Vietnam eyes Indonesian market

Vietnam and Indonesia will launch more measures to improve tourism industry cooperation and two-way travel.

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism general director, Nguyen Van Tuan, told local media that officials would study the Indonesian tourism market in an effort to boost arrivals and cooperation.

“We will develop a promotional plan for 2015 onwards and focus on developing products to satisfy Indonesian tourist demands,” he said.

Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam, Mayerfas, said Indonesia would support Vietnam to promote its image in Indonesia as well as organise press trips to Vietnam.

“Vietnam also should further strengthen the information flow to the Indonesian travelling public on the nation’s attractions and its high level of safety and security for visitors.”

In addition, Vietnam should also open direct flights between Hanoi – Bali to attract Indonesian tourists, as well as a large number of international tourists to Bali who could extend their trips to Vietnam of there were nonstop services, he noted.

Vietnam Airlines operates direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, but Bali attracts by the largest number of leisure tourists.

In 2013, there were 70,390 Indonesians travelled to Vietnam, an increase of 15.7% year-on-year.

Source: ttrweekly.com

The most inspiring and memorable travel quotes

“A very wise quote is a spectacular waterfall.

When you see it, you feel its power!”

- Mehmet Murat Ildan

Who does not love a great quote whose purpose is to inspire and encourage you to be bold, take massive action and face any fear you may have? We all do :) The satisfaction you feel after achieving that which you desire is the best feeling ever!

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”
- Susan Sontag

“To travel is to live.”
- Hans Christian Andersen

“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life”
― Michael Palin

“Not all those who wander are lost.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
― St Augustine

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
― Lao Tzu

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ernest Hemingway

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
― Marcel Proust

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.”
― Rumi

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”
― Anaïs Nin

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
― Gustave Flaubert

“I read; I travel; I become”
― Derek Walcott

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”
― Pat Conroy

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
― Henry Miller

“Make voyages. Attempt them. There’s nothing else.”
― Tennessee Williams

“See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream.”
― Ray Bradbury

“When one is traveling, everything looks brighter and lovelier.”
― Catherynne M. Valente

“Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever.”
― Joe Abercrombie

“Only through travel can we know where we belong or not, where we are loved and where we are rejected.”
― Roman Payne

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
― Jawaharlal Nehru

“There is a kind of magicness about going far away and then coming back all changed.”
― Kate Douglas Wiggin

“The Wanderlust has got me… by the belly aching fire”
― Robert W. Service

“The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life.”
― Agnes Repplier

“Adventure is worthwhile.”
- Aristotle

“How many cities have revealed themselves to me in the marches I undertook in the pursuit of books!”
― Walter Benjamin

“It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way!”
― Penelope Riley

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate.”
― Pico Lyer

“The journey is the destination.”
― Dan Eldon

“Travellers understand, instinctively and by experience, that travel and adventure change and elongate time, even while navigating the deadlines of airline and train departures.”
― Paul Sheehan

“Anyone who needs more than one suitcase is a tourist, not a traveler”
― Ira Levin

“One must travel, to learn.”
― Mark Twain

“Roam abroad in the world, and take thy fill of its enjoyments before the day shall come when thou must quit it for good.”
― Saadi

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.”
― Hilaire Belloc

“A wise man travels to discover himself.”
― James Russell Lowell

“The great glory of travel, to me, is not just what I see that’s new to me in countries visited, but that in almost every one of them I change from an outsider looking in to an insider looking out.”
― Clara E. Laughlin

“Travel moulds a man, people mould his wisdom and experiences mould his LIFE…!”
- Suljit Lalwani

“The man who seeks to educate himself must first read and then travel in order to correct what he has learned.”
― Casanova

“The only true voyage of discovery is not to go to new places, but to have other eyes.”
― Marcel Proust

“Writing to support my traveling, and traveling to support my writing.”
― B.S. Wood

“I travel to be replenished with beauty, for travel makes the beauty of this world seem like a Christmas that never ends.”
― Carew Papritz

“To the tourist, travel is a means to an end; to the traveler, it’s an end in itself.”
― Marty Rubin

“Let’s go together and go to different places and see different things. It’ll be fun!”
― Togashi Yoshihiro

“I love getting lost on purpose”
― Lisa Desrochers

Travel, which is like a greater and a graver science, brings us back to ourselves.”
― Albert Camus

“Travel opens your mind as few other things do. It is its own form of hypnotism, and I am forever under its spell.”
― Libba Bray

“Never hesitate to go far away, beyond all seas, all frontiers, all countries, all beliefs.”
― Amin Maalouf

What is YOUR favorite quote?

Source: travellersoul76.com

The Tasty of Culiner Bali

Bali...ehm who doesn't know this beautiful island?! Some people believe that Bali is a country on it's own. Bali is a great place to escape to from every day stress and to have a relaxing vacation. You will never be bored to come back again and again! Beautiful white sandy beaches ... rice field ... great view ... also good food! When you visit here, don't forget to do a culinary trip ... to taste the unique traditional dishes from the Paradise Island. No need to worry about the cash because they have a good food from simple restaurant/warung to very high class restaurant. And of course with different kind of tastes ... depend which one you want to try. You want to taste local food or western? Name it! They have all!!

 

Here are some recommended Bali culinary places with local food you can try:

 

* Jimbaran's Grilled Fish (Ikan Bakar Jimbaran)

When you visit Bali, don't miss to go to Jimbaran. It is a fishing village and tourist resort in Bali, Indonesia. Located just at the south of Ngurah Rai International Airport, the beach is cluttered with seafood restaurants and some of the finest luxury hotels in the world.

 

Jimbaran is well-known as tourist's (both domestic and international) favourite place to enjoy the real taste of delicious Balinese grilled fish (ikan bakar). From Kuta/Nusa Dua/Legian are about 15 minutes, and 30 minutes from Denpasar. There are 3 areas where you can find seafood restaurants:

 

1. Jimbaran Bay/Muaya Beach Area 1

There are many seafood restaurants and cafes along Muaya's Beach to Four Seasons Hotel. Access to this area is from Jl. Raya Uluwatu, near Bali Intercontinental Hotel.

There are 2 favourite restaurants here Manega and Nyoman, therefore actually most of the restaurants here have same menu. Average price is above Rp. 50.000, - per portion per person. Usually contains if fish (you can choose type of the fish), prawn, squid, rice, vegetables and 3 different of sambal, including 'sambal mentah' Bali (Bali typical of raw sambal). If you want to eat lobster or crab, you need to pay extra ... which means more expensive. Thing that made Jimbaran Grilled fish is different is because all the fish is marinated with special spices and grilled over a fire of coconut husks (batok kelapa) rather than charcoal grilled. Make it very delicious! And you can enjoy it with the view of the beautiful beach and sunset!

 

2. Jimbaran Bay/Jimbaran Area 2

Located more toward north from Jimbaran area 1, this place was actually a former area for grilled fish restaurants before its expanded. To get here you can go to Jl. Pamelisan Agung, near Jimbaran Traditional market, then straight forward to the beach where you can park your vehicles. From here you can see restaurants and cafes in the left side. Menu and price is the same as Jimbaran area 1.

 

3. Jimbaran Bay/Kedonganan Area 3 

 It's located near Ngurah Rai Airport, north side of the Jimbaran Beach. Also many seafood restaurants here with same menu, but some have price lower than Rp. 50.000,- per portion. This area is also close with fish market Kedonganan where you can buy fresh fish from the fisherman. If you want to take home 'Ikan Bakar', they also offers you to grill it with special marinate just like in restaurants, also get some sambal. You only need to pay thousand rupiah per kilo of fish.

 

The best time to eat here is 'late afternoon', when you still can enjoy the beautiful blue sky, listen the sound of the waves, while waiting for the sunset. It's an unforgettable moment to see when the sun slowly disappears ... the sky turn into red ... and suddenly it's dark ... no more brightness ... only the reflection of the moon light on the water.

To create more romantic air, all restaurants in Jimbaran are using candles or small light ... great place for romantic dinner with your loved one!

 

Yet, don't forget to bring your camera to capture your unforgettable moments!!

   

* Bali Traditional Meals - Nasi Campur and Nasi Ayam Bali

Besides grilled fish or 'Ikan Bakar', other traditional meal, but 'Halal' yang can try when you are in Bali is 'Nasi Campur' and 'Nasi Ayam Bali'. Here are some recommended places:

 

1. Warung Wardhani, Jl. Yudistira Denpasar

This warung has been known for a long time, and become a favourite place for important people. The menu contains of plain rice (nasi putih), beef, satay, sambals and tasty vegetables.

 

2. Nasi Ayam Pantai Sanur

Sanur is approximately 10 km east from Denpasar. This beach is less crowded than Kuta. There are also many international hotels here like Hyatt Sanur, Sanur Beach hotel, Inna Grand Bali Beach, Mercure, etc. Not just hotels, here they also have some places for delicious Nasi Ayam such as Nasi Ayam Pantai, Jalan Segara Ayu, toward Segara Village Sanur. But if you come after 9 am, you probably won't be lucky to get the meal because the Nasi Campur is already sold out. So you must come early (before 9 am)!

 

There is other place, but not as crowded as Nasi Ayam Pantai is Warung Khrisna, at Jalan Kutat Lestari No. 4. It opens all day, but if you want to eat here better don't go after 15:00 because it might be sold out as well. It has one 1 menu; plain rice (nasi putih) with fried stranded chicken, vegetables and Bali sambal. Price is around Rp. 15.000, - per portion.

 

Do you like a fried fish? Then you should come to warung Ikan Goreng Mak Beng, Sanur, near Museum Le Majeur, in the end of Jalan Hang Tuah/Jalan Pantai (same road to Hotel Inna Grand Bali Beach. This place has been opened since 40 years ago and still full of guests until now. Not just a domestic guests, but also international tourist. 1 set menu contains of plain rice (nasi putih) with fried fish, fish soup, and sambal. Price is affordable.

 

3. Nasi Ayam Ubud area

When you go to Ubud area, don't forget to stop at Nasi Ayam Kedewatan, located at Kadewatan village, west of Ubud, across Kedewatan temple. From Denpasar it's about 45 minutes driving. Menu is just plain rice (nasi putih) with different kind of chicken either fried, grilled or dibetutu (its special way of Balinese to cook chicken)

 

4. Ayam Betutu - Gilimanuk

If you come to Bali with personal vehicle from Ketapang to Gilimanuk, before you go to Denpasar or Kuta, better you stop at the legendary warung selling Ayam Betutu Men Tempeh, Gilimanuk. It's located behind bus terminal.

But this place is not recommended for you who don't like spicy food because they serve it with very spicy sambal. I can sure you, it would make you sweating and watering mouth because is too hot!!

 

5. Bebek Bengil - Ubud

Better you don't miss this place when you come to Bali! Bebek Bengil Restaurant' at Jalan Hanoman, Padang Tegal, Ubud. They have a very delicious crispy duck, and of course it won't be complete without the famous Bali spicy sambal! For 1 portion main course Crispy Duck, the price is around Rp. 100.000,-. Just for Crispy Duck is around Rp. 60.000,-. Besides Crispy Duck, they have also other menus like Nasi Campur Bali, king prawn, mashed potato and Chicken breast.

Even the price is probably more expensive, you should try it sometimes. This restaurant is very famous among tourist, it serves great meals as well nice place for the guests to enjoy their food, even Mick Jegger and his ex-wife Bianca ever ate here.

Want to taste traditional meals from Singaraja? Just come to Nang Lecir restaurant at Jalan Ki Hajar Dewantara, Denpasar. They serve nasi campur with 'sudang lepet' (thin crispy fried fish) - originally from Singaraja.

 

Besides Balinese Traditional Meals, you can also enjoy other delicious meals from other regions. Here are some recommended lists:

 

1. Ayam Taliwang,

speciality from Lombok at Jalan Teuku Umar, Denpasar and Jalan Raya Kuta, Kuta area.

 

2. Masakan Jawa, with many immigrants from Java, it also influenced the growing of food business. Now there are some restaurants with Javanese Menu in Bali, such as:

 

* Makanan Sunda - Their speciality all kind of dishes from West Java. You can try Pawon Pasundan, Jalan Kediri, Tuban. Best menu are Nasi Timbel, gurame goreng, karedok, leunca. Other is Warung Sunda Kang Zanger at Jalan Raya Kuta, near Plaza Bali. Best menu is SATE Maranggi, beef satay with special marinate.

 

* Nasi Pecel Ibu Tinuk, at Jalan Raya Kuta and Jalan Kediri, both are at Kuta area. Another one is at Jalan Teuku Umar, Denpasar (near Citibank). To accompany your Nasi Pecel, you can choose different side dishes like gudeg (speciality from Yogjakarta), sambel goreng terong, goreng limpa, perkedel (potato croquettes),chicken opor, tumis kangkung, fried beef, etc.

 

* Nasi Pecel Madiun at Jalan Teuku Umar, Denpasar. Menu is similar with Nasi Pecel Ibu Tinuk.

 

* Rumah Makan Wong Solo, at Jalan Raya Kuta, Tuban and close to Jalan Muh. Yamin, Renon-Denpasar. Their menu is different kind of Javanese speciality such as Javanese Grilled Chicken, Fried Rice, Fried Noodle, gudeg, etc.

 

* Bebek Goreng ala Surabaya at Jalan Moch Yamin, Tanjung Bungkak-Denpasar. Their menu is just fried crispy duck with rice and spicy sambal.

 

* Nasi Uduk Kebon Kacang, speciality from Jakarta. You can find it at Kuta Galeria and Jalan Teuku Umar, Denpasar.

 

 

3. Masakan Indonesia, serve only Indonesian Food. You can try Warung Batavia, located at the top of Jalan Seminyak and Jalan Raya Kerobokan. Warung Batavia serves pre-cooked dishes in a nasi campur style set up. Batavia is the old name of Jakarta and this warung definitely leans away from the pedas (spicy) flavours to the manis (sweet) flavours. Open from 10am - 9pm. They have different kind of Indonesian menus.

Tips for driving safely in Bali

Transportation is always an important thing to think about when you are traveling. Different places have different driving cultures. Thus, when you are on the roads, knowing local rules can save you from a lot of trouble — accidentally running over a chicken, for example.

Such knowledge of road rules is very important, especially in places like Bali where there is inadequate public transportation for tourists.

Taking taxis all the time is very costly, whether for short trips to the supermarket or day-trips to tourist attractions.

Here are some tips compiled by The Jakarta Post Travel should you be looking at the option of renting a vehicle to travel around the island of Bali.

Driving documents

Although you might be excited about hitting the road as soon as possible, make sure you carefully check the vehicle that you are renting before making a deal. Make sure it is equipped with the necessary documents.

The standard registration requirement for vehicles in Indonesia is the vehicle registration certificate (STNK) that comes on blue or yellow paper, usually laminated. This is one of the two documents that the police will ask for if you are pulled over. The other one is a valid driving license; being a tourist in Bali does not relieve you from the obligation of having a license when driving.

The police in Bali occasionally hold raids on the streets to check that drivers are carrying these documents. If you don’t have an international license, you can apply for one at the police station on Jl. Gunung Sanghyang, Denpasar.

Vehicle condition
It is also a good idea to check on the condition of the vehicle that you are renting.

Tires and brakes are components that should check to ensure your vehicle will operate smoothly — you will need the vehicle to have good maneuvering ability to get through Bali’s unforgiving traffic.

Feel free to ask for a different option if you are not comfortable with the condition of the vehicle that you have been given.

Helmet or your wallet
Tom Cruise may have looked cool riding a bike wearing a sunglasses and letting the wind blow through his hair. However, doing that in Bali would land him a ticket. Not because of the sunglasses, but the absence of a helmet on his head.

Helmet are always provided with rental bikes; if you don’t value your life enough to put on a helmet, then you should be worried about your holiday budget being spent on fines from being pulled over by the police — they are very strict about this particular rule.

Peculiar signs
Indonesia uses traffic signs that are recognized worldwide, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to understand them on the road. Nevertheless, there are some rules that have exceptions, which you must know.

There are quite a number of one-way streets in Bali with red and white ‘do not enter’ traffic signs planted at both ends. Some of the said traffic signs also feature the words “kecuali sepeda motor”. This signifies that motorbikes are allowed to pass that particular one-way street even though they are traveling from the opposite direction. However, the words can vary from sign to sign; some will only state “kecuali motor”, or it can even be abbreviated to “kcl spd mtr”.

It is a similar situation at red-light intersections, where you can see signs stating “belok kiri jalan terus” below the traffic light. As Indonesia has a left-hand driving system, this notice means that you can keep going if you are planning on turning left on the intersection, regardless of the red light.

To honk or not to honk
You will immediately notice that Indonesian drivers can be quite trigger-happy when it comes to honking their car horns. Despite this generally being used to channel their road rage, there are actually some occasions where honking is considered acceptable.

One example is when you are coming into a turn with a blind spot, where you can’t see the oncoming traffic. It is also acceptable to sound your horn if you happen to pass a friend on the street.

However, you should never honk when there is a religious ceremony happening nearby. Balinese Hindu ceremonies often include parades on the street that can take up a whole lane, causing heavy traffic. But, no matter how bad traffic gets during this situation, do not sound your horn, as it is considered very disrespectful.

Tips on cars
Renting a car is a great choice if you plan on making a long trip around the island, especially if you are traveling with a big group. Most car rentals in Bali provide vehicles ranging from seven-seat family cars to minibuses that can carry 14 people.

Car rental businesses commonly offer self-driving packages, but it is better to pay extra for a driver if you are not familiar with the roads in Bali. Even though global positioning systems (GPS) and maps can help show you the way around, many of the tourist spots in Bali feature narrow routes that can be challenging even for seasoned drivers.

Source: aliatravel.net