After some travel-crave weeks, finally last weekend I had an excursion to Kepulauan Seribu (literally means Thousand Islands), a group of approximately 300 islets just north of Jakarta. I went there with a friend of mine as backpackers instead of travel-agent-arranged tourists. Before going to […]
All posts tagged: travel
The Dutch Charm in Jakarta’s Old Town
Indonesia was once a Dutch colony for about 350 years. Yes, three and a half centuries! So, no wonder there are many Dutch remnants in this country, notably the buildings. Jakarta (formerly Batavia) was the center of the Dutch East Indies and now serves as […]
Dvarapala: The Guardian Statue
Dvarapala is a guardian statue which can be found in many Hindu and Buddhist temples/holy sites. In Indonesian ancient temples, usually a pair of dvarapala statues guard the entrance to the temple. Traditionally they are portrayed as scary-looking creatures, holding a club and with fat […]
Batu Caves and The Calling to Go to India
I have to admit, until the end of December 2010 India was never in my list of countries to visit. I have always thought that India is a filthy and very crowded country. Indonesia is already too crowded for me, so why bother going to […]
Manila’s Chinese Cemetery: An Extravagant Showcase of The Dead People
Manila’s Chinese Cemetery in the northern part of Metro Manila is the place where rich Chinese people are buried or cremated. Each tomb shows different style and often includes a specific ornament related to the man’s business. For example, a steel magnate’s tomb was made […]
Intramuros: The Heart of Spanish Manila
The Philippines was once a Spanish colony for about three centuries. This has influenced many aspects of Filipinos’ life, including religion (more than 80% of the Filipinos are Roman Catholic), culture and architecture, to name some. Even until now, beautiful old buildings from Spanish era […]
Manila: Where Spanish, American and Asian Cultures Meet
The Philippines is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that I want to visit (well, actually I want to go to all countries), mainly because it is a less popular holiday destination for Indonesians, compared to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam. I have heard […]
The Great Heritage of An Ancient Javanese Kingdom
I am a big enthusiast of ancient places because they are silent witnesses of societies who lived long before us. When visiting those sites I often imagine how life feels like at the time when the site was still in use. Sometimes I also imagine […]
Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and What We Can Learn from It
This post is a short review of Kuala Lumpur Bird Park (I have mentioned about it briefly in my earlier post about Kuala Lumpur), which claims itself as the world’s largest free-flight walk-in aviary (it means you can interact directly with the birds). It was […]
A Half-Day Visit to Half-Open Universal Studios Singapore
When traveling to other countries, I actually prefer going to some places which have deep cultural value. But sometimes I also enjoy a lot going to fun places where most other fun-seeking tourists go. In this post you can find a little story about my […]
5 Reasons Why I Fell in Love with Vienna
I have told you the story of my Eurotrip earlier in this blog. In that post I have said that my favorite city is Vienna. Therefore, I decided to make this post which is dedicated to Vienna. Here you can find some of the reasons […]
The (Friendlier) Face of Jakarta
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has been occasionally reported on the international media for bad news, such as terrorist bombing, devastating flood, intoxicating air pollution, paralyzing traffic congestion and so on and so forth. Well, most Jakartans share the same feeling about the city though. […]
What an Amazing World! 