Bali Guling! Part 3

Hello again!

I know I haven't been consistent in uploading these travel diaries but hey, one post per week at least, am I right? ;) So let's jump in with the next itineraries, shall we!

On the third dawn, we decided we wanted to go for a sunrise trek at Mount Batur before leaving Ubud for Seminyak as Ubud is higher up in latitude and therefore closer to Mt. Batur comparably. So we (again) asked Putu to link us up with a guide who would trek together with us to the summit. (price was $50/person) Mt. Batur is only about 1717m above sea level, so it wasn't a tough hike as per say, but with all the darkness and the c r o w d s it took us longer than expected. Before anything, here's our trekking itinerary:

02.30 AM: Pick up time from our hotel in Ubud

03.45 AM: Arrival at the starting point of the hike at Toyabungkah village.

06.15 AM: Arrival at the summit of Mount Batur (sunrise point).

07.00 AM: Continue our trek around the entire crater.

08.00 AM: Begin our descent to the finishing point of our trek (Toyabungkah village).

09.00 AM: Arrival at Toyabungkah village and board car to go back to our hotel.

11.00 AM: Arrival at our hotel

And yes, sunrise in Bali happened at about 6.30+am, so we had to leave our hotel at 230am. Just saying, my 2 lovely friends still had time to put on some foundation and prep themselves up, so do not fret my friends, this trekking itinerary is completely doable and totally worth it! (believe me, we are major sleepers) 

We trekked up in our yoga pants, good pairs of sneakers we didn't mind getting dirty of, crop tops/usual T-shirts, and sweaters/windbreakers. To be honest, the coldest part of the trek was when you were just starting out because the wind there was CRAY! like actually crazy. But the best thing was that if you forget to bring a thick enough jacket for this hike, you could find so many local sellers offering up jackets for rents. 1 jacket for the entire hike cost ~$5, and honestly, they were all of great condition and best of all, not stinky. 10/10 for convenience. 

The first part of the trek was on winding asphalt road and it was not that tiring, actually. We trekked for a good 45 minutes before stopping at a rest stop that let us overlook the nearby lights from sleepy Toyabungkah Village. By then, we were sweating enough to take off our jacket and trek with just our tops and yoga pants. The wind was chilly, but it was comfortable and refreshing. Following this, you will see more people streaming into the trek roads as this stop is also the highest part where cars and motorbikes could park at. 

Following this, the trek got harder—the roads were no longer asphalt, but they were filled with loose gravels that were slippery, to say the least. Along the way, you would hear people blasting Old Town Road off their speakers (aka us) while concentrating really hard to not fall down lol. Honestly, this part of the trek was not that fun and mesmerising as we were all concentrating on the ground instead of the views we're surrounded by as the traffic of people was really high, and that meant that more loose gravels and thuds of people's butts on the floor were heard more frequently than ever. We took another 30 minutes+ hike to reach the semi summit and rested for a bit. There were also people with torchlight selling crazily inflated beverages at this semi summit. After a while, we wanted to continue trekking to the summit for the sunrise.

After another 45 minutes and more slips here and there, we finally made it to the summit!! Our guide prepared breakfast for us in a small hut nearby and we sat at the edge of the road(?) to warm up. It was sooooo surreal watching the dark blue skies gradually brighten. It was like this vast dark blue blanket surrounding you slowly break to reveal a concoction of the richest red and yellow hues at its seams, and the flickering of sun rays slowly warming your soul with a cup of hot coffee/tea as you gasped on. It was honestly so beautiful. And we were so lucky that the weather was so clear that we could spot Mt. Agung (an active volcano nearby) from the top. We just took pictures and chatted for a long while after our hike. Oh, even talking about it now makes me want to trek again! Super recommended peeps. Please slot this in your Bali itinerary if you can! :) <3

Here are the pictures that I believe did not do the whole experience justice but still are a feast to the eyes: 

view upon reaching the summit at 5.45+am

the neighboring mountain and a crater lake starting to show up... 

right at sunrise <3 x

A couple caught in action teehee

sun was completely up by then

  THE ultimate golden/rosy hour you can get...😍

 

 beware of cheeky monkey(s) that are lurking for your breakfast(!)

 or attract them intentionally to get cute pictures like this i guess o_o

After the hike, we were completely gone. Like dead-in-the-car-i-don't-care-anymore type of gone. So we just deadass slept like babies once we sat on Putu's comfortable car seats. Oh, and also, another important thing is to remember to tip your trekking guide! They earn minimal amounts from a regulated local tour company in order to become a licensed Mt. Batur guide, so your tips go a long way. Our guide was so nice that he held my friend's hand most of the way because damn girl, I got massive anxiety from her mini screams whenever her feet lost their grip on the sandy grounds. We gave him ~$30 and we thought it was a decent amount to tip your guide with so, be generous and 

Initially, we planned to check the Uluwatu temple I believe, but on the way back we were too tired to bother getting outta the car, so we decided to skip it and just go back to the hotel to check out immediately and head to Seminyak! 

1230—we arrived in Seminyak and we went for lunch at Revolver. It was pretty decent, like a 7.5/10 cafe food rating I'd say. !0/10 for varieties, though. Singapore gotta catch up with their cafe food options, mate :/ Since were famished, we over-ordered (again) and it cost us ~$70. Not the cheapest, but again, decent! We basically just chilled a little bit in the hotel and then scoooted out for our Yoga class at Yoga Shala :} Oh and we stay right smack in the middle of Seminyak at Amadea Resorts and Villas which I would say was pretty basic with okay amenities and facilities but hey the location was 10/10 so nothing to complain about, really. And yes, we managed to sneak in a third person without them knowing again. I feel like as long as only 2 people are there during check-ins, you should be fine.

fish taco was really not good... we didn't finish it lol others were decent!

1600—yoga time! As a first-timer, the instructor, Ms. Delia, was super understanding and nice. What's best was that the class consisted only of the 3 of us, so we literally giggled our way through the class without judgement. 10/10 would recommend if you want to just stretch out your tired body from the hike and chill out for a little bit with your friends. Yoga lasted for an hour and we paid ~$7 for Indonesian citizen aka me and ~$14 for foreigners. This was a little bit on the expensive side for Bali, but since the class consisted of just the 3 of us, it was worth the money, I'd say!

1930—Potato Head Beach Club. Honestly, we were lowkey tired af on that day, but we decided to go anyways. Potato Head was just as you'd imagine it to be, and I'd recommend going for a dip there in the afternoon because the sea was just right outside it so it must have been beautiful during sunset and really snazzy for tanning. But still, the vibe was great, food was a solid 8/10 and they had a lot of cocktail selection. Potato Head truly lives up to its reputation, I'd say. Perfect place for a cozy night out. 

Pictures below!

Annnnd that concludes our Day 3! It was eventful as always, and I cannot wait to share my cafe recommendations to you! The rest of the days in Seminyak are pretty chill honestly, so I won't bore you with our meager itineraries and I'll get straight to what I feel is a must-go and what you can skip! See yalls in part 4 xo

Loads of love,

Maretta Simon 

Bali Guling! Part 2

Hey Peeps,

(I'm back on with the second part of this travel diary) Continuing on from our uber tiring night at Ubud, we had an early night to prepare for the morning boat to Nusa Penida. From the Bali map in the previous post, you can see that Nusa Penida is on a smaller island right next to the mainland of Bali. With this, we had to travel by land from our hotel in Ubud to the Sanur beach port and upon buying a ferry ticket to Nusa Penida, go on a 45 minutes ride to the beach port in Nusa Penida. Again, for this arrangement, I will recommend you to contact a driver in Nusa Penida to pick you up from the port for a day trip. This is because a lot of the roads (if you can call them roads even) towards the beautiful geographical wonders aka your congested tourist attraction sites are really bad—like my butt hurts from lowkey galloping on this car seat kind of bad. You really have to be a daaaaarn good driver who is comfortable driving off-roads to brave the roads, really. Of course, you can choose to ride a rental motorbike, if you are more comfortable with that. But still, extra caution. 

More on transportation and the details. For ferry, we rode on Mola-Mola Express, which is one of the more recognized ferry providers alongside Maruti Group, and the ticket was Rp.70.000(~S$7) for Indonesian (aka me) and Rp.140.000(~S$14) for foreigners (aka my friends). Technically they did not check your passports but that is also partly because we came with Putu who talked to them before they went on to ask where we were from. Just don't risk this one out, friends. This price is actually pretty reasonable. Furthermore, we had Putu to arrange a driver in Nusa Penida for us, and it cost us S$75/person. This is definitely more expensive, but it includes a lunch meal (trust me just get the Mee Goreng everything else is quite minimal with a bunch of white rice aka not filling/satisfying enough) and the driver had on a super funky reggae music whilst steadily driving/speeding through the unforgivable terrain towards the beaches we wanted to visit. As for this one though, I am really sorry but I could not remember the name fo the tour group that the driver was from. So sorry guys!!

Here is the itinerary completed with timestamps and pictures:

0800—Waiting for the Mola-Mola ferry to deck at the Sanur port while taking some vain shots. Lucky us, the sun was scorching sooooo brightly and the sky was truly clear. We were off to a beautiful start!

0830—The ferry set off for Nusa Penida. The journey will take about 45 mins, so choose your seats, take some vlogs while trying to fight the sounds of the crashing waves and sleep! we basically took every chance we could to just sleep because honestly, sleep + sea breeze are perfect together I'd like to have a cocktail named after it. 0 seasickness, just chill vibes all the way. 

0915ish—we saw our driver, Kadek (I think that's his name, I am sorry mr. guy I couldnt recall 100% :<<) with a signboard with our names. We shook hands and the reggae adventure began!! His playlist honestly was bomb though. Loved every single guitar riff that induced head bops from us. Or maybe it was just the car's tires which accidentally got snubbed by the many big pebbles on the sandy road... We really couldn't tell. (Don't worry, if you are really tired or just simply an avid sleeper like our dear friend Grace, you will still sleep fine. Rest your head on the seat belt, she said—it helped balance your head bops!) We were on for about 1+ hours of ride to Broken Beach and Angel's Billabong. 

1030ish—We finally arrived at Angel's Billabong! This is the first view you will see once you have reached the parking lot. Just a little warning though, we came during late July, and boy was it crowded!!! Literally there were sooooo many other tourists from everywhere and of course, we all wanted to take that Instagram photos that looked hella bomb so be prepared to queue up a little bit (and sneak in to pose whenever you have the chance pssh)

 the color gradients were honestly waaaay clearer irl i swear it was beauti xDD

Another thing about Nusa Penida is that the 4 popular tourist attraction places are Angel's Billabong, Broken Beach, Kelingking Beach (the iconic dinosaur looking land protrusion) and Crystal Beach (the most underwhelming of all, so skip this if you are tight for time), and they are all pretty close to each other. Angel's Billabong and Broken Beach are right next to each other, so you definitely will get to visit both if you choose to go for one. Besides, during the drive, you will encounter a 2-ways only road, and if you choose to go left you will head to Angel's Billabong, whereas if you take left, you will be on route to Kelingking Beach. They had a pretty clear road division and signs following this, so don't worry you won't be lost even if you choose to drive/ride a motorbike on your own. But just remember that the roads are bumpy and connections are definitely not reliable, so download the routes, tank up and hold tight!! 

Here are more pictures of Angel's Billabong/Broken Beach:

[Broken Beach] wind was hella strong so get ready 1! 2! 3! pose <3

[Angel's Billabong]

look at the crowd! oh my my 

a closer look on the colors because i simply just can't get enough of it 😍

ok I high key miss this honey tan I cannot keep it up back at home someone sponsor me to go back to Bali pls

 Kadek went up a log pile thingy to take this! still couldn't open our eyes tho ><

1215ish—we went on to Kelingking Beach! It took us about 45ish minutes to get there and by then the sun was really pretty harsh so don't forget to re-apply your sun protection, folks;) Kelingking was surprisingly less crowded than the Angel's Billabong despite it being the 'landmark' of Nusa Penida. It was more chill, and there weren't as many photo ops there, I guess. Of course the dino protrusion was the highlight, but that is about it. You can totally opt for a hard trek going down the 'neck' of the dino, but Kadek told us that he had only gone down once and it was a really hard trek down. Initially, we wanted to trek, but since we only had a day's worth of exploring Nusa Penida, and the fact that we wanted to swim a little at Crystal Bay, we decided to skip it. TLDR, skip crystal bay for this trek down! I coincidentally had another friend group who went there a day after us, and she said that the views, the sand, and the beach area are all waaaay more mesmerizing than those of Crystal Bay. It was pretty empty too considering the number of people at the top part overlooking the Dino head. So if you are feeling adventurous, definitely trek down and swim for a bit!

Here are the pics of the beautiful Kelingking Beach aka Dinosaur land:

[Kelingking Beach]

 Kadek deadass CLIMBED a tree to help us take this picture. Major props to Kadek we love u!!

and yes, the pictures are not edited the color gradients are truly to d i e for.

 Thank u Kadek!! <3

1330ish—We headed to a small warung—a small local eatery—for our packaged lunch. For the S$75 we paid, we get a personal driver, a car, petrol as well as a set lunch. Pretty sufficient, I'd say. I had nasi campur—a Balinese mixed rice with chicken strips, local sambal matah, and fried noodles—while my friends had fried chicken with rice. PSA: the meal set was pretty meh, they gave very little proteins with heaps of white rice. I hated not finishing my food but plain white rice is honestly not my favs so I left quite a bit of it on the plate :(. So bring along energy bars of some sorts to fill your tummy, alrighty!

1430—we continued our journey to the last destination of the day: Crystal Bay for a quick swim! Kadek told us that we had to be done by 1530 in order to make it on time to the Nusa Penida port to catch our 1630 ferry ride back to Sanur. So we had our throwovers off, and just had a good swim not too deep in. Crystal Bay was as I said, meh, but good enough for us to unwind and soak in the last bit of that Bali sun while we could. 

 [Crystal Bay]

1630—we hopped on the ferry to go back to Sanur! the ferry was way less crowded as compared to when we departed for Nusa Penida. Also, the tides can be hella strong so please hold on to your slippers tight because Erika almost lost hers on our ride towards Nusa Penida and gal could have missed all the photo ops without her slippers. So be careful!! 

1900ish—we headed back to Ubud for a hella scrumptious dinner at Iiga Warung. According to Putu, this is a fierce competitor of the famous Naughty Nuri's, and a local pick over it too! So we trusted Putu and over-ordered right away. He was absolutely right, though; it was sö g o o d. we spent ~S$75 in total but it was super worth it.

we had 2 Iga Bakar (grilled ribs), Sop Iga (ribs soup, unfeatured), Bebek Betutu (Balinese smoked duck), Green Veggies

We called it a night pretty early on Day 2 too because we would be picked up at 0230am the next day (I! know! right! cray cray baby) for our sunrise trekking. Overall, day 2 was one Instagrammable day filled with reggae music and gradients of blue that we sank right into our bed and fell asleep like babies.

I'll be back for Bali Guling! Part 3 for more adventures and details! 

Love you all, 

Maretta Simon x

Bali Guling! Part 1

Hello Peeps!

*just a mini PSA: I am starting over with this blog (yes, again) but I truly hope that this attempt will follow through. New post weekly, then!

So I recently got back from a super fun, activities-packed girls trip to Bali with 2 of my closest friends from high school. And, boy was it tiring! From planning excessively to skipping activities for our sleep sessions, I would say that this trip was definitely one of my favorites. So, if you are a fresh-out-of-high-school graduate (congratulations, by the way!) looking to plan an adventurous trip to Bali, read on!

Before sharing my itinerary, let me just explain our aim for this trip: we wanted to get the most out of Bali, and since we were young and strong (apparently), we wanted to have a real adventurous journey around the island. Meaning, almost no time to lounge by the pool at the hotel/villa areas. Here is a map of Bali Island, and below that with the red circles are the general places we managed to visit for the 6-days-5-night trip we had. We basically covered the South-Central-East regions of the island—the most touristy parts.

(from Bali Tourism Board)

So here begins our trip!

Day 1:

0500—flight took off from Singapore to Bali. It was about 2 hours and 30 minutes, nothing special really. We basically just died serenely on our teensy Jetstar seats. What was there to complain anyways since we got our tickets for about S$200 without checked-in baggage.

0800—we met our s u p e r incredibly nice driver for the entire trip: Putu. If you are genuinely interested in contacting him, you can dm me via Instagram for his contact! He mostly uses WhatsApp and is fluent in English, so that's a great relief for us. Putu literally gave us the best deals for the activities we planned on doing and he doesn't smoke. (yes, this is quite a game changer since people in Bali smoke pretty openly and secondhand smoke can be excessive at times). He charged us S$45/entire day including petrol and his service. This is definitely a reasonable price for Bali and since his service was really good, we gave him tips/ invited him for meals with us too, so it was really chill and fun with him. 

0830—we made out first stop at Babi Guling Pak Malen nearby the airport. Balinese food is quite affordable, at about Rp. 40.000.000/plate or equivalent to S$4. But they can be really spicy, though. Both of my friends actually struggled to finish half the plate so... if you cannot take spice, please opt for the non-spicy option! So sorry to Grace for crying during her first meal, but honey was it hilarious!! ;;) Here's a snippet of what a Babi Guling package looks like:

Next, we hopped on the car to catch some sleep while Putu drove us to Ubud. We immediately went for White Water Rafting at Ayung Dewata Rafting. Since we told Putu beforehand that we wanted to white water raft, he arranged a 3-hour-rafting package for S$30 per person. This was a mega steal because the brochure at the rafting place showed the price of Rp. 900.000.000/per person (~S$90 equivalent). Sometimes getting a local who knows people from the tourism industry really has mega perks, so, highly recommended! The rafting people basically gave us our paddles, helmets and floating jackets. Before going for that adrenaline-filled ride, you have to traverse through flights of stairs (which we did barefooted and we recommend that for lighter packing!) with gorgeous paddy fields as your views until the starting point of your raft. 

The rafting itself was quite an experience! This was easily one of my top 3 things to do in Bali. A definite must-try for first timers! The waters tend to be clearer, but when we came they had a recent asphalt layering of roads nearby and it was raining a few days prior to our raft, so the water was a little bit murkier—but still very fresh and clean. We were accompanied by a guide per raft and were told simple instructions on how to use the paddles. There were some parts of the river where you will see small 'waterfalls' and you can totally hop off the raft for a small swim too! You have to listen carefully to the guide before doing this, though. At some parts of the river, the current can be quite strong and dangerous otherwise. Moreover, the coldness of the water, as well as the intriguing sounds of nature, will certainly take your minds off things, so despite it being a rigorous activity, it is calming to its own degree too. We hella loved it!

A small reminder before I insert the pictures: if you want to take your GoPro or phone with you, be extremely careful. We bought those plastic phone covers as necklaces and one of my friend's had a loose end in its knots, and she lost her phone to the strong current. :< 

you also have to climb those stairs after your raft—be prepared!

oh, how lush! <3

1530—It was about then when we finished rafting, and holy moly was that an exercise! We took some time to dry off and we did not take the meal provided after rafting by the rafting company but instead, we went off to one of the sites overlooking Tegalalang Rice Terraces, specifically to Dewi Cafe. The view from there was sooooo gorgeous<3<3 Besides the beautiful view, Dewi Cafe was more of a hidden gem known to locals, and that made it very peaceful for us. It was kind of cold, but the view was breathtaking that we could not sit still to wait for our food. We basically snapped pictures right away. Also, Dewi Cafe is a stone throw away from the super Instagrammable Bali Swing, so extra points for convenience. We were too hungry and too lazy to queue up for pictures at the Bali Swing, so here are the pictures of our decently-priced food and the sceneries. (pro tip: Bali Swing closes at 5pm, so come earlier as it can get crowded. For about S$15 for a few snippets, we thought it was not worth it, so if you are tight on schedule and budget, definitely skip this!)

Had our meals while waiting for sunset with this gorgeous view!

The three of us almost died tryna climb this egg o_o it's free and right next to the Bali Swing by the way xD

Alrighty, we were soaking wet, well-fed and justifiably VERY exhausted. We only had 2 meals that day and we checked in at night (sneakily) into our very spacious 2-people room at KajaNe Yangloni Ubud. (Sorry no pics because we checked in after the sunset and we needed to sneak the third person in... but it was LOVELY!!) Do give that hotel a check if you are planning for a serene getaway in Ubud. We were super pleasantly surprised by the entire space and facilities they had. Definitely worth your bucks, and even more if I am being generous!

Overall, our Day 1 in Bali was as you can tell... pretty tiring. But it was really jam-packed with so many natural sceneries that let our eyes feasted for as much and as long as we wanted though. Honestly, it felt like just the perfect amount of adventure for a just-outta-school-girls-trip. Especially the white water rafting. We felt that the 3-hour course, although daunting at first, was actually really worth it. There is just something magical about that first dive into the cold water that replenished the soul with vitality so as to continue paddling past the rocky riverbeds. So we ended our day with a good skin care routine and some girls talk and headed to bed at around 10+pm. We had to wake up early for Nusa Penida the next day. So keep following this travel diary if you want to peek through what to wear, where to go and what to do during a day trip to Nusa Penida :) 

To be continued,

Maretta Simon x

Finding new strengths

Hello peeps!

(I just checked my timeline and I realized the last post was in January lols! I genuinely blame my poor time management skill but to be fair I had 3 IAs due in the same week so at least I'm alive all are good *silently cries)

Since I skipped March altogether due to the unhealthy imbalance between school work and other commitments, I would like to rewind time and talk about the significance of this month. Personally, March is a month filled with hope; hope for progress in extending the appreciation society has for women, hope for growth as an individual, and hope for peace in mind upon pondering on the true meaning of Easter. There were many things that clouded my mind in this hectic period as I was literally running on 4-5h of sleep for weeks for the sake of finishing all the proof-reads and draft edits of my IAs that I was terribly scared of not finishing them well. With that, I have gone astray from the usual 'buffer' time I had for myself where I lowkey 'contemplate' about my day or week HAHAHA yes *surprise surprise* this soul is more sentimental and reflective than what you think. So, here is a post to address critical observations and opinions I feel worthy of sharing. On to the most important one: I am one month late in celebrating International Women's Day which was on 8 March. Lol what's new from a Maretta yet again.

It may be weird for some of you to read this post dedicated to commemorating Women's Day as I may not be the most active advocate for the cause of appreciating works by women of the world and or on gender equality, but I do want to start small. To be honest, I feel that I do not have enough knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand to be an activist; I normally only give critical opinions on happenings in both my community and the mainstream media that touch on gender equality issues. Therefore, I often felt discouraged to voice out my thoughts on the appalling reality that many women are not appreciated yet for their works, or even worse, they themselves do not see the jarring difference communities treat and appreciate their mere existence as a key player in society. But after many rounds of thinking in circles on whether I should do it or not, I just get tired of only passively giving opinions. If I am here observing all the 'injustice' and choose to be ignorant about it, am I not another silent contributor to the reason why society progresses at such a slow pace in commemorating women? I may not be right on all the things I am going to discuss, and I definitely need more knowledge on this issue, but here are some of my observations and efforts to better the situation.

Firstly, I have to admit that I grow up in a moderately 'fair' society where girls are encouraged to pursue their passions and are not treated differently when it comes to education, but this encouragement has not been extended fully to all the other communities. Given this fortunate circumstance I am put in, it is so easy to take the whole celebration of women on this International Women's Day mere Instagram-posts-on-women-frenzy for a day where people's timelines are suddenly flooded with women appreciation without contemplating deeply about each person's story. Posting about it is definitely a great reminder for everyone that it is a day to celebrate women, but what is more important is the unseen women who are undergoing sufferings and women who are not out there making great changes to society simply because their own circumstances pain them from making changes to themselves.

I was blinded by this whole idea of celebrating women's greatest achievements instead of looking into the microscopic, smaller ones that many are doing, often in our own society. But upon looking at the posts of those who have made it big, it struck me that I do not have any story to tell simply because I have not been a part of the revolution people like Maya Angelou have fought so hard for. So does that mean that I am celebrating the works of women who are so impactful to others but not to me because there have not been one that enriched my life? Absolutely not. Then I started looking for smaller, more tangible efforts women around me have done that have impacted me positively, and I was grateful for them. The biggest, most unappreciated impact a woman have made in my life has to be my maid's teachings and caring for me since I was 3 years old. She played mother to me, she taught me my first multiplication table, and she was often the first person who helped me rationalize Mother's arguments every time we quarrel. Therefore, I want to dedicate this post to her, and to others put in worse situations.

I was lucky enough to have a few friends who embarked on a project to help alleviate the sufferings of the often forgotten women in our society, the migrant workers, by conducting singing and dancing lessons followed by sharing sessions weekly in a shelter home for abused female migrant workers. It is a small initiative, but over time, we have grown close to them, getting to know little bits and pieces about their families, their favorite food, and hobbies. Many came from rural areas, many are underaged workers of our age, and many left in desperation for a better job--but all are under the same roof with a common story to share: they are abused by their employers. With this situation, it is certainly hard for them to understand their values and worth, of their importance as key educators and helpers to many families in societies, hence leading them to not only be oblivious to the notion of celebrating women's works but also their own achievements. Looking at their situation, I was saddened by the uneven distribution of women's progress in society even in such a small nation, as there are vast differences between appreciation towards them and others working in professional fields.

-It is blurred and in B&W as it is the shelter's policy to protect the workers-

With the motive of encouraging them to appreciate themselves and celebrating their fighting spirits for embracing their sufferings up to this point, we had a small appreciation session for the women in our society who have inspired us. It was a heartwarming drawing and sharing session, and it truly extracted their strength for many battled their tears when talking about their mothers they missed back home. They came with big hopes of feeding their families and they came to be appreciated for their work in this country with higher salaries, but they all fell into the unfortunate hands of bad employers. Although so, they are all fighting and bettering their lives in their own individual ways, and by being in this shelter they at least have a safe place to stay in while processing their legal battles with their employers. I cannot guarantee that they are now more aware of their strengths as individuals after overcoming these circumstances and sharing to us about what inspired them even in such a difficult situation, but I hoped that the session we had at least worked as a mini-catharsis to them. It was therapeutic to talk about inspirations and celebrating their female figures, and I hope it stays in their minds and hearts that they too should be proud and strong of how far they have come and how far they have battled this scary journey of becoming migrant workers in a land where many may not empathize with them.

It was again, I who was left dumbfounded after realizing yet another bubble I have broke in this small perspective of mind of the world around me. International women's day is indeed a day to celebrate each other, not only those who have made it big and bring major changes. For it is easy to take small achievements for granted and it is harder to evaluate yourself than others, I hope we can all take a step back and reflect on how we have appreciated the works of women in our society. These migrant workers have helped me understand the intangible efforts many fail to recognize simply because they are too minute in our checklists of 'mainstream achievement', but this should never be the metric for them to quantify the contributions they make to themselves and to their loved ones, for everyone, especially women, have fought in some ways or another to get to where they are today, doing what they are doing on their own accord. We have historically been at a disadvantage that not realizing our own potential in this time now alludes to ignorance to our own efforts of being strong individuals with big contributions to make to our own societies.

In short, celebrate the small things, and encourage others to do so too. Happy (belated) International Women's Day to all those brave, inspiring women out there! Keep doing you and never lose faith! :)

p.s I am still working on the project on generation gap as I do not have enough time to churn out results still need more responses (really though!!) so please help to fill the form here!!! i will love u loads for doing it :-) <3

hugs and kisses always,
Maretta Simon

from now onwards

                                                 

(ps excuse my tired look my sleep cycle is completely trashed this year)

Hello, peeps!

3 words to sum up last week will be balloons, level assemblies, and new faces. As you know that my cohort is the most senior students in school, it was compulsory for everyone to help out during our school's Open House last Monday. It was rather eventful with many nice and nasty potential newcomers coming in asking about what IB is, how school works here and a bunch of those standard school tours questions. It was quite mundane at first (besides psycho-analyzing each individual's choice of outfit and weird stares they think I did not notice) but the preparation time for the open house was particularly evocative for me. I never thought that I will be so immersed in a journey to the point where the thought of it ending so early caught me by surprise although I know how long it is going to last for when I signed up for it.

Looking at those new faces sparked a weird balance of sadness and a sense of fulfillment in me, just like that cozy feeling of burrito-balling during a heavy thunderstorm doing one of the many math revision notes. I can say this now because it truly is shocking how exactly a year ago, I was just like them: excited to see where I will go, ready to embark on a journey to adulthood thinking it will all be alright if I follow my plans. To give you a little context, I think long and hard about my future aspirations and was very set on them to the point where I am literally excited for the future when I wake up for school every day. Although so, this year when I am actually going to be on my own making decisions on what I want to do and where I want to go after the structured 12 years of fundamental education really scares me, in a way I definitely have never felt before.

That is also why I chose school assemblies as one of the words that summed up my week. In my school, we have level assemblies where one of those sessions will be about university guidance' aka 'pressure to know and aim where to go next' and honestly, it used to be my nap sessions but now it gives me unnecessary anxiety. (okay this is a lil bit of an exaggeration but just take it as it is ok peeps) The idea of venturing on my own is totally liberating, yet the lack of control creates an invisible apprehension which I am not sure I will be able to combat when the time for it to hit me come. Due to this, my inner lil annoying voice constantly asks my other lil annoying voices in my head: "from now onwards, what are are your plans, bud?" I guess the answer is I do have some ideas of what I want to do, but they are mere abstracts I am unsure how to tie back to the realms of my existential life as a student and an apparent young adult. So for all you souls who are just as bothered by the prospects of doing well in the future as I am, please tell yourself to always take things a step at a time, okay?

Things have been a little out of control lately, but I know one thing for sure: bravery in traveling those roads less walked always has its own edge, so be you in all things you do. Be your true self for honesty, truth and individuality are what I feel make you more human and most importantly, more alive. I hope this reflection on my week has allowed you to take a step back on your week and reflect on the challenges you faced too. From now onwards, it is always your truth that speaks the loudest to your heart and mind, so be still and listen to that voice. :)

ps: I finally formulated my thoughts on generation gap to a few questions in this form!! Please take some time and answer it here (click click)! don't worry, responses are 100% anonymous unless you are willing to spend extra time to be interviewed by me. Thanks a bunch, peeps!

love and hugs always,
Maretta Simon

New Year's Resolutions to (the hypocrite in) me

Hello peeps!!

wow time check: it's 2018!! aka the year I turn legal for all them alcohols *wink (HAHAHAH nah man I still prefer youtube marathons and slow, long meals with people)

I know this is a little bit late, but I have not had a good wrap to my 2017, so I'd like to think aloud and reflect for what I see myself doing this year with you guys. Just saying that I am totally aware of my promised 'project' on generational gap between parents and children, and once I have made up mind on the questions and collection of data and interviews, I will surely share my take on that. :) So let's start these resolutions by firstly, and most importantly, counting my blessings that had done me well last year.

I started my first year of IB (grade 11 equivalent) last year, and man it was a hell of a ride: I had super stressful times dealing with CAS and IA proposals, great waves of laughter from TOK classes, amazing friends I share my burdens with, and plenty of realisations in terms of my academic intelligence which may not be the best. It was indeed a fruitful year, one where I truly see myself grow deep within, and probably those moments will kickstart a steeper exponential growth in character for me this year. If I were to choose one word to help me count my blessings and describe the growth in me, my pick will be "humility". This year I hope to be humbler because 2017 was all about realizing the importance of being humble. I am saying this because there were some major uphills last year, and I failed to see them as positive challenges due to my oblivion to my own limits in solving problems. I thought I was good enough, I thought I was strong enough. All those "I thought" had actually stopped me from truly seeing the importance of a bigger community besides myself who may have a better answer than this mass of nerves in my own nebula. So this year, I hope to see myself let go a little bit more of my ego in order to see things from a humbler perspective so that I too, can help others who have been too comfortable in their solitude for they think that they can handle everything if they are strong enough all this while. So peeps, yes you are strong, but that strength should never be so blinding that you fail to recognize the need to be humble and reach out for help from others.


The other major resolution this year will be to summon the hypocrite in me. Okay, I technically do not need to 'summon' that side of me but rather, keep it in front of my mind instead of having it hovering at the back of my mind. The reason why I said so is that I have been telling myself to do things I know I should such as to be kinder to people, to be more patient, and all those sorts since yeaaaarsss ago but it just seems so hard to actively be conscious and engage in achieving those goals. But hopefully, through bringing the hypocrite in me upfront, I can magnify my awareness on these "small, hidden, but obvious" improvements I need to ignite in myself so that I can truly move forward. It is more of a passive-aggressive approach probably? well, whatever it is, I hope it catalyzes my journey of self-improvement this year. May the hypocrite in me serve me well so that I can constantly challenge myself to recognize, realize, and reflect more actively. 2018 is going to be a tough year, so I need to up my self-awareness game before I drown in seas of excuses from my academic workload that may hinder growth in any way possible.

I guess as of now those 2 are the most important resolutions I'd like to see happening this year :) 2018 is a year where I literally have to embrace early adulthood, finish my basic 12 years of education, and confront myself with seemingly endless decisions regarding where I want to go next in life. What a busy yet exciting one, so I hope I will write a good journal on that and share it with you too!

If you have not made up your mind on resolutions, I hope what I am doing may be relatable and applicable to you. As long as we keep on growing in any way suitable to us, that's a thumbs up!!


Spread the love always,

xx Maretta Simon xx

defying conventions? not really. [1]

Hello, peeps!

“We have been cut off, the past has been ended and the family has broken up and the present is adrift in its wheelchair. ... That is no gap between the generations, that is a gulf. The elements have changed, there are whole new orders of magnitude and kind.

-Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

This is a quote that struck a chord, or should I say #relatable? well I think it's time to talk about another topic that hits really close to home: generation gap.


I have been thinking long and hard for what to write for this week's entry since I want to keep this blog as active as possible, but I feel like I have been couch potato-ing too much to write about something actually thought-provoking. So I just decided to talk about the observations many may relate to, especially if your parents are conservative I guess.

So here it goes.

I watched WongFu Production's "In Between" and it somehow struck a chord, although my circumstances are definitely different from the one Mike Bow was in. Mine was simpler, but it still got me thinking pretty hard. I grow up listening to American music and binge-watching Disney channel shows like the suite life of Zack and Cody (btw I just realized how Cole Sprouse was one of the twins after watching a whole season of Riverdale, duh) more than any local media, I am more comfortable/better at speaking English than Bahasa/Hokkien/Chinese(basically those languages my parents are most comfortable in), yet there are certain subtleties of my whole personality that delve strongly into the more conservative Chinese/Indonesian/Asian beliefs which I am well aware and am proud of. It never bothered me for I was thinking that it is completely normal to feel like you just are different from some of your friends/relatives, but coming home and this time, after deep talking (ish) to my mom, I always come back asking myself if this big difference in principles and personality is detrimental to my relationship with people.

To mom, I am a "rebel", always talking back and never really "understanding" where she comes from, her reasonings, and always "defying conventions" of how a filial daughter should be with my retaliation and somehow conflicting reasonings. I mean, I need to admit that I am learning every day, for sometimes my actions are peppered with the naivety of an angsty teenager in addition to the idealistic icing of hope and aspirations that I never fail to mention at the end of every argument, but after all these small disconnects I feel oddly out of place. That safe haven of pouring your thoughts and emotions to your mother has never been a reality for me, and it all rooted down to our different principles in life, and how we are influenced by the friends we have, media content, or the environment we are brought up in aka the humongous generational gap (Mom was a teenager in the 70's and I in 2010's). But the real question is, is it natural to drift apart from what your closest people's teachings are as you grow older and thus more able to think rationally and decide for yourself what is morally right or wrong? I guess the answer can never be as easy as choosing black or white. An intersection of the two Venn diagrams is always the answer, but to what extent? and to which way are you leaning towards?

It sucks to feel like you are not understood and never will be understood by people you are closest to due to the stubborn nature humans are 'gifted' with, but the same ordeal actually happens to the other party too. It took me some time to finally say to myself with conviction that, "it is okay if you are not on the same page as the other", for the heart's longing of being fully understood and accepted by people you care about most is natural and strong, but there really is no point in clinging on to this pipe dream. Yes, there are instances where family members are brought up in different ways yet they can still connect on so many levels, but that is probably not my case. or probably it is, when I am older, when I could finally realize that "Mama knows best, you see!", just like what Mom has always gushed about. But for now, I am still that daughter who will in her (others' who share different principles and beliefs) eyes defy conventions of being a filial daughter. I guess generational gap really does take a toll on people's perceptions, but not to the extreme point where it transcended motherly love. (at least for me, fortunately :))

Okay, this whole post may seem like a rant from a misunderstood, frustrated youth, but this disconnect is sometimes bigger than issues with family members. And I am curious if my friends actually feel the same way, so I will probably do interviews with friends and ask them questions too about this. I hope I can really make this a small-scale project that will help some to reconnect and come to terms with differences they have, and probably compromise on things previously uncompromisable. The extent of differences and the whole personality-building journey and factors affecting it may be too complex a subject with my limited knowledge, but I am curious bout this, so I hope I can get better enlightenment on this, and share it with you peeps!

If you wish to help me with this, please hmu through anything!
I'd be glaaaaad to listen to your stories :)

To a coming up part 2 of this discussion, friends!

hugs and kisses,
Maretta Simon <3

10 reasons why you should visit Nepal

A country full of stark juxtapositions... embodied by both the people and the silent survivors of the deadly 2015 earthquake. That is probably the best way to describe how Nepal is as a country as of now, as seen through my lens in my one-week-trip to Nepal.

 a random villager's house at Pokhara

sunrise slowly creeping out from a seemingly nearby mountain from the Australian Base Camp

another beautiful moment before the sun rises!

As many of you know, it is a country still rebuilding and recovering from the disastrous earthquake in 2015, yet there are so much more than mere shambles and messy infrastructure of Kathmandu that I saw and lived. I was initially shook by the state of disorderliness Kathmandu was in when I first step foot on the crowded pavements and unregulated traffic on the streets, but as I leave Nepal, I could not cease to smile at the beautiful bright skies, the warmth of the locals and the hopeful eyes of the little children I talked to during the school visits. To give you a context of what I did*, my schoolmates and I basically helped build a wall for a local government school pretty high up in the mountains, discuss current issues and talk about comparisons of culture mainly between Singapore and Nepal to students younger than or of the same age as us, as well as trek one of the mountains to the Australian Base Camp (I guess it was called the Annapurna mountain range?). 

It was a fulfilling trip as never have I ever see myself to be so deeply impacted by the small things a short trip can give me, given my skeptical nature on short-lived projects where my commitment is not a priority. This trip has allowed me to truly see the qualities of oneself from within, as there was imminent language barrier with some of the students, yet their sincerity and eagerness to learn about my culture and promote their beloved Nepali culture was invigorating, to say the very least. Yes, I only spent a day with the students, but that experience left so many unanswered questions in my head: when was the last time I actually feel that eager to learn about something I can search on the internet? Have I forgotten the joy of truly disconnecting from distractions and just focus on building relationships with new people? Have I lost touch of the extent subtleties of unexpected poignant moments can impact my perspective because I have been too comfortable in what I have been doing this whole year?

It was a mass of contradictions--my mind was puzzled after the overwhelmingly positive outcome of that short visit. I felt so liberated just talking to new people there. It was a humbling experience to realise how little I know of this world and how small my empirical reality of my own bubble actually is. Thus, I learned to learn, all over again. I came with the mindset of sharing experiences and exposing the Nepali students to international cultures by befriending them as they may not have appropriate platforms where they can have international friends, but in the end I felt that it was more educational for me instead of for them. If I have to choose one word to describe the whole experience, it has to be Introspection.

Introspection is something I lack doing, as the surprising experiences should not strike me as hard, especially since I used to live in a developing country with similar circumstances and beautiful sceneries. Therefore, I am thankful to have the chance to visit Nepal, where I can relive those memories of childhood and reconnect with long-lost friends I never get to befriend across the globe away as our differences in backgrounds really did not matter. I was quick to complain about things I have, quick to judge my own abilities, and even quick to analyse social situations, yet I 'forgot' that I am fundamentally flawed in connecting with my own self for the very assumptions that I have grown and moved forward from my past self. I guess that is because I focus too much on self-improvement that I do not see the bigger, more important picture of coming to terms with my past and piecing the mosaics of my past experiences first in order to build an improved front. Hence, by introspecting on my recent visit, it helped me sieve through the social problems underlying the society back at home, retrieving those desires to do something bigger in order to also impact others just like how the Nepali students impacted me. Thus after reflecting on this wonderful journey, the real question: what can you do to alleviate their slow growth and or impact their lives as much as they have impacted mine still remain. But this trip has certainly reconnected me to my “supposedly” humbler side who still look at the world as how it really is, instead of through a rose-tinted screen where i take things at face value while making excuses such as “yeah ill think of what happened today when i am less busy”.

As you can tell, i have drifted quite a lot from my intended title, but Nepal truly is a country you guys should include to your bucket list simply for the indescribable experience you will get, especially if you are not used to the landscape of a developing nation. It should not be “10 reasons why you should visit Nepal”, but “the reason why you should visit Nepal: people, scenic landscapes, ah just because Nepal.”

*I also did other stuff but probs I'll share with you some other time in a different post or... I may just keep it to myself

ps there are more pics of my friends and I on my Instagram if you want to check them out! Also I do not have any pictures with the children because their child protection policies are pretty strict in Nepal for fears of human trafficking.  :)