Review APA Hotel Keisei, Ueno Akimae Japan

Hi , everyone... all is well? I certainly hope so.

I would like to share more about my trip to Ueno, Japan. I have shared the beauty of Ueno Park (read: Cherry blossoms at Ueno Park, Japan  ) and the surrounding temples as well as things we can do while transiting in Japan  (read: 8 Things you can do while transiting in Japan 

Now let me take you to the hotel I chose during my stay in Ueno, Japan. This trip took place in 2018 and it was my first trip to Japan, to be followed by other 3 transits and visit. I have to admit I do fall in love with Japan since my first visit! Well, who wouldn’t?

So, welcome to APA Hotel Keisei Ueno Akimae Japan!

I love this hotel!

It was located in a very strategic location because it is only a walking distance from Ueno station, which is one of the hubs for you who like to visit  Tokyo and the surrounding areas. It is only one fast train away from Haneda airport. Those who want to visit Tokyo on a transit or even spend the night here in Ueno. For me, it is like a great opportunity as I got a chance to  try shinkansen or the fast train as well. 

The hotel is not far the famous Ueno Park and all its wonderful temples and museums. It's also near American Market in Ueno, one of the landmarks in the area, and Hard Rock Cafe Ueno if you happen to collect some stuff from them like me and my hubby. Many food vendor and supermarkets are around as well.

The room might be small but it has everything you need. It is very compact yet it is still comfortable. I was enjoying the facilities they have inside the compact room which is surprisingly complete as well. Although it’s small, it has the comfy bed with all its pillows, robe, slippers, working station, all the charging station, evenbooks to read and hair dryer. They also put cute origamis on the sheet as a heartwarming welcome gesture. I am impressed!

The bed is comfy and the amenities are from Shiseido :). Can you imagine that? This brand is very famous and quite expensive in Indonesia LOL.  The rate is manageable and I believe it's sensible for the facilities and location they offer.

Happy to go back here again if I gat another chance to visit Ueno again.

So what do you think about the hotel? I will share more about my visit to Japan soon okay. Meanwhile, stay safe, happy and healthy.

WW: Taman Nemo, Pahawang and Kelagian Island, Lampung

Welcome to Pahawang and Kelagian Island, Lampung

Hi everyone... Ready to enjoy a lovely weekend with The Frakarsas? Join us then!

Nothing brings me more joy than going out to the sea and enjoy its beautiful underwater world. Well, although I don't always have the luxury of going diving with my club in Lampung, I always try to sneak a snorkelling trip whenever we visit Lampung. 

We took our first trip in 2021 to Lampung on the second week of January.

The trip was quite smooth as it was no longer the holiday season.

Let's go to Taman Nemo, Pahawang Island, Lampung

During the weekend, we were back to the sea we love so much again. As we have tried many snorkelling spots around Lampung Bay, this time I ask my boatman to take us to different corner to see other places and hope for better, healthier corals with more fish, I know that pollution, climate change and crowded environment due to irresponsible tourism activities, have driven the fish away and killed many soft corals around the area. 

It was a beautiful day

I remember hopping on et off in the same place like 5-6 years a go and the fish is so abundant. That is why I hope we can still save this beautiful place on earth and preserve its amazing nature.

Do you see school of yellow fish roamong around the corals?

So long story short, after a 40-minute boat ride, we arrived at Taman Nemo, Pahawang Island, Lampung. It was the 9 of us that day so it was quite a crowd. As usual, we brought our own gear, food, drink and stuff we need. I brought my underwater camera and my hubby brought his drone. We definitely had so much fun with them!

happy to spend some times with them :)

Without further ado, my family and I started our snorkelling session and explored the area. It's good to see some corals and anemones are healthily intact on their natural habitat. But still I expect to see more fish although in reality we saw some but not too many. Nevertheless, I was happy to see big puffer fish, a school of angel fish, muray eel, clownfish et others. My boatman even saw a sea turtle. And the clear blue sky made the trip even more beautiful.  Here are some photos I took during out trip.

Kelagian island from above..

Us and our boat..

it is still preserved 

it's a bit crowded down here..

they look familiar :)

Do you like snorkelling as well? What do you like to see during snorkelling? Where do you usually snorkel?

Join us on (almost) Wonderful Wednesday and 

Birthday Galore at the Frakarsas Family

Birthday galore at the Frakarsas

Happy happy birthday!

December is a triple special for me and my family. It’s all about birthdays, birthdays, and birthdays! Plus vacation LOL.

I believe I have been telling my dearest blog readers that I am surrounded by 3 Sagitarians. My hubby, my son and my daughter. Good thing I am a Leo ♌️ so I can handle them (if you know what I mean  😉).

So this time, in this super special 2020 thanks to the pandemic, we actually managed to do things differently. We celebrated 2 birthdays in Bali (yaaaaay) and 1 in Jakarta with the my big families.

We started the birthday galore with Obi, my daughter. Although I was in the middle of preparation for meetings, we still get a chance to celebrate it in our hotel bedroom in Nusa Dua, Bali. We even had the mini birthday cake with cherries and chocolate on top 🍒.

So Happiest birthday to my baby bunny, ma mija, the brightest girl in the house (after mama hahahahaha) 🥰♥️🥰. No .. I was kidding. I bet you will be even brighter, smarter, more fun and more soleha ya love. I can’t tell you enough how proud I am to see you grow this gracefully all these years. Have blessed days head, gorgeous! May Allah SWT bless us all. Always!

Then the second birthday is super duper special as we celebrate my hubby’s born day and our anniversary as well. 16 years and still so much in love, complete with everything in between! We were in Ubud, staying in one of our favorite private villas there, and had a blast!

When people ask me how I - or perhaps ‘we’ can survive our relationship this long (9 years dating & 16 years of marriage and counting 🥰.), I might say I don’t now. I just enjoy the journey, - no matter how absurd and horrible it may be 😬🤭 , complete with its ups and downs;  be true to myself and try to ensure respect is on our day-to-day menu. Obviously, it’s not always a rose-colored glasses world we have, but it sure is colorful enough to make you realize how blessed and lucky you are to have each other. You don’t always have the privilege to spend your life with someone that makes you feel super comfortable being yourself. With Udi, I have been through hell and heaven and he still stands by me until this very moment. I sincerely hope I can do the same! Here’s to 16 (or 25 from the scratch 😙🥰) years and counting ya love 🌺♥️. 

Finally, the finale for this year’s birthday galore in the Frakarsas family is abang Bo’s. My first born son.

I still remember vividly when I came to Monash medical Center in Melbourne twice before I delivered my first born. It was quite an experience and an adventure for me and my hubby @frakarsa because it was only the two of us at the time and we were far away from home. Alhamdulillaaaah all was well and we celebrated the joy of being new parents merrily. But Bo has been a lovely and understanding kid since the very beginning as I have no trouble at all in raising him until now when puberty hits LOL. And he’s been traveling around since a tender age of 7 days, accompanying me to the boxing day sale then flew back home to Jakarta when he was only 39 days old!  

Now, he is still a soft-hearted and loving boy who is not afraid to show his love to mama, yours truly, Bapak et Obi. He hugs me before going to bed and says I love you to us. He helps with household chores and cooks well! And he’s our cats’ favorite!

Thanks for being a unique and helpful you, Bang.. here’s to being 14 and more brilliant years to come 🎉♥️! Bismillahirrahmanirrahiiim ♥️♥️♥️

Before his birthday, we had photo session taken during our last visit to Bali and during our stay in Conrad Hotel, Bali. I love all the result and really thank Conrad for these wonderful shots and beautiful memories we share in there ♥️💜♥️.

So that’s our birthday galore this year. We are so grateful for all the beautiful things Allah SWT has bestowed us. May we all be blessed. Always.

WW: The Amazing Kelingking Beach, Nusa Penida Bali

Hi, everyone...

Indah's here and I am happily back to Bali!

Words can never express how grateful I am to be able to revisit this incredible heaven-on-earth, together with my family.

In this trip, we decided to explore the places that we haven't been or done things we haven't done before. That includes visiting the exotic Nusa Penida island!

And what an amazing island Nusa Penida is!

We took the tour to Nusa Penida operated by Idola Fast Boat and chose the full-day West side tour. We visited Kelingking Beach, Broken Beach, Angel's Billabong and Crystal Bay. We had private tour with local car and guide as well. It was lovely!

Before I spill all the details about our trip there, here are some photos  I took at the amazing Kelingking Beach, Nusa Penida Bali.

What a lovely place indeed!

Will you visited Kelingking Beach, Nusa Penida, Bali as well when you get a chance?

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and enjoy the link party!

WW: Sunset at Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung, Indonesia

Sunset at Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung, Indonesia

Hi everyone,

Wishing you all a great day wherever you are.

I was traveling to Lampung, my beloved homeland, together with my family last weekend. We had some urgent matters to handle and Alhamdulillah things were under control. We even managed to visit the ocean and the islands we love so much. This time, we visited Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung.

beautiful sunset we have here..

Ma Mija et me..

Sunset at Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung, Indonesia

Sunset at Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung, Indonesia

Pulau Kelagian Besar, Lampung

Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung, Indonesia

Sunset at Kelagian Besar Island, Lampung, Indonesia

As we planned to catch the sunrise, we traveled in the afternoon and stayed there till the sun set. It was simply beautiful.

Check out the photos we took during our visit here.

And the video as well about our little adventure in Lampung.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and enjoy the link party.

WW: Tegenungan Waterfall, Ubud, Indonesia

Welcome to Tegenungan Waterfall, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Welcome back to Ubud, Bali. 

Although I didn't really have much time while visiting Bali recently, I visited one of the waterfalls near our hotel. Tegenungan Waterfall in Ubud, Gianyar Regency is one of the many waterfalls doted in this beautiful area. We took our rented car to Sukawati Village, not far from the famous Sukawati market, the famous arts and crafts center around the area. 

the view from above

The entrance ticket is only 20K Rupiah for local here in Tegenungan waterfall. I don't see the information for the foreign tourists somehow but I guess the officer will tell you the price for that. We will have to take steps to go down to get to the waterfall (and up again to go back to the parking lot) and it's quite far, at least for me. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothes.

The ticket booth

Along the path, you will see some Instagramable spots and best view of the waterfall from above. They have the bird nest, love frame,  bench, vista point and more.

mini me and I enjoying the waterfall from above

Down near the waterfall you will Pura or the temple as well as holy spring and swimming pool. I love the fact that the water is so clean and cool. Perfect for Bali humid weather.

When you go near the waterfall, you can see some small stone structures. The current is quite strong, at least when we visited this place. Perhaps because it's in the rainy season.

Check out some more photos I took during my visit here.

lovely bird nest we have here

the local Pura or temple

I love it.. and it's not that crowded at all

my love ...

a little selfie here..

the pool and holy spring

always artistic..wherever you go in Bali

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

So, what do you think about Tegenungan Waterfall ? It's a lovely place indeed.

Will you visit this lovely waterfall? Which one do you think will be your favorite spot here?

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and enjoy the link party!