7.31.2012
Overheard #1
B: You probably think im pathetic for even caring, for if i was truly powerful, i'd be content without any man at all.
7.20.2012
26hours Bus Ride to Flores
Hi there my fellow blog readers!
It's been a while since I haven't posted anything here, I havent even continue my story about my last trip! Well i guess I shall pick it up where we left off. In this posting I'll tell you about my journey on the road, beginning from Lombok until I arrived in the harbor city of Labuan Bajo, Flores.
After spending couple of nights in Lombok and figuring out the best way to go to Labuan Bajo, Flores, we finally chose to hop on a bus straight to Labuan Bajo (LBJ) which cost us around.... 350.000 something (Correct me if i'm wrong). Flying on an airplane (TransNusa) was an expensive option for us, also considering that the planes used for Eastern Indonesia flights are usually creepy. So we didnt dare to take that option. When I got in the bus, I looked around, the bus was decent, it was okay, not that dirty, pretty comfy enough to be seated in for long hours. There werent many tourist in that bus, there were only 6 travellers (including two of us), while mostly it was packed up by locals who were going to Flores to visit their family, relatives, or to work.
Thus, the journey started in Terminal Mandalika in Mataram, Lombok. We already filled up every little thing we might need on the road: snacks, snacks, snacks, food, drinks, wet tissue, snacks, snacks, and anti-travel sickness pills! Well during the ride, I kept on waking up and falling asleep, so unfortunately I didnt concentrate much on what's on the road. But the ferry crossing from Lombok to Sumbawa was pretty nasty. It was filthy, and smell horrible. I took the opportunity to charge my camera and mobile phone in the cafetaria. In case you havent known yet, in a ferry you can ask the man in the cafetaria counter to charge your electronics and it'll cost you around 2000-5000 thousand rupiahs per gadget. When it was fully charged, then I would just lay my body on whatever space available and sleep.
It was my first time in Sumbawa!!! So curious to see what's on this other part of Indonesia. But since we got to Sumbawa somewhere during the middle of the night, I could barely see anything. It was pitch black. All I can feel was that the road was severely jammed and brutally bumpy. I could never close my eyes and sleep. But as far as my sight goes, I could see that the scenery was draped with coastal lines and savannas. But the road was pretty empty and deserted.
It was in Dompu, somewhere right in the middle of the island, where our bus suddenly stopped. I was sleeping, and I thought that the driver must have had something to buy or maybe it was the rest-area or something. But turned out it wasnt. Turned out that the bus' tire was flat. And it was in the middle of nowhere, at around 12 AM. Sweet.
The passengers have been waiting for so long and they ran out of patience. The bus driver didnt inform us anything, what time we would go again, what were the other options, where we better rest, no he didn't inform us anything. In fact he ran away into the villager's house and left us in the middle of the road there. The passengers kept on grumbling, and murmuring, some even said they wanted to look for the driver and beat him up -_-
Well me, I'm not much of a complainer so I just rolled up a piece of cloth as my blanket, and sleep on the terrace of a villager's house.
At around 6 o'clock, a pick-up truck came with a tire. It was our bus' tire! Yeayyyy. Turn out that the bus company had to drive all the way from Bima, the capital city of Sumbawa, to our location to bring the tire, which took around 5-6 hours. So the tire got repaired, and we continued our way to Bima.
Although we had bought a one way ticket from Lombok to Labuan Bajo, but once we arrived in Bima, it turned out that the bus couldnt even take us to the harbor, Sape. So we had to stop and take a minibus to get to Sape.
So this 'mini bus' which could take us to Sape was somekind of Daihatsu L300. The capacity was supposedly at the maximum of 10 people. But you know how many people who were tucked inside the car? 40!!!! I didnt know how we made it, but the car went anyway. And it was my first time to see a passenger to actually sit on the right side of the driver!!! (In Indonesia, people drive on the right side) And there suppose to be nobody on the right side of the driver. Nobody!
Anyway, me and Aby could actually manage to get out alive and well in Sape harbor. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut there's a but. We were late for that day's ferry. And there were only one ferry for each day. So, after we got jammed up in that 'sardine can', we had to wait for another day to come so we could get on the ferry for the next day. And the rest of the day was filled with looking for a cheap hostel around the harbor and finally, a BED!!!! A pretty proper one.
The next day, we hopped on the ferry to Labuan Bajo. The ferry crossing took approximately 9 hours from Sape to LBJ. Probably the worst PELNI ferry I've ever been on haha. But nevertheless, the view was uh-ma-zing. The blue sky came across green-yellowish hills, all down to the blue and turquoise sea. Didn't seem like I was in Indonesia! There were so many small islands, which seemed 'unearth'. Oh and also, we also had the opportunity to see dolphins jumping up and down near our ferry! Incredible.
Finally after 9 hours, we arrived in Labuan Bajo. It was a beautiful harbor city, with hills and cliffs surrounding the bay, garnished by white houses and small locally run hotels.
And the rest of my trip in Flores, I shall continue on my next posting. Ciao for now!
Stay cool,
Tami
It's been a while since I haven't posted anything here, I havent even continue my story about my last trip! Well i guess I shall pick it up where we left off. In this posting I'll tell you about my journey on the road, beginning from Lombok until I arrived in the harbor city of Labuan Bajo, Flores.
After spending couple of nights in Lombok and figuring out the best way to go to Labuan Bajo, Flores, we finally chose to hop on a bus straight to Labuan Bajo (LBJ) which cost us around.... 350.000 something (Correct me if i'm wrong). Flying on an airplane (TransNusa) was an expensive option for us, also considering that the planes used for Eastern Indonesia flights are usually creepy. So we didnt dare to take that option. When I got in the bus, I looked around, the bus was decent, it was okay, not that dirty, pretty comfy enough to be seated in for long hours. There werent many tourist in that bus, there were only 6 travellers (including two of us), while mostly it was packed up by locals who were going to Flores to visit their family, relatives, or to work.
Thus, the journey started in Terminal Mandalika in Mataram, Lombok. We already filled up every little thing we might need on the road: snacks, snacks, snacks, food, drinks, wet tissue, snacks, snacks, and anti-travel sickness pills! Well during the ride, I kept on waking up and falling asleep, so unfortunately I didnt concentrate much on what's on the road. But the ferry crossing from Lombok to Sumbawa was pretty nasty. It was filthy, and smell horrible. I took the opportunity to charge my camera and mobile phone in the cafetaria. In case you havent known yet, in a ferry you can ask the man in the cafetaria counter to charge your electronics and it'll cost you around 2000-5000 thousand rupiahs per gadget. When it was fully charged, then I would just lay my body on whatever space available and sleep.
It was my first time in Sumbawa!!! So curious to see what's on this other part of Indonesia. But since we got to Sumbawa somewhere during the middle of the night, I could barely see anything. It was pitch black. All I can feel was that the road was severely jammed and brutally bumpy. I could never close my eyes and sleep. But as far as my sight goes, I could see that the scenery was draped with coastal lines and savannas. But the road was pretty empty and deserted.
It was in Dompu, somewhere right in the middle of the island, where our bus suddenly stopped. I was sleeping, and I thought that the driver must have had something to buy or maybe it was the rest-area or something. But turned out it wasnt. Turned out that the bus' tire was flat. And it was in the middle of nowhere, at around 12 AM. Sweet.
The passengers have been waiting for so long and they ran out of patience. The bus driver didnt inform us anything, what time we would go again, what were the other options, where we better rest, no he didn't inform us anything. In fact he ran away into the villager's house and left us in the middle of the road there. The passengers kept on grumbling, and murmuring, some even said they wanted to look for the driver and beat him up -_-
Well me, I'm not much of a complainer so I just rolled up a piece of cloth as my blanket, and sleep on the terrace of a villager's house.
At around 6 o'clock, a pick-up truck came with a tire. It was our bus' tire! Yeayyyy. Turn out that the bus company had to drive all the way from Bima, the capital city of Sumbawa, to our location to bring the tire, which took around 5-6 hours. So the tire got repaired, and we continued our way to Bima.
Although we had bought a one way ticket from Lombok to Labuan Bajo, but once we arrived in Bima, it turned out that the bus couldnt even take us to the harbor, Sape. So we had to stop and take a minibus to get to Sape.
So this 'mini bus' which could take us to Sape was somekind of Daihatsu L300. The capacity was supposedly at the maximum of 10 people. But you know how many people who were tucked inside the car? 40!!!! I didnt know how we made it, but the car went anyway. And it was my first time to see a passenger to actually sit on the right side of the driver!!! (In Indonesia, people drive on the right side) And there suppose to be nobody on the right side of the driver. Nobody!
Anyway, me and Aby could actually manage to get out alive and well in Sape harbor. Buuuuuuuuuuuuut there's a but. We were late for that day's ferry. And there were only one ferry for each day. So, after we got jammed up in that 'sardine can', we had to wait for another day to come so we could get on the ferry for the next day. And the rest of the day was filled with looking for a cheap hostel around the harbor and finally, a BED!!!! A pretty proper one.
The next day, we hopped on the ferry to Labuan Bajo. The ferry crossing took approximately 9 hours from Sape to LBJ. Probably the worst PELNI ferry I've ever been on haha. But nevertheless, the view was uh-ma-zing. The blue sky came across green-yellowish hills, all down to the blue and turquoise sea. Didn't seem like I was in Indonesia! There were so many small islands, which seemed 'unearth'. Oh and also, we also had the opportunity to see dolphins jumping up and down near our ferry! Incredible.
Finally after 9 hours, we arrived in Labuan Bajo. It was a beautiful harbor city, with hills and cliffs surrounding the bay, garnished by white houses and small locally run hotels.
And the rest of my trip in Flores, I shall continue on my next posting. Ciao for now!
Stay cool,
Tami
1.25.2012
Lombok: Gili Terawangan, Bumbang Beach, Kebon Duren!
Heiya! After one semester filled with college assignments, papers, exams, and projects, finally the time has come for semester break! Woo hoo :D One month with exactly nothing to do…. Anyway on this posting and several postings later I’m gonna write about the trip I did last June-August to Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores. But let’s just skip the Bali part shall we? It was the usual trip to Tanah Lot, Kuta, Ubud, Bedugul, Dreamland, Monkey Forest, etc.
Gili Terawangan
Anyway, we started the trip in Gili Terawangan, pretty much I didn’t do anything on my third time there *nyombong*. I just lay down under the sunny sunglight, blue sky, on the beach with crystal blue water, wind blowing gently, The Zahir on my lap (my favourite one of Coelho’s) and….. some bules with their bikinis and their perut yang tumpah ruah. Other times I just walked along the shoreline with my friends . Well as far as I can see, the island has developed with more hostels/motels/cottages, bars, and restaurants. More tourists ofcourse. My first time there I guess it was around 8 or 9 years ago and it was still like a pure private island. My second time there was 4 years ago, with more hotels and restaurants, bars, even mini cinema cafe. And now it has grown pretty developed. But apart from all the expensive restaurants, it’s not that hard to find cheap food here. They still have a spot for food stalls. And what I like from these islands is that motorbikes and cars are still not allowed on the road. You’ll find lots of bicycles for rent, or ‘delman’ along the pavements. That’s why the air is still fresh and unpolluted! :D But for you guys who are looking for a serene, tranquil place with less crowd then I wont recommend this island for you. At night you’ll hear the boom-boom-bass from the nearest bar and the crowd never sleeps until dawn. But last time I went there it was on late July during Ramadhan and all the noise stopped at 12. But during other months, this island is like tropical entertainment paradise, perfect for those who are seeking for a spot to meet up and hang around with other fellow travelers.
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| Kaki gue bergelimpangan dibawah sinar matahari |
The road from Senggigi to Kuta was actually one the best trail I've ever seen in Indonesia, the vista was just amazing going ups and downs the hill on the steep side of the cliff overlooking the blue ocean! Gue jamin naik angkot ga bakal berasa kaya naik angkot kalo pemandangannya kaya begini.
Bumbang Beach
After spending three days 2 nights in Gili Terawangan, I met up with my friend’s family and his brother booked a room through Agoda in Bumbangku Beach Hotel, without knowing exactly where it was…… All we knew was that it’s located somewhere in Lombok’s Kuta Region. FYI, Lombok’s Kuta and its Tanjung Aan are my favourite beaches in Lombok! Anyway, we didn’t have any idea where this hotel was located but there were some signs pointing the direction to the hotel. We followed the direction and the road was severely jammed. I bet it used to be a proper road, but it has became an OFF-ROAD. Jumping ups and downs, left and right on the steep, circuitous and unsurfaced road without any proper sign of the hotel, we doubted if it was really the right way to reach the hotel…. But we continued driving though, cause the energy was well paid off with amazing sceneries overlooking the vast blue Indian ocean, hilly landscape with lush green valleys. Finally we saw something looking like cottages and yeay! It was the Bumbangku Beach Cottages! The owner of the hotel greeted us:
Welcome to visit beautiful Bumbang beach which is quiet, unspoiled and far from the developed world
We told the owner about the road we had, and she told us that they actually had a boat-shuttle service where they would pick the guests in Grupuk Beach and take them by boat for 75rb. Ha. If only we knew this earlier. But! Anyway it was such an adrenalin rush and I recommend you to go by land for you thrill seekers! :D.
Far from developed world, Indeed it was. We were welcomed with unspoiled pale sand with clear turquoise water and a long long shoreline to run on. We spent the day by exploring the bay on a boat. The bay was surrounded by huge yellowish hills which made a contrast view to the blue water, the bay was also famous and one of the best surfing points in Lombok and they even had this unique ‘Ocean Bar’, a floating bar exactly located in the middle of the sea where surfers came to rest and relax! We also saw the spawning processes of lobsters, crabs, and seaweed. Where then they would cook the lobster fishes etc for the guests, freshly taken from the sea! :D Not to forget, the sunset was TRE-MEN-DOUS!
Kebon Duren
The next day, my friend’s family went back to Jakarta and then we went to the bus station to buy the ticket straight to Labuan Bajo, Flores (Later we knew that this was such a mistake). Waiting for the departure of the bus, our driver took us to his house and his Kebon Duren. If only I had kebon duren…. I’ll die between thouse sweet-sour-soft durians…. Forget fasting, it’s durian party! We ate em all sampe muak (mumpung gratis!) Somehow lombok’s durian is pretty different than other durians I have eaten *ceritanya pengamat duren* It’s very sweet with more “nyesshhhh” taste like alcohol when you bite it. Nyummmmmmm :p
Well those were our first stories during our long trip to Flores. After having enough of durians and mangosteen, the driver took us back to the bus station. He even offered us some other durians for us to kept for the long journey, but no. Satu bis bakal mabok kalo bekel gue dan Aby adalah duren.
Thus, we left Lombok on the 26 hours long haul bus ride to Labuan Bajo, Flores.
Stay cool!
Tami
11.03.2011
What's the point of cleaning up when it's gonna get messy again?
" Maybe life is a journey without destination. The only certainty about life’s destination is death. So why hurry? Why go so fast? Why not go through the road of life ambling, enjoy the sceneries, behold the flowers, befriend the fellow travelers, joke with them, have fun and give a hand to those who are tired and limping and make their journey pleasant too?
Yes, most of the things we were told were lies. Every day we discover new things and realize what we knew before was a lie. Up and down, east and west, truth and falsehood, good and bad, are all illusions. Your up is down to someone else. Your east is west to another person, your truth is falsehood to your neighbor and what is good for you can be bad for the next guy. But there is one thing that is not an illusion and that is the fact that we exist.
In the road of life, there are thorns and thistles. There are cliffs and precipices. There are hardships to overcome. And at times, the journey can become tiresome. But there are also flowers that grow alongside the road. There are beautiful sceneries to see, interesting people to meet and good companions to cherish. The journey can become joyous when you walk in good company, and when you are surrounded by people that you love and who love you. It is also joyous when you have a purpose to live for.
Maybe there is nothing but the road! Maybe the journey is all there is. For all we know, this journey is real. Its origin and destination may not be. So what is the rush? Why to overrun others? Where do you think you are going so fast? What if the road of life is to nowhere? Why inflict so much pain on ourselves and on others for a fantasy? Why not enjoy the journey instead and make it pleasant for our fellow travelers?"I quoted this from someone whom I can't post the name here.
11.02.2011
DEUTSCHLAND
"deutschland.uber.alles@hotmail.com" USED to be my email for years. Until it got blocked by hotmail for spamming ._. ofcourse it wasnt me, but these unknown jerks somehow hacked my account and used it to spam. Well yes, I did chose that name cause Germany was one of my favourite country in the world. It all started because of World Cup. In 2002, I watched my first world cup and fell in love instantly with that team. There were still Oliver Kahn, Oliver Neuville, Schneider, Ballack, and my favourite one, KLOSE! That good ol team. It's not that I dont like the recent team, in fact I looove them but somehow I love the previous one more hehe.
Since I applied for 2 week visa in Europe and I had 4 days left to hang around, I decided to go to Germany in a hope to meet Miroslav Klose!!! --kampung banget I know. Hahaha. Thus I flew from Oslo to Munich, since Klose was still at Bayern Munchen at that time. When I arrived I took the train alone to city center of Munich, walked around alone under the snow in the middle of the night to look for WOMBATS Hostels where I already booked a bed there. It was a pretty cheap but a very decent accommodation, I would definitely recommend it to you if you intent to surf around in Bavarians, they have one in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna. The hostel was very clean, sleek, and it seemed very friendly for young backpackers, and although I was in a shared dorm (6-beds in one room) but it was very save. The caretakers were very helpful and friendly indeed, they knew how to get to A from B with C. Plus they also provide the backpackers free internet and some lousy couches. Besides rooms, they also have a bar where all the fellow travelers meet up, share, or just hang around drinking. You can check their website here.
In case you ask, no I didnt meet Miroslav Klose or anyone there. Bollocks.
Leaving AllianzArena and Frotmanning, I took the train to the famous Marienplatz! It's the city of center of Munich, the pedestrian shopping square, and the center of the old-town Munich. The architectures were very gothic, many of them were originally built in 19th century, you can also see dozens of Bavarian rulers miniature statues. One of the famous site in Marienplatz or Odeonplatz is the old glockenspiel or giant bells, consisting of 43 bells accompanied by performing little cute mechanical marionettes. That was a very classical place, it made you thinking about those glorious bavarian rulers in their ages..........
Having explored Marienplatz for couple of hours and having enough of the cold, I went back to Wombats and asked the receptionist about the best way to go to Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The guy recommended me 'mitfahren', i don't know whats the proper word in English but you can say that its a more proper way of 'hitchhiking'. Click here to go the official site of mitfahren. In that website, you only have to insert which city you wanna go to, and the date of your departure. Then the website will give you a list of people with their cars, who are willing to share a ride with you, you can see what time they're leaving, from where, and how much you should pay (ofcourse WAAY cheaper than any other transportation). I think it's a very efficient way for low-budget travelers to move from one city to another, you can save money and you do something to reduce Co2. Alas, I found someone who was going the same direction with me tomorrow to Berlin and we made appointment to meet up at the eastern-station at 8AM.
Note that my cellphone didnt work in Europe. Next morning, I did what he told me to meet up at 8AM in the eastern station. But I didnt where exactly in the station, I walked around with my heavy luggage (I didnt use carrier cause it didnt fit all of my thick winter clothes and coats), up and down the stairs, in and out of the station but I couldnt find that guy. I used the public phone to call him, buuuut it didnt rang. I even desperately asked people if i could borrow their cellphones -_- And people kept on saying "no, sorry""uhm no i dont have cellphone." what the flock. Hopelessly, I looked for a place where I could just sit down and calm my self down, and WARM my self up. But McDonald's wasnt even opened yet at that time....... Though I did manage to find a place. I think that was the gloomiest moment of my trip.
I went back to the train station and found that a train to Berlin could cost me 150euro. That's quite much. So without further ado, spontaneously i took the train to the airport and found last-minute ticket deal to Berlin for 130euro, and yes obviously I took it. Phew, finally.
Arriving in Berlin, I was picked up by a friend of mine who's studying in that city, Ichan. Glad to finally met someone from Indonesia hahaha. He lent me his dorm for me to stay for 2 days. Berlin in fact WAS WARM. I was so happy that I didnt have to wear layers and layers of clothes. Not warm as in literally warm, but at least it was less colder than any other cities I've been to.
One word, oh hangon 3 words actually: I LOVE BERLIN!! I didnt regret even for a second choosing that city to visit. The weather, the places, the people, the buildings, are like the mixture of old-age majesty, knowledge, and avant-gardism. It was indeed the city of museums, they even had this small island called "Museum-insel" or museum islands, small island filled with museums hahaha. We visited Pergamon museum, filled with middle-eastern antiques and Islamic art, Altes Museum of classical antiques and Greek's art, and Neues Museum of pre-historic antiques and Egyptian art, Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) Museum one of world's most interactive museum! Aaand Madame Tussaud Berlin hehe. Isnt it odd for it was Ichan's first time to do a museum tour after living in Berlin for 3 years -_-
Oh, I also met some celebrities and world figures in Berlin!
Nah they're all wax figures in Madame Tussaud museum.
For you guys who know the history of Germany, they were partly divided by allied occupation into two nations after 1945, West Germany and East Germany until in 1990 they were finally reunified. Berlin as the capital city was the checkpoint to go to one another. The places I told you before were mostly located in the west part of Berlin, more developed, modern, and packed out . While the next day when I walked around in the eastern part of Berlin looking for a good used-bookstore, it was pretty dark, melancholic, hollow, cloak-and-dagger kind of city.
Enough with the emo stuff. What I don't get about Berlin is that you have to pay for peeing, I know it's common in Indonesia as well but it only cost you about 500-1000perak right? I mean, I wouldn't have to be that neurotic after I peed if it didnt cost me 1euro!!! Yes that was the most expensive toilet I've ever been into. 1 euro = 12.000ribu rupiah. Since it was expensive and gue gamau rugi, i stayed longer than I have to inside the toilet box muahahaha.
But another thing I love about Berlin is the kebab! One of the most delicious kebab I;ve ever eaten!!! And also the biggest one. I didnt even know where to start eating, aber ich mag B-)
On the last day, I successfully took the mitfahren to Frankfurt airport, with a guy's top-notch VW-Golf muahahaha. It was pretty weird and I was bit worried as well, hitchhiking a stranger's car, on a stranger's country, alone ._. Haha but we did manage to break the ice though, and he was a very nice guy, and he drove his car 150-200km/hour. Talking about stoked!
Well that was my recent trip to Germany, last February. Although no I didnt meet Miroslav Klose, at least I met Jurgen Klinsmann........wax figure. Vieeeelen dank Ichan for being a really good host, and not-so good museum tour-guide buahahaha, kiddin. Definitely coming back again somewhen I dont know but will do!! Bis bald Deutschlaand! Ich mag B-)
Auf wiedersehen Deutschland!
Stay cool,
TAMI
Since I applied for 2 week visa in Europe and I had 4 days left to hang around, I decided to go to Germany in a hope to meet Miroslav Klose!!! --kampung banget I know. Hahaha. Thus I flew from Oslo to Munich, since Klose was still at Bayern Munchen at that time. When I arrived I took the train alone to city center of Munich, walked around alone under the snow in the middle of the night to look for WOMBATS Hostels where I already booked a bed there. It was a pretty cheap but a very decent accommodation, I would definitely recommend it to you if you intent to surf around in Bavarians, they have one in Munich, Berlin, and Vienna. The hostel was very clean, sleek, and it seemed very friendly for young backpackers, and although I was in a shared dorm (6-beds in one room) but it was very save. The caretakers were very helpful and friendly indeed, they knew how to get to A from B with C. Plus they also provide the backpackers free internet and some lousy couches. Besides rooms, they also have a bar where all the fellow travelers meet up, share, or just hang around drinking. You can check their website here.
(I took both of these photos from the internet since I didnt take any when I was there)
After checking in, I decided to take a nightwalk around my hostel and the central station or in German, "Hauptbahnhof". After walking around for 1-2hours, bought some toilettries, got some Turkish blokes staring at me, stopped in front of 'adult-store', stuck in the middle of 2 fighting drunk men, I decided to go back to the hostel. Hmm I wont recommend any girl to walk around that city alone at night. When I got back to my room, I joined two of my roommates to the bar since we got 3 free beers coupons, yay. After sharing some interesting stories about our journeys, acting out SNSD and other korean's girlbands moves, and finding out that even the korean boys hate their own boybands (my roommates were 2 young south-korean boys), we went back to our room.
The city of Munich is best explored by metro railway (S-Bahn), subway (U-Bahn), Tram, bus, and on foot. You can buy daily pass for train, which you can use to go anywhere anytime as many as you want for one day, and it's not expensive, 10euro per diem, rather than buying one way ticket for 2.3euro each time you go. As long as you take the metro&subway map with you, it's as easy as a-b-c to travel around.
As I have stated before, Why I chose Munich out of other German cities, is because of Bayern Munchen, to be exact, it's because of Klose huahahaha. Sick, I know. But I was really eager to meet him! On that day, I planned to go to Allianz Arena, the home stadium of Bayern Munchen. The stadium is located on the outskirt north of Munich, in a district called Fröttmaning. Pretty quite, seemed that not many people go there, apparently it looked like a dead city. But anyway, I kept walking along from the train station to the stadium, which was around 3km away.
Once I got there, I found difficulties in finding the entrance since it was HUMONGOUS. But since my ability in orientation is pretty good, I manage to made my way to the ticket booth of stadium tour. The tourguide took us to the spectators seats, press-conference room, to the player's lounge, even the locker room and their bathrooms! Ich mag B-)
In case you ask, no I didnt meet Miroslav Klose or anyone there. Bollocks.
Leaving AllianzArena and Frotmanning, I took the train to the famous Marienplatz! It's the city of center of Munich, the pedestrian shopping square, and the center of the old-town Munich. The architectures were very gothic, many of them were originally built in 19th century, you can also see dozens of Bavarian rulers miniature statues. One of the famous site in Marienplatz or Odeonplatz is the old glockenspiel or giant bells, consisting of 43 bells accompanied by performing little cute mechanical marionettes. That was a very classical place, it made you thinking about those glorious bavarian rulers in their ages..........
Having explored Marienplatz for couple of hours and having enough of the cold, I went back to Wombats and asked the receptionist about the best way to go to Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The guy recommended me 'mitfahren', i don't know whats the proper word in English but you can say that its a more proper way of 'hitchhiking'. Click here to go the official site of mitfahren. In that website, you only have to insert which city you wanna go to, and the date of your departure. Then the website will give you a list of people with their cars, who are willing to share a ride with you, you can see what time they're leaving, from where, and how much you should pay (ofcourse WAAY cheaper than any other transportation). I think it's a very efficient way for low-budget travelers to move from one city to another, you can save money and you do something to reduce Co2. Alas, I found someone who was going the same direction with me tomorrow to Berlin and we made appointment to meet up at the eastern-station at 8AM.
Note that my cellphone didnt work in Europe. Next morning, I did what he told me to meet up at 8AM in the eastern station. But I didnt where exactly in the station, I walked around with my heavy luggage (I didnt use carrier cause it didnt fit all of my thick winter clothes and coats), up and down the stairs, in and out of the station but I couldnt find that guy. I used the public phone to call him, buuuut it didnt rang. I even desperately asked people if i could borrow their cellphones -_- And people kept on saying "no, sorry""uhm no i dont have cellphone." what the flock. Hopelessly, I looked for a place where I could just sit down and calm my self down, and WARM my self up. But McDonald's wasnt even opened yet at that time....... Though I did manage to find a place. I think that was the gloomiest moment of my trip.
I went back to the train station and found that a train to Berlin could cost me 150euro. That's quite much. So without further ado, spontaneously i took the train to the airport and found last-minute ticket deal to Berlin for 130euro, and yes obviously I took it. Phew, finally.
Arriving in Berlin, I was picked up by a friend of mine who's studying in that city, Ichan. Glad to finally met someone from Indonesia hahaha. He lent me his dorm for me to stay for 2 days. Berlin in fact WAS WARM. I was so happy that I didnt have to wear layers and layers of clothes. Not warm as in literally warm, but at least it was less colder than any other cities I've been to.
One word, oh hangon 3 words actually: I LOVE BERLIN!! I didnt regret even for a second choosing that city to visit. The weather, the places, the people, the buildings, are like the mixture of old-age majesty, knowledge, and avant-gardism. It was indeed the city of museums, they even had this small island called "Museum-insel" or museum islands, small island filled with museums hahaha. We visited Pergamon museum, filled with middle-eastern antiques and Islamic art, Altes Museum of classical antiques and Greek's art, and Neues Museum of pre-historic antiques and Egyptian art, Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) Museum one of world's most interactive museum! Aaand Madame Tussaud Berlin hehe. Isnt it odd for it was Ichan's first time to do a museum tour after living in Berlin for 3 years -_-
Oh, I also met some celebrities and world figures in Berlin!
Nah they're all wax figures in Madame Tussaud museum.
For you guys who know the history of Germany, they were partly divided by allied occupation into two nations after 1945, West Germany and East Germany until in 1990 they were finally reunified. Berlin as the capital city was the checkpoint to go to one another. The places I told you before were mostly located in the west part of Berlin, more developed, modern, and packed out . While the next day when I walked around in the eastern part of Berlin looking for a good used-bookstore, it was pretty dark, melancholic, hollow, cloak-and-dagger kind of city.
Enough with the emo stuff. What I don't get about Berlin is that you have to pay for peeing, I know it's common in Indonesia as well but it only cost you about 500-1000perak right? I mean, I wouldn't have to be that neurotic after I peed if it didnt cost me 1euro!!! Yes that was the most expensive toilet I've ever been into. 1 euro = 12.000ribu rupiah. Since it was expensive and gue gamau rugi, i stayed longer than I have to inside the toilet box muahahaha.
But another thing I love about Berlin is the kebab! One of the most delicious kebab I;ve ever eaten!!! And also the biggest one. I didnt even know where to start eating, aber ich mag B-)
On the last day, I successfully took the mitfahren to Frankfurt airport, with a guy's top-notch VW-Golf muahahaha. It was pretty weird and I was bit worried as well, hitchhiking a stranger's car, on a stranger's country, alone ._. Haha but we did manage to break the ice though, and he was a very nice guy, and he drove his car 150-200km/hour. Talking about stoked!
Well that was my recent trip to Germany, last February. Although no I didnt meet Miroslav Klose, at least I met Jurgen Klinsmann........wax figure. Vieeeelen dank Ichan for being a really good host, and not-so good museum tour-guide buahahaha, kiddin. Definitely coming back again somewhen I dont know but will do!! Bis bald Deutschlaand! Ich mag B-)
Auf wiedersehen Deutschland!
Stay cool,
TAMI
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