a video of Indonesia my Paradise

Last week, Facebook celebrates their 10th birthday, they entertained all members with a short time video about their activity in Facebook, since someone joined and their favorable posting.

And, I get infected, suddenly I want to make my own video about my domestic trips, indeed its a good idea for healing my desire to go travel again .. here is the video, enjoy :)

[Journey] 14 Days Trip Exploring Turkiye - Part 2

Day 4 : Pamukkale Tour

At 07.00 in the morning, a minibus pick us up, 7 people inside, seems like 4 of them is a family. We stopped by at intersection to Kusadasi waiting for the bigger bus, we wait there for almost an hour, the man from the family was so angry, grumbling all the time, the tour is not professional for him. That day, I get my period, loose my mood of everything, just patiently sit and wait, while Dina is busy with her novel. The bus from Kusadasi arrive, I pull Dina to jump and run to get a pair of seat, the Taiwanese family focus on complaining ask for discount coz they don’t like waited too long. Their mission failed, no discount they get, and now they have to sit far one to another. 3 hours trip to Pamukkale, our tour guide Mehmet is so excited to tell the brief story of Pamukkale, Aydin and Denizli area, the city we go through. Aydin is one of the most fertile lands in Turkey, they produce many orange and various kind of fruits. No wonder, along the way we see so many orange trees and green areas. We met some tractors parked in front of some coffee shops, we assume the farmers must be inside, enjoying morning coffee after some hard works at the farms, nice. When we stop by for toilet, I ask Mehmet, do the farmers secure their lands, to ensure their oranges save from being stolen, he laughs, no it’s save, nobody want to steal oranges, and there are too much oranges to be stolen. Hmm dalam hati miris, di Negara gue nihh, ada aja rampok dateng bawa truk, tau-tau hasil bumi yg minggu depan siap panen hilang seketika. 

Before we get to Pamukkale entrance, we stop by at buffet restaurant for lunch, the funny thing in Turkey is wherever you go with tour group, they will entertain you with great meals for free, but you have to pay for the drink. Surely the drinks charged two or three times higher than in minimarket. But don’t worry, they will not force you to buy. The toilet at the rest area are mostly charged 1TL, but in the restaurant most likely free. While we seated wait to be served, I saw Mehmet carry a ‘tasbih’, an Islam rosary in pink and blue color. I come to him, offering a barter of rosary with the one I have. I tell him it’s from Makkah and made from dates seed. He agreed, yippie, now I have a Turkish rosary :)

The Pamukkale site has beautiful scenery, the white terraces of glacier carbonite minerals look so contrast with its green surrounding and its blue sky. People can enjoy the hot spring in two big pools inside the Hierapolis ruins complex, and try the natural water full of minerals from the old well, or play with warm water in the terrace. Too bad I can’t fully enjoy it, feel so weak on my period, so I only sit, enjoying the scenery and waiting Dina takes some photos around. I could only laugh every time I hear Mehmet explain about hot spring, his accent is so funny. Back to Selcuk, I sleep over and just wake up when we reach Aydin city. The big bus drop us at Selcuk bus otogar, and we just realize there is public bus from Selcuk to Pamukkale, so, if you don’t want to join a tour group, and save 110TL, you can use the public transport.  

Instead of back to hotel, we preferred to walk round the Selcuk village, I love this place so much, small village, quiet, clean and nice people. We went to the train station, to watch a train just arrived from Izmir, takes photo of the ruins on its mini parks, the open air restaurants, and we decided to have an early dinner at Ejder Restaurant. The son owner’s greets us nicely and tempted us with his mom handmade foods offer which is recommended by many people in lonely planet. Okay, seems like we need to eat, and we love the atmosphere and we never guess it’s gonna be the sweetest moment we have in Selcuk. Here is my review about the  Ejder resto in Tripadvisor.com.  

“Yummy food served by heart”
Reviewed June 17, 2013 

Place and its atmosphere is very important, and Ejder is located at the park nearby Selcuk train station, it is very relaxing to have a seat at the open air seating area of the restaurant, looking at birds flying back to their cage at top of the pillars when daytime is almost over.
The food quality is excellent, the Mama cooked everything by heart, I tried iskender kebab and my friend tried adana kebab, and both are so delicious, we finish everything and left our plate empty. When we want to pay, they offer us a cup of Turkish tea at free, wow. The funny thing, even we have finished the tea and spend some time just sitting there, I could still imagine the taste of the meat she cooked. Something served by heart will stay longer, it's true. We traveled around Turkey for 14 days and never found something as good as the one at Ejder. 

 -- mini park at Selcuk --

                

Day 5 : Sirince - Aydin - Fethiye - Oludeniz

After light breakfast, we go to Sirince, by Dolmus from bus otogar. Sirince is small village in Turkey well known with its wine pruduct. Its a muslim village isn't it, yes, they only produce but not consume. It takes only 15 minutes from Selcuk to Sirince, 3TL one way. Besides the wide grape farms, we could see the wine production and taste it in some of the small cafe in Sirince. I enjoy look around its main street with some of souvenir stall, the pin magnets are cute. It is only 4 dolmus served Selcuk-Sirince, and only 1 stand by at the otogar, they depart every 15 minutes, so make sure you are right in time or waited for the next departure. Back to Selcuk, we walk to the ruins of Artemis temple, it is 5-7 mins walks from the bus otogar, and it is really ruins, too bad, can't imagine how beautiful it was. And i just realize i left my brandnew mango sunglass at the dolmus, hiks, okay let it be, just enjoy the ruins and the hot sun. Lucky me, when we walk back to hotel and pass through the bus otogar, the Sirince dolmus driver look at us, and he called me, yeaaaa he keeps my sunglass save, wow, what a wonderful and honest Turkey people. 

Back to the hotel at 11.30, we found Tom girlfriend, the korean girl, mad at us, she yelled that we have to check out before 10, cause the cleaning lady only work until 10.30. Its not our first time stay in a hotel or hostel, never heard a check out time at 10, and Tom didnt inform us also. Well, you may guess, I yelled back to her, its your problem with the maid, not us, just write clearly on the reception desk. We leave the hotel in a hurry and so mad. Never will recommend the Artemis hotel.

The next destination is Oludeniz, its in the south east coast of Turkiye. From Selcuk we take dolmus to Aydin city, 7 TL. And Aydin to Fethiye we take a big bus, 32TL. Remember that Aydin and Fethiye is not a big city, really have to go directly to the counter to ask for the near departure time or we have to wait 2 - 3 hours, after get the ticket then you can go to toilet or buy foods. We don't have much time to buy proper foods for lunch, coz our bus will depart in 10 mins, so we just buy some Simits for emergency meal. It takes 2 hours from Aydin to Oludeniz, the view a long the way are green mountainous and clear blue sky. Arrived on Fethiye, we have lunch at the bus otogar, another durum kebab and Turkish tea, yummy. Then we walk to the main boulevard and wait in front of a supermarket for taking dolmus to Oludeniz. Dolmus Fethiye - Oludeniz costs 5TL, its less than 20 mins and we reach our hotel, Oludeniz Hotel. Its located not too far from the welcome gate of Oludeniz, surrounded by rocky mountain, but also close to the beach. The man behind reception desk cant speak good English but he is such a warm guy. We get a room with swimming pool view, nice, and the wifi is very good. Time to 'update status' hahaha. 

That evening, I keep persuing Dina to take a paragliding ride, well its my reason to visit Oludeniz, paragliding, I really want to try, but not in Indonesia, and I already ask my paragliding freak friend about it safety. Too bad Dina didn't want. So, I persue her to take a 12 island boating tour, and she agreed. We called one tour provider and a guy come to drop us the ticket, inform us about the detail. Then we spent our evening at the hotel balcony, enjoy the stars with some just-wash underwear hang in our surrounding, hahaha.

Day 6 : Oludeniz 12 Islands Tour - Blue Lagoon

We start the day with a very healthy and full variety breakfast, ready to enjoy the boating session today. I am still on my period, but I feel dont mind to jump into the water if it is good enough. At 9 am, a big jeep pick us up, no upcover, okayy hello sun, keep smile. We pick up a family from England, they already got tanned skin, and the little girl asked why i wear a balinese sarong to cover my head, you dont like hot sun? Yeah, we have a lot in our country, she laugh. The jeep takes us to Fethiye pier wherein our boat has waited for us. Its two deck boat,  all the european guest prefer to sit in upper deck, enjoy the hot sun, while we both and a pakistan family prefer to stay away hahaha. There are lots of small islands in south east coastal of Turkiye, close enough one to another, can imagine how beautiful the sight is if we take a paragliding ride. Sigh. 

When we stop by at the first island, some of the guest at upper desk jump out to the water, swim, the water looks so calm and clear. I asked the boat crew if i can rent a snorkel gear or goggle, too bad they dont provide it. But no regret, I asked one of the guy about the underwater life down there, lots of grey fish, only grey, no coral at all. Well this time I feel so lucky for being Indonesian, we have lots of beautiful coral and colorful fishes. Even in Phuket, I dont find coral and colorful fishes. So Indonesian, we must be proud and take care our underwater world real carefully, and if you never go snorkeling or diving in Indonesia, it is really a big loss. 

Lunch meal at boat is surely fish and salad, but we can choose chicken grilled if we dont like fish. Again, they charged for the drink. Overall the tour costs 35TL is worth enough, the service is good and also the view, if you like swimming in open ocean, its a must, but only swimming. 

Back to the pier, now they use minibus to serve us, with aircon, thanks God. Feel a bit sleepy, but we need to move our foot after seating half day, then after drop our belonging to the hotel, we go walking to the blue lagoon, its only 10 mins walk anyway. The blue lagoon beach is beautiful, we must go back tomorrow morning.

Day 7 : Heading to Antalya

Wake up in the morning, feel excited to explore the blue lagoon again, we go walking after breakfast, buy a delicate Turkish ice cream again, watching some paragliding fly smoothly and landed on the beach, love it, I wish its me. Walking back to hotel, we stop by at money changer, well wherever you see money changer with a good rate, dont waste it. Clean up, packing, then check out. Take a dolmus to Fethiye. Buy a bus ticket to Antalya. While waiting for the bus depart, I have little discussion with the bus crew about how to get to Konya and Goreme from Antalya. One of the crew offer a good price at 100 TL for a baloon ride at Capadoccia, including a pick up at bus otogar and drop to our hotel whenever we arrive, sounds good,  I asked for Dina and Mira approval, and we pay half for the down payment. 

It takes 4 hours from Fethiye to Antalya, we take Bati Antalya bus, 25TL, coz it goes through the shorter route, which the other take a long ride through coastal line. We can enjoy more beautiful view through the long ride, but we prefer have more time to explore the city. 

Arrived in Antalya bus otogar, we are about to get info about bus to Konya, when a lady come to us, asking where we wanna go, we mentioned our hotel in old town. Guess what next, yeahh she offers a guide coz she will go to the same area. Wow, what a very kind lady. She introduce herself as Marie, she is French, but she likes Antalya so much so she often come for a long time vacation at Antalya. We take a metro (subway), 4TL, to get into the old town, and Marie accompanied us walk to our hotel, the Argos Hotel. While she rent a small house 5mins walk from our hotel. She offered a walk exploring the old town after we check in and have some rest, we agree to meet her in an hour. She is really have a beautiful heart like her name, mother Marie. How lucky we were to meet her, coz the streets in the old town looks similar to us and many people get lost inside. While check in, we saw a flyer at the reception about tour to Perge Aspendos and Kursunlu waterfall, costs 175TL, looks so invited, and we decided to join the tour tomorrow. The hotel is nice and clean, old building but they maintain it very well. they have swimming pool, but again no time to enjoy it.

Marie really comes in an hour, she take us to see the historical Korkut mosque ruins and Hadrian gate, the Antalya park overlooking the beach, the pier, then end up with dinner at a small restaurant serving kebab and friends. We meet some demonstrants at the main boulevard. Marie told us the demo is about a park in Istanbul. But the demo doesnt look scary to us, we have more scary demo in Jakarta haha. Thank you Marie, you are really such an angel. Hope we will meet you again someday.

.... To be continued :) ... 

[Journey] 14 Days Trip Exploring Turkiye - Part 1

More pictures from Turkiye Trip can be seen at my flickr

It was sometime in Jan 2013, my best friend Fitri and her husband mas Arief provoked me by showing beautiful pictures of their visit to Istanbul two years ago. They told me about Topkapi palace and its collections, i.e. the tube containing beards of Rasulullah Muhammad SAW and also Caliph Ali’s sword, and I can wait no more to see them. Luckily Dina is willing to accompany me (with a deal that I should join her to visit NZ next time hahha).  In February we execute the ticket arrangement for May trip (we heard that the best season is May-July). We bought Etihad’s Jakarta-Istanbul-Jakarta for 14 days trip, though we are not sure about the detail plan, whether it will be Turki only or Turki and its neighbor, Greece. 

Until two weeks before D date, our itinerary is not fixed yet, we are still trying to get visa to visit Greece. It is so difficult to get visa from Greece embassy in Jakarta, although we already had a guarantee letter from our relatives there, had sufficient amount in our bank account, covered by travel insurance, they still asked for some documents that is hard to provide. We decided to forget about Greece and focus on Turki, one week before D date, we finalize our itinerary and booked the hotels. 

Dina is always a good partner in crimes, she has no objection to the crazy itinerary and hotel arrangement I made, although I still have no idea how to get to from one place to others. I am a bit picky on hotel arrangement though, crave to get the clean - comfy - good location in a low price, thanks to TripAdvisor.com, got plenty useful info from them. Bismillah, qui sera sera whatever will be will be. Here we go, 14 days exploring Turkiye, Dina call it “glamping”, not a fancy trip, neither a backpack trip as well. 

 

Time to Fly

Yippie the day is come, 24^th May! We meet at Soetta Airport Jakarta right on time to check in. Each of us brings one cabin-size luggage and one day-backpack, plus camera bag and small bag for our snacks. We minimize our carriage, to ease us on travel around the country by public transport. 

My note: 
- It is nice to have a special request for meal on flight, caused they will prioritize to serve us. Low calorie meal is usually very healthy, mostly steamed food and fresh fruits.
- If you have connecting flight, it is better to check in for your next flight once you arrive at the transit airport, no matter how long your transit time will be.  A month before departure date, we received email notification telling that our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul will be rescheduled from 0200 am to 0900 am. Luckily we prefer to go directly to the transit board when we arrived at Abu Dhabi around 2300 pm, shockingly we were informed that we will fly as per previous schedule at 0200 am. Save by the bell :) 

Day 1 – Welcome to Istanbul

Landed safely at Attaturk airport as scheduled, 15 minutes queue at Visa On Arrival counter (Indonesian kena tarif USD25 saja), another 15 minutes queue at Immigration, get our passport stamped, 5 minutes for baggage, then we go to foreign exchange inside the airport since we do not have any Turkish Lyra in our hand. There are four cash exchange outlet nearby the baggage claim area. The exchange rates are similar, as well the commission fee.  Finally we are ready to get to the town.  We decided to take metro (subway) as the economist and easy transportation, just follow the direction board and go downstairs to the subway line, get the token at Jetonmatic machine by inserting coins or notes, one token for a trip costs 3 Lyra. 

The first destination is Best Town Palace Hotel at Sirkeci area, we need to drop our luggage before exploring the city. From the Airport’s Metro, we transit at Zeytinburnu station, take the tram to Kabatas and stop at Sirkeci station.  We could see the Istanbul University and Sultan Ahmed main tourist destination, Hagia Sophia and its surrounding on our way.  Sirkeci area is very close with the famous Galata Bridge, only two stops from Sultan Ahmed, therefore it’s a bit crowded with people walked in and vehicle passing by. It is so easy to find souvenir stalls and restaurants, local or franchise i.e. Burger King. We stop by at one of the local resto selling kebab, the price is about  TL 5-6 for durum kebab (served with tortilla) and TL 10-12 for porsiyon kebab (served with fried potatoes or rice).  We also try Turkish coffee, it served on small cup like espresso, nice. 

Upon check in and have enough rest at the hotel, we go out and catch tram to Kabatas wherein the Dolmahbace Palace is located. Unfortunately the residence of last sultan of Ottoman Empire is closed for public at 05.00 pm, so we could only go round the perimeter and take picture of clock tower in its yard.  Back to tram station, we meet street stall sells Baklava and Simit (Turkish simple bread), good to try. I like Simit, it tasted like Bagel, only 1-2 TL per piece and it’s big enough. The baklava is a bit different to the one I tried in Saudi, Turkish baklava is sweeter, seems like they spread lots of honey on it.  

Sun goes dusk, we go back to Sirkeci, enjoy the panoramic Galata Bridge and have a light dinner, we walk round the Gulhane area and find out some souvenir shops that offer good price without bargain, seems it’s a good alternative if we have no time to visit the Grand Bazaar. It was 11.00 pm and the city was still so lively, but we need to take a rest. 

Day 2 – Istanbul - Yalova - Bursa 

For the second day, we already booked a hotel at Bursa city, so no matter what we have to find a way to get in there. It is recommended by the hotel manager to go to Bursa by fast ferry, but the schedule is either too early or too late. We prefer to take ferry to Yalova city at 11.30 am so we can have enough time to enjoy our breakfast.  It is a good decision though, having breakfast at the 5^th floor of Best Town Palace hotel is a must have experience, breathtaking views of Galata Bridge, Marmara Sea, Galata Tower, Gulhane Park area is over the top, too precious to be passed. The food is also nice, plenty choices of salad, meat and cheese, among the best from other hotel we visited in Turki. 

Leave the hotel at 09.00 am, it takes only 10 minutes and TL12 to IDO ferry terminal at Yenikapi by taxi. The boat costs TL 19 and the cruise to Yalova city will take 40 minutes, much faster compare to intercity bus. While cruising, we could sit inside the passenger room as our seat number or at the windy balcony outside and enjoy the scenic view of Aegean Sea.  Traveler with big luggage could store it on the rack provided at the deck, just make sure it is locked properly. Few minutes before arrival to Yalova, we stood over the balcony enjoying fresh air and the city's mountainous view. Back to the passenger room, i was a bit panic to find my seat is empty, my snack bag is gone. Apparently, one of the crew keep it safe at the crew's room, thought it was left by the owner. Nice isn’t it. And we leave the ferry smilingly, knowing that we are in a land of good people.
 
Feel hungry we get to the food stall selling kebab nearby the jetty. This time we try Doner Porsiyon, meats and pilav (rice), and mineral water. When the restaurant manager looked at us put a sachet of chili sauce to our meals, he asked if we have another sachet for him. It is a Sambal Terasi (shrimp paste), and it smell something weird for him. He tried and we laughed looking at his expression.

There are Dolmus (minivan) terminal closed to the jetty but if we want to go to Bursa we have to change twice,  so we decide to take intercity bus, costs 12TL for 2 hours ride. The bus is nice and clean, TV in each seats with some movies options, unfortunately it’s in Turkish and no subtitle. I notice the bus agent took note on the passenger gender for seating arrangement, alone female passenger must be seated with another female, or they will let her alone, never mixed female and male, unless they are couple or buy together. It’s so thoughtful, following Islam rules to separate female and male unless they are “muhrim”.
 
Arrived in Bursa, we have lunch at bus terminal and take taxi to the hotel. Some people say we could take a public bus, but we are too tired to wait. It takes 20 minutes from bus station to hotel, taxi costs 36 TL. The Aloft hotel is located at Nilufer district, not too far from Uludag mountain, it’s perfect for those who want to go skiing on winter or come to Bursa for business trip since it is close to the business area. I love their interior design very much, fancy young elegant, and it costs so cheap. Unfortunately, our main destination is on the old town, and we have to take tram to get there, and we have to walk a long way from Aloft hotel to nearest tram station. We almost get lost on direction, until we meet a friendly guy, Osman, who is so kind to lead us the way to the metro (tram) station. Metro from Nilufer (Acemler station) to old city (Sehrekustu station) cost 2.5 TL and takes about 10 minutes. 

Ulu Camii or Ulu Mosque is our main destination, takes about 10-15 mins walks from the station, the direction is clear, no worry to get lost. The Ulu Camii, built before 1400, is so enchanting, especially the marble fountain and the mimbar inside, also the calligraphy, beautiful. We feel like we want to stay there for a long time, coz it’s so peaceful. All of sudden we hear the Adzan Magrib, it should be a call for us to join the praying, unfortunately I only wear short pants and I don’t bring my praying dress, no other choice, we have to go out and leave the Camii. Sad. There are some more historical buildings at the old town, but considering it is difficult for us to take nice pictures in night modes, then we decide to go back to the hotel and enjoy the room. We stop over to buy Turkish ice cream and tape the funny tricks they play while serving it. The ice cream is delicious, sticky but so delicate. Well, don’t believe me, wherever whenever, I am a good friend of ice cream, hahaha.

Day 3 – Bursa – Izmir – Selcuk – Ephesus

We left the cozy room of Aloft hotel at 0730, take taxi (sorry dude, we are in a rush, excuse hahha) to the bus terminal, buy ticket for first bus to Izmir, buy Durum Kebab, Baklava and Simit for our brunch. Bus from Bursa to Izmir costs 30TL, takes 3.5 hours ride. They serve us with water, coffee/tea and snack on board. The driver and assistant is dress up and cute, though the road is long, we never get bored hahhaa. 

Arrive in Izmir, we plan to take a Dolmus for city sight seeing, before that we have to find a locker to put our luggage. Too bad, mostly people in the bus terminal can’t speak English, we are lost in translation this time, almost an hour we go round up and down with our carriage to find locker, and no luck. Get dizzy and starved, we buy some breads and decided to take bus to our next destination, Selcuk. Bye Izmir. 

My note: It’s a must to take note on some local wordings when you do backpacking to a country wherein English is not their main language. I do memorize some, but it’s not enough though. Later at Konya we just realize that Locker in Turkish is “Emanet”, and Dina told me, she remembers there was an emanet sign at Izmir bus station. *sigh*

It takes 1 hour from Izmir to Selcuk by Dolmus, and costs 9TL. On the way to Selcuk, I keep calling Tom the CP of Artemis Hotel, wherein we will stay for two nights to ask for direction, in hostelworld they promise a free pick up. Tom says his friend Muslim will pick us up at the otogar (bus terminal). Ok great. Arrived in Selcuk, Muslim easily recognize us and show us the way to the hotel, on foot, hahaha no wonder its free. The Artemis hotel is only 10 minutes walks from otogar however it kind of tough part if we have to walk when we are tired and starved and have to carry our own luggage. Ga ada ojek nih Din?

Tom is a very friendly person with excellent selling skills, he shows us a map to explore Selcuk and arrange a day tour for us to Pamukkale on the next day. The Artemis hotel is merely a hostel ++ for us, it is clean and tidy, but the toilet is old fashioned. It’s not a big problem though, as long as it works as properly. 

Our plan for the afternoon is visiting the legendary Ephesus. Tom said there is a dolmus to the northern entrance, but he recommend us to take taxi from otogar to upper gate or southern entrance, so we could walk downhill, then finish at northern entrance and we can take dolmus or go on foot for 30mins back to the hotel.  We follow his guidance, pay 15TL for the taxi and 25TL for the entrance fee and enjoying the wonderful Ephesus. Coincidentally we meet a tour group from Bank Mandiri Jakarta, we say Hi and they offer their assistant to take picture on us, cool. Dina meet some new “friends”, two photographers from China, one of them greets her with fart in front of her, the other is more rude, shouting to people to stay away from the front of Celcus Library, coz he wants to take picture, helloooow.

More info about Ephesus, visit Wikipedia please hahaha.

From the northern gate, we take a dolmus for 5TL back to Otogar. I was a bit pale coz of my PMS ache then we decide to have some good food before we go back to hotel and prepare for Pamukalle trip tomorrow. 

To be continued.. 

mampus khan semuanya to be continued wkwkkwkw

[Journey] Medan Toba 2013 - 2 decades friendship

Sesuai plan 2 tahun lalu waktu kita ke Jogja, our next trip will be North Sumatra. As always, the fix schedule is confirm after Mira, miss expat, arrives from her current base, Germany. Secara waktu jalan-jalannya cuma sebentar jadi kita focus on lake Toba and Medan. A bit curious to see the new airport Kuala Namu, since many people said it is the most modern airport in Indonesia.

And here we go :) ..  leaving Kuala Namu (similar to Terminal 3 - GGK laah, but they have train to the city) at 10.30 am, our first destination is Taman Simalem Resort, at Merek Hills nearby Tongging village, an hour from Brastagi. Its about 4 hours from the airport and we only stop by for lunch at RM Garuda at Sibolangit city. Make sure you have some drink water and snack before you leave Medan, coz its a long ride with many curves, tanjakan turunan kelokan gitu lah.

But its worthy. See the beautiful scenery we have from the balcony of our lodge.

We booked family lodge costs Rp.1.8million per night for a room with 4 beds, its inclusive dinner-breakfast and tour program (i.e. jungle trekking, farmers tour, coffee roasting, labirin etc). The room is clean and spacious, there are 2 mini tv inside, however the toilet and shower is outside the room (4 toilets & 4 showers in each floor).

 -- the family room, mind the messy bed cover please :p --

 -- shower & toilet --

 -- the homy sitting room--

We check in at 15.30, upon had the fresh orange juice as welcome drink, the guest relation, Ms. Pinta, offers if we want to have tour around the orange farms and walk to the small waterfall nearby the tree house. Sure, we can't say no :)

We also visited the honeymoon suite, eucalyptus, its nice with the open air jacuzzi close to the river.

Buffet Dinner was also nice, they have an expat chef with a good knowledge of Indonesian food. I enjoy the green pineapple drink and the clear soup, it was perfect for a cold night. 
Back to the lodge, we spend sometime for chats and laughs, testing new breathable nail enamel, and sleep at 01.00 am.
Wake up again around 4.30, huaa we almost late for the sunrise hunting, fortunately our neighbour inform, yesterday they fail to see sunrise, too cloudy, seems like it will be the same for today, hmm blessing in disguise, we don't feel guilty for wake up late hahaha. But still we go to the view point, and just take a picture of its surrounding.

Miss Pinta, as discussed before, take us to the twin waterfall, to get there we need to walk 1.5 hours through the jungle.. the track is slippery but clear enough, so i guess no one will get lost here.. we meet some monkeys and couple of orang utan, playing happily above the trees, some birds flying and singing, so lively and lovely..

 

 

finally we get there... its not too big, surely nothing compare to the Sipiso Piso waterfall, but it looks good with some layers.

 

 

Back to the lodge, we clean up and be ready for breakfast, they offer Indonesian style (nasi goreng) and American style (toast and omelete), as usual i choose toast and two boiled egg. At 10.00 we leave the Taman Simalem Resort, heading to Samosir Island. 

It takes 3 hours from Taman Simalem to Samosir Island via Tongging, we stop a while at Tongging for taking pictures, the view from Penatapan Tower is so breathtaking, beautiful, too bad, the tower is not managed well. 

Reach the Samosir island, we try to find some meals, it almost 2pm, starved to the max. It's difficult to find halal food in Samosir island, Thank God there is one moslem restaurant, small but fine lah, better than nothing. Feel enough, we go to Tomok port, to catch Ferry to Parapat. Along the way we see many traditional house, where the pets lives below the house.

Aaahhh we missed the 4pm Ferry, have to wait for the next which is 7pm, hiks have to forget my plan to stop by at Roti Ganda, Pematang Siantar. Mau kemana lagi juga bingung, akhirnya nunggu aja di mobil. Sampe Parapat langsung makan malam di deket kantor pos, enak dan puas dan murah hahaha. Reach Medan at 1pm, we stay at Hermes Palace Hotel. 

Day 3, yippiee our culinary day. Start with breakfast, we planned to skip BF at hotel, but we think we need a cup of coffee or tea and some fruits for starter, then we stop by at their rooftop restaurant, no regret, their coffee is very nice.

Our first target today is Bihun Bebek Asie at Jl. Kumango, I went there once, it was so delicious and have read some reference in internet mentioning that it is halal, so, a must to visit again. We take Bentor (becak motor) in front of the hotel, cost Rp.15.000 one way. deal. Mira and Lani enjoyed it very much.

Takes only 7 minutes, and we arrived at Bihun Bebek Asie, all table is occupied, except the one close to the stove, huaaa panasss. Waited for 15 minutes. Good decision to order 2 only instead of 4 portion, it is a big portion. Two years ago it cost Rp.35.000, now Rp.50.000 per portion, but its worthed. The bihun aka rice noodle is so delicate, thick duck meat, and the fried garlic make it so yummy.

Overeating, we decided to go walking back to the hotel, through Jl. Kesawan, we stop by at the historical building Cong Afie Mansion, it reminds me to Blue Mansion at Penang island Malaysia, they are similar, also belongs to the powerful and richest Chinese taipan in the past, but i think this one is slightly bigger.

Our hotel is located in a very strategic area (at least for our culinary purpose), within 15mins walk from the Bihun Bebek, we reach the hotel. And just realize there are some food stall in its surrounding, including the Wajir Seafood, one of our target for this evening.

It is just a starter, we will have some more destination to go, Bika Ati, Bolu Meranti, Manisan Jambu, Soto Sinar Pagi, Duren Ucok, Jala-jala (pancake durian), Sate Kerang, Mie Titi Bobrok, Roti Tissu, Seafood Wajir... to be continued.. hahhaha

Kalibaru Rafting & Highland Park Bogor

Alamak, so lama sekali berkunjung kesana tapi belum buat laporan ..

Mid of 2011, kita rafting dulu paginya di Kalibaru River.. it is actually located not to far away from Novotel Hotel Bogor West Java, 1.5 hours drive from Jakarta .. the river is not too big, but we meet many booms (rapids) along the way.. can't stop screaming, really good for your adrenaline.. much more exciting rather than Citarik, a level lower than Pekalen at East Java.. Highly recommend for a quick escape from hustle bustle of Jakarta..

 -- The Team  --

 -- 1st Boom --

-- Killing Boom --

-- Almost Finish --

-- Finish :) --

Finish at 12.00 we still have time to explore Bogor. We decided to see the Highland Park - a Mongolian luxurious camp at the hills of Mount Salak.. close to Curug Nangka aka Nangka Waterfalls .. for more info about the rates, visit their website http://www.thehighlandparkresortbogor.com/en/or call +62 251 848 5 777 

  -- inside the tent, like hotel room --

  -- the Mongolian tent--

 -- the pools, kids will love it --

-

Maximum capacity per tent is 8 pax. Perfect for family, Office gathering, Reunion, Bachelor party hahaha.. They have spaces for outdoor activity, games (flying fox etc) and barbeque .. lovely!

What to bring for Umrah trip

Apa yang perlu dibawa saat Umrah? Wokay berhubung ada yg minta dibuatin list pake rayu-rayu pula, jadi inilah list tentengan eke plus beberapa tips seputarnya ..  Sorry ya ini tentengan versi gue aka versi perempuan  

       1.Tas

a.  Koper Japrem : biasanya kita dapat dari tour/travel kita, jangan lupa beri tanda yg mayan mencolok n signifikan ukurannya, untuk memudahkan kita mencari waktu di Bandara sana (karena biasanya barang-2 sudah geletakan selama menunggu kita proses Imigrasi)

b.  Koper Gede : aku prefer bawa 1 aja yg agak besar supaya semua oleh-oleh bisa nyemplung dan ga perlu banyak perintilan kecil-kecil, biar gampang nyarinya pas di Bandara. Kasih tanda juga yaa.

c.  Ransel Kecil / Tas Pinggang  : untuk kita bawa selama di pesawat, ke masjid (termasuk pas thawaf dan sai) dan city tour, selipin juga plastic kresek utk tempat sandal, kantung parasut/kain yg bisa dilipat.

Pas di pesawat isiannya :

dompet passport, barang berharga, tissue, biscuit/cemilan/permen, wadah minum plastic (dalam keadaan kosong) utk antisipasi pramugari airline lain yg rada males keliling bolak balik bagiin minum padahal penerbangan lama kita butuh minum banyak jadi kita bisa minta air mineral lalu taruh di wadah ini, obat-obatan, penutup mata, bantal leher, kaus tangan, kaus kaki, bolpen, notes kecil, buku doa

Pas ke Masjid isiannya :

wadah minum plastic utk diisi zamzam, plastic kresek tmpt sandal, buku doa/Quran, dompet kecil (utk sedekah / jajan), ID Tag (kecuali udah dipake di leher), kaos kaki cadangan, tasbih, tissue (buat tatakan kalo nangis hihihi), payung kalo mw thawaf siang

Pas city tour isiannya :

dompet passport, dompet coin, camera, hape camera, tissue, cemilan/permen, wadah minum berisi air, sunglass, payung

d.  Gembok Koper (bawa cadangan 1 just in case tuh 2 koper masih beranak lagi *tutup muka*)

2.       Baju Luar

a.  Baju Ihram

Sebenarnya utk cewe baju ihram bisa anykind, tapi org Indonesia banyak prefer warna putih karena berkesan bersih, suci, dan nyaman juga (ga panas). Biasanya kalau 3 hari di Makkah kita berkesempatan umrah 2-3x, so persiapkan baju ihram minimal 2, karena biasanya kalo udah dipake kegiatan Thawaf dan Sai itu baju bakal keringetan ajah, though udah pakai daleman.

b.  Baju Gamis

Paling praktis bawa 2-3 baju gamis warna gelap (utk 6 hari ibadah disana), kemarin daku sih bawa daster batik yg serba panjang sampai ke mata kaki warna gelap yg motifnya ga terlalu ramai (beli di tamcit 50rebuan aja ciin) 4 hari sesuai jumlah hari diluar umrah, dari tahajud sampe isya pakai itu, abis itu buat tidur dah hahaha. Oiya disana beli deh 1 abaya arab yg item itu, praktis kalo mau ga usah bawa banyak baju (cukup modal 2 baju ihram, 2 gamis plus 1 abaya ini, udah deh tentrem)

c.  Baju Tidur

Ga usah rempong bawa kebanyakan baju tidur, cukup 2-3 stel aja or kayak daku pake daster batik itu hihi, toh ga kotor juga.

3.       Baju Dalam

a. Underwear : cd preferably cd kertas + panty liners, bra yg nyaman buat selama penerbangan, kalo mau nyuci disana cukup bawa 3 bra, kalo engga ya disesuaikan jumlah hari.

b.  Kaos Lengan Panjang : ini yg butuh rada banyak, sesuai jumlah hari, bisa juga direplace kaos biasa lalu pakai manset (apalagi kalo gamis/daster yg kita pakai model lengannya lebar). Minimal bawa 2 lengan panjang utk dalaman baju ihram putih, lainnya bisa pakai kaus biasa.

c.  Legging / Celana Training bahan kaus : kalau gamisnya panjangnya masih diatas mata kaki semua, bawa ini rada banyakan. Tapi kalo engga cukup sbg dalaman baju ihram putih saja, plus 1 lg utk dipake pas city tour. Minimal 3 pcs deh.

4.       Kerudung dkk

a. Bergo/kerudung : minimal bawa 4 pcs, unless disana mau beli-beli. Kalau dapat bergo seragam pastikan nyaman dipakai, biasanya talinya kekencengan, dedel aja tali plus bolongan mukanya, tali bisa diganti pita, atau beli renda yg ada elastisnya, jahit alakadarnya aja kanan kiri, supaya nyaman terutama buat selama penerbangan.

b. Mukena : bawa 1 deh ya (atasan aja) terutama berguna saat keluar utk magrib/isya/subuhan, anginnya dingin soalna

c.  Manset :  minimal bawa 1 deh, utk cadangan kalau gamisnya berlengan lebar, bawa 2-3 kalau dalamannya kaus biasa ya.

d. daleman jilbab, supaya rambutnya ga keluar-keluar, bisa juga direplace bandana

5.     Handuk :

   buat mandi seharusnya udah ada di hotel, tapi kalo khawatir ga ada ya bawa aja ukuran sedang (kali-2 nanti berguna juga utk ngelapis botol parfum or botol apalah oleh-2 yg ditaruh di koper). Bawa juga handuk kecil 2 deh ya, bisa berguna utk lap keringet pas thawaf/sai, bisa buat tatakan air mata pas ke makam Rasulullah, terus kalo udara panas, basahi dgn air zam-zam dikit, tempelin ke muka, uadeemm reekk

6.    Obat-obatan :

better bawa dari Indonesia deh yg udah biasa kita minum. yg paling standar adalah obat flu –  troches/degirol - vitamin – obat sakit perut (maag, diatabs or dulcolax) – obat penunda haid dari dokter – obat panas dalam (just in case ga tahan sama panasnya udara disana). Jangan lupa tiap minum zam-zam baca doanya plus baca doa minum obat, insya Allah zamzam juga bagus buat obat penyakit apapun.  Plus conterpain or beli disana aja voltaren cream or radiant massage cream. Lalu minyak kayu putih ukuran mini or minyak aroma terapi (utk di pesawat juga). Salonpas koyo juga lumayan buat ngurangin pegel-pegel en ga pake dingin udahannya (kadang kalau cream counterpain dkk dingin khan pas udahannya). Obat tetes mata. Antimo. Masker debu. Perlengkapan Mandi, deodorant, sunblock, aftersun cream, cotton buds, pembersih muka, lotion. bisa juga beli disana sih semua ini.

7.    Alas Kaki

a.  Kaos Kaki : minimal bawa 5 ya, 7 lebih baik, 2 diantaranya yg bawahnya ada bintik bintik karet anti selipnya (utk digunakan pas thawaf dan sai). Kalo kita ga bawa sarung mukena, yah kaos kaki ini buat modal shalat, jadi kalo mau nyaman ya pake yg bersih lah yaa.

b.  Sandal / Sepatu : bawa sepatu karet yg ringan lebih disarankan (krn bisa dipakai pas city tour en jika hotelna jaraknya jauh dari masjid), ribetnya kalau pas wudhu, jadi kudu tunggu agak kering. Kalau di masjidil haram kita masih bisa wudhu ulang di masjid pakai zam-zam secukupnya yaa (segelas-dua gelas), tapi kalau di masjid Nabawi ya harus keluar masjid, dan dari toilet ke dalam masjid itu jarakna cukup jauh dan lantainya duingin buanget. Jadi mending tunggu agak kering dulu, or pakai sandal japit pas di masjid Nabawi.

8.       Perlengkapan lain

a.  Kotak plastic besar – dari Jakarta bisa digunakan utk bawa biscuit or lauk kering (tericang/pencop, abon) – dari Arab nanti, ini berguna utk bawa kurma (terutama kalau mau beli fresh kurma, supaya ga benjut-benjut n lebih tahan lama).

b.  Pisau lipat (utk potong buah), gunting kecil (utk tahlul n utk buka-2 apa gitu) n sendok kecil (utk adukan kalau mau minum-2 di kamar), pemanas air (kalau sekiranya tidak disediakan oleh hotel), charger, colokan kaki tiga plus partnernya (beberapa hotel masih pakai standard eropa, colokannya kaki tiga euy)

c.  Energen or semacamnya, berguna buat penghangat sebelum keluar utk shalat tahajud di masjid

d. Tea hijau or cairan berserat (macam vegeta or jelly), makanan arab banyakan daging-daging dan berlemak, pastikan kebutuhan serat anda terpenuhi hihihi

9.       Al Quran dkk

Di Masjid Nabawi dan Masjidil Harram tersedia ribuan Al Quran yg bisa dipinjam utk dibaca disana, tapi just in case anda kayak saya yg suka males ribet cari-cari udah sampe mana bacanya mending bawa Al Quran kecil sendiri, or beli disana. Buku Panduan Shalat Sunnah berguna utk pengingat, karena pastinya kita disana perbanyak ibadah di masjid khan maunya. Buku Doa yg dari tour travelnya biasanya cukup lengkap dgn doa-doa yg penting.

Oh ya, biasanya pas di Raudhah or di depan Ka’bah, tempat yg mustajab utk doa, kadang kita justru get lost dan lupa semua doa yg  udah dipikir mau dipanjatkan disana, so biar gampang bawa catatan or diketik di kertas, termasuk titipan doa dari teman or kerabat di Indo (jangan disave di hape, krn kita ga bakal bawa tuh hape ke masjid)

10.   Dompet , Hape, Kamera

Bawalah 2 dompet, yg utama lebih baik tinggalin di safety box kamar hotel saat ibadah ke masjid, cukup bawa dompet coin aja (plus isi uang 100-200 real).  Kemarin ini aku tukar di jkt 1000 real aja, sisanya bawa USD. Di Jakarta yg tukernya ratenya mayan bagus dan ada real pecahan kecil di Sarinah Thamrin (deket ATM centre).  Kartu kredit berguna kalau mau beli emas (di Makkah dan Madinah) plus beli parfum n jam branded di Jeddah (corniche/balad) en di duty free shop bandara. Preferably credit card dari bank asing. Yg ratenya rendah (pas tagihan datang) biasanya Citibank en Mandiri. Debit card dgn logo Visa juga diterima di beberapa tempat. Begitu juga uang Rupiah, ada toko yg mau terima (terutama di balad, Jeddah).

Untuk hape kamera, udah pasti cewe ga bisa bawa masuk ke masjid Nabawi, kecuali nyolong-nyolong (selipin dimana deh gitu), di Masjidil Harram masih bisa, asal jangan terlalu mencolok ditampilin pas lagi mau masuk.

Untuk kamera, preferably bawa yg pocket aja ya, ribet deh bawa yg LSR. Lagian khan kesana mau ibadah bukan mau foto-foto.

Sekian dulu ya, nanti kalo inget yg lainnya ditambahin lagii.. semoga bergunaa.. Selamat ber-Umrah, selamat menikmati indahnya nikmat menjadi tamu Allah dan tamu Rasulullah..