10 things I love about Uber

Siapa yang belum kenal sama Uber? Yuk kenalan dulu sama apps yang super berguna ini.

Uber is an american company yang mendevelop suatu aplikasi smartphone dengan nama yang sama. Dengan apps ini kita bisa order mobil (non taxi) untuk mengantar kita ke tujuan. 

Saat kita order, kita bisa pilih mau pakai UberX atau UberBlack. UberX is the regular, biasanya mobil yang muncul Xenia, Avanza, atau Ertiga. UberBlack lebih premium (alias lebih mahal), biasanya yang keluar minimal Innova (gak pernah order jg sih jd not really sure. Katanya sih kalau hoki bisa dapet mercy gitu).

Well, so far I am in love with Uber, let me tell you why :

1. Cheaper fare
Ini adalah alasan utama kenapa gue demen bener sama uber, lebih murah bok timbang naik taxi. Secara rumah gue kan di ujung dunia ya, penting banget deh nih rate murah. For comparison, dr kantor ke rumah naik taxi blue bird usually takes about 75-80 ribu, naik uber cuman 50ribuan. Still lebih murah dr taxi tarif bawah yg kl ke rumah gw bisa 65-70ribuan. Paling penting!

2. Transparent Fare
Gak kayak taxi tembakan, farenya Uber jelas, gak ada nego2an. Waktu kita order, Uber juga akan kasih estimasi biayanya berapa. Tips kalo gak ngasih juga gpp, normatif kok untuk gak kasih tip. Lagi itu saya pernah kasih tip 10rb krn kasian sama drivernya, yaoloh itu senengnya kayak apaan.

Kayak begini fare estimationnya

3. Simple

Like any other apps, ordering from uber is so simple, no need to talk to operators like we did back then when we want to order taxi (ketauan angkatannya ya bok). Tinggal masukin mau dijemput dimana, mau kemana, trus mau uberx apa uberblack, apps nya trus cariin driver yang lokasinya paling deket. Kalo drivernya udah ketemu, langsung muncul tuh nama driver, tipe mobilnya apa, nomor platnya brp, no telponnya berapa. Jadi kalau mau apa2 tinggal telpon atau sms drivernya. Saya biasanya minta dijemput di lobi kantor, jadi gak repot manggil taksi, gak perlu jalan ke depan dan ngawe2 taksi lewat.

4. Fast
Seperti yang gue mention di atas, uber will find drivers that are closest to us. So usually will not take more than 15 minutes until our ride come to pick us up.

Tuh ETA (alias perkiraan kedatangan) cuman 3 menit, padahal udah jam 10 malem

5. Trackable

For kepoers like myself, it's fun to see where your ride is. The apps tracks the vehicle bases on gps, so we can see directly where our ride is, to prevent them going on the wrong way too (pernah sih ngalamin driver yang nyasar, untung langsung di-call jadi nyasarnya gak jauh)

6. Clean and (rather) comfy cars
Since I'm always on a budget, I always go with UberX and usually I get a Xenia. But so far all the Xenias that I have used are in good shape and are in my acceptable comfortness level. At least better dari most of taksi sih, biasanya kalau naik taksi saya soalnya udahannya suka mual gimana gitu.

7. No cash, no hassle
When you register to uber, you will need to input your credit card details. All uber charges will be charged to your cc instantly, so no need for cash. Really useful for someone who (most of the time) forget/lazy to draw some cash from the atm.

8. Receipt
After every ride with Uber, you will be emailed of your detailed ride with the charges. Useful for those who ride for business purposes and need receipts for reimbursement purposes.

9. GPS connected
When you ride, Uber will show the driver how to get to your destination, so you can sit back and get some sleep (penting juga nih). Biasanya sih gw akan bilang kl udh sampe pamulang tolong bangunin, saya mau tidur. Hehehe..  Ketauan kan dimana rumah saiah.

10. Free rides!
Hahaaay I am saving the best for last! Do you know that you can get a free ride with Uber? All you have to do is install the apps and put in this promo code :

UBERPASIQUE

Then you automatically will get your free ride worth of 75rb. Mengingat ke pamulang aja 50rb, kayaknya 75rb bisa buat skitar 30-35 km. Mayan lah dari mungkin sudirman - pamulang gt.

Udah gitu, kita juga bisa bagiin kode voucher kita sendiri ke temen2 kita yang belum pernah pake uber. Dengan begitu, mereka akan dpt their first free ride, and we will also get free rides everytime kode promo kita dipake sama temen kita. Menyenangkan ya?

Jadi inget yah, kalau mau buktiin kalau pake uber itu nagih, nyicipin aja first free ride nya, pake kode UBERPASIQUE yaaa..

Note : ini bukan review berbayar ya, simply karena demen banget aja naik Uber (dan demi free rides hahaha..)

Doctor review : dr. Karno Suprapto, SpOG

Gue dapet informasi tentang dr Karno ini dari temen sma gue, padahal kita sebenernya jarang ketemu, cuma pas kebetulan lagi ngumpul ramean. Pada saat itu gue lagi galau abis, karena lagi hamdun 3 bulan gitu, pindah ke kantor baru yang (ternyata) asuransinya gak cover pemeriksaan kehamilan. Waktu itu gue belum punya dokter tetap, tapi udah sempet nyoba (nyoba.. Dikate sosis goreng di Lotte Mart) obsgyn di Brawijaya dan Marie France eh apa itu lupa namanya klinik yg terkenal di wijaya. Salah sendiri juga kan milih tempatnya borjuis, jadilah sekali periksa kena 600 ribu sampe 1 jutaan. Pas tau gak dicover keringet dingin juga ya bayangin additional costnya..

Nah singkat cerita si temen gue ini cerita lah ttg si dokter karno, bokinnya ke doski dan ok banget katanya. Bagian yang lebih penting adalah : doi praktek di apartemennya di bona indah dan byr cm 150rb per kunjungan! Wow, mantap abis.. Langsung lah gue minta no tlp, make appointment dll.

Walhasil berhasil lah kita dpt jadwal (ternyata doski jadwalnya padet juga) dan berkunjung ke apartemennya. Ternyata anaknya temen nyokap juga ada yang kr doski juga, jd ok lah ya si pak dokter ini sptnya. Gue juga girang krn bona kan juga gak terlalu jauh dari villa rumah gue di pamulang. Apartemennya ok bener, adem (penting banget), kayaknya mah beneran rumahnya doski. Sambil nunggu kita bisa leyeh2 di sofa sambil nonton tipi.

Foto diambil dari sini

First impression gue : kayak kak Seto! Aselik seriusan ini dokter mirip bgt kayak kak Seto, rambut2nya, gayanya ngomong, dll. Dokternya baiiik dan sabaaar banget, selon lah orangnyah. Masuklah gue ke ruang periksanya, dan gue terpana liat mesin usgnya yang jadul abis. Hahaha.. Abis kebiasaan di klinik borjuis with state of art equipment, jadi bingung liat mesin jaman rikiplik. Tapi secara si dokter udah senior kali ya, jd gak perlu lah alat canggih2, gak penting berfungsi dengan baik.Pas udah selese, dikasih kuitansi sama asistennya dan gue tertawa bahagia sambil koprol 3 kali (dalam hati tentunya), beneran 150ribu book.. Indahnya dunia.. 

Anyway, selain praktek di apartemennya, doski juga buka praktek di kliniknya bareng dr Azen di Pondok Indah (Jl. Sekolah Duta 5 No. 64, no tlpnya 021 7500905), trus praktek juga di RS Asih (tiap Selasa 10.00 - 14.00 dan Kamis 14.00 - 16.00 atau cek jadwalnya di sini) dan RS Mayapada Lebak Bulus (tiap Rabu jam 09.00 - 13.00 dan Jumat 08.00 - 11.00 atau cek jadwalnya di sini). 

-----

Latest update Aug 2016

Pak dokter yang baik hati ini beberapa hari yang lalu wa saya utk info kalau beliau sudah tidak praktek di pondok indah lagi, sekarang full di RS Mayapada Lebak Bulus. Beliau juga sudah tidak praktek di apartemen karena tidak mendapat izin. 

Yang bikin saya amazed is that he still remembers my name dan wa personally untuk info itu. Did not have the heart untuk bilang saya baru beranak lagi tapi gak ke doi. Huhuhu.. 

Doctor review : dr. Ridwan SpOg

Gue baru dipegang ( adeehh dipegaang.. ) sama dr Ridwan pas hamil anak kedua. Itupun setelah melalui proses obsgyn window shopping yang paaanjaang dan laaamaaa.. 

Jadi ceritanya gue hamdun att lagi setelah Rafa baru umur 8 bulan. Karena happy dengan dokter Karno, jadilah kita konsul ke beliau lagi. Setelah beberapa kali periksa, gue baru inget untuk menanyakan pertanyaan maha penting : "Dokter pas saya estimasi lahiran ada kan? Gak kemana2?" Dan sang dokter pun menjawab dengan tenang : "Yah, kebetulan saya bulan itu mau naik haji" 

Daaaangg !! Panik lah melanda dunia. Trus kalo doski gak bisa handle gue, siapa dong yang bisa? Apalagi gue itungan yang lumayan "kasus" karena lahiran pertama kan caesar dan jaraknya gak sampe 2 tahun. Gue cita2 mau VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarian alias lahiran normal abis lahiran caesar), jadi cari dokter yang mau handle VBAC. Dokter Karno sempet rekomen dr Soemanadi sih, tapi katanya jarang mau pegang VBAC. 

Singkat cerita, gue pun window shopping berbagai dokter obsgyn, mulai dari dokter obsgyn di rumah sakit deket rumah, rumah sakit yang agak jauhan dikit, sama yang paling deket kantor alias KMC hehhee.. 

Gue entah kenapa seneng banget sama si KMC, suasananya di kota santri kayaknya enak gitu, gak rumah sakit yang nyeremin. Di KMC pun gue mencoba ke 2 dokter, akhirnya sreg sama dr Ridwan. Alasannya adalah karena dia ganteng. Hahaha.. gak ding.. tapi gak tau yah chemistrynya nyambung aja gitu. Dokternya santai, tapi ngantrinya gak santai, apalagi kalo malem. Doski praktek tiap hari di KMC, jadi enak janjiannya, walopun mesti booking dari 2-3 hari sebelumnya saking tenarnya nih dokter. Karena kantor gue deket, jadi gue kalo kontrol ke doski pas lunch time. Enak soalnya antriannya gak panjang. Lagi itu pernah gue jadwal Jumat malem, eh buset nunggu dari jam 8 baru ketemu jam 10. Males amat dah.. 

Gue senengnya pak dokter ini bersedia banget kasih nomer hp, jadi kalo ada emergency bisa  dicall sewaktu2. Trus waktu usg gue pernah minta usg 4D, sama doi dikasih tapi gak diprint (jadi gak bayar bok, baik yaahh..) dan aselik beneran persis keluarnya lho USG sama aslinya. Pak dokter ini juga support VBAC, tapi katanya dengan syarat babynya harus di bawah 4kg beratnya (jadi waktu gue 37w aja udah 4.5kg, katanya lupakan VBAC, let's go with caesar. Hahhaa.. nyerah doi). 

Anyway, ini nih foto si pak dokter, ganteng ga? Hahhaha.. Btw ini dokter juga cocok2an sih ya, gue rekomen doi ke temen gue, ternyata temen gue gak cucok bok, jadi yasudlah ya.. Buat gue sih dr ridwan is the best lah. Doski praktek di KMC (Kemang Medical Care) dari Senin sampai Sabtu kok, lengkapnya coba liat di sini yah.. 

Foto diambil dari sini

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is an area located on the coastal side of Italy, consisted of five small villages (thus the name, that means “Five Lands”), Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. I had the chance to visit this beautiful  Unesco World Heritage Site in 2010. This place is acknowledged as having one of the most dramatic coastal scenery on the planet, and indeed it was! Colourful houses built in terraces on cliffs overlooking the sea. These villages have no car ways, only walking paths, train rails and boat docks. The village is ancient, rustic and mysterious, yet warm and enchanting at the same time. The villages are famous but not as crowded as other cities in Italy. 

Unfortunately I only had 2 days to spend in Cinque Terre, so I decided to spend it in Riomaggiore and took a walk along the Via Dell’Amore (meaning : Pathway of Love) to Manarola. Via Dell’Amore is a walking path that stretches 850 metres along the coastline. The view is breathtaking! On the left you can see stunning stone beaches and the waves of the sea, while on the right you have cliffs and vineyards. The name itself was derived from the legend that this footpath became a meeting place for lovers from the two towns. By the end of the path, under the tunnel near the Manarola side, you will see thousands of padlocks attached to wire mesh with name initials carvings on it. It is believed that when couples do this, they will seal their love and stay together forever. Unfortunately I was single at that time, so I could not join this interesting worldwide ritual :) According to latest update, this path is now closed to public due to risks of landslide, so I was very lucky to be able to see this beautiful pathway.

The roads in Riomaggiore and Manarola are narrow, colourful and filled with small cafes and Trattoria and Ristorante (restaurants). In Italy, there is a policy that dining in in restaurants are charged extra, from 1 Euro up to 5 Euros. So if you want to save some money, take away the food and eat it elsewhere. However, there are some restaurants that have magnificent view that you just can’t miss. One of it is Marina Piccola Ristorante in Manarola that has an excellent view on sunset. So I decided to enjoy early dinner there and enjoy the seafood treats and beautiful view that they have.

To get to Cinque Terre, I took a train ride from La Spezia. The train system in Italy is managed by Trenitalia. The train rail connects all 5 villages of Cinque Terre, so if you don’t have the energy to walk all the way to all 5 villages, a train ride is highly recommended. As for accommodation, don’t expect to find a luxurious 5 star chain hotel in this area. Most accommodations are run by the locals. You can find various types of accommodation, from hostels for backpackers to villas with higher price. Me myself travelled backpacker style, so I chose to rent a room of 25 Euros / night. You can also rent a room at a villa at 150 Euros / night. The choice is yours. 

So guys, if you happen to be visiting Italy, Cinque Terre is highly recommended place to visit. This place is very different with any other cities in Italy. You must be prepared to walk though, since it is the best way to really explore the village. You can go through the small passages and really get yourself immersed in these villages’ atmosphere. 

Europe Obsession

I love travelling, but travelling to Europe has always been an obsession, instead of merely passion. It all started in the year 2000 when I first visited Paris. My uncle worked there and I joined his family when they visited him. The city was ultimately beautiful. Everything was picture perfect and I could not get bored of its beauty. I stayed for 2 weeks there, went to Belgium also. Actually I wanted to stay longer and visited other countries, but my uncle (and of course my mom) won’t let me travel solo. I was on my 2nd year of college at that time, so did not have much choice (and money). 

The obsession stayed strong throughout my college years and got stronger when I started working. I used to google for pictures of countries I wanted to visit and imagine myself being there. I often have dreams about being in Europe. I joined backpacking groups and other travelling communities because I was sure I will get there somehow. 

Finally, the opportunity knocked. My company merged with another company and suddenly I got a bonus! (yes, previously my company did not give out annual bonus). At the same time, there was a group in my backpacking mailing list that was going to Europe for several days. Emirates ticket was on sale. There were 2 public holiday in the month of May, so I only need to use 6 days of leave for 15 days of trip. The foreign exchange rate was not so high (1 Eur = 12,000 IDR) The universe gave me all the signs. So I decided to go, although the bonus amount was actually not enough for the whole trip, but the rest can be covered by credit card. Risky decision, but I thought, if not now, I will never go for the that Eurotrip. So I crossed my fingers and decided to go. And that was the best decision ever! Although I end up with a pile of credit card bills after the trip, but I don’t mind. The trip was superb! And I am determined to have another Eurotrip someday with my kids. Wish me luck!