Where To Go: Family Vacation (and win free trip!)

Saat bepergian sendiri biasanya pilihan lebih luas, kita dapat menentukan tempat sesuai keinginan dan menekan budget jika anda tidak keberatan dengan traveling ala backpackers. 

When you go travel on your own usually you have much more options to choose from. You get to decide the destination and choose our own budget. That is, if you don’t mind travelling the backpackers way.

Namun traveling adalah hal menyenangkan yang tentunya akan lebih membahagiakan jika dibagi bersama keluarga, dengan catatan anda harus menentukan destinasi yang tepat untuk semua.

Travelling is a delightful thing. It can be more delightful if you bring your family along, and choose the perfect destination for everyone.

Berikut beberapa pilihan destinasi untuk keluarga:

The following is a few destinations for families: 

Bali

Pulau Dewata ini memang pilihan aman untuk jadi destinasi keluarga, selain akomodasi yang sudah established, di Bali ada banyak keseruan untuk seluruh keluarga. Dari snorkeling, diving, mengunjungi Pura, berbelanja dan Bali Safari yang tentu disenangi oleh anak-anak. 

Dewata Island is a safe choice for a family vacation destination. Aside from great accommodations, Bali has many fun things for the whole family. From snorkeling, diving, visiting the Balinese temples, shopping, and the Bali Safari that the children will certainly love.

Don't worry, it's just an excellent acting performance by the elephant

Transportasi ke Bali juga lebih mudah dan cepat jika dibandingkan destinasi di timur Indonesia, kadang membawa balita dalam penerbangan di atas empat jam cukup jadi challenge bagi orang tua.

Transportation to Bali is also much easier and faster, if you compare that to the destinations east of Indonesia. Sometimes bringing a baby on a flight more than four hours can be a challenge for parents 

Lombok

Jika Bali terlalu ramai untuk anda, Lombok bisa jadi pilihan, dengan akomodasi yang tidak kalah dengan Bali. Harga tiket pesawat ke Lombok juga tidak jauh berbeda dengan harga tiket ke Bali. 

If Bali is too crowded for you, Lombok can be an alternative, with great accommodations similar to those in Bali. The price of plane tickets to Lombok also doesn’t range too far from flight tickets to Bali.

Bromo

Untuk petualangan yang menyenangkan namun dapat diakses oleh anak-anak, Bromo bisa jadi pilihan. Akses masuk ke area kaldera Bromo sudah dengan kendaraan dan jika berniat menanjak ke area kawah di atas bisa menyewa kuda untuk anak-anak.  

Bromo can be the place for the kids to have a fun adventure. Access into the area of Bromo’s caldera is made by a vehicle. But if you want to go to the crater, there are rentable horses for the children to ride.
 

Mengajak anak-anak melihat keindahan Indonesia sejak kecil juga akan membuat mereka mencintai alam, so why don't you try? :) 

Bringing the kids to see the beauty of Indonesia from a very young age will make them love nature. So why don’t you give it a try?

Komodo

You can spend a few days on the ship with your family

Taman Nasional Komodo dengan landscape dan pulau-pulau indah juga sangat menyenangkan untuk liburan bersama keluarga. Transportasi menuju Labuan Bajo memang lebih mahal dibandingkan ketiga opsi di atas, namun Komodo menawarkan pemandangan luar biasa dan pengalaman menyenangkan menyusuri perairan Komodo dengan kapal. 

Komodo National Park with its landscape and beautiful islands is also delightful for a family vacation. Transportation to Labuan Bajo can be more expensive compared to the three options above. But Komodo offers spectacular views and wonderful experiences cruising along the Komodo waters by boat.

Namun ingat bahwa beberapa titik yang sulit untuk anak kecil seperti bukit-bukit di Gili Laba, Pulau Rinca, Pulau Komodo dan berbagai pulau lainnya. Saya sering melihat turis luar (terutama Eropa) yang membawa anak kecil ke Komodo, namun untuk turis lokal dengan anak kecil (terutama untuk trekking) masih sangat jarang. Pilihan yang lebih santai jika bepergian dengan anak kecil ke area Taman Nasional Komodo adalah snorkeling dan bersenang-senang di pantai. 

But remember, some places are difficult for children such as hills at Gili Laba, Rinca Island, Komodo Island and a few other islands. I often see foreign tourists (especially Europeans) bringing children to Komodo. But local tourists with children (especially trekking) is still a rare sight. A more relaxed option when going with children in Komodo National Park is to go snorkeling and having a blast at the beach.

Di luar empat opsi di atas, masih banyak lagi destinasi di Indonesia yang cocok untuk liburan keluarga. Start sharing travel experience with your family and it will become a nice memories for them :) 

Other than the above four options, there are still any destinations in Indonesia that suit your family vacations. Start sharing your travel experiences with your family and it will become nice memories for them :)  

Also, the good news is:

Anda bisa mendapatkan free trip dengan keluarga ke tiga destinasi di atas! cukup dengan ikut #KeluargaChevrolet Dream Trip Contest! 

You can get a free trip with your family to the three destinations mentioned above! You can get it by joining #KeluargaChevrolet Dream Trip Contest!

Caranya tulis cerita seru liburan impian dengan tema "Segalanya Lebih Baik Bersama-sama" pada box comment posting ini --> http://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/287345096;114404942;i

dengan hashtag #KeluargaChevrolet di cerita kalian.

This is how: Write a fun story of your dream vacation trip with the theme “Everything Is Better Together” in the comment box in this link –
http://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/28734 5096;114404942;i
with hashtag #KeluargaChevrolet in your stories.  

Cerita harus di submit sebelum tanggal 23 Januari 2015 dan nanti akan ada 3 pemenang #KeluargaChevrolet Dream Trip Contest yang akan mendapat hadiah liburan ke Bromo, Bali atau Lombok. Tiap pemenang bisa mengajak 3 orang teman atau anggota keluarga liburan gratis 3D/2N di destinasi tersebut. 

Your story must be submitted before January 23rd, 2015 and the three winners of #KeluargaChevrolet Dream Trip Contest will win a vacation to Bromo, Bali or Lombok. Every winner can invite three friends or family to go on a free vacation in the mentioned destinations.

Free trip with family, what could be better? :D

@marischkaprue - doesn't really have a lot of childhood travel memories but she is happy :)

Desert Safari: Fun With Sands

It was all sands, all your eyes can see are hills made of sands. The driver speed up and here we go, directly to the top of the sand hill and we don't know what's behind it, cannot see since it was a sharp edge.

Fun in sand dunes

Seconds later our car feels like falling just as a roller coaster ride when you feel your body grabbed by the gravity and what's holding you at the seat is of course, the seatbelt.

Super fun!

We screamed loud, so happy and excited. All those maneuver at the sand dunes are just so fun and exciting, not as much as scary as what some people think about speeding up and downs those sand dunes; it was all fun and safe! The driver knows what to do and how to handle driving on sand dunes, so what we gotta do is just sit, put seatbelt on and enjoy the thrill.

There are some safety rules before you hop onto this car. First you must always put your seatbelt on, don't open the window during maneuver and just tell the driver if you feel a bit dizzy.

Sands everywhere!

I think I got the right dress for this safari

After the fun ride, we stop at - of course - some sand dunes and just enjoy the scenery filled with desert wherever you set your eyes on. I just wish the are places with all sands because there are some tree on those area and for me it would be so exotic if we got a spot with all sands, no tree at all.

She's beautiful, isn't she? :)

This is the best shot I can get haha

Another thing you can see during the safari is the falcon show. Basicaly they will show you how fast the falcon is, which is about 300 kilometers per hour on average top speed, wow! On this show, the falcon won't move at those speed but even in their "basic" speed, it was so hard for me to take the picture of the peregrine falcon while flying, they just move so fast - and I'm not a pro photographer also so small dots of bird is what I got.

So lucky that an oryx came when we wait for the falcon show, it doesn't usually appear if they sense people are around so we are lucky :)

in front of the camp

night at the desert

here comes the belly dancer

You can see this falcon show before the safari with the car on the sand dunes, and after sunset all cars will go to the big camp with open tent and foods. The main attraction on this camp is the belly dance show. The dancer's body is very supple, she can bend or twist her hips easily (of course, she's a belly dancer) and it's quite amazing to see how she can move her hips and belly :D

Milky way at the desert, photo by Yuriy Kulik

After all those show, we then enjoy the show presented by nature: stargazing. They turn off all the lights at the camp so we can see the stars on the desert. A sweet ending before we leave to go back to the hotel.

Desert Safari is a mandatory thing to do while in Dubai, and you just have to believe me on that ;)

@marischkaprue - at the desert or at the beach, she loves sands

NOTES:

• There are a lot of tour providing Desert Safari Tour, I went with Arabian Adventures, you can see their package here
• The price for Desert Safari is 360 AED (Emirati Dirham) or around Rp. 1,2 juta per person. It will include pick up from your hotel, all drinks during safari and dinner, all attractions during safari and drop back ride to your hotel.
• It took around 1 until 1,5 hours from Downtown Dubai to the Desert Conservation Reserve where the safari took place.

Thanks to Emirates and DTCM (Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing) Dubai for inviting me to Dubai. This is as a part of their "See You in Dubai" campaign. I went to Dubai with Emirates, they have a very nice business class.

Visit Dubai with these fun people, glad to know you guys!

Ternate ada di Alor!

Sebelum protes dengan judul di atas, mari baca dahulu postingan ini :) 

Before you say something about the title above, read what I have to say in the post first

Saya ingat saat upload foto dermaga dengan laut yang sangat jernih dan menuliskan lokasi Pulau Ternate, Alor. Sontak langsung ada yang memprotes dan mengatakan bahwa Ternate ada di Maluku. Memang Pulau Ternate yang banyak dikenal ada di Maluku, namun ternyata ada "kembarannya" ,pulau bernama sama di Alor, Nusa Tenggara Timur.

I remember when I uploaded the photo of the wharf with the crystal clear sea and wrote Ternate Island, Alor as the title. Suddenly there were people protesting and says that Ternate is located in Maluku. It’s true that the famous Ternate Island is located in Maluku, but a twin island exists, an island bearing the same name in Alor, East Nusa Tenggara.

Pulau Ternate bukan pulau terindah di Alor. Sangat sulit menyebut pulau terindah di Alor karena di area ini semua pulau dan laut sangat indah. Namun jika anda mencari tenun khas Nusa Tenggara Timur, di sini tempatnya. 

Ternate Island isn’t the prettiest island in Alor. I find it quite hard to call it the most beautiful island in Alor, because in this area all of the islands and the surrounding sea is quite beautiful. But if you’re looking for East Nusa Tenggara’s weaved ‘tenun’ , this is the spot.

Kami merapat ke dermaga Pulau Ternate, tidak perlu waktu lama untuk sampai ke pulau ini dari dermaga Alor Kecil. Satu hal yang langsung terlihat jelas adalah laut yang jernih serta batuan besar di pesisir dengan jalan setapak. 

We pulled over to Ternate Island wharf, it didn’t take long to get here from Alor Kecil wharf. One thing that is clearly visible is the crystal clear and the gigantic rocks on the shoreline, just a few steps away.

the talented hands

Kami berjalan sekitar 10 menit untuk sampai di desa di Pulau Ternate dimana menemukan perajin tenun sangatlah mudah. Di sisi-sisi rumah banyak warga yang sedang menenun. Menjual tenun menjadi mata pencaharian utama warga di Pulau Ternate, anda dapat menemukan dengan mudah kain-kain dengan warna-warna cerah digantung di berbagai sisi pepohonan di pulau ini.

We walked for 10 minutes to arrive at a village in Ternate Island, where we can easily find ‘tenun’ weavers. On the sides of homes, many villagers are found weaving. Selling ‘tenun’ is a main source of income for them in Ternate Island. You can find the colorful ‘tenun’ fabrics hung on sticks around the island.

Bright colors!

Meski banyak tenunan dengan warna-warna cerah, dari merah, hijau hingga pink, pewarna tenun semuanya alami, ada yang didapat dari tumbuh-tumbuhan, hingga makhluk laut seperti teripang dan cumi-cumi. 

Even though there are many colorful ‘tenun’ fabrics, from red, green, and pink, the elements for coloring them all come from organic ingredients. Ingredients come from plants, and even sea creatures like sea cucumbers and squids.

Saya yang awalnya tidak berniat membeli kain ikut tergoda melihat banyaknya kain yang dipajang. Di Pulau Ternate juga harga kain tenun lebih murah karena langsung dari perajin.

I never intended to buy ‘tenun’ fabric, but now I’m tempted to buy seeing so many fabrics displayed. ‘Tenun’ fabrics in Ternate Island are cheaper than they are elsewhere, because the fabrics are sold straight by the weavers themselves.

@marischkaprue - love all islands with clear sea water

NOTES:

• Alor terletak di Nusa Tenggara Timur. Untuk menuju Alor, ambil penerbangan ke Kupang (Harga tiket Jakarta - Kupang PP sekitar Rp. 3.000.000,-) kemudian dilanjutkan dengan penerbangan Kupang - Alor (via Transnusa dengan harga tiket sekitar Rp. 1.200.000,- PP)
• Alor is located in East Nusa Tenggara, to reach Alor you can take a flight to Kupang (Jakarta - Kupang return flight is about IDR 3.000.000,-), then continue with Kupang - Alor (via Transnusa return flight is about IDR 1.200.000,-)
• Budget untuk menikmati 5 hari di Alor sekitar Rp. 3.000.000,- all in (tidak termasuk tiket pesawat), untuk mendapatkan kisaran budget tersebut sebaiknya pergi bersama-sama atau ikut open trip sehingga biaya sewa kapal dan mobil dapat lebih murah. Untuk trip ke Alor, hubungi Tukang Jalan ,via email: tuk4ang.jalan@gmail.com atau telp +62 813158 09191
• The budget for 5 Days in Alor is around IDR 3.000.000,- all in (exclude plane ticket), to get this price with proper facilities, you can join open trip so the boat and car rent is cheaper. Contact Tukang Jalan for the trip to Alor: tuk4ng.jalan@gmail.com or phone +62 813158 09191

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