Author: Izza Dinillah

AdventureNotes #10: Special Edition, Family Euro Trip

Published on by Izza Dinillah3 Comments
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Despite the picture, no, I’m not going to write about my own family trip to Europe. Instead, this article is dedicated to ‘emak-emak rempong’ in Birmingham. It’ll consist of tips and other things to consider in preparing for travel and in traveling in Europe (well, most of the countries in Europe, anyway).

Maybe for most Indonesian, traveling to Europe is a dream. Having read many encyclopedias about European countries, seeing pictures of European typical scenery, and listening to other people’s story of their experience traveling to Europe made me promise myself that someday I will go to that continent. Maybe this is also the case of many people. Besides, the dream to explore the world is always tempting, right?

The world is getting narrower and narrower. The access to move around and to visit the far-away places has been opened. And now, as I live in the UK, I automatically think that it is such a good opportunity to explore Europe! Such an opportunist, I am indeed. However, it is a logical choice as the cost to travel European countries from the UK will be much cheaper than from Indonesia.

Based on conversations with other people who had traveled to Europe (cc: Mbak Magda & Mbak Ari) and my own experience, there are some points to consider in planning the trip and in traveling, especially when you are going with your family. It is going to be different from my usual tips in other AdventureNotes articles because traveling with family is definitely a different kind of challenge.

1. Transportation

The first step to plan your family travel is to find budget-friendly flight or train tickets. Other European countries are easily accessible by flights or train from London to Paris. We can search for the cheapest plan and train tickets using the ‘holy’ technology. I would recommend http://www.skyscanner.net/ as the website offers the comparison of plane tickets throughout the year so that we can really see the cheapest date to travel. Another way to get to European countries is by train. The fast train tickets from London to Paris can be found here: http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en. There is actually another way to travel, which is by ferry. Not too many people know this, but the port in Brighton and Hull offer ferry rides that connect those two cities to some cities in France, Netherlands, and Belgium. It can also be an option to consider. Plan your trip ahead to get the best bargain!

2. Accommodation

As I would suggest hostels for solo travelers, my friends who traveled with their family suggest AirBnB as the best accommodation option when traveling with family. The website, https://www.airbnb.co.uk/, enables you to search suitable accommodation for your family. The process of renting an accommodation from AirBnB is pretty simple, actually. Just search for the accommodations, compare the available options, and book the chosen one! There are just some things we might need to consider as we are actually renting a place owned by a person. It is recommended to check the guest reviews and contact the owner beforehand to see the owner’s flexibility – for instance when we are going to arrive late at night and such.

3. Car Rent

As most countries in Europe are located closely to each other, many modes of public transportation are available to help us move from one country to another. There are buses and trains connecting one country to another. As they are easily available, they can be considered as an option for your trip. However, traveling with family sometimes requires high level of flexibility, which does not go hand in hand with public transportation. Renting a car may be the best deal for families traveling to Europe. Some people are worried because they don’t have an international driving licence, but actually Indonesian driving licence is widely accepted here. Renting a car is also a simple process as you just need to book the car online and pick it up in your chosen place. The most convenient place to pick up the car is in the airport so that you don’t have to think about how to get into the city from the airport. Choosing the car that you want to rent is also a crucial step because you have to match the car with your needs. The chosen car should meet the number of seats needed, its GPS readiness, and whether it is in manual or automatic mode. Again, your preference will affect the cost.

4. Food

This is an inevitable expense during traveling. And sometimes, it cost a lot, probably a huge percentage of the total traveling cost. To reduce this expense, people who travel with families can consider to cook their meals throughout the journey. As AirBnB accommodation usually provide kitchen, it is quite an easy thing to do. Local shops and amenities will provide quite good range of groceries and food supplies. Easy peazy! For Indonesians, bringing ready-made food is also a good option.

5. Inner City Transportation

As in some European countries parking spot is a difficult thing to find, it may be a good choice to park your car outside the city and commute using the inner-city public transportation in order to explore the city. For some cities with bad traffic, such as Rome, it is also a very good option. You can usually buy inner-city public transportation tickets easily. Some cities offer family tickets, some others offer day tickets. It is an advantage to know these things beforehand to avoid unnecessary cost. A thing to consider in mind for families with children under 5 who may still be in stroller, it is better to commute by bus than metro or tube because bus is easily accessible whereas metro or tube requires you to go underground, sometimes without adequate facilities.

6. Attraction Tickets

For some families, strolling down the streets of beautiful cities or enjoying the scenery is enough. For some others, going into a tourist attraction is a must. Most tourist attractions offer group or family tickets. Ask for this when you are purchasing your ticket. Sometimes there are also city pass, which enables your family to enter several attractions with only one ticket. Sometimes, there are also 2for1 tickets or other promotions offered by companies or the attraction itself. Do search and take advantage of those promotional tickets!

With those points explained, there is no one-fit-for-all explanation. Each family should consider different aspects before deciding on the travel itinerary. There are three crucial factors need to be taken into account when planning your Euro Trip:

1. Time

Consider when you are going to travel. Is it a long school holiday? Is it winter? Is it summer? The time you are traveling is important because it will affect how you choose your outfit, whether it is easy to drive a car (it can be very slippery when the road is frosty), and if the day is going to be longer or shorter. It will also affect whether you enjoy the atmosphere or not – traveling during summer school holiday can be uncomfortable if you don’t like crowds.

How long you are going to travel is also a factor to be considered. Is it worth it to rent a car if you only travel for 5 days? How many cities do you want to visit? It is mostly important to determine your destination cities. Most Indonesian tours aim to visit as many cities as possible. Is that what you want? Or do you want to absorb a city’s spirit so that it’ll take you some times in one city?

2. Budget

I think this is the core of all travel plannings. How much do you want to spend for a trip? If it is okay for you to spend millions, probably you’d choose a nice hotel in the center of a city instead of AirBnB. I would suggest to budget every single detail of your trip. For example, I budget the food cost for each day to be GBP 20 or the cost of attraction tickets to be GBP 100 for the whole trip.

3. Condition

Traveling is an exhausting activity. Yes, despite the fact that it is fun and enjoyable and blablabla, it is exhausting! Therefore, you need to consider you and your family’s physical ability. It is especially important when you are traveling with very small children. You won’t want half of your trip cancelled because you are too tired, won’t you? Measure your pace and plan your trip accordingly.

So, plan your next trip now! Don’t worry too much because you are the only one who knows what you want and what you are capable of. And as a wise man says, when there is a will, there is a way.

Jan 10, 2016

AdventureNotes #9: Como

Published on by Izza Dinillah2 Comments
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Como? Where is it? Coming from an Asian country, I’m not familiar with the non mainstream tourist attractions in Europe. Como is one of them. It is actually a small city located near Lake Como, where it got its name, in Italy. The city borders the country and Switzerland.

Why did I go to Como? I actually went there to visit a friend. I needed a place to star near Milan, too. My friend was a student there and she lived in a student accommodation, just enough for two people to sleep. Her accommodation was not too far from the city center.

To get to Como, people can use trains. There are many trains passing this city. As it is a quite ‘famous’ place for people to come to spend their day off, it is not too difficult to get there. I think it is around an hour train ride from Milan.

Como is such a small city, anyway. The city is beautiful with its lakeside scenery. There are lots of hotels and cafes because people come to enjoy the city. Like other Italian cities, there is also a famous Gelato shop there. Despite the cold weather, I bought and ate Gelato when I was there.

There are not too many tourist attractions in Como, but people can certainly enjoy Lake Como by hiring a boat. Besides that, the hilly contour of the city makes people able to hike to the hill to enjoy the scenery. I think a memorial of Volta was built up there because of his relation to the city.

I quite like the atmosphere there because it was not too crowded and it has its own charm with its little shops, outdoor market, and gardens.  I think it is an appropriate place when someone seeks serenity.

I will be happily recommend this place if you need sanctuary for your holiday. It is also close to Milan, and considering the condition, maybe this city is a better place to stay.

Jan 08, 2016

AdventureNotes #8: Lost in Rome

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This article is way long overdue. So sorry! but since I’m an active traveler again now, it seems that I have to continue this AdventureNotes series.

Anyway, for this session, I’ll write about Rome! Who doesn’t know and doesn’t want to visit this city? It has its own unique charm and to be honest, you’d want to visit this city again and again, strolling at its small alleys. So, I’ve been in Rome twice now. The first one was when I did my solo Euro trip and the second was when I did a Euro tour with my family. This article will be based on the recollection of my memory from both trips.

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People coming to Rome by plane will most probably arrive in Leonardo Da Vinci Airport. I took a train from the airport to get to the city center, Roma Termini Station. The journey was short and pleasant. However, when I stepped my foot on Roma Termini, it was very crowded; lots of travelers, lots of beggars, lots of officers, and lots of sellers. I was shocked and therefore tried to find a quiet place to think. I needed to adapt before finding my way around.

I had a quite interesting experience in Rome because I was lost for a while! It was kind of funny actually because I tried to find my hotel at that time. The hotel was supposedly not too far from the station. I walked around and around, asked people but still couldn’t manage to find it. It was difficult to find it because there was not too many people who can speak English in that area. After a long 2-hours search, finally I could enter my room! The owner responded to my email and came get me. It turns out that there was no sign of the hotel and actually I walked pass that hotel several times without noticing.

The first time around, I tried to use the Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) bus to get around Rome. I purchased the ticket online for a 24 hour pass. During my time there, I found out that the HOHO bus was not that available. One time I had to wait for 30 minutes until the bus arrive. Additionally, the traffic in Rome was just not good. I thought that it might be faster to walk! Seriously.

I think the better option to get around Rome is by public transportation. Almost all of the attractions in Rome are reachable by many different means of public transportation, such as bus and metro. It was much quicker and cheaper. On my second visit to Rome, I bought a one-day travel card that I can use to get on all public transportation in Rome. It costed like a quarter of what I paid for the HOHO bus and I managed to see more Rome tourist attractions!

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From both visits to Rome, I managed to enter some places, such as Colloseum, Roman Forum, and St. Peter’s Basilica. I had to buy tickets for the Colloseum and Roman Forum, but the entrance was free for the St. Peter’s Basilica. Rome is such a popular tourist destination so that to enter the attractions, we would be most likely have to queue, sometimes for a long time. Therefore, actually during the online ticket purchase, there is an exact time allocation for us to visit. However, it seems that the system did not work because I could enter Colloseum and the Roman Forum one day later than the appointed schedule on my ticket. All attractions mentioned above were worth to visit, besides they are legendary!

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Besides those attractions, Rome is also famous for its outdoor attractions, such as Piazza and the Trevi Fountain. I went to Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, and Piazza Venezia on both of my trips. I love the environment in those neighborhoods. Some of those places are quite close to each other so that I could just walk. It was really nice actually comparing to taking a bus or metro because I could explore the small and charming alleys near those places. I even passed the Pantheon on my way from the Trevi Fountain to Piazza Navona.

There are still many attractions in Rome that I haven’t visited. I wished I could visit the city again, longer the next time around. Surely one or two days are not enough to explore this city.

Now, for the tips of visiting Rome!

1. Be ready with your Google Maps to find your way around because not too many people can speak English.

2. Buy the daily or weekly travel tickets. The attractions are easily reachable by public transportation. It is safe, even if you travel alone.

3. Beware of the weather. Rome can get very hot during the summer. The weather gap between this city and other cities in Europe during spring is also noticeable. Get hydrated!

4. Stay alert, especially in crowded place because there are quite a lot of beggars and strangers who may try to steal. Moreover, the city is packed during the summer months, it can get super crowded.

5. Try the gelatto and icy drinks! They are good. Regarding the foods, for Muslims who have to eat halal food, there is this restaurant really near to the Roma Termini station that sells halal and very yummy and delicious foods.

6. Purchase your tickets online. Sometimes they offer discounted price tickets or Rome pass that could get you into many different attractions in cheaper cost.

Let’s go and travel to Rome!

Jan 01, 2016

Belajar Berumah Tangga dari Negeri Seberang

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First of all, pardon my language karena sudah lama sekali tidak menulis dalam bahasa Indonesia. Tulisan ini akan menggunakan bahasa yang lebih santai dan tidak formal, anggap saja seperti saya berbicara.

Anyway, sebenarnya hanya ingin sharing sih tenang rumah tangga. Walaupun saya adalah newbie di ranah ini, tapi boleh lah yaa sekedar curcol-curcol dan menyampaikan opini. Jadi, 3 bulan terakhir ini adalah periode terpanjang saya dan suami hidup bersama.

Walaupun sudah lebih dari 1 tahun menikah, kami awalnya hidup terpisah dan mengalami LDM – Long Distance Marriage. Well, setiap kondisi hidup memiliki ujiannya masing-masing, kan? We’ve succeeded going through that phase. Lalu kami harus berpindah ribuan kilometer jauhnya dari ‘rumah’ kami. A fresh start for us to build a new life. Disini, di tanah rantau di negeri orang ini, kami mulai benar-benar berumah tangga.

Beberapa tahun lalu, saya adalah pengamat. Saya tinggal di negara asing dan mengamati keluarga-keluarga Indonesia, yang boleh dibilang anti-mainstream. Kenapa? Karena kehidupan berumah tangga disini, walaupun dari sisi pengamat, memang berbeda dengan apa yang dianggap ‘normal’ di Indonesia. Yang jelas, hasil pengamatan saya saat itu membuat saya kagum. Di keluarga pelajar Indonesia, saya tidak melihat ada perilaku klise ‘ayah bekerja dan ibu memasak’. Yang ada, ‘ayah dan ibu bekerja dan keduanya juga memasak bersama’ dan karena salah satu atau salah dua dari ayah dan ibu adalah pelajar, maka mereka juga belajar. Sebagai contoh, sebuah keluarga yang cukup dekat dengan saya menunjukkan bagaimana pasangan suami istri dapat bekerja sama dengan baik. Sang suami setiap hari ke kampus untuk belajar, meninggalkan istrinya yang harus mengantar anak dan kemudian bekerja paruh waktu. Siangnya, si istri yang sudah selesai bekerja harus menjemput anak. Apabila si istri bekerja lebih lama, maka suami harus menggantikan tugas menjemput anak. Lalu sorenya si istri – dan suami kalau sudah ada di rumah – memasak bersama sambil mengobrol. Kemudian mungkin malamnya mereka harus membersihkan rumah atau memasak pesanan makanan. Melihat kondisi ini, saya kagum karena kerja sama antara suami dan istri ini seperti well-oiled machine. Keduanya bekerja, keduanya berusaha tanpa mengesampingkan kewajiban dasar sebagai suami dan istri.

Dari hanya berperan sebagai pengamat, sekarang saya mengalaminya sendiri. Saya dan suami hidup berdua di negara yang jauh. Now, we call this place home. Karena kami baru berdua saja, semua memang lebih mudah, tidak se-hectic gambaran diatas. Tapi tetap saja hidup disini berbeda dengan di Indonesia. Tidak ada ‘mbak’ atau ‘bibi’ yang membantu, tidak ada juga warteg yang meringankan beban memasak. Semua harus dikerjakan sendiri. Disini, suami saya banyak menghabiskan waktu untuk belajar di kampus dan berorganisasi (iya, suami saya aktivis – nggak bisa diam maksudnyaa). Saya? Saya banyak berkegiatan dengan ibu-ibu warga Indonesia yang bermukim disini sambil melakukan usaha kecil-kecilan yang menghasilkan tambahan uang jajan. Kondisi ini membuat saya dan suami harus pintar-pintar membagi waktu dan pekerjaan sehingga hidup kami lancar. Kadang-kadang suami harus rela jajan diluar ketika saya terlambat bangun dan tidak sempat menyiapkan bekal. Kadang-kadang juga saya harus bangun hingga larut malam menunggu suami pulang dari rapat organisasinya. Untungnya, kami memahami posisi masing-masing dan menghargai pasangan kami sebagai individu. Saya tidak harus diam di rumah menunggu suami saya pulang karena kata suami saya ‘Kalau kamu dirumah terus dan nggak bersosialisasi, kamu nggak akan jadi diri kamu sendiri dan nggak akan jadi diri kamu yang aku suka’. Beberapa kali saya membantu suami saya belajar dan kemarin, saat banyak pekerjaan menumpuk, suami saya menyuapi saya saat bekerja. Mungkin kami memang belum di tahap well-oiled machine, but we’re getting there.

Seringkali saya berdiskusi dengan suami. Mungkin kalau tidak tinggal disini, kami tidak akan seperti ini ya? Mungkin saya tidak akan belajar macam-macam resep masakan. Mungkin suami saya tidak akan pernah bisa memasak. Mungkin kami tidak akan berlatih tentang kerja sama. Kondisi saat ini tentu jauh dibandingkan dengan keinginan kami sebelum menikah. Suami saya ingin istri yang tinggal di rumah dan mengurus anak-anak. Kerja dan kegiatan lain diperbolehkan asal hanya menghabiskan sedikit saja waktu di luar rumah. Suami saya akan bekerja, pergi pagi pulang malam. Kenyataannyaa? Jauh ya dari mimpi kami.

Tapi dengan begini kami belajar bahwa idealisme akan kalah dengan realita. How to cope with the reality is what important. Kami belajar bahwa intinya dalam berumah tangga kami harus bekerja sama dan saling mendukung. Masih ada beberapa bulan lagi untuk melatih kebiasaan baik tersebut dan semoga sampai di Indonesia nanti kami masih akan terus menerapkannya!

Dec 09, 2015

Crossing Path

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We cross path with people we meet during our life. I crossed path with my husband when we were still in elementary school. We were just acquaintance until we became friend years later, when we were in junior high school. We walked the same path but then we moved to different directions. I was here, he was there. I am sure that we were in a very opposite side of the world. I may not be his type; he was definitely not my type.

Then, we crossed path again. We communicated with each other and found the similarities between us. Funny how people can feel very close even when they are so far away, right? It was indeed funny how we could connect although we spent years apart. After that we met again, and again and again.

Now here we are, walking on the same path; hopefully not for a short crossing path, but forever and ever.

Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/ryantoanugroho/

Nov 19, 2015