Once Upon A Life » Travel

Introducing my city:

Olentz — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:54:11 +0000

Loem Pia ! Please visit my city as often as you like, bookmark it if you can, and maybe… it can grow into a respectable city in the states =D

For those who are clueless with the naming, Loem Pia is taken from Loempia (Lumpia), a tasty delicacy which Semarang (my hometown) quite famous of. Sometimes, people will refer Semarang as lumpia city =D

Yes, I’m going home..

Olentz — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 22:09:35 +0000

So after a year I’m going home afterall. You know, the term ‘going back’ or ’pulang’ really depends on whose the person I’m speaking with. If I’m speaking to someone here (I’m writing this while waiting for connecting flight in Atlanta) in the states, most likely I’m refering to going back to Semarang. But whenever I speak to my family or old friends, ‘pulang’ really means going back to US. Anyways.. it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s true that I have only one hometown, a city where I spent all my childhood… a place where all my childhood dreams and memories were written. But seriously, after all this while… I think I started to call Columbus my second home… sigh

Uhm, I dunno what else to write now, so I’m putting my journey here, for those who care to read.. I will try to always keep this updated, but of course it depends on internet connection.

12.08.2007 11:40 am EST Columbus, OH Thanks to Yunike and Yusi for picking us up (me and my roomies). All of us went to Bangkok for lunch before they drop us in the airport.

12.08.2007 02:35 pm EST Columbus, OH Departing from Columbus using Delta Airlines. It is a 2 hour flight, which I think I slept for 90% of the time. I was so tired that I already fell asleep when it was taking off, woke up only when they serve drink and snack (Nip Chee, a cracker made from REAL CHEDDAR CHEESE!), and continue my slumber until everyone suddenly rose up from their seat (yes, the plane is already landing).

12.08.2007 07:45 pm PT Los Angeles, CA Met Riza and the Cathay gang, we had dinner together on the cafetaria. Got rice curry for $7.55, the taste is just ok… next time I guess I’ll just go with McDonalds.

12.08.2007 08:10 pm PT Los Angeles, CA Met Erwin, line up for our boarding pass and went downstair for the special registration procedure. We had to wait for about 25 minutes, but there were no question asked. Now about the long haul flight to Taipei, Erwin was not kidding when he said that China Airline’s plane is good. Compared to Cathay, the personal entertainment and seating layout are definitely better, the service quality is about the same, the only thing that I’m complaining is the fact that I didn’t bring toothbrush ‘coz usually they provide it in the lavatories.. there weren’t any. Erwin asked the flight attendant, but she never come back. I watched The Transformers, Superbad, Johny Andrean biography, The Simpsons Movie, and an episode of TV Champions about cake. Oh one more thing, there’s power port on almost every seat, so you can use your laptop on the plane easily: no adapter needed!

12.09.2007 05:45 am NST Taipei, Taiwan My first time in Taipei :) The airport is quite modern, if you compare it to airport in Indonesia. But they are still wayyyy behind the likes of HKIA, Changi, Schiphol, and Narita. Tried to call an old friend who is now in Taiwan, but I can’t find the free phone that she mentioned a couple of time in the past. Yep, i’m that cheap. gets bricked Anyways, I bought myself a plate of ‘rice beef’, which seriously, they should name it ‘rice curry beef’ instead. They taste pretty good, cannot beat my goood ol’ (instant) Golden Curry, but it is definitely better than the one I ate at LAX. It costs me NT$250, the same price as what Erwin got – a bowl of beef noodle. I think his noodle greatly resembles mie tite (pork noodle with shrimp, it’s one of Semarang’s local delicate – and of course, it’s not halal), but I happen to hate mie tite, so that’s the conclusion.

12.10.2007 01:50 pm WIB Jakarta, Indonesia I’m sweating like a pig! The imigration was – just as I expected – very loose. I didn’t get check for anything, it’s not like they should have check my baggage, they won’t find anything, but nobody was checked! My flight to Semarang is at 510, so I have to wait for like 3 hours. The flight got delayed for a good hour, so long story short, I finally step on Ahmad Yani International Airport (yes, INTERNATIONAL airport, we have flight to Singapore, so it’s international!) at around 7:10 pm. Home sweet home. Mosquitos, ants, traffic jam, fooooodddd, slow internet, just bring ‘em all~!!

Day Seven : Amsterdam – Jakarta – Semarang

Olentz — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 04:30:31 +0000

Okay, my back is stiff, my feet have been yelling for some relaxation. It’s time to get some rest…

Day Six : Seville – Barcelona – Amsterdam

Olentz — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 22:29:06 +0000

Just transiting in Barcelona for one hour, then we depart to Amsterdam. Nothing to do in Schiphol, but we must wait for almost 5 hours. So window shopping is the only thing to do. Buy liqueur for dad, and a power ball for myself :P

Day Five : Seville

Olentz — Mon, 05 Jul 2004 22:29:46 +0000

Seville is a place which Flamengo dance come from. We visit Maria Lusia Park, Andalusia Government Office, Spanish Square, America Square, and… Flamengo Dance Show. great one :P

Day Four : Lisbon

Olentz — Mon, 05 Jul 2004 05:28:12 +0000

Yay, at last we are in Portugal! Do not know what you think, but in my opinion, Portugal is even worse than Spain in term of discipline and cleanliness. Still, they are far better than we on Indonesia are :(

We passed the Golden Gate when entering Lisbon (yep, it is identical with the one in San Francisco), and then went to a restaurant. On 4 pm, we were already inside Estadio da Luz! Hell yeah! ^_^

There are some games on the outside of the stadium, win a cap from a sponsor there, but many others also win this prize. Short story, the opening ceremony began at around 18.45. The opening ceremonial was superb, Nelly Furtado came and sang Força, the euro 2004’s theme song. She’s pretty… isn’t she?

Saw Christiano Ronaldo warming on the field. And he entertains all the spectators with his ball skills :p love that…

The game is on, and it was… rather boring I should say ~_~ The Greek defense has been a problem for every team, and that include Portugal. And then, it happened yet again. A quick counterattack from one side to another, resulting a corner kick. And Greek used that opportunities to score the only goal in that final match. 1-0 for Greek, and all the “Hellas” supporter gone wild ‘til morning ^^

A night to remember by every Greek in all over the world

Day Three : Caceres (Extremadura Region)

Olentz — Sun, 04 Jul 2004 05:50:36 +0000

Hmm… from Toledo, we went to Caceres, where we could eat, and see some architecture. We also see how to make a unique gold medal. Using special technique to decorate it with pure gold leather, they could produce a high quality gold medal.

We also gone to the downtown, see the local fair, and admiring the Saint Maria Cathedral. It is a very old church, with a unique building style, could not bring the name to mind, sorry.

Day Three : Toledo

Olentz — Sun, 04 Jul 2004 05:27:37 +0000

On the trip from Madrid to Caceres, we passed Toledo, and saw some interesting places there. We went to Puerto del Sol, Toledo Cathedral, Alcazar, Toledo’s Town Hall, and el Greco’s Painting. Not much that I could tell from them, ‘coz they are near each other (we went on foot), and the architecture are using the same style.

On the other hand, El Greco’s painting is fabulous. I cannot recall the name, but it tells about the funeral of the city’s former major. If I am not mistaken, his name is De Orgaz. This painting is fresco, in other word, wall painting. That is why, the painting will never move out from this place. From the local guide, everyone will conclude, that Greco is a pure genius. He made the painting with a very high detail, natural color, and extremely high imagination, which is amazing. I could not write the history of the painting now, but later on, if I found the full history of the painting, I will post it here.

Day Two : Madrid – city tour

Olentz — Sat, 03 Jul 2004 03:26:06 +0000

Different from Amsterdam, Spain is sunny. The temperature is not very different from Indonesia, but the air is very dry. I think, Spain’s weather is the same as in Hawaii.

We went to a coliseum, where matadors risking their live by fighting bulls, not an ordinary bull… but huge one; let us say… about 300-500 kg each?

After taking some photos there, quickly we went to a place called “Palacio Real de Madrid”. Yep, that is Madrid’s Royal Palace. There are many statues, paintings, fresco, antique tables, and decoration from centuries ago. Wonderful architecture, but it is shame that they do not treat it as the English do with their palaces. There are many bird nests, and we could say that they do not hire enough man to clean the rooms. Sometimes, you can see dusts here and there…

Oh yeah, the Greece beats Czech! hohohoo… what a surprise…

Day One : Singapore – Slow connection, but free

Olentz — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 03:21:27 +0000

Got a chance to test a free internet access here in Changi – Singapore, while waiting for transit. The gate will be opened soon, so I won’t tell you many things. One thing for sure, this airport is huge. There are so many hot spot for computers/notebook with wireless card. But if you don’t have it, it will be such a waste. The stores are also great!

Okay, see you in Amsterdam. Hope I could get another free inet access there.

Ja.. mata ne