Makassar: a food paradise

I've been a FANATIC fan of Es Pisang Ijo (a traditional food from Makassar) since I lived in Yogkakarta more than 5 years ago. The mixture of the banana wrapped in green dough, the white sauce, and the syrup is addictive.

In Yogyakarta, you can find a small Makassar food stall that sells Es Pisang Ijo along with Es Palu Butung and Coto Makassar. The stall only sells those three food but it is always packed with customers. From the stall, I knew the taste of those food and I like them.

But when I got to Makassar, I realised that traditional food from Makassar are more than the three I mentioned above...and all are sinfully delicious. No wonder my friend used to say, "Makassar is a food paradise. No way you'll be able to lose weight there!"

Here are some food I tried in Makassar. As I said, they are sinfully delicious....because it's meaty and...well, basically you need to check you cholesterol and sugar levels after you consume them ;p

Es Pisang Ijo

Sop Konro

Sop Saudara

Palu Basa

Coto Makassar

Brisbane: traffic and public transportation

If you are sick and tired with Jakarta's traffic, then you will love Brisbane's traffic. Rarely will you see vehicles speeding or parking carelessly on one side of the road. Traffic jams only happen in the morning when people go to work, in the evening when people go back from work, and after long and hard rain. But, traffic jams in Brisbane don't cost its citizens hours of their days...because people know what to do to avoid more traffic chaos. Drivers will patiently wait for their turn to move forward and not try to cut in front of other vehicles. When the traffic lights turn green and the vehicles in front of them haven't moved, the drivers will stay behind the traffic light. They will wait until the intersection is clear so they won't block other cars coming from different directions. It's one thing you will not see in Jakarta!!

The Busses

Public transportation in Brisbane is, in my opinion, one of the best in Australia. Three modes of transportation include buses, ferries (City Cat), and trains. Most of the vehicles are new and modern and the ticket system with only one card is very user friendly. So basically, to be able to ride the public transportation, you only need one card, which is called Go Card. You put credit in the card and you can ride all three modes of transportation. In some other cities in Australia, you need one card for one mode of transportation, which can get very tricky and annoying. Imagine if you have to take three different modes of transportation to get to one destination!

The train

The City Cat

Some weaknesses still remain, though. Some routes do not go as often as the others. Some routes also stop operating after 6pm. And sometimes you just have to expect delays for 10-30 minutes.

But still, the weaknesses are nothing compared to all the comfort! I still consider public transportation in Brisbane is great. Many people will still want to ride the public transportation because it's comfortable and they don't need to look for parking lots which cost them a lot of money.

Becoming Miss Saigon

With a cheap return flight ticket of IDR 1,121,000, I decided to go to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Some of my Vietnamese friends asked why I didn't go to Hanoi instead. Well, going to Hanoi is definitely going to cost more and create more problems to me because it's winter there. It is interesting how weather can be so different in north and south Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City, the weather in January is similar to Jakarta. On the other hand, it is winter in the northern part, such as Hue and Hanoi.

Ho Chi Minh City…or some of my Vietnamese friends would prefer to call it Saigon…is not that much different from Jakarta and other cities in Indonesia. I can feel the atmosphere of Mangga Dua district in Jakarta, Semarang, and even Bantul in Yogyakarta.

However, this city has its own uniqueness. The rickshaws, the traditional dresses…they brought new excitements to me. It is great to see other cultures of another country, no matter how similar they are to your own culture.

The remnants of Vietnam war can still be seen in some parts of the countries. Cu Chi Tunnels is one of the examples. You can experience how it feels like to crawl through the tunnels during the war. But believe me, if you are claustrophobic, don't even bother to try.

More info on Cu Chi Tunnels

Another unique thing about Vietnam is Mekong Delta and the traditional boats. It was a great fun to be able to wear the traditional hats and riding the traditional boats. Somehow you feel like a Vietnamese already.

More info on Mekong Delta

Unfortunately, for most Vietnamese, English is still a great barrier. It is very difficult to communicate with taxi drivers, hotel staff, and other people we met during our visit. Thank God we have our tour guide who had a very good English. And luckily, there was no problem communicating with the traders in Ben Thanh Market (they even understand some Indonesian language).

If Vietnam can overcome the language barriers, I believe this country can become a great tourist destination. They have amazing cultures which can be a great asset for tourism.