Japan trip summary

Waow, it’s been 4 months since my last post. Now I realise that writing is very challenging! Ternyata susah sekali mendisipilinkan diri sendiri untuk menulis.

OK, without further ado… I’d like to sum up or rather shorten my Japan trip experience.

Day 3, Monday 1 December 2008

It’s Disney time!!! Three of us — Me, Awan & Iwet — decided to explore the Disney Sea for the whole day! Actually, we also wanted to visit the Disneyland, but we decided to stick to the first attraction due to limited time and money hehe. For one park cost 5,800 Yen, two parks cost 10,000 Yen. Visiting both parks is recommended for those who have more time, cos let me tell ya, one park is sooo HUGE already… make sure you have a strong pair legs if you want to visit both parks.

As for us, we decided to go with the DisneySea instead of the Disneyland, cos Awan said that Disneyland is more to family and children… but DisneySea is more to couples and adults. If you’re looking for family and slow-paced attractions, you should go to Disneyland. But if you’re into thrilling experience, then DisneySea is the right choice!!! Moreover, as far as I’m understand, there’s only one DisneySea in the world and that’s in Japan. But there are so many Disneylands other than Japan. Hmm I think I’ll go to HongKong’s Disneyland one day.

It was quite a long and tiring journey to reach the DisneySea which located outside Tokyo. We took 1,5 hour to reach there. But once we reached the resort getaway station, suddenly all the stress feeling I had dissappear! Disney characters appeared here in there in various forms; poster, sticker, etc. But the most interesting to me was the Disney Train! Yup, we had to take the Disney Train to reach the DisneySea. The train is actually a monorail train but with a touch of Disney. It has mickey-mouse-head-shaped-windows and hand rails.

My mouth dropped when we enter the DisneySea complex. It was lovely… cos I’ve never seen anything like it before hehe. And it was sooo big! We were confused, where to start… what to explore… what rides to take… Again, it was so huge we couldn’t try all the rides. So we had to choose. Of course we chose only the signature attractions. Don’t forget to ask for a brochure. It contains information, performance schedule as well as map of DisneySea.

My favorite attractions at DisneySea were… the carnival and the Tower of Terror!

Pictures of me at DisneySea can be found here.

More info on DisneySea click here.

Day 2 – Trendy Tokyo on Sunday

Day 2, Sunday 30 November 2008

Yippy! Sunday! From what I read in travel books, Sunday is the best day to explore Tokyo with its uniqueness.

Ws start our day quite early that Sunday cos we had to attend a breakfast feast with the Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Jusuf Anwar. Apparently he was quite thrilled with the Javarizm event the night before, so he invited some of the Javarizm ppl for breakfast at the ambassador residence. The Wisma Negara is located behind the embassy. This is how we got to the embassy: take a train on Yamanote line, alight at Meguro station (the nearest station to the embassy). From there we took a cab! Taxi in Japan is an expensive mode of transport. But we didn’t have a choice cos we were already late (blame on us: I was fast asleep, and Iwet and Awan was busy chatting. Voila! We missed the station). Oh ya, the cab fare from Meguro station to the ambassador residence is approximately 6000 Yen.

Sorry Mr. Ambassador, we were late…
Anyway, the foods were sooo good! They have bubur Manado, ikan asin, perkedel… hmmm it’s always good to experience Indonesian cuisine when you’re abroad.

And we chat, mostly about the Javarizm event. He said that Harajutik (Harajuku with Batik) is an effective tool to send a message about the unity and collaboration of Indonesia and Japan. Well, let’s give a round of applause to the mastermind, Tiarma Sirait.
After the breakfast in the dining room, we proceeded to the backyard to enjoy the warmth of the sun. It was lovely, really… I must say I was quite proud to be able to visit the Indonesian Embassy in Japan and welcomed by the Ambassador himself. Do you know that Mr. Anwar has a good sense of humour? Well, that morning he told us that everytime he holds an outdoor event in Japan, he would still ask the help of a rain-stopper aka “pawang hujan” from Bogor. And the guy does the prayer on the phone haha… well, believe it or not, it works!!! Well done, Mr. Ambassdor hehe.

From the embassy, we were heading to NHK, Japan’s biggest broadcast company, for a radio interview. How to get there: take a train and alight at Shibuya station. Finally I got to cross the famous Shibuya crossing, one of the biggest and busiest intersections in the world. After 10 minutes of walking and 20 minutes of stop-over shopping, we reached NHK building. Ms Lily from NHK interviewed some of the artists performed in Javarizm like Tiarma, Anton & Adit from Agrikulture, and the MC Iwet Ramadhan. I made myself useful by taking their pictures haha. I’ve been wanting to visit NHK, the studios and all that, and there I was. After the short interview, we had a stroll around NHK to see how they work. Yes, we can see how they work. Because NHK provides the so-called tour area where visitors can read so many posters, watch a short movie in a mini-cinema, see how they work in a studio through an aquarium-like studios, and all that. And we can just visit everyday for free! When I wen there, I saw so many school-children and their parents. More of NHK visit http://www.nhk.or.jp/

Time to explore the trendy Tokyo!

7 of us (me, Iwet, Awan, Tiarma, Marintan, Anton & Adit) walked from NHK to Harajuku via Yoyogi Park. I was curious about one thing in Harajuku. I wanted to see the Harajuku teenagers who like to show unusual fashion. And some say that Sunday is the best day to visit Harajuku. But I only saw a few of them. Then we walked further, to Takeshita street, still in Harajuku. There were sooo many shops along the street selling trendy items. But I didn’t really enjoy it cos it was packed with hundreds of ppl. We could hardly walk, then how are we suppose to shop??? Moreover, we have different interest, so we decided to split up. Tiarma and marintan, Adit and Anton, while me together with Awan and Iwet.

The over-crowded Takehita Street in Harajuku

Harajuku style

Our next destination is Ginza street! How to get there: Just take a train and alight at Ginza station. Ginza street is the high-end shopping haven. All branded items, u name it, are camped here. Every Sunday on certain times, the roads along Ginza are closed for motorists. This surely gives more space for shoppers to enjoy their shopping experiences. It was crowded, but not as packed as the one in Harajuku. In Ginza u can still breath normally… but the prices here are wayyy more expensive. We went inside Muji, H&M, Mango, Uniqlo, Itoya, ramen restaurant (yeah, tell me bout it), zara, and other retail stores along Ginza. I swear I nearly broke my leg! It was sooo tiring!

That’s what I called Shop ‘Till U Drop!

My 7-days Japan travelicious

What you’re about to read is not a suggested Japan travel itinerary. It’s actually my personal experience when I visited the country for 7 days in late November 2008 plus, of course, some color stories around it. However, if you’re planning to go there too, you might wanna read this post thoroughly, who knows you would find it useful =)

DAY 1 (Saturday, 29 November 2008)

My All Nippon Airways flight arrived at Terminal 1 Narita Airport at 7am local time. Please note that Narita Airport is divided into two separate terminals, 1 and 2, with a North and South wing at each terminal. Different airlines use different terminals. To know your destination terminal, please check the official Narita Airport website. To me, this information is important as my other travel companion, Iwet Ramadhan, arrived at different terminal. He flew from Jakarta by Garuda Indonesia, therefore his plane landed at Terminal 2.

Between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 Narita Airport is quite a distance. But not to worry, travelling to and from each terminal is quite easy. However at that time I couldn’t find a sign or direction to Terminal 2. So what I approached an airport officer (the nearest person I could find) and asked her. She didn’t speak much english but was very eager in helping me. So I asked in a very simple way;
“Terminal 2?” at the same time I raised my right hand and showed my index and middle fingers.
She understand and said “Ah… Exit… bus… six.”
“Arigatou.”

She was saying, to go to Terminal 2, you have to exit from terminal 1 first, then you board the shuttle bus from lane 6. Very easy, right? So I board the shuttle bus (free of charge) and it took me to Terminal 2 in less than 10-minutes (by the way, the bus is english friendly).

After meeting my friend at Terminal 2 Narita Airport, the next question would be “How to go to Tokyo from Narita airport?”. Luckily, I’ve googled about this so many times before I went to the Japan’s capital. So it was time to practise what I’ve learned.

First, we must found the Japan Railway (JR) Office. The office was located at the basement of Terminal 2 Narita Airport (note: you can also find JR office at Terminal 1).

Second, we exchanged our JR Pass vouchers. About JR Pass, terms & conditions, how to get it and other informations, you can find it on the Japan Rail Pass website. All I can say is that JR Pass is highly recommended for those who will likely to travel throughout Japan quite frequent during the temporary stay. The price for 7-days pass ordinary-type is 28.300 Yen. I myself bought the JR Pass at Tangs Plaza, Orchard Road, Singapore for SGD 448. Whereas my friend, Iwet, bought it at Wisma Kyoei Prince, Sudirman, Jakarta for Rp 3.5 million.

Third,  after we had the JR Passes, we asked the officer to reserve us seats on the Narita Express or NEX to take us to Tokyo. We also reserved seats for our way back from Tokyo to Narita Airport on our departure date from Japan. (Note: with a JR Pass, you can board the NEX as well as make reservation on NEX for free. If you don’t make a reservation, you may still board the train but can only sit in a non-reserved car. I ‘d recommend you to make a reservation, to make sure you can sit on the train comfortably. It’s free anyway! Oh yeah, the reservation can be made in any JR Offices which available in any major stations.)

Tips: Put the JR Pass in a easy access spot so that you can take it out and show to JR officers everytime you travel. Bring the pass everyday and don’t lose it!

Getting to Tokyo from Narita was like a first task for me and Iwet. Luckily we managed to pass the challenge without fail hehe. After spending 1-hour in a NEX train, finally we reached Tokyo station. Our friend, Andy Laver, was already waiting for us at the Marunouchi Central Exit.

From there we took a cab to Ville Fountain Hotel Roppongi to put our bags and luggages, then proceed to 57 @Roppongi. 57 is a New York style restaurant and lounge in one of Tokyo’s hot spots.

While Iwet was busy doing rehearsal for the Javarizm event that night (fyi Iwet was the MC of the show), me and a friend, Ana Muto, strolled around Roppongi area and visited the Roppongi hills with its landmarks.

This huge sculpture of spider is a popular place to meet and wait for people at Roppongi Hills

Roppongi Hills is ready for christmast

At night, I went back to 57 @Roppongi and had a blast party at Javarizm event with the Indonesian Community in Japan. Thanks guys!

Left to right: Iwet Ramadhan, Me, Ariawan

Liburan yang nyaris gagal

Ah, liburanku itu akhirnya kesampaian juga. Meskipun tidak sempurna tetapi paling tidak tetap berakhir dengan manis.

Memang benar kata mutiara, “Manusia bisa berencana, namun Tuhan yang menentukan.” Itu juga yang menimpa liburan saya. Padahal rencana itu sudah tersusun dengan manis di agenda: tur dan shopping di Bangkok, lanjut Tokyo. Ibarat pepatah ‘Sekali dayung dua pulau terlampaui’, Jepang dan Thailand adalah dua negara yang ingin sekali saya kunjungi. Tiket pesawat sudah di tangan sejak tiga minggu sebelum keberangkatan yang dijadwalkan tanggal 28 November 2008. Thai Airways International dengan rute Singapore-Bangkok lalu Bangkok-Tokyo.

25 November 2008, pengunjuk rasa Thailand mulai menduduki bandara Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok sampai beberapa hari ke depan. Ribuan pelancong pun terkena dampaknya, termasuk saya.  Maskapai penerbangan Thai Airways dan agen perjalanan Zuji dibombardir dengan keluhan saya yang meminta kepastian;

“Saya tetap bisa berangkat atau tidak?”

Jawaban mereka sama;

“Sampai saat ini kami belum bisa memastikan karena situasi yang serba tidak menentu.”

Saya hanya diberikan dua pilihan;
1. Tunda jadwal keberangkatan, atau
2. Batalkan tiket, uang kembali, -lupakan Bangkok- cari penerbangan lain ke Tokyo (yang tentunya lebih mahal dan belum tentu ada)

Pasrah. Mungkin memang belum ditakdirkan untuk liburan. Segera saya ceritakan keadaan saya ke partner liburan saya, Ari Awan dan Iwet Ramadhan. Saya minta maaf karena kecil kemungkinan saya bisa bergabung bersama mereka. Bahkan saya juga lapor ke atasan agar cuti saya bisa dibatalkan.

27 November 2008, Thailand memutuskan menutup dua bandara di Bangkok sampai tanggal 29 November 2008.

“That’s it” kata saya dalam hati. There goes my holiday. Sepasang sepatu boot, jaket tebal, sepasang sarung tangan, dan baju-baju hangat yang sudah saya siapkan untuk liburan musim dingin jadi sia-sia.

Sampai 27 November 2008, kurang 24 jam dari jadwal keberangkatan, saya menerima telepon dari Thai Airways International yang isinya kira-kira begini:

“Nurviana, we’ve managed to book you a seat on All Nippon Airways, our alliance partner. So, instead of transitting in Bangkok, you’ll be flying directly to Tokyo.”

YES!!!

Saya ikhlas koq kalau harus merelakan trip ke Bangkok, selama tujuan utama saya, Jepang, terlaksana. Kalau dihitung-hitung saya malah untung, karena dapat penerbangan direct yang notabene lebih mahal, tanpa tambahan biaya sepeser pun! Ah, saya jadi nge-fans sama Star Alliance.

Jadilah malam itu tanggal 28 November 2008 saya berangkat menuju Jepang! Oleh-oleh cerita soal perjalanan saya akan saya muat di tulisan-tulisan saya berikutnya!

Thai situation is very messy: analyst

Bangkok’s airport closed, all flights cancelled, thousands travellers stranded.

Sigh… Looks like my holiday plan is getting out of sight (fyi I was scheduled to fly to Bangkok and then Japan in the next 36 hours).

And the holiday picture is even blurer after I spoke to a Thai analyst regarding the unpleasant situation.

She said there is no light at the end of the tunnel right now.

The interview was aired on 938LIVE MediaCorp radio in Singapore at 4pm today. Here is the highlight:

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And an analyst says the chaos in Thailand will not be over soon.

938Live’s Vina Mubtadi spoke to Dr. Busarin Dusadeeisariyawong , Programme Manager of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Bangkok.

She first asked Dr. Busarin to analyse the ongoing political turmoil.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Why Obama won the US election?

Dr. Richard Johnston, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

Once CNN projected Obama as the US President-elect, I called Dr. Richard Johnston of Pennsylvania University to find the answers to this question: What has made Obama win? The interview was aired on Singapore’s 938LIVE on 5 November 2008 at 2pm.

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Americans have elected Democrat Barack Obama as their first black president, in a historical US election.

What are the factors that helped Mr. Obama to win the election?

938LIVE’s Vina Mubtadi spoke with Dr. Richard Johnston, a professor of Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, to find out.

Please visit 938LIVE’s page to listen to the interview.

Will Pennsylvania go Democrat again?

My full interview with Mr. David Thornburgh, Director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania about the US election on Pennsylvania battleground state. The interview was aired on 938LIVE radio in Singapore on 5 November 2008 at 9am.

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The eastern US state of Pennsylvania, with its 21 electoral votes, has voted for Democrats in the last four presidential elections.

Analysts predict the state will go to the Democrats again this time.

938LIVE’s Vina Mubtadi speaks with David Thornburgh, Director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania who is a long time observer of Pennsylvania politics.

She begins by asking if Pennsylvania is still considered a battleground state in the 2008 US election.

David: “I think Pennsylvania is still a battleground state, and the evidence for that is the amount of time and money the both candidates have spent here just in the last few weeks. I think Pennsylvania is particularly important for Senator McCain. Many suggest that he will have difficulties in winning the election if he doesn’t carry Pennsylvania. So it’s a very important state with its 21 electoral votes for both candidates.”

Vina: Will the ‘Bradley Effect‘ decide the outcome of the vote?

David: “I don’t think that the so-called Bradley Effect will have much impact here. I think that Pennsylvania voters have always been very sensitive to economic issues which cuts across race and class than they are by the so called Bradley Effect or other intangibles”

Vina: Beside economy, what are other key election issues in Pennsylvania?

Daivd: “I think the number two issue, healthcare is important again as this is an older state, the people are worried about how they going to afford their healthcare and education and taxes will be important. Pennsylvania has a long history of being physically prudent and not being a free spending state.”

Vina: Looking at the Pennsylvania demographics factor, will it give an impact on the election?

David: “The demographics in Pennsylvania are complicated. Pennsylvania has one of the largest world populations in the country that doesn’t have a significant percentage of African-American voters. And that’s what makes the race here so interesting that Pennsylvania is in someway several states wrapped up in one so depending on forecasts of how those different state within a state vote and how much they turn out. The answer to that question will predict who’s going to win here.”

Vina: So, who will likely win Pennsylvania?

David: “My guess is if you put me on the spot, my guess is Senator Obama will win Pennsylvania maybe in the 3-5 percentage points. So it will be close but I think the polls will be correct and he will win Pennsylvania.”
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To listen to the interview, click here.

Voter turnout as a key factor in Ohio

This is my full interview with Prof. Paul Allen Beck from the Ohio State University about the US election, especially in the crucial battleground state of Ohio. The interview was aired on 938LIVE radio on 5 November 2008 at 8am (Singapore time).

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The American state of Ohio is one of several crucial battleground states in this year’s US presidential Election.

What are the factors that will determine the election results in Ohio?

938LIVE’s Vina Mubtadi speaks with Paul Allen Beck, Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University to find out.

Paul: “A lot is going to depend upon who votes. We have a turn out rate in Ohio by the way, about 67% in 2004 of all the eligible voters in Ohio are actually voted. When you think about that, it means 2/3 voted and 1/3 did not, so there’s a substantial margin that can be gained if one side is better than the other and been able to get new voters who haven’t voted in the past to come to the polls.”

Vina: In the last two elections, the Republicans won the presidency by carrying Ohio. Can we expect a different result this time?

Paul: “If Obama gets a high level of turn out of the people who have not voted in the past particularly in the 2004 election, some of them are too young to vote in the past but others just not motivated because of high level turn out from them and of course those voters are supportive of him, he can win Ohio and turn presidency.

Vina: Are we expecting a close fight between Obama and McCain in Ohio?

“Yes, I think it will be close in a while, it has always close it seems. Certainly has been as you pointed out in the last two presidential elections. I think that Obama is in a better position in Ohio than the Democrats had been in the last two elections in 2004 and 2000 when Al Gore and George W. Bush were running for the presidency.“

Vina: What are the issues of concern to people in this state?

Paul: “I think really the major issue is the economy. We’ve done a poll here at university and it shows that about 2/3 of all people in Ohio think that economic issue, the downturn, and year collapse of the financial market over the last month or so, dominates everything else. There is still the issue of American foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s really the issue of the Bush presidency. People have negative feelings towards Presidency in Ohio and nationwide.”

Vina: One big question in this year’s presidential election is the so called “Bradley Effect. Will the issue of race affect the vote?

Paul: “I think this could be an issue in the election. And there will be some people who might otherwise vote Democratic who can’t for one reason or another bring themselves to vote for Barack Obama. How many there are, I think we just don’t know for sure. Whether these voters they tell pollster that they’re going to vote for Obama when in fact they’re really aren’t. It’s again a big question. And that of course is the Bradley Effect”

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Please visit 938LIVE’s podcast page to listen to the interview.

I also did another interview with Prof. Paul Allen Beck about the projections in Ohio and was aired on 938LIVE radio on 5 November 2008 at 12pm Singapore time. Unfortunately I don’t have the transcript of the interview. However, you can listen to it by visiting this page.

The name is Hui慧 Na娜

Ni Hao. I’m Hui Na.

Yes, that is my chinese name. Haha I know that I’m not a chinese myself, but having a chinese name is not a bad thing.

My chinese Singaporean friend told me that there is always a chinese name for everything and everyone. The Chinese name is mainly translated based on the pronunciation of the English/roman name.

For example, Obama’s chinese name is 奥巴马 and the pinyin (pronunciation) is Ao ba ma … very similar, right?

How about this… Angelina Jolie’s alias is 安吉丽娜-朱莉 or ān Jí Lì Nà – Zhū Lì … still close.

Take a look at this one, Julia Roberts’ chinese name is 朱莉亚-罗伯茨 which read as Zhū Lì Yà – Luó Bó Cí. Well, not exactly the same but that’s the nearest.

Okay… get the picture here? For those who are not chinese, let’s play a game, shall we?

1. 布拉德-皮特 Bù Lā Dé-Pí Tè
2. 汤姆-克鲁斯 Tānɡ Mŭ-Kè Lŭ Sī

Can you guess whose chinese names are those? Let me give a clue, they are top hollywood actors!

…
…
…

and the answers are…

…
…
…

1. Brad Pitt
2. Tom Cruise

Did you get your answers right???

Another interesting part about chinese names is the meaning. When a roman name translated to chinese, the meaning can be hilarious. I found an interesting article in USA Today which said Boston’s 2008 presidential primary ballot could read like a bad Chinese menu. Obama comes out as “Oh Bus Horse” in Cantonese, “Upset Stomach” for Phil Singer and “Sticky Rice” for Mitt Romney!

That’s why when I asked myfriend to give me a chinese name, I wanted it not only sounds nice, but with a good meaning too.

Before came up with Hui Na, my friend asked me the meaning of my full name. Well, my full name is Nurviana Mubtadi. “Nur” means sun or light. “Viana” is… umm… no meaning actually, just a girl’s name. And “Mubtadi” is my family name.

“Then the prefect chinese name for you would be ‘HUI NA’” he said.
“Why?”
“Because not only similar to your nick name, ‘Vina’, ‘Hui’ means bright just like the sun. And ‘na’ also has a good meaning which is ‘graceful’. So you are a bright and graceful woman.”
“Thank you.” =)

So, readers, do you want to get your chinese name too? Well, you might want to ask your chinese friends to do it for you or you can also get it here!

My name is 慧 娜 Hui Na . What is yours?

You are what you write

Everyday we make a lot of conversations with many people. Yet, only few of them that we take it to heart and we just can’t forget. I remember a few years ago, I was chatting with my friend. It was a short conversation, really, but have been running around in my mind since then.

“Vina, do you have a blog?”
“No. Why?”
“You should have. Today, you’re not only what you read, but what you write as well.”

Well, after taking that into consideration, I’ve decided to create a blog.

Why not?

I have so many things to share with and I hope everything that I write would benefit someone who reads my blog.

So, welcome to my blog =D