life is short! live a memorable one!

On the morning of 11 November 2007, I boarded air-asia brand new airbus A320 with three of my friends to Surabaya,Indonesia. The 2 hour 45 minutes flight was smooth and we landed safely in sidoearjo International airport,Surabaya. The trip to hotel on the taxi takes approximately 45 minutes. Our hotel, Weta International hotel is a 3 star hotel which is quite wear off. Fortunately the rooms were okay and clean. The first day of our 4 days trip in surabaya took us to the House of sampoerna, The kembang jepun street (china town) & Surabaya newest & largest shopping- Pakuwon supermall. On the second day of our travel we went to the Kebun Binatang surabaya (zoo), the submarine monument, Surabaya oldest shopping mall- Plaza surabaya, Plaza Tunjungan-Surabaya most crowded shopping mall & Surabaya very own Tanggulangin which is an area for leather industry. lots of good bargain for leather products. I bought two pairs or leather shoe, one wallet & one ladies handbag. The night was quiet as most of the nightspot in town were close for the Muslim fasting month. We manage to have some fun watching tv and drinking in our hotel rooms. The next day we are on our way to Surabaya most famous place-Gunung Bromo. Bromo is a still active volcano and last exploded in 2004. The journey to bromo took us to tretes ( a weekend retreat for Surabaya folk to unwind their past time and relax). next stop is malang- an area similar to our malaysia very own cameron highlands. We visited the Kusuma Agro wisata which is an area for strawberry & apple plantation. I have my first chance to pick up an apple myself. the experience is a memorable one. The air in this area was so cooling and we enjoy our time here. I wonder how great it would if we can stay overnight here. However we still need to reach bromo by midnight. So maybe the next time! We reach the base camp of bromo around 12.30am. We immediately surrounded by a group of men trying to sell us the infamous bromo hat,gloves and scarf. I bought a few piece as souvenir. We rent a small room for a short nap as we need to board a jeep to Penanjakan view point where we can view the breath taking and magnificent sunrise of bromo. Not to our disappointment, the view was indeed a memorable one. By far the best sunrise I have seen in my life yet! We reach the foothill of bromo around 6.30 a.m. and a further 30 minutes walk or a 10 minutes horse ride will take you to the staircase to heaven(252 steps before you reach the top of bromo) At last we step our foot on top of bromo! It's really worth a visit and you will only believe what i said once you are here! it's just too much to say about bromo! we leave bromo with a heavy heart and head back to Surabaya. To spend our last few hours in Surabaya, we went for last minutes shopping at BG Junction-newly opened shopping Mall! I managed to bought a ring that cost me 45,000 rupiah! We reached home at night and we all agreed that the trip is nevertheless a memorable one even without experiencing the nightlife in Surabaya! We have already started to plan for the next trip-maybe Macau, Vietnam or Philippines. Traveling has improved my view on life and make me perhaps a better person.

It's been more than 2 months since he left us to another world. We are still recovering from loosing our best friend from an fatal accident. We miss him deeply and he will remain deep inside my heart. You will be remembered as a great man with good heart and strong will power. You willbe remembered as my best friend and buddy! I just can't express how much I miss you.......the time we laugh together, travel together, drink together, dance together....drunk together.....all these...has slowly and surely will become memories....! Life is just too short for such a good guy like you! -May U Rest In Peace-

I will be travelling to Surabaya next month and looking for a new excitement in this city. Not much of information on this city from the internet. For your information, Surabaya itself is not a tourist friendly city! So do expect lots of asking from the local for direction,places of interest and any information you need. Definetely not a heaven for luxury tourist. But for a budget traveller like me..there should be no problem. What is the nightlife scene in surabaya? I am anxious to find it out! Eventhough this is not my first trip to Indonesia, i do expect lots of hassle and challenges. It's never an easy experience in Indonesia! More reports and details on Surabaya next month.