Monday, April 24, 2017

Ibis Styles Bandung | Indonesia

Ibis Styles, Bandung is located in Braga. Surrounded by road of art, it has it's own style to share with you. As Braga famous for it's art, nice try to stay in Braga for vacation or business since 15-min distance to train station. 
Main entrance from parking
Take 1 for your luggage
Check-in first to get your room card & wi-fi password. 

Receptionist area
Free ice tea to get in lobby area

aisle to the room
The bedroom is quite small but comfortable and reasonable price. Suit for budget trip or business trip.

Bed area ( twin )


TV for refreshing after exhausting day


Night view from window
Restaurant & breakfast area in 2F
The porridge is a must have one, very delicious and soft taste.
Plus point of Ibis Styles Bandung for sure is the breakfast, for budget hotel, the breakfast menu is awesome, also clean environment inside and nice crew. 

Minus point is the room area quite small, should not enough if you bring kids with. 


Bandung with Argo Parahyangan


Usually we go to Bandung by car, but this time I have chance to take train from Gambir Station, Jakarta. 

Ticket can be order via Indomaret, and will have booking code as below. Be notice you need to come earlier 1 hour at least before departure time to change the booking code to boarding pass a.k.a ticket in the counter. Ticket price is IDR 125K for executive. (* executive means it's only stop in main station not each pass by station to save time)
left : Indomaret receipt w/ booking code, right : boarding pass
Inside Gambir Station there are so many store and restaurant. Due this trip will take you around 3 hours, better to prepare food first. Mine is HokBen. 

Also there is crew selling some food inside. Such as hot tea IDR 7K, hot chocolate IDR 10K, chips, and meal (around IDR 30K)
2-2 seat w/ TV and luggage cabin upside, comfortable seat that you can set your way
Electricity socket to charge your phone in every seat
The view from window

After 3 hours finally you can touch down Bandung Station. And it's heavy rain when we arrived. 



As experienced, online transportation still not very acceptable by local taxi here to take order. And when local taxi driver come to you to push you to take their taxi with nego price, here you need to know. Walk to left side of the station when you can find Blue Bird and it's official crew. Blue bird use the meter price that more safe & save for us compare with nego price. 

The crew and taxi here
Plus point to take train to Bandung is we can avoid the traffic, minus point is the price are higher and you need to have transport in Bandung or use public transport. 


Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Wang You Valley | Taiwan

望幽谷 or usually write with 忘憂谷 (Wang You Valley) is one of the most beautiful national park in Keelung City. 忘 means to forget, 憂 means stressful / unhappy things. So the name is to tell people when you come here and look at how beautiful the scenery is, you may forget all your stressful things.

How to get there? From Taipei you can take public bus or train to Keelung Railway Station. It takes around 1 hours, then take public bus number 103 and get off at 八斗子 (Ba Dou Zi).


From Ba Dou Zi, follow the blue dot as map above, or you may start your google map. It takes almost 20 minutes uphill road. Prepare your heart @@

Or you can drive till destination upside there, there are parking lot and you can safe your energy to walk the uphill road.

But believe me the view upside is so amazing you'll not regret to walk the road.

How cool it is that the same God who created mountains and oceans and galaxy looked at you and thought the world needed one of you. 

To be noted : No drinking fountain or vending machine up there, prepare your water well. Or you can buy first in Ba Dou Zi there are many convenience store there.


Sunday, April 3, 2016

4 Places to Visit in Yang Ming Mountain

Some people who know me usually said that I was a kid with old soul. Yes, I am. Maybe it happened with some 90's kids also, that we born in Doraemon era, but grow up in technology era. But for the truth, I prefer to live 90's life that being happy with nature and everything simple without socmed addiction.

I'm a people that like to place my self under blue sky, behind green mountain, looking blue sea, and being friend with sunlight and life without smart phone. 

So, once there is holiday I would be happy if I could go outside. This time I goes to Yang Ming Mountain National Park with my friend. 

It was a national holiday here in Taiwan. We met up at MRT Jian Tan and took a bus to Yang Ming Mountain. I don't really remember which exit, (exit 2 maybe), but you could found many people with trekking equipment waiting for the bus. 

In the spring there is a lot of public bus that you'll found and also 1-2 people that wearing working vest should be happy to help you. Simply ask them which bus was going to Yang Ming Mountain. 

Lucky us that day the traffic to Yang Ming Mountain was so good, no traffic jam, and after around 30 minutes, we are safely arrived at Yang Ming Mountain 2nd Park Lot. 

From Yang Ming Mountain 2nd Park Lot we take local buses to go to one and another point. So, if you want to go to one point on the National Park, you need to take bus from MRT Jian Tan -> Yang Ming Mountain 2nd Park Lot / Main Park Lot (according to the bus you take from MRT, you could ask the driver) -> take local bus to go to the point. 

Don't forget to add value to your Easy Card, since you'll take buses many times from one point to another.

And here is places you should visit at Yang Ming Mountain :

1. 花鐘 (Hua Zhong)
Place where people come to take a picture of Sakura blossom. But this time the Sakura haven't bloom :( People said maybe it  because the giant gale that attack Taiwan some time ago.




花鐘 



2. 竹子湖 (Zhu Zi Hu) - 苗榜 Miau-Bang Garden,
Famous with its local restaurant that offer delicious local dishes. I personally recommend 苗榜 Miau-Bang Garden, been here about 2y ago and being addict with their Sweet Potato Ginger Soup.





 
What we ate, and a plate of fried mushroom that have no photo.
All of these cost about NT$ 400,-
You just need to found a large 海芋園 Calla Lily Garden and find the way to enter that garden, that was. In the entrance you need to pay NT$150 per person to enter and use it when you pay your dishes. So if you need to pay NT$200 and give them your coupon, you only need to pay NT$50.

And we found local herbs store on the way. I don't remember what the shop name was but when you enter and like their facebook fanpage you'll f get two ceramic cup for free.




The free ceramic cup
3. 驚天崗 ( Jing Tian Gang)
So cold here, where the crater of the mount was. In here you could found sulphur in many where. But be sure you've prepare your jacket to keep you warm. 

And I feel so freeze that I do not take any picture about the environment here except this shoot *cheers 
4. Yannick 
Yannick famous with its cheese cake that you can found in many where at Taipei. But they have the theme store that located in Yang Ming Mountain, near Chinese Culture University. So you must take the bus like you wanna go back to the MRT and stop at Chinese Culture University. Walk about 5 minutes and you'll found sweet architecture with huge people there. So crowded here and I only took some picture here. 

Black dark chocolate cupcake (left) & I forgot what the right one was.
It taste so chocolate.
The cozy dine in area
And it also have outdoor area
And it's the end of our trip and sorry for the weird light of the photos that the weather are not stable that day. But we do have fun.