NEW FRIEND, KUALA LUMPUR, AND HYUKOH CONCERT

Originally written on 5/30/17, 1:24 AM

There’s an indie band from South Korea that I love so much, call them Hyukoh. Months ago I made a promise to myself if they came to Malaysia or Singapore I was gonna see their concert. I made that promise because it’s still uncertain about Hyukoh performing in Indonesia very soon. Well, God always hears me I know. The band was invited to Kuala Lumpur by Urbanscapes, a music & art festival in KL, Malaysia. Thanks God, I still had some savings in my account that could be budgeted for another travelling.

Feeling lonely thinking that I wouldn’t have a companion to see them, I started lurking Hyukoh hashtag on twitter. Finally, I found someone there who was also willing to see Hyukoh in Malaysia. Her name is Kiki and I messaged her personally. Then you know... we clicked because of Hyukoh. We got the ticket (thanks to Kiki), we got the cheapest  round flight ticket and also budget hostels for 3 nights in KL.

Besides Kiki, I have another companion, she is my coleague at where I teach. Her name is Rani. But she doesn’t like Hyukoh, so she just wanted to travel around KL.

We departed from Jakarta on Sunday May 21 flying with Air Asia. We landed safely in the evening in KL and passed the immigration successfully. Kiki had been to KL as a solo traveler before, so we just relied on her on what transportation we should take to get to the hostel.

Grocer’s Inn, our first hostel for our two nights ahead was not bad. We got a room at the rooftop and I liked it. Though at first I complained about it. Well, being at the rooftop in the morning and enjoying a cup of cereal was not bad at all. Three of us really enjoyed it. To have brunch, we walked around 2 kms and ended up enjoying ‘uncle jack’ fried chicken. It was tasty because it tasted so Indonesian food added with nasi lemak. The most important thing is, it was really cheap. Then we went back to the inn. In the evening, I and Kiki got prepared for Hyukoh at the bee publika. We used grab car and it was smooth.

Talking about the music show, Hyukoh was awesome. Finally I could see Oh Hyuk and the kids in persons, although from some meters distance. They opened the show with ‘Come and Goes’. Oh Hyuk’s voice was just great, so did the musical instruments played by Hyunje (guitar), Donggun (bass), Inwoo (Drumm). I just can’t imagine if South Korea hasn’t found Hyukoh yet, I thought their music industry would be just so stagnant (just my opinion). My favorite performance by them that night was Tomboy of course. I don’t know, it’s just about the feels when you listen to Oh Hyuk singin’ that song.. live. The second was Wonderful Barn, because that’s the song that made me fell in love with them in Infinity Challenge. The third was ‘Mer’. Oh Hyuk sang that song with full of feeling... yes it’s about the feels again. I also love Surf Boy, Tokyo Inn, 2002World Cup, and Paul, and WanLi for sure. I couldn’t really describe their performance song by song... but yeahh... all the songs they played were that wonderful to be enjoyed live. Thanks Hyukoh. Thank Oh Hyuk, Hyunje, Inwoo, Donggun. Also, the atmosphere was great. Malaysian audience was great. The whole thing was just wonderful that I won’t forget.

Because it was late at night, and I and Kiki felt already tired, we ordered grab car without waiting for Hyukoh coming out of the backstage after the show, although we really wanted to. I really wanted to take a photo with Oh Hyuk honestly hahahaha... but well... I hope there will be another chance.. amiiin (I don’t know when but let just be possitive... que sera sera).

So, we arrived at the hostel safely. Rani already slept... and I and Kiki were still amazed by the concert. We both have that all talks until we slept.

The next day, we moved to our second hostel ‘City Inn’. The hostel was great for a budget hostel, the location was really strategic. I liked it. That day, we spent our time by going around the city. We went to see the Petronas tower (that is the symbol of KL) and also the fountain show. I loved the fountain show so much. I loved the music background and the lights. I love lights.

The last day, we visited the city galery and took some pictures there. Then, we flew back to Jakarta in the evening.  Alhamdulillah we arrived safely.

You know what? As I am writing this, I miss my trip in KL. I also miss hyukoh performance already. So I pray for the second chance of this kind of trip and for Hyukoh concert. One day, Hyukoh, again..