Out of Office: Going to Thailand

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Surprise for me when I was selected and invited to go to Thailand by TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) Jakarta Office (www.wisatathailand.com). Invitation to attend TAT's Golden Jubilee Grand Reception as well as to join tour exploring Bangkok, Phuket, and the Phi Phi Island. As this is my …

Weekend Getaway: Lampung

Considering too many times of spending weekend in Bandung, I decided to try a different route and city. Then Lampung came into my option.

Lampung, with Bandar Lampung as its capital, is the most southern province of Sumatera Island. From Jakarta, the quickest way to Lampung is by car for 7-8 hours ride. Flight to Lampung's Raden Inten Airport is definitely a waste of time from Jakarta, considering effort to CGK airport and 2 hour prior check-in time.

To visit Lampung, you need to spare at least 2 full days. Day trip is not recommended, just calculate your travel time (7 hours each way).

The Journey

How is the route to Lampung? You don't need a map for this, but for your peace of mind, grab one as your guide. First, take toll-road from Jakarta to Merak. Then ferry cross Sunda Strait to Bakauheni, and continue by car to Bandar Lampung.

Jakarta-Merak toll fee is IDR 38,500 for private car, journey time is 1 hour and 20 minutes from Tomang for average speed of 90 km/h. Be caution on several section of the road that may have some cracks and road works.

Hotel Review: Eurostars Gaudi Barcelona

Choosing hotel to stay in Barcelona is practically not a big problem. There are a lot of good hotels to choose at your preferred location.

Eurostars has many hotels in Spain, at many big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. This time, I am writing one of them, Eurostars Gaudi.

Located not far from Gaudi's masterpiece: La Sagrada Familia, Eurostars Gaudi offers great view to it. Choose a standard room, we'll get view to the in-progress church. Get an upgrade to junior suite, with a balcony, at the highest floor, the view will get better. The location is very convenience, at the corner of Consell de Cent street, just only 50 meter outside Monumental Metro station exit.

Getting to Java Jazz Festival 2010

As advertised by Indonesia TV channels, as well as Euronews TV across Europe and TV cables, Java Jazz is getting bigger this year.

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Java Jazz Festival is an annual event in Jakarta to attract and satisfy jazz lovers with so many International Artists in the line up. This year in …

Hotel Review: Shangri-La Jakarta

As one of Jakarta best hotels, Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta offers luxury and Indonesian hospitality in the very heart of Jakarta CBD.

Located just behind Jl. Jendral Sudirman, Jakarta busiest main road, this 5-star rating hotel practically is serving business oriented customers in weekday, while on weekend left for leisure seekers.

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Travel Planning: Hal Kecil Tapi Penting

Biasa kalau mendengar kata travel planning, kita asosiasikan dengan tempat tujuan wisata. Mau ke mana saja mulai dari hari pertama datang sampai pulang wisata. Jika menuju negara yang sudah pernah dikunjungi, atau yang bahasanya masih bisa dimengerti mungkin memang cukup mudah. Namun kalau mau tamasya ke negara yang Inggris bukanlah bahasa yang dimengerti penduduknya maka Anda akan kerepotan.

Banyak hal-hal kecil yang perlu kita rencanakan (setidaknya diketahui) supaya kita tidak kebingungan saat tiba di tempat tujuan.

Travel News Round up

Reaching end of 2009, travelers around the world are getting more problems in this December.

Heavy snow in America and Europe delayed almost half the scheduled flights in major airports like Washington DC, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and CDG Paris. Those airports became very crowded and almost like chaos.

For those still plan to travel in this season, consider using train as first option. Train schedule is more reliable although in bad weather like heavy rain and snow.

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Exception is on EuroStar trains, which connect London with Paris and Brussels via Channel Tunnel. Last week, 6 trains freezed in the middle of tunnel for more than 10 hours because of electricity problem. Thousand of passengers left without electricity and food supplies in those trains and thousands more in each stations are unable to depart for several days.

Brief Travel Guide to Malacca

Melaka / Malacca is a historic city located on south of Kuala Lumpur. Its position facing Malacca straits has made it an important city during eighteenth century and until now.

Transportations

• From Kuala Lumpur
  Take bus from Puduraya Bus Station, there are many bus companies offer this route, so nearly half an hour you can have a bus to Melaka. Journey time is about 2 hours.
• From Dumai or Pekan Baru
  Take boat from city port and will be arriving at Malacca port. It is quite a distance, so have a good sleep during journey
• From KLIA / LCCT Airport
  There is a direct bus from airport to Melaka Central or Melaka Mahkota Hospital. The bus company is Transnasional, it is located on stop #6 outside LCCT. Bus fare is RM 22/adult, journey time is 1 hour 30 minutes.
• From Singapore
  Take bus from Lavender St bus terminal and directly arrive at Melaka Central. Journey time is about 3.5-4 hours

Melaka itself has limited city transportation means. There are several bus lines serving this city. You can take city bus from Melaka Central (this is central bus terminal) to Mahkota Hotel and Hospital for only RM 1.50-2.00. Bus is not well maintained but quite reliable. But for tourist your the best bet is to catch tourist panorama bus. It is a double-deck bus (I believe imported from London), red color, and traveling across tourist spots.