Kalau dilihat-lihat lagi, malioboro merupakan daerah yang cukup istimewa di kota yogyakarta. Jalan 2 jalur tersebut selalu dipenuhi berbagai macam kendaraan dari kelas sepeda sampai mobil-mobil pribadi berkelas. Hal yang sama semakin terlihat ketika ada tanggal-tanggal tertentu yang menarik pelancong dari berbagai kota seperti Jakarta, Semarang dan Surabaya untuk sekedar melihat jalan yang sudah cukup terkenal di Indonesia tersebut. Masing-masing kota memiliki daerah-daerah istimewanya sendiri, seperti misalnya Bandung memiliki jalan Braga dipusat kotanya, yang merupakan kawasan elite dikota tersebut. Semarang punya Simpang lima yang juga merupakan salah satu kawasan elite dan ternama di Indonesia. Belum lagi kota Surabaya yang memiliki daerah Tunjungan sebagai kawasan no.1 nya. Dari masong-masing daerah strategis tersebut, biasanya terdapat pusat-pusat perbelanjaan terkenal seperti Braga citywalk, Plaza Simpang lima, tunjungan Plaza dan malioboro mall. Selain shopping centre ternama tersebut, kehadiran hotel-hotel sudah menjadi kaharusan dan ditambah juga dengan keunikan masing-masing daerah tersebut. Sebagian besar jalan-jalan raya di kota yogyakarta, memang memiliki keunikan tersendiri di banding daerah-daerah lainnya, misalnya saja jarang terjadi kemacetan lalu lintas, kendaraan bermotor roda 4 lebih sedikit dibandingkan jumlah pengguna sepeda motor, angkutan perkotaan juga masih jarang, tidak ditemukan orang-orang berdesakkan memburu angkutan-angkutan umum dijalan raya. Dipusat kota yogyakarta, seperti di daerah malioboro, ke utara sedikit sampai ke tugu monjali dijalan raya monjali memang merupakan daerah lama. Kawasan-kawasan tersebut terlihat kalah bersaing dengan jalanan-jalanan yang ada di utara yogyakarta seperti jalan Adisucipto misalnya. Bisa jadi dalam 1-2 tahun lagi, pusat kota yogyakarta akan berpindah sedikit ke utara untuk mengikuti arus perkembangan modernisasi.
Sekarang ada 5 mall besar di kota yogyakarta, yang berwujud bangunan fisik yang cukup mentereng, dari yang paling lama yaitu malioboro mall, galleria mall, saphir square, plaza ambarrukmo dan jogjatronik mall. Malioboro mall merupakan mall yang paling berkesan bagi masyarakat yogyakarta. Dahulu, sempat menjadi icon shopping mall di yogyakarta. Kalau dilihat sepintas, mall tersebut memang kalah tampilan dibandingkan dengan Plaza Ambarrukmo / Saphir square, tetapi bagian dalam mall tersebut, masih cukup bagus. Mall dengan 4 tingkat dan 1 lantai basement tersebut berada ditepi jalan raya malioboro, sehingga untuk parkir mobilnya hanya disediakan dilantai basement saja. Mall tersebut tidak memiliki halaman parkir yang luas diluarnya seperti yang ada di supermall karawaci, misalnya. Didalamnya ada supermarket hero dan matahari department store. Ada juga toko buku gramedia di mall terebut. Selain itu ada juga toko-toko fashion terkenal, tempat hiburan seperti kids station, food court dan restoran mc Donald. Keadaan toiletnya juga cukup bersih, karena setiap hari ada petugas yang mengurusinya. Sekali-kali juga ada terlihat orang-orang bule yang berbelanja disana, hal ini dikarenakan didaerah sekitar mall banyak penginapan-penginapan untuk orang-orang barat dan turis-turis asing. Dalam bulan-bulan tertentu, malioboro mall juga banyak mengadakan pameran-pameran tertentu untuk perayaan suatu event.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Malioboro mall, pusat perbelanjaan dipusat kota yogyakarta
Monday, September 17, 2007
Macau
The Macau Special Administrative Region, commonly known as Macau or Macao, was established on December 20, 1999, as one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Hong Kong. For 442 years it was ruled by Portugal, making it the oldest European colony in the history of East Asia.
Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century. After the Opium War in 1841, most of the foreign merchants in Macau left for Hong Kong, and as a result business and economic activities in Macau declined. Administered by Portugal until the handover in 1999, it was the oldest European colony in China. Since then Macau has developed industries such as textiles, electronics and toys, as well as a notable tourist industry, which boasts a wide range of hotels, resorts, stadiums, restaurants and casinos. What remains unchanged through Macau's history is Macau's strong economic links with Hong Kong, one of the East Asian Tigers and the Pearl River Delta region in mainland China. With a good foundation and infrastructure, Macau provides good financial and banking services, staff training, transport and communications support.
Macau's economy is based largely on tourism, much of it geared toward gambling. In view of Macau's small population and limited land resources, the Government of Macau has launched a policy of close cooperation with the Pearl River Delta and the neighboring Guangdong province while expanding trade contacts with the rest of the world. Other chief economic activities in Macau are export-geared textile and garment manufacturing, banking and other financial services. The clothing industry has provided about three quarters of export earnings, and the gaming, tourism and hospitality industry is estimated to contribute more than 50% of Macau's GDP, and 70% of Macau government revenue. Macau is a founding member of the WTO and has a representative office at the organization's headquarters in Geneva. Market-opening pledges largely in the sphere of financial services has been made at the WTO[27] and Macau has maintained sound economic and trade relations with more than 120 countries and regions with European Union and Portuguese-speaking countries in particular. Macau currently participates in the IMF[28] and the World Bank classifies it as a high income economy along with developed economies and some developing economies as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.[29] The average growth rate of economy in Macau between 2001 and 2006 were approximately 13.1% annually. In last two quarter of 2006, the GDP of Macao was grown by 22.05%. The GDP per capita in 2006 was USD $28,436. In the fourth quarter of 2006, the unemployment rate stood at 3.5%.[30]
From 9.1 million visitors in 2000, arrivals to Macau has grown to 18.7 million visitors in 2005,[31] 21.98 million visitors in 2006 and is expected to receive between 24 and 25 million visitors in 2007,[32] with over 50% of the arrivals coming from mainland China. This recent growth has been driven by gambling and related tourism. Tourists from Hong Kong remain numerous, representing about 30% of arrivals. Since the 1999 return to Chinese rule, Triad underworld violence, a dark spot on the economy, has virtually disappeared, to the benefit of the tourism sector. Macau also received the Future Award 2007, for being regarded the most promising future tourism destination in Asia, voted by 26,000 German travel trade members of GoAsia; an association that includes tour operators, airline companies, among many others.[33] Macau has been currently rated as one of the world's top tourism destinations by the World Tourism Organization.[34]
Sands Macau
Sands Macau
Since 1850, gambling has been licensed and has always been an important source of earning for the government. In the early 1960s, gambling provided 50 percent of official revenue. Starting in 1962, the gambling industry had been operated under a government-issued monopoly license by Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. The monopoly was ended in 2002, and several casino owners from Las Vegas attempted to enter the market. With the opening of the Sands Macau, the largest casino in the world as measured by total number of table games,[35][36] in 2004 and Wynn Macau[37] in 2006, gambling revenues from Macau's casinos were for the first time greater than those of Las Vegas Strip (each about $6 billion),[38][39] making Macau the highest-volume gambling centre in the world.[40] In 2007, The Venetian Macau, the second largest building in the world, opened its doors to the public. Other casinos and hotels slated to be opened through 2009 are: Four Seasons (2008), MGM Grand Macau (2007), Ponte 16 (2007), Far East Consortium Complex (2007), Grand Hyatt (2009), Galaxy Cotai Megaresort (2008), City of Dreams (2008), Oceanus (2008), Mandarin Oriental (2009). The first Phase of Macau's Cotai Strip is scheduled to open in 2007 and will include 19,000 guest rooms throughout seven resort hotels,[41] with the $1.8 billion Venetian Macao serving as the anchor.[42] The head of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson is in the latter stage of negotiation to secure land in Macau, where he is going to set up a US$3 billion casino resort complex.[43] As a result, Macau's economy is growing rapidly due to gambling related tourism and construction from the new casino entrants.
Along with Bermuda, British Virgin Islands or Bahamas, Macau is one of the best known offshore financial centres[44] and tax havens in a worldwide sense.[45] Banco Nacional Ultramarino, Bank of China, Seng Heng Bank and Tai Fung Bank are among the most influential banks. There are also many foreign banks registered and established in Macau as well, including Bank of America - Macau and HSBC - Macau. Macau is a free port with low-taxes and no monetary control policy imposed.[46] Operations of offshore service businesses are feasible in Macau because of related offshore law that has been in effect since 1999. The offshore finance business is regulated and supervised by the Monetary Authority of Macao,[47] while the regulation and supervision of the offshore non-finance business is mainly controlled by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute.[48] Moody's Investors Service upgraded Macau's foreign and local currency government issuer ratings to 'Aa3' from 'A1', citing its government's solid finances as a large net creditor. The rating agency also upgraded Macau's foreign currency bank deposit ceiling to 'Aa3' from 'A1'[49]
[edit] Transportation
Bus in Macau.
Bus in Macau.
Main article: Transportation in Macau
Buses and taxis are the major modes of public transport in Macau. Bus services are frequent and inexpensive,[50] linking the Macau peninsula, Taipa, Cotai and Coloane with Transmac and TCM being the sole operators of Macau's bus services. Most hotels(four-starred or above) and gaming venues operate their own fleet of shuttle bus service between the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal or Porta do Cerco (Macau's border to mainland China) and their premises.
Taxis are plentiful near the airport, the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal, and major gaming venues/hotels in the city [51] though it is rather hard to get one during rush hours on the streets. There are two types of livery on Macau's taxis - one is a black body with cream color top (the black cab) and the other is yellow on the whole (the yellow cab). Radio taxis are available, and there are two hotlines for the black and yellow cabs respectively.
In order to enhance the quality of taxi services, such as eliminate the language barrier between taxi drivers and passengers, the Tourist Office has provided most taxis with a destination guide which includes the names of the most requested destinations in Chinese, Portuguese and English.
Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal.
Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal.
In a few years time, the city of Macau will have a new mode of public transport, the Macau Light Transit System, in service. The proposal is currently under public consultation and a decision will be made on the design route and its operation after the consultation ends. The Macau Light Transit System is a planned mass transit system, similar to the Singapore Light Rapid Transit. The tracks will be a mix of elevated guideways and underground tunnels, ensuring a dedicated right-of-way separated from road traffic. When completed it will serve passengers from the Macau Peninsula, Taipa island, the Cotai reclamation and Macau International Airport. The Government of Macau introduced the proposal to the public in October 2006 [52], with a revised version announced in July 2007 after further adjustments and improvements had been made with reference to comments by the public.
The trishaw, a hybrid of the tricycle and the rickshaw, is a unique mode of transport in Macau, though it is mainly for sightseeing purposes. They can easily be found next to Hotel Lisboa, waiting for passengers.
Currently, over 150 sea-crossing services are scheduled daily between Macau and Hong Kong [53], and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal serves as the major terminal for Macau's passenger traffic by sea. The route is served by high speed catamarans (with passenger capacity of 400 max) and jetfoils (with passenger capacity of 260 max) and the journey takes approximately one hour. There are also daily scheduled ferry services between Macau and Shenzhen. At present the services are operated by TurboJET and New World First Ferry Macau. Apart from the sea routes there are also regular scheduled helicopter services between Hong Kong and Macau, which are operated by Heli Express. The trip takes approximately 20 minutes.
A few years ago a new sea-crossing service was launched by TurboJET which travels between the Hong Kong International Airport and Macau. This differs from the above Macau-Hong Kong route since travelers who arrive in Hong Kong by air do not have to go through Hong Kong immigration's passport control and can board a direct ferry to Macau through a special transfer terminal within the airport. On the return trip, travelers can directly reach the Hong Kong International Airport by ferry (a dedicated check-in desk for the service is available at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal) and arrive at the airport without going through Hong Kong immigration's passport control, though airline check-in has to be done within the airport prior to boarding a plane.
A new ferry terminal, which is adjacent to the Macau International Airport, is under construction and upon completion (probably in early 2008) some of the passenger traffic by sea will be diverted to the new facility. It is expected to act as a major hub for passenger transfer between the Hong Kong International Airport and the Macau International Airport.
The Macau International Airport, located at Taipa, serves as the terminal for Macau's international air traffic. There are regulars flights between Macau and major cities in Northeast and Southeast Asia, for example Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Osaka, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, etc. Owing to its relatively low landing fees and the business opportunities brought by the booming gaming industry in Macau, the airport has attracted several Asia's low-cost carriers such as Air Asia, Viva Macau, Tiger Airways, etc. to establish regular flights between Macau and several major cities in Southeast Asia, and recently Sydney as well. As a result it has been gradually developing into a major hub for low-cost air travel within the region. Other traditional carriers, such as the local flag carrier Air Macau, the Taiwanese carriers EVA Air and TransAsia Airways, and even carriers which operate similar routes from Hong Kong, are facing potential challenges from these newcomers.
Unlike traffic in mainland China which drives on the right, traffic drives on the left in Macau, which is the same as in Hong Kong. Roads are generally narrow at the heart of the city and parked cars are always found on both sides of the road. Traffic congestion has been a major problem throughout the day owing to the lack of efficient mass transit system and a relatively high car/population ratio.
The Macau Maritime Museum[54] used to have two sailing vessels (which were based on the ancient "junk" form but were remodeled) serving for touring trips between the inner and outer harbours. Along the trip, the crew would introduce the general lifestyle and customs of the local boat dwellers. However, due to the land reclamation works in the harbour and the maintenance of the boats, all trips have been suspended. The exhibition building and the open-air café esplanade of the Maritime Museum are open as usual (though closed on Tuesdays).
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Supermal Karawaci, mal lengkap ditengah kota modern
Mal yang didirikan pada tahun 1997 ini merupakan mal terbesar pertama di pinggiran ibukota. Terletak didalam kompleks terpadu Lippo Karawaci, mal ini hadir sebagai mal modern pertama didaerah serpong, kabupaten Tangerang, arah barat Jakarta. Keberadaannya menjadikan Lippo Karawaci sebagai kota terpadu yang memiliki segala kelengkapan dari berbagai aspek kehidupan. Diapit ditengah-tengah kehidupan metroplis, shopping centre ini menarik untuk dikunjungi banyak orang. Mereka yang datang dari arah jalan tol Jakarta-Merak, langsung dicegat oleh kehadirannya yang cukup megah, begitu juga yang datang dari arah Tangerang Kota hendak ke Serpong, bisa datang dulu ke mal ini. Masyarakat yang datang ke mal ini cukup beragam, kemungkinan terbesar adalah para mahasiswa yang kuliah di universitas pelita harapan, para eksekutif muda dari daerah Lippo dan Serpong, serta kaum muda yang ingin bersantai-ria bersama teman-temannya. Dilengkapi pula dengan kehadiran Benton Junction sebagai tempat nongkrong favourite, penampilan luar mall ini cukup besar.
Dikelilingi oleh jalan protokol, sehingga memudahkan para pendatang untuk masuk ke mall ini dari berbagai pintu. Halaman parkirnya cukup luas dan lapang, tersedia gedung parkir dengan lantai basement sebagai kelengkapan tempat parkirnya. Bagian dalam mall ini masih terlihat cukup baik, tersedia toko-toko fashion dari merk-merk terkenal. Kehadiran anchor tenant Hypermart dan electronic city semakin memanjakan para shoppers untuk betah berlama-lama didalam mall ini. Jalan-jalannya cukup luas dan panjang, tersedia beraneka macam toko dikiri-kanan, keadaannya semakin ramai dan semarak, khususnya pada malam minggu dan perayaan hari-hari besar. Dilantai dasar, dekat Rimo department Store, telah hadir ACE hardware, toko perkakas terlengkap ditambah kehadiran toko buku gramedia dengan desain dan tata letak yang lebih baru. Arena food court nya cukup luas dan semarak, cocok untuk berlibur santai bersama anak-anak dihari-hari senggang. Ada juga sarana olahraga untuk bermain bowling, sambil diselingi nonton bioskop 21 di arena food court ini.
Dari sisi kelengkapan fasilitas, seperti arena bermain anak TimeZone,. Kenyamanan berbelanja, adanya Hypermart dan suasananya yang luas dan lapang, mall dengan 2 lantai utama dan 1 lantai basement ini layak disebut sebagai mall terbaik didaerah Serpong.
