#1868 – 2016 Year End Trip (Part IV: Yogyakarta)

ENGLISH

Posts in the 2016 Year End Trip series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

NAM Air IN 275 (Denpasar/Bali – Yogyakarta)

Flight: Nam Air IN 275
Equipment: Boeing 737-500 reg PK-NAO
ATD: 18:15 WITA
ATA: 18:30 WIB

Of all airlines that serve Denpasar/Bali – Yogyakarta route, I was only interested in flying NAM Air this time. The reason was simple, I had never tried them before and thought this was the perfect opportunity to do so 😛 .

Ngurah Rai International Airport

As the flight was scheduled to depart at 18:15, we had half a day to spend in Bali in the morning. We arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport at around 15:30. After checking-in and passing security check, we arrived at the new departure area of the airport. And I have to say, it was really cool especially if I compared it with a few years back! 😀 The investment made by PT. Angkasa Pura I was certainly visible. I especially loved the (almost) undisrupted view towards the runway!!

NAM Air’s Boeing 737-500 with winglets reg PK-NAO

Anyway, at around 17:30, boarding call was made. All passengers were taken by a bus to NAM Air’s PK-NAO, a 22 year-old Boeing 737-500 with winglets. I boarded the plane and settled onto my 15F seat.

I have to say that the interior of the plane made it really obvious that the plane was aging. I don’t know, for some reason that was the impression of the atmosphere that I got.

This back of the seat in front of me definitely played a role in the “aging atmosphere” of the cabin.

Anyway, at 18:15, we departed and minutes later took off from runway 27 of Ngurah Rai International Airport. We were headed to the north west direction before turning south west somewhere above East Java towards Yogyakarta. The weather in the first half of the flight was fine, but it was really cloudy with mild turbulences closer to Yogyakarta. A snack service consisting of a bread and mineral water was provided by the flight attendants, who did not need to work super hard today as the load factor was less than 50%, I estimate.

Hello, Yogyakarta!!

At 18:30 WIB, we were already flying above the city of Yogyakarta, and then landed at runway 27 of Adisutjipto International Airport.

Yogyakarta

Now that I think about this, despite this trip being the shortest trip to Indonesia (and the surrounding) I have done since I moved to the Netherlands, I actually had the longest consecutive days stay in Yogyakarta in this trip!

This allowed me to spent more time with my close friends and family, which was of course really fun! Though at times it was quite tricky as well to split the time for the two parties, though, haha 😆 .

The new Hartono Mall in Yogyakarta

Anyway, what strikes me the most is how fast Yogyakarta is growing. There are a lot of new buildings standing in the city, now; with most of them appear to cater the leisure market (hotels and malls).

Which isn’t that big of a surprise. Yogyakarta is still a tourist magnet, especially in holiday season. This was visible from the traffic jam I encountered in the main roads in the city, especially in the area surrounding Malioboro (for this reason I literally was avoiding Jalan Malioboro, at all, this time).

Fireworks

I didn’t do anything special on New Year’s Eve. I just stayed at my parents’, which the last time I did that was eight years ago. For some reason I still remember that evening from eight years ago, and how fast time flies indeed!! Anyway, it was so different from last year and two years ago when I went partying in Huatulco (Mexico) and Goa (India), haha.

Being a raining season, it also rained for quite a bit during the last two days of my stay in Yogyakarta. And it had really been awhile since I experienced a real tropical rain! Lol 😆 . Though this also made me realize that many parts of Yogyakarta still did not have a proper drainage system yet, unfortunately.

Weather in Yogyakarta, minutes before it started to pour

Overall, yeah, it was really nice that I got the chance to stay in Yogyakarta for the most part of this year end trip! 🙂 I really, really enjoyed my time there!! 🙂

TO BE CONTINUED…

Busy afternoon at DPS

One of Eva Air’s Hello Kitty Jets!! 😍😍😍

The nose of “Ketaatan” (PK-NAO)

Seat 15F on board PK-NAO

Quite a tight legroom

Runway 27 of Ngurah Rai International Airport

Taking off from runway 27 of DPS

A lever to flush the toilet! So old-school!! 😍

On board NAM Air’s Boeing 737-500 reg PK-NAO

Complimentary snack on board PK-NAO

Traffic jam in Yogyakarta

Tugu Jogja in the evening

Jogja City Mall

Tugu Jogja during the day

Pouring in Yogyakarta

A level crossing in Gamping

A boardgame

A new Rp 1000,- billet

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri 2016 Year End Trip:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

NAM Air IN 275 (Denpasar/Bali – Yogyakarta)

Penerbangan: Nam Air IN 275
Pesawat: Boeing 737-500 reg PK-NAO
ATD: 18:15 WITA
ATA: 18:30 WIB

Dari semua maskapai penerbangan yang melayani rute Denpasar/Bali – Yogyakarta, kali ini aku hanya tertarik untuk terbang dengan NAM Air. Alasannya sih sederhana, aku belum pernah terbang bersama mereka sebelumnya dan aku merasa ini adalah kesempatan yang sempurna untuk mencobanya 😛 .

Bandar Udara Internasional Ngurah Rai

Karena penerbangannya dijadwalkan berangkat jam 6:15 sore, kami memiliki setengah hari untuk dihabiskan di Bali di pagi harinya. Kami tiba di Bandara Internasional Ngurah Rai sekitar jam 3:30 sore. Setelah check-in dan pemeriksaan sekuriti, kami tiba di area keberangkatan barunya bandara ini. Dan harus kubilang bahwa areanya keren banget sekarang terutama jika dibandingkan dengan beberapa tahun yang lalu! 😀 Investasi yang telah dikeluarkan PT. Angkasa Pura I benar-benar terlihat dan terasa deh. Aku terutama suka sekali dengan pandangan (nyaris) tak terhalang ke arah landasan pacu bandaranya!!

Pesawat Boeing 737-500 dengan winglets-nya NAM Air dengan registrasi PK-NAO

Anyway, sekitar jam 5:30 sore, penumpang diminta naik pesawat. Semua penumpang diantarkan dengan sebuah bus ke pesawat PK-NAOnya NAM Air, sebuah Boeing 737-500 yang dilengkapi dengan winglets dan berusia 22 tahun. Aku menaiki pesawatnya dan duduk di kursi 15F.

Harus aku bilang bahwa interior di pesawatnya sungguh menampakkan usia pesawatnya yang sudah tergolong tua. Nggak tahu sih, entah mengapa ini adalah impresi yang kudapatkan dari atmosfer di dalam pesawatnya.

Bagian belakang kursi di depanku ini jelas berpartisipasi di dalam “atmosfer menua” kabin pesawatnya.

Anyway, jam 6:15 sore, kami berangkat dan beberapa menit kemudian lepas landas dari landasan pacu 27 Bandara Internasional Ngurah Rai. Kami berbelok mengarah barat laut sebelum kemudian berbelok lagi ke barat daya di atas Jawa Timur untuk menuju Yogyakarta. Cuaca di separuh pertama perjalanan baik-baik saja, tetapi di separuh kedua terdapat banyak awan dengan turbulensi-turbulensi kecil di dekat Yogyakarta. Layanan snack yang terdiri dari sepotong roti dan air mineral dibagikan oleh para pramugarinya, yang di penerbangan ini tidak harus bekerja super keras karena load factor yang berada di bawah 50%, aku perkirakan.

Halo, Yogyakarta!!

Jam 6:30 WIB, kami telah berada di atas kota Yogyakarta, dan kemudian mendarat di landasan pacu 27 Bandara Internasional Adisutjipto.

Yogyakarta

Kalau dipikir-pikir lagi sekarang, walaupun perjalanan ini adalah perjalanan tersingkatku ke Indonesia (dan sekitarnya) yang kulakukan semenjak pindah ke Belanda, sebenarnya aku malah menghabiskan hari-hari berturutan terpanjang di Yogyakarta loh di perjalanan ini!

Ini memungkinkanku untuk menghabiskan banyak waktu dengan teman dekat dan keluargaku, yang mana jelas asyik banget! Walaupun terkadang tricky juga sih untuk membagi waktu untuk dua grup ini, haha 😆 .

Hartono Mall yang baru itu di Yogyakarta

Anyway, yang mencolok di mataku adalah cepatnya pertumbuhan kota Yogyakarta. Ada banyak sekali gedung-gedung baru yang didirikan di sana; yang mana kebanyakan berhubungan dengan industri pariwisata (misalnya hotel dan mall).

Yang mana nggak mengherankan juga sih. Yogyakarta masih merupakan magnet turis, terutama di musim liburan. Ini nampak jelas dari kemacetan jalan yang aku hadapi di banyak poros jalan utama, terutama di area sekitarnya Malioboro (oleh karena ini lah aku sengaja menghindari Jalan Malioboro kali ini).

Kembang api

Aku tidak mengadakan acara spesial apa pun di Malam Tahun Baru. Aku cuma di rumahnya orangtuaku saja, yang mana terakhir kali aku lakukan delapan tahun yang lalu. Entah mengapa aku masih ingat banget deh malam dari delapan tahun yang lalu itu, dan waktu beneran cepat banget berlalu ya!! Anyway, iya sih berbeda banget dengan satu dan dua tahun sebelumnya dimana aku pergi partying di Huatulco (Meksiko) dan Goa (India), haha.

Karena musim hujan, di Yogyakarta hujan deras di dua hari terakhirku di sana. Dan ternyata sudah lama banget juga ya semenjak terakhir kali aku menghadapi yang namanya hujan tropis deras semacam itu! Haha 😆 . Walaupun ini membuatku menyadari bahwa banyak tempat di Yogyakarta masih tidak dilengkapi dengan sistem saluran drainaise yang baik, sayangnya.

Cuaca di Yogyakarta, bebrapa menit sebelum hujan deras turun.

Secara keseluruhan, ya, aku senang dapat menghabiskan banyak waktu di Yogyakarta di perjalanan kali ini! 🙂 Aku benar-benar menikmati waktuku di sana!! 🙂

BERSAMBUNG…

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#1866 – 2016 Year End Trip (Part III: Bali)

ENGLISH

Posts in the 2016 Year End Trip series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Bali

We stayed in Bali for about three days. We chose to take it slow this time because (1) I was recovering from my long travel (read Part I and Part II 😛 ) and the annoying eastward jetlag; and (2) We had been to Bali many times anyway, haha 😆 . Nonetheless, we still managed to sneak a couple of new destinations into our itinerary.

The Blangsinga Waterfall in Bali

On Monday, we went to the Blangsinga Waterfall in Gianyar. It was quite a nice waterfall that was not so tall. There were steps next to the waterfall which made it quite cool in my opinion. From there, we went to the Hidden Canyon nearby. But unfortunately, the water level was really high today that we decided not to go in. Then, we went back to the hotel because I was seriously exhausted, lol 😆 .

On Tuesday, we went to the currently “hip” Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation to the north of Ubud. We were taken to the terraces with good view to the valley. Along the way, we were briefly explained about the making process of coffee, including the famous “Kopi Luwak”. They even had a few alive “luwaks” (mongoose)!

Coffee roasting at Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation 😛

Part of the experience was coffee cupping, where we were served eight different drinks (of which six were coffee and two were tea). Afterwards, we could choose which one each of us liked the best which they would serve to us along with two pieces of “pisang goreng” (fried banana).

Coffee cupping at Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation

From those eight, the one which really, really caught my attention the most was the “lemon tea”. Seriously, it was the most delicious lemon tea I had ever had in my entire life! Ever!! Really!! So obviously I picked that one as my choice, haha 😀 .

The Food

As we chose to take it slow on the destinations, this gave us plenty of opportunity to go on a culinary trip on the island, lol 😆 . We went to many different places to eat, so I won’t write them all in details here. But here are three that were memorable to me.

Kilo Bali

Dinner at Kilo Bali

This restaurant became one of my favorite restaurants in Bali now. While it was rather at the top end of restaurants in Bali, I felt like it was worth the price! The ambience was good, the staffs were really helpful, and, more importantly, the Asian-Western fusion food was great and really creative!! I would definitely love to come back!!

Jamie’s Italian

Jamie’s Italian in Kuta, Bali

It is not a secret anymore that Jamie’s Italian is one of my most favorite restaurants in Europe, haha 😆 . And so two years ago when I read that they would open a new branch in Kuta, Bali, I became very intrigued to try it! I was curious whether they were able to maintain the quality or not.

And as it turned out, they were!! In my opinion, it was as good as the ones in Europe! Though, the price also seemed to copy the European price as well. Like, they just converted the European price list into rupiah, haha 😆 . But it was Bali afterall so it was probably not that surprising.

Nasi Babi Guling Ibu Oka

Babi guling Ibu Oka in Ubud

On the way to Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation, we passed by Ubud. So obviously we decided to stop by at the famous Nasi Babi Guling Ibu Oka, as it was around (late)-lunch time anyway. It was as good as usual!!

TO BE CONTINUED…

Stack of stones at Blangsinga Waterfall

Bali Mandara Toll Road

Ubud

Ubud

A luwak

The beans of “kopi luwak”

A view at the Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation

Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation

Seriously, the best lemon tea I have ever had!

Jamie Oliver in Bali

Jamie’s Italian

A selfie spot at the hotel, haha

B.A.L.I

Lunch at MamaSan

Nasi campur Wardhani

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri 2016 Year End Trip:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Bali

Kami tinggal di Bali selama sekitar tiga hari. Kami memilih untuk bersantai-saja kali ini karena (1) aku masih pemulihan dari perjalanan panjangku (baca Bagian I dan Bagian II 😛 ) dan juga dari jetlag arah timur yang menyebalkan itu; dan (2) Toh kami sudah pernah ke Bali banyak kali sebelumnya, haha 😆 . Walaupun begitu, kami masih sempat memasukkan dua tempat tujuan baru ke dalam jadwal kami sih.

Air terjun Blangsinga di Bali

Di hari Senin, kami pergi ke Air Terjun Blangsinga di Gianyar. Ini adalah air terjun yang cukup oke tetapi tidak lah terlalu tinggi. Ada tangga di sebelah air terjunnya yang membuatnya cukup unik menurutku. Dari sana, kami pergi ke Hidden Canyon yang berlokasi tidak terlalu jauh. Sayangnya, hari ini airnya sedang tinggi sehingga kami memutuskan untuk tidak jadi masuk. Dari situ, kami kembali ke hotel karena aku benar-benar masih merasa lelah sekali, haha 😆 .

Di hari Selasa, kami pergi ke tempat yang lagi nge-hits, yaitu Bali Pulina Coffee Plantatiun di utaranya Ubud. Kan biar #kekinian gitu, haha. Di sana, kami diantarkan ke terasnya yang memiliki pemandangan yang cukup oke ke sebuah lembah. Di jalan, kami sedikit dijelaskan mengenai proses pembuatan kopi, termasuk kopi luwak yang terkenal itu. Bahkan, di sana ada beberapa ekor luwak hidup juga loh!

Coffee roasting di Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation 😛

Bagian dari pengalaman ini adalah coffee cupping, dimana kami disajikan delapan minuman yang berbeda (enam di antaranya adalah kopi dan dua adalah teh). Setelahnya, masing-masing dari kami bisa memilih yang paling kami suka dan mereka akan menyajikannya bersamaan dengan dua potong pisang goreng.

Coffee cupping di Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation

Dari delapan itu, yang paling menarik perhatianku adalah “lemon tea“-nya. Serius nih, lemon tea yang itu adalah lemon tea paling enak yang pernah aku minum seumur hidup! Beneran!! *nggak santai* Jadi jelas aku memilihnya sebagai pilihanku, haha 😀 .

Makanan

Karena kami memutuskan untuk santai-santai aja dalam hal destinasi, ini memberikan kami waktu untuk kulineran di pulaunya, haha 😆 . Kami mampir di banyak restoran yang berbeda, jadilah aku tidak akan menuliskan semuanya. Tapi berikut ini tiga yang paling berkesan bagiku.

Kilo Bali

Makan malam di Kilo Bali

Restoran ini kini menjadi salah satu restoran favoritku di Bali. Walaupun memang termasuk dalam jajaran restoran kelas atas di Bali, aku merasa sepadan banget kok! Suasananya enak banget, stafnya baik-baik, dan, yang paling penting, makanan fusion Asia-Baratnya juga enak banget dan amat kreatif!! Aku tidak berkeberatan untuk kembali lagi!!

Jamie’s Italian

Jamie’s Italian di Kuta, Bali

Bukan rahasia lagi bahwa Jamie’s Italian adalah salah satu restoran favoritku di Eropa. Jadilah dua tahun lalu ketika aku membaca bahwa mereka akan membuka cabang di Kuta, Bali, aku jadi penasaran dong! Aku ingin tahu apakah mereka bisa menjaga kualitasnya atau tidak.

Dan ternyata, memang mereka bisa!! Menurutku, rasanya memang seenak yang di Eropa! Walaupun harganya juga sepertinya kopian harga di Eropa sih, haha. Mereka seperti mengonversi harga Eropa ke dalam rupiah gitu deh, haha 😆 . Yah, tapi namanya Bali sih ya jadi mungkin tidak lah semengagetkan itu.

Nasi Babi Guling Ibu Oka

Babi guling Ibu Oka di Ubud

Dalam perjalanan ke Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation, kami melewati Ubud. Jadilah kami memutuskan untuk sekalian mampir di Nasi Babi Guling Ibu Oka yang terkenal itu, karena toh waktu itu memang jam makan siang (sudah agak kesorean sih sebenarnya). Dan rasanya enak seperti biasanya!!

BERSAMBUNG…

#1864 – 2016 Year End Trip (Part II: Shanghai to Bali)

ENGLISH

Posts in the 2016 Year End Trip series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Seamless Transiting Experience at Shanghai Pudong (PVG)

As I mentioned in Part I, my luggage was tagged only to Shanghai. Consequently, at Shanghai Pudong I would need to take my luggage and recheck it in to Bali.

Arriving in Shanghai

After the bus took me to the terminal, I asked for the transfer desk. I could not find any, instead, I faced two options: to go left to the “international transfer” area or to go right to the immigration area. As I was transiting internationally, I turned left.

The officer told me I could go in because I already had my Shanghai – Bali boarding pass. But then when I asked her about my luggage, she hesitated a little bit and then told me I needed to go out, take my luggage, and recheck it in myself, indeed.

So I turned back and went to the immigration area. Here is the thing. I did not have a valid Chinese visa at the time. But I was not worried at all because I knew I qualified for the visa exemption, under the “24-hour direct transit” rule.

Shanghai Pudong

The immigration officer asked me when my connecting flight would be. I told him it would depart in about 2.5 hours, lol 😆 . He was surprised to hear that as why would I need to enter China, then? I told him about the luggage situation. He then called his colleague, who took a copy of my passport. Then, they put a “Temporary Stay Permit” that was valid for 24 hours in my passport, and stamped my entrance to China.

Seamless!! I was really impressed!!

This experience meant I could say that I was back IN China after about 6.5 years!! Well, despite for only like 30 minutes this time, lol 😆 .

Gate to Bali

Being tagged with a priority label, my luggage had been waiting for me at the belt when I left immigration. I took it and went to the transfer area. I had to scan my luggage first and then I could recheck-it in to Bali.

I went upstairs to the departure area, where I was immediately directed to the immigration area as I already had my boarding pass with me. I queued for a little bit and when it was my turn, the officer told me I had not filled in the departure card so I had to go out the line, filled it in first, and requeued. But then, seeing that I was about to queue AGAIN after I filled the card in, another officer told me to go to the priority lane instead!!

Wow!! Seamless, again!!

Dimsum for dinner at the lounge

After immigration and the security check, I went to China Eastern’s lounge. And I have to say I was impressed with the lounge! There were two floors, where hot food could be found on the first (and it was the busier of the two) while people could relax more on the second. Moreover, the best area of the lounge was on the second floor, this spot:

A massage chair at China Eastern Lounge!

Yesss!!! Complimentary full-body massage chairs!! As someone who never went to a massage parlor in Europe, this was like heaven to me! Lol 😆 .

Some massage modes

There were many massage programs we could choose (shiatsu, kneading, tapping, etc) and even we could ask the chair to massage a specific part of our body. I chose the sport relaxation massage, which would last for a good 30 minutes. The machine started with “sensing our body” before the massage began, and that it would start massaging accordingly!!

Amazing!!

MU 5029 (Shanghai – Denpasar/Bali)

Flight: China Eastern MU 5029
Equipment: Airbus A330-300 reg B5953
ATD: 18:40 CST
ATA: 00:34 WITA

Boarding was delayed for about 30 minutes. I found the boarding to be rather unorganized, though, where they switched the priority and regular lanes after people had started to queue, and they opened the two lanes at the same time (so what was the point of the priority lane, then? 🙄 ).

A China Eastern’s Airbus A330-300 reg B5953

Anyway, the flight today was upgraded from an Airbus A330-200 to an Airbus A330-300 with registration B5953. I settled onto my 33A seat after boarding. Luckily, the seat next to me was VACANT today, yeay!! 😀

Shanghai Pudong Airport was quite busy this evening. We had to wait for quite a long time before getting the permission to take off. Once we did, we immediately headed south towards Indonesia.

The dinner service on board China Eastern MU5029 to Bali.

About an hour after take-off, dinner was served. I chose the beef and rice option, which was quite good and tasted “so Chinese”, haha. The vegetables reminded of my trip to China 6.5 years ago.

Hello, Indonesia!!

I decided to watch The Legend of Tarzan on my AVOD screen on this flight. I was also quite tired and I was able to sleep for about 2.5 hours, haha. I woke up just in time when we were entering Indonesia. It turned out we did so above the island of Kalimantan, flying over Kota Kinabalu towards Palangkaraya, then made a turn towards Bali.

On board China Eastern’s Airbus A330-300 B5953

At 00:34 WITA, we landed at runway 27 of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. I was lucky that the immigration lane for Indonesians was queue-less (while the lane for foreigners was so full of people, lol). But still, the luggage handling was quite long as I could only leave the airport at about 01:30, lol 😆 . My parents and brother had waited for me just outside the luggage area. They picked my up and we went to our hotel in Tanjung Benoa.

Approaching runway 27 of Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali.

Anyway, here, finally I was back in Indonesia. And I was ready for Bali!! 😀

TO BE CONTINUED…

Shanghai Pudong

China Eastern Lounge (second floor)

China Eastern Lounge (dining area)

China Eastern Lounge

Sky Priority in China

Boarding China Eastern

My seat 33A on board B5953

Good seat pitch

PTV Screen with AVOD

Rainy Shanghai

Safety demo

The lavatory

Air fresheners

Both seats were for me!!

Flying over the Bali Mandara Toll Road in high speed

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri 2016 Year End Trip
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Pengalaman Transit Amat Mulus di Shanghai Pudong (PVG)

Seperti yang kusebutkan di Bagian I, bagasiku hanya ditandai sampai di Shanghai saja. Sebagai akibatnya, di Shanghai Pudong aku harus mengambil bagasiku dan meng-check-in-kannya lagi ke Bali.

Ketibaan di Shanghai

Setelah aku dibawa dengan bus ke terminal, aku bertanya mengenai lokasi meja transit. Aku tidak bisa menemukannya. Malah, aku dihadapkan pada dua pilihan: belok kiri ke area “transit internasional” atau belok kanan ke area imigrasi. Karena aku akan transit internasional, aku memilih untuk belok kiri.

Petugasnya berkata aku bisa masuk karena aku sudah memiliki boarding pass Shanghai – Bali. Tetapi ketika aku ceritakan mengenai situasi bagasiku, awalnya ia menjadi ragu dan kemudian berkata sebaiknya aku keluar, mengambil bagasiku, dan meng-check-in-kannya lagi sendiri.

Jadilah aku berputar-balik dan masuk ke area imigrasi. Tetapi begini nih situasinya waktu itu. Aku tidak memiliki visa China yang berlaku. Tetapi aku sih tidak khawatir karena aku tahu aku bisa mendapatkan pengecualian visa, di bawah aturan “24-hour direct transit”.

Shanghai Pudong

Petugas imigrasinya bertanya kapan penerbangan lanjutanku akan berangkat. Aku jawab 2,5 jam lagi, huahaha 😆 . Ia kaget ketika mendengarnya karena lantas untuk apa dong perlunya aku masuk ke dalam China? Aku ceritakan situasi bagasiku. Ia kemudian menelepon koleganya, yang kemudian memfoto-kopi pasporku. Kemudian, ia memberikan cap “Temporary Stay Permit” yang berlaku 24 jam di dalam pasporku, dan mencapnya lagi untuk memberikanku akses masuk ke China.

Mulus bangett!! Aku sungguh terkesan!!

Pengalaman ini berarti kini aku bisa bilang bahwa aku kembali DI China setelah 6,5 tahun-an!! Yah, walaupun cuma sekitar 30an menit saja sih kali ini, haha 😆 .

Gerbang keberangkatan ke Bali

Karena diberi label prioritas, bagasiku sudah menungguku di karusel pengambilan bagasi. Aku mengambilnya dan masuk ke area transfer. Setelah bagasinya aku scan, aku meng-check-in-kannya kembali ke Bali.

Kemudian aku naik ke area keberangkatan di lantai atas, dimana aku langsung diarahkan ke area imigrasi karena aku sudah memiliki boarding pass. Setelah sedikit mengantri dan giliranku tiba, petugasnya berkata aku belum mengisi kartu keberangkatan sehingga aku harus keluar antrian, mengisinya, dan kemudian mengantri lagi. Tetapi kemudian, melihat bahwa aku akan mengantri LAGI setelah mengisi kartunya, seorang petugas berkata bahwa aku diperbolehkan mengantri di jalur antrian prioritas!!

Wow!! Mulus banget, lagi, ya!!

Dimsum untuk makan malam di lounge

Setelah imigrasi dan pemeriksaan sekuriti, aku masuk ke lounge-nya China Eastern. Dan harus kubilang bahwa aku sungguh terkesan dengan lounge-nya! Ukurannya besar dengan dua lantai, di mana makanan hangat tersedia di lantai satu (dan lantai ini memang yang lebih ramai) sementara di lantai dua pengunjung bisa bersantai. Lebih jauh lagi, area terasyik di lounge ini ada di lantai dua, bagian ini nih:

Kursi pijat di Lounge China Eastern!

Iyaaaa!!! Kursi pijat seluruh badan komplimen!! Sebagai fakir pijat di Eropa, ini mah benar-benar seperti surga lah ya bagiku! Ahahahah 😆 .

Beberapa mode pijat

Ada banyak mode program pijat yang bisa dipilih (shiatsu, kneading, tapping, dll) dan bahkan kita bisa meminta kursinya untuk memijiat bagian tertentu dari badan kita. Aku memilih program pijat sport relaxation yang panjangnya 30 menit. Mesinnya memulai pijatan dengan “merasakan badan kita” dahulu di mana ia mempelajari lekuk tubuh kita sebelum mulai memijat berdasarkan informasi itu!!

Keren ya!!

MU 5029 (Shanghai – Denpasar/Bali)

Penerbangan: China Eastern MU 5029
Pesawat: Airbus A330-300 reg B5953
ATD: 18:40 CST
ATA: 00:34 WITA

Boarding terlambat sekitar setengah jam. Aku merasa proses boarding-nya berlangsung cukup kacau, sayangnya. Mereka sempat menukar jalur prioritas dan reguler setelah penumpang mulai mengantri, dan kedua jalur mereka buka pada saat yang bersamaan (terus apa dong gunanya jalur prioritas kalau begitu? 🙄 )

Sebuah Airbus A330-300nya China Eastern dengan rego B5953

Anyway, penerbangan hari ini di-upgrade dari pesawat tipe Airbus A330-200 menjadi Airbus A330-300 dengan registrasi B5953. Aku duduk di kursi 33A. Beruntung, kursi di sebelahku KOSONG loh hari ini, horee!! 😀

Bandara Shanghai Pudong sibuk sore hari ini. Kami harus mengantri lama sebelum mendapatkan giliran lepas landas. Setelah lepas landas, kami berbelok ke arah selatan menuju Indonesia.

Layanan makan malam di penerbangan MU 5029nya China Eastern menuju Bali.

Sekitar satu jam setelah lepas landas, layanan makan malam diberikan. Aku memilih pilihan daging sapi dan nasi, yang mana rasanya cukup lumayan dan “mainland Chinese” banget lah, haha. Sayurannya mengingatkanku akan perjalananku ke China 6,5 tahun yang lalu.

Halo, Indonesia!!

Aku memutuskan untuk menonton The Legend of Tarzan di layar AVODku kali ini. Aku juga merasa cukup lelah dan bisa tidur selama 2,5 jam-an, haha. Aku bangun tepat ketika pesawat mulai memasuki area Indonesia. Ternyata, hari ini kami masuk Indonesia melalui langit di atas pulau Kalimantan, dengan terbang dari Kota Kinabalu menuju Palangkaraya dan kemudian berbelok menuju Bali.

Di dalam pesawat Airbus A330-300 B5953nya China Eastern

Jam 00:34 WITA, pesawat mendarat di landasan pacu 27 Bandara Internasional Ngurah Rai di Bali. Beruntung antrian imigrasi bagi pemegang paspor Indonesia kosong hari ini (sementara antrian bagi orang asingnya panjaaaang, ahahah 😆 ). Tetapi sayangnya, layanan bagasinya lama sekali sehingga aku baru bisa keluar bandara jam 01:30, haha 😆 . Orangtuaku dan adikku telah menungguku di luar area pengambilan bagasi. Mereka menjemputku dan kami pergi ke hotel kami di Tanjung Benoa.

Mendekati landasan pacu 27 Bandara Ngurah Rai, Bali.

Anyway, di sini, akhirnya aku kembali ke Indonesia. Dan aku sudah siap untuk Bali!! 😀

BERSAMBUNG…

#1861 – 2016 Year End Trip (Introduction)

ENGLISH

Posts in the 2016 Year End Trip series:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

As you know, I went to Indonesia for my 2016 year end trip and I was just back in the Netherlands at the end of last week. I was there for about two weeks and, as usual, two weeks went by really fast when I was on vacation! Lol 😆

Anyway, to get to (and back from) Indonesia, I chose two interesting routing this time. The outbound routing was as follows:

My outbound routing. Created with gcmap.com

and this was the inbound routing:

My routing this time to go back to Amsterdam. Created with gcmap.com

Huahaha 😆 . Six different airlines were involved here: Alitalia, China Eastern, NAM Air, Garuda Indonesia, Air France, and KLM. I was lucky too that on the Paris – Amsterdam flight, I got upgraded to KLM’s Europe business class!

Got upgraded to KLM’s Europe business class

Actually, my return ticket to Indonesia was between Amsterdam and Bali. So I thought because I would be in Bali anyway, it would be better to also stay for a few days there. It turned out my parents and brother liked this idea so they picked me up in Bali on my arrival.

The Blangsinga Waterfall in Bali

Yogyakarta was awesome, as usual, especially since I got a lot of time to spend with my family and close friends. I also spent the New Year’s Eve there, the first time to do so since 2009.

On my return trip to the Netherlands, it happened that a friend of mine was in Amsterdam for a quick weekend visit. I accompanied him in Amsterdam for the weekend before going back to Delft.

A weekend in Amsterdam

Yeah, overall, it was an awesome (but a bit tiring, admittedly, lol 😆 ) year end trip!! 🙂 As usual, here are some teasers:

China Eastern’s Airbus A330-200 reg B5908 in SkyTeam livery

A massage chair at China Eastern Lounge!

A China Eastern’s Airbus A330-300 reg B5953

Approaching runway 27 of Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali

Babi guling Ibu Oka in Ubud

Coffee roasting at Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation 😛

Coffee cupping at Bali Pulina Coffee Plantation

Jamie’s Italian in Kuta, Bali

The legendary Tojoyo Fried Chicken

Healthy smoothie bowl at Raisin Resto, Yogyakarta

Pempek Ny. Kamto

Finally some Hokben!!

Soto Kadipiro

Weather in Yogyakarta

The mandatory Europe business class selfie

BAHASA INDONESIA

Posting-posting dalam seri in the 2016 Year End Trip:
1. Introduction
2. Part I: Amsterdam to Rome to Shanghai
3. Part II: Shanghai to Bali
4. Part III: Bali
5. Part IV: Yogyakarta
6. Part V: The Food in Yogyakarta
7. Part VI: Yogyakarta to Bali to Shanghai
8. Part VII: Shanghai to Paris to Amsterdam
9. Part VIII: A Weekend in Amsterdam

Seperti yang kalian tahu, aku pergi ke Indonesia untuk perjalanan akhir tahun 2016ku dan aku kembali di Belanda akhir minggu lalu. Aku di sana selama sekitar dua minggu dan, seperti biasa, dua minggu itu kok berlalu sungguh cepat ya ketika sedang liburan! Haha 😆

Anyway, untuk pergi ke (dan kembali dari) Indonesia, kali ini aku memilih dua rute yang menarik. Di perjalanan keberangkatan, ruteku seperti ini:

Rute keberangkatanku, dibuat dengan gcmap.com

Sementara itu, rute kepulangannya adalah seperti ini:

Rute kepulanganku ke Amsterdam. Dibuat dengan gcmap.com

Huahaha 😆 . Enam maskapai yang berbeda terlibat di sini: Alitalia, China Eastern, NAM Air, Garuda Indonesia, Air France, dan KLM. Aku juga beruntung dimana di penerbangan Paris – Amsterdam, aku di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropanya KLM!!

Di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropanya KLM!

Sebenarnya, tiketku pp ke Indonesia adalah dari Amsterdam ke Bali. Jadi aku pikir-pikir karena toh aku akan berada di Bali juga, sekalian aja lah aku stay di sana selama beberapa hari. Kebetulan orangtua dan adikku menyukai ide ini sehingga mereka menjemputku di Bali.

Air terjun Blangsinga di Bali

Yogyakarta asyik deh, seperti biasa, terutama karena aku memiliki banyak waktu untuk kuhabiskan bersama keluarga dan teman-teman dekatku. Aku juga menghabiskan malam Tahun Baru di sana, pertama kalinya semenjak tahun 2009.

Di perjalananku kembali ke Belanda, kebetulan pas banget seorang temanku yang lain sedang berada di Amsterdam untuk sebuah perjalanan akhir pekan singkat. Aku menemaninya di Amsterdam akhir pekan itu sebelum kembali ke Delft.

Akhir pekan di Amsterdam

Ya, secara keseluruhan, ini adalah perjalanan akhir tahun yang seru banget (tapi cukup melelahkan juga sih, haha 😆 )!! 🙂 Seperti biasa, di atas aku unggah beberapa teaser dari perjalanan ini.

#1859 – Back in the Netherlands

ENGLISH

Two weeks went by really fast. Now, I am already back in the Netherlands; back in the winter after tasting two weeks of (eternal) summer in Indonesia, despite the raining season there, haha 😆 .

This time, my routing to go back to the Netherlands was as interesting as my departure, with only slight difference. Here it is:

My routing this time to go back to Amsterdam. Created with gcmap.com

Yep, I was flying Yogyakarta – Bali – Shanghai PVG – Paris CDG – Amsterdam on four different airlines: Garuda Indonesia, China Eastern, Air France, and KLM. Haha 😆

My first flight of 2017 was with Garuda Indonesia

Choosing to transit in Paris CDG instead of Rome FCO made this routing about 800 km shorter than the departure actually. But in the grand scheme of thing, it made little to no difference as I felt tired with both! Tired but happy, though. Well, especially that I got upgraded to Europe business class on the Paris CDG – Amsterdam sector!! 😍

Upgraded to KLM’s Europe business class!!

I arrived at Schiphol on Saturday evening. However, I did not immediately go back to Delft because I had one of my best friends visiting. He just finished his study in Scotland and was on his way to go back for good to Indonesia, so he made a one night stop in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam for the weekend

So I stayed in Amsterdam that evening; and basically spent most of my weekend there, haha. And now I am (finally) back in Delft and Amsterdam (for work). Damn, back to reality! 😣 .

Anyway, yeah, that is all for now! 🙂

BAHASA INDONESIA

Dua minggu berlalu sungguh cepat. Sekarang ini, aku sudah kembali lagi di Belanda; kembali di musim dingin setelah merasakan dua minggu musim panas (abadi) di Indonesia, walaupun lagi musim hujan juga sih di sana, haha 😆 .

Kali ini, ruteku untuk kembali ke Belanda sama menariknya seperti rute keberangaktanku, hanya dengan sedikit perbedaan saja. Berikut ini rutenya:

Ruteku kali ini untuk kembali ke Amsterdam. Dibuat dengan gcmap.com

Yep, aku menerbangi Yogyakarta – Bali – Shanghai PVG – Paris CDG – Amsterdam dengan empat maskapai yang berbeda: Garuda Indonesia, China Eastern, Air France, dan KLM. Huahaha 😆

Penerbangan pertamaku di tahun 2017 adalah dengan Garuda Indonesia

Memilih untuk transit di Paris CDG bukannya di Roma FCO membuat rute ini sekitar 800 km lebih singkat daripada rute keberangkatanku sebenarnya. Tetapi di big picture-nya sih, perbedaannya tidak begitu signifikan karena toh di keduanya aku juga merasa capek! Eh, capek tapi senang ding. Terutama juga karena aku di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropa di penerbangan Paris CDG – Amsterdamnya!! 😍

Di-upgrade ke kelas bisnis Eropanya KLM!!

Aku tiba di Schiphol di hari Sabtu malam. Namun, aku tidak langsung kembali ke Delft karena kebetulan salah satu teman baikku sedang berkunjung. Ia baru saja menyelesaikan studinya di Skotlandia dan sedang dalam perjalanan balik (for good) ke Indonesia, jadilah dia sekalian mampir di Amsterdam.

Akhir pekan di Amsterdam

Jadilah aku menginal di Amsterdam malam itu; dan pada dasarnya akhir pekan ini aku habiskan di sana sih, haha. Barulah sekarang (akhirnya) aku kembali di Delft dan Amsterdam (untuk kerjaan maksudnya). Ah, kembali ke dunia nyata nih!  😣 .

Anyway, yah, segini dulu deh untuk sekarang! 😀

#1858 – Some Stuffs from Indonesia

ENGLISH

It has been almost two weeks since my year end trip to Indonesia started. So here are a few stuffs/thoughts I encountered during these two weeks in the country:

1. Slow internet connection

Especially in the first week, I had to correspondence with a publisher in the Netherlands to print my books (read: PhD dissertations; and this was part of the preparation for my PhD defense).

There were a few files I needed to approve so they sent all those files via email. And guess what … I found the internet connection to be really, really slow! Lol. In the Netherlands, I needed much less than one minute to download those files; and here I needed more than fifteen minutes.

2. Food, food, and … food

After a few days in Indonesia, I realized that my Instagram (@azilko) uploads were mostly about … food! Lol 😆

Delicious fried rice at @raisinresto 🇮🇩. #ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #friedrice #nasigoreng #RaisinResto #friedegg #Jogja #Yogyakarta #JogjaKuliner #🇮🇩 #IndonesianFood #food #foodporn #foodgasm #foodies #WTFoodies #instafood #foodnation #foodstagram #instaJogja #igersJogja #Indonesia #lekkereten #kulinerJogja #instafriedrice

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Dec 31, 2016 at 10:37pm PST

You see, the last two times I went to Indonesia for vacation (in 2014 and 2015), I gained about 5 kg EACH (though I managed to burn those extra weight in the following months, each time)! Well, this time my time in Indonesia is much shorter than those two occasions so I don’t expect to gain that much, first of all. But still, overall I also don’t want to gain anything, lol 😆 .

But on the other hand, it is difficult to resist the temptation of Indonesian food! Damn! 😡

The legendary Soto Kadipiro!!! 😋🍲🇮🇩. #ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #soto #sotoayam #SotoKadipiro #IndonesianFood #Java #Jogja #Yogyakarta #Indonesia #🇮🇩 #food #foodporn #foodgasm #omnomnom #slurp #foodies #WTFoodies #foodnation #foodstagram #instafood #instasoto #chicken #soup #instasoup #instaJogja #igersJogja #sambal #lekkereten #JavaneseFood

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Jan 4, 2017 at 5:28am PST

3. Raining season, but overall lucky

Going to Indonesia in December/January, I expected to get a lot of rainy days, being in the middle of the raining season. While it was, indeed, raining for a few days during my stay, I have to say overall I am still quite lucky. Most rain fell in the night time so I was not really bothered, haha. Well, except for the one time this Wednesday and Thursday when it rained cats and dogs in Yogyakarta for a few hours in the afternoon!! It had really been awhile since I had that kind of tropical rain! Haha 😆

Real tropical rain in Yogyakarta today 🌧☔️🇮🇩. #ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #Jogja #Yogyakarta #rain #hujan #musimhujan #tropicalrain #rainingseason #Indonesia #weather #IndonesianWeather #🌧 #☔️ #🇮🇩 #instaJogja #igersJogja #instarain #pouring #realrain #tropicalweather #raindropskeepfallingonmyhead

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:05pm PST

4. Traffic jam everywhere

Again, going to Indonesia, especially Bali and Yogyakarta, during the Christmas and New Year holiday season means that I had to expect to experience a lot of traffic jams everywhere, lol 😆 .

Yogyakarta during Christmas and New Year holiday season: grey sky and traffic jam!! 😣🇮🇩☁️🚙🚗🚌🚚#ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #Jogja #Yogyakarta #trafficjam #macet #file #greysky #instaJogja #igersJogja #holidayproblem #🇮🇩 #🚙 #🚌 #🛵 #travelgram #wanderlust #instatravel #vacation #instatraffic #traffic #Gondolayu #GondolayuBridge #JembatanGondolayu #Indonesia

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Dec 30, 2016 at 9:23am PST

This was, indeed, the case. However, I did feel like that overall, especially in Yogyakarta, it was not as crowded as it was the last time I was here during the Christmas and New Year holiday season. But that was seven years ago, in 2009. Hmm…

BAHASA INDONESIA

Sudah dua mingguan semenjak perjalanan akhir tahunku ke Indonesia dimulai. Nah, berikut ini beberapa hal/pikiran yang aku dapatkan selama dua minggu di negeri ini:

1. Koneksi internet yang lamban

Terutama di minggu pertamaku, aku harus berkorespondensi dengan sebuah perusahaan percetakan di Belanda untuk mencetak bukuku (baca: disertasi PhD/S3-ku; dan ini adalah bagian dari persiapan sidang PhDku nanti).

Ceritanya ada beberapa dokumen yang membutuhkan persetujuanku dan dokumen-dokumen ini dikirim melalui email. Dan apa yang terjadi … aku merasa koneksi internetnya itu lambaaan sekali! Ahahah. Di Belanda, aku hanya perlu menyisihkan waktu kurang dari satu menit untuk mengunduh dokumen-dokumen itu; dan di sini aku membutuhkan lebih dari lima belas menit!

2. Makanan, makanan, dan … makanan

Setelah beberapa hari di Indonesia, aku menyadari bahwa kebanyakan foto yang aku upload di Instagramku (@azilko) adalah foto … makanan! Huahaha 😆

Delicious fried rice at @raisinresto 🇮🇩. #ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #friedrice #nasigoreng #RaisinResto #friedegg #Jogja #Yogyakarta #JogjaKuliner #🇮🇩 #IndonesianFood #food #foodporn #foodgasm #foodies #WTFoodies #instafood #foodnation #foodstagram #instaJogja #igersJogja #Indonesia #lekkereten #kulinerJogja #instafriedrice

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Dec 31, 2016 at 10:37pm PST

Jadi ceritanya, dua kali terakhir aku berlibur ke Indonesia (di tahun 2014 dan 2015), berat badanku naik sekitar 5 kg dong SETIAP KALI (walaupun akhirnya bisa aku turunkan lagi sih di bulan-bulan berikutnya, setiap kali)! Yah, toh kali ini aku di Indonesia tidak selama itu sehingga aku tidak menyangka akan naik sebanyak itu lah. Tapi tetap aja lah ya, aku maunya mah nggak naik, haha 😆 .

Tapi di sisi lain, susaaah menahan godaan makanan Indonesia itu! Sial! 😡

The legendary Soto Kadipiro!!! 😋🍲🇮🇩. #ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #soto #sotoayam #SotoKadipiro #IndonesianFood #Java #Jogja #Yogyakarta #Indonesia #🇮🇩 #food #foodporn #foodgasm #omnomnom #slurp #foodies #WTFoodies #foodnation #foodstagram #instafood #instasoto #chicken #soup #instasoup #instaJogja #igersJogja #sambal #lekkereten #JavaneseFood

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Jan 4, 2017 at 5:28am PST

3. Musim hujan, tetapi beruntung secara umum 

Yang namanya pergi ke Indonesia di bulan Desember/Januari, aku sih sudah menduga akan mendapatkan banyak hari dengan hujan, yang namanya di tengah-tengah musim hujan kan. Walaupun, memang, hujan sih di beberapa hari, secara umum aku bisa bilang aku masih cukup beruntung. Kebanyakan hujannya turun di malam hari sehingga tidak terlalu menggangguku. Eh, kecuali hari Rabu dan Kamis ini sih ketika di siang hari hujan deras (banget) turun di Yogyakarta selama beberapa jam!! Kalau dipikir-pikir sudah cukup lama juga semenjak terakhir kali aku menghadapi hujan tropis sederas itu!! Haha 😆

Real tropical rain in Yogyakarta today 🌧☔️🇮🇩. #ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #Jogja #Yogyakarta #rain #hujan #musimhujan #tropicalrain #rainingseason #Indonesia #weather #IndonesianWeather #🌧 #☔️ #🇮🇩 #instaJogja #igersJogja #instarain #pouring #realrain #tropicalweather #raindropskeepfallingonmyhead

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:05pm PST

4. Macet dimana-mana

Lagi, yang namanya pergi ke Indonesia, terutama Bali dan Yogyakarta, di masa-masa liburan Natal dan Tahun Baru, artinya aku harus siap untuk menghadapi kemacetan lalu-lintas dimana-mana, huahaha 😆 .

Yogyakarta during Christmas and New Year holiday season: grey sky and traffic jam!! 😣🇮🇩☁️🚙🚗🚌🚚#ZilkoInIndonesia #ZilkoAroundSoutheastAsia #Jogja #Yogyakarta #trafficjam #macet #file #greysky #instaJogja #igersJogja #holidayproblem #🇮🇩 #🚙 #🚌 #🛵 #travelgram #wanderlust #instatravel #vacation #instatraffic #traffic #Gondolayu #GondolayuBridge #JembatanGondolayu #Indonesia

A post shared by Aurelius Zilko (@azilko) on Dec 30, 2016 at 9:23am PST

Dan ini beneran kejadian lho. Eh, tetapi secara umum aku rasakan, terutama di Yogyakarta nih, sepertinya keramaiannya tidak seperti terakhir kali aku di sini di masa-masa liburan Natal dan Tahun Baru deh. Tetapi itu tujuh tahun yang lalu sih, di tahun 2009. Hmm…

#1855 – Happy New Year from Indonesia!!

ENGLISH

So,

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from Indonesia!!

First of all, I do wish the year 2017 will bring us all happiness and all the good things!

Anyway, the year 2016 has been another great year to me. More than that, actually, it has been a BIG year where I finished (sort-of) my PhD and made a big life decision to move to the industry. Yes, a lot of stuffs were going on in 2016.

I started the year in Huatulco, Mexico and now I am ending it in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The two places being 13 timezones apart, it means that so far, the year 2016 was my shortest ever leap year at only 365 days and 11 hours! Interestingly, though, despite being a leap year, actually my 2016 was shorter than my 2015 where I spent 365 days, 11 hours, and 30 minutes in the entire year!! Haha 😆

Anyway, that is all I have for now! See you later!! 🙂

Source: http://giphy.com/gifs/leonardo-dicaprio-drinking-fireworks-GCLlQnV7wzKLu

BAHASA INDONESIA

Jadi,

SELAMAT TAHUN BARU

dari Indonesia!!

Pertama-tama, mudah-mudahan tahun 2017 ini akan menjadi tahun yang membawa kebahagiaan dan penuh dengan hal-hal baik ya!

Ngomong-ngomong, tahun 2016 adalah tahun yang baik untukku. Di atas itu, sebenarnya ini adalah tahun yang besar juga dimana aku (kurang lebih) menyelesaikan studi PhD/S3ku dan membuat keputusan kehidupan yang besar untuk berpindah-haluan ke dunia industri. Yup, ada banyak hal besar yang terjadi di tahun 2016.

Tahun itu aku mulai di Huatulco, Meksiko dan kini aku akhiri di Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Kedua tempat ini terpisahkan 13 zona waktu, yang mana artinya sejauh ini tahun 2016 adalah tahun kabisat terpendekku dengan panjang 365 hari dan 11 jam saja! Menariknya, walaupun tahun kabisat, sebenarnya tahun 2016ku lebih pendek daripada tahun 2015ku lho dimana aku menghabiskan 365 hari 11 jam 30 menit dalam satu tahun!! Haha 😆

Anyway, segini dulu deh yang bisa kuceritakan sekarang! Ciao!! 🙂