Weekend in Batam

After 50 mins of rocky ferry ride, my colleagues and I finally reached our destination - Batam. Our transport took us to Mercure Hotel, which was only 10 mins away from the ferry terminal. Not any big fancy hotel but room was clean and spacious, and the staffs were polite and efficient.

Once we were settled, we headed to our first stop - Nagoya Hill. And we did the utmost important thing - EAT A&W! Seriously a MUST DO in Batam. Curly fries, root beer float - slurp - who can resist?



Me & my a&w!



Chix wings, curly fries & root beer float! Heavenly!



Our 1st group photo (from left) - Laura, Zion, Me, Willy, Janice and Sharon.

After the yummlicious lunch comes shopping. But frankly, there isn't much shopping to be done in Batam. No doubt the stuff are cheap, they also look cheap. I only bought a red t-shirt for S$4, which I wore the next day. =)

Also went to Lucky Plaza and DC Mall, but both were equally boring. In the end, we headed back to the hotel for some rest, a quick traditional massage (~ S$18 for 60 mins) and went back to Nagoya Hill for dinner.

Wanted to go to the Golden Prawn seafood restaurant which seems to be quite popular as it is being recommended on several sites. But we decided to drop the idea as one of my colleagues heard that it's actually not that cheap and not that accessible. Dinner was at 533 seafood restaurant. Nothing fantastic but cheap and edible.



Clockwise from top: kang kong, claypot tofu, calamari & cereal prawn - 4 dishes + rice + drinks ~ S$20+

The night ended with us indulging in tibits, watching tv, chatting and having some good laughs.

Next day: we had a simple breakfast in the hotel, checked out and went shopping at Mega Mall. Lunch was A&W again, this time with waffle + ice cream.





mr a&w~



Me & mr a&w

Well, maybe it's just me, but I find Mega Mall equally disappointing as Nagoya Hill. Nothing much caught my eye. Told my colleagues that perhaps next time we should stay at Harris Batam and play water sports n go kart instead. (Note: Harris Batam is a beach side resort, further away from town.)



And finally, a group photo with the girls at the hotel lobby.

Bangkok Trip 2008

Just got back from my 'virgin' Bangkok trip with a bunch of close friends. It wasn't a fantastic trip, due to some issues in between. But it was a fun trip nevertheless!

We took over 100 photos so I selected a few better ones and made them into this photo video. Enjoy!~

P/S Thanks everyone, for making so much memories!

KL Once Again..

Went to KL again over the weekend with my seconday school friends. Known them for more than 10 years, yet this is our first overseas trip. =)

Day 1 - 07.12.07

After the no-so-good experience with the hotel on my previous trip, I decided to book a slightly better one located along Jalan Bukit Bintang- Hotel Capitol. RM175 per room per night, RM60 per extra bed. While waiting for our rooms, we each had a welcome drink at the hotel cafe.







My room quite romantic.. eh?

After settling down and refreshing ourselves, we went for dinner at a zi char stall near our hotel. We ordered chicken, prawns, fish and kang kong, and it's only RM90!





Check out the fish!



My friends were really enjoying their food. (top from left) Jim and Jack (bottom from left) Jo and her hubby, Jingwei.



Supposed to go to Little Havana after dinner. But I was having a bad headache and had to go back and rest. How come I always fall sick during a holiday!? Once I hit the pillow, I kong-kas till the next morning... =(

Day 2 - 08.12.07



My friends and I had a late breakfast at Old Town Kopitiam at Low Yat Plaza. It has a similar concept as Ya Kun and Toastbox. Marble round tables and low stools - a perfect combination for an old time kopitiam feel.



(from left) Hazelnut white coffee and Old time enrich white coffee.



Omega soft boiled eggs on toast.

After visiting the famous KL Twin Tower, Jack's uncle brought us to a food stall known only by the locals - Zhuang Yuan Steam Fish Head Food Stall near Chan Sow Lin LRT station.



In Singapore standard, this stall is not even grade F. Seriously. Picture old kampong houses with dirty wet floors, dark and a little gloomy. But the food is damn Bagus! See for yourself. 2 fish heads (2 halves), 1 vege, 1 chicken feet and drinks only RM105! Unbelievable!



After a fulfilling lunch, we took the LRT to Berjaya Times Square. As you can see, we were all confused with the direction of the LRT in KL. This way? No? That way? Hmm...





Cam-whoring on the LRT. (top from left) Ada, Jack, Jo and Jim (bottom from left) Jack, Jim, Jo and Jingwei.



We met up with Gret and Mad, who happened to stay in the same hotel. Went to Pertaling St (Chinatown) and had supper at Jalan Alor. The funny thing is, we had to follow a group of tourists (led by a local tour guide) as we were unsure of the directions. We had to pretend we were from the same tour. =p

Day 3 - 09.12.07

After shopping around our hotel, we decided to chill out at the Starbucks near Sungei Wang (Note: the Starbucks in KL is more expensive than in Singapore) But I guess it's too boring that Jack actually fell asleep! So I suggested to catch a movie at the new shopping mall - The Pavilion.

But we can't decided on a movie, so I gave the next best suggestion - Karaoke! Coincidentally, there's a Redbox Karaoke right in The Pavilion!

Let's go Singing! =)

A 4-hour session with high tea buffet only RM30+ per person! Really a great way to 'kill' time, right Jack? Heh. Thanks people, for giving me such good memories! =)

HK Trip Part V - Finale!

Well, my 5 days 4 nights HK trip is coming to an end. For this last day, we decided to try out the breakfast buffet at the hotel. To our disappointment, there wasn't much variety and the food was so so. No wonder there wasn't any other guests around!



Disappointing breakfast.



View from the top.

After breakfast, we went to do some last minute shopping. We then went to the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Tsui, where it pays tribute to the stars of the silver screen.



Statue of the late Bruce Lee.



Handprints of Andy Lau and Tony Leung.



What's the best thing on a hot hot day? Cooling desserts, of course!



Dong zha zha. Similar to yam paste with a lot of beans - red bean, chick peas, broad beans, etc.



Grass jelly with mango.



Huge fridge with many desserts waiting to be served.



Before we board the plane, we had a light meal at one of the cafes at the airport. They actually have a live band playing jazz. Nice!

Though the weather is really hot, and we had to walk a lot, this is nevertheless a memorable and fun-filled trip! =)

HK Trip Part IV

Disclaimer: Again, this is a long entry. Enjoy.

Today's the 4th day of our trip. We decided to do some shopping at Tsim Sha Tsui. Breakfast was taken at Mido Cafe, just a stone throw away from our hotel.



This was recommended by Jo's friend, so we went for it.



This is a 2-storey cafe; the deco retains the old flavor of HK's cha chang tings.



I ordered a set meal consists of ham macaroni, toast and coffee. You can choose other ingredient for the macaroni. Only S$3! Where can you find such good deals here? (If you can, do let me know. Thanks.)

After a late breakfast, we proceed to our shopping destination. The places we intend to go are similar to our Far East and Bugis Village, where you can find many small shops selling unique and the latest fashion and accessories.

As we're unfamiliar with the area, it took us a while to find the place. We then realised these shops open only from 4pm onwards! Wow, faint!!

Luckily on our way there, we spotted this Charlie Brown Cafe!

The food served is similar to those in Coffee Bean or Starbucks. The uniqueness is the design on the drink.



See for yourself the interior design of the entire cafe!

We did a round of shopping at the streets near the cafe. Most shops were having sale, so you can guess the amount of damage. Heh.

We headed back to the hotel to put our stuff and had a short rest before having dinner at Garden Restaurant.



This yummylicous dinner only cost us less than S$20 each!



From Yau Ma Tei, we took MTR to...





... Mong Kok! Woman Street is situated here. Bigger, better pasa malam!



What to do after a long night of walking, shopping and bargaining? Desserts, of course!!



On our way to the MTR, we spotted this adorable korean couple eating this. When being asked how does it taste, the guy said "it taste ridiculous!" This, we must try!

It's a stall selling sticks of meat, internal organs and vege. We ordered octopus, beef meat balls and pig kidney. They were fried and served with satay sauce. As the korean guy put it "it taste ridiculous-ly nice!"



Again on our way back to the MTR, we smelled.. yes, smelly tofu! Gosh the smell is so stinky! But, the stink-er the better!! Haha.



Heavenly!



Carrying our aching legs and bloated stomaches, we still have to climb up these flight of stairs to get out of the MTR!! Argh!!

Something interesting..



All the taps in HK are automatic, even the soap dispenser!