Switzerland Trip Part 1 - Zurich

Finally, the Christmas break is coming! Even though the first semester of our class has not officially finished since we still have an exam after the holiday but still... It is time to take a break! 

My friend and I decided to go to Switzerland for this time. It was a hard decision since as we know that Switzerland is the most expensive country in the world! However, with our holiday spirit, we finally booked the ticket and flew there. 

Our flight was on Des 22 in the evening, and it took around 1.5 hours from CPH airport. By the time we reached Zurich, we had taken a train from the airport to central. The ticket is CHF 6.80 per person. Then, we continued by tram to our hotel in Toni Areal area with 24 hours tram ticket cost CHF 8.80. We stayed at 25 Hours Hotel, I like the hotel since they have modern design and interior and you can find many funny wordings around the corner.

On our first day, we explored the city of Zurich. The weather was nice yet cloudy, it was cold but not that windy compared with Helsingborg - the city where I live now. Every attraction is near to each other. Hence you can just walk and enjoy the city. 

We walked along the riverside and The Old City of Zurich. I love the architecture, it is beautiful. Also, I also like how the tram is working here. Wish, one day, Jakarta can have a better transportation system. Even, they utilize some trams as a dining place and a place to educate kids during Christmas. I think it is really a good idea to attract both tourists and locals. 

We walked until the Lake Zurich or Zurichsee. The lake itself is big, previously, I thought it is a sea. In this area, you can see a lot of seagulls, swans, and ducks. The view is also fantastic because you can see hills with some snow across the lake. 

Not too far from the lake, there was a Christmas market near the Opera House. We could find many stalls here and a place for ice skating for children. Unfortunately, they just accept cash for the transaction. 

We had our lunch at Restaurant Zeughauskeller, It is an old restaurant serving some variety of local Swiss dishes. I ordered Kalbsgeschnetzeltes nach Zürcher Arta (I do not know how to pronounce it haha), or pan-fried veal with mushroom sauce served with Rösti or grated potato. While my friend had Rösti with sausages. It is pricey to eat here, maybe since it is one of the tourist attractions here with good food taste.

After having a full tummy, we continued to walk around the Bahnhofstrasse - an area with many branded stores and boutiques. We saw a lot of lamps that had not been turned on during the day. So, we diced to go back again in the afternoon. 

Before we took a rest, we went to Coop (local supermarket). Here, you can buy some ready-to-eat foods like pasta, curry and also some sandwiches, pasty and snacks that are more affordable compared if eating out. So, I recommend buying some foods here to save our money :)

Having a short nap, we went out again to see the city during the night. I recommend visiting the Bahnhofstrasse since it has a wonderful city light along the street. But I am not sure whether it is during the Christmas only or along the year.

There was another Christmas market around this area. We were there for a while before having dinner in McDonald's. For your info, even a fast-food restaurant here is expensive- simply because everything is more expensive here. hehe. But still, do not forget to eat when you travel! It is better to spend our money for food, so we can enjoy the trip and not get sick!

I will continue to write the second day in Luzern and Pilatus. So, stay on my blog.

Here, you can see my vlog in Zurich, hope you can enjoy it as I am. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXtWQ1d2KME

2017 in A Nutshell

Two weeks from now, we're going to leave 2017 and welcoming 2018. It is so fast I must say. Many things happen in my life. I have not written anything about my movement to Sweden. So now, I will write the story about it and also some memories in 2017.

Alhamdulillah, in around September or October 2016, I got the result that I passed the test from the scholarship I applied - LPDP. I was so happy that I had a chance to chase my dream to live abroad, maybe not for a long time, but at least I will get the international experience. 

The effort to live abroad was not as smooth as I expected, in Feb 2017, I got the result from my application on universityadmission.se that I was still on the waiting list to be accepted in the university. In the beginning, I was so confident to be accepted since last year I passed, but I needed to decline the application since I didn't have any scholarship to support my study. I was so afraid that I couldn't get the university, but there was a second chance to get the final result. With some support from my family and friends, I kept being optimistic to wait for the final result. By the way, the first result came right before I had a holiday in Raja Ampat, Papua ( you can check the other story about my trip to Raja Ampat)

In March, I had an opportunity to go to Mecca and Madina, Saudi Arabia, for Umroh. I was there by myself, but luckily I was surrounded by many good people there, and we are still in contact now. I prayed that I would get the best result for me on the final.

Alhamdulillah, right after I was back from Umroh, just a few hours after I was back home. I received the email that I was accepted in Lund University for Service Management, Tourism program. I was calling my friend just to ensure that I saw the right result. Then afterward I told my family about this good news. 

End of April, I resigned from my work in Unilever, and it was exactly five years I worked in the company. It was not easy to leave my career, but I need to chase my dream. Herby some photos of my journey in Unilever. I started to work in Unilever Food Solutions handling the local jewel brands and trade marketing for modern trade channel

 Then I moved to skin cleansing team and handling Lifebuoy soap.

and lastly in the hair category handling Dove Shampoo

After I resigned, I travel to many places such as Bandung, Jogja, Bali, Thailand, and Labuan Bajo. Also, I spent my time to meet up with my friends as a "farewell."

It was so fast... suddenly it was July already, and early August was my departure to Sweden. Mixed-feeling in between excited and insecure since I never left home before except for a business trip or holiday. The closer it was the more I got scared

Finally, the time of my departure had come... ready or not. I need to leave. The trip felt different, I usually go to the airport by myself, but now my parents were accompanying me. Then in the airport, my friend, Smita, came to say goodbye. Again, It was hard for me to leave them before entering the boarding gate. 

Here I am now. Currently, I live in Helsingborg in Skåne region, Southern Sweden. Please check the below link to see my apartment :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki2n9oa2KGA

Now, It has been five months I live in this city and back as a student. It is not easy to be a student again after almost seven years I left the academic life. I need to adapt to the new environment, new culture, new people, language. Also, I need to manage my own life, finance, cook. Lastly, the most important thing is I need to study, study, and study. 

Sometimes, I can not lie that I am struggling. I miss home, my family, my friends, my fish, Indonesian food and many more. Lucky, I have some friends here as my "support system," and I always reflect myself that this is what I have been dreaming. The first semester is almost done now. Hopefully, I can keep going through everything here smoothly and having a lot of experience here.

(Edited version: Don't worry guys! I am totally fine here. haha)

Almost forget to mention that one thing that also motivates me is to travel :) so... please stay on my blog to see my Eurotrip experience. I will try to be consistent to write on my blog.

See you!

Meet Komodo Dragon and Live on Board Experience in Labuan Bajo

I'm so proud that Indonesia is the only inhabitant for the biggest lizard/dragon on Earth, Komodo. I really wanted to visit Komodo Island in Labuan Bajo, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. After I resigned from my work, and before I moved to Sweden, I was planning for this trip. I thought I wouldn't make it since it was so hard to find the schedule with my friends - Most of them are working. However, I had a big ambition to visit this place, then I was looking for an open-trip to that location. Sadly, It was also hard to find the time. Luckily, suddenly, my friend called me and told me that he also wanted to go there. I was so happy at that point, yet we still had a problem since we needed to find the tour to explore the islands.

We couldn't find any trip! Ever since both of us were really wanted to go there, we tried to find another alternative which was using the private trip. We realized that it was going to be more expensive. We compared the quotation and itinerary from some travel agents. We felt that they were all expensive. Suddenly, I remembered that my friend, Sarah, went there by using the private trip. I texted her immediately, and she told me that she has family there who helped her to arrange the trip with more affordable price. She gave me her cousin number then I talked to him. After we compared and negotiated the price, My friend and I decided to go there with the help from him.

Day 1 - Arrival

We departed from Bali since both of us had our own holiday before we the Komodo trip. I flew by Nam Air while my friend took Garuda Indonesia. The time-gap was only  1 hour. I saw a big mountain from the sky, but I did not know the name.

After around 1 hour flight from Bali, we arrived at Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo. By the time we landed, Arief or Kadal (his nickname/famous name) was already there. Then he accompanied us to our hotel with the local taxi. During the trip, he shared his story - He's a tattoo artist, was living in Jakarta but then decided to move to Labuan Bajo. I must say that he has a good network there, so no wonder that we got the best deal for us :). We stayed at Green Hill Boutique Hotel located in the city center and close to the harbor. 

Green Hill Boutique Hotel, Labuan Bajo 

Green Hill Boutique Hotel, Labuan Bajo  

We had dinner at Le Pirate and discussed the plan for tomorrow. The restaurant has a good ambiance as well as good food, but it was quite pricey since it was for tourists. 

Le Pirate Restaurant, Labuan Bajo

Day 2

Before leaving to the harbor, we dropped our luggage at the hotel lobby because we will stay there again after the live-on-boat trip. I was so excited, yet I was a bit scared since it was my first time to have a live-on-boat experience. 

The view was fantastic, and we were lucky since the weather was lovely - sunny. 

Our first stop was Pulau Kelor / Kelor Island.

Pulau Kelor / Kelor Island

We stayed there around 1 hour. We climbed to the top of the island and had a beautiful view from the top, and afterward, we did snorkeling around the island. The under the sea view was also beautiful; Colorful coral and lot of fish. 

Pulau Kelor from the top

We continued the trip to Pulau Rinca where the Komodo lives. I was hoping that we could see the Komodo. I heard that it was the mating season for these animals. My friend who went the 2 weeks before told me that she just saw a few of small Komodo. 

Pulau Rinca / Rinca Island - Entrance

To enter the national park, see the Komodo and trekking in Pulau Rinca,  we need to hire a ranger who will be our guide as well as to protect us if the Komodo attack us - definitely, we didn't want this to happen. We were waiting for the ranger about half an hour. By the time we got one, we had started to explore the island. 

Our Ranger

Not too far from the entrance, we arrived at a small village, and we were surprised, excited a bit panic yet when we saw some Komodos. However, I personally felt so happy that I could see these animals in their original habitat. We took some pics with the Komodo then we were tracking around the island. 

 During the tracking, we saw some wild animals - bird, monkeys, buffalos, and deer.

Tracking in Pulau Rinca was like tracking at the savanna. It was a dry season, so all the grass was dry and turned into yellow 

The track itself was not really challenging yet because of the hot weather and a long track (for me), I felt so tired. However, it was worthy because of the beautiful scenery

Finished with tracking in Pulau Rinca, we were heading to Pulau Padar and had our lunch on the boat. Pulau Padar is one of the main attractions and the iconic spot. Again, we had to track here. It was more challenging since it was higher than Pulau Kelor. But we kept walking and push ourselves to go up because the more we go to the top, the more beautiful the scenery. Not to mention, but the track was steep!

 

The famous spot in Pulau Padar...

Since it was almost sunset, we had a beautiful sight. However,  We needed to go back to our boat before it got too dark.

Tonight we would sleep around the Bat Cave, and yes, it was not on the ground but our boat instead. The color of the sky was magical, a perfect combination of violet, orange, blue and yellow.

Day 3

Alhamdulillah, we could sleep well last night. The tide was calm, and it was cold last night. We woke up around 7:00 am, and then we were heading to our first stop - Pink Beach. It is well-known as "pink beach" because of the tiny elements from the coral mixed with the sand. We climbed the hill to enjoy the beach from the top and did snorkeling too here.

From there, We continue our journey to see manta at manta point. We were so excited to see these creatures in the wild nature. The caption told us that they can not guarantee to see these animals because sometimes they are swimming to other places. 

One of the crew was standing at the front to find the manta. We were waiting, and I could see that some other boats were also doing the same thing. Same with us, other travelers were also waiting and searching the manta. Sadly, at after one-hour waiting, we still could not find them. Hence we were snorkeling again there and hoping that the manta would appear - but they didn't. The tide was strong here, the caption told us not to get panic because the boat would come to us if we swam too far.

A bit disappointed, but it is what it is. We can't predict the wild, and it's in the ocean. 

Moving forward, we sailed to Gili Lawa Darat. We were so tired and took a nap on the way there. 

Reaching the Gili Lawa Darat, we were preparing our mental and energy to explore the area. We need to climb up again, and this one is higher and steeper than Pulau Padar.

We took some rests because it was so tiring. But the view was so beautiful. And the more you go up, the more beautiful the scenery is. 

We would spend the night here on our boat, there were many boats around us. Kadal taught me how to fish traditionally, he caught some fish but zero for me :). 

I was surprised when I saw on the sea since there was some green-light. We found out that there were some divers there. Also during the night, I tried to capture the stars with my camera, I changed some lens and followed the guidance from the internet. It was hard... especially when I was on the boat, and it kept moving following the tide. 

Day 4 

Early in the morning, as our last day, we were heading to Kanawa Island (Pulau Kanawa). It was perfect weather for snorkeling

I really love this island. The snorkeling area is perfect, you can see many beautiful fish and starfish. The beach is clean with white sand. Everything is perfect here for me. 

Before back to the land, we were going to our last spot - Pulau Bidadari. It is a small island, and if I am not mistaken, there is a cottage there. We did snorkeling again there, and we saw a baby black-tip shark! I was so happy to see this fish again 

Sadly, our boat trip was over. We were back to our hotel - the same hotel as before. But we had a different room with better view.

I felt boat-lag and dizzy after the trip. That was the effect of staying on the boat that always moves. Then we had our late lunch at Mediterraneo restaurant in front of our hotel. We ate pizza, and it was a big portion. The taste was ok but a bit pricey - tourist price. 

Day 5

The following day, on our last day in Labuan Bajo, we had lunch at one of the iconic restaurant here.

The building is like a whale. I love the ambient in the restaurant and also the hospitality from the waitress. Also, the food was good. I ordered Tuna Rendang; while my friend ordered Fish & Chips. Next time if I come here again, I think I should come in the evening since they have live music (seems not every day) and also they have good lighting 

We flew with Garuda Indonesia to Jakarta. Overall I really love Labuan Bajo and the Komodo trip. Next time, if I come here again, I hope I can see the Manta Rays and also explore the other attractions here such as Danau Kelimutu and Wae Rebo Village