Arsip Kategori:Asia

Murni’s Warung, Ubud, Bali

My idea of relaxing, is to sit in a nice restaurant or a cafe, sipping coffee, eating good food, enjoying what is has to offer. Lucky me, I got a friend to travel around Bali without having to argue about where to eat next, what time to leave, or which way to go. Because you know, Mei and I seemed to have the same taste & pace of travelling. It’s nice!
Mei is not the kind of person who’d like to see all things at once. Instead, she took it slow. So we would pick an area to explore in one day and see how it goes later. We really didn’t have much plan.

Lanjutkan membaca “Murni’s Warung, Ubud, Bali”

Beijing, China. What’s not to Miss?

It’s my second time here in Beijing. I still remembered how I used to dislike this city, since… you know, I couldn’t seem to understand the language well. That time, ordering food seemed to be a big day-to-day problem to me. I even wrote about this language thing on How to Survive in China Without Knowing How to Speak Chinese. It shows how desperate I was, 4 years ago. Even worse, not only that I feel people are generally unfriendly, but I feel that they are also angry all the time. And it’s because I don’t understand the language.

So, several months back, before our departure to Beijing this year, Fred and I learned Chinese language for like, 2 – 3 months. I can say that it has helped us a lot during our trip. We could listen a bit of what the Chinese said, and ordered our food in Chinese. And hey, suddenly Beijing doesn’t feel that bad! It’s pretty nice, really. 

Lanjutkan membaca “Beijing, China. What’s not to Miss?”

Travel Guide : Manila, The Philippines (Tips and Trick Included)

 

Manila might be one of those cities I won’t revisit again in any other occasion. It looks and feels a lot like Jakarta, which I avoid most of the time. I mean, it’s a busy big city with the worst traffic jam ever. You can’t really walk in the city, and commuting from one place to another seems to be a day to day problem.

Manila, is pretty much the same with Jakarta. It’s pretty busy on its own.

Lanjutkan membaca “Travel Guide : Manila, The Philippines (Tips and Trick Included)”

COFFEE SHOP IN MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA : Local Edition Coffee & Tea

Finding a nice coffee shop that suits you is a struggle, especially if you’re new in town, like me. Early on my second day in Metro Manila, Philippines, I had to find somewhere to work from. Often times, we found those nice comfy coffee shops with great coffee and food but then later we found that it doesn’t provide WIFI (why?!?!). That’s sad. Then we have to find another one – and it’s a hard job, especially if you know nothing about the city and if transportation is your main problem, like here in Metro Manila.

For us, a place to work from doesn’t necessarily have to be a coffee shop, but still we prefer one. It just need to have a pretty fast and stable wifi, a comfortable seat, and a comfortable ambiance. That’s all really. Oh, plus good food.

Lanjutkan membaca “COFFEE SHOP IN MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA : Local Edition Coffee & Tea”

Macau. Worth a Visit? (1 Day Itinerary Included)

Besides gambling and shopping, which are not my thing at all, is there really anything else to do here?
So I went to Macau last May for the very first time and decided to stay for 3 nights before heading to Hong Kong. This whole Macau and Hong Kong trip was not well planned and prepared. We didn’t really have the urge to explore the city. We just need to go somewhere in between Indonesia and China, before heading to Beijing, just so we don’t need to take a 7-8 hours flight from Indonesia. So I thought maybe Hong Kong is a great choice, everybody seems to love this city. And besides, I’ve never been to Disneyland before and there’s one in Hong Kong!

Lanjutkan membaca “Macau. Worth a Visit? (1 Day Itinerary Included)”

Kuliner Jambi : Kwetiau Hance

Selain Mie Pangsit, kuliner wajib aku di Jambi itu adalah kwetiau. Kwetiau di Jambi itu beda loh dengan kwetiau Medan atau kwetiau Jakarta. Karena kwetiau di Jambi terbuat dari tepung beras, dan bentuknya pun lebih tebal.

Belum banyak tempat makan kwetiau yang aku coba. Tapi diantara tempat-tempat itu (halal maupun non halal), yang paling aku suka itu so far Kwetiau Hance (non halal), atau biasa ada yang nyebut kwetiau Ace atau kwetiau Atek. I found that the non-halal version has this thicker and more intense flavor. The power of lard 😉  Lanjutkan membaca “Kuliner Jambi : Kwetiau Hance”

Loy Krathong & Yi Peng Festival, Chiang Mai

Loy Krathong and Yi Peng (full moon day) are both two famous festivals in Thailand. They both take time on the full moon day on the second month of Lanna lunar calendar, which usually falls on November (but please check the exact date before you go!).

Loy Krathong, which means “to float a basket”, is a kind of festival where people will gather on a river side, or pond, or somewhere with water to release their “boat” or krathong. The krathong is traditionally made from banana leaves with some flowers and incenses on it. The more modern one can be made of bread (yes, bread) and even styrofoam (booo). I think people will normally make a wish before releasing their krathong. Lanjutkan membaca “Loy Krathong & Yi Peng Festival, Chiang Mai”

Mini Travel Guide : Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as it is still sometimes be called) is often said to be the biggest city in Vietnam. It was once the capital of France’s colony. And it is also one of the city in Vietnam tourists usually visit. This city offers a lot more than I’ve imagined before.

It has these elegant boulevards and beautiful colonial buildings. It offers so many kind of food ranging from the cheap sidewalk local stalls to the expensive fine restaurants. It is the place I’d like to spend my time wandering around just to find a nice local coffee shop.

I went there last January 2014. I can’t believe the fact that I’ve been postponing on writing this post for nearly two year!! So, before these precious memories of mine got lost forgotten, I want to share let’s say, a mini travel guide about where to go, what to do, and what to eat in Ho Chi Minh city.

Lanjutkan membaca “Mini Travel Guide : Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam”