Live for travelling

2019-05-04T21:07:00.001-07:00

Engineering to Digital Marketing

Marketing and Sale are different. In general, sales is responsible to close the sales transaction, whereas marketing is responsible to keep updating the company any latest trend happening now and statistics at the market. This team is the one who has the facts if the running business is in the uptrend, downtrend or a stagnant market. They also have information regarding clients demographics and geographic. Selling door-to-door is very ‘expensive’ today, compare if the company have a digital marketing team
One of marketing roles is to provide guidance to the company where and when to advertise. I call it ‘right advertisement’. The goal is that the advertisement will aim for the right clients. Without the knowledge with regard to ‘right advertisement’, a company may just waste resources, like money and time, by just putting its advertisements everywhere and anytime. Furthermore, the company may accidentally create bad branding by placing a misleading advertisement.
I remember Robert Kiyosaki advice “If you want to be rich, you need to sale”. My background is Electrical Engineering. After graduated, there were two options, work in a company, means I have to ‘sale’ myself in order for them to hire me. Or start a business, which means I have to ‘sale’ service/items to customers. I ended up with the first option and become an employee. Twelve years later, I noticed how the world changed by the internet boom. It changes human live style, but the basic is the same….“If you want to be rich, you need to sale”
From my own study, I found that it is important for a business to acquires marketing team. Marketing is different from sales team, though in small/medium company size they mix into one department.
In the digital era, marketing has broadened its roles. Digital marketer is at high demand in the marketplace. In 2018, digital ad revenue reached $106 billion, or 51.5% of total ad sales(source). I love Digital Marketing Nano Degree with Udacity course with their hands-on projects. With all the projects, I experience real-world digital marketers tasks. This course provides chat-room, knowledge-center, mentors, one-on-one help as their support systems for students who face difficulties or challenges. Furthermore, Udacity collaborates with some companies, such as Hubspot, Mailchimp, Google, Facebook, Moz, Hootsuite, so that students can learn from practitioners and/or also experts, who do the talk. I recommend this course to train and improve your marketing team skills and knowledge
#IminDMND

Live for travelling: Rose Parade 2012

2012-01-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

Live for travelling: Rose Parade 2012

Rose Parade 2012

2012-01-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

My first time to see this event in Pasadena, CA. I usually watched it on TV.

Pasadena is around 35 minutes from my place. I left home at 7 am & arrived almost 8 am. There was quite a long traffic started right before exiting the 210 Fwy. It was worse on the way home. However, this event is worth the trip and worth seeing.

The parades included theme floral floats, dancing groups, marching bands, horse riders, and many more. The theme for this year is “Just Imagine...”.

There were some pictures taken & hope you like them!!

Happy new year 2012...


The leading float

Ini pertama kalinya saya menonton langsung Rose Parade di Pasadena, CA. Biasanya saya hanya menonton dari televisi. Semua pasti tahu tentang even ini. Ya salah satu even awal tahun yang mendunia yang diadakan setiap tahunnya di Pasadena, CA. Awalnya saya merencanakan menonton even ini, saya tidak tahu kalau Indonesia akan ikut serta dalam parade ini. Ternyata ini adalah keikutsertaan Indonesia untuk pertama kalinya setelah vakum sejak tahun 1996.

Kenny G

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"

XBOX 360

The Knights

Wonderful Indonesia

Go go Power Rangers

Welcome to the year of dragon 2012

The closing float

Ada empat negara, selain Amerika tentunya, yang ikut serta dalam parade ini, Indonesia, Jepang, Thailand dan Taiwan. Indonesia, Thailand dan Taiwan dengan kendaraan berhias; sementara Jepang memunculkan marching band siswa-siswa sekolah menengah dan tokoh anak-anak power ranger.
Indonesia dengan tema "Wonderfil Indonesia", Thailand "Preserving Paradise", dan Taiwan dengan kendaraan hias naga dalam rangka menyambut tahun naga emas 2012.

Tema Rose Parade untuk tahun ini adalah "Just Imagine..." dan sebagai sponsor utama adalah Honda.
Selamat Tahun Baru 2012!

Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Roses_Parade
http://www.kemlu.go.id/losangeles/Pages/Embassies.aspx?IDP=60&l=id

Happy 4th of July...

2010-07-04T23:49:00.000-07:00

Happy independence day the United States of America... July 4, 2010

Year of the Tiger in Singapore

2010-02-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

I had an opportunity to visit Singapore January 2010. I always admire how this country is adorned itself on every and each event: Chinese New Year, Mooncake, Christmas, Eid, etc.

As I know Chinese New Year is coming soon, I walked around China Town and I was right...I could see and enjoy all beautiful Chinese New Year decorations there!

Night view

Don't forget the souvenirs...

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Wishing you a happy & prosperous year ahead & all the best...

Merry Christmas 2009 & Happy New Year 2010

2009-12-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

Peace in your heart,

Peace to the world,

Joy to all people,

Joy all year through...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2010...

Best wishes,

... to San Bernardino ...

2009-12-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

I started my one-day trip to San Bernardino from Baldwin Park train station. I went there by Metrolink train. I purchased a return ticket for USD 17.5. It was not too bad as the train was prompt, clean and convenient.

Inside the train...

There are nine stops during the trip: Covina, Pomona (North), Claremont, Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and Rialto.

Views from the train:

And finally... St. Bernardino Train Station

LA Downtown

2009-10-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

Yup ... yup. I finally went to LA, even only for half day! I had to make a report to the Indonesian Consulate which is located at S Mariposa Ave, LA. I searched google map for directions from my place to the Consulate (thanks to google!). Then, I was in the bus 481 heading to downtown from El Monte Station.

Indonesia Consulate

After I’ve done with all the paperwork at the consulate, I walked around the neighbourhood and took a bus to 7th street.

LA traffic Road

A church...

Buildings...

7 St

My friends told me that you can buy stuffs at the 7th street with a good price, but I don’t think so…at least based on my experience. I wanted to buy a pair of sandals and the cheapest one was USD 5. I could find one with better quality at the same price near my home.

I walked around 7th street. I didn’t know where I was going to as I didn’t have a map with me. Somehow, I found Downtown LA Visitor Info Centre. It is located at 685 Figueroa St, between Wilshire Blvd & 7th St. I found lots of useful information about what to do and what must see in LA for my next ‘real’ LA trip during my holiday. I am planning to go to Little Tokyo, China Town, museums, beaches; also can’t wait to go around Hollywood!

X'mas in the tropics

2008-12-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

...
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh ...

Familiar with that song?? Yes... Christmas is coming ... Christmas is coming. I luv December as I can enjoy the Christmas songs and Christmas decorations, be with my family and I just like everything related to the Season. Fortunately, when I visited Singapore last week, even though it was only a short visit; I had a chance to capture the Christmas beauty in this small island. I know that this country always turns to be a beautiful country every Christmas. They usually start to decorate at the end of November to welcome the Season.

Here are some Christmas decorations in Singapore...

You can see a X'mas tree from a ferry approaching Harbour Front...

Orchard Rd welcomes Christmas

Decoration in front of Lucky Plaza

Orchard Road...

The Sweet Family - Mr. & Mrs. Sweet, Nicky, Holly & Chris

Inside HMV

Ohhh, do not forget the Christmas trees...

A big tree at Takashimaya

Another tree...

Coca cola X'mas tree

Trees at the Changi airport

A bit OOT, I saw the 'below' Chocolate tower, which was displayed in one of the malls in Singapore (I forget the name of the mall :)).

Wow, what a great work and two thumbs up for the Chef.

Last but not least, Merry Christmas 2008 & Happy New Year 2009 everybody. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

May your Christmas be joyful, peaceful, bright and filled with the love; and may God above will bless your Christmas day and everyday with peace and happiness.

Singapore's Icons

2008-09-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

Singapore Icon

Esplanade theatre

Daylight

At night

Singapore Flyer

Merlion

Daylight

At night

Formula One Night Race... First Singapore Grand Prix

2008-09-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

One of the F1 signboards

F1 night race... such a creative idea. Even I always watch the Formula One race on TV, I have never thought of watching the night race. This race will be the first F1 night race ever in Formula One history and the first Singapore Grand Prix. The event starts from September 26th, 2008 to September 28th, 2008. Around 80,000 tickets are on sale and the prices start from SGD168 to SGD 2,588.

Singapore GP circuit map ... the track is in blue colour (taken from www.singaporegp.com)

I walked along the road around Esplanade area and saw the preparation for the race. The race is not held on the purpose-built circuit, but on closed city streets. It is a similar concept to the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo.

The road which is included in the race track. Look at the red circle area ... very bright like daylight, isn't it?

Orange team's race car on display (Orchard Rd)

I cannot wait to watch this race on TV...!!

Mooncake Festival Decorations in Singapore

2008-09-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

Singapore really is a festival city. They celebrate many festivals within a year, such as Chinese New Year, Moon Cake, Deepavali, Aidil Fitri, Christmas & New Year. A part of the city is always adorned with beautiful decorations during the festival. I was very lucky for having the chances to visit Singapore in two consecutive Septembers, when the Mooncake festival or Lantern Festival is usually being celebrated. The Festival is usually held in the Chinatown.

I upload some pics of Singapore's mooncake festival decorations (Sept 2007 & Sept 2008) in this blog and will write a bit about what mooncake festival is. Hope you enjoy them ...

Chinatown main road

Decoration 2007

Decoration 2008

Mooncake or Moon or Lantern or Mid-autumn festival or known in Chinese as Zhongqiu Jie (中秋節), is a harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people. Mooncake festival is usually celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month Chinese calendar. Therefore, according to the Solar calendar, the festival is always celebrated around mid or late September. This year the festival was celebrated on September 14th, 2008 and next year will be on October 3rd, 2009. As its name, the traditional food of this festival is the mooncake and you can expect to see paper lantern decorations during the festival. On that day, all the family members usually gather to have dinner and eat moon cakes together.

Paper lanterns

2007

2008

Others...

2007

2008

There are many versions of the moon festival legend. This is my mom’s version. Once upon a time, the earth had 10 suns. One day, the suns appeared together and burnt the earth. Then, the King ordered Hou Yi, a famous archer, to shoot down nine of the suns. Because Hou Yi succeeded in his task, the King rewarded him an eternal life medicine. He hid the medicine under a rafter. His wife, Chang Er, found and swallowed the medicine. After that, she noticed that she could fly and flew into the moon. Hou Yi was not able to bring his wife back to the earth. Then, he visits his wife once a year, on the 15th day of the 8th month Chinese calendar during full moon. Therefore, on that night, the moon is full and beautiful...

'Mango' ... Indonesia's must eat fruit

2008-09-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Mango or Mangga

Oh, I luv this month ‘September’, because I can eat my favourite fruit 'Mango'. We call it ‘Mangga’ in Indonesia. It is a seasonal fruit ... starts in September till November every year. I missed this fruit very much when I was working overseas two years ago. The supermarkets overseas sell this fruit but the price was too expensive for me. In my hometown, during the season, you can buy this fruit Rp.4,000 - Rp.5,000 (around USD 0.4-0.5) for 1 kg Mango. It is not even 1 dollar per Kg, can you imagine? Yes, it is very cheap ... Last year when I was in Singapore, the price was around SGD 2 for 1 piece ... expensive :).

There are wide varieties of mangoes in Indonesia, namely, mangga gadung, mangga podang, mangga harum manis, mangga manalagi, etc. I like mango gadung. It tastes sweet and delicious ...mmm... I really luv it.

Mango, anyone?!?

In addition, mango has superb nutritional contents. It contains high contents of prebiotic; fiber; antioxidants, such as vitamin C, A & E, polyphenols, and carotenoids. It also contains protein; essential nutrients such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron; vitamin B2 & B6; and folate.

So if you are now in Indonesia or if you have plans to come to Indonesia in the next two months, you have to try this ‘must eat fruit’.

Geysers at Whakarewarewa Valley

2008-09-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

One of the Geyser's sign board

Whakarewarewa Valley ... quite a difficult word to say and write, I got it wrong everytime I write this word. I went to this place with a guided tour. We visited the geothermal area, which is located in Rotarua City, New Zealand. Geothermal area means that you can get the heat source from the earth within this area. Maori people lived in this valley since around 13th century and took the benefit of the heat source for cooking and heating.

Geyser eruption

There are at least 65 geysers in this area. However, only 7 geysers are still active now; namely, Kereru Geyser, Prince of Wales Feathers Geyser, Pohutu Geyser, Te Horu Geyser, Waikorohihi Geyser, Mahanga Geyser, and Pareia Geyser. There rest are the dormant geysers. The most famous one is Pohutu Geyser, which can erupt up to 30 metres high every hour. Unfortunately, I could not manage to see and take a photo of the Pohutu's eruption as we had limited time and to leave to continue the trip.

Sydney Opera House

2008-08-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

I believe when you see the picture above you immediately know what I am going to write about today. Everyone know Sydney Opera House. Yes ...it is a very well-known landmark in Australia. So ... if you hear about Sydney Opera House, then you will immediately think about Australia. This is one of the ‘must see’ sites in Sydney like Eiffel Tower in Paris or Statue of Liberty in New York.

It is located in Sydney, close to Sydney harbour bridge and the Royal Botanic Garden, New South Wales, Australia. So, after you visited Sydney Opera House, you can continue to walk to the Botanic Garden ... it is a huge, big garden. Sydney Opera House was designed in 1957 by Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect. The construction work started in 1959 and was estimated to be completed in 4 years. However, the building was just completed and officially opened in 1973.
It is included as one of a UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2007.

Brief explanation about the shell roof
It is an amazing unique building. For me, the unique thing about this building is the ‘shell-structure’ roof. The roof is just such a creative idea.

And ... the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House is the home of many famous performances (theatre, ballet, orchestra, concert, opera etc)and arts exhibitions. When I visited this place, I did not have the chance to see any performances there as the ticket was quite expensive for me. I think I need to work harder so I would be able to experience and see one of the opera performances at Sydney Opera House one day :)

New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute

2008-08-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute

If you have interest in indigenous cultures, New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) is a place worth to be visited. NZMACI was established in 1963 by the New Zealand government. The institute aims to protect and teach the authentic Maori arts and crafts and Maori culture to the younger generation. The Maori Arts and Crafts Institute is located in Rotarua, the north island of New Zealand, around 3 hours drive from Auckland.

In this place, you will see the unique carving and weaving style of Maori. There are carving and weaving schools in the institute. The students exhibit their carvings and weaving works; and also share story about Maori history and their ancestors. You also can see Maori traditional house.

Maori traditional house

I am not an expert in the area of cultures or arts, especially Maori cultures or arts, but visiting this place gave me different experiences. I believe after your visit you will appreciate the Maori people’s spirit and efforts to protect their identity by passing down to and teaching the younger generations about their cultures ... because I really do!!

Bali beaches

2008-08-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

After 'the caves' yesterday, today I post an article about beaches. Beaches in Bali ... great places to relieve you stress or energize yourself during your holiday. There are many beaches in Bali, around 8 beaches if I am not mistaken. I have gone to some of them, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Kuta and Jimbaran beaches.

Sanur beach

Sanur beach is a white-sand quiet beach that is located on the southeastern part of Bali, about 5-10 minutes drive from Denpasar. You can have a beautiful sunrise view here. Other things that you can do here are sunbath, watersports or snorkeling. Nightlife here is not as lively as in Kuta. If you have spare time, spend half day to come here just to walk along the beach or to enjoy the tranquility.

Nusa Dua beach

Nusa Dua is an exclusive and quiet beach. It is located in the most prestigious and luxurious area in the southern part of Bali. There are many expensive International five-stars hotels in this area such as Hyatt, Hilton, Sheraton, Westin etc, and the beach is located at the back of those hotels. It is a nice beach, but I do not really like it as the beach is really really quiet. It is suitable for you if you want to enjoy the peace and relax with your family.

The last one is Jimbaran beach. Jimbaran beach is located close to the airport. If you come to Bali, I suggest you to come to Jimbaran beach in the evening and have candle light dinner with your loved ones at the edge of the beach. There are many seafood restaurants lining up near the beach. The food itself is not so special, but still you can enjoy the romantic dinner and the sea breeze.

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Glowworm Cave

2008-08-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

Glowworm Cave

I just realized, when I write this piece of writing, that I had quite a number of caves tours. I have written about my visit to a cave in Lamongan (Indonesia) and Jenolan Caves (Australia) in this blog previously ... and this is my third article about 'cave'.

I went to Waitomo Glowworm Cave couple of years ago. It is one of the unique places that you should visit if you visit New Zealand. The cave is on the North Island of New Zealand. It is 3 hours driving from Auckland. The cave is just like other limestone caves with its unique formation of stalactites and stalagmites. But, once you are inside the cave, you will be amazed by the tiny little luminescent creatures that hang on the ceiling of the cave.

As it is named ‘Glowworm Cave’, then you will see the population of glowworms in the cave. The lifecycle of a glowworm is eggs – larvae – pupa – adult glowworms. The total lifetime of a glowworm is around 11 months. The light is produced during the larvae stage. Glowworms use its glow to attract, trap and then devour other insects. The adult glowworms is around the size of a mosquito and they have a very short lifespan.
The cave was extensively explored for the first time by Tane Tinorau (Maori Chief) and Fred Mace (an English surveyor) in 1887. However, the cave had been already discovered by Maori quite sometime before the first exploration. Then, in 1889, the cave was opened to the public for the very first time.

I have no pictures of the creatures as photography and video are not allowed during the visit. You also should keep quiet at all times when you are inside the cave. But, this place is highly recommended. You have to place the Glowworm cave in your itinerary if you visit NZ ... the cave with its glowworms are just unique and cool!!

The Greenwich Meridian

2008-08-10T03:02:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of GMT? Greenwich Mean Time!? I believe this term is very familiar to you at least if you have learned about geography in your school or if you search for a place’s current time, you will find ‘Standard Time + (number) GMT'. Although the term Universal Time (UT) is used to replace GMT, the term GMT has been and is still in use since over 300 years until now.

Because of the infamous GMT, then, I spent one day to visit Greenwich when I was in London. Greenwich is in South-East London and very famous with its Greenwich Meridian (0 degrees longitude). I went there by boat from Thames Barrier Pier and arrived at Greenwich Pier. I visited the Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory. The park is huge and I love it! It is beautiful ... and the Royal Observatory is in the centre of the park.

The Greenwich Pier

The Royal Observatory is a historical place. It was established by King Charles II in 1675. It was built to calculate the longitude of places for navigation purposes. The longitude was calculated from the Greenwich meridian, which was regarded as zero degrees longitude. Greenwich meridian is claimed as the standard for world time. I managed to see and take pictures of the famous Prime Meridian ‘line’ in the Royal Observatory. The Prime Meridian line represents the zero degrees longitude and divides the western and eastern hemispheres of the earth.

Indonesia (Jakarta) Longitude: 106 degrees, 45 seconds East

If you come to London, spend one day to go and take picture of the line. You can stand with one foot on the eastern hemisphere and the other on the western. The line lies on the ground and walls of the Observatory yard.

The Shepherd Gate Clock

The Greenwich Meridian Line

So, what time is it now? Mine is +7 GMT ...

Rupiah ... How much is it?

2008-08-06T23:36:00.001-07:00

One of the most important things that you should bring on your trip is money ... agreed? Eventhough you have credit cards, but bring small amount of cash may be a good idea as not in every place here has the card machines. Well, this time I will write about Rupiah and hopefully can give you description about it. Rupiah is the official currency of Indonesia. The currency code is IDR.

Rupiah consists of bank notes and coins. The symbol for this currency is Rp. There are many forms of coins: Rp. 25, Rp. 50, Rp. 100, Rp. 200, Rp. 500, and banknotes: Rp. 1,000; Rp. 5,000; Rp. 10,000; Rp. 50,000; Rp. 100,000. The coins of Rp. 25, Rp. 50, and Rp. 100 are rarely used now.

The Coins

The Bank Notes

Some of my overseas friends always get confused about how we do transactions with our money. For example, you have to pay about Rp. 2,000 (two thousands rupiahs) for public transport fares. For my friends, it is a lot ... as they think Rp. 2,000 like USD 2,000 or RM 2,000 or AUD 2,000. Well, it is different. In fact, Rp. 2,000 is only USD 0.22. The exchange rate for USD 1 is around Rp. 9,000-9,500 (year 2008). So, you will find yourself spending thousands of rupiahs for bread or a meal, or a drink or a small souvenir or hundred of thousands for a hotel room ... or millions for rupiahs for an overseas flight ticket ... Yes, we have lots of zeros in every transaction.

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Jenolan Caves

2008-08-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Jenolan Caves

Jenolan caves are natural limestone caves in Blue Mountain, New South Wales, Australia. It was named after a mountain, Mt. Jenolan, that is located near to the caves. In Aboriginal language, Jenolan means ‘high mountain’. The caves system is about 340 million years old and located in a 24.16 km2 area. It is, then, claimed as the oldest and the largest open caves system in the world. The exact number of the caves, that are included in the system, remains unknown until now ... further explorations are still going on. However, there are 10 caves which are publicly accessible: Cerberus cave, Chifley Cave, Imperial Cave, Jubilee Cave, Lucas Cave, Nettle Cave, Orient Cave, Ribbon Cave, River cave and Temple of Baal Cave.

The caves were already discovered by the Aboriginies thousands of years ago. They named it ‘Binoomea’ meaning ‘Dark Places’. Then, in 1838, the caves were first discovered by a foreigner, James McKeown. He was a lawbreaker and hiding in the caves. The Whalan brothers run after and arrested James. It was, then, Charles Whalan and his sons who ‘really’ discovered the caves system and became the first ‘cavekeeper’.

The Stalactites in the Lucas Cave

If you have limited time on your visit, do the Lucas, Imperial, Chiefly or Orient caves tour. Actually, I can not fully enjoy the cave tour as I do not like to be in the dark and cold places for a long time ... I just do not feel good about it. But, as I was there (... I had come far away from my home country), then I should take at least one cave tour. I only took the Lucas cave tour. The cave was named after the local parliament member to honour his effort for preserving the caves. The main feature of Lucas Cave is the Cathedral chamber and the broken column formation. The Cathedral was used for religious services and wedding ceremonies. It was good though. The thing that always amazes me when I visit a cave is the formation of the stalactite and stalagmite. I always think and imagine how long it takes to form and grow one stalactite or stalagmite with the average of growth rate of 1 mm/year ... Yes, it is very very very long!

The Three Sisters

2008-07-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Three Sisters is another famous rock formation in Australia. It is located near to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. The rocks formation is unique. The rocks stand side by side over the Jamison Valley. They sculpted by wind and rain constant erosion. Each rock has its own name, Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m). I think the three rocks may totally detach one day in the future because of the wind and water erosion over time.

Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo?? Which is which?

Waterfall with a rainbow ...

A folk tale says that the rocks represent three sisters, namely Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo. The three sisters fell in love and wished to married three men from other tribe. However, the three couples were not allowed to get married by the tribal law. Then, a war between the two tribes erupted. To protect the three sisters from any harm, they were, then, turned to stones by a medicine man. The war killed the medicine man, as a result the three ladies were kept forever in the stones.

Indonesia Travel Tips II

2008-07-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here are more tips for you ... You can read other tips in ‘Indonesia Travel Tips I’

6. The staple food in Indonesia is steam rice. It is usually served with a variety side dishes. Most of the side dishes taste spicy. So if you can not tolerate spices, make sure you ask for non-spicy food before ordering. One more thing, make sure that you know exactly the prices of your food before ordering.
Then, do not drink from the tap water. The tap water here does not meet the requirement for safe drinking water. Keep a bottled water with you. You can purchase the bottled water from a supermarket.

7. As Indonesia is a hot and humid country; light clothing, like trousers, slack, shirt, is more comfortable. Avoid wearing halter-tops or shorts unless you are on the beach or around sport facilities area.

8. Do bargain when you buy souvenirs or hire a tour guide.

9. Public toilet here could also be a huge problem. Do not expect to find good and clean public toilet on the street, at bus terminals, train stations or even airports. Even for me, I try not to go to the public toilets unless I really really desperately need one. There are some good and clean public toilets in big shopping malls.

10. Most Indonesian can not speak English and most sign boards are in Indonesian. May be it is better if you are familiar with Indonesian words, such as: Good morning: Selamat pagi; Good afternoon: Selamat siang; Good night: Selamat malam; Buka: open; Tutup: closed; Masuk: enter; Keluar: exit; WC/Toilet: washroom; Wanita: ladies; Pria: gents; Kanan: right; Kiri: left; Pesan: order; Terima kasih: thank you; Makan: to eat; Minum: to drink; Air: water.

11. Lastly, do not forget to take note of these emergency phone number:
Police department: 110
Fire department: 113
Ambulance/ medical emergency: 118/119
Phone directory: 108

Well, those are all tips that I think may be useful for your trip to Indonesia. Even that the public facilities are not as good as you have in your home country; visiting and exploring Indonesia’s natural landscape and culture would broaden your horizon ... because everything here is just different and unique ...

Welcome to Indonesia!!

The Twelve Apostles

2008-07-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles is an icon of Victoria state, Australia. The Twelve Apostles are a collection of huge natural limestone rocks in the Port Campbell National Park, Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. I went there when I was in Melbourne. I joined a guided tour to visit the rocks. I had not searched or read any information about this place at that time, so when I heard the name, Twelve Apostles, I expected to see something in total of 12.

The natural limestone rocks...

In the past, this place was known as the Sow and Piglets. I was told that the Sow was an island (Muttonbird Island) and the piglets were the surrounding rocks. It was, then, named the Twelve Apostles in 1950. The new name was aimed to captivate more tourists to visit this place. The rocks are the remaining parts of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that underwent million of years of continuous erosion by wind and waves. The rocks have different height and thickness.

So, then, I expected to see 12 rocks. You will not find 12 rocks. Even it has been named as The Twelve Apostles in 1950, there were only 9 rocks left at that time. Moreover, there was one more rock collapsed in 2005 due to waves erosion and only 8 rocks left since then. It is estimated that the rate of erosion at the base of the rocks is 2 cm every year. So, more rocks being collapsed and new rocks being formed can be expected.

Oh, one more thing, the best views at the Twelve apostles are during sunrise and sunset. You can see the Twelve Apostles change from dark in shadow to yellowish.

Indonesia Travel Tips I

2008-07-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

Indonesia is the biggest archipelago in the world. It has 5 big islands, (Sumatera, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua); and many other thousands small islands. Yes ... it is a huge country. It is not only Bali or Jakarta :). I have some friends from overseas and most of them are only familiar with Bali or Jakarta. It has about 300 ethnic groups and each group has its own culture, tradition, and language. So you can imagine how rich Indonesia is in terms of its multi-ethnic cultures, traditions and languages ...

Travelling to Indonesia can be an adventurous unique experience for you, apart from travelling to Bali of course. I think Bali is the most traveller-friendly place in Indonesia.
Well, may be some general traveling tips from me can help you to prepare before your visit to Indonesia.
Here you go:

1. Basically, there are only two seasons here: drought season (June to October) and rainy season (November to March). We have sunshine the all year. The best time to visit is during drought season as you do not have to worry about the rain and floods. The general temperature is 21°C (41°F) - 33°C (62°F). Humidity is high at all times, on average of 70%. So sunblock lotion is a must to avoid sunburning.

2. There are three different time zones here, namely West Indonesia Time (WIB: Waktu Indonesia Barat), Central Indonesia Time (WITA: Waktu Indonesia Tengah), and East Indonesia Time (WIT :Waktu Indonesia Timur).
West Indonesia Time/ WIB is UTC/GMT + 7 hours includes Sumatera, Java (including Jakarta) and Western and Central Kalimantan.
Central Indonesia Time/ WITA is UTC/GMT + 8 hours includes Eastern and Southern Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and Nusa Tenggara.
East Indonesia Time/ WIT is UTC/GMT + 9hours includes Maluku and Papua.
So, always check the local time if you travel across the different time zone cities.

3. For electricity, we use 220 Volts and a two-pronged plug.

4. To make calls or send emails to your hometown/ home country is quite easy. The long distance calls within Indonesia, international calls, facsimile and internet services are available in most of big cities and hotels If you have a limited budget to make a call, you can go to the telecommunication offices, known as WARTEL (Warung Telekomunikasi). It is cheaper than making a call from the hotel. There are also public internet services (WARNET) available in big cities.
You also can accept international calls from your home country. Indonesia country code is +62. Check with the hotel for the local area code, eg. Surabaya area code is 031.

5. Do not expect a good and cheap public transport services here :(. The cheap public transports, like ‘bemos’, ‘bajajs’, and busses, are crowded, not reliable and not safe. If you still want to try the public transports, just be aware to pick-pockets or robbery. Be careful with your belongings. There is a new public transport in Jakarta, Trans Jakarta Busway. I have not tried this bus, so I do not how good it is.
Alternatively, you can take metered-cabs (available in some big cities in Indonesia, like Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Solo, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Bali and Lampung) or rent a car (for the rest of other cities). Yup, it is a bit more expensive …
If you want to take a cab, hire a good one. Check with the hotel where you stay. Just be aware, there are some bad and unsafe taxis especially in Jakarta … the driver purposely takes you in the middle of traffic jam or does not take you through direct route to your destination … as a result, you have to pay extra.

If you want to rent a car, it is better to rent it with the driver. First, because we drive on the right hand side of the road here. So it would be a problem for you who are from the left-hand side driving country. Second, most of the road sign boards here are in Indonesian ... could be a problem if you do not familiar with Indonesian. Third, even you are the best driver in your home country, the traffic here is just crazy ... you will not only have to share your way with other lots of cars on the street, but also busses, bemos, motorcycles, bicycles, becaks (in some cities), people crossing the street etc, so you have to know artistically how to drive safely here. If you rent a car, then, it is important to know all the renting terms and conditions and the fare including fuel or driver meal.
In some big cities, you will find people sell food, snacks, drinks etc or singing beggar or beggar asking for money at the traffic light. Just wave your hand to them and do not open your window for safety reason ... just to avoid robbery.

More tips on the next post ...