notis untuk hari ini

*until further notice*
*gone to recuperate (wink)*
*selamat cuti sekolah ye..(yes, i play a big part in them)*

pengumuman

ehem...

*betul2 kan mic*

tix to BDO RM70 je ye kawan2....

jom laaa jom laa.....

*hee*

1000 Places To See Before You Die

since timtim have been poisoning me on their trip to India (cos we both know she rather die then invite a certain pole head (and spouse) to go with them).. it reminded me when i saw one of the episode on Travel & Living's 1000 Places to See Before You Die. which was shot in India.

so i googled the official homepage of 1000. i think the list is interesting. of course..when i look at asia's listing.. i think more could be included. m glad some of these list have been checked through.. so not so kempunan la.. *LOL*

Done...

The Forbidden City China

The magnificent Forbidden City, so named because it was off-limits to commoners for 500 years, was the imperial court for twenty-four emperors from the early days of the Ming dynasty in the 15th century ... read more >>

The Li River China

Reputed to possess the most beautiful mountains and rivers under heaven, Guangxi Province has been eulogized for thirteen centuries by painters and writers who tried to capture its unearthly karst formations ... read more >>

Lhasa China

Lhasa, which in Tibetan means “the Holy City” or “Place of the Gods,” is the vortex of Tibetan spirituality, a city that mystifies and intoxicates, despite the present-day Chinese presence. The vast hilltop ... read more >>

Cherry Blossom Viewing Japan

Every year after the bleak winter skies disappear, tens of millions of Japanese flock to the parks and temple gardens in pursuit of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. When a gentle breeze carries snowflake-size ... read more >>

Chomolhari Trek and the Tiger`s Nest Bhutan

The last independent Buddhist mountain kingdom in the Himalayas, Bhutan (Druk Yul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon) is one of the most remote and tantalizing corners of Asia. Seventy percent of its 18,000 ... read more >>

The Taj Mahal India

Nothing can adequately prepare the visitor for his or her first glimpse of the Taj Mahal. It may be a visual cliché, the Niagara Falls of architecture, but it's also the embodiment of grace and romance, ... read more >>

Hagia Sophia Turkey

The massive dome and four elegant minarets of the Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom) rise above the chaos and hubbub of downtown Istanbul, for more than a millennium forming the most impressive silhouette ... read more >>

Cappadocia Turkey

A trip to the steppes of Central Anatolia is the next best thing to intergalactic travel, at a fraction of the cost and inconvenience. Centuries of wind and water have sculpted a surrealistic landscape ... read more >>

Done

Angkor Wat Cambodia

Angkor, spread out over an area of about 40 miles in northwestern Cambodia, was the capital of the Khmer Empire from A.D. 800 to approximately 1200, and was abandoned in 1431, following the conquest of ... read more >>

Done

The Heart of Bali Indonesia

Package-deal tourists to Bali seem happy to stay in the Fort Lauderdale–like area of Kuta or to cocoon themselves in Sanur's toney hotels, but it's in the countryside—where Bali is vibrant with the theater ... read more >>

The Road to Mandalay River Cruise Myanmar

Mandalay—one of the most evocative names on the globe. Kipling immortalized it (though he never visited) and Sinatra sang the tune. The capital of Burma (now Myanmar) prior to British rule (which lasted ... read more >>

so... we can :

1. grab our boss.. look em in the eye & say... gimme that sabatical..!
2. grab your backpack & travel
3. grab this book & read & weep
4. browse je la portal die

hehehehhe!

big thanks..

i made my reservation to have elvys from Bali Driver & Tour Guide to take us around Bali. He turn out just as we expect him to be : round, warm, funny & spot on. his recommendations are super!

a big thanks for making our honeymoon a fabulous one. and thanks for the entry in your blog mate! hee... jelek aaaa itu photo!

1st day at work

being away for almost a week from work has been.. bliss *LOL*

but as i find myself in my cubicle..(yes, the work was piling over to the next cubicle).. i was all stressed out again. and it's not even 9.30!! files were everywhere.. the mails were not in their place..sexyback kept coming at me w/ more & more requests..

huarghh!!

and why is it that all airlines portal cannot be accessed for bookings????

MAS, Airasia.. even Cebu Pacific.. (m googling Boracay Island.. woohoo!!)

on Boracay... what can i say.. i've been getting a lot of quotes since i visited their official website and submitted the tentative itinerary dates.. from luvly small inns to one of the best spa in the Philippines.. lovely.. lovely!

problem is.. i can't check the flight details.. i know cebu pacific flies to Caticlan.. but it goes to Manila first..then caticlan..

back to work.. kerja kerja hari hari kerja!

fly lady.. flyyyy...!

yes.. i need another holiday. please.

yesterday.. MAS started their price war by announcing the zero fare promo. interesting.

today.. Airasia lashes back.. :

> AirAsia will pay the difference to any of his passengers if they can find any MAS airfare that is lower than the cheapest offered by AirAsia.

> A sub-Zero Fare campaign.

read full article here peeps ..

holidays anyone..??

*teehee*

jalan jalan carik obat..

ok.. ok.. my feets are itching again.. i know i just got back from Bandung.. but that was a mission trip.. not jalan2 trip..

as i watch another episode of destinasi bajet on 8Tv.. (yummymummy.. the host is CHi??!!!? u knowww.....??? that Chii... *LOL* lis.. jangan buat2 tak kenal. aku upload gambor korang kang) .. i kept thinking to myself.. how come none of my peeps ever wanna do a backpacking .. or whatever kind of trip .. around our own country. i myself did Java.. and didn't even consider Malaysia.

hmm..

i know caveman is not a fan of backpacking trips... but then again... if i fine tune it .. say.. a road trip w/ the bat mobile & pish posh cribs..? *LOL*

interesting ei?

will come out with the details soon.. (maybe during my 3 day course next week.. hahaha)

paris van java : day 2

Day 2

after a normal indo breakfast of nasi goreng.. we were informed that mas beni was involved in an accident.. "motornya ditambrak mobil bu" waduh... gawat man..! and.. Bu Titi was our chaperon for the day.. later we found out (not through her of course) that she was actually the owner of the Cihampelas Hotel chain! now.. should we.. or should we not tip? hmmmm *grin*

she took us to the tiny street of Tamrin.. where rows of shops selling fabrics by the kilo are. a particular shop sells tons of cute cottons (katun they call it) and i went nuts! literally nuts! i love these katun.. they make such cute baju kurung (if u need to buy ur way into the MIL dungeon.. this is it! i kid u not!) today, as i write these.. i regret not buying it all. at RM4.00 per meter.. the quality is at par with those selling at RM25 per meter back home.

next stop.. rumah mode again, of course. the peeps went wild with laces & shantungs *LOL* me.. i just sit back & watch em go nuts! i really didn't want to shop as i still have a lot in my list.. for the family. i tell you buying kain for the family is even more tiring then buying for myself! *grin*

we only did 2 shop (the same 2 shop i went to in february) and we're beat. finally at 4pm we head out to Kampung Daun for lunch. and drop by adry's place to pick up my doorgift. her house area... fab! on the hills.. the houses are amazingg...!! its good to see her again.. unfortunately her baby boy was asleep. sigh. oh yea.. that pic.. is the pic of the gift she made me. ofcourse, this one has been modified cos its flower came off due to the tumble & fumble of the backpack. it wont be fun if i show the real gift *wink* but adry.. geulis ga? bisa dijual sih ide aku.. kaya' kotak putih itu deh *grin*

along the way to kampung daun.. the rain didnt stop at all. it has been raining since we touched down in bandung. we told mama, bandung kaget ama mama! hehe. its like driving up to cameron highlands.. nurseries everywhere, with hydrangeas blooming like nobody's business!

kampung daun is simply amazing. i love the way they build the whole area. the wakaf, the landscape, the food..super! it was definitely worth driving up from the town. but alas, it rained so we couldn't take any pics. i only manage to get some on the wakaf.. inspiration mate, inspiration *berangan mode*

last stop... kartika sari.. for the yummy brownies kukus. ramai gile orang. sampai molen pisang aku pun dah abis. this time, i didnt even get them. even at the airport, they've ran out of it..

sigh.. it was so tiring. endar dropped by our room later that night to pick up the kain he's tailoring for us. i dunno why i fell into that trap.. but i guess if it costs the same to make it here.. and i know he has magic hands.. why not. i just need to pujuk my office mates to pick it up for me. hehehe!

paris van java : day 1

well... what can i say.. i love bandung even more this time around.. muahahaha! lengthy posts are a bore.. so i'll split it up to multiple entries..

Day 1

after the miscalculation of the boarding time *grin* the rombongan pah bedah was up&away to BDO on a saturday morning. i can see mama's face gleam with excitement *LOL*. upon arrival, our supir, Mas Beni.. was super nice. and funny.

we headed to the town for a late lunch after freshing up (Cihampelas 2 Hotel is an affordable, clean hotel smacked in the middle of Ci-Walk). i specifically requested for a lunch at Pak Chi Met cos the food is just yummy. ikan bakar gurame la.. ayam bakar la.. yummyyylicious sunda food at its best! and my ulti fav.. jus alpokat..*sigh*

Mas Beni dropped mama&i to Pasar Baru, for the *gasp* fitting. it was good to see Ika & Endar again. much hugs &kisses.. Endar showed me his masterpiece. i was soooooo flipped out when i saw my wedding dresses. it was nothing over the top. it was just the way i always imagined my wedding dresses would be. understated glam *LOL* and amazingly i could still fit in it. much thanks to God's creation of bustier *grin* Endar told me to lose 4kg of my butt *LOL*!

and the shoes... sigh... here's a pic of the shoes.. sneak preview.. the dress..? only the Chosen Ones get to see em before the big day *wink* but if the kasut is like that... the dress.. ngehngehngeh!

mama went nuts buying fabrics for herself.. which i must say.. is very2 nice. something she will never buy on normal basis. but with the strong poison by ika & endar.. she even end up tailoring it with Endar!

we picked up mbak ida&mbak ila at the FO's. i can see em going crazy, especially at the kids section. my vice? baby tees. but being tight on my budget.. i only bought a jeans&tee. and some stuff for adik, abah&caveman.

dinner was super at Warung Ampera.. they have probably the best bergedel ive had in my entire life! seriously.

it was fun being out with mama. i've never been on an outbound trip with her alone. and it was fun making fun at her. kadang tu kesian gak, tertinggal.. i keep telling her.. ma, jalan laju cket.. *LOL*

Day 4 : Yogya, Yogya!!! (Part 1)

my day was well disturbed by a subuh aftermath. we were so beat the night before, we left our keys outside our door. lucky us, the door was locked from the inside as well. but some lady, thinking it was her room (for reasons i dun know why) woke us up by trying to unlock it using the key. obviously pissed, i walked to the door, eyes 1/2 open.. and knocked on the door.. from the inside apparently.. and apparently gave her the shock of her life. *LOL* beristighfar ibu tu! hantu la kot die ingat. hahaha! it was soo funny when we talked bout it in the morning. all i hear her say was " astagfirullahalazim, saya pikir kamar saya".. ngehngehngeh!

yogya is a clean town. seriusly. well.. atleast to the parts i went to it was clean. Pasar Beringharjo was kind of like Pasar Klewer of Solo, only less batik. and no, batik solo was not found here. a lot of fabrics nonetheless. those ready made baju pengantin.. mak ai.. heavy beading berkilo2! for only RM100. i didn't buy anything here cos i couldnt wait to try the infamous bakpia.

bakpia is sold everywhere in jogja but, only a number of it a yummy. The most popular bakpia is known as Bakpia Patuk. bakpia is some kind of pastry, with fillings such as greenbean & yes, cheese. everything in indonesia seemed to have cheese in em. trust me, the cheese bakpia is yummmmyyyy!!!!!!! for a box of 10, its only Rp10,000. unfortunately on our way to bandung, we bought a different brand of bakpia.. and it wasn't as nice. boohoo!!

we took 2 becak to go to the kraton. yela, takkan nak naik 3 orang kan..hehe. we met 2 very nice pak becak.. who waited for us patiently when we were in Taman Sari & Kraton. i asked my pak becak (whom i couldn't remember his name :( ), how much does he make per day. he says it depends on tourists arrivals. he usually makes a lot between June to August. he rents the becak for Rp3,000 per day. has 2 daughters, 1 still in school.. and just not making enough. he's old i tell ya, and i feel sorry everytime he has to get down & push the becak while going uphill. yela, i probably lost only 1kg up until the 4th day. *LOL* so on this note.. do give em more.. it may be peanuts to you.. but it meant a lot to em..

anyways, the Taman Sari is where the kinds & queens have a splashin good time back in the days. the pool are divided into 2.. 1 for the princesses & the dayang2 (the royal maids).. and 1 for the king & queens. there's a tower overlooking the former pool, in which the king will take his pick for the dayang of his choice. when decided, he will throw a white jasmine to the pool. neat huh? then the dayang will proceed to the make up room..and waits for the king in the waiting room. in which, underneath the bed is a sauna where herbs are steamed for whatever reasons. neat innit? hehehe!

we were told the Taman Sari was used by the 1st til the 3rd king of yogya. and it was during a transition time from the Hindu years.. to the muslim years. so its architechtural was a mix of both. which puzzles me everytime i see it.

i bought 2 paintings in Taman Sari.. which i loved and plans to hang in my crib. when i have em that is. and m not even sure if caveman likes em.. but hei..its not like he's around a lot in the new home.. teehee.

woops, too long an entry.. to be continued....

Day 3 : Central Java

we arrived in Solo in the wee hours of the morning. thank god the bus driver dropped us right in front of the Grand Setiakawan Hotel . it is pretty creepy if we were at the terminal at that time of the day ( we saw it during the day.. boy are we lucky we didnt go there! hehe).

a bit of background check.. Solo the short name for Surakarta, is a major city in Central Java, Indonesia. Together with Yogyakarta, these two cities are heirs of the Mataram kingdom that was split in 1755.

we headed out to pasar klewer .. to see how does the most hyped up batik solo all about. pasar klewer turned out to be everything batik. and its nice batik, mind you. the kind my grandma always tell me to get for her, but i just never found em. well, i found em in solo. its so soft its unbelievable. i duno why i bought so little. maybe cos i wanted to cabot from the custom who asked too much (that of course will be covered it the last part of this chains of entries).

we went to kraton (which is istana / castle in indonesian), just behind the pasar klewer. just like what i saw on the net.. their kraton is very much different from ours. its like a block of single storey bungalow.. with huge compounds.. and no slippers in the compounds for you are not allowed to bring out any of those black sands. it is believed those sands are to jinx out your jinx. hmm..

we took a horse cart back to our hotel.. a good way to actually see the town, especially when u're running short of time. we have to rush back to the hotel, to take another bus to jogja. its their rainy season & we dont want to reach the prambanan, wet (which, we did).

the bus ride to jogja was brief.. and we were entertained by their seniman jalanan.. or seniman bus i would call em. most of them sang letto's sebelum cahaya.. which we love! 1 guy sang it so well.. we gave him hersheys! *LOL*

the most upsetting thing was when we got to prambanan.. not only it was gonna close in 30minit..and starting to rain.. we managed to get our tix as a local.. which means.. paying on Rp8,000. tourists had to pay Rp80,000!! tapi sampai2 kat gate tu.. they took 1 look at me & asked.. "tamunya dari mana mbak?".. referring to the japanese looking tim & nini.. *LOL* kantoiiiii.... they asked for out KTP (kartu tunjuk pengenalan.. or sumthin).. and as we fibbed our way out saying its in our backpack..bla bla bla.. well.. we didnt get through em. damn! i thought they would have just let us in.. i mean.. its like 30 mins to closing & its raining, just let us through for god's sake!

dengan kehampaan.. kiteorg pun blah.. and got a bus to restoran ayam goreng nyonya suharti..we havent had a thing running in our bellies since morning! it was reallllyyyyyy good... especially the gado-gado. but m pretty sure its becos we were starving. hahaha!

but i can say i already liked yogyakarta. minus the fact that upon our arrival in our Sri Wibowo hotel, we watched kuch kuch hota hei in indonesian *LOL* .

spendings (for 3):

Transportation

taksi to pasar klewer : Rp16,000
Kraton entrance : Rp12,000
Horsie cart ride : Rp20,000
Bus to Jogja : Rp24,000
Bus to Rest. Ny. Suharti : Rp12,000
Taksi to hotel in Malioboro : Rp23,000

Food

Rstoran Ayam Goreng Nyonya Suharti : Rp137,000

Hotel

Sri Wibowo (off Jl Malioboro ) : Rp209,000

2nd Day...East Java

trust me.. waking up at 3am, in the blistering cold, to catch a sunrise.. is a super ordeal. this is not a holiday i told tim, this is boot camp!*LOL* it was like.. soo cold.. but heh, my nose didnt bleed. we drove to penanjakan, to watch the sunrise. karin took the jeep w/ us (as expected). due to the biig mouth.. her jeep ditched her *LOL*. we couldnt see where we were driving to but it was pretty scary cos i know there r bumps & holes everywhere. but the jeep driver, pak yoga.. was super.

anyways, to cut long story short. there was no sunrise. it was all clouds & fogs & all the wisata (tourists) were very dissapointed. how can i forget that february is their wet season??! another note.. we paid Rp20,000 for the winter jacket. at the foot of penanjakan.. u can get it for Rp5,000. the hotel will hustle u for everythin.. "mbak, mau jacket. jacketnya udah tinggal dikit (bs!!)".. "mbak.. jeep nya harus di booking malam ni. takut kehabisan" another bs.

proceeding to the mt bromo was a better view. we drove through the black sand area, where it looked like sea from above.. it was amazing. we took a shortcut by taking a pony up the mountain (the mat salleh all jalan.. terer merer). it was freaky for me. so not good at it. i think the pony hates me too *lol*and climbing up the stairs was.. crazy! i thought i was gonna die & be buried in sulphur! *grin* but the view was amazing.

later in the afternoon, we drove to Malang by Pak Yoga and we tried to charter it for Rp300,000, but the lowest was Rp350,000. driving through the savannah.. goodness..it was picture perfect. a reminder.. do not bother to stop by the waterfall on the way to Malang. we walked sooo far & still didnt reach it. all we could seee was a stream. so save your Rp5,ooo for the entrance. its like paying to walk to nowhere *grin*

Malang is a nice small town.. the people are friendly.. the food are super yummy.. and its breezy..we went apple picking at the Agro Wisata in Batu Malang. strongly recommend the bakso of malang. yummy. but if people tell u to try rojak cinggur.. its rojak made of the mouth of sapi (cow). so.. hmm..

again, the people of Malang, proves our point that they are indeed the nicest. the manager of the bus we took to Solo that night was even kind enough to ask his driver to drop us right in front of the Grand Setiakawan Hotel, as he says the Solo bus terminal is just unsafe for backpackers in the wee hours of the morning (we were expected to arrive at about 4am).

it was a long day indeed & i was so ready to crash when i got in the bus to Solo at 8pm. its gonna be another long day on the 3rd day..

btw.. here's what we spent on the third day (for 3 pax):

Sunrise jeep : Rp300,000 (return)
Pony ride : Rp120,000 (return)
Jeep to Malang : Rp350,000
Cab to Batu Malang : Rp70,000
Cab from Batu Malang to terminal Arjosari : Rp95,000
Entrance of Agro Wisata : Rp72,000
Food : Rp52,000
Bus to Solo : Rp180,000

Total : Rp1,239,000

more info : Wikitravel

sebelum cahaya..

oklah.. by popular demand.. drop by my flickr.. as well as nenie's picasa web album (album 1 & album 2) for the java trip pics..

these pics werent edited, mind you..

Day 1 : Surabaya

the lcct was packed with people.. as always. but being the 1st of feb.. airasia launched their first trip to s'pore. and the big bos was there. i shouldve brought my resume, along w/ my itinerary. hehe! my backpack was weighed at 7.1kg.. not bad ei? hehe!

my supposedly allrite flight was badly ruined by a group of pakcik2 gomen yg gatal.. when they're not talking politics.. its their dirty jobs behind their wives' back. at 1 point.. one of the pakcik (w/ a strong utara accent) was tellin the other om om (pakcik in indonesian) how he managed to fib his way w/ his wife when he came home late smelling of a woman's perfume.. "tadi ada orang semboq perfume kat mall.. kita mana nak tau tu perfume laki ka pompuan. dah tu.. lepaih la aku" followed by gatal laughs from the other om om. gile bodo la bini die to actually fall for that! and a few other things which just pisses me off. and they were like so loud.. and gatal.. and obscene.. and when they weren't talking.. they were snoring. like real snores!

arriving at the airport.. we took the shutter bus to bungurasih terminal bis.. to catch the very next bis (bus in indonesian) to probolinggo. came this om who sat rite next to us. and kept looking an smilin at us. we were like.. oh no.. not another om om. but turned out to be th nicest guy! our guardian angel was from Malang.. and on his way to the terminal to take a bus home. knowing we've never set foot in surabaya.. he offered to accompany us. not only that.. he took the same bus as we did (to probolinggo).. eventhough going to Malang would be off a totally different bus. he said he wanted to make sure we were safe. cheesy, i know. but he didnt even let us pay for his ticket. i learnt that he was in the navy like abah and has been working in the airport for almost 20 years. so he sees many wisata (tourists) gets ripped off.. and wouldnt want it to happen to us.

we reached probolinggo at about 4pm..tired.. hungry.. and had to take a mini van up to cemaralawang.. as there are no other transportation up to the village (being late). we paid Rp300,000 for the whole mini van.. only to be told by the driver (as soon as we';re outside the terminal) that he needs to pick up 2 more tourists. 1st day dah kena kapak. sigh..we couldnt wait to ask the other tourists how much did they pay for that trip (apparently also Rp300,000!!).

the trip up to cemaralawang was really tiring.. but scenic.. and cold! and it started to rain really heavily and scary.

upon arriving at cemara indah, we hooked up w/ other tourists.. to see how many others got ripped of. hehe. you see.. we were supposed to pay another Rp300,000 for jeep for the next morning sunrise programme. but we somehow bumped into Karin, a tourist from Holland who said she paid only Rp150,000 for the entire jeep (which,she paid in probolinggo). she got into a heated argument w/ the staffs of the resort.. and said that they were trying to rip us off. being tired.. and cold.. and mainly hungry (we didnt eat anythin but our big breakfast in mcd lcct).. we couldnt be bothered to butt in.

the other tourists who were in our mini van is a couple from the UK.. law grads.. taking time off to travel before they start working. we also met some from surabaya.. which, only this girl named dewi was really friendly. her friend & dewi's boyfriend, i think, were really snobbish.

we settled in our tiny room and snuggled in our carpet look a like selimut *grin* and called it a day.

n m really glad we did the budget in the spread sheet. cos it makes our job so much easier. you see this is what happen when a QS goes on a trip with a banker.. cost cost cost! *LOL*

in total.. on the first day we spent :

Bus from Surabaya Airport to Bungurasih Terminal: Rp30,000
Bus from Bungurasih to Probolinggo : Rp20,000
Mini Van to Cemara Lawang : Rp100,000
Food : Rp20,000

TOTAL : Rp130,000

Wee!! we were totally within budget! i will be loading in on the actual cost of the 11 day trips. cos as we were doing our costing.. it was so difficult to get em from many2 sources.. i hope my ramblings will help many who are thinking of doing this java backpacking..

leavin on a jet plane

all my bags r packed & m ready to go..

agak2.. kalau wa nyanyi depan umah.. mama melalak tak? hahahahha! will not try..

my bags are all packed.. and being a 60L.. it stands at 1/2 of me! *LOL* and i thought i packed light.. but it turned out to be pretty heavy. i cant imagine climbing the last few kilometers of Mt Bromo in em. i only pack clothes to last me til i reach bandung on the 6th day.. and its still heavy. i guess m just not used to carrying backpacks. its usually those stroller bags..

i think i have every essential thing i need in it.. :

tees, pants, innies.. check
sweater... check..
jacket.. check..
gloves.. check..
towels.. check
biotherm ..moisturiser, cleanser, mask(ala kecik je! m gonna in the heat 4 so long k!).. check
dermalogica.. toner, sunblock.. check
all shampoo.. check
toothbrush/paste.. check
Rp.. check (lamak blum tukar!)
itinerary.. check
passport.. check
bookings... check
menatang tutup mata & neck pillow.. check (8 hour train & bus rides aids)
reading book.. check
obat2 & 1st aid minis.. check..

here's the itinerary.. (for those who think this packing list is overrated)

Day 1 .. fly to surabaya.. travel up to cemorolawang to hike up to mt bromo very early morning on day 2

Day 2.. climb up mt bromo for sunrise. note :3am :(( travel back to malang.. and hopefully get to venture around..take a nite bus to solo

Day 3.. venture solo.. move to jogja.. stop by prambanan.. reside in jogja town

Day 4.. venture jogja town..move to manohara.. a hotel in the borobudur compound

Day 5.. sunrise in borobudur.. jenjalan merapi&parangtritis (tak ingat) take a night train to bandung

Day 6 - 8.. bandung bandung!!

Day 9 .. venture to jakarta

Day 10 .. venture back to bandung.. beli lagi beli!!

Day 11.. home sweet home.. weee!!

Day 12.. cuti.. recover

Day 13.. kerja.. uwaaa!!!!mogokkk!!!

i will miss all my blogstalkers...

mwahhhhhhhhhhhh! see u in 14 days!!

backpacking know how..

for those who have gone on a holiday with me.. would know that i pack practically everything you would need. too hot? have an evian mist. too cold. have a thermal. baby wipes is super essential. sunblocks even to the temples. hats. pareo. dun forget the cosmetic bits of it. *LOL*

but ive never been on a backpacking trip. and 10 days!! there are many backpacking tips available on the net.. but mainly for guys.. and backpacking through the wilderness.

so when i came across Girls Travel Club, i was thrilled. i especially like reading the packing list part. never thought lavender oil would be important. must find my tiny bottle of lavender tonite. hee. i mean.. this lady travelled for 12 months, carrying less than 6 kg (of course die tak gi bandung! LOL)

speaking of bandung.. went to SSF & earlier met w/ my seamstress. he just had a liposuction. and showed me the scar. aduh. and everything in SSF (that i wanted) is so expy. until my SIL drop the bomb.. one of her friend has a discount card of 45%. woohooooo!!!!!!

now that.. m gonna need a bigger list... *grin*

Java Jive

macam penah pakai je title ni. nvm..

apart from being super stressed out bout the trip.. little tim2 & i have decided to chill & just go w/ the flow. bismillah je la.. insyaAllah.. u peeps better b praying for me..

anyone has any tips on surabaya - jogja - bandung trips.. anythin on mt bromo & the borobudur.. do drop me a line. i wish yummy mummy&tall munchkin r w/ me on this. visiting borobudur will it my 2nd ancient ruin trip. a lot of people just dun get why we're into these ancient ruins. even caveman. sumpah tobat die tanak gi. but.. i dunno how to explain it. can u imagine how it was created it the 1st place? a gajillion years ago.. and still standing strong til today. ofcourse i heard the ruins in prambanan was affected by the quake in 2006 i hope i get this right). the sight of it is still fantastic. i remembered angkor wat being perfectly symetrical.. and this was before physics & maths.

as for mt. bromo.. this will be my 1st ever mounting trip. many of my peeps have been trying to drag me to mt kinabalu.. but m just not into this hard work. of course.. seeing these photographs of mt. bromo.. i just had to see it for myself. plus.. its only a 1/2 hike.. the rest is via jeep&ponies. heheheh!

so.. apart from me.. here's what u'll be missing as well.. ngehngehngeh!

my calling..

i woke up this morning feeling very tired. having to wake up after a really bad dream is tiring aight *grin* suddenly felt like making cupcakes, which the recipes i've copied from Su Yin's blog. Yes, i know m supposed to be on a diet.. but my nephews are home.. its the new year.. i'll go running this afternoon.. swear (with thick indonesian accent) ;)

Last night i received a call from a friend. ingatkan nak wish happy new year. rupenye, tanye if i've ever googled on griund arrangements in London. i think its my calling la. should stop being a banker and be a travel advisor.

So here goes.. from what i've gathered from Wikitravel, it seemed pretty easy to get around London. there are busses, trains. the major airports are heathrow, gatwick, luton and stansted and transportation from each airport to the city is plenty. and the hotels are abundant.. London Heathrow Hotels, London Gatwick Hotels, Luton Airport Hotels, London Stansted Hotels.

now would you excuse me.. i'm off to watch The Bucket List.. which was rated to be one of the best movie of 2007, sambnil berangan ape aku nak ketuk kat mamat london ni. *ngehngeh*

P/S : Wikitravel's destination of the month is...*drum roll* Angkor Archaeological Park! woohoo!

mundane monday

heh. so much for the upbeat weekend. not. im still very tired from the 1 1 /2 day course (bad food, less water). woke up this morning feeling very 60 year old *cringe*. i need a good holiday.. and witch reminded me of my have not been planned honeymoon. oh well.. no need to swamp my purple brain about it for its gonna be to monsoony to head to Japamala, Tioman when the time comes *sob sob*.

the office was full of stressed out vibe, that eventually wears me out as early as 10.30am. m supposed to bring in RM1m this morning.. instead i incur a loss of RM1.16m. huarghh! i need a holiday!!

my friend was telling me he's heading to Spain for work next year. Spain? for work?? huarghh!! so to help him out (nak sedapkan hati sendiri)... i compiled a few things about Spain that i think might help. It would also help him to do a great photography project. I mean, just think of the Sagrada Familia. i also saw on Twiggy's blog that she was blogging on this huge unfinished temple. kewl ei? tak kira la bawak camera besor mana.. this would be uber kewl.

apart from the architecture, what else.. bull fighting? gory, but i dont think it should be missed *hee* apart from Barcelona, Benidorm would be a good bet. knowing my friend is a photography junkie, being close to the water (instead of all building, building, buildings) would be a good change.

sigh.. i hate these people who loves their job. as for me.. m gonna go & get me a queen bed my mom have been pestering me to get. its the last thing i haven't got to revamp my single crip to a love nest. hahahahahaah!

krabeeeee

krabi.. at last. ive always thought i'd go to krabi w/ my peeps. turn out.. i went w/ caveman. his outdoorsy limits have yet to be tested. haha!

So after the whole hoopala chaotic weeks of raya & weddings, we air asiaed ourselves to krabi. known by many via that crappy movie, The Beach. caveman have not seen it. i remembered watching it w/ my uni peeps in JB. seemed like ages ago. a crappy movie indeed. i watched it only to see phi phi. hihi.

1. the bus ride
the cab that our hotel arranged for did not arrive. much to our delight cos the bus is much much cheaper. but our joy ride was short lived when the previously "tourist only" was invaded by a busuk thai guy. seriusly, i mean busuk. mula2 caveman was like, mana datang bau kaki ni? the next thing we know.. the busuk guy was taking off his shirt.. his pants.. and changing into new clothes. mind you this new baju is busuk as well. masyaAllah. the mat salleh in front of us (seated right behind this guy) turned green like they just had durian. hahah! it was freaking funny. caveman having 2nd thoughts on taking the bus back to the airport lusa. heehe.

2. the elephunk ride
bestie asked why would i want another ephelant ride, when we had one in siem reap. well.. this one missy.. is through the jungle. for an hour. in the wild. masuk sungai. rempuh pokok. poop&pee stops. my gawd its fab!!!! and caveman was like back in his nature. wait.. that would make him.. tarzan la kan? ape plak caveman. hahahahah!

3. the hotel
it was allrite. the cheapest i could get. made me wait an hour in my room while the pomen fix the aircond. upgraded me to the next room. still rosak. upgraded me to the junior suite. wee! alas the air con also rosak. back to my room "your air cond is allrite madam". left me w/ dirty floors, which i had to clean up. unwillingly. and the room smells damp. and the water..well.. nuthin like the elephant pee..

4. the people
they thought we were thais. duh. and they dont layan asians. only 1/4 of ao nang layan us asians.

5. the food
we were on pancake & sneakers diet for 3 days. and cococrunch in the morning became staple food. the best thing was.. caveman's telur 1/2 masak.. is telur rebus. hahahah! mcd die ade ala2 prosperity burger .. but its pork. yum. haha! and their oreo mcflurry sux. ew. and they have mcflurry banana. me, a banana lover hereby confirms that that too.. sux.

6. phi phi
ahhh.. phi phi. teenage dream came true. hee. even went to maya beach.. where they shot The Beach. it was pretty. very pretty. the whole thing la.. monkey bay la, bamboo island la, viking cave la. the whole island is in the midst of limestone caves. but under water world.. our shores are wayyyyyyy better. therefore..take a bus to terengganu folks.

7. pearls
bought em. lost em. nuff said