Mekarsari Tropical Fruit Garden, Bogor

During long weekend in Mar 2012, my mother with her friend, my sisters and myself visited Mekarsari Fruit Garden JI. Raya Cileungsi – Jonggol Km. 3, Cileungsi, Bogor, West Jakarta. We stayed in my sister's home at Raffles Hill, near to the place, anyway around 10:00 we still experienced traffic jam to reach the garden, my friend already waited for us in front of the gate. The entrance fee was IDR 15.000/person

The area was quite huge, there were some trains with car engine and wheels, to bring the visitors around the place, a guide would inform us the plant that we passed by during the ride. Before riding the train, we bought ticket to see Pongo show where there was an interactive movie with audiences. The Pongo monkey in the movie will call and talk to the audience facilitate by MC. Children would love to see it, some children would be selected from the audiences to dance together with some beautiful teenagers to perform in front of the audience. No food, drink and photo are allowed during the show.

Train ride is a good option to explore the most comprehensive tropical fruit garden with plant types around ± 78 family, 400 species & 1438 varieties. If you join the train ride, you will stop in 5 different stations. In each station you could change your ticket with some souvenirs, most of them are fruit. The first station was Melon garden, in the picture it shows different shape of Melon, unfortunately we only saw the normal round melon in the greenhouse, there were some slices of sweet melon that visitors could try. The first stamp could be changed for a small bottle of fresh juice.

The second stop was at snake fruit garden, there were many variants of snake fruit. The second stamp could be changed to 1 basket of snake fruit, the basket was very cute. My mom's friend loves it and she would like to take home to Surabaya for souvenir. The tree was full of thorn, so you have to be careful to take picture near the snake fruit tree. In this garden we found a real long green snake on the tree.

Star fruit garden was our next stop, here you also could buy other fruit such as papaya. You also could taste the very sweet star fruit, the third stamp was changed with one big star fruit. The train left us here around an hour, the weather was nice, some benches were provided for the visitors, also a couple restrooms. We sat on the bench enjoy the breeze, scenery and also eating our fruits while waiting for the train.

On the way to the next stop, we passed by the marvelous Mekarsari office with water fall. The huge lake with many air attraction was our next destination. There were live music at the field next to the lake. On the other side there were some children playground for small outbound. Some sellers were also available here providing snack, drinks, also souvenirs. Giant Bubble, Floating Donuts, boat, canoe and aqua bike were some options that you could select to go around the lake.

It's been around 14:00 o'clock and we were starving, we had to walk along the lake to reach the train to go to the last stop. At the last stop we could change our stamp with the souvenirs (sandals). There were some food stall crowded with visitors, we prefer to select KFC which's already having a standard for taste and quality. To stay overnight there was Leo’s Tree House located in the middle of the garden. The 5th stamp could be exchanged to a fruit plant that we could bring home to be planted at home. On the way to the parking lot, there are many fresh fruit stalls, there was also art stage with 2 persons play pantomime.

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Adventurous Desert Safari in Dubai

When we landed in Dubai, it's really early morning around 5 o'clock by night flight from Turkey. All of us who joined the tour, were still sleepy and tired because we could not sleep well in the economy seat which was not able to recline as bed such as in business class. We had breakfast at a hotel because it's fasting time, so not many restaurants opened. During breakfast we took a chance to wash our face and hand for refreshment, we were not able to take a bath in the closet :-)



After breakfast, we continued directly with Dubai city tour. Our destination was not listed in the itinerary, the guide was kind enough to fullfill tour participant desire, e.g visiting hotel which has a room under the sea level, called Atlantis The Palm Hotel in the Palm Jumeirah. It is located on Palm Island, a man-made island in Dubai, and is surrounded by waters of the Arabian Gulf. If we don't stay in the hotel, we're not allowed to go to the lobby. We could enjoy the gigantic aquarium, Ambassador Lagoon, by paying the entrance fee.


Going back to the city we stopped by to take photo with Burj Al Arab, the 7 star hotel in United Arab Emirat as the background, it's very hot around 45 degree Celcius. Although the sand and stone wall were hot, we kept trying taking pictures form different angle with various background.


On the next day was the most interesting journey, we picked up by land rover which contained 4-6 person including the driver. We went directly to the desert, stopped by in the small store next to the desert to go to restroom and buy drinks, snacks or souvenirs. Now it's time for advanventuror desert safari, the driver was reducing the wheel pressure to make it run well on the sand.


The scenery is very amazing, everywhere just sand, with hill and valley. We stopped on the hill to take group pictures. The sand was very hot, we could not wear our shoes or sandals, so we walked with bare foot. It's very soft sand, as if you're walking on the hot soft sand for theraphy. I was in the same car with the local guide and an old couple with their sister. All of them were very scared with the dune drive journey, because the driver brought us in a full speed off road to climb the sandy hill, it made the land rover was almost tumbled. My sister and I really enjoyed it, we laughed a lot all the way because the old's couple sister was very fear until she made a very loud and rhtymic laughing. Unfortunately I could not take my mobile phone to record it, as we had to hold tight the car's handle to avoid falling down.


Finally after some manuver by the very skilled driver, we stopped on the hill to watch the sunset. It's very beautiful. Some of our friends in the tour were racing to go down the hill, one of them was very eager to win till he was fallen rolled on the sand. All of us were very enthusias to tell others about the exciting dune trip.


After sunset we went to the camp to enjoy the Arabian barbeque dinner, unfortunately it's fasting time, so we could not see the belly dancer. Beautiful henna painting was put on my hand, it's beautiful, the woman could draw it fast, some of my friend put on the feet or shoulder. There was also camel, you could ride and take photo with the camel by paying some fee. Cold soft drink and water were distributed free of charge, we could enjoy and feel how the people live in desert.


An unforgetable memory of thrilling ride to share with my family and friends back home, because the desert safari I can't find it at home. If you would like to test your adrenaline you should try this fun activity when you had a chance to visit Dubai, I'm sure you won't regret and you'll love it.

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Leisure in Manila

During weekend my friend from Manila was kind enough to show me some interesting places in Manila as that's my first visit. We visited the bay, some churches and ended with traditional dinner in a unique restaurant


The first visit was to the reclaimed land where the Mall of Asia (the biggest Mall in Philippines), some modern offices, many restaurants and also hotels with beautiful and sophisticated architecture are built. It's a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon). We didn't stop by in the huge mall, because I only wanted to enjoy and explore Manila scenery instead of shopping :-)


When passing by the baywalk, I was interested in stopping there, so we turned around and entered the parking lot. It's called "By The Bay", the popular recreation area for Metro Manila people. There were various restaurants which has open air area and also indoor. They provide various food such as western food, local cuisine, etc. Some foodstalls were also there, attempting visitors to taste snack, ice cream, drinks, etc. It's full of music, so many people hung out in that area, sitting on the edge of the bay waiting for sunset. My friend informed that sunset is very beautiful from here, so Philippinos people like to enjoy it, bringing some food and snack together with friends or family.


After passing by some restaurants, we went to the park, there was a small amusement park, where children could play with the swing, bike, etc. A small fountain decorates the promenade, with some statues accross the fountain. A big wheel such as London Eye or Singapore Flyer was also there to enable people viewing Manila from the height. At the other side of the bay, there was an exquisite yacht club area where many private yachts anchored.


The park was quite spacious, it enabled people express themselves. Such as that day there were two young boys play pantomime. It created crowd in the middle of the park to see their actions. It's good to practice and test their art performance in front of the real audience before going to professional. On the way back to the parking lot, we stopped by at Hooter, the famous bar & restaurant with beautiful and sexy waitress. Unfortunately the delicious chocolate cake we wanted was not available, so we canceled the visit for eating. The waiter was very friendly, they kept smiling at us and allowing us taking picture although we didn't buy anything.


At the edge of the bay near to the yatch club, we could see some temporary wall to close the ruin places because of the typhon last year. After passing through the main road of Manila, Roxas Boulevard, where there were some big five stars hotels, government offices, also US embassy office by the bay, we arrived at Cathedral. There was a mass at that time, I also prayed for a while, asking for 3 wishes to God. The mass ended so fast, the electricity inside the church was off after the mass had finished, lucky that I've taken some pictures before it's totally off. The cathedral's door was very beautiful, it's made of wood full of carving of the holy pictures. If you're hungry, you just need to go accross the cathedral, a unique restaurant provided various menu of cardinals' favourite meal.


Finally we had dinner in a traditional restaurant Bakahan at Manukan, Roxas Boulevard near corner Gil Puyat Avenue, Pasay City, which held cook & waiter singing and dancing. It's fun and a different ambience, all of them could sing and dance beautifully, without microphone their voice was loud enough to be heard by all guests. I enjoyed the ambience, although it's rather noisy. My friend suggested to order gisa monggo (green bean soup), and Adobo manok (chicken). For beverage, she said that the popular mango shake ice was very nice, it's true, I like it very much, one glass was not enough for me :-). The green bean soup is unique but delicious, contained of vegetable, chicken, and pork. We enjoyed the food accompanying with their live music. If you visit Manila/Makati, you should stop by at the restaurant to feel different ambience.

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Beautiful Gili Islands in Lombok

Lombok is an island next to Bali, you could reach it from Bali by boat. A new international airport just launched in Nov 2011, it's further from city area. It takes around 1.5-2 hours driving to Senggigi, the most popular place to relax and stay in Lombok.



There are 3 islands that you should see if you visit Lombok, they're called Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. Many boats are available to rent or just pay around IDR 20.000/person if you want to use the public boat and share with other people. The capacity of the boat is various between 10-40 persons depend on the boat size.


You have to go early if you would visit the 3 islands. The nearest one called Gili Air, which has the most population of people who live and stay in the island. Snorkeling and diving are the most popular activities here, so many seafood restaurants are available. A few hotel and villas with free breakfast are available too for staying overnight and enjoy the peaceful paradise.


The second is Gili Meno, there is only few people living here, the island size is not too big, just take less than 2 hours to walk around the island. It's quiet, the scenery and beach are beautiful with its white sand beach and pines, you could relax here without many interruption without any noise, just enjoy the sun and wind breeze. It's suitable for honeymooners, there are some small hotel or bungalows, simple shops and internet cafes which are used generators as the power supply.


The last one, is the biggest island called Gili Trawangan. You could depart directly from Bali by speed boat from Padang Bai or Serangan harbour, it takes around 2 hours depend on the sea condition. It cost IDR 690.000,- one way while IDR 1.300.000,- return. There are many hostels with competitive price for tourists. You don't need to worry to bring your own food, there are some restaurants available provided various food such as western, seafood with beautiful scenery of the blue beach. So many chairs/benchs of the restaurant on the seaside, so you could taste the food while enjoying the beach scenery.


In Gili Trawangan you would find many people selling magic mushroom. Why is it called magic? Because when you eat it, you will feel happier and more relax. My friend said that if the person is in sad mood, he/she could cry a lot, if the person is happy, he/she would often laugh, they could not control their emotion anymore, even they don't realize what happened to them. The mushroom actually grows on the cow's dung then people will shower it everyday. It will cook with egg such as omelet, it's tasteless. It won't make people addicted. Do you dare to try it?


Beside the food, you also could do water sport such as snorkling, kayaking, and diving. The underwater scenery is quite beautiful with colorful coral and fish, some turtles also available to see. To go around the island you could just walk around 2 hours, rent a bike or riding Cidomo (traditional cart with car tyre pulled by a horse) costs around IDR 50.000,-. There is also a hill that you could climb to see better scenery of the sea with Mount Rinjani as the beautiful background at the West side while Mt. Agung at the East side. No motorcycle or car are allowed to operate in the island, so the weather is very fresh and clean. It's pretty crowded during peak season (Jul-Aug, Dec-Jan), so better you order the accomodation in advance.

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Sparkling Pearl River at Night in Guangzhou

After an hour drive by bus from Nansha where we had APCCAL Expo 2011, finally we could reach the pier in Guangzhou. The scenery from the pier was very beautiful, so many boats with colorful lights were going through the Pearl river which was the third largest river in China. It's already very late for dinner, so we didn't have enough time to take pictures from the edge of the river.



Entering the cruise we welcome by four beautiful young girls in lovely white dress playing western music with violins. With three decks in total, the ship can hold 250 visitors. The first floor featured a coffee house and a small ballroom provided buffet dining. They also provided red wine in each table to accompany the meal. Because we were starving, we started to take meal without waiting for any further instruction.


The boat starting to sail after all of us finished eating. The cities at both sides of the river were very illuminated with colorful lights which made the scenery more magnificent. Some bridges were also decorated beautifully with the twinkle lights. After having dinner all of us were spreading out of the boat, busy taking pictures.


A Chinese style banquet hall on the second floor of the boat, there were also 4 beautiful girls with traditional Chinese red costume playing traditional music to entertain the passenger who ate on the second floor. A sightseeing platform on the third floor were attracted some of my friends to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. The night cruise is even more fascinating under the sparkling lights, some of the lights were reflected on the river.


Views along the Pearl River in Guangzhou City were charming and gentle. Historical sites and unique architecture scattered along the Pearl River were numerous and were a goodly reflection of the Guangzhou culture. It took around two hours for the cruise trip, it's a good option for you to enjoy the night scenery when you visit Guangzhou.

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Renowned Emerald Lake

Our first lake visit during Rocky Mountains tour was Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada. The lake which was one of the premier tourist attractions made me stunning with its beauty of vivid Emerald-coloured waters. Fine particles of glacial sediment, also referred to as rock flour, suspended in the water caused the remarkable emerald color.



A wooden bridge would brought us to the hiking trail circuits, the hike around the lake, clocking in at about an hour, is one of the least strenuous but most rewarding in the park. Emerald Lake Lodge, was on the edge of the lake by the bridge, provides local accommodation. A couple was paddling a small boat/canoe when we took picture. During summer canoe rentals are available while in the winter, the lake is a popular cross country skiing destination.


An incredible breadth of geological features can be viewed from the lake, the Michael glacier, an avalanche slope carpeted by meadows where moose often graze which were created a beautiful frame to the lake. It's fall season, so the grass and bush on the hill looked more colorful. It's also enclosed by mountains, Mount Burgess and Wapta Mountain which showed snows on their peak. The lake's low elevation and its moist produces a unique selection of flora. Wet interior forests, such as western red cedar, western yew, western hemlock and western white pine could be found here.


The first European to set sight on Emerald Lake was famed guide Tom Wilson, who stumbled upon it by accident in 1882. A string of his horses had gotten away, and it was while tracking them that he first entered the valley. The lake had an impression on even the most seasoned of explorers who enjoyed the rare, peaceful beauty of the scene.


On the other side of the wooden bridge where was a small waterfall in distance, flew from river to the lake, the water color was not emerald. Anyway the scenery was still beatiful, decorated by the falling branches on the lake and the influx pines surrounding the lake mirroring beautifully to the water. Its picturesque look was made me wanna stay longer, unfortunately our tour leader was not allowed it as we still had agenda for some interesting places to visit. If I had a chance to visit Canada, surely I'll love to enjoy this place again.

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Glacier Discovery by Heli in Skagway, Alaska

My mother, sisters, friends and myself, 7 of us, were joined Norwegian Star Cruise for 7 days to Alaska. One of the optional tour that we took from the cruise, was Glacier Discovery by Helicopter at Skagway, it cost US$300, but it's worthy with the beautiful scenery that we could see and enjoy. Skagway is a town with a population of less than a thousand in south-eastern Alaska. Actually we were interested in choosing sled dog adventure, unfortunately it's not available anymore at that time, it's only available until 2nd Sep 2011.



The cruise has berthed at Skagway pier since morning, we reserved the tour at 11:30, so we had brunch in the cruise while waiting for the time to assembled. The weather was not good, it's cloudy and raining. We had prepared to wear long john and winter coat, as we would walk on ice later that must be very cold and windy.


The crew brought us to a room for safety briefing, we had to wear safety vest with orange color and also put on special shoes to walk on ice. It's very effective, we didn't need to put off our shoes, just entered our shoes on the special shoes, as if the special shoes wrapped your shoes. A helicopter contains of 6 persons, we're in the same heli with a friendly couple from Philippines.


My mother and my sister were lucky, they're sitting at the front seat beside the pilot. We had to wear a headphone for communication among each other. It's still raining hard when riding the heli, so it's very difficult to take clear pictures without water spot on the heli's windows. It's also cloudy, so the scenery could not be seen clearly. Anyway we kept trying to record the scenery from above. It's impossible to open the window, unless you would get wet and the pilot will get mad at you :-) We could see a beautiful landscape from above. A large lake among the ice mountains, also some melting glaciers which created some streams flowing down the mountain. When glacier decayed, it would bring all materials with them.


After 20 minutes riding heli, we reached the glacier where we could step and walk on it. Two crews stayed there in the tend, waiting for the visitors. They had prepared the stick and raincoat for the guests. Lucky because my winter coat would get wet under the rain, and it's impossible to bring umbrella on the glacier. The glacier was not really white, it's rather dirty with sand and soil, it's not as white as we saw from from far distance.


I had to wear my gloves to keep my hands warm, the raincoat pocket was torn, so I could not put my camera inside it. My camera was kept in my coat pocket inside the safety vest. My hands were numb, I could not press the camera button when wearing the gloves, so I must put off my right glove. Only a few minutes I could do it, my numb hands could not use anymore to take picture, and I had difficulty to take and return the camera into my coat's pocket. Lucky that my sisters still could take some pictures for recording our memory. I kept blowing air from my mouth to my hands to keep it warm.


We walked on the glacier, seeing some incredible holes. The hole seemed so small but it was very deep. We could not find them if nobody guided us to the place, because it's not obvious from far distance. The hole formed various shape, it's exquisite, the wall illuminated blue color, sometimes water flew through the hole. The guide said that glacier absorbed only the blue color. When he threw a big stone on one of the big hole, the 'boom' sound was echo when it reached the bottom.


There was also a small stream with a very lucid water, you could drink the water because it's clean and fresh. I didn't dare to try it, because my hands were still numb, the water must be very stonecold. My sister said it's very fresh, she tried it. Forty minutes seemed very short, we had to come back to the post as the heli would pick us up soon.


Walking on the glacier was fun. It was really worthy as the experience was priceless and the memories will last forever.

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