Senin, September 20, 2021

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 Recently there is an app I use daily to learn. I don't use it every day because I am obligated to use it but it is simply because I love to use the app. It is no other than Duolingo! Using Duolingo can help us to form a good learning habit that we can apply to general learning.


What is Duolingo?


Duolingo is a language learning application using gamification. Duolingo has a fun interface because basically, it is just like you're playing a game when learning. Duolingo also has cute graphics and interactive animations. In Duolingo, we can learn a lot of languages such as English, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and many more. 

I have been using it for more than 90 days and I observed the several multimedia learning principles that Duolingo applies in the app. 


Coherence Principle

Coherence principle means people learn better if unnecessary things (images, words, sound) are excluded from the content. Even though Duolingo is a fun app with cute graphics and animation, it doesn't include complex animation or other unnecessary things in the learning content.
You can see the example on one of the lesson screenshots:



you will only see the sentence you are trying to understand and the option you have to choose. In the options, the app is only showing the image related to each option. It's pretty simple, so we can minimize the cognitive load needed and focus on important things.

Signaling Principle

Signaling principle means that we learn better if the multimedia content gives a signal or highlights the important part. Duolingo applies this principle when we are learning new words in a language.  For example:




As you can see, there is a word that has a different color (purple) to other (grey). That is the new word that hasn't been introduced to us in the previous lesson. By implementing that, Duolingo highlights the most important thing for us in that lesson; a new vocab. We can learn how to use it in a sentence. Moreover, we can interact with that word so we can know the meaning directly. 


Spatial Contiguity Principle

The spatial contiguity principle means that we can learn better if the picture is located close to the corresponding text rather far. We can see how Duolingo applies this principle using the same example in the coherence principle explanation. 



As we can see it is really easy to understand what is the meaning of each option because the picture related to the options are located in the same box of the option. We know exactly which picture has the meaning of which option. It's a simple principle, but it is really important. Imagine if we didn't use a box and the picture was far from the option text. It would be really confusing, wouldn't it?

Segmenting Principle

Segmenting means people learn better from a multimedia lesson is presented in user-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit. Duolingo breakdowns its language lessons into topic lessons that start from the easier like the basics of alphabet, basic phrases, family vocab, and so on. The topic lessons also breakdowns into star levels from 1 to 5 and the additional legendary level.



Pre-training Principle 

The pre-training principle means people learn better from a multimedia lesson when they know the basics of the main concepts. It enables people to learn the more complex problems, makes the user familiar with the lesson, user can learn how to solve the problem better.

For this principle, Duolingo applies it by providing the "Tips" section before we jump into practice. The tips section contains the introduction of the lesson we want to practice, important characteristics or other things we have to know to be able to practice better.




Personalization Principle 

The personalization principle means that people learn better from multimedia lessons when words are personalized. Duolingo uses daily conversation to make it easier for us to understand. Actually, Duolingo doesn't aim for those who want to take the professional tests but to make language learning affordable for everyone. So applying this principle is very useful for the targeted user to learn. Duolingo also uses a virtual character, an owl who always accompanies us in every lesson, and also a customized character for each quiz. It engages us with the learning process.



Deliberate Practice Principle 

Deliberate practice principle means we learn better if we practice not only the easy ones but also in which part we made mistakes or in part which we're still weak. Duolingo applies this principle with features of hard exercise and learns from past mistakes. In learning we can't just stay in our comfort zone, just to enjoy the process. Sometimes we have to feel challenged and strive for improvement.




Explanatory Feedback Principle

Imagine if you are having a test confidently but turns out you got bad marks? You must be wondering in which part you make a mistake and what the right answer is, don't you? That's why we need explanatory feedback in multimedia learning. Multimedia learning has to provide explanatory feedback for the user because it's not simply a test, but a learning platform. Duolingo already applied it by giving the correct answer whenever we submit the wrong answer. By that, we can learn from our mistakes and  better about the subject.




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Actually there are other principles that I haven't covered in this post. Yes I think Duolingo is very considerate with our learning experience. So it is worth it to invest your time at least 5 minutes or less to play Duolingo. I personally don't want to loose that 90 days streak that I have so that I don't loose that much of my language skill. Because once you stop practice you will be tempted to not doing it again for the next day. 

There is one quote of duolingo that I like. I can relate to the quote because I often end up wasting my time scrolling social media mindlessly.

"15 minutes a day can teach you a language. What can 15 minutes of social media can do?"


References:
-Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Press, 2001), Richard E. Mayer
https://www.hartford.edu/facultystaff/faculty/fcld/_files/12%20Principles%20of%20Multimedia%20Learning.pdf

Minggu, Agustus 29, 2021

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And.. we arrived at the final point of Generasi Gigih Intermediate Phase. The technical class for this phase is finally over. It was such a fun and challenging journey. Two months is not a short time for me, there were many insights, knowledge, and experience I got in this phase. I wish I can continue to the next phase but up to this point I am already very grateful for everything I had in Generasi Gigih.


Everyone was celebrating their own biggest win in Generasi Gigih


My final technical in this phase. I will really miss this 5pm-8pm, class. 

My progress so far in backend engineering...

8 weeks ago I was a graduate of Informatics.. and I still am. I have learned about programming in college, but this class is different. Because I only have a little experience in working as a backend engineer, the "best practice of something" is always been my question.  I am grateful that I got the chance to ask any questions to the mentors.  

I did know the basic theory of programming, like algorithm and data structure, object-oriented programming. I also have learned some programming languages such as Java and Python. I have made a simple website and API before too. I did everything as my college assignments or personal project. But I never evaluated the code that I made. 

After Genereasi Gigih, I reflect on all the codes that I made and wonder how to make them better. This program encourages me not to simply just make lines of code but we have also put our minds and heart into writing those codes. Even though I have learned to program, I also still learned many things and I got the chance to re-learn again. I learn about Ruby and Sinatra, deployment, CI/CD, The principles of clean code, microservice, in a nutshell, unit testing and TDD, refactoring, and many more. Actually, I was still unsure about my career path before. I like to explore anything such as UI UX, front-end engineering. But backend engineering has always been making me curious. It turned out that I love backend engineering more after I attended the Generasi Gigih class. I'll be exploring a lot more on backend engineering in the future. 

Skills I have developed in these 8 weeks...

As you know, Generasi Gigih provides me with various classes from technical class, English class, to soft-skill class. From all those classes, I learn how to communicate better, how to present your idea clearly, and how to respect each other. I also start to practice more on how to develop critical thinking.


" Make it work, then make it better "

The mentors in technical class always said we can focus on making a code work first then make it better in terms of clean code and design. I used to make my codes only work and now I have been developing skills on how to make them better. The technical class has given me eye-opening insights into clean code and code design. Now I also have understood more about the basics of testing. From my final project, I learn how to deploy my code to GCP server. I got many basic things from technical class as a provision for me to explore more. I still need to work more on applying everything that I have learned especially in deploying and CI/CD, get used to working in a team using git, designing better codes, and enrich myself with the various syntax of programming languages. And I also have to develop my logical thinking when writing codes by practicing problem-solving quizzes. I have developed many skills in Gigih but I also still need to develop much more skills in the future.

Besides technical skills, I also developed my English skill here. Thanks Generasi Gigih x CAKAP! I learned so much here. Thanks to the teacher who always encouraged me to speak in English and patiently corrected me when I had a mistake. I don't know how much I am developed in English because I haven't taken any tests to prove my skill but I am now much more confident in speaking English. By joining the free class of Cakap Club almost every day, taking English Class every Tuesday and Thursday with Cakap, speaking and learning technical skills in English every Friday, and writing this weekly reflection in English really increases my confidence. I know I am still having mistakes in English but I am still confident because I know I am learning. All of those English activities also push me to have my own English Learning programs because I want to get better. Speaking and writing in English have never been easy things to do for me, so I push myself a lot doing them. 

Not only practical skills, Generasi Gigih also provides me an Individual Development Plan mentoring and Career Readiness class. I learn how to design my life so I can work step by step to achieve my goals. Thanks to Kak Hera who shared many insights about creating an IDP. The career readiness class also taught me so many things start from how to have good personal branding, preparing for interviews, to work ethics in tech industries. That would be very useful for my future career. Thanks XLFL x Generasi Gigih!

Good habits I learn from Generasi Gigih...

1. Learn, learn, and learn more

"Stay foolish, stay hungry". I built this habit start from having the curiosity about unclear or unspoken things in class. I took note of everything I learn so I would know what I've learned and what I have to learn more. The mentors also always gave me other reference links to learning sources. I kept them all and read them sometimes or explore the related topics by myself.  They made me realize no matter how good they are, they always learn something new. 

2. Speaking/writing/reading in English

These are habits that I have never done in my life. But, seeing my friends are trying to speak English as best as they could, made me realize that I have to do that if I want to get better at English. I do daily reflection by myself in English, reading articles, and keep my own vocab.  It's been a month since I started all of them. I hope I can still be consistent in the future. By the way I also love writing this weekly reflection. I love blogging but I rarely spare my time for it. So thanks to Generasi Gigih who awakened my passion for blogging again.

3. Communicate

I always try to ask questions if I have something in my mind, and also speak my mind out when I am given chance to speak. This Generasi Gigih really taught me not to keep everything in my own mind but we have to speak our mind out. 

My confidence...

"In percentage, measure how your learning process in Generasi Gigih has improved your chance to be hired or employed in your aspired field?"

Let's say we need 100% to be hired in backend engineering. I think I have 68% now, 48% from my basic knowledge in college, and 20% from Generasi Gigih. The rest 33% is for me to build a good portfolio, CV, to develop my problem-solving skills, communication skills and improve my knowledge in this field. My college taught me so many things and I also had a part-time before in my college. But Generasi Gigih also plays important role in this thing.  I got insights from full-time employees' points of view, got tips and tricks for pursuing a career, learn to speak and write in English, build a new project from the final project, learn testing, clean code, and many more that will be useful for backend engineering.

A letter to myself...

Dear myself, you've worked hard this time. You finished your final project, did all the assignments and attended all the classes while you still have a thesis to finish. You are not a confident person but you have tried hard to give everything you can do and believe in yourself. You're still not a great programmer (yet), but this time you don't let that thought beat you. This time you really enjoyed the process and believe in all the things you've gone through. I know you can do so much better but you already did a good job. I am proud of you. Let's keep your enthusiasm and increase your confidence for your future career. I know you'll be a good backend engineer in the future. Aamiin.




Minggu, Agustus 15, 2021

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 Hi, all welcome again to my blog! 

Welcome to the week 6 reflection. And I just got a package from generasi gigih yeayyy!!



Remember when I asked a question for other participants before? So for this week's reflection, I have to answer the chosen question from them.  Here they are!


How do you tackle burnout when learning about so many things in so little time?

To prevent burnout, I try hard to focus in-class time and take my rest time seriously. By doing so, I have much time outside the class but, I can still understand the materials. Understanding all materials in class is a minimum thing that we have to ensure. Yea but not everything runs smoothly, sometimes I have to explore more after the class because the time is not enough for us to discuss a question.

When I learn by myself, I try to enjoy everything I learn. I also always try to believe in the process. I know I have to do that if I want to get better. Sometimes, I am bored and overwhelmed by all the learning process either the materials are hard or it is just me feeling burnout. That time, I will take a quality rest (yes you have to make sure your rest time has a certain quality). 

By "certain quality" I mean we have to know whether the rest-activity drains our energy or increases it. For me, mindless scrolling our social media is one of the draining-energy activities. I really try to avoid that activity when I feel that I need to rest. I do something else that increases my energy such as a proper nap, eating, talking to my friends or family, and doing my hobby. But doing all of them too much or too long also will change them into draining-energy activities, so we have to know our limitations too. 

One of my hobbies: Playing with my cats :3 (you can see them on ig:mochin.family_)

I love to cook and I love eating. Food always brings me joy! Do you wanna try my churros?


Call with friends, thanks to you all who always listen to me! (you know who you are)


What do you think is so different and special about GenerasiGIGIH? 

Generasi Gigih is really really special for me. First, they really help me to be better not only in technical class but also in English and SoftSkill!! I really love to participate in every class they provide. We should really be grateful if we can experience this (FOR FREE)


My Career Readiness class with XLFL team as the speaker


Secondly, the time is so long so it requires us to be more consistent. It's been already 10 weeks since the first I joined the Gigih Beginner phase. If we want to end this Gigih well, we have to be tenacious and keep our spirit up until the end. 

Third, there are 3 phases in Gigih. I really like this concept.  We can start little by little, and climb up to the next phase. We don't need to be that expert just to enter Gigih but we have to make sure that we progress here and become more expert when we end the phase. It seems that everyone is given the same chance to fight, no matter how unfamiliar you are with technology. This concept also motivates me a lot to do my best in every step.


What is your effective method of learning? Especially during virtual learning classes.

1. You can see in my previous post that I always take notes when learning. It really helps me to remember the important thing from the class.  Not only take notes from the class but I also write important notes from my self-learning. By doing so, I save what I learn and I can also make sure that I understand something.

2. Hands-On! I always try to do the hands-on right after I read something or learn something. It is really hard to understand the abstract concept but you will know better if you do the hands-on. So in virtual learning classes, try to follow the hands-on part diligently. 

3. Use the Q&A session well. If you are not brave enough to ask something, listen carefully! Sometimes our problems are also everyone's problems. But, I really encourage you to ask the mentor about our problems. It's a rare and precious time to have a mentor by our side o.O

3. Spare time outside the class! Sometimes it is really hard to understand the materials only from class. It's okay, we only have to spare more time outside the class with exploring materials on the internet or having a discussion with our friends. I like to ask my friend who is more experienced than me to discuss something. 

Here are some recommendations to self-learn:
- Youtube (of course there are lots of tutorial videos there)
- HackerRank (practice your problem solving)
- TutorialsPoint
- Original Documentation
- Paperswithcode (for those who are willing to learn for research purposes)
- FreeCodeCamp


And.. challenge for another GenerasiGigih tagline


#BeBetterThanEver

I really think everyone who is seriously participating in this event will get better in terms of skill. So GenerasiGigih is one path that we can choose to be better than ever.


#JourneyToExcellence

Generasi Gigih feels like a game, it does also feel like an adventure. I sometimes feel like I am in a game where I have to do my best to reach the final checkpoint. The final checkpoint itself is a milestone where my skill gets better and I have more knowledge. So JourneyToExcellence describes the Genereasi Gigih well.

Sabtu, Agustus 07, 2021

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Time flies so fast. There are already only 2 weeks left in this Intermediate phase. It means the Advanced phase is about to come (omg). This Intermediate phase felt like a game where we compete with each other to gain the most points. 
Every week we are supposed to get our points announced on the Xperience Board. The Xperience Board is the leaderboard of the points that I mentioned before.

 The xperience board header. 
Of course, I won't tell you the data because it contains private information (our points) hehe

Honestly, I didn't compete that much because my purpose for this phase is to learn and progress as much as possible.  But whenever the XP board is announced there is still a part of me that doesn't want to lose :(

How do I feel about the board?

My score is not very high but also not very low. It is in the middle. I got the points from attending all classes, doing all assignments, and actively participating in the class. I already did my best for attendance and assignments even though some assignments were out of my expectations. I feel satisfied enough with the result because I used to be very passive in other same kinds of events. At least I already made a progress. I actually pushed myself to ask or answer a question at least once every session. Yeah so, I'm proud of myself for doing that. But, if I remember my next target (to pass to the advanced phase), I feel kinda insecure.  

There will only be around 60 participants who can join the next phase. I don't know if I can change my position because everybody else is also full of ambition. And as I mentioned before I didn't really take this XP competition seriously because I have my own target. But if you want to pass to the next phase you do have to compete, right? I hope there will be an additional selection just like the previous phase. However, I will make the most of my last 2 weeks in this phase. There are still many things that I can work on to increase my position on the leaderboard. I can maximize my final project and assignment scores, and ask or answer more questions in class, and pray harder. I believe if I meant to pass this phase I will pass.


To those who made it to the top of the board...

I only want to say "Congratulations!". I am very proud of you. I've seen your effort and you deserve the honor. 

The top scorers have given their best efforts. Not only do they always ask and answer any questions, but they also helped other friends including me. So I think their sincere heart also helped them to gain points. And also I've seen some of them who always went the extra mile for their assignment for example they learned one material ahead and already applied the lesson that they weren't required to do. They inspired me to be more ambitious and always work hard for what I want. Hard work pays off.


To those who are struggling...

Keep your chin up, guys! For now, just accept where you are at now and reflect on it... Not everyone has to be the number one. Ask yourself what you want, if you are getting closer to it then you should proud of yourself. Don't think too much of the result, you only always have to do your best in every chance you have. We're in this together! Many nice friends are ready to answer our questions in discord, and we are always welcomed to ask any question in the class. No matter how shallow you think the question is, human is basically always happy to help each other. We have the right to ask anything. We still have 2 weeks remaining of class, there are still many things that can happen in 2 weeks :)) 


Hope we can get through this phase as well as we expected,

GBE01154

😇






Minggu, Agustus 01, 2021

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It's been already 4 weeks since the first class of Generasi Gigih. It's been such a fun and challenging journey. I already learned a lot from basic OOP Programming, HTTP Render and Routing, Databases, and the most challenging one for me.. Testing. Yup building a good test is a new thing for me. It's not only about understanding syntax or thinking to solve problems but we also have to be critical and able to predict the future, it's good if we could make tests that cover all of the problem cases.  

For the halfway through reflection, I got an interesting question template to answer. So I will write here based on the question.


How do I feel about these 4 weeks of experience?

I'm so grateful because I get to learn a lot of materials, not only technical materials but also English and career readiness materials. The learning process pushes me to explore more and increase my enthusiasm for backend engineering.  If the experience was a natural event, it would be a volcano eruption. The volcano eruption is a natural thing that must happen to balance the earth. Sometimes volcano eruption has a negative impact, like victims, building damages, etc. But it actually brings a positive impact in long term. It is similar to my struggle in Generasi Gigih, where sometimes I should sacrifice my dinner time, or my weekend to learn, finish assignments, or join a class. But I believe that worth sacrificing because the learning process itself will bring long term positive impact for me. In Generasi Gigih I also "explode", encouraged by other participants. Seeing them being so enthusiastic and hardworking influences me to improve my learning behaviour. They inspire me to be more enthusiastic in learning, persistent and always be thirsty for knowledge.


How much effort have I made in these 4 weeks?

On a  scale of 1-100, I have already given my 87% of the effort. 75% of following all the learning process well, 12% for doing the assignment.  I should have given 100% of my effort but I miss 10% because I don't think I did my best to explore more outside the class, the 3% rest is because I did not finish some of my assignments as I wanted to. From now on, I'll try to improve my effort. I will go the extra mile for finishing my assignments. Not only get satisfaction with the  "extra" result but I think it will also drive me to explore more. I want to be more curious. 




This is how my learning environment looks like during the class. I have to open at least 3 apps, Zoom, OneNote (for taking notes ofc), and Visual Studio Code. Sometimes it's hard when you have to listen to the mentor, while also coding, but you also want to take a note of the explanation haha. But I enjoy the learning process a lot.


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That's all my reflection for these 4 weeks. I hope I can do better in the next 4 weeks! Well, there is another thing...

Dear other participants...

I want to ask, "How do you guys manage to be consistent in being so enthusiastic?"

Sabtu, Juli 17, 2021

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Hi All! I’m currently joining an education program called “Generasi Gigih” for the backend learning track since May 24th, 2021. There are a lot of things I have learned in the past almost 2 months. This program is divided into 3 phases, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. To get into every phase we have to pass the selection first. Short story, Alhamdulillah I passed the beginner phase where I had to finish few courses and participate in the Leaderless Group Discussion selection. So now, I’m currently in the Intermediate Phase or the second phase. I get 3 kinds of courses in this phase, those are Back End Technical Class, English Cakap Class, and Self-development Class from XLFL and YABB teams.


 
Now I have already done the second week of intermediate class. I didn’t post the first week here but from now on I’ll tell you about my journey in this program. So here is my story about the second week!

 

 

What did I learn?

 

The technical class is divided into a few modules, we learned 1 module every 1 week and there are 3 sessions for each module. In other words, I have 3 days of classes each week for technical class. In the second week, I learned Module 2.

 

 



How the module 2 looks like
 

I actually have already learned all of the subjects when I was in college. But what really attracted me is the first session, HTTP Method, Routing, and Rendering. Although the concept isn’t really new to me, I never learned about it using Ruby.  For session 2 and session 3, I also have learned it before in college. But learning again makes me recalling the lessons and I got a deeper understanding of the lesson. There is also a syntax that I just learned from session 1

 

How was it?

 

In the first session, I learned by listening to the explanation and following the hands-on given in the class. I learned something new about how to use Sinatra to create a simple API in Ruby, how to use erb template as views in Ruby app.  I experienced a bit of trouble because there were some errors when was installing the necessary library for Ruby. This thing happened because I didn’t install Ruby properly at first. So I had to troubleshoot in the middle of the class. Even though the mentor said that we don’t have to install the library that time and just try later if we experienced difficulty, I was still kind of frustrated because I wanted to follow the hands-on right at that time. But I finally managed to fix everything so I can follow the hands-on. Lesson for me: install everything properly in the beginning, you’ll never know what you will need in the future, and always ask for the necessary library before class.

 

Not like last week, there is only 1 homework for this week. Strangely I wish there was more homework wkwkwk. Not as “much” as it sounds but what I want is at least an exercise for every session. Because I need the motivation to learn more hehe. But never mind, I still can learn from other sources because the mentors gave us a list of study references (thanks a lot!).

 

I enjoyed session 2 and session 3 compared to session 1, especially when the participant was given a study case and then we had to find the solution with MySQL query. Maybe it is more challenging to apply what you have known and think critically than memorize and find new syntax (Ruby and everything related to ruby is new for me).  But overall the lessons are well delivered.

 

What to do about it?

 

From now on I can explore more especially about the session 1 topic because I already knew the starting point.  I have to learn from many study cases so I can have a broader mind for database problem-solving with SQL queries. I also will keep practicing writing Ruby code. All of the lessons I received this week can be used to create a complete Ruby app integrated with the database later in future work.


Yuhu that's all! I hope I can learn more and more and still be motivated to work hard! Because there are still many things I have to explore and get used to. 






Jumat, Agustus 02, 2019

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Kuala Lumpur!

Halo! Jumpa lagi bersama saya, yasya rusyda, pada episode Budget Trip to Malaysia PART 2

Pada post kali ini saya mau cerita tentang keberangkatan dan hal-hal yang mengawali wisata kami di hari pertama. Mulai dari berangkat naik bus ke bandara, tiba di hotel, sampai menuju tempat wisata yang pertama.

Berangkat

Keberangkatan saya dimulai dari naik bus damri dari Bogor sampai bandara Soekarno - Hatta.

Sebelum naik bus damri
Ohiya jadwal penerbangan kita itu sekitar pukul 8 malam, dan menurut pengamatanku biasanya yg cost nya low fare kebanyakan emang malam-malam (iya gasih?). Terus bandaranya tuh bukan ke KLIA utama tapi KLIA 2 yang memang untuk penerbangan low fare. Untuk informasi, tiket promo yang kita dapatkan belum termasuk bagasi. Dan menurut kami itu bukan masalah sih karena kita cuma 4 harian di sana dan bisa bawa koper kecil yg muat di kabin (kakakku jago bet packing)

Tidur di Bandara

Jadwal penerbangan (berangkat)
Udah tuh, berjam-jam kita di pesawat terus turun di KLIA2 tengah malam. Terus kami beli makan di FamilyMart udon pake seafood-seafood gitu, enak bgt! I luv FamilyMart.

Udon enakkkk FamilyMart
Walaupun KLIA2 itu bukan bandara utama, tapi gede bingit! Jalan-jalan aja sampe bingung, dan ada yang bilang juga kalau bandara ini seperti Mall.  Tapi yang saya suka adalah informasinya mudah didapatkan, banyak petunjuk dan ada peta yang disediakan juga di sini. Saya senang!

Peta KLIA2

Sebelumnya kita udah cari informasi kalau di KLIA 2 itu tempat nunggunya nyaman, bisa buat tidur juga bahkan. Jadi kami memang sudah memutuskan untuk menginap selama 1 malam di bandara. Tenang aja guys, kita ga cuma berdua kok. Banyak orang-orang yg tidur di sana juga jadi don't worry just sleep. Kita tidur bener-bener nyenyak terus bangun pagi hari, solat, bersih-bersih, dan touch up buat wisata berikutnya.

Naik bis menuju pusat kota Kuala Lumpur

Sebelumnya saya mau minta maaf nih karena sudah lama banget jadi saya lupa beberapa hal, seperti nama tempat, harga dsb. Kalau penasaran lebih jauh bisa kontak saya secara pribadi ya nanti akan saya cari tahu lebih lanjut hihi.


Dari KLIA 2 ke stasiun pusat kota atau KLSentral itu ada beberapa pilihan transport di antarnya kereta dan bus. Kami memilih bus karena lebih murah (hehe) lumayan juga buat tidur lagi dan liat-liat jalanan. Harga tiket bus bisa sampai 1/5 nya tiket kereta (KLIAExpress). Berdasarkan informasi yg didapat sekarang sih tiket busnya sekitar RM11, kalau KLIAExpress sekitar RM55. Bus yang dimaksud adalah SkyBus. 

Sampai di pusat kota

Perjalanan dari KLIA2 ke KLSentral memakan waktu sekitar 75 menit. Ternyata pemandangan jalur perjalanannya mirip-mirip aja sama di Indonesia, macet juga hihi. Saya agak lupa tempat turunnya persis dimana, tp seinget saya di terminal dekat KLSentral gitu.

Pemandangan saat keluar dari terminal (CMIIW)

Kami memesan hotel di daerah dekat Central Market. Jadi dari KLIASentral kami beli token lagi buat naik LRT ke stasiun Pasar Seni. Nggak jauh dari stasiun Pasar Seni, kita jalan menuju hotel yang sudah kita pesan.

Hotel

Hotel yang kami pesan itu namanya The Explorers Guesthouse. Meskipun budget hotel tapi kamarnya enak kok ada AC, dan ada wifi + komputer di lobby-nya. Mungkin minusnya adalah kamar mandi nya di luar kamar, jadi agak ribet kalau mau bolak balik kamar mandi. Tapi ada banyak kamar mandinya, di setiap lantai ada sekitar 3 buah. Kami juga dapat sarapan roti setiap pagi. Biasanya jatah sarapan kita bekel jadi bisa makan sambil nunggu kendaraan atau sekalian buat snack siang wkwk. Di sana ngga ada aturan ngga boleh dibekel sih jd aman hehe. Tapi kalian harus cek cek lg aturan di tempat kalian menginap ya.

Kami sampai sekitar pukul 9an, sedangkan baru bisa check in pukul 12 jadi kami mentipkan koper terlebih dahulu di lobby. Di hotel tsb memang ada ruangan khusus buat yang mau nitip-nitip koper gitu. Setahu saya kebanyakan budget hotel bisa nitip barang bawaan. Jadi kami gaperlu repot repot nunggu jam 12 dan bisa langsung melanjutkan wisata.

Tampak depan hotel

Papan namanya kecil bet ya, saya sampai mikir negatif hotelnya bakal jelek

Ternyata dalemnnya nyaman pisan, lumayan bgt buat harga murah


Sarapan Pertama

Karena hari itu kita belum check in, jd belum dapet sarapan. Kami memutuskan cari sarapan sekalian cari bekel buat makan siang. Di tempat wisata tujuan kami hari itu, kami nggak tau makanan enak apa yang ada. Jadi daripada menghabiskan uang untuk makanan mahal tp b aja mending kami cari makanan enak lain buat dibekal. Kami mencari makan di sekitar central market. Sebenernya kami udah cari tahu sebelumnya sih makanan apa yang ingin dicoba. Pagi itu kami ke Restoran Yusoof dan Zakhir. Restoran ini merupakan rumah makan India. Btw kebanyakan makanan India itu halal, jadi aman-aman saja. Dan kita udah research harga sebelumnya.

Kami memesan nasi goreng dan makanan kayak martabak tapi pake saus macem-macem (lupa namanya). Porsinya ternyata guede pisan, jadi kita gak habis sarapannya dan bisa dibekel deh buat makan siang wkkw. Makanannya juga enak, apalagi si martabak enak bgt ditambah cocolan saus yang nikmatt.

Restoran Yusoof dan Zakhir

Kakak saya lagi makan nasi goreng
Martabak(?)


Selesai makan, kami jalan kembali ke Pasar Seni untuk naik LRT ke KLSentral. Selama jalan, pemadangan jalanan bagus-bagus seperti  Kasturi Walk.


Yuhuu, jadi itulah kegiatan-kegiatan sesampainya saya di KL. Selanjutnya kami melanjutkan wisata ke Batu Caves. Buat cerita wisata Day 1 ini akan dilanjut di post blog berikutnya ya! yaitu Budget Trip to Malaysia, 2018 #3

Sampai jumpa!







Kamis, Agustus 01, 2019

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Hallo blogger!

Udah lama banget sebenarnya saya ingin ngepost liburan tahun lalu. Fyi, liburan tersebut merupakan liburan pertama saya keluar negeri. WOW di umur 20 tahun akhirnya saya pernah juga merasakan membuat passport, melewati pemeriksaan imigrasi, berjumpa dengan mayoritas warga asing, dan lain hal sebagainya. Liburan ini sangat berkesan karena selain pertama kali keluar negeri, saya juga pertama kali jalan-jalan berdua dengan kakak perempuan saya! Bener-bener bebas mau kemana aja. Nah mumpung sekarang saya lagi gabut, saya pengen cerita tentang trip itu

Pertama kali sampai di KL, menggeret koper menuju hotel

Beli Tiket

Sekitar bulan November 2017, kakak saya memberitahu bahwa ia dan seorang temannya membeli promo tiket  AirAsia ke Malaysia PP cuma 300rb rupiah! Iya 300rb!! Setara dengan naik kereta ke Jawa!

Terus saya iseng aja bilang "Mbak mau ikut dong". Eh ditanggepin serius, terus saya ditanya-tanya "Emangnya tanggal 13 Juli bisa?" "Kalau mbak ngga bisa, kamu tetep berangkat ya?" "Kuliah udah beres kan?" dan lain hal sebagainya yang memastikan bahwa saya tidak akan menyianyiakan tiket yang ditraktir kakakku tersebut. Akhirnya dia membelikanku tiket ke sana. Wohooo akhirnya saya mencoba keluar negeri juga. Ohiya sebagai informasi, saya mendapat tiket yang tidak semurah kakak saya yaitu Rp 600rb pulang pergi.

Persiapan

Saya punya waktu yang sangat panjang dari bulan November-Juli, ya hampir satu tahun lah buat persiapannya. Tapi mulai bener-bener nyari penginapan itu sekitar bulan April. 

Hal yang perlu dipersiapkan (selain tiket) :

1. Penginapan

Kakak saya orangnya hemat banget, dia menekankan kalau harus di budget hotel. Budget hotel itu merupakan hotel yang digunakan benar-benar hanya untuk tidur, mandi, dan sarapan. Bukan hotel-hotel mewah yang biasa dijadikan tempat stayvacation. Ngga ada gym, ngga ada pool, dan fasilitas lain yang cuma untuk senang-senang. Dan tentu saja sesuai namanya, harga yang ditawarkan sesuai dengan budget yang tipis hehe. Saya nurut aja karena seluruh trip saya dia yang nanggung dan kita ngga mau merepotkan orangtua.

Hotel yang dipilih selain pertimbangan harga, pastikan juga fasilitasnya layak dan lokasinya strategis. Lokasi yg strategis akan mengurangi cost disana juga nantinya.

Sebenernya, ada pilihan lain selain budget hotel yaitu dorm atau hotel yang 1 kamar ada banyak kasur ituloh. Kami cukup tertarik sih karena bisa bertemu traveller lain juga dan pengalaman baru. Tetapi, pertimbangannya adalah kami berdua, kalau di budget hotel kan bisa sewa satu kamar berdua, kalau dorm harus sewa 2 kasur. Dan beberapa tempat tidak memastikan bahwa kami akan punya kasur dalam kamar yang sama :( . Selain itu, ibadahnya juga akan sulit karena jarang yg ada mushollanya (CMIIW ini belum kami research banget sih).

Ohiya ada sedikit cerita lucu, awalnya kami berniat mau sok backpacker gitu tidur di masjid, mandi di toilet umum, dan sebagainya tapi ketauan orangtua dan dimarahin wkwkkw ya namanya ortu pengen anaknya hidup bahagia. Tapi kami sadar juga sih, nanti malah repot ibadah dan dandannya, atau ada perasaan takut diusir juga sebenernya.

2. Referensi lain

Selain penginapan, kami juga mencari-cari referensi tempat makan, tempat wisata, transportasi, harga, jadwal solat, jadwal bus&kereta, dan hal-hal lain yang perlu diketahui sebelum berangkat (seperti aturan setempat). Hasil pencarian kami simpan, entah itu dicetak atau disimpan di hp. Hal ini berguna untuk memaksimalkan waktu yg digunakan disana. Jadi biar bisa bener2 menikmati wisata kami saat di malaysia nanti. Biar gak bingung gituu udah punya pegangan. Referensi ini sebenernya melengkapi itinerary kami, lebih ke rincian dari hal-hal yang akan kami lakukan/ kunjungi. 

3. Itinerary

Itinerary atau rencana perjalanan ini hal yang gaboleh lupa disiapkan kalau kamu mau wisata. Mungkin bagi sebagian orang akan lebih seru jika spontan aja wisatanya, tapi saran saya sih harus banget buat itinerary yang bagus. Karena kalau udah jelas mau ngapain aja, kamu bisa mengurangi waktu yang terbuang cuma buat kebingungan atau nyari-nyari hal yang seharusnya udah bisa dicari sebelum berangkat. Kan sayang udah jauh-jauh wisata tp bingung.

Itinerary yang dibuat itu seperti rundown, mau ngapain aja di sana, jam berapa, berapa lama, mulai dari bangun tidur sampe tidur lagi. Dari referensi yang udah dicatat, kami bisa menentukan estimasi durasi kunjungan dan durasi perjalanan. Kami juga dapat menentukan makanan utama yang akan kami beli berdasarkan lokasi tempat makan dan perkiraan tempat yg sedang kami kunjungi. Pokoknya detail banget deh . Eh tapi walaupun detail, itinerary tersebut harus tetap fleksibel dan realistis ya. Karena kita harus tetap siap untuk hal di luar dugaan nantinya

kurang lebih begini lah penampakan itinerary yang dibuat

4. Logistik, dsb

Hal terakhir yg perlu dipersiapkan yaitu segala benda, dari alat mandi, pakaian, sepatu, charger, hp, dan sebagainya. Persiapan ini nama lainnya adalah packing wkkw. Buat ciwi-ciwi ada saran nih, biasakan mempersiapkan pakaian sesuai dengan tempat mana aja yg mau dikunjungi. Misal, hari ini ke xx pakai baju merah, hari itu ke zz pake baju kuning. Hal tersebut membantu banget buat mempersingkat waktu dandan dan siap-siap saat sudah berada di negara kunjungan. Kembali ke prinsip utama: hemat. Hemat uang dan hemat waktu. Selain itu, kita juga bisa memperkecil bawaan biar bisa diisi sama oleh-oleh yegak. 


Sekian dulu deh ceritanya, nanti dilanjutkan  cerita keberangkatan di episode berikutnya yaitu Budget Trip to Malaysia, 2018 #2 ! bye




Senin, Januari 21, 2019

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Ini juga! Liburan pertama bersama teman-teman. Banyak yang mau dituliskan tapi belum sempat, jadi saya post dulu fotonya.







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Karena belum sempat menulis memori di sana jadi saya post foto-fotonya dulu aja ya!