kadekarini - Indonesian Travel Blogger

Facebook reminds me that today is 2 days left of 2016 before moving to 2017. Time flies so fast when we’ve actually passed 12 months, 365 days and 8760 hours but all the moments that we’ve been through 1 year ago feels just like yesterday.

A year full of “dreams do come true” if I might say something for this year,
A year that I could finally do things that I really enjoy,
A year of pushing my limit and leaving my comfort zone,
A year of self improvement that imperfections are what make people truly beautiful,
A year of chance to meet amazing people from around the world,
A year of believe that it’s not impossible to doing what you love for a living, and
A year to say “don’t allow anyone to tell you, it’s not possible”.

One year is definitely not a short time, there were so many things happened, some of them were just moments that passed by and some of them are being the memories that will last forever. I am so lucky, even though I am not kind of story teller person and being so lazy to update stories on my blog (I feel bad about that) but I got back up by instagram for saving the best memories of my 2016. Yes of course, I have my own best nine moments, but this time let instagram shows you my 2016 best nine and let me tell you the story behind them. Oh, if you want to make your own version, i get it at this website : https://2016bestnine.com/

1. Flying in Hot Air Balloon Cappadocia, Turkey
“Bucket list checked, I almost drop my tears when flying over Cappadocia in the hot air balloon. It felt like dreams do come true for them who want”. This is the highlight of my whole year 2016. Definitely big thank’s to Turkish Airline for such an incredible experience.

I took this photo randomly with the gopro 4 and the stick wihout knowing that the sun light behind me was perfectly shine. This is the most likes photo on my instagram yet it captured the moment beautifully.

2. Sunrise in Hot Air Ballon Cappadocia, Turkey
“I was the one who always got underestimated for dreaming too high. But now I am the one who’s living everyone’s dream they say”. I didn’t plan to say this, but it just came out suddenly when I realized that I checked my bucket list one by one. Second best post also comes from my Turkey Experience.

Since I knew that this photo was going to be a silhouette, so i asked my friend to look up and point something in front of her just to make a gesture of the subject hence it would not be ended up by a photo of a huge dark subject, but it looks more like there was a story behind the silhouette instead.

Read more about this story here :

I Almost Drop My Tears When Flying Over Cappadocia in Hot Air Balloon

3. The Best Breakfast all of my life was in Cappadocia, Turkey
“Just woke up and suddenly wondered how my life would be without friends. Like having good friends is a blessing. To all my friends, you were just being the guardian of my happiness”

Breakfast in the sky they named it. The behind the scene of this photo was quite funny. So, this breakfast setting wasn’t on our itinerary and also didn’t held at our hotel. This is the real story; the day before this, we got the incredible experience watching sunrise through the hot air balloon, but since based on itinerary, there was no watching sunrise activity facing the landscape of Cappadocia, we made our own customize itinerary. We asked the tour guide whether there is any hotel which opened for breakfast on the rooftop. And luckily, he said his friend owns a boutique hotel in Uchisar Village that can provide us a breakfast on the rooftop. So I asked my group if anyone want to join have to be ready at 05.30 am, ended up it was only 7 of us.

4. Turning 25 years old in Padar Island, Indonesia
“Turning 25 year old today, apparently I have such amazing birthday celebrations these past 2 years. Last year, I was at the peak of Rinjani Mountain when turned 24 years old, and now I am in the middle of very awesome talented international bloggers in #TripOfWonders #WonderfulIndonesia.

Life goes more impressive day by day, I met more and more amazing people and experience more fantastic things that I never Imagine I’d had it if I am not a blogger. Thank you guys for the wishes, can’t wait for the next adventure coming !

5. 2016 is a year of #TripOfWonders
“I have visited the island of Komodo for 4 times, but never got bored”

This photo was taken at my third visit in Komodo island. But this became so special because I went there as a delegation to promote Indonesia tourism to the world which all wrapped up on #TripOfWonders. Currently these past 2 years, the Ministry Of Indonesia Tourism has media trips that invited social media influencers from all over the world to experience the wild life and rich culture of Indonesia and share them to their social media channels. So, I went with other international bloggers from USA, Canada, South America, Europe, South Africa, and South East Asia Countries on the trip. My English speech on behalf Indonesian bloggers at farewell dinner was actually a pressure, but I made it fluently just because it came honestly from my heart. Words couldn’t described how honored I am got the opportunities to show these people the beauty of my country, Indonesia. To be dragged into these amazing creative people was totally priceless. Big thank’s to Ministry of Indonesia Tourism for this unforgettable moments J

Read more stories about #TripOfWonders here :

ABOUT BANDUNG : Hipster Cafe + Culinary + Shopping + Family Getaway

6. Exploring Nusa Penida Hidden View, Bali
“I cannot believe this beautiful view are located in Bali”

Unexpected trip ended up so great !! We spent 2 days 1 night exploring a small island In the south of Bali called Nusa Penida and found such a jaw dropping views like this. I wrote an article to sum up places I went in Nusa Penida. Click the link to read the stories about Nusa Penida :

4 Beautiful Views of Nusa Penida You Won't Believe are in Bali

7. Yogyakarta Vibes in VW Combi
“That was my first time driving an old VW Combi and I felt like driving a container”

Proud of myself to be successful drive this 60’s VW Combi for 88 km from Pogung, Jalan Kaliurang to Parangtritis beach and vice versa in Jogja. We stopped over at such a cute bed and breakfast property called “Rumah Paris Jogja”. Read more the stories here :

Rumah Paris Bed & Breakfast Hotel - Penginapan Unik di Yogyakarta

8. Yogyakarta, Where All The Stories Began
“Yogyakarta, my love for you is still as much as the day i met you, my admiration for you is still as much as the moment you taught me about modesty and true friendship, my longing for you is still as much as the time i left you after lived in for 4 years. Selalu ada alasan untuk pulang lagi ke Yogyakarta"

Just posted 5 days ago, when I was in Jogja. Yes, I have a sentimental story of Jogjakarta, living there for 4,5 years has taught me everything. This is the city where my passion on traveling has been growing up. This photo was taken in Magelang, at the rooftop of the church or we usually call it “Gereja Ayam”. Woke up earlier for the sunrise at Puthuk Setumbu and we then hiked a little steep track heading to the church. The view here was amazing, we got to see 4 big mountains in central java; Mount Merapi, Mount Merbabu, Mount Sumbing and Mount Sindoro. Read the stories here :

Majestic View of Borobudur Sunrise via Puthuk Setumbu and Manohara Hotel

Menyapa Sang Raja Yogyakarta, Gunung Merapi 2968 mdpl

Badai Pasti Berlalu di Gunung Merbabu 3142 mdpl

9. Sun Flower in Changi Airport, Singapore
“Having a good times while transit in Changi Airport, they have a sun flower garden that totally blooming that time"

Changi Airport is definitely one of the best airports that I’ve been, so many facilities provided for the travelers. I also just wrote an article of 20 things you can do while transit in Changi Airport. Read the story here :

20 Things to Make Your Transit in Singapore Changi Airport Exciting

So those are my 2016 best nine instagram photos and some little stories behind them. What about next year ? I currently write down my resolution list for next year, pretty much i bet it would be a lot more exciting ! See you next year 2017 ! J

PS: For more photos on instagram, visit my instagram account www.instagram.com/kadekarini

cheers,
kadekarini

Reach the top of Mount Tambora, Sumbawa, Indonesia

“They say by not having white skin is weird, being not white means dirty !”

I grew up in circumstances where people think that a beautiful woman is the one with white skin. No matter what your original skin is, you need to have a white skin to not being humiliated. It’s sometimes funny knowing the fact that we are living in a tropical country which almost all the season of the year is summer, but those bunch of women still spend a lot of money and do too much effort to make them have white skin, just because to meet the ideal beauty that the society expects.

Nusa penida, Bali (read full strory here )

Daocheng National Park, China

I was born with a brown skin and grew up with it all of my life. I joined several outdoor activities back when I was in school. Spent 2 days in a week playing basketball, went swimming every weekend and keep continuing what I do really enjoy until now, exploring the nature. There was a moment when I was sick of those derision teasing me to buy all the whitening products and just stay at home coz my skin is getting way too dark.

“They told me to stop meet the sun to get my skin lighter”

Instead of having less confidence of my brown skin, I keep questioning what’s wrong with a tanned skin ? do I have to stop what I love to live the dream that the society is striving for ? Is it really wrong to have a tanned skin ?

“It’s OK not to have white skin, as long as we have a healthy proud tanned skin !”

Let’s deal with it ! I spent almost quarter time of my life going to the beach, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking the mountains, riding a motorcycle and call myself a #ProudTan as the result of those outdoor activities afterwards. But there is something you have to be aware of facing the sun frequently. When the skin gets darker doesn’t mean it turns out to be unhealthy. There is nothing wrong of being tan as long as we still manage the health of our skin.

Do not ever leave the house with bare skin, either when the sun is bright or in a cloudy day. The skin uses sunlight to help produce vitamin D, which is important for normal bone formation. But sometimes its ultraviolet light can be very detrimental.

“Frequent and prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays over many years is the chief cause of skin cancer”

That’s why we should protect our skin by covering up sensitive areas and wearing sun screen with SPF. Use the skin protector especially on the face for daily routine. I currently use Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 for my daily treatment before leaving the house. To be honest, I am quite picky in choosing the daily skin care for myself. I prefer the one which has light texture and easy to apply, as I will use it everyday. Skin that is kept moisturized feels more supple and smoother when you touch it, and Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 is just like the answer of the problems. Non-greasy moisturizer nourishes and hydrates the skin and the SPF 15 will also protect it from the sun’s harmful rays.

If you haven’t known before that I have such a sensitive kind of skin type, hence I always worry to try any new skin care. But, this Cetaphil product is suitable for all skin type and for those who have sensitive skin becomes the reason why I didn’t doubt at all to try. The fragrance free means that it does not contain any overrated chemical composition (you can see more the details of product here) Moreover, I really love how convenient the packaging is. It comes in a bottle that has a pump dispenser at the top. With one pump, it dispenses just the right amount of lotion to cover my whole face.

I believe that just like the other organ of our body, skin doesn’t only need outer treatment but also inner. Drink mineral water, have a regular sleep time and be happy ! Do what you love, and never stop doing things you really enjoy.

“Because healthy skin originally comes from the happy soul :)*

For More details of the products, kindly visit the pages
Website : www.cetaphil.co.id/id/product
Facebook : www.facebook.com/cetaphilindonesia
Instagram @cetaphil_id : www.instagram.com/cetaphil_id/

cheers,
kadekarini

“Someone showing off his dick when I was walking alone” that’s how I started the day in Kangding.

My first day in Kangding has been started with such a horrible memory. I am really confused whether to tell the story or not, but since I promised to myself to treat my blog as my online diary (2017 resolution), to share everything what I’ve been through, what I feel, what I impress to and what I am afraid to, either good or bad, here I finally share it. After spent 4 days in Chengdu (read my story in Chengdu), I continued my #SoloTravelChina to Kangding County. It’s 8 hours away from Chengdu to the side of border between China and Tibet (Please see the maps for its detail location).

I am currently in Kangding

Kangding city sits on 2.600 masl, it’s a getaway of Kham Region of Tibetan Plateu.

On my #SoloTravelChina Day 13, I Arrived in Kangding after a bumpy 8 hours bus ride from Chengdu. Departed from Chengdu Bus terminal, that was my first stop of my overland Sichuan Province journey. Since it’s located in the high altitude, the weather was going more crazy cold. Managed to stay in Zhilam Hostel (most traveler hostel recommendation in Kangding owned by 2 americans, so don’t worry anymore about speaking english), and woke up in a very fresh condition.

Zhilam Hostel (the best hostel in kangding)

In the morning, I was walking alone and heading to the monastery. The road to the monastery was quite uphill, and while I was on the way, there was a 40’s chinese guy approached me and told something in chinese. Since I don’t speak chinese, so I just said that I didn’t understand what he was saying. I continued walking and ignored this guy, but he kept following me and suddenly he was showing off his dick and giggles annoyingly at the same time.

I was bloody shocked and all of the sudden ran so fast to find someone to help me. I was totally clueless where the direction I was heading to, the only thing on my mind was “find someone” since there was really no one that time. I kept running as fast as I could without looking back because I was just too scared, that might be the fastest running speed I’ve ever done (hell yeah!) I stopped at the small local convenient store with my breathless look which made the lady (the seller) raised her eyebrows. Then I looked back and found he wasn’t there. Sooner, I realized that I ran too far away of the direction I should have to go. That’s how I started my day in Kangding, the little obstacle that might happen when you travel solo.

Was I scared ? Yes Totally, Did i know how this thing could happen ? Hell no, life is full surprises, no matter how well prepared we are, there might be something unpredictable coming. What do we have to do then ? Just let it happens, never make something that you’re afraid to be the reason to not doing it, sometimes things will go as good as you’ve expected, most of the times it will just go far away of your expectation, but bad thing doesn’t mean bad.

Remember that life’s greatest lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes.

Will it stop you to travel solo ? Never consider a “NO” as the answer, just like in school, you had to pass several final tests to continue to the next grade, the tests were getting harder year by year of course, but you’ve finally finished them. I know that being a solo travel means you have to overcome more obstacles during the journey, but that’s the same thing we’ve done in school. It always seems impossible at first until it’s done.

Kangding had been historical border between Tibet and China, from Kangding to the west lies Tibetan civilization where as to the east Chinese cultural areas –wikipedia

Walking around the city is the best you can do in Kangding, listen to the voice of Yala river flow stream down along the center of the main road. Sitting down with the locals who dress up beautifully unique, or socialize in people’s square in the city. Despite of the bad accident, I then found the monastery that I was looking for. The first time I came to the monastery is when I was in Ladakh, India. I fell in love the moment I stepped my foot into that huge building. Monasteries usually are located in high altitude area, those are homes to monks who decided to dedicate their life to serving all other living beings, and live their life in prayer and contemplation.

As fall in love as before, Nanwu monastery is a tibetan Buddhist monastery located 3 km away from the city center of Kangding. I walked up from Zhilam Hostel which only needed 2 km left to be arrived. The main building contained of 4 stories with square shape with one inner square on the center where usually be used to held the ceremonies. I spent totally a day walking around the city, started at 09.00 am and ended up at 09.00 pm. Well, I am not a good story teller, but I hope you can imagine how peaceful Kangding is from all photos that I took.

HOW TO GET THERE
1.   Chengdu – Kangding by bus (7-9hrs, 111 RMB). Go to Chengdu Bus terminal (Xinnanmen Bus Station) and ask the locket to buy ticket to Kangding. The buses run from 7 am to 1 pm. I departed at 11.00 pm and arrived at 06.00 pm.
2.   Arrive in Kangding Bus Terminal, find taxi and ask the driver to go to Zhilam Hostel. I just told them to go to Bei Tuo Kan (the name of the village), then they will understand that you go to Zhilam Hostel. It cost around 10 RMB. It’s worth it since the distance is quite far and uphill. you need 30 minutes to walk uphill.
3.   For Transportation in Kangding city, you can just walk, it’s a very small city that you can cover the main destination by walking.

WHERE TO STAY
There are only several hostels there and I am not sure whether the staffs can speak English or not, so I recommend you to stay in Zhilam Hostel (hostel owned by 2 Americans). This hostel is really famous among travelers. They have such a nice hostel, nice bedroom, very clean, and everyone speaks English (finally I can communicate with people, since when I was in Chengdu I stayed with the chinese roommates who didn’t speak English at all for 4 days !). Dorm room cost 45 rmb/bed/night. They don't receive an online reservation, so you'd better call in advance for reservation. Ask your hostel's reception to borrow the phone if you don't have a local number. Or just simply email them, they will reply 24 hrs as the longest.
Email : manager@zhilamhostel.com
phone : (+86)0836-2831100
website : www.zhilamhostel.com

cheers,
kadekarini

Do you want to know which one is my favorite day during all of my travel journeys ? It’s always The first day arriving in a new place/country. The first moment stepping a new land that you’ve never been before always excite me in so many ways. It’s just funny remembering how many times I said “OH !” at my first day in Maldives because of some surprising facts.

Fact 1 – Indonesian doesn’t need VISA to enter Maldives
We Indonesian don’t need visa to go to Maldives. The thing that I am exciting for about Maldives.

Fact 2 – It’s not expensive to fly to Maldives from Indonesia
And I am so happy to say, it’s not expensive to fly to Maldives ! There are some budget airlines flying to Maldives. I flew from Indonesia with Tiger Airways and it cost around 335 USD for return.

Fact 3 – Maldives is a muslim country
Honestly this is one of the facts about Maldives that I was really surprised to. Known as a beachy country, I was so shocked knowing that we are not allowed to wear a bikini unless you are in the resort or bikini beach. Tourists are not allowed to bring any accessories with other religion symbols, they would be confiscated by the airport’s staff once your stuffs scanned. Almost women in Maldives wear hijab and adzan regularly sounds 5 times in a day just like in Indonesia.

Fact 4 – Maldivian face doesn’t look like Indian
I thought that Maldivian face looks like Indian and srilankan as they are neighbor. I was wrong, even though they look same at glance, but as I stay longer I started to be able to differentiate how different they are. Srilankan has the curly hair and most of the boys keep it long just like a rocker band vocalist. And they have different eyes and nose shape.

Fact 5 – We can pay with USD dollar in Maldives
The actual currency in Maldives is rufiyah, but since there are so many international tourists coming, they also receive USD dollar for payment transaction. If you have rufiyah money, you need to finish it because you can’t exchange it again to dollar or into any other currency. Most likely, the change would be in rufiyah if you pay in USD dollar, but there are also some cases they give USD dollar as the change. 1 USD Dollar = 15 Rufiyah.

Fact 6 – Maldivian is polite, friendly and helpful
One of the reason why I am missing Maldives already since 3 days leaving that country. Maldivian is so friendly, and because Maldives is a muslim country, woman is highly preferred. Man is so polite to woman, you wouldn’t hear a group of boys shouting or yelling at you because you are a girl who walk alone. Maldivians are really the most helpful people that I’ve ever met, their standard of services are really high, everything are well provided.

Fact 7 – There are also affordable cottages/homestays to stay in Maldives
Yes, I thought that all of the hospitality properties in Maldives are 5 stars hotels. But I was wrong again, I stayed in Maafushi island, the most popular Maldives island for travelers. In Maafushi, there are affordable cottages and homestays start approximately in 55 USD dollar to up.

Fact 8 – The color water of Maldives sea is blue even in the harbour.
The Maldives international airport located in one island, so literally the airport building is surrounded by the water, and yess it’s tosca even though in the harbour.

Fact 9 – The international airport is located separate in one island
I was quite confused when a local told me that I can drop my luggage at the airport’s locker and take a ferry to Male to spend the rest of your time in Maldives. Why did I have to take a ferry to go from the airport to Male ? yes because The airport and the capital city, which is Male are located in different island, they are separated. Take ferry from airport to Male cost 1 USD.

Fact 10 – Maldivian obsess with latest gadget
A young guy that picked me up at the airport was holding an iphone 6, so did another guy I met on the speed boat. Almost every Maldivians are using iphone 6/7 or Samsung galaxy s7 edge. A front office staff of the cottage where I stayed in Maafushi island discussed about the current popular worldwide youtuber with me, and surprisingly he’s even know more than me.

Fact 11 – Almost Maldivian speak English.
You’ll be surprised how Maldivian speak English fluently, they speak almost like native speaker. Don’t worry of having a trouble conversation, because everyone would understand what are you saying in English.

Those what were on my mind when I arrived in Maldives, welcome to the beauty of Maldives on the next post.

PS : For more details about my Maldives itinerary, You can contact @MaldivesLowBudget on instagram or visit the website to see the next Maldives Open Trip Schedule www.maldiveslowbudget.com

cheers,
kadekarini

I’ve been dreaming to visit Maldives since a long time, ok you got my point, I am a girl with so many dreams haha. But really, visiting Maldives is one of my bucket list. Not to mention that we have been overdosed by hundred of Maldives pictures advertised everywhere that show the awesomeness of this country. A tosca blue color water, a 5 stars fancy resorts constructed with overwater concept, beautiful sandy beach and crystal clear water that looks like a natural private swimming pool. Okay, now tell me how come people not dreaming about this place ?

I always remind myself to never set any expectation to places I would like to go, and that’s what I did before I arrive in Maldives. Keep my expectation as lowest as I can and let the fact surprise me later. I have heard that Maldives is a part of Srilanka country, but no it’s not. Maldives is an independent country located in indian ocean (geographically below srilanka) consisted by 1200 islands. I was so surprised knowing the fact that every island in Maldives is owned by one resort. So basically, there is only a few islands where the local Maldivian still living.

My night flight from Singapore to Maldives caused me arrived when the sky was dark already and I couldn’t feel the vibes of Maldives right away landed at the airport. Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was located in one island in Maldives, it was separated with its capital city, Male. A tall young guy with dark skin and curly long hair hold a sign board of Alaka Maafushi hotel in front of the arrival gate. “Hey welcome to Maldives. Now we are waiting for the speed boat that will bring you to Maafushi” he said. I could see the rumor that says Maldives has a blue tosca colour sea water even though it was dark already from the harbour.

The day that I’ve been waiting for so long has finally came !! It was so sunny and bright, we jumped to the speed boat that would bring us wandering around the island of Maldives. I was just happily yelling “OH MY GOD !! look at that tosca blue water !!” to start the journey.

Turtle Point
We stopped at turtle point which was our first spot, as excited as before I directly jumped into the sea. Maldives has such a very clear water with great visibility and so many kind of fishes. My first snorkeling experience in Maldives left me such a good impression that caused me can’t wait to the next snorkeling session. Oh I couldn’t describe how happy I was to be back to my favorite playground !

Sand bank
Second stop is sandbank, a sand dune that exist in the middle of the sea. We had a lunch break on the sand dunes with our own private beach view. We were pretty much excited running from here to there, getting dry and getting wet.

Dolphin Point
It even doesn’t need much effort to see thousands of dolphins. They swam around our boat and right under my feet when I was sitting on the boat’s deck.

Private Picnic Island
WOW THAT’S STRING RAY JUST PASSED BY ! yess we saw some string rays and baby sharks swimming around on the surface. This island became the last spot to end first day in Maldives which is ended up AWESOME !

One Day Trip at Taj Exotica Resort
On the second day we have been asked which resort to choose for a day trip. There are some resorts with different day trip package prices. Usually a 5 stars hotel will charge minimum 100 usd for one day visit including minimum spent for lunch. The top 2 resorts are Centaara Resort and Taj Exotica Resort, they are both 5 stars hotel with overwater room concept. Centaara is the most popular one among travelers as the price is quite reasonable on 143 USD, Taj exotica is more expensive on 173 USD but it has more spots to take photo.

The prices are including lunch and a free time exploring the resort but not for entering the room. We spent the whole day just hanging around at the resort, chill on the pool and swim on its white sand beach and tosca blue water.

On the third day, we left for Thoddoo island and spent 4 days in this tiny interesting island. See how I fall in love with Thoddoo Island on the next post.

With Alaka Maafushi team, the cottage where we stayed. Check out their website for more info

PS : For more details about my Maldives itinerary, You can contact @MaldivesLowBudget on instagram or visit the website to see the next Maldives Open Trip Schedule www.maldiveslowbudget.com

cheers,
kadekarini

What do you have in mind if talking about Maldives ? A fancy resort full of high class hospitality ? yes we thought the same. But, for me travel is not only for leisure but also a journey of experience new things. After spending 4 days in Maafushi island arranged by Maldives Low Budget,

Jump into the stories :
1. My first impression and 10 facts About Maldives I Just Know
2. A proof that Maldives is a beautiful piece on earth.

I decided to extend my stay in the Maldives moving to another island. My friend suggested me to go to Thoddoo Island, a small island in the east of Male. There are two ways to reach the island, but yes you need to be in Male to start the journey. Arrived in airport ferry port where all the boats coming from Maafushi island to Male, we took the taxi to go to Villingli Ferry Terminal for 3 USD to catch ferry to Thoddoo island at 08.45 am. The ticket price Male – Thoddoo island is 3,5 USD. The ferry took 3-4 hours and transit in Rashdoo island for 2 hours, from Rashdoo to Thoddoo took 1 hour.

Arrived at 04.30 pm in Thoddoo island, I was picked up by the staff of Holiday Cottage Thoddoo, Maldives, the place where I stayed for the next 4 days. Ali the owner of the cottage greeted me and showed me the room. The room smells so good, the bed is very comfortable and what I love the most is, the outdoor shower room where you can staring to the sky while showering on the night.

Thoddoo island provides something different that you might imagine about Maldives. In Thoddoo island, instead of travel, I felt more like a local, Since the first day I arrived, nobody doesn’t give a smile and say hello to us, we spent our time chasing the sunrise to start the day and sunset to end the day.

Bikini Beach is Just 10 Minutes Walk
yes, they have this beach which you can go swimming around with bikini, How about the other area ? As Maldives is a muslim country, you are only allowed to use bikini in bikini beach where tourists do sun bathing and swimming. It was really a perfect beach at noon, white sand beach, blue clear water and blue sky, couldn’t ask for more.

You Will See Shark, Manta rays, Turtle while Snorkeling.
Thoddoo island located between the ocean that you will easily meet those underwater creatures. On my first day snorkeling, I found a shark passing by my feet just 1 meter away. There is also a manta point where you can swim together with couple of manta rays. Another good spot to snorkeling is right in front of the bikini beach, you can even reach it by swimming from the beach. There are like a round coral reefs whose turtle’s favorite kind of spot.

5 Minutes Walk to The Epic Sunset and Sunrise
The sunset is just right behind the cottage and to see the sunrise is just 10 minutes walk to another side. Literally, I finished the day watching the sunset everyday, looking how the sun perfectly set.

Thoddoo Island has the scenic landscape
Thoddoo island is one of those island in Maldives that has different contour, it’s not only consisted by beach but also farm, the famous fruit farm is watermelon.

Food and Hospitality Service is On Point
Like really, Maldivian is the friendliest people that I’ve ever meet. Especially during my stay in Holiday Cottage Thoddoo, Maldives. All the staffs were so extremely nice and sincere, I still remember how Ali (the owner of the cottage) always be ready to help 24 hrs, he took us to the best spot in Thoddoo island, he even helped us to top up our internet data.

Breakfast in Holiday Cottage Thoddoo

Thoddoo Island is The Best Place to Chill
Every corner in Thoddoo island has such those chill places, one of the unique things about Thoddoo is this kind of swing chair. Thoddoo islan is far from that kind of touristy place. It's very quite, most of tourists spend their time sun bathing in the bikini beach, that's the reason why i seldom see any tourist walking around the street. Thoddoo island is pretty much for those people who want to chill.

Where to Stay
- We stay in Holiday Cottage Thoddoo Island, it’s one of the best cottage in the island I’ve ever stayed. It’s closed to every best spot in the island. A Bangladesh guy who cook the food always serve amazing food. Click here to book the Cottage (they are currently have special discount via AGODA)

How To Get There
- From Maldives airport take ferry to Male (1 USD)
- From the port take taxi to go to Villingli Ferry Terminal (3 USD)
- Buy ticket from Male to Thoddoo Island at 08.45 (3,5 USD)

PS : For Maldives trip, check www.maldiveslowbudget.com for the next trip.

cheers,

kadekarini

A journey to Yading Nature Reserve, China

A conversation between me (K) and a chinese girl (A) inside a hostel dorm in Chengdu

A : *coming into the room
K : oh hey, where are you from ?
A : China
K : oh so everyone in this room is chinese, I mean where in China ?
A : …….(say something in chinese, I don’t remember what’s the name)
K : and why are you here ? are you traveling ?
A : yes, I just came back from Daocheng
K : oh….. (clueless)
A : it’s so beautiful, you should go there (she spoke in broken English)
K : can you spell it again ?
A : Daocheng Yading
K : I googled……and asked “how did you get there ?”
A : (she showed all of her pictures taken in Yading which made me more than clueless) I am taking a bus for 7 days
K : Whattt ??!!! 7 days ??!! how much did you pay ?
A : oh I paid for 60.000 yen (560 USD). It’s a bus tour
K : wtf ??!! I haven’t even spent that much during my 13 days in China

You know what was my feeling when saw those photos of Yading National Park ? My heart suddenly beat faster, I became instantaneously excited than before, my adventurous soul was like calling and saying “hey this is the time to go !”

I’ve never heard about this place before nor been listed on my china’s itinerary. No, I knew nothing about this place. It would be such an impulsive decision of mine, if I made it. I was just too scared of going to a new place where I couldn’t find any English articles talking about this place on internet. Oh God, that would be the horrible silent moment experiences PART 2 ! (read here the part 1). So, I said NO, I am not going. I went out for dinner and came back still with crazy thoughts about Yading Nature Reserve.

“It’s my logical thinking that said NO, but my heart always roughly said YES, you should go”

Nobody could have been asked about how to go to this place, a chinese girl whose the only one has been there always using a google translate to speak to me, and she did join a tour for that trip, which I couldn’t rely on coz pretty sure she knows nothing about public transportation to reach this place.

Overland View from Kangding to Docheng, China

I should have left from Chengdu straight to Shangri-la, but it has been postponed, I extended my stay in Chengdu for one more night, because I didn’t feel that confident to start this route as I haven’t got enough information whether it’s possible to do solo travel to Yading Nature Reserve and taking a low budget transportation or not. I did research a lot from internet, and barely asking people. At the end, all I can depend onis, my crazy yolo faith and my insane curiosity that lead me into so much adventure so far.

“I travel not because I want it, I travel because I follow my curiosity”

Okay, there are 3 options you can choose from Chengdu to Yading Nature Reserve. All of the options would be ended up in Daocheng since this is the main city of this area, from Daocheng to Yading takes 2-3 hours. There are 2 transportations, airplane and bus, and no train.

My Solo Travel route in China

How to get to Yading Nature Reserve from Chengdu :

1. Fly from Chengdu to Daocheng Yading Airport.
- Fly Chengdu to Daocheng = 1,5 hrs (250 usd ++)
- Minivan Daocheng to Yading = 2,5 hrs (50 RMB)
This option was impossible because ticket price was 500 USD for one way. But, I just currently check the price for the next couple months in 2017, it showed the normal price which is around 250 usd for one way ticket. So, if you're taking a plane, you'll be landed on Daocheng International Airport. I am not sure whether there is a direct minivan from Daocheng airport to yading or not (you should check once you landed). Flying will always be my last option since I really like doing overland more. Overland for me is a part of adventure and there were always unique experiences through the journey which mostly contained of the true local experiences.

2. Bus Chengdu – Daocheng.
- Bus Chengdu to Kangding = 8 hrs (150 RMB)
- Bus will overnight in Kangding
- Bus Kangding to Daocheng = 11 hrs (124 RMB)
- Minivan Daocheng to Yading = 2,5 hrs (50 RMB)
The bus will depart from Chengdu bus terminal and go direct to Daocheng via Kangding. It will take 8 hours to Kangding, and the bus will stay overnight in Kangding, you need to find your own accommodation for overnight. The only bus to Daocheng will go in the morning at 06.00 am which means passengers should arrive at Kangding bus terminal 20 minutes before.

3. Bus Chengdu – Kangding – Daocheng (my route)
- Bus Chengdu to Kangding = 8 hrs (150 RMB)
- Take taxi to Kangding city = 10 mnts (15 RMB)
- Bus Kangding to Daocheng = 11 hrs (124 RMB)
- Minivan Daocheng to Yading = 2,5 hrs (50 RMB)
I knew it already that this bus route would transit overnight in Kangding, so I made another plan to not only transit in Kangding but also stayed 2 nights in Kangding (read my story in Kangding).

You need to buy the ticket in advance at least, one day before. Online booking for bus ticket is not available, so you have to buy on the bus terminal. I left Zhilam Hostel and headed to the Bus Terminal at 04.30 am, because there is only one bus going to Daocheng in a day. The bus was pretty on time, and I was ready for the next 11 hours.

Overland View from Kangding to Docheng, China

I am pretty sure, There is no long distance executive bus in this route (I don’t know for the rest china areas), they are all economy bus with no AC (well it’s really cold tho, but no heater as well), hard seat and sometimes, so smelly. A chinese guy who look like a Tibetan sat on the window seat while I got an aisle seat. Almost people in this area have that Tibetan face as they live in the border between China and Tibet. A father and son who were sitting across me dress up in Tibetan style, a boy covered himself with blanket made from yak’s skin, his nose full of snot that I couldn’t even take a look at him.

A teenage chinese girl in front of my seat had never stopped staring at me, I didn’t know what was on her mind but, isn’t it annoying when there is a stranger keep looking at you for the next 11 hours ? so, I said “NI HAO !” she smiled and asked me “WHERE YOU FROM?” I said “Indonesia” and you ? I am china, she replied. Oh where in China ? (I tried to have a conversation). No more English talk, she just replied my question with giggling, and that’s the end of weird stare.

Overland View from Kangding to Docheng, China

“The Overland journey from Kangding to Daocheng was the best overland view I’ve ever seen following a 17 hrs overland journey from Leh Ladakh to Srinagr, India”

It was full of savanna and hilly views. A never ending single road surrounded by hill ridges, yaks were walking around, and praying colorful flag in some particular places. We stopped for lunch in a canteen that serve a mixed Tibetan and chinese food. Usually you need to pay 30 rmb and they will serve the food for you, there was only one menu and ready food.

Overland View from Kangding to Docheng, China

The bus will stop couple minutes in Litang, an area which popular with “the small Tibetan town in China”. Litang is the closest area in China that close to Tibet Border. At an altitude at 4,014 meters, Litang is actually higher than Lhasa, Tibet (3,490 meters), the highest town in the world.

Overland View from Kangding to Docheng, China

Passing through the rolling mountains and grassy valley, I finally arrived in Daocheng, the last city to reach Yading at 04.00 pm. It could be easier looking for hotels in Daocheng, but it’s still 2 hours to reach Yading, so I suggested whenever you arrive in Daocheng, please continue to go right away to Yading. Once you go out of the bus, there will be some people asking for a sharing car to Yading, they have the same prices, so don’t worry, you wouldn't get scam. It’s 50 RMB for 2-2,5 hours, ask the driver to stop at your hotel/hostel. The minivan will stop at small town in the foot of Yading Nature Reserved named Riwa (the new Shangri-La). It’s a very small town with only several population living there.

Riwa Town, Sichuan, China

I Checked in to the hostel that I haven’t booked yet, because there is no hostel appear in Riwa at all the online booking websites. But there was one exist in YHA websites, it has address and phone number. I tried to call the number, but no answer. So, I just confidently went to the place, but when I arrived, there was no one in the hostel. The hostel was real but, there was no life in it. The receptionist desk was full of dust, there were couple of doors heading to the room, but they were all locked. I kept yelling “HELLO !! NI HAO !” and waiting for almost an hour, till finally a girl came up from a building that located behind this hostel while chewing a watermelon seeds. She didn’t speak English of course, and I used google translate to ask. You know what was the first thing did I ask ?

“WILL I BE THE ONLY GUEST THAT STAY IN THIS HOSTEL ?

she nodded…..And it became creepy story since then…..

to be continued…

cheers,
Kadek arini

Tutorial editing Instagram Photo for dark photo

This morning I woke up thinking of what kind of morning is my favorite to start the day. I look back through my old photos and found one of my favorites taken from last year. It was located on the cottage that I’ve stayed in Sumbawa, Indonesia. The photo itself was taken at 07.00 am, that’s why if you see the original photo, the photo was filled by so much shadow because I was actually standing blocking the sun light, so I got the backlight zone.

I tried to set my camera setting to get it lighter but then I lost the real color of the vibes because it affected the exposure curves. So I just let it captured dark like this. The sun flare was actually coming from my right side, that’s why you can see the sky color is not same but, it’s getting lighter to the left side. It didn’t appear because I set the camera setting to just keep it dark. But don’t worry we can absolutely getting back the sun beam !

Okay, so here is my instagram editing tutorial using the mobile apps :

STEP 1 - APPS THAT YOU NEED
Download these apps on your mobile phone ; VSCO CAM + SNAPSEED + LENS DISTORTION. They are all free except for the filter for vsco cam.

Apps that used for editing photos ; VSCO CAM, SNAPSEED, LD

STEP 2 – VSCO CAM EDITING PROCESS

Tutorial editing Instagram Photo with VSCO CAM

1.    Go to vsco cam and import the photo, use the C8 filter (paid filter).
2.    Give the exposure lighter +4, because the filter itself is too dark
3.    To make the shadow lighter, go to Shadow and level up to +2
4.    Now save the photo to camera roll and choose the actual size.

STEP 3 – SNAPSEED EDITING PROCESS

Tutorial editing Instagram Photo with VSCO CAM + Snapseed

1.    Import the last edited photo from vsco cam
2.   I gave it more brightness because my signature kind of tone color photo is bright, colorful and yellowish, so I gave brightness +28
3.    To bring up more details, go to ambience give +27
4.    Because I love that yellowish tone color kind of style, so I always give more warmth +25
5.    Conrast +21 to decrease the noise caused by leveling up the shadow
6.    Now I’ll make it fit to portrait IG size 4:3, save a copy to camera roll as actual size

STEP 4 – LENS DISTORTION EDITING PROCESS

Tutorial editing Instagram Photo with VSCO CAM + Snapseed + Lens Distortion

1.    Open lens distortion apps and import the latest edited photo
2.    choose the lens light hits 3
3.    Put it on the left side where the sun flare originally coming from, so it doesn’t look like fake
4.    You can absolutely put the sun light smaller by pinch it wider to get it bigger and vice versa.
5.    set the opacity so it doesn’t look too much yellow
6.    save to camera roll

STEP 5 – GO TO INSTAGRAM

1.    Now you got that sun beam, let’s finishing the details, so it doesnt looks fake. Go to Instagram and import the latest updated photo.
2.    The sun flare effect given affected the whole tone color a little bit darker, so I need to give more contrast again +10
3.    The highlights +28 given to make the background lighter, this is important, so the picture would look bright because of the sun flare.
4.    I decreased the shadow to -31 because my feeling told so ;p, sometimes you need the feeling to get the perfect skin tone color.
5.    Finish and upload ! (you can see the uploaded version on my instagram www.instagram.com/kadekarini )

STEP 6 – TIPS AND TRICK (VERY IMPORTANT)
1. This photo was taken with Samsung NX3000 16-50 f 3.5 kit lens. And I am editing with iphone 7, this is important, because the color you’d get when you edit with iphone and android would be different. Android is sometimes too vibrant for color display. Iphone monitor LCD has the closest one to the real color.

2. Please note that this tutorial wouldn’t be applicable to all photos. Every photos has different treatment, by following this tutorial doesn’t mean you will get the same perfect tone color with mine. You still need the feeling and good taste to edit the tone color. Don’t look into the numbers, they always change, it depends on the original photo.

3. My important tips while you edit the photo is please be fully aware of the (imaginary) lens flare. You can’t just put the lens light effect down and then voilaaa…. done !! no, please also set the surroundings details to support the sun flare effect in order to look like real. Use your feeling.

4. Editing a photo needs skill and good taste, but you can learn it by doing, practice more to get that feeling, practice in every single time you have, while you’re waiting, or while you are bored, open your old photo, import it, and try to edit it. Find out your kind of tone color, I believe you’ll have one kind of your signature style J

5. The photo would be pretty much compressed because of the multiples apps used, but it's still good enough for instagram post but, not for uploading on PC monitor display.

STEP 7 – LET’S SPREAD THE NEWS !

If you have tried above steps, please show me your work by mention me on instagram @kadekarini and put the hashtag #Kadekarini_Sharing. I wanna see your edited photo !

Last but not least, I hope what I shared here is answering all of the curiosity you guys have, and if you think this post is worth to share, please click the share button and share to your friends, family, or co-workers. It would be very helpful to me if you guys willing to spread this info. Because sharing is caring !

PS : I’ll make this post as a series, what kind of editing style do you want to know for the next tutorial instagram episode 2 ? please comment below

cheers,
Kadek arini

Ibuku adalah seorang workaholic, she works not because she has to, but because she passionate on it. Beliau mengajar di sebuah sekolah dasar dari senin sampai sabtu dan di hari minggu menjadi tenaga sukarela untuk mengajar anak PAUD di komunitas agamaku. She really likes teaching and kids, that’s why she has been spending half of her life teaching kids. She doesn’t has what that called “oh weekend is coming !” she doesn’t feel any different between weekdays and weekend because she just keeps working.

Sakura di Yeouido Park, South Korea on April 2015

Aku tau ibu bukan tidak mau liburan, tapi beliau memilih untuk tidak. Setiap aku baru pulang dari destinasi tertentu, beliau lah orang pertama yang meneror WhatsApp ku meminta mengirim foto dan bertanya ada cerita seru apa di sana. Tatapannya selalu penuh antusiasme, dari tatapannya pula aku mampu membaca, she actually wants to be a part of it, but she can’t and she doesn’t know how.

Pernah aku mengajaknya untuk menyusul ku ke Singapura saat aku sedang bekerja, dan beliau menjawab dengan

“Enggak ah takut, gak bisa ngomong bahasa Inggris”.

Atau ketika aku mengajaknya liburan ke Negara tetangga, ia membalas dengan “nanti kalau hilang gimana dek, kan gak bisa bahasanya”.

Me and my mom taken in 2013

Ironis sekali jika di bandingkan dengan aku, anak perempuannya yang keliling dunia solo tanpa kenal siapapun dan hanya berbekal bahasa Inggris. Berjalan di atas tumpukkan es, menggigil dibawah suhu 0 derajat, mengabaikan rasa dingin dan berlari untuk sebuah boneka salju, mendaki puncak gunung es, merasakan romantisme mekarnya bunga sakura, menyaksikan kecantikan kota batu kuno dari balon udara, menaiki kereta tercepat di dunia.

Solo Travel di YadingNature Reserve, China, click the photo to see more stories

Aku sadar kalau traveling itu adalah suatu hal yang sangat addictive, sehabis menyelesaikan satu perjalanan, bukan merasa puas karena perjalanan telah terpenuhi, melainkan perasaan lebih penasaran untuk mengeksplor lebih lagi yang muncul. Setiap aku bertemu orang baru, pasti selalu ada tersempil pertanyaan “what is your dream destination?” dan aku selalu menjawab dengan jawaban “banyak banget”. I want to see aurora borealis in Iceland, i want to experience the trans Siberian train crossing from Russia to Mongolia, I want to wear hijab and go to mosque in Iran, I wanna have a road trip in New Zealand and all of never ending wishes. Sampai pada suatu hari saya tersadarkan oleh pertanyaan pada diri sendiri “begitu banyak mimpi yang belum tercapai,

Is that your real dream or only your ego?

Then I realize that my big biggest dream is actually not only having all of my bucket list fulfilled. But also, to see someone I love the most feel the same excitement like I do when visiting her dream destination. She’s my mom”

Sakura di Yeouido Park, South Korea on April 2015

Tepat Februari ini ibuku berulang tahun ke 52 tahun. Sudah sejak lama aku berpikiran untuk mengajak ibuku berlibur dan melihat sesuatu yang tidak biasa dan tidak pernah terpikirkan untuk melihatnya. Dan Jepang menjadi tujuan pilihanku, sempat aku berpikir untuk pergi saat winter, karena ibuku belum pernah melihat salju, aku ingin ia merasakannya, di sisi lain ibuku penggemar bunga, perkebunan atau hal berbau tanaman lainnya. Jadi aku memutuskan untuk pergi saat bunga sakura bermekaran di Jepang musim Spring ini.

BCA Singapore Travel Fair 2017

Jadwal ku pergi adalah antara bulan April-Mei, sudah dari 3 bulan yang lalu aku menengok harga tiket di internet yang berkisar mulai di harga Rp5.000.000 untuk penerbangan budget airlines, dan harga Rp10.000.000 untuk premium airlines. Alasanku kekeh, dengan pertimbangan kenyamanan untuk Ibu, aku lebih memilih untuk membeli tiket penerbangan premium. Kemudian, aku mendapat email dari BCA karena aku pengguna kartu kredit BCA, bahwa akan ada BCA Singapore Travel Fair 2017 pada tanggal 24-26 Februari 2017 di Gandaria City. Yang bikin menarik adalah promo di khususkan untuk pengguna Kartu Kredit BCA dan ada cashback untuk pengguna BCA card sebesar Rp1.500.000 untuk pembelian > Rp5.000.000 dan cashback Rp800.000 untuk pembelian < Rp5.000.000 (berlaku satu kartu untuk 2 tiket)

Mekanisme potongan harga di BCA Singapore Travel Fair 2017

Kesibukkan di BCA Singapore Travel Fair 2017

Pada hari Jumat, 24 Februari lalu, aku datang ke Gandaria City dan melihat lokasi sudah dipenuhi orang mengantri. Terdapat 10 booth travel agent seperti Dwidaya tour, Panorama, Avia tour, Golden Rama dan sebagainya. Aku akhirnya memilih mengatri di Dwidaya Tour karena saat itu antriannya lah yang paling rapih dan terorganisir dengan baik.

Konsultasi tanggal dulu sebelum issued tiket :D

“Jujur ini adalah pengalaman pertama ku menghadiri sebuah Travel Fair”

Sebelumnya aku berpikir kalau beli di travel fair paling bedanya sedikit sama kalau beli di website online, dan ternyata aku salah.

Harga promo yang diberikan sebelum cahsback untuk Jakarta – Tokyo (Haneda Airport) adalah Rp5.300.000 PP terbang menggunakan Singapore Airlines.

Mas Chandra dari Dwidaya Tour yang melayani ku saat di BCA Singapore Travel fair 2017

Gimana mata ku gak langsung terbelalak, bayanganku untuk menerbangkan ibu menggunakan pesawat premium terbuka lebar. Tentunya harga ini jauh sekali dari harga Rp10.000.000 plus plus untuk penerbangan Jakarta – Tokyo (Haneda Airport) yang aku temukan di internet.

Kemudian aku penasaran dan bertanya kepada ibu sebelahku. Beliau membeli tiket Jakarta – Hongkong PP Rp2.800.000 terbang menggunakan Singapore Airlines. Sejujurnya, ini di luar ekspektasi ku, belum pernah aku melihat harga tiket Singapore Airlines yang notabene nya adalah Maskapai terbaik dan terkenal salah satu termahal dengan harga yang dapat dijangkau.

Hasil booking yang berlaku 24 jam untuk di bayarkan

Sontak aku langsung bilang ke Mas Chandra, dari Dwidaya team yang menanganiku saat itu. Karena takut kehabisan, aku langsung book tiket untuk 26 April – 4 Mei, tanpa bertanya dulu apakah jadwal cuti ibuku mendukung atau tidak. Lima jam kemudian baru ibuku mengabari kalau cutinya di approve. Aku langsung meluncur ke kasir untuk issued tiket.

Booth Singapore Airlines dan BCA ada di samping Atrium main event.

Booth Singapore Airlines dan BCA ada di samping Atrium main event

Gelang Cashback bisa didapatkan di antrian sebelum BCA SQ Travel Fair Gandaria City dibuka dan diberikan untuk 350 orang pertama setiap harinya. Gelang ini adalah tanda bahwa harga tiket bisa dipotong cashback saat melakukan transaksi pembayaran.

Tiketku yang harganya Rp5.300.000 PP dipotong cashback dari BCA sebesar Rp1.500.000 menjadi Rp3.800.000 Jkt-Tokyo (Haneda) PP dengan Singapore Airlines.

Kertas booking dan gelang cashback untuk pembayaram di Kasir.

Aku pesan untuk dua tiket, aku dan ibuku dengan total akhir yang harus di bayarkan Rp7.600.000 rupiah. Lebih girang lagi ketika aku tau

“Ada cicilan 0% 6 bulan bagi pengguna BCA Card lagi”

Cicilan 0% berlaku untuk BCA Card, biasanya kalau apply kartu kredit, di kasi kartu pendamping berupa BCA card.

Fiuuhhhh……kayanya lega banget rasanya ketika tau ada cicilan 0%, setidaknya bebanku berkurang, karena bisa mengalokasikannya untuk memesan hotel dan transport terlebih dahulu. Jadi sekiranya aku cukup membayar Rp1.300.000/bulan selama 6 bulan. Gelang cashback yang sudah di pakai kemudian digunting. Proses dari aku bertanya harga promo sampai pembayaran sangat mudah, dan tentunya harganya yang jauh dari ekspektasi ku. Ketika ditanya akan datang travel fair lagi ga ? well definitely yess !!

Akhirnya issued tiket, 2 tiket Jakarta- Tokyo (Haneda Airport) PP seharga 7.600.000 dengan #PromoBCA

And here they are, two tickets to Japan for my mom’s birthday present. Aku memutuskan untuk menghadiahkan sebuah quality time bukan sebuah barang.

“Because I believe, A mother’s true happiness is having the quality time with her forever little daughter, it’s even more priceless than price tag”

Kemarin ada yang sempat bertanya untuk itinerary ku di Jepang bersama Ibu nanti. Tentunya trip ini akan sangat berbeda dari biasanya, because yess I’m going to bring my mom who physically not as fit as me. Sebelum aku berangkat ke Jepang aku akan post itinerary yang akan aku laksanakan dan semoga bisa membantu.

cheers,
Kadek arini

It’s my first time in Adelaide eventhough i heard a lot about this city since some of my college friends went to the university of Adelaide for student exchange and I heard a lot of interesting stories from them. Adelaide is located in the Southern part of Australia and has been listed on Top 10 cities to visit in 2014 on Lonely planet and South Australia also listed as BEST TRAVEL REGIONS on Lonely Planet. When talking about Australia, it might always be about Sydney or Melbourne, but the first article about Australia on my blog would be about Adelaide, the city where i stayed in for the last 6 days.

1. Admiring the beautiful Adelaide sky in Glenelg Beach and Mt Lofty Summit

Sunset in Mt. Lofty, Adelaide

Sunset in Glenelg Beach, Adelaide

I officially become Adelaide Sky number one fans, I’ve been listening to Adelaide Sky by Adhitia Sofyan song (here’s the link to listen if you guys haven’t listened) which makes me sometimes wonder how the sky looks like hence it really inspired him. The first time I saw Adelaide’s sky when I was sitting on window seat on the plane from Singapore to Adelaide.

Adelaide Sky woke me up through my airplane's window seat for sunrise

The night flight gave me an opportunity to see the sunrise sky from the air which turned out the most beautiful sky I’ve ever seen. It was pinkish which slowly faded away and changed into blue-yellowish color. Every Sunset I saw in Adelaide were always beautiful, the color gradient was so dramatic.

Entrance ticket : free
Distance to Glenelg Beach : 60 minutes
Distance Mt Lofty Summit : 60 minutes by public transportation, 30 minutes by car.

2. Walk around in the city with old European buildings vibes.
Adelaide city center is not really big to explore. Once you arrived in CBD, you won’t feel like you’re in the city center as what you’d see is the well-mantained European old buildings instead of highrise modern architecture.

Walking around in Adelaide Museum Art Gallery

Adelaide City center still filled with heritage buildings.

3. Meet The friendly Kangaroo in Cleland Wildlife Park
In Cleland Wildlife Park, guests can find Australian native animal such as; Kangaroo, Koala, Wombat, and Wallabi. Mostly, all the wildlife parks in Australia have the walking discovery concept to explore the area. They are all walking distance and the path are accessible. Animals are placed in their real habitat instead of inside a cage.

Most of kangaroos stay in a group.

Do you know that Koala spent 70% of her life sleeping ?

A dream of Being a kangaroo whisperer has just been ticked.

The ticket counter also sells animal food which usually bought by the guests to feeding kangaroo, so they can come closer. Guest are not allowed feeding animals with human food or any food out of the animal food that are sold.

Entrance ticket : AUD 25, Animal Food : AUD 3
Distance : 60 minutes from the city center by public transportation, 30 minutes by car.
More info : http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/clelandwildlife/Home

4. Road trip in scenic Barossa Valley

- Peter Lehman Wines
Barossa Valley located 60 km northeast of Adelaide city centre which is notable as a wine-producing region and legendary popular foods. The local usually go to Barossa Valley on the weekend with friends or family while enjoying glass of wine in the lawn.

Picnic set in the lawn

In weekend some Australian spend their time going to suburbs and having quality time with their loved ones

- Apex bakery (Old Style Bakery)
Apex Bakery was founded in 1924 with its special wood oven which continuously fired for 75 years. We were given a chance to visit the kitchen where all the breads were baked. The legendary oven is so huge, looks a room with size 12m2.

The Legendary Apex Bakery

- Lunch in Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop
Maggie Beers is a famous Australian chef, sha used to has her own cooking TV Shows, until she decided to make her own shop in Barossa Valley. The shop is very small located by the river filled with some tables for guest who wish to have a lunch. There is a cooking demo area and farm shop selling jam, non-alcoholic wine, cakes and etc.

Food shopping area in Maggie's beer

A cooking demo inside Maggie's beer.

Having lunch with a view in Maggie's Beer

Entrance ticket :Free
Distance : 1 hr 10 minutes by car (there is no public transportation), hire car with driver is around AUD 70-120/day. Click here to see more info

5. Experience the German vibes in Hahndorf German Village
It was surprising how the ambience gave me a feel of being in Europe instead of being in Australia. The architecture of the building, the music that played by street musician and the culinary menu were so European. There are a lot of German restaurants, and cafés.

Entrance ticket : free
Distance : 50 minutes with bus to Grenfell St.

Rainbow ice creams in Hanhdorf Village

German Street Musician in Hanhdorf Village

Hanhdorf village

6. One Day Trip in Kangaroo Island with Sealink Travel
A one day trip in Kangaroo Island is my favorite of all. It was quite far from Adelaide city center, but it was worth it. We have to take a bus to go to the ferry terminal at 06.00 am, the journey took around 1,5 hour. Crossing the island by the ferry took 1 hour. When arrive in Kangaroo island, we had to move to another bus which would be our bus the whole day. The tour finished at 5.00 pm and the driver will take us either to ferry terminal or Kingscote airport to go back to Adelaide. We took the Airplane going back to Adelaide, the plane is so small and only has around 30 seats, flight took 30 minutes and will be landing in Adelaide International Airport.

- Seal Bay
The first destination is a seal bay, this is the place that for the first time I met seals in their real habitat. Eventhough they bite, but surprisingly, they look so cute, bubbly, and lovely like I really want to hug them. Seals are found in the most waters of the world, mainly in the Arctic and Antartic but also in some areas of the tropics.

Seeing seals in their habitat in Seal bay, Kangaroo Island

- Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
My first encounter with wild koalas who’s comfortably sleeping on the 7 meter tree. I knew that koalas have good ability to climb tree, but I’ve never expected that they can go that high.

Do you know that koala can climb a 7 meter tree ?

- Flinders Chase National Park
The place that has such a breathtaking view, a road to get there was absolutely amazing. If you guys have plan to going here, make sure to sit in front seat, right behind the driver’s seat.

Flinders Chase National Park has such amazing landscape

Flinders Chase National Park, South Australia

For more info about Kangaroo Island day trip, click this https://www.sealink.com.au/about-kangaroo-island

Transportation In Adelaide
- Visitor Pass cost AUD 26 and validate for 3 days. During 3 days, visitors can take any transportation (metro bussed, trams, trains) in Adelaide.
- The card could be bought in Metro Information center in city center.

Where To Stay in Adelaide
- I stayed in Ibis Hotel Adelaide during 5 days. The location is very good, right in the city center of Adelaide where you everything is walking distance. 5 minutes walk to tram station, 5 minute walk to bus stop, convenience store is 5 steps away, and the mall is located behind the hotel. Click here to see more info.

Where to Eat in Adelaide
- Adelaide Central Market
This market has been established since 1869, one of Australia’s largest fresh produce markets. Not only fresh produce but we can also find several restaurants, bakery shop, and ice cream, salad store, or European restaurants. Next to the market there is China town where we can find Asian food.
- CBD Adelaide

City center offer so many kind of restaurants, take a walk around the Rundle mall, there are western, Japanese, Korean restaurants and also Indonesian restaurant named “Pondok Hijau”. Almost restaurants close at 9.00 pm and at the weekend close at 04.00 pm.

cheers,

kadek arini

Since instagram launched Direct Message feature, I’ve received so many messages asking everything about photos that I posted on my instagram feed. They think that I have that kind of “signature” tone color photo that make all of my photos looking more beautiful than the original one. Well, the fact is, it’s not only me that have been overdosed by so many questions about editing photo but also my friends (you can call them instagram celebrity) who have such amazing instagram photo galleries. However, there are the misunderstanding between those followers and the influencers that I would like to share here based on my thoughts.

Almost everyday I’ve received the direct message or maybe not only me but also other celebgrams asking for :

“WHAT CAMERA DO YOU USE ?”
“WHAT LENS DO YOU USE ?”
“WHAT APPS DO YOU USE TO EDIT PHOTOS ?”
“WHAT FILTER DO YOU USE TO GET THAT TONE COLOR PHOTO ?”

I’m so glad to know that more and more people inspired by my photos, therefore they want to trace the same steps in order to get the same result like mine. I feel so honored having an opportunity to be someone to look up to. On the other hand, we influencers sometimes feel disappointed by the questions.

The questions sound like that easy to conclude all of the editing process that we’ve done. Sometimes, those questions actually burden us because what we think the questions actually mean is “I want the same tone color photo like yours, what should I do ?” instead of you actually want to know the apps or filter that we’ve been using.

Frankly, the real answer of those questions from we influencer is “if you want to have the same tone color photo like ours, it’s not gonna work with one word answer. Let’s say I answer “I’m using vsco apps filter C8 and snapseed to edit my photo”. Okay, we’ve done answering your question. Now, let me ask you “can you get the same tone color photo like ours after knowing all of the tools we use ?”

No ?

“Because editing a photo doesn’t only need the same apps and the same tools. It needs skill and good taste.”

It would not finished in 1 or 3 minutes process, but it needs such a long process. 15 minutes minimum for myself, sometimes more. I haven’t mentioned how those pro photographer editing their photos yet, oh yeahh, some of my photographer friends even need 24 hours to get a perfect tone color picture. oh wow !! yes “IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE, IT NEEDS PROCESS, IT DOES NEED EFFORT”

If people think once we’ve answered the filter or setting that we use for editing photo means we’re gonna use the same one for all of the photos, No, We don’t. In every photos, We use different setting, different filter and different effect. It depends on how the original photo looks like, every filter/setting will not be applicable to all photos. Every photo has different treatment, you can’t do the same shits to all of the photos. A good feeling are needed for this case.

These words are currently viral on social media, shared hundred times by us the influencers, because we feel exactly the same. I’m writing here from the influencers side. The moment people ask about tools that we use is the moment that actually put us down. We kept questioning ourselves why the hell you only ask about the tools, why don’t you consider our skill as the key behind the success ? Do you think by knowing the tools means you’d get those shits done ? Why do tools become the only matter ? Why don’t you appreciate the long process that we’ve done to reach this level ? Why can’t you see that there were sleepless and endless learning process behind the tools ?

Can you just appreciate skill, not tools ?

What we think would be absolutely different to what people think. This journey has taught me to not only see something from one side but also from another perspectives. I do agree with the thoughts that we should appreciate the skills, not tools, as an influencer. But, on the other hand, let’s take a look and switch your position as a follower. It now becomes non-sense hearing the way influencers answered that simple question into such an offended answer.

I believe the reason why people come out with those questions is because the influencers have been inspiring people’s life with what they do and they just simply want to be like their inspirations. Yes, they do know nothing about what shits you’ve done, how many years you’ve spent to get that skill, how much effort that you did, and how many tools that you’ve been using. Why the hell they have to know ? That’s your personal secret stuffs.

I've been lately sharing the tutorial how i edited my photo, click here to read the tutorial

They are just individuals who’s running their own basic life. What they just know is what they see, things that are provided in front of them. What they know is just you’re such a perfect figure to look up to. They don’t learn photography, they don’t interest that deep into visual things, because they have their own stuffs. Isn’t it normal if there is someone who’s very expert at one field but she/he know nothing at another field ?

No one is dumb, maybe it’s just not their expertise.

Yes skill does matter, but process matter more. I am the one who always believe that skill could be learned by doing. Instead of assuming that those people should appreciate our skill, why don’t we share how to get those-not-so-easy-steps things done ? Don’t you (the expert) remember that you were just all same with people who ask “what camera do you use” ?. You must have spent a lot of time to understand that it’s not about the tools that only matter anymore but also the skill. Don’t you realize the expert was once a beginner ? Let’s see something from different perspectives not only from yours J

cheers,

kadek arini

Panduan membuat paspor Indonesia, Ketahui dulu perbedaan E-Paspor dan Paspor Biasa.

Sebelum memulai bahas tentang perbedaan Paspor biasa dan E-Paspor, sebelumnya saya mau sekilas membahas fungsi dari Paspor ini senidiri. Paspor adalah dokumen identitas pribadi dari pengguna apabila ingin berpergian ke luar negri. Ibarat nya paspor seperti KTP kita yang berlaku di seluruh Negara, di paspor ini juga ada rekam jejak keluar masuk dari negara yang pernah dikunjungi.

Sebulan yang lalu, paspor yang sudah saya pegang selama 5 tahun akhirnya habis, dan saya harus perpanjang lagi. Paspor sebelumnya yang saya pegang adalah paspor biasa karena E-Paspor sendiri baru mulai ada tahun 2013. Saya memutuskan untuk memperpanjang paspor dengan E-Paspor karena alasan penggunaan intensitas paspor yang cukup tinggi.

Tapi, sebenarnya apa bedanya sih Paspor Biasa dengan E-Paspor ?

PASPOR BIASA

Harganya 355.000
Proses pembuatan 3 hari kerja
Proses bisa dilakukan di seluruh kantor imigrasi di Indonesia
Terdapat fasilitas daftar online
Bentuk fisik paspor seperti paspor buku biasa
Tidak ada perlakuan khusus terhadap paspor biasa, berlaku selayaknya paspor Indonesia.
Pemilik paspor biasa harus melalui imigrasi konvensional ketika keluar dari Indonesia (kebanyakan imigrasi Indonesia antrinya lumayan panjang). *updated : paspor biasa bisa melalui auto gate dengan cara daftar paspor terlebih dahulu.

E – PASPOR

Harganya 655.000
Proses pembuatan 5 hari kerja (update dari januari 2017, ketika saya menemani ibu saya membuat e-paspor, karena system sedang error, jadi proses bisa berlangsug hingga 14 hari, bahkan ada imigrasi yang bisa sampai 1 bulan)
Proses membuat paspor hanya bisa dilakukan di Kantor imigrasi kelas 1 kota besar (Jakarta, Surabaya, Batam)
Tidak ada fasilitas daftar online, pendaftar harus datang langsung ke kantor imigrasi untuk mengambil formulir.
Terdapat chip di dalam paspor yang berisi rekam biometrik dari pemilik yang mengikuti standar International Civil Aviation (ICAO), yang sudah diterapkan di berbagai negara termasuk Australia, Malaysia, Inggris, US, Jepang, dll. Hal ini berujung pada pendataan pemilik yang lebih valid dan tidak mudah di palsukan.
Khusus pengguna e-paspor tidak butuh visa untuk pergi ke Jepang (hanya Jepang saja)
Pemilik E-Paspor bisa keluar melewati Imigrasi auto gate di bandara, karena di dalam E-Paspor ada chipnya jadi tinggal scan saja (tapi dari 5 kali saya melewati imigrasi bandara Soekarno Hatta, hanya 2 kali saja auto gate nya berfungsi, 3 sisanya eror. Menurut saya, Indonesia belum siap dengan sistem E-Paspor, jadi hal ini sementara tidak bisa dihitung sebagai keuntungan dari E-Paspor).

Okay sudah tau perbedaanya, sudah tau mau pilih yang mana ? Sekarang kita beralih ke proses nya.

1. Berkas yang Di Butuhkan
PASPOR BIASA dan E-PASPOR– Berkas yang dibutuhkan untuk mengurus paspor biasa maupun E-Paspor adalah sama.

E-KTP (Asli dan fotokopi)
Akte Kelahiran/Ijazah/buku nikah (Asli dan fotokopi)
Kartu Keluarga (Asli dan fotokopi)
Paspor lama (untuk perpanjangan paspor)
Surat rekomendasi (untuk pendaftar e passport domisili di luar Jakarta, Surabaya, Batam)*note : harus asli dan fotokopi, tidak boleh fotokopi saja

2. Proses Pembuatan Paspor

PASPOR BIASA

Pendaftaran paspor biasa bisa dilakukan dengan 2 cara
Pendaftaran online atau datang langsung ke imigrasi.
Jika mendaftar online langsung saja ke halaman imigrasi.go.id
Pendaftaran online ini untuk menghemat antrian, proses pendaftaran melalui online, dan jika sudah terdaftar akan menerima email bukti pendaftaran untuk kemudian dilakukan proses pembayaran.
Setelah mendapat email, kita akan langsung dapat nomor identifikasi untuk membayar di BANK BNI/BCA/MANDIRI seharga 355.000
Langkah selanjutnya adalah melihat tanggal yang sudah ditentukan untuk datang ke kantor imigrasi melakukan pendataan (foto, wawancara)
Setelah selesai wawancara, paspor bisa diambil 3 hari kerja setelahnya.

E-PASPOR

Pendaftar harus langsung datang ke Imigrasi kelas 1 yang terdapat hanya di Jakarta, Surabaya, Batam.
Untuk Imigrasi kelas 1 semua memberlakukan kurang lebih 350 formulir setiap hari nya dan hanya bisa di ambil saat kantor imigrasi buka pukul 08.00 sampai 10.00. Pada hari selasa, imigrasi Jakarta selatan buka dari pukul 06.00 pagi. Ingat hanya sampai jam 10.00 pagi. Lebih dari jam 10.00 pagi, formulir pendaftaran tidak bisa diambil, dan harus diambil di hari berikutnya. Saya waktu itu datang pukul 09.30, dan dapat nomor antrian 280.

Antri mengambil formulir

Jangan khawatir tentang antrian, karena di kantor imigrasi Jakarta Selatan sudah menggunakan antrian digital seperti di Bank, dan nomor antrian yang sedang berlangsung bisa dilacak melalui website imigrasi.go.id. Jadi bisa ditinggal kalau memang waktunya masih lama. Beda lagi ketika sebelumnya saya datang ke Imigrasi Jakarta timur, antriannya mengular berdiri, dan ketika saya Tanya “memang tidak pakai antrian digital seperti di Imigrasi Jaksel ?” staff nya menjawab “tidak mbak, ya mungkin iya di jaksel kan sudah lebih international pendaftar nya”. Hmmm bayangkan betapa capeknya ngantri berdiri ?? udah tahun 2017 gini masa masih antrian manual ?? jadi saran saya jangan di imigrasi Jakarta Timur. Imigrasi Jakarta Selatan tempat tunggu nya nyaman, antrian nya digital, dan banyak makanan enakk !! Paling OKE pokonya

Map Kuning berisi formulir dan no antrian.

Kita akan diberikan formulir dengan map kuning ber cap kan E-Paspor dan nomor antrian, formulir diisi, dan berkas perlengkapan dimasukan ke dalam map kuning. Setiap pagi akan ada bapak staf imigrasi yang memberitahu tata cara pengisian formulir menggunakan microphone. Jadi kalau bingung bisa langsung tanya.
Tinggal menunggu nomor antrian untuk foto dan wawancara.

Ruang Tunggu di Imigrasi Kelas 1 Jakarta Selatan yang sangat nyaman.

Wawancara dan foto prosesnya sangat cepat, paling ditanya mau kemana. Kalaupun belum ada rencana ke luar negri juga tidak apa apa bikin paspor.
Setelah wawancara, kita akan diberikan nomor pendaftaran untuk dibayarkan langsung di Bank BNI/BCA/MANDIRI seharga 655.000. Jadi tidak mungkin harga lebih, karena pembayaran melalui proses transfer ke bank, bukan melalui perantara orang.

Bukti pendaftaran dan bukti pembayaran untuk mengambil paspor yang sudah jadi

Setelah pembayaran, bukti pembayaran disimpan untuk di ambil paspor jadi nya sesuai waktu yang di tentukan.

Oke, gimana sudah lumayan kebayang kan proses pendaftarannya ? sekarang kita beralih ke beberapa pertanyaan yang saya terima lewat DM instagram. Terima kasih yang sudah bertanya, semoga menjawab ya !

FAQ PASPOR BIASA & E-PASPOR

1. Negara apa Saja yang membebaskan Visa dengan E-Paspor ?
Hanya Jepang saja yang bebas bisa dengan E-Paspor. Jika sudah punya E-paspor, kita cukup melaporkan E-paspor kita ke kedutaan Jepang (prosesnya 2 hari) sekali saja, untuk kunjungan Jepang selanjutnya tidak perlu lapor lagi. Perlu diketahui, biaya visa Jepang pada tahun 2013 (terakhir saya urus visa jepang, baca artikel pengalaman saya apply visa Jepang DISINI) adalah 350.000 dan proses 4 hari dengan berkas ; rekening bank Koran 3 bulan (biasanya harus ada minimum saldo kurang lebih 20 juta), itinerary di Jepang, Pas foto, bukti beli tiket pesawat, bukti menginap dimana. Kalau sudah punya E-Paspor, tidak perlu melampirkan berkas tersebut dan tidak perlu membayar.

2. Apakah berkas yang diajukan harus Berkas Asli ? (akta kelahiran, E-KTP, KK)
Harus berkas asli. Berkas asli tersebut hanya akan ditunjukan saat kita wawancara, dan kemudian dikembalikan ke pemiliknya. Jadi berkas tidak di tahan.

3. Kalau paspor biasa belum habis apakah bisa ganti E-Paspor ?
Saya pernah menanyakan langsung hal ini dengan staf imigrasi, jawabannya bisa.

4. Bagaimana jika ingin membuat E-Paspor tapi domisili tidak di kota Jakarta, Surabaya, Batam
Jika domisili bukan di 3 kota tersebut, pemohon bisa mendaftar diantara kota diatas, namun harus melampirkan surat rekomendasi dari kantor dimana pemohon sedang bekerja. Surat rekomendasi berupa pernyataan kalau pemohon sedang bekerja di kantor tersebut dan cukup berkelakuan baik untuk diberikan rekomendasi membuat paspor. Lengkap dengan tanda tangan dan cap kantor resmi.

Untuk Paspor biasa, pemohon juga tidak harus membuat paspor di wilayah nya tinggal, tapi bisa di mana saja. Misal saya dari Bekasi, bisa membuat paspor di Imigrasi Yogyakarta atau Bali.

5. Seberapa perlu kita membutuhkan E-Paspor dari Paspor biasa ?
Pertama yang saya sarankan adalah, membaca perbedaan paspor biasa dan e-paspor di atas untuk memutuskan. Kalau saya pribadi, jika intensitas pergi ke luar negri tidak banyak, misal setahun hanya 2 kali pergi ke luar negri, paspor biasa sudah cukup. Untuk saya, karena traveling sudah bagian dari kerjaan saya, jadi pemakaian paspor intensitasnya sangat tinggi, dalam setahun bisa 10 kali mondar mandir imigrasi, jadi saya butuh tingkat keamanan yang lebih tinggi.

6. Kalau misal di passport lama masih ada visa yang berlaku 3 tahun kedepan, apakah passport lama harus di bawa bawa ?
Se-pengalaman saya biasanya, paspor lama tetap ditempel dengan paspor baru.

7. Kalau pakai E-Paspor benarkah mempermudah dapat visa ?
Terdapat chip di dalam paspor yang berisi rekam biometrik dari pemilik yang sudah mengikuti standai International Civil Aviation (ICAO), yang sudah diterapkan di berbagai negara termasuk Australia, Malaysia, Inggris, US, Jepang, dll. Hal ini berujung pada pendataan pemilik yang lebih valid dan tidak mudah dipalsukan. Kecenderungan mendapat visa lebih mudah pun bisa masuk logika karena data yang tercantum di E-Paspor lebih valid. Tapi belum ada informasi resmi yang mengiyakan hal ini.

8. Benarkah kebijakan baru jika bikin E-Paspor harus lampirkan rekening Koran saldo min 25 juta rupiah ?
Per bulan Maret 2017, saat saya menemani ibu saya membuat E-Paspor, tidak diminta lampirkan rekening koran saldo min 25 juta rupiah. Jadi berita ini HOAX.

9. Apa perbedaan PASPOR BIASA dengan E-PASPOR secara bentuk fisik ?
Kedua nya bentuk nya sama-sama buku. Tapi kalau E-Paspor di bukunya terdapat chip yang sudah mengikuti standar International Civil Aviation (ICAO), yang sudah diterapkan di berbagai negara termasuk Australia, Malaysia, Inggris, US, Jepang, dll.

10. Apa perbedaan proses perpanjang paspor dengan buat baru ?
Perpanjang paspor proses nya sama dengan bikin baru, perbedaannya hanya jika perpanjang paspor harus melampirkan paspor lama yang sudah habis.

11. Apakah masih ada calo untuk membuat Paspor ?
Sebelum saya memperpanjang paspor saya, saya sempat bertanya apakah ada calo supaya paspor saya bisa jadi dalam waktu sehari, Karena kebutuhan saya harus terbang 2 hari lagi sedangkan masa berlaku paspor saya kurang dari 6 bulan. Saya hubungi calo nya, namun calo itu bilang “sekarang sudah gak bisa mbak, sudah ketat, saya gak berani”. Jadi saya harus memproses paspor secara resmi di Kantor Imigrasi yang ternyata sangat mudah. Bye Calo !

12. Apakah E-Paspor lebih sensitif dari paspor biasa ?
Iya, karena dalam E-Paspor terdapat chip yang harus di jaga. Kalau misalnya paspornya basah, chip di dalam paspor akan basah dan khawatirnya tidak dapat ter scan. Solusinya paspor diberikan passport case dan disimpan dengan baik.

Jadi pilih mana Paspor Biasa atau E-Paspor ? Share di komen bawah ya :)

cheers,

Kadek Arini

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route from Tokyo via Toyama

Going to Japan in early May is pretty confusing, because that’s the transition time between spring and summer. Usually, sakura season is full bloom in late March to mid April, unless you need to go north to see some areas that still have sakura. Winter in Japan is pretty too, but it ends on February. After February, your dream to touch the snow would never be happened.

But heyyy….here I am to tell you that your wish to touch the snow in Japan between May – October will come true.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route on May 2017

I didn’t plan before that I would go to Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, of course I knew that this magical place exists, but I wasn’t pretty sure what is the best time to go there. Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route opens from 15 April this year 2017 and usually close on November.

So, other than between mid April – November, I’m sorry that you can’t experience this majestic snow corridor whose walls reach up to 20 meter high.

Let’s start from Tokyo ! it needs approximately 4-5 hours one way trip to reach Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route from Tokyo. Uhh yess it’s such a long journey, that’s why I decided to stay overnight in Toyama and not taking a one day trip. Taking one day trip to Tateyama would be so tiring and I would never recommend you guys to do so. As you might already know, I barely really enjoy such a rushing journey, I prefer slow travel to experience more the local vibes. So please don’t ask me about one day trip to Tateyama, I have really no idea :)

View along the way from Highland Bus to Murodo

Here they are the complete guide to visit Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. This route is a good deal for Japan Rail Pass or Hokuriku Shinkansen Pass holder because the journey is all covered beside the tateyama kurobe route itself. These tourist pass only available to buy out of Japan. So you cannot buy on the spot in Japan, because it isn’t sold in the country. I bought it online on Tripvisto (click the link).

Before continue, please check this route :

source : infojepang.net

There are two ways to enjoy Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route ; First, visit all the way routes (it needs 8 transport change). Second, go up to Murodo (the highest point) and going back the same way. I started from Toyama straight to the highest point, Murodo and come back the same way. I decided to take the first option, because I stayed in Toyama, and will continue our journey down to Kanazawa.

TOKYO – TOYAMA (3 hrs)
From Tokyo to Toyama is accessible with Shinkansen train (12.000 yen one way) and took 3 hours. If you have Japan Rail Pass (28.000 yen) or Hokuriku Shinkansen Pass (24.000 yen), you don’t need to pay, it’s included.

TOYAMA – TATEYAMA STATION (1 hr)
Once arrive in Toyama Station, take the south exit and look for Dentetsu Station. Here you’ll be asked whether take a full trip or half trip. All the JR Pass would not be able to use start from here. If you wish to go up to Murodo (highest point), the price for round trip is 6.000 yen, but if you go full route start from Toyama and ended in Ogizawa, it cost 9.000 yen. You can just buy them in the station, no need to reserve.

The ticket from Toyama to Tateyama Station

They still use old train from Toyama to tateyama

TATEYAMA STATION – BIJODAIRA (10 minutes)
From Tateyama Station, we will continue with a cable car, the line would be so busy here as the capacity of the cable car is not that much.

Always amaze how japanese queueing in line

The cable car took 7 minutes to go up

BIJODAIRA – MURODO (50 minutes)
Come to the most excited part ! we will continue with the Tateyama Highland bus to the Murodo terminal as the highest point. The bus will pass the highest point of Tateyama snow corridor walls and up to Murodo Terminal.

On weekend, Tateyama would be so crowded

The highland bus to Murodo will pass the highest snow corridor wall

MURODO TERMINAL
Once arrive in Murodo Terminal, there will be only 1 building surrounded by the snow. The building has 4 stories, first as the lobby, second as public facilities (such as restaurant, souvenir stores), third is a gate to go out, and fourth is the hall of information. On late April, there is no snowfall anymore, but you can still see everything covered by the snow. The temperature is around 1 – 5 celcius degree, it’s pretty cold and you absolutely need to wear layers. Once you go out, there is an observation deck to look down.

Murodo viewpoint where to start walking on the snow corridor

YUKI-NO-OTANI SNOW WALL
If you go right, you’ll go to the snow corridor walls area called Yuki-no-otani. You can walk through the majestic snow corridor whose walls reach up to 20 meters high. Impressive views can be seen just after the road is opened at the end of April until June. After July the walls of snow become shorter but some snow remains even in August

MIKURIGAIKE LAKE
If you go left, you’ll be heading to Mikurigaike Lake, another one on my list, but unfortunately I couldn’t see the lake as it was still covered by the snow. The lake will be seen start from July to October yet the view here is so amazing. We’ve spent almost 3 hours playing with the snow, and leaving the place at around 03.30 pm. It’s the same way going back, we arrived in Toyama around 08.00 pm.

A path to Mikurigaike Lake still covered by snow

Mikurigaika Lake on August - October. source: alpen-route.com

This route that I took will be best if you continue the journey down to Osaka/Kyoto not going back to Tokyo. However, if the plan is going back to Tokyo, taking the second option is more recommended, you can start from Toyama, taking the full routes of Tateyama kurobe and end the journey at Shinano Omachi (read the full guide about taking the full routes in Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Routes here).

As an asia girl who has spent her entire life in tropical country, this attraction is amazing, walking through the snow corridor walls is such a mind blowing experience and Japan always has interesting things in every corner.

Follow @KADEKARINI for the latest updates and stories from around the world.

Kon’nichiwa from Japan ! So excited to be back here after 3 years have passed of my last visit. Japan is the first overseas country where I’ve spent out my 1 year saving money on from my piggy bank in university.

I knew this time would be more fun as I am traveling with my mother. Japan is currently in golden week when almost all the Japanese taking a vacation, so don’t be surprise of the crowded tourism places. However, i’m so ready to explore more the country !

Japanese wearing kimono in Kanazawa

We departed from Indonesia at 05.00 pm flying with the tickets that I bought only for Rp 3.800.000 round trip Jakarta – Tokyo at the travel Fair held in Jakarta this year (read here the story), and that would be my first time arriving in Tokyo Airport. There are 2 airports in Tokyo, Narita International Airport and Haneda international Airport which is closer to the city center of Tokyo, Narita airport is a little bit out of town.

During our stay in Tokyo, we booked a room in Mystays Hotel, Nippori and got a very best rates 12.000 yen for 2 nights. Traveling with mother (52 years old) would be more difficult considering the accommodation, itinerary, and transportation as physically she is not as young as me, so i had to make sure everything would be very convenient for her.

Little Fushimi Inari in Tokyo

Just like what people say about a virgo, this perfectionist bi**h has made a very well organized itinerary before landing in Japan, but it all turned out not like what she has expected.

On the first day in Japan, I got sick, like literally sick. I already can felt that my body didn’t feel well a day before departing. I had a sore throat that surely affected my body temperature warmer, and felt like having less energy. I believe that’s all my fault of not taking care what I’ve consumed, drink water less and ignoring the importance of enough sleep (oh gosh now i'm mastering the sleepless days). I’ve been overdosed by crazy work lately. But really, being sick during holiday felt like so bad, and moreover, I need to put more attention to my mother but then I even could not taking care of myself.

Betadine Obat Kumur is my Toiletries Essential

But guess what, I believe this is the perks of traveling with a mother, she was even more well prepared than i was. Knowing her daughter was not in a good body condition, she gave me a bottle of Betadine Obat Kumur. She said she’s been using it these last two weeks to prevent sprue, sore throat and bad breath. Betadine Obat Kumur has 1% povidone lodine that proven being able to eliminate the virus which causes a sore throat. We just can do a gargle for 30 seconds three-five times in a day, if you’re currently having a sore throat, it should be better to gargle five times in a day for the faster cure.

The travel size Betadine Obat Kumur Antiseptik (100 ml) really supports the traveler, it fits inside my hand bag, so while I am away from the hotel room, i can still bring it everywhere and spare 10 minutes toilet break 3 times in a day to gargle. It surely heals the sore throat after using it regularly in 3 days. I felt better day by day and getting ready to finish the itinerary with my new travel partner, my mom ! Because you would never be happy doing something if your body doesn't say so. Be healthy, be energetic, and start exploring ! :)

Follow @KADEKARINI for more travel updates and stories from around the world

Banyak orang bilang "my job is a dream job". Orang bisa menyebutnya dream job karena aku bekerja di bidang yang yang aku suka, traveling dan di bayar. Gak terasa sudah 2 tahun terakhir aku hidup dari passion ku : menulis dan hobi fotografi. Bekerja online sebagai Travel Blogger membawa ku bisa berkeliling mengunjungi ke tempat - tempat eksotis dan negara non tropis yang juga tidak kalah indah. Ada saat dimana aku sampai lelah dan sama sekali tidak merawat penampilan karena intensitas sangat tinggi bertemu matahari dan kemudian secara drastis langsung berpindah ke tempat bersuhu rendah. Sampai aku akhirnya sadar, dan merasa sangat terganggu dengan kulit kering dan kusam yang di akibatkan beberapa sebab saat sedang traveling. Ada pun 3 momen saat traveling yang sangat berpengaruh terhadap kesehatan kulit kita :

TRAVELING DI PANTAI
Aku suka banget laut, apalagi laut laut di Indonesia seperti tidak ada habisnya untuk di jelajahi. Kalau sudah berkunjung ke laut seperti saat island hoping di Flores, sudah 100% lupa dengan jahatnya sengatan matahari. Meskipun Suhu panas tapi kalau di depan ada air laut yang jernih banget, langsung aja bawaannya mau nyemplung, dan bisa sampai berjam jam tengah hari di bawah sinar matahari.

Belum lagi kalau di pantai, biasanya aku menghabiskan waktu di pantai pagi hari untuk sunrise sampai jam 10.00 pagi dan sunset mulai pukul 16.00 sampai gelap. Kulit yang terpapar langsung oleh sinar matahari dapat mengakibatkan rusaknya sel sel kulit sehingga membuat kulit menjadi kering, kusam, dan perih perih.

TRAVELING SAAT WINTER
Lain hal ketika aku traveling di negara dingin, seperti saat aku kemarin berkunjung ke pegunungan Tateyama, Jepang. Suhu saat itu bisa 0 derajat celcius, tidak terasa panas, tapi justru suhu dingin ini yang membuat kulit akan lebih kering 2 kali lipat dari suhu negara tropis.

Pada saat ini, sunblock memang bukan prioritas utama karena pakaian serba tertutup saat winter akan menutupi seluruh permukaan kulit yang berarti kulit tidak berinteraksi langsung dengan sinar matahari, tapi udara dingin tetap akan masuk melalui pori-pori serat pada pakaian yang akan mempengaruhi kondisi kulit, dampak paling signifikan adalah untuk yang tidak biasa tinggal bertemu dengan udara dingin seperi kita orang Indonesia. Tanda-tanda kulit kering adalah bersisik dan berkerak putih, sedangkan untuk kusam adalah kulit yang tidak lembab dan kasar.

TRAVELING SAAT NAIK GUNUNG
Jaman sekarang sepertinya naik gunung bukan hanya untuk para pria tapi juga wanita. Aku mulai suka naik gunung 2 tahun terakhir dan memulai pendakian gunung pertama di Gunung Merbabu, Jawa Tengah disusul dengan Gunung Kerinci, Gunung rinjani.

Tapi yang paling terlihat bahwa naik gunung itu sangat jahat untuk kulit ketika aku naik gunung Rinjani. Saat itu, total waktu yang dihabiskan saat hiking adalah 5 hari 4 malam di gunung. Semua aktivitas dilakukan kembali ke alam. Selama 5 hari kulitku harus beradaptasi dengan suhu udara di gunung yang cenderung lebih dingin karena letak elevasi yang tinggi. Tapi, Ini dia yang paling sering di remehkan oleh para wanita yang sedang mendaki gunung. Udara dingin saat hiking sepertinya tidak sejahat udara panas di pantai, karena normalnya kita tidak akan merasakan panas ketika di gunung, tapi justru inilah yang lebih jahat. Saat kita terlena dengan dinginnya udara gunung kita malah lupa bahwa semakin menginjakkan kaki di elevasi tinggi, semakin pendek lah jalur masuk sinar matahari terhadap kulit kita. Singkatnya, kulit kita sebenarnya lebih banyak terkena matahari ketika di gunung dan pada saat kita tidak menyadarinya. Salah satu partner pendakian ku adalah contohnya, dia tidak menggunakan apapun produk pelindung atau perawatan kulit, yang mengakibatkan kulitnya tebakar dan mengelupas ketika sudah turun gunung.

APA GUNANYA SUNBLOCK ?
Selama ini mungkin informasi yang tersebar untuk melindungi kulit dari sinar matahari adalah produk sunblock. Hmmm, yess benar sunblock ber spf memang sangat penting di gunakan untuk menjadi tabir surya saat kita beraktivitas langsung bertemu dengan matahari seperti di pantai, ataupun di gunung sekalipun. Tapi sunblock disini nyatanya hanya berfungsi sebagai lapisan paling atas yang men cover kulit kita, bukan sebagai perawatan kulit.

APA FUNGSI DARI LULUR MANDI ?
Aku salah satu orang yang sangat care dengan produk yang terkait dengan kulit. Meskipun, terlahir dengan kulit coklat, tapi bukan berarti kita harus minder. Justru kulit coklat harus di rawat sedemikian mungkin supaya tetap terlihat sehat. Aku selalu pakai rutin lulur mandi setiap hari setelah beraktifitas panjang. Biasanya sebelum tidur, aku selalu meluangkan waktu untuk lulur dan berendam di bath up, supaya keesokan paginya bangun bisa fresh lagi.

Berbeda dengan kebanyakan lulur mandi yang tidak disarankan di gunakan tiap hari, lulur mandi Purbasari green tea bisa di gunakan setiap hari sebagai pengganti sabun karena bersih saja tidak cukup, kulit butuh nutrisi. Karena begitu banyaknya aktifitas yang dilakukan sepanjang hari, tidak cukup pakai pembersih dan sabun biasa.

Penggunaan Purbasari lulur mandi green tea tidak akan menyebabkan iritasi karena butiran scrubnya yang bulat sempurna. Salah satu yang aku suka dari Purbasari lulur mandi green tea adalah tidak terkandungnya amylum. Amylum sendiri adalah kandungan tepung yang biasa ada pada lulur mandi untuk memberikan efek "daki" saat kita menggosok kulit kita sehingga pengguna merasa seperti lebih puas. Di Purbasari lulur mandi green tea, tidak akan di temukan tepung berlebih tetapi tetap di dukung dengan scrub yang bulat sempurna, vitamin E dan ekstrak green tea yang efektif mengangkat sel-sel kulit mati. Double anti oksidan pada Purbasari lulur mandi green tea sangat cocok untuk traveler yang memiliki gaya hidup lebih dinamis.

Biarpun jalan jalan, kulit harus tetap sehar terlindungi dong :D

Cheers,
Kadek arini

Kalau biasanya bangun lebih pagi untuk mengejar pesawat ke Bandara, kali ini bangun lebih pagi untuk eksplor Bekasi. Haaa Bekasi ?? Yes as you might already know I was born and raised in Bekasi. Dari TK,SD,SMP,SMA di Bekasi sampai kuliah baru pindah ke Yogyakarta. Sejujurnya kalau ditanya gimana rasanya hidup di Bekasi, jawaban reflek saya adalah “Hembusan nafas yang sangat panjang”

Padatnya kota Bekasi seperti tidak memberi ruang untuk kami para warganya untuk bisa menghirup udara segar atau sekedar menyaksikan kabut pagi. Pagi ini saya di ajak salah seorang teman yang juga berdomisili di antara perbatasan Bekasi dan Jakarta Timur, namanya @RifkiAntariksa. Rifki bilang di pinggiran Bekasi masih ada tempat dimana kita masih bisa merasakan embun dan kabut pagi di antara ilalang-ilalang.

Hmm, pagi jam 5.30 saya berangkat menuju ke arah lubang buaya, di depan lubang buaya ada sebuah perumahan militer yang ternyata menjadi gerbang menuju sebuah mini landasan yang biasa di jadikan tempat para pilot pesawat mini memainkan hobi nya.

Jalannya begitu tersembunyi, cenderung jelek dan becek, kalau tidak di pandu sama Rifki mungkin saya sudah hopeless masuk masuk ke hutan gini tanpa ada penunjuk arah. Ketika sampai, memang rasanya seperti tidak berada di Bekasi. udara bersih, pohon rindang, embun pagi. Bukan sebuah view yang fantastic memang, tapi siapa sangka view seperti ini masih bisa di lihat di Pinggiran kota Bekasi dan Jakarta.

Karena buat saya, sebuah hari yang baik di tentukan oleh mood pagi hari ketika membuka mata. Saya selalu berusaha untuk meluangkan waktu 10-15 menit untuk duduk dan menikamti secangkir kopi seduh. Nescafe green blend ini adalah salah satu favorit saya, selain biar mata tetap melek dan berenergi sepanjang hari, juga aroma biji kopi hijau Nescafe Green Blend yang bikin tenang untuk memulai hari.

Kalau saya selalu nyempatin diri untuk merasakan kebaikan biji kopi hijau biar aku tetap segar selama travelling. Kalo kamu aktivitas apa yang kamu butuhkan untuk #PancarkanAuraCantikmu ? Yuk, share momen ngopimu dan menangkan Total voucher Rp 10.000.000,00 dengan cara:
1. Posting momen ngopimu bersama NESCAFÉ Green Blend 2. Pastikan di dalam fotomu terdapat kemasan NESCAFÉ Green Blend
3. Gunakan #PancarkanAuraCantikmu dan mention ke @nescafe_indonesia di instagram
4. Periode kompetisi ini dimulai dari 21 April - 31 Mei 2017 Jangan sampai kelewatan ya!

Follow @KADEKARINI for the latest updates and stories from around the world.

I love overland trip, planning a road trip for me is very exciting. Kalau lagi traveling di suatu daerah atau negara memang aku cenderung lebih memilih perjalanan darat di banding terbang menggunakan pesawat. There is always something interesting on the journey, entah itu blending in with the locals in public transportation, atau drama –drama trip selama overland yang beberapa gak sesuai dengan ekspektasi. Tapi hal- hal tersebut yang sebenrnya aku cari dari traveling, sebuah bumbu yang tidak pernah terencanakan tapi menjadi elemen yang paling tak terlupakan.

Pengalaman Road trip paling lama dan paling berate dalah ketika aku overland di China. Dimulai dari Xian sampai berakhir di Kunming yang menghabiskan total waktu sekitar 36 jam perjalanan darat sambung menyambung keretadan bus. Capekkk but it was still fun and I can enjoy the moment. Tidak bisa di pungkiri kalau kondisi tubuh adalah hal penting yang dapat mempengaruhi mood. Kalau sakit, secara gak langsung tubuh kita akan gak mood melakukan apapun even to only appreciate little things around us.

Well kalau kebanyakan orang berfikir traveling is fun, yes it is. Tapi traveling for a long time means not only about having fun, but also it challenge us to have a good time management. Mungkin kalau weekend getaway 4-5 hari, semua akan terasa lebih fun, tapi ketika sudah berbicara traveling dalam jangka waktu yang panjang, it’s actually harder that you’ve expected.

Banyak banget kemungkinan yang bisa terjadi buat membatalakan planning trip panjang, tapi paling utama yang gakbisa di hindari memang kondisi kesehatan tubuh. The fact is nobody plan to be sick, tentunya kita maunya fit terus selama perjalanan, tapi we will never know what will happen. Karena sakit itu bisa dari mana aja datengnya, dari makanan yang kita makan, bakteri, cuaca atau malah karena tubuh kita yang sedang tidak fit.

Well being healthy is actually a state of mind, karena bisa banget sebenarnya kita mencegah sakit dengan cara mengatur elemen penting saat traveling sedemikian rupa seperti contohnya :membuat itinerary dengan baik, istirahat yang cukup ketika kembali ke penginapan, makan yang teratur dan juga konsumsi vitamin harian.

Ketika traveling jangka waktu panjang, secara tidak sadar kita akan menghabiskan energy lebih banyak dari aktivitas harian biasa yang kita lakukan. Hal ini harus di seimbangkan juga dengan asupan gizi yang cukup. Konsumsi vitamin adalah salah satu cara untuk menjaga tubuh agar tetap vit selain minum air putih yang banyak.

Beberapa minggu yang lalu, aku road trip ke daerah JawaTimur – Bali. Cuaca ekstrim yang sangat panas di Bali tiba-tiba berubah menjadi sangat dingin di Gunung Bromo bisa saja menjadi pemicu sakit. Tapi untungnya aku sudah mencegah dengan mengonsumsi Xonce Drink, minuman kesehatan yang tinggi Vitamin C, D dan tinggi kalsium. Idealnya, konsumsinya 2 botol dalam sehari, saat setelah sarapan dan setelah makan siang, jadi tubuh lebih fit, fresh dan bikin tulang lebih kuat untuk menghadapi kegiatan saat traveling.

Aku salah satu orang yang percaya kalau kesehatan itu mahal harganya, dan sakit adalah hal yang sangat merugikan. Karena pada saat sakit, aku cenderung menyesali diri sendiri kenapa bisa sampai sakit, padahal banyak banget cara untuk mencegah sakit. Sakit itu merugikan karena, kita jadi gak mood mengerjakan sesuatu, dan tubuh kita juga tidak akan mendukung untuk bahkan hanya bangun dari tempat tidur. Akibatnya semua hal yang harusnya berjalan seperti biasa jadi tertunda. So it’s better to stay healthy whenever it is, because being healthy is actually a state of mind.

Tinggal dimulai dari diri kita sendiri dengan pertanyaan“mau sehat atau sakit ?”

cheers,
kadekarini

I don’t know where to begin. The way traveling has changed my life and other people’s lives couldn’t be talked about in only 24 hours or written even books hundreds of pages long. There are a lot of things that happened during my journeys that led me to a new way of thinking, and to becoming a better person.

Let’s start with a spoiled metropolitan girl who had grown up in a big capital city and in 18 years never, ever had to leave her comfort zone. Oh yes, I was referring to myself. Lucky me, my family have never faced financial problems, we live an average lifestyle, and everything has gone well for me. I went to good schools, and I eat good food. Sadly, I was selfish growing up, thinking only about myself and my future. Little me was that competitive child who joined numerous competitions from painting competitions to basketball games, etc.

I have always believed that life is colorful and that we have to embrace every color we come across.

I wanted to try everything, so long as I could do so within good facilities, which I demanded of my parents. If they weren’t accommodating, I mostly cried and yelled, “why can other kids get things easily while I can’t?” I believe that, growing up, I had a greedy side because I focused only on myself and mostly closed my eyes to what was happening around me. I would ask for something more without appreciating what I already had, I threw away things without considering that there are other people out there who need them.

My journey to East Indonesia touched my heart. I used to cry for a pair of fancy pinky shoes to wear to school, but most kids in Sumba go to school barefoot. I would smile only when my parents bought me a new Barbie doll, but looking at Sumbanese kids laughing and running around the hill behind their houses, which they call their “playground,” had me in tears. What the hell was I thinking – that happiness could only be measured in material things, fancy shoes or new toys, while their everyday games consisted only of throwing stones on the valley? These experiences had me laughing at myself for being too selfish and for the life that I’d been living.

When I say “traveling has influenced my life and other people’s lives,” it really has. I’ve got the best job in the world because it involves traveling, and I don’t work for my job because I get to call my hobby work. Being a contributing travel writer has put me in so many different situations that I have to embrace and new things that I have to deal with. Obviously it’s not about me anymore but also others.

Travel, for me, is no longer only about having fun but also about finding out what you can do for the places you travel to.

Last month I was so honored to be a part of Agoda x Taman Bacaan Pelangi and Travel Sparks’ trip to Flores. Together our mission was to empower kids living in East Indonesia to keep on dreaming by encouraging them to read books. Based on the concept of a meaningful holiday experience that creates a positive impact on both the participating volunteers and the local community, Taman Bacaan Pelangi now has 58 libraries in East Indonesia. Agoda partnered up Taman Bacaan Pelangi and Travel Sparks to build a library and to organize educational travel experiences with the kids, becoming one of the first online travel agencies to develop a corporate social responsibility program, and has brought travelling to the next level.

We traveled to the island of Flores for three days and two nights with 20 kids from Raja Ampat, Sumbawa, Flores, Alor, and Lombok. These kids were chosen for the stories they wrote surrounding the theme of “My Village” and their high interest in reading books at the Taman Bacaan Pelangi (library) in each of their hometowns.

“I believe that the reason why I’m standing here as a country manager of Agoda is because of my love of reading books, which I’ve had since I was kid. It made me more curious about getting out of my comfort zone and traveling to see more. Through all of this, I discovered how travel could be impactful to other people’s lives”, Pak Gede shared during the sharing sessions. This became the foundation for Agoda’s program because Agoda believes in the transformative power of travel and giving back to the community in a meaningful way. I also shared a little story of my own to the kids about how important it is to have dreams. My favorite book as a child was Tin-Tin, a book that encouraged my dreams of traveling. And I am now living my dream, traveling for my job.

Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. A book is a dream that you hold in your hands.

Listening to the kids’ first experiences of flying on an airplane from their home to Flores was so exciting; it had me reminiscing about my first memories of flying when I was a kid because of my painting hobby. A love of books has brought these kids together, gathering individuals that come from different places and allowing them to embrace different cultures.

We all need to know that travelling is a luxury for some children, particularly so in East Indonesia, which has yet to be as developed as West Indonesia. Agoda gifted these curious children with a sponsored trip that rewarded their hard work and curiosity to see more of the world. Being a part of their experiences, such as seeing the life of a Komodo dragon at the Komodo National Park, a World Heritage Site, and playing in crystal blue waters together was priceless. And it was a special moment to see them a hundred times more excited when they finished a quest organized for them and inspired by The Amazing Race.

On the last day, we drove one hour away from Labuan Bajo to SDN Rangga Watu to visit the newly opened library. Teaming up with Travel Sparks and Taman Bacaan Pelangi, Agoda is helping to raise education and literacy levels for underprivileged children in East Indonesia. It was so exciting to see how happy everyone looked with the new library, especially the kids. We also gave them a chance to showcase their respective traditional cultures by wearing traditional dress and giving a performance.

In the island of Flores, these kids showed that differences in cultural backgrounds didn’t matter in friendships. I saw with my own eyes that Indonesia truly upholds their motto of “unity in diversity.” Three days together has resulted in new relationships. From strangers to friends, who could’ve ever thought that it would end with them having a difficult time saying goodbye to each other? It was hard for me too, as I was a part of those moments where they were so curious, excited and finally sad to be separated and fly back to their homes.

They showed me that true wealth, as well as happiness, are not measured by material things, but that love and friendship are far more valuable.

I remember when a volunteer program organized by my university dragged me to live in Lombok for two months to help people in a remote area of Lombok improve their living by teaching them English. For me, being able to speak English is a plus. It’s a gateway to many opportunities, and it’s the only thing that will never hinder people from living in a diverse environment. On the other hand, there are still some people who don’t recognize the benefits of knowing the English language, especially that of making a better life, even though we live in the same country. While I thought that what I did to help them have a better life was small, they appreciated what I did much more than I would have expected them to.

We were in Flores to provide kids with a wider variety of quality books to broaden their knowledge and foster a love of reading in each student. But through this journey and our stories, and together with Agoda, Taman Bacaan Pelangi and Travel Sparks, we also really hope that what we did has inspired the children to believe that every big thing begins with a big dream.

Because children are our greatest treasure and they are our future.

A journey in Flores with Agoda x Taman Bacaan Pelangi and Travel Sparks definitely wasn’t the kind of adventure that I was used to. It wasn’t about being happy in my own way, but about making other people happy, and seeing the latter made me even happier. This journey remains the most memorable one that I’ve ever taken because I felt double the happiness when I was able to share it. Through this trip, I’ve learned that a journey is not only about the destination but also the experiences that happen along the way – meeting new friends, having new family, generating ideas, and those experiences that got me thinking

That happiness is not always caused by fulfilling what you want, but also by sharing what you have or what you can do for those who might need it.

It made me realize that the little things I do can actually influence other people’s lives more than I’d ever thought and it might even be making people’s lives better too.

A friend of mine said that “there are three level of happiness; happiness with what you do, happiness when shared with other people, and happiness when knowing that what you do is beneficial for other people”. And that is something that I believe to this day.

Cheers,
Kadek Arini

“Sky doesn’t has limit just like dream that never too big”

Kalau kebanyakan orang tidak suka momen perjalanan di dalam pesawat, aku sangat menikmati perjalanan berada di ketinggian diatas 36.000 kaki. Aku suka duduk di dalam burung besi yang bisa menghantarkanku ke tempat - tempat impianku. Seat favorit ku adalah window seat. Duduk di belakang jendela persegi berukuran kurang lebih 20 cm x 20 cm dengan view lautan awan biru…. tanpa daratan…... Siang pukul 13.00 waktu Australia, langit diatas penerbangan Melbourne – Jakarta tampak biru sekali, sebiru lautan pulau Flores yang selalu membuatku jatuh cinta, biru yang menenangkan, biru yang seketika membawaku pada memori sebuah mimpi anak kecil untuk bisa terus berkelana.

Kalau ada mesin waktu untuk kembali ke satu masa selama kita hidup, aku akan menggunakannya untuk kembali ke masa kecil, pikirku. Waktu dimana imajinasi bisa berlarian seliar mungkin tanpa batas, waktu dimana sebuah rasa takut terkalahkan dengan rasa sebuah penasaran.

“Do you still remember what’s your dream ?”

I believe most of people don’t. Dalam proses menuju dewasa, begitu banyak kejadian yang terlewati dan harus dihadapi yang secara tidak langsung memerintah otak kita untuk mengelompokkan sesuatu berdasar pada kemampuan yang kita miliki. Mau atau tidak mau, Bisa atau tidak bisa, sekarang atau nanti, semua menjadi sebuah pilihan yang butuh waktu tidak sebentar untuk di putuskan. As we grow older, we become overthinker than before. Kalau waktu kecil, dengan gembiranya kita mengayuh pedal sepeda secepat mungkin tanpa berfikir konsekuensi yang akan terjadi, ketika sudah besar, kita cenderung memilih untuk bersepeda pelan - pelan, takut terpeleset, takut nabrak orang, takut jatuh, takut rambu-rambu.

Fulfilling my mother's dream to see flower garden with snowy mountain as the background :)

Keberanian itu semakin hilang, mimpi itu akan semakin memudar selaras dengan bertambahnya usia. Pudar karena ketakutan – ketakutan yang timbul. Pudar, karena di dalam prosesnya kita tidak berani untuk memperjuangkan melainkan malah berdiri di belakang tembok ketakutan. Hmmm…am I right ?

“I was the one who got underestimated for dreaming too high, but now I am the one who’s living everyone's dream they said”

Dalam sebuah tulisan blog yang membahas tentang bagaimana sebuah mimpi untuk terus berkelana akhirnya terwujud dalam perasaan haru diatas hot air ballon Capadocia, Turkey (read here for the full article). Aku bukan pemberani, aku penakut, dan aku menjadi sangat takut ketika orang di sekitarku tidak mendukungku melainkan meremehkan impianku. And that’s how my life been going on before I travel. Seorang yang selalu memiliki batas dan menjauhi mimpi.

Sekarang, aku tidak sadar kalau aku sedang hidup di dalam mimpi-mimpiku, terjadi begitu saja seiring dengan keyakinan ku terhadap “KEEP DOING WHAT YOU LOVE”. Rasa takut itu memudar terkalahkan oleh sebuah kecintaan terhadap traveling dan fotografi. Menjadi seorang travel writer dan photographer tentunya tidak pernah terbayangkan sebelumnya, aku hanya suka berkelana dan mendokumentasikannya dengan hati. Tapi ada satu yang selalu aku ingat

That life is keep moving, we can’t stay in the same place forever, don’t ever limit yourself, because life would be pretty much surprising when we never put limit on anything.

Ini yang selalu membuatku belajar akan hal-hal baru, berinovasi, mencoba dan gagal, bertanya, dan terus berlari seiring dengan waktu yang terus berputar cepat. Somehow I am feeling so grateful living in this era, dimana semua akses dapat di mudahkan dengan kecanggihan teknologi. Aku belajar fotografi dari internet, dulu nilai mengarangku selalu jelek, tapi aku mau belajar untuk menulis lebih baik lagi dengan membaca blog-blog di internet, sampai sekarang pun aku masih terus belajar untuk berkembang.

Bayangkan jaman orang tua kita, ketika jangankan untuk memahami ilmu baru dengan singkat, untuk mengirimkan sebuah barang saja butuh waktu berminggu –minggu untuk sampai, sekarang tinggal menggunakan fitur Go-Send di aplikasi Go-jek, dalam waktu kurang dari 1 jam sudah bisa di terima. Inovasi yang sangat menguntungkan untuk memenuhi gaya hidup sekarang.

Pekerjaan ku sebagai freelance travel writer tidak menuntutku untuk pergi ke kantor setiap hari, jadi aku kadang bekerja di café untuk cari suasana berbeda dari rumah. Sering kali, ketika aku sudah sampai di café favoritku, ada saja barang yan tertinggal, entah kabel handphone, notes book, tapi saat itu kebagian charger laptop ketinggalan di rumah. Yang harusnya menjadi kendala karena tidak dapat bekerja, menjadi tidak karena charger laptop bisa langsung dikirim menggunakan Go-Send.

Atau contohnya kemarin ketika aku diharuskan bed rest karena kelelahan terlalu padat aktivitas. Gak perlu repot - repot pergi keluar untuk makan, karena bisa order makanan dengan Go-Food, mulai dari jenis makanan junk food sampai rekomendasi makanan local. Gak perlu menghabiskan waktu untuk pergi ke restaurant dan makan tanpa harus antri.

“Well, sekarang kita hidup di jaman yang berbicara tentang ke efisienan waktu”

Masih ingat berapa banyak meeting yang ter-skip atau terlambat di datangi sebelum ada Go-Jek ? Untuk pindah dari satu tempat ke tempat lain harus sambung – menyambung angkot, atau panik memandang argo yang melambung tinggi di dalam taksi karena terjebak macet, atau kebingungan mencari pangkalan ojek konvensional. Kayanya kalau di suruh balik lagi ke jaman waktu belum ada Go-Jek aku bisa gila sendiri membayangkannya. This innovation is just too good to be true.

Sebagai traveler dengan intensitas traveling yang padat, ketika sudah sampai di hotel, biasanya aku dan travel mate ku butuh waktu untuk relax dan istirahat. Gak perlu jalan ke salon and spa buat massage, karena bisa panggil massage therapy menggunakan Go-Massage ke hotel.

Apresiasi ku atas inovasi yang terus berjalan dari Go-Jek semakin tinggi ketika diluncurkan Go-Pay, oh gosh I always run out of cash money, but I shouldn’t worry again because we are now living in the era when the money itself is going digital. Aku bukan tipe yang suka menyimpan banyak cash karena terlalu banyak little things that I have to take care, dan disini Go-Pay sangat membantu in so many ways. Gak perlu repot tarik cash di ATM, tinggal top up saldo dengan mobile banking, sudah beres.

Dengan GO-JEK, aku bisa terus berkarya tanpa hambatan. Gak perlu panik kerjaan terhambat karena ketinggalan barang, gak perlu panik ketinggalan meeting, dan gak perlu ngabisin waktu dan tenaga buat harus datang makan ke restoran saat schedule sedang padat. Well, we should admit that Go-Jek Apps provides everything that we need, it makes everything now going easier and efficient.

Because, sometimes we’ve been working too hard on something, but we forget to notice that time keeps moving, and neglect that work smart is actually what we need in this millenials era. It’s true working hard is one of the keys to success, but why do we have to push everything out if we can work efficiently ?

Let’s bury all the fear and walk without limit, because limitation is the end of every dream #HidupTanpaBatas

cheers,
kadek arini

“Same size shoes, same size dress, same fashion taste, same sense of humor. We do more look like a sister rather than Mom-Daughter.”

Yes, I am a girl and i’ve done solo travel to some countries and my mother feels okay about it. Therefore, yes it’s not easy to get permission from your moms to travel especially we have to embrace Asia's culture. Here are some facts that girls have to know the reasons why your mothers don’t allow you to travel :

1. She believes that you’re her other half
Because you wouldn’t be here without your mother.

The mother-daughter relationship is the strongest bond in the world. It is considered one of the most powerful connections in nature that only them who understand.

Have you imagine that you were living in her body for 9 months before you can see the world, feel the breath, give a sound, and touch the things ? And she was also there when you were zero who couldn’t do anything instead of crying, she’s the one who passionately love and be there for you whatever and whoever you are.

What should we do :
Admit it, you can’t escape from the fact that you are her other half. Even though, you probably will always think that you’re old enough to take care of your life by yourself, it’s impossible to remove the figure of mother. Appreciate her.

2. She just worries about you
You might be wondering why is it hard for her to give you permission to travel,

and the reason is just as simple as “She worries about you”.

She worries when you’re not around, she worries about where will you stay, she worries about what food you will eat, she worries about the safety, she worries about you and what you will meet along the way because she used to be the one who will stand for you in the front since the first day you were born.

What should we do :
Tell her wherever you are. Stop being overthinker, think as simple as she just needs your update that you’re okay. As long as you manage to keep updating her, you’re now actually building a trust in your relationship. But, remind yourself to never give too much information, because it would make her anxious. Saying that you’re okay in your new place is enough, adding interesting stories would be good too, but remember don’t tell her any bad things, if you still want to get her permission for the next journey.

3. She doesn’t understand why you should travel
Yes, we are living in different era. In my opinion, our parents generation is focused on working all day, that to be success means you have to work hard. And those two main things about their life are family and wealth. The way that our generation differs from our parents is that we have grown up in this society that leads us to believe we should pursue happiness.

Our generation is much more focused on enjoying ourselves and grasping experiences opposed to making the big bucks.

Living with family that doesn’t spend much money for travel, i am not used to given a thought that travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. Though, travel has changed everything on me to become a better person.

What should we do :
Tell her you need to see the world, that this universe is too beautiful to neglect.

All the challenges and opportunities travel lays at your feet help you learn about who you are.

People you meet while on the road will give you a glimpse outside your hometown circle of friends and force you to take in new and refreshing perspectives. Seeing the world provides an education that’s absolutely impossible get in school. Because travel will challenge you to not getting the same daily latte at the same place and staring at your computer screen everyday. Travel is full of moments of joy and challenges.

4. She cares about your look, your skin, your beauty.
She really does, because she has to embrace the truth that traveling will drag you to meet the sun even more which means it will affect the health of your skin. We all obviously know that skin is one of the most important part of woman’s body. And it could be damaged by intensely meeting the sun, sea water, and even pollution if we don’t take care of it.

What should we do :

Our skin needs more Vitamin-E. Why ? Because the benefit of Vitamin E is both a nutrient and antioxidant. The antioxidant helps neutralize free radicals, which damage cells and might contribute to cancer. My mother and i are now consuming Natur-E Orange 300 Soft Capsule and using Natur-E Pink Revitalizing Hand & Body Lotion as it’s the lotion that contains of Vitamin E. And if we’re talking about the texture, it’s very light and adaptable to everyday use. What I love more about Natur-E Pink Revitalizing Hand & Body Lotion is pink pomelo smell that freshen the feels.

We have to be aware that it’s not enough to only treat the skin from outside, we also need to take care of it from inside. We sometimes worry about the effect of consuming the skin care supplement, as someone who has been consuming it quite long, Natur-E doesn’t has negative effect that causes weight gain or acne, it is safe to use. And it’s also safe for those who are pregnant and having breast feeding period.

I am actually quite envy with my mother whom still look fresh even though she’s 52. She said that pretty should be from outside and inside (Cantik luar dan dalam). It’s not about what skin shade you have, white or brown. As long as you have healthy skin, embrace it.

It’s more about accepting yourself and be beautiful in your own way. And don’t ever say that age is a limit, there is no limit of being beauty, you should be beautiful whatever your age is. #BedaUsiaSamaCantiknya with #TemukanCantikmu.

More info about Natur-E Orange 300 Soft Capsule and using Natur-E Pink Revitalizing Hand & Body Lotion, please visit the website : www.natur-e.co.id

5. She Loves You More Than You Love Yourself
The only reason why all those things above happened is because she loves you. She always think that she’s your guardian angel who will protect you from everything.

What should we do :
Prove her that you’re a responsible human being, and don’t ever to betray her love.

cheers,
Kadek arini

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