this free shuttle. And if I want to go somewhere out of George Town, other buses are always available and you can ask anybody on the street about how to get there!

Read the board :p

Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah 

Kek Lok Si Temple

And Chinese New Year was so close. I still had lots of ringgits and yeah, I supposed it was the time to start being prosper. So I stayed at a dorm booked from the hostelworld.com named Roommates. I ate more expensive foods, I didn't care anymore about the money I've been strict about since the first day of my trip. It's all about self welfare.

The best part, was the CNY evening. I was invited to have a Chinese dinner with a local Penangite, ate steamboat with them and spent some time with their families. Finished? Not, yet! After that I went to the Esplanade to attend this CNY countdown event!

Ferry and its wind

Ms An Lim and her lovely family

When this happened, I almost cried because on the next day, I was going home :')

Yea and that was all. George Town and its tranquility. I loved all those three cities I visited, but for this one, it's more than just love, I guess.

Now I know why George Town's called as a World Heritage.

I can't describe it, I just know :)

City One: The Praised Child

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Five days of cultural transmission

My single-fighter-twelve-days-trip started from the city. First impression, the airport wasn't as cool as Soekarno Hatta's Terminal 3. But after I took a bus to KL Sentral LRT Station, I shut the fvck up.

Have you watched a drama of a poor child and rich one, switched at birth? The poor's raised by the rich family and grow to be the bad ass, while the rich's taken cared so so by the poor family and soon will be bullied by the poor child and can't fight about it? Yea well along the trip, that's the scenario I've always played in my mind. Malaysia's the poor, and Indonesia's the rich one.

No wonder why Malaysia enjoys annoying us. They are actually not as rich as Indonesia, but they know best how to manage what they have. It makes them a nation worth to visit, and I did enjoy my trip there. Although I was alone, I still can survive because information is easy to obtain, and most people speak English.

A longest night market, weekly in Cheras

Genting Highland

Batu Caves

KLCC - Petronas Twin Tower

KL Tower 

Bukit Bintang

And the locals, man, they're so up in the air. I stayed at my Chinese friend's boarding room, his name is David, then moved to my other friend's house, a Malay named Hazwan. Then again, I also spent much of my time with my other Chinese friend named Joseph. And the three of them, are impeccable. Best services, best helps as well.

But the best part I liked was the one where we shared about culture. Like how there are so many words in Indonesian and Malay that literally similar, but have different meanings. Or about Jakarta and its famous traffic jam. Or about local foods and snacks that apparently have so many similarities. God! It was soooooooooooooooooo fun and priceless.

After all, I love Kuala Lumpur. I love how it could let me wander around it, even I was just traveling alone. Aside all what Malay had done to us, I still adore the city. Tidy, structured, not as strict as Japan tho, but still, way way better than Jakarta -and Bangkok.

But one thing I couldn't stop thinking,

Was the one with the mighty question of

"Why the hell can't Indonesia do the same?"

Mr Worldwide: The Birth

Udah dua belas hari di bulan Februari, tapi gue belum juga ngepost apapun. Hmm gapapa dong ya, karena gue baru aja pulang dari perjalanan super menakjubkan gue di negara tetangga dimana gue cuma seorang diri.

Banyak banget yang mau gue ceritain, banyak banget yang mau gue share, malah tadinya gue mikir apa mending gue bikin satu blog sendiri khusus buat perjalanan ini aja yak? Haha tapi gamungkin sih.

However, I'll tell it anyway, anyhow.

Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and George Town

"Two passports (stamps), three cities, two countries, one (plus eleven) day" -- Pitbull

So, shall we

Get it started?

Another Way Out For Our Nation

Today on TV. I oversaw something interesting. Something catchy. Something about Indonesia. And its attempt to get developed.

You ever heard some other nations' tourism tagline?

The sight of Singapore is from here, India's scenery is from here, and Malaysia's from here.

Those are sticking in minds, don't you think? They use a few words, with unusual selection and combination, and brought with an ear-friendly jingle. What a smokin' good strategy.

And yeah, I guess our nation's trying to do the same.

Now let's get ourselves used to announce

"Remarkable Indonesia"

Yes. Remembering Asian's recent potential in, anything, the whole globe now aims their shits on us. And our Indonesia's joined the track.

But different from those three, Indonesia's approach in this "Remarkable Indonesia" is not tourism. More to economical business or something, nah I don't understand. I personally dislike it. For me, tourism is far beyond selling. At the end we earn income, yes, but at least we also sell our value.

And word 'remarkable', umm... It's strong. It's different. But for me -again- it's just not us Indonesian. Each nation is remarkable. Singapore is remarkably unique. Malaysia is remarkably Asia-ish. India is remarkably... Well, India's 'incredible' case is somehow similar to 'remarkable', but at least the words are both started with letter 'I' and that's the essence.

Haha I'm now acting like a pro. Seriously, don't take it personally. I'm just stating my opinion about 'remarkable'. But I'm sure that the word selection must have been done by experts and, we just have to leave it to them and their strategy then.

But speaking of strategy...

I don't know whether I, am the one who's closed somehow I never even heard anything about this campaign, OR the campaign itself is not that significant. But to be honest, this was the first time I catch the ad. The promotion strategy's still low, I guess.

Alright, alright, I'm doing it again--judging and criticizing. I'm stopping now and let's see the bright side: Indonesia's eyes has finally been opened. It's time to go down the battle. Join the war, and try to win something.

http://syaifulfatah.staff.umy.ac.id/about/

Let's see if we can get something good from this.

So basically, whatever way you wish, government, whatever.

Just make sure to get us out of the current misery

Re-Calling: Piggy Bank

You do remember about the AirAsia promo I told you about earlier right?

Well...

I got those freakin' cheap airplane tickets to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok woohoo!! It means that by the early of 2013, if we made it on doomsday, I'll be flying to Malaysia and Thailand yaaayy!!

The image of Malaysia is from here, Thailand's from here

So do you remember back then, well, if you've been my loyal reader since 2010, in which I'm kinda sure I've lost some of my old readers already because by 2011 I happened to stop posting things due to some personal issues and--whoa, whoa easy, Vick! You're out of control...

Okay let's start over.

You remember back then, on 2011 when I planned to go to Bali with my friends, and I promised myself that I would save my money for the whole semester just to make sure I'm living in welfare on that trip? Okay if you forget, or yet if you don't know, just click here...

So yes, that's why I'm here. To state another oath to myself, to save my money for the rest of the year, and make things easy on my trip abroad! And here it is,

"I, Rifky Ramadhan Amin, will officially announce that on this fourth-to-fifth term of my college, I will rarely spend my money for flash-term pleasure things such as watching movies, eating out and buying things prodigally."

-Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok Trip Oath-

Soooo psyched!! Never done this before! And you know what, when I find out about these tickets, I got panicked and started to hunt them aggressively until by the time I had the tickets purchased, I just realized that...

I didn't ask anybody else to go with me.

And now the promo has finished and I'm still on my own.

This is so fvckin' awesome!! I'll be going abroad, ALONE!!

But ssshh, please don't tell my parents, cause if they know,

I may ruin my finest trip ever