Minimalism: The Art of Owning Less - Moving Across Europe

I carried one 30kg bags to Europe, one small carry on bag and a backpack to Europe.

Is it enough? to be honest with you It is more than enough. During my period of stays, of course. I bought some stuff with me. 

Like clothes, home appliances, etc. 

But as minimalist, if you buy something, you have to let something go. 

Otherwise, you need to clutter de-clutter something all over again which is just adding stress to your life. 

I realize this after just stacking stuff, then "Start decluttering".

Decluttering, is very stressful. I did not do that anymore. I will just discard them right away when I didn't need them, or I will set a time when I will discard them. 

Cause in the decluttering process, this cycle always happens: "Oo I might need this later" "I will be thinner" "I will probably need it". You probably will need that. But probably, you will buy a new one instead of using your old clothes when you were thinner. 

You buy, and buy, and buy again.

Is it wrong? Well, technically it is not. Everyone can do what they want. 

Here, I am just sharing my experience on having less stuff, which is very-very peaceful. 

The stuff that I bring with me when I moved to Elche 

Moving Across Europe

Here is some tips when you need to move. I think this is gonna be useful for EMJMD Student. 

1) Discarding Stuff. I recommend you to own less stuff. Less stuff equal to, less stress. If you have more stuff than you need you can donate them for the next intake, sell them or donate them. 

Donating the clothes. For the clothes you can donate them to H&M and they will give you voucher. In Italy you can also donate them on Yellow Box Humana. 

In Spain you can donate the shoes and the clotes on Ropa recycle box usually they are everywhere with pink color box. 

2) Plan. You need to plan early on what to do with your stuff. Ask yourself these question: Do you have enough bag to carry them? do you need some card box? Do you have the card box? Do you need to vacuum your clothes? Do you have vacuum bag? Do you need to send them? How you are going to send them?

Wow a lot of things to figure it out. Yes. So plan! I plan and started to pack two months before I moved to make sure that I have time to do everything that I want and clean everything because I hate to be in a rush and you don't know if anyone will help you later on. Remember, it is very stressful, so a plan will help you from all the stress. 

3) Carrying vs Sending. In Europe it is very expensive to buy the check in luggage when you are flying. So I prefer to send them. But another thing that I complain a lot. The distribution provider is very unreliable in Europe. I just realized that Indonesian logistic company are top notch after experiencing EU's logistic company. 

Sending Your Luggage

A lot of my friends got traumatized with sending. It is quite complicated here in Europe. But I have no problem. There are 2 keys: plan and research..

There are few things that you need to know about EU logistic/sender company (most of them) based on my experience.

1. You need to book in advance, they will send the labels (and you need to use their label) and they will pick up on your door. You need to get them ready (with all the labels when they picked your stuff), otherwise they won't pick your stuff. 

2. You can't send them during the weekend (Haven't found one with options to pick up during weekend)

3. On the day of pick up or sending they will "RING the BELL". Remember they probably will NOT CALLING you (some of them yes, most of them no), so put very specific address + DOOR BELL and make sure that you are in the house when they send it. 

If you don't know the door bell, ask. Or put your landlord name. I don't know what is the door bell, I put "The property belong to .... (name of the landlord) in local language" and they can find it, cause they are local. 

There is no exact TIME when they are coming, just the day. So you need to be ready and free for the whole day. (That's why planning is very important). 

I have friends that missed the bell ring so many times, and its really hard to get the stuff when you miss the ring. 

4. They will notify you by email / app. Most of time by email. So, put that pop-up button. I missed one delivery (yes they only ring the door, there is no call, so be ready) and they give me an email they said they will re-send it the next day. So be ready, don't go anywhere, try to see if you doorbell rings. 

5. You couldn't lock your bag when sending, and could not send everything (they will give you the guide). They will scan your bag. So follow their rules and be prepared if some stuff probably missing. 

Watch this video about the information on what you can send and what's not : https://vimeo.com/230908619 | I advice you to not send any liquid. Because they will throw them. Just send some stuff that has low risk like :

-Clothes

-Shoes

-Other home appliance (that you feel you are okay if they went missing)

6. A lot of bags are missing during delivery (I told you its wild), so if you can, I suggest you to buy some insurance that can cover just in case its missing. A lot of companies give the basic insurance of the stuff you send.  And never send important stuff and documents using cargo (bring them with you)!

7. Remember the labels will not be generated instantly as you might think. I need 1,5 weeks to receive my labels. Remember during the weekend all the places are close to print stuff. But the case might varies. (So again, remember to plan)

Try to pack way earlier than the day you need to move. Sort things you won't be needing in a while.

I recommend you to use "Send My Bag" because its associated with DHL. Try to use their student plan. They are very cheap and very fast. | Check here : https://www.sendmybag.com/student-shipping

Why Send My Bag?

1. For the pricewise I think its quite fair. When I need to send my stuff to Spain from Novara they charged me 30euro for 30kg. For me I think the price is quite fair.

2. They have DHL as their Logistic Courier. I don't know if this seems unfair, but I trust DHL and how they work. So far I send 2 items internationally with DHL I have no problem and surprisingly they were very quick. I could not say anything. 

3. Their call center is in The UK, so just incase you have complain or you need more service, you can call their customer center just in case that you can't speak the local language. 

4. They give you free basic insurance. One of my friend lost her duvet (yes. you can still loose some stuff, so be careful don't send something you treasured), and they gave her the insurance fee and the sending fee.

Sending-Stuff-Kit

Vacuum bag will be very helpful especially for clothes. You can print the labels in the university or in the nearest "Copisteria" (honestly never done it, but this is what they said). If you need card box, cello tape or cable ties to put your label you can always find them in the Chinese store.

If you are in Novara, you can find them on a Chinese Home Appliance Store "ShunFa" https://goo.gl/maps/Vj5X4p2rxgXU2tESA

Remember all the printing place are closed during the weekend and open not so early just in case you need to send them on Monday. Always print them ahead of time (seems like not very important, trust me this is very important).

Basic Italian/Spanish

When you are sending them, they will ring your door, and speak of course, in the local language. So try to be able to say "Wait" at least in the local language. 

Wait = Aspetta per favore (Italian). 

I don't speak Italian Sorry = Non parlo Italiano mi dispiace (Italian)

Do you speak English? = parla inglese? (Italian)

Wait = Espera por favor (Spanish)

I don't speak Spanish Sorry = Non hablo Espanol, lo siento (Spanish)

Do you speak English? =  Tu hablas ingles? (Spanish)

Remember not everyone can speak English, so get your phone with you, prepare your passport (some of them one to check if its really you) and always get yourself ready with some phrases that can help you moving in.

Art of Owning Less

Cause I am a proud minimalist, I want to share how convenient it is to life with less. I think becoming a minimalist has save me from headache of packing, of carrying heavy stuff and save me from spending so much time and money to send stuff.

I sent one kg of 30kg bag (30 Euro). Then I carried one small carry on bag and a backpack to Elche. I used promotion code to bring one check in bag that is provided by Ryan Air then I used bus to go to my apartment in Elche 1,6 Euro, very convenient. The flight itself to Elche is not the cheapest but I booked them pretty early so like 30Euro. 

In total my moving cost : 30 + 30 + 1,6 = 61,6 Euro. Very efficient and cost saving, and I would like to say I am happy too. Its not what minimalism about, but as the side effect, I did not reject the fact that I was benefitted by that.

How to Start

If you are not sure how to start, I can give you some recommendations. Remember minimalism is a journey, and not everyone fit into this kind a lifestyle. I am going to say it is indeed very-very hard because you are fighting consumerism that is promoted by modern society.  You are fighting the big brands that wants you to spend more, and using your favorite influencer to lure you buying more stuff and holding on to them. 

The easiest way to start in my opinion, by applying these 4 rules : 

1) If you want to buy stuff, you need to discard some stuff from your collection whatever it is. Except you have none. Slowly, let go "Just in case stuff". 

2) Ask yourself "Do I need it now?" "How long I will like this?" "Is it suitable for me?" before buying anything. If you are not sure with your answer, don't buy them. Postponing pleasure will create a significant impact in buying habit in your life. This is very important to fight consumerism habit that we build through all our life. 

3) Switch into more sustainable options while buying. It will probably cost more but indeed it is. (yes! Minimalism is not cheap! you need to be able to afford sustainable stuff, and most of the time by my experience they are costly, except if you are lucky).

4) De-clutter and try to let go. If you have something you probably never use in 2 years (for me couple months), except seasonal. It's time to let it go. 

Let it go, let it go let it go ~ Its time to be more purposeful in live. Let's go.

That's it! If you have any questions about moving or minimalism, I will be glad to answer

Not Really How to : Portofino, Italian Riviera, Italy

Portofino, 28 July 2022 | Summer

Actually I kind a feels like I want to write down everything because I realize that without this blog everything will just faded into memory, which maybe I will forget couple years later. So I will keep writing this travel series as I prefer. 

This blog for sure, not the best travel blog, because this blog is not a travel blog in the first place. Its just a platform to write down what I like. So while I am refreshing to the Spanish Government website to get the TIE appointment, let's get down to the real deal. 

What is Portofino?

Portofino is a commune in Genova, it is one of the very famous Italian Riviera, known for small luxurious harbor and colorful building in the shore. Based on my experience, Portofino in my opinion is very cute and beautiful. There is not a lot of things to do except you own a private boat. This place is a jet set, expensive place, but this place is worth for one day visit (maybe if you visit Genoa or Cinque Terre, or even do a day trip from Novara which is possible, you should definitely check Portofino).

How to get there?

1. Take the train to Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino Station (from Novara it will take 3,5 hours, you can go at 06:00 and arrived at 10:00).

2. From here take the 7385 bus to Portofino.

In order to go to the "real Portofino" you can walk for around 1,5 hours or you can take the 30 minutes bus. You can to take the bus directly from the stop near train station. 

Bus stop to real Portofino in front of the Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino train station

The bus schedule

How do you buy the bus ticket? When you arrived in the Santa Margherita Ligure-Portofino station, there is a tabaccheria on the left side of the building. There you can buy a return ticket for the bus to Portofino (it will cost you 5Euro back and forth) in this tabaccheria. Remember this tabaccheria accept cash only. 

There bus ticket will look like this and there will be 2 sides (Andata means going -> validate it when you are going to Portofino, and Ritorno means back --> validate it when you are going back to Santa Margherita Ligure).

Another way to buy the bus ticket is by taping your debit card directly to the device on the bus. But this will cost you 3Euro one way, so it will be 1 Euro more expensive. 

There is this device, and some of passengers also use this device by tapping their visa/mastercard debit/credit card, it will cost you 3 Euro. 

Remember to validate the ticket. There are 2 ways to validate it : 1) On the bus 2) On the device near the bus stop. There will be random checking, so never get on the bus without buying ticket. 

 

You can also buy the ticket in the machine, that machine also works to validate the ticket before boarding to the bus. Once the ticket is validated it will active for 60 minutes if I am not mistaken. The bus stop will look like this.

What to do in Portofino?

You will need cute outfit, but you will hike a lot. For me I went here to take a good photos, so I really need to get to the best spot, and the best spot is uphill. 

1. Strolling around the port and the city. The city is cute and full of authentic Italian restaurants and it also have spots to do luxury shopping. But if you just broke student like me, strolling around is nice. 

 

2. Walking up to the church and cemetery. For me this is definitely highlight of the trip, you can see the whole Portofino with the cute iconic houses, boats from this side. You need to go up a little bit. The view from the road leads to the church is amazing and it has a lot of shades, and there are chairs as well if you want to sit down a bit to enjoy your snacks and cola to see the view is possible. 

3. Walking up to the castle brown. You need to hike up again, a little bit and pay 5 Euro to enter the castle, you can pay by card or cash. For me, this one is also worthed. There is a La Dolce Vita movie shooting location in this castle and the view from the castle is breathtaking. 

I think that's it about Portofino. Here.. everything for me is expensive, so I bring my own coca cola, water, snack and lunch to eat (I just went there to take photos). I did not pay for anything here except paying for the castle entrance and transportation, because I know Portofino is a jet set, luxurious place which is packed with wealthy tourist that come by their private boat. 

But this place is worth one day visit. There are other activities as well like cruising around and swimming, but I didn't try because at that time when I went it was freakin hot, but for sure you can try! Let me know if you visit Portofino and you like it. 

Not Really How to : Travelling on a budget from Novara / Buying your ticket

I always travel, people think either I'm rich, broke or irresponsible. But I couldn't fit myself into those categories. 

I'm not rich yet, I'm not broke and I'm super responsible especially about money. Since 5 years ago, my parents financially free from me, I never ask them for money. Even when I moved to Europe, I payed everything with my own money, because we need to pay everything with our own money before getting scholarship (but my dad was kind enough to gave me pocket money, but if he didn't I can still afford my expenses). 

Yes, despite all the instagram posts portrayed me as someone that is irresponsible in life by always traveling, I work very hard (shame on me saying this but I have to say it otherwise people think I have money from blackmagic), I know getting money is hard so I am trying to be very responsible when it comes to spending. 

I like to see stuff, and travel in general. But, who like to be broke? Not me.  

So if you feel like spending is easy for you, you don't need to worry about tomorrow, this post is not for you. Soleil ask me to write down things that can be tips to travel less especially around Europe. I actually have been writing one but in bahasa, so I will try to breakdown a bit more details in English. 

1) Travel in Shoulder Season 

Remember in Europe, summer is the most expensive season. If you are going to Italy its kind a hard to find a not-so touristy places in summer (because everyone is going around Italy in the summer), if you are going to super touristy place like: Cinque Terre, Santorini, try to go in shoulder season (like April or September/October), if you can manage the cold, going in winter is the cheapest. I went to Paris in December and the hotel cost 17Euro per night, in April nothing is less than 30Euro. The time will define the price. If you want to experience a lot of stuff in budget, try to deal with the season.

I think September and October, and February to April are very good for travelling on budget. But remember in April there is Easter Break, so if you want to go around Easter holiday in April, start booking in February or early March at least, otherwise the places will rip you off. 

If I can give you some visualization, this is the one bunkbed cost in Paris:

December -> 17 Euro, April -> 30 Euro, 

To be honest I also prefer to have less people when I see stuff during traveling, so summer is my least favorite because it was super packed. It was hard to just get one nice photo because there were just too many tourist. You need to go very early or ask people to leave from the frame otherwise it was impossible. 

2) Find Cheap Tickets

When you go around, you can choose between: 

1. Airplane

For the airplane, you can find the cheap ticket using skyscanner (but don't buy from their website, always use the official website). The Low Cost Career like ryan air, Vueling, jetstar and wizzair will save you a lot of money. 

Remember: 

1) Always pick the nearest airport from you (for example from Novara the nearest is Milano Malpensa and it cost 7Euro to go to Malpensa by train). If you pick Milan Bergamo it will cost you 17,6 Euro just to get there (train from Novara to Milano Centrale 5,6 + 12 Euro from Milano Centrale to Bergamo).

So going flying and landing from Bergamo is not very smart except you don't have any other options. Always use public transport and never use taxi to go and leave the airport. I have been to more than 12 countries in Europe, I never use taxi not even moving my life to Elche, its possible, we just need to do research and ask. Use taxi only if you travel maybe in large group and taxi is way cheaper options.

2) Overnight in the airport is possible. Sometimes the cheapest flight will fly at 06.00 in the morning. So how are you gonna do that? I usually take the last train and just sleep in the airport. Its actually not very bad. At midnight you can actually enter the gate and they have a good place to sleep (at least for me, if you never do this - train yourself, because Israa never do this but she is going with me all the time, now she is an expert at sleeping anywhere.. and she is very happy about it).

3) Use Backpack only. What? Yes. This is not only me that saying this. Rick Steve the legend traveler that have been travelling to Europe for more than 30 years said the best way to travel Europe is by backpack only. You can save money because you did not need to pay extra when flying, but beside that it will save you from a lot of stuff (for example you don't need to worry where to store the bag all the time, and if you have limited time to travel you can just go with a backpack and its all good). My principle is: just bring what you can carry, never bring anything that you can't carry because its gonna drag you down. 

4) Don't buy unnecessary add on while flying (the seat, etc.), just stick to the basic one.  

5) ESN card have 10% discount and also free luggage for ryan air. So if you are EMJMD student, get ESN card, it will be very useful.

6) Buy the ticket ahead of travel. Its no brainer to postponing buying for your ticket if you already know there is some holidays coming up and you also want to travel etc. If its a huge holiday like Easter, buy your ticket 1,5 months before especially if you want to go to super touristy area. That was how we find 10Euro ticket from Santorini to Milan. But buying 2 weeks before and cheap its also possible, but the price is moving as the time goes by, so just be aware of that. 

2) Bus

Going around with bus is very convenient. I like to use overnight bus to save some money that I need to spend on a hostel because I have no problem to sleep on the bus. Some of the bus has incredibly cheap price. I will show you how.

If you go around Italy, Itabus is definitely the best and the cheapest most of the time. They have promotion (30% discount) if you go both ways with the bus. How cheap is Itabus? From Milan to Bologna sometimes its as cheap as 2Euro 0__0. I just checked in September-October they are around 7-4 Euro (which is also very cheap).

From Milan to Rome is 9-10 Euro in September-October (Which is very cheap), so you can go Milan-Rome back and forth for 20 Euro. I personally will take the overnight one so I can sleep (the one that leave midnight and arrive in the morning), otherwise you will be very tired. 

Another bus to take is Flixbus (which is now not very cheap), Blablabus and Alsa bus. For Flixbus, ALSA, Itabus they also have ESN Student discount (10%), and they will give you like 100 vouchers. I personally always use the discount code. 

How to use the voucher? You need to login to https://esncard.org/, and click on the travel section --> choose the bus operator (flixbus/alsa/itabus). Follow on how you can get the discount.

For Flixbus, click Claim voucher and paste the code on the flixbus app when you buy the ticket. 

Its crazy that flixbus will give you 100 vouchers with one ESN card, 

I mean, whos is gonna travel 100 times in 6 months?

*Bonus

Traveling by Bus from Novara

My suggestion is always take the bus from Milan, its easier, cheaper, safer. Because Novara Bus Stop is in the middle of nowhere. Unless you have someone that will pick you up by car, or you arrive in the middle of the day (because the public bus is stop operating at 20:00, remember). Its actually located in Casello Autostradale Ovest (its like near the toll with very bad public connection to the city https://goo.gl/maps/vaqQwL38UQqVVJD17) or Novara Veveri A4 Westbound in Torino-Trieste toll road (https://goo.gl/maps/EJZnUtgEriD44tCr6).

If you take the bus from Milan, its usually started from Milan Lampugnano Bus Station. How do you get there?

a) From Novara take the train to Rho-Fiera Milano (it will cost 4Euro)

b) From Rho-Fiera Milano take the Metro (underground train) to Lampugnano (if you follow google, google will tell you to stop in a Metro stop called Uruguay, but this is not correct, you need to go all the way to Lampugnano). There is no need to buy physical ticket on Milan Metro, you can use your debit card to enter the gate and get out from the gate (find the orange box with card sign near the gate when you want to enter the platform and just tap your debit card). 

the metro

c) From Lampugnano you just need to find the sticker board that shows which platform, and wait for the bus. Picture: Sticker board sign and the platform + Inside the Itabus.

 

It takes around 40-50 minutes to get to Lampugnano from Novara, and the train departs very early, like 6am, so if you have bus to catch at 07:30 its possible. 

3. Train

I use trainline app all the time to find the cheapest train. Sometimes I use it as well to buy the ticket, sometimes not. We found the "Novara Nord" station from this app. 

Trainline is the third party app that very smart because you can find all connection in the whole Europe. They also shows you the bus options. Is the ticket I bought on this app valid? Yes, they are valid. 

If you buy ticket for Italian train, there is no charge/fee. But sometimes they will charge you when you buy the ticket (for example for Switzerland or France). If they charge you don't panic and just go to the official website of each train and just buy the ticket there, its the same and without fee.

But you can't rely on this app to all of the train in Europe, in fact I think this app only have connected to the Schengen Area, because on the more traditional side like Slovenia, or Zagreb you can't use this app to find the train. They will show "There is no train available".

For example like this:

It shows from Ljubljana (Capital of Slovenia) to Zagreb (Capital of Croatia) there is no train available, only bus. But this is totally wrong. In fact there is 4 trains available everyday between 2 cities and its only cost you 9Euro, you need to buy one from the ticketing office. 

So how do I find one? You can look at this website and check : https://www.seat61.com/

Travelling by train might not be the cheapest, but there are a lot of promotion you have to check. There is interrail where you can take train across Europe for couple days. I knew some of friends that buy that one with the summer discount it cost 300 Euro but you can travel for 30 days (the normal one will cost 670 Euro). But to get this you need to have the resident permit (Permesso di Soggiorno), because this one is only valid if you are the EU resident. 

 

In Italy there are a lot of Promotions as well by Trenitalia. In summer there is a promotion called "Estate insieme" where you can travel for 4 consecutive weeks for only 39Euro (From Friday to Monday) using regional train. I bought this one for this summer and I can say its very good pass T__T.

I want to say thank you Intan from telling me this. Using this pass I went to: Venice, Trieste, Bologna, Parma, Bolzano, Brixen, Turin, Milan, Aosta, Verona, Ventimiglia, San Remo, Genoa, etc I think if I count it will cost me 200 Euro or more without that pass. If you come around this summer, the pass still active until 26th of September. 

 

The train in Italy is very good and well connected! And the regional train is always fixed cost and no seating plan so there is no worry you will not get the train. We can always buy last minute without any worry. I just realized that not every EU country was like that XD. Kind a sad, but its okay. 

Each country has different promotion you need to check. In Germany they have 9 Euro ticket and in Spain the local train is free. 

Another thing to save the budget while the promotion is not there, in Italy there is Train Pass. The Regional 3 days pass will cost you 29Euro, unlimited ride for regional train. 

Maybe you will think this is a bit expensive, but trust me this one is worthed (and cheaper), you just need to plan some trips with you and go. If I can give you an example, day trip from Novara can be like this :

Day 1: Novara-Aosta (Train both ways: 22 Euro)

Day 2: Novara-Turin (Train both ways: 19,2 Euro)

Day 3: Novara: Genoa (Train both ways: 24,5 Euro)

Total without pass : 65,7 Euro

With pass: 29 Euro. You will save 36,7 Euro.  

The pass have advantages because its flexible, once you have it you can go to any train with Regional code on it: RV, R, RE and Metropolitani (this is regional in Campania), Tper (this is the regional train in Emilia Romagna) if Im not mistaken.

*Bonus

One day trip from Novara with Regional Train + small tips

1) Milan - you will find it boring, so try to do the walking tour (type "Free walking tour Milan)

2) Turin - try to go the first week of the month, the entire palace is free + some museum but you need a reservation, check on the website.

3) Genova - if you have ESN card there is discount on Genova Aquarium. You have to try the pesto and focaccia, here is the best. 

4) Portofino - Landing to Santa Margherita station go to the nearest Tobacco shop and take the bus to Portofino (5 Euro back and forth), try to go back early like around 3 to the station otherwise you cant get the bus (its too packed).

5) Aosta - its a very cheap and cute place to shop. Go to Pila using cable car (7 Euro back and forth)

6) Parma - Very authentic Italian city, there is a mission to find 13 statues if Im not wrong, you can try that. 

7) Bologna - They have good food and flee market every saturday that sell clothes for very cheap (like 2 Euro), some of them is brand new with tag from famous brand. Go to Bologna!

8) Lake Maggiore - Stop in Arona and walk and cruise in the lake, super beautiful.

9) Lake Orta - Stop in Orta-Miasino, the ambience is the best, very beautiful.

10) Ivrea and Domodossola, surrounded by mountain, very cute and beautiful city. 

11) Verona - If you want to skip Trenord (because from Milan to verona is trenord not trenitalia), you can go to Bologna and take the regional train to Verona, its possible, just takes a lot of time. 

12) Rimini - its possible to go until Rimini, and chill in the beach. 

13) Modena - if you are a ferrari fan, you should go. They have Ferrari museum here. 

14) The Italian Riviera is also very beautiful (from Savona until Ventimiglia), and one day trip is possible. 

actually there are a lot of one day trip you can do from Novara XD. Novara is very cute and strategic city. You can reach Switzerland, France and go home in the same day. You can go to Venice and go home in the same day (but its just a bit hectic and I recommend to stay in Venice at least one night of course), but if you are really really on budget I mean its still possible. 

In most of my one day trip I bring my own lunch and eat it on the park or near the lake, so it will cost me 0, except some cities that over specialties like Bologna and I want to try them, I will buy. 

Not Really How to Napoli: The Chaotic Naples

Napoli or Naples is one of the most famous tourism site in Italy. I was there, because of Pompeii. If you knew in Quran there was verse about Pompeii. Pompeii is very similar to Luth Prophet story, or in Bible they called it Sodom and Gamora. Even we didn’t really know who is the prophet at that time, but definitely I’m going to Napoli because of Pompeii. 

My friends warned me about Naples. They said “Don’t go there, It’s dangerous”. But when I went there, I knew it was different for the rest of Italy but it was okay (well honestly I have this mindset because Athens is way worse than Naples, so nothing can shock me anymore). Ok without further do Lets jump to the travel stuff directly..

Solo Traveling and Timing

For those that brave enough to go alone, hats off. But just for your own convenience, better go with friends at least two. Just because Naples can be very intimidating and confusing, some alleys is really narrow and dark so if you are with friends it is way better.

The best timing to go to Naples I think during June-July period, because it is not so packed with tourists (it’s affordable) but you also have enough sun to go around at least until 21:00. We are lucky now the sun set at 21:00, so when we stroll around until 20:00 the sun still there, the alleys was not dark. And to be honest we were never go back when it’s already dark. We make sure that we went back around 20:00 when the sun still out.

Naples's alley. Its okay to walk with friends, when the daylight still there. But alone? Not really fun,

Where to stay in Naples?

I think everyone will tell you that staying near Garibaldi Area is the worst. And I think that’s true. That busiest area is packed with people, not the cleanest and looks shady to be frank. 

Due to this information we have before. We choose to stay in a Bed and Breakfast 1.2 km from Garibaldi Area, and the neighborhood was super fine and the road is not shady . But when we went near the Principe Amedeo station, honestly the neighborhood is wayy better. It was super clean and not shady, if you can find something near that station, better to stay there. 

How much to stay in Naples? We are really worried because the price of the room started sky rocketed due to the “summer vacation coming up” but we are lucky to find this B&B called “Napora” it cost 17€ per person per night, it’s super clean, private bathroom with AC, self check-in, free 2 bottles of water, refrigerator, TV, 1.2 km from Garibaldi station and only few meters from Duomo Metro station. It’s pretty strategic and not shady neighborhood.

The beds are bunk beds but no problem because it is super comfortable. They have different kind a room so if you are going to Naples, Napora is very recommended.

How to get around 

From and to the Airport

From Naples airport you can take "Alibus" for 5€ (remember to bring cash) and you can buy ticket directly in the bus. The bus will stop at Garibaldi station and other stop, remember where to drop yourself off. To go back from airport, you can take the bus from Garibaldi station, the schedule in google is accurate but remember each bus will do the loading-unloading passengers for 15 minutes, so the bus that schedule 15:15 will leave garibaldi at 15:30. Remember that Naples street is chaotic and traffic jammed everywhere. In fact you will need 40 minutes to 1 hour from the bus leaving garibaldi to arrive at the airport.

   

Getting Around Naples

You can walk. We actually walk like a lot. But you can also use metro for 1.1€ for line 1 and 1.3€ for line 2. Remember that each lines has different tickets. Because line 1 is operated my ANM (the local company) and line 2 is operated by Trenitalia. We just found out this stuff when we buy the ticket, don’t get confused because we were also very confused.

If you are going from Garibaldi, you want to buy the metro ticket you can go to the Piazza and buy in this yellow box “ticket seller” you need to tell them which one do you want. M1 or M2. For M1 you can also buy ticket from the self-service ticket machine that looks like a box. There are 2 kinds (the one that accept only cash and the one that accept only card). 

If you want to store your bag, you can do it here. This one located in Garibaldi (Across the road, downstairs)

The M1 ticket looks like this: 

And the M2 ticket looks like this:

Before boarding you need to validate the ticket. The ticket valid 90/140 minutes after you validate the ticket. Remember changing lines mean changing tickets! You can also take funicular to certain museum/attractions, this map might be useful:

Going to Pompeii + Other Attraction

From Naples to Pompeii there is train that will take 50 minutes. You can buy the ticket online or in the ticket machine. In the machine there were 2 thing “Pompei” and “Pompeii”, this is very confusing so we asked the information about which one and they help us to buy the ticket. So maybe maybe online is easier.

From naples to Pompeii cost only 2.8€ and the train is super nice with the coast line as the view during your journey. The Pompeii ticket enterance is 16 Euro.

Remember that no one sell water inside pompeii so better go to the nearest Carrefour before walking inside. It is super hot so bring your shade and sunscreen + comfortable shoes. You will need 3-4 hours to explore the whole complex. You can buy the ticket beforehand or on the site.  

Other attraction we enter is "Napoli Aquarium" it is small but I like it, it cost 6 Euro. The other one we enjoy like the pier, the beach, etc its all free. 

What to eat in Naples

For those “Local specialties” hunter you might hate me and my friend because we basically eat what is available, halal and we like it. (We actually not really care about specialties, well we tried some stuff but it wasn’t priority). So you might want to look somewhere else about local food in Naples. Naples is food heaven for people because they have so many different stuff. 

We tried the famous fried stuff: Fried pizza that looks like fried bread with ketchup that is very Indonesian , fried fish and fried mozzarella which is not bad. Well it’s actually good.

Pescheria Azzura which very famous

We tried Sfogliatella and Baba and Sfogliatella is legit very good, we eat that for breakfast for 2 days straight. I tried the other pastries like their cornetto with cream and its super good, it’s better than the one in Novara because its crispy but not flaky if you know what I mean. Each of passtry cost 2 Euro and cappuccino also 2 Euro without table fee. We shared one pastry each days, so we spend 5 Euro in the morning.

We tried the local lemon bibite, which is so good. This is the best lemon carbonation drink that I ever had in my life and it turns out they use the real different lemon and orange extract. This one is very recommended. 

My friend try the local juice/smoothie, we also bought some milkshakes which is I don’t know where to find in Novara which is very very good. You need to also try they sell some “cold coffee/chocolate drinks” which is very rare in the north at least in Piemonte.

Anyway in the first day we eat crispy halal chicken in Indian restaurant and the chicken is so good + they are affordable (crying). We also bought samosa the vegies one and the chicken one. The guy is so nice because he ran for me that left hand sanitizer on the restaurant.. I can’t thankful enough so if you go to Naples and craved for crispy chicken or Indian food you can always go to this restaurant. 

We only eat late lunch or dinner, for the chicken each package is 6Euro (Fries + chicken + cola), we try more stuff but we just spend on average 8Euro or less for each meal for each of us. 

Naples pro Tip

1) Dont expect people will speak English don't be surprised, on one breakfast the guy ask me something which I didnt understand at all but I know he ask me do I want to eat there. So I am just blurting Italian words I know, it helps. every time.

 

2) The bar guy said never leave your phone on the desk.

3) People might clean your table before you leave, or speak without expression but it doesn't mean they were mean. You know how people living by the sea ... they are different, yess.. and that's how they are.

4) Mind your life while crossing. No one will stop for you (I think this one in common for the place with heavy traffic jam), the trick is always cross with locals.

So How Much Naples Trip cost? 

1) Flight back-forth from Milan : 18 Euro

2) Hotel : 17 Euro/night

3) Food : 5 Euro (Cappuccino + Pastry), 8-9Euro (Meal)

4) Attraction tickets : 16 Euro-6 Euro

5) Transportation ticket : 5Euro (airport transfer) to 1.3 Euro (Metro)

I spend less than 100 Euro for the whole trip. This trip is leisure trip so we didnt think to save money (we didnt cook, we drink cola everyday LOL and buy sweet drink when we want), so I think less than 100 Euro is good enough with total spending around 30 Euro/day including accommodation. If you want to spend less, you actually can! Naples is very affordable for holiday.

"Not Really" How to Greece - Part 2 - Santorini

Greece has 6000 Island, yes, and 3000 is inhabitant island. One of the most famous island is Santoriniii. Hahahaha, first of all when we think of Santorini, we think of lavish holiday with so much money spent. We knew that most Indonesian artist went to their honeymoon trip in this Island. Buttt is that really expensive? Let's see ~

Why we go to Santorini?

For me just because I'm curious, this island is very famous with breathtaking picturesque places and we get affordable flight to Milan, so we just go. Overall, I love nature more than historical places, well I love both but I prefer nature so I am very excited to go to the "Island type place" he-he-he. I have been to Jejudo, Nami Island, Lombok and several different island type so Santorini is definitely one of my bucket list.

How to Santorini

There is a direct flight from Milan Malpensa to Santorini, in low season it will cost like 30-40 Euro, and the flight back if you lucky like us it only cost 9 Euro (ahahhaa Im so proud of this). So back and forth will cost you around 40 Euro. The flight will take like 3 hours. 

The airport is kind a small, in low season like April there will be no queue, but the airport security is very strict, so you have to follow the guide (like putting out your tab, laptop, liquid, etc, otherwise you will need to do the security check more than once).

Santorini Airport only have few flights.

Where to Stay?

Santorini is the whole Island. It means there are different villages (well, its not that big island and going around is not that far), of course each of village has its own charm with different cost of living. So not all places (means villages) in Santorini is expensive. Take a look of this map:

The most expensive villages will be : 

1) Oia (The most touristy one)

2) Fira (The Santorini capital)

The less expensive villages but still main villages will be :

1) Kamari (Beach)

2) Perissa (Black beach)

3) Firostefani - Imerovigli

I didn't put Monolithos and Akrotiri on the list because the bus is less frequent and you will get in trouble of you stay there without renting any car.

April 2022 Santorini Bus Timetable

Where to stay is really depend on the budget, and the transportation system you will take during your stay. If you rent a car, there will be no problem on where you stay. The car rent will cost around 50 Euro per day, and you need international sim for that. If you take bus like I do, always stick to the main village only for your own convenient. 

The truth is it is very easy to go around with bus, you just need to be discipline with the schedule (I will explain about the bus part later).

Oia and Fira are the most famous villages, they are mostly cliffs, and the sunset is from this direction. Perissa and Kamari are beaches with blacksand, the sun rise from this side of the island (we just realized it when we arrived because we use the 6:00 plane and the sun rise at the side of the airport). At that time, I was saying to myfriend, "Tomorrow sunrise will be amazing because we stayed at Perissa".

Staying in Perissa Experience

We decided stay in a hotel (it is actually more like hotel-apartment) in Perissa, because it is affordable. When we look for accommodation we usually tell what we want (my friend want a place with pool, one of them want to stay near the beach and because we are fasting I want a place with kitchenette.. so the best solution is hotel-apartment near Kamari or Perissa.. and since we couldn't find one of with our budget price in Oia and Fira). We found a place called "Sea Waves Hotel", it is 2 stars hotel with pool and kitchenette near Perissa. We read the review and we saw it is very near to the bus stop, and it cost only 49 Euro pernight for the 4 of us, so it is very-very affordable (it is even more affordable than maybe other places, it will be like 12.25 Euro per night). Is it expensive? No, it is a price of pizza and coca cola in the bar in Italy. 

Is the place shady? Not at all. It is very nice warm house, with warm water, very nice clean bed, and clean pool, we also have balcony so some of us stayed there doing nothing is also fine, perfect for the stay-cation type. It is 5 minutes walk to the bus stop and 5 minutes walk to the sea, actually staying in Perissa or Kamari I think not bad at all. Unfortunately I did not take any picture of the room. But I have picture of the pool.

Outside of the hotel where we stayed. The pool is well maintained. The place called, Sea Wave Hotel https://goo.gl/maps/oUWVR9xa6st4NzD6A. We booked using booking.com.

 

The downside is that it is a bit far from the groceries because we couldn't drink tap water, and groceries closed pretty quick in Santorini like 20:00. But there is a bakery nearby that sell water, coffee and pastries.

Perissa, the black sandy beach. 5 minutes walk from my hotel. To sit down near the beach is completely free and not packed with tourist. Here you can have one of the best sunrise ever.

 

The food cost

The food cost "Okay" in Santorini. Not the cheapest, but if you compare it to Northern Italy it is really an "Okay" cost, it is just like you walk into ordinary restaurant and pay, it cost me around 10-15 Euro. But some of the restaurants have very-very expensive meal, it is actually depends on the place you pick. Some in Oia are very expensive but some of them also affordable. 

Actually, there are nothing much to do in Santorini because we are fasting (if I say for the Island type activities perspective), but "the view"... so food is one of the main attraction of course. If you pick wisely, you can go to the place with very huge and nice Mousaka for 10 Euro plus water for 2 Euro, they dont have any service fee so the total of the food will cost you 12-15 Euro. If I compared to Amsterdam or any other touristy place, this is affordable. 

One of the Menu that I took in Oia

It is actually hard to see the proper view without going to the restaurant in Oia and Fira, Santorini design so. Most of the place with nice view is the private properties, so they "forced" you to enter the restaurant and buy. So just check the price first and then check the rating, then you can enjoy nice meal with a "view" without paying that much.

My Food adventure in Santorini :

In Fira ; I have brunch with big omelette cost me 11 Euro but I eat it twice because its too big.
The place is very nice, the food is good and the view is the best. The Place called, "La Scala" in Fira. https://goo.gl/maps/xCbVkXWvk8pKhBAW8 

In Fira: I ate this big Mousaka. We ate during the sunset with the "view" it cost me 10 Euro. The place called "Fanari" the waiter is very very nice and friendly. The place was not packed and the food is good, the price is fair, the view is amaizing. There are a lot british tourist eat in this place. Overall, the experience is amaizing. Fanari Restaurant, Fira : https://goo.gl/maps/PpNgDupstDTYWyWHA 

In Oia, I bought Frappe and Cheese cake recommended by a very nice US tourist with his wife praising this place is very nice. And they do! As a cheese cake lover, this place is recommended. Overall I payed 7 Euro for cheese cake and frappe, and the view is so good. The place in Oia called, "Skiza Cafe" https://goo.gl/maps/KHM1aiVCHZUZLwg99. 

How much is the transport?

We use public transport only in this island. There is bus! Do not worry. If someone told you there will be no bus in the airport, do not ask them, because there is. And the fact they started to operate at 06.00 am. My friend got panicked when she arrived she asked someone randomly and they told her there is no bus. If you meet someone like this, keep calm then walk to the bus stop. The fact they might not know that the bus in Santorini is very affordable and easy to take.

How to take the bus?

You just need to walk to the bus stop sign. The bus sign will look like this:

Local Bus KTEL with flashy yellow sign. This one is the sign in the airport. When the bus stop, you can walk and ask which direction the bus going, most of them will go to Fira. Remember, wherever you are staying you will always need to transit in Fira.

Then, you just enter the bus. Sometimes they ask you to pay in advance, sometimes not. The transport will cost you 1.6 Euro to 2.5 Euro and you need to pay with cash on the bus. The ticket will be sell to you manually when you already sit on the bus so do not worry, you just need to have enough cash with you - if you have coin it will be better. The conductor will ask you which stop you are going and you will tell them the stop. For example, "Fira or Kamari".

the conductor will give you this ticket after you pay.

But... There is but! This is what I learn also during the trip.

The Smaller Stop

 

1) The bus stop sign, this is the smaller stop along the way from Perissa to Fira
2) I used all the bronze coins, the conductor is happy when you pay exact amount.

There will be "Small stop" on the bus track (for example from Fira to Perissa, there are a lot of stops during the way, the bus will not stop only in Perissa, even in Perissa area there will be some small stop or for short... small stop), and in this small stop, it might be closer to the place you are heading. Unfortunately some of the "Smaller stop" did not have the name, and the bus will not always stop on this small stop. My accommodation is also really near to one of the smaller stop

So how do you tell them ? (because there is no stop name or whatever you can use)

First - Open your google map, and show the conductor the bus stop want when you pay. When it is almost your smaller stop, stand up and stand near the exit door.

Second  - You can say to the conductor, "Two stop before Perissa," he will understand. And of course you need to stand beside the door before your stop.

Third - you need to ask the reception on your hotel the name of the stop. In case me my stop name is "Sonotonio". 

Forth - Just follow locals. Just to let you know that there are so many locals living in Perissa, working in Fira. In some of the days we did not need to say anything because locals already told the conductor using greek. You can see that they will always ready to get off the bus just before the stop, so if there is locals ready to stop you didnt need to say anything.

Inside the bus. Ready to get off? Stand beside the door. There are 2 doors (front and the middle one)

For the direction of the bus and the time table, it is stated below :

The timetable is not really exact but more like guideline when the bus will arrive. So for me it is better to be in the bus stop 5-10 minutes before the schedule.

I am staying in Perissa, How can I get to Fira?

This is also mystery during my stay because I did not really know how to take the bus to Fira. Because as you can see above from the time table the "time" is only from Fira to Perissa, and Perissa to Fira. Whereas I stayed in one of the smaller stops (2 stops before Perissa, it is still Perissa but not the "Final stop"). Can I take the bus using the smaller stop? How do I know when the bus come? The bus stop is only in one direction how do I take the bus".

I was so confused, so I decided to go early morning before 9 (because it is said that the second bus from Perisa to Fira is around 9.00 from the time table), to ask around. I asked my receptionist and they said I can take the bus from the smaller stop.

I wait until 09.00 and there is no bus coming. There is a bus but in to the Perissa direction. So I was like confused, until there is a local that is helping us to identify the bus.

She said that to take the bus to Fira from Perissa using smaller stops:

1) You can use the smaller stops to go to Fira (in my case the smaller stop is 2 stops before Perissa main station), but because the timetable is from Perissa main station you need to add 5 to 10 more minutes until the bus come. 

2) The bus that is going to Fira is the same bus from Fira to Perissa. So the track will be : Fira-Perissa (main station), Perissa - Fira. So if you have see the bus to Perissa main station direction it means the bus to Fira will be coming in no time. The direction is your key to pick the right bus, you can always ask the conductor where the bus go. 

3) You need to wave to the bus driver in order to make them stop.

4) Even you are not in the Perissa main station you will need to pay full price to Fira (2.2 Euro).

Once you can master this bus thing. It is super easy. When you are in Fira, you will never know which bus is going where because the sign is not obvious. Just ask random conductor or driver, "Where is the bus to Oia?" they will happily to help. There is a sign board of what bus is coming, but honestly it was not accurate at all, so do not rely on that stuff just ask. The thing you should keep in mind is the bus is honestly on time  and not that frequent so just be discipline (its not that hard) because the taxi can make your bank account cry.

What to do in Santorini

Santorini is the whole Island, there are a lot to see. But we decide to just slow travel and stroll around. This cost zero except for the transport, the sunset and sunrise, the view is free. But remember in Oia and Fira most of the nicer place is private properties.

 

 Fira, Oia, Perissa. The Private area one is in Oia

What to bring as Gift from Santorini?

A lot of stuff. Magnets, keychain, etc etc but I really recommend to buy handmade stuff (because it looks so good and affordable, like 3 to 4 Euro T__T I did not buy any because I already bought stuff in athens which I regret). But, if you visit both Athen and Santorini, I suggest you just buy in Santorini, because they are better in term of quality, with almost the same or even lower price. You want 1 Euro magnet? they have, better quality. You want snacks? They have, dutty free for 2 Euro in the airport. So you will always get affordable stuff as souvenir in Santorini.

 

Lokumi is Yangko ala Greece. But this one is super duper sweet. It cost 4 Euro for 2 box. I bought one with peanut and it is super sweet.

Another Stuff

1. You can't drink tap water in Santorini, buy water.

2. Overall Santorini is cashless society, withdraw cash is Italy will be better.. have a good enough amount for buying groceries, water, pay food, etc. I withdrew there and I was charged 4 Euro for withdrawing, what a shame (I am crying inside).

3. Most of the bakery sell coffee and water, they will still open until midnight.

4. If you want to stroll around Fira, you didnt want to bring your luggage, you can store your luggage to a store 6 hours for 3 Euro for a small bag here (near the train station) :

The lady is super nice, and the price is fair, we can use the toilets too.
J&K Left Lugage Service https://goo.gl/maps/p9ioMF79DWk8o3k47

That's it if something unlcear I am so happy to help. Write me an email to afandi.karima@gmail.com. Honestly planning this trip is not so easy, but this trip is really worthed.