Travelling with Your Lovely Dog

Hi guys!!
In this post I want to share my experience on travelling with my dog.
As doglovers, we want our dog to be included in our journey. However, we have to bear in mind that there are some do's and dont's in travelling with your dog.

Do's :
1. Prepare all of your dog's things, such as :
- Leash, you will need this when you are walking around with your dogs. Dogs are a bit uncontrollable in the crowd. This thing will prevent unfortunate things to happen
- Dog's carrier bag (if your dog is small enough to be carried in a dog's bag). Sometimes, you have to carry your dog. This bag will help you a lot in carrying your dog. Trust me!!
In addition, this bag can also be used to carry all of your dog's stuffs
- Your dog's pillow / blanket (especially if you are travelling to a cold place). Dogs will feel uneasy in a new environment. Its pillow / bed will help him to relax as it is smelling a familiar smell. Furthermore, your dog will need this in a cold place.
- Foods. Always be prepared, since it is not easy to find dog food while travelling, while preparing dog food from our food is not convenient.
- Bowl for your dog's food.
- Wet tissue. We will never know what will happen when travelling. Always prepare a wet tissue to clean your dog in case it plays in dirt or something still sticks on its butt after pooping :p
2. Always check before going :
- Are you allowed to bring your dog to the hotel/inn?
- Are dogs allowed in your travel destination?
3. I suggest that you only take your dog along if you are travelling by your own car. Using public transportation is not recommended!!
4. Stop by in a rest area every 2-3 hours to give your dog a chance to walk around, eat, drink, or even poo.
5. Watch out for the signs given by your dog. If it is crying, it may be want to pee/poo.
6. Bring a plastic bag and old newspaper to pick up your dog's poo / trash.

Dont's :
1. Never ever put your dog in a cage along the journey. It will get sick.
2. Never let your dog running free in the crowds. It can be lost or doing bad things.

That will be all of my suggestion for now. I hope this helps!!
Remember, always be prepared!!! :D

Nasi Goreng Kampung

As we know, Indonesia is full of culinary experience. One of Indonesian popular food is fried rice / "nasi goreng".
I am quite a huge fan of "nasi goreng". In my last trip to Lembang, Bandung, West Java, I tried a new kind of "nasi goreng" (for me, at least. As I am aware a lot of people has tried this kind of fried rice).
It is called "nasi goreng kampung" or we can roughly translate it to "traditional style fried rice" / "village style fried rice".
It has some spices inside, one of it is turmeric.
They are using turmeric instead of soy sauce to give the color and main flavor of this dish.
The taste is quite different with the ordinary fried rice, which is usually made with a lot of soy sauce and garlic.
This one has a dominant taste of turmeric and it tastes really really good. You should try it sometimes!!
I came back on the following day just to eat it again. Lol

Holiday Destination - Curug Capolaga

Well, it has been a very long time since my last post..
But lets get to the point anyway,
In this post I want to share about my last holiday destination in Lembang, Bandung, West Java.

I really picked a wrong time to go on a holiday. It had been raining for days!! And all of my carefully planned itinerary was gone to waste.
However, I still insisted to enjoy my holiday and visit as many places as I could go in this rainy season.

On my third day in Bandung, I finally gave up on going to Tangkuban Perahu due to the rainy weather. It is said that fog wll come down if it rains.

Therefore, we were trying to go to Ciater, where a hot spring is located. On the way of going there, we stopped in a small restaurant to eat (I will talk about the restaurant in a separated post). We asked about nearby places. The restaurant owner advise us to go to a new waterfall called Curug Capolaga. And we decided to go there instead of Ciater.

It was a quite difficult journey going there. Although the road was quite smooth, it was really small, going up and down and also had sharp turns. And finally we arrived at the parking lot. The parking area was not that big, but since we were going on weekdays, our car was the only one there.

The guard was a nice old man and the tickets were aslo cheap. It took IDR 7,000 / person to get into the waterfall and IDR 3,000 / car for parking. 

From the guard, we then found out that there are 3 waterfalls in that area. The waterfall is not too far from the parking area. After going down, we will see the first waterfall called "Curug Goa Badak". Oh wait, I forgot to tell you that "Curug" means waterfall in Sundanese (a local language in Indonesia). So in English, the name can roughly translated into "Rhinoceros Cave Waterfall". But do not be afraid yet, because you will find no rhinoceros there. It is just that the cave is so big, so the local residents call it rhinoceros cave.

In Curug Goa Badak, the waterfall is not that big, but it has a quite big pool and a big cave so that we can play there. The water is also not too deep, it will not drown higher than your knee except you get really close to the waterfall, which I didn't try.

After playing around for a while, we moved to the second waterfall. It is called "Curug Sawer Karembong". Litterally translated, it can be called "Karembong Splash Waterfall". The waterfall is quite small, going down to a quite wide and deep pool. 

And finally, we proceed to the last waterfall called "Curug Karembong" which literally translated to "Karembong Waterfall". It is a quite big waterfall consists of 2 short waterfall. 

And the last waterfall ended my journey that day. This place is certainly recommended!!! It still has a natural beauty with all the waterfalls, woods, even the walking track to move from.one waterfall to another. 

These waterfalls also have camping ground and outbound area. 

And most importantly, it is also completed with bathroom and toilet. Thank God. 

For the visitors who are willing to spend the night, a cottage is also provided.

I hope this information will be beneficial to you. Personally, I love this place :) and will recommend it to my friends. It is surely a great place to go back to nature!!

Just a Little Chit Chat ;)

Hi, I just want to share why I'm picking the "ChittyChatClub" name.

Well, the definition would be..

The chittychatclub means a club / party / occassion where a light conversation is shared.

I chose that name because I would like to talk about small & light information / topics which is interesting around us.

But since this is a club, I will really appreaciate if everyone could join the conversation & share here :)

Beauty Standards Around The World

Hi there,
I just want to share what I read about the beauty standards differences around the world.

What actually comes to your mind when someone is asking you about the your standard of beauty?
I'm sure everyone has their own standard of beauty.
Well, chances are, you are thinking of what is considered beautiful in your country.
Just like me, who is living in Indonesia. My standard of beauty is really affected by the society standard.
Here in Indonesia, the ones who have white skin, black & straight hair, beautiful smile and girly style considered as beautiful :)

However, I'm sure that not everyone agree with my standards of beauty.
If there's a different standard of beauty around the world, then what exactly defines it?

United States

In the US, the standards of beauty refers to top models and celebrities, who are tall, thin, and elegant. However, there are so many different kinds of people live in the United States, we find beauty in all types. From Bar Refaeli to Kim Kardashian, and Tyra Banks to Jennifer Lopez, beauty in this country is found in all colors and sizes. But they all have some things in common—they are beautiful, fit, and have perfect features. Though it exists in other countries as well, a common thread in American thinking is that if you weren’t born with beauty, it can be created.

Iran

In Iran, nose-jobs are the ultimate route to beauty—and the ultimate status symbol. Both men and women wear their bandages with pride; in the so-called “nose-job capital of the world” over 70,000 people in this past year alone went under the knife to get a nose-job. Because of the strict dress code in Iran and other similar countries, women want what they can actually show off to look perfect. Because of this, other beauty trends seem to focus on kohl-lined eyes and perfectly threaded brows.

Thailand

In Thailand, and much of Southeast Asia, for that matter, it is difficult to find a beauty product that does not contain some kind of skin-whitening agent. In Southeast Asia, pale skin is associated with wealth, status, and beauty. Another much different view of beauty in Thailand from the Kayan tribe focuses on neck-elongation. From the time they are young, female members of the Kayan tribe add shiny brass hoops onto their necks one at a time until they become beautiful “long-necks”.

Kenya

For the Masai women of Kenya, it’s all about the earlobes—they pierce them and then stretch them out, using materials like slices of elephant tusk. Sometimes, they even remove the two middle teeth from their bottom jaw and shave their heads.

New Zealand

The Maori people of New Zealand have been decorating their faces with swirling blue tattoos called “moko” for centuries. Originally a sign of wealth for their ancestors, today most Maori people have moko. For women, the ultimate sign of beauty is full, blue lips and tattoos on the chin.

Mauritania

In this West African country, being overweight is a sign of wealth and status—a fact so important that women will often force-feed their daughters up to 16,000 calories per day, mostly consisting of gallons of whole camel’s milk and butter. Women are also seen as most attractive when they have plump ankles, stretch marks, and have been divorced. To Mauritanian men, a divorced woman means that she is desirable, and therefore a better catch.

South Korea

In South Korea, the trend is to have wide, round eyes, and many people are going under the knife to achieve them. One in ten women, and even some children, are having an eye-lift to make their eyes more Western and appealing.

France

In France, and other parts of Europe, the desired look is natural beauty. French women are known to be graceful and glamorous at every age, without being too flashy, and often don’t understand the American tendency to use lots of makeup.

Ethiopia

In the Karo tribe in Ethiopia, young girls have scars cut on their bodies in intricate, swirling patterns to create a beautiful design to attract a husband. Once a girl is finished receiving the scars, she is old enough to be married and start a family.

So, which one you considered as beauty?
Well, in the end, I believe that every woman is beautiful in her own way :)
So thin or chubby, smooth or scarred skin, and everything in between, beauty is unique everywhere you look.