This is my new journey. What about you?

Feel So Indonesian In The Hague.

travelerezzy — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:16:00 GMT

THE HAGUE...

This is The Hague, the central of government in Netherlands. Here, we also can more often find the Indonesian people. For some reason, I always meet them in every corner of the crowd.

Hmm..what's interesting about this city is the restaurant. Yes, If there's a lot of Indonesian people in one place, there will be so many Indonesian restaurants too.

For those who have long lived in Europe and missed the typical foods of Asia, let's come to The Hague. I know that's true in the Netherlands, in any city, we can easily find Indonesian restaurants. But you can only find out in the Hague, an Indonesian's most famous restaurant, called Garoeda.

Let's taste all kinds of Indonesian food, such as Gudeg, nasi kebuli, gado-gado, and so much more. It's so delicious. This is a java-style restaurant decor, complete with gamelan, wayang, and displays of batik. All the waitress are also Indonesian. It's a real Indonesian restaurant. I am very proud to see it since most of visitors didn't just come from Indonesia. That means, Indonesia is quite acceptable in the Netherlands as well as foreign tourists.

Another restaurant...

Tampat Senang.

In Indonesian, the meaning of Tampat Senang is happy place. So, that means, every visitor who comes to this restaurant will get some pleasures if they were eating there. The happiness can come from Indonesia culinary tastes which are very different from other western foods.

And last but not least..

Bumburumba is a typical restaurant food of Yogyakarta. So for those of you are the lovers of Gudeg, Krecek, Lumpia, and all the traditional food of Yogyakarta, you're better to stop here.

I felt I wasn't in Europe. The Hague is like my own home, Indonesia.
I'm very excited and I no longer need to cook Indonesian food during my travel abroad.

Thank you, The Hague.

Photos: Amsterdam, where the creative people live.

travelerezzy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:04:00 GMT

Creativity is expensive and Dutch people just did it.

Amsterdam, the proof of Dutch people's creativity

travelerezzy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:08:00 GMT

WELCOME TO AMSTERDAM, THE CAPITAL CITY OF NETHERLANDS.

My eyes never get tired of seeing the activities of people in Amsterdam, they're all excited. I see a lot of people who ride bikes and parked haphazardly at each intersection of the road, there are also the people who fulfilling the shops, trams also always pass every five minutes to carry the passengers, there are bunch of tourists who lined up to buy french fries at Manneken Pis, and in the end of the street I saw a wide range of interesting attractions. It's totally hectic.

I'm very lucky to have an opportunity to visit this windmills country. One thing's for sure why I love Netherlands is because everything's legal here. It's such a country who support the people for being free to express opinions, creativity, and some brilliant ideas. If we talk about Renaissance Humanism, I think Netherlands, in this case Amsterdam, is one of the proof of its application in modern era.

1. The people freely express their sexual desire because they think sex isn't an unusual thing, sex is a necessity after food, cloths, and home. In Amsterdam, we can find out Red Light District, the place where sexual activities were openly accessible to the public.

2. People are free to use illegal drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine. I could even see the stores that sell these items in public areas.

3. Gay and lesbians also have their right. They are free to show their identity in public without any fear. I saw several cafes and bars devoted to them. How can we know that a bar is exclusively for Gay and Lesbians, just looking at the rainbow flag. If you can see one, I'm surely that's a gay bar.

4. In a positive side, I was amazed to see many street attractions in front of Krasnapolsky's hotel. There are those who are willing to have their body painted with gold color and pose like a statue, those who are singing and playing guitar, and those who are wearing scary Halloween costumes.

5. Last but not least, I think this is the craziest. When the Christmas Eve 2011 just came, nearly half of the street in Amsterdam closed and turned into an entertainment area, which called WINTERLAND AMSTERDAM. You can see a big place and filled by small stalls selling typical Dutch food. There are also ice skating ring, some places to play funny games, and the stores which sell Christmas attributes. Oh, I felt like I was in a carnival.

So, according to my point of view as long as I was in Amsterdam, it proves that freedom of expression that could result a creativity in Netherlands, there's no limit. They have a right to do that and the government support them. I see there's a balance of life here. Humans should really creating something in their life, rather than being isolated.

Creativity should exist for a better life.

Photos: Normandy, A Historic Side of France

travelerezzy — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:28:00 GMT

It's time for you to learn more about the history of France.

My Scholarship entry - Seeing the world through other eyes

travelerezzy — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:47:00 GMT

First of all, the reason why I wrote this blog is because I want to change the people’s point of view which only identifies France just for Paris. Whereas in my opinion, there are many other attractive cities than Paris in France. And one of the famous city is Caen which located in Normandy's region.

Normandy is a region in France that has a lot of history, especially about what was happened during World War 2. France then had to fight it out against Nazi Germany who wanted to colonize this region which is famous for its cheese.

At the time of war, Caen was destroyed and then do the reconstruction in just over 60 years. The people then work together to build their city again. This is what makes people in Caen tend to have high humanitarian spirit.

Normandy architecture building is still number one. We called this typical houses of Normandy with the name Half-Timbered Houses. This building has exposed wood framing. The spaces between the wooden timbers are filled with plaster, brick, or stone.

All about Caen’s history and Normandy immortalized in museums. I was amazed when I know that all the museums in Normandy are well organized. Government willing to spend that much money to preserve it.

For example, when I visited the Memorial de Caen, I actually carry over into the war in 1944. I was able to watch a documentary film and see some historic documents. The tourists won't only learn history, but they also can feel how the war was going on. So, I don't feel loss if I have to pay 15 euros to get into this museum. It’s worthed.

I noticed, almost in every city I had visited in Normandy, like Bayeux, Rouen, Deauville, Falaise, St. Michel, Juno Beach, and Caen, they have museums with the same theme recalling the tragedy of June 6, 1944, or the so-called La Bataille de Normandie.

In conclusion, if you are tired of shopping and partying in Paris, it is good to be balanced with learning French history by coming to Caen and other towns in the region of Normandy.