Constellation of Se7en (PART ONE)

Sunday, November 18, 2012 11:06 Posted by Chris Cross

Constellation of Se7en
When All the Stars Are On Their Rightful Place

8 days, 7 nights, 2 countries,1 mission trip, 1 team, 1 Lord over all

PART ONE
Monday, November 5th, 2012
BDG - SING

It is my first time going abroad alone.
Still drowsy from my lack of sleep since last on call, I wait in Husein Sastranegara (very small) airport lounge.
Husein Sastranegara Airport @BDG











 Penerbangan Air Asianya on time & I don’t recall many trouble. Bahkan nyampe 10 menit lbh cepet dari yang seharusnya.
Waktu menginjakkan kaki di Changi Airport...wow...a huge airport! =) Secara otomatis langsung my mind take a comparison with Soekarno-Hatta *uda ketebak kan kesimpulannya?? Hehehe....
Changi Airport @SING
Dan karena baru pertama kali, to be honest I don’t know where to go setelah keluar dari Arrival. HP ku juga bermasalah, kaga bisa menghubungi Jo. Jadi dengan pasrah berserah, aye duduk di bangku depan pintu kaca Arrival. Duduk tenang sambil mulai mengunyah roti. Makan terakhirku kepagian, berasa sahur.

And suddenly, there she is – out of nowhere – calling out my name with her glowing smile ^^
It is almost magical.

Here I am, with her, after 2 years. Surreal.

©

Today is the beginning of my adventure to Thailand, via Singapore. Tujuan utamanya adalah medical mission trip ke Northern Thailand, daerah pegunungan di utara Chiangmai, near Thai-Myanmar borders. Tapi aku memutuskan untuk transit dulu di Sing, baik saat pergi maupun pulangnya. Dan agenda hari ini adalah ngiterin Sing ;D


Kami langsung turun ke stasiun MRT. Jo lends me her mother’s MRT card & helps me carry my things. I bring 1 roller luggage, 1 backpack (my faithful companion since Borneo time haha), 1 box (used children clothes for donation) & 1 big plastic bag filled with oleh2 from Bandung. Di MRT she tries to catch up our lost time, meanwhile I still feel drowsy & overwhelm & surreal hahaha.... Tiba2 aja aku nyadar, it’s going to be one full week with English!! Tuing tuing...*tepok jidat

Karena cuma punya ½ hari untuk melihat-lihat Sing, jadwal kami hari itu penuh banget. Begitu nyampe flatnya (yang tepat berada di atas stasiun MRT), langsung naro barang. Ketemu dengan ibunya yang waktu itu sedang libur. Just like what I remember from her FB pic =) Small & nice apartment they have. Setelah itu going for lunch at the nearest food court Food Republic (yaitu di mall seberang flatnya haha). Cha kwe tiauw, hokkian noodle, & dimsum ;D Surprisingly, I find the cha kwe tiauw tastes so good, better than in Indo, maybe coz it’s not too sweet. The dimsum (esp.the siew may) also good.
Food Republic near Serangoon Central
Then we take a cab to meet my bro’s friend since 2009 (or so), a Singaporean. We have arranged to pick him up at his house & will spend the day together. Both Jo & MH take their leave to accompany me that day. How sweet of them (thank u so much guys!!)
The MBS
The cab takes us to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) area. Three skycraper towers dengan atap menyerupai perahu yang disebut sebagai Sky Park. A perfect place to see all Sing in one walk ^^
Jo & MH @Sky Park MBS

The Sky Park @MBS
Fullerton Hotel from Sky Park view
Syukurnya hari itu mendung (tapi keneh panas membakar mah). Kebayang gak ada di Sky Park di tengah siang bolonggg (kami tiba disana sekitar jm 13.00 Sing time) ?? Itu aja aku uda bad feeling, kayaknya bakal pulang gosong nih.... Forgot to put on sunblock hehe. Tapi ya ruginya, semua foto outdoor hari itu baik di Sky Park maupun di Merlion Park, semuanya cloudy =( Dulu sih waktu my bro & Mun Hon maen ke Sky Park, mereka masih boleh ke area pool nya yang unik karena tepinya seakan tak berbatas. Sekarang sih udah gak boleh, limited to hotel guest only.

The Infinity Pool @MBS Hotel
The stadium, Esplanade, and Merlion Park from Sky Park view












Setelah puas foto2 Sing dari Sky Park (dan basically bener2 bisa liat penjuru Sing dari atas, the Esplanade, stadium, pelabuhan, gedung2 skycrapers yg lbh pendek dr Sky Park tentunya, dll), kami turun muterin mallnya dan sempet ngintip kasinonya juga dari atas. Sayangnya no taking pics, klo gak pasti uda kupajang disini.

MBS Mall, reminds me of Senayan City

Venetian-like canal @MBS Mall

Spiderbay Park near MBS
Next destination adalah Fullerton Hotel yang sudah sempat kami kecengin dari atas Sky Park. Mnr MH dulu itu adalah kantor pos. Tonjolan di atas gedungnya sempat jadi mercusuar juga. 
Fullerton Hotel



MBS from afar, a look from the old port

Old Central Station, now a hotel lobby


The famous Merlion Park, near Esplanade
Semua tempat yang kukunjungi bersama MH sebagian belum pernah Jo kunjungi. So, she’s like a tourist too ^^ Lokasinya berdekatan, masih dalam 1 area. Kalo ada salah2 info tentang lokasi2 yang aye pajang, ntar dikoreksi dah hehe. Pokoknya hari itu berjudul “Jalan-jalan di Singapura” – in its most LITERAL way, bener2 modal betis ;D Yang agak jauh ditempuh by cab / by MRT. MRT di Sing – like u all already knew – is a convenient mode of transport. Cepet, bersih (karena dilarang makan-minum-buang sampah), praktis (karena tinggal pake kartu isi ulang) *langsung inget KRL di Jkt / Bdg hihihihi.... Tapi yah, kt Jo klo lagi peak hour mah tetep aja desek2an sampe can’t hardly breathe.

Keluar dari MRT, kami mampir dulu ke Starbucks (I find that the Singaporeans are very fond of Starbucks, beside iPhone faithful users) dan toko herbal milik temannya MH. After that we go to St. Andrew’s Cathedral, gereja Anglikan yang aslinya dibangun thn 1934-1937. Kemudian diperbaharui ke dalam btk katedral (English-Gothic style) thn 1856 hingga 1864. Gereja ini termasuk cukup getol bermisi, antara lain medical mission ke Batam tiap weekend.

St. Andrew’s Cathedral
St. Andrew’s Cathedral

Sebagai perbandingan, aye juga dibawa mengunjungi Novena Church, gereja Katolik yang diresmikan oleh bishop of Malacca thn 1950. Dibandingkan St. Andrews, bangunan Novena lebih pendek dan kecil, dgn bell tower terpisah dari bangunan utama gereja. Walaupun masih jam kerja, banyak jemaat datang untuk berdoa di gereja tsb.  Di luar gereja ada tempat duduk yg cozy. Jo & MH duduk mengobrol sementara aku berkeliling foto2.

Novena Church
Novena Church




















Unexpected surprise for that day is the opportunity to meet up with WJ (yg sekarang sudah bergelar Mrs. Tam) di kantin Tan Tock Seng hospital (Jo’s workplace). She’s just come back from her honeymoon in Cambodia. After 2 yrs, I finally get the chance to see her again, a very passionate & spirited girl (now woman) =) It’s only a brief encounter but I’m really glad to see her after I couldn’t attend her wedding last week. CT, WJ husband, is an OMF missionary from Canada. Their love story is “epic” – really2 God’s written love story (click: The Wonderful Story of CT & WJ). Sekarang mereka tinggal di penthouse dekat tempat tinggal ortu WJ.

Our final destination (before home) for that day is dinner @MH’s house. Her mother has put a lot of efforts (I’m very grateful, Aunty!) to cook us one complete set of meal. I think it’s about 7 dishes, starting from appetizer to desserts *jadi inget cia ciu
Fish soup (my bro’s fave), mushroom with chicken & pork & kembang tahu, fried chicken, risoles salmon, kepiting cangkang lunak dari Indo (aku aja belum pernah makan itu!!!), garlic fried rice, jelly dgn lengkeng.
Gileee...kenyang banget! And I have to admit, her mom is a great chef. Three thumbs up man! The dinner is awesome with big A. 

 


Kami baru berangkat pulang dari rumah MH around 21.30 Sing time. Take a bus ride home. Di rumah (10th floor) ortunya Jo udah nungguin kami pulang. I finally get to meet her dad (already met her mom before lunch). Jadi hari itu aku sudah mencoba pesawat, MRT, kaki, taxi, dan akhirnya bus. Well done C! Am having fun. Exhausted. But again can not sleep, it’s just too hot....

©

Malam sebelum berangkat ke Sing, Jo emailed each one of us a daily devotional untuk dipake sepanjang mission trip. Dia dapet dr inet lalu direvisi lagi sesuai kebutuhan tim kami. It’s a good set of devotional for short term mission trip. 
cd

Pre-trip: Heart prep & Expectations
 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

Thinkpoint! Setting goals: Have a think before we start out: Why are you going on this trip?

What do you hope that God will show you/ teach you during this trip?

Prayer: Commit it to the Lord in prayer. Ask expectantly that God might open your eyes, and use our team, and mould us as He will! :)

ba
Waktu duduk merenungkan pertanyaan pre-trip, banyak pertanyaan, harapan, impian bermunculan. Tapi ada juga kekhawatiran terutama ttg tim ini. A bunch of strangers, how can we work well with each other?
But just like the prayer in the pre-trip : I ask expectantly that God might open our eyes, use the team, & mould each one of us as He will.

Click : My 1st meeting with Jo & WJ - 2010 - West Borneo
Search : 8 Days, 7 Nights part ONE (accompanying photo album for this posting) @my FB 


 *** to be continued ***




Labels: , , 6 comments
6 Responses
  1. b4mBi3 Says:
    24 November 2012 at 12:51

    knapa yah? whereever u go, selalu jadi cerita yg menarik Chris!

    btw, gw sering da, crita-crita di kelas.

    jadi yah anak-anak...sy punya temen. kita temanan dari smp, blablabla...
    my friend's a doctor. pernah praktek di borneo, hobi medical-travelling dan dikemas dlm kegiatan sosial...

    well, those kids really need a "based on true life" story...
    biar ga bosen dengan kimia, dan bentar lg nimpukin gw pake sepatu mereka masing-masing :D

    thanks for sharing, mate!

  2. Chris Cross Says:
    25 November 2012 at 12:14

    Hmm...I don't really know why. Sebenernya pas lagi dijalanin mah, sok gak rame da. Sok stress, sok jangar, sok bosen. Tp pas itu uda dijalanin dan g step back for a while to think & reflect, wow,tnyata seru, asyik, menarik - and most important of all : selalu ada precious lessons I can learn.
    Thanks for reading & thanks for sharing with those kids ^^ (wish I can hv a Chemistry teacher like u haha!)

  3. iniblogsaya Says:
    30 November 2012 at 23:37

    Akhirnya..bisa baca juga..hehheeehee.
    fotonya bagus2 ^^
    Wah..jadi pengen ke singapore

    bener banget kak Chris ini kalo nulis sesuatu selalu menarik untuk dibaca ^^v dan ada lesson to learn nya

    Thinkpoint! Setting goals: Have a think before we start out: Why are you going on this trip? -->why? jawabannya ada di next part ya?

  4. Chris Cross Says:
    1 December 2012 at 07:29

    @Taz : yg kolom2 itu daily devotional yg Jo siapin buat kami semua. Dia juga ngambil dr inet, tp direvisi sesuai kebutuhan.
    Jawaban dr "Why are u going on this trip" sbnrnya ga di-publish soale it's too personal hahahaha... :P
    Tapi baca dulu deh smp abis hehe.

  5. Unknown Says:
    1 December 2012 at 20:50

    Chriiiiis
    Finally, after all these years, gua bisa post comment dengan benar hahahaha

    very very enjoyable chris!
    Berasa banget deh deskripsi SG nya, apalagi yang "mendung tapi tetep panas" hehehehe.

    U know, g dah berkali kali ke SG tp ga pernah ke tmpt2 yg elo mention. well, except for The Merlion Statue sih hehehe.
    You paint SG in a new, fresh point of view!

  6. Chris Cross Says:
    4 December 2012 at 18:41

    @Pheo :
    My old pal, congratz for finally can publish ur comments "properly" (there's always a first time for everything ^^)
    Hahaha..thx, I wish I can go back to Sing & enjoy another part of it someday =))

Post a Comment

What do you think? ^^

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
abcs