The good friend of mine, Muja, called me about his trip to Indonesia.He wants to visit Jogja, Semarang and Bandung. He's Malaysian, I met him in EDMAT, engineering student training, once in Malaysia. Long before his arrival, he asked me to join the trip. I said yes without thinking twice. All I have in my mind is that this tour is definitely gonna be FUN. What can I ask more? A good friend from across the sea is about to come with his friends and we're going to have good times together. So yeah, it's a solid YES.
Months after months waiting...
And suddenly, it's a week before the day they'll come! And I prepared like... NOTHING! Nothing at all... No plan, no money, no itinerary, NOTHING AT ALL! Goosssshhhh... I texted my Indonesian Delegates friends, just few of them replied. Panic!!! But with the power of Kepepet, I dare myself to arrange things. Few discussion, debates, and arguments, but nothing will happen if nobody come to the destination to observe. I call my old friend (literally OLD hahahahah kidding), Sasa. We've been friends since Elementary School. I asked her to accompany me stroll around Jogja to find interesting places. With some guidance from my cute friend, Irta (I thought she's a Tourism Ambassador of Jogjakarta, she knows almost EVERYTHING in Jogja. LOL).
Then, I came to Jogja by myself, and ready to walk around with Sasa. We walked from my sister's house - Keraton Jogja (Jogjakarta Palace) - Taman Sari - Pasar Ngasem - Malioboro. Such a tiring day. But FUN though...
Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics at all... So sorry...
But anyway, we should win some or learn some. Here we go:
Lesson learned for Tour Guiding Beginners:
1. Plan well! To receive a good friend from other country that want to find out the beauty of our country, PLAN is absolutely needed. Being a last-minute-decision-maker is sometimes challenging, but for me, establish a plan is waaay better.
2. Ask for raw itinerary. It will help us to find out what kind of place they would like to visit, also to minimize disappointment. However, we want to satisfy them, don't we?
3. Do some research. It's 2012 and internet is like flowers in summertime, it's everywhere! Just Google-up for interesting places, spots, foods, and what so ever, and find out how can we get there, ticket price, and interesting facts behind the place.
4. Prepare Accommodation. Make sure that we won't neglect them, give our best service and our widest smile. Confirm their housing and transportation. Hospitality is a plus to make them comfortable and attracted to come and come again :)
5. Make friends and be a family. I'm not talking about seeing them as a prospect to be our husband/ wife-to-be and raise a family (unless, we've got a crush loong before their trip. Oops!). It's about treating them as our family. Me? I bring along my Mom with me, now they consider my Mom as theirs too! How cool is that?
The best is yet to come! See you in the next posting :D
Months after months waiting...
And suddenly, it's a week before the day they'll come! And I prepared like... NOTHING! Nothing at all... No plan, no money, no itinerary, NOTHING AT ALL! Goosssshhhh... I texted my Indonesian Delegates friends, just few of them replied. Panic!!! But with the power of Kepepet, I dare myself to arrange things. Few discussion, debates, and arguments, but nothing will happen if nobody come to the destination to observe. I call my old friend (literally OLD hahahahah kidding), Sasa. We've been friends since Elementary School. I asked her to accompany me stroll around Jogja to find interesting places. With some guidance from my cute friend, Irta (I thought she's a Tourism Ambassador of Jogjakarta, she knows almost EVERYTHING in Jogja. LOL).
Then, I came to Jogja by myself, and ready to walk around with Sasa. We walked from my sister's house - Keraton Jogja (Jogjakarta Palace) - Taman Sari - Pasar Ngasem - Malioboro. Such a tiring day. But FUN though...
Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics at all... So sorry...
But anyway, we should win some or learn some. Here we go:
Lesson learned for Tour Guiding Beginners:
1. Plan well! To receive a good friend from other country that want to find out the beauty of our country, PLAN is absolutely needed. Being a last-minute-decision-maker is sometimes challenging, but for me, establish a plan is waaay better.
2. Ask for raw itinerary. It will help us to find out what kind of place they would like to visit, also to minimize disappointment. However, we want to satisfy them, don't we?
3. Do some research. It's 2012 and internet is like flowers in summertime, it's everywhere! Just Google-up for interesting places, spots, foods, and what so ever, and find out how can we get there, ticket price, and interesting facts behind the place.
4. Prepare Accommodation. Make sure that we won't neglect them, give our best service and our widest smile. Confirm their housing and transportation. Hospitality is a plus to make them comfortable and attracted to come and come again :)
5. Make friends and be a family. I'm not talking about seeing them as a prospect to be our husband/ wife-to-be and raise a family (unless, we've got a crush loong before their trip. Oops!). It's about treating them as our family. Me? I bring along my Mom with me, now they consider my Mom as theirs too! How cool is that?
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| Batik |
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| Jogja Palace Puppet Show |
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| Taman Sari |
The best is yet to come! See you in the next posting :D
