The Best Place to Visit in 2016

Where will you go in 2016? are you confused? haha well, today I would like to tell you about someplace that become a tourist attraction.

1. Japan

For starters, the government is trying to devalue the Japanese yen, which means that the country is more affordable than ever right now. Also, the 2020 Summer Olympics are being held in Tokyo and, even though that seems far away, the city is already gearing up for all Olympics everything.

Bonus: Japan is just a wild, wild place. Any country where you can literally buy everything from umbrellas to women’s underwear in vending machines (true story) deserves to be explored in this lifetime. Now’s your moment.

2. Latvia

The country is celebrating its 25th year of independence from the Soviet Union this year, and with it, its increasingly on-the-up-and-up culture. “A fleet of (new) Nordic chefs are catapulting local flavours to such artisanal heights that they would truly give Copenhagen a run for its money,” writes Lonely Planet.

3. Cartagena, Colombia

With a colourful mix of Caribbean and Spanish influences, Cartagena is a jewel on Colombia’s coast and it’s only getting hotter. Adding to established hotels like the Sofitel Cartagena Santa Clara and the new Anandá Hotel Boutique, brands like Ritz-Carlton are planting their flags in this historical city, adding the allure of luxury digs to an already desirable destination.  Visitors to Cartagena are hard-pressed to decide their favourite elements of this historic city. From wandering through the streets packed with vibrantly coloured buildings to walking the walls of this UNESCO World Heritage Site, there is no shortage of cultural offerings. Then there’s lounging on the white sands of nearby Islas del Rosario, exploring the multitude of bars and restaurants and dancing salsa into the night. Need even more reason to visit? The Colombian peso plunged in the last year, getting you more than 3000 pesos per dollar.

4. Shanghai, China

Shanghai has long been a popular tourist destination, but there are several especially good reasons to visit in 2016. A host of new museums have opened in recent years, including the Power Station of Art (a contemporary art museum and the new home of the Shanghai Biennale inside a former power station) and the Yuz Museum (a contemporary art museum in the West Bund featuring the private collection of Budi Tek). One of the largest new Royal Caribbean ships departs from Shanghai bound for Japan and South Korea. And Shanghai Disneyland, the sixth theme park resort opened by Disney and set to open in Spring 2016

5. Roma, Italy

There’s never really a bad year to visit Rome, but 2016 includes two very good reasons to make this the year you head to the Eternal City. Pope Francis just opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, heralding the start of the Holy Year of Mercy – otherwise known as a Jubilee Year. The city may be a bit more crowded with pilgrims during a Jubilee Year, but Rome is also typically a bit more spruced up in anticipation of the influx of visitors. That, plus the unique opportunity to witness a Holy Year in person, make 2016 a potentially interesting time to be in Rome whether you’re a pilgrim or not. On a less religious note, the famous Trevi Fountain has just reopened after more than 500 days under scaffolding while it was being restored. It’s positively drop-dead gorgeous right now, white and gleaming

6. Abu Dhabi

Often bypassed by UK visitors in favour of glitzy, glittering Dubai, Abu Dhabi has been making up for lost time in the tourism stakes and can now look its neighbouring emirate straight in the eye. As the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is employing its staggering wealth to up its ante, with the recent opening of a raft of beach clubs, high-end mega-malls and a sprinkling of world-class theme parks including the awesome – and line-free – Ferrari World and its adrenaline-pumping neighbour, Yas Waterworld. Visitors can now enjoy year-round sunshine, gourmet restaurants and swanky hotels, plus the chance to explore the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, surely the most ornate – and certainly the biggest – Muslim place of worship in the world.  Rumour has it that 2016 will also finally see the opening of the long-awaited and visionary Louvre and Guggenheim outposts on manmade Saadiyat Island. Designed by Jean Nouvel and Frank Gehry respectively, they will be joining the UAE Pavilion and the galleries and theatres of Manarat Al Saadiyat, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s self-proclaimed intention to become the cultural and heritage destination of the Middle East.

The country is also known for its pirate, i.e., hot birch saunas where you get showered with wildflowers and indulge in smoked fish and beer, that are not to be missed.

7. Poland

With new air routes into Szczecin, Katowice and Gda SK, exploring the many delights of Poland just got a whole lot easier in 2016, which also sees the 30th anniversary of the European Capital of Culture award, which has bought cities such as Riga, Rotterdam and Porto to world attention. This year the spotlight turns on Wroclaw in Poland’s Lower Silesia. This cultured and compact city rose again from the ashes of World War II and sits alongside the River Oder; it is often overlooked in the headlong rush to gorgeous Kraków but is just as enchanting. Wroclaw has a dreamy ensemble of architecture from medieval to modern and immaculately restored Market Square, a Gothic cathedral, red-brick churches and tranquil backwaters on Tumski Island. A host of exhibitions, fairs and public concerts are slated to take place across the city in 2016, along with literary events as it also takes on the mantle of UNESCO’s World Book Capital City. And Kraków gets its moment in the limelight this year too, with the arrival of Pope Francis to mark World Youth Day between July 25–31; this has a profound significance for the Poles as their beloved Pope John-Paul II regarded Kraków as his spiritual home. 

Let's start making your 2016 travel plans right now! and see you in the next post!

Megantara 2016

Hello there! Welcome back!

Now, I’m gonna tell you a very fantastic event at my school.

Megantara is a cultural festival held by SMAN 3 Bandung. It was held on Saturday. 10th September 2016 at Lapangan Bali in Bali street, Bandung, West Java. This festival open for public. The ticket price is Rp 35.000.

The first agenda was a parade. Megantara held a parade for all students 3 Senior High School Bandung and also for kindergarten that wore unique costumes. During the parade, we wore “kebaya” for girls and “pangsi” for boys. There also Reog Ponorogo performance that leads our parade.

There were many great performance, such as Wayang Golek Putra Giri Harja (traditional doll playing from sundanese). Rampak Kendang Darul Hikam (traditional rhythmically music ansamble from sundanese ), E1House Art Production. Lingkungan Seni Sunda performance by SMAN 3 Bandung, Keluarga Paduan Angklung 3 (traditional music ansambel from sundanese made with bamboo) that perfomance by SMAN 3 Bandung, Kelompok Vokal 3, Musik Klasik performance by SMAN 3 Bandung, Tiloe's Theatre, Band from SMAN 3 Bandung, Fashion show, karawitan (it's traditional music ansamble from sundanese), Cabret (from SMAN 3 Bandung), Traditional dance, and two Guest Star RAN and The Changcuters (Indonesian famous group band).

There's also a speech from our mayor city Mr Ridwan Kamil, he said he very supportive and proud of this event that using themes culture.   Mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil, came to give his appreciation and opinion about Megantara. He said he very supportive and proud of this event because it makes people know about their own culture.  

After all cultures show, the last agenda there were our guest star The Changcuters and RAN. They performed perfectly and everybody enjoyed their performances.

This night shows that Indonesia is super-rich of the diversity of their culture, diversity of their food, and diversity of their people.

Megantara is really amazing.  I hope next year we can organize a better one

World Tournament and Techno Festival

Hello everyone! Welcome back!

I'm going to tell my experience in World Tournament and Techno Festival. 

This event was held on Saturday, August 20th 2016 in school and also in other places around the school by OSIS 3 Senior High School. This event was participated by the student of X and XI grade. In this event, our group competed with our senior group. One class from our group will compete with one class from our senior group. Also, In this game, the participants must speak and communicate use English between each other during the event. We played several games to win pieces of a puzzle. That piece of the puzzle will be useful at the end of the game.

First, we gathered in Lapang Bali, we saw the opening of the event there. Each class should wear different clothes. My class were wearing white clothes with sports pants and we draw some lines in our face with face decor. We got instruction from the committee of this event. My class, X Science4 will compete with our senior from class XI Science 4. After that, we moved into the school's hallway. In there, we receive a map about the location of the tournament and some water balloons to protect ourself from alien’s attack. They give the clues to play the games and also told us about the rules. Every group that won the games will be given a piece of the puzzle from the committee. If the group lose, they will be attacked by aliens and their ballon (as their soul) will be eased. At the end of this game, each of the group should complete the puzzles they got from the games and the fastest one will be the winner two class from different badge will be guided by two mentors. 

The first place was a music park but people also called it "Taman Musik". In there, we played some mission guided by Kang Galih. The mission just needs three persons to answer the question and compete with three people from our senior. My team won and we received a piece of the puzzle. 

The second place was Taman Tongkeng. We went there on foot. It was an areally hot day and we walked for a long time. We were really tired and thirsty. But, we still kept our spirit to play all of the games. When we got there. The committee was waiting for us. We played a game. The game was to make a robot from ingredients that they gave us. The ingredient was only cardboard. We made a robot together and we give the name "Robot Kupu-Kupu". Our robot was a really simple robot but, we still won the game. After we made a robot, there's an alien came to us. We must stay together but we must separate too. We attacked them with a water balloon. BOOM! we defeated an alien and we receive a piece of the puzzle.

The third place was Photography Park at Patre Komala Street. We also went there on foot. We met a children group that played some game there. While waiting, we played a seesaw and swing. We bought some food too. After we wait, finally it's our time to play. The game that we played there was a focus on a strategy game. We should move our feet and our hand on the colourful carpet based on the command from the committee. The player from our class was Abinaya and Sarah. I forgot which team who won.

The fourth place was our beloved school, 3 Senior High School Bandung. We went there on foot. In school, we watched a film about technology.

The fifth place was "Lapang Bali". When we were moving to LapBal. We met alien again. We were running to catch the alien and BAM! we did it so, we receive a piece of the puzzle. In LapBal, we played catching ribbon and I'm joined to participate it. My team choose Miya as a captain. This game was fun. My team won because Miya succeed to take out rival's ribbon and we receive a piece of the puzzle again. After that, we rested for a while to pray Dzuhur and eat our meal.

At the end of the game, we gathered in Lapang Bali every student of grade 10 came to solve the puzzle. Student of grade 11 also came to solve the puzzle too. Every team had to pie up the pieces of the puzzle and us students of grade 10 were faster. So, we 3'2019, won the tournament and became the most unified group. I really enjoyed this event even though it was really made me tired.

That’s all from me. Thank you and see you in the next post!