2nd Honeymooners

End of April 2007, me and my wife secara kebetulan got a really rare chance to visit Australia, 'nebeng' dengan acara kantor ke Radio Australia. Maksudnya, gue sih memang ada acara kantor, nah bini gue ikutan pergi dengan biaya sendiri... Berhubung ini trip pertama ke dunia down under, dengan bangga kami persembahkan foto2nya disini...

Di Melbourne, kita nginep in one of the most canggih hotel we've ever been into. Cuma dengan 1 touch pad disamping tempat tidur, semua device di kontrol... Lampu di kamar mandi dan lemari baju aja pake sensor movement. Jadi kalo lo kelamaan nongkrong di toilet lalu 'freezing' nggak gerak2, tiba2 gelap deh... :-p

Di Sydney kita sempat stay 2 hari. Hotelnya dueket banget sama Paddy's Market, pusat belanja murah bernuansa Asia (or even Jakarta). Jalan2 disini berasa kayak ada di gang-gang nya Pasar Baru, kiri kanan orang pada ngomong Indon...

Kita juga nginep 3 malem di Canberra, the capital city, ditempat kakak gue sekeluarga tercinta tinggal. Menjelajah countryside, mengunjungi wineries (tempat bikin wine), nyicip2, liat kangaroo loncat didepan mobil, makan steak kangguru (rasanya kayak sapi tapi teksturnya lebih lembut), ke national museum, ke outlet mall, dan masuk2 ke parliament house... No worries, mate!

Jayapura, Papua Capital

I just went back from Jayapura, Papua, last week for a business trip. It was my first-time. The city (if you can call one!) is located in the eastern part of Papua (Indonesia), just 60 minutes to the New Guinea borderline.

I stayed there for about 24 hours. I stayed in the best hotel in town, The Swiss Bel...(something) Hotel, which located in the business district on the bay. Nice view, my window is facing to the bay, with hill view on the right side. There was a big sign called "Jayapura City" on the hill, just like what they did on "Hollywood" sign in California.

Pak Alex Siahaininea, Head of RRI station in Jayapura, told me lots of things about Jayapura. For instance, the native papuans are considered "orang2 maless". They tend to live easy, not willing to work to get a better life. Many of Papuan men goes drunk every payday. In the morning, when you see guys laying on the street unconcsious, then you know that he just got some money yesterday...

I was told also that in the last few years, Jayapura becomes politically "tidak kondusif" - as what a state officer (pejabat) will say. According to Pak Alex, it's all started when Gus Dur (as the President) commented to an issue when some papuans planned to erect Papua Merdeka's flag (Papua Freedom Movement) - the 'Bintang Kejora' - on the national day. There are huge controvercies went around at that time, but when being asked on the issue, the President said, "Ya naikin aja. Itu (the movement's flag) kan sama aja kayak bendera KONI." KONI is a sporting entity in Indonesia. Ouch.

Jayapura is facing an environmental problem these days. Lands and hills erodes all the time, due to illegal forestry and mining activities. Floods happens, lands & roads crack, bridges fall. On the day I came, I have to detour for more than half hour to travel to downtown from the airport.

On the way back to Jakarta, I came to stop by at Timika, the Freeport's (US mining company) main 'village'. Despite the fact that it is only a tiny place in the heart of Papua, Timika has a great signature golf-course in the jungle, decorated with hundreds-year-old big trees... And I once read a t-shirt print goes "Hard Rock Cafe TIMIKA", with the usual, worldwide logo of the franchise. I bet that anybody can purchase such t-shirt at the local pasar... :-)

The Full-Family Vacation

Early April 2007, we had a chance to go to Kuala Lumpur for a short vacation. This time we bring along the kids, makes it a complete Mom-Dad-2 kids travelling story.

We arrive at the same weekend with the Sepang F1 Grand Prix 2007 event, makes the whole city packed of visitors, with all banners and local media displaying the racing stuff. Since we did not plan the vacation early enough, we found difficulties finding the hotel that suits us, due to the peaked weekend. We were lucky to get a room at Novus Hotel, a 5-minute walking distance from the Twin Tower. So-so hotel, great location!

We spend our time at KL by visiting many interesting places - especially for kids. Petronas Tower (with its Science Center and the big mall in it), KL Tower, and of course, spend one whole day at Genting Highland. Yes, the kids are having so much fun!

But of course, our 3-year old Danika is always keeping her afternoon ritual on check. When it's time to nap, we have to go back to the hotel for her to get some rest, get a 1-2 hrs of afternoon sleep. During that time, I will accompany her in the room, with her brother Chaska watching cartoons on TV and the Mom somewhere out there hunting for Vincci shoes... Asik, kan?

Food in KL are pretty cheap (compare to other country destinations we've been to). Right in front of our hotel was "Mustafa" restaurant, serving a complete arrays of Nasi Kandar and its accessories. Great spices...

It is the first time for us also to fly with AirAsia. It was funny because the free-seating arrangement makes every passanger (including us) rushed from the waiting room to the plane to get the better seats... So while waiting, it was pretty weird that everybody seems like waiting for the "Ready, Get Set, Go!" sign...

From Sorong to Fakfak

In March 2007, I went to Fakfak, in the heart of Papua Island. To get there, one will need to fly to Sorong first - a small city in the west part of Papua. This is the only hub to reach Fakfak.

I can't say much about Fakfak, since I've only been there less than a day. Generally, Fakfak is underdeveloped. The RRI station operated there represents that. But Sorong is a different story. People from Sorong is considered the most talented and smart group in Papua. Natives from this area has become successful people. The Governor of Papua province, University Heads, local scientists are among the notable Sorongese, today.

Its location makes Sorong the gateway to Papua (from the west). People of Makasar and other areas has enrich its social life. Sorong is also the hub to the famous "Raja Ampat", the island in Papua shore which draw the world's attention for its breath-taking, beautiful sceneries.