Backpackeran ke Hongkong dan Macau

Hello peeps, salam backpacker! 

Saya mau sharing pengalaman backpackeran 7 hari Hongkong - Macau 5 - 12 Sep 2024. 

Semoga informasi ini bermanfaat. 

Langsung aja. P

Pesawat: 

Start Jakarta menggunakan pesawat Malaysia Airlines - Full Service. Makanannya enak. Pulangnya naik Batik Malaysia - ga dapet apa-apa. Perjalanan: Melewati imigrasi Soetta - lancar jaya. Ga diminta bukti tiket pulang atau bookingan akomodasi (walaupun sudah ada). 

HONGKONG: 

Landing di bandara Hongkong, langsung ke imigrasi - isi arrival card - lancar juga ga ditanya bukti tiket pulang atau akomodasi. Keluar bandara - lihat petunjuk arah ke tranportasi umum bus. Naik bus A21 menuju daerah Tsim Sha Tsui, daerah ini dekat dengan Victoria harbour (tarif bus 34,6HKD). Karena lebih murah dari pada naik airport express. Pulangnya saya pakai bus ini juga ke bandara. Untuk pembayaran bus ini bisa tap kartu Visa. Saya bayar pakai CC Mandiri Visa. Tidak semua bisa tap kartu. Seperti bus dari Tung Chung ke Big Buddha ga bisa tap kartu visa, harus pakai Octopus atau cash. Untuk MTR bisa semua (tab ke mesin yang ada logo Visa). 

Penginapan: 

Saya pindah-pindah hostel di Hongkong tapi tetap di daerah Tsim Sha Tsui. Dari beberapa hostel yang saya coba, menurut saya hostel paling nyaman adalah L’etoile de Mer TST (Self check in). 

Tempat yang saya kunjungi selama di Hongkong: 

- Kowloon park, ada museum di dalamnya. (Free entrance ticket) 

- Temple street night market 

- Victoria harbour, Avenue of star. Lihat Symphony of lights. Di sini ada patung Bruce Lee. (Free entrance ticket) Di sini juga ada ferry untuk nyebrang ke Wan Chai. 

- Victoria Peak, pakai peak tram tiketnya saya beli di trip com (Round trip tram + Sky terrace 428 ticket) 

- Central area (Mid Levels Escalators), (Free entrance ticket) 

- Wan Chai harbour, bisa naik ferry dari Victoria harbour ke sini, tarifnya 5HKD. 

- Mongkok (ladies market) 

- LKF area di central (banyak bar di sini) 

- Monster building (Free entrance ticket) 

- Big Buddha (Free ticket entrance) (Jangan lupa cobain dessert di Po Lin Monatery). Ke sini naik bus no 23 dari Tung Chung tujuan Ngong Ping, karena cable carnya lagi ga beroperasi waktu itu. Tarif bus 20HKD untuk weekdays, weekend beda tarifnya. 

- Tai O Village (dari Big Buddha ada bus langsung ke sini, bus no 21 ). 

Pulang dari Tai O Village, naik bus ke Tung Chung tarifnya 14HKD, dan naik MTR ke Tsim Sha Tsui. 

MACAU: 

 - Naik Ferry Cotai Water Jet dari Hongkong ke Macau. Kebetulan ferrynya gratis sampai akhir tahun (one way). Pesen tiket ferry - di Trip.com. Dari pelabuhan di Hongkong Macau ferry terminal menuju Macau Taipa port. 

- Sampai di pelabuhan Macau Taipa, naik bus gratis ke destinasi yang dituju. Saya pilih ke The Venetian terlebih dahulu dan makan siang di food courtnya Venetian 

- Explore beberapa casino seperti Venetian, Londoner, Parisian, Wynn, MGM, Grand Lisboa, Studio City, etc. Cobain free bubble milk tea di City of Dream (Taipa side). 

- Dari Wynn Cotai, saya naik free shuttle bus ke Wynn Macau side. 

- Explore Grand Lisboa, Fisherman port, St Paul Church ruins, Santo Dominikus church, Macao tower, Senado Square, cobain Eggtart di daerah Senado Square. 

- Balik ke daerah Taipa lagi naik bus umum (lupa nomornya), 

- Di Taipa, naik dari Wynn Cotai ke port lagi, trus naik free shuttle bus ke HZMB di bagian Macau. Lalu naik bus HZMB menuju Honkong dengan harga 65MOP. 

- Naik bus A22 ke Tsim Sha Tsui. 

 Note: 

 - McDonald Macau, ga bisa bayar pakai kartu visa di mesinnya. Hanya cash atau emoney macau. 

 - Mending beli simcard di 7/11 karena lebih murah tapi pas sudah sampai di kota ya bukan di bandara. Harganya 33HKD. Karena saya pakai kartu yang dibeli di shopee, jaringannya ga terlalu bagus. 

- Saya coba untuk ke Shenzen dari border Lo Wu, tapi ditolak, tidak bisa VOA di sana tanpa alasan. Jadi ga semua WNI bisa apply VOA di border sana. Jadi kalau mau ke Shenzen mending siapin visa China dari Indonesia. 

Semoga informasinya bermanfaat! :)

How to Get National Monument Jakarta from Soekarno Hatta airport

To travel from Soekarno Hatta Airport to National Monument Jakarta for less than 1 USD using buses and other public transportation options, follow these detailed steps: Shuttle Train to Airport Train Station (Stasiun Kereta Bandara):
Upon arriving at Soekarno Hatta Airport, take the free shuttle train (Kalayang) to the Airport Train Station (Stasiun Kereta Bandara).

Bus SH1 to Kalideres Bus Station:
At the Airport Train Station, find bus number SH1. This bus will take you to Kalideres bus station, which is approximately a 40-minute ride. The fare for SH1 is 3,500 IDR (about 0.25 USD).

Bus Number 3 to National Monument (Monas):
Once at Kalideres bus station, transfer to bus number 3 heading towards National Monument (Monas). The fare for this bus is also 3,500 IDR (about 0.25 USD), and the journey will take about 1 hour.


Special Card for Bus Payment:
Remember, you need a special card to pay for the bus fares, which you can purchase at Alfamart or Indomaret convenience stores. If you prefer a faster option:


Airport Train to BNI City Sudirman:
If you're in a hurry or prefer more convenience, take the airport train (in the same station with bus) directly to BNI City Sudirman. The fare for this train is 50,000 IDR (about 3.50 USD), and you can pay using a credit card. The journey takes approximately 1 hour.


Online Taxi to National Monument (Monas):
From BNI City Sudirman, use a ride-hailing app like Grab or Gojek to book an online motor taxi to National Monument (Monas). The cost will depend on the time of day and demand.


These options provide flexibility depending on your budget, time constraints, and preference for comfort when traveling from Soekarno Hatta Airport to National Monument Jakarta.

Destiny

I find that writing is so fun to express the emotions, thoughts, and feelings as I have so much in my head. Try writing by yourself.

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Well, I have learned, done, and observed a lot. And maybe this is the time for sharing.

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I feel lucky that I have done travel at young age. Of course, it’s not that’s easy as you think or you see. I just have chances to do it. Please love whatever condition of your life. We just have a different path in life. I just believe that I should do traveling at young age.

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I have a chance to travel India-Nepal for 6 months in 2019 which has made big influence on my life. I went there before pandemic and it would never gonna be the same. I can only say this is my destiny.

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Destiny is real. Where I have tried a lot, worked hard, asked, explained a lot to get what I wanted, but sometimes it didn’t work. On other hand, when I was just silent or didn’t have any plans, then it just happened. Whether it is acceptable or unacceptable. Ready or not ready.

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I never thought to meet Dalai Lama in my life. It was kind of impossible. I also had no plans about it during my travel in India.

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Until one day, when I was in Amritsar, the town where the golden temple is.

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“There will be Dalai Lama teaching for 3 days in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala.”, said another traveler.

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I was thinking for a while as I didn’t really know about Dalai Lama. I only knew the quote from Dalai Lama, “Sleep is the best meditation.” as I really like sleeping.

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It was tempting and also it was on my way to Manali, the Himalayan area. Then I decided to continue my travel to Dharamsala from Amritsar. I should wait for some days and do some registration that I didn’t know what I was doing. There was no specific purpose to attend the teaching. I was curious why so many people came from all over the world, paid a lot of money to see him.

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I got the permission id already. The teaching day had come. And I woke up in the morning for the teaching. I was really excited. I walked from my place to the venue. We should queue for a security check. And badly, I brought my phone.

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I know we couldn’t make documentation. But I thought I could just switch off the phone. But they asked me to keep the phone away.

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“You almost see Dalai Lama. Why do you just give up?”, this was what I thought.

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And I had tried some shops nearby where I could keep my phone, but they had rejected me. Another choice was I should go back to my place where I could miss the session because it was about to start. But then I tried one more shop, lucky the owner happily accepted my phone and refused me to pay. Damn!

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Well yeah, I came back again for a security check. And everybody had taken their place. We were waiting for a while.

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And, time was coming…

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Dalai Lama arrived.

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We got up from our seats to welcome him.

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Everybody was happy to see him, honor him. He started walking from his car to greet people who stopped him. It took a while where I could see Dalai Lama in front of my face.

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Then it came the time when Dalai Lama was walking in front of me.

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I was so stunned.

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“Oh my god, I see Dalai Lama.”,

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Everybody tried to reach him to do shake hands. Some people cried, called him, shouted, etc. But I could only observe him. How he smiled. How he walked. How was his voice.

I didn’t really put attention to his teaching as he taught in Tibetian and we should listen to interpreters on the radio. So, I’d rather listen to his voice rather than the interpreter.

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He is old already, really calm, and peaceful. I just hope that he has a long life.

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McLeod Ganj, September 2019

Tiga Puluh

Actually, I don’t really care about birthdays. But today, I’m turning 30. Yes, ThIRtY, you didn’t hear it wrong. Halfway to sixty. :D

I am also surprised that it’s coming now. I think I just started my conscious mind when I was sent to kindergarten 25 years ago and knew my real name. Lol (I had been called with my nickname anyway.)

Yeah, I remember when I traveled to India, I wanted to watch a movie. It was an 18+ genre movie actually. But they asked me to show my ID to prove to them that I was adult enough. Lol

How could my face not even pass 18? I told them that I was already 28. Had a debate for a while. It was just useless. They still insisted me to show my ID. That was so damn annoying. I should grab my passport that I put in many layers in my bag in order hardly to be stolen (again). Finally, they let me buy the ticket after checking my ID really carefully. :D

Alright, I am 30 now. How am I feeling? Am I feeling old? Not RRReally (must be written with triple R). I still feel very YouNG anyway. Even I still whine to my mom if I want something. Lol (Hope it’s not just denial of getting old.)

Of course, being 30 is so special because I left my 20ies life where I had mostly the first things in my life. I call that decade as a silly experiment of my life. Yes, mostly silly, dumb, stupid, and only smart a little bit. Quite often I said, “Seriously Intan, why did you do that?” Lol

I am wondering what I have been doing on this earth for 30 years? 30 is a lot. I couldn’t imagine how many kgs of rice that I have eaten until now. :D

When I was a kid, I was thinking, “If I were 30, I would have looked like an ''aunty”.'' And now I am 30, but I still feel like a kid. (By the way, that's true. I am literally an aunty now.)

Lastly, in this 30, I feel grateful for what I have done until now, either it was sad or happy. Age is a number. And changing is a must. But I am always ready for whatever roles that I have to play in my life.

I just hope that I never deny my feelings. Yay ;)

 

Ubud, 16th of June 2021.

 

PS: 

I don’t accept greetings without any gifts. Lol

I Wanna Touch Snow Someday

Snowing View, Pokhara, Nepal

“I wanna touch snow”, I said to my self as a wish when I was a kid. 

As a person who lives in a tropical country, seeing snow is a kind of precious thing. I have watched movies which showed very beautiful scenery with snow. I also like all the things about National Geographic products whether it's a video or a picture. And yeah snow took space in my brain that I should see it someday.

As I did my biggest solo trip last year for 6 months to explore India and Nepal. Finally, I can checklist one of my dreams, "touching snow". These were my trip routes Kochi- Alleppey- Varkala- Nagercoil- Kanyakumari- Nagercoil- Kochi- Munnar- Aluva- Calicut- Mankada- Angadippuram- Shoranur- Bengaluru- Hosapete- Hampi- Hosapete- Hubbali- Goa- Mumbai- Ahmedabad- Udaipur- Jaipur- Delhi- Varanasi- Gorakhpur- Sonauli- Kathmandu (Nepal)- Pokhara (Nepal)- Dhampus (Nepal)- Pokhara (Nepal)- Lumbini (Nepal)- Sonauli- Gorakhpur- Varanasi- Delhi- Amritsar- Pathankot- Dharamsala- McLeodganj- Dharamkot- Bhagsu- Dharamsala- Palampur- Mandi- Manali- Keylong- Leh- Hunder- Turtuk- Diskit- Leh- Pangong Lake (Spangmik)- Leh- Manali- Chandigarh- Delhi- Agra- Delhi- Haridwar- Rishikesh- Delhi- Bengaluru.

My dream to see the snow was completed when I was in Pokhara, Nepal. I just saw snow by far over the mountain. But I never touched it. It can’t be reached by walking. Because it wasn’t winter yet. So, only a specific place we can see snow. I also saw the snow in Manali, but again I couldn't get close to it. I didn’t travel by private transportation. I traveled by public bus or hitchhiking. So I can’t ask to stop to touch snow if I saw it on the way.

Snowing View, Manali, India

Then I traveled to Leh, Ladakh, India. It's not because I went there for the snow, but it's just a beautiful place to visit. The journey Manali to Ladakh was really AMAZING!!!! I saw snow but it’s still from far. And again I can’t touch snow. But it's totally awesome, I even can describe how beautiful it was. I went to some parts of Ladakh, such as Leh, and Nubra Valley Part (Hunder- Turtuk- Diskit). And yeah I saw the snow but I can't touch it. Well, I didn’t expect anymore to touch snow because it’s not winter yet and just traveled like usual. 

One day, I decided to go to Pangong Lake by public bus. I found more snowing views and closer! Because it was on the roads. I guessed I could touch snow if the bus stopped. But how can I stop it?? It was getting colder even the bus door was closed. I took more shirt on! Ah I didn’t bring proper winter clothes. Please don't try it! But I was okay.

On the way to Pangong Lake

The bus suddenly stopped! 

Five minutes, 10 minutes waiting, and...

The driver said that the road was blocked by snow. And we would wait until snow melting.

What? I didn’t know It’s good news or bad news. One side it would be worst if we were stuck for a long time, but on the other side, it’s time to touch snow. I saw some cars coming and made a long line. Some passengers got down and I felt like reunite there.

Well yeah, It's time to touch snow. I got down. It was slippery walking on ice. I didn't walk much, because I didn't wear proper winter gear. I saw very awesome snowing views. I touched the snow. And I ate it! Lol, yeah I ate how its taste. Yeah it's the same with snow in the refrigerator. It’s not a dream, it’s real snow. Not an artificial snow when I did roller skate in the mall. Lol "You did it, Intan"! I felt I wanted to make ice coffee there. :D

Yes, it's snow guys! :D

Some people were happy. Some people got mad waiting for a long time. Mostly I saw people so excited to play snow. I knew the feeling. Some took so many pictures, some just felt like usual, some made “Olaf”, and I played snowing ball with a driver’s kid. 

Well, we got stuck there for 2 hours and enough to play with snow. I was so happy and grateful. \m/

- Mission accomplished -