Lost in Berlin

At first, I didnt know what I could do beside the famous Berlin Wall. Taking a day city trip. Stay for two nights and love the German’s history and on the last day to visit concentration camp that is around 1 hour train ride from Central Station.

I was surprised with the warm and sunny days there, shocked by the crazy story of how Germany is divided.

Seeing Charlie’s Point that seems to be occupied by two fake soldier whose a friend informed that they have a "special job" at night

Love the chocolate, yellow metro, the very huge Berlin central station

the festival of light and night photos

Enjoy …………….

Prague on my lens

Prague, the capital of Czech, is wonderful, the castle is great. Despite the tourist crowd, I love this city especially the old town from the square and astronomical clock, jewish quarter, castle, charles bridge, the hill until the hot wine sold in the vineyard. In short, I love this trip. On top of it, I got a chance to visit a local bar with some couchsurfers to try local food, local beer from the monastery and visited jazz bar.

I was surprised to see many couples getting married on the same day, also surprised to realize it was Yom Kippur and Sabbat therefore the synagogue was closed

Seeing Spanish Synagogue, hourly trumpet from the tower, castle guard changing hourly, ipad photographer, fine for anyone jumping out of the window though he could die :-), using funiculair.

Despite the cold weather, below 10 degree Celcius and lots of tourist, I love it..

Wassenaar Pesta Rakyat 2011

Pesta Rakyat yang seharusnya tanggal 17 Agustus tapi diubah karena bulan puasa.

Dari nonton Ello, cari makanan indo, kaget dengan abon cabe yang enak, antri martabak yang lama, perut terkenyang-kenyang hingga ketemu diaspora Timor dan Rote yang menjual jagung bose

Tidak disangka-sangka ada RMS yang nangkring demo tentang Maluku, ada juga polisi Belanda yang ikut jajan makanan enak-enak.

Sultan in blue

Sultan wannabe in an old Malay palace. I was so glad to try this royal ancient attire in Sumatra. All of a sudden these photos remind me of how royal family looks like 😛

Amazing Iboih and Sabang, Weh Island

Blue sea, diving, snorkeling, historical place make this place a perfect place for a getaway.

I began my journey from taking a ferry from Ulee Lhe in Banda Aceh to arrive in Balohan Harbour and continued by a minibus to arrive in Iboih that is popular among divers and its amazing view. I also got a chance to visit Sabang, a nice town where I witness great sunset near Japanese cave and ate sate gurita

Well, pictures could tell you thousand words about the beauty of this small island

PS : the detailed story about my second visit in this island would be made later

Girls of beautiful Tidung Island

Wonderful view, nice place, girls, sea, sand are parts of truly enjoyable trip in Tidung Island. Located in Seribu Islands, surprisingly this L-shaped island seems like an unknown paradise where I went sailing, biking, snorkeling and saw amazing sunrise and sunset

I joined the trip with some friends who were mostly girls, departed from Muara Angke, spent two nights in a local homestay. Biking was fun in this island but the best view is undoubtedly in the bridge connecting two islands where I witnessed both sunset and sunrise.

We were also lucky to see a group of dolphins swimming around the boat when we visited other islands, Payung and Ayer, for snorkeling.

At last I could say I do wish to come to this island once again ….this unknown tropical paradise

References :

http://travelingluck.com/Asia/Indonesia/Jakarta+Raya/_1623948_Kepulauan+Tidung.html#local_map

Exploring Boti Tribe – West Timor

My exploration to the traditional village in Boti made me amazed on the hidden beauty of West Timor. I felt like being thrown to the first half of 20th century

After three-hour bus ride from Kupang, the capital of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) province, I stayed for a night in Soe. The journey to Soe gave me a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery of central Timor that was getting cooler as the road got closer to Soe.

I was lucky to get a room in Pae Nope’s homestay. Pae Nope also recommended his friend to me for being my guide to this village.

Eventually I arrived in the village after going through a long bumpy winding road in the hill near Boti. I was fortunate to come in Boti when the elders gathered. They do this every 9th day, the day when they stopped working in the field.

As an independent traveler, I was a bit surprising for the village chief. Well, most visitors both domestic and foreigners are usually in groups.

I noticed that during the gathering the men discussed many things about their village while the women also gathered separately with the kids. To my surprise, the chief of the village was unable to speak Indonesian. The guide as well as the villagers helped me to translate the language though.

It is interesting to see the traditional culture that is truly a part of their life, from the clothes they wear, since they must wear traditional clothes until the local food they serve dto me. Jagung bose (Bose corn) was one of traditional meals served for me.

The traditional fabric they wear are locally made and now they also sell it to visitors coming to the village

The night I spent also provided a nature choir where the sound of insects, cattle, wind and many things became my lullaby. I stayed in a local guesthouse whose house is made of gewang leaves, while in Java traditional houses are made of bamboo or woods.

Too bad, due to the limited time, I was unable to go to their field or doing trekking in their village. Anyway it was indeed such a great trip. If you do want to seek cultural experience, this village in Boti might be a great choice especially if you happen to be in Timor

Hope that you could enjoy the pictures

Note :

– Lopo is the traditional house in Timor

– domestic pig is seemingly so faithful that the animal would follow the master anywhere she goes to

– Make sure that you stop for a while in your trip to Boti since you are able to enjoy the view of the hills

Bromo and photogenic horses

My second visit in Bromo left memorable view as well as photos of the cute horses. The view was still stunning and still worth a (or many) visit(s). I was still fascinated by the spectacular view though I came during rainy season

After the hassle I got, I managed to reach Cemoro Lawang. The bus ride from Surabaya was in a cozy bus, the later part was undoubtedly dodgy since I needed to choose the minibus that could wait for hours until it was in full capacity or seemingly overloaded

Anyway, I did enjoy my jaunt, slept in freezing weather, woke up in the early morning for the sunrise got the jeep driver to take me to Penanjakan and the crater,

To my surprise, the horses are cute and became cute photogenic photos

Backpacker gathering

It is also nice, since unexpectedly I met and talked to some backpackers from different countries. Meeting a German guy in his RTW trip (who previously went to Nias for surfing), a French-Brazillian couple who planned 4-month trip in Indonesia from volcanoes until diving ( I did envy this couple), and some dutch backpackers (lots of them)

At last, Bromo is still nice but I do hope to explore the other side of the national park around Ranu Pane

Taize, the gathering in Geneve

It’s a memorable gathering indeed, though it’s a year later, I still have this memory in my mind, hectic schedule from Lausanne to Geneve with some French speaking friends from French and Belgiums. nice host family, newfound friends from various countries, inspiring services, the joy of gathering and many more

Wishing to experience it again..

for my further experience, check
this

while for details official report, check
the youth invasion report there as well as
the spirit of taize in Geneve

an afternoon in Salzburg

this place, famous because of an oscar winning movie, The sound of music, is awesome. These photos would show only a part of its beauty

from the castle, the amazing sunset, the girls (oops), and panoramic view

more info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg