As I mentioned on my post (about Spring Feast) before that sakura in Okinawa is a bit different than the one in mainland Japan. My (Japanese) friend said that they are actually 2 different species which is why they're kinda different but other than the color, I think they're pretty similar though 
(or is it just me? lol).
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| Sakura in mainland Japan |
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Sakura in Okinawa
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The second picture was taken by me without any edtiting. For the comparison, I got the first picture from google. They're slightly different aren't they? Mainly the color is a bit different, (maybe) especially when you look at it from a far.
For my first hanami, well it's not my first time seeing cherry blossom honestly, I went to the north part of Okinawa, a city called Nago. It took about 2 hours to get there from Nishihara (the city where I live). That area is popular during the sakura season here in Okinawa. They held a cherry blossom festival in Yaedake Cherry Forest Park (さくらの もり). Unfortunately, when we went there, there wasn't many (typical matsuri) sellers there BUT there's a sakura-flavored-ice cream seller then I decided to get one for 500 yen (YES, quite expensive if you convert it to IDR). I think in matsuri all the food's price will be around JPY 500 cause I came to some different matsuri and ended up bought takoyaki, shaved ice, yakisoba, and some other foods for JPY 500 each!
Anyway, in Yaedake Cherry Forest Park, the cherry trees were lining up on the side of the road to the top of Mt. Yae, so you can see the trees along the way. We went all the way to the top then went back down the road to look for a parking lot. We got off the car and strolling around the area and it was so pretty~ 
I can't get enough of it! We're not sure though either the time we were visiting was the best time (I don't think so) or not, so better check it first before you go. We went there on February 12th 2016 and I had a flight to Sapporo on the next day so I'm grateful enough to have a chance to see Okinawan cherry blossom 
We're quite busy the days before with exams and stuffs cause it's the end of the Fall Semester, well at least Yuuki might be busier than us, exchange students (or me).
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We then went to Kourijima (Kouri Island), which is actually a small island belong to Okinawa mainland (if I'm not mistaken 
) so we can reach the Kourijima by crossing the bridge. And that's one of the things that I like about Okinawa, yeah the bridge that separating the islands, it's another pretty landmark of Okinawa! I love going to cross the bridge a lot! The scenery along the way is just.. again pretty! If only I have a drone I'm gonna post the picture or video of it here but you can google it anyway, just wanna have my own above-point-of-view footage 
. Got some footages of the bridge, I tried to upload the video but it's oversize so please bear with only the pictures I took. I was recording when crossing the bridge so couldn't manage to snap the view.
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| The bridge (1) |
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| The bridge (2) |
We didn't really explore the island itself, not even stop at the (famous) Kouri Beach or the other two beaches there. And recently I plan to explore Okinawa more before I go back then found some pretty instagram pictures of Kourijima and I just can't denied that I need to go there one more time! Will definitely updated soon after~ 
POSTED BY Egi ON Tuesday, June 14, 2016 @ 15:32
April 21st 2016
Tanggal 21-24 April 2016 ada acara yang namanya Okinawa International Movie Festival. Ceritanya (katanya) kita dari PPI Okinawa diundang buat dateng dan ketemu sama Hiroaki Kato dan Arina. Hiroaki Kato itu orang Jepang yang udah lama tinggal di Indonesia dan biasanya dia itu suka nge-cover/translate lagu Indonesia ke bahasa Jepang. Sebenernya kebetulan banget saya juga baru tau dia gara-gara nonton Hitam Putih 
. Akhir-akhir ini entah kenapa lagi seneng nontonin berita atau talk show Indonesia gitu di youtube, hmm mungkin efek homesick 
. Ini dia 2 orang yang sebenernya jadi alasan utama kita buat dateng ke Okinawa International Movie Festival:
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Hiroaki Kato
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(Vokalis MOCCA) Arina
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Acaranya (Opening Live) itu mulai jam 18.50, dan pas itu mereka bakal tampil jadi kita rencananya berangkat jam 17.00. Saya dan Idham udah dateng ke tempat ketemuan jam 17.00 tapi baru ada 3 orang yang dateng dan mesti nunggu 2 orang lainnya sedangkan bus yang mau kita naikin udah dateng jadi karena masih nunggu yang lain, kita terpaksa harus ngerelain bus itu pergi dan mesti nunggu bus berikutnya yang datengnya sekitar 30 menit kemudian 
. Jadilah kita baru berangkat hampir jam 18.00 dan perjalanan kesana lumayan jauh sekitar 1 jam lebih karena kita tinggal di Nishihara sedangkan acaranya itu di Naha. Nyampe di halte bus (terdekat) kita masih harus jalan sambil nyari-nyari venue nya karena di sekitar situ kita nggak liat banner2 gitu, aneh nggak sih? Ternyata banner2 nya dipasang di sekitar venue aja tapi agak jauhan nggak ada banner gitu.
Pas udah deket venue, kita cuman denger ada yang nyanyi lagu "Sempurna" dan langsung excited gitu! Eh pas udah bener-bener nyampe venue Opening Live nya udah kelar dan tinggal film doang lagi diputer. Acaranya gratis dan disediain tempat duduk juga akhirnya kita duduklah disitu berhubung udah terlanjur dateng juga kan. Tapi masalahnya adalah film itu emang film barat tapi udah di-DUBBING dalam bahasa Jepang jadi kita ya ngerti nggak ngerti udah nonton aja 
. Kita nonton film itu nggak sampai kelar juga, paling sampai sekitar jam 21.30 dan mutusin buat pulang. Di dalem venue nontonnya itu nggak boleh foto dan gelap juga sih jadi cuman ambil foto dikit doang 
Sebenernya kita yang dateng juga bingung soalnya katanya mereka mau ketemu tapi kita nggak tau kemana harus ngehubungin mereka. Sebelum pulang, kita sempet nanya ke panitianya besok kira-kira mereka bakal perform lagi nggak karena acaranya kan 4 hari, tapi ternyata mereka cuma perform hari pertama dan besok-besok yang perform bakal beda-beda, kayak komedian dll. Padahal udah siapin pulpen sama kertas buat minta tanda tangan Arina terus rencananya bakal dikasih ke Putri pas balik ke Indonesia soalnya dia suka banget MOCCA tapi emang nggak rejeki 
POSTED BY Egi ON Friday, May 27, 2016 @ 09:35
Since it
will be spring soon, Japan has sooooo~ many sakura-themed snacks/foods/drinks. I
tried some of them already but still hunting for the other one, will update if I do try the others. They even make
a sakura flavored beer (I guess it’s beer cause it made by a beer company)! So
here are several sakura-themed snacks and drink that I’ve tried:
1. Sakura ice cream
JPY 500
I ate this ice cream when I went to Nago for hanami, it’s on
February 12th. You must be wondering why it’s already hanami season
while it’s still February meanwhile hanami usually be held in the end of March
or April depend on the location itself. YAS, depend on the location! Since I
live in Okinawa, they have their sakura season around the end of January or
February. It has been known as the earliest place to see sakura in Japan during
the year. Actually sakura in Okinawa is kinda different compared to sakura
which are bloomed in most of the places in mainland Japan. My Japanese friend said they’re
like different species but you can see it clearly that they have different
color. The one in Okinawa is more pink-colored and the one in mainland Japan is
more white-colored. Back to the ice cream itself it’s not bad but it’s not that
good either, it’s just ままfor me.
2. Sakura cookies
JPY 200
I bought this during my Tokyo trip last month. I bought it
in LOFT (Shibuya branch) which is basically a place that you can buy many kind of
things from souvenirs, home appliances to stationaries. I just found this
randomly and decided to buy it right away since it’s sakura flavored, lol! And
this cookies are REALLY GOOD! It’s not that sweet but it’s still has some
flavor in it, if you know what I mean, kekeke. So おすすめよ! I want to buy some of them as souvenirs when I go
back to Indonesia but maybe it’ll be expired already when the time comes so I
decided not to buy that.
3. Sakura mochi
around JPY 180 (if I’m not mistaken)
You can basically find this in any convenience store in
Japan, or just any Lawson (convenience store’s name) maybe cause I bought it there.
This one is wrapped by some leaf and about the taste it’s not that really good
but just good. It’s still a must though since I like mochi. Oh and it has red beans inside.
4. Sakura-flavored pepsi
At first (for me) it tastes like cherry but later on I kinda feel that there's something different between the two but sakura means cherry blossom in english anyway so is that make sense lol. It’s
quite good anyway although I still prefer my first-japanese-kombini-drink-crush royal
milk tea.Labels: onlyinjapan
POSTED BY Egi ON Saturday, March 12, 2016 @ 18:48
When I first arrived in Okinawa (Friday), Oshiro-san told me that on Saturday there will be a university festival which is held once a year around September because the students usually prepare for this festival during the summer break. So right on the next day after my arrival I went to the festival. I didn't really plan to go because I was too lazy to go alone (I couldn't contact my friend, Shely, since I didn't have the wifi's password) and I was still tired but then I decided to go to the Ippan-to building where Shely stays to talk about things and maybe ask her to go to the festival. But honestly I wasn't sure about the way to go there so I ask a guy who were using earphone and just standing in front of one of the building in International House. I asked him in English (he's not a westerner I guess) and he didin't really reply my question but then he just asked me to follow him and tried to explain the way, thanks to him I could make it to the Senbaru Dormitory.
Luckily on my way to look for the Ippan-to building I met Shely and her friends with one of her friends' tutor, Miku-san. I was introduced to her friends and we went together to the matsuri. So there were many stands, including foods, drinks, university clubs' stands and also performances in matsuri. We were also introduced by Miku-san to some of her (Japanese) friends. I'm glad that I come here at least once since I will have already gone back home and can't come for the next year matsuri.
I watched a performance called エイサー (Eisa), it's Okinawa's folk dance. The girls have to dance and the boys play the instrument (kinda traditional drum), also they have to shout out something (or maybe sing in a loud voice) during the performance. I also tried the popular ice cream in Okinawa which is called Blue Seal in sweet potato flavor, it's sweet! So Okinawa is kinda identical with sweet potato. There are many foods which are made from sweet potato here.
Labels: exchange life, japan
POSTED BY Egi ON Tuesday, September 29, 2015 @ 10:21
Today is officially my second day here in Okinawa.
So actually I am on my student exchange journey nowadays till the next one year.
I arrived in Okinawa on September 25th at (around) 8 pm after such a long journey since my first flight was at 06.25 am and I had to stop by 2 times in Hong Kong and Taiwan furthermore this is also my first solo flight so yeah kinda tiresome flight. Also I was really tired that day because I haven't had enough sleep since several days (or weeks) before because of the many things that I had to think before my departure date to Okinawa, including my thesis seminar, publication, defense, revision, even permission since I have done my thesis' defense.
There was one more student who arrived at the same time with me and we were even have the same flight from Taiwan, her name is Lia, Sorry if it's misspelled I don't know the correct spells but it pronounces that way "Lia", she is from Laos. Unfortunately she forgot to bring her certificate of eligibility so the immigration officer couldn't just let her pass until he met Oshiro-san and got an explanation from her. Ah that time we were picked up by Oshiro-san who is nice. She even bought us a dinner during our way to Nishihara :D
Too bad, Lia is actually stay in Senbaru Dormitory while I stay in the International House. I was then introduced by Arakawa-san to my tutor, her name is Yuki. It was late already and I was really tired and sleepy honestly. But since they said that there'll be typhoon on Sunday (but the fact there is no typhoon today, read: Sunday), Yuki asked me to go with her to the supermarket and buy some things so I was just said "okay". She has her own car so we went there by car. I couldn't really think about things that I will need for my room that time so I only bought some kind of instant rice and 2 big bottles of mineral water. I actually have brought so many things from home though even an extra soap, shampoo, tooth brush, tooth paste, some dried foods, etc since I have to save my scholarship money as much as possible to go around the mainland and bring it back home. She is also really nice that she even took me to her apartment to let me borrow her pot and glass. She lives there with her roommate who is half Canadian-Japanese and she said that she also has just picked her roommate up at the airport around the time of my arrival. She is not that fluent in English (I can't say that I'm fluent in English though) and I also feel bad because I can't speak Japanese but our communication is still okay and I also have an appointment with her on Monday which is tomorrow.
I'm looking forward for all the good things to happen!Labels: exchange life, japan
POSTED BY Egi ON Sunday, September 27, 2015 @ 15:01
17 April 2014
Menjelang hari terakhir di Korea, pagi itu kita check out dari Kimchee Guest House. Karena masih mau ngabisin waktu di Seoul sebelum balik ke Busan malamnya, setelah check out kita ke Seoul Station buat naroh koper dan bawaan lainnya di loker sekalian naik kereta ke Gapyeong. Ada apa di Gapyeong? Jadi ceritanya hari ini kita bakal ke Nami Island dan mutusin buat naik kereta ITX kesana. Nah ITX ini harganya sebenernya mungkin agak lebih mahal dibanding mode transportasi lain ke Nami Island tapi emang lebih cepet dan karena waktu itu udah rada siang jadi takutnya ntar nggak keburu ke tempat lain makanya kita mutusin untuk naik ITX yang harganya 4800 KRW. Kereta berangkat jam 11.00 nyampe Gapyeong sekitar jam 11.56. Dari stasiun Gapyeong itu sebenernya udah nggak gitu jauh gerbang Nami Island nya, kita tinggal naik bus aja sekali dan halte bus nya itu ada persis di depan Gapyeong Station atau bisa juga naik taksi kalau mau lebih cepet karena kalau bus kan kita mesti nunggu dulu di halte. Kalau kita naik bus, kita bakal dianter sampai di parkiran Nami Island dari situ tinggal cari 'immigration gate' nya aja buat ke Nami.
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| Gapyeong Station |
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| Halte bus di depan Gapyeong Station |
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| Parkiran di sekitar immigration gate Nami Island |
Sebelum 'immigration gate' Nami Island ini ada wahana yang dinaikin sama Jonghyun-Yura di WGM Episode 261, namanya Jara-Nami Skyland, yang jelas kita mesti bayar untuk naik itu tapi bayarnya berapa saya nggak tau soalnya nggak naik juga, hehe. Sebelum nyebrang ke Nami Island, kita mesti beli 'visa' Nami Island dulu baru bisa naik kapal (sebentar) dan nyampe di Nami Island. Jadi uniknya tiket ke Nami ini disebut 'visa' bahkan kalau kita mau bikin 'paspor' juga bisa mungkin karena Nami ini juga punya sebutan Naminara Republic makanya mereka menggunakan istilah immigration, visa, paspor. Nah kalau 'visa' itu sama aja kayak tiket sekali masuk sedangkan 'paspor' itu tiket masuk Nami yang bisa kita pake selama setahun penuh. Harga 'visa' nya sendiri itu sekitar 8000 KRW buat foreigner.
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| Masuk kesini kalau mau naik Jara-Nami Skyland |
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| Immigration gate |
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| Kapal buat nyebrang ke Nami Island |
Sampai disana kita mencar lagi dan kebanyakan saya bareng sama Kak Christin, Kak Aldi, Kak Nela, dan Fani. Di Nami Island itu kayaknya semua sudut layak buat difoto saking fotogeniknya dan tiap musim pasti bakal ngasih kesan yang beda deh makanya pengen juga ntar kesana pas lagi fall sama winter, semoga bisa kesampean, haha. Saya sebenernya belum puas meng-explore Nami Island tapi seenggaknya udah mampir ke highlight spot nya dan sempet ketemu juga sama pengunjung dari Indonesia yang minta tolong buat difotoin, dunia emang sempit yaa hahaha. Oh iya, setelah nyebrang pas udah nyampe di Nami kalian bisa minta peta juga supaya ngeksplor Nami-nya lebih enak apalagi kalau yang itinerary-nya padat jadi biar lebih to the point aja. Di sekitar situ juga kita bakal nemuin semacam kayu gitu yang bisa dicoret-coret, kalau mau bikin footage jangan lupa bawa spidol.
To be honest, karena saya juga nggak nonton drama Winter Sonata jadinya saya kurang tau juga spot-spot syuting Winter Sonata di Nami Island tuh mana aja 
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| Di depan patung Bae Yongjun dan Choi Jiwoo (pemeran utama Winter Sonata) |
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| Toko souvenir Nami |
Sebelum cabut dari Nami Island, kita sempet makan dulu di rumah makan yang ada di sekitar Nami Island gate. Disana kita makan takalbi, mungkin semacam tumisan ayam dan itu enak!
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| The yummy takalbi! |
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| (again) side dish |
Habis dari Nami Island, kita ke N Seoul Tower tapi sayangnya, kita nyampe sana malem. Sebenernya sih ada plus-minusnya yaa menurut saya kalau ke N Seoul Tower malem gitu. Plus nya pemandangan yang mungkin bakal kita liat dari atas bakal lebih bagus karena lampu-lampu terus juga tower-nya kalau malem nyala jadi baguus~ Minusnya kalau mau foto-foto agak susah karena gelap dan pencahayaan dari kamera juga kadang suka jadi nggak bagus jatohnya selain juga bisa bikin mata kucing ya walaupun bisa di edit cuma yaa itu kayaknya saya lebih prefer kalau mau foto-foto di N Seoul Tower sore-sore jadi cahayanya juga nggak terlalu terang juga. Sialnya juga pas di perjalanan kesana itu hujan dan selama disana juga sempet hujan jadi kita terpaksa nikmatin N Seoul Tower sambil payungan. Oh iya saya waktu itu ke N Seoul Tower naik bus, setelah turun kita mesti jalan lagi dan itu NANJAK jalannya. Selama di N Seoul Tower saya nggak naik ke atas (tower) dan nyesel banget soalnya saya nggak tau kalau ternyata Kak Christin dan lainnya ada yang ke atas, hiks. Di deket loket N Seoul Tower ini ada toko souvenir dan kalau kalian biasa liat love lock lucu-lucu, itu dijual juga disana. Kalau mau liat love lock juga ada di sekitar situ kok cuman naik tangga dikit udah bisa keliatan jejeran love lock yang terpasang disana. Mungkin bisa dibilang kisaran harga di toko souvenir tadi agak mahal, tapi mahal atau murah relatif sih ya sebenernya, saya beli gantungan kunci sebiji bentuk N Seoul Tower 3000 KRW, disana juga saya beli postcard 3D untuk pertama kalinya hahaha, seneng banget karena akhirnya nemu postcard 3D gini, karena saya seneng ngumpulin postcard dan gantungan kunci makanya saya mutusin buat beli 2 barang tadi. Selain love lock, kalau kalian kelilingin toko souvenir-nya, kalian bakal nemu love message tile board dimana kalian bisa masang tile block yang udah dicoret-coret, mirip kayak love lock sih konsepnya, dan tile block nya itu juga dijual di toko tadi.
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| Love lock(s) |
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| Love message tile board |
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| N Seoul Tower |
Tadinya beres di N Seoul Tower kita udah mau langsung ke Seoul Station lagi buat ambil barang sekalian naik kereta ke Busan soalnya emang agak mepet sih ya kalau ke tempat lain takutnya telat tapi kalau langsung ke stasiun juga kayak yang kecepetan gitu. Akhirnya setelah rundingan kita mutusin buat ke Myeongdong, kalau sampai nggak jadi nyesek banget itu hiks, soalnya Myeongdong juga masuk wishlist saya dan adik saya juga nitip album Infinite yang belum saya temuin dari Day #1 dan rencananya emang mau saya beliin di Myeongdong. Sampai di Myeongdong masih gerimis jadi saya nggak sempet foto-foto pake kamera bahkan pake hp sekalipun karena waktu yang mepet jadi saya nggak punya banyak waktu disana. Di Myeongdong kita semua mencar dan waktu itu saya bareng sama Fani. Kita sempet mampir ke Nature Republic ambassador nya EXO yang kebetulan emang disukain sama Fani, hahaha. Kita juga sempet beli kaos kaki yang gambarnya chibi-chibi idol gitu, harganya 5000 KRW kalau nggak salah, sebenernya sih saya beli buat adik saya soalnya dia minta dibeliin apapun yang berhubungan sama Infinite dan/atau L (member Infinite) dan karena pas itu saya belum beli apapun titipan dia akhirnya kalau nemu yang bagus ya saya beli ajaa haha. Selama di Myeongdong kita sempet mampir ke beberapa toko juga yang lagi sale (sayangnya barang yang kita pingin nggak di-sale) sambil nyari Everysing. Nah Everysing ini tempat jual album + official merchandise K-Pop Idol dari SM Entertainment. Tadinya saya mikir mungkin disitu juga ada album Infinite jadi saya tanya ke orang-orang disana mulai dari satpam sampai mbak-mbak SPG. Responnya macem-macem ada yang baru ngomong sepatah kata udah geleng-geleng, ada yang bilang "No, no", ada yang maksudnya baik mau ngasih tau tapi nggak jelas, ada juga yang udah dijelasin panjang lebar masih nggak ngerti juga maksud kita. Akhirnya kita muter-muter nggak jelas aja gitu nyariin Everysing, soalnya ada yang bilang juga kalau Everysing ada di deket SPAO gitu akhirnya kita ke SPAO dan nggak nemu tulisan 'Everysing' di sekitar situ, daaan setelah pulang saya baru tau maksud mbak-mbak itu adalah kita harus masuk ke SPAO dulu terus naik ke atas dan disitulah Everysing. Pokoknya saat itu saya udah bener-bener hopeless deh sampai akhirnya kita ketemu sama Mbak Tatia lagi dan saya tanya mau beli album dimana dan dia ngasih tau "di atas nya Nature Republic ada kok", gosh! Daritadi kita ke Nature Republic dan nggak tau kalau disitu ada tempat jual album dong, hiks. Akhirnya saya dan Fani dengan waktu yang mepet sampe lari-lari (udah kayak di acara uang kaget) berhasil beli 2 album Infinite seharga sekitar 20000 KRW (bonus poster gede) titipan adik saya yang saya pilih secara random hahaha. Untungnya kita nyampe di Seoul Station juga tepat waktu jadi sempet beresin barang juga bentar dan hampir aja saya tekuk itu poster Infinite karena nggak masuk ke dalam koper saya tapi sayang juga ntar jadi jelek akhirnya setelah bongkar-bongkar dikit dan agak maksa masuk juga itu poster ke koper. Kita balik ke Busan naik kereta Mugunghwa (harga tiketnya sekitar 27300 KRW) juga yang berangkat jam 22.50 dan nyampe di Busan kira-kira jam 04.04. Sayangnya kita ke Busan bukan buat jalan-jalan lagi tapi buat pulang karena flight nya dari Busan.
18 April 2015
Setelah nyampe di Busan Station, kita duduk-duduk aja dan beres-beres, sikat gigi, cuci muka, jajan-jajan terus nunggu sampai Mas Bangun dateng. Sebelum Mas Bangun dateng, saya dan Fani sempet beli sarapan tapi karena pas lagi pesen Mas Bangunnya keburu dateng akhirnya makanannya dibungkus. Makanan yang saya beli waktu itu adalah makanan paketan, nama paketnya kids meal soalnya bingung mau beli apa tapi laper kalau nggak sarapan, yaa at least di makanan itu nggak ada pork nya. Kita beragkat ke Gimhae Airport naik bus karena bus stop lebih deket dari Busan Station dibanding subway station. Nah pas di bus, saya dan Fani itu sama sekali nggak tau kalau di dalam bus ternyata nggak boleh makan sampai akhirnya kita ditegur hahaha. Gara-gara itu, makanan kita masih utuh dan baru bisa dimakan pas di airport. Oh iya, di paket kids meal tadi kita dapet seaweed soup juga, baunya agak amis sih tapi rasanya lumayaan.
Thanks to:
Kak Dina, Kak Nela, Kak Christin, Fani, Kak Aldi, Kak Winda, Kak Melda, Kak Eca, dan Kak Linda karena udah jadi teman jalan-jalan yang sangat baik selama di Korea walaupun kita baru kenal. Makasih juga buat Mas Bangun dan Mbak Tatia yang udah nganterin kita jalan-jalan di Busan dan Seoul. Semoga kita bisa ketemu lagi dan bisa jalan-jalan bareng lagi nanti :3Labels: jalan-jalan, korea
POSTED BY Egi ON Sunday, March 15, 2015 @ 09:28
