Discrimination for finding JOB

Back in 2013, I was applying for jobs in China and the employer said to me literally that they wanted a "white" and "western" looking person. I was shocked hy this. They did not see my qualifications or even where I am from, but rather just physically. I am Australin by my passport, raised and lived there all my childhood life all through after university and no one wanna hire me cuz I am Asian. 

Back!

Hi guys we are back in Indonesia! At it's been chaotic here. If you guys haven't read the news.. lots of demonstrations and rioting are taking place at the moment everywhere. Especially in Jakarta. Well, even Solo here had a demonstration the other day-!! Sucks. So far it's just been disturbing the traffic and all but all of the minorities here (Chinese descent like myself) are worried that this riot can turn into the '98 Riot which was such a chaos. If you guys have no idea please google it. Well if that happens, we are definitely out of here. We are what people call a "double minorities" (Chinese and Christian) so that just makes it worst.

Is Tokyo expensive? & Realisation

Everytime I hear people talked about Tokyo or Japan in general.. they always say how expensive it is.  So as we gave everything a try for the past week here in Tokyo.. and we found that it's not as expensive as what everyone said. Oke, so my past has been born in Indonesia, moved to Singapore for primary school then I moved to Australia when I was in grade 6. And I continued my life in Aussie until I graduated from university. So that's what I'm comparing them to.

Japanese clothing brands that I love!

Firstly, HAPPY NOVEMBER GUYSSS!!!

So anywayy, back in Aussie, it was really hard for me to find any brand of Japanese clothings as there aren't any that is available in Brissy. And sometimes I just can't be bothered trying to find other brands and then I had to mix and match it myself. Anywayyyyyy.. I'm still currently in Tokyo and I realised how much of Japanese brands I am missing out on!! As I was shopping around for Japanese brands (apart from Uniqlo of course) that aren't too pricy (at least within my budget range), I found some new brands that I love!!

If you guys don't know Uniqlo, it's like a big giant clothing store that sells simple everday wear. Not too pricy for most of their stuff. Their stores everywhere in Asia. Go check them out! If you can't find any clothes that suit you in the small boutiques in Japan, I suggest you go to one of the Uniqlo store. I'm sure you'll find something. Oke, Time to share.. 

Kozantei Ubuya

So for this trip in Japan, we decided to book a private suite at a ryokan, Kozantei Ubuya. Located at Kawaguchiko. We have looked at a lot of ryokan in this area and found that Kozantei's private suite room number 501 is the best choice for us! We wanted a full Japanese room with Mt.Fuji view. So after emailing them regarding which room we wanted.. we got it! I was soo happy. Cuz the other private suite was a western room and we didn't want that.

Packing for Tokyo!

So in 3 days we are going for our honeymoon in Tokyo. Actually, I don't like calling this honeymoon cuz I find traveling with him everyday is always the best days of my life. So I guess this is another of our travel trips.. diaries.. whatever you wanna call it. We finally started to pack our bags today. Didn't fill it up cuz we have decided to buy clothes in Tokyo.

Phuket airport shuttle, sim card and motorbike!

So last year when I went to Phuket I booked my airport shuttle with phuketshuttle. However this year, I found a cheaper company costing only 600 Baht from the airport to Patong. The other one was 800 Baht. This year, we went with SRC Travel. At first I tried to book online but it didn't have an option to pay in cash, so I contacted them through email and they gave me a confirmation to pay to the driver when I arrived.

When we arrived it was thankfully sunny! We arrived at the new Phuket airport and as we came out of the airport I went to get my Thai phone sim. After all the baggage claim, go outside and on your right you will see a red counter in English and Thai. You will definitely see the sim counter 'TrueMove'. I got the one week sim card which was for around 300 Baht if I remember. Quite a good deal and I realised that the internet in Phuket is so much better compared to what we have here in Indonesia.

Ichikami Shampoo & Conditioner Review

I'm gonna share a review of Ichikami line even though I tried this quite a while back. Anyway, I was so eager to try this products cuz of the cute packaging and you know.. Japanese products are just soo appealing to me. I bought mine quite a while back at Metro in Gandaria City, Jakarta. They had this Japanese products section on that day and I decided to give Ichikami a try. I bought the shampoo, conditioner and the treatment.

I thought I was Pregnant!

Here is the story, I was due to have my period on the 23rd of September. But it didn't came.. I waited and waited and I thought I was just too tired or stressed or whatever that makes my hormones crazzzyy. I was freaking out cuz my period have been always on time this year.. I got worried after 5 days of white pantyliners. No red spot at all! I knew I must not be pregnant cuz you know... from what we have done and stuff.

We are at that stage in life where we are married but definitely not ready yet for babies. We will have them soon.. but definitely not anytime now.

So anyway, I read in google that people have tried to overdose on vitamin C to induce the period, which I started doing on Friday (3 days ago). Thought I should just give it a go. Nothing to lose here. I took around 6000mg to 8000mg of vitamin C daily. In small dosage of 500mg to 1000mg. The vitamin C I took was of Cenovis brand.

Today was the 3rd day after my overdose of vitamin C and still.. no period. I took the test and it was negative, which confirm my missed period. This morning I made myself parsley tea. Guess what?!?!?! I just got my period in the afternoon.. I dunno what works.. was it the vitamin C or the tea or I was just 1 week and 1 day late..?

I drank 2 cups of parsley tea today and I think it also helps with my cramping. I've always cramped every month. I'm one of those people who takes days off every month from cramps.

So anyway, I'm not sure whether it helps or not.. but I'll continue drinking this herbal tea during period.

Love,
Cha

Phuket!

Sorry for the long hiatus. I was in Phuket for a while with my baby. So much fun. Still in love with Phuket after all these times. Next, we should try going to Chiang Mai or Pattaya or Krabi though.

So this time it was our first time to booked a place with airbnb.

October November Japan!

So we were planning to go to the UK this October-November period, however it seems that I have to go back to the land downunder in December. I was looking forward to meeting my best friend in Manchester this year, but it seems that it won't be happening this year. After thinking about it for a few days, we decided to postpone our Europe trip.

Quite sad.. but I guess there is always next time. 

Anywayy,

We have decided to go to Japan!

September Phuket!

Heyy guysss..

So we have booked our flights to Phuket and we're going next month! Mid-September! It's amazing how time flies.. we went to Phuket early September last year when we were still dating and fell in love with the place. We stayed for about 4 days last year but thought that it was too quick and we didn't get to go to the night market and explore other parts of the island. So I guess this is our yearly Phuket anniversary.

Stupid and Annoying Questions

I just learnt that marriage life is what it is. It brings lots of joy and challengers for both of us but also brings a lot of pressure as well from the people around us. Especially families and friends. I'm not sure whether western marriages have these issues as well.. but we are Asian so we have these.. maybe we aren't the worst scenario.. but it still happens.

The Secret Life of Pets

Been waiting for this movieeee cuz I loveee doggss so much.. and this movie reminds me of my baby BamBam. Such a good movie. Animals lover should definitely watch this. The action of this movie is in a one day timeline. The movie depicts so many animals and its damn cute.

Mee Pok

So I'm here in Singapore for a short trip. One of my favourite dish! Mee Pok! This is at Parkway Parade foodcourt. Sosososo yummmyy... all time favourite place and food to eat. I found everything in Parkway foodcourt so yummy. Maybe I'm bias cuz this is my most frequent place to eat when I was living here as a child~~ hahaha my heart is in Marine Parade.. with Parkway Parade.

Indonesian Independence Day

Today is the 17th August. It's Indonesian Independence Day. It should be noticable by now with Indonesian flags everywhere. In here, it is required by the government to put up the flag outside our house. As long as it's seen I guess. That's why all houses have a flag pole outside. (If you haven't noticed)

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Aliccee!! I watched it at midnight yesterday and OMG.. we were the only two people in the cinema. I have no idea why it was so quiet. There was only 1 person on the studio next to us!

Es Puter

Es Puter is an Indonesian ice cream. It's made with coconut milk instead of normal milk, which makes this ice cream creamier and crisp at the same time! One of my favourite ice cream of all time.. even though sometimes it gives me sore throat.. haha

Indonesian McDonald

In Indonesia, McDonald is not only famous for its burgers and fries but this. Fried chicken and rice. Actually since I lived here, I noticed there are more people that buy this rice meal than the burger meal. Indonesians love their chickens and rice.

Suicide Squad

This movie's timeline takes place after the events of Batman VS Superman. They showed us a couple of flashbacks in the movies that this is the aftermath of Superman's death. Intelligence operative, Amanda Waller assembles a team of dangerous criminals to be used as a disposal team for the United States government. The rest of the movies shows their chemistry and some flashbacks to see how and why they become who they are now; a criminal.

Patch of Green

We managed to finally re did our backyard. It was full of old and unused furniture, old items and I felt so cramped. I keep telling Jeffry to put some greens in the house and finally he did it! We re did the backyard! We managed to get people to help make this bed of greens at the back. I planted climbing dollar at the back and I hope it's attaching itself to the wall as we speak! The walls of my childhood backyard was full of climbing dollar and I loved it, so I want to bring it here to our homes in Solo. 

Gumaya Tower Hotel, Semarang

Where? Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia

When? July 2016

Just before I made this blog, I stayed at this 5 star hotel in Semarang. 

Fly Indonesian Airlines

There are quite a few major Indonesian airlines that fly domestically, and for some, internationally. But are they safe? Comfortable? On time? Let's take a look at these major Indonesian airlines..

Indonesia Tourist Visa

Visa in Indonesia is one of the most ridiculous and confusing system that I have experience. Especially with work visa, spouse visa, and much more! However if you wanna come to Indonesia for less than 30 days, you can get a visa-on-arrival (VOA) at the airport you land on. Let me enlighten you with the Indonesian Tourist Visa..

Bakso Alex

Bakso - An Indonesian beef meatball soup dish. Usually served with vermicelli or yellow egg noodle (or both), salted vegetables, crispy wontons and shallots. Bakso originated from China and was brought to Indonesia by Chinese immigrants. 

Finding a clean, delicious food with nice seatings in Solo can be challenging. Today, I ate at "Bakso Alex". Which is franchised throughout Solo. All of the restaurants are always packed with people, so I decided to give it a go. We went there around 14.30 today. If you happen to be in Solo and decided to give this a try, just look out for this banner: (I'll give a few of the restaurants' address at the end)

Cheap Online Indonesia Travel

One of the good things that comes from living in Indonesia is that there are a lot of cities and countries nearby that I can explore.. like, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam and more! I've asked around countless times and realised that travel agents are so much more expensive than their online counterparts. Here are some of my favourite online travel that are not only cheap but very simple to use!

Pets in Indonesia

So you want to have a cat, a dog, a mouse, a rabbit.. or even a snake ? and you are in Indonesia.. what to do..?

Where to buy?: It's really not that hard to get a pet in Indonesia. Like, really. Compared to what I used to experience with registration, micro-chipping, desexing and all in Aussie, here in Indonesia, you don't need to do all that. You can find animals for sale in petshops across the cities, flyers in pet salons or else, or  even by word of mouth. There is NO such thing as pet registrations or micro chipping here. Desexing is also not mandatory. There are no requirements here regarding to pets. Hair salons and vaccinations are at a pretty decent price.

Indonesian Tips and Tax

For those of you who are used to living in a tip-free country, like me.. you'll be surprised when you arrived in Indonesia. I have lived in Surabaya, Jakarta, Bali and now, Solo.. everywhere you go in Indonesia, the tipping rules are the same. Let's write down a few that are most common.

The Beginning

So a quick story of us..

Hi, I'm Cha.

The story starts when we were back in primary school. Grade 6 to be exact. We were both born in Indonesia but moved to Singapore at a very young age. We were in different primary schools until the government decided that our path should crossed with merging our schools together. And so, ta da~ we met.  Same class. Never spoken a word.