BE A CONSIDERATE FLYER

No matter which class you are flying, there must be at least one annoying inconsiderate flyer. The followings are some tips that I gather from observing those inconsiderate flyers and Tiger Airways in-flight magazine, so we won't be one of them ;-).

1. Be on time

No matter check in or boarding, just be on time. Check in at least 1.5 hours before your designated flight time for international flights and 1 hour for domestic flight. You need more time for international flights because you must clear the immigration. Be at the boarding gate as early as possible, at least at the designated boarding time which is surely written in your boarding pass. If we are on time, then the fleet will be on time, too.

2. Observe seat number in the boarding pass

There's no more annoying than a flyer who sits in someone else's seat or blocking the aisle because s/he is confused between number 5 and 15. Some notable scenes from these seat thieves are:

- Sit in someone's else seat and refuse to move to her/his original seat. Even, s/he creates a scene with the original seat occupant or even flight attendant.

- Yell at other person because s/he misreads the seat number in her/his boarding pass. (It happened to me in one of my flights. A man suddenly yelled at me, "What's your seat number?!! This is my seat!" I was so startled until I couldn't answer him at the instant. Before I had a chance to answer, he suddenly said "Oppss, sorry. My mistake. My seat is in front of you." Doooohhhh!!)

- Block the aisle so a long queue is created, because they are too confused where they must sit. (It happened in my recent flight. A group of family blocked the aisle because they didn't read their boarding pass. They even ignored requests from the flight attendants to clear the aisle. They just kept shouting between them about the seat numbers.)

3. Minimize the use of strong smelled liquid, spray or lotion

Please bear in your mind that the aircraft does not have any open ventilation once the doors are closed. Therefore, please use your perfume, body lotion or various oils (such as, minyak angin or minyak telon) before you board the aircraft. If you must use one of them during the flight, please use it in the toilet so the smell can be minimized. Remember that the strongest smell is the initial note.

4. Think about the comfort of the passenger sitting in front of or behind you

Do not kick the chair in front of you if there is an occupant in that seat. It is really uncomfortable because it is really different with the vibrates from a chair massage, dude. Then, carefully measure before you decline your seat. Try not making the passenger behind you feels seating in a matchbox. They pay, too so they also have a right to sit with a reasonable legroom.

5. Do not create much noise

It's an aircraft. It isn't a flying pub or kindergarten. So, please control your voice when you are talking or joking with your travel partner(s). For parents, control your children. Do not allow them to scream or running along the aisle. It's very very annoying. Crying babies are different, of course. Babies can't speak so they cry and thus they must be tolerated.

6. Do not bring or eat foods with pungent smell

Please, please do not bring or eat any food or beverages containing durian, curry or terasi (fermented shrimp paste). Yuck! Remember, the aircraft DO NOT have any open ventilation. If you are flying with me, please do not eat seafood at all :-P

7. Obey all regulations

Why are you so in a hurry until you feel the need to open the seat belt once the plane lands? Buckle up! You can present a danger to other passengers if there's an unpredictable incident. Then, do not ever turn on your cell phone once you are in the aircraft. Your cell phone signal will disturb the communication between pilots and ATC (air traffic controller). Bear in your mind that regulations are there for your own safety.

When sorry enters the political world

I visited National Museum of Singapore this Monday, 3rd day of Sept. 2012. My first intention was to enjoy the Singapore Living Galleries only. But, it turns out that my visit worths something more than understanding Singapore culture deeper. The experience that opens my eyes widely is reading a book about Singapore nation's struggle to rise as a developed country. Too bad that I forgot the title of the book.

The book tells how a well-known historian, Dr. Albert something, told Mr. Lee Kuan Yew to let Raffles statue keep standing at its place. He said that Singapore needs to eliminate communists because they have another intentions which are unlike Mr. Lee's. Then, what startled me is when the historian asked Mr. Lee to let the Raffles statue stans because Singapore will be the only country which allows the statue of former colonialist still stand. Then, he continued that sometimes later, Singapore would need help from United Kingdom. That's why the Raffles statue's keep standing is very important because it shows to the world that Singapore accepts the British as the part of their history. In addition, if Singapore needs assistance from other European countries or United States, they will see that Singapore opens their gate.

How do you think about that? A very very clever thought, isn't it? In my opinion, it is a briliant political move. It's very deeply thought. Maybe for us, Indonesians, the idea seems laughable or stupid. Maybe many persons will think it as an action which shows no indignity. But, I should say a big "No-No". It's a move which can leads you to success. No dignity? Naaay... Why should Singaporean deny the history of their country? It's a fact that they were occupied by British at the past. What they do is simply acknowledging the fact & it delivers many positive impacts. There's no shame to admit that yes we were occupied but we successfully announced our independence and now we are a developed country and one of the Asian tigers.

Then, there's one story in the book that involves Indonesia and our former president, Soeharto. In 1973, Singapore decided to join Malaysia and Indonesia and Philippine rejected it. Then, two Indonesian soldiers were accounted responsible to the bombing in Singapore which caused three fatalities and (if I'm not mistaken) twenty injured people. Despite Soeharto's plea for forgiveness on those two soldiers, they were hung to death by Singapore. It caused an uproar among Indonesians. Then, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and President Soeharto still maintained a good relationship and Mr. Lee was intended to visit Indonesia regardless of the incident. The then Singapore's ambassador for Indonesia, Lee Boon something suggested Mr. Lee to spread flowers in the Indonesian soldiers' graves because of the Javanese belief on the existence of souls. He said to Mr. Lee that as long as the souls weren't happy, they won't rest peacefully. And...what Mr. Lee did? He obeyed his ambassador's suggestion and his spreading flower at graves successfully amended the uproar. See?! Another briliant political move from Singapore which saves them from a further diplomatic friction.

Learning from Singapore's politic, I believe that we must know when the exact time to show our regret is. Regret and say sorry do not always mean a loser. Sometimes, we must be a "loser" first to be a winner in the future. Once again, Singapore does not throw away their dignity. I think they just simply admit the fact that they hung Indonesian soldiers and offer warm reconciliation. They simply state that they are human too who have hearts but they cannot forgive the soldiers because they did commit a murder. It's really fair. Are you agree with me?

So, where's Indonesia's big heart? No, I never see our big heart. What I see during this time is diplomatic by arrogance or diplomatic by stupidity and fear (sorry to all at Foreign Affairs Ministry. But, it's a fact). Thus, please learn to be smarter in maintaining a relationship. It does NOT only apply to political relationship but also your personal relationship. When you need to say sorry, just say it. No harm of saying sorry. But, do bear in your mind that say sorry in a smart way and carefully observe the need to say sorry. Sometimes, we also do not need to say sorry if the condition requires us to be. Have a better relationship, everyone :-)

Apakah Tuhan perlu kita bela?

Judul di atas mungkin terlihat kontroversial. Tapi, coba Anda renungkan baik-baik dengan kepala yang dingin dan pikiran terbuka. Apakah Anda mengakui bahwa Tuhan itu jauuuuuh lebih berkuasa daripada kita, manusia? Apakah Anda mengakui bahwa Tuhan itu jauuuuuh lebih hebat daripada kita, manusia? Apakah Anda mengakui bahwa kita, manusia, adalah ciptaan Tuhan dan itu berarti Tuhan memiliki hidup kita? Jika Anda menjawab "ya" paling tidak pada dua (2) pertanyaan di atas, berarti Anda harusnya bisa menyadari bahwa Tuhan tidaklah perlu dibela oleh kita, manusia. Tuhan memiliki kuasa yang sangat jauh lebih besar daripada manusia sehingga Ia bisa menghukum manusia yang berdosa dan melanggar perintah-Nya dengan begitu mudahnya. Lalu, untuk apakah para teroris atau golongan garis keras bersikeras membela Tuhan dengan membunuh atau melakukan kekerasan atau intimidasi terhadap sesama manusia?

Tulisan ini saya buat setelah saya menonton kembali dokumentasi mengenai United Airlines flight 93 dan tayangan-tayangan mengenai aksi teroris, baik 9/11 maupun serangan bom di Indonesia. Saya menjadi sangat marah dan gemas setengah mati karena saya tiba-tiba teringat berita mengenai salah satu teroris di Bali yang sedang menjalani proses persidangan, Umar Patek. Umar Patek diberitakan meminta maaf atas aksi terorisme yang dilakukannya dan mengatakan bahwa ia tidak setuju atas bom Bali. Menurut pendapat saya, permintaan maaf dan sanggahan Umar Patek ini merupakan aksi pengecut lainnya dari dirinya. Mengapa sekarang setelah menghadapi ancaman hukuman penjara seumur hidup, ia mengatakan bahwa ia tidak setuju dengan bom Bali dan meminta maaf? Lebih parahnya, ia meminta umat Muslim di Indonesia untuk tidak melakukan aksi terorisme. Halooooo...Anda itu dulunya mengirimkan dana untuk aksi militan di Pakistan dan juga (diduga) turut melatih anggota teroris di kamp pelatihan Aceh. Nah, sekarang kenapa jadi "ayam" yang berkotek-kotek minta diampuni? Pengecut!

9/11 bombing

Lalu, mengenai aksi kekerasan yang dilakukan FPI (Front Pembela Islam). Beberapa waktu lalu, saya pernah dikirimi link oleh salah seorang teman yang berisi kesaksian dari seorang ibu yang terbuka hatinya setelah berdialog dengan Habib Rizieq. Si ibu mengatakan bahwa beliau jadi bisa memahami aksi-aksi FPI karena FPI bermaksud membela ajaran Islam dan Allah. Silakan sih berpendapat begitu. Saya menghargai kok (buktinya saya membaca link itu). 

Tapi, saya menjadi bertanya-tanya (boleh dong ya jadi kritis), apakah benar membela ajaran agama dan Allah dengan cara melakukan kekerasan terhadap sesama manusia, walaupun manusia itu (menurut Anda) melakukan dosa? Apakah Anda sendiri tidak berdosa sehingga merasa cukup suci untuk menghukum manusia lainnya? Saya sungguh merasa sedih dan kasihan karena ajaran Islam dan Allah dijadikan kambing hitam untuk melakukan kekerasan. Salah apakah Allah dan Islam sehingga harus dijadikan pembenaran kekerasan dan pembunuhan?

Dengan terbuka saya katakan di sini bahwa saya tidak pernah setuju dengan fanatisme sempit para pemeluk agama. Banyak dari pemeluk agama non-Islam  yang menyalahkan Islam atas aksi terorisme berlandaskan jihad. Tetapi, pernahkah Anda semuanya yang beragama Kristen, Katolik, Buddha, Kong Hu Cu atau aliran kepercayaan menyadari bahwa Anda pun telah berpikiran sempit dan fanatik jika Anda menganggap agama lain itu sesat dan bukan merupakan jalan Tuhan?

Saya pemeluk Katolik dan telah banyak mengamati betapa banyaknya keluarga, teman dan rekan saya sesama pemeluk Katolik yang mulai dan bisa terjebak ke dalam proses cuci otak layaknya anggota teroris atau FPI. Saat ini, begitu banyak pemeluk Katolik yang merasa bahwa hanya agamanyalah yang paling bagus dan agama lain jelek atau merasa perlu mempertahankan diri terhadap agama lain. Mengapa? 

Saya tidak sekalipun merasa perlu mempertahankan diri terhadap agama lain. Saya berkawan dengan pemeluk agama lain, bahkan saya pun mempelajari ajaran agama lain. Tetapi, saya tidak pernah, saya ulangi TIDAK PERNAH, berpikir untuk berganti agama atau memerangi agama lain. Saya menghormati pilihan beragama masing-masing orang karena setiap orang memiliki jodohnya masing-masing dengan agama mereka. Kenapa harus dipisahkan? Kenapa harus ditentang? Kenapa harus dipertanyakan? 

Sayangnya, pemikiran saya ini sering dianggap sesat oleh sebagian orang. Saya dibilang sebagai pemeluk Katolik yang sesat. Saya bingung dan pusing memikirkan hal ini. Lha, mereka yang mengatakan saya sesat itu siapa? Sudah jadi Tuhankah mereka? Sepanjang pengetahuan saya, kayaknya kok belum ya; bahkan belum diangkat jadi orang suci Katolik oleh Paus. Lha kalau belum, kok ya berani-beraninya menghujat saya? Lha, memangnya salah ya kalau saya bisa menerima bahwa ada ajaran agama lain yang juga menuju Tuhan, kebaikan dan surga? Bagi saya pribadi sih, jalan menuju Tuhan, kebaikan dan surga itu tetap Katolik. Tapi kan bagi orang lain ya belum tentu to. Benar tidak? :) Ya monggo, kalau orang lain tidak mau mengikuti Katolik, saya sih oke-oke saja. Lha, masalahnya saya sadar sepenuhnya dan tanpa paksaan kalau saya tidak boleh dan mampu untuk meng-Katolik-kan seluruh dunia. 

Fanatisme sempit ini adalah racun yang sangat dahsyat. Ada satu kutipan dari buku The Last Templar yang mengatakan bahwa agama merupakan senjata yang paling ampuh dan mematikan. Jangan marah dulu. Pahami baik-baik apa maksud kutipan itu. Saya setuju dengan kutipan itu karena manusia zaman sekarang (saya tidak tahu tentang zaman dulu karena saya lahirnya di masa sekarang) akan cepat terprovokasi dan marah jika disuntikkan mengenai agama. Tidak peduli perkataan si provokator itu benar atau tidak, orang-orang bisa dengan cepat kehilangan akal sehatnya kalau masalah agama dibawa-bawa. Saya bingung lho. Pikir saya: "Banyak orang ngakunya rajin beribadah kok ya pendek banget  saklar penahan amarahnya dan cetek banget otaknya ya?!". Saat ini, banyak sekali pemuka agama yang mendoktrin pengikutnya dengan ajaran-ajaran fanatisme sempit yang dikemas dengan cantik, manis dan rapi.

Lantas, bagaimana kita membentengi diri dari ajaran fanatisme sempit ini? Saya juga tidak tahu. Menurut saya, kembali ke nasib Anda masing-masing. Jika Anda bernasib baik ya Anda tidak akan terperosok ke jurang fanatisme sempit ini. Tapi kalau nasib Anda kurang baik, yaaaa gitu deh. Tapi, mungkin berusaha untuk "be smart, prudent and wise" kali ya biar tidak gampang terprovokasi. 

So, kesimpulannya: manusia itu egois (saya juga kok. Tenang aja, tidak cuma Anda kok hehehe). Tapi, manusia zaman sekarang itu PARAH! Semakin tinggi tingkat pendidikannya dan semakin tinggi penghasilannya, manusia semakin takabur karena merasa dirinya sebagai pengganti Tuhan di dunia ini. Satu lagi, perlu diingat bahwa yang salah itu orangnya (si pelaku agama) bukan agamanya dan apalagi, Tuhan. Duh, jangan bawa-bawa Tuhan deh kalau mau membunuh atau melakukan kekerasan. Miris banget dengar seruan memanggil Tuhan waktu mau membacok orang atau merusak harta benda orang lain atau membela diri di sidang pembunuhan.

Doa saya: Maafkanlah umat manusia ya, Allah, karena dengan bodohnya membunuh sesama kami manusia, merampok dan merusak harta benda sesama kami manusia karena kami merasa kami adalah Tuhan di dunia ini. Mohon maafkan kebodohan kami ya, Allah. Maaf juga ya Allah Bapa, (kata orang-orang) anak-Mu yang satu ini murtad karena tidak mau menyebarkan ajaran-Mu dengan sembarangan. Semoga Engkau paham mengapa aku tidak mau. Terima kasih. 

Disclaimer: Jika Anda merasa saya sesat dan utusan iblis, saya tidak bertanggung jawab atas pemikiran Anda itu. Semua resiko yang timbul karena pemikiran Anda menjadi tanggung jawab Anda pribadi ;) 

Himbauan: Sampai sekarang sih saya belum merasa saya itu sesat atau utusan iblis, tapi ya nggak tahu menurut Tuhan, saya ini apa atau siapa. Jadi, sebaiknya tanya dulu sama diri Anda, Anda itu siapa? sebelum Anda menghujat saya atau orang lain. Semoga Tuhan selalu memberkati semua makhluk dan semoga semua makhluk berbahagia.

NB: Before I forgot, thank you to http://www.davidduke.com/images/911_Fireball.jpg and http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wp2000au/image/GlobalMeal.jpg for the pictures above :)

Penang, the World's Heritage City in Malaysia (Part 1)

I visited Penang two months ago. To be exact, April 2012. It was a quite fun and interesting trip. Got a good bargain for my plane tickets. It costed me IDR458,000.- for return trip (Jakarta - Penang). Of course, the airline was AirAsia Indonesia. What's else :)

Before I booked Penang, I almost never heard of this city. What I knew was its fame for cheap yet delicious ranges of food. Many friends and relatives said that travelling to Penang was not  that worth it since nothing you could do except medical check-up. But...internet showed many interesting things about Penang, especially old and historical buildings. Yessss! Wow, I thought that it might not be a wrong decision to travel there. Alright, I confess. I loveeeee historical buildings and museum.

Penang city view from Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera)

In short, April 20, 2012 finally came. The flight was great, no significant turbulences. We arrived at Bayan Lepas International Airport, Penang at around 8.20 a.m. (I forgot the exact minutes :P). The airport underwent a face lift work so mess was around. Immigration was fast. I decided to use Rapid Penang bus no. 401 to go to Georgetown. FYI, Bayan Lepas Airport is located almost 30 minutes from Georgetown. Georgetown is the area where most of the tourist attractions and Indonesian favourite hospitals are located. Bus is the cheapest transportation to Georgetown. Pay only RM2.70 per person. Compare it with RM40 for taxi riding. Better save some ringgits for having fun downtown rather for riding taxi. The bus will stop at Komtar. Komtar is like Blok M Terminal in Jakarta. You can find any bus rides to any parts of Penang here. So, remember the look of Komtar. If you get lost, better find this building.

The tallest building in the photo is KOMTAR (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak).

I booked a room in Tune Hotel. Got RM63.8 net per room per night. I admit this is not a great bargain for Tune since I booked it one month prior to my departure. Bear in mind that book Tune Hotel rooms as early as possible. One year to six month booking prior your departure will land you in a very very great bargain. You can even get RM1 for a room/night. The room is great. The usual of Tune Hotel. Small yet quite comfortable. It provides King Koil for its bed. So, not bad, huh.

After a not too smooth check in due to congested traffic of people's checking in and checking out, I got into my room and put my luggage there. Ready for wandering around the Georgetown city. I decided to eat first because my flight was an early morning flight  and I hadn't taken my breakfast (GMT+7, 5.30 a.m.!). Ate a hainanese chicken rice near the hotel. Not too good and not that cheap. After my brunch, I thought I would visit St. Francis Xavier's Church and Residence of Ku Dia Kua Moh first since those two places were not too far from the hotel. But, disappointment was I got when I saw the Church. Described as a historical and quite pretty church in Penang tourism map, the church turned to be a small and plain church. Really disappointed! The weather that day was so damn hot so I dropped my plan to see Residence Ku Dia Kua Moh and directly went to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (the Blue Mansion).

The information I gathered from the interest states that I must pay RM10 to enter the Mansion. However, various sites fail to mention that we can only enter the Mansion if we visit it in a group of minimum 30 persons. The guard at its entrance did not allow me to come inside and said that daily visit is only at 11.00 a.m. and I must come in a large group. So, anyone ever visit Penang and enter this Mansion, please tell me whether the guard is true or only tries to cheat some extra money from me. Really a nuisance :(

A lovely stunning Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

So, I went to Cocoa Boutique to get some shelter from Penang midday heat. Here, you can find wide varieties of chocolate, from exotic fruit filled chocolate to tongkat ali chocolate. But, of course, shop here will burn a hole in your pocket. The prices are quite high (actually worth the quality). After that, my parents wanted to go back to hotel because we all felt sleepy. No wonder considering we woke up at 2.30 a.m. to catch our flight.

In our walking back to hotel, we found a market selling wide ranges of foods and souvenirs. It was a Chowrasta Market. But, we did not shop as we intended to shop on our last day. We also found the famous Teo Chew ice cendhol. Costed RM2 per bowl for eat in. You must add RM0.30 for take away. Not that superb for my taste buds. Indonesian ice cendhol is way more delicious.

I closed the day by eating one plate of Char Kuey Teow. Yes, this is the correct spelling. We, Indonesian, always have it wrong as kwetiaw or kuetiow. A nice yet spicy one. This was the most delicious plate I had for that day.