Trip to Pangkal Pinang

Most tourists will visit Tanjung Tinggi beach, where famous movie “Laskar Pelangi” took a scene there, a fabulous white sand beach with gigantic stone. And me? Not!

I’ll give a quick trip through the city, only the city.

Where to visit?

From the airport, it took around 15 minutes to the city center. What can we see from the city? When I was there, I had a round trip, watching old houses, old PT Timah employee houses, the company that once has a great success there.

Its quite hard to found what is interesting there (my personal opinion).

What to eat?

Most island near Sumatra has great durian, stinky thorny big fruit. If you want to try, just do the bargain and let the salesperson select the fruit. If he/she give raw durian, ask for exchange.

The problem is, this word “bargain” is very problematic for me. Its hard to judge this durian costs appropriate with its size and taste.

One of the local food here name “Bakmi Koba”, a noodle soup with fish stock. Noodles is good, the stock taste delicious and lil sweet. Be careful with the chilly, because its very very hot!

What to buy?

Hmmm... Pangkal Pinang is famous by its marine crackers from fish, shrimp, sea cucumber and dried shark fin. Its one of the exclusive food ingredients, the bird nest.

It said that shark fin for 50 grams cost US$39, and for the bird nest below is US$94,8 per 50 grams.

There is two types of fish cracker, true fish cracker without sauce, and the Amplang, fish cracker with sauce.

For coffee addict, you can found a great coffee (that I was underestimated). Taste like Sumatran Coffee that I was bought from Starbucks. The salesperson said that this coffee was originated from around Pangkal Pinang. Altough this coffee has already grinded, its not sour, taste great.
A recommended thing to buy.

If you are a batik maniac, you can find batik, unfortunately I found this in the duty free shop at the airport, not in the local market

I expect somebody will explore the island broader than I did, to let the world that theres something there, not just the “Laskar Pelangi” beach.

TOEFL versus IELTS

TOEFL versus IELTS

Actually previous I've written such thema, but I dont know, it went away, disappear without trace.

Yeah, just write it again. Here we go!

Listening section.

TOEFL use headphone, and IELTS use tape player. So it means that TOEFL is more individual, you take exam inside a booth each for one participant. IELTS usually held on class so it seems like ordinary test.

TOEFL and IELTS both has same method of filling, filled out while the recording is playing. But if you are lucky to found IELTS test type in listening section that explain a map, I hope you can manage about that. When I did my test, I didnt met it anyway. I think that part is hard because you need to have a higher visual-imagination skill.

Tips for facing listening section, try to listen to english audio/song/movie without looking on translation/text to train your  hearing organ :p

Dont worry, on the test you can make small note to help you remember important name/word.

Reading section.

Both TOEFL and IELTS have same method, there's paragraphs and questions that need to be answered. (you dont say??)

Just keep cautious about the question "it", "inferred", "implied" and "what is the main idea of paragraph X?"

Usually questions has sequence, so first question 90% wont asking about the last paragraph.

Here, the test assumes that all participant has same level of education, if you are rocket scientist and the text is about rocket science, DONT play smart person here! Even you know that there are more correct answer or there isnt, the answer lies within the paragraph or inferred from paragraph!

Speaking section.

Same method, participant speak! There are two type of answering, spontaneous and prepared answer.

But, the huge difference lies here. 

In TOEFL your spoken answers is recorded into a recording device through microphone, so if you are nervous it may influence your voice intonation and clarity. Be careful about this! 

In IELTS you'll be speaking to a native speaker, a person, a human, directly. So I think that IELTS is better than TOEFL because if you are nervous, at least he/she might still heard what I've said better than through recorded audio.

Writing section.

Both test provide two type of question, but different in term. In TOEFL you'll get pick-a-side writing and free writing while in IELTS you'll faced chart/diagram description and pick-a-side writing. 

Pick-a-side writing requires participants to pick-a-side, pro or contra in an argument. There is no right or wrong side as an answer in this question, but the score much weigh on how is your writing composition, clarity of idea, systematic explanation and less grammar error. This requirement is also valid for free writing question. 

Chart/diagram description is relative easy because we've already given chart/diagram to describe the content, compare contrast between data inside. Remember that here we ONLY describe the chart, compare highest and lowest bla bla bla without giving reason why this number/chart's increase or decrease!! Remember!

DONT play as smart person because the examiner is smarter than us!

My strategy in writing section was doing the hardest part first then get into the easy part.

Well, thats all my explanation between TOEFL and IELTS. The choice and budget is yours. Remember to bring extra pen or pencil and eraser :) 

Cheers mate!

trip to Samarinda

From Jakarta I flew to Balikpapan, because in Samarinda there is no big airport and for that I should took a trip by car for 3 hours.

Between travel I took a rest in a rest area-like with culinary specialty, sumedang tofu! Yup, a sumedang tofu, but I was not in West Java anyway.

They fried the Tofu's and sell it here, but made it somewhere else.

After taking a break, stretching old bones we continue further deep into Bukit Soeharto National Park.
Im very curious about many mining projects in East Kalimantan, because here is famous about its coal mining. unfortunetely I saw no mining landscapes, only some forest, prairies, villages and palm oil plantation. Most of the mining areas are located in Berau, Kutai Kartanegara and many remote areas up in the north.
And finally I arrived in Samarinda, the capitol of East Kalimantan.
Samarinda is located near Mahakam river, a big river that became the tagline of the city, "Samarinda kota tepian" (Samarinda, city of bay).

What to see and what to buy:
Unfortunetely I had a short time there, first I went to the "pasar budaya" (cultural market). There I saw ethnical souvenirs from samarinda/dayak tribe.
There are wooden shields, batik, bead bags, mat, t-shirts and many kind of souvenirs. Make sure you bargain, some price here can be bargained up to 50%.

This is one of the unique batik pattern, from Dayak indigenous tribe who inhabits Kalimantan.

Samarinda is famous of the amplang kuku macan crackers. A cracker which made from fish and flour. We can buy it in almost every souvenir shop. It cost $3-$5 per packing.
Taste yummy 😊

After that I visited durians seller near Mahakam river.
If you to Samarinda, its not be complete before you taste the durian, the king of fruit.
For the small one, it cost IDR 100.000 for 4 pieces. But for those big one, hanging on the strings, thats durian mentega. It cost more for buy it, up to IDR 125.000 for one fruit. Costly, but the price won lie.
The fruit inside is gigantic, compare to mineral water cup, the seed is small and the flesh inside is thick. 😊

Near the river theres a majestic islamic center, with towers and dome. It also functioned as a mosque. Some story said that it cost billions of rupiah to build it. Because it located near the river and it should has a good foundation structure, to avoid it from sinking.

What to eat here? Unfortunately I only have a chance to eat a beef stew. Like any other beef stew, it taste sweet and creamy. But with this portion, no one will seek a snack after ate it.

Trip to Kupang

This is a dairy of my trip to Kupang,
one of the most southern city in Indonesia.

(actually I wanted to use Clibe App to publish it, but the App is busted so I go back to my netbook)

And after total 4 hours of travel from Jakarta, finally i’m arrived in El Tari Airport, Kupang.
The landscape is dominated with hills and dried grass caused by dry season at that time.
There’s not so much trees grows, most is Lontar (Asian Palmyra Palm/Toddy Palm; Borassus flabellifer) and others like Tamarind, Acacia, Teakwood and the famous and expensive wood producer tree, Cendana or in international name Sandalwood.
Unfortunately in my trip, I saw no Sandalwood.

Drove to the city, gives a clear view on the landscape. Hills composed of reef stone.

It took around 10 minutes from airport to city.
As I approach Kupang, I see the pulse of it.

From the airport, people can use taxi without taximeter to take a trip.
Usually it depends on the route, closer trips costs Rp. 60.000 ($7-$8) or paid it hundreds rupiah for a day rent.
There’s also public transport like buses and angkot, costs Rp. 2000 ($ 20c) one trip.
The car is unique with modifications and various cutting stickers.

With unique horn and loud music, people called it "diskotek berjalan" (mobile discotheque).
They did it because loud music and funky modified cars attract school kids more to use them, one of the major users.

What to eat in Kupang? I took seafood, a delicious Grouper and it looks lovely in the picture :)

What to buy here?
Some handicraft from Kupang like fabric, purse, bags, cellphone pouch are the most sold items here.
And the fabric is unique, its thick, dominated with dark color but it structure like wool, has a hollow gap between it. Maybe it designed so that it wont be hot under the sun, and its not too cold in the night.

One thing that tourist must see or may buy (if you bring a lot of money) is to go to local jewelry store, see jewelries like earrings, bracelet made of ivory.
First strange thing is, where are the elephants?
I dont see any elephants running or grazing, so maybe they have extinct hundred years a go.
The second strange thing is, is there a whole ivory?
Centuries ago, we'll might see a whole ivory, but along with the inflation, the tiny ivory will cost US$300 a piece!

Third question is for what these ivory rings purpose? The purpose is as a dowry. So, its gonna be a very very expensive wedding celebration, havent mention about guests, invitation, catering and exotic honeymoon :p

What to visit and where?
hmmm thats quite easy to choose places to visit, natural recreation area like beaches! Yup, because Kupang has many beaches, but most are surrounded by reef. So pick one, like Lasiana Beach that has beautiful combination color of sand, shore and sky.

And look! There's a happy family jumpin'  on the sand :)

And one of the natural attraction around Kupang is waterfall. Yup, they have it inside the island, it took 30 minutes to go there, through villages and hills.

This is the picture of the entrance gate, as you see there's no entrance ticket (when I was there). going to the waterfall, you must follow the concrete path, down through the stair.

Just follow the sound of water rumbling.

There you are.
A nice shady view in dry arid of Kupang :)

TOEFL vs GMAT

I've been through this dilemma, either taking iBT TOEFL or take a GMAT test for postgraduate abroad.
For easy way, I skip the chapter how I get a scholarship or fund raising for the postgraduate study and focusing on "which one is harder, iBT TOEFL or GMAT?"

First, let me explain what is TOEFL.
In Indonesia, there are many kind of TOEFL, TOEFL prediction, TOEFL ITP and TOEFL iBT.
The point is this test is to test you your english fluency (of course).
So lets get down to the definition (my definition) hahaha :D

1. TOEFL prediction.
TOEFL prediction is a kind of TOEFL that measure your english language in the most easiest way. Usually it conducted in paper based test. It consist of 3 part of test, listening, grammar (sentence correction) and reading passage (the cheapest package)
In some english langage center, it cost you Rp150.000-Rp400.000 ($1=Rp9.000-Rp10.000). The more expensive you pay, the more complicated the test (including writing and maybe speaking).
The purpose of this test is maybe for applying jobs or for academical purpose (senior-senior high school level).

2. TOEFL ITP (institutional)
This TOEFL costs Rp300.000, the price rise, does the difficulty.
Not all english language centers can held TOEFL ITP tests because the scoring was dome from ETS (Educational Testing Service).
The test still consist of 3 parts, listening, grammar and reading.
But the interesting part is here, that the vocabulary is one step higher than TOEFL prediction.
The purpose for this test is as complementary requirement for domestic and some foreign postgraduate admission.

3. iBT TOEFL
Well, this is the ultimate TOEFL in the universe, the highest level.
But the interesting part is that the vocab is nearly similar from TOEFL ITP. i said that because i've tried it before. It cost around $160, you can afford it by credit card or from voucher costs Rp1.500.000 (us$150-us$160) which sell by some language center in big cities in Indonesia.
The test is evaluated also by ETS. All result is sent to ETS center and being evaluated and scored there. They will sent the result by mail or email.
This test consist of 4 types of test, listening, reading, speaking and writing.
And there is no GRAMMAR brotha and sistaaa (hurray!) haha :D
Not all english language center can conduct this test. Usually we can choose it, in which center we would do the test when we booked for the test online.
The function of this test is to apply foreign graduate or postgraduate degree all around the world. The test is valid for 2 years.
There is PBT TOEFL (paper based test), CBT TOEFL (computer based) and iBT TOEFL (internet based), actually all of them are same, only the medium of testing is different. In indonesia only iBT TOEFL is available.

So, which test you will choose? And how do you measure your skill. I give you a hint.
I've tried TOEFL Prediction, scored 600. When Im doing the ITP ROEFL, resulted 557 for second attempts. Yeah, my score shrink around 50 points.
And after I try iBT TOEFL, my score is 78, in my opinion, 78 equals to 550 for paper based TOEFL (PBT TOEFL).
So my language skill is still same (at that time). Although I only read and practice iBT TOEFL guide book from ETS in pdf format.
Not so bad for beginner :p

And I almost forgot to discuss about the GMAT :D

4. The GMAT
Well, for me this is the hardest test I've tried, some opinion said that this is IQ test in english. But there is fewer mathematical questions than logical-reading paragraph questions like in Indonesian regular IQ test.
I've tried paperbased GMAT and scored 290, 370 and 390
Seems high but the smallest score is 250 and 800 as the highest :(
The problem for GMAT, the result paper is just like end of semester transcript print out.
It rewrote your previous test. Of course its good that your score raised, but if vice versa?
Thats a problem for your dream campus admission.

Thats all for my TOEFL vs GMAT blog. The choice is in your wallet :D See ya!

"Most of our lives is a paperless test" Bagus Hariadi.

Passion, there you are!

Hello there, its been a loooooong weeks I havent wrote any blogs :D
After very busy office duties, some drama in my life and idul fitri holiday now im back with something that maybe we are looking for.
Its not about politics or some credit cards data anymore, but its about my life, your life and our life.
Have you heard a out "passion"?


Its a word, 7 letters that deals alot in our life.
What is a world without passion? Its very boring then. No music, pictures or maybe there wont be Monalisa in Louvre, France.
Passion is a word that explain what kind of things that we enjoy in our life.
As we are getting older, the students should go to college, the college boys should graduate and find a tea spoon of diamonds and filling their garage with cars, I mean finding a job.
And how does it to found a dream job, a job that fits with my passion???
I think this is the most questioned question in all campuses after recieving our bachelor or undergraduate certificate.


Some follow their friends, "if they apply to this office, we should go too"
Some follow their parents, some being directed by their parents and some follow their hearts finding their dream job.
A dream job is a kind of job that fits to your heart and match to your passion (kinda exaggerating, isnt it? :p)
But its true, you are craving for a job that suitable for you, either from the light workload or from the sallary.


I also feel the same, where Im stucked here (in my current job), during "quiet times" I tried some activities that I liked previously, but didnt have enough courage to do it!
At first, its very relieving to do it, I enjoyed a lot. Here, I feel appreciated and learned many very very new knowledge. Day by day im always spirited when im wake up in the morning, to do my side job.
And the best thing is that this passion also earn something, another pay check :D


What is passion,
Passion is a thing that makes me willing to stay awake in the middle of the night,
to do it again,
learned it,
reading books about it, collecting infos about it and keeping me awake, waiting the sunrise and very joyful in the morning, unpatience to do it again!


Remember this feeling is like tomorrow is my birthday, and my dad has a surprise for me :) anything I want it is there and im unpatience waiting for tomorrow \m/

To find your passion, we can retrace it from your hobby.
My hobby of course the things that I like, but passion is stronger than hobby.

Passion = hobby which earn money

Some people have many hobbies, you named it, he/she liked it :D thats very challenging.
This is the part that he/she should figured out, which hobby is the most loved by tried them one by one :)


I've found my passion and this is the first hobby from my many hobbies. It already runs for months and it earns a little, but Im very very proud of it.
I loved it alot and it keeps me awake untill now (23:20), because Im very very excited to write about it and share my story to all :)

Passion, there you are!

Product review Polygon Metro 3.0

Below I wrote down product review of Polygon Metro 3.0, a fold able bike that i've used for 2 months.

The design is mainstream, almost similar like other folding bike, but some flaws are the joint (welding) result between frames that looks untidy.

It weighs around tenths of kilogram, not so differ from other brands.
The second flaw is the rubber for stand guard is not tight fit on the tip. Once i've lost it when I used it to go to my office, but then I notice that it still stick on the groove of my home carport :p
I should stick it tightly with a power glue.
Check picture.



Folding city bike most of them are completed with gear ratio so you can conquer uphills. The switch is located in the right hand near the hand grip. Sometime trouble happened when the handgrip also twisted when you want to switch gear, so the handgrip will move to the outside of the handbar.
See pictures below.



I think that if I put glue on it, my hand will be troubled that the hand grip will hold my gear switch movement.
Until now I haven't found solution to this problem.

And the last is that maybe I should bought bike with suspension. If you think city streets are not bumpy? You wrong. In some points, there are craters ready to swallow them that uncautious :p
Or maybe that the shape of the seat is "split" my butt? I think so. Compare to motorcycle seat that broader.
The choice is yours, remember, ride safely.