Travelling as Self Enrichment

One of my favourite things to do is travelling. 2004 was the best & the most awesome travel experience I ever had and it’s because I had a chance to study abroad, even though it was only for six months (Huuuhuuuu, how I yearn to come back there…). I spent most of my six month in Siena, a small & lovely city in Tuscan area, one of the best tourism objects in Italy and also a tourist trap. Why so? Just to give you an illustration, in Siena, for a slice of pizza, it cost 3 Euro to 5 Euro (the same size with a slice of “Pizza Hut”, but thinner), which I think that Pizza Hut is not a real pizza! In Rome, instead, I can get a same size pizza for only 1.5 Euro to 2 Euro. In Siena, most of the restaurant or café has two kinds of menu, one menu for the Senese (the Siena citizen) and Italian which lot cheaper than the menu for foreigner. Well, the menu for foreigner is 100% more expensive… (hah, I thought that kind of trick only happens here!)

Ok, now back to the travelling… On the weekend or during my free time in Siena, I travelled around to other cities nearby, like Pisa, Perugia, Florence and Rome. The first thing to do was, I called up friends who want to join me and share the experience together. Several times I found one or two companions, but many times I didn’t… sigh! Andez was the best travel companion and wish to do it again with him. Among other Indonesians friends, I was the only who like to travel so much. The other, instead, liked to stay at the dorm or do any other “no trip or travel” activity. The main problem for them was budget. I know that the scholarship fund was limited, but if it could be arranged well, it was more than enough (like I did ;) ) But these friends of mine wanted to spare some money to take home… it’s pity that for the sake of sparing money, they can’t see things that money can’t buy…”experience”!! Oh, well it’s their right, but it’s such a shame!


There are routine things that I always do before I begin a trip. Well, I’m a very organized person, so I can’t tolerate myself if I missed to bring something that I need. After I decided to go on travelling, I make a list of the things I need. The must have items are several T-shirt (one or two T-shirts are enough, depend on how long I’ll stay in that place), disposable panties, toiletries, a drinking bottle, passport and any related documents, some biscuits and chocolates (70% cocoa dark chocolate is the very best companion, hehehe…), a digital camera (very useful, so I can delete any unwanted pictures right away) and the last but the most important thing is a map. After those stuffs are in my backpack, then I begin to make an estimates budget for the whole trip. After everything is settled, I’m more than ready to start the trip.

In Italy, the easiest transportation to travel around is with “Trenitalia” train; it can reach to all provinces, except Sicillia of course, it can even reach other countries, like France, Germany, and Netherlands. Actually, I can take either bus or plain and they are all have some advantages, but anyway I prefer to go by train. I’m so amazed (until now…) that Italy has soooooo beautifully amazing landscapes and I was so lucky to have lived in Tuscan area which is well known as the heart of Italy (watch “Under the Tuscan Sun”… so you’ll know what I’m talking about). Tuscan is the foremost wine producer and extremely delicious Italian culinary centre, well Naples is also the best in culinary… (make me hungry to talk about it, nyam...nyam…). Travelling by train in Italy is highly recommended (by me, hehehe…) because your eyes will be so much pleased by the views of green landscape, blue sky… oh, my favourite was passing the sunflower field, sooo gorgeous!!!! Once, I travelled by car with my Italian friend, Vito, and we passed a huge sunflower field. I spontaneously shouted to him to pull over and I ran into the field, I felt like an angel flying above it… so free and peaceful. I left Vito speechless and shook his head, amazed by my action :P

However, after arrived in the destination city, on the train station I urged to a “Tabaccaio” and got myself a city map with complete detail of tourism objects, not to forget to buy the bus ticket which cost around 1 Euro one way (usually I only bought two tickets). Museums, historic sites or buildings, parks, city landmark are my main attraction, and if the location is near the train station, I go by foot. This is the best part to travel around the city by foot (if the city is small, like Verona or Padua) that you get interaction with the local people, just to ask direction or their recommendation of good places to visit. Many times, when I travelled alone, I got a local guide for free and many times I’ve been treated lunch or just a cup of coffee or soft drink (double the fun, hihihi…). For the local people, I’m a “bule” and they were really interested to know where I came from, etc. One disadvantage in travelling alone is the limitation to take picture of our self (narsis nih!!), so it’s a great pleasure to have local people’s companion during the trip. And since they are local people, they know better their city. They even took me to the place that has more value than other tourism objects. Once, I went to this butcher shop and the butcher was so kind that he explained to me how to make a “prosciuto”, fermented ham which took around one year fermentation to get a good one. In that shop, there were several big prosciuto hanging that have been fermented for more than three years and they really cost a fortune. For Italian, eating prosciuto is kind of luxury and they treat it as a prestige food. I had a chance to taste it, it tasted ok, not so delicious either…. different opinion from the butcher that said it was ottimo. He also offered a glass of Chianti red wine from year 1960-ies (I’m a red wine freak!! One day, I have to take wine testing course and be sommelier… mmmhhh…), this time I agreed that it was veramente buonissimo!! After I thanked him and said goodbye, he gave me a pack of “biscotti” with almond to accompany my trip, said this nice man.

Aside from travelling around the city by foot, the next favourite destination is the museum. I can spend more than four hours in the museum, most historical, cultural and “brain filling” journey where I can gain information, facts, truths, and principles about a country. In Italy and most of European countries, a trip to museum is so much fun because somehow they constructed the museum in such easy-to-explore building. With not more than 5 Euro for student, I could explore the whole site in the museum and to understand more about the collections, the assistance of a guide is the best solution. Well, a guidebook can be another alternative; I instead, like to rent an e-guide that looks like a phone where I can select any kind of language. This device is really useful, handy and easy to use that I can just listen to the explanation while I’m studying the museum collections. I only use guidebook where no e-guide provided, but it always makes me stay longer, because first, I have to read the explanation before I study the collections. Once, in one of the Roman underground graveyards that located outside Rome, I almost got locked in inside the site. I was too concentrating listening to the e-guide that I didn’t hear the last call to leave the site, since it was nearly closed. I can’t imagine myself to be locked in in the graveyard where I might encounter some Roman ghosts, buhuhuhu…how spooky!!!!

Anyway, after filled my brain with new knowledge and feed my thirsty soul with lot of experiences, now it’s time for souvenir!! The most wanted souvenir is the snow ball, a round water ball from glass which contains the mini landmark of the city and fake snow, and every time I shake it, it seems that the snow’s falling. I have five of them; one of them (the France snow ball) is broken, which remind me every time to get a new one. Aside from the snow ball, I like to buy T-shirt, key chain, mug and mini size landmark. Buying souvenir to take home is not a must, sometimes I missed to buy it, first; because I forgot, second; it’s kind expensive and the last; no space left in my backpack. For me, it’s kinda silly hearing someone after coming back from a trip with lots of souvenir (buy extra bag only to put the souvenirs), well, actually (thanks to online shopping!) it can be bought online and sent to your door with no extra cost or just go to the mall, it can also be found there. On the top floor of Plaza Semanggi, in one of the corridor, once I found a shop selling any kind of souvenirs from all around the world, with lower price! It’s also common here for anyone who’s leaving for pilgrimage to Mecca, instead buying the souvenir there; they go to Pasar Tanah Abang or Mayestik where any typical Hajj souvenirs are available.

The essence of traveling is more than just spending money, take picture in front of famous landmarks and buy souvenirs to take home. It’s a way to enrich myself with more experiences, history and cultural knowledge, and in the same time to put myself in a fun and relaxing situation. So, after came back from the trip, I feel so much refreshed and “richer” ;)