|
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Rawa Island Safaris
Where : Mersing Johor, Malaysia Place : Rawa Safaris When : 20 to 22 June 2010 This island resort has long been overdue for me to upload in my blog. And I almost forgotten about its absence in my blog. But I will never forget the experiences that I had related to Rawa Island. I wanted to visit Tioman Island actually. Because my lil sister love Paya Beach and this trip is my lil brother's first island resort trip. When i made my booking, it was end of May and even tho I know that June is S'pore's school holiday period, but still i'm too lazy to make an early booking. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguse. All rooms in Paya Tioman is fully booked. The only available is HillView at Berjaya Tioman during my booking request. Since some of us is on tight budget, we try to look for another island. Thanks to a friend's holiday pic that she uploaded in her FB, I have long fell in love with Rawa Island.
The problem is none of Spore travel agent caters for this trip. And so...with the help of my Personal Assistant, she managed to source out how to reach that place. I made booking online. We couldn't get what we wanted and settle for what's available. We wanted waterfront chalet, but its fully booked on the 21st June. And so we just settled for Hillview chalet, since thats the only available room type and we are desperately wanting a holiday on an island resort.
I do not know what to expect. But is just looking for a private beach thats away from crowds and a white sandy beach.
When our boat reached Rawa...OMG! I love what i see....
I so LOVE beach life!!
Labels: beach, malaysia beach
++ quoth nessie at 5:07 PM Back to Top | Home
A dreadful 5days experience in Jakarta, Puncak, Bandung
Where : West Java, Indonesia Place : Jakarta, Puncak, Bandung When  : 22 July to 26 July '10I'm leaving an empty, blank space purposely. If this blog is my photo album....it would start as a blank page. And not just one blank page but many. Why....???? Cos I'm blank and catch nothing, learnt nothing and the worst I understand nothing...NIL from my worst ever tour guide Andy Chandra from Semesta Tours!!!! What's my problem?? No...not my problem. The problem is my tour guide. He has speech problem. And so I thought. Well...I'm wrong. While some could comprehend English but couldn't converse, this guide is neither. He can't pronounce properly. He don't speak comprehensive english and he can't answer my Qs...that means he dont understand simple english. His english is freaking lousy!!! I wrote this blog with so much disappointment bcos not only am i not able to share with you on the history of the Tangkuban Perahu; Why it's called Tangkuban Perahu....But bcos when i tried to ask my guide, I'm not even getting anything from his answer. And so...I gave up asking more. Anyways, Tangkuban Perahu is a local word which means Capsized Boat. And Kawah Puteh in english means White Crater.
All i can say about Kawah Puteh is that it is very mystical. As tho you entered a different world. But the sulphuric smell from the crater is very choking. Labels: indonesia
++ quoth nessie at 4:49 AM Back to Top | Home
Stranded at Polonia, Medan Airport!
Where : North Sumatera, Indonesia Place : Polonia Airport, Medan When : 22 July 2010 We went to a wet market on our way back to Medan from Berastagi, and I bought several "bulb" of flowers; orchids, jasmines, lilies and an unknown flower. It's so easy to plant and it cost me IDR5,000 per bulb. Can't wait for the flowers to bloom!! A bad start - a bad experience - but a good shopping and a nice scenery. We didn't have a good start for our next destination : Jakarta-Puncak- Bandung. First, we got stranded in Polonia Airport in Medan from 0730hrs to 1330hrs!! Why??? Cos our supposedly morning flight scheduled to fly at 0950hrs is cancelled! We didn't suspect anything wrong when we could not find our flight not reflected on the "flight info screen". Cos, well...hmmm...i shall not say it here. We still procced to have our luggages screened during the check in. But when we saw that our check in counter is still closed, I began to worry. True enough...there's something wrong! We were informed that our flight is not flying and we were referred to Batavia Air information counter. The staff who handled us was Muhd Fadly. He told me that the flight was cancelled and the company was trying to get me. And since mine is a Spore mobile number,i couldn't be reached. And so I asked why couldn't they contact my travel agent. He said emails have been sent to inform on the 17th. I was puzzled cos if it's on 17th, I could be contacted thru hp and email since I departed from Spore on the 19th. When asked is the company doing any transfer for us to other flight? Answer was no. And when was the next flight? 1430hrs, but it's full. The next available flight will be at 1615hrs !!! My friend was fuming mad by then. It was super hot day. The whole place is non aircon except after check in and at some cafe. She demanded to speak to the manager. We stand in the heat for about less than 10mins when Muhd Fadly invited us inside his office. He and the person in-charge(I presume), was trying their best to get us a seat for the 1430hrs flight. On our part, we contacted our Spore agent and even ask around other carrier like Garuda,Sriwijaya and Lions. All full except Garuda. But their fare is way too high. And i was informed by my Spore agent that other carrier could not accept less than 24hrs online booking. Well...frankly speaking even tho I'm stranded and even if the next flight that I will taking is at 1615hrs...I'm fine with it. Cos firstly, in my first day in Jakarta..there's no itinerary to be done and secondly I have with me the not-mine iPod to keep me occupied and be not-bored-at-all mood! Haha...!!!! To cut story short...we got a seats for 1430hrs flight!! Thanks to Mr Muhd Fadly!! And I thought my bad encounters have ended. Unfortunely...this is just the beginning! Read up on my Jakarta trip for the follow up. *sigh* Labels: indonesia
++ quoth nessie at 4:30 AM Back to Top | Home Friday, August 13, 2010
Batak in Medan
Where : North Sumatra, Indonesia Place : Lake Toba, Medan When : 19-July-2010 Upon touchdown at Polonia Airport in Medan it took us 4.5hrs to Lake Toba by car. During those hours, our transport passed by four towns. And... (heheeee...) I noted only two towns and they are; L.Bakam town which is riched in paddy and Kabupaten Serdang Bedagai known for its bird nest. Along the way, saw public transport used to ferry the locals. Its called Angkot (angkutan Kota). It's a mini van that can takes in maximum 15 passengers and goes around and round the area. Taxis are rare due to high charges. Bus/coach is only available for long trips.
For Batak Toba their practise is that they bury bones below ground level. And after 17yrs**, bones were dug up and bury above ground level. As for Batak Semalinggung, they would bury the bones above ground level. And after 17yrs+**, the bones were dug up and bury below ground level. Note : ** 17 years is of no significance but minimum 15yrs to whenever the family has fund to dug up the bones bcos after bones are dug up, the family needs to spend lotsa money to throw a party/celebration. When the head of the family (i.e the father) died, and he has a son, there will be like a party. Why? Bcos, this is to show that he had done his best for his entire living age. If he doesn't have a son, the wake will be very quiet. The wake will last for 3D2N for the one with a son and 2D1N for the one without a son. In Batak Simalungun tribe, big size woman are often sought after bcos it's a sign of fertility. It's a practise till to date. In the Batak culture, males are always regarded above the females. When we reached Lake Toba...the lake was very big. Even my 11-16mm lens can't capture end to end. Hahahaa...!
I was told that the water sources for Lake Toba is from a waterfall named Sipiso piso.
Parapat Jetty to Ambarita Village - 45mins. Ambarita Village to Tomok Village - 20mins.
@ Ambarita village, the peddlers are more aggressive. But prices are IDR15,000 cheaper than Tomok village. @ Tomok village, peddlers are not as persistent and do not taunt.
Its at Ambarita Village that we witness and learnt of the Batak culture as explained by our tour guide. Here we saw the ancient batak tribal village and we learnt that the ancient batak practised cannabalism. Saw some stone chairs and table where the village elders held meetings.
If the victim fate is determined to be death, he is taken to a table where he is clobbered to death. There is a boulder where the victim is beheaded. After that, he is chopped up, his flesh is cooked with buffalo meat, and served to the tribal council, who completed the meal with a beverage of the victim's blood!
Observe the picture above...Look at the arrangement of the house's entrance. On the extreme right, the ladder is built below the flooring of the house and entrance is made underneath. Wherelse, the other two houses to the left, the ladder is built outside and above the flooring. Where the one on the extreme right is built for daughters, the other two was for the sons. Cos in Batak culture, males are regarded as above the females. Labels: indonesia, indonesia culture
++ quoth nessie at 8:56 PM Back to Top | Home Thursday, August 12, 2010
12 days Indonesia trip at a glance
Where : Indonesia Place : Medan, Berastagi, Jakarta, Puncak, Bandung, Bali When : 19July to 30July 2010 Two years ago a trip to East and Central Java has made me and my friend decided to cover yet another part of Indonesia. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we didn't proceed with our plan last year. So when she ask again this year, I want it to be longer than the previous trip. Before, we went for nine days, so this time...twelve days! Goodness! Can I survive till end of the trip without missing my work and anyone? Surprisingly, I missed work, my family and colleagues on my 7th day in my previous Indo trip. And so I wonder...how's it gonna be this time. Well, I have to go thru to find out. So, what's the plan and where we will be going? I wanted to see Lake Toba and have dinner at Jimbaran, and my friend wanted to see Taman Mini Park. So???? We'll go all!!! And that means we are covering Medan, Jakarta and Bali. Heheeee... Due to fully booked hotel in Bandung on 23July, we have to postponed one day later from our planned departure date. Plan goes as follows : 19-July SIN-Medan 20-July Medan-Berastagi 21-July Berastagi-Medan 22-July Medan-Jakarta 23-July Jakarta -Puncak 24-July Puncak-Bandung 25-July Bandung 26-July Bandung-Bali 27-30 July Bali-SIN * SIN to Medan, we took SilkAir from T2 Changi Airport to Polonia Airport. * Medan to Jakarta, we took Batavia Air from Polonia Airport to Soekarno-Hatta Airport. * Bandung to Bali, we took AirAsia Indonesia from Husein Sastranegara Airport to Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport. * Bali to Singapore, we took AirAsia Indonesia from Ngurah Rai Denpasar to T1 Changi Airport . There's a requirement to pay departure tax at Indonesia airport. @ Polonia Airport for domestic flight, we paid IDR35,000/pax @ Husein Sastranegara Airport for domestic flight, we paid IDR35,000/pax @ Ngurah Rai Denpasar for international flight, we paid IDR150,000/pax The whole trip of 12D11N which includes all meals, accommodations, airport fare + tax (international and domestic), transport, all entrances to places of interest and local guides costs me SGD1878.
Labels: indonesia
++ quoth nessie at 9:45 PM Back to Top | Home Tuesday, August 10, 2010
What happen on 9-Aug-10...
9 August. Its Singapore's birthday! This year, Singapore is celebrating its 45th birthday. But where was i??? I'm in JB,Malaysia. What was i doing there? I'm craving for halal vegetarian food. Can't i go some other days? NO. Why? Cos on the 10th Aug, I'm working afternoon shift duty and on the 11th Aug, its the start of Ramadhan (fasting month!). So, I do not wanna hold my craving for one month...thats why i have to go today! HaHaHaaaa...! Today, I just finished nite duty. Had shower at work and went straight to JB. My fren and i CGM, as usual would catch movies, do some shopping and eat! Watching movies in JB is very cheap compared to Singapore. Tic costs RM10 and on every Wednesday it cost RM6. But today is the most expensive movie watching cum makan session in JB that I ever had! I tell u why...We went for movie marathon. Watched "Salt", "Curse of the Deserted" and "Inception". Never did we ever watch three movies in a day in JB. But we did this time, and i regretted. Why???? Cos the last movie ends at 10pm. By the time we reached CIQ Sultan Iskandar Shah for immgration clearance, it was 10.30pm. The queue to board the bus going towards Singapore was super duuuuuper long that the queue "snakes" from the immgration counter to the boarding point of SBS 170! We waited til 10.55pm in the queue before deciding to queue in another bus service CW1/CW2. I soon realised that the last bus service for CW1 and 2 was at 11pm! Damn! Its not possible for me to queue at the end of SBS 170 or TIBS 950 all over again right???! Its gonna take till after midnite before i get my turn to board a bus. I saw other people "tumpang" bus kilang. But tour coaches wouldn't wanna take us. Bus kilang was super packed and I can't stand waiting for too long. And so we decided to walk from Malaysia checkpoint to Woodlands checkpoint. Time checked; 11.10pm. And so we walked. Its very dangerous. But thanks to all motorist, they go slow and give us way. Not that many people walked their way into Singapore. Prob cos the distance is very far and the road is winding. We reached Woodland checkpoint at 11.35pm. And thats not it. We have to climb spiral staircases before we reached the immigration counter. By then, I've tried to contact my sources BunianMalaya of the last bus service of 168. I'm so disappointed to learn that the last bus is 11.30pm! And NightRider do not operate on Public Holiday! Gosh! So...the best is to take taxi home. Taxi??? From North to East where i stay???? Forget it! Its gonna cost me a bomb! So i decided to take 170 from the checkpoint till Rochor Rd and then take a taxi from there. Its cheaper that way. And how much the taxi fare costs me? SGD12! Thats why i said earlier...this is the most expensive movie watching cum makan sesion trip i ever had!!!!! So......No more movie marathon on Public Holidays in the future. Lesson learnt! Labels: hmmm
++ quoth nessie at 11:05 AM
|
My first Dirtbike ride!
Once again...1N in KL
Yogyakarta F&E Summarised!
Gemia Island, Trengganu Malaysia
hi 2011, the "Rabbit" year!
An addition to the family - FT2!
Hari Raya 10 Sept 2010
Rawa Island Safaris
A dreadful 5days experience in Jakarta, Puncak, Ba...
Stranded at Polonia, Medan Airport!
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
March 2010
May 2010
June 2010
August 2010
September 2010
January 2011
March 2011
September 2011
October 2011
April 2012
My heartfelt "TANKIU" dedicated to "BoNa FiDe" for all the help in building this blog. Muakkksss
