Song to accompany: Keane - You are Young

Forewarn: You are probably getting tired of hearing New York City is the city that never sleeps. I know - so am I and I will not even go to that. Let us take this city from a different perspective.

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A reason why I prefer to be in big cities because of its fast pace and how many extremes you can experience within your doorstep.

Anyone knows that New York City is the epitome of living large. It is where dreams are made and come to life.

It is probably the only city I have been to where taxi drivers are confused when you give them the exact address. They only take intersections.

You see a contained chaos. You see too big of a diversity. Something that extends to horizons that you cannot simply imagine. It is grand.

One thing for sure is that, everyone in the city feels young. Never have I met someone who feels otherwise.

I may be cheesy but I have done this on purpose: when you are in New York City, bring your iPod and make sure Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind or Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) is in it. Play that on high volume when you are in Times Square. Damn does that feel amazing.

Off for now.

Song to accompany: Nocturne Op. 9.2 in E Flat Major by Frederic Chopin  

Song to accompany: Yogyakarta by Kla Project

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This is a story about the city I live in these days, one of special region in Indonesia people used to called it Yogyakarta or Jogjakarta to simplify the name. There's a long history from kingdom era to colonial era which made this place special along with their loyalty to king and nasionalism to the country. I may not talk about the history here cause it will make this a long read, but I'm going to show you what makes me captivated to live in this city.

Night attraction at Yogyakarta's South Square; light tandem bicycle

Song to accompany: After the Rain by Adhitya Sofyan

It was not long ago where I sat with my friends in a bar sipping a glass of Soho with soda, then one of them asked: if you were to choose a city you could live in for the rest of your life, what would that be?

I immediately said Tokyo without having to ponder. It was in 2008 I went there for a music festival with a group o friends and in during the week of Valentine's Day 2012. Though I only spent a week on both of my visits, I have loved the place ever since.

I always get this impression of "you know this city is perfect for you because it just feels right." I am not particularly fond of the whole Japanese culture but the Tokyo vibe in its entirety feels amazing. This persuasion was obviously made after I have compared my stays in other Japanese cities and townships.

It is the kind of place that you are willing to ramble for hours on just to get your listeners feel the same emotion when you were there.

It might be because of the people, or the food, or the pace, or even the chaos but rest assured: everything is in the right proportion.

We seek comfort. We seek love. We seek tranquility. We seek solitude. We seek ego. We find them all not there, not anywhere, but here.

I fancy neither mountains nor seas. Just where bright things are and where all spaces are well-utilized. That sensibleness.

After all is said and done, home is that place, that person, that verb; home is what you eventually long for. Tokyo does it justice. It is that other home, away from home.

 Song to accompany: Tram #7 to Heaven by Jens Lekman

When people changes, the world is just the same. 

The clock keeps ticking, sun is setting. 

But it will keeps you away from boredom, so enjoy your time on board!

next stop,

is the world without misery.