Me and a group of friends are planning to go on a vacation early next year. There are four of us – we’ve known each other since we all started working in the same company back in 2011. They are more than just colleagues though.. I’m glad I can call them best friends.
We actually started to become close after we went on a tour to Karimun Jawa islands back in 2012. Afterwards, we have been to Mt. Bromo, and Derawan islands.. and we also hang out very often. One of us has gotten married and one of us might be leaving the company soon.. so we think it’s a good idea to go on a “quality time” kind of trip.
The thing is, our past travels have always been adventurous, backpacking style. The place was all special and beautiful, but the itinerary was always packed, leaving us with very little time to chill. Thus, this time we want to go somewhere relaxing.. or at least not that adventurous.
Now here comes the “drama”. It’s soooo hard for us to agree on a destination. We’ve agreed on a budget and timeline. We want to spend maximum IDR 7.000.000 for a 4 days trip around February – March next year… ideally abroad because we’ve never been abroad together and we think it will be nice to have a different kind of experience. With that budget and time limitation, South East Asia seems the only feasible region to go to. The four of us each proposed a “to-go” and also “no-go” destination.
For me, the choice is Singapore for “to-go” and Vietnam for “no-go”. Singapore is basically an obvious choice. It’s so close to Indonesia and I think we would enjoy the city getaway plus chillin’ at the hip cafes… a different kind of vacation from the ones that we’ve always been. That 7 million budget would suits us nicely, I think we can even splurge a little while we’re there. Why no Vietnam? I’ve been on a solo trip to Ho Chi Minh City and I have to say that it’s not for me. My friends might enjoy it though, but I think it will be another backpacking/adventurous kind of holiday… so I’d prefer not to go there.
The problem is.. Singapore is on one of my friend’s “no-go” list! Hahaha. Though I love her dearly, I still don’t get why she doesn’t like to go to Singapore. I mean… it’s Singapore! (Okay just like her, I’m prolly being totally subjective hahaha). We discussed about Hongkong.. which quickly sent to no-go destination because we think it would not suit our budget. We also discussed Manila but my Filipino colleague told me it’s just like Jakarta. She recommended the beaches though.. Boracay, Palawan.. which we are very much interested to go but kind of unsure about the weather. Kuala Lumpur was quickly sent to no-go as well because two of us spent college years there and would very much prefer to go somewhere else. But, I recently read Noni’s post on Penang and it looks like a very nice town to visit.. Hmmm.
Seems like first world problem? hahaha kind of! :p
Of course there are tons of wonderful destinations in Indonesia that we can visit. An easy one, Bali. I’m pretty sure we can do a lot with that budget and time allocation. Exploring East Indonesia? for sure! We are always talking about going to Ora Beach. Reading Fe’s post on Maluku makes me want to pack my bags and leave ASAP! Of course we can’t forget about Komodo Islands and Nusa Tenggara. West Indonesia is a charm as well.. none of us has been to Medan and its surroundings (Again, Noni’s post kind of inspires me to go!).
So many destinations, so many inspirations, minimal budget and time allocation…. Hahahaha.
Can you help us? where do you think we should go? 😀
Christa Bercerita 
As I am so eager to go back to my hometown now….why not try samosir,lake toba and tuktuk?
Or maybe to padang west sumatra…hehe rempong ya neikkk mau liburan bareng ciwi2 :)))
Aku baru aja dari padangg.. Hehe. Iya sumatera utara menarik yaa, makasih masukannya..
Iya bokk rempong beneur inii padahal baru tahap planning hihihi
ke maluku utara aja *promosi daerah sendiri* atau pulau-pulau sekitaran indonesia timur itu keren-keren loh, dari pada harus keluar negeri mending lihat keindahan negara sendiri 😀
setuju indonesia emg bagus2 bgt daerah wisatanya, cuma kita tdnya kepengen keluar negeri bareng krn belom pernah aja.. Kan lain lagi tuh adventure nya kalo di negeri orang hehehe. Maluku utara ada daerah khusus yg rekomen ngga? Makasihh sarannyaa 🙂
ke pulau morotai (maluku utara),,pantainya bagus-bagus,,salah satunya pantai dodola,, 😛
waahh aku udh googling dan gambar2nya bagusss sekaliiiii.. aduhhh kepengennnn… *drool*
bagus kaaan pantainya,,, 😛
go to the destination you ve never been before ! 🙂
That’s what we’re planning to do! 🙂
Ke Medan+Samosir saja Christa 😀 #promosiKampungHalaman 😀
Sama nih kayak Jo juga mempromosikan sumatra utara hihihi kepengen sihh.. Makasihh messa!
Singapore is too mainstream, LOL. Why don’t you try Cambodia?
Hahaha yeah.. Singapore is mainstream but a convenient choice. So easy to reach! Hmmm Cambodia is interesting, I’ll google it. Thanks Ailtje 🙂
Agree with Ailtje, Cambodia or Myanmar. Maybe Thailand’s Phuket and Koh Phi Phi? I like the Philippines though but maybe my experience was different as I went there for diving..
Yes, now Cambodia and Myanmar seem very interesting. We were afraid that Koh Phi Phi might not suit our budget.. But we’ll have a look! Thanks Indah 🙂
Can’t think of any destination. Hahaha. Not a traveller myself. 😀
Hehehe ini banyak yg promosiin kampung halaman lho.. Ngga mau ikutan? Hehehe :p
Roadtrip Jawa Utara sampe Glenmore, Banyuwangi. Tiap kota yang ada sotonya, brenti wiskul.
Seru juga ya roadtrip jawa! Skalian wiskul dan liat pemandangan kayak film 3 hari untuk selamanya.. Thanks Lorraine!
Ke Ora Beach bagus sih, tapi kalau bisa stay lebih dari seminggu biar puasss 😀 Coba Vietnam Cii, seru juga kan. Lombok, lalu ke Komodo juga recommend. Happy Holidays Cyiinssiiiii 😀 hahahhahaa
EH lupaa, kamu kan udah ke Vietnam yaa, maaappp. Komodo budget segitu kamu bisa sailing 10 harian sih, ataau Togeaan gih, gak sampe segitu budgetnya utk 10 hari hahahahahahahaha
Hehehe iyaaa vietnam kayaknya ga mau lagi dehh fit.. kalo 10 hari kelamaan kita ga punya cuti.. hahahahaha *balada* :p
Komodo aja bisa seminggu, atau ikut aku aja ke Biak Februari tahun depan, nyantaaiii banget itu trip hahahahaha
berapa lama ke biak? hehehe ini cuma punya 4 hari euyyy
berangkat 16 malam, pulang 22 pagi. Cuti 3 hari aja. Ada tanggal merah in between. Tgl 16 masih bisa ngantor, flight kita jam 9malem, Kita di Biak sekitar 5 harian hehehe…wink wink wink
Ke Thailand belanja baju buat online shopping! Hehehe 😆 Seriously, kalo mau ke Bali eksplor kawasan utaranya aja kak soalnya padet banget.. Karangasem banyak spot seru buat snorkeling 😉
Eh yang padat kawasan Bali Selatan, maksudnya
Bangkok ya? Bolee jugaa sihhh hehehe.. Iya nih lama2 kayaknya ke Bali aja tapi yg utara.. Blm pernah soalnya.. Thanks yaa 🙂
vietnam bs k hanoi,ambl paket cruise k halong bay smalem,dia mcm2 cruiseny ada yg mrh juga,, chii,,hong kong gw rasanya budget sgitu ckup ya,,trgntg dpt tiket pswtnya si,,thailand bs k phuket ato k koh samui,,gw blom prnah cambodia ato myanmar si,,philipine jg blom gw,,ah ini gmana sii gw ga prnah kmana mana ;p
kamboja myanmar laos yuk abis LAX taun depan ya 😛