Colombo Cintaku

Gue gatau kenapa ngide banget ke Srilanka. Awalnya berdua sama Tyas, temen gue, tapi dia tiba-tiba batal. Yaudah. Jadi ga bisa bikin itinerary keluar kota soalnya sewa mobil pun budgetnya harus full ditanggung sendiri dan kebetulan gue bangkrut dari trip gue ke Australia-New Zealand.

Anyway! Sekilas info, Colombo ini banyak disinggahi pesawat-pesawat antar Asia Eropa. Soalnya letaknya emang strategis. Jadi gue rasa banyak banget flight dijam-jam aneh kaya jam 1-2 pagi. Flight gue dari Singapur sendiri sampenya jam 12 malem dan flight gue ke Frankfurt via Kuwait berangkat jam 3 pagi.

Berhubung sampenya tengah malem, ga mungkin eksperimen pake kendaraan umum. Gue harus atur order taksi. Akhirnya minta tolong tempat nginep gue buat orderin seharga $25. Uniknya Srilanka adalah semua diquote pake dollar tapi bayarnya pake Srilankan Rupee. Nah gue gatau kebiasaan ini dan gue ga nuker banyak uang di bandara. Padahal kurs bandara juga bagus huhu.

Independence Square

Skip detailnya, gue ngapain aja sih?
JALAN KAKI. JALAN-JALAN DI KOTA. Padahal maunya sih menikmati alam Srilanka, apa daya waktunya juga ga banyak boss jadi gue ga sempet kemana-mana. Tapi gue punya kesan yang sangat positif dengan Srilanka dan Srilankans.

Harga-harga murah. Orangnya baik dan gak suka cuit-cuit. Gue punya respek yang mendalam pada fakta bahwa gue bisa jalan dengan nyaman di pinggir jalan sendirian, sebagai cewe, tanpa takut ada abang-abang yang ngegodain. Tapi disaat gue butuh sesuatu, orangnya baik dan ramah buat bantu gue.

Gue super hati-hati naik tuk-tuk berhubung katanya banyak scam tuk-tuk. Namanya aja tuk-tuk tapi sebenernya mah bajaj. Tapi mayoritas tuk-tuk udah pake argo kok. Terus gue juga selalu stick sama aplikasi PickMe, yaitu gojeknya Srilanka yang pake tuktuk, bukannya motor. Cuma gue sempet ga bisa PickMe saat gue jalan dari Galle beach dijam pulang kantor. Dengan doa, gue pun menyetop tuk-tuk yang lewat...

bajaj ditengah hujan

Eh aman-aman aja. Endingnya abangnya bilang argonya rusak jadi dia pura-pura gatau itu berapa, padahal sih gue udah liat tarifnya. Kasih tips dikit, proper lah.


Tidak seperti pemikiran kebanyakan orang, lo bisa betah di Colombo atau Srilanka soalnya mereka lumayan bersih! Gue ga sempet main ke restoran lokal sih. Ini kebiasaan jelek Alira: gamau makan apapun kecuali bisa tanya dibuat dari apa. Gue emang phobia banget sama daging (merah) dan lebih baik kelaparan di Thailand daripada harus masuk ke restoran Thailand yang ga bisa Bahasa Inggris dan berujung body language terus salah order makanan dengan daging.

Colombo ini semacam Jakarta Kota. Ada modernnya, ada yang kurang berkembang juga. Nah disitulah gue menemukan dua atraksi yang berbeda. Mayoritas bisa berbicara Bahasa Inggris dan terlihat berpendidikan. Ya tapi ini cuma hasil penilaian 2 malam ya.

Foto grup rombongan study field

Pantai Galle dikala mendung

Gue sih paling suka sama Galle Beach. Sebenernya pantainya ga cantik, tapi disini lu bisa menemukan vibe paling Colombo menurut gue muehehe. Gue melihat banyak pembangunan di sekitar Pantai Galle dan agak sedih. Nanti pas balik ke Colombo lagi, masih sama gak ya wajahnya?

Kalo ditanya, worth gak sih transit di Srilanka terus jalan-jalan? Gue super rekomen! Soalnya masih banyak hal yang bisa dieksplor, meskipun kalo lu nginep di penginapan yang gue coba terus niat foto-foto gang dan suasana sekitar bakal keliatan kaya Bangkok atau Manila.

Gue belum selesai sama Srilanka. PASTI akan balik lagi. Berikutnya gue pengen main ke daerah timur Srilanka.

Brussels

Siapapun yang bilang di Brussels ga ada apa-apa, pasti gatau cara menikmati hidup.

Gue datang karena waffle tapi gue dengan cepat memutuskan bahwa gue HARUS segera balik lagi karena Brussels superrr cantik dan menyenangkan. Oh soal waffle, gausah terlalu picky mana yang paling enak karena semuanya udah bikin gue pengen ngutuk waffle-waffle KW 4 versi Korea.

love in the first sight

Kota ini punya pesona di tiap sudutnya dan gue merasa aman disini. Gue gatau disini katedralnya banyak banget dan semuanya cantik.

Tunggu gue kembali summer ini!

Hong Kong: Cukup Sekali

Beberapa bulan lalu, gue dapet tiket murah ke Hong Kong dari salah satu maskapai budgetnya. Well, technically Seoul-HK emang gak kerasa jauh, tapi ternyata jaraknya ya Jakarta-Bangkok juga. Penerbangan hampir 4 jam. Gue gatau kenapa gue beli tiket itu. Mainly cuma karena murah (150ribu won atau 1.8 juta rupiah PP) dan gue belom pernah. Kebetulan, temen gue juga ada yang lagi exchange kesana so sekalian aja kan.

Menjelang keberangkatan, gue bingung dan pusing sendiri jadi berangkat atau gak... Setelah galau berhari-hari, akhirnya gue bilang nyokap dihari H. Nyokap udah ga bisa kaget, karena gue keseringan jalan-jalan. Nanyanya cuma, "Emang libur?"

"Ngga, tapi kan jumat emang gak ada kelas"

"Ga ngurangin kuota diluar Korea tuh?"

"Iya sih tapi kan cuma 3 hari"

"3 hari juga bisa pulang" *yak nyokap gue emang orangnya gini*

"Emang bingung mau berangkat apa gak. Gak usah aja apa?"

"Ya terserah aja deh."

Akhirnya tetep berangkat. Gue impressed dengan airlinesnya dan bisa berdamai dengan Bahasa Kantonnya. Tapi gue gak bisa santai sama orangnya. Semua galak.

Gue sampe HK jam 1 pagi. Gue udah master tidur di airport sambil nunggu kereta atau bis pertama. Tapi di HK Airport gak ada tempat tidur yang menyenangkan seperti di Taoyuan, Taipei dan orang HK galaknya bukan main. Gue duduk di McD sambil nunduk aja didatengin tante-tantenya dan dimarahin. Well, fair enough mungkin karena spacenya limited dan itu tempat makan bukan tempat tidur.

Tapi mereka hell strict dengan definisi 'tempat makan'. To the point gue diusir saat minum pelan-pelan setelah makanan gue habis di salah satu kedai lokal ngetop, Lan Fong Yuen. Padahal saat itu keadaannya kosong dan ga ada antrian. Sialan. 

Kedai Galak

Ga sampe disitu, orang-orang pun generally ga friendly dan ga pengen membantu. Hostel mahal dan gue baru pertama kali ngerasain triple bunk bed alias tempat tidur tumpuk tiga... Gila. Yang paling bawah mepet lantai, yang paling atas mepet langit-langit. Yang tengah kesandwich dan duduk pun gak bisa. Kalo kata temen gue, tinggal di HK itu semacem tinggal di kotak sepatu aka shoebox. Hidup lo sepengap dan seterkotak itu. 

Anehnya lagi, gue ke HK disaat musim konstruksi. Dimana-mana lagi dibangun sampe-sampe susah kemana-mana. Avenue of Stars tutup, Old Central harus muter dsb.

Akhirnya gue ke museum aja. Tidak mengecewakan, apalagi Museum of History. Tapi gak sebagus museum-museum yang di Taipei. Museum of Heritage juga keren, apalagi kafenya cozy banget. Masuknya gratis, so lumayan nih ditengah HK yang serba kecil dan komersial.

Selain museum, yang paling ok dari HK mungkin lanskapnya dan mengamati betapa susahnya berbagi space. Lo pasti notice lah begitu sampe HK, semua gedung tinggi dan apartemen tua-tua. Mereka hidup berebut space. Buat gue sih, HK itu versi lebih besarnya Singapore. Nothing more. 

Ga ada yang memorable dari HK selain... Night Viewnya! Nah kalo ini beneran bagus.

Victoria Peak night view

Seperti yang semua orang tahu, Victoria Peak adalah tempat terbaik liat night view. Gue sempet gamau karena gue males banyak orang. Tapi ternyata worth juga ngantri lama ke atas dan menikmati suasana malam sambil berdempet-dempetan dengan ratusan orang lainnya.

View dari Tamar Park

Gue diajak ke Tamar Park sama temen-temen gue yang tinggal di HK dan ini seru banget. Soalnya sama sekali ga ada orang dan di daerah bisnis. Jatohnya jadi kaya Yeouido atau SCBD tapi tanpa manusia.

Bianglalanya HK

Menuju ke Tamar Park, kita ngelewatin bianglala raksasa. Sepi banget. Bisa foto-foto tapi sayang skill foto gue jelek dan cuma bermodal HP. Untung ada temen yang lumayan talented yay.

Setelah itu... Udah. Gue ditunjukkin sisi shopping HK tapi gue gak terlalu berminat. Ya karena gak punya uang sih jadi gak bisa beli juga :p

Memantau Bandara

Sebelum balik, gue sempet nunggu di private residence yang sebelahan sama Ngo Ping Cable Car dengan view bandara. Ini baru cantik. Tapi lagi-lagi, kereta gantungnya lagi diperbaiki sampe bulan Juni. Sebenernya gue salah apa, kenapa semua lagi konstruksi?

Anyway, gue gak menyesali pergi ke HK 3 hari. Gue definitely belajar dan mendapatkan sesuatu, tapi cukup sekali.

Best Grilled Fish in Hanoi

I went to Hanoi, Vietnam to visit one of my closest friends, Ha. I have been to many places and wandered around with locals in the city but I would say Ha knows the best of her hometown. We were able to explore Hanoi on her Vespa, without GPS. Well, I would be able to do the same in my own hometown but what makes Ha a waaaay more amazing than all my local guides is that she knows literally every road (or alley) in the city and the best food in town!

I was there only for four days, how hard can it be for my host to serve me the best delicacies in town, right?

Well, it is pretty challenging because I do not eat meat, only poultry and seafood. But this is no challenge to Ha, as she kept feeding me BEST food while I was there.

Out of so many, the 'Cha Ca' grilled fish is one of my favorite.

FIIIIISH

It came pre-cooked like this. Served with plenty of green and condiments, it tastes supeeeer fresh.

We are in Southeast Asia but no, you do not eat this thing with rice but noodle.

yay noodle!

I have no idea what is this white noodle called in English or Vietnamese, but yeah. It was a very smart combination.Oh, I did not get to take picture of the phenomenal fish paste sauce but it was really good. They also give you chilli so you can create your own spicy sauce.

Cooked Cha Ca!

Ha said this dish actually was first served in a road called cha ca (my memory is not that good with Vietnamese words). The original place is rather old and small. We did not go to the original restaurant but the other one, located at 19-21-31 Duong Thanh, Hanoi. This place is very spacy and they only serve one dish. You can order fish intestines after your meal. Ha did order it but I rejected the idea since... I am not sure how would I like it (or I'd just probably hate it).

Only VND 120,000 per person (would not be cheap for Hanoi standard)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 

Inflight Special Meal

Food is the second most important thing for me to rate my in-flight experience after seat width and comfort. In the past 5 months, I flew different airlines and I got to see their variety of special meal and its service. I do not eat red meat, so I order either seafood meal or lacto-ovo vegetarian meal.

Life changed after Korea. I take this meal pre-order very seriously and I got really grumpy when I forgot to order one (sigh my recent China Airlines experience). I don't bother thinking about this meal pre-order when flying with my national carrier because they would never have pork and lamb in their options, so there will always be seafood or chicken option. By the way, I would not normally enjoy in-flight meal back home because I often travel with LCCs :P

Korean Air 

KE is my new favorite! Super wide seat, fair mileage reward, and best special meal service. I flew their A380 for my London stopover or ICN-LHR and LHR-ICN leg.

1st meal

My ICN-LHR leg was a very full flight (the only remaining seat was first class) and they had countless special meal requests. They have a very systematic way by sticking yellow sticker to passenger's seats who requested the special meal. They served different bread than the normal breakfast bun to other passengers. I opted for seafood meal this time.

I was delighted with the menu. Pasta with generous salmon. The portion of the salmon was just... Wow. Super fulfilling.

2nd service

My second meal was a different kind of fish. Man, I am really lame with fish name, but this was also a good one. Not a fan of veggie, I liked the first meal better than the second one.

fish with potato and veggie

I loved the potato! 

Now for my LHR-ICN leg, I opted for the vegetarian meal.

The flight was also full, but not many people in my area (because most of them are Koreans) requested for the special meal. I did not see the flight attendants flying with the tray of meals this time. 

first meal

I absolutely love my mac 'n cheese with broccoli and carrot. I have yet to found a good place for mac 'n cheese in Seoul sigh. I felt like this was my second best meal in almost a month, after spending time in Brazil. First best? The chicken in Sao Paulo :P basically Rio food sucks.

second meal

My second meal was a pretty salty omelet. I love mushroom and hash brown, but the mushroom was too salty. Good choice of menu though.

Another good thing about KE is they also serve snack. Standard Korean cup noodles (you have no idea, Koreans love their cup noodles THAT much), folded pizza, onigiri, nuts, and banana. Of course, I got the banana which I really hate.

LATAM Brasil

First of all... After 12 hours of flying KE in A380, my LATAM flight from London to Sao Paulo was just a disaster. Cramped seats, old aircraft and unfriendly flight attendants... The list goes on but lets just focus on the food.

LHR-GRU leg

LATAM does not have seafood option so I am stuck with lacto-ovo. They did not check nor confirm my order with me before hand. The flight attendant almost served the normal meal to me until I asked for my vegetarian meal. So I did not get my meal ahead of others too. Only one service, mac 'n cheese, standard deal with a plain taste. 

My next leg on LATAM was a slightly better GRU-LHR.

First meal

I love that they served real vegetarian food this time! They have soy meat with Brazil rice. I should say 'Brazil rice' because it was not the sticky rice like what I normally eat in Asia. Match the taste, fair taste. I like the cracker snack too.

second meal

My second meal was a bread with spinach and egg filling plus fruits. I am sure this dish has a fancy name, but I just don't know haha. I am not a fan of spinach but this was a good one. The fruits were also nice, I appreciated it more than salad. 

Thai Airways

Thanks to Thai Airways recent huge promo and AirAsia's weirdly expensive price, I got to fly from ICN to BKK via HKG with Thai for the first time. I know it was not the most efficient route, but as a student, I have more time than money :P

I ordered seafood meal for both legs. The flight was relatively quiet and the flight attendant kindly came to me to confirm my order, few mins before they closed the door.

Fun fact: I just nodded even before he finished the sentence because he was speaking in Thai and he thought I was Thai :))

ICN-HKG, Pasta!

I got pasta with fish and cream sauce and a very pleasant sashimi salad.

I never ate raw fish before, really.This one was my first and it was actually nice.

HKG-BKK

I got an oriental style pasta for my next leg. Orzo (yeay!) with fried fishballs and cream. What was unique here is the tofu dessert. This was also really good, I don't know which one I like better. Wow, great job TG!

Oh, they also gave me special nuts with berries with my seat number written on it. They gave nuts to other passengers, though. Not sure why they have a different kind paired to the seafood meal order.

Now for my route back to ICN.

I was not in my best mood after the check in drama. Their system went down for almost 30 mins in their own base. I was really tired and although they sent me to the business class immigration gate to skip the queue, another drama happened.

ICN-BKK Seafood meal

The meal failed to cheer me up. It was a seafood platter (squid, small shrimp and a chunk of fish) with potato and green peas. Korean touch of Kimchi was added. The bread did not taste fresh and warm that night.

Still, better than LATAM. *everything is wrong with LATAM*

Then I forgot to order seafood meal on my recent China Airlines flights so let's keep that for next time. *grumpy*

Overall, KE is still the best with their system in handling the special meal request. I also get my food ahead of others by ordering special meal, except in LATAM. I love Asian airlines for their hospitality and their food certainly didn't fail me. I think the only non-Asian airlines that I have ever flown with are only LATAM and Aer Lingus. I did not like my Aer Lingus meal since... I did not eat them. I regretted my stupidity back then by ordering Kosher food instead of vegetarian so I ended up with sandwich that I could not eat :))

Escadaria Selarón at Night

The entrance of the stairs

Going to Rio without research, I just trusted and followed my new friends. Turned out they were all bunch of adrenaline junkie who dared to walk on Rio's dark street after sunset. As the rumor said, it is not safe for you to stroll in the street after sunset. Robbery, pickpocket and all kind of crimes are gonna haunt you.

the street leading to the stair at 7 PM

It was very terrifying. It was my first day in Rio and they already took me to such unwanted adventure. So we had early dinner and they wanted to take me to the famous stairs in Rio called Escadaria Selaron. There were almost no one on the street leading to the stairs, more alone foreigners.

world map!

Before reaching the stairs, we saw this world map with names written there. They said we could write our names by paying a small fee? Not sure. It was definitely not the business hours so I could not figure out and I was really really hesitant. I wanted to go back to my hotel like ASAP.

pointing at Indonesia!

But my friends were all excited and forced me to pose before leaving. Okay...
Turned out it was a really good one! Thank you, Jihwan!


Then after more  walking for a few hundred meters, we reached the stairs!

stairs without human!

No tourist was in sight, only some local... gangster, I would say.

Yes it was indeed very nice and pretty but PLEASE just do not come at night like us. Yes, I hate humans and I normally looooove visiting in such a weird hours like this to avoid crowd but safety is always priority! I was really scared and being there on my very first day did not help either coz I basically was just overwhelmed.

A memorable visit and dear my friends, thank you for pushing me not to back out and escape to my hotel room!

First Impression of Rio de Janeiro

I spent three full weeks in Rio de Janeiro last August. I am always skeptical about a country's scenic view. For me, Indonesia is the most beautiful country. I have yet to visit places that could match Indonesia's scenery but Brazil is truly beautiful.

You just gotta believe me. Rio is awesome.

This picture does not do the justice, but still

I was greeted by an amazing view even before landing in Santos Dumont Airport.
Learning from my lesson, please try to get in to Rio through Santos Dumont (SDU) rather than Galeao (GIG) because of the super duper strategic location (right in the heart of the city) and the unbeatable scenery. You can literally walk from the airport to Lapa or Centro area.

Then I checked in to Prodigy Hotel, right next to the airport. The location is just very convenient, it is literally next to (or even part of?) the airport. Just walk, no need taxi or whatever. You can leave your hotel room 30 minutes before the take off time, you will still make it.

More reasons to choose SDU are because they have a very good money changer in the mall next to it, no 'premium aiport rate' and no need to worry about not having Reais with you. Also they have some fastfood chain restaurants like Burger King and Subway so you do not have to stress about what to eat as soon as you step in to the city. Other parts of the city is also easily accessible by VLT and metro station is just 10-15 minutes walk from the airport.

The view from the rooftop is just... Perfect.

I can wake up everyday with this kind of scenery.

My first impression of Rio de Janeiro was too sweet that I almost forgot it took 41 hours trip for me to get there...

More from Rio later!

Bongeunsa Temple

As a penniless student who does not celebrate Seollal, I decided to go on 'budget tour' in Seoul. I checked the list of things to do in Seoul on Tripadvisor and I have visited 25 out of the big 30. Those I haven't visited are palaces, Bukhansan (no thanks, I am not an outdoor person) and Bongeunsa.

Bongeunsa, the famous temple in Gangnam area, is on my list this time. Actually I don't really like temple and I really wanted to go to palaces instead but we need to buy ticket so mmm, no no, next time. Turned out it wasn't bad. Bongeunsa was pretty.

There was nothing attractive on the main gate. But we will be greeted by colorful lanterns aka lampion once we enter the temple area. You will also feel the solemnity of this place in every corner of it. This temple is located just right at a busy road but it was very quiet and peaceful. I have been to Jogyesa, another temple in Insadong, numerous times but it still have the busy-city-feeling and the atmosphere is not as quiet as this one.

Main gate. Source here

Bongeunsa area is pretty big and there are several buildings for praying and education. But nothing attract us more than the 23 meter tall Buddha statue at the back of the main building!

Buddha statue at Bongeunsa Temple

I think Bongeunsa is the second prettiest temple in Korea. The first one? Yonggungsa in Busan!

We spent like 40 minutes exploring and trying to read things in Korean before heading back to Coex. While we were walking down to the main gate, we heard the people/monks reciting mantra (not sure if its called mantra?) and it really gives 'legit' temple feeling. I heard that they also offer famous Temple Stay program here. Maybe I should try it someday :)))

So if you are a businessman or visitor staying in Coex/Gangnam area and have few hours to stay, Bongeunsa is definitely worth a visit. It is located just right across Coex and Grand Intercontinental Parnas. Like most temples in Korea, they are a bit hilly but it's okay - it's nothing too challenging tho :D

If you are staying closer to the city center like Insadong, Myeongdong or Dongdaemun, try to visit Jogyesa. Its fairly small compared to this one but they have a better information center (more touristy, I suppose) and Temple Stay information center is also located just right across it. Temples in Seoul (or maybe in Korea?) will be full of lantern during May-June and make sure to check the Buddha's Birthday and Lotus Lantern Festival date every year for one of a kind temple visit! :)

one last selfie before leaving

Martabak Pandega, Must Try Yogya

Out of so many interesting foods that I tried in Yogya, I would strongly recommend Martabak Premium Pandega.

Gue udah sering liat hype martabak warna warni di Path dan Instagram dan gue punya hipotesis bahwa Martabak yang Instagrammable itu antara cantik tapi rasanya aneh biasa banget, atau cantik dan too good to be true. Yang cantik tapi biasa itu adalah pengalaman dan testimoni dari SNS sedangkan hipotesis kedua diambil karena ada temen-temen gue yang bolak-balik ke tempat yang sama. Berarti gak kapok dong?

Anyway, gue gak pernah gak kenyang di Yogya tapi gue tetep maksain buat beli martabak fancy ini malem-malem. Sebelum berangkat gerimis-gerimis dimalam terakhir gue di Yogya, gue riset dulu di Instagram berapa sih harganya, apa sih menunya dan gimana sih komen-komennya. Gue sempet pengen beli yang 8 rasa, cuma karena mupeng liat warna chacha yang super menggoda tapi dimarahin Tyas.

Tyas bilang, "Jir gue udah pernah coba di martabak lain yang banyak rasa gitu, sumpah ih biasa banget malah nyesel!"

Akhirnya kita pun coba Martabak Cream Cheese Oreo dengan adonan Red Velvet seharga promo 60 ribu rupiah. Biasanya 70 ribu.

Sembari menunggu, gue mengamati tempatnya. Di jalan utama pemukiman dengan parkiran yang luas dan nyaman untuk motor dan mobil. Area makannya juga besar dan terang, sesuai dengan kriteria favorit gue. Kalo sama keluarga pun cocok. Kadang orang tua suka gak mau kompromi kan diajak makan makanan gaul? Gak perlu khawatir, karena mereka juga jualan dimsum dan makanan biasa lainnya, yang bisa bikin semua happy.

Harganya terlihat oke, meski gak bisa dibilang murah juga untuk standar Yogya

Begitu dateng... "Anjir kejunya tumpah-tumpah siah! Bentar-bentar, foto-foto dulu!"

Kita baru makan martabaknya setelah 3-4 menit karena sibuk foto-foto saking senengnya. Pas makan...

Gak bisa berhenti senyum dan komen karena martabak ini masuk kategori kedua yaitu Instagrammable dan too good to be true.

Enak banget. Worth mau 70 ribu 80 ribu 100 ribu pun gue masih mau beli. Kalo bisa buka franchise di Seoul, gue mau investasi semua tabungan gue kesitu. (Mulai lebay, tapi seenak itu)

FYI, gue sampe minta bokap bawain martabak ini sebelum beliau balik ke Jakarta keesokan harinya karena gue pake flight siang dan martabak ini belum buka. Sedangkan flight bokap jam 6 sore jadi masih sempet beli martabak. Yes I'd bear the hassle for this freakin' martabak.

Gue gak dibayar untuk bikin post ini tapi gue mau list hal-hal yang gue suka darisini:

1. Iklan dan taglinenya gak boong. Gue respect banget dengan tempat-tempat seperti ini. Mereka bilang di Instagram kalo kejunya generous, adonan red velvetnya beneran berasa red velvet gak kaya di tempat lain. Itu semua beneran dan bisa dipercaya
2. Aktif dan responsif di sosial media. Ini penting banget karena udah gak jaman nanya buka jam berapa menunya apa lewat telpon
3. Memberikan info yang tidak menyesatkan. Banyak yang tanya, apakah kitkat green tea halal dan mereka menjawab dengan baik bahwa memang vague dan kalau tidak yakin, pesan menu lain aja. Gue respect banget dengan jawabannya dan malah males sama komen yang bilang "Yaudah gak usah dijual lagi aja kalo gak halal" Lu pikir yang beli semua mikir halal apa kagak? Jadi orang kok intoleran banget
4. Ramah. Malam itu gue disambut dengan ramah dan mbak-mbaknya baik pas ditanya apa yang direkomendasikan karena gue first timer yang gak mau menyesal dengan pesenan gue. 
5. TERIMA FLAZZ! Gue gak perhatiin apakah mereka terima kartu lain juga, rasanya debit BCA pasti terima ya. Ini super berarti buat gue karena gue pecinta pembayaran non-tunai

Setelah bertemu Martabak Premium Pandega ini, rasanya gue gak mimpi lagi jadi intern Cireng Keraton. Bantu nyapu-nyapu disana dibayar pake remah-remah martabak aja seneng kayanya.

Oh iya, buat yang cari menu Martabak Pandega, alamat dan jam buka, nih gue fotoin. Buka mulai jam 4 sore btw.

Summary: Kalo ke Yogya, bakpia boleh lah buat oleh-oleh. Yang buat dimakan dan dinikmati sendiri plus bikin iri orang sih ini aja nih!

P.S: Semua foto no filter

#KelilingKorea Gwangju: A Lovely Metropolitan

We continued our second day of #KelilingKorea by visiting Gwangju, straight from Daecheon. We started to lower down our expectation for everything after Daecheon. But Gwangju successfully amused us.

Walking out of the station, we found a tourism information center with English-speaking officer. They recommended us some places to visit but it was mostly mounts and hiking trails. Before we chose our next destination, Abby already got message from her Korean teacher that he'd meet us at the downtown. He taught Abby and her mom Korean back then in Trinidad and Tobago. I assumed he is from Gwangju but later I learned that he is not hahaha. He has lived in Gwangju for 10 years tho.

Gwangju downtown is just like Seoul's Myeongdong! Very modern and they have many foreign brands. We were really surprised, as we thought only Busan can match Seoul. I was relieved that we finally knew what we were doing, not getting lost again in the countryside hahaha. We decided to eat first and the special menu of the day was cheese dakgalbi! Yeay!

Everyone was really happy for the great meal, especially that later Abby told us its on her - as a treat from her mom.

We continued to climb to the nearby observation tower that looked very far from the downtown. We walked through resident housings and narrow alleys to get there. Abby's teacher said that it was the shortcut haha.

Gwangju Observatory Tower

The tower was only 4 story-high but it offers amazing view of Gwangju city and mounts around it. Its a newly built tower, replacing the old one. Some of the remaining of the old tower was there too. You can look at the information here.

remaining of the old tower

group picture!

The tower was absolutely amazing. We really enjoyed our time there and of course we took countless selfies hahaha.


We continued our journey to find local street foods in the nearby market. But turned out everything was already closed by 9 PM so we decided to just go to a cat cafe.

Sitting down and playing with the cats was fun. We spent few hours there before going to Gwangju Songjeong station. We planned to take 3 AM train to Mokpo but we did not have place to stay and finding transportation that early would be a trouble for foreigners. So we decided to just wait in the station.

Gwangju Songjeong Station - waiting room

I am really sorry to say this but the station was much much better than Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta Airport.

Very bright, very clean, got plugs and (weak) wifi - they only need sofa and water dispenser to make it perfect.

We were enjoying our time in the station until an officer came to tell us that they were going to close the station at 12.30...

I quickly suggested to wait at the nearby convenience store. Unexpectedly, we had such a blast in GS25 and no one slept. Instead, we talked about many random things and I dragged these people to open social media accounts hahaha. Tugce seemed to find her world in Twitter and was totally absorbed into Twitter shortly after created an account.

Time flies and we walked back to the station at 3 AM, waiting for the train to go to Mokpo