Usual jogging route

I've been jogging for quite some time right now, and to be honest I had some difficulties on getting used to jogging. Personally, as a swimmer, my body feel so feather-light while swimming in the water, so when I started jogging, I felt so heavy to jog, couldn't even run. But I thrived to that phase, and finally I can jog up to 8 km a day on the jogging track, which is flat.

Running on a flat jogging track is utterly boring, and I couldn't feel that sore on my leg anymore. I don't know why I just want to run till my thighs are sore. So I started to find other place to run, and never realized the best place to run for some hills and slopes are so near, even zero distance. Yes, my school.

National Chi Nan University, a quite big school which is located on the mountain. In the winter, it is quite cold, and can be a big challenge for a summer girl like me. But I learnt a few things that you can wear a face mask while running, so that your nose can breath warm air, not the freezing cold air. 

After doodling and analyzing the google map for some time, as shown, this is my usual route while running around the school area. There are 3 big hills in this route: A, B, and C. A is a long but no so steep hill, B is the medium one but steeper than A, and C is the steepest one, but the shortest of them all. My running route differs every time I run, I run wherever I want to run, so the distance can be various. Sometimes I run from dorm, went down the B hill, then up on the excruciating A route, or sometimes the reversed route, with some additional C route, depends on my body condition. But I still have two secret but the most painful routes: the motorbike route and the car route. The hills are so steep, and once I ran for the car route, and I stopped once, cause my lungs were painful and must rest a bit before continuing. I have never challenged the motorbike route, maybe some time later.

I usually run with my phone strapped around my chest and listen to the music. I need that extra up-beat music to keep my mind from stopping, and keep running till I reach my destination and my goal. Yet I can't stand the music stopping and that long pause while I attacking the hill. I can shout loudly (nobody can hear me lah so 沒差), "where's the music?!" hahahahaha.

So running around the school, is like 4 km or so, and I usually complete the route in approx 30 minutes, but if I'm up for a longer route, I usually run for up to 35 minutes. Like yesterday, I ran almost three rounds, I had to stop near the technology department though, cause my legs were wobbly after the A hill. I ran for like 9.2 km yesterday, and phew. I haven't ran till my thighs are sore, but I love this feeling. Hahaha. Just like One Republic's Counting Stars: "Everything that kills me makes me feel alive!"

Fake henna

The sun is shining bright outside, but I'm stuck here doing my job to complete the catalog in my school's library.. To be honest, I'm a bit melancholy today. Not because bored to death from searching the catalog, but I have loads of things to think about. 

So... As you guys already know, I have limited ways to relax and vacuum-clean my mind. And today, while at work, I realized that I still have my eye-liner. Anyway, I had this crazy idea and started to search for henna (Indian tattoo, which is used in marriage CMIIW), and tadaaaa~ 

A bit messy I know, but I drew my right hand by using my left hand (well of course, which else hahahahahaha!) Such a waste for Maybelline's Hyper Sharp Liner, really....

Late post from Germany: Welcome to the dark side

Today is the 9th day I have spent in Europe, including UK and France, and I'm currently on the way to Koln, in Germany by train.

I think all the cities I have visited, all left me a lot of impressions and also memories. From London, Northampton, Manchester, Bordeaux, Medoc, Paris, I'm very grateful to my dad for giving me this chance to experience all this wonderful visits. In other blogs, I have written down all the good experience, but this time, brace yourselves, 'cos I'm going to write the dark side of each city, to show you that travelling or backpacking is not a 100% sweet.

For London, many of you may already know that there are many immigrants in the city. Indian, Italian, Nigerian, lots of them. I once read in the newspaper, an expert said that London has changed, not for a better London, worse. I'm not a racist, but from what I saw in London, whether I saw it with my own eyes or on the news, these immigrants suffer from racism. I once saw in the telly there are protests everywhere in UK against Muslims, and to be honest I was a bit shocked. I know there are a lot of Muslims, but I have never thought that they will go this far against them. I come from Indonesia, which is one of the country where Muslim is a major religion, maybe about 90% of the population, (CMIIW, but I'll check later) I feel OK when talking and working with them, as  Dad's factory has a majority of Muslims there.

The other thing about London and other cities in UK, the living cost is terribly high. I have this currency shock when I was there. I mean like an Indian dinner with my Dad is about £50 or something. That equals to Rp 1 million roughly. OMG. So that's why when I went shopping in Primark I was like crazy. But as we say in Chinese, 一分錢一分貨 (yi fen qian yi fen huo), the price is equal to its quality. Yah well for a poor university student like me, it's expensive enough already.

If you read my post when we touch down in Bordeaux, then you already know the incident that we had there. I was completely shocked, and my high-expectation had been taken down like you slap a fly, or maybe you smashed the shuttlecock when you're playing badminton. I mean, we had the visa, we had money, we had a clear objective to visit Bordeaux, and I was sure we did all the procedure right. I didn't know whether it was because our race or skin color but I wouldn't guess that of course. I love France, I love European countries, but... *sigh.. It was inevitable anyway.

French people are nice, I said this from all my heart, really. Although there are still some times, we received some... uncomfortable sights from their eyes. Do you know that in Asian countries, like Taiwan, Japan, or Indonesia, we see the Caucasian as the "pretty race". I'm not talking about the Nazis or being racist but, it's true, we love all about them. Their blond hair, blue eyes, light and pale skin tone... And by the way, when I was lost in Louvre, and about to ask a pedestrian how to get into the museum, I kindly asked them how, but their immediate reply? "Sorry, no English!". I was like, what the? I thought English is an international lang? Another thing is.... the city is a bit.... how can I say this, dirty and smell like piss. Bordeaux, Paris, the stations, are all the same, that stinking smell is everywhere! And in Paris, some part of the city, is not as beautiful as I thought it would be.

Well, Germany was a little bit unexpected. I love all about Germany! I thought after the incident in Bordeaux, I expect the worse from here. Although, yes, Germans are a bit cold, but at least they are willing to help you. They all know that their English isn't that good, but they explained the routes slowly and clearly, till you understand. Ooooh, another one, while we were waiting in Koln Station, we saw these two late-Asian teens, left their luggage unattended, and started to queue in line to buy tickets. Me and my dad started to get these naughty ideas on how to give them lesson. He said that if there are any luggage left unattended in UK, the police immediately take them. So he decided to tell the German security and pointed at their luggage. And something unexpected happened. Both of the police waited there till the stupid girls came back, and advice them not to left their luggage, and me and my dad was like, what? HAHAHAHAHA. A bit down actually, 'cause we were expecting the police to take the luggage away.

Wait a sec, that's not Germany's dark side? Ah, never mind, I like Germans anyway XDD

It's fall already...

I'm now sitting in my desk, my eyes wandering into the glorious sunny day outside. Just another typical fall in Taiwan, and wondering when will the true face of winter show up. I'm waiting for you ar! I really can't stand this type of weather. Freaking cold and freezing wind in the morning and night, but bright shining sun in noon. Ugh every year I catch cold from this freaky weather. Damn you. I'm coughing and sneezing already.

Ah.. How I miss my mom's chicken and mushroom soup (香菇雞湯), and 麻油雞湯... How can I translate this into English? Mayou (not mayonnaise lol) is like some kind of rice wine, and the chicken is boiled with it, sometimes adding ginger. Both of these soups are very popular in Taiwan during fall and winter. If you drink this soup, especially for girls, is extremely healthy and warming.

BTW, exciting news, I'll be going to Hongkong next Thursday, to attend my cousin's wedding there. She is a flight attendant in Cathay Pacific, and she will always be my role model. Can't wait to see her in her wedding dress, must be breathtaking. Oh, and also my grandma from Bali and many relatives will be attending, plus, we're gonna celebrate my grandma's birthday also that day.

FRA - HKG

In the morning, we woke up and packed our luggage to hit Frankfurt Airport. The breakfast in the hotel was amazing, with more choices of ham and cheeses. Too bad we were a little rushed that morning so we couldn't spend more time for the magnificent breakfast.

We went to the Koln station on foot, and took the train to Frankfurt Airport with high-speed train. Thank goodness we already bought the ticket since we arrived in Bordeaux, because the train was so freaking crowded. A lot of peeps with big luggage were forced to stand the entire journey.

From the Frankfurt station to the airport, we had to walk a rather long walk till we finally arrived in the check-in station. I saw the big check-in counter from Lufthansa Airline and I remembered that I still have this old blanket from this airline since 1992 or something. I called it Pepe Halus in Bahasa Indonesia which means soft blanket LOL.

After we check in the flight, we were now queuing for the immigration check, and the officer was so handsomely androgynous. Her grey eyes are so intense I really love to see them.

BTW we have to redeem the tax from the cooking pressure pot that we bought in Koln, so we went as instructed to the place the check in attendant told us, but we found out the worker there is a bit... unfriendly. Both of the money changer shops, both same shops, both workers are so freaking unfriendly. I think they are Indian or maybe Arabian I wasn't sure.

Anyway, Frankfurt Airport has a very few selections of duty free shops, so I couldn't window-shop there. Well, that's it. We were going to fly back to Hong Kong, another 10 and a half hour flight. I didn't think that I will have a good sleep during the flight, and I was so right. During the Hong Kong - London flight, we boarded at midnight, so I guess it was easy for me to rest. But it was noon when we started to fly to Hong Kong that day, so I had some difficulties to fell asleep. My dad started to snore as soon as the plane depart. Sleeping like a pro. No wonder I had some jet-lag when we arrived in Hong Kong. So this is jet-lag. But I recovered quickly enough, even my dad was surprised. He thought that my mom and I will be the same, having jet-lag and the urge to sleep for two or more days. He told me that when they flew to New York to participate in the NY Marathon, my dad ran while my mom was snoring in the hotel LOL.

Koln

Third day in Germany, my dad wanted to go the footwear exhibition in Dusseldorf. So we checked out, and asked the receptionist if we can leave the baggage for several hours. Her attitude wasn't very friendly, saying that there was no space left, but my dad kept urging, and finally she let us. My dad was gonna write that down on the review in Booking.com. Probably.

We used the Ustadtbahn to the messe, and it wasn't crowded at all, despite it was the first day the messe was opened. He didn't get a free ticket so we had to pay €25 for the entrance.

He visited some booths, and found some good business there. We ate lunch at the cafeteria, but, well the waiter's attitude was also, how can I put this, not very welcoming. I still think that there are still some racism going on here in Europe, whether you're in France or Germany or UK, they are all the same. And I was very disappointed to be honest. For us Asian, we worship and try to make the Causcasian feel welcome. But.. ah I don't want to talk about this.

Anyway, we spent a few hours later for business, then we were off to Dusseldorf to pick up our baggage and head for Koln. We booked this Crystall Hotel which is said located near the Station. My dad told me to wait there till he find the hotel, but it was like 30 minutes or so, he still didn't show up. Later he couldn't find the hotel so we took the taxi instead.

The hotel is in the BACK of the station, and is like 5 minutes walk from there. The room is beautiful and clean, and we asked the receptionist if she can tell us any good steak house near Koln.

We made our way to the dome, and trying to find that bloody steak house. While we walk, I wanted to window-shopped more as it was my last day in Europe. But my dad, like always, doesn't like to wait, so he became a bit impatience. I told him the shops will be closed in like 7.30 pm, so can I shop now? He didn't say anything, just kept walking. Alrighty then....

We found the steak house, and though the old waitress can't speak english, she tried to explain the menu. I ordered this steak and children beer, again. hahaha. My dad asked for a lamb roast, and also the same beer. Tasted pretty delicious, and I really really love the beer.

After the satisfying dinner, we walked to the hotel, and I wore an "I told you so" face, 'cos all the shops were closing down already. Hahaha.

Meat, meat, meat

My dad was right about the breakfast in Germany. Ham, cheese, bread, sandwich. Wasai, this is too much for me. This is awesome! I was so full that morning, and I was afraid I couldn't eat lunch anymore.

My dad had this free admission ticket from his hiking friend to the furniture exhibition in Koln, and that was why we couldn't get a room in Koln. Germany is now living based on the exhibitions whether in Frankfurt, Berlin, Koln, or Dusseldorf, he said. We got to Koln first, then change for the Koln Meusee.

We met Mr. Jacob, a furniture dealer from Indonesia, thanked him for the free tickets, and then we had a tour by ourselves around the exhibition. My dad liked a garden chair made of bamboo, and he kept asking if he could get a cheaper deal for it. We ate with Mr. Jacob for lunch, which was wurst or this big sausage with bread and mustard sauce.

After lunch, me and my dad continued our little tour, and because it was the last day of the exhibition, many people were packing already, and some of the furniture are for sale. Maybe my dad were crazy, but he bought this flipped children hiking chair for like €5 lol. He wanted to buy a bigger chair but fortunately I managed to stop him. Anyway we get back at Mr. Jacob booth, but there were people smoking everywhere, I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Mr. Jacob's translator introduced us to this amazing pig-knuckle restaurant near the dome at Koln. But first we had some window-shopping first and my crazy dad bought 3 Germany-made knives and also a pressure pot for my mom. If my dad collects knives, then I have this thing for chocolates. I already have British, French chocolates, now it is time for some German and maybe also some Swiss chocolate yuhuu. I got my hand on this 88% dark chocolate, my friend Angela will love this.

The restaurant was 'booked' for the evening, and we had to eat outside. Of course we ordered pig knuckles and this caramel malts beer. I love it! It is a non-alcoholic beer, which is safe for me to drink, and taste sweet unlike the real beer. Later I know that this beer is also called children beer. Well I maybe look like an adult, but I still am a cute innocent little child inside. *Please throw up in the bin please, mercy for your keyboard or notebook Muahahaaaa.

The pig knuckle was so freaking huge, and very tasty. There wasn't a lot of fat, and the skin was crunchy. Probably the best meal ever during this journey, minus the cold weather and the bad service from the Chinese waiter. BTW we peeked a little after we eat, and we found out the restaurant was actually empty. Damn you, waiter.

It was freaking cold that day, cloudy and windy. And I was frozen to the bone. So my dad bought me a nice owl-printed sweater, which is cute and warm.

Louvre plus Germany

Earlier this morning, we ate the breakfast at the hotel, and I really like French breakfast. I think the croissant there has a very high standard, which is marvellous, plus the butter. Mmm.. So yummy. But my dad said the German breakfast is also mind-blowing. Well let's see then.

We still had like 3 or 4 hours, so I decided to go to Louvre. I had been wanting to go there since I read The Da Vinci Code. The Smiling Monalisa, can't wait to see you. So we took the Metro to Palais Royal Musee de Louvre, and what the? There were people queuing already for the entrance ticket. Plus the ticket is €12 for an adult. But it was better to buy the ticket first, or you have to queue outside, in the rain.

I told my father, the entrance to the Louvre is in the glass pyramid, but he didn't believe me, so we were like circling the palace looking for the entrance. Finally, he asked this police and he said to go to the pyramid, and lucky we bought the ticket, or we have to queue in the rain till our pants are soaking wet lol.

We went inside, and the Musee is huge. There are three wings in the museum: Denon, Sully, and Richelieu. I immediately went for the Denon wing, for of course, the Mona Lisa. To be honest, the inside of this big big museum, is like a big maze. People everywhere, taking pictures, listening to the 3DS and there are a lot of corridors, so I made sure that I wasn't separated from my dad. We saw Da Vinci's works in the corridor near the Mona Lisa room like: . I entered the crowded room where Mona Lisa resides, and I forced my way into the crowds, till I was right in front of Mona Lisa. I took several pictures, and... Gosh it took courage to even breathe. I could see the magnificent painting with my own eyes, the one that Da Vinci painted himself. I can see the difference on the background, which noted in the novel, and she, or he, well can look like both if you change your point of view.

My dad maybe had to wait a long time before I said goodbye to the painting. When he saw me backing out from the crowds, he was like, finally. Hahaha. We still had like an hour left, and I always have this fascination to the Egyptian's history, so we head back to Sully wing. Too bad we only have several hours to walk around Louvre. I just wished I had more time. Well maybe next time I'm gonna enjoy it till it is time to close down.

My dad said he was starving and wondered why I didn't feel the urge to eat. Maybe I was mesmerized by the Louvre I think? I could go all night long, baby. Hahaha. We ate lunch near Gare du Nord, and my dad always orders salad, everywhere. From UK to France, salad is his favorite meal. I ordered the steak, but I think the cook didn't understand the meaning of medium. I want a bloody steak, and they brought me this big and well-done steak. Well, better than nothing.

After lunch, we picked up our luggage and dragged our way to Gare du Nord.

So we were going to Koln this noon by using Thalys, a German-operated high speed train. We will take the train to Koln first, then change to Dusseldorf, where we are going to stay for the night.

We arrived in the station in Koln, and I just had this weird feeling where everything is in German. Well in Paris you still understand a bit of French, because the words are pretty similiar to English. But in German, phew, just give up. The only German I can speak is the opening lyric from Scheibe sung by Lady Gaga NYAHAHAHA. I didn't understand all of it, but it kinda felt good and new actually. Like in a whole new world. We were starving, so we ate at this Asian Restaurant. I ordered the Thai curry, but I didn't notice there were bamboo shoots in the dish. I hate bamboo shoots.

Later that evening, my dad bought an ICE ticket, but we board the wrong train. It should be just about 21 minutes, but we took the train which stops at every station lol. Finally we arrived in Dusseldorf, and took a taxi to the hotel. It was B&B Hotel near the Kettweiger Scheibe station from Ustaadbahn.

The hotel is nice actually. It is clean, roomy, and you have to input the password to enter the room, which is new for me. Why doors in Germany are all big and heavy? BTW the room rate doesn't include a breakfast, you have to pay like 7€50 if I'm correct.

Paris from the Seine

We woke up early for the train to Paris. There were lots of young peeps wandering in the street, maybe after partying all night? Well they were chatting and shouting, and I felt a bit unsafe, so I walked quickly to the Gare St. Jean.

We boarded on the TGV to Paris-Montparnasse, and we always get the seat opposing the direction, which sometimes make me dizzy.

Paris is beautiful, yes, but kinda made me feel uneasy sometimes. The Metro was so freaking smelly of piss, and not that clean. Well what do you expect from an old underground tunnel? We arrived at Paris-Montparnasse and took the Metro to Gare du Nord. The Metro is also a bit dirty.

We searched and searched and searched for the hotel, but seems like nobody knows the exact location. Sometimes I just want to hit my dad so hard, 'cos he always so freaking stubborn. I told him to find the map in the hotel's website or something, download it into the phone, and voila (like I always did every time I travel alone)! But he didn't. So after maybe 15 minutes of circling around Gare du Nord, we finally found it.

In Hotel Altona, we were greeted by the receptionist a.k.a the owner a.k.a one of the twins. He welcomed us and after check in, the other twin showed us the room. My dad asked if there's any dinner cruise in the river Seine, and he booked a dinner for two of us, and instructed us on how to get there. He said from Gare du Nord, take the line 4 metro to Strasbourg St-Denis, then change to line 9 to Alma Marceau, and he kept pointing the Pont du Sevres Station, to show us where is the correct final station for the line is. The problem is, I don't know is it because our brain couldn't access his accent or what, but all we get is take the line 9 to Pont de Sevres. Haha what a beautiful mistake.

Anyway, without even realizing our mistake, we went to Arc de Triomphe, and it is so jaw-dropping breathtaking. Thank God I went to this trip ARGH! The Avenue des Champs Elysees is also full of shops, and I did some window-shopping also.

We thought we would arrive on time in 6.45 to where, of course, Pont du Sevres. We asked the station manager where to, and we showed us the receptionist's writing. To be honest both me and my dad couldn't figure out what he had written lol. But lucky the station manager understood and told us to take the metro again and this time, get off at Alma Marceau.

We boarded the train with anxiety, feared that we couldn't make it in time, and I thought the metro was going slower than usual. Finally we got off in like 6.55 or something, and my dad started running like a wild cow. I had no choice but to start running, maybe we looked like crazy tourists for the locals. We arrived in Bateaux-Mouches, and the boat would be departed at 8 pm. We were like whaaaaaat.

After we paid, we were welcomed on the boat, which is dim-lighted in a very romantic way, and the butler, well, not so well-dressed. They wore a stripped shirt which made them look like a prisoner than a sailor. There are two seats every row, on every side of the boat, and to be honest the guests all wore formal wear, and I wore a tank-top. Muahaha *I don't care!

A word of advice if you take this service, choose your window wisely. You will see all the Paris main tourist attraction in the seat, or maybe get up on deck, but it was really cold, very windy, and a lot of flying insects. Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Palais Bourbon, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, all of them. Too bad the cruise is moving a little too fast, and I couldn't get a good photos.

Okay, for the dinner, we had this complete dinner, from appetizer to wine. Because I was having a e allergy so I refused to drink the Lussac Sain Emilion 2008. I chose the beef carpaccio for the starter, and my dad ate the duck foei gras, which tasted weird, and a bit like cheese. Then I had the marinated prawns, I felt like the prawns were not very fresh though, my dad picked lamb roast with rosemary sauce. After cheese, I had iced strawberry meringue vacherin, and raspberry chocolate tart. I wonder why my dad choices are better than mine.

We docked at the same port we got on, and then back to the hotel at maybe 11 pm or more, but the night wasn't pleasant. I was hearing this crying and shouting voices all night long.

Chateau Dassault

The runners from our group, were all exhausted and must be ready to hit the bed, but we still have one more Chateau to go: Chateau Dassault in Saint-Emilion. We arrived there like maybe 6 pm? The sky had darken already and too bad I didn't bring my tripod with me.

Lawrence Brun, the owner of the Chateau welcomed us warmly, and she likes to kiss cheeks. I have never been kissed on the cheek before by a total stranger, err but OK lol. She is so warm, and I really like her. But like other French, I found her jokes are a bit sarcastic hahahaha. Anyway, she showed us around the winery. Later I realized that she is really brave. After she was given command after the Chateau, she immediately renovated the place. From adding brick wall into the oak barrel chamber, which is a bit ridiculous for the other wine expert at that day, to harvesting the grape to the latest possible date, for a extreme ripeness, from the grape skin to the seed.

We later ate dinner with Lawrence and also her husband, Francois, who is also very warm and chat with me along the dinner. I love him, better than Lawrence, 'cos he shared his experience in cooking, and also his twin daughters, even took special interest in the marathon costume. And he is a funny man, he joked a lot. BTW they also have this huge but cute dog, I didn't remember its breed. Its name is George or Josh or something. Maybe I didn't hear it clearly because of their French accent.

The dinner that evening was again, marvelous. Everything was perfect. We had this grilled pork intestine, which is very crispy, but need to be boil first then grill it, as Francois explained. Then this grilled poultry steak with creamy mashed potato. The poultry was so tender and juicy. After we finished the main course, we were served chamomile cheese and bread, which was so tasty! I love cheese so much, and that was the first cheese I ate while I was in France. That night we drank 4 kinds of wines. I forgot the first two, as two of them weren't from Dassault, but Lawrence herself opened a 1997 and for the special occasion, she opened again a 1982 one. That was the oldest one and maybe the most expensive one I have ever drunk in my life. Even older than me LOL.

As the night turned in, we said goodbye to Lawrence and Francois hospitality, and also to George or whatever its name, and Pierre drove us to Bordeaux.

Marathon du Medoc

Marathon du Medoc yuhuuuu! Thank goodness we arrived earlier, 'cos about 8000 peeps were arriving to Medoc and you can imagine the traffic jam. The marathon this year had a sci-fi theme, so almost everyone was wearing costumes and makeups like avatar, aliens, pirates, star wars, even dressed as chewbacca. SO funny that one, he kept roaring at the others. The Indonesia team are wearing a Pandawa costume based on a Hindu mythology from Indonesia. Dad was Yudhistira, the oldest and forgiving one. The weather was OK, but a bit chilly, and the wind was freezing. I didn't run, I just took pictures and cheered the runners.

The marathon started at maybe 9.30, and before it started the MC said something in French and the crowds all began clapping and cheering. There were 3 huge air ball in the sky, and all operated by dancers and professionals. When it finally started, all were jogging around us. So this is marathon. Because there was an elder with us, so we decided to take a shortcut, and we saw one of our Indonesian team who is Kenyan, competing with two other men in 20 km. They all ran so freaking fast, and the police motorbike in front of them were forced to open the way quicker. So we decided to go with the route while waiting our other team catch up.

We saw a lot of nationalities: French (why of course, every chateaus in Bordeaux all picked a team to run), German, British, American, Kenyan, and I also saw Asian like Japanese, Korean, Chinese Mainland, and also Taiwanese. I cheered for like 3 languages: in French which is "Aller! Aller! Aller!", in Mandarin "加油 Jiayo! Taiwan jiayo!" and also Japanese "Ganbatte!"

The people also cheered and clapped, and I don't know why, the scenes were very touching. It was like they all cheered the runners from their heart, suddenly I felt so warm at that time, and OMG I don't know why I'm tearing right now. The children's hands were ready to give them hi-fives. I also gave them hi-fives, and the runners' hands were so sweaty. Hahahaha. I love to cheer for the Taiwanese. I always feel like Taiwan is my second home, and every time I shouted "台灣加油 Taiwan JIAYOU!" they were all looked happy and pumped up, despite they still had a long way to go. I felt so grateful to be there, and when every runner replied a simple merci, thanks, arigatou, and Xiexie, I felt a surge to cry from happiness LOL.

Every chateau that was passed by the running route all provide a tent of food and drinks, including banana, bread, cheese, milk, water, and the most luxurious of all, wine and oyster. The locals were participated by handing the runners drink and food, but I think there should be more garbage bins, 'cos we saw lots of empty glasses and bottles beside the road and they wrecked the scenery. The locals must be exhausted by gathering all the litters.

So we waited at 25 km, near a corner to wait for our Indonesian team. I waited a long time and kept taking pictures, and finally I saw one person, wearing a black and silver costume, who is my Dad. And almost immediately I shouted, "PAPI! PAPI!" He looked surprised and happy to see us, and my camera clicked so many times. He also brought his camera so he took a picture with us. He has this hobby to run and click, taking pictures as he run with the other runners or locals. He said that the other team mates all behind him, but we didn't see them for a long time, so we head back to the finish line. Oh I forgot to explain the route. It was like the number 8, so the starting point and the finishing point were near.

We arrived at the finishing point, and I separated from them to wait for my dad. It was freezing that day, I only wore a dry-fit shirt and a short pants, and no jacket. My jacket was in the bus, and the girls were on the way from Bordeaux shopping. Damn. I cursed them in my heart, but still waiting. The clock in the finishing line showed almost 5 hours, but still no sign of him. I started to wonder, had he give up? But I didn't think he's a quitter, and at last, in 4 hours 59 minutes, he showed up with a smile on his face, and finally passed the finish line just 28 second before the time marked 5 hours. Later he said he got leg cram in kilometer 38 and walked a little, then ran again. But I was glad he's OK, and finished his marathon.

Wine tasting~

On the second day in Bordeaux: it was wine tasting day for all of us. We were going to visit three famous chateau in Medoc area, accompanied by Majorie, I'm not sure what's her job though. She's very nice, speaks fluent english, and also very kind when I asked her how to determine a good wine. This probably isn't the correct way to determine it, but this is what I understand from what Marjorie said: all depend on your own personal taste. For Marjorie, she likes a fruity yet a bit oakey young red wine. But for the others, maybe they like it strong, and after you taste it, the feel and smell of the wine still linger in your mouth. For one guide in the Chateau Baron Rothschild, she explained that she likes a well-balanced taste between fruity and strong. So everyone's taste bud is different. Personally, I like it smooth and fruity, but for the strong and oakey wine, I can't stand it. And one thing I realized from meeting all the owner of the chateau that I visited: the owner's personality blended well in the taste of the wine. I'll explain it on each Chateau.

And how to taste the wine like a pro? We have this three steps: shake in circular, smell, and taste. When you are tasting, make sure you don't drink all of it, drink a small gulp, and you can drink it or spit it out in a small pot. If the owner of the wine introduce a different wine to taste, you can throw away all the remaining wine in your glass into the pot, and taste some more. What a waste really, after all those expensive wine. BTW, if you're going to the vineyard, you will notice in every 2 or 3 rows of vines, there will be roses. This way is to determine whether the vineyards is safe from pests or viruses. If the roses are deteriorating, the grapes are next, so the roses are an indicator.

First, after a long journey from Fronsac to Medoc, we finally arrived in Chateau Branaire-Ducru, where we met Patrick Maroteaux, the owner, and he told us three major points of his wine: fruity, well-balance and elegance. Patrick also noticed that Branaire-Ducru wines are characteristically complex and have a long ageing potential. His chateau is very beautiful, and it is more than a century already. And of course we had a wine tasting session. He opened four bottles of wine: Chateau Branaire Ducru 2012, Duluc de Branaire Ducru 2009, Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2007 and a 2010. Like I said, the the wine's taste are very similar with the owner's personality. Patrick is a very elegant and high-class man, and so is his wine. The wine tasted very smooth and elegant, and I like the oldest one. It was a vintage, and have this smooth fruity flavor, just like his quote on the 3 keys of his wine. We also had a tour in the vineyard and the barrel chamber. BTW every barrel chamber in every chateau has a different smell of wine too. Interesting, huh?

After saying good-bye to Patrick's hospitality and the beautiful chateau, we walked to his neighbor, the Chateau Beychevelle, which the chateau and garden are even beautiful. I wonder how they kept the grass so green and tidy, and the garden is just huge. The winery is a bit old, as the owner, Phillipe Blanc, said that he is going to renovate the whole winery. After the tour, here comes the wine tasting. He also opened four bottles: Chateau Beychevelle Grand Vin 2012, but I forgot the other three, my mistake. Was it 2008, 2007, and a 2010? Phillipe is a straight-forward man, with a very sarcasm humor, and I found out his wine also have this quality. The wine are very strong (well, for me...), and the oak flavor is way stronger than du'cru. I didn't like this type of wine really, but it was an eye opening experience to the world of wine, which is very complicated.

For lunch, we ate at Phillip's Chateau, where the lunch is ready to served. We sat and put the napkin on our lap, and the food just come right in front of us by the stewardess. I noticed that each person has a glass for water, and two glasses for different wine. So Phillipe opened the lunch by introducing the first wine: Chateau Beychevelle Gran Vin 2012 and Amiral de Beychevelle 2008, . In France, usually they served the least good wine first, then the quality continually increased, and finally the best wine is served last. Also we talked a lot while eating.

Phew, what a luxurious lunch. I have never felt so freaking full. We took a break to a square in Medoc, where the Marathon du Medoc would take place, to pick up the number. Dad has this thing on marathon shirts, he really bought a lot. The shirts usually a dry-fit shirts, and also cheap. He bought a shirt from Quebec Marathon, and the lady gave us one more for free. I also saw this big cute dog, it's so huge! Why all french dogs usually very big?

But the journey wasn't over yet. Marjorie took us to Chateau Pichon-Longueville. The first glance at its Chateau, I thought I arrived in Disney's Cinderella's castle. It's so beautiful, out of words, and... You should see the chateau yourself, really. The guide then brought us along in the vineyard, and in the winery. I saw 3 Chateaus that day, and I think Chateau Pichon-Longueville has the newest and modern technology to process their wine. We later tasted Chateau Pichon-Longueville 2008, Les Tourelles de Longueville 2008, Chateau Pibran 2008. I found the wines here tasted a bit strong, but unlike Chateau Beychevelle. One of us wanted to buy from here, so the guide also opened another two bottles of wine (how generous): Chateau Pichon-Longueville 2005 and 2004. For my personal taste, I prefer the 2004 one. So fruity, a bit sweet on the tounge, and so smooth. But the others liked the 2005 better. Ah well maybe I'm still an amateur, don't know how to determine a good wine. BTW Chateau Pichon Longueville also stored some of their best and oldest wine in the cellar. I saw like wines from the 90's and also this wine from 1941!

We ate dinner at chateau de La Dauphine, but it was ok. Mainly the same as the lunch that day. Most of us were going to run on the marathon the next day, so they decided to turn in earlier. Bonne-nuit!

Chateau La Dauphine + Cafe de la Plage

Chateau La Dauphine in Fronsac

We were greeted with tea, coffee, and petite cakes. Personally I think French tea has a very unique flavour. It's more like a balsamic taste, and unfortunately not a big fan of it.

The chateau itself is divine. Built in. We stayed in the new room, in a building next to the main chateau. The new one is very minimalistic really, but the others are very renaissance style.

After a quick shower, the manager of La Dauphine showed us around the vineyards and inside the Chateau. The process of wine making is extremely complicated, so I won't be explaining that here lol.

Using a bus, we went to Arcachon  It's a very long journey really, like one and a half or maybe two hours. A it's a beach, very windy and I almost instantly regret that I was wearing a tank top and a snood. At this
Café de la Plage my dad's friends all said that the seafood are very tasty. The manager and the stewardess are very skinny and beautiful. In London there a a lot of overweight and fat people. But in France, I see many skinny girls, just like models. Is it because the food?

About the oyster, I usually eat only one or two, but here, the oysters and the other seafood are extremely fresh. The oysters are actually an appetizer, but I ate so many I felt so full already.

Eating a dinner in France usually consist of appetizer, bread, main course, dessert, and of course, wine. Now I know why they say in France it's always a slow-eating-dinner. They ordered this white wine, and they kept drinking and drinking till like 5 bottles of the same wine. In Asia when we are drinking like beer or sake or just ordinary alcohol, we like to say 幹杯 (gan bei) and we all have to drink it all. Yah, well, as you can guess, we exactly did the same thing. The french must be thinking these guys are sick.

I shared the main course and the dessert with the other girl, and we ordered grilled steak and this chocolate ice cream. Too bad she doesn't like it raw so she ordered well done, and the steak is so freaking hard. But my dad ordered duck breast and they are amazing, except the fat of course. BTW if you're ordering it, ask for well done, because if it's medium, it's very hard to cut and so bloody.

Anyway we finished eating (finally) at 11pm, and all of us instantly fell asleep on the bus.

Je t'aime France...

Trying to forget the incident in the airport, one of my dad's friend picked us up, and was worried cause we appeared last. He thought we missed the plane or something. He then took us for a tour in the city square. Well mate, I can really say that his driving is... the best words I can say: Fast and furious, literally. Some people say that Italian and French are the worst drivers in the world. I can acknowledge that now.

Aside from his driving, he is warm and very fluent in English, he even taught us a few french. Merci beaucoup, bonjour, d'accord, etc. He said my bonjour pronounciation is perfect. Aaaaaah so happy. I think french really is the sexiest language in the world. The way they prounce the 'j', like 'ze' or.. errr.. I can't describe it with words. I just love to pronounce it. Ze... Ze... Ze... Nyahaha. He also explained that Bordeaux has many winery, and some of them are very popular around the world. Imagine this: a high quality bottle of wine from Bordeaux can cost up to €15k. *Crink-crink! Me and my dad was completely in shock. How far can someone spend just for this kind of luxury.

Just like London, there are a lot of old building in Bordeaux, all of them are still in perfect condition. Dad's client said that in Bordeaux, if you maintain and help the government to restore the building, they can cut their taxes. I think it's a clever way to get more participation from the people.

He took us to a nice lunch, in this beautiful cafe in the city center. The special menu for aujourd'hui is duck served with salad and wine sauce. I don't know the name of the dish though. BTW in Europe if you ask for mineral water, you have to be precise, whether if you want a sparkling or still. As an Asian, I'm not used to carbonated water, so sometimes you have to be specific.

The bread served there probably the best bread I have ever tasted. The outer crust is hard, but the inner is very soft and moist, and also salty. And the dessert: just WOW! The butler served us a wide selection of cakes and macaroons, but I chose a strawberry tart, and my dad's client allowed me to taste a little bit of his chocolate cake. Gosh, I can die peacefully now. Hahaha.

Next we went to Gare St. Jean, where we were going to meet the other Indonesian marathon contestants. After that, we started our journey to Chateau La Dauphine, where we are gonna stay for the next two nights. The journey was very unpleasant really, but we saw a lot of wineries and vineyards along the way. It is very magnifique. The buildings are old and... gosh I don't have anymore words to describe. Argh I feel so lucky to be here.

A huge let down from France

I thought Gatwick Airport is a small airport, but I was totally wrong. Definitely bigger than Juanda Airport in Surabaya. We flew to Bordeaux with EasyJet for like 1 hour and 20 minutes. And that was the first time I heard the flight announcement in French. So bloody sexy.

It was a sunny hot day in Bordeaux, but the immigration wasn't so sunny. We was first in line for it, but after checked our passports and visas, the police told us to wait out of line. My dad was getting impatient and I tried to calm him. After all the others passengers were done for the immigration, they asked us in English what are we doing there, how long we stay there, and the most important part: how much money that we bring. It was silly really, when we applied for the visa, we were asked to prepare the financial statement. We are all ready for the journey, the place we are staying, the money, the transport, what are they worrying about? And my dad was speculating that maybe they worried our passports were fake. They observed our visas like a dog sniffing drugs. Maybe they don't see a lot of Indonesian in Bordeaux Airport. Oh please, just because we come from a developing country like Indonesia, doesn't mean that we have to take this kind of treat. We are visitors, we are tourists. They make money from us, is this how we are supposed to be treated? I don't think so man. Though I only have a year internship in hospitality service, but I think customers are kings. They spend the gold on us, and expect the same treatment equal to the greens they spend. Or maybe this was some kind of racism against Asian? I once heard a friend of mine said that there are some part in Germany that still have Nazi influence in them, but I don't expect for French to have racism also. However my dad told me, for some Caucasian, we Asian still rank second after them. We once had the same treatment when I was small, we went to Australia and New Zealand. When we were ready to board the Q Airline, the flight attendant told us to step aside, and entered last. My dad was furious. At that time, my little brother was still a baby, we had infant, shouldn't we enter first?

To be honest, I love France. It is my second time in France and I'm really excited to go there, but after this kind of treat, I wonder if I ever want to visit here again. Really, France? Really? I never have the intention to attack the Caucasian, but I think the Asian should have the same chance and same treatment same as the others. I love the people, I love the history, I love the culture, I love the food, I love everything about this country. But this incident really hit me. We didn't have this kind of problem in UK, and I hope this never happen again in our next journey in Germany.

I always think everything in a positive way, I went on this trip with a very high expectation. But sometime reality teaches us, that life can let you down, and never expect too high of something. Well thanks a lot Bordeaux for teaching me this lesson.

London night view

So this was our schedule: We depart from Manchester, riding the Virgin Train to London Euston, take the tube to Victoria, buy our ticket to Gatwick Airport for the next day, and capture the nightview of Big Ben, London Eye, and near the Thames.

Our stay in London, in a small hotel named Vegas Hotel, yes again it is a hotel near the station. But it wasn't pleasant, worse than the first hotel that we stayed in Victoria. Yah at least we have a place to stay for the night.

For lunch we had a Cyprus Kebab which was huge, loads of meat and just prodigious. However, dinner wasn't that good. We decided to find restaurant near the Thames. This Japanese Canteen called Ajizen, we ordered miso ramen with 叉燒 Chasiu, but I don't know why, the meal smelled like someone had taken a piss in it. My dad said, every dish that has pork in it has that smell, so it is normal. But I couldn't take it, at least the tea is original Japanese tea, and can be refilled.

The night view in Westminster is breathtaking. I think they need several improvements though, if they wanna attract more tourist after the sun set down. Colorful light to decorate the reflection on the water, just like in Hong Kong Harbor, so it's not just white and yellow light only. The House of Parliament needs more light, the clock tower is okay, and I got some nice photos on it (well for amateur like me hahhhahaa)

I guess I need a new lens. I want a wide-angle one, like 10 mm ones, but it's so pricey. Maybe I have to work a lot when I get to school later.

Finally, SHOPPING~

My dad was up for a business meeting this morning so I couldn't go anywhere till noon. But right after it was over, we walked to Picadilly and took the 205 bus to Trafford Square. This is a big department store in Manchester, and on the way there we saw the Manchester United headquarter and the Sir Alex Ferguson statue.

Arriving at the Trafford Square, and I noticed that these are all branded stores. Gucci, Burberry, Prada, etc. The price is so overwhelming and I couldn't bare to walk in. There are other stores as well, but I just walked around and window-shopped.

We ate lunch at Khan Express or something and it was delicious. The rice was extremely hot, I don't know if it was the heat or the spices, but I was sure that my can of Pepsi would not enough.

After a restraining window-shopping for a while, we decided to go back to Picadilly to find the novels J's looking for. And my dad said, if you want to shop in reasonable price, then go to Primark. And it is. I was totally in love and I went in absolute hyper like my inner shop-a-holic just went berserk. There was tank tops for just £2, even cheaper than in Jakarta, and all the clothes' price ranges from £2 to £12, and more. But of course my eyes only targeted the cheap one hahahahaha. My dad went to the hotel first so I can freely shop. I spent for like £32 for 7 or 8 clothes, including a snood, and a t-shirt for J.

Northampton, Manchester

We had breakfast and it was not bad actually. We went to the Underground, and stopped in Euston. From Euston we boarded a London Midway train to Northampton. Something intrigues me though. Why the single-trip and return-trip fare are only £1 difference. We bought the off-peak fare, and it is far cheaper than the normal ones.

London Midway Train was literally deserted, and we shared the compartment with only one or two peeps. The journey was comfortable enough, but when I wanted to pee, I accidentally opened the automated sliding door when there was still someone inside. Well it wasn't my fault, 'cause he didn't lock it.
We arrived in Northampton and got a free tour around the town. There's nothing really, but I love the Victorian Georgian style on the houses.

After Northampton, we left for Manchester Piccadily, and a bit chilly. The Virgin train is similar with London Midway's train, but a lot faster. Maybe we can compare London Midway with 臺鐵 Tai Tie, the national railway in Taiwan, and Virgin though a bit slower than 高鐵 Gao Tie or Taiwan High Speed Rail. We stayed in Brittania Hotel and ate dinner in Chinatown.

The Brittania Hotel is an ancient, well not ancient, but old enough as the building dated back to 1858. The room was comfy enough, but no window. I asked the receptionist for a windowed-room, but it will cost more £10. However, basically this twin room in Brittania is surprisingly cheap, £39 for every night, no breakfast, but we can live with that. This hotel is located near the Piccadily bus station, and there are loads of stores, plus chinatown, so we can survive hahhhahaha.

Maybe we'll go shopping tomorrow after meeting the client.

London!

Today was quite a busy day, as we arrived in London Heathrow at about 5.40 pm. We took a shower (boy, wasn't that refreshing after a 12 hours flight?) in the arrival lounge, and ate breakfast till like 9 a.m.

As I got outside, it was cold! I was only wearing a t-shirt and my swimming team jacket, and I was freezing. My hands still a bit painful now. I thought it was a hot summer day in London, and I had never been so wrong. My dad said it was a sunny and usual hot day. Yeah, "hot".

So then we took the tube to Green Park, and changed line till we reached Victoria Station. The station is beautiful, but the buildings surrounding the station, are far more beautiful. I totally love it. I was like, 'Gosh I really want to live here!' There are some art and historical blend of sight, and it is marvelous.

As we started to look for the hotel, we stumbled upon some old but nicely-maintained buildings, and a poster says that Winston Churchill lived in one of them. Nice fun facts though, you can see the purple banner if your eyes are keen enough.

There are plenty of hotels near the Victoria Station. We booked ourselves Airways Hotel, and it was not hard to find. It is a small hotel, yes, but it's clean, and that's most important. We put our luggage there and start going around London on this Big Bus.

Big Bus has 4 different routes: Blue, Green, Red, and Purple. Blue and Red basically have the same routes, but Red route provides real life guide, and if you wanna go to Harrods, you'll have to take the Blue Route. For adult it's £30, for 24 hours hop in-hop off bus around London, and free river cruise in Thames. Just remember to show the driver your yellow ticket, and you're on the go. The buses are like open double-deck buses. The wind was quite cold, even it was summer, so I wear my scarf and jacket. There are plenty of buses so don't worry if you miss one, there will be another for about 10 to 20 minutes.

Before we start the tour, we bought some salads and juice from M&S Simply Food store. My dad loves the 3-bean salad with a mint vinaigrette, and I was reluctant to try, so I bought this and squeezed orange and carrot juice. He bought more cakes for the day. We hopped on from Victoria, next to The Governor Hotel, and it's blue line bus, so you can take a free headphones, and go to the second deck, plug in, and enjoy your 8-languages-commentaries. BTW Big Bus advised us to take the headphones with us when we leave, and I saw an old lady took like 5 plastics LOL. The only flaw in this is that the comments are not GPS-based. So sometimes, the comments are too fast. For instance: "Now look on your left, there's a Roman-Catholic church bla-bla-bla" but the church is still blocks away.

We decided to go around London first, then stop at Buckingham Palace. We saw the Marble Arch, Green Park, Hyde Park, Harrods, Oxford Street, Big Ben, River Thames, London Bridge, etc. I really love London's old buildings. It seems like every corner every streets have their own style so I took a lot of blurry photographs because the bus was moving and it was kinda hard to take.

We hopped off at Paddington, and ate our lunch there. There are some Indian or Italian restaurants near the station, but I always wanted to try fish 'n chips. It's the same fried fish like in Jakarta, but just add some fries and voila, you have fish and chips hahahahaha. After we ate the lunch, we sat at a nearby park and we saw this bunch of people sleeping on the grass, absorbing the sunlight. We ate the salad on the bench, with the pigeons accompanying us. What a peaceful moment.

We then went again on the Big Bus, drove around London, and stopped near the Clock Tower. Crossed the bridge and found many street 'magicians', and this bagpipe player. I have always have this strong feeling toward bagpipe, I don't know whether toward bagpipe only or the Scottish. We crossed the river with the ferry tour, and the driver + guide showed us around the Thames. Dropped off near the castle, we hopped on again on the bus, but this time, the red bus. I think it is far better than the recorded commentary, the guides are funny and warm, and I enjoyed the tour. Arriving near the Buckingham Palace, where HM Queen lives, but she currently away, so they only have two guards. I always thought that the guards are tall, slim, and have this mustache like in the Mr. Bean TV series LOL. But they still look like in their twenties, and one of these guards keep shouting, 'KEEP OFF THE FENCE', or something like that in every 5 minutes. BTW Buckingham Palace, gosh, so crowded, packed full of people.

Anyway, we looked for dinner, and the hotel receptionist recommend us this wonderful Indian Curry named Spicy World (I thought it was Spicy War when I first heard the receptionist said it) My dad only wanted to order lamb curry, but the steward keep pushing us to order the most expensive dish in the menu. It was excellent actually, but I think it would be better if you just leave choosing the what we want to us, just saying though. We end up paying for like £50 or more. 

We turned in early for the night, cause we were going to Northampton and Manchester the next morning.

12 hours flight....

I am here now in Hong Kong, waiting for my dad to retrieve his sample in 羅湖 Lo Hu, and suddenly this Indian or Arabian man, err... possibly Arabian, talking in his phone, and noticed me. He then came up to me and ask, "Can you speak English?" I said yes, but I explained that I don't live here. Then he gave me his phone and said that it was his wife and asked me to talk to her. I thought she would be speaking English, but then she blurted out speaking in Cantonese. I tried to speak to her in Chinese, and she then asked me to guide this Arabian man to 上水廣場 Shang Shui Guang Chang, or Landmark Now, just the opposite building from 上水 Shang Shui Railway Station. I did as she say, just because I have gone there before like 5 minutes ago.

I wonder why he came up to me. Do I look like a non-Asian foreigner to him? How does he know that I can speak English? Does my face have this 'HEY I CAN SPEAK ENGLISH' written on my face? Hahahaha. Well glad to help, my dear Arabian man, sir.

Then still waiting, I talked to this security grandma, and although she speaks very weird Chinese, luckily she understands. Though I personally think that I feel a bit disturbed when they speak Cantonese, but they are all basically good person. And I observed her a little while, when some people want to ask her directions, she invites them aside. This station is so crowded, there are people everywhere, and I think she is very professional for not letting them block the way.

Our flight for London is in 11 pm, so we decided to call K to airport to have dinner together.

The good thing about travelling with my dad is: you get to enjoy all the high-class services provided from Cathay Pacific. Remembering that my dad is already a Diamond class Marcopolo member, he gets all the exclusive service, that we, the green card member don't get. Sometimes I get jealous though, when will I get all these??????

We get to enjoy a first-class dinner in the lounge, including some steak and cheese (yes, I love cheese so much I could die), and if you went to Cathay Pacific Lounge, whether it's in business class lounge or first class, you have to try this 擔擔麵 Dan Dan Noodle. It's a boiled noodle with peanut and sesame sauce seasoning, which is a must-eat for me during my every transit in Hong Kong. Plus we can take a shower in the showering room, a neat and clean space to take a shower, and sometimes if you're lucky, you get to shower in the big room, which is fabulous.

We waited till 11 pm, in Hong Kong time, and we boarded the plane to Heathrow. This is my first time to fly this huge plane, which has two stories. But that flight was very crowded, even the coach. Now I realize why for long distance flight, people tend to choose the class beside the coach.

It was a very uncomfortable flight, but I got to sleep immediately after the plane flew, and woke up 7 hours later. Still 4 or 5 hours to go ARGH. I watched a Monster University and Monster Inc. movie marathon, oh and also Hangover 3. The TV is not like a usual one in Hong Kong - Jakarta ones, with a touch screen, and feels like an Ipad. Thank you so much technology, I started to wonder what would we do if we don't have some entertainment for a 12 hours flight.

31 Aug 2013

UK, France, Germany, here I come~~~

AAaaaAAaaaAAAAHHHHhhhhHhh I am so freaking excited! After 20 years I can finally go to UK again. The last time I was there, I was like a cute little baby, carried by my mom. I'm going mainly to London and Manchester, to tag along with my dad, who's in his business trip, but oh well, at least I can see UK for myself.

Our flight delayed for an hour, but I decide to apply for e-gate in Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Having a flashback of those horrible dragon-like queues, made me longing for this service: just scan your fingerprints and passport, and you're through. Not everyone has the same thinking as me though.

Sometimes my dad's action made me wanna cringe his hand and say, "Don't do it, Dad." But he already done it. Like when I was still queuing for the E-gate, some foreigners were looking at the line, maybe wondering if this line was for the immigration (there are no specific board that say exactly e-gate application center though). My dad looked at them and then used the "Shoo-shoo" hand gestures and pointed to the foreigner immigration line. Thank goodness they understood and said their thanks, but I wrinkled my forehead and said, "Dad, you shouldn't do that 'shoo-shoo'...." And he just replied, "At least they understand." Oh well...

Aug 31st 2013

Indonesian Passengers' Stereotype

As our plane touched down in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, I was so freaking tired that I wanted to go home immediately, take a bath, and get some beauty sleep.

But the plane circled around the runway for like 5 minutes, or so? Nowadays, especially in Jakarta, looking for a parking spot is extremely difficult, and to my surprise, even now the same problem occurs to planes LOL. Yah, well, maybe that's not the true reason why our plane took so long to make a complete stop, and I was hearing others started to clicking their seat belts, couldn't wait to stand up and take their hand carries.

Another funny thing happened the other time. Remember that passenger are told to stay seated until the plane is in complete stop? Well not for this in her prime 50's grandma. She stand up immediately to reach the overhead compartment while ignoring the announcement, and well, sh*t does happen. She lost balance and stumbled a little bit. Almost all the passengers who witnessed this, couldn't suppress their laughter.

The one thing I hate about Indonesian passengers (and also based on a flight attendant in HongKong based Airline, who is also my cousin), is that they are so impatient, and it is impossible for them to wait in line. I'm an Indonesian, but I wouldn't mind to queue while waiting to board. And every time, I literally mean every freaking time I'm on international flight to Jakarta, or in domestic flight, there will be someone that stand up before the plane stop. Plus, I haven't mention the toilet. Gosh, wet tissues, water puddles everywhere. No wonder why my cousin doesn't want to learn Indonesian.

Aug 30th 2013

One flight stand

It feels so weird when the one that sit next to you in the boarding gate, just happen to sit right next to you in the plane.

One time when I was waiting for the delayed flight, I sat next to a girl with Jilbab wrapped around her head. As our eyes met, we smiled involuntarily to each other and then continued to read our books.

As our flight was ready to board, I found her sat next to the seat which I had been assigned. We smiled again, and it felt like a nice coincidence. Then after the plane took off, I braced myself and start up a conversation with her, and we clicked. I didn't ask her name, but I had a nice time chatting with her. Of course we had to stop as we separated after our luggage were claimed, but, ah... It was a pleasant flight, thanks to her.

Shall we call this a one-flight-stand? By quoting Giordano, a world without strangers is true indeed.

Aug 29th 2013

New blog... (again)

So.... I don't know why I can't open the blog.com website in the office, and these writings just can't wait anymore. Therefore, new blog!