“It’s you and me in the summertime, we’ll be hand in hand down in the park, 
with a squeeze and a sigh, and that twinkle in your eye, and all the sunshine banishes the dark” 

-Summertime by The Sundays-

I went for a beach picnic early in 2014—several days right after the new year bandwagon—with my boyfriend. We went to the same university in Yogyakarta yet we got the same hometown, Jakarta. We love to discover new things and we make exhilarating plans to celebrate, everyday. We love to travel and then photograph the journey.

Last year, my boyfriend did a Java–Bali roadtrip with his vintage enduro and he said that the journey just gave him kind of divine experience. After I heard his story, I was really obsessed to do something great and then we contemplated things. These days, people no longer think about the beauty of tiny ideas, while we really love to gather exquisite old style with the very hypeness of today’s ideas, and still embracing the most essential thing: nature.  So we think we can happily work it out!

The thoughts about Kinfolk-ish stuffs just filled up our heads. We googled all the maps, the beaches, and did some grocery shopping for this picnic. We bought pineapples, watermelons, cookies, bouquet of flowers, and a piece of plain white sheet. We took used bottles in order to hold the flowers. All packed up properly just in a huge rucksack. We keep it simple, and keep it low-cost. It only took us a few rupiahs for simple light meals, grocery shopping and flowers, and the rest was for the transport which was so low-cost because we rode a motorcycle.

In the morning glare of Yogyakarta, we made our own dream machine to the beachside, took our roadtrip from the city to the very suburban area, Gunung Kidul Regency. It took about 2,5 hrs to get to our perfect spot with motorcycle.  The place was called Timang beach, a very secluded treasure, a beach which nobody don’t really know about it. The journey was not easy, but it was worth it once we reached the peak and took in the breathtaking scenery. The beach was pristine and private, only us, nobody else. It’s quite not frequently visited by the locals. There is no tourist facilities and no food stalls. We decorated our beachside nest, we photographed things, and we did much merrymaking. We had fun with daisy chains and bundles of flowers and fruits on our heads. It was pretty much a fun and wholesome date.

Now we are addicted to this kind of affair with nature and all the lovely things in between. We plan on going for our next getaway to Pacitan, East Java. Pacitan for more beaches. We are thinking of doing a road trip with our Vespa, making our own summer vibe, climbing up a tree and camping outdoor. We think it’s gonna be a perfect sweet escape.

Life is the celebration of exhilaration. We always need to be happy. And being closer to nature makes us happy. What about you? What makes you happy? :)

Text & photos by Andrea Rahardiana

Andrea Rahardiana is an 18 year old business student, currently based in Yogyakarta. She style and photograph her days and gather stuffs into beauties and into arts as well. Meet her at her instagram account.