Bangkok is full of gems and hidden gems of everything! It's so lively and it's like there's a place for everybody and their interest. The city is packed and crowded but as an introvert, Bangkok would still give you room and space for your serenity in an exciting way. Especially, when it comes to... indie bookstores! On my short visit last February 2023, I went to two bookstores. One of them is Books & Belongings, located in the middle of the housing area in Sukhumvit.

Books & Belongings Store Front

When I saw the shop front, the simplicity of the exterior says it all. Minimalistic, quirky, and bold characters. The three elements I decode have shaped a subtle eclectic progressive lit culture. I know I would find so many good titles in this place! With a cup of Thai Ice tea I bought from the Erawan Museum in my hand, I entered the bookshop.

The bookshop was ... also calming. Only the shopkeeper was there. No other visitor, but me. 

Books and Belongings Inside

I was greeted with lots of titles facing my way from their own places on the bookshelves. The shop was small, with enough space to go back and forth the aisle. There's a main table placed in the center, and the shelves stand surrounding it alongside the walls. The cashier's desk is on the right and a small table with two chairs on my left when I entered this candy store.

All of a sudden, to my regret, I asked why my luggage was already full at this moment. I am sure these books would add up to some kgs but worth more than anything else. Well, I put my cup and my bag on the table so I can enjoy every side freely. I felt safe coz literally there was nobody else. 

There are fiction titles and non-fiction ones. Most titles are the ones I have never seen before! That made the best moment of truth of the day. But on the other hand, that also made the shopping decision would be much harder coz I couldn't just buy anything that caught my attention. I had to choose for the sake of financial sanity and my luggage safety. 

When I spent my time checking these titles and peeked inside, I realized why visiting a bookstore when you travel is a must. Cultural differences and backgrounds have given us diverse perceptions that lead us to be mesmerized by different things. A different taste. Even for any similarities found, I would still find the beauty of how we are somehow connected by the same thing. 

However, Books & Belongings has brought more soul by bringing out more variety of topics through their selected titles. You'd know when a bookstore owner(s) has put his/her/their dedication into curating the titles, not just purely selling books, but selling art and ideas. Totally a bookshop that makes you giddy anytime you just remember the memory of you experiencing every corner.

To my disappointment is that they don't accept Card Payments. I was stressed out coz I've always been a cashless person and I thought this hipster bookstore would be the kind that has many payment options. I was wrong. Luckily I had the exact amount needed to pay! Or else, it would be a great embarrassment for me. Ha!

I paid and left. Feeling like a champion. 

For finally making it to this bookstore, and getting myself these gems.

Books & Belongings

502 Soi Sukhumvit 95, Bang Chak, Phra Khanong, Bangkok 10260, Thailand

Opens: 11AM - 7.30PM

Note: Bring cash money. No card payments.

Since my life recently has been about checking off bucket list, so here you go: Me finally hiking for the first time. Target pertama adalah Gunung Batur di Bali. Karena ada temen yang sudah pernah dan ngajakin juga. Nah, karena sudah kesampaian, mau ceritain kayak apa dan tips-tips beli sepatu trail hiking pertama kali. Semoga bisa bermanfaat dan menyemangati buat kalian yang sesama beginner hiker.

Long story short, waktu itu random aja keingetan wishlist untuk naik gunung sekitar awal tahun 2023 ini. Cuma saat itu, awal tahun ya... makanya masih musim hujan. Jadi agak riskan kalau langsung impulsif pergi, karena hujan berarti tanjakannya bisa jadi sangat licin, dan mungkin nggak ada sunrise. Waktu itu aku nanya aja di IG story, siapa yang mau naik gunung dan bisa nge-guide, karena first time nih. Kalau sudah biasa pun, ada baiknya punya guide. Kenapanya nanti diceritain.

So, pas udah posting di IG Stories, ada temenku yang jawab dan ngajakin untuk naik Gunung Batur. Dia udah pernah, therefore she could be my guide. Anyway, intinya dia saran naiknya itu per bulan Juni deh, karena udah musim non-hujan.

Akhirnya bulan Juni lewat, dan pas banget ada business trip ke Bali. Lanjut extend 2 hari cuti.

Cerita Cari Sepatu Hiking

Yak, tentunya sepatu buat hiking itu nggak sembarangan. Secara berjam-jam kita akan berhadapan sama lintasan yang nggak nyaman. Sepatu biasa mungkin bisa aja dipaksain, cuma sayang aja, bisa cepet rusak, dan mungkin kitanya juga nggak nyaman.

Karena gue pernah kerja buat sport apparel brand, sekalian gue tanyalah ke temen gue (yang masih di sana) dan Product Trainer dan nanya ke temen yang ngajakin dan udah pernah ke Gunung Batur. 

Ada dua pilihan yang menurut gue ok untuk ukuran hiking Gunung Batur aja. Tapi ukurannya nggak dapet. So akhirnya beli ini: adidas Soulstride 

Bahkan bisa buat pose Arabesque

Klik aja buat liat bentuknya atau kalau mau sekalian beli. Karena offline stores udah nggak ada, cuma di online dan lebih murah karena udah release lama. Yang penting secara sol cukup nge-grip buat landasan yang model pasir, batu, dan tanah... khususnya dalam kondisi becek. 

Untuk orang yang suka ribet sama sepatu, adidas Soulstride ini untungnya comfy banget. Nggak sakit, inner sol empuk, megang, dan flexi banget kalau kita kudu nahan-nahan di permukaan yang kurang ok dan kalau kita butuh agak loncat-loncat, nggak ngurangin agility kita. Dan sepatu ini... enteng. Bulky tapi nggak makan tempat yang sampe heboh banget di koper.

Sempet dateng ke toko offline-nya, yang baru-baru itu rata-rata warna ungu dan ada orange-nya. Nggak suka banget. Lagipula, sepatu warna cerah gitu, kotor dikit hore banget bentuknya. Mana ini buat hiking, nggak mungkin nggak kotor, lah. Untung banget nemu adidas Soulstride ini... dan udah tinggal satu di store. Tapi ternyata di online masih banyak stoknya.

Pas udah turun, meski udah sempet kejedug beberapa kali, dan lain-lain, bentukan sepatu ini nggak ancur lah. Ya karena warnanya hitam hahaha.

Semoga bermanfaat. Blogpost berikutnya cerita naik gunungnya deh.

Paham banget semua orang heran kenapa gue ikutan kontes-kontes sosmed gini. Emang nggak ketebak gue banget. Tapi, gue ikutan karena awalnya kepengen bikin konten masak lagi di Instagram setelah gue hiatus lama banget, sekalian cari validasi apakah konten masak gue berarti apa nggak. Sekarang, jadi semangat lagi karena... aku menang lomba Instagram. Yak, bahagia sesederhana itu.

Gue sempet hiatus karena gue trauma sama konten masak, traumanya karena gue mendapatkan pelecehan ketika jadi hand talent di salah satu agency. Akhirnya gue jadi males banget bikin konten masak, or even untuk masak itself, masak sehari-hari aja nggak mood banget. Pas udah mulai regain my confidence untuk masak dan bikin konten lagi, gue mulai bisa re-grasping the peace and serenity ketika masak malam hari, tepatnya lagi pas midnight---ketika semua udah tidur, rasanya tenang, dan gue masak sambil bikin konten.

Sayangnya itu nggak lama.

Gue biasanya skip ga masak dan ga bikin konten ya karena sibuk atau lagi sakit. Tapi adalah komentar yang nggak enak dari seseorang dan itu nyelekit banget. Bahwa... gue itu masaknya benernya payah dan gue cuma mamer kuteks. I was like... ya gue emang nggak sejago nyokap gue, gue nggak sejago chef, or sejago content creator masak di luar sana. But I wasn't flexing my nails, hey! 

Yawes, pas temen gue ajakin ikutan... gue saat itu gue kepengen-tapi aduh malu-kepengen-tapi aduh malu- tapi kepengen sebenernya. Karena ya malu lah, I thought my skill was so-so aja. 

Cuma entah gimana, suddenly I was inspired. Plus saat itu, gue abis beli pan Takoyaki dan trend Wes Anderson ala ala lagi trending. Kemudian gue bikin konten bikin Takoyaki, mau flexing Takoyaki pan-nya benernya (bukan kuteks). Lalu abis dari situ, keinget, ada kontes ini. Ya udah mari kita berpikir, resep apa yang enak pake susu.

Dan dari situ, gue mikir, USP alias Unique Selling Point dari konten gue ini apa. 

Gue randomly mikir.... Opor tapi kilat buat yang kepepet. Saat itu kan pas Lebaran, ya. Sapa tau ada yang kurang masak atau kelupaan atau baru sempet pas udah mepet-mepet. Maka jadilah Emergency Opor Ayam Recipe with Milk. Resepnya bisa dibaca di sini. Atau nonton videonya di sini.

Anyway, setelah beberapa minggu, pengumuman keluar dan, yay, I won guys. OMG! Ha!

Dennis and my prize =D

My stuffed dog is super happy