Bangkok - Pattaya (ThrowBack March 2014)

Well, I am telling you here now about Our last vacation in Bangkok, Thailand.

I visited Thailand in the middle of March 2014 with all my work-mates from Bali. We spent 4 days for traveling around the capital side. This country anyway is so much popular or one of the hottest destination in the world. The people who knows Thailand i admitted are bigger than my country, Indonesia. Even, I personally think that we actually have more stuffs to offer.

I was curious why this country has a significant enhancement in terms of Tourists arrival.
According to PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) surprisingly reported that from the total of 97 million tourists visiting Asia in 2013, 26.5 million visited Thailand. Malaysia at the second position with 26.3 million, and Singapore at the 3rd post with 15,6 million tourists arrival.

My beloved country Indonesia at 4th with a number of 8.3 million tourists. I saw a huge difference between Thailand & Indonesia, Even though we have so many tourist destination to be promoted than Thailand's.

Thailand is also predicted to have an uplift around 27.5 % each year in 2014 until 2018.

I traveled to Thailand and as usual, we used local travel agency to arrange our tour, we did this both to get cheaper rate & travel efficiency, Luckily my colleague have her own partner in Thailand so we got special agent rate from them. At the same time, we thanked AirAsia for giving us their best deal. "Now everyone can fly", and Yes we're a part of them. Thanks a lot!

Ok, I had 4 Days in Bangkok. I felt less impression actually but also received some "new & interesting" things that I haven't found in Indonesia.

This is The Thai girl who welcomed us at the Airport with her garlands on hands:

Thai Girl welcoming at the Airport

I didn't complaint about the welcome. But that Thai girl did not even speaks English. It was my first weird thing as I predicted many tourists arriving to this country would be difficult to communicate with the local, especially this Thai girl who are directly involved in their tourism sector.
I think, THIS WON'T HAPPEN IN INDONESIA!

Political Crisis in Thailand makes huge demonstration in Bangkok.

The Govt. flacks demonstrated everywhere in Bangkok, effected many things in the country.
But at that time, i didn't find any impact to our traveling. The mass probably understand how important tourist side for them. It was very good reaction i though!

Tuk Tuk Taxi in Thailand

This type of transport may differ in style :).
It's somewhat like motorcycle taxis, Tuk Tuks are usually used by residents for short distances. Fyi, Most of the Tuk tuk drivers make much of their money by taking tourists to a gem store, tailor shop, restaurant, etc (who tend to give 20-50 baht commissions for taking you there). And remember, We must negotiate the price before getting in.
For me, TUK TUK TAXI IS SIMILAR WITH JAKARTA'S BAJAJ.

Royal Grand Palace

This is Royal Grand Palace. I actually don't know more about this place, I visited there when the site was very full, crowded, numbers of tourists were here at the same time. The weather also felt very hot & humid, So I had a little bid 'uncomfortable" with myself.

Well, another weird things here were: The place lacked of local guide, It's difficult for me to find the local or the officers all around just to ask about this place. Moreover, The explanation on the site such a sign board or the patched script were written in Thai language, nearly all of them. I don't know why, though it's one of the most important stuff for every tourist.

Fyi, This Grand palace was the residence of the ancient Bangkok's King. I assumed it's more less like a KERATON in Indonesia?

"We were all on board!". Traditional boat for Wat Arun

The picture is our boat to reach Wat Arun. More exactly a traditional boat in Bangkok, daily operating along the famous Chao Phraya river.

Wat Arun is a Buddhist temple which is located on the edge of the Chao Phraya river. This temple aged around 200 years. Most of tourists and my friends also said This place is a MUST to visit, but be careful if you're getting in to the temple since the stairs are very steep. LOOK!!!

The steep stairs of Wat Arun

Herewith i posted some pictures we took during our trip in Bangkok + Pattaya : 

 

On the pictures: Henz, Deafry, Nova, Adrian, Lilla, Trie

Jakarta Tourism and Culture Office promotes tourism in Xiamen

The Tourism and Culture Office of Jakarta recently held an introduction meeting of its tourism resources in Xiamen. According to the meeting, the main goal was to encourage more Xiamen tourists to visit Jakarta. The city has added 800 special buses to loosen traffic pressure and 100 tourism buses to provide free services to tourists.

The Jakarta government is trying to cooperate more with Xiamen’s travel agencies. According to Xiamen China Travel Service, they will launch a 5-7 day Xiamen-Jakarta tour program that costs RMB 5,000 to RMB 7,000 per person, and they will add more travel routes in the near future.

XiamenAir opened a flight to Jakarta last year, and it will add a new flight departing from Tianjin, stopping in Xiamen, and finally arriving in Jakarta every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Jakarta is the capital and largest city in Indonesia, located in the northwest of the island of Java. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre and the most populous city not only in Indonesia but in all of Southeast Asia. 

Source & copied from: whatsonxiamen.com

Govt. is making serious efforts to promote marine tourism

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo says the government is continuing its efforts to promote marine tourism in areas across Indonesia, including Raja Ampat.

“The Indonesian government is making serious efforts to promote potential marine tourism in Raja Ampat, as a maritime conservation area, in a bid to develop the maritime economy,” he said as quoted by Antara in Raja Ampat, West Papua, on Sunday.

Sharif said local communities in Raja Ampat had reaped a lot of benefits since it was declared a national maritime conservation area.

The minister further said the marine tourism development in Raja Ampat had improved the economy of people living not only in West Papua but also in its surrounding areas. “This has eventually increased people’s awareness of preserving maritime areas from damaging acts such as blast fishing,” said Sharif.

With such a great local contribution, he said, it was hoped that the coverage of Raja Ampat’s conservation area would continue to expand from the current 1.1 million hectares.

Raja Ampat hosted Sail Indonesia, which ran from Aug.17 to Aug.23, with participants from countries across the globe, including Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Netherlands, the Philippines and the US.

To develop Indonesia’s maritime economy, Sharif said, the government was preparing infrastructure and regulations, including a draft maritime law it was due to ratify in September.

“The draft law regulates maritime resource management, which covers seven sectors, one of which is in the sector of marine tourism,” said Sharif.

Source & re-written from: TheJakartaPost

Ceritanya Jalan-jalan di Singapura

Ini salah satu pengalaman jalan-jalan ke luar negeri yang sangat- sangat 'luar biasa' :(. Lumayan berkesan sebab mendapatkan pengalaman2 menarik selama trip di negara tetangga kita ini. Durasi tour selama 3hari2malam yaitu dari 25 - 27 January 2013 cukup untuk berwisata di sini. Kami menginap di Fragrance Hotel Singapore. Lokasinya cukup bagus, Kamar hotel juga lumayan OK. At least bisa untuk rekomen teman2 yang short stay atau mungkin backpack ke Singapura.

Ini juga merupakan trip pertama ke Negara yang sering juga disebut sebagai "Kota Singa". 
Tiba di Bandara Intl Changi, sudah ditakjubkan dengan kemegahannya, fasilitas & suasana di Airport yang exclusive membuat kita merasa excited untuk segera menjelajah Negara yang dihuni sekitar 5 juta jiwa penduduk saja ini. 

Di Singapura terdiri dari berbagai entis, diantaranya: Etnis Melayu, China, India, keturunan Asia serta Kaukasoid.

Konon, Ini adalah satu-satunya negara maju yang paling terglobalisasi di dunia. Singapura juga dikenal sebagai pusat pengobatan dengan kecanggihan teknologi kedokteran, tempat menuntut ilmu dengan fasilitas pendidikan yang sangat baik, serta tempat tumbuhnya cabang dari segala jenis kantor super power dunia.
 
Tidak hanya itu, Singapura juga mengelola sektor pariwisatanya dengan baik, So, tak heran bahwa Singapura memiliki pertumbuhan ekonomi tercepat di dunia.

Well tak perlu panjang lebar karena saya yakin Kalian semua juga sudah pada tahu & sering berpergian ke Negara ini. Di bawah ini seperti biasa saya post beberapa gambar hasil jepretan saya & teman-teman selama berwisata/jalan-jalan di Singapura:

On the pictures: Henz, Deafry, Nova, Lilla, Trie

Lombok One Day Trip (Flashback 2012)

Liburan ke pulau tetangga Bali ini menjadi idaman semua orang, termasuk kita :).
Keberuntungan pun datang saat saya & teman2 dapat invitation untuk trial Cruise ke Pulau Lombok.

Walaupun cukup singkat, tapi moment perjalanan ini akan selalu kita ingat sampai kapanpun :).
Di bawah ini foto2 yang kita dapat di Pulau yang juga disebut sebagai "Pulau seribu masjid" ini:

A Lombok Traditional welcome music

Our seats on board (Bounty Cruise Bali)

Before Boarding

Nice background at Gili Rengit, Lombok

At Malimbu Cliff, Lombok

Fyi, Pulau Lombok saat ini telah menjadi salah satu tempat wisata di Indonesia yang sedang naik daun baik dikalangan wisatawan lokal maupun turis asing. Banyak sekali tempat wisata di Lombok  yang indah dan menakjubkan mulai dari Gunung Rinjani hingga pantai-pantai Lombok yang eksotis dan masih terjaga keasriannya.Tempat2 rekomended yang harus dikunjungi adalah: Pantai Senggigi, Batu Bolong, Batu Layar, Pulau Gili, Pulau Sekotong, Taman Narmada, Gili Nanggu, Sindang Gile Waterfall, Pantai Kuta, Dan tentunya Gunung Rinjani.

So come and visit Lombok RIGHT NOW !!!

On the pictures: Henz & Nova

Welcome to Google Street View, Indonesia

Google launched Street View in Indonesia on Thursday, allowing users to see panoramic cityscapes and underwater views of the country's striking coral reefs.

With a population of nearly 250 million, Indonesia is Google's biggest market in Asia thus far. The project was announced in partnership with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in 2012 and took two years to develop in an effort to boost tourism.

As Indonesia's Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Mari Pangestu explained the partnership with Google in 2012:

"Tourism is such an important contributor to Indonesia’s economy and with the help of features like Google Maps, we hope to promote sustainable tourism by giving people a whole new way to experience Indonesia," she said. "We believe this mapping technology will have many different uses —allowing tourists to check out hotels before arriving, make travel plans and arrange meeting points."

Street View is now up and running in Indonesia's four biggest cities: Jakarta, Bogor, Surabaya and Denpasar. Based on user feedback, the search giant may expand its service to other cities in the country.

The Street View expansion into Indonesia includes stunning views of underwater reefs at Komodo National Park, taken with special panoramic cameras as part of Google's ongoing partnership with Catlin Global Reef Record.

Google first launched underwater views through Street View Oceans last year, and most recently expanded its underwater imagery to the Florida Keys.

The company occasionally runs into privacy roadblocks when expanding to other countries, as it did in Greece. Because of this, it worked closely with Indonesian officials to launch the new project.
Google Street View is already operating in several Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore and Thailand. It's also available in more than 57 countries around the world.

Source & copied from: mashable.com by Kari Paul

Sanur Village Festival, Bali

 

The Sanur Village Festival (SVF) is being held from August 20-24, 2014, featuring traditional art and cultural performances and sport activities, Sanur Development Foundation (YPS) Chairperson Ida Bagus Gde Sidhartha recently stated here. 

Sidhartha elaborated that the festival has been held for the past nine years and has become an annual event that attracts local, domestic, and foreign tourists across the world. 

The festival showcases the tourist attractions of Sanur village, Denpasar, Bali. The cultural attraction becomes increasingly creative by the involvement of the Sanur villagers to promote their own tourism potential.

According to him, the motivation to preserve Sanur's heritage through the framework of the cultural festival is commendable.

Sidhartha remarked that the cultural art activities that sustain Sanur's tourism are strengthened by the villagers' concern for environemtal sustainability, and hence, it is the key reason behind the continuity of the festival every year.

He added that this event is the Sanur villagers celebration to improve the potential of their natural resources, art and culture, social dynamics and their creativity.

The SVF was an initiative by the villagers who wanted to play an active role in recovering Bali;s tourism industry after the Bali Bombing occurred in 2005.

Sanur is a coastal stretch of beach located in Denpasar city and is about 30 minutes drive from the Ngurah Rai International Airport. It has a beautiful coastline offering panoramic views besides the highest mountain in Bali, Gunung Agung (the great mountain).

The tourist attractions in Sanur are those related to its coastal potential. It has builts a unique traditonal and cultural heritage along the coastline. The villagers social life stands terstament to the fact that they have unified nature and culture.

Sanur is a pioneer in promoting tourism in Bali. Any motion cannot be separated by the spirit to preserve the traditions, which have been inherited from the ancestors. The SVF offers art and cultural performances, culinary, sports, community;s creativity, and ecotourism. The tourists can avail various activities such as yoga and water sports.

The ninth SVF themed "Morning of the World" emphasizes that Sanur is a representative of the world since it is an international tourism destination icon.

All visitors will be enthralled by the involvement of the locals in prayers and worship in everyday life. This social dynamics underlines the spirit of sanur from dawn until dusk.

In addition, Sanur offers stunning natural landscapes, abundant sunshine, and undulation waves along the coastal line.

With all these natural resources and the traditional art heritage, the SVF has become one of Bali's primary tourism events every year, Sidhartha added.

Source: TheBaliTimes

Indonesia chases Indian weddings

Shekhar Niyogi, reporting from IT&CM India, New Delhi, August 20, 2014

INDONESIA is stepping up its courtship of the Indian weddings market, with marketing efforts going beyond major cities and now extending to B2C. “We have embarked on B2B initiatives during our sales missions, which will continue, but we will also introduce a B2C interface to garner a larger number of visitors from India,” said Iyunu Masruroh, deputy director of international tourism promotion for Asia, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia. Trade initiatives include taking roadshows beyond metropolises to Tier 1 cities, fam trips, and offering links to DMCs who can offer ground and logistic services for groups and weddings. Iyunu said Indonesia is also working with Indian outbound tour group operators and wedding planners to that end. Alok Teng, director of LH Travels Bali, commented: “Currently Indonesia hosts about 30 Indian weddings (mostly in Bali), but more than half originate from the Indian expatriate community residing in the Middle East, Hong Kong or the UK. We are looking at attracting more wedding groups from India.” TTG Asia e-Daily understands that Indonesia will focus on promoting Bali for such destination weddings, as it is populated mostly by Hindus, making it a more suitable destination. Indian arrivals grew 18.9 per cent year-on-year in 1H2014, according to the tourism ministry. On the leisure front, Iyunu said: “We are trying to promote itineraries other than Bali, like Jakarta-Bandung and Bali-Jogjakarta-Solo for the Indian FIT.” Mahesh K Saharia, honorary consul of the Republic of Indonesia, added: “It is imperative that Garuda Indonesia should start a flight to New Delhi in 2015, not only to promote tourism but also to encourage trade between the two countries.” Source: TTGAsia

Jakarta Sightseeing #2 (National Monument)

The National Monument of Indonesia, atau lebih familiar kalo kita sebut "MONAS" - Monumen Nasional.

Tempat ini saya kunjungi di awal bulan Agustus ini, Hari-2 dari jalan-jalan di Jakarta, Sebelumnya kunjungan kita adalah ke Kota tua (The old batavia).

Di sela-sela kepentingan lainnya, saya sempatkan mampir di sini, Awalnya di malam pertama diajak teman ke sana, tapi karena sudah malam jadi kurang bagus kalau mau take picture atau berkeliling. So Esok harinya saya niatkan berangkat ke obyek wisata icon Jakarta ini.

Karena waktu yg saya punya tidak banyak, Saya hanya menyempatkan berfoto seperti gambar2 kita di bawah ini:

Seperti yang kita ketahui Monas ini merupakan icon kota Jakarta. Terletak di pusat kota Jakarta, menjadi tempat wisata dan pusat pendidikan yang menarik bagi warga Jakarta dan sekitarnya.

Setiap hari libur, Monas selalu dikunjungi banyak wisatawan. Di sini kita bisa menikmati banyak jenis wisata dan bahan pendidikan. Kita bisa menaiki monumen yang menjulang tinggi hingga ke puncak Monas. Dan juga dapat berolahraga bersama teman dan keluarga. Selain itu, kita juga bisa menikmati taman yang cukup indah dengan berbagai pepohonan yang rimbun dan asri di tengah Kota Jakarta. Wew!!!

Di bagian bawah Monas terdapat sebuah ruangan yang luas yaitu Museum Nasional. Museum ini menampilkan sejarah perjuangan Bangsa Indonesia lho. So sangat-sangat edukatif kan?

Selain tempatnya yang asri, strategis mudah dicapai, juga sangat bermanfaat. Very recommended lah!

Fyi,  Jam buka Monas adalah mulai dari jam 9.00 pagi s/d jam 16.00 sore. Take note! Ciao... :) 

Photo by: Henz & Adrian

A Bad Bargain

Tourism Leader Warns Bali Tourism is Discounting itself into a Second-tier Destination

While Bali has received many international awards recognizing it among the world's leading tourism destinations, many leaders in the tourism industry are increasingly concerned that Bali has become a "bargain destination" over the past 3-4 years.

The chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Association (GIPI), Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, warned that Bali's past success is no guarantee of its continued success. Moreover, he remains deeply concerned that Bali'sreputation may be on the downturn. 

Quoted by the Beritadewata.com, Wijaya said: "At this time a price war is underway, This has caused the hotels to sell rooms at cheap prices."

He said that the price war has had a lead-on effect on tourism transportation, tourism attractions, restaurants, art centers and the creative economy.

Wijaya reasons that Bali as on the best tourism destinations in the world should be boosting other sectors of the economy, when, in fact, the opposite is happening.

Comparing Bali to Malaysia as a tourism destination, Wijaya contends Indonesia is failing to compete. While Malaysia is able to attract 24 million foreign visitors each year, Indonesia only garners 8.8 million foreign tourists.

While Wijaya admits the battle is not merely for the total number of tourists who visit, but more for
the amount of money that foreign visitors spend. Because of this, the trend to sell accommodation cheaply is accompanied by a diminishing length-of-stay for visitors to Indonesia - now standing at 3-days at five and four star hotels. Three star hotels are recording stays of 4-5 days.

"In fact, in the past the length of stay for foreign tourists was 13-14 days. Now they stay for 3 to 5 days. The length of time is diminishing," explained Wijaya.

People visiting Bali are staying shorter periods of time and spending less money. Daily spends are down to US$80 as compared to former levels of $110 in daily spending per day.

Wijaya says this problem will only become more acute if the government in Bali allows more accommodation to be built.

Source: balidiscovery.com