Legitly Being TKI & TKW

Dear My Fellows… Let’s share our stories of being an immigrant. So in Indonesia, TKI (Tenaga Kerja Indonesia ) and TKW ( Tenaga Kerja Wanita ) are two terms which being used in to describe Indonesian workers who work overseas. The later term is specific to be used for those whose gender is female. So, yes i am was both since I worked in Malaysia for around 2 years ++.

Here is the situation, those two terms are used mainly to describe informal workers so be careful when you use it as it may nudge certain people. I am prone to being miss understood because of my physique so somehow i kind of accepting it. LOL.

Anyway, the administration process for me was quite good. Perhaps because my company took care of it for me. In general these are the process.

Get a JOB first before you apply. It is a hustle to get it by yourself so i would recommend to discuss it with your employer.
Understand that there are different types of employment pass based on certain job criteria.
Complete the documents required. For me it was : CV, Graduation Certificate, Passport, Photo, Employment Letter, Residential information.
I need to make a trip to Malaysia to complete the submission. They will take away your passport for a while. Mine took around a week.

It may be more for you, since some of the other documents and process was directly taken care of by my company. After the waiting time, there i have it.. One employment pass stamped on my passport. Honestly, now writing this made me wanting another one. Wooopsss.. 😛

But for now, i will let you have a look for my first stamp. Once you got it, you will become a tax payer so no more tax return will be given. You will need to renew it when you change your passport or when the expiration date has been reached. Please be careful with these as you will have problem with immigration if you miss it and might be banned to enter Malaysia.

Oh, and one more.. when i got this pass i also have a card named i-KAD. I love that card for it gave me the ease of entering / getting out from Malaysia Immigration. You will be considered somehow the same as Malaysian citizen. The immigration has dedicated line for you which queue usually short. Other thing about this pass, you can register yourself so that you could use the E-Gate. awesome right? so don’t forget to do it.

I wish you being inspired and motivated if you aspire to become a TKI just like me. Let’s shape and build a good reputation of Indonesian Worker!

Cheers!

Triana

Genting Highland Then

I had a chance to visit Genting Highland back then in 2015 prior to the new development. It’s a very late post that i would like to share just so that i remember it and just because..I MISS Kuala Lumpur so much at this time.

One Day, i got a message from a good friend of mine that he will visit KL and asking me for some recommendation. Genting Highland was the place that came up and there we went. To get there you could use a Bus from some of the big bus station in KL e.g. KL Sentral or Pudu Station. Bummer, as it was a last minute arrangement we couldn’t get the one from KL Sentral. Thankfully we could get the one from Pudu. Ticket price was good and they had the package which includes return ticket + genting attraction. While waiting for our departure, we went to KLCG. One of my fav place in KL and somehow become the starting point on most of my journey.

The bus was convenient and the ride took around 1 hour one way. However, we went during public holiday so queue in GENTING was awesome…..it was a very long queue ahead of us to ride the cable car. It was a rather cloudy day so the journey on cable car was a bit scary as it seems as we walked through clouds but it was still an enjoyable ride.Btw, you will need to ride this twice when you want to go up and when you want to go down.

When we reached the peak. It was confusing since the construction has been started. We got lost along the way and somehow ended in the Casino. ( don’t ask. Me and my friends are somehow horrible with direction ) FYI when we were about to enter the guard looked at us and the first question was, “HOW OLD ARE YOU?” and even asked for our passport. Well, i got this a lot so… yes.. that was another occurrence.

Continuing our journey in Genting, we decided to enter the RIPLEY’s Museum. Reason was, the other attraction was quite packed and we only had limited time to spent before we needed to get down to catch our bus. T_T

Here are some pic of the visit in the museum. I was happy inside it. Somehow, it intrigued my mind and maybe… so do you. 😉

Finished that visit, here came the time for us to head back and faced another queue for the cable car. Wish you were there and sharing snacks with us while queuing!

Cheers!

Triana Mustika Rukmi

2 Days 1 Night in Penang

One out of nowhere plan which bring me to one of my favourite City in Malaysia – Georgetown, Penang! Here are some stories of that trip..

DAY 1

1.Penang Botanical Garden

I flew from different city from my group and we decided to meet up here. The garden wasn’t that stunning when we were there. It’s a big garden with monkeys. ( I think they are civil enough ) and numerous sections for different plants. In the end we just roamed around and moving into the next place. note – it’s free entrance with certain section only open at specific time.

2.Penang Hill

Second place that we visited during that day. From this place you could see the view of the city from the top. There is a train that will bring you up there but the queue was uber long. Not a good deal in a very hot weather. Once, you passed this stage…then… it’s another sunburn hot. LOL. However, you could enjoy a good view. It was a bit cloudy but it was nice too. 😉 we stopped by this place and enjoy our meal and rest before the next destination.

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3. Batu Ferringhi Beach

To end the day we went to the beach with the Idea of Enjoying sunset. Too bad..i didn’t pack any for water activities. T^T please don’t repeat my mistake and take some with you. There are numerous water sports that you could try.. *envy* But, hey the beach still nice to stay on. Since none of us ready for water activity we only enjoyed the breeze..another eating.. and waiting for the sunset before going back to the city. At night, there are street market open along the way. Who knows if you could find some over here. I found the famous Apam Balik which ease a bit of food-homesick for me – keep on missing Indonesian Martabak from time to time even when i am writing this.

Later at night we went back to the City and took a bit of a stroll at night to nearby temple. Afterwards, Guys…this is not to be missed place. Nasi Kandar Beratur beside Masjid Kapitan Keling. It will open late at night during the day the shop is being used by another stall. Little did we know once it opens, the queue is supeeerrr Long. Btw, Beratur means queue in english. so, yep, get in line people! and i think this is why they give that name for the stall. long queue. If you ask me, The food itself was good. mild enough for somebody who can’t take strong curry flavour. It Stuffed us just right to end the long day.

DAY 2

Starting the day a bit late, we went out and searched for local type of breakfast. Google brought us over to a nearby local store which turned out to be one of the hot spot! i got bread with egg. tasty! complete it with cold milo and it’s just perfect combination of savoury and sweet with the thought of the aftermath to burn the calories. LOL.

1.Old Town

After the breakfast we went to roam around the Old town section with one objective. Finding the Wall Painting. First of all i think you should have this :

Cap/Umbrella/Sun Glasses/tissue/towel/sunscreen spf 50 please. It’s super hot. You will be drenched in sweat.
Water
Comfortable Shoes as you will walk a lot
Rent bicycle : There are a lot of bicycle types for you to use individually or in a group so don’t worry if you can’t cycle. Your friend could cycle for you. haha.

Now that you set and ready. You could start the journey. If you could stand the heat or going earlier in the morning..the city vibe is lovely. Searching for the classic painting feels like treasure hunt and that’s what excite me. It took us 2 hours until we finally called a quit and continue our journey.

2.Upside down museum

The famous upside down museum. Honestly, this was my first upside down museum and i am far from disappointed. The museum was small but well arranged and managed. Each room has a different team and there will be someone who assist you along the way. They will give you the idea for the pose and arrange people flow from one room to another. You won’t want someone else bombing your pics. Thumbs up for this museum!

3. 3D museum

Another recommended museum is the 3D museum. Well, for me it wasn’t as enjoyable as the upside down museum. though probably it was just because the un-artsy me popping out or simply sad cause this will be my last destination before i have to go and leave the city.

What about the food?

I am lovin’ it! :9 the vibrant food taste, colour, and varieties are enough to cope with quite range of taste palette. Oh, don’t forget to try the Penang Road Famous Chendul. It’s refreshing for a stop during the day.

How did we go around?

Public bus is out of the question as there is no clear schedule. For us we used the online taxi within this journey. Please note that the location within downtown is pretty near to each other. Some trips cost 4 of us only 3 MYR. You could walk on feet but the weather might melt you down.

Uh oh, Time for me to leave the city. Wish you were there too to spice up the journey. Cheers! 😉

The Science Behind Ordering Tea in Malaysia

Sipping my cuppa in these past few days has flown me back to my early days living in Malaysia. For those who wonder : Indonesia and Malaysia are located very near to each other. somehow, seeing the physical appearance and knowing the culture, you will think that these two countries are very similar with each other. But hey, how it was wrong! One of the example is about the “tea” we call it “teh” in the local language.

In Indonesia, when you order a tea, you will be served with a black tea + sugar and that’s what i expect when i got here. I ordered tea then… TADA…! What i had was Milk Tea that was super sweet. >_< Day after, i asked my colleagues and these are what they have told me :

Teh = Tea + Milk ( condensed Milk )
Teh C = Tea + Milk ( evaporated Milk )
Teh O = Tea + Sugar
Teh O Kosong = black tea with neither sugar nor milk
Teh tarik = Pull tea? haha.. they will pull the tea in between of two cups to mix and cool it down. personally, the taste of Teh and Teh Tarik are very different for my palate. I like Teh tarik better than Teh. It’ll be slightly foamy and i love foamy texture! :9
Ais = Cold
Suam = Lukewarm
Kurang Manis = Less Sugar.

When i head them i was like.. What? On the other hand they ask me, “You don’t have it?”. I shooked my head. Tea tradition in Indonesia is quite simple or is it me who doesn’t know? most probably the 2nd. 😛

in general, Indonesian don’t really drink tea + milk which then bring me to the other side of the story when my friend visited Indonesia for the first time last year. They didn’t understand why :

Most of the tea that they ordered came in Jasmine Flavour
When they ask for tea they have been given “Teh O”
When they ask for Milk Tea which is equal to ( teh susu) they have been given 1 glass of Tea ( teh ) and 1 glass of Milk (susu). This story like smack me on my forehead!LOL. =)))) Don’t get us wrong. My friend ordered it at the small stall. in a middle or high end restaurant/caffee they will know.

Seeing these two sides was interesting for me. Over the time when my Indonesian friend visited Malaysia they will shared with me in surprise. “You know what i ordered TEA and they served me a MILK TEA?!” I can’t help myself but chuckling. Been there done that.

Isn’t it amazing? how similar and how different we are? I am kind of enjoying any difference that i found over the time in any country that i visit. Keep your mind open and hopefully you are able to get your desired type of tea!

Wish you were here so that we could talk over a cuppa. Cheers! 😉

Colmar Tropicale the little French Village

I was attracted to this place because people said that this is some sort of a little french quarter which replicate the real “Colmar” in france. I went there.. in one cloudy day. It was beautiful but it will be better when it sunny and i bet it will even be prettier at night.

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First,you will see the gate to enter the french village. After you pass the gate, you will be welcomed by the open spaces, shop lots, and a boulangerie ( Bakery in French ). You could also go to the tower at the other end of the gate to get a higher view of the village and the city from above.I would say The environment is slightly different than usual archicteture within asian region with all of the bricks and colour. 😉

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Next – Japanese garden. Other than the french village, within the same area they have Japanese Garden. There is a free shuttle operate between this quarter and the garden. If i am not mistaken it will only run every half an hour. please check the timetable so that you could plan your trip in between.

This Garden was calming. the only pack place was the Japanese House. You could enjoy the tea ritual, trying the japanese clothes, and take a picture within the area. Well, for me i just would love to wonder around and enjoy the view. As usual, me and my wandering habit.

Wish you were there to enjoy the view! 😉

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Verdict

if you will stay in Kuala Lumpur for couple of days, yes you could plan to go here. It’s near from Kuala Lumpur ( around 45 minutes drive ) but if you only have 1 Day i would suggest you to skip this place since at least it will consume half of your day.

Getting There

It’s located out of Kuala Lumpur. It’s in Pahang which is a state near to Kuala Lumpur. In my experience, we are left with 2 options to go there:

To use the shuttle bus service. Please take note that the shuttle bus service is limited so book as soon as you can. It will depart from Berjaya Town Square in Kuala Lumpur.
Drive your own car >> which is the one that i opted to.

Beautiful Thean Hou Temple on Chinese New Year

No matter when you read this… HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Living in Kuala Lumpur has opened my eyes to how different Indonesia and Malaysia are. One of it is related with the Chinese culture and tradition. Here, in Kuala Lumpur, i could feel it more than in Indonesia especially during this special occassion of Chinese New Year (CNY).

First of all, please be aware that if you want to enjoy the Chinese New Year festivity, please come before the eve because nearing the day or on the day itself it will be quiet! Most of the malaysian chinese will come back to their hometown then enjoy the family dinner, visiting relatives, etc. Putting it in the simple term, it’s the personal time to spend with friends and family. Some shops will still be open but some will be closed for certain period. Don’t worry though, Mall will still open. Uh oh.. i could go on about this but let’s focus on one of the ‘Main’ temple in Kuala Lumpur – Thean Hou Temple

Many of my friends said that i should go during CNY because they will lit the temple with Lantern so there i wasvisiting the temple back in 2016. There is no public transport to go there so either you drive or simply use the taxi services to go there. For me it was a mix of taxi + a bit of ‘hiking’. It was sooooo packed and we simply ‘parked’ ourselves on the way there. Hence, my friend and i decided to just take a walk uphill. phew…When we arrived.. Aw… it was all worth it. The lantern was AWESOME. It ignited the place with red colour.

You could enter the temple and go into the prayer area. Please be mindfull and do not interrupt those who pray. inside the temple, you could go around and go to the higher level. For me, i could stay in such place and do nothing. The weather was great when i was there and the light was beautiful.

Beside the main building, there are some places that we could visit too. There is a garden behind the main temple. It could be quite scary though cause there are a lot of statues inside the garden. after going to the garden, we could walk down and find a pond where there are quite numbers of animals inside. Well, it was too dark for me so i carried on to another garden. In this garden you could wander around and try to find your Shio explanation. it was quite fun to read 😀

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I spent sometimes in the Temple but i had to end it as i need to save my hungry stomach. Actually, on the way out of the temple you could find stalls at the road side. However, i couldn’t really take it cause i am not sure if it’s halal or not. They look tasty. So, if you don’t have any meal preference as i am i think you will enjoy yourself there!

Overall, i think this temple is worth a visit if you have ever come to Kuala Lumpur. Come by when it’s CNY. Even if it’s not during that time, the temple is located on a hill. At the very least you could still take a peek of the city from uphill.

Oh.. i wish you were there so that we could see the city together. probably next time! Cheers!;)

Triana

IPOH Within A Day

One short Trip to IPOH!

Well, i just know that this city is famous for its white coffee but unsure about the rest. So, one day, i proposed to my friends to go there and here is our story for a one day trip in IPOH.

Gua Tempurung

This is suppose to be the first stop, but it was closed! oh dear… there was a crack so they closed it since it’s dangerous. Well, we should have expected this to happened since we tried to call the place before we came here but no one pick up. I wish they have improved their web and information since my group wasn’t the only one who found this only after we arrived. 😦

Kellie’s Castle

Well, honestly this is a big unfinished House then left as ruined. I would say It has its own beauty type but certain rooms gave me chill when i was there. Not so many things to see, but their garden was nice to sit around. Anyhow, since we can’t do so much thing here we moved to another main destination – Ipoh Old Town.

Admission (foreigner) : 5RM

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OLD TOWN

I think, it’s common for the old town in Malaysia to have those painting on the walls. As if i know a lot while I only have been to Penang and Ipoh old town 😛 at first we tried to do some painting hunting. However, It was too much sun to take so the painting hunting turn into food hunting.

There are plenty of cafes and restaurants. Not to mention the snacks along the way. You could just stop by and try some. The star snack that i really love is Tau Fu Fa. I have to admit Ipoh Tau Fu Fa is awesome! you should try some. I tried the one from concubine lane. For those who don’t know tau fu fa was made from soy bean. It’s similar with tofu but in a different texture. You could eat it with syrup made from ginger, brown sugar, etc. My suggestion is to stay with original + ginger.

Other than that, we went to IPOH OLD TOWN WHITE COFFEE. it’s a must try when you are in IPOH. Well, taste wise it has been standardised all over Malaysia but this is something that you can’t miss while you are in IPOH.

Well, there were something else that we did there but it was just sitting and talking among ourselves. This trip was quite unique for me cause actually i went with new friends whom some i have just met on the day we had this trip. Now. that i’m writing this story, i have just realised how ‘brave’ i am. LOL. Hope you can find these type of fellowship to!

Wish you were there. Probably next time. 😉

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Walking to and Inside KL Bird Park

The main reason why i ended up in this place was because my Malaysian friend running out of idea where he should take me to. He knows i love to walk and he really made me walk A LOT! LOL. This was the road that we walked through that day. I didn’t mind cause there are some parks along the way and i am huge fans of parks so it was a fun walk.

KL bird park

Was the walk paid off? Yes, eventually. This park is very good for family with kids. I could imagine that kids will enjoy this. It’s still enjoyable for me.. but i used to have lots of birds so it’s kinda make me home sick.

KL Bird Park is a large aviary with some parts where you can have a direct interactions with its habitant. The birds and monkeys. Yes, monkeys. They also have some shows so please take a look at the timing ’cause you don’t want to miss it. My favourite one is the one with the parrots. I had a parrot as a pet so it’s nostalgic show for me. Other than the show, the main star that capture my attention was the Peacock. He tried to get the female attention but too bad it seemed like it didn’t work at that time.

My suggestion is that visit this place in the morning so that you could have enough time to enjoy the whole sceneries.

Cheers!

Triana

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery is Where You Should Start Your Journey in KL

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery ( KLCG ) is one of my top recommendation in the list of Place to visit in KL. I’ve stopped myself from going in now cause i have been there countless time but everytime someone ask me about where to visit in KL i will always recommend this place. This place is awesome as a source of information and as a plus it’s also easy to reach by using public transportation. A tourist friendly place that is not going to rip you off.

When you first reach this place, immerse yourself in its surrounding. There is sultan abdul samad building and the famous dataran merdeka right in front of it. KLCG also surrounded by some museum and old buildings that could be a good place to capture some pics! 😉

Before you enter you could start by taking picture with I Love KL sign ( i got some ). Once you enter you could see that there is a map on your right side. This map is good to guide you on where you should go as it already has the marks of the places of interest. They provide the print out map so take one and keep it handy for your journey. there is an entrance fee to explore KLCG but i would recommend you to take it. Anyway, this ticket later could be exchange with some items near to the exit gate. Talking about bringing a trinket home. 😉

KLCG

Continue on the journey inside KLCG, you will be able to see some KL history and some small exhibition which will change from time to time before you finally reach a stair to the main attraction. There is a movie and the city miniature which explain about the city and its future enhancement. I enjoy this site because it could give you a general idea about this city in a glance.

After the movie, the path will bring you to the Arch gallery. The items are cute and artsy. It’s a bit pricy though. Well, it’s handmade so the price is quite understandable. I usually will stop by and wander around a bit just to give some refreshing for my eyes. There is a cafe where you could relax a bit before you continue your journey elsewhere.

All in all this is a good place and before you leave don’t forget to exchange your ticket with something! 🙂

Cheers!

Triana

CitraWarna 2015 and the MUD show

2015 - Citrawarna

Citra Warna is an event whereby each of the states in Malaysia will show their talents. My bad..i don’t really have a good pic of this event so i couldn’t really share the visual with you. However, i will still love to note down this event as part of my travelling notes. 😀

There are quite numbers of performance but my favourite would be MUD Performance. MUD is a performance about Kuala Lumpur history and how this city is being formed. It was a mesmerizing performance..well, if it’s not good i won’t be able to stand of my feet to watch it for hours. >.<

if you miss MUD performance in this event, don’t be sad. This show is actually being performed twice daily. I bet your experience will be nicer than mine, cause the usual show is held in a theatre with decent seat and AC! click on this link MUD SHOW and grab your ticket there.

Hope you enjoy it and you may want to put CitraWarna as one of the event that you would like to see when you visit Kuala Lumpur!

Cheers!

Triana