Denmark

I am travelling by myself now, missing Tisa, my travelling buddy. But, it is exciting as well.
Okay, here is my experience so far as a single-short-asian-female-among tall people- traveller. I have four bags with me this time, seems that I have forgotten how to travel light. I promise myself I will use all items I bring.

My baggage when leaving from Jakarta. Tisa took the photo before I left.

Waiting in Dubai airport to catch the next flight to CPH.

As a short person, I am lucky because I can fit perfectly with any seats in the plane or train. I have enough space for my legs. But, I can't reach high compartments, this is when sometimes i have to rely on other's help.
When arriving Copenhagen Airport (CPH), I first got some Danish Krona withdrawn from ATM. It is nice using CIMB extra because they don't charge fee.
My bags were 13 kg and 7 kg. They didnt feel heavy yesterday, but they do now.
Weather was good in my first day here, not as cold as I thought.

I was very happy to see my bag. The experience not having my bag because it got left behind makes me grateful whenever my bag get to the airport at the same time as me.

From Copenhagen, I took a train to Àarhus which apparently cost me around IDR 1,7 mills. My first expense in Denmark though, was Lebara sim card for Denmark number.
In Aarhus I was couchsurfing.

Copenhagen Central station from coach 82.

 

Leaving the station heading towards Aarhus.

MY FIRST.... - Couchsurfing Experience

Couchsurfing. When I told my friends about this idea, some say YES, and some will say NO. I personally say YES!!! I love couchsurfing and will do it again and again. Maybe because my experiences so far with couchsurfing are all great.

These are great people that made my first couchsurfing experience memorable and enjoyable. 

My first experience was great. I had it first in Paris. My host was a guy whose apartment is in the city centre. He was very kind, he waited for me to arrive before he went to work. I was a bit late because I got lost (I get better now in reading map, rarely get lost anymore!) I had my own couch in the middle room, but it was fine. My host was very respectful and kind. He introduced me to his friend who just came back from Indonesia. We had great conversation flowing. He introduced me to French food called Escargot, which I like. And I cooked noodle soup for him.

Escargot, a cooked land snail. I took the picture from wikipedia. What I ate was like this, simpler, but looks yummier.

Overall, because of him, I keep doing couchsurfing until now, being guest and host. Thanks Antoine, for making my first couchsurfing experience awesome!

Relationship

"Love has no age limits". Does it apply to all genders? It is normal in the society when the men are older and NOT when the women are older. Why is that? Will the relationship work when the women are older?
In the articles I read suggest that "Age is not the problem, but things like different values, lifestyles, morals, even spending habits, could be." - Caroline. So the issues are the same with other age difference relationships. My friends thought that age different will hindrance a healthy relationship, mostly because of maturity level issue.
I haven't seen the real example of this relationship that works or doomed. Let's see! 

Backpacking to Bromo

Bromo, one of the most wonderful mountains in the world. I went there just last week to see its beauty and I'm amazed!

It is easy to go there, even with public transportation, let alone with private transportation. Other people might go in a group, but going single is also fun, although it might cost a little bit more. My cousins were worried that I wanted to go by myself. At first I insisted, but then I gave up and let them took me to Cemoro Lawang, the closest village to the mountain. Off we went in a sedan driving up the mountain. Since the weather would be very cold, I packed a thick jacket, a pair of gloves,  two pair of socks, a scarf and wearing a long sleeves t-shirt, comfortable hiking sandals, the most important one, of course, my camera :-). Some snacks for the night hike are needed to be in your backpack, if you get hungry easily.

A sedan in Bromo road, a rare view when the common cars used are hardtop jeep.

I started my trip from Malang, East Java, via Probolinggo and up to Bromo. For public transportation access, Probolinggo is the easiest transit place to go to Bromo. By bus or train from Surabaya or Malang, we need to go to the bus terminal Bayuangga. From the terminal, take the car, Elf or the people there call it PS or Bison /bees'on/, right outside in front of the terminal. It costs 40 thousands rupiah (18/03/2015). The only problem is this car will only go when it is full of passengers, so you need to be extra patient. It has no AC, but don't worry, the journey to Bromo right after leaving Probolinggo, the weather is very cold, plus the scenery is a pleasure to the eye. This trip will take about 1.5 hours.

For the place to stay, my cousins wanted me to stay in a nice place, I didn't mind, of course. So we stopped for the first hotel, Java Banana Lodge. Look so fancy. It should be comfortable and nice. I went inside and... tadaaaa!! $135/night. Right away I said thank you and moved on. After a few more investigations, I decided on my first choice, Yoschi's (http://www.yoschihotel.com). It is a descent clean hotel, with friendly staff. In low season, the price for standard room is 200 thousands rupiah plus 20% tax, so 240 thousands /room. This price includes breakfast (coffee/tea and nasi goreng/bread). If you stay with another person, you will cut down your expense. In June, July or August, the price become 300/room (most prices there will be more expensive). The bathroom is shared, but has hot water which you will certainly need when the weather is under 5 degrees Celsius or lower.

Don't forget to book in the receptionist for your Jeep to Penanjakan 1, where you can see the sunrise,and Bromo crater, for 150 thousands per person (group might be cheaper). This trip will start around 3.30 AM or earlier. Also, if you don't want to wait with uncertainty for the PS/Bison/Elf going to Probolinggo, you might also need to book a night before in the receptionist for 50 thousands.

I arrived there then straight away met a friend, she is from South Korea who was also travelling alone. We clicked and talked about lots of different topics, including our travelling stories :-). She told me that it is much cheaper to book a tour package in Jogjakarta than in Probolinggo like what she did. She regretted booking the tour in Probolinggo for Bromo - Ijen - Bali (Jogja's price was 850 thousands while Probolinggo's was 1,400 thousands) *low season. The food in Yoschi's is not really good and expensive, but the coffee is pretty good. There is a small "warung" up near Yoschi's. There you can eat nasi goreng, mie goreng, or rawon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawon) - a traditional food from East Java, or mie rebus (I prefer the instant noodle soup with egg). You can also drink ginger tea here. If you are lucky, the owner might have fried sweet potato (ubi goreng) for Rp 1000/ slice. I had a cup of "teh panas" or hot tea and two ubi goreng, I was really full.

The jeep trip was tense, but exciting. Take the front seat for better experience. You can't really see the view since it was still dark (to catch the sunrise at 4.30am, we need to go like 2 hours before). The positive thing going at night is that you can't see around the road and how winding it is. It seemed to be in an off-road trip for me.

Even in the low season, the people visiting Bromo can't be said as 'low', there were so many people up there. The view is much better in June, July, August, but the weather could get to -5 degrees Celsius, plus, the visitors will be too many. 

The sunrise is best seen from Penanjakan 1. This is the highest point around Bromo area that can be easily accessed. Going to this place, thick jacket, socks and gloves (for me) are needed.

The sunrise

Mount Bromo view from Penanjakan 1. Which one is Mount Bromo?

The next destination after watching the sunrise is Bromo crater. At around 6.30 we got there. We were welcomed by lots of horses with their jockeys who were persistent to ask us to "go up by horse". When the jeep driver told them, "Turis semua" - All tourists, means all foreigners, the jockeys went away.

The top of Mount Bromo can only be reached by 'hiking' up the stairs. A girl who was in my jeep counted the stairs when walking and down, and they are not the same numbers. Try to count them, and see if you get the number the same or different. I had to take rest three times before I got to the top.

There you go, the stairs!

But the view form the top is worth all of those hundreds of stairs. And surely warm up your body. I took of my jacket and gloves while walking up the stairs.

The crater. When you come sometime in August, you might see the Tengger ceremony called Kasada. They throw some offerings into the crater. 

After the crater, my group went back to the hostel. There are actually two more interesting place to visit around Bromo, the savannah (Bukit Teletubbies) and the black sand desert (Pasir Berbisik - got the nick name from a famous Indonesian movie). They usually be visited after the crater.

After arriving in the hostel, I had breakfast, nasi goreng with egg and black coffee, then take a hot shower. I packed my bags and ready to go. For going back to Probolinggo (the closest city for transit to Ijen, Malang, Surabaya or other destinations), it's better to book the shuttle car a day before. It costs 50 thousands rupiah. It goes once a day at 9.30 am. If you want to take the PS/Bison, it costs 40 thousands with unpredictable departure time. I insisted to take public transportation, so i waited for the bison, and I had to wait for about two hours. But the waiting is not a big deal, I was in the old style bison car, which very authentic. No need AC since the air is very cold, I was wearing my jacket inside.

The bison car dropped all the passengers off at the bus terminal in Probolinggo after 1.5 hours car ride. There was another bison car waiting that will go to Ijen right in front of the Bromo car when you get off. So, If your next destination is Ijen, get on this car, this is the best choice since going to Ijen is more difficult. But if you are more to adventure, then get on the bus from inside the terminal to Banyuwangi.

I went back to Malang, by Patas AC bus (means no stopping, direct bus with AC) for 30 thousands.

So, it is easy and fun to go with public transportation and it is totally fine to go by yourself, even if you are a woman :-).

Have fun planning your trip to Bromo!

How to Book Cheaper tickets.

Apparently, there are some tricks to book tickets which I didn't know before. So now I want to share what I know. The rules are:

1. Go Incognito

       Everytime we search certain destination, the website remembers and the more we search, the more"popular" the route is. As the demands get higher, the price will increase too. Clearing up the cache and cookies in between airlines search is a must! To do this is simply click Command (control - in Windows) + shift + N when you use Chrome or Command (control - in Windows) + shift + P when you use Firefox or Internet Explorer.
Then a new window like this will appear:

Then you can start your search. This means your search is not tracked, thus the routes you are searching is not tracked. Do remember to close all your incognito windows before searching for new flights.

2. Wisely choose the flight search engines

     Some search engines enable you to find flights based on categories such as the price, the time, departure and arrival destinations. This will give you benefits to find the cheapest that suits you. I like to use sky scanner.com, for example, and it can give you the prices in a month so you can choose the cheapest date.

Select the destinations and "whole month", then click search.

You will be directed to the destination airport. Choose one.

Here you can see the price in a month.

Generally, booking return tickets are cheaper than one way.

 There are some search engines that are free:

• skyscanner
• traveloka
• or go to the airline website

Some websites say not to these:

• expedia 
• priceline

3. Find the cheapest place to fly

Kayak.com helps to find the cheapest flight from one destination to another (intercontinental). Klik on "explore", choose your destination ("where").

4. Be airlines member

Miles earn from previous flights are a huge help to get cheaper flights.

5. Book long-haul trips
      
        If you are not in a rush and pretty flexible, booking flights with transits are cheaper. You can also find flights with different airlines connections. Skyscanner will give you choices with or without transits, or airlines combinations.

6. Check with travel agents

       Sometimes travel agents can give you cheaper deals if they have deals with the airlines. Check your own, print it out, and ask travel agents to find the same flights. See if they have better price.



Those are the tricks I have learnt so far. When I find new ways, I will update. If you know some more, please give comment or let me know.
Happy travel!

SAWADEE KA

This was the second time i visited Thailand. I went with route Krabi - Phuket - Bangkok for 9 days with my friend. I packed light this time, no baggage, only carry on backpack.

Departed from Kos Banjarsari, jakarta at 3.30 am, got in the airport around 4.30 since our flight was scheduled at around 6 am to Kuala Lumpur, so better be early.

We went inside the aircraft on time, but hey.... it was so hot inside! Apparently the air- conditioner was off. So everyone was sent out back to the boarding room. And, we had to wait until around 8.30 am. Siighhh... My friend and I planned to had Nasi Lemak and Teh Tarik for breakfast in LCCT didn't happen since we arrived in KL at 11.30 and our next flight to Krabi was at 1pm. We were hungry, worse, the food in that flight was sold out. Good part about this Jkt - Kl - Krabi trip was that we met a new friend. So it was not that bad.

Krabi

I was sleeping all the way to Krabi with hungry stomach. But it was worth it, first time we arrived in Krabi, we went straight to eat. Krabi is not like what i thought. It was quiet.

The view in one of the corner in Krabi.

Krabi Beach

The next day, i went to Riley beach. I had to take the long-tail boat which can be found in certain lockets. ticket is 1500 THB one way. It was cloudy, i was a bit scared because i was not offered life jacket

the long-tail boat ride to Riley Beach.

On the way to Riley with the view of dark cloud.

In Riley Beach, it was not as advertised. I thought i can swim in it, but there were too many boats. It was interesting and i could take some good photos.

There is a spot for cliff climbing.

One view at Riley Beach, walking a bit further from where i got off the boat.

Row row your boats...

View in Riley Beach

But I am happy that i got there, i found a beautiful beach, Phra Nang. To go to Phra Nang, i had to walk about 10 mins, passing a stalactite cave. I was just wandering around, not sure what to see. This is what i like about travelling, explore new place.

The Stalactite cave, there are some monkeys seen here.

Phranang Beach. Green and clean water.

Here people can swim.

There is a cave by the beach, for fertility pray.

Phuket

My friend and I got to Phuket by ferry. It was 600 THB including hotel-the port-hotel transfer. This price we got from the tourist shop at the downtown corner in Krabi. The transfer vehicle was a pick up truck, like a bigger tuk-tuk, and i got the very edge seat. The ferry ride was about 4 hours.

This is the seats, and my travel companion, in the ferry.

The port in Krabi

We stayed at Phil's Boutique Hotel on the street just across BangLa Road. It was nice and clean, and very centre. First destination after we put our bags in the hotel room was eating! 

Eating at the food court at Bangla Road.

Then we went out around the hotel area a little bit before we passed out on the comfy bed with a very hard pillow.
Next day, we were just relaxing at the beach, Patong just 5 minutes from our hotel. Patong is more beach for games and attraction, also to watch sunset.

one attraction i saw, a dog's having fun with the sand.

The waves in Patong, quite good for surfing.

We rent a chair for 100 THB.

Aaahhh... relaxing.

One of the attraction in Patong Beach.

After sunset's gone, we started to walk back, found this landmark. Can you spot me?

Phuket is famous with the night life. Bangla Road is the centre of the night life.

One bar at Bangla. As the night is getting late, the more crowded it gets.

The next day in Phuket we rented a motorbike. It was 450 THB/24 hours. We drove to Phuket Town and got lost, got stopped by the police, but managed to get away because we were tourists. We went to the Big Buddha on top of a hill. 

along the stairs were hung lots of bells.

With the scooter, we also drove to other beaches near Phuket, Kamala and Kata Beach. Here we could actually play with the water and waves.
Next time i go to Phuket area, i will stay in Patong area but go to Kata and Kamala more during the day. The accommodation is cheaper in Patong, and easier to find more stuff and activities.


Bangkok

The last destination was Bangkok which we reached by plane. From Patong to Phuket airport we paid 400THB, the receptionist took us there because he was going to the airport direction.

The journey to the hotel we've booked is a long story. We tried to take public transportation. We took airport bus to the city, costs 30 THB/person. Then the bus driver told us to get off at the metro/MRT station. But the information we got we should take another bus. The bus to Khaosan Road, where our hotel is, only stopped at specific bus stop. We were walking up and down that street to find the stop. We finally got the correct bus, without knowing where to stop. We asked the passages, but at first no one could speak English. Arrghhh... i was so stressed. The best part of backpacking, getting lost and not knowing where to go is the adventure. Well, we got to our hotel safely because finally we got helped from some passengers. Baan Chart is the hotel name. It is very nice, in very strategic location.

And as usual, when we arrived we looked for food first. Walking along the Rambuttri and Khaosan road, there are many street food vendors and live music cafe. I love the spring rolls, worth to try, also the sticky white rice with mango.The music performers have good voice and sang nice songs.

In Bangkok we went for tuk-tuk ride to Wat Arun, The Lucky Buddha temple and to jewellery factory (this destination, the driver had the initiative).

Tuk-tuk ride for 30 THB for one trip around.

The long-tail boat ride along Chao Phraya.

Wat Arun area

Wat Arun area

Chao Phraya

One of the special food sold in Bangkok.

Me and tuk tuk

Jade Buddha

The dogs living at the temple. Cute!

The road around Khaosan has this for getting rid off the evil.

One of the corner of many street food stalls.

One small shrine in a park nearby.

Our last day was spent to walk around and visited another temple, Wat Pho, around 1km from our hotel. In Wat Pho there is this famous resting Buddha from gold.

The visitors can put coins in all the copper pots.

Over all, this trip was amazing, will definitely come back here, especially to the beaches.