Getting Ready for the Magical Voyage: Japan Trip Preps

Last year, my best bud Rizki Yogaswara  and I made a crazy plan to visit our best friend, Hari Wicaksono (Pengki) who were at that time resided in Osaka, Japan. The idea just occurred and we thought that it would be great to pay him a visit before his official duty ends and he returns to Jakarta. What we have in mind was, by having our pal in Osaka, we would be able to experience the city in a local resident way!

At the beginning I thought the plan was just going to be another ‘soon to be forgotten’, yet apparently Yogas and I took this seriously and put it in our priority.

Aloha Tanjung Bira

 

My best friend Fachril has never been to Eastern Indonesia. As a beach lover, he realizes most of beautiful beaches that would make him go crazy are located in the eastern part of the country. He also understands very well that he needs a getaway to freshen up from his demanding job.

One day he decided to book  a return ticket to Makassar. His intention was clear: to visit  Tanjung Bira beach. He made the call after I lured him with pictures of the clear blue water and pristine sandy beach of Bira.

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Halo Apa Kabarnya?

Tahun 2013 sudah masuk bulan ketiga sementara postingan baru satu. Padahal kepengen saya tuh jumlah postingan harus meningkat setiap tahunnya (yang mana sudah gagal total di tahun 2012). Lalu niatan berikutnya adalah mencoba menulis dengan bahasa Indonesia, karena merasa bahasa Inggris saya amburadul. Jadi ya daripada kebanyakan niatan, mending segera kita mulai posting ini.

Berhubung postingan terakhir saya adalah tentang survei keliling Sulsel dan Sultra, maka saya akan menceritakan setelah kelilingan itu saya ngapain aja.

Short Break (Photos)

Thursday afternoon at Sultan Hasanuddin

Before leaving for field trips to Bantaeng, Bulukumba, and Palu, I managed to sneak out and flew to Bali to meet some peeps.

As always, Bali is fascinating, making saying goodbye so hard.

Weekend With The Boys (Photos)

 
On Saturday, my best friend from college, Jefta suddenly called and asked me to join the trip to Bandung next day.

Andi, another best friend from college was joining also, hence it was a small reunion trip.

We went on Sunday morning around 8, and reached Bandung in nearly 2 hours.

It wasn’t a culinary nor shopping tour, and we didn’t have any specific plan, so it was more like hanging around the city, though yes, it involved lots of snacking.

I had so much fun with the boys, I think I hurt my jaw out of excessive laughing.

To The East We Go part 2

As any other normal men in this world, Reo packed very lightly. I was amazed because he managed to pack all of those things needed for 2 weeks trip into a middle size rucksack.

I, on the contrary required a 45 litre pack to squeeze the whatever itsies bitsies.  Yet, additionally,  I still have a tote bag containing maps, directions, wallets, glasses, and another pack of tripod. Now you can imagine how hassleful I was.

Reo and I took taxi from the airport to Bangsal harbour. I once read that sometimes getting a taxi in there can be risky because of the brokers. Blue Bird taxi does operate in Mataram, but unfortunately just like in Ngurah Rai airport Bali, they’re not permitted to enter the airport area.  So we can only use other taxi services which can be booked at a counter near the exit gate. They have a range of taxis, and you just pick which you want to hire. 

To The East We Go part 1

I have to say that writing about my recent Nusa Tenggara trip has been one of the toughest thing to do. As soon as I arrived home, I was swamped with job-seeking activities, casual get-togethers, and swimming session. Those three packed my schedule tightly and dried me up during the month of April.

On early May, I received an email saying that my application was accepted, and I was expected to start working at the new office on the 15th. It was such a great news. I was so happy, I remember I couldn't stop smiling through out the day. 

It was after that, I found the time to write about the trip.

The journal I wrote might won't include details about itinerary and budget, so if you're interested on it, you could drop me an email.

So, without further ado, let's begin.

Home At Last

Apologize for leaving this blog without update for quite sometimes, but I just got back home last Saturday.

Oui, I just had a marvelous 18 days trip to Bali, Lombok, The Gilis, Mataram, the small islands in between Lombok-Sumbawa-Flores, Komodo island, Rinca island, Labuan Bajo, and Surabaya.

Many things happened during the voyage. Changes of plan, including the highlight that my travel partner Reo, had to go home earlier, leaving me all alone for third quarter of the trip. I was nervous at first, because it was my first time traveling solo, but thank thank God everything turned out okay.

The trip itself was magnificent. I experienced many things which are beyond my expectation, I met so many wonderful people, and the view....was breathtaking.

Eastern part of Indonesia is blessed with beautiful landscape and pristine beaches, making me promised myself, that someday I'll be back to explore more of East Nusa Tenggara.

The place is so gorgeous. I mean as a sky fetish, it is impossible for me to resist when every morning, I wake up with a sky that is so beautiful, I thought I'm looking at a painting.  And in the afternoon, I was all flabbergasted seeing this pretty pretty orange color in the sky.
It's heaven for me.

Anyway, trip details will come in few next entries.
Until then,

Kissu kissu