Belitung trip day 1

Happy New Year 2016

Hi! 

I know it's been a few days but hey keep up the spirit, right?

Just before New Year we took a trip to Belitung. It is only an hour flight from Jakarta so it was really convinient. 

We had arranged our trip from the help of JelajahPulau.com (totally recommend it!)

We took the first flight with Garuda Indonesia which was 06.50AM. Our guide/driver, named Jones, was ready at the airport as we landed. It only took us 20 minutes from airport to downtown. Since it was too early for hotel check-in, we had breakfast at Mie Atep, local noodle cuisine.

Our first stop was Danau Kaolin. It is a lake in the city created from an active kaolin mining. The lake has very clear water that the color is just as blue as the sky. It literaly took my breath away.

The land part are built from sand so it is easily erode as you walk areas that are wet. So careful!

Next stop was 1,5 hours away. It is the shooting place of Laskar Pelangi or Rainbow Troops. We went to the school shooting scene. Then nearby is the house of Andrea Hirata, the novel writer of the movie.

The house has became Indonesia's first literary museum named "Museum Kata Andrea Hirata". The main house showcases memoribilia from the movie also with other publications that the novel and writer received. The left wing of the house has a small area of self-expression stage (Panggung Ekspresi) and colorful bench area where most of the interior made from doors.

Then we moved to Kampung Ahok. Ahok is Jakarta's governor who came from Belitung. Well there is nothing much to see so you might not spend a lot of time here.

As noon approached we went to Pantai Serdang that is 30 minutes away. Pantai Serdang is known with its colorful Perahu Kater. Another nearby beach that characterized with this boat is Pantai Burong Mandi. Across the beach there are  seafood restaurants. The food is tasty and fresh but sometimes takes awhile to get served.

Belitung is also known as "1001 warung kopi" (or coffee stalls). This was started because as the fishermans docked their boat, they take rest and warm themselves at nearby coffee stalls. Even more on at the alley to the wet market, there are coffee stalls all the way until the end. Interestingly, they specializes on the traditional way of brewing the coffee and get the beans from elsewhere.

Last visit of the day was Vihara Dewi Kwan Im or Goddess Kwan Im Temple. It is one of the oldest and biggest temple in Belitung. People still use it for their holy celebrations prayer. At the time, they are building the statue of the Goddess which is 12 metres tall (babelpos.co.id).

Finally evening set in, we checked in at Billiton Hotel and Club. Time to unpack and pack for island hopping on the next day! Yeay!

Lombok...a piece of heaven on earth

I’M IN LOVE WITH THIS ISLAND!!!

From the first time I landed my feet at this island, I just knew there is something about this island that will take me back again and again. 

The main attraction here is the beach and the small islands nearby, called Gili. But don’t get me wrong Pulau Lombok has various other natural attractions that would just mesmerize the whole family. There are local villages that are still hold strong their heritage tradition, even their floor are made from cow’s poop! Mount Rinjani will also take your breath away. The water falls are amazing as well, it is rumored that Jenny from the Block a.k.a Jennifer Lopez visited one of them.

         

So how to get to this beautiful island of Lombok?

If you are from outside Indonesia, you can take a connecting flight from Jakarta or Bali. Actually from Bali you can opt to use ferry from Padang Bai, cheaper but takes longer time. The domestic airlines that goes to Lombok International Airport is Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, Lion Air, and Batik Air. Plenty of flight times to pick from.

Touchdown!!

My favorite area is these hidden gems around Kuta. Yes, it has the same name with the famous beach in Bali. But this one fascinates me! Seeing the view already leaves me in awe, then the clear sea water, and the unique sand. If you are thinking what so unique about sand, well let me tell you, the sands are pepper-like, or as locals say "Pantai Merica", tiny marbles!

Pasir Merica at Kuta Beach, Lombok

With grandma... isn't it magnificent?!

Just can't wait to play

My hotel of choice has been Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort. They have beautiful pool, nice clean beach to stroll, and definitely helpful staff. It is located in the city centre, however it takes approximately 1 hour from the airport.

Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort from the beach

My little tiger enjoying his down time playing at the hotel's beach

But if you want to stay in hotel that is closer to the airport and near the infamous beautiful beaches in Lombok then I would suggest, Novotel Hotel.

Photo cred: Novotel Lombok Resort and Villas

Come and visit Indonesia's hidden gem!

Johor Bahru Trip

Travel Date: Saturday, 22 June 2013 - Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Places of interest: ~ Legoland Malaysia : http://www.legoland.com.my/
                            ~ Little Big Club : http://www.playtime.com.my/little-big-club
                            ~ Johor Premium Outlet : http://www.premiumoutlets.com.my/
Airport: Senai International Airport : http://senaiairport.com/index.asp
Airline: AirAsia : http://www.airasia.com/id/id/home.page
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Airline
So let's start from getting the airfare. I got a bargain airfare from AirAsia (http://www.airasia.com/id/id/home.page), a budget airline and the only one that offers direct flight from Jakarta to Johor Bahru. For 2 adults and 1 child, along with the baggage (depart with 30kgs and return with 55kgs) and meal, I paid approximately Rp. 2.300.000 (USD 230). Isn't it crazy???!!! When you fly with budget airline, there are several things you need to put attention. Try to book the passengers at once along with the baggage allowance, as you can merge the baggage allowances for each person. So, if one got overweight, those who still have some spare weight are able to cover it. Otherwise, the overweight cost is pretty expensive. And don't forget all the troublesome of paying it, going back and forth to the counter. You want to have an enjoyable, fun, and relaxing trip, right? :) But, don't worry about weighing the stroller...it's FREE! Yeay! Just FYI, I ordered extra meals from the flight just in case we were too tired to get out of hotel or whatever reason.

Airport

Then finally we arrive at Senai International Airport (http://senaiairport.com/index.asp). It was a small airport with only four boarding gates, same arrival and departure area. The immigration gates are located fairly close so you wouldn't have a hard time looking for it. Once you finished with the immigration, you head down stairs to pickup your luggage, then find your transportation. There are several methods from renting car, taxi, to bus. We chose taxi. Still inside the building, there is a taxi counter. Just tell them where you are heading and pay the predefined fare to them and nothing else to the taxi driver except the payment slip. My hotel was 30 minutes away and it cost me RM44, at first. Ha! It got you thinking what happened right?! So once I headed to my taxi they couldn't fit my luggage to the sedan type taxi. The taxi coordinator told me to go to the counter again, ask for bigger taxi, and pay additional 50% of my taxi fare. I gotta admit I was kinda irritated. I had my husband to look after aL and the luggage. 

Taxi

So we got the taxi, had a nice driver, chatted to us along the way. As I noticed, there was no meter on the taxi. I asked the driver about it and he told us that this particular taxi only operates to and from airport. For other routes there are two types of taxi differentiated by red color for regular fare and blue for executive taxi. The blue taxi cost almost double to the red one. The taxi driver gave us his card in case we had a hard time getting taxi for our way back to the airport and gave us the same fare for return. Which we did gave him a call for our return trip to the airport. 

Hotel

Finally we arrived at our hotel (http://www.m-suites.com) at almost 5pm (we arrived at 4ish). The name is M Suites Hotel, it has the feeling of an old hotel where some parts have been refurbished. The receptionists were friendly and very accommodating. I asked for a room facing to the Danga Bay, so we would have a little bit of view. The room was fairly big for a studio room. It has kitchenette, but no cutlery whatsoever. But they provided electric water kettle, cups, and tea coffee set. The bathroom is good size, has bathtub, and all the amenities. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the room, settling, and getting prepared for the next day. For the room package, I chose the 2D/1N Legoland package and additional 2 nights on its own. The Legoland Package included the return transport, tickets, and room. It was a pretty good deal.