It has been a long time since I visited Katong !
My daughter wanted to see "KATONG RED HOUSE : confectionary " . At 1.30 pm from home we drove to Katong for a visit. We saw Katong shopping Centre and parked at the nearby lane : Marshall Road .
We walked along East Coast Road and viewed a lot of shops and eateries. We had Laksa at 328 ! There are 3 sizes : large $5.50, medium $4.50 and small $3.50. We ordered small ones with O-tah as side dishes. We had lime juice and coconut drinks, too. Laksa at 328 was delicious and its gravy was thick but not oily.
We walked down the memory lane but found out that the RED HOUSE was closed for business.
We went to the last store next to the traffic light (Mary's Tau Kwa Pao) for snacks. Yes , the place and the food were still the same as 40 years ago I visited it !
We next walked further and ended at Chin Mei Chen coffee shop for local coffee and toast !
We bought some authentic NONYA cakes at DONA MANIS cake shop at Katong shopping centre .
Yes, it was a indeed a nice peaceful afternoon trip that I will never forget !
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
JAKARTA 4 DAYS THREE NIGHTS TRIP
DAY 1 : 24 OCT 2009 (SATURDAY)
Left work at 1.15 pm and straight for Changi Airport to Jakarta by taxi with wife and daughter. We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1 @ 2 pm. It was a quick check-in and we had a wonderful rest time at SIA Lounge. Using Citibank's Priority Pass card, we took a rest and had some snacks. The place was quite cosy and quiet. The snacks were plentiful and yummy. We enjoyed for nearly an hour as we needed to be at the departure counter at 3. 10 pm.
The flight left at 4.15 pm(after a slight delay) instead of 3.50 pm and arrived in Jakarta @5.30 pm. (1 hour saving) We arranged for taxi services (Blue Bird Group) at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport to CBD. Various charges for taking a taxi (different types : luxurious, premier, ordinary) at the airport. The charges vary from 150K , 200K and 300K. Of course, we took the cheapest one. Mind you, the taxi fare could be double if you choose limousine !
Reached hotel IBIS ARCADIA at 6.30 pm. This hotel belongs to IBIS international chain of hotels. It is a small hotel in CBD and their services are OK. The rate is US$63 per night for a double room (with buffet breakfast for 2) . The room was quite spacious and comfortable. For the price we paid, it was slightly on the high side.
We went nearby for a stroll. The lane were full of roadside makan stalls. Because of hygiene consideration, we were afraid to try these food. Finally we had our meals at a posh Restaurant named GARUDA.
When we sat down, the waiter brought about 30 or more dishes out and placed them on the table. We were told to eat what we like and once we touched the food at a particular dish, it was considered sold. We chose what we like and 3 of us spent (300k) for the dinner.
We walked down the lane and stopped at American Gill for coffee ! American Grill is like sizzler in Singapore. It displayed salad bar, ice cream, soup, coffee and fruits, too.
We slept at 10 pm. local time
DAY 2 : 25 OCT 2009 (SUNDAY)
We had buffet breakfast in the hotel. The buffet breakfast was not that fantastics but it had quite a few varieties to suit different customers' tastes.
As it was Sunday and there was a grand bicycles' competition and roadblocks were placed at most of the major roads. We took local bus services. The bus fare was cheap (3K) and the bus drove along the main road with many stopovers. At one junction, we had to tranfer to a smaller van (with 8 to 10 passengers) to further our journey to our final destination : Mangga Dua shopping centre.
Mangga Dua is a gigantic shopping centre (with 4- 5 Singapore Peoples' Park area). There are many different types of shops selling clothings, handbags, shoes , VCD etc. You could bargain to half price and still the sales girls were willing to sell the merchandise to you !
The ladies had manicure and peticure and I had done my first FACIAL !
We spent the whole day there and it was a one-stop happy shopping day for the ladies. We took a taxi ( 60K) back to hotel at 6 pm.
In the evening , we walked out of the hotel and there are many restaurants and eating places along the street. We dined at AYAM GORENG SUHARTI. It served authentic Indonesia food. We have a very posh dinner for 3.( 238K)
DAY 3 : 26 OCT 2009 (MONDAY)
We went to SARINAH AND JAVE DEPARMENT STORES. We shopped at the basement for SOTO related products, local biscuits, etc . We had lunch and dinner at this shopping centre. We went (opposite street) to JAVA department store and I bought 4 Batik Shirts ( 3 short and 1 long) for 358K only.
DAY 4 : 27 OCT 2009 (TUESDAY)
We had our last minutes" shopping in nearby hotel areas. I had a wonderful 1 hour foot massage for only 75 K . The ladies had their hair wash plus body back massage, too.
On the way back , using priority card , we had our tea break and local snacks at Muriati Lounge at Jakarta international airport departure hall.
Reached Singapore airport at 8 pm and Home at 9 pm.
Left work at 1.15 pm and straight for Changi Airport to Jakarta by taxi with wife and daughter. We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1 @ 2 pm. It was a quick check-in and we had a wonderful rest time at SIA Lounge. Using Citibank's Priority Pass card, we took a rest and had some snacks. The place was quite cosy and quiet. The snacks were plentiful and yummy. We enjoyed for nearly an hour as we needed to be at the departure counter at 3. 10 pm.
The flight left at 4.15 pm(after a slight delay) instead of 3.50 pm and arrived in Jakarta @5.30 pm. (1 hour saving) We arranged for taxi services (Blue Bird Group) at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport to CBD. Various charges for taking a taxi (different types : luxurious, premier, ordinary) at the airport. The charges vary from 150K , 200K and 300K. Of course, we took the cheapest one. Mind you, the taxi fare could be double if you choose limousine !
Reached hotel IBIS ARCADIA at 6.30 pm. This hotel belongs to IBIS international chain of hotels. It is a small hotel in CBD and their services are OK. The rate is US$63 per night for a double room (with buffet breakfast for 2) . The room was quite spacious and comfortable. For the price we paid, it was slightly on the high side.
We went nearby for a stroll. The lane were full of roadside makan stalls. Because of hygiene consideration, we were afraid to try these food. Finally we had our meals at a posh Restaurant named GARUDA.
When we sat down, the waiter brought about 30 or more dishes out and placed them on the table. We were told to eat what we like and once we touched the food at a particular dish, it was considered sold. We chose what we like and 3 of us spent (300k) for the dinner.
We walked down the lane and stopped at American Gill for coffee ! American Grill is like sizzler in Singapore. It displayed salad bar, ice cream, soup, coffee and fruits, too.
We slept at 10 pm. local time
DAY 2 : 25 OCT 2009 (SUNDAY)
We had buffet breakfast in the hotel. The buffet breakfast was not that fantastics but it had quite a few varieties to suit different customers' tastes.
As it was Sunday and there was a grand bicycles' competition and roadblocks were placed at most of the major roads. We took local bus services. The bus fare was cheap (3K) and the bus drove along the main road with many stopovers. At one junction, we had to tranfer to a smaller van (with 8 to 10 passengers) to further our journey to our final destination : Mangga Dua shopping centre.
Mangga Dua is a gigantic shopping centre (with 4- 5 Singapore Peoples' Park area). There are many different types of shops selling clothings, handbags, shoes , VCD etc. You could bargain to half price and still the sales girls were willing to sell the merchandise to you !
The ladies had manicure and peticure and I had done my first FACIAL !
We spent the whole day there and it was a one-stop happy shopping day for the ladies. We took a taxi ( 60K) back to hotel at 6 pm.
In the evening , we walked out of the hotel and there are many restaurants and eating places along the street. We dined at AYAM GORENG SUHARTI. It served authentic Indonesia food. We have a very posh dinner for 3.( 238K)
DAY 3 : 26 OCT 2009 (MONDAY)
We went to SARINAH AND JAVE DEPARMENT STORES. We shopped at the basement for SOTO related products, local biscuits, etc . We had lunch and dinner at this shopping centre. We went (opposite street) to JAVA department store and I bought 4 Batik Shirts ( 3 short and 1 long) for 358K only.
DAY 4 : 27 OCT 2009 (TUESDAY)
We had our last minutes" shopping in nearby hotel areas. I had a wonderful 1 hour foot massage for only 75 K . The ladies had their hair wash plus body back massage, too.
On the way back , using priority card , we had our tea break and local snacks at Muriati Lounge at Jakarta international airport departure hall.
Reached Singapore airport at 8 pm and Home at 9 pm.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
RETIREMENT
(AN EXTRACTED ARTICLE)
How To Retire - must read. Golfers included
4 Pre-Conditions for Retirement
I retired in year 2000 at age 52. I am now 61, thus I can claim that I got more experience at retirement than most! I thought I should share my experience with mariners because I have seen too many friends and neighbours who became so bored that they have become a nuisance to their spouse and children and to others! A few of them have solved the problem by going back to work. They were able to do so because they have a skill/expertise that is still in demand. The rest (and many are my neighbours) live aimlessly or are waiting to die - a very sad situation, indeed.
You can retire only when you fulfill these 4 pre-conditions:
1.Your children are financially independent (e.g. they got jobs)
2.You have zero liability (all your borrowings are paid up)
3.You have enough savings to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life, AND most importantly,
4.You know what you would be doing during your retirement.
DO NOT retire till you meet ALL 4 Pre-Conditions. And of course you should not retire if you enjoy working and are getting paid for it!
The problem cases I know of are those who failed to meet Pre-Condition #4.
When asked, "What would you be doing during your retirement?" Some replied, "I will travel/cruise and see the World". They did that, some for 3 months and then ran out of ideas.
The golfers replied, "I can golf every day." Most could not because they are no longer fit to play well enough to enjoy the game. Those who could, need to overcome another hurdle - they need to the find the "kakis" to play with them.
It's the same with mahjong, bridge, badminton, trekking and karaoke - you need "kakis"! Most could not find others who share their favourite game and playing/singing alone is no fun. AND when they do find them, a few of them found that they are NOT welcomed like my obnoxious neighbour whom everyone avoids..
Thus if you are into group sports or games, you must form your groups BEFORE you retire. You need to identify your "kakis", play with them and discover whether they "click" with you.
The less sporty "can read all the books bought over the years".
I know of one guy who fell asleep after a few pages and ended up napping most of the time! He discovered that he did not like to read after all.
We do change and we may not enjoy the hobbies we had.. Routine Activities to Fill Your Week For most people, your routine work activities are planned for you or dictated by others and circumstances. When you retire, you wake up to a new routine - one that you yourself have to establish as nobody else would do it for you! The routine to establish should keep your body, mind and spirit "sharpened".
A good routine would comprise:
a) One weekly physical sport - you need to keep fit to enjoy your retirement. If you are the non-sporty type, you should fire your maid and clean your home without mechanical aids. Dancing and baby-sitting are good alternatives.
b) One weekly mind stimulating activity - e.g. writing, studying for a degree, acquiring a new skill, solving problems or puzzles, learn or teach something. You need to stimulate your mind to stay alive because the day you stop using your brain is the day you start to die.
c) One weekly social activity - choose one involving lots of friends/neighbours. Get yourself accepted as a member to at least 3 interests groups. Unless you prefer to be alone, you do need friends more than ever as you get older and less fit to pursue your sport.
d) One weekly community service activity - you need to give to appreciate what you have taken in this life. It's good to leave some kind of legacy.
With 4 weekly activities, you got 4 days out of 7 covered. The remaining 3 days should be devoted to family related activities. In this way, you maintain a balance between amusing yourself and your family members.
Any spare time should remain "spare" so that you can capitalise on opportunities that come your way like responding to an unexpected request to do a job or to take advantage of cheap fares to see places or to visit an exhibition.
Mind stimulating activities
Most judges live to a ripe old age. They use their brains a lot to decide on cases. I am sure MM Lee's brain works overtime. He's 80+ and still going strong.
In "Today" you would have read of 2 inspiring oldies. One is a granny who learned to play the guitar at age 60 to entertain his grandchildren. She's 70+ today and those grandchildren have grown to play with her. Another is an Indian radiologist who on retirement, qualified as an acupuncturist. He's age 77 and still offers his services (by appointment only) including free ones to those who have no income. I guarantee you that they are happy people who discovered a "2nd wind" to take them to the sunset with a smile on their faces.
Mind stimulating activities are hard to identify. They require your will to do something useful with the rest of your life, a mindset change and the discipline to carry it through.
Your Bucket List Despite your busy routine, you will at times be bored. Then it's time to turn to your Bucket List.
Your bucket list contains a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They are not routine and are usually one off activities. You need them to have something to look forward to. These include anniversaries, trips (and pilgrimages), visits to friends and relations abroad, re-doing your home, tending conferences (related to your hobbies), acquiring a new set of expertise.
4 such activities that are spaced our quarterly would be ideal.
Retirement Is a Serious Business
If you can afford to retire and want to, do prepare to live to your fullest. You need to be fit to enjoy it - therefore get into shape now. You do not want to get up on a Monday and wonder what to do each week, therefore identify your set of weekly routine activities now and try them out to confirm that they are the activities that you will be looking forward to doing each week, week after week. You bucket list of "rewards" or "projects" or” challenges" is needed to help you break away from the routine thereby make live worth living. Start listing what you fancy and refine it as you chug along in your retirement. You will have so much fun; you would wish you were retired since your turned 21!
How To Retire - must read. Golfers included
4 Pre-Conditions for Retirement
I retired in year 2000 at age 52. I am now 61, thus I can claim that I got more experience at retirement than most! I thought I should share my experience with mariners because I have seen too many friends and neighbours who became so bored that they have become a nuisance to their spouse and children and to others! A few of them have solved the problem by going back to work. They were able to do so because they have a skill/expertise that is still in demand. The rest (and many are my neighbours) live aimlessly or are waiting to die - a very sad situation, indeed.
You can retire only when you fulfill these 4 pre-conditions:
1.Your children are financially independent (e.g. they got jobs)
2.You have zero liability (all your borrowings are paid up)
3.You have enough savings to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life, AND most importantly,
4.You know what you would be doing during your retirement.
DO NOT retire till you meet ALL 4 Pre-Conditions. And of course you should not retire if you enjoy working and are getting paid for it!
The problem cases I know of are those who failed to meet Pre-Condition #4.
When asked, "What would you be doing during your retirement?" Some replied, "I will travel/cruise and see the World". They did that, some for 3 months and then ran out of ideas.
The golfers replied, "I can golf every day." Most could not because they are no longer fit to play well enough to enjoy the game. Those who could, need to overcome another hurdle - they need to the find the "kakis" to play with them.
It's the same with mahjong, bridge, badminton, trekking and karaoke - you need "kakis"! Most could not find others who share their favourite game and playing/singing alone is no fun. AND when they do find them, a few of them found that they are NOT welcomed like my obnoxious neighbour whom everyone avoids..
Thus if you are into group sports or games, you must form your groups BEFORE you retire. You need to identify your "kakis", play with them and discover whether they "click" with you.
The less sporty "can read all the books bought over the years".
I know of one guy who fell asleep after a few pages and ended up napping most of the time! He discovered that he did not like to read after all.
We do change and we may not enjoy the hobbies we had.. Routine Activities to Fill Your Week For most people, your routine work activities are planned for you or dictated by others and circumstances. When you retire, you wake up to a new routine - one that you yourself have to establish as nobody else would do it for you! The routine to establish should keep your body, mind and spirit "sharpened".
A good routine would comprise:
a) One weekly physical sport - you need to keep fit to enjoy your retirement. If you are the non-sporty type, you should fire your maid and clean your home without mechanical aids. Dancing and baby-sitting are good alternatives.
b) One weekly mind stimulating activity - e.g. writing, studying for a degree, acquiring a new skill, solving problems or puzzles, learn or teach something. You need to stimulate your mind to stay alive because the day you stop using your brain is the day you start to die.
c) One weekly social activity - choose one involving lots of friends/neighbours. Get yourself accepted as a member to at least 3 interests groups. Unless you prefer to be alone, you do need friends more than ever as you get older and less fit to pursue your sport.
d) One weekly community service activity - you need to give to appreciate what you have taken in this life. It's good to leave some kind of legacy.
With 4 weekly activities, you got 4 days out of 7 covered. The remaining 3 days should be devoted to family related activities. In this way, you maintain a balance between amusing yourself and your family members.
Any spare time should remain "spare" so that you can capitalise on opportunities that come your way like responding to an unexpected request to do a job or to take advantage of cheap fares to see places or to visit an exhibition.
Mind stimulating activities
Most judges live to a ripe old age. They use their brains a lot to decide on cases. I am sure MM Lee's brain works overtime. He's 80+ and still going strong.
In "Today" you would have read of 2 inspiring oldies. One is a granny who learned to play the guitar at age 60 to entertain his grandchildren. She's 70+ today and those grandchildren have grown to play with her. Another is an Indian radiologist who on retirement, qualified as an acupuncturist. He's age 77 and still offers his services (by appointment only) including free ones to those who have no income. I guarantee you that they are happy people who discovered a "2nd wind" to take them to the sunset with a smile on their faces.
Mind stimulating activities are hard to identify. They require your will to do something useful with the rest of your life, a mindset change and the discipline to carry it through.
Your Bucket List Despite your busy routine, you will at times be bored. Then it's time to turn to your Bucket List.
Your bucket list contains a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They are not routine and are usually one off activities. You need them to have something to look forward to. These include anniversaries, trips (and pilgrimages), visits to friends and relations abroad, re-doing your home, tending conferences (related to your hobbies), acquiring a new set of expertise.
4 such activities that are spaced our quarterly would be ideal.
Retirement Is a Serious Business
If you can afford to retire and want to, do prepare to live to your fullest. You need to be fit to enjoy it - therefore get into shape now. You do not want to get up on a Monday and wonder what to do each week, therefore identify your set of weekly routine activities now and try them out to confirm that they are the activities that you will be looking forward to doing each week, week after week. You bucket list of "rewards" or "projects" or” challenges" is needed to help you break away from the routine thereby make live worth living. Start listing what you fancy and refine it as you chug along in your retirement. You will have so much fun; you would wish you were retired since your turned 21!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
JUSCO,JOHOR: SHOPPING TRIP
31 AUG 2009 Monday
We left home at 1.30 pm and it was a smooth drive to Woodland. The causeway was pretty quiet. It took us 15 minutes to clear the Singapore immigration. We drove along a long curvy stretch of road for 1 kilometer. Arriving at Malaysian immigration, it took us another 10 minutes to clear. Thereafter, we were on our way to JUSCO!
It took us around 30 minutes to reach JUSCO. It was very crowded as today was Malaysia National Day. We were very hungry and ate at Nando’s restaurant. It was spicy chicken meal! We strolled around the 3 levels building for an hour or so and thereafter enjoy the Macau’s milk custard on the 3rd floor. We bought moon cakes and other stuff.
Its time to go home after the shopping spree at 5 pm. !
We reached home at 6.00 pm.
We left home at 1.30 pm and it was a smooth drive to Woodland. The causeway was pretty quiet. It took us 15 minutes to clear the Singapore immigration. We drove along a long curvy stretch of road for 1 kilometer. Arriving at Malaysian immigration, it took us another 10 minutes to clear. Thereafter, we were on our way to JUSCO!
It took us around 30 minutes to reach JUSCO. It was very crowded as today was Malaysia National Day. We were very hungry and ate at Nando’s restaurant. It was spicy chicken meal! We strolled around the 3 levels building for an hour or so and thereafter enjoy the Macau’s milk custard on the 3rd floor. We bought moon cakes and other stuff.
Its time to go home after the shopping spree at 5 pm. !
We reached home at 6.00 pm.
Monday, August 31, 2009
TRIP TO HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON) - VIETNAM
My wife and I had a wonderful trip to Ho Chi Minh city 02/April - 09/April 2008.
02 APRIL
We touched down the airport at 12.20 pm and went straight to our hotel ( situated infront of Ben Thahn Market). We took a taxi to TM brothers cafe to book a local tour to Mekong Delta (3 days 2 nights). We then toured Ben Thahn Market for the whole evening and tried our very first Vietnamese's dishes that night.
3/April- 5/April (MEKONG DELTA RIVER)
Left Saigon for southern areas ( My Tho , Chau Tho and as far as to Pnorm Penh ) . We toured floating fishing market. We sat on different types of boats ( 20 persons', 8 persons' and 4 persons' capacities). We visited Bees' farm , paper rice and noddles factories, incense making etc. We bought honey sweets, wine, fruits along this fascinating journey. At night we enjoyed local delicacies for dinner at the hotel.
5/April
Reached Saigon at 6 pm.
6/April
We went city tour ourselves. We visited Nordes Damn Catheral, Reunitfication Palace, central Post Office, War meuseum etc. We had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant. We took an afternoon nap. In the evening, we went to a posh vietnamese restaurant for dinner!
7/April
We joined a cooking class in Vietnam teaching us how to make authentic vietnamese's food.
* Vietnamese Spring Roll
* Caramel Pork in Clay Pot
* Steamed Rice with Pandan Leave
* Saute Banana in Coconut Milk
* Tomato Soup with Egg
* Fish Sauce...
We had a wonderful time !
8/April
Spent the whole day shopping !!
9/April
Packing... have a last minutes' shopping ...and back home by 2 pm flight.
02 APRIL
We touched down the airport at 12.20 pm and went straight to our hotel ( situated infront of Ben Thahn Market). We took a taxi to TM brothers cafe to book a local tour to Mekong Delta (3 days 2 nights). We then toured Ben Thahn Market for the whole evening and tried our very first Vietnamese's dishes that night.
3/April- 5/April (MEKONG DELTA RIVER)
Left Saigon for southern areas ( My Tho , Chau Tho and as far as to Pnorm Penh ) . We toured floating fishing market. We sat on different types of boats ( 20 persons', 8 persons' and 4 persons' capacities). We visited Bees' farm , paper rice and noddles factories, incense making etc. We bought honey sweets, wine, fruits along this fascinating journey. At night we enjoyed local delicacies for dinner at the hotel.
5/April
Reached Saigon at 6 pm.
6/April
We went city tour ourselves. We visited Nordes Damn Catheral, Reunitfication Palace, central Post Office, War meuseum etc. We had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant. We took an afternoon nap. In the evening, we went to a posh vietnamese restaurant for dinner!
7/April
We joined a cooking class in Vietnam teaching us how to make authentic vietnamese's food.
* Vietnamese Spring Roll
* Caramel Pork in Clay Pot
* Steamed Rice with Pandan Leave
* Saute Banana in Coconut Milk
* Tomato Soup with Egg
* Fish Sauce...
We had a wonderful time !
8/April
Spent the whole day shopping !!
9/April
Packing... have a last minutes' shopping ...and back home by 2 pm flight.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
WHAT A TYPICAL RETIREE DOES
MAIN ACTIVITIES
* Bank part –time work
* eBay Business
* Share Watch / Gentings
* Reading & Writing
* Attend free seminars or talks
RECREATIONAL
* Stretching / walking
* Tai Chi
* Karaoke
* Chinese Calligraphy
* Soduku
VOLUNTEERING
* Church Warden
* High School (Facebook)
SIGHTSEEING
* Travelling
* Food Critic
OTHERS
* Houseworks
* Bank part –time work
* eBay Business
* Share Watch / Gentings
* Reading & Writing
* Attend free seminars or talks
RECREATIONAL
* Stretching / walking
* Tai Chi
* Karaoke
* Chinese Calligraphy
* Soduku
VOLUNTEERING
* Church Warden
* High School (Facebook)
SIGHTSEEING
* Travelling
* Food Critic
OTHERS
* Houseworks
Sunday, August 23, 2009
BATAM TRIP
BATAM – 2 DAYS 1 NIGHT FREE AND EASY TRIP
22 AUG 2009 Saturday
We left home after work at 1.30 pm and straight to Habour Front to catch ferry to Batam at 3.15 pm. The journey took us one hour. We took a taxi (rp 40,000) from Harbour Bay to I hotel. Ihotel is a 3-4 stars hotel. It is still new and everything looks posh and comfortable. The hotel charge was US $75 per day. I like the location of the hotel. Next to it is the famous Nagoya Hill Shopping centre. We strolled around the area and had our afternoon coffee at Coffee Town at the shopping centre. The shopping centre is the biggest and newest in Batam which the locals are very proud of. Most of the ‘IN” things are happening here!
Coming to Batam for a quick and short rest is most enjoyable! Besides eating and shopping, the next most wonderful thing would be “MASSAGE”. Prices here are very cheap and services are great as compared with hometown.
At 6.30 pm in the evening, we took a taxi (rp30, 000) from Nagoya Hill shopping centre to FAJAR 888 restaurant (recommended by the locals) for our dinner. We had fresh fish, prawns, toufu , eggs and sotong dishes. All in all, we spent only rp 200,000 (dinner for 4) which is equivalent of S$ 30.
23 AUG 2009
9 am. We woke up and enjoyed our “buffer” breakfast in the hotel. After that we had 2 hours aromatic massage at ISABELLE (opposite Nagoya Hill shopping centre). The cost of 2 hours massage was around rp 170,000! That’s S$25 only.
2.45 pm we took ferry from Harbour Bay to Singapore.
We reached home at 7.58 pm.
22 AUG 2009 Saturday
We left home after work at 1.30 pm and straight to Habour Front to catch ferry to Batam at 3.15 pm. The journey took us one hour. We took a taxi (rp 40,000) from Harbour Bay to I hotel. Ihotel is a 3-4 stars hotel. It is still new and everything looks posh and comfortable. The hotel charge was US $75 per day. I like the location of the hotel. Next to it is the famous Nagoya Hill Shopping centre. We strolled around the area and had our afternoon coffee at Coffee Town at the shopping centre. The shopping centre is the biggest and newest in Batam which the locals are very proud of. Most of the ‘IN” things are happening here!
Coming to Batam for a quick and short rest is most enjoyable! Besides eating and shopping, the next most wonderful thing would be “MASSAGE”. Prices here are very cheap and services are great as compared with hometown.
At 6.30 pm in the evening, we took a taxi (rp30, 000) from Nagoya Hill shopping centre to FAJAR 888 restaurant (recommended by the locals) for our dinner. We had fresh fish, prawns, toufu , eggs and sotong dishes. All in all, we spent only rp 200,000 (dinner for 4) which is equivalent of S$ 30.
23 AUG 2009
9 am. We woke up and enjoyed our “buffer” breakfast in the hotel. After that we had 2 hours aromatic massage at ISABELLE (opposite Nagoya Hill shopping centre). The cost of 2 hours massage was around rp 170,000! That’s S$25 only.
2.45 pm we took ferry from Harbour Bay to Singapore.
We reached home at 7.58 pm.
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