zags travels

Situation changed in a snap. We had to cancel our plan to move to London. Then just when I was preparing things to travel to London and Europe for a vacation (Plan B), suddenly another thing came - so again I had to cancel it. (I just cancelled the tickets )

So now I moved to Plan C: Japan. Now that my sister is in Jakarta, we are planning the itinerary together. Utsunomiya, Nikko, Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara. The first destination is where my sister lives.

It's still a question if my sister can get a JR railpass, because she lives in Japan. Maybe not?

We were thinking about going to the Expo and see Kiccoro & Morizo, which means I'll go a few days before September 25, the last day of the Expo. But then we think it's OK to miss it and that I'd better come in October and see momiji... *i can't wait*

The cheapest air ticket to Tokyo is either with Garuda or Thai. With Garuda I can get a direct flight. However, with Thai I can use the transit time to stay for a couple of nights and get to see Bangkok as we did last time.

Now I'm trying to overcome the difficulties with those weirdos at work, get big things done, then I'll earn the long vacation. Unfortunately the one who should approve my vacation request is one of those weirdos...

But think about my goal. I've been missing Japan, I want to explore it more. And it's exciting that I'll have to force myself to speak the language again. And I'll see our friend Tomoko again after our last vacation together in Putri Island. And Yuki again after a few years . And I'll probably see Ken, my メール友 ("mail friend") at last.

Now... face the weirdos! 頑張れ！

I'd love to thank my good old camera (was actually my dad's), the Nikkormat that had been with me during my travels, burdening my shoulder and/or neck but I just couldn't travel without it It's heavy because of its metal body, but it's strong.

This is a picture of a religious ceremony in Kuta beach, Bali, one of the pictures I have taken with my Nikkormat. I had to go through a crowd to get this shot, but the result is not disappointing - in my opinion.

Now my Nikkormat is lying in my room, its lens needs cleansing because of fungus(?). I've had a new pro camera early this year. It's lighter and it's digital.

Now I travel with the new camera.

AMAZING! 13 - 15 August 2004

Went snorkelling everyday! Met Nemo, his father, and his friend... but no Dory. Pak Trisna dived in and picked a starfish for us. He even picked a sea-urchin and played with it!

The cons about this area is: sea-urchins!
And sometime in a year there are many jellyfish. It hurt when we got "bitten" by its jelly... Didn't see any jellyfish but just felt as if small things pinched my skin. "ITAI!"

BUT the snorkelling was GREAT! the people were great! especially Pak Trisna

I would LOVE to visit the island again, and snorkel again!

Yeaaaa.......... Sabtu (19/6) malem jam 11 gue brangkat ke airport Changi naik MRT utk jemput Rani & Hide. Pesawatnya katanya mendarat jam 00:40 am. Perjalanan ke changi kira2 stengah jam.

Sampe airport gw cek flightnya, OK ada, katanya mendarat jam 00:21 gitu deh. Oya, gw masih di Terminal 2, terminal tempat MRT station berada... di Arrival Hall. Sambil duduk gw liat2 brosur tempat2 yg bisa dikunjungin di sini, cari ide tmpt mana lagi yg menarik.

Gak jauh dari gw (jarak bbrp kursi) ada anak cewe' elub lagi sibuk nulis jurnal. Wah pasti dia travel sendirian. Akhirnya kita ngobrol deh... Ternyata dia baru nyampe dari Australia jam 2 siang, & hrs nunggu 24 jam untuk pulang ke Jerman.

Akhirnya gw tawarin aja kalo mo nebeng di kamar gw krn kan gw punya double bed. Trus ngobrol2 lagi, sampe waktunya pswt Rani Hide harusnya udah mendarat, gw liat2 org2 yg baru nyampe, kok gak ada yew... Setelah lama n mulai bingung krn kayaknya mulai berkurang org2 yg pada keluar, hp gw bunyi.. Rani nlp, ternyata dia di Terminal 1. So gw say goodbye sama Kathrine - nama benernya Katharina - setelah tukeran alamat email.

Sampe term 1 ktemuan RH di dpn Burger King trus makan dulu krn Hide kelaparan.... kasian deehhh... Kita naik taxi, nyampe hostel udah skitar jam stengah 3 or jam 3 kurang gitu.. Lucy sampe bilang kok kita telat.. hehe kan makan dulu...

Oya, orang2 di hostel ini ramah2 n helpful bgt. Hari ini gw baru ngerti bhw boy & lucy yg punya hostel ini, dan terrence itu pegawai mereka. tapi kata Lucy, terrence mo masuk kuliah, jadi gak bisa full time lagi, mungkin cuma bakal kerja wiken aja...

Hari ini gw, R&H jalan ke LUcky plaza di orchard road, rani tuker duit, lumayan dapet rate bagus, S$157 untuk 10,000 yen. Abis itu ke house of condom di situ juga, hahaha....

Dari sana kita mo ke Fort Canning Park. Eeeh ktemu Meler & Yerro (& temennya meler) di stasiun! Jadi ngobrol2 dulu di stasiun deh.. hehehe akhirnya ktemu juga stlh dari kmrn kontakan tapi acaranya beda terus..

Naik mrt and turun di Dhoby Ghaut.. biasa deh trus nyari2 jalannya jadi jauh bgt.. pdhl blakangan baru tau ternyata gak sejauh itu. Di taman juga udah cape'naik tangga n jalan jadi ngaso minum trus lsg balik ke stasiun.

Istirahat dulu di hostel, Rani kecape'an bgt tuh... tidur bablas dia, jam 7 tadinya mo brkt tp dia br bangun... jadi kita kira2 brkt jam stengh 8 atau jam 8 kurang.. Kita mo ke Boat Quay. Naik mrt.

Sampe boat quay makan.. hide pgn indoryouri! hahaaa.... surprising! kita makan di Punjab Da Dhaba, tempat gw makan sama Didi waktu dia di sini "kmaren". Lumayan mahhhal yew.....

Abis makan, tadinya gw mo ngajak jln ke Merlion Park sekalian liat Esplanade teater... pemandangan di malam hari.. tapi Rani kayaknya udah capek bgt... gak tau knapa ya Rani kayaknya tepar bgt... pdhl kita blm ngapa2in kan, tadi nyampe lsg makan.. Gak jadi naik bumboat krn mahal, 1 org S$12.

Abis makan lasg balik ke hostel. Ini gw blm masuk kmr... OK c u, oyasuminasai!

pegeul bow tadi jadinya gw hiking, ambil yg nature path, alias yg lewat tengah pepohonan, bukan di concrete path... trus... lewat cave path, banyak goa.. n gw gak brani nengok lama2 ke goa, abis gelap bgt... takut ntar aktor2 & aktris2 favoritnya ibu & anak (maxudnya ebo & maman) pada klewi dari goa... hiiiiyyyy....

trus, di tengah jalan ktemu kolam... krn udah kringetan, gw ciprat2 air deh ke muka ... tau2 kok semak2 bergerak...?? trus... ternyata..... ulaaaarrrr....!! dia di tepi kolam opposite gw, menuju ke arah gw! lidahnya mendjoeloer2... gw buru2 jalan terus deh gak jadi main air lagi... syereeeeum....
ktemu tenyoms juga..hihihi... pas sampe salah satu puncak... akhirnya gw minum tetes2 terakhir dari air bekal gw.. hiks...

untung abis itu gw tinggal jalan turun, walopun cape juga soalnya kalo pas curam kan harus ngerém... pokoke asik deh... oiya, gw gak jadi hiking bareng si sander. dia gw tunggu di meeting point gak nongol sampe lewat 15 mnt gw tinggal aja...

sorenya temen gw dateng, trus kita jalan2 ke night market di chinatown (hostel gw sih di chinatown), trus ke suntec city liat air matjur tempat pendaratan UFO... cuma gitu dowang sih... trus ke clarke quay, lagi ada MTV G-MAX Bungy, yg di-toweng2 itu lho... hihihi... Huuuh ternyata clarke quay gak asik.. enakan boat quay banget suasananya...

oya, gw dapet kenalan baru lagi... ternyata orang turki, hehehe.... trus, dia mo ke jakarta (sblm jalan2 ke tempat2 lain)... trus, ternyata harinya sama ama gw... trus, ternyata jamnya sama ama gw... trus, ternyata bener2 naik flight yg sama!!! hihihi.......

Nateetee: ternyata gak harus kursus lho bo'! noli aja disuruh urusan kerja ke sana, trus lo nebeng hotelnya, trus kan dia harus balik, lo extend so, it''s a holiday!

Weeween: tengkyu yaa.... coba lo jadi ikut bareng gw, gw bikin lo hiking tuh di hutan, hihihi....

Mantje: iye deh ntar kalo' sempet di airport ntar pas mo balik gw liat.. kmaren juga di airport, pas abis imigrasi langsung jreng2 di depannya.. klo masih ada duwit juga yak... maklum, rencana stay nambah, jadi duit hemat2 juga.. n gw blom shopping apa2... pas di airport liat parfum escada MAGNETIC BEAT (blm liat tuh di jkt) tp gw mo' compare dulu di lucky plaza, kan kata tetanggamu tercinta itu harganya bisa lbh murah...
krn lg hemat, gw kayak anak kost aja, yg penting jalan2 (bukan kuliah), makan gak terlalu penting, tadi aja gw gak makan siang & malem (cuma makan 1 burger king sore2 tanpa minum - bawa ndiri, hihi), abis kan hiking dari jam 12 - 1.30 (balik ke starting point), trus perjalanan pulang 1 jam lebih... gw beli es dung2 aja trus makan di taman deket hostel gw sambil liat banyak burung merpati di sekitar gw...