get friendly with the locals

you read the title correctly. yes, when you're having a solo trip or group trip to any small cities, better get friendly with locals there. when i was in Cappadoccia, Turkey with Gaby, we're not just lucky to have found a cheap hotel (for 20 lira a night!), but we felt blessed when the staff there, Cihan and Mehmet befriended us. we were treated dinner (when we actually only get breakfast with the 20 lira we spent for a night). and because we were staying in a room for 10 people (5 bunks and 1 bathroom that is), we found more new friends, which is Zeb and Ansel from US, Ben a.k.a uncle Ben from England and Ella from Prague. we had a great time playing cards and guessing some ridiculously hard riddle (thanks to Ansel) until 2 am. and the next day we all got treated lunch at Cihan's uncle house.as to break the ice, we have tons of games to play there, and after that we talk a bit about religion and culture in our societies. i love how they are all open minded. i guess that's what traveling (a lot) do to you. when you meet a lot of people from different countries, culture and religion, you get to here their stories and their point of view.
my luck didn't stop there. when Gaby and I went to buy dinner in a local restaurant, we found out that the owner's wife is Indonesian! such a small world eh? he treated us with not some traditional Turkey tea, but with Sariwangi!! i am so happy to finally tasted some Indonesian products ;p and he gave us a postcards to write, and he said he will send it to Indonesia (yes, back to us). although it still didn't come to me (yet), i'm still excited to receive it :)
see? there's no negative side getting friendly with some locals. at least that what i think.

Dead Mine

i just thought it will be a bit cooler. all i'm saying is i'm a little bit not what i expected. although the set and the make up is really Hollywood, but the actors didn't convince me so much. i get the concept of this movie, and it was actually really cool. but the way the portray it in this movie, not so good. but i think it's a good start for Indonesia actors to break into Hollywood. this movie makes me want to watch Fast and Furious 6 even more. to see how Joe Taslim act, that is. you should watch and tell me how you think.

perfect ending

i would never guessed that i would have an amazing time in Cappadoccia. Gaby and I always think that our stop here was a perfect ending to our trip. 

to get there: from Ataturk Airport, go to the metro (you could ask people where the metro is), then buy one trip coin (it'll cost you 3 lira) to Otogar. that's where all the buses to go from and around Turkey. out from the metro station, search for building number 24/26, they got a night bus to Cappadoccia at 8:30 pm which will cost you 60 lira. it'll take about 12 hours and with the amount of money you spent for the trip, you'll get comfortable seat, mineral water plus coffee/tea/coca-cola. not bad right? for reminder, do not get off in Nevsehir. get off in Goreme, because although both of this city looks alike, but the real attraction is in Goreme. 

one step closer

some of my best supporters

akhirnya maju juga gw UP (Usulan Penelitian). alhamdulillah lancar dan ga terlalu lama hehe. terima kasih buat temen2 gw yang selalu mendukung. i feel lucky 'cause usually people only got one or two best friend, instead i got 13 of them! and my very very best man, Immanuel Variant Rumende. so very lucky to have him by my side through good and bad times :D

songs as a friend

Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows
Supergroove - Can't Get Enough
Time To Run - Lord Huron
My Time With You - David Choi & Kina Grannis
Superhero - Lunafly
It's Time - Glee (Darren Criss)
A Drop In The Ocean - Ron Pope
Hey Julie - Fountains of Wayne
Alles Neu - Peter Fox

download and enjoy :)

a dose of turkey

touchdown in Turkey!

i was really excited for the trip because it was my second trip to Europe. by the way, i was in Turkey for a stop over for 7 hours! so i thought, why not go out for a couple of hours to see the town? so i got a visa (yes, you could make the visa on your arrival and it'll cost you 20 dollars). but keep in mind, it's only for 30 days travel, and you could only use it for one arrival. multiple arrival, well you have to pay another 20 bucks. cause that's what happens to me unfortunately.

i thought it will be a tad bit warmer than Norway (well it was), but it's still felt friggin' cold to me. but i actually like the change of weather. it's good to be in a colder weather than Indonesia.

throwback highschool

baru tau kan kalo deterjen dan softener bisa dimakan?

must visit: Amelienborg Palace

this is it folks. one of the main attraction if you're visiting Copenhagen. the changing guard of Amelienborg Palace. i love how they're really dedicated for being a palace guard. and fashion wise, i love their fur hat ;) there's a museum in one of the building. you could see a quarter of inside of the palace but it'll cost you. and since i didn't have the money (again), i have to be satisfied just to see the changing of the guard which is at 12 pm sharp. so don't miss this one!

and of course,

where else in the world 

you could pose with a cute guard? ;)

jalan di copenhagen

yaa.. namanya juga mahasiswa. kalo mau kemana2 pasti mikirnya "aduh, duit gw tinggal berapa ya?" (yes, and it is include when you're in Europe). awalnya sih gw sama Gaby pengen naik sepeda keliling Copenhagen karena mupeng sama orang2 disana yang kebanyakan emang naik sepeda. pas ditanya harga sewa berapa, mereka bilang 100 kroner. fine lah ya. kita masih punya duit. tapi pas dia bilang harus bayar 500 kroner buat deposit, kita cuman bisa senyum miris. jadilah akhirnya kita jalan kaki dengan cuaca Copenhagen yang anginnya kencang luar biasa. our stop including the famous Christiania and Amelienborg Palace. sebenernya sih rada jauh jarak tempuh kita pas disana, tapi rasa pegel kaki dikalahin sama rasa dingin angin. maklum, Copenhagen negaranya deket sama laut. 

bangunan2nya sangat breathtaking karena peninggalan jaman dulu yang masih kerawat banget. tapi di beberapa district ada bangunan yang modern banget. culture mixnya itu pas banget dan ga keliatan norak. and i love Copenhagen street style! gw pernah nemuin ibu sama anak pake stocking pink, flare skirt, sweater abu2 matching lengkap sama bando bunga2 dan jalan gandengan tangan looking so happy like they just came out from a 90's movie :)

my third company

so i thought i'm going to take a book with me. but Riant, as usual, always got a few surprises on his sleeves. so he got me this book. The Hungry Ocean. inspiring book about a woman who runs a fishing boat (which i really love about women being independent and being on top of her game).

a little bit tips for me: it's always good to bring a book or two with you on your journey. wherever in the world you might go. especially if there's cute notes inside ;)