When Autumn in Paris was the hardest since it was the first time, Spring in London were bearable and manageable in spite those hours of transits, we could say Winter in Tokyo was very much easier.
Knowing Langit had survived Paris and London, we were pretty confident with Tokyo and she turned out really nailed it. She enjoyed the food a lot, survived all day being outdoor with very little crankiness. We decided not to go to Disneyland because it was too expensive for her age. In spite of Disneyland, we decided to let her having a dose of playground everyday which we found a lot in Tokyo, unlike in London. We let her play for an hour, mingled with those Japanese toddlers. We even visited a large indoor playground near our apartment, not free of course and it was only for an hour.
Unlike Paris and London where buses were available for our itinerary, Tokyo has very limited choice. Not even once we took bus to go anywhere. So subway was the only choice and way to reach the train were very long with lots of stairs. We made her walk down the stairs on her own. It was slowing us down for sure, but that was fine. She enjoyed doing it alone. When the passage was too far, we let her to hop on her stroller again.
At this age, she had been to place I could never think of when I was her age. The hope that her steps could go further than her parents could take her to is surely high. Amin.
Tokyo domeUeno ParkMeji Jingu ShrineYoyogi ParkTokyo TowerShinjuku StationKorakuen Station Playground
The trip started when amazingly cheap ticket price offered by this airline.
I always start with some research with the question, “how cheap is cheap?”. For Jakarta-Tokyo, the normal price when you take FULL BOARD airlines is around 7-8 millions rupiahs. When the doctor talked to one of his Japanese colleague, he really surprised to hear the price we got for 3 pax of tickets while he had nearly such price for 1 ticket only.
I bold that full board airline because some low cost airline also offer the flight with very slight different compared to full board price yet with the facilities very less than the full board one. Going with full board airline is always a better choice for more than 5 hours destination.
As we had an early flight, we checked in safely without crowd, passed through immigration quickly and boarding on time. They were actually ready take off precisely at 6.45 am but it seemed they couldn’t avoid queuing for runway to take off. So, they just really took off at 7.10 am.
One of the perks of traveling with toddler : you beat the line even to those in bussiness class😀.
We had a very nice departure and return flight. Legroom was wide and I found out later that JAL won the best Economy Seat Award in 2017. Compared to Qatar Airways when we went to London last year, this one was surely more comfortable.
One of my best impressions was the non-stop service from the cabin crews. Along the 7 hours flights, they literally didn’t stop going back and forth offered something. Any kind of drinks or whatever it was. It was totally different than what we experienced with Turkish Airlines.
Their meals were pretty good for me. I rarely finished any on-board meals, but twice having those from this airline, I finished it clear and clean. They also had this snack that Langit really liked until I dropped my pride to ask for two other packs of the snack. They provided ice cream cup as dessert. Walls for departure flight and Haagen Daasz for return flight. Another indicator that the meal was quite good : Langit enjoyed it as well. Not only the ice cream.
For kids amenities, it’s just a standard one. Maybe because it was just a 7-hours flight. Langit get key-chain plane doll for departure flight and pensil case for return flight.
I was more than satisfied flying with this airline. I even considered to go with this again later, IF, we would take another long haul flight in the future.
JAL deserved at least 4.75 stars out of 5.
Why not 5 out of 5?
Their return cabin crews were not as impressive as the departure one.
Writing this from our tiny apartment in Bunkyo-ku. Seven days of Winter in Tokyo have reached the last night.
This city might be not as exciting as Paris for me, but two that move me are its food and people. They are both are genuinely nice.
Expensive? For me and my family, yes. This one even feels more expensive than Paris and London. The fact, it is more expensive for the transport and food.
Since we highly consider of eating, so the food here means proper one we had at restaurant. When it comes to food, we spent more lavishly than things.
Unfortunately, this city also offers those little things they sell in their cute little shops nearly everywhere we have been to and softly slowly emptying our walley because they’re too irresistible. When we think ‘ah, it’s only xxxx yen, just buy it’ then, those yen piled up and we happened to have to withdraw another amount of cash again. The thin line between cheap and expensive is totally unclear.
We loved exploring alleys. Seven days here, we found lots of hidden gems inside those alleys. Like a small shop around Ueno that sells made in Japan children clothes in a very affordable prices, a little shop around Korakuen that sells cute merchandises, too many to mention one by one!
The people. I couldn’t say much about them, but after talking with these people for a week,
can I say Japanese or Tokyo-san people number on qualities are kind and mindful? They always have other people in their mind. When they’re asked for help, they will help as much as they can. More than we could think of. They’re really kind by nature. More than Paris and London, I feel very safe in Tokyo.
Throw some pictures first before another closing post is coming.
The third days here and I could tell this city main attraction is the people. Their transportation system might be so confusing and less comfortable for traveler with toddler like us, their parks are not as good as Paris or London for me, but their people, in spite of their lacking in English, are truly genuine and might be one of the kindest ones in the world.
Honestly, I am not that sold to this city for the architecture and the feel. My medium to low expectation meets the reality. So, I am just enjoying some candy eyes view the city offers for the few first days.
First evening of arrival greeted by Langit SenjaTokyo Dome CarouselTokyo Dome CityAsakusa Sensoji TempleSensoji TempleUeno Park
The second English post in 2018 and it is dedicated to one of the most favorite topics and things to do. Another Ilana Tan Trip is coming. After Autumn in Paris 2016, Spring in London 2017, now it’s , Winter in Tokyo 2018. Well, actually, it’s quite late to call it winter, but it was still snowy at least till beginning of the March and since I don’t think I will survive the cold during January and February, and many other reasons, so March it is. A bit pushy, isn’t it?
Like previous trips, it started when crazily cheap full airboard airline promo with DIRECT FLIGHT was found. Even the low cost airline couldn’t beat the price offered by this one with all those benefits because LCC has that long hours of transit which I consider is quite useless and wasting time. When it comes to traveling abroad, full board airlines are always better choices. Also like those previous trips, after long and days of consideration, consultation, three paxes tickets were bought.
Thrice went abroad with my little family, it was never really being planned. They were desired of course. The want is there. Some people prefer when travel to some countries which needed a visa, they will make sure the visa is granted first, then issued the ticket, I almost always go for buying the tickets first. Ticket price is more costly than visa. So when the chance and courage are there, grab it fast is always a better choice.
Unlike Paris and London which had a very strong motive, Tokyo is not really like that. As an europe minded person, visiting Asia’s countries is not that tempting. Visited Singapore once, and never have any will to return. Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia are another story. They were once home for me. But, other than that, I have not enough strong will to visit the other countries. No matter how much I like watching korean dramas, visiting the country is almost not on the wish-list.
Tokyo was once considered last year when I found, yes, again, quite good deal tickets from another full board airline. The minus was it had a transit. For 7-hour destination, a transit is such a waste. But the price was quite agreeable.
So, cheap ticket was the main trigger (actually, I often feel like it is not me who finds the cheap tickets, they are the ones who find me😄😄). No matter how often I read and heard the beauty of Japan, the happy place Tokyo is, the heart is quite hard to be moved.
Another motive might be because of Ilana Tan. Since two previous trips had been done according to her book, so the third one would make it a nice serial trip.
When Paris was pretty high in expectation and excitement, London and other 2 cities were highly anticipated, Tokyo is low expectation with medium excitement. We have no specific places that we want to visit badly, for the first time we just feel like seeing what Tokyo offers to us.
Hopefully, the offer as good as what other people said about the city. Amin!
Setelah mengurus visa Schengen di TLS Contact tahun 2016, mengurus visa UK di VFS Kuningan City tahun 2017, tahun 2018 ini alhamdulillah dapet pengalaman baru lagi buat mengurus visa Jepang, kali ini di VFS Lotte Avenue.
Kalo dibandingin dengan dua visa sebelumnya, visa Jepang ini jadi keliatan gampang banget (beuh,sombongg). Formulir isian cuma dua lembar, kelengkapan dokumen ngga ribet, bikin perjanjian ngga perlu jauh-jauh hari, sampe saya sedikit lengah juga. Bikin bank statement dan ‘ngisi’ rekeningnya juga agak mepet.
Buat yang belum tau, mengurus visa jepang sekarang bukan lagi di keduataan besar Jepang di jalan Thamrin. Sejak 15 September 2017, pengurusan visa Jepang dilakukan melalui agen VFS Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC) di Lotte Avenue Kuningan lantai 4. Buat saya ini nilai plus banget. Lebih deket dan lebih ngga ribet.
Dokumen yang diperlukan kurang lebih sama dengan visa lainnya. Untuk visa single entry bisa disiapkan :
Paspor yang masih berlaku minimal 6 bulan (bahkan mereka TIDAK minta fotokopinya!)
Formulir aplikasi visa single entry (bisa diunduh dari website VFS)
Bukti pemesanan tiket pulang-pergi
Bukti pemesanan hotel
Itinerary selama di Jepang (ada formulir khusus sendiri yang bisa diunduh)
Fotokopi KTP
Fotokopi Kartu Keluarga (karena kami pergi bertiga)
Fotokopi akta kelahiran (kalo pergi sendiri, tapi saya sertain aja)
Bukti keuangan 3 bulan terakhir yang mencantumkan nama dan nomer rekening yang bersangkutan
Gampang banget kan?😁
Ngga perlu terjemahan ini itu kaya visa UK.
Isian formulirnya pun sederhana sekali. Dua lembar yang sangat menyenangkan, hehe. Untuk perjanjian penyerahan dokumen, ada dua pilihan ; bisa dengan perjanjian atau walk-in. Saya sebelumnya ngga tau kalo bisa walk-in, tapi ternyata banyak juga yang walk-in.
Counter pengurusan visanya banyak, jadi ngga usah khawatir nunggu lama. Untuk pembayarannya, sampai saat saya ke sana hanya bisa TUNAI. Saya sempat keluar lagi buat ke ATM karena saya pikir bisa debit. Harga visanya pun ngga semahal UK dan Schengen. Kemarin saya bayar Rp 1.605.000 untuk tiga orang termasuk biaya pemberitahuan via sms Rp 30.000. Lama pemrosesan visanya menurut websitenya empat hari kerja, menurut petugasnya lima hari.
Di hari keempat saya mulai gelisah ngecek email dan sms. Hari kelima ngga ada email atau sms mulai insecure. Ternyata kita bisa cek status aplikasi kita di webnya VFS. Tinggal masukin nomer referensi yang terdapat di kertas putih untuk pengambilan paspor dan nama belakangnya. Nanti akan keluar statusnya.
Waktu saya cek, hasilnya ternyata sudah ‘ready for collection’. Saya beberapa kali cek lagi email dan sms tetep ngga ada notifikasi dari VFS JVAC.
Berhubung orangnya ngga sabaran dan penasaran, besoknya langsung nyamperin dan ternyata emang udah selesai. Di akhir sebelum saya ninggalin loket saya sampein kalo saya udah bayar tambahan sekian rupiah untuk dapat notifikasi dan itu ngga ada. Bahkan email pun ngga ada. Saya ngga perlu uangnya balik, tapi mereka ngga bisa anggep lalu hal penting seperti itu. Orang berhak dapat hal yang sudah dibayar.
Visa single entry sudah duduk manis. Tinggal siap-siapnya yang bikin meringis.
Awal tahun lalu dimulai dengan menghabiskan banyak waktu dan energi untuk ngatur trip keluarga saya ke UK, tahun ini dimulai untuk ngatur trip keluarga suami ke Bali.
Bapak yang baru bener-bener pensiun akhir tahun kemarin pengen semua pergi bareng-bareng. Sebenernya maunya Lombok, tapi karena bawa dua anak kecil dan Bapak juga bukan tipe yang sering jalan makanya buat latihan awal coba Bali aja dulu.
Budget udah dikasih, tanggal udah ditetapkan. Masalah pesawat ngga terlalu susah ya karena pilihan banyak banget. Tinggal pilih sesuai kebutuhan dan kenyamanan.
Nah, untuk hotel buat saya yang agak tricky. Pak Dokter sempet bersikeras untuk nginep di Air Bnb karena pengalaman berapa kali pergi dan nyaman di Air Bnb. Saya juga seneng banget di Air BnB, tapii, buat yang kali ini saya lebih milih hotel.
Kenapa?
Traveling dengan banyak orang beda sama traveling dengan sedikit orang. Di Air BnB buat saya kita punya kewajiban buat ‘meninggalkan’ rumah dalam keadaan yang cukup baik. Jadi harus dibersihkan sendiri, dijaga jangan sampe barang-barangnya rusak dan sebagainya.
Dengan skuad travel dua anak kecil yang sukanya geratak, tiga laki-laki bersaudara yang jelas bersih-bersih dan beres-beres bukan hal yang pengen dikerjakan pada saat liburan, saya dengan tegas milih hotel adalah yang paling pas.
Beberapa sempet masuk kandidat dan semuanya jelas ambil deket pantai. Daerah Legian dan Seminyak yang dipilih. Beberapa hotel sempet masuk bursa calon sampe akhirnya saya milih yang emang pas yang sesuai budget dan kebutuhan.
Selama 3 hari 2 malem di Siesta Legian, buat saya harga yang dibayar sebanding dengan apa yang didapat. Saya nyusul di hari kedua, dan di hari pertama sebelum jam dua siang, sudah bisa cek-in. Saya pesan 1 kamar Interconnecting room yang terdiri dari dua kamar dan 1 kamar superior.
Untuk ukuran hotel bintang tiga, kamarnya cukup luas, kamar mandinya bersih, ada kulkas tanpa minibar, air mineral setiap hari dapat 2 botol, harga sudah termasuk sarapan. Sarapannya pun buat saya dan keluarga suami cukup enak. Bukan yang wah banget, tapi variasinya banyak, rasa pun bisa diterima.
Kolam renang ukuran kecil tersedia, buat anak ada kolam kecil yang lebih dangkal, ada trampolin dan playground sederhana dekat kolamnya.
Kalo mau sewa mobil, parkir tersedia gratis. Mereka juga punya basement kalo yang di atas penuh. Menurut saya, kami dateng di waktu yg pas. Hotelnya ngga terlalu penuh, jadi bisa sarapan dengan tenang. Ngga ada antri atau kehabisan. Hampir semua tamu yang saya ketemu waktu sarapan adalah rombongan keluarga kecil.
Untuk 3 hari 2 malam, kamar interconnecting yang bisa diisi empat orang dewasa dan satu anak (bapak, ibu, 2 adek ipar dan 1 anaknya) dan satu kamar superior buat keluarga saya, dengan fasilitas dan kondisi kamar yang ditawarkan, kasur yang nyaman, kamar mandi yang bersih, ada coffee tea maker dan kelengkapannya, kulkas, WIFI yang oke, lokasi yang cukup baik dan sesuai kebutuhan dan keinginan, harga tiga jutaan buat saya sangat sepadan.
Hari Senin kita pulang dengan pesawat pagi, saya konfirmasi ke resepsionisnya apa bisa minta sarapan awal. Sarapan baru siap pukul tujuh sedangkan pesawat kami jam 7.20. Solusinya mereka menawarkan disiapkan breakfast box. Bisa dipilih mau nasi goreng/mie goreng atau american breakfast yang terdiri dari roti, buah dan telor rebus. Air mineral dan buah juga termasuk.
Saya pesan lima pak nasi goreng dan satu american brekafast buat saya. Buat saya cukup oke ya. Bukan yang enak banget, tapi box sarapan saya sih habis. Nasi gorengnya menurut pak dokter juga oke. Langit ikut makan nasgor sama papanya di pesawat.
Dengan breakfast box ini, jatah sarapan yang sudah dibayar ngga hilang dan buat saya itu ide yang baik sekali.
Standar saya emang ngga tinggi sih. Permintaan dari Bapak sama Ibu yang penting semua ngumpul. Fokus saya gimana dengan budget yang dikasih bisa maksimal, tanpa ngorbanin kualitas, dan semua bisa happy.
Lokasi Siesta Legian bukan di pinggir jalan besar buat saya sih lebih oke ya. Lebih aman kalo bawa anak-anak. Dari masuk belokannya juga cuma sebentar. Ke pantai bisa jalan kaki sambil cuci mata di sepanjang jalan.
Pilihan makanan di sekitar hotel lumayan, kalo saya harus dipastikan ngga ada babi. Itu aja. Ngga akan ngebahas tempat makan karena emang ngga banyak yang kita coba.
Pergi sama anak dan orangtua ekspektasi harus rendah. Selama empat hari tiga malem, tempat yang dikunjungi bisa dibilang super dikit.
Hari pertama abis cek-in ke pantai sama makan yang saya ngga tau dimana karena belom sampe. Sabtu pagi ke Bali Zoo trus jempu saya ke bandara. Malemnya makan di Warung Indonesia di sekitar hotel. Hari Minggu ke Tanah Lot trus makan di Ayam Betutu Gilimanuk dan dilanjutkan ke Krisna. Malemnya saya usul ke Jimbaran dan usulan diterima. Makan malem terakhir berakhir di Menega Cafe.
Udah. Besok paginya udah cek out. Proses cek out juga ngga ribet, tinggal ngasih kunci selesai.
Buat saya hotel di Legian secara lokasi lebih baik ya dibandingkan hotel bintang tiga sejenis yang terletak di Sunset Road. Jadi dibandingkan dengan hotel-hotel bintang tiga atau empat yang lebih bernama di Sunset Road, Siesta Legian ini jelas lebih oke. Buat saya.
Bakal balik? Kalo dari harga dan fasilitas juga kebutuhan, bisa. Tapi kalo ada budget lebih dan mau experience lebih banyak, jelas akan lebih pilih tempat lain.
Foto-foto hotel ini banyak banget kalo dicari, jadi ngga perlu saya tambah lagi. Kondisi aktual sesuai kok dengan foto yang saya liat. Kecuali playgroundnya ya. Hanya kurang terawat aja. Tapi yang lainnya apa yang dilihat itu yang didapat.
Semoga bermanfaat!
PS : ngga ada hubungannya sama hotel ini tapi karena ngga ada postinga khusus jadi di sini aja. Ngga nyangka Langit bakal ngga suka pantai. Nangis minta pulang, kaki kena pasir minta tissue. Ckckck. Harus lebih sering.
Only few things could beat the beauty and serenity of Langit Senja
This month brings a lot of beautiful memories happened a year ago. Been looking at those pictures taken in the city that once had been dreaming for a long time.
Doing massive throwbacks in another platform is unavoidable. Autumn has been always the most favorite time to travel. Seven days having Autumn in Paris was one of the best trips of all time.
Looking back all those years of trying to make this happened, the failures, the emotional break-down, even the desperation to forget this dream because it felt too hard, too far. Too impossible.
It turned out the right time was just around the corner if the time had come. Unintentional action turned to be the key to unlock such big dream. Unintentional, but never a coincidence. I truly believe every single thing happen for a reason and invisible hand does exist to do something beyond an ordinary human calculation.
So, some pictures to reminisce the great time spent in the city, shall we? Inside the Grand Mosque de Paris
The first glimpse of the lady right after stepping down from the busJardin des Tuilleries in a sunny autumnSkipping such line because of the little girl. The perks of traveling with kids.
Champ de Mars
The famous SeineUnder and inside the glass pyramidPont D’Iena and La Defense taken from Eiffel Carousel
I don’t know why I couldn’t do the editing on the pictures to write the captions so I just wrote it manually.It was fine before. Nevertheless, keep going to post these baby’s faces during the trip.
Trafalgar Square
St James Park
Manchester Piccadily Station
Anfield Stadium Tour, Liverpool
Old Trafford, Manchester
Manchester’s Air BnB
Sleeping at Vimto Park, Manchester
Ice cream on a cold day in Udderlicious, Islington
Parliament Square, Westminster
St James Park
Kensington Garden Playground
Ready to go home, Heathrow Airport
Thank you for the hospitality, Union Jack. See you again next time!
Mistakenly clicked the trash button and the long-written-PUBLISHED post gone in an instant😢
Rewriting those long stories are too lazy, of course. But, after some time, I’ll need the writing to back up this forgetful brain, to cherish the happy moments in the future. So, here we go.
Day 6 : London
The sixth day agenda was another trip to city centre. Actually, it’s more to shopping centre. Both my sister and sister in-law asked to buy some clothers for their kids in Primark. So, the first stop is Primark Marble Arch.
It was quite lucky to arrive there when it was just opened at 9 am. There is a bus which go directly from our airbnb to Primark Marble Arch entrance door. I spent almost two hours looking for the orders. Really, it was totally not my happy place. So many people and crowded. But, it made sense. They offered such a good price for everything there. I couldn’t help buying something too for others. And myself too.
Wait, didn’t I say this was my unhappy place?😒😒
We spent half day strolling in Oxford street. From west to the east. I wanted to have the famous Shack Shake for dinner. The closest store was on Leicester Square.
Shack Shake was quite full during lunch time. I had to wait for some time until ours were ready. We were quite lucky to find four seats by the window during those crowded time. Their portobello mushroom and fries were good. Price was so so.
We continued walking to Trafalgar Square where we planned to meet my brother there. We wanted to retake the same picture as we did in 1994. It turned out Trafalgar Square held a Vaisakhi celebration that day. So, it was full by Hindunese culture, Indians people, food, music, and art.
I couldn’t really enjoy Trafalgar Square that time. Me and crowd would never be a good match. We went home after retook the picture.
Having a break on mid day was a very good idea. We did it in Paris and we enjoyed the afternoon trip more after recharging the energy at home.
We strolled around Angel Islington once again in the afternoon. I went back to the small book store to complete my Guess How Much I Love You Series. After that, I wanted to visit a kitchen ware shop which I had been eyeing everytime we rode on the bus. I needed new thermos since the old one was broken.
We found the shop and yes, the thermos was there. Happily buying the new thermos for £ 12. We continued walking until the bus stop. It was almost 7 pm and it was time to go home already.
Oxford Street CrowdThe trio apparated here from Bill and Fleur wedding when the dark mark appeared. If you know what I mean.Leicester SquareTrafalgar SquareAfternoon stroll in Angel Islington
Day 7 : London
The planned itinerary was going to Greenwich Park. The reality said no. Since it was the last day and some things were still missing, so off we went once again to Oxford street.
Since it was on Sunday, the stores opened as late as 11.30 am or 12.00 pm. So, we went to Regent Street then continued to Kensington Garden.
Kensington Garden was the favorite royal garden of the late Princess Diana. Some of its benches were written by messages for her. There was a small playground too and Langit was so happy.
When it was about the time, we went back to Oxford Street to find what we needed. In spite of the crowd, Primark is truly one stop shopping place where you can buy almost everything without went broke.
We had a plan to visit my brother’s place after done with the shopping hassles. We took the bus to Shoreditch and first stop would be Brick Lane Sunday market.
It was quite hard to believe that Brick Lane was the place that drew the biggest smile on this group of mine face. Both my father and the doctor kept telling this was the place they have been craving for. Crowded small alley with lots of good street food, street musician, second hand shop, a real market to shop. Different hype and vibe from Oxford and Regent street in a very pleasant way.
My brother’s place was within walking distance from Brick Lane market. He told us that his class mates, two of the closest ones wanted to say hello to us. So, after few minutes arrived in his place, his friends came and we had some conversations in the living room. It was good to know he really met nice people there. His british and japanese friends were very warm.
Another highlight of this trip occured when my brother introduced us to his host. An old British man who lived accross my brother’s room. After having some conversations for a while, he said something to my father that hit me hard.
“You should be proud of him. He’s very nice and most importantly, very polite. Young people these days are having less manners to older adults, but your son is exceptionally very polite. You must be very proud of him,”.
Damn.
I want those words too for myself some time in the future.
What could have been better knowing that you’ve done a great job raising your kids? Having those words spoken by a stranger, whose culture is quite different, who met your child only for few months, yet telling you such words above in a very sincere way.
In the end, through this trip, I had been reminded once again, it wasn’t your look, wealth, social status, intelligence, or whatever things that attached to yourself that matter the most. Manners and kindness are ones that win the people heart.
Arranged this trip was not easy. It took lots of time to research about this and that, countless reading, full attention to the smallest details, with the thought and hope my father would enjoy this trip. I guess it was fulfilled.
Having trip with your parent might not as free as when you travel with your own family only. But, for me, it was worth all my time spent to make this happened.
We won’t be here forever, and our parents won’t be around forever too. Spend more time with them, travel to some places, and we’ll find something more than just things we buy on the stores or good pictures we take to be displayed in our gallery.
I thank Allah endlessly for making this trip happened smoothly, without any unpleasant things during the trip.
I want more.
I want more.
(Later child, set your next priorities right first!).
Well, okay.
See you then, airports!
Kensington Garden
Kensington Garden
Last picture of the squad before heading back home
A Penny for My Pensieve 