When I found out that I was going to Semarang to attend a cousin’s wedding—this was actually months before our last meeting—I quickly thought I should spare some time to hang out with Amel of The Charming Berryz. This was way way before I knew she was coming to Jakarta that same month—meeting twice in less than two weeks? What a miracle! I thought it would be cool to go somewhere in town I’ve never been to before, but also quite historic and photogenic. That’s how we ended up going to the Willem III Lighthouse at the Tanjung Emas Port. Amel (and apparently most Semarang natives) have never been here before, so it’s both our first times.
This time, though, Amel and I weren’t alone. My brother, who just arrived in town a few hours prior, decided to come with us last minute, because a.) he had nothing to do until our next event later that night, and b.) he’s never seen a lighthouse before and got curious. It worked out well for me, since my brother is a tremendously dedicated photographer—as you may recall—and Amel was super awed by how determined we both were to capture the best shots. Amel was kind of suffering, though (I’m so sorry, Amel!), because her skin is quite sensitive to heat. I hope she had a great time anyway, because I had a lovely time hanging out with her again!
I swear I wasn’t pissed, I was just seriously blinded by the sun
Cool hairstyle courtesy of my Stepmom
Old top + hat // thrifted jacket + loafers // Book of Deer skirt // Sis’s purse // photos by Cafa
I’d like to talk a little bit more about the lighthouse itself. Built in 1884 by the Dutch government, this lighthouse used to function as a guide for VOC ships who wanted to dock at the port—as Semarang used to be the crop export infrastructure, especially sugar. It is about 32m in height with 12 sides of iron prints and when the lamp is on, its light could reach up to 20 miles radius—it is said that one can even see it from the top of Mount Merbabu. In around the last ten years or so, though, it has been sinking into the ground more and more—now the front door is quite a bit buried—and when the sea water is high, which lightly floods the port itself, the ground floor of the lighthouse is properly underwater.
It’s very unfortunate, really, because we would have liked to climb the interior of the structure. According to the guards, though, it is still in use even now—although one always risks electrocution climbing inside the building. One of my reasons of wanting to visit this lighthouse is being heavily influenced by Tieka for years. In fact, upon taking these photos, we all looked through her blog photos first and tried to somehow recreate them—but failed miserably.
P.S: How does one wear this hat properly again?
When I found out that I was going to Semarang to attend a cousin’s wedding—this was actually months before our last meeting—I quickly thought I should spare some time to hang out with Amel of The Charming Berryz. This was way way before I knew she was coming to Jakarta that same month—meeting twice in less than two weeks? What a miracle! I thought it would be cool to go somewhere in town I’ve never been to before, but also quite historic and photogenic. That’s how we ended up going to the Willem III Lighthouse at the Tanjung Emas Port. Amel (and apparently most Semarang natives) have never been here before, so it’s both our first times.
This time, though, Amel and I weren’t alone. My brother, who just arrived in town a few hours prior, decided to come with us last minute, because a.) he had nothing to do until our next event later that night, and b.) he’s never seen a lighthouse before and got curious. It worked out well for me, since my brother is a tremendously dedicated photographer—as you may recall—and Amel was super awed by how determined we both were to capture the best shots. Amel was kind of suffering, though (I’m so sorry, Amel!), because her skin is quite sensitive to heat. I hope she had a great time anyway, because I had a lovely time hanging out with her again!
I swear I wasn’t pissed, I was just seriously blinded by the sun
Cool hairstyle courtesy of my Stepmom
Old top + hat // thrifted jacket + loafers // Book of Deer skirt // Sis’s purse // photos by Cafa
I’d like to talk a little bit more about the lighthouse itself. Built in 1884 by the Dutch government, this lighthouse used to function as a guide for VOC ships who wanted to dock at the port—as Semarang used to be the crop export infrastructure, especially sugar. It is about 32m in height with 12 sides of iron prints and when the lamp is on, its light could reach up to 20 miles radius—it is said that one can even see it from the top of Mount Merbabu. In around the last ten years or so, though, it has been sinking into the ground more and more—now the front door is quite a bit buried—and when the sea water is high, which lightly floods the port itself, the ground floor of the lighthouse is properly underwater.
It’s very unfortunate, really, because we would have liked to climb the interior of the structure. According to the guards, though, it is still in use even now—although one always risks electrocution climbing inside the building. One of my reasons of wanting to visit this lighthouse is being heavily influenced by Tieka for years. In fact, upon taking these photos, we all looked through her blog photos first and tried to somehow recreate them—but failed miserably.
P.S: How does one wear this hat properly again?