#789 - New Year's Eve

ENGLISH

For the latest new year's eve, my family and I bought tickets to join the old and new party held at Hyatt Regency, Yogyakarta. The theme of the party was "1001 Nights with Dewi Persik". Yes, Dewi Persik would be the special star that night. On the invitations, the party started at 6 PM. We went there at 7 PM and when we arrived, no other invitees had already been there, or in other words, the party hadn't started yet, haha.

Because the invitations included buffet dinner, we decided to have dinner first. "Buffet" can be translated as "all you can eat", that's why coming earlier than everyone else is an advantage as we could pick any food we liked and wanted for free (no need to queue, the food was still fresh and abundant, LOL). Anyway, because the theme was "1001 Nights" which of course sounds really Arabic, the menu that night was also Arabian food, at least, they tasted so Arabic. Even though my tounge is not used to that kind of food but they are actually tasty :-)

Anyway, then the show started at about 8 PM with a band performing (not Dewi Persik because she was scheduled to perform at around 11 + PM). The band performed in exchange with a female DJ and belly dancers. At around 11.30 PM, finally Dewi Persik showed up and sang three songs before the countdown. The countdown itself was kinda a mess because at the same time, they lit all the fireworks at the golf club and Dewi Persik performed at the stage, that's why it was not so focused. Then, Dewi Persik continued to sing many songs (I heard she was about to sing 10 songs but in fact she sang A LOT more, around 20 I think!! Hmmm, kudos). Well, I think Dewi Persik is truly an entertainer. She was able to bring the mood of the crowd up and all people became enthusiastic with the show, even them who had already fallen asleep before, LOL. Beside that, she was also humble and really nice to the fans as she was okay if any fan would take a picture with her :-) When the show had already been over (supposedly), someone requested her to sing one more song. I knew she had already been super exhausted (yeah, singing about 20 songs in a row!! C'mon!! Karyoke-ing for 2 hours non stop (of course with break between songs) is already tiring for me and my voice, this time she sang non-stop literally!!). But still she granted that request as she sang one more song. Kudos to Dewi Persik!! :-)

Then, the show ended with doorprizes draw. Damn, as usual, I didn't win any, haha.... . Well, overall, the party was a success. The expensive ticket fee wasn't that "expensive" anymore after Dewi Persik's performance and the quality of the food. Even though the countdown was a mess, overally the party was still great.

::: Middle Eastern food and complimentary drinks (champagne, red wine, juice)

::: At the party

::: belly dancers belly-dancing.

::: Dewi Persik performing

::: Dewi Persik performing

::: Me and Dewi Persik

BAHASA INDONESIA

Untuk malam tahun baru kemarin ini, aku dan keluarga membeli tiket untuk mengikuti acara pergantian tahun di Hyatt Regency, Yogyakarta. Tema pestanya adalah "1001 Nights With Dewi Persik". Ya, Dewi Persik menjadi bintang tamu pada acara malam hari itu. Di undangan, pestanya mulai jam 6 sore. Kami berangkat jam 7 malam dan waktu tiba, belum ada undangan lain yang udah datang, dengan kata lain, acaranya belum mulai, haha.

Karena undangan sudah termasuk makan malam buffet, kami memutuskan untuk makan dulu deh. "Buffet" dapat pula diartikan sebagai "all you can eat" kan, makanya datang duluan dari orang lain bisa dipandang sebagai keuntungan karena bisa mengambil makanan sesuka hati dengan bebas (nggak perlu ngantri, masakannya baru matang dan masih melimpah, LOL). Ngomong2, karena temanya adalah "1001 Malam" yang tentu terdengar sangat Timur Tengah, menu malam itu juga bertemakan Timur Tengah deh, paling nggak terasa seperti itu. Walau lidahku nggak biasa sama masakan itu, tapi enak juga loh :-)

Ngomong2, kemudian acaranya dimulai sekitar jam 8 malam dengan sebuah band tampil (bukan Dewi Persik karena dia dijadwalkan tampil jam 11 malam lebih). Band ini tampil bergantian dengan seorang DJ perempuan dan penari perut. Jam 11.30 malam, akhirnya Dewi Persik muncul juga dan nyanyi tiga lagu sebelum hitung mundur. Hitung mundurnya sendiri agak kacau sih menurutku, karena pada saat yang sama mereka menyalakan kembang api di lapangan golf dan Dewi Persik tampil di panggung, makanya nggak fokus kan. Kemudian, Dewi Persik terus deh nyanyi (aku dengar dia akan menyanyi sekitar 10 lagu, cuma kenyataannya dia nyanyi JAUH lebih banyak tuh, sekitar 20an kayanya!! Hmm, hebat deh). Aku rasa dia juga memang penghibur sejati, soalnya dia mampu membawa mood penonton naik dan bersemangat untuk menonton acaranya, bahkan mereka yang sebelumnya ngantuk, LOL. Di samping itu, dia juga rendah hati dan baik banget ke penggemar karena dia fine2 saja kalo ada penggemar yang mau foto bareng :-) Ketika acaranya sudah selesai (seharusnya), seseorang meminta dia nyanyi satu lagu lagi. Ya, aku tau lah pasti sudah capek banget tuh (iyalah, nyanyi 20an lagu beruntung gitu lho!! Iya kan. Lha karaokean 2 jam non stop (tentu ini ada istirahatnya di antara lagu2 gitu kan) udah capek banget untuk aku dan suaraku, lha ini benar2 non stop loh!!). Namun, dia masih mau lho nyanyi lagu permintaan penonton itu. Hebat deh Dewi Persik!! :-)

Kemudian, acara dilanjutkan dengan penarikan doorprize. Ya sial lah, kaya biasanya, aku nggak menang, haha... . Yah, secara keseluruhan pestanya sukses sih menurutku. Tiket yang mahal jadi tidak terasa "semahal" itu karena penampilan Dewi Persik dan makanan yang ok. Walau hitung mundurnya agak kacau, tetapi secara keseluruhan masih hebat.