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.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

WHAT A TYPICAL RETIREE DOES

MAIN ACTIVITIES


* 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
* Pets ( fishes ...etc)

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.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A FAMILY TRIP TO BALI

16 APRIL ... Left home at 7.15 am. We had breakfast in Changi airport Terminal 1. Our flight was delayed by 1 hour due to down time of check in counter computer system. We flew at 11am and arrived at Bali airport at 2.30 pm. 3 pm reached Hotel Mercure (taxi fare Rp 50,000). We asked for hotel upgrade successfully but had to wait till 4.30 pm to check in. We used the waiting time to walk around Poppies Lane 1 and had our late lunch at TJ's restaurant. We then went back to hotel for wash up and rest. We had food court seafood for dinner around Hotel area. Being to tired the first day, slept at 11.00 pm (watched TV)!

17 April ....We woke up at 10 am. We walked south and walked around Kuta Centre area. We walked a lot through the lanes (sightseeing & shopping). Surprisingly we were able to walk back to hotel for a short break after a 3 hours long walk under the sun! In the afternoon, we went to Poppies lane 2. We watched the monument (Bali’s bomb victims list) in Legion road and had our 2 hors massage (RP 320000 for 3) there. Not a bad deal! At night, we enjoyed our dinner at high class Ketupat restaurant (Rp 800,000). Though the price was very exorbitant for the locals, I found it was quite OK for us. (Around S$100) . The dishes were authentic and delicious and they are home-cook, too. Too tired to walk, we took horse cart back to hotel.

18 April... We went to Matahari shopping mall (shopping and change $$), Back to hotel. We swam at the swimming pool in the hotel. In the afternoon we went across the road to the sea side. Te waves were very strong and high and we saw a lot of people surfing. At 4.30 pm we took a taxi to JIMBARAN for seafood, sunset view and we watched Bali dances, too. The dinner was great (RP 600,000). We went back at 8.30pm. and still ordered pizza for night snack! J

19 April ...Woke up and walked to nearby restaurant for europeon breakfast. (Rp 200,000 for 3) We walked around the area (last chance shoppingJ). Two hours later, we went back hotel to pack and depart hotel to airport for Singapore. 5 PM reached home!

All in all, it was a wonderful and memorial (4 days 3 nights free and easy trip). We got away to feel the different tempo of life in Bali. The locals were nice though there was a scam going on (by asking you to participate in a game and telling you won a prize so as to lure you to a hotel for talk)! You must try the local dishes in Bali. (You can find many restaurants along the roads!). SPA and massage were extremely cheap and you can bargain for package to suit your requirement.

TAIPEI TRIP

TAIPEI – 8 DAYS 7 NIGHT FREE AND EASY TRIP

05 AUG 2009

We left home at 6 am for Changi Airport. It was a smooth 30 minutes’ drive all the way to Terminal One. The Tiger Airways KL flight was at 9.00 am. There was a slight delay, and we reached Kuala Lumpur at 10.30 am. We have to check in Kuala Lumpur, confirmed our Air Asia tickets to Taipei and check out from Kuala Lumpur, all within one and a half hours. It was such a rush! We successfully managed and were on our way to Taipei.

At 3.30 pm. We reached Taipei CKS international airport.

We took Taipei air express bus to Grand Formosa Hotel and found our way to 105 Sec 3 Xinyi Road apartment. It was already 6 pm. After putting our belongings in our room, we walked along Xinyi road. We had our dinner at the famous Yong Kang Street where lots of Taiwanese delicacies are sold. We have authentic specialized Taipei Food that night.

Yong Kang Street is the famous street where many locals visited. Local food from southern and northern parts of Taiwan are sold here. You could select to taste a little of each. You can walk around the place where there are many eateries stores for you to view.

After dinner, we intended to go to Shihda night market but we have had a tired day and it was already past 10 pm.

We called it a day and went back to sleep.


06 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast (Yong Jiang Yu Tiau) near Da-An MRT. The food was perfect for the morning. We had eggs, YU TIAU and Doa Chiang .

We took MRT to city area for sightseeing and searching for more Taiwanese food. We tried a lot of variety of food which we could not find in Singapore. The place was around the tuition centre for Taipei secondary and tertiary students. Food portions were big and prices were reasonably cheap. We walked around MRT underground shopping centres. There are many shops selling different types of merchandises.

At night , we took MRT and wandered around Dingxi area.

07 AUG 2009


9.30 am. We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast (Ding Thai Fong) near Yong Kang Street . We walked along Da- An district and Renai Road again searching for Taiwanese food. We ate from store to store till we are full.

As typhoon would be landed in Taipei to night, wind and rain became stronger and unbearable.

3 pm we bought some food and went back to apartment for Karaoke, WII TV game and ping pong game. We stayed indoor and watched TV programs till late.
.



08 AUG 2009

9.30 am We took a bus to Tien Mu. Most expatriates stay here. We walked around the area. Again, we ate and ate as we walked. We went to SOGO at Zhishan area for afternoon tea. We took MRT to Zhong Shan MRT to wait for the arrival of my wife and younger daughter. ( they stayed at KL for one night due to cancellation of Taipei flight.

They finally arrived at 5 pm at Grand Formosa. We went back to apartment for wash up and put down their belongings.

At night, we went to Liaoning Street night market for dinner. We consumed a lot of Taiwanese food. Finally we had our full meal at one of the local authentic Japanese restaurants.

09 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We enjoyed our breakfast at (Yong Jiang Yu Tiau) near Da-An MRT. After that, we went to northern part of Taipei: DAN SHUEI. We strolled along “old street” and again eat and eat. All the time , it was wet weather and strong wind . We went to SOGO departmental store for an hour.
At night we went to Shinlin night market. Not contented and the night was still young, we went to Shihda night market , too.

10 AUG 2009


9.30 am. We woke up and went straight to Taipei 101.

We went to Beitou . We had SPA and enjoyed the afternoon tea.

At night , we went to Ximending .

11 AUG 2009


9.30 am. We walked to nearby area in search of food. Both persons were sick and returned to apartment.

At 3 pm we took bus for a tour and finally reached SongShan railway station. We went to Wufengpu fashion district. We took train to KeeLong and had dinner at the “temple door”.

At 10 pm we returned back to apartment by express bus.


12 AUG 2009


9.30 am. We walked to nearby area in search of food. We had lu Rou Rice for breakfast. We changed back our e-link cards. .

At 12 pm we returned the keys to the owner. We took a taxi (NT 888) back to airport. We flew back to Kuala Lumpur and thereafter connecting flight from KL to Singapore.

At 1.30 am of 13 Aug 2009 we returned home.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

To Malacca with the Family

MELAKA (or MALACCA) – 2 DAYS 1 NIGHT FREE AND EASY TRIP

14 May 2009

We left home at 10 am. Both Singapore and Johor causeways were not jammed. It was a smooth two hours’ drive all the way to Melaka. At 2 pm. we found our way to Jalan Tan Cheng Lock where our hotel ( Heeren , : 6 bed-room small hotel) was located. We paid RM 260 (family suite) for one night stay. After putting our belongings in our room, we walked along the streets. We had our late lunch at Restoran Nancy’s Kitchen at Jln Hang Lekit. It was an authentic specialized nyonya Peranakan Food. We had Chendol, too. After lunch, we walked along Jonker Street. We had special ice cold coffee and tit-bits at “Third Grand Uncle’s shop” at the end of the street. We went back to hotel to play UNO and thereafter rest for awhile and wash up.

At 6.30 am in the evening, we drove to Melaka Sentral. We went shopping at TESCO, one of the biggest chained local departmental stores in Melaka. (similar to Giant in Singapore) We had our dinner at Kluang Stations (famous for its local dishes and coffee) , TESCO. We strolled around Tesco till 10 pm. (It closed at 11 pm) and went back to hotel to watch DVD (The mummy).

15 May 2010

9 am. We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast in the hotel. We had our lunch: famous chicken rice ball and Laksa. At 11.30 am we drove to MAKOTA PLAZA, another downtown chained high class departmental store (Similar to TAKA, Singapore). We bought a lot of food stuff. It was a warm weather and we stayed in-door and had donuts, tea and coffee. We stayed there till 2.30 pm and then decided to drive back home. Approaching Johor, it was raining cats and dogs. We went to JUSCO, Johor for our dinner (Nando’s chicken). Next to Johor, we saw another new big shopping centre (TESCO, JOHOR)!

We reached home at 11 pm.