The Unexpected Life

2011 Reflected

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:32:00 +0000

Just like last year (read the post here), I'd like to evaluate what I have accomplished in 2011 and what I have not. So here it goes.

Took a long leave (1 month of paid leave and 2 months of unpaid leave) to learn French intensively for 3 months in Nice while living in a homestay with a French family. Had a lot of new friends from many different countries, from school and from homestay.
Visited Europe for the first time, which in total are 5 countries: Netherlands (Amsterdam), France (Nice, Cannes, Paris, Avignon, Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence, St. Tropez, etc), Monaco, Italy (Florence, Pisa, Milan, Venice, Verona, Rome, etc), and Vatican City.
Touched snow for the first time and skied in France.
Experienced Italian train strikes during weekend trip. Twice!
Applied for jobs in France while in Nice after the encounter with an Italian guy on a train to Venice. However, no luck.
Lost 13 kg of weight in 5 months, but then regained them back and more in the next 7 months.
Bought a netbook and iPad 2. Almost bought iPhone 4S, but changed my mind.
Stopped learning Italian.
Started learning Spanish and enrolled in Spanish classes in Las Lilas School.
Continued learning French and enrolled in French classes in Alliance Francaise Singapore.
Started studying for GMAT, but then stopped.
Sailing with catamaran to Tioman Island, Malaysia.
Got hangover for the first time after Halloween party.
No company trip this year.
Took and passed both DELF B1 and B2 together (on two different days).
Finished a few projects and was involved in another on-going project.
Celebrated Christmas and New Year in Singapore again for two consecutive years.

Overall, 2011 was a very good year for me personally, mainly because of the long Europe trip. And it sure will be difficult to top that, unless there will be another big trip. However, I think I have to start again thinking about continuing my study. So that means more cuts on expenses. Anyway, we'll see what will 2012 brings.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 9: Packing

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:03:00 +0000

This is the ninth and the last part of the series. You might want to read the previous parts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, and part 8.

It's almost time to go. Everything has been prepared and packed since a week ago. You must be wondering, what are the things I will bring for this trip. Three months on the road is not short, but not that long too. You have read from the previous post about the things I had to buy. All of those things are packed and will be brought for my trip. When planning on what items to bring, many were decidedly left out, but many more were added.

As I have mentioned, I will only bring a 22" suitcase. Many people, having seen the size of my suitcase, expressed strong doubts and suggested me taking a bigger suitcase. I disagreed with them. I don't want to bring one that is too big, because I will use public transportation and walking instead of getting a taxi from/to the airport to/from the hotel. On the weekend trips, I will only bring my backpack or an expandable duffel bag.

I tried so hard to keep the number of things to bring. But, I hopelessly failed. The suitcase now weighs 21kg, and the backpack weighs 8kg (which I will lug around when arriving in Amsterdam for the layover). For KLM flights, the checked baggage allowance is only 1 piece of item with maximum weight of 23kg, while the cabin baggage allowance is only 1 piece of item with maximum weight of 12kg. However, for Alitalia flights, although the checked baggage allowance is the same as that of KLM, the cabin baggage allowance however is only 8kg maximum.

Below are the things I packed. Some of them were packed in the suitcase to be checked-in, some went to the backpack to be brought on the airplane cabin.

1. Undergarments and socks

GT Man underwear (x5)
Renoma underwear (x7)
Bum boxer (x3)
Gap brief (x1)
Renoma singlets (x3)
Uniqlo short socks (x2)
Uniqlo long socks (x2)
Topman short socks (x3)
Topman long socks (x2)
Hush puppies socks (x1)
Daiso thick socks (x1)

2. Pants and shorts

Esprit shorts (x1)
Giordano shorts (x1)
G2000 khaki pants (x2)
G2000 jeans (x1)
Jeans (x1)
Nike tennis shorts (x1)
Rip Curl surf shorts (x1)
Sleeping shorts (x2)

3. T-shirts

G2000 Blu t-shirt (x1)
Esprit t-shirt (x5)
Topman t-shirt (x2)
Padini t-shirt (x1)
Giordano t-shirt (x1)
Nike training t-shirt (x1)
Volcom shirt (x1)

4. Cold-weather clothings

Uniqlo long-sleeved t-shirt (x2)
Zara sweater (x1)
Topman turtleneck sweater (x1)
Topman sweater (x1)
Gap cashmere sweater (x1)
G2000 vest (x1)
Topman scarf (x1)
Fox scarf (x1)
Wool scarf (x1)
Winter Time winter hat (x1)
Daiso gloves (x2)
Topman gloves (x1)
Long john pants (x1)

5. Travel gears and miscellaneous

Money belt (x1)
Ponco (x1)
Expandable duffel bag (x1)
Luggage tag (x2)
Travel adapter (x2)
Carabiner (x2)
Small flashlight (x1)
Earplugs (x3)
Padlock (x1)
Shoulder bag strap (x1)
Small scotch tape (x1)
Card wallet (x1)
Backpack rain cover (x1)
Scissor (x1)
Dry bag (x1)
Hand warmers (x18)
Neck pillow (x1)
Tote bag (x1)
Cap (x1)
Belt (x1)
Oakley glasses with case (x1)
Oakley sunglasses with case (x1)
Esprit umbrella (x1)
Wristwatch (x1)
Zara coat (x1)
Oakley jacket (x1)
Gift for the host family (x1) - not shown in the picture

6. Books

Notebook (x2)
Dive log book (x1)
Travel journal (x1)
Pocket Oxford Hachette French Dictionary (x1)
Rick Steves' Provence & The French Riviera 2011 guidebook (x1)
Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2011 guidebook (x1)
Rick Steves' Snapshot Italy's Cinque Terre guidebook (x1)
Let's Go Europe 2008 guidebook excerpts

7. Electronics

Sony A300 DSLR camera (x1)
Extra battery for DSLR camera (x1)
Extra memory card for DSLR camera (x1)
Extra battery for compact digital camera (x1)
Sony DSC T-2 compact digital camera with case (x1)
Battery charger for compact digital camera (x1)
Gorillapod (x1)
MicroSIM adaptor for iPhone 4 (x1)
USB cable for DSLR camera (x1)
USB cable for compact digital camera (x1)
Battery charger for DSLR camera (x1)
Toshiba netbook (x1)
Nokia E71 cellphone with charger (x1)
iPhone 4 with charger and earphone (x1)
Battery charger for netbook (x1)
Optical USB mouse (x1)
SanDisk Cruzer thumbdrive (x1)
WesternDigital external portable hard disk (x1)
USB cable for iPhone 4 (x1) - not shown in the picture

8. Toiletries

Towel (x1)
Insect repellent (x1)
The Body Shop lip balm (x1)
The Body Shop lip butter (x1)
SPF 70 sunblock (x1)
Calvin Klein One Summer perfume (x1)
Nail clipper (x1)
Small mirror (x1)
Gillette shaver (x1)
Refill for shaver (x2)
Comb (x1)
Toothbrush (x2)
Toothpaste (x1)
Body soap (x1)
Shampoo (x1)
L'oreal face cleaner (x1)
L'oreal face moisturizer (x1)
Cotton bud (x1 pack)
Tissues (x5 packs)
Wet tissues (x3 packs)
Toiletries bag (x1)
Body moisturizer from dermatologist (x1) - not shown in the picture

9. Medicines

Band-aid (x1 pack)
Blisters plaster (x1 pack)
Rash cream (x1)
Diarrhea medication (x3 stripes)
Allergy medication (x3 stripes)
Berocca multivitamin (x1 box)
Antimo (x1 stripe)
Panadol (x1 box)
Cough medication (x3 stripes)
Vomit medication (x1 stripe)
Sleeping pill (x4 tablets)
Medication bag (x1)
Cream from dermatologist (x3) - not shown in the picture

10. Documents and finances

Singapore dollar notes
Euro notes
Envelopes (x5)
Wallet (x1)
Internet banking tokens (x3)
Copies of documents (tickets, reservations, contact lists, identity cards, photos, etc) (x2 sets)
Passport (x1) - not shown in the picture
Credit cards (x2) - not shown in the picture
ATM cards (x3) - not shown in the picture
Insurance card (x1) - not shown in the picture
International student card (ISIC) (x1) - not shown in the picture
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver card (x1) - not shown in the picture

11. Footwears and containers

Nike running shoes (x1)
Zara canvas shoes (x1)
Crocs sandals (x1)
Ziplock plastic bags (x20)
Plastic bags (x10) - not shown in the picture

Here my suitcase and backpack look like after packing.

Finally, closed and zipped.

For the flight, I will wear jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, cashmere sweater, socks, running shoes, and, of course, underwear. I will put on the money belt (inside are the passport, credit & ATM cards, and money) at all times during the flight. The rest of the cold-weather stuff and all other valuables are put in the backpack for easy access when needed.

This is the end of this series. I know you are as sad as I am. But I'm hoping that I can still write while on the road, if I have time and internet connection. I'm all set and ready to go. For now, au revoir et à bientôt.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 8: Weekend Trips

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:52:00 +0000

This is the eighth part of the series. It's recommended to read the previous parts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, and part 7.

It's only one more day to go!

I had previously posted about the flight itinerary, which covers the flight for the beginning and the end of my trip. Now as promised, I will tell more about the weekend itinerary. So far, I had only planned for five weekend trips out of Nice. The remaining weekends will be most likely spent in Nice or the nearby cities and villages.

1. Paris, France (8-10 April 2011)
For this trip, I will ride the famous TGV (the French high-speed train and the fastest conventional train on Earth). It's a direct train between Nice and Paris. For the outward journey, I'm riding 1st class as the price for the 1st class at that time was cheaper than that of the 2nd class! Sadly, this might be the only time I will be riding 1st class, since all my other train reservations are for the 2nd class, which most of the time are cheaper.

When purchasing the ticket for the return journey, I wanted to buy the iDTGV train (an extension of TGV train, but different interior design), which departure time would be at 17.42. However, apparently, for that kind of train, for non-European credit cards, only American Express could be accepted. As I didn't have one, I had to choose the earlier schedule.

For the accommodation, I will stay at Le Village hostel (located at Montmartre) in the 4-bed mixed dorm with private bathroom.

2. Florence, Italy (15-17 April 2011)
For this trip there will be several transfers using trains. First I will take a TER train (French regional train) from Nice to Ventimiglia, Italy. Then I will take an Italian Intercity train to Genoa, and then change to another Intercity train to Pisa. From Pisa, I will have to take an Italian Regional train to Florence.

The return journey will be on the same route, but I chose to stay longer at Pisa, as I wanted to check out its famous leaning tower. The other difference is that the train from Pisa to Genoa will be by a Eurostar City train, which is better and faster than an Intercity train.

For the accommodation, I will stay at Archi Rossi hostel in the 4-bed mixed dorm with private bathroom.

3. Venice, Italy (6-8 May 2011)
For this trip, there will be also several transfers using trains. First I will need to take a TER train from Nice to Ventimiglia.T hen I will take an Intercity train to Milan, and then change to a Eurostar City train to Venice.

The return journey will be on the same route.

For the accommodation, I will stay at Casa Alloggi Gerotto Calderan in the 6-bed mixed dorm with private bathroom.

4. Cinque Terre, Italy (13-15 May 2011)
For this trip, there will be also several transfers using trains. First I will take a TER train from Nice to Ventimiglia. Then I will take an Italian Intercity train to Genoa, and then change train to Monterosso by another Intercity train. From Monterosso, I will still need to take a Regional train to Manarola.

The return journey will be on the same route

For the accommodation, I will stay at 5 Terre hostel in the 6-bed same sex dorm with shared bathroom. Of the five villages in Cinque Terre (literally means "Five Lands"), I will be staying in Manarola, which is the second village from the east.

5. Paris, France (20-22 May 2011)
For this trip, I will ride a direct TGV train again. I previously wanted to take the Lunéa night train (which provides sleepers and will arrive in Paris at 07.00), but the fare was not that much different compared to the combination of day train plus hostel bed. When purchasing the ticket for the return journey, how stupid of me, I waited one day after the schedule was released, and I lost the cheap ticket for the departure time that I wanted. Therefore, I had to take the earlier departure time to get the cheaper fare.

For the accommodation, I will stay again at Le Village hostel in the 4-bed mixed dorm with private bathroom. This is the cheapest hostel with good quality that I can find. Although it's a bit far from the center of Paris, it's very close to a Metro station.

The only remaining tickets mentioned above that haven't been bought are the Italian Regional train tickets in Italy (because they can't be bought online) and the French TER tickets returning to Nice (except for the Venice trip, which had been bought). All other train tickets had been bought online. French train tickets were bought via TGV Europe website (if you fancy using website in French, you can use SNCF website, which I always use to check the price because it's updated faster), while Italian train tickets were bought via Trenitalia website.

I decided to buy the ticket far in advance to get the promo fares. French train tickets are expensive. On the contrary, Italian train tickets are cheap. But they can be much more cheaper if bought in advance. The schedule and reservation for French trains are available up to 90 days in advance. When the schedule for new date is published, there are usually PREM fares (the special promo fare for French trains), which are always sold fast. All the Italian non-regional train tickets mentioned above are bought using the Mini fare (the special promo fare for Italian trains).

If you noticed, there are quite a lot awful of long train trips. The longest of all is for the Venice trip. But I figured that even though I will only have one full day, and probably plus half a day in those places, I'm okay with that. As long as I can visit those cities, see it with my own eyes, and smell its air, I will be happy enough and I don't mind the long train journey. The only problem will be to take the same long train journey back to Nice.

Don't forget to read tomorrow's post which will be the last post of the series. Til tomorrow!

UPDATE: read the last (ninth) part here.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 7: Guidebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:24:00 +0000

This is the seventh part of the series. It's recommended to read the previous parts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6.

Prior to departure, I need to read as much travel guides as possible. Abundant information are available in internet, from travel articles, travel forums, to personal blogs. But most of all, I need good guidebooks that can help me prepare and plan my trip.

Three years ago, when I was just starting to work and ambitiously planning on traveling to Europe, I had bought a Europe guidebook: "Let's Go Europe 2008" from Borders. It was a guidebook intended for students and budget travelers, so most of the listings are for the budget and cheap stuff. It was never completely used, until now.

I then cut this book to pieces. I only took the pages for Netherlands, France, and Italy, which saved me a lot of space and weight. I figured, this book was already too old, so I wouldn't feel bad cutting it. And I am glad I did.

Around the same time when I bought the Let's Go book, I also bought a travel planning book: "The Rough Guide First-Time Europe" from Borders. This book is very informative because it explains what to expect, prepare, and do before, during, and after the trip. I like Rough Guide's writing style. It's easy to read and quite interesting, while still packed with a lot of information. This book was read before departure and will be left at home.

But that wasn't enough for me. I stumbled upon another travel planning book: "Rick Steve's Europe Through The Back Door - The Travel Skills Handbook 2011". This time I ordered online from Book Depository, which is a very good online bookstore and cheaper than Amazon because of its free shipping, although it took 2 working weeks for this book to arrive. This book is packed with much more information and with a lot of humor, but sometimes feels to chatty. This book was also read before departure and will be left at home.

At first, I thought I would bring only 2 guidebooks: one was the "Let's Go Europe 2008" mentioned above, and the other one was a new guidebook focusing on French Riviera region. For the French Riviera region guidebook, I checked at Kinokuniya and compared several guidebooks for the same topic, including those from Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Rick Steves, Frommers, and Fodors.

I used to like Lonely Planets, which I used for my trip to Bangkok and Bali. This time I kinda liked the Rick Steves' better because it explained more on the transportation, getting around, and how-to-get-to-and-from information. So, I decided to buy the "Rick Steve's Provence & The French Riviera 2011" from Book Depository. But I probably won't follow his suggestions for places to eat, as the restaurants listed are still above my budget. I have read the French Riviera part of the book, but I still haven't finished reading the Provence part yet.

Rick Steve was the one who "discovered" Cinque Terre and made it famous to travelers. Back in 80s, when he was younger and a backpacker, he stumbled on these five rustic and picturesque villages along the Ligurian coast, on the Italian Riviera. I planned on going there but I didn't want to buy a whole Italy guidebook. So from Book Depository, I bought the "Rick Steves' Snapshot Italy's Cinque Terre", which was an excerpt of Cinque Terre pages from his Italy guidebook. It's small, lightweight, and cheap, and I have finished reading it.

However, after looking through the pages from the cut-down version of my "Let's Go Europe 2008", I realized that it only contained small information for the big cities I would go to, as it was from a guidebook which covered the whole continent. There were not very much information about Paris, Rome, Florence, or Venice. It's understandable that this kind of book will not be too detailed.

I struggled whether or not I should buy country-specific guidebooks for France and Italy. But then I found another Rick Steves' book: "Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2011". It covers all the cities I will travel to. I compared the pages for the cities in this book to those cities in the individual country book and the individual city book. They are roughly the same as that of the individual country book (only few paragraphs were removed), but (of course) much less than that of the city book.

I then bought it from Book Depository. It is, however, big, bulky, and heavy, and I haven't finished reading it yet. I wish I could cut the other countries' pages in this book which I won't visit, but this time I felt bad to do it because it's a brand new book. I guess I will have to live with this decision. I also realized that Cinque Terre is also covered wholly in this book, thus making buying the "Rick Steves' Snapshot Italy's Cinque Terre" redundant. But I will still bring both because the later is easier to carry around when visiting Cinque Terre.

In conclusion, I will bring three whole guidebooks: "Rick Steves' Best of Europe 2011", "Rick Steves' Provence & The French Riviera 2011", and "Rick Steves' Snapshot Italy's Cinque Terre". Plus, I will also bring the pages from "Let's Go Europe 2008". Sadly, when combined, they are not lightweight anymore. There are still much to read. I will only read the Amsterdam part briefly right before or during my flight. Those which I have read will be reread when visiting.

UPDATE: read the eighth part here.

Joyeux Anniversaire

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Oui, c'est vrai. Aujourd'hui, c'est mon anniversaire. J'ai vingt-quatre ans maintenant.

Two or three years ago, I considered myself young. But I feel so old now. Many goals haven't been achieved yet. For one, I haven't married a super-rich-sexy-and-pretty girl who is also a billionaire's daughter yet. And pretty soon, I will not be eligible for youth discounts (eligible for those who are less than 26 years old only) when traveling.

But hey, it still counts for celebration. For the last few years, for my birthdays, I usually had something big or gave myself something. Let's see go back in time. Three years ago in 2008, I graduated summa cum laude and landed my first (and still current) job (see this post). Two years ago in 2009, I bought a Sony DSLR camera and I traveled to Bangkok. A year ago in 2010, well nothing big, I saved some money. And this year in 2011, I consider my next big trip as my birthday present. What an expensive gift indeed, but a long deserved one. I worked hard to get to this point and now I'm going to enjoy it, if only one can enjoy spending most of one's saving.

Anyway, I want to say thanks to everyone for wishing me a happy birthday, success, and best of luck. I wish you all the same things too. Thanks so much for my colleagues who celebrated my birthday in the office and gave me delicious cake.

And on a final note, happy birthday to me! Joyeux anniversaire à moi!

Europe Trip Revealed Part 6: Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:06:00 +0000

This is the sixth installment of the series. If you haven't done so, you may want to read the previous parts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5.

Europe in March is still on early spring, thus appropriate clothing is necessary for the weather. Nice, being located at southern part of France and in close proximity to Mediterranean Sea, has a warmer temperature than, say, Paris. In March the temperature in Nice will be around 7 to 15 degree Celsius.

The problem was, I didn't have any cloth designed for colder weather. All my clothes were appropriate for living in tropical region. Aside from a light jacket, all t-shirts I have were short-sleeved, thin, and as cool as possible. I didn't have any long-sleeved t-shirt, and not even a single sweater. I was never in need of them.

Gap cashmere sweater

So, for my trip, I had to buy warmer clothes. But I didn't want to buy clothes that I won't be using in Singapore or Indonesia, like a thick, heavy, feathered winter jacket. I opted for some light sweaters and a coat, which I'm hoping are enough, despite many people saying that they wouldn't be enough. I bought two thin long-sleeved cotton t-shirts and a soft wool tights (for men, of course) which will be used as base layers. However, I also bought some new thin t-shirts and a light canvas shoes, to be used for the late spring.

I also bought three gloves (two cheap cotton ones, and one leather ones) as well as three scarves and some thicker socks. And I already have one winter hat, a Christmas gift from my colleague (see this post). I must admit, wearing a black coat and a scarf makes me look more sophisticated. I think I like this new appearance. But I still need to learn how to tie a scarf quickly and properly.

Zara coat

Clothes were not the only things to buy. I had to buy a lot of small travel gears: money belt, umbrella, ear plug, neck pillow, ziplock, poncho, padlock, flashlight, hand warmer packs, guidebooks, and many more. I also needed to buy a new suitcase. My 20" two-wheeled suitcase apparently wasn't enough when I tried packing. I then bought a 25" four-wheeled suitcase, but as it turned out to be bigger than I though, I sold it to my colleague and bought a 22" four-wheeled suitcase.

From left to right:
20" 2-wheeled Polo, 22" 4-wheeled Hush Puppies, 24" 4-wheeled Hush Puppies suitcases

I had to test wearing and wash all those clothes before departure, trying to get used to wearing those warmer clothes. New pants and shoes were also needed to be worn and broken to not cause blisters later. Money belt, especially, was worn for two full days to simulate how it would feel wearing that thing tucked under my t-shirt or pants the whole day while walking around the city.

Many more clothes and things were bought, which I don't mention here. In total, all of them cost a little bit more than S$ 1,000, and it hasn't included the medications and vaccinations yet. Most items that I bought were bought during year end of 2010, where it was still the winter clothing seasons and there were many sales and discounts. I never thought that this kind of expenses would cost that much; a good lesson for anyone in preparing for big trip.

UPDATE: read the seventh part here.

Pre-departure Preparation - Vaccination (Part 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:27:00 +0000

As a preparation for my trip, I got some vaccinations. Read here and here for the stories.

Last week I went back to the clinic. It was time for my second dose of Hepatitis B vaccination. This time it wasn't sore at all! Because every time I got different doctor, I'm wondering whether the soreness or the lack thereof has something to do with the doctor. Or, I'm just so used to being stabbed with needle on my upper arm.

After that second dose, I am only around 70-80% immune to this virus. The third (and the last) dose will be in 5 months. And after that I will probably get myself tested whether I have the immunity or not.

I also requested some more travel medicine, and the doctor was more than happy to prescribed me more stuff. Of course. After all, he got money from those medicine I bought.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 5: Flight Itineraries

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:42:00 +0000

This is the fifth installment of the series. If you're new to my blog, you might want to read the previous parts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

It's less than 2 weeks to go, and I'm getting more and more anxious! It feels like there are still gazillion things to do, yet there is only little time left. I haven't even finished reading the guidebooks (yes, it's true, I have more than one guidebook). But enough about my anxiety. Let's get straight to the point of this post.

The plan is to fly open-jaw by KLM. The ticket price via KLM website was S$ 1,702. But I bought via travel agent (Chan Brothers) for S$ 1,671, which saved me a couple of bucks. That was even already including the additional 2% credit card charge imposed by the travel agent.

The first flight is from Singapore (SIN) to Nice (NCE) by on 6 March 2011 at 01.15 with transit via Amsterdam (AMS), just after midnight. There was an earlier flight by Air France on 5 March 2011 at 23.55. However, my annual insurance plan only covers a trip that does not exceed 90 days. As the flight on the 5th will be counted as one day (even though it's almost midnight), it's more beneficial for me to take the KLM flight so that I can have the maximum total duration 90 days for my trip.

The plane used for SIN-AMS leg is Boeing 777-300ER. This will be my first time flying with Boeing 777, although it's not a double-decker plane like the popular Boeing 747-400. I have also chosen the seat for this leg, after long research in flights websites of the best seat to take (click here to see the seating layout). I can't choose the seat for AMS-NCE leg though, which I think can only be done when checking-in.

At first, I was thinking of getting a 2-hour layover only, but I eventually chose a 5-hour-45-minute layover, hoping that I would have time to walk around Amsterdam city. If everything goes smoothly and there is no delay, I figured I would have 2 hours for touring the city, while already setting aside 45 minutes for getting through immigration, 30 minutes for getting into the city center by train, 30 minutes for getting back to the airport, and 2 hours for getting through security check and immigration again for the connecting flight to Nice.

But we'll see. The SIN-AMS flight will take about 13 hours! So if I get serious jet lag, or there is a delay, or it's too cold or raining outside, the backup plan is to wait (or sleep) in the Schiphol airport until the time of connecting flight.

I have been asking around in travel forums for advices on how to prevent jet lag. Most advised to sleep as much as possible (some suggested taking melatonin) and to not drink alcohol. I'm not a drinker, so avoiding alcohol should not be a problem. But how will I be able to sleep knowing that there are a lot of good in-flight movies and when the flight attendants regularly offering delicious meals? I surely wouldn't want to not savor all of those things after paying a lot for the ticket, would I?

My flight back to Singapore is on 2 June 2011 from Paris (CDG) by KLM with transit via Amsterdam. I chose the longest possible layover, which is10 hours. This time, I will definietely have more time (about 6 hours) to explore the city of Amsterdam. The seat for CDG-AMS leg can only be chosen when checking in. And I can't choose the seat for AMS-SIN leg yet, because the seat assignment is only open 90 days before departure date.

Now, how will I go from Nice to Paris then, you might ask. Well I'm not going straight to Paris from Nice, instead I'm flying to Rome (FCO) first by Alitalia. If I purchased one-way flight from Nice to Rome, it would cost me 300+ €. But I purchased an open-jaw ticket with a promo fare on NCE-FCO, FCO-CDG route which only cost me 121.2 €. Even budget airlines like EasyJet won't be able to top that price. The only catch is I won't get any mileage for this discounted fare.

I will stay in Rome for 4 nights before heading to Paris for 2 nights. Then I will go back to Singapore by the KLM flight mentioned above. So there it goes, my flight itinerary for the beginning and the end of my 3-month trip. The in-between itinerary is saved for another future post. Now, in addition to having to write the next posts, I still have a lot to read, and pack! Till next time.

UPDATE: read the sixth part here.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 4: Course & Accommodation

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:30:00 +0000

This is the fourth installment of the series. Read the first part here, the second part here, and the third part here.

When I first tried to find a suitable language school in Nice, there was an agency that I found. The agent recommended Azurlingua as the place to learn French. Back then I had lots and lots of questions regarding the course, accommodation, living, cost, visa stuff, and many others. Luckily the customer service of that agency was really helpful in answering all my questions completely and promptly.

However, I then found another language school, Actilangue, which provided better rates. Of course, I wanted to find the cheapest school. But I also wanted quality. It was quite hard to find reviews about language schools in Frannce, so I had to turn to Facebook to find some ex-students of this particular school. I sent some messages to some people that I could find, and luckily most of them replied. They all really recommended Actilangue.

Both schools are certified by the government. Compared to Azurlingua, the school space of Actilangue is not as big. While Azurlingua's building is quite big and it has its own garden, Actilangue's building looks limited if not confined. It's not even air-conditioned; but this should be okay as I will be there from early to late spring only. However, one of the advantage of Actilangue is that, being a small school, it doesn't have too many students, which means most likely the class size will be smaller.

So, I had to make a decision of which school to choose. Even though Azurlingua is a more popular school (thus more expensive), with the very attractive price offered by Actilangue and recommendations from its ex-students, it was not a difficult choice anymore. But the hardest part of all was informing the really nice customer service from the agency. After all the troubles and time that she had invested in me, I chose someplace else to study. Although that was totally my right, as I had not made any commitment yet, I still felt bad for her.

I then registered at Actilangue for the half-intensive course. It's 5 lessons (45 minutes each) daily, from 8.45 am to 12.50 pm, Monday to Friday. Each day, the first four lessons is general French course in a class of 6-12 students, while the fifth lesson is for oral training in a class of 4-8 students only. By taking this type of course, I will still have enough time in the afternoon for traveling around the region, while at the same time practicing my French in real life.

The course fee for 12 weeks is 1,760 € and with no registration fee. There was a discount offered at that time. If I paid full amount of the course before December 31, 2010, I would get 20% discount of the course fee. So I only had to pay 1,408 €. What a bargain!

For the accommodation, I will be staying at a French host family. I gave my preferences (within walking distance to school, respect of my privacy, non-smoking, no pets, internet connection, etc) to be considered when the school chose the suitable host family for me. I took a single room with half board; it means there will be breakfast and dinner everyday. The total cost of accommodation for 12 weeks is 2,158 €.

I also asked for transfer from the airport, which cost 26 €. So, do the math by yourself to figure out the total costs. Remember though that it doesn't include lunch, personal expenses, entertainment, shopping, transportation, traveling, and other miscellaneous costs yet. By the way, on the first day of school, there will be personal interview and written test to determine my level and class placement. My god, I better won't still be jet lagged when taking those tests!

And don't worry, there will be more coming in the future. So, don't leave just yet.

UPDATE: read the fifth part here.

La Saint Valentin

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 02:14:00 +0000

It's Valentine's Day today, or La Saint Valentin in French. Tell people you love, je t'aime. Contact me if you want to know how to say it in a romantic and sexy French accent.

Bonne Saint Valentin, mes amis!

The Little Envelopes Received

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 12:14:00 +0000

Hooray, I was given hong baos from by my colleagues. And no, I didn't go to their house and ask for it.

I don't care the how much the amount is. It's the gestures and thought of giving me these which I appreciate the most. Thanks a lot for this!

UPDATE: one more received from another colleague on February 12, 2011.

UPDATE: another one received from the big boss during the company dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year (photo is not posted here).

Happy Chinese New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:19:00 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year 2011 everyone!

Today is start of the new year on Chinese lunar calendar, which is a year of gold rabbit. And year of rabbit is my Chinese zodiac, although I don't believe in that kind of stuff.

But it's always good to hope and wish for health and prosper in this new year.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 3: Sabbatical

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:29:00 +0000

This is the third part of the series. Read the first part here, and the second part here.

Few people asked me, how I can afford the 3-month vacation, money-wise and (especially) time-wise.

Money-wise, I didn't really save specially for this trip. I usually save about half of my salary every month (now you see the huge advantage of eating instant noodles for almost everyday), although sometimes less due to heavy purchases. So, roughly, and I have mentioned it before, the funding for this trip comes from 10 months of savings. Although, after recalculating the budget again, now I might have to increase the budget a bit, about 1 more month of savings.

Time-wise, as I am working full-time, normally I won't be able to do this long trip. I consider my long period of leave as a sabbatical, which is a period where a person takes an extended absence from a career. God knows I need it. What I did was I applied for unpaid leaves. I checked with my HR department about both Singapore law and company policy regarding unpaid leaves: how long I am allowed to take unpaid leaves.

From Singapore legal perspective, it looks like there is no specific rule about this. But as I am working under an Employment Pass, there is a minimum of yearly salary that has to be satisfied. Taking unpaid leaves means I don't get paid, so I have to make sure that my yearly salary is still above the minimum requirement or I won't be able to renew the pass. One thing to note is that, luckily, the public holidays are counted as paid holidays!

From my company policy perspective, the HR manager said that it should be okay as long as it is not more than 3 months (still subject to approvals). But I will have to take all my annual leaves first and then use the unpaid leaves for the rest. I have been saving up my annual leaves, so the 3-month trip consists of the annual leaves for roughly 1 month and the unpaid leaves for 2 months. Sadly, my bonus will definitely be affected, as it is calculated based on the working days too.

I'm very lucky that my company has been very understanding and helpful. Getting the approvals were easy, and I can still have my job back when returning. Probably, as my boss is an American who was also a backpacker, he knows that this kind of trip is good for both the person and company too. It's getting more and more common for the westerners to take sabbatical or gap year. You can read here and here for more info about sabbatical.

For all of you reading this blog, you must have a dream to travel to some places you are interested in and have longed to go to. My two cents, don't wait too long. Do it while you're still able to, as no one knows what the future will bring. As someone said to me, you can always make money, but you can't make more time. Another really good info about this which I really recommend can be read here. So, start saving and taking risks, now!

This is not the end yet of the series. More are coming.

UPDATE: read the fourth part here.

Pre-departure Preparation - Dental Treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Today, it's that time again. I went to a dentist for the 6-month check up. Despite the heavy rain that has been pouring down since morning and my laziness to wake up, I had to go. I was called by the clinic yesterday as a reminder for the visit.

I forgot that I have made the appointment for today since 6 months ago. Initially, I was intending to go in the middle February so that it's quite close to my departure date. I don't want to have to go to a dentist later during my trip. That will not be fun and surely will be expensive.

Well, at least everything went well. No hole on the tooth nor any serious condition. I only got scaling and polishing plus the fluoride treatment. Unlike before, this time was very quick, only 15 minutes and the total damage was only S$ 90.00.

Pre-departure Preparation - Vaccination (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 01:49:00 +0000

As a preparation for my next big trip, two weeks ago I got 2 vaccinations. Read here for the story.

Last night, I came back to the clinic for more vaccinations. I was thinking of getting the vaccine for tick borne encephalitis, but apparently it was too exotic to have it on a small clinic. I was recommended to go to a specialized travel clinic as they most likely would have it.

I then asked to get Typhoid and Hepatitis B vaccinations instead. I knew that it's already late for Hepatitis B vaccination, as it should be administered 3 doses: first dose now, second dose a month later, and final dose six months later.

So the doctor gave me one jab on my left arm for the Hepatitis B vaccination and one jab on my right arm for the Typhoid vaccination. And it sting like hell. Okay, I might exaggerate a bit here, but seriously it kinda hurt. Last time my arms were sore for a week, and I think this time won't be any different.

UPDATE: it wasn't as sore as before, this time it was only sore for 1 day!

I also requested some medicine for traveling, like for diarrhea, allergy, rashes, etc. But I forgot to tell the doctor that I would be traveling for 3 months so I was only given 10 tablets for each medicine, in which I will have to take it 3 times a day. I'll probably get more stocks later on my next visit for my second dose of Hepatitis B vaccination.

Europe Trip Revealed Part 2: Dilemmas

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:49:00 +0000

This is the second part of the series. Read the first part here.

If you have read part 1 of this series, then you already knew that I'm going to Nice, France for 12 weeks for a language course. It's one and a half month left before my departure. I'm really excited for this trip, and terrified at the same time. This is my 2nd solo trip after the solo trip to Bangkok, Thailand in 2009.

It's always been my dream to visit Europe, but I never thought that it would come true before I'm somewhat older. The cost seemed too expensive for me. Fortunately, working in Singapore makes it possible for me to save some money. At first, I was planning on going to Europe by group tour around February 2011 (low season means cheaper rate). Based on my calculations, group tour costs roughly SGD 5,000 for 2-week trip covering 5 countries. Then I thought, why not triple the budget and stay longer while learning something so that I don't go home empty-handed.

Trust me, this decision wasn't taken lightly. It was really painful to spend that much money from my savings. It took me 10 months to save that amount of money. I could probably use the money to get into post-grad school or buy a small apartment in Jakarta. But after many days of thinking, consulting, weighing, and considering, I decided to do it. After all, 3 months with that amount of money is actually not that expensive compared to the group tour for the same duration.

Although, even after all payments has been made, all tickets has been purchased, and the Schengen Visa has been approved, I still wonder sometimes whether this is a right decision and something that I won't regret. And when that happens, I always think about how short life is and how this will be a great opportunity and experience for me. With me still being young and single at the moment, this is a perfect time to do a once-in-a-lifetime trip like this.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

So I did my research to find the best place to stay and learn French, a place that is cheap enough so that I can still travel around the region or to the nearby countries. Some cities came to mind, including Paris, Lyon, Tour, Bordeaux, even Montreux in Switzerland.

Eventually, I chose Nice among other cities because I found a language school which offers really affordable rates and the fact that Nice is close to the other bordering countries, like Italy. Although Paris is much more central and easier to get to all other countries either by plane or by train, the course and accommodation fee in Paris, however, was so expensive that I thought it's still better to find a cheaper place and use the money for the traveling.

Using train for traveling is better from Paris because Paris serves all domestic and international destinations. So, one of the drawback of choosing Nice as the place to stay is that it's not served by many rail routes. Although, Nice airport is has many flight connections to other domestic and international destinations.

It takes less than 6 hours from Nice to Paris by TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "train at great speed"), which is the fastest wheeled train on Earth, cruising at 300 km/h. Traveling in Europe without trying the rail once is almost like going to France without seeing Eiffel Tower. I will definitely go by rail to Paris once or twice on weekends during my 12-week stay in Nice. I also want to try the overnight train that leaves in the night and arrive in the morning.

I think choosing Nice as the place to study is the right decision. I just hope that it won't be raining so much in Nice and when I go to Paris for the weekends, as it will still be spring in March and April. And I probably won't visit 5 countries like when going with group tour though. Most likely I will spend my time and money for traveling to cities and towns in France and Italy near to Nice, because going further is not feasible after all for the weekend trips. Rather than rushing and cramming everything in short time, it might be better to visit the other places later. One piece of advice from a guidebook that I like is "always assume that you will return".

There will be more to come in this series. Be patient, and stay tuned!

UPDATE: read the third part here.

My First & New Netbook

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:59:00 +0000

I just bought a new netbook last Saturday. This is my first netbook ever and I will bring it for my next trip as I will use it during my language course. At first, I thought that I would bring my (office) 14.1" notebook weighing almost 4 kg. I had no intention to buy netbook at all. But then, I was worried about the weight and space the notebook would take in my bag.

So, after researching about the current netbook techonology and options in the market for 3 days, including going to many stores for 2 days to check them out myself, I finally decided to buy Toshiba NB520-1000U (brown color) at South Asia Computer at Funan Digital Mall. The staff was very knowledgeable, nice, and helpful.

It costs S$ 539, plus S$ 59 for 2GB DDR3 memory upgrade. It's lightweight, only around 1.3 kg, so it's easy to travel around with, and the battery life is supposed to be quite long for normal usage.

The technical specification is:

10.1" display with 1024x600 resolution
Intel Atom N550 dual-core 1.5GHz processor
1GB of DDR3 RAM (upgraded to 2GB)
250GB hard drive 5400 rpm with shock absorbers
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
6 cells battery
Harman Kardon speakers
1.3MP webcam and microphone
Bluetooth 2
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
SD/MMC card reader
Windows 7 Starter (32-bit)
Office 2010 Started
2-month subscription of Norton Internet Security 2011

I also got some free gifts when purchasing the netbook:

Toshiba DVD-RW drive
Targus USB optical mouse
Toshiba soft case
12-month subscription of Norton Internet Security 2011

Some people are asking why not buying a tablet (like iPad) instead. Well, the reason I was even initially planning on bringing laptop in my trip is because I will need something that can store a lot of my files/documents/photos and that is easy to use for typing or browsing for information in the internet for my language course and travel. Despite being lightweight, a tablet is not really suitable for that. So, a netbook is a wise choice for the balance of weight, usefulness, and ease of use.

And here are some pictures of it.

New Blog Template

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:45:00 +0000

I just changed the template of this blog again, now with this prettier banner picture as the header. I worked on it for about 3 hours last night.

The template looks cleaner and cheerful, with a bit more emphasis on travel. Hope everyone enjoy it!

Europe Trip Revealed Part 1: Purposes

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:50:00 +0000

A week ago I announced that my Schengen Visa was approved. I know you've been dying to know and wondering where exactly I will be going to and what I will be doing during the trip. So, without further ado, read on.

Have you ever heard of French Riviera? It sounds exotic and magical, isn't it? French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur as said in French) is a region in southern France along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from Saint-Tropez on the west to Menton which bordering with Italy on the east. Yes, I'm going there, in Nice to be precise, for the main destination.

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regional map

Nice is the 5th most populous city in France and the 2nd biggest city in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It's also the 2nd most-visited place in France as well as 2nd busiest airport after Paris. Boasted with beauty and nice climate, it's a really popular destination. In summer, most of the Parisians and other France residents as well as travelers from around the world go here for vacation.

I will be in Nice from March 6 to May 27, 2011. What the hell am I doing in a foreign city for that long, you ask? I am going to learn French there. Indeed, one of the best way to learn a foreign language is living in the native country of that language to experience a full immersion. So, I'm hoping that the 12 weeks of language learning will improve my French a lot, while still be able to travel around the regions in France and the bordering countries.

I enrolled in the half-intensive course, Monday-Friday from 8.45 am to 12.50 pm with 5 lessons daily (45 minutes per lesson). The first 4 lessons each day are general French, while the 5th one is focused on oral French. Ideally, I would like to enroll in the intensive course as the price difference is very little. But the class ends at 3.45 pm, so I figured I won't have enough time in the afternoon to explore the region. There is also a standard course that ends at 12.00 pm, but I think the half-intensive course is the most suitable course with the balance between studying and free time for traveling.

There are many attractions in Nice itself, not to mention the places to see and things to do along the French Riviera region ranging from coastal towns, beaches, mountain cliffs, to medieval villages.

It's not over yet. This is only the first part of the series. By the end of this series, all your curiosities will be satisfied. Stay tuned for more details!

UPDATE: read the second part here.

Pre-departure Preparation - Vaccination (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:08:00 +0000

Although western Europe is considered safe from health perspective, it is always good to be prudent about health concern and vaccination. Just like travel insurance, consider this as a prevention. It surely won't be fun to get infected by some diseases that should be easily prevented.

My vaccinations that I know I already got are:

Polio
BCG for tubercolosis
MMR for measles, mumps, and rubella
DPT for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus
Hepatitis A

And just this evening, I went to my physician to get advice on which vaccinations are necessary for my trip. He only recommended me a flu shot, but I insist on getting a booster of tetanus shot as well. He gave me one jab of flu shot on my right arm and one jab of tetanus booster shot on my left arm, just to be safe.

The flu shot (which already includes the H1N1 vaccine) is good for 1 year, and the tetanus booster is good for 10 years. Hopefully I won't be getting any fever tonight.

On Becoming A Polyglot

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 03:04:00 +0000

Pretty much of you already know that I am currently learning French (if not, then now you know it). Without meaning to dishearten anyone to learn this language, it is indeed a difficult language to master. Partly because it's a bit different from English, but mostly because it's really hard to practice it in Singapore.

It's indeed easier to practice English and Mandarin in Singapore. And because of that, most people when I started learning French asked me as to why I don't learn Mandarin. Well simply because I don't like Mandarin (at least for the time being). And then why French? Simply because it's a very sexy language. Despite those simple answers, people are having difficulties to accept them and still insisting that I should learn Mandarin instead.

Imagine that you're an Indonesian who lives in Singapore and you speak Mandarin. The reaction from other people would be good, but not that surprising because there are a lot of Mandarin speakers in Singapore. Now, imagine that you're an Indonesian who lives in Singapore and you speak French. Boom! The impact is so great that everybody will be very surprised and astonished. It's really a huge deal that you can speak French, a language that sounds as cool as it is mesmerizing. That ought to do it!

I have decided to become a polyglot, that is someone who speaks many languages. My lifetime goal of language speaking is to be fluent in 7 languages before I die. But how can one define "fluency" anyway? It's a very relative and subjective term. For that reason, there are levels outlined by Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) which is used widely. So based on this framework, I would say that my English is at C1 level. Note C2 level is not exactly native speaker level, but at best near-native speaker.

So my short-term goal for now is to be fluent in French (B2 level) and Italian (at least B1 level) before I turn 25, which will be in March 2012. So that's about 14 months from now. I think this is a realistic goal, not too short and not too long. And I have just officially started learning Italian a month ago by commencing the Italian lessons in the Rosetta Stone software that I always use to learn French.

Now let's get to the list of the 7 languages I talked about:

Indonesian. I already speak Indonesian as my native tongue.
English. I have been learning and speaking English since I was 13 years old.
French. This is what I am learning now.
Italian. This has the same root as French and have fairly easier pronunciations for Indonesian tongues. I just started learning this.
Spanish. This has the same root as French and Italian, so after being fluent of them it should be relatively easier to learn Spanish.
Russian. Now this is a difficult language to learn, not to mention it uses different alphabet from the Latin alphabet.
Still an open slot. I will decide later when reaching this stage. Who knows, it might be Swahili or Arab.

Indonesians Traveling with Schengen Visa

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:08:00 +0000

As mentioned in my last post, Indonesian passport holders are required to have Schengen Visa to be able to enter and travel in Schengen area. The downside of that, aside from having to go through the formalities and having to pay for it, is that we can't be flexible for our trip. This is because, as also mentioned in that post, for a successful visa application, we need to provide the all transportation and accommodation reservation for the whole duration of our trip.

For example, if we are starting from Singapore and going to visit Spain, France, and Italy in one trip, we need to know in advance how long we are going to be in each country and when the inbound and outbound dates are. We will have to buy the flight tickets from Singapore-Barcelona, Barcelona-Paris, Paris-Rome, Rome-Singapore as well as hotel bookings for say 3 nights in Spain, 5 nights in France, and 5 nights in Italy. If we don't have this confirmed itinerary, we won't get the visa.

As travelers, we usually want to go to some countries, but we only know the inbound and outbound dates and the first and last countries. So for example we want to buy only flight tickets for Singapore-Paris and Rome-Singapore. What happen in-between will be decided later during the actual trip. From Paris we might want to go to Amsterdam, then to Berlin, continue to Prague, head to Vienna, and finally end in Rome maybe by train or by bus. We might want to spend maybe 3 nights or maybe 5 night, undecided at the moment, in each of those countries. But we can't do this; we can't plan and decide as we go.

So we lose the flexibility and spontaneity. Modifications of the itinerary submitted when applying for the visa might get us blacklisted for the next visit. I have this problem for my next trip, so I have to fix all dates, flights, and hotels before applying for the visa.

I envy Singaporeans who can do that kind of trip. How I dream of the day when Indonesian passport holders are allowed to enter Schengen space without the need of a visa.

Schengen Visa Demystified

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:25:00 +0000

I mentioned about Schengen Visa on my last post. Some of you might wonder what the heck that is. Basically, Schengen Visa is a visa that allows a person to enter and travel in the Schengen space for a short stay visit for a maximum period of 90 days.

The visa is valid for maximum 6 months and may be granted for single visit or multiple visits. One important thing to keep in mind is that with the visa, we are only allowed to be in the Schengen area for up to 90 days every 6 months period.

With this visa, there will be virtually no border control when traveling in the Schengen area. Currently there are 25 European countries included in the Schengen area. Not everyone needs this visa, for example U.S., Australia, European Union member states, or Singapore citizens. Indonesian passport holders are among those who are required to have this visa.

To be able to get this visa, we only need to apply to one of the embassies of those 25 member countries. If we apply at French embassy, what we will get is French Schengen Visa; if we apply at Italian embassy, what we will get is Italian Schengen Visa; etc. General rules to determine which embassy we should apply at are:

If visiting only 1 country, apply to the embassy of that country of destination
If visiting more than 1 country, apply to the embassy of the main country of destination (or the country in which we will stay the longest).
If visiting more than 1 country but no main country of destination, apply to the embassy of the country of the first entry.

There are some requirements for the visa. Incomplete application will most likely result in refusal for the visa. Below are some items required, both in original and copy. Check with the relevant embassy for full list of the requirements.

Application form duly filled and visa fee of €60
Passport, identity card, and recent photograph(s)
Transportation (flight, train, boat, etc) ticket(s) reservation for all legs of the journey
Accommodation (hotel, hostel, etc) reservation for the whole duration of the stay
Bank statement, financial guarantee proof, and travel insurance covering the whole trip

Processing time is normally 5 to 10 working days, but for Indonesian passport holder can be 15 to 20 working days. So, apply in advance, but no sooner than 3 months before the planned departure date. Remember that visa grant is subject to approval and we don't have any legal right for the visa. By providing complete required documents and clear itinerary, and as long as our application show that we have the sufficient money during the stay and that we intend to get out of the Schengen area when the trip ends, the road to visa approval will be smoother.

It's Official: Schengen Visa Approved

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:40:00 +0000

My Schengen Visa is finally approved! As a matter of fact, I got the visa stamped on my passport since December 29, 2010. I had kept it a secret for sometime now as I was waiting for it to be officially approved and I didn't want to jinx it.

The visa that I get is a multi-entry short stay visa allowing me to enter and travel in Schengen space for up to 90 days maximum in 6 months, with validity period from March 3 to August 25, 2011.

My long trip will start in 2 months from now and I am planning on using those 90 days fully. This was basically what I mentioned vaguely in my last post (item #13) as I was still unsure when I would announce this.

More details are coming soon. Stay tuned!

2010 Reflected

noreply@blogger.com (Stewart Hangewa) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:08:00 +0000

Starting this new year, I would like to look back and see what I have done last year. I know some people say we're not supposed to look back, but to keep going forward. But how else are we able to embrace the future if we don't evaluate what we have done in the past and learn from our mistakes?

So I've been trying hard to remember the things happened in my life in 2010 and come up with this list with some rather important and memorable events that happened which were not necessarily only successes but also failures, in which a few of them were stepping stones.

Earned a big bonus and raise.
Almost moved out from current place to rent room in another place, but canceled due to some considerations.
Started learning French more seriously by enrolling in basic and intermediate French courses.
Gave OBIEE training to new employees.
Applied for BGF Scholarship to France, but rejected. This was the third time my scholarship appliction was rejected, in addition to the Fulbright Scholarship to US and the ADS Scholarship to Australia applied back in 2009.
Bought a 32" LED TV, an iPhone 4, and few basic diving equipment. Almost bought a new digital camera and its underwater housing, but canceled.
Visitied Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur and Pulau Dayang (as well as the small islands visited when sailing by catamaran). The visit to Kuala Lumpur was my first time visit to Malaysia.
Got certified in scuba diving; at first PADI Open Water level, and then PADI Advcanced Open Water level.
Had my brothers coming over to Singapore for holiday.
Sailed by catamaran twice; once around Singapore and once to Malaysia.
Visited Philippines during the company trip: Manila and Boracay. This was my second visit to Philippines; the first time was when I visited Davao City in 2004. Almost went to Maldives for the company trip, but it was changed to Boracay instead.
Worked on and implemented quite a lot of projects throughout the year. A lot of stress during the current ongoing project, which I had a really rough time with.
Made a huge decision that involves spending a lot of money from my savings. This was a decision not taken lightly at all. Related to this, I got my first Singapore credit cards for the first time which come with a bonus of SGD 200 credit to spend.
Started learning Italian.
Celebrated Christmas and New Year in Singapore for the first time after 3 years living here.

Looking back to the ups and downs of the past, I can now look to the future with hope that 2011 will be an exciting, meaningful, and successful year, but more importantly with hope to live in the moment and enjoy whatever life brings.