Friday, December 23, 2005

L’Hiver romantique au Nord du Viêtnam

Hanoi... tempat yang sudah sejak lama ingin dikunjungi. Termotivasi oleh Halong Bay-dengan limestonenya yang bertebaran, pho-yang ternyata enak banget dimakan dengan cakwe goreng, dan air asia-yang baru aja buka jalur Bangkok-Hanoi.Sabtu, 17 Desember 2005
Pagi-pagi berangkat ke airport, pesawat jadwal berangkat pk. 10.20. Tetapi karena pesawat belum datang-datang, kami dapat tambahan waktu duduk-duduk di aiport 45 menit. Dan setelah masuk pesawat, dapat tambahan waktu lagi untuk lihat-lihat landas pacu 15 menit, karena pesawat mesti tunggu giliran terbang (di depan pesawat kami, ada sekitar 4 pesawat yang juga sedang tunggu giliran). Setelah take off, pramugari mulai “jualan” makanan/minuman. Walaupun pagi sudah sarapan, tetapi melihat “jualanan” ini, alhasil hari ini ada sarapan kedua. Beli biscuit isi tuna, mie instant rasa tom yam, dan oishi green tea. Selama penerbangan yang memakan waktu sekitar 1 jam 40 menit ini, kami mengisi waktu dengan lihat-lihat pemandangan dari pesawat. Karena langit cerah-tidak berawan, gunung-gunung kelihatan jelas, biru.


Monday, October 03, 2005

Dhaka, Bangladesh : September 2005


Am just back from my business trip to Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was for our quarterly business review and planning for the Asia Whitespace group. I spent 3 days and 2 nights in Dhaka. The country and the city are so poor. They have the highest density on the planet. People squeeze to each other. Beggars are normal sight in Dhaka. People commute by taking buses, taxis, three-wheelers or rickshaws.




Sunday, July 10, 2005

Hong Kong : Live it Love it !

Together with Cang's extended family (mom, dad, sisters, niece, nephew), we took this irrresistable Hong Kong tour package, priced at net 8,693 Baht. The package included round trip air tickets, 2 nights hotel stay, half day city tour, and airport transfer. Since we travelled in group, we got even more discounts. Hence, it is always worth to bargain when buying packages in Bangkok, when you are in group.




 

 

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Cruise to Bang Pa In Summer Palace

3 Juli 2005...
Cang dan Me, dan juga keluarga Cang yang lagi datang berkunjung, ikut cruise ke Bang Pa In Summer palace yang diselengarakan oleh Chao Phraya Express Boat. Kapal berangkat dari Sathorn Pier, dan berhenti sekali di Maharaj Pier untuk angkut penumpang lainnya(Selain dari Sathorn Pier, cruise ini juga bisa diikuti dari Maharaj Pier).


Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Death Railway in Kanchanaburi

15 mei 2005...
Bareng Elif dan Budi, kami ikut tour ke kanchanburi. Peserta tour dijemput dari hotel masing-masing dengan van, dan dari beberapa van kemudian dijadikan satu di bus besar. Kami berangkat pk. 08.00 dari Bangkok. Perjalanan sekitar 2 jam, untuk sampai di Kanchanaburi Province.



Sunday, April 10, 2005

Semalam di Malaysia...

On our way to go back home to Jakarta, we stopped by Kuala Lumpur. After 2 hours Air Asia flight, we landed safely at 18.20 in the modern and sophisticated Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). We went to taxi counter, bought a round-trip ticket of 67.4 Ringgit (airport to city), and 58.4 Ringgit (city to airport). Taxi ride took about 1 hour as KLIA was located in the suburb. We arrived at Sheraton Hotel which was strategically located in prime business district, within close proximity to Monorail station and Dang Wangi Train station. Post checking-in, we wandered around and stumbled upon a traditional food house where we had our dinner, traditional Malay Penang Char Kwaytiaw plus a couple of Teh Tarik. Then..., we took train to China Town (Jalan Petaling). It was a bustling night bazaar with specialties to offer: souvenirs, clothes, food. At night, we took train to go back to hotel as we decided not to take taxis (all the taxi drivers we encountered did not want to use their meters, instead had their own inflated rates).

Monday, March 14, 2005

Ayutthaya : The Ancient Capital of Thailand

Our trip to Ayutthaya happened on Mar 13, 2005. Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand, is located not far from Bangkok, about 1.5 hours train trip. The city used to be one of the marvellous cities of prosperous South East Asia. Unfortunately, it was devastated and levelled during war campaign with the Burmese. Modern Ayutthaya still keeps all its ruins, tracing back from the glorious past. It is now one of the World Heritage Site, and is under supervision of UNESCO.
Getting there
Willy had been to Ayutthaya once many years ago during his first trip to Thailand. Now since Astrid and Rudy were visiting, we decided to take them to Ayutthaya, since Visca had also not yet been to the place. We took train from Hua Lamphong station which was leaving for Chiang Mai. It departed at 09.30 and arrived in Ayutthaya at 10.51. The train fare was only 40 Baht (air-con) to Ayutthaya, but without seat number. It means if there were empty seats due to few passengers travelling to Chiang Mai, we were allowed to occupy them.


Monday, February 21, 2005

Time Was Frozen in Laos ...

Perjalanan kami ke Laos (Vientiane, Luang Prabang & Vang Vieng) dimulai dari kota Vientiane. Sebagai ibukota Laos, Vientiane memiliki posisi yang unik. Tidak seperti ibukota negara lain, yang umumnya terletak di tengah, Vientiane terletak di perbatasan dengan Thailand - dengan kota Nongkhai. Letaknya yang sangat berdekatan dengan Thailand, mengakibatkan penduduk di sini, hampir semuanya bisa berbahasa thai, hal ini juga ditunjang dengan kemiripan antarkedua bahasa tersebut.

Walaupun untuk sampai ke Vientiane, ada pesawat dari Bangkok langsung ke Vientiane, namun kami memilih naik pesawat dari Bangkok menuju Udon Thani, karena kami ingin melihat kota-kota lain (walaupun hanya sekilas), dan juga terutama karena perbedaan harga pesawat yang hampir 2 kali lipat. Pesawat berangkat sekitar pk. 07.30, dengan lama perjalanan sekitar 1 jam. Setiba di airport Udon Thani, kami naik van menuju ke Nongkhai. Van ini tersedia di airport dan diorganisir oleh airport Udon Thani, dengan biaya THB 100/orang. Perjalanan dari Udon Thani ke Nongkhai sekitar 30 menit.