sotong menulis:
Hmmm...had been reading all the posts here. Is there nothing else to do in these places other than shopping and eating?? Wat abt cultures, funny phrases...people, weather and other stuff.

Sotong needs a deeper understanding...shopping and eating is easily available on webbies. ><

wahhh.. pada udah keliling dunia yah .. jealouuussss!! :alcoholic: sedihnya.. pengeenn jugaa tapi gak punya duiiittt

well.. gue cuman di sekitar asia aja.. itu pun gak banyak...

negara yang paling enak sih yah tetap indo donk! di sana banyak makanan, kemana2 gampang, apa2 juga ada kok, trus shopping juga murah, orang2 nya baek2, banyak keluarga etc..

negara yang paling gue suka sih sebenernya malaysia yah... kota nya juga bersih tuh trus suasananya gue demen aja.. sampe husband pun dari malaysia

yah segitu aja sih... tapi semua negara bagus kok, ada keunikan masing2 cuman belon pernah sampe ke europe/amrik hickss...

hehehehe, eeyore, beda bgt sama hyde parknya chicago yg syeremmmmmm....

OK, Sotong, a bit about Paris. Of course, Paris is well known for her cuisine and French pattisserie is absolutely the best in the whole universe. And the shops!!!!! But Paris is definiotely more than that....

For me, the ebst time to visit Paris is on April - May. The weather is very nice (not too hot). In fact, it is the perfect time to see the beauty of Paris. The spring sunlight enables us to appreciate more the different shades of grey of parisian buildings. And of course, Paris is Paris that time, without tourists everywhere ^_^ (sorry, just hate that tourists that ogle in fromnt of every monuments).

IMHO, paris is best enjoyed when you are with someone. Not necessarily a lover, but mostly someone with whom you can enjoy a deep, exciting conversation in cafe. Just buy a cup of coffee (2 EUR? ) and feel free to spend hours in the cafe, discussing and exchanging ideas. Needless to say, this kind of culture formed parisian to love discussion (OK, arguing...), and enjoy being a devil's advocate. Nevertheless, it is interesting to talk to them, as usually they have a strong opinion on everything from political issues, art, etc. But be careful, regardless of their arguing nature, they are kinda shy and dislike aggressive people (hati2 u yg kena culture amrik.... ca marche pas!!!).

Oh, one last word of reminder: if you visit paris, kindly put on some nice clothes!!! You will stick like a sore thumb if you are wearing a short and sweatshirt, especially if you are woman. It is SOOOO UGLY!!!!!

Chan Cao menulis:
Hyde Park di mananya toh, Yore? Pemandangannya bagus sekali...

http://www.discoversydney.com.au/park...epark.html

Floo, jangan salah Hyde Park ini klu malam jg suka bahaya, gue pernah liat sendiri mobil di parkir dipinggir taman di timbuk kacanya pecah dan apapun isinya didalam di ambil sama anak2 tanggung. Gue sendiri klu da gelap ga mo lewat tuh taman deh, kecuali rame klu ada festival. Tp klu siang Hyde Park sih cakep dan aman deh (rasanya...)

I think Sotong suggestion is good. I am not saying that what Temujin posted so far are not good, on the contrary they are very interesting. Food and shopping mall are what some people are interested in especially when they go to big city. After all food and shopping play a big part in people’s lifestyle, and lifestyle and culture are related to one another too. Plus I think it's a bit hard to talk about the culture and the people or even the weather when you went there for about 2 weeks. But I understand what Sotong coming from, different perspective would be nice too.

Anyway let me contribute.
Melbourne
This second biggest city in Australia, has been compared with Sydney for a long time. There are always argument of which one is better, Melbourne or Sydney. While Sydney is more commercial, cosmopolitan and lively, Melbourne is less busier and more cultural. I am used to Melbourne, so I guess you know what my choice is. Known as the 'garden state', with numerous gardens and park around the city. Throughout the year Melbourne has established itself to become the culture capital of Australia. Many visitors also name it as the most european city in OZ, and the most multi-cultural city.

If you want to do some shopping, well OZ is never a paradise for the shopaholics. Aussies are not mall people, I find. They prefer outdoors, sports and bbq are like religion somehow. If you want to shop you are wasting your time in OZ. Anyway, the big malls are located in the suburb such as Chadstone and Northpoint. The popular 'Chapel St' is another option, for good quality and local designer's clothes. Known as a 'hip place', Chapel St has reputation for the 'rich' to hang out, although the reputation is slowly going down eversince Crown Casino opening, the new docklands and the better atmosphere in Southbank. Towards the end of Chapel St, you will find that the shop are less glamorous and the sidewalk tend to be dirty too.

Brunswick, Fitzroy St, not far from the city is the most interesting suburb. Eccentric, grunge, artistic, bohemian, vintage, alternative are the words to describe it. Plenty of small cafe and art gallery around. The pubs and cafes are different to those you find in the rest of the city. From jazz pub like The Nightcat to Spanish bars.

Melbourne is not a beach city, Sydney offers much better beaches. However St Kilda beach is another suburb to look out for, not because of the beach, but the atmosphere. Plenty of cake shops along Acland St, always full on Sundays. On the other stretch, Fitzroy st offers a few well-known clubs and pubs.

The new federation square has become Melbourne new landmark. It draws mixed responses from people. When I first saw it it looked like a big chunk of metal falling from the sky and just landed there right in front of Flinders Station. Even now I still find it a bit odd sitting there surrounded by the old european buildings. My friend argued that the architecture of federation square is a symbol of melbourne's diversity. Nevertheless, another big addition to art center and gallery in melbourne.

Someone said that there are more indonesians than caucasians in Melbourne. I am not suprised if you only hang out in the city of course. There are a lot of indonesian students live in the city, especially near RMIT. Another thing to note is Aussies are loud, it's a well known thing. I think they kinda proud of being loud.

There are also Little Italy in Carlton, little Saigon in Richmond, Chinatown in Little Bourke st or Boxhill. Foodwise? The flower drum in China Town won numerous Best Restaurant of the year. Reputed as the Best Chinese /Cantonese resturant in OZ and one of the best in the world. Booking is an issue though, need to book like a month ahead, unless you have connection. The food is good, the service is superb, I've only been there once. Other than that try Shark Finn Inn or Shark Finn House. Kimchi Korean Restaurant in Carnegie offer good food with good price.

Lol I feel like writing "a guide to melbourne"

Thanks eeyore and sorcy...

wow...little extras for me. You folks are so nice.

if you need more info about day to day life in paris, do lemme know...

Paris.. Hm hm hm....

I still remember the taste of wine and taste or cheese..

I loved cheese Crepe from street vender.

Do I miss Paris, yes I do.

Shopping don't interst me.. Eating maybe a good thing though.
Don't want to try those famous tourist restaurant that guidebook suggest though.. OOh well, different people's mind set I am assuming.

will update this soon.

SEMARANG, INDONESIA

I really don't remember too much about Semarang, at least nothing was quite memorable like other cities in Indonesia. I took several plane rides and train rides from Jakarta several times in the early 90s. The train station and the small airport (by Jakarta's standard) have their own charms.

My impression of Semarang is that it's a quite self-sufficient city with great food. There are plenty of Semarang delicacies to try all the over the place. I cannot remember too many things except for the world-famous Semarang wingko babat, amazing lumpia, and the well-known bandeng presto. These are food items are the pinnacle of Semarang culinary novelties.

I remember there was a famous intersection called Simpang Lima, and it seems like we always pass by it wherever we tried to travel around the city. I also recalled going to the market area where there were a lot of food vendors. If my recollection served me well, they are called Jl. Pemuda, Jl. A Yani, Jl Gajah Mada or Gang Lombok.

The most famous historical site in Semarang is off course Sam Po Kong, where a temple was also built to respect Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho in Hokkianese) who arrived there in the early 1400s. Zheng He was the greatest naval officer in the entire Chinese kingdom during the glorious Ming Dynasty under the authority of Emperor Zhu Di. He was later discovered places and cities in Africa and Asia and world-famous for his amazing vogayes. There's even a book that becomes a controversy because the auther claimed that Zheng He had discovered America before Columbus. Zheng He and his navy stopped in Semarang on a number of occassion.

Nevertheless, in my humble opinion, Semarang lacks the depth and intensity of other cities like Bandung and Yogyakarta.

Oh this is certainly asking for my reply!!

Thank you for mentioning my tiny city in this thread. Not a lot of cities in this world that has BOTH hill and beach side. Semarang is one of them. You can't really call "Puncak" ask the hill side of Jakarta coz it's bloddy far
The hillside I'm talking about is at the most 15 mins drive from the beach side.

About lacking the depth and intensity.. hmm... I think you can't compare Semarang to Yogyakarta because it's so different. Yogyakarta is a culture-centre city. I love Yogya for different reasons. Bandung..size wise is definitely larger. What you said about lacking the depth and intensity is what I like about Semarang. It's not too big yet you can get everything there. I don't have to worry about traffic jam because everywhere is closeby. My friends who lives in downtown Semarang doesn't mind picking and dropping me up after party although I live in the hill side because it's just _right there_. That makes socialising easier.
Also I still remember I used to be so forgetful I forgot to bring a lot of stuff for school .. which happened almost every other day. I always had the time to go back home, got the stuff, and went back to school without being late..

And oh definitely the food.. food.. fooooodd...
At Simpang Lima, from about 6pm there are food stalls all around and you can get almost anything your tastebuds desire.

I guess I'm very biased because I was born and raised there. You really have to live there to appreciate it. However, if you're the metropolitan type, yes, you'll probably find Semarang quite boring. Go back to Jakarta where you belong (that's what i said to a friend who said Semarang is so boring unlike Jakarta).

Well, we are often very biased when it comes to our hometown. Wait until I talk about New York.

sorcy menulis:

what does it look like?

tepuk tangan

ok If you think it's 'tepuk tangan', then 'tepuk tangan' it is

Next up... Las Vegas

temujin menulis:
There are so many cities I've been to.

Fatbrain menulis:

temujin menulis:
There are so many cities I've been to.

Gileeee.....elo udah ke mana2 tuh temu.......