[Day 2] WAY KAMBAS LAMPUNG

::: 17 Days Sumatra Trip 2014 :::

Ian was preparing his car when I woke up. It was 5.30 am and the birds were singing beautifully in The terrace of the house.
We planned to go to Taman Nasional Way Kambas today, the Indonesian Elephant Conservation Centre. It was built in 1989 and well-known as the oldest national park in Indonesia.

Before we left Bandar Lampung to go there, Ian took us to his special breakfast place. It's noodle with pork and small portion of vegetables. Wow!! Yummy! Thanks Ian for this good start of the day!

To get to Way Kambas, usually you need to rent a car (starts from 250000 IDR). Or, if you have limited budget you can take a bus from Rajabasa Terminal to Way Jepara. Then rent an ojek (motorbikes) to take you to Way Kambas, paying 40000-50000 IDR.

It took us 3.5 hours from Bandar Lampung to Way Kambas by car. The entrance fees were 5000 IDR for local guests and about 100000 IDR for foreigners.

Monkeys were easy to find along the bumpy street, playing around. When we parked the car, 1st things we saw were souvenir booths and food stalls. There weren't many food stalls, actually so I think it would be good if you prepare your own lunch. We, ourselves, bought our lunch beforehand. It's Nasi Padang sold outside the Way Kambas area. 


There were only one or two elephants for The Elephant Ride. We chose to sit at the edge of 'their giant bath tub' and wait until 2 o'clock, the time for them to come back from the forest and take a bath.


Since then, the excitement began.

Watching the elephants bathing. How exciting!!

Please meet my new elephant fellows, Edwin. He's been nice and patient. XXOXX

Indah was taking a picture with Ratu, who was only 7 months old. Cute!

Trying to take a picture while the elephants were bathing. Indah's selfie stick (Tongsis) was quite helpful!  ;)

So, the day was ended with Indah's favourite food. Bakso Sony is a famous meatball soup in Lampung. If you like hot and spicy food, it's a recommended place to go. Both Indah and me were happy with what we had on our second day. 

I think, Way Kambas is also a good place for family holiday. Even though the elephant school is no longer exist, but the children can watch the elephants wandering around, touch them, hear them screaming, or ask questions to the keeper. I'm happy with all information I got from the keepers. I took some videos for my son and planned to come back here again with him.

We left Lampung to Palembang by Sriwijaya train. It will be an 8-hour travel. Bye Lampung! 

Day 2 is over! Let's see what will the third day offer us.... :)

Expenses (IDR)

Gasoline for Ian's car 200000 

Lunch (take away) 19000

Way Kambas Entrance for 4 people and 1 car (insurance included) 35000

Bakso Sony 12000/bowl

Train ticket Lampung-Palembang 133500

TOTAL Expenses day 2 is 399500

[DAY 1] JAKARTA-LAMPUNG

::: 17 Days Sumatra Trip 2014 :::

The first day starts today. Got a bit upset with the long bus trip from Pulogadung East Jakarta to Merak Harbour, as usual: traffic!

I just love the fact that Indah and I enjoyed the 5 hours travels to the harbour, eventhough we realised that we might got to Bandar Lampung late at night.

My early dinner was nasi bungkus (rice, vegetables, a boiled egg and chili.) I Never forget to bring a small plastic container and spoon every time I travel.

Enjoying a cup of warm tea that Indah brought from home at one corner of the ferry "Shalem Surabaya" with a view of sunset in Sunda Strait.

After 2 hours, we arrived at Bakauheni Harbour, Lampung. It was 6.30 pm. It's the first time for Indah to travel in Sumatra. For me, myself, it's my second time, but still the night landscape in the Harbour was unbelievable. 

Off to Bandar Lampung at 9 o'clock. I gotta experienced another Sumatra drivers' craziness while driving! Speeding on bumpy road, driving like crazy! I pretended to sleep, but of course I couldn't! I was just hoping that we arrived as soon as possible, safe and sound.

Finally, we arrived in Bandar Lampung, Kemiling area. We planned to stay a night in my friend's house. It was 23.15 pm, late at night, but the house looked like waiting for us. My friend's parents still awoke to welcome us into their home. Ian, my friend, looked surprised to see me. I might not wanted to be in his house before, in any way.... But hey, here I am!! Long time no see Ian, I haven't heard a lot about him except he married a few years ago. 

We took our time to chat a little bit. Ian and his wife, Icha, gave us some additional information about the areas in Sumatra that we're going to visit. Icha comes from Medan, North Sumatra and Ian is actually Javanese but he and his parents live in Lampung. I feel lucky as we got all these informations from trusted persons; such as do not eat too many durian in Padang -OR- how to enjoy Aceh during Ramadhan as non-Muslim girls.

Day 1 done. Thank GOD! Off we sleep to start the second day tomorrow!

Expenses (IDR)

Pulogadung - Merak by bus PO MURNI JAYA 25000

Pulogadung entrance 1000

My early dinner, nasi bungkus 10000

Mineral water 600 ml 4000

Ferry to Bakauheni Harbour 13000 

Travel Bakauheni - Bandar Lampung 40000

TOTAL Expenses on day 1: 93000

Terima kasih Rudy Hadisuwarno!

Memiliki rambut panjang memang merepotkan untuk sebagian orang. Tapi tidak untuk saya. Sejak kecil saya memelihara rambut panjang. Seingat saya, hanya 2 kali saya potong pendek, saat itu saya masih duduk di bangku SMP dan memutuskan untuk memotong rambut jadi sepanjang bahu. Yang kedua, saya memutuskan untuk memotong rambut saya jadi cepak setelah melahirkan, karena rambut saya mulai rontok dan saya tidak betah melihat tebaran rambut dimana-mana. Tapi sesudahnya, saya memelihara rambut panjang lagi, hingga saat ini anak saya berumur 6 tahun.

Libur sekolah selama 2 minggu seperti saat ini membuat saya jadi punya waktu lebih untuk merawat tubuh dan rambut. Siang ini, saya memanjakan diri saya dengan pijat seluruh badan ala rumahan dan tak ketinggalan creambath! 

Enake....

Dibantu seorang teman yang punya kemampuan ekstra memijat, dia merekomendasikan krim creambath dari Rudy Hadisuwarno.

"Kamu tau gak sih, kalo Rudy itu penemu krim creambath?"

"Oya?" ujar saya takjub.

"Iya. Dia ini yang menemukan teknik creambath."

"Serius?" Saya masih tidak percaya. 

Pikiran saya langsung melalang buana pada Rudy Hadisuwarno, yang saya kenal sebagai seorang penata rambut dan sudah memiliki banyak jaringan bisnis salon rambut dan kecantikan di berbagai daerah di Indonesia. Karena saya tidak banyak tahu tentang beliau, juga tidak pernah memakai layanan di salon miliknya, saya jadi tertarik browsing tentangnya. 

Creambath diciptakannya karena perawatan rambut 40 tahun yang lalu hanya sebatas minyak cem-ceman atau urang-aring. Minyak dianggap bahan yang paling baik untuk kesehatan rambut, padahal minyak justru membuat rambut jadi lepek dan lengket.

Akhirnya, Rudy mencari alternatif lain. Inovasinya dimulai dari formula krim rambut untuk pria, namun diperbaharui dengan bahan-bahan alami dan melalui proses teknologi yang bisa menghilangkan efek lengket seperti minyak tapi tetap melembabkan kulit kepala. 

Penemuan Rudy ini disukai oleh banyak orang, lalu Rudy membuat ritualnya, yaitu pijatan saat creambath. 

Ia menjelaskan, "Tahun '74 itu tiba-tiba booming orang -orang datang ke salon untuk creambath. Nama pun saya bingung, apa ya? Ya sudah tiba-tiba 'creambath' deh, 'mandi dengan krim.' Kalau 'cream shampoo' kan aneh, apa ya... akhirnya 'creambath' aja gitu." (Sumber: wolipop.detik.com)

Saya sendiri, rutin melakukan creambath minimal 1 bulan sekali sejak 15 tahun yang lalu. Menurut saya, creambath itu asyik banget. Kepala dipijat dengan lembut, memakai krim khusus yang nantinya akan memberi efek lembut, wangi, dan sehat pada rambut. Layanan creambath di salon bermacam-macam. Ketika saya kuliah di Yogyakarta dulu, salon langganan saya melayani creambath plus plus, maksudnya setelah kepala, tangan dan kaki juga ikut dipijat. How relaxing! Setelah creambath, rasanya kepala jadi lebih enteng, rambut jadi indah seperti iklan-iklan shampo di TV. Hahaha.

Nah, saya tidak menyangka kalau krim creambath yang banyak manfaatnya itu ditemukan oleh orang Indonesia! Dan saat ini, ada berbagai merk yang juga memproduksi krim creambath, mulai dari NR, Matrix, hingga merk internasional sekelas Makarizo dan L'Oreal.

Segera kami membeli krim creambath yang ternyata 'sangat Indonesia' ini. Kami hanya menemukan 1 jenis krim, yaitu ginseng yang berguna untuk merawat akar rambut. Sesampai di rumah, saya kembali melanjutkan perawatan rambut ala rumahan itu. Teman saya membantu memakaikan krim pada rambut saya. Bau ginsengnya cukup kuat, tapi saya fokus pada hasil yang akan terlihat nanti. Hmm, memang terdengar agak lebay, tapi jujur saja, baru kali ini saya creambath dengan perasaan bangga. Rupanya ini produk Indonesia yang diakui dunia!

Terima kasih, Rudy! Kamu memang betul-betul membuat perempuan Indonesia jadi tambah cantik dan merasa senang merawat rambut panjang!

Sumber: rudyhadisuwarnocosmetics.com