Showing posts with label Penang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penang. Show all posts

Thursday, February 14, 2013

A Beginner Backpacker Story

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Halo, semoga pada gak bosen deh ya ngebaca postingan gue soal perjalanan kali ini haha. Gak peduli deh mau dibilang apa. Tapi yang pasti, gue suka banget trip kemaren like, banget banget!! Dan postingan ini lebih kayak summary nya gitu karena ini bener bener kali pertama gue jalan jalan ke 



Bukan cuma itu aja, di trip ini juga kali pertama buat gue dalam berbagai macam hal di dunia per-traveling-an.

First time traveling alone
Should I tell you more about this? Haha please percaya sama gue. Gue jalan sendirian. Gue kemana-mana sendirian. Gue ngatur skejul, ngurus uang, makan, mandi, berak sendirian. Dan gue gak ngerasa itu menyedihkan. Gue justru ngerasa ketje. Karena setiap ada yang nanya gue pergi sama siapa, dan gue jawab gue sendirian... I've always liked the reaction appears on their face :)

First time staying at and hanging with locals
Meski demikian, gue nginep di tempat temen-temen gue yang emang asli sana -kecuali di Penang, gue nginep di dorm. Walopun resikonya, gue harus nyesuain skejul gue sama mereka, tapi ngobrol ngobrolnya sama berbagi ceritanya itu gak ada duanya.

First time suburban visit
Di Kuala Lumpur, temen gue si Joseph ngajakin gue ke daerah Ara Damansara. Semacem suburban gitu, dimana yang tinggal disana adalah keluarga berpenghasilan rendah. Jadi si Joseph ini anggota gereja gitu dan tiap dua minggu sekali harus ngasih bantuan makanan ke salah satu keluarga disitu. Kebetulan hari itu gue lagi bingung mau kemana, jadi ya gue diajak kesana. Two sides of KL in one trip, eh?

First time uncommon overnight experiences
Jadi dari KL ke Bangkok, flight gue itu pagi. Nah kan dari pusat kota ke LCCT itu jauh kan ya, daripada gue grabak grubuk pas pagi, jadi gue pikir mendingan nginep aja di airport! Haha seru parah, apalagi ternyata banyak orang yang ngelakuin itu juga.

Nah trus pulang dari Bangkok, sampe KL jam 9 malem. Gue pun buru buru ke Puduraya Bus Terminal karena jam 12 nya harus naik bis ke Penang. Seru gak sih?? Gue sengaja pilih tengah malem biar sampe Penang pagi dan gue punya banyak waktu buat jalan jalan. And gotta tell ya, bis nya pewe parah!

First time university observation
Di Bangkok, gue kan nginep di dorm temen gue yang sekolah di AIT (sekolah khusus master degree). Nah jadilah gue punya kesempatan ngeliat liat kampus di Thailand haha. Apalagi AIT itu deket banget sama Thammasat University (sekolah khusus bachelor degree) jadi hampir tiap hari gue ketemu anak anak seumuran gue yang sedang menuntut ilmu.

First time massage
Seumur hidup gue gak pernah yang namanya pijet. Jadi mumpung lagi di negara asalnya, Thailand, dan kebetulan gue lagi capek parah waktu itu abis jalan jalan ampe betis segede semangka -dan besoknya balik ke KL jadi yaaa foya foya bath gitudeh haha- jadilah gue pijet Thai dulu sebelum mamam malem.

First time CNY experience
This was the best. Read more in here.

First time being a truly annoying 'bule'
Selama di Bangkok sih emang gue gabisa berkomunikasi kalo gak dalam bahasa Inggris. Nah tapi di Malaysia, sebenernya kan gue bisa bisa aja dan ngerti ngerti aja bahasa Melayu. Tapi berubung ini trip abroad kan ya, gue maunya bahasa Inggris dong haha. Jadi kalo gue lagi nanya orang di Malaysia dan ternyata dia gak ngerti bahasa Inggris, gue mulai sok sok nanya pake kata kata Melayu dengan logat bule gitchu haha trus mereka yang kayak bahagia gitu karena gue bisa sedikit berbahasa lokal hahahahaha oh Lord I miss those moments so bad...


I'm addicted. I never thought, traveling alone could be that exciting. I didn't have to discuss of where to go, I didn't have to face confusing ideas from different confusing heads. It's all about me and myself, and my own choice!

And damn I'm proud of myself. Gue selalu iri sama temen temen gue yang bisa keluar negeri karena ada proyek nari misalnya, atau marching band, atau delegates dan semacamnya. Tapi mereka pergi juga karena sebagian uang mereka kan, bukan sepenuhnya ditanggung si pembuat project.

And yet, they went there in groups.
Not all alone like I did, not a single fighter like I was.
I must reward myself for these brave things I've done.
A trip to Vietnam, maybe?

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

City Three: The Best Closure

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George Town, Penang
Three days of calm and prosperity

After a wild, hectic life in Bangkok, I flew back to KL and then took a bus straight to Butterworth, Penang. Another indescribable experience, I must say, because it was a night bus and then I had to take the ferry so early in the morning to the island.

But that long, exhausting journey to get to the city was all so worthed. You know why, because George Town is a paradise for, uh, how do we say that... Yeah, a peaceful seeker.

It was a small town, clean, quiet, with a few number of cars, as well as the pollution. The tourist spots are close one another and for me, those are all in a walking distance. If I want to take a bus around the city, they have this free shuttle. And if I want to go somewhere out of George Town, other buses are always available and you can ask anybody on the street about how to get there!

Read the board :p
Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah 
Kek Lok Si Temple

And Chinese New Year was so close. I still had lots of ringgits and yeah, I supposed it was the time to start being prosper. So I stayed at a dorm booked from the hostelworld.com named Roommates. I ate more expensive foods, I didn't care anymore about the money I've been strict about since the first day of my trip. It's all about self welfare.

The best part, was the CNY evening. I was invited to have a Chinese dinner with a local Penangite, ate steamboat with them and spent some time with their families. Finished? Not, yet! After that I went to the Esplanade to attend this CNY countdown event!

Ferry and its wind
Ms An Lim and her lovely family
When this happened, I almost cried because on the next day, I was going home :')

Yea and that was all. George Town and its tranquility. I loved all those three cities I visited, but for this one, it's more than just love, I guess.

Now I know why George Town's called as a World Heritage.
I can't describe it, I just know :)

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Mr Worldwide: The Birth

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Udah dua belas hari di bulan Februari, tapi gue belum juga ngepost apapun. Hmm gapapa dong ya, karena gue baru aja pulang dari perjalanan super menakjubkan gue di negara tetangga dimana gue cuma seorang diri.

Banyak banget yang mau gue ceritain, banyak banget yang mau gue share, malah tadinya gue mikir apa mending gue bikin satu blog sendiri khusus buat perjalanan ini aja yak? Haha tapi gamungkin sih.

However, I'll tell it anyway, anyhow.
"Two passports (stamps), three cities, two countries, one (plus eleven) day" -- Pitbull

So, shall we
Get it started?