My Trips

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It has been a long time (almost 4 years!) since the last time I listed down places that I visited in a certain year, like what I did here in this post.

I will combine all of my trips that haven’t been listed during 2013 until 2015 just for my records. Ideally, I want to review them all, share my itineraries and expenses but I still have time constraints. Well, at least I start with something for now, right? My 2016 trips are also being listed down in this post, but be aware that it is still a growing list (lol). Here we go:

2013

1. 30 March – 01 April 2013: Yogyakarta for an event, plus exploring its southern beaches

2. 01 – 04 July 2013: Honeymoon in Bali

3. 24 August – 01 September 2013: Second honeymoon in my favourite city, Melbourne

I did not have many trips compare to 2012 due to 2 things: prepare wedding (with its “don’t go too far” message from the elders), and budget (better sacrifice some trips for that 1 nostalgic Melbourne trip, tee hee).

 

2014

1. 08 – 11 February 2014: Mainstream Bali (..and how to do it on budget)

2. 03 – 05 April 2014: Yogyakarta (first time swirling around Jogja with a rented motorcycle!)

3. 23 – 27 May 2014: Sempu, Batu, and Malang

4. 21 – 23 June 2014: Palembang

5. 27 September 2014: 9 hours in Bandung

6. 05 – 08 November 2014: Team Building in Bandung (and stayed in the beautiful Jadul Village)

7. 30 November 2014: Ragunan Zoo

8. 21 December 2014: 7 hours in Bandung

 

2015

1. 10 January 2015: Pulorida Beach, Cilegon (yup, no typo. It’s not Florida)

2. 06 – 08 February 2015: Bandung and Lembang (stayed in the simple yet lovely Mercure Setiabudi)

3. 14 February 2015: Bandung for Volkswagent event

4. 18  – 19 May 2015: Singapore (an impulsive trip, lol. Stayed at Copthorne King’s – will not return for sure to this hotel!)

5. 23 – 24 May 2015: Bandung (tried Gado Gadu Hostel)

6. 30 May – 02 June 2015: Menjangan Island and Ijen Crater

7. 6 June 2015: Padalarang for Volkswagent event

8. 01 – 02 August 2015: Bandung (stayed in Rumah Kiboku)

9. 16 August 2015: Bogor (Kebun Raya and Zoologi Museum)

10. 24 – 27 September 2015: Palembang

11. 21 – 24 October 2015: Singapore for Halloween Horror Night at USS

 

2016

1. 02 January 2016: Bogor (SKI Tajur and Kuntum Nurseries)

2. 08 February 2016: Dunia Fantasi

3. 20 March 2016: Timezone Lippo Mall Karawaci

4. 02 – 03 April 2016: Bandung (stayed in Malaka Hotel)

5. 07 – 10 April 2016: Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru  (LEGOLAND!)

6. 05 – 07 May 2016: Anyer

7. 26 – 31 May 2016: Singapore (stayed in Bay Hotel, love it!)

8. June 2016: Singapore

9. July 2016: Palembang

10. September 2016: Batu and Malang

11. October 2016: Hong Kong

 

IG: @walktoexplore

Bali on Budget

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Feb 2014 : BALI

Day 1

Morning flight (10 am) from Jakarta, meet person who deliver our rental car at the airport, have lunch at Warung Italia, check in to Grandmas Hotel, and then catch sunset at La Plancha. We have our dinner at Whacko Burger, the patty was so delicious! We only hang out around Seminyak in the first day.

Day 2

Breakfast at Grandmas Hotel is buffet-style, with the scenery of the hotel’s pool, feels so relaxing in the morning. After breakfast, we go to Krisna to buy some souvenirs. We drive from Krisna and then park the car inside parking lot of Discovery Mall so we can walk around Kuta area. Today is closed by having dinner at Nasi Pedas Bu Andika.

Day 3

Check out from Grandmas Seminyak to continue our trip to the southern part of Bali. A visit to Pandawa Beach (the statues are remarkable!) and Garuda Wisnu Kencana in the morning, have lunch at Kat’s Kitchen (yummmmmmm..), and then go to Padang-padang beach before spending the rest of the day in Water Edge Villa. I intentionally arrange this villa to be our last night accommodation because we don’t have plan to go anywhere this night. There are only about 7 villas in Water Edge, each with its huge bedroom, huge bathroom, and pool. Unfortunately, currently Water Edge only accommodate for long stay booking (sighhh).

Day 4

Wake up, open bedroom curtains, enjoying scenery of the pool and golf course, what a beautiful morning! Someone knock the door and when I open it, 3 people stand and smile outside. They ask my permission to set our breakfast inside. It is a complete breakfast indeed, and we enjoy it a lot. We take some time to relax before start to take a bath and packing for going home. After check out, we go to Kat’s Kitchen (again :D) for lunch. We make appointment with people from lajubali to take our rent car at the airport, and then we fly back to Jakarta.

 

In making itineraries, I usually try to be very efficient and productive. I will  insert as many places as I can and arrange the visit in the most efficient way. But this is Bali. If you cannot count anymore how many times you have visited Bali, that is exactly the time when you have to just relax and enjoy the day.

 

Expenses

  • Air Asia : Rp 1.074.800 return for 2 person (booked it on June 2013)
  • Accommodation : Rp. 560.191 for 2 nights at Grandmas Seminyak and Rp. 770.000 for 1 night at Water Edge Villa Uluwatu
  • Transport : Rp. 450.000 for 3 x 24 hours rental of KIA Picanto from lajubali.com (recommended!)
  • Eat and else : Rp. 2.000.000
  • TOTAL expenses : Rp. 4.854.991

 

For current situation (2016), I admit that it is very difficult to find a flight deal from Jakarta to Bali for Rp 500.000 (return per person) anymore, even when you book it a year in advance. In the promo period, the cheapest price will still be around Rp. 750.000 (return per person), and around Rp. 1.300.000 (return per person) for normal day (non peak). But you can still save your budget with so many accommodation and food selection in Bali. There is no reason to not treat yourself with a vacation once in a while.

The most important thing, to save budget does not mean that you have to give less than you can bear to yourself. Do more searching, read more blogs, reviews, etc and you will find a comfort place … it may not be the most expensive, the most beautiful, and perhaps not the most famous one, but it just fits, and perfect, for your holiday. 🙂

 

IG : @walktoexplore

See you in a week, 2014.

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Less than 10 days to another 1st of January! I hope I could be a better person in this upcoming new year. I hope all of you will be a better person, too. Don’t forget to thank God for everything you have, hug your parents, have an unforgettable trip, great love, and good laugh. Being happy is a choice, right?

Traveling Tips #1 : Choosing The Right Accommodation

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Hostel? Flat? Hotel? Private villa? Resort? I could be somewhat redundant in selecting the right accommodation for each of my trip. It doesn’t have to be either the best in town or the most expensive one. I just need a little bit of everything with a little amount of money I want to spend. Everyone has different priorities, I know. For me, sometimes a nice bed and pillows with clean toilet will be just enough. Why? Because I will spend most of my time outside, exploring the city, eating local food, and back to bedroom just to sleep at night.

These things are what I usually consider before deciding where to stay during my vacation:

• Vacation style (Backpacking? Traveling?)

This is important because sometimes it is not applicable to bring big luggage while you are choosing to stay at backpackers hostel. Lockers in the hostel are usually not really big and only enough for keeping your backpack. Some hostels provide bigger locker anyway, so if you choose this kind of hostel, then you will have no problem.

• Length of your stay

Some might find it easy to stay one or two weeks in a hostel, but others might not have that kind of endurance. I prefer to choose flats than hostels for a 6 days or more trip. Flats are more comfortable and mostly come with kitchenette so I could do some light-cooking during my stay. Anyway, some hostels may also allow their guests to use their kitchen but I’m just not that kind of person who cook in front of people I’m not familiar with. (Tips: Shop at local grocery store and do light cooking will reduce your daily meal expense)

• How many person and Who will be going with you

Will you be going with parents? Friends? Children? Big family? In my opinion, parents (older one) and children are better stay in a more comfortable accommodation like a hotel than a BnB. Private villa with some bedrooms is suitable for big family vacation so you could gather in the living room and do activities together like watch movies or just talk to each other.

• What kind of transportation will you use

If you want to use local public transportation, maybe you should consider to choose a place that is close to the nearest (for example) station. Sometimes the price could be more expensive compare to places that a little bit far from the station. Using taxi or a rent car could also be options. It depends on the city. I prefer to use MRT and buses in countries that have good public transportation like Singapore and Australia, and rent from local people and drive car by myself when I go to Bali and Yogyakarta.

• Rating and reviews at Tripadvisor, Booking.com and various blogs

People reviews are really matter for me. From the reviews, I could see others’ perspective, not only the ‘marketing words’ from the owners. I could also see real pictures, you know, not that kind of ‘best-angle and edited’ one.

• Places of interest list and foods

List places that you want to visit in that city first, and then it will be easy to find a place to stay that will not waste your money and time. For example, when in Bali, I want to go to Uluwatu Temple, Karma Kandara, eat at Jimbaran, and go to Padang-padang Beach. Of course it’s better for me to stay at the South of Bali, like in Jimbaran area, than stay in North area. Do not forget to find out whether the location of your accommodation is close to some cafes, restaurants, etc or not.

• Your budget

No need to explain further, please choose a place that approximately fits your budget.

Hope it helps!

Recommended sites:

  1. TripAdvisor
  2. Booking.com
  3. Hostelbookers
  4. AirBnB (My fav!!)

Moved from Tumblr.

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It was a little surprise that my WordPress blog is still active after.. maybe almost 5 years. I have deleted all my WordPress posts in 2008 and 2009 and started to use Tumblr in 2010. Few days ago I tried to log in to this WordPress account, and voila, the username (michaa) is still mine! So i decided to import my posts from Tumblr and use WordPress again. This blog will be my place to write about my trips, my feelings, some events, anything. Have a nice read and please feel free to leave your comments.

Xoxo

Winter Vacation in Melbourne

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In August 2013, 2 months after our wedding, we had chance to go to Melbourne for.. let’s say second honeymoon, yay! We rent an apartment in a good location near Melbourne Central. We didn’t use any tour and travel package from Indonesia. All itinerary for a week was made by me (as always :p). We booked local tour anyway for going to Phillip Island, Mt. Buller (snow time!), and Great Ocean Road because arranging by yourself to go to those places without joining local tour are definitely a waste of time, money, and energy.

It was winter and the temperature was between 5-15 degree celcius, except in Mt. Buller (maybe aroud 0-2 but the sun was shining bright!).

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Bali for.. honeymoon!

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Too mainstream, huh? Yeah we’re having our honeymoon in Bali, Indonesia. A magical island, you will always want to go there over and over again even if you already went there many times before. We stayed in a private villa in Kerobokan. On the second day, we gave Finn’s Beach Club a try, nice beach club with great services. Other places we visited were the mainstream ones, Menega at Jimbaran for seafood dinner, Krisna for buying souvenirs, Nasi Pedes Ibu Andika for another dinner, and Uluwatu Temple for watching Kecak dance.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Yogya Djogdja Jogjes

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Not even a year after the last time we visited Yogyakarta, we had another chance in March 2013 to go there, with the mother(s), to attend my husband (fiance at that time)’s sister wedding. We used that moment to make our (kinda) pre-wed video, you know, just for fun. :p

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Another Holiday, No?

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Refrain myself not to buy another flight ticket nor arranging any other trip this year. Two domestic and One international trip were enough for 2013. I still have 2 tickets for 2014 anyway. Hope the rest of 2013 goes well without any more traveling (or maybe a little Bandung will not hurt anybody, eh?). How about you? What’s your end of year plan? ♥♥