Scope yang gw bahas disini yaitu independent traveling alias traveling yang diatur sendiri tanpa join ama kelompok tour. Artinya, tour arrangement (kapan berangkat, tinggal di hotel mana, lokal transport, tempat-tempat yang mo dikunjungi, mo makan dimana, dll.) ditentukan sendiri ama peserta yang mo ikutan traveling. Karena banyak hal yang musti di putusin, menurut gw traveling itu salah satu kegiatan dimana kita harus picky dalam milih teman. Logikanya sih sederhana aja, makin banyak yang ikut, berarti makin banyak kepala. Makin banyak kepala berarti makin banyak orang yang (berhak) ngambil keputusan, makin banyak pendapat, kemauan dan kepribadian yang harus dipuasin. Traveling ama temen baek itu awal pilihan yang baik. Walopun sesudah traveling…
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From Singapore to the world
Pertama kali gw ke Singapore waktu itu bulan Oktober. Somehow gw pindah kerja ke Singapore di bulan February tahun berikut nya (ampe saat gw bercerita). Ada kemajuan sih untuk traveling dokumen gw, terisi beberapa halaman sebelon gw ke kedutaan Indo untuk untuk perpanjang passport kedua gw hehehe .. Sejak disini mata gw serasa celik. Gw jadi pengen traveling terus2an. Pertama-tama ada temen yang ngajakin gw ke Melaka, trus gw jalan Ke Bangkok, terus ke Kota Kinabalu, Ho Chi Minh, terus keterusan .. Gw jadi rajin mantau tiket promosinya budget airlines, dan biasanya hunting tiket mulai di bulan Agustus untuk perjalanan sepanjang taon depan. Ada beberapa faktor yang bikin gw giat…
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For the sake of my passport
Suatu hari gw diajak adik gw maen ke Singapore. Gw bilang bahwa gw lagi ada project di kantor, gak bisa kemana-mana. Dia tetep aja cerita tentang bagus, bersih, aman dan teraturnya Singapore. Tentang tempat-tempat cultural India, atopun jalan yang bebas macet. Hmmm .. so what? Gw lebih suka nerusin tidur gw di zona nyaman gw. Sampe satu hari istri adik gw itu bilang ke gw : “Ci, udah pergi sono, jangan sampe itu passport expired dalam keadaan blank lagi”. Gw pun untuk kedua kalinya ngecek kapan passport gw expired. Ternyata gw masih punya 10 bulan sebelum gw harus ganti passport lagi. Pas di imigrasi biasanya orang bakal ditanyain tuh, tujuan…
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My first travel document
Di tahun yang sama gw traveling Ke Bali, adik gw nyaranin gw untuk bikin passport. Sebabnya adalah gw udah beberapa kali kasi uang jajan ke dia ato bonyok pas dia org traveling dan koper gw pun dah bolak balik di pinjem orang untuk traveling ke luar Indo. Tapi malang, gw sendiri masih left behind in the country, belon pernah pergi kemana-mana. Dan hari itu datanglah, hari dimana gw ngambil travel dokumen resmi gw yang warna nya ijo ke kantor imigrasi Sawah Besar. Ahhhhh …. perjalanan akan segera di mulai sodara-sodara ….. Lima tahun berlalu. Adik gw muncul lagi dan bilang bahwa passport gw udah mo expired dan musti di perpanjang.…
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Mr. Kekaha
My last day in Bali started a bit early. I told my mom the night before that I will return by 8AM for breakfast. Kuta beach at 6am was quiet. Some people jogging and some cute dogs playing and swimming. The sun was still hiding and the sea breeze rather strong. It’s totally different view of Kuta beach. I walked in cold water along the coast line to the eastern side until I reach the cultural market that I can no longer walk. When I return to my starting point (just in front of our hotel) i sat on the sand reviewing pictures in my camera. I still have half…
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Have it your way ..
Bear in mind that if joining a tour is your option, travel in pair is highly recommended, else single supplement fee required when you travel solo. So for fair comparison, except for hotel room, you need to multiply all by 2 because tour package is based on 2 persons sharing a room. Using the tour package itinerary you shall check the price of all component following its level / class declared in a package. Eg., if the tour package offers you a room in Hyatt Hotel, try to find the cheapest rate in Hyatt Hotel. Then sum up all the rates (tickets, hotel, places of interest, entry tickets, and add…
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Bali wishes
I’ve heard about Bali before I was 7 years young. I was not visited Bali until 2004. I know nothing about Bali nor how to organize a trip. All that I knew was my budget, my leave balance and that I want to bring my mother with me to Bali. I started my research about Bali tour packages from best tour agents in the country. This including visiting agent website, collecting recent promotion brochures for updated price and get some feedbacks from forums in regard of the packages. I was not the first human being who did not use agency service, so I believe there are plenty of information I can…
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Bali came alive
Pertama kali gw alami bahwa Bali itu nyata yaitu waktu gw belon genap 10 taon. Pas bokap temen gw buka bagasi mobilnya, di dalamnya ada nyembul hiasan kepala penari Bali. Trus happily and proudly dia bilang bahwa mereka baru aja pulang dari Bali. The hiasan kepala Bali was so real to me! Until that day I only heard Bali and the Kecak dance from others or TV news presenter .. or popping up in my Social Science exam papers. One day I will go to the paradise, I promised myself. Sebelon itu tentunya gw pernah denger tentang Bali lewat guru kelas gw di pelajaran IPS. Beliau bilang bahwa orang bule…
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The day I missed my flight (for the first time)
There’s a first time for everything. This story is about my first time missing my flight, my first experience with tiny noisy plane and get lost in Surabaya. To date I have missed many flights. No worry, I will take time to share all later. It was 2 weeks after I join a company. My boss sent me for a two weeks initial assignment for a project in Surabaya. Boss : Do you have credit card? Me : No, Sir. Boss : Next time you have to apply one. It’s impossible for you to carry cash all the way for hotels, flights, etc. For now I will help you to…
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Cita-cita jaman dulu
Dahulu kala, di kantor bokap gw ada lukisan warna biru-ijo-coklat segede meja makan, yang bentuk nya kayak buah pala kena keprek. Dia bilang itu “peta dunia”, dan dia bilang kita ada di “Java”. Trus di rumah gw ada “bola dunia” didominasi warna biru yang biasanya gw dan adik gw suka puter-puterin kalo lagi pas bosen ato bete. (Waktu itu sempet bingung juga sih, napa juga itu kedudukan bola miring, tapi ini gak penting sih buat gw, jadi gak sempet ditanyain). Alkisah, bokap gw punya banyak temen bule. They just look so different from us and smell different, too! Menurut bokap gw, temen2 nya itu orang Amerika. Amerika itu ada di…
