travel – Wander and Explore

Turkey (Istanbul part 1) Ortakoy – Istiklal Street – Pierre Lotti

Published on 11th Aug 202111th Aug 2021 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

If we are talking about Istanbul, we are talking about the largest City in Turkey. It is divided into two parts, the European side and the Asian Side. When we visited Turkey last October, we only visited the European side. Hopefully, once we go back there next time, we can explore more.

Ortakoy Village

After breakfast at the hotel, we went directly to Ortakoy. Ortakoy was a cosmopolitan area during the Ottoman era and in the first decade of the Turkish Republic. To this day, the neighborhood still hosts many different religious structures. It’s also a good place to stop for tea or coffee time. Coffeehouses and tea terraces overlooking the seaside next to the mosque now as they have for centuries and are one of Ortakoy’s prime attractions. From there you can also get a super amazing overlook view of the Bosphorus bridge. Ortakoy Mosque is also one of the attractions you can visit. With an elegant architecture, Ortakoy Mosque is one of the most beautiful mosques in Istanbul. It was built in the 19th century and gives an impression of standing on the water.

How to get there? It’s easy to access from anywhere. If you stay at Sultanahmet, you can use tramway (T1) in front of sultanahmet to go to kabatas. In kabatas station, there’s a bus station that goes to Ortakoy every 5 minutes. Public Bus Line 22, 22RE and 25E from Kabatas Or if you want, grab a meter taxi to get there.

We tried two different options of food that a lot of sellers had offered there, waffle and kumpir. Kumpir is Turkey’s traditional food, a baked potato filled with ingredients such as olives, meats, corn, cheese, etc. You can add ketchup and mayonnaise too if you like. In our opinion, it’s super yum!

Kumpir with sausage, cheese, corn with ketchup and mayonnaise

Taksim Square/Istiklal Street

Next destination is Istiklal Street next to the Taksim Square. This place is a must visit for all travelers in Istanbul. Istiklal Street means “Independence Avenue” and is a 1,5 km long colorful pedestrian street and grand boulevard full of all kinds of shops, restaurants, cafes and street shows.

How to get there? If you stay at Sultanahmet, the easiest way is by the tram. Take the tram at sultanahmet square to Kabatas tram station, get off, go across the street, go down to the METRO station and take the funicular to Taksim. Istiklal is off Taksim square. The old tunnel tram stops at Taksim Square. You can take that down Istiklal Street.

There are many things you can do in Istiklal Street. Shopping branded stuff (people say it’s not too recommended since it’s a touristy area, you might end up getting charged on a higher price), Chit Chat with friends at the bar/café while sipping your coffee or even wine, ride an old tram, visit Madame Tussauds, visit historical sites like Tunnel Square, Church of Holy Trinity, ST. Antoine of Padua Church, or you can just take pictures for your Instagram feed.

The Flower Passage is a famous historical arcade in Istiklal Street containing many cafes, restaurants and wineries. After the Russian revolution of 1917, many formerly wealthy Russian women sold flowers here. That was how this place was originally named. You can enjoy this area either by strolling through on a leisurely journey through Istiklal Street or by sitting and enjoying a meal or a beverage under its domed roof.

Pierre Lotti

Our last stop before going back to the Hotel was Pierre Lotti Hill. Pierre Lotti offers a spectacular panoramic view. You can enjoy the panoramic view while having a tea at one of the rustic teahouses and restaurants up here.

How to get there? Take a bus or ferry from Eminönü to Eyüp, then take the cable car near Eyüp port to the top. You can also wander past the Eyüp mosque and go up through an old Ottoman cemetery. Alcohol is forbidden there due to the close proximity to Eyüp mosque.

Cable Car to Pierre Lotti

The View

After all those places, we came back to the Hotel for Dinner and rested. We will share another Istanbul Story soon.

xoxo

Day Tour to Ankara

Published on 19th Jul 202123rd Jul 2021 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

Our plan for the last destination, before everyone else on the tour went back to Indonesia, was to visit and spend a couple of days in Istanbul. From Cappadocia, it took about 8 hours of driving by bus and before we had arrived in Istanbul there were 2 places we had visited, Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) and Anitkabir in Ankarra.

Location and what to see at Lake Tuz

Tuz Gölü

Lake Tuz, (in Tuskish: Tuz Golu) or sometimes called Pink Lake, is located near Aksaray and is about an hour drive from Cappadocia. This lake is the second biggest lake in Turkey. During most of the year, it is very shallow (approximately 0.4 m (1 ft)). The salt mining generates industrial activity in the region. Lake Tuz was declared a specially protected area, including all of the lake surface and surrounding waterbeds and also some of the important neighboring steppe areas. The main Turkish breeding colony of greater flamingo, (Phoenicopterus roseus) is present on a group of islands in the southern part of the lake. For your information, the salt that extracted from the lake is exported to more than 60 countries, which really supports the economy in this region. Once you arrive and enter the area, you will find a store that sells souvenirs and, of course, they also sell products made from salt such as bath soap, bath salt, etc.

Bad hair day + strong wind = disaster picture xD

We met a crazy doggo here that tried to stole our attention.

Location and what to see at Anitkabir

From Lake Tuz we continued our journey to Ankara. About 5 hours later we arrived at Anitkabir. Anitkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War Independence Day and the first President of the Republic of Turkey. The site is also the final resting place of Ismet Inonu, the second President of Turkey who was interred there after he died in 1973. His tomb faces the Atatürk Mausoleum, on the opposite side of the Ceremonial Ground. You enter the mausoleum through huge brass doors. Don’t forget to remove your hat out of respect (a guard will remind you if you forget to do so).

Don’t miss the chance to see the changing guards of the soldiers, which involves a lot of goose-stepping, loud stomping about and yelling of ceremonial orders. The Anıtkabir is open every day from 09:00 to 17:00 (til 16:00 in winter). The museum closes for lunch from 12:00 to 13:00. Admission fee is free.

Our next destination was Istanbul. Unfortunately, we had arrived in the evening around 8 pm at Hotel Golden Way Giyimkent and we were too tired to hang out somewhere else so we decided to just stay in the hotel and watch netflix before we slept.

Once Upon a Time in Turkey (Cappadocia)

Published on 9th Jan 20219th Jan 2021 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

Cappadocia has been in our travel bucket list for so long. We finally had the chance to visit this year. It took 10 hours of driving from our previous destination, Selcuk Izmir. We Arrived a bit late at night around 10 pm so we couldn’t see much at that time. We checked in at the Hotel called Alp Stone Concept Hotel, located in Avanos Cappadocia. Originally, we wanted to stay at the cave hotel in Goreme but we needed to follow the other participants so we stayed in there instead. The hotel was okay, had a lot of cave-like features and was located not too far from the main attractions we were about to visit so we were happy with that.

We didn’t have it in our budget to ride a hot air balloon. Our budget was going to be used for accommodation and food for another week in Turkey. We can always visit again in the future so skipping the hot air balloon for now was fine for us. Ayu is afraid of heights anyway and wasn’t easy to convince her to ride it hahaha. Even though we weren’t going to ride it, we planned to wake up in the morning to catch up with the magical view when the balloons started to fly. So at 6 am in the morning we, and two other friends, called the Taxi from the hotel to take us to Goreme, it took only 5 minutes to get there. We only needed to pay TL 75 for the taxi and the driver also waited for us for around 45 minutes. It was a pretty good deal.

As you can imagine, the view was beautiful. Hundreds of hot air balloons were flying. We might not be able to show you the best pictures for now since we weren’t taking pictures from up above but we were still able to take beautiful pictures. 😊

Hot air balloons in Cappadocia

In the afternoon, the itinerary was to visited Pigeon Valley and Uchisar Castle and later, before going back to the hotel, we visited the Underground City. In just about 10 minutes from our hotel, we arrived at Pigeon Valley. It earned its name from the countless man made dovecotes (Pigeon Houses) that have been carved into the soft volcanic tuff. The valley is located between Goreme and Uchisar. There was a little souvenir shop if you wanted to buy small gifts to bring home.

The view from Pigeon Valley

Pigeon Valley from above
source: Mr. Danny’s drone 😁

After a couple of shots in Pigeon Valley, we continued our journey to the next stop, Uchisar. Uçhisar, which is situated on the edge of Goreme National Park, is dominated by a 60-metre-high castle mountain. It is visible over a wide distance and has the form of a large cylindrical tower. The top of the Uchisar Castle provides a magnificent panorama of the surrounding area. It served as residential areas in Byzantine times. Originally, around 1,000 people lived in the castle but it is no longer inhabited today. The landscape is also marked by the fairy chimney scattered through it. The fairy chimneys of Uchisar were hollowed out and used as graves during the Roman period.

After spending time in Uchisar, we drove to the Underground City. Built to protect the ancient inhabitants, the underground cities allowed thousands of people to live their lives in total secrecy. It is believed that the underground cities were initially built by the Phrygians during the 8^th through 7^th centuries BC, who carved their living spaces into the region’s soft volcanic rock. Later on, during the Roman era and the replacement of the Phrygian language with Greek, then Christian inhabitants continued to work on the underground cities adding their own cultural and religious necessities such as chapels and Greek inscriptions. They continued to protect their citizens around 14^th century when Christians needed a protection from the threat of the Mongolians during the assaults, and once again during the Ottoman era. Even during the 20^th century, the caves allowed for people to save themselves from the Ottoman Empire until about 1923. The underground cities were completely abandoned and then not rediscovered until 1963, when a resident found a strange room behind a wall inside his house.

There are 36 underground cities in Cappadocia and the biggest ones that you can visit are Kaymakkali and Derinkuyu, but during the pandemic, many underground cities are temporarily closed to the public. So we could only visit a smaller one that only had three floors. It contained stables at the first floor, the second floor was for the churches and the baptism area. The third floor contained most of the storage and resources in the underground compound and also held other important things such as wine or oil presses, and kitchens. At the exit gate of the city, there was a small shop that sold gifts and souvenirs.

Once we were done exploring the underground city, we went back to the hotel to rest so we could continue our journey on the next day visiting the ceramic factory and Ankara before we finally departed to Istanbul.

To be continued..

Once Upon a Time in Turkey Part 2(Ephesus – Pamukkale – Hierapolis)

Published on 7th Dec 20202nd Jan 2021 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

On the second day, after we had breakfast and took some pictures at our first Hotel in Izmir, we checked out and headed to the leather factory in Selcuk. Selcuk is one of the cities in the Izmir province. It only took about 15 minutes to reach from our first hotel. Izmir is famous for the quality of it’s leather. According to the manager at the leather factory, in the Greek era, Izmir didn’t obtain paper supplies from Egypt so the people needed to think of an alternative. Animal leather was their solution. That was the history of the establishment of the leather factory in Izmir.

In the leather factory called Kobakko, they would hold a private fashion show for every group that came to their factory. Sometimes they would invite you to join to their fashion show with all their gorgeous models, hahaha. The quality of their leather is really good, you will get a lifetime guarantee if you buy their collection. Although, their normal price is high at about $1000 – $7000 depending on the model and material. They will give you discounts up to 70% but if you still think it’s not in your budget, no harm trying to negotiate a bit lower :). Oh they also have an orange garden outside. If you want to, they will let you to pick some oranges for free!

One of our group tour participant join the fashion show

*Another group tour participant join the fashion show*

After shopping-time was done, we headed to Ephesus. Ephesus is an ancient Greek city on the coast of Kusadasi which is three kilometres southwest of present-day Selcuk in Izmir Province. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former by Attic and Ionian Greek colonist. During the classical greek era, it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian league. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman empire in 129 BC.

The city was famous for its nearby Artemis Temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and famous for its library called Library of Celcus. There is also a theatre capable of holding 25,000 spectators. If you have the time and want to explore more, up in the hill there is a house that, in legend, is said was a house of the Virgin Mary. The house where she spent the last years of her life in Ephesus.

A lot of explanation and description signs are available for you to read and learn in Ephesus. Forget about the people who walk around you and walk around slowly. Imagine you are traveling back in time by listening to some classical Greek songs while reading those descriptions. Oh, watch your step! It could be slippery at some parts 🙂 and don’t forget to take some amazing pictures!

In the late afternoon, after we had lunch, we went to Pamukkale, which means Cotton Castle in Turkish. This area was declared as a World Heritage Site and is famous for its carbonate minerals that are left by the flowing thermal spring waters. The rich mineral waters attracted people to visit this area for thousand of years and was used as a Spa since the 2nd century BC. It is located in Turkey’s Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley.

The ancient Greek-Roman city of Hierapolis was built on top of it. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli. In the period of the Roman Empire, Hierapolis and its site were a health centre. Thousands of people used to come to the baths. Today’s Antique Pool that we called Cleopatra’s Pool was shaped by the earthquake which happened in the 7th century AD. The marble portico with Ionic arrangement fell into the spring during that earthquake.

I don’t think Turkish people know covid-19

We’ll continue again soon with the next destination..

With Love,

Jake and Ayu

Once Upon a Time in Turkey (Bursa)

Published on 30th Nov 202030th Nov 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

Traveling during the pandemic? It sounds crazy, but that’s what we did, despite the fact that there are many possibilities that we could get sick. Thankfully, everything went so smooth from making the plan until going back home. All we did was protect our selves by wearing masks, drink vitamin, tried to avoid the crowd if we can and the last was praying.

When we heard that Turkey was finally reopened for many countries except for American and Indonesian, we were really stressed. Originally we were going to reunite in April 2020, Jake was about to go to Bali, spend the holiday about a month, but due to Covid-19 spreading out and becoming a pandemic, almost all countries had closed their borders and we needed to wait again. When Turkey was reopened, of course we were so excited but there was a hoax that was spread out too. There was news that American, Indonesian and some other nationalities are banned from coming to Turkey! Gosh, we were crying and asking why the situation has to be so hard? Finally, after doing some research and asking around here and there, we knew that it was just a hoax! Yay! 😆 We didn’t really know what the situation was out there, so we decided to join the tour group from Indonesia and Jake was able to join the group in Istanbul airport. The cost from Indonesia was about $ 1,200/pax all included (accommodation for 7 nights (4 stars hotels), full board, transportation, flights, guide fee and PCR test) that is so affordable!

Since the only airport that was operating for International flight at the moment was Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Ayu needed to book a flight from Bali to Jakarta and meet the group at the departure gate in terminal 3. We had to prepare our tickets and keep our distance with everyone in the airport and they also checked our rapid test (blood test is required for domestic flight). The boarding time was at 9.30 pm and the flight took 12 hours to reach Istanbul with Turkish airlines. Meanwhile, Jake had already arrived after it took hours of flights from North Carolina to Amsterdam and finally landed in Istanbul the night before. He spent the night in a nearby hotel before he met with the group at 5 am in the morning.

The flight wasn’t so bad. After the tiring 12 hours, we finally had landed in Istanbul. Phew! The airport was new, big and clean and had just finished constructed in October 2018, so all you see are fresh and new stuff. Anyway, for Indonesian travelers, it’s better to have your rupiahs exchanged into USD/Euro and exchange it into Turkish lira when you arrive in Turkey rather than having rupiahs exchanged into Turkish lira there because the rupiahs rate is bad in Turkey. The money exchange counter can be found at the arrival gate after the immigration. It’s actually not that much different between exchanging your money in the airport or in the city. If you don’t like that idea, you could just get the money from ATM machines instead. Of course your credit card is usable in Turkey but sometimes you need to have cash to buy souvenirs or snacks in small shop, so it’s better to prepare in advance.

We finally reunited! After almost a year of waiting since Covid-19 announced as a global pandemic and made almost all countries close their borders, we met again! Can’t believe it’s finally happened. 🙂

Ok, so.. after some hugs and laughs with tears, we started our journey with the group by Bus (there were only 15 people including us, the guide, tour leader and the driver. It was a small group. The tour leader told me in a normal situation, the participants were more than 20 persons each batch. In the global pandemic, not everyone could afford it and some are still concerned about the health conditions, the unknown situation out there and many other reasons so there were not that many people who wanted to join.

The first place is Bursa City. From Istanbul airport to Bursa it took about 2 hours to get there. Bursa city was the first capital of Ottoman Empire.

Just before we arrived at Bursa, we had brunch in a nearby restaurant and then we visited a souvenir shop called Munira. They were selling a lot of stuff from honey, Turkish soap, praying matt, saffron and, of course, Turkish delight. The price was quite expensive compared to other souvenir shops in Istanbul but the quality of their products were good. The shopkeeper also gave us explanations of some products that were mainly about honey, saffron and Turkish delights.

The shopkeeper gave us product explanation

The next stop was Grand Mosque Bursa, or in Turkish they call it Ulu Camii (which means great mosque). Grand mosque is the largest mosque in Bursa city. It was built in 1399 by the order of Sultan Beyazid I. It is well known for it’s decorative calligraphy and is even called a calligraphy museum.

Not too far from Grand Mosque there was Green Mosque, or Yesil Camii in Turkish. Green Mosque was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is Ayu’s favorite spot. The mosque vibes here were so peaceful with the outside area looking so neat and the architecture of Green Mosque being as impressive as it was. It was commissioned in 1412 by Sultan Mehmed I Celebi. Next to the mosque there is mausoleum called Green Tomb where Sultan Mehmed I was buried.

Bursa was one of the cities that were traversed by the silk route, which was why there were some shops selling silk nearby. If you don’t wanna buy anything, we recommend taking some instagrammable pictures instead since it gave us some options for cute picture-taking spots 🙂

Once everyone gathered back together, we continued our trip to Izmir, which was also where we spent our first night in Turkey. So.. to get there we rode another 4 hours on the bus 😂 Yeah, we know, that was a bit tiring but we had a lot of fun together. We were so excited for our second day in Turkey to spend time to explore in the Ephesus Ancient City and Pamukkale, the Cotton Castle. 🙂

To be continued..

Tabanan Trip

Published on 21st Nov 202030th Nov 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

I always wanted to go to another region in Bali, not only Canggu, Ubud, Seminyak and Kuta. One of my friends, Yudhi, suggested me to have a staycation in Tabanan, which is one of the regions in Bali. He was originally from there so he knows a bit more about where we can go and what to do there better than I do. Jatiluwih Rice Terrace was the main spot we visited. We also spent the night fairly close to there.

Jatiluwih Rice Terraces

If you only know about Tegalalang rice terraces in Ubud, Jatiluwih rice terraces are larger and in my opinion have a better scenery. Located just 10 minutes away from Tanah Lot, or about 1-1/2 hours from Canggu area, Jatiluwih rice terraces comprise over 600 hectares of rice fields following the flowing hillside topography of the Batukaru mountain range. Pointed as one of UNESCO World Heritages since the site has been able to maintain the local culture heritage in form of water irrigation system managed traditionally called by SUBAK. These are well-maintained since the 9th century.

You could do many things in the Jatiluwih rice terrace areas. From cycling, to jogging or just taking pictures like us! If you wanted to go here by motorbike or cars, parks are available but not many. Jatiluwih rice terraces are completed with the hygiene standard (wastafel and hand soap) and you still need to wear a face mask when you are around a crowd of people. Don’t forget to bring an umbrella if you come during a rainy season and watch your step, it could be slippery.

There are several cafes, restaurant and local warungs to visit if you feel hungry. The range of prices depends on the type of place, starting from IDR 30,000/pax for local warungs to IDR 150,000/pax for a fancier one. Choose your budget wisely or check tripadvisor before you come to have lunch. That is what I usually do 🙂

We spent the night in a Two Bedroom Pool Villa that I found in airbnb, called The Saren. It has an industrial minimalist concept that makes the bedroom look clean and comfortable. It’s basically a Two Unit of One Bedrooms in the first and second floors, which are separated by stairs outside. It’s more of a fit for a group of friends like us, a family with grown up kids or 2 couples who are traveling together. I don’t think it’s fit for a family with little kids since it doesn’t have direct access to each other’s room. It also sells as a separated room if you only book for One Bedroom instead of two. The rate was really affordable. $51/night and we got a private pool! You can book your stay from airbnb and if you are a first timer, you get a free $17 credit for your account 😀

We wanted to go to Pantai Nyanyi (Nyanyi Beach) which is located just 5 minutes of walking from our Hotel but due to the fact that we woke up late, lol, instead of going to the beach, we went to the sleeping buddha statue in Pupuan region. It’s a 1 hour of driving from our staycation place. That driving experience to reach it was insane! You are not only driving straight in a big street, but it was a winding road. We went left, right, left-right and I was about to throw up until finally we arrived! Yeah!

The statue located inside the Vihara Dharma Giri, a Buddhist temple in Pupuan, Tabanan. This temple is open to the public for free, however, visitors are expected to give donations to be used for the maintenance of the monastery. This applies to local and foreign tourists. Please keep in mind to wear something proper to the temple, no shorts and you must remove your footwear when you are in the temple grounds. In addition, you also have to use closed clothing from the waist down. However, for visitors who do not carry appropriate clothing, a cover cloth will be provided by the temple administrator. There are doggos around the temple too, they are sooo adorable. The temple was so quiet and so peaceful so try to come and visit 😊

I hope you like this post and I will try to be more productive and write more this month 😉. I wish the world will heal faster so everyone can travel again freely soon 😊

With love,

Ayu, xoxo

Singapore in 3 Days 2 Nights (Part 2)

Published on 14th Oct 202014th Oct 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

We had arrived in Singapore in the afternoon. First, we used the MRT to reach the hotel to check in and to place our luggage in the room before exploring the city and then we went straight to Singapore Art Science Museum, located in Marina Bay Sands. The area isn’t too big. There are some spots where you can explore and every month they have different exhibitions that you can visit.

Before we were back at the Hotel, we spent some time in Chinatown to buy some souvenirs to bring back home while enjoying the vibes and the crowds. Chinatown is also an instagrammable place to take pictures. If you want to eat cheap in Chinatown, it’s probably better to find a place that’s a bit in the corner since the cafes in the middle are really expensive. I made a mistake myself because I wanted to enjoy the crowds in the middle of Chinatown, but oh well… better to save your bucks somewhere else instead.

On the second day, our plan was to go to Universal Studio Singapore. We took a Grab Taxi to Sentosa to save time and arrive early so we could get breakfast before entering the park. We stayed and played until closing time! Jake really wanted to try Halloween Horror Night since our trip was in early October when the event had just started. But since it was his first time coming to USS I thought it’d be fine to skip this year’s Halloween Horror Night and come back next year. Of course, that was the plan until the pandemic had spread. Well… Now I wish we could have visited it at that time.

We were early!

There are not many options for low budget breakfasts in Sentosa but we had ordered some laksa and chicken wings with quite good portion before we started the day. The taste was okay and still affordable for us.

A must have picture at the Universal Studio😂

We bought the tickets for Universal Studio Singapore through Traveloka for IDR 1,400,000 or around SGD 140 for 2 pax. If you hate to wait for the long queues you can skip the regular lines by purchasing the express ticket in the venue. There weren’t many attractions we had rode. It was quite crowded and a bit rainy in the afternoon so some of the outdoor attractions needed to shut down for a while for safety reasons. We rode Revenge of the Mummy and had to queue for 2 hours! And then we rode Battlestar Galactica (which is my favorite one). We also rode Enchanted Airways, A Madagaskar Crate Adventure, Shrek 4D adventures and for the last, Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase 😆. You can check the complete list of attractions and events that they have in the website.

Battle Star Galactica

Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase

Not only could you ride and experience those attractions, but Universal Studio Singapore also completed with souvenir shops and cafes. Also, they had snack stalls around and many spots for selfies and to take pictures.

There are some events of street entertainment such as the dancing of penguin madagascar, the dance of sesame street, etc. You can check them from the map that you will get or you can just see the advertisement banners around.

With Bert, Count von Count and.. is that Elmo or Murray Monster??? 😆

After the very tiring afternoon in the park, we headed to Vivo City to catch the MRT to the city where we had dinner, we got Mala in food republic that tasted really good! Then we decided to go to Orchard Road to sight-see and see what we could find for our loved ones at home. And shopping for some stuff for ourselves too of course!. Lucky for us it wasn’t raining again that night, so we were able to walk back to the hotel and stay dry! Hahaha.

Finally, the last day before we went back to Bali in the evening. We went to Tiong Bahru to get breakfast. We wanted to try the famous French Cafe in Tiong Bahru that’s called Merci Marcel. The price was quite expensive but for the quality of the food, the taste and relaxing vibes that we got it was well worth it. The cons of the place is that the place is small so sometimes you need to wait in line to get in.

We took a stroll in the Tiong Bahru area and took the MRT to National Museum of Singapore. For me, the trip won’t be complete without a visit to the museum and to know the history behind the place that I visit.

Just on the other side of the road from National Museum of Singapore, there is a Historical Garden named Fort Canning Park. This place once sited the palaces of 14th century Kings and served as the Headquarters of the Far East Command Centre and British Army Barracks. The decision to surrender Singapore to the Japanese on 15 February 1942 was also made on the hill, in the Underground Far East Command Centre, commonly known as Battle Box. Nowadays, you can visit Battle Box as one of the museum spots in Singapore which is located inside the area of Fort Canning Park.

And one last time we walked back to the nearest MRT station to pickup our luggage from the hotel and fly back to Bali! I wish I could share more of our experience in Singapore but since it was already a year ago, I forgot some things that I wished I could share. Good thing is I’m trying to be productive and being active again while writing in the blog so hopefully I can share with you, hope that everybody can live normally and travel the world again!

Love,

Ayu & Jake

Sudalama Suites and Villa – Sanur, Bali

Published on 15th Mar 202015th Mar 2020 by wanderandexplore882 Comments

It’s been a while since we had much work and were able to do much. We can’t go anywhere too far since covid-19 spread everywhere so we need to be cautious, keep a clean hygiene and boost our immunity. Hopefully this situation will get better. On my last weekend, my friend and I decided to have a staycation in Sudamala Suites & Villa Sanur. It isn’t too far from our office. It’s only about 7 minutes driving.

If you are looking for a relaxing ambience, Sudamala Suites & Villa is all you need. It’s located in Jl. Sudamala No. 20, Sanur – Bali and only about a 10 minute walking distance to the beach. When you check in, the receptionist team will welcome you with a warmth hospitality and help you with the registration. When you finish getting checked in, and once you are settled in the room, they will serve you the welcome drink, it was ice cinnamon tea.

We had a nice stay in a One Bedroom Garden Suite. You might need to check their website for the latest promotion available. The room was spacious and really beautiful. Not only was it perfectly clean, but it also smelled good and relaxing. Just from entering the room, we had already felt the Balinese modern ambience. The Balinese door, the decoration inside and even the little things like a bed runner and cushion case had Balinese motives. The room itself had a semi outdoor shower and a powder room completed with a wardrobe corner.

We spent our time relaxing and venting next to the pool, something girls typically love to do. We also had the chance to try their food and beverages. Aside from the breakfast in the next morning, we ordered dinner from their restaurant which was really good. It was overall a very beautiful stay with an amazing service and delicious food! I truly enjoyed this place.

Keraman Suites – Ubud, Bali

Published on 23rd Feb 202024th Feb 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

In my previous post I shared about my staycation in Ubud, Bali. My friend and I wanted to have a calm vibe for the weekend and Ubud was the perfect choice. It’s not so far from where we live and is easy to explore by motorbike. If you are wondering where to stay in Ubud and if you have a tight budget but still want to have the perfect place to stay for your vacation, I have one recommendation for you.

Keraman Suites Ubud. It is located 10 minutes away from the centre of Ubud and 5 minutes away from the Tegalalang rice terrace. I found this place from airbnb. It has a really great value for money and you will have the whole suite all for yourself. The facilities inside are the TV with international channel, AC, a nice bathtub with hot & cold water, also includes the basic bath amenities like shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, sea salt and hair dryer. The best part of this place is, it’s surrounded by the rice field and every morning you will wake up with a breathtaking view that you will never forget.

When you check in, Mr. Putu, the staff from Keraman Suites, will escort you to your suite, then bring the welcome drinks for you. The welcome drinks are a traditional drink that similar with Jamu. It was an extract of cem-cem leaves mixed with lemon. The taste is soft, not too bitter and a bit sour and salty. The room isn’t huge, but has enough space for you to put your stuff and luggage. The flower decoration on the bed and the welcome letter made us feel special. You need to know that this place has no phone in the room, so you need to remember to ask for the staff’s phone number to be easier to get contact with the staff member if you need help. In the morning you’ll have 3 options of breakfast that you can order once a day. These options are Indonesian breakfast, American breakfast and Continental breakfast. For the Indonesian breakfast, like what we had, you will get fried rice, the choice of fresh juice or fruit platter and the choice of coffee or tea.

For the availability and the price, you may need to check the listing of Keraman Suites in airbnb. It was $40 USD in total when I stayed there. I have a discount voucher for first time users if you click on the link here: discount voucher, so don’t miss it! 😊

What to Do in Ubud for 2 days 1 night

Published on 20th Feb 202020th Feb 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

People love to celebrate Valentine’s day with their loved ones. Whether it being with their partner, lover, family or best friend. I really wanted to have a romantic candle light dinner like a normal couple would, but due to Jake and I not being a normal one, we couldn’t do that. Separated by continent is real challenging, but we know we can do it! Soon enough, we will write a post about our next vacation. That’s another story but right now I’m going to share about my staycation with my best friend in Ubud, Bali. The original plan was totally different. I had a plan for solo travelling to Singapore for 4 days but since the Corona virus has spread there, it was cancelled. I wish for the ones who have the disease to recover soon and the death cases to be minimized.

First thing’s first, when we had just arrived in Ubud, we had lunch in Seniman Coffee Studio. People usually just call it Seniman Coffee. Seniman means artist in Indonesia. I always wanted to visit this Coffee place since everyone was giving me recommendations. Yes, literally everyone! And after I tried it, I never regretted my decision to come here. Their coffee is great! I have gastric acid, so I need to be really careful on what I eat and drink, but the coffee from Seniman Coffee Studio wasn’t causing any reactions on my belly. They not only serve coffee, but also serve varieties of chocolate and tea from all around Indonesia. Don’t forget, if you are in the mood for a snack or proper food for your hungry belly, the Indonesian foods and the bread from their bakery are worth a try. It is located in central Ubud, only 500 meters from Ubud Palace. Adding this place into your Ubud itinerary is not at all a bad idea.

Right after our bellies were full, we went straight to Saraswati Temple. This temple is one of the most famous landmarks in Ubud. You can easily find the images of the place by the lotus pond and it’s water garden on the internet. This temple is dedicated for Saraswati Goddess, the Hindu deity of learning, literature and art. The temple itself, built in 1951, was initiated by the Prince of Ubud Cokorda Gede Agung Sukawati and designed by I Nyoman Lempad, the famous Balinese sculptor. Tourists are prohibited from entering the temple because it is only open for visitors who wish to pray. Most tourists are visiting Saraswati temple just to take photos. It is great for your instagram content because the background of the Balinese temple architecture with the lotus flower arrangements is very beautiful (although, it was not that great when I went there because the lotus flowers were not blooming at that time). Also, the combination of the temple gate and lotus pond architecture will make your pictures oh-so perfect. Oh, and don’t forget, you can see the Kecak Dance Performance at Saraswati Ubud Temple scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday, which starts at 19:30.

In the late afternoon, we checked into The Keraman Suites Ubud. I found this place from airbnb and everything about it was great! It was only $34/night in US dollars, so, not so expensive. The location is not too far from the Tegalalang rice terrace. Only 5 minutes away and around 10 minutes to the centre of Ubud by motorbike. You will get a super cozy wooden suite with a nice bathtub as a plus. Outside of your suite, you will see such an amazing view with a small gazebo for spending your day next to the swimming pool. From speaking to Pak Putu, a staff member, I learned that the Keraman Suites had just opened up a month ago.

Vacation isn’t complete without having a nice dinner with a nice view. (let’s call it an early dinner though, since we went there at 5 pm.) We were afraid of getting back to the place we were staying at too late because Ubud can be sooo dark at night. There is a cafe called Green Kubu that is only 5 minutes away from Keraman Suites and is famous for locals. It is common to see teenagers from all around Bali to be hanging out there. Price wasn’t expensive at all, only around IDR 100,000 for 2 pax. You can choose to sit on the bean bag chair, under the alang-alang roof or choose the seat surrounded by the vines. The food is fine and has a cheap price. There are many places with nice views there to take pictures for your instagram.

In the next morning we had our breakfast at 8.30 am, which was nice. It wasn’t too fancy but was yummy. There were only 3 breakfast options to choose from, the American breakfast, Indonesian breakfast and Continental Breakfast. We were in the mood for some fried rice so we chose the Indonesian breakfast. You can also choose between tea and coffee and also choose between juice and a fruit platter.

The last place we visited before we went back to Denpasar was The Cat Cafe Ubud which is located in Pengosekan. Don’t worry, it’s easy to find the location because you will see the big cat sign from faraway. They have about 15 cats that you can interact with and they are veeery cute and funny. They might look lazy but once you’re holding a cat snack, they will wake up and you will instantly be surrounded by them 😂. You only need to pay IDR 55,000 for 1 drink, which includes 1 cat snack. There are also some snacks for us humans as well 😂 but that is additional cost. This place is heaven on earth I must say 😍.

Love from Ubud,

XOXO