What to do on Rainbow Warrior during "Transit"?

(Papua trip on Rainbow Warrior boat with Greenpeace, May 10th - May 17th, 2013)

Apparently, it took more than two days to reach Tridachna dive sites from Jayapura, on Rainbow Warrior boat. As a scuba-diver, I just wanted to get to the dive sites soon! I couldn't wait to dive!

So, what to do on Rainbow Warrior when we're on "transit" (this is actually a term they use for 'sailing' from one place to another non stop)? Well, there were actually plenty of things to do on this boat. Not to mention, the "PIKET" in the morning, where we all have to choose our part in cleaning the boat and each room. One can help the chef preparing lunch/dinner (even though Ruslan - the Chef would prefer to work alone), or washing the dishes after lunch time/dinner time (even though everyone has to wash their own dishes right after eating, rinse it with soap water, then put it on the side together with the other plates & utensils, then the crew would put everything together in the sterilizer -- yes, they have it on the boat!).

Reading, would be a fun thing to do at the Lounge area. I loved this spot because it's so cozy, I felt at home :D. Not only that, there's a bookshelf full of books about our planet - fish, plants, environmental books -- awesome! If you're good at playing guitar, there were some of them at the lounge, too. Just pick and choose!

Every day, at around 4pm, there would be "Gym Session". Rainbow Warrior was equipped with some sports equipments, so you could just join the crew for the Gym Session and stay healthy when you're sailing!

One night, we watched a horror movie that was pretty cheesy, but still, we couldn't stop watching it!
The night before, we were all gathered together at the Lounge, playing some music instruments and singing! So niceeeee..!
I really loved the togetherness and the warmth of the people on this boat. It felt like being in a big happy family with multicultural background :).

Also, one of the fun things to do at night was looking at the sea water sparkling from the bow of the boat. It felt like watching thousands of stars in the sea. Magical....

Ok, what's my favorite time of the day on the Rainbow Warrior?

It would be... during the sunset! It was really fun to sit at the deck, watching the big sky changing its colors with sea breeze caressing my cheek. Loving it!

On a sunny afternoon, some Rainbow Warrior crew joined me at the deck, when I was day-dreaming waiting for the sunset. All of them bringing beer in their hands. Beer with different brands - from different part of the world! How cool is that? Some of the brands I found in the fridge were "Fat Yak", "Peroni", "Coopers" and "Castaway".
Apparently, Rainbow Warrior stocked up some beers whenever they stopped in a country. That explained those different brands!

However, there's a rule on this boat. One shouldn't get drunk. And, one shouldn't drink hard liquor. The max was wine :). And we were asked to drink responsibly.. also.. don't forget to write down what you drink on a piece of paper on the fridge! :D Drinks were pretty cheap on this boat. For a non-alcoholic drink, the price was 50 cents Euro. And for alcoholic drink, it's 1 Euro.

And oh.. I forgot about this fun activity!
On our first day, the Rainbow Warrior crew  gave us a briefing, explaining about the boat and showing us the rooms, including all the regulations. Two days in a row, we had to do "Fire Drill" and "Abort the Ship Drill". So professional! They said, it's important that everyone KNOWS where to get life jacket (in every cabin there would be 2 life jackets, also on the decks in each level), the different types of alarms, and where to get together when the alarm bell rang.

It was also important to know the different rooms of the boat and all the doors, so that if something bad happened, we could just run to the "Meeting Point" deck.

"Drop everything, get your life jacket, and run to the meeting point", said Adrian, one of the Rainbow Warrior crews from Panama.

Loud and clear, Sir! :)

I enjoyed chatting with the Greenpeace folks and Rainbow Warrior crew. They were all very passionate in protecting our planet and have all the experience in each field! Awesome. And they've been dealing with different types of issues, you name it... illegal logging, climate change, deforestation, etc. They've visited many countries doing environmental campaigns wholeheartedly. Respect!

Mark Dia, the Regional Ocean Campaign Manager for Greenpeace, shared with me about the Tuna Campaign that was a big success in the UK. "Most people don't know where tuna comes from and UK is the second larger consumer in the world for tuna". With this campaign, Greenpeace worked in the whole supply chain, down to where tuna came from (yes, including Indonesia). They have successfully influenced the big retailers to source "sustainable tuna" and the big companies have agreed and committed to it. In Indonesia, Greenpeace now is trying to promote sustainable fishing using pollen line.  Some fishermen have used this method and Greenpeace wanted to introduce this to the rest of the fishermen in our country.

So, when the Ocean Campaigners were not going diving, this was the type of conversation that we're talking about during the "transit"! ;D

Snorkeling with Whale Sharks on Cendrawasih Bay, Papua

(Papua trip on Rainbow Warrior boat with Greenpeace, May 10th - May 17th, 2013)

What a memorable day!

I finally came to Cendrawasih Bay National Park in Papua and experienced snorkeling with whale sharks! Awesomeness!!!
There were four whale sharks in total today and I swam with them from 8am until 1pm :D *happy face*. Two of them were as big as 10-12 meters, and the other two were about 7 meters.

It was such an amazing feeling, being able to swim so close to them. They swam next to me and also sometimes coming right in front of me, I thought they would kiss me right on my lips! Hahaha..

How to get here?

Well, I was lucky to get here on the legendary Rainbow Warrior boat with Greenpeace. But, if you're planning to go alone, you can fly to Nabire, then rent a speedboat to Ahe Island. From there, you can ask around on how to get to this site.

According to the local fishermen, the whale sharks are always there, every day. So, it's 100% guarantee you'll see them, all year round! Isn't it amazing? I LOVE INDONESIA!!!

How does it work? How come we can see them every day?

You must be wondering, right? I also don't know why exactly they always hangout there, but that's what the local fishermen said. Once you're in the spot, choose one of those fishing boats and ask the fishermen whether they have seen any whale shark. You can either wait in one of those fishing boats or go to another fishing boats around to try your luck.

The local fishermen feed those whale sharks with small fish, called "ikan puri" (local name). And these whale sharks will go up to the surface, eating those small fish. So cute! Just like a pet! :D

I saw a little boy playing with a bucket with a long rope. He put the bucket down and make some bubbles in the water. Then suddenly two whale sharks appeared from the sea! They thought this boy was trying to feed them! Ohhh.. super cute!

The Do's and the Don'ts when you see these whale sharks:

DOs:
1) Bring your snorkeling gear and jump off into the blue water with your snorkel and fins
2) Do keep your distance with the whale sharks
3) Do respect the local fishermen and give them some money in return of the small fish that they feed to the whale sharks
4) Do wear sunblock, because you will not notice that your skin is already burnt when you're having fun with the whale sharks!

DON'Ts:
1) DON'T TOUCH THE WHALE SHARKS!!
2) Don't be trapped into the fish net below the boat, because you'll make the water murky and you won't notice that your fins kick the whale sharks!

Check out my video free diving with this giant fish! Or click here to view it on youtube :).

A Trip With Greenpeace's Legendary Rainbow Warrior Boat in Papua

(Papua trip on Rainbow Warrior boat with Greenpeace, May 10th - May 17th, 2013)

I can't believe I'm on the legendary Rainbow Warrior Boat together with Greenpeace crew! OMG.

The Rainbow Warrior boat finally came to Indonesia as part of the "Southeast Asia Ocean Defender Tour 2013" and a campaign titled "100% Indonesia: Together, Protecting Our Forest & Ocean". The boat will travel around Indonesia in from May until June 2013 to witness the beauty of Indonesian waters and forests and tell the world about the beauty, including raising awareness that this beauty will not last forever if we don't take any action in protecting them.

And I'm so lucky to be part of the ocean campaign. The first Greenpeace's ocean campaign in Indonesia! More happy that I get the chance to sail with Rainbow Warrior boat for 6 days in Papua, from Jayapura, exploring the Bird's Head of Papua, then Manokwari! Yipppeeee!!! *dance*

Before I share the full stories on my trip in Papua with them, let me share my first impression on the legendary Rainbow Warrior first.

Do you know that this boat is the most eco-friendly boat for its kind in the world? It does! This boat uses 90% of wind energy and it only needs 20 litter of gas per hour. Very energy-saving!

What impressed me the most is the smoothness of the engine. I could barely hear the sound of the boat machine, even when the boat is moving fast! Incredible. Also, I couldn't smell the fume, which often makes me dizzy whenever I'm on a boat. This time, I don't have to worry about all of that as Rainbow Warrior smells like a hotel room! I'm not kidding. It smells so good, I even forget that we're actually on a boat.

The boat consists of several cabins, a dining room, an office room, lounge, big kitchen, helipad, toilets, shower in each cabin, laundry room, and some other storage rooms. It's really huge!

What I like from the Rainbow Warrior boat is that everyone who is onboard is treated as crew. There's no so called guest on this boat. So, in the morning, we wake up at 7.30am to have breakfast, then at 8am-9am, we all will work to clean the boat! One can choose to clean the toilet, stairways & hallways, deck, dining room or lounge area. It's always a fun time seeing everyone working together cleaning the boat! I like it!

Also, on Sunday, the Rainbow Warrior "real crew", who come from different part of the world (Russia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Panama, and many more!) are off. So, we would be the ones who clean the boat, including cooking lunch and dinner for everyone! Isn't it cool?

I shared a cabin with Riyanni Djangkaru, my dear friend who is the Editor in Chief for Divemag Indonesia and also a well-known environmentalist and traveler. It was really fun to share a cabin with her as we would giggle before we hit the bed every night and sometimes we often shared our make up collections, too!  Hahaha.. *girls will be girls!*

Oh, I also love the food on this boat. I still don't understand how Ruslan, the Russian chef can cook so many different dishes in such a short time for all of us on the boat? He must have used some magic spell! And the food is always super delicious, from appetizer, different types of main courses to dessert! Yum.. yum... our tummy's always happy! Thank you, Ruslan! :)

The Rainbow Warrior boat has a long history in holding campaigns to protect our planet. Celebrities, religious leaders (yes, including Dalai Lama!), Royal families and rock stars have visited this boat, too! Rainbow Warrior has been acting in the frontline to fight the system to defend our planet, relocated people in the South Pacific Island who were contaminated by radiation, helped save the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia, fight against illegal whale hunting, war, climate change and other environmental crime in all over the world.

Hopefully, by doing this campaign, more people will be aware to protect our nature. Go Greenpeace! Go Rainbow Warrior! Together, we protect the beauty of Indonesia and our planet!

Kartini Next Generation Award 2013: Inspiring Women in ICT

I feel so honored to receive the "Kartini Next Generation Award 2013: Inspiring Women in ICT" for Community Development category from the Ministry of Communication & Information Technology and the Ministry of Women Empowerment & Child Protection of Republic Indonesia.

The Kartini Next Generation Award 2013: Inspiring Women in ICT was given to six inspiring Indonesian women with different categories, such as education, community development, entrepreneurship and creative media.

The award was given by the Minister of Communication and Information Technology of Republic Indoensia Tifatul Sembiring himself and also a representative of the Minister of Women Empowerment & Child Protection of Republic Indonesia Linda Gumelar who couldn't attend the awarding night due to her health condition. 

I would like to thank both ministries and also the panel of judges for choosing me as the Award winner for the Community Development category. Thank you so much and I feel so humbled to receive this award and be associated as the Kartini Next Generation. I remember when I was in junior high school, I read Kartini's biography book and I was so inspired by it. I even cried and prayed hoping that I could be like her when I grow up, making some contributions for Indonesia :p. 

I know there's still a long way to go considering the complexity of education problems this country is facing. I just hope I could make a difference, even though if it's only a tiny bit :). 

Interview with Bangkok Post in Thailand

During the Thailand Conference on Reading 2013 held by TK Park in Bangkok, I got an interview request by Bangkok Post. The journalist, named Parisa was very pretty and smart. She asked me many questions, ranging from how did I get volunteers to what was my favorite book when I was a kid.

Check out the full article on this link below:

Bangkok Post's article on Rainbow Reading Gardens

Thank you, Bangkok Post, for the comprehensive article and for supporting Taman Bacaan Pelangi [Rainbow Reading Gardens]!

Thailand Conference on Reading 2013

I was invited to be one of the speakers at the "Thailand Conference on Reading 2013" in Bangkok, Thailand. The event was held by Thailand Knowledge (TK) Park, an education arm of the Prime Minister's office on March 21-22, 2013.

I was actually surprised that I had to write a paper for this conference! A paper about the topic of my presentation. OMG. I haven't written a paper in ages! I think the last time I wrote a paper is when I was still studying for my Masters degree in the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, back in 2002! :D

So, I wrote my paper titled "Rainbow Reading Gardens: an initiative to inspire children's imagination in Eastern Indonesia". TK Park, the organizer said that it didn't have to be too academical, because they thought it would be interesting to see a different perspective from a practitioner like me. Fffiuhh.. thank God!

I delivered my presentation on the first day, they gave me 1 hour slot with Q&A. I received positive feedback from the participants, I was so happy, because it meant they enjoyed & interested in my presentation :).

Here's the group photo of all speakers and the TK Park boards:

The other speakers were from India (Dr. Dhir Jingran), Myanmar (Ye Htet Oo), and Vietnam (Dr. Vu Duong Thuy Nga). They were all experts in education field. Dr Dhir used to work for "Room to Read" as one of the directors and I almost fell off from my chair hearing that he worked together with John Wood, the founder of "Room to Read" all the time. (I'm a big fan of John Wood) :D.

Being in the room with those experts from different countries and 200 participants from the region who are all experts and practitioners in education field. Librarians, academics, NGOs in education, etc.  I was so happy to be there and felt inspired. The energy during the two day conference was very positive. I loved it!

People were also willing to support each other and making connections. It was just great.

I learned so much from everyone of them, especially the speakers.

Ye Htet Oo from Myanmar said that in Myanmar, you have to get a letter from the police office if you wanted to be a member of a library! :D Everyone laughed hearing it. But, guess what, the Myanmar government has a policy to give every student at school a tablet! Wow! You wouldn't believe it, right?
The Thai government also does the same. How about Indonesia? I guess it will not happen in the next several years, considering there are so many remote areas that don't even have access to electricity yet, let alone giving a tablet for every kid in the country!

On the second day, the speakers were invited to go on a tour to TK Park. TK Park has a living library, which is very modern and full of fun, located in a shopping mall in Bangkok!
I was very impressed with the facilities there. They have cool interior design where kids could read and enjoy the book in a comfortable way. Also, kids were allowed to make noises. There's no such thing as "Please be quiet" in this library. Awesome, isn't it? Not only that, there was a little cafe in the corner where people could eat, drink and have some ice cream! Who said you couldn't eat and drink in a library? ;D


I loved the "Tree House" and these cubicles where kids could climb and sit on one of those cubicles. Great idea!

They also had a music room where people could learn different types of music and music instrument from all over the world, including its history. Also a computer room where kids could play computer games! The games were designed like a story-telling games, so kids also learn to read and understand the story. Brilliant.

Being there, I wish one day Indonesia also has a fun living library like this. A library where kids could also have fun and not bored.

Thank you, TK Park for inviting me to be the speaker for those two-day of "Thailand Conference on Reading 2013". Hope to see you guys again soon!

Mola-Mola, the Queen of Crystal Bay

Have you ever dived with Mola-Mola?

Mola-mola, also known as sunfish, is an amazing giant fish which can be seen regularly in Nusa Penida, Bali.

Want to know more about this?

Check out my article on Mola-Mola (Sunfish) that was published on the Jakarta Post Travel two days ago ;). Click on the link: "Mola-Mola, the Queen of Crystal Bay"

Enjoy! :)