Bangkok & Singapore

Bangkok
02 - 07 Agustus 2008

02 agustus 2008
Pagi-pagi persiapan eo berlibur untuk pertama kalinya. naik pesawat TG, take off pk. 12.45, perjalanan sekitar 3 jam. selama di pesawat, eo main di pesawat, kemudian tidur. waktu take off dan landing eo nyusu biar kupingnya gak sakit. sesampainya di bandara suvarnabhumi bangkok, naik taxi menuju ke aparteman temannya papa di serene place, sukhumvit soi 24.sorenya sekitar pk. 18.00, janjian makan malam dengan tante liz dan om ethan (teman mama papa waktu yang tinggal di bangkok) di emporium. setelah makan malam dilanjutkan dengan acara windowshopping sebentar dan belanja buah mangga untuk eo.

Myanmar, Land of Gold

Rabu, 08 Maret 2006: Yangon
Pk. 09.20 pesawat mendarat dengan selamat di bandara udara Yangon. Memasuki gedung airport yang sedang direnovasi, terlihat antrian di counter imigrasi. Setiap counter imigrasi ditempati oleh 2 petugas. Petugas pertama bertugas memasukkan data ke komputer, dan petugas kedua untuk memeriksa dan men-cap passport. Oleh karena itu, antrian untuk setiap counter hanya satu baris. Jadi bagi yang pertama kali ke myanmar, jangan sampai "tergoda" untuk membuat antrian baru.

Artefacts from Xieng Khuang, Laos

I flew from Vientiane to Xieng Khuang in late December 2005. It had always been my dream to visit Xieng Khuang ever since I got to know Laos. The weather was chilly, for it is uphill in Northern Laos, yet I still enjoyed my vacation there.
Xieng Khuang is very famous for its Plains of Jars. The jars are so huge that it can contain up to 2-3 persons inside. Until now, it remains mistery on how Xieng Khuang has these wonderful jars. There are 2 main hypotheses now on why these jars existed : it was used either for containing human body (burial) or for making wines. The jars dated as far as 4000 BC. It happened that some 6000 years ago Xieng Khuang area was a cross-road amidst wealthy trade routes (the silk road?) in Asia. The civilization in this area was so advanced that they created these huge jars for the unknown reason.

Património Mundial de Macau & Zhuhai, China

Perjalanan ke Macau ini bermula dari “keisengan” me dan cang browsing air asia, yang ternyata lagi ada paket perjalanan 3 hari / 2 malam ke macau termasuk akomodasi di Holiday Inn, dengan harga THB 15.147,-.
Setelah acara jalan-jalan ini, image macau sebagai kota yang hanya penuh dengan casino, jadi berubah. Macau ternyata penuh juga dengan objek-objek menarik, yang diantaranya sudah dijadikan world heritage oleh UNESCO, makanan enak (egg tart, dim sum, caldo verde), dan belanja baju dingin yang murah (non-branded).
 

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.

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.

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.




 
 

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).

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.

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).

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.

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.

Sunflowers and Dam in Lopburi, Thailand

Yesterday on Dec 4, 2004, we had a short weekend getaway to Lopburi, a very exciting place to watch sunflower blooming. Very simple, we just went to Hualamphong station, buy a one day train tour package at the ticket counter, only 300 Baht per person (note : this tour is only available on weekends). We think it's very worth it, 300 Baht, and you got the round trip train ticket plus 3 meals (2 snacks and 1 packaged lunch)! 

phuket, phi phi, phang nga

Phuket, Phi Phi Islands (Krabi Province) dan Phang Nga Bay are all located in the southern Thailand. They are famous for the breathtaking views of their beaches and waters. Our activities for our vacation on Nov 13-15, 2004 were mostly swimming, snorkelling, and sightseeing. Sand so white, sea so blue, a perfect weekend getaway. We booked our tour package in Bangkok for 6,000 Baht/pax and took Nok Air (1,250 Baht/pax - one way) for about 1 hour from Bangkok to reach Phuket International Airport. The airport is so strategically located on the beach that passengers can see directly to the sea and surrounding islets.

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand

Liburan kami ke Chiang Mai ini sebenarnya tergolong dalam “liburan tak terencana”. Bermula dari niat kami sekedar ingin mencoba naik kereta jarak jauh di Thailand, kami pergi ke stasiun kereta api Hua Lamphong untuk mencari informasi rute-rute kereta api. Kami pun mendatangi pusat informasi di stasiun ini. Bapak petugas informasi sangat ramah dan membantu. Kami diberikan informasi rute-rute KA yang ada di Thailand, dan juga rekomendasi tempat-tempat yang dapat dikunjungi, salah satunya adalah Chiang Mai. Melihat kami tertarik, Bapak petugas ini pun menyarankan kami untuk pergi ke counter tour travel yang ada di stasiun ini, bahkan menyempatkan diri untuk mengantar kami ke counter tersebut. Dan tak lama kemudian, tiket kereta api dan voucher menginap di hotel sudah di tangan kami.

Magnificent Angkor Wat & Phnom Penh

We had a good chance to visit Cambodia as part of our vacation. We travelled to Siem Reap, saw the Magnificent Angkor Wat together with other temples, travelled further down alongside the Tonle Sap river, spent 1 night in Battambang, then further to Phnom Penh. 

My First Trip to Sri Lanka

It was my first trip to Sri Lanka. I was assigned for an onboarding visit in Colombo, March 2004. Hectic days. Jakarta, Singapore, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Colombo, back to Jakarta... However, it was such a great trip around Lanka. The country is very beautiful. After 2 days of onboarding in Colombo, I decided to extend my stay to 2 days and covered the ancient cities of Anuradhapura, Sigirya, Pollonaruwa. Really wanted to catch Kandy, but there was no time... Well, I am saving Kandy for the future then...