LIBURAN ?

menjelang liburan ditanya.. mau kemana ? jawabnya: nga kemana-mana

ini jawaban gw yang males sih..
males nyiapin liburan.. males mikir.. males keluar duit hehehe

andaikan gw nga males maka :
1. gw pengen ke Bali..
pengen ke pantai, bertemu ombak pagi.. ombak malam..
menyusuri pantai.. menyusuri sawahnya..
berendam di sungai - irigasi sawah.. 
mencari  kunang kunang..
mencium bau tanaman..
naik sepeda  di jalan kecil..
nyasar di legian..
nongkrong di cafe kampung yg ga ada dinding.. ga ada ac-nya .. cuma ada pemilik cafe bule misqin main piano.. dan pengunjungnya bule2 kismin.. 

2. gw pengen ke Jepang
menyusuri jalan-jalan sepi ..
sekitar taman istana, stasiun kereta.. 
mencoba makanan lunch set michelinnya
nyasar di tokyo// nyasar di kyoto..
pergi ke kampung onsen.. 

3. gw pengen mencari kunang kunang ..

4. gw pengen ke Jogja lagi..
nyasar di kampung sekitar keraton..
jalan sepi temaram di balik malioboro..
berendam di kolam renang malam  hari.. 

5. gw pengen ke amsterdam..
ke daerah red light district..
ke pasar loaknya..
ke museumnya..
naik ke rooftop hotel

gw pengen.. tapi gw males..

New Year 2017 trip

Ini post yg telat banget yak.. 
Tapi untuk dokumentasi ya nga apa2 telat daripada nga post .. ye kaan..

Trip 30 Des 2016 - 7 Jan 2017 
Jakarta - Manchester - Leeds - York - Liverpool - Oxford (Cambridge) - London 
Ambisius yak..

Sewa mobil di airport manchester.. 
waktu pesan mobilnya apa.. eh pas nyampe di tempat sewa, beda availability.. trus krn kita bawa 4 koper besar musti cari2 mobil yg cukup besar.. jadi cukup lama cari2 mobilnya n dapat Volvo.. 
langsung ke area kota Manchester - museum transport.. makan siang.. 
trus jalan ke Leeds. 
sampai di Leeds, menginap di Premier Inn.. ini agak ribet tempatnya.. jadi kita muter-muter beberapa kali nga nemu belokan yg pas utk ke hotel. 
kalau nga salah anak sampai di kamar trus bobo deh. 
malamnya  ngajak anak2 lihat perayaan Tahun Baru di Leeds.. pada nga mau. jadi gw n bapake aja yg jalan.. dan ternyata emang nga ada kembang api .. paling2 acara party di cafe/ pub gitu.. garing yee.. 
trus kita muter2 liat2 area pertokoan/cafe .. tokonya sih udah pada tutup.. 
di Premier Inn ada breakfast. 
habis breakfast kita foto2 di Univ of Leeds.. ke St Mark flat..  
St Mark flat nya pake pagar sekarang trus udah ada tambahan bangunan baru.. 
trus beli makan siang : ayam goreng india.. eh ternyata ini ayam goreng yg pualing enak selama perjalanan hehehe.. 
trus ke York.. museumnya tutup jadi cuma muter2 daerah turis.. menyusuri dinding kota york.. ini juga musti perhatiin waktu.. mereka tutup jam 5.30 sore kalo nga salah.. 
makan malamnya dimana ya.. lupa..

besok paginya check out Premier Inn.. trus ke Bolton Abbey.. ambil walking trek yg paling pendek.. ketemu banyak keluarga yg lagi jalan2 juga dgn anjing2nya.. pemandangannya bagus.. berasa di set pilem inggris lah.. aaah.. 

lanjut ke Liverpool. mampir ke stadionnya.. nginap di 30 James Street.. ini parkirnya rada ribet.. ada central parking .. pintu masuknya rada jauh.. tapi setelah parkir, jalan kaki tembusan ke hotelnya deket.
mampir ke museum beatles.. makan malam steak di area albert dock.  
oya 30 james street ini kamarnya guedee banget.. kayak buat tempat nginap org2 yg mau party di kamar gitu.. velvet style.. kamar mandinya juga ala whirpool gitu.. pas nginap lagi ada acara party di hallnya jadi ruamee.. walaupun yg hadir kayaknya sih udah uzur2 semuaa..

besok paginya check out .. lanjut Chatsworth mansion.. ini tempat syutingnya Pride n Prejudice.. cakeeep banget .. mustinya kesini bawa baju ala-ala 1800-an yee.. mereka ada resto juga disini.. lumayan okeh.. dan ada toko suvenirnya .. cakep2 deh..  

trus lanjut ke Oxford.. mampir ke uni-nya .. ujungnya ke bookstorenya.. ini rada2 rancu sama Cambridge ya.. hehe maap udah agak lupa.. 

menginap di Hawkwell House hotel .. ada restonya juga.. jadi makan malam disini.. 

lanjut London.. ke Harpot WB studio, nonton Lion King (n ngantuk2 jadinya) dan ke Primark, Liberty .. 


 
 

 
 

New Year 2018 trip

Buset.. udah 5 tahun ga pernah posting ya.. 
sampe lupa ini akun blog namanya apa.. 

Ini tentang liburan Tahun Baru 2018.

Trip 30 Des 2017 - 9 Jan 2018
Jakarta - Tokyo Haneda (transit) - New York - Los Angeles - Tokyo Haneda (transit) - Jakarta

New York 
Menginap di Hampton Inn Brooklyn.
Referensi dari tripadvisor, book di Booking.com 
Breakfast included 
Kamarnya untuk 4 orang adult. Lumayan sempit, utk taruh koper2.. dapat kamar no 211 ada terasnya. 
pas sampe, kebetulan 1 hari sebelumnya turun salju.. jadi anak2 bisa main salju.
Malam Tahun Baru suhu -14 C ini rekor dinginnya.. ternyataa yaa.. pdhal sbelumnya udah cek2 berita dinginnya biasa pas malam tahun baru max -5C 
Oya kita mendarat sekitar jam 9 pagi.. di imigrasi nga terlalu lama.. 
yang menyenangkan sampai hotel bisa langsung check in masuk kamar.. horee !
akhirnya bobo dulu.. sore  beberes.. foto2 di teras.. 
trus siap2 muter2 sekitar jam 7-an malam.. cari makan dulu deket hotel. ketemu resto taco
trus ke subway.. beli tix metrocard unlimited 7 hari (pilihannya 3, 7 atau sebulan), krn efektif butuh kartu : tgl 31 s/d tgl 3. jadi ambil yg 7 hari aja.. males ribet beli2 tix lagi.. 
trus jalan ke arah times square.. yg udah ruaameee buanggets.. 
akses ke area ball drop udah ditutup.. jadi kita lihat2 suasana aja.. 
jalan sampai ke pinggir central park.. di sini infonya ada fireworks tapi nyampe jam 10-an malam masi sepii banget.. dan krn bapake maunya foto2 di brooklyn bridge.. akhirnya kita naik subway ke arah brooklyn bridge. 
ternyata keluar subway ke brooklyn bridge jalannya masih lumayan jauh.. 
oya krn baca2 berita kalau susah cari toilet.. kita pake popok.. dan akhirnya kepake juga .. anak2 pada kebelet di jalan.. 

angin n dingin.. menderita banget dinginnya.. ujung jari tangan sakit ... ujung jari kaki mati rasa.. kayak gerakin batu bata.. 
di brooklyn bridge yg keliatan kembang api di area patung liberty.. lumayan lama ada sekitar 5 menit .. 
dari brooklyn bridge.. mo cari taksi kok nga keliatan.. akhirnya pake subway lagi ke hotel.. 
namanya baru hari pertama.. nyasar n binun
oya jadi subway NYC ini platformnya dibawah tanah itu lumayan luas.. jadi kalau kita salah masuk pintu./ platform.. kita telusuri platform sesuai kereta yg dicari.. lumayan daripada dingin2 di jalan. 
penanda subway itu lampu bulat warna hijau putih... 
selama bbrp hari naik subway nga pernah penuh banget keretanya.. kita biasa jalan sekitar jam 9 - 10 pagi.. n balik jam 8-9 malam..

oya di Hampton Inn ini favoritnya adalah waffle.. mereka sediakan adonan waffle n pan waffle elektriknya.. kita masak sendiri..hasilnya selalu bagus kok.. nga pake ribet.. n ada whipped creamnya.. nyam nyam.. 

kita ke National Museum History, Central Park, Times Square.. pas tgl 1 Jan masih ada teater broadway yg main.. beli tix di TKTS booth, nonton Miss Saigon.. 
tapi pas nonton kok ya jadi ngantuk terus.. 

mampir juga ke Columbia University, Fifth Avenue, Nintendo Store, cobain steak, Metropolitan Museum

Gilee koleksinya Metropolitan Museum .. monetnya buanyaaak banget.. lebih banyak dri koleksi Musee D'orsay kayaknya.. pokoknya sukaa banget koleksi impresionisnya.. amajing lah..amajing.. 

tgl 4 Jan harusnya pagi2 kita udah terbang ke Los Angeles.. udah sampai ke airport sih tapi flightnya cancel semua hari itu gara2 badai salju Grayson.. cakep banget kan.. 
untung bawa java mifi router.. cari hotel yg deket airport.. ada hampton inn airport n ada shuttle busnya.. trus kontak juga ke booking.com utk ganti jadwal hotel yg di los angeles. untungnya bisa diundur.. 
kita juga langsung cari email travel agent - beli tixnya kan di antavaya.. tapi sayangnya responnya kurang ok. pertama kita minta ganti ke tgl 9 jan. eh katanya penuh. kita minta cek ke tgl 10 jan.. nga dijawab2... ya sud lah.. nga rejeki weiceee.. 

jadi kita ke hampton inn.. sampai disitu, resepsionisnya juga udah rada panik .. kita belum bisa check-in krn yg beres2 ruangan belum datang, yg check-out juga belum jelas.. krn flight cancel hari itu.. 
tadinya mau pergi ke rumah temannya bapake yg di sekitar area tapi badai saljunya makin deras.. susah juga nanti cari kendaraan yg mau antar. akhirnya cuma keluar ke hotel sebelah utk makan siang.. malem nga makan lagi.. saljunya sih mantap  deh.. anak2 sempat main2 salju n poto2.. 

tgl 5 pagi telpon airline dulu utk cek status flight standby.. ternyata flight yg kita request pindahan masih cancel.. flight berikutnya malah udah jalan.. jadi kita ke airport aja jam 4 pagi.. pas mo check out eh shuttle bus ga jalan krn sopirnya balik .. ya elaa.. akhirnya cari taksi.. 

sampai di bandara, ngantri luamaaaa.. n dapat status flight standby ..jadi kita ngantri setiap flight United yg ke Los Angeles. akhirnya dapat flight jam 8 utk bertiga.. bapake nga dapat bareng.. baru dapat flight jam 2 siang. 
sampai di LA. .tadinya mau naik flyaway tapi anak2 nga mau.. n kayaknya juga shuttle flyaway ini kurang jadwal.. masak cuma ada 1 jam sekali.. 
akhirnya naik taksi ke hotel. Kita udah book di hotel Best Western Plus Hollywood Hills. 
Pilih disini krn deket dgn universal studio.
Sebenarnya niat nya mo coba public transport di LA. LA ada bus n subway juga .. tapiii berhubung liburannya kepotong masalah gini.. n pas tgl 5 itu siangnya kita bertiga ketiduran sampe sore.. akhirnya ilang aja tuh tgl 5 nga ngapa2in.. sempat ke supermarket aja ngecek2 barang.. bloonnya juga nga sekali beli2 aja mustinya.. dodol.. 

jadi di LA pakai Uber aja.. wong cuma 2 hari jadi jalan2 di LA. tanggal 6 dan tgl 7. tgl 7 juga cuma sampai jam 6 sore krn kita harus ke airport jam 6.30 sore. 
jadi tgl 6 Universal studio hollywood. tgl 7 santa monica pier, walk of fame, beverly center

utk universal studio hollywood kita beli tix di klook.com. ini beli juga nga sengaja krn awalnya mau beli di ares travel yg direkomen mousesavers. pas mau beli di site ares travel eh kartu kreditnya direject.. trus email ke travelnya nga dijawab2.. 
trus coba2 lihat site klook. krn kalau di asia kan org2 bisa beli tix universal studio sing, atau atraksi di sing lewat klook. eh ternyata ada tix univ studio hollywood di klook dgn harga yg sama dgn ares.. lebih murah dikit lah.. 
n ada chat assistancenya juga lagi.. lumayan.. trus setelah order di website, mereka kirim email request data paspor n kartu kredit.. tp nomor2 nya sebagian kita tutup aja utk keamanan.. 
pesan utk tgl 5 Jan. tapi pas terima email tiketnya.. tiketnya ga harus spesifik tanggal tp pakai periode tanggal. dan ini ternyata bagus banget krn kita yg batal dtg tgl 5.. pas tgl 6 Jan mau masuk Univ Studio Hollywood nga masalah.. 
aseeek.. 

tgl 6 Jan itu adalah hari ngantri .. di area Harry Potter ternyata baru ada 2 atraksi ya .. selesai area Harpot kita ke minion, simpson, studio tur n terakhir transformer. oya sempat juga ke walking dead.. ini kayak rumah hantu lah.. anak gw heboh benerrr.. studio tournya rekomen deh.. oya kalau bisa install app nya jadi bisa tau waktu antrian per atraksi jadi bisa pilih2.. nah malamnya itu di Hogwarts ada lighting feature.. ini cuma ada dari sebelum natal s/d 7 Jan. jadi udah ngepass banget bisa lihat.. bagus banget.. 

tapi utk belanja oleh2 disini kok yaa gimana gitu nga menarik yak.. plus mihil2 juga.. merchandise harpotnya nga jauh beda dgn harpot london..  trus utk merchandise lainnya kyk di univ studio singapore aja.. 

hari terakhir kita ke beverly center. pilih kesini krn bentuknya mall. eh tapi ternyata nga ada resto di dalam mall beverly ini.. aneh bener.. cuma ada outlet kayak auntie anne gitu deh.. terpaksa diganjal ini aja buat makan siang. 
belanja di bloomingdale n sephora aja krn waktu udah mepet.. 
di bloomingnya ada satu area yg jual segala sweater/kaos trendy adidas, fila, puma rihanna..trus anak gw beli sepatu puma.. sampe jakarta baru dilihat bener sama anak gw... ternyata sepatu puma trendynya ituh buatan Indonesia.. hahaha... bolak balik aja tuh sepatu.. udah keliling dunia..  

ke sephora..pusiing liat segitu banyak merek.. fokus ke skincare dr dennis gross.. trus akhirnya beli juga urban decay palette, primer n eh ada fenty beauty juga .. bobol juga deh dompet... 

oya nginap di Best Western Plus Hollywood Hills ini nga dapat breakfast, emang nga sedia breakfast tapi di kamar ada microwave n kulkas.. jadi kita beli2 roti, telur, keju, susu, pizza sampe salad.. jadi bisa makan di kamar. 
kamarnya lebih besar dari hampton inn brooklyn tapi stylenya 80-an gitu...ACnya berisik..
kayaknya banyak juga orang Indonesia nginap di sini... sempat ketemu sama pasangan suami istri Indonesia yg menginap disini juga.. tapi kita nga sapaan ehehehe.. 
di hotel juga ada coin laundry.. jadi sempat cuci sekali.. lumayan ngurangin beban cucian di rumah.. 

kita terbang pakai ANA, khusus NY -LA  pakai United yg afiliasi dgn ANA.. jadi satu kode booking utk full trip. 
dari segi kenyamanan utk ekonomi.. rasanya sih lebih nyaman pakai Cathay Pacific.. pakai Cathay masih bisa tidur.. tapi di ANA nga bisa sama sekali
makanannya juga kayaknya lebih enak Cathay ya.. di ANA kok makanannya karbo semuaa.. 
tiketnya demi harga yg murah, dipecah jadi 2 booking.. tapi malah jadi ribet krn yg dipisah anak yg paling kecil.. pas mo online check in juga nga bisa di site ANA.. 

habis liburan ya nabung lagiiii....

A REFLECTION

well, ternyata gw udah bikin blog ini dari tahun 2005 ya ?? ckckck udah 8 tahun ? started in June 2005.. 

read my post on KONFLIK vs DAMAI.. really i am impressed with my younger self hahaha

did I really write that ?? did I ?? 

and look how I am now ? 

life has been quite emotionally roller coaster... and now I'm labelled as anti-social.. 

hahaha.. what a life and what a jerk !! 

yes a JERK !! 

SEOUL with love

If you read my posting about KDrama, you should know I wasn’t only watching Kdrama but then also follow K-Reality Show, Kpop.. and I was really infatuated with a couple from K-reality show We Got Married. So much it influenced me, I learned Korean alphabet, took a Korean language class for about a year (I stopped because I couldn’t  leave work earlier as I used to be) , befriended many new people who as much as infatuated as I am. I also went to Kpop concert and the most crazy of all, I planned and went to Seoul with my Kpop friends. 

So I found Garuda promotion for their online website price is much much lower than other airline (even AirAsia) considering they are full board, with meals, and 20 kg baggage. And to top it all, we can use BCA credit card installment for 12 month 0% interest, the price is Rp 3.5 mill per person. One card can be used for maximum 4 persons. Great isn’t it ? this year the price now is Rp 7 mill. So yeah we got lucky.

For accommodation, we use Claudia Kaunang recommendation : Hongdae Guest House, since trying to compare and compare we feel at least her recommendation is quite valid. 

Day 1

Myeongdong, Gwanghamun Plaza, Cheonggyecheon Stream

The flight supposed to take off at 22.00 pm but it was delayed to 01.00 am. So we have to change our first morning plan, into night. 

Arriving in Incheon, we took the airport limousine bus then directly go to our guest house. One of our friend using the same airline promotion has arrived few days ago and asks to meet us in Myeongdong. So after refreshing ourselves we went to Myeongdong using Subway. She asks to meet us infront of Nature Republic shop but she wasn’t here when we arrived then we did crazy thing : walk around Myeongdong to find another Nature Republic shop, the temperature was around 5 Celcius. Great. Turns out she meant the same Nature Republic shop but she was late. Just that is. 

We went to eat Jjajang myeon and Mandu..had a confusion because we didn’t want to eat a lot but just to try but the shop owner didn’t allow us to order minimally. We must order according number of people. (well, few days later, at different shop, we met the same requirement.. they put low price but we must order according to number of people).

Later on we went to SPAO shop do some picture taking with our beloved Song Qian (Victoria Song) . then visit EverySing (upstair). 

We separated with our friend then as per her recommendation we went to see Gwanghamun Plaza.. few blocks and breath away.. we found that we can go to Gwanghawun through Cheonggyecheon Stream and its night time, and there are still some snow on the river bed and the lighting and … and… 

Thankfully not many couple there with lovey dovey pose hahaha…

We made it to Gwanghamun plaza then went home using MRT from Gwanghamun station. So having experience with Singapore, Hongkong and especially Japan MRT really makes Seoul MRT felt easy hahaha.. but we did a lot of walking.. saving time from transferring lines in MRT.

Day 2

Hongdae, Hello Kitty Café, Khuntoria house, Jamsil Stadium, 

This morning we walk around our neighborhood, found the hongdae area, trick eye museum but its entrance fee is quite expensive, we decided not to enter but just buy some souvenirs.. Found the Hello Kitty café.. took a lot of picture.. 

This day actually we will stay in Khuntoria house. Fortunately my friend got the contact email from winnies friend and voila, we are booked to stay one night in Khuntoria house. Lucky lucky !!  And in the morning we found out through twitter that f(x) is scheduled to perform in Seoul Music Award in the evening at Jamsil Stadium.  We did pay both the house and the guest house but its all worth it. 

Wow so many good things happen ! We decided to meet the Khuntoria house owner first, put our things there, then go to Jamsil, back to the house later at night. The owner is soo nice, they even show us the naver map which exit at Jamsil that we should use.

I should mention that they fill the Khuntoria house with food (bread, jam, butter, instant noodle, eggs) and the house is equipped with cooking facility, a whirpool. Laptop and wifi . We ate a lot. And sleep on Khuntoria Bed !! KHuntoria Bed. The same bed where Nichkhun and Victoria sleep. Even the same bedcover..  crazy.. I am smiling typing this …

Ok lets do the story chronologically. 

So we were picked up by the house owner in front of the guesthouse building, and actually the house area is not far from hongdae !. really!  After explaining to us, how to use the cooker, setting the temperature, explaining the bus to take from the nearest MRT station they deliver us in front MRT station where then we go to Jamsil to see the red carpet event. Soo, the place is packed with Fangirls !! Korean fangirls ! It so much fun!! Some reporters were trying to interview the girls, they always screaming their bias name, but then we the reporter say they will air the segmen afterwards they ask not to, afraid their parents will find out they out there… really it was like watching Reply 1997 live ! hahaha 

To blend in, off course we do our part in screaming whenever we see idol comes in.. especially screaming when f(x) comes.. and..eerr. Jiyoung too hahaha… 

Then we go back to Khuntoria house, before arrive we saw the mini park where KHuntoria record their MV. We tried to replicate the scene hahaha..

Taking pictures of everything in the house, and we also put our Khuntorian Indonesia message on the wall.. we are the first Indonesian Khuntorian !! yay !!

Its quite unbelievable.. you have to be there to feel it.. I hope the owner keep the house like that forever well at least before Khuntoria buy it as museum hahaha..

Day 3

Khuntoria House, Namsan Tower, Myeongdong

Unfortunately it had been raining since early morning and it kept raining until 12.00 when the owner pick us up.  We couldnt do our plan to go to the park where khuntoria did baseball practice, trying some sport facility, badminton and dancing for I’ll be back.  Hiks.  

The owner was so nice, they treated us with Korean style lunch, sitting down, with many side dishes.. I forgot the main menu name, I thought it was tofu soup something..  Then they deliver us on the guest house building. Afterwards we went to Namsan tower, as suggested in some website, we waited for Namsan bus shuttle on Myeongdong MRT exit.  

It was raining all day that day. And Namsan tower was full of cloud and mist, we couldn’t see the tower.  We tried to find Khuntoria locks, but found notes from the tower management that locks will be dispersed once a year. So that’s what happen with Khuntoria lock haha..  we went back to, guess where, Myeongdong offcourse haha…  so many things to buy, so little time and money… 

Day 4

Bukchon Hanok Village, Insadong, Dongdaemun Market

This is quite nice place although we couldn’t find the hanok village in the first place, and had to go around the park before finally  saw it. So when you enter the complex crossing the small stream, look to your left. The Hanok Village is on your left. 

We went to the souvenir shop, trying to find my sister request : the thumb top for sewing. Thankfully we found it, cos I couldn’t find it at myeongdong underground shop. (we did saw again in insadong)

Then we went to insadong. It was nice.  There was a fourstory building, my friend  told me this is actually where the last scene of Dream High was shot (I didn’t watch Dream High, only the last dance).

I wanted to buy some toys from my girl, but couldn’t find it. Only found one store sold Pororo mic in Myeongdong underground.

Then we remember we want to buy Victoria photo book we headed to Dongdaemun market.. funnily, at hongdae, myeongdong

Day 5

Nami Island, JYP- SM office

Early morning we went to Nami island. This island was background for KDrama Winter Sonata.  I didn’t watch it, not yet a fan.. and after reading the synopsis, I don’t think I want to watch it. Its so mellow, ironic, sad etc.  I’m more a happy ending person.. sadness is acceptable in the middle but not at the end. 

The island is quite beautiful especially with the touch of arts everywhere..  Traces of snow still be seen here. Yay !. *when we went back to Seoul, it was snow storming* Yay again!

My friend told me that the land area near Nami Island is famous for its chicken – ddak galbi..  didn’t have chance to try, since we decided to visit JYP n SM Office.  The girls were hesitated to visit JYP office since 2PM is not in Seoul but in Thai (or Japan, somewhere overseas). But then, realized we might regretted if we didn’t visit JYP and/or SM office. 

In the training, snow starts to fall heavily .. after a quite complicated change of subway, we got out the station, and start our walk in the snow rain … quite a long walk.. and its already around 5 pm (?). After some confusion, we finally reached the JYP office !! yay !! went to the famous Dunkin Donut store in front of JYP office and met some fans. Kfans, C-fans, J-fans and I-fans … yoohoo !!  I’m gonna tell you my finding about JYP group fans and SM Group fans later hahaha quite funny. 

After finishing our donuts, we head out to SM. During our stakeout in Dunkin Donuts, one of the fangirl spotted one-two idols (don’t recognize the faces) but she gives a skateboard to the boy. WOW. We learned later that the boy (maybe) is a member of new duo of JYP..

Walking up to SM (new) office, we met SM fangirls, well, they seem to be EXO fans.. from Japan.. ok so here I have to tell you that to be a Kpop fan and get a higher level you must understand / talk a bit in Korean. These girls are Japanese but they fluent in Korean and their English is not bad too. Aaand sooo strangely different than JYP fans, these girls are stalking idols in HIGH HEELS and STYLISH COAT. While the JYP girls are quite haggard, big unattractive jacket, messy hair, and NO SMILE. The SM fangirl even ask if we need help to take picture..  Nice…. 

We did saw one member of EXO coming. And girls are screaming .. woo hoo ..

Later that night, we went back to the guesthouse. The girls went to check the bus stop for airport limo bus.   I was gonna buy fork to eat noodles. I went to the mart by myself…. Walk..walk.. then I fell on the street. The snow has become quite hardened icy and slippery… it is quite an experience hehehe… 

The next day, early very early morning, around 5 am  we head out to the bus stop. Suprisingly there are quite a number of people already waiting for the bus. 5 a.m. !  The snow is very thick around 10 inch deep. Yeah, n the suitcases already twice as heavy compared to when we arrived. 

Then after checking-in, the girls found news that 2PM maybe arrived during the hour. And they DID get see 2PM very close and saw the famous  Auntie “D”. well I would be thrilled to meet Auntie D, although the chance to shake hands with her is almost non-existent for a khuntorian hahaha.. 

So the girls fan level have been move to the highest level !! JJANG !! hahaha …

All in all, there so much we have seen yet so much we haven’t visited and seen…

There is something endearing while you are travelling, the excitement, adventure, landscape…. 

Tasya and Tyas.. thank you girls !! what a memorable Khuntorian trip !! 

Really look forward for another travelling!! …

Japan Trip (part 3)

I tried to put in the text after the itinerary table, but failed so here the part 3.

Day Three

We start off in the morning to go to Kyoto. I had searched www.hyperdia.com for various route for our Japan trip and brought chosen printed routes.  The thing about Japan trains, it is really remarkable how they manage to have punctual time table and even this time table is available in their various route website. Amazing !! 

Arrived at Kyoto station, really recommend to buy lunchboxes here, cause its quite cheap compared to foodstalls we saw around Kiyozumidera and the Nishiki market..  and its taste quite good too. (I forgot the specific location but it’s around the exit and Tourist Information office). 

We got the Kyoto map at the Tourist Information office and took bus to Kiyozumidera Temple.  The climbing walk is quite long. When we arrived, the temple was being renovated. 

I think in winter or spring the view maybe better, but the weather that day was nice enough.

In several location there were wooden spoon, where mistakenly I tried to drank the water at the first spoon I saw. Turns out there is only one place where you can drink the water, it has a ultraviolet disinfection machine. You have to go down the temple through the stairs.

When we left Kiyozumidera Temple, I think its around 2.00 pm something and we don’t have lunch yet, then we settled in a small restaurant in the area. Its quite expensive for our budget but well, we have to sample the real Japanese food, right ?  Afterwards we went to Nishiki market. It was quite a long tunnel-like market.. so many things to see. They have fresh seafood section, crafty section, 100 yen store, arcade games store.. yeah, my boy tried to ask money for this. But we know, he could be hooked and spent more, so we didn’t allow him. (I watched too Japanese movies with bad guys trying to get all the money)

Then we tried to find toilet, and couldn’t find it in the market, then we found one in the Museum near the market. I think it was a Kyoto painting museum. It contains old paintings showing life in Kyoto in maybe 16-17 Century.  It was quite nice.  At this time, I think we forgot about visiting Gion district or decided not to go there.. I forgot but then we decided to go to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.. garden by foot.  Looking at the maps, it seemed the distance to get out from the current street labyrinth to take bus to go to the garden was the same length to go to the garden by foot directly. So the four of us, walked pass Kyoto houses to go to the garden. It was nice walk, the houses mostly still landed houses, and quite traditional with wooden fence.  When we were in Nishiki market, it was raining, so when we arrived in the Palace Garden, the benches are wet.  The park is nice and quiet, and they preserved some old houses.. really really beautiful.  

Getting out from the park, we were quite confused where we can take bus .. so we were quite loss for a while trying to figure out the way. We found the bus stop for bus that goes to the Kyoto station.  So Kyoto is very nice for a city walk. I really recommend getting lost in the labyrinth of streets.  

The next day, we prepared to check out from Osaka hotel and going to Tokyo by Shinkansen.  Our next hotel will be at Disney Tokyo area. Turns out our train lane to the Disney area is the farthest from our arrival platform at Tokyo station.  We walked for 20 minutes, carrying our heavy luggage. This is one of the things that I missed out in planning. The other major thing was I packed too many clothes haha.

From the Shin Urayasu train station we took taxi to the hotel, it was around 10 minutes journey. If we stopped at Maihama station, it maybe around 30 minutes by taxi.

Our hotel is a bed and breakfast Disney style. Comparing between Universal Port and Palm Fountain, in terms of space size and quality, Universal Port is better. But for Tokyo, for the size and price Palm n Fountain is quite OK.  We looked at the map and decided to go to Odaiba but it was raining when we arrived and already around 7 pm so we had dinner at McDonalds, bought some food at the convenience stores for breakfast and head back to hotel.

Our major weakness during holiday is to wake up early. Its such a struggle to go out before 9 am. If we can, it was a miracle. So the next day, we went to Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Building, Harajuku, and Odaiba. Didn’t get to go to Shibuya crossing. We seems to be lagged behind schedule or unable to go to many places  all the time haha.. maybe we were too optimistic ..

We bought  crepes near the entrance of Harajuku and while eating the crepes found that behind Harujuku there is a small temple, a pond and a nice path.. then we spent too much time there. I thought its Yoyogi park, but we were wrong. It’s too small to be Yoyogi park.  Too many people in Harajuku, and funnily many westerners do wear costumes/ cosplay make up … . Strangely the japanese mostly hide if they saw we pointing our camera to their direction…  I don’t know.. maybe they are working there without their parents consents ? (my motherly instinct or detective instinct in action)

We then went to Odaiba, our objective was the Sonyexplora science place.  Then we found out that the Tokyo Bay scenery from Odaiba is quite spectacular so we lost track of time there hehe… and finish off Odaiba with Yoshinoya beef bowl.  

The last two days we went to Disney Land then Disney Sea. Both have their charms so making decision which one first was difficult. Found out that there weren’t any Fireworks at the end of day.  We went to Disney Land first. But then my kids who are now 8 and 13 thought that they are too old for Disney Land attractions.  And I also had enough of Turkey Leg. Uugh.. no more !! We were able to enter most attractions which mostly a translation from Disney story book.

The next day we went to Disney Sea. We really need to watch our timing this time, because we have to go to the Haneda airport around 6 pm. So, we were running around Disney Sea taking fast pass as much as possible. Doing as much attractions as possible. At the end, we were able to try mostly everything that are interesting.  And we also found the food in the Arabian Coast area to be delicious. Try the curry. I like the shrimp curry.  And the shop has better stuff compared to the neighbor Disney Land. Maybe because it targets older kids / teen so fit us better.

Our taxi to Haneda cost around 10,000 yen. We almost had to use two taxi since our luggages are too big. Thankfully, we could fit them all, at the end.  At Haneda, we found KitKat green tea and Tokyo Banana. I wasn’t able to find them before. Bought some, and tried to put them in the bag. So remember don’t check in your bag before you check out the stores in Haneda. Or you might carry a lot of things in the cabin.

Finally, our Japan trip come to an end. I felt we needed more days… We haven’t seen everything but we had everything, quarreled, angry, despair … but I’m glad we stay healthy during the trip and seen most of the places we want to see.

And hopefully, we would be able to see Japan again.. well, at least after Harry Potter attraction opened in 2014 at Universal Studio Osaka !!  yay !!  and hopefully we can use full board airline next time…