Friday, November 30, 2012

India Visa Application at IVS Global Kuala Lumpur

If truth should be told, this is one of the most difficult visas I've ever applied for. Reason being, I was not applying for a tourist visa (which is a very straightforward process) and reason number two, why the hell do they have so many TYPES of visa??? Hehehe.

The door to "India".
IVS Global India Visa Center
G-01, Ground Floor, Straits Trading Building, 
No. 2, Lebuh Pasar Besar, 
50050 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
Tel. No: 006 03 2692 2692 
Fax: 006 03 2698 2692
Oh ya, all the information could be read from this website. http://www.indiavisa.com.my/

I'll be going to India for training and so I stopped by IVS Global India Visa Center near the textile Museum on Lebuh Pasar Besar just to research on the application process. One of my bad habits is dislike reading and prefers asking from a direct source for information. Haha.

During my first time there, I had to queue up while an officer checks each application form and its supporting papers. If the documents needed are complete, he'll give you a number and your application is approved.
Your application form will be inspected first before you can hand in for visa stamping.
Unfortunately, my application form was faulty and I was told to pay RM20 to change the details of my application form (I didn't fill in my full name as stated in the passport and my type of visa was wrong). Arghhh..

The good thing about this center is they provide picture taking for visa, photostat service and form refilling for a fee. I went to change my form and then to the counter, hoping to finally get the "number", Again I was told that there's something wrong with the form and asked me to wait for their boss. Another arghhhh!!!

I eventually waited  a full hour. T__T

I met with the boss, a specky guy who has near-sighted problem (*haha. memandai je aku. bluekk) and visible white strands of hair among-st a mop of dark ones. Annoyed. Me. He was tall and had an air of superiority but that didn't scare me. I immediately went to him as I wanted this thing to be settled once and for all!

And after that dreadful long wait... ALL I had to do was change the type of visa to type "X". I'm not gonna pay another RM20 for another form and decided to fill it myself at home, print at the office and come again. Pffft!!

So fortunately, my second visit to the office was smoother than the first. And three days later... I collected my visa. *happy

Total damage:

Retyped Form - RM20.00
Visa "X" - RM313.56
Text Message - RM2.00 (I have no idea why they charge this. O.O")

RM335.56 for THIS........

Happiness! 
Ps: Flying to India tomorrow. Bye guysss!

Muah! Muah! Muah!
.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Borrowed Men Sandals in Jakarta

I just came out from the fifth floor woman's toilet at some telco office building in Central Jakarta. Newly bathed and changed into clean clothes after 24 hours from my last bath, I came out feeling FRESH! I just spent the night before on a train from Semarang to Jakarta.

With rucksack securely saddled on my back, I was met with my friend sitting outside on a sofa with his hand-phone. (Later I found out that he messaged me but I didn't read it in time. So he must have opted to wait outside. haha.) He was also newly bathed and into different set of clothes from the last time I saw him.

"Done?" he asked.
"Yes, let's eat! Am hungry!" I chirped!

We went back to his office floor (ground floor) to place my bags for safe-keeping. Suddenly he asked the size of my shoes. I didn't respond but he guessed correctly on his first try and lent me a pair of men sandals. I was wearing my flippers which I always bring with me during my travels. I was hesitant to part with them just yet.

"Those slippers aren't allowed in the office. Wear these instead." He reasoned with me, handing me the sandals. Making a face, I obliged. Ok fine! I was too tired and hungry to start an argument.

Arghh! Men Sandals!
I wore those men sandals to the cafeteria behind the office to get a bowl of chicken rice porridge. (His treat. =P)\ Darn, it was DELICIOUS!!
Only in Jakarta. And so I was told. =)
Continued to wear those men sandals to Monas located just in front of his office building. It was also his place to jog in the mornings. Most probably in men sandals too. Lalala!

And those men sandals also accompanied me to the many museums of Kota Tua Jakarta which we traveled to via Transjakarta (an efficient city bus operator with designated road lane to avoid bad traffic jams). Bank Mandiri Museum , Bank Indonesia Museum, and Wayang Museum were the places we went to.

And still "comfortably" wearing those men sandals, I eventually forgot all about my flippers and wore them to my host's house for the night. My place to crash that night in Jakarta was provided by his female office-mate who lives nearby, Ehem.. =P

More often than not those damn men sandals caused me to trip a couple of times. It's got something to do with too much space in the toes' area. (oh god, I sound ungrateful. Hahahaha)

Nonetheless, nice to know that my shoe size is the same as his. LOL! *malu

=)

Ps: His take on my visit to Jakarta can be read here ---> http://halogaga.com/blog/travel-journey/reunion-with-wi-fi-hunter

Friday, November 23, 2012

The 3 Men I Fell in Love With in Indonesia

Guy no. 1The guy I met on the airplane. =p

Seat 23E, my destined seat on a plane to Semarang, Indonesia from KL. It wasn't a seat I'd prefer but being a budget flyer, I dare not complain. I trudged along the aisle with my heavy rucksack to my seat and was met with two guys already sitting at 23 D and 23 F respectively.

I panicked. I'm gonna be sandwiched by guys!

The guy nearest to the aisle stood up to give way for me to get in. Once seated, I began fumbling with the magazines in the front pocket. I've read the inflight magazine so many times but to hide my discomfort, I began flipping through it anyways.

"Going back?" asked the guy on my right in thick Indonesian slang.
"Oh, sorry, I'm a Malaysian. On a holiday!" I flashed him a smile, glimpsing sheepishly sideways just to see how he looks like. He smiled back! *pengsan

I looked back at the magazine.

"Where to?" he decided to have small talk.
"Oh... somewhere. Hehe" I wasn't gonna share my travel details with no stranger!

Once in the air and in between dozing off and daydreaming, I heard him chuckle beside me. I got curious and asked him why. "The women at the back are Jawanese but they're conversing in Malay. Hehehe" he chuckled some more.

I began ears-dropping the conversation from the back seats and joined in the laugh! And that shared joke broke the ice between us. Next thing I know we were sharing details about our jobs in KL, places we visited and more. He conversed in good Malay with me and I was thoroughly impressed. (Aside him being extremely cute also helped. Haha!)

"Come to my kampung. I'll serve you some local dishes!" he invited when the plane was about to land. He even gave me directions on how to get there.
"You're cooking?" I asked.
"No lah, my mom! Haha!" Oh Em Gi!!! He's still single???!! Hyper mode on. LOL. I invited him to join me in Yogyakarta since he'll be in Indonesia for a month. So he left me his name and contact details.

But....

I never did get back to him............. =P


Guy no. 2 - My wish is his command.

I slowly took out my camera after noticing a truck with a high load of cardboard boxes on it. "You wanna take a picture of that" the driver beside me asked in Indonesian. I nodded. I was never good with conversing and pretty much stayed quiet most of the time.

He slowed down and drove behind this truck so that I can snap a clear picture of it. ^__^
The Indonesian girls I was traveling with were fast asleep at the back seat. Which leaves him and me the only ones awake, threading through traffic to get to Kudus from Semarang. And the most natural thing happened. We chatted the whole way.

A supposedly 3 hours drive became only less than an hour and a half. He was a very FAST and CAREFUL driver. I dig guys who drives well. Hahaha! And realizing he was driving fast so that he can send me to the Semarang's train station before 8 pm only made me fall even harder!

His looks didn't help me either. T___T He's a young lad, artistically dressed and wore an amusing half hat. Imagine an Indonesian dressed as below.

And he was cheeky too! (Source of pic)
The turn-off?

He's not a muslim. Hehehehe. =P

Guy no 3 - Secret.

Ok Bye!
.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Disaster strikes on the road to Semarang, Indonesia

"Go back tomorrow lah, kak" persuaded my friend as I busied myself packing my stuff into my already heavy rucksack.
"Where you're gonna stay? Who's there to meet you?" He asked again for the up-tenth time.

I laughed and said that I'll think about it once I get there. It was 8:30 pm. My bus takes off at 9:00 pm. Time was running slim.

My friends weren't happy with my answer and tried to reason with me to stay another night and travel tomorrow instead. The thing is, I already bought the bus ticket and I had an early flight to catch tomorrow morning in Semarang which is about 3 hours and a half drive from the current place, Yogyakarta. Haha... okay, that's a bit far off.

The guys were swarming the room I was staying in. I had to drive them out with a blanket so that I can do my prayers in peace before I leave town. Unbelievably, these guys were my housemates the previous night. Hehe.

Once I was done and went into the living room, my friend Helga once again bombarded me with words of concern. "Did you pack all your stuff? Did you leave anything? Is your phone charged? Don't forget to whatsapp. Do you have your ticket ready?" He said these things repeatedly! R-E-P-E-A-T-E-D-L-Y!

Hahaha.... It was kinda adorable to see a man babble so much.

Eventually we said our goodbyes and I hopped on my host's scooter and we drove into the night. My host, Fauzan who owns the house we crashed the night at, sent me right through the bus station. He kindly asked the workers at the counter about the bus, seeing me getting settled before leaving me. Ahhh.. he's just so kind! #nangis

At that moment I saw the "free wi-fi" sign and immediately went online. =P

Minutes later I was on the bus. Sitting right next to the driver as I wish to sleep throughout the whole journey without being disturbed by a "seat neighbor".

And then.... three hours later.... KABOOMMMM!!



I was awakened by a load crash. The driver's arm was laying across my chest and to my horror the whole front window was shattered! Spilling small spikes of sharp shards all over my lap and shirt. In a split second I realized that my legs were imprisoned as the fronts of the bus crushed inwards, confining my legs in the process.

When I finally found my voice, I let go a scream for help.

"My leg is stuck! My leg is stuck!" I was petrified!

Indonesians came peering into the space that once hold the window and started pulling the ruins outwards. A rough voice from behind positioned his arms under my armpits and asked for my permission to pull me out. I only managed to shriek a weak "yes". A pair of legs suddenly emerged from above began kicking the bus ruins to make room to free my legs.

I was finally freed.

Miraculously I escaped with minor injuries. Can't say the same for some of the passengers who sat at the back. Huhu.

I have no idea who freed me. I saw nor remembered any faces. So I forwarded my THANKS to Allah for not ending my life just yet.

Alhamdulillah. ^___^

As I was warded at Hospital Kariadi Semarang, I joked with my friends back in Yogyakarta saying...

"See.. you don't have to worry about where I'll be staying for the night! It's for free and it's in a hospital! They even send me to the airport in the morning once I'm released!"

Hehe. So travel safe guys! Make sure the journey you're about to embark on is insured by the transport's agency. My story would've ended differently if I wasn't insured. =P

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Bromo

Where I met @bdont @riekegvn @dinda_param . ^^

It's a long overdued post. I've been busy with work, life and travelling. Only when I'm about to fly to another destination was I able to overcome this writer's block. Hehe.

Bromo.... the most memorable trip ever where I backpacked with a very pregnant lady. Us both with Bromo in mind, but only one was allowed to climb it. Sadly, she had to stay back at the hotel due to her condition while I woke up at 4 am to start the journey.

We stayed at Yoschi Hotel at Probolinggo 
My only comment on this hotel, "it's shitty, expensive, with no hot water in-room and you can't even boil your own water!"

Ok, carrying on with my climb to catch the first rays of light descending on earth...

Since I was gonna be alone, I had to share a jeep with a whole lot of strangers. Seven ladies (including me) were cramped into this jeep below. I sat at the back. The jeep fee per person was only RP 125,000. If you want to rent a jacket, add another Rp 25,000. I actually did that and regretted it later! Much, much later. Haha! Read on to know why.

We went on this jeep. Walked and climbed about 2.5 km and did our subuh prayers right there and then! (seen at bottom right picture)
After we've done that, we waited with a whole bunch of others as the sun came onto the horizon. Spreading rays of beautiful sunlight onto the darkness below us. Suddenly everything became clear and I could finally see the surroundings!

Seen here were my new friends trying to get a better view while climbing onto some ledge. Hehe.
I was of course mesmerized with the view along with so many others and had to take a picture. Haha. *jakun wei!

Blissfully happy, even-though I had to carry dead weight. (the much unneeded heavy jacket I rented!)
Why unneeded? I was actually feeling feverishly hot during the climb and had to free myself from the jacket. Haha! And now I had to carry it everywhere I go! Pffft!

Oh well, at least the company was good. ^__^

Them, Indonesians students I came to get acquainted with during the climb. Lovely girls. Hehe.
Will continue with Bromo part 2.... soon hopefully. =p