A trip to Bintan Indonesia with Friends

Ofcourse, I was with my friends; obviously :)

We went to Bintan last weekend, so yeah my trips lately outside of Singapore has been hectic.  I had no major trips outside Singapore except when I had to go to Cebu, my hometown to visit my family.

Anyway, Bintan is really near to Singapore like it's a 45 minute-ferry ride.  Early dawn of Saturday, I received miss calls from Chritian as I have asked them to call me so I can wake up early as I did not trust my alarm (or perhaps myself).  Usually weekends for me is like holy when it comes to sleeping :)) I can wake up at noon.  That's how late I start my weekends.  Yup, to be on the ferry terminal at Tanah Merah early, I decided to take a cab.  I was planning to actually take the train but I felt I'll not be able to make it so I had to cough up 20 dollars for the cab.  I arrived at the terminal on time and my friends were already there, queuing for out tickets.  I met them in their queue and gave my passport after the small talk :)  I did not take my breakfast so I found this Killiney coffee house and there I ordered teh (tea with milk) and kaya toast (slice bread with kaya; a spread made of coconut).  My friends finished their checkin and stuff and we got our tickets. We queued to going to the immigration and all the security stuff and no later that 10 minutes, we found ourselves boarding the ferry and off we went to Bintan Indonesia :)

We had a villa for ourselves at Nirwana resorts.  It's a two storey house, with two big common rooms and a  master's bedroom.  It's somehow furnished. In fact one can cook their food there which was part of our plan.  When we arrived at the resort, it was actually about lunch time in the coming hour.  Since we had our packed lunch we just looked for a nice place to have lunch :)

At around 1PM we were able to check-in at our villa.

There were so many things to do.  After we have settled ourselves, our first activity was the ATV. Unfortunately, it was not available and they that it's going to be on the next day that they'll resume operations :(  So we just decided to bathe into beach.  Hmmm there was actually a Meta Man - it's a triathlon actually and to my surprise, Sen. Pia Cayetano; senator of the upper house of the Philippines, was joining the event.  Anyway, the afternoon was the start of the swimming competition which made our stay there different.  For most of us, it was our first time watching a live triathlon.  There were jelly fishes in their beach so it was not that fun actually and their sand is a bit muddy so it did not feel good because when you splash and swim it would turn a bit murky.  Anyway, we explored their beach on the other side and the view is nice but not as good as we had in the Philippines - sorry if I am comparing....  Anyway, I told my friends that I'd go to the pool :)  I spent like an hour or two at the pool just enjoying the scenery and cheering the triathletes.  They were in the marathon competition already and they happen to pass by near the infinity pool.  To my surprise, Sen. Pia Cayetano was there and so I can't help but cheer.  At around 4PM my friends joined me at the pool.  My friends wanted to go back to the villa and prepare for dinner but then I asked them to cheer for Sen. Cayetano and at around 5PM she had the 2nd round already and when she was near the pool side we were shouting, "Go Ms. Pia" - she did smile at us but I think she find it so strange :D

Well,  it was getting dark already and we had to go back to our villa so we can prepare for dinner.  I think I made a mistake in my timing simply because I was using the Singapore time.  Indonesia is 1 hour advance :P

After everyone was ready, we were headed to The Kelong restaurant.  We waited for the hotel service for a few minutes then off we went to the restaurant.  To our surprise we saw Senator Pia again and so we did cheer and blurted, "Go Ms. Pia! Mabuhay!".   Anyway, we arrived at the restaurant a bit hungry and the good thing was, the place was not crowded.  Getting our orders was fast and the guy serving our table was friendly and it felt we were not too rushed unlike in Singapore restaurants where the service is a bit rushed :))  The food was good and the service was quite good so after our heavy dinner, we tipped the guy 10 Singapore dollars.  There was nothing to do actually so we just decided to go back to our villa and had our karaoke.  My friends brought their portable karaoke :) As usual, it' fun singing with friends =))

We decided to check the beats from outside and it was actually the Meta Man challenge finish line.  I think the organizers party.  The triathletes has been active for the last 16 hours as shown in the finish line clock.  I was so amazed at how sporty these people are.  I even saw some athletes at their late forties as you can see in their whitish hair :D  It left an impression on me to be a bit sporty as well or simply put I have to be fit :P I stopped going to the gym actually and I have not been jogging and not even doing the dance exercise in our Xbox Kinect.   It was getting dark so we decided to go back to our hotel to sleep already;)

Early morning, my friends were already cooking for breakfast.  Since there's a free breakfast for two because we had two extra beds, Christian and I took the free meal.  Mamul asked us to bring back some butter for the bread.   The breakfast served at Nirwana was quite good so I was full again. We took some butter and strawberry spreads. Then off we went back to our villa.  My friends were still eating and the German sausage I brought was really nice to look at so I had my hands on them.  They also prepared some spam so yeah I also devoured some.  After our breakfast, the first order of business was to go for an ATV ride.  Then the unexpected happened.  We were like being passed from one counter to the other just to get to their ATV and everyone was already exasperated because of the long walks.  For the last time, we demanded to the hotel staff to bring us to the correct place already. So they decided to give us a free ride going to the ATV venue.  Good thing we pushed through for the ATV for it was so fun.  The trails was really nice and a bit challenging.  Too bad, we only had few minutes left because we need to go back to Singapore early. With that, we only had 30 minutes ATV. But the whole thirty minutes was really fun.  I think I am going for an ATV adventure in Bintan in the near future.

After the ride, we went back to our villa.  We still have some few hours to prepare so some of us went to dip at the pool and some had the elephant and horse back riding activities. Me ? I went to the pool :D

One hour has passed and it was time to pack up.  It was rather fast to pack and we need to checkout from the resort at 1PM.  We waited for some few minutes to take the free bus ride going to the ferry terminal.

After some immigration stuff and some waiting, we boarded and off we went back to Singapore :)

I then realized I miss the wifi connection I had in Singapore.  Wireless internet at Nirwana is 30 Singapore dollars - quite expensive as most hotels nowadays are offering free wifi.  It was a fun experience but I think KL is more affordable and exciting if you want to have a vacation without the beach thing.  I think the beach part at Bintan is not that good as well so I think going to KL is more enjoyable.

Good night everyone and enjoy the weekdays?

Weekend @ Jakarta

It was a last minute decision of mine to go to Jakarta in Indonesia to attend a wedding of a friend. Last minute because I decided during my lunch break at Passionz - a resto which sells wines but has this sideline of serving lunches, and the wedding was going to happen on weekend. Kay got me a ticket round-trip to Jakarta for around 150SGD via TigerAirways.

I did not have a decent pair of shoes so after the office hours, I went to Anchor Point to buy two pairs at Pedro and also purchased 4 polo shirts are G2000. They were actually factory outlet shops so there you can get some huge discounts up to 70% if I am not mistaken. Shopping in Singapore is crazy if you know where to buy....

When I reached home, I had to stay a bit late to iron my stuff to bring and pack them up. I slept around 2A.M and my flight schedule was at 11AM, 5th of June. I had to set an alarm at 8AM. I actually woke up very early, before my alarm did its job because of the lawn mowers - simply put they were waking up the whole village. Anyway, I went to the sala, and watched some Filipino news and as usual, it was about the Philippine elections dominating the scene. My housemate told me that my alarm was already calling so I jumped off the couch and got my towel. I was in a bit of a hurry because I don't want to be left behind from my flight. I went out from our flat at around 8:45 and was walking to the MRT. Taxis will prove expensive and I thought I still had time to commute through Singapore's very effective public transport. Kay was actually checking on me already and informed her where I was. When I arrived at the airport, it was already 10 and I had to wait for the bus. Kay was calling me through my mobile but I was not able to answer it so I called her up. She was asking where I was and told her that I was on a free shuttle going to the budget terminal. When I arrived at the airport, the TigerAirways' counter was closed so it was like she closed it when I arrived. When she tried to get my ticket and opened the booking system, she said it was already closed so I was advised to transfer to another counter. I went there and I explained to the lady that I was told to transfer in this counter. I was talking a bit shaky because I might just miss my flight. The girl who seemed to be irritated took my printed e-ticket and told me that next time I should come early. Well, it was my fault actually so I did not say anything. I was just so thankful she let me in. When I was done, we then went inside the checking for immigration and boarding. My friends actually checked some stuff at Duty Free and Miri who will be playing host was eating breakfast. After everyone got ready, we went to our boarding area and there was a long queue. The flight was a short 1 hour and 30 minutes - no need to worry or anything. We boarded and since I was late, I was on the front area and my friends were at the back near the tail end. I don't exactly know the terms of the plane's passenger seating sections so forgive me about that :)) .... Anyway, the crew distributed some peanuts as a snack. Then some immigration card. The crew asked me if I was Singaporean and told him not. So he gave me a card which was in Bahasa Indonesia. When he came back as he was finished distributing the cards up to the passengers located at the tail-end of the plane, I called him up and asked him something that's English. He asked me where I come from and I showed him my passport. He then said sorry and gave me the English translation of the immigration card. Since I did not have the pen in me, I went at the back to borrow a pen from Ronny. I went to my seat and forgot to wear my seatbelt. I then filled up the info which was asked of me from the form and then the co-pilot announced of the turbulence ahead. So I fastened my seatbelt quickly and there the plane just had a slight free fall. Imagine that you are on a ferris wheel and on descend. It did not happen ones, but twice and the kids behind me screamed and most of the passengers just said "wooooooooohhh" word. Well as for me, my skin shivered including my gut, and my heart was pounding. I felt my stomach separated from my body and my thoughts were shooting off as well, calling for Jesus and saying shit. I was also thinking of my way back to Singapore if it's going to be the same. I just imagined that the angels of God were flying with us thought he plane's wings. Anyway, after some turbulence, everything normalized but I was still shaking a bit from the inside. Was very thankful when we landed safe and sound. Indonesian airport looked so big and simple and has a unique Indonesian design. It was an airport with a taste.

When we had our passports checked, the immigration guy was curious about my doing business in their country so he asked me questions. I just explained to him what we will be doing and good thing he believed me. When we got out of the airport, we had to change some SGD to the local curry which is the Indonesian Rupiah. Miri's dad was actually waiting for us. After some few minutes his dad was there and we greeted each other and then shook hands. Miri's family car was big enough to suit our luggages and bags and ofcourse including us. We were a bit hungry and tired so, we went to thing Indonesian resto to fill our stomach. I had fun with the food which was totally different with what we ate back to my home country. I have tried authentic Indonesian food in Bali and the one in Jakarta was different as well.

After the lunch we had, we decided to go to the mall and shop. I think Jakarta is a nice city, not that crowded as Manila and much cleaner than Bangkok. Also, we Filipinos looked a bit Indonesian so we blended in a bit. I got two game cds and one nice jacket with a fur. Bud did not have much to buy as well as Kay. Patty bought an Indonesian dress which she planned to wear on Sunday's affair. After roaming around the mall, we met Yudi, Ron's friend from the university as well as Miri's at BIT. After the mini shopping, we went to starbucks to have some coffee, but I had a green latte. All our drinks was on upsize because, Yudi paid it with his credit card - no, the drinks were not free hundred percent coz we paid Yudi :D. By the way, Miri was not with us during the shopping thing coz they had to somewhere else with her parents. After having some break, we went to Miri's house. It was an hour long drive. When we reached home, it was a nice place to stay and the people were very accommodating especially Miri's parents. They invited us for a mini break actually. I had to change clothes because later we will be going out for dinner. After some few minutes of putting our stuff, we prepared for dinner. We went to the city proper and had dinner by the seaside. It was a huge place to dine. There was music and lots of people enjoying their food and the little rascals were everywhere. Miri's dad ordered a lot of food and since we had to wait, we went to a boat ride. It was a fun experience I supposed because I haven't had a boat ride before a dinner to be prepared. After the short, 20 minute ride I guess, we went back to our table and the food were ready. We tasted some nice Indonesian style of preparing seafood. It was really fattening and we enjoyed it. After dinner, we went out for a walk and some exploring of the area. After some cam whoring, we went back to Miri's home. Everyone was a bit tired and bloated I think ....

We woke up and prepared for Fitri's wedding. The girls went to the salon and the boys just worked their turf. I had breakfast together with Miri's dad and Ronny we had a small talk but their are times that they talk in Indonesian so I just pretended I was not listening. But they would translate it into English so that was very considerate of them. When the girls were finished with their salon, and had their breakfast, everyone was ready especially the boys. All the girls were in a western style dress except for patty who wore an Indonesian native dress and a hairstyle of a Javanese. We went to Fitris wedding once once everyone was ready and we arrived their at around 12 or early 1PM. Muslim wedding is totally different and it was fun appreciating cultures. Fitri and her beloved half wore clothes which were in gold and adorned with gold. There were plentiful of food to try. I had fun with the desserts as usual, I loved the mini sweets and some tarts. After the wedding reception, we went to this chic mall. It was a mall with a theme and it housed some of the very famous designer brands. We had coffee with some newly met Indonesian friends and had some bit of chit-chats. After that, we decided to go back to Miri's place. When we arrived, and as for me, I went to bed without changing .... I think Kay told me that they had some cam whoring. When I woke up, it was again eating time and some fun talk of cultures. It was about food, language but yeah mostly food.... All I can say is that Miri's family was amazing, my impression on them was they were really nice and wonderful people. I was so thankful of the experience I had in Jakarta together with my friends who are also my officemates at Gemalto. After that simple dinner, we prepared a bit for our flight back to Singapore. It was another long ride and good thing there was a smooth traffic. We came to the airport just on time and as usual we were like children just laughing and seemingly carefree of the world.

Well thanks to Miri and her family for being so wonderful and made our stay in Jakarta truly amazing :D

To the next adventures, bring it on!!!

Vacation in Bali, Indonesia

The second leg of our Indonesian getaway was in Bali. This was after the Jogja trip also in Indonesia.

Bali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. Its capital is Denpasar.

There were lots of activities we did and all of them were really fun and exciting. We went to monkey forest, eat babi guling which is really like lechon from the Philippines, we had sea adventures like diving, para-sailing, banana boat ride and many more, we also had some chill out moments in two clubs, and ofcourse some shopping. We also went to Dreamland beach, but it was more of a surfing beach than "beach" itself.... I should say the beaches in the Philipines like Boracay, Sumilon, Virgin Island in Bantayan, Panglao, Coron Palawan etc. are much more captivating.

Anyway, I availed to most of the water activities as they were really affordable compared to that of Cebu or Phuket.

I personally would want to visit Bali because the place is very inexpensive and the people are a lot friendlier than that of Thailand.

My Jogja, Indonesia vacation

Yes guys, I have been gone for so long because I had a vacation;)

The last entry was like I am a bit suffering of fever and flu like stuff but then that has not stopped me from going to this planned vacation.

I went there together with some of my officemates. I was still feverish actually and having this headache. I just took my medication before going to the airport.

I took the MRT and was sending some SMS to Kay and Bud if where are they. We actually met at Tanah Merah as the train going to Changi would be there after 6 minutes. I brought my jacket with me so it was not that cold. Together, we arrived at the airport on time and we waited for some of our officemates. We were not late though but boarding proved brutal LOLS. We were running as the gate for boarding was way too far and the queue was long and really went crowded, so we needed to run :)) We arrived just in the nick of time at the boarding gate and the trip jump-started.


What's up for us in Jogja is the very famous Borobudur and it's really beautiful. Go notice the pictures :)

There were Indonesian officemates and they were the ones who organized the trip. Goodness thanks to them for everything went smoothly as things were planned.

For some bit of history, Jogja was an old capital and it has a rich history as well. The Dutch actually colonized Indonesia and in world war 2, the place was in chaos.

Anyway, the people there were friendly and the buys are so cheap. Again, to be with people who speaks Bahasa Indonesia which is the national language, is a great advantage.

I was also super amazed as Indonesians looked so like Malaysians, as well as Thai and so as like Filipinos.

Their counting is similar to that of the Cebuano counting. When I went to Malaysia, their counting is similar to ours as well. Some words are the same in meaning and in context. I was so amused that I learned some of their words like cumi-cumi (read c as ch) or squid, udang or shrimp, babi as pork (babi is the same in southern philippines), ikan as fish etc.

The nice thing about this trip as posted, was we stepped on this world heritage historical site, the Borobudur. I wish I get to see Angkor Wat sometime :)

Have a nice day. Ciao!