The real noodle in Bandung: Mie Bakso Panghegar

My hometown, Bandung is very famous for its food. When it comes to noodle, Bandung is famous for its "Mie Yamin Bandung". It looks like chicken nodle or Mie Ayam in Jakarta. But Mie Yamin is more delicious compared to Mie Ayam, and I am not saying this because I come from Bandung :p

Where is the best place to have Mie Yamin Bandung? Of course there are several very famous places serving non-halal Mie Yamin. Mie Naripan is one of the famous name. But don't worry, there are also halal restaurant serving Mie Yamin. One of my favourite is RM Mie Baso Panghegar located on Jalan Holis Bandung. By the way Sundanese write "Baso" without "k" for meatballs, while in Bahasa Indonesia it should be written: "Bakso".

Rumah Makan Mie Baso Panghegar

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What To Do if You Have One Day Transit In Melbourne

After our 8 days holiday in New Zealand, we had to transit in Melbourne before flying back with Air Asia (Melbourne to Jakarta via Kuala Lumpur). We intended to visit Melbourne Zoo, and stayed in Ibis on Therry St. which is located near the zoo. During school holiday, zoo ticket is free for children. We only had to buy adult ticket which cost AUD 30 p.p.

We walked from Ibis to the tram station. We were waiting for the free circle tram in Melbourne when we met a family from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. "What is your plan today with your kids?" the mother asked me. "We'd like to go to the zoo. How about you?" She answered "We're planning to visit Melbourne Museum" Then the City Circle tram (free tourist tram), both of our families stepped into the tram.

Kiddos were happy to see the tram

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Review of Ibis Therry Street, a Family Hotel in Melbourne

I was looking for a kids friendly hotel or apartment in Melbourne through booking.com when I found a reasonably priced family hotel in Melbourne: Ibis Hotel on Therry Street. Ibis has standard double or twin rooms, and it also has one or two bedroom apartments. The two bedroom apartment was above our budget, but the one bedroom apartment was not. 

Our budget for a night stay at Melbourne was at maximum AUD 150, and the one bedroom apartment was AUD 139. It has a separate living room, provides a kitchenette with a microwave and refrigerator, and a bathtub. Just perfect for our kiddos who love swimming so much.

at the lobby of Ibis

I sent an email to the hotel prior to the room reservation asking whether we were allowed to take two kids, because in the hotel's policy which is written on booking.com, only 1 child was allowed. The email was promptly replied and yes we could take our both of our kiddos to the one bedroom apartment:) I made the reservation through booking.com after receiving the email.

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Transit Hotel in Melbourne Tullamarine: Cilom Airport Lodge

Do you have a plan to transit in Melbourne Tullamarine Airport and looking for an affordable hotel or motel to stay? Our flights from Indonesia to New Zealand transit in Melbourne, as we took Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne. We arrived at Melbourne Tullamarine airport at around 12.20 am, and our connecting flight from Melbourne to Queenstown was at 10 am. After a long flight from Jakarta, we didn't intend to wait or sleep at the airport. We needed a room for our short sleep.

Ibis Hotel which is located near the budget terminal of Tullamarine Airport was my first choice. I walked passing this hotel when I was looking for a cheap public transport from Melbourne Tullamarine to the city. So I thought, it would be easy to find the hotel as I knew the place already. A room at Ibis Hotel cost around AUD 130, it was within our budget. But I changed my mind after reading reviews on tripadvisor regarding the self check-in process and the lift. Guests checking in after 11 pm will have to do their self check-in, and there was one review saying the hassle of a traveler who failed to do the self check in, and had to make several calls to the hotel staff. Other reviews mentioned that this hotel doesn't have a lift. 

Then I searched for another hotel with better reviews. I came across a motel called Cilom Airport Lodge. Although not in a walking distance from the airport, the reviews say that the motel provides free return shuttle bus from and to the airport. How about the price? Double room cost AUD 138 while Twin Room cost AUD 148. We took a twin room as it provides one single bed and one queen bed. 

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Enjoying The Day at Lake Tekapo

Our last day in New Zealand was spent in Lake Tekapo. There was nothing much to do at Lake Tekapo except enjoying the beauty of the lake and the lovely church called church of the Good Shepherd, one of New Zealand's iconic picture.

I saw many tourist buses stopped at this church for a while, giving the tourists an opportunity to take picture with the church. We were fortunate that we had a one night stay at Lake Tekapo.

Beautiful old church at Lake Tekapo

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Review of Mantra Lake Tekapo

Looking for a place to stay at Lake Tekapo was not easy. I couldn't get any accommodation within our budget of NZD120/night when I was looking a room for our one night stay on January 1, 2014 at Lake Tekapo. Actually there's a holiday park at Lake Tekapo, but they requested a min 5 nights stay for our period.

From tripadvisor review, I finally choose a 3 bedroom apartment at Mantra Lake Tekapo. Traveling with other family to New Zealand was an advantage, so that we could share a 3 bedroom unit.

I knew from the time of the booking that Mantra Lake Tekapo was going to be a fabulous place for us, a special place on our last night in New Zealand. But when I arrived at the place, it was more than fabulous! It was home away from home. I mean, someday I dream to have a house like this:p It was awesome!

The apartments at Mantra Lake Tekapo

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On The Road from Dunedin to Lake Tekapo

The roadtrip we took from Dunedin to Lake Tekapo was the longest and the most beautiful journey from all of our roadtrip route in New Zealand's South Island. It might not be the longest, but we made so many stops! All the transit points we visited were free and very gorgeous.

1. Amazing Moeraki Boulders

The information of the boulders at the entrance

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Things To Do in Otago Peninsula Dunedin

A visit to Dunedin is not complete without taking a drive to Otago Peninsula and enjoy its natural beauty. If you are not on budget, you could also visit The Lanarch Castle claimed to be New Zealand's only castle. 

We drove two times to Otago Peninsula. First time at the evening to catch our blue penguins tour, and the second time was to enjoy Otago Peninsula because we couldn't see anything on the previous night. Although it was cloudy, we managed to capture some great pictures at Otago Peninsula.

The view of Dunedin City, from Otago Peninsula

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