No need for Orchard Road, Singapore and Universal Studios

Part of me is relieved that after all no matter how well developed singapore, i can still get lucky by being offered a cheaper entrance ticket  from a "calo" or in english means unauthorized ticket seller. Therefore, i can get all my family into Universal Studios and play with my limited budget. Yeay, those little laugh inside of me saying that i can pull off anything at the last minute. But the other side of me saying : you shouldn't be doing this when you often complaining about all the "calo'" back home that often creates chaos in the ticketing and not respecting those who already buy the ticket through normal procedure. I guess, the evil side of me won that day, i end up buying 3 more tickets as an additional from 2 tickets that i already have from the "Calo" and cost me 50$ each (save around 20$ for each person). Ya udah lah ya..yang penting keluarga gw happy 

 

hollywood area

Before you enter the theme park, it is useful to take the map , so you will know your way around the theme park and to estimate the time of when you're going to see the shows. The hollywood area is the one you're going to see right after you enter the park. There you'll see Hollywood at its prime complete with the girls , pop corn cart and diner. Apparently we arrive at the right moment, the minute we entered the area the dancing girls welcomed us with a dancy tune, i'm like watching Grease movie all over again only without John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.

popcorn cart

Second area is the battlestar galactica , battle of good vs evil . This is where you can find high speed roller coaster and it requires you to choose side, are you human or cylon. The Cylon raiders will be turned upside down as it runs through vertical loops , corkscrews, and cobra loops. The Human Viper Mark II will zoom at 90 km/h and propels you fourteen storeys into the air while pursuing the enemy.This is where you can test your guts whether you are still have the stomach for it or not. If you decided not to go through with it because you're too wimpy :p , you can ride the accelerator instead, it's a whirling twirling attraction that can be enjoy together with your family

Battlestar Galactica

Halfway, writing this i cannot believe that i left out the fact that i was not even in ORCHARD road at all! not even want to got there,instead i am here in Universal Studios enjoying my time. Next stop are The Lost World (Jurassic Park and WaterWorld) and Far Far Away Land. If you have a daughter she must of drag you to the far away land immediately, but if you have a son he will definitely go with the Jurassic Park or WaterWorld. Both are more or less within the same area and in WaterWorld and Far Far Away land you will see interesting attraction adapting from the movie of WaterWorld and Shrek. In Jurassic Park you will experience a river raft within the jurassic compound where prehistoric creatures roam free.

Jurassic Park

Far Far Away Land

the entrance of far far away land castle

WaterWorld

What amazes me, is the shrek 3D cinema, the happenings are well designed, therefore you will feel like that you are actually in the movie yourself, with the water sprinkler, the spiders crawling from under your feet and all the suspense of riding a horse driven carriage. All in all the experience are all worth to being in line for.

Waterworld shows also will give you an unforgettable moment of being wet!! Ha.haa yes the actors will actually deliberately splashing the water into the audience, and if you are seating in the splash area you cannot complaint because that means you are ready to be wet. Make sure you bring an extra shirts, pants and undergear because you are going to be really wet if you choose to sit in the first 3 row.

These are the things , i think made Universal Studio quite memorable to me, the shows, the surprise, the little twist here and there and it is all been thought through even though they are 2 areas i didn't enter madagascar and ancient egypt. I've talked with two of its employee when i was lining up for the hollywood horror stage show as my last and they said that on saturday nite they also have fireworks, too bad i cannot see the fireworks because i came on Sunday.  We've got too tired after the last show from hollywood and didn't finish trying all the arenas instead decided to go to the hotel.

chilli crab

The next day we went to eat chilli crab at jumbo restaurant clark quay, this is one of the best one here in singapore, the place is always full and you need days early to make reservation. When we came the reservation was already full at 7pm onwards, we end up having early dinner at 6 so that we can get the table near the quay. This delicious chilli crab cost us $13 and the portion is enough for 4 person. We also order tofu and baby kailan for side dish.

quay side table at jumbo restaurant clark quay

water fountain free entertainment for kids

On the way to jumbo restaurant  we came across this water fountain of which kids love to play with and get wet. You can let your kids run free here and it will not cost you a thing , it is still in clark quay in the opposite site of the restaurant. The best time to come here is around 3-4 pm, so it's not crowded yet and you can just sit there in the cafes reading while your kids play just before dinner time.

One other eating place that impressed me was the kopi tiam at lavender train station, since we were staying at budget hotel near that train station we can't help but to notice the food on display and although there is so many kopi tiam in singapore this one is always full. We end up eating here after we got back from universal studios and it was my god oh so delicious, i ate fish congee and finished one big bowl of it. You should come here and try the food, but watchout they can not speak english and sometimes don't even understand what you are saying. You just need to point your fingers to the picture of the food you want.

 

kopi tiam lavender MRT station water cup

kopi tiam lavender train station

if you like more of the upper scale food court you can try marina bay sands food court, there is an ice rink right in the centre of it and you can do people watching here during lunch because there is a lot of white collar office executive come here for lunch. Marina Bay Sands is part of new places to see in the city area and it is where the casino also reside.

casino entrance marina bay sands

On the top floor of marina bay sands hotel you'll have a sky pool and the famous branch of Kudeta Bali, i haven't got the chance to check them out but i've taken a picture of the building from outside , so you'll have an imagery from what it looks like from down the street.

 

sky pool marina bay sands

food court with an ice rink in the centre

 I am so pleased having singapore without even stepping my feet on orchard, hahaha no need, because i didn't come here to shop but to experience. Overall, i would say that Universal studios is one of the highlight because i really admire what they have thought through in making the theme park different from the other existing theme park i've visit like hongkong disneyland, and gold coast warner bros movie world. Altough, I've heard that a lot of people were very unsatisfied coming here when it was just opened and some even said that singapore only made the theme park as a formality as a prerequisite requirement forthe casino. However my experience had proven otherwise, so you need to come and experience it by yourself ...i did.

Note :

if you want to roam around town without having a sore feet , take this double deck open air bus that will take you around the city with only $13 an hour or $23 for a day and you can hop in and hop off. The bus depart from in front of mandarin hotel orchard road (yes , you are finally need to go to orchard road if you want to take this bus)

around the city bus

similar to the eye of london

I would like to break free in Bali , Paradise Island

I've spent quite a bit in finding the title for this never ending destination or shall we say 'nggak ada matinya' before it came across my mind one of the incidents that happen in Bali few years back when i had office outing and all of sudden one of my 'nerdy' colleague that comes with glasses and a bit introvert comes out from the hotel without the glasses..wearing an ear ring and a tattoo on his left hand , we can see it because he was wearing a sleeveless shirt. And this dude was not exactly the most favorable person in the office, the fact that he chose to be in the different hotel than us is already annoying, and we thought..what the hell? is that him we said? We didn't even recognize him.This is the kinda feeling or shall we say the urge you'll get when your in Bali, you just want to break free, careless and carefree. Wear anything you like, or don't wear anything it is up to you the world won't judge you and u can let loose. Like this guy below in this pic , he was so drunk he can't event stand up straight and he was on the edge of the pool there, a step away from falling of the cliff and the location is one of the best beaches of Bali Karma Kandara.

Yes, i just die and gone to Heaven at Karma Kandara and it is located on Bukit Ungasan, the southern most extremity of the island. It is 24 km from the airport, or a short 30 minutes short drive.

Situated a breathtaking 150 meters above Bali’s pristine beaches, the Karma Kandara is rich in natural beauty and charming elegance.  Marvel at the views of the sharp cliffs, rolling waves, and endless horizons from the comfort of any of Karma Kandara’s exquisite staterooms.
Each room is tastefully decorated with art by local artisans and represents the best of Bali’s culture.  From the moment you walk through the door, you will feel a sense of tranquility as the soft ambiance of the room’s color, luxurious fabrics, and rich natural wood furniture takes you far from the stresses of life. You will need to pay Rp250.000 IDR/person or about 28$ USD for entrance or you can just eat at the restaurant equivalent to that amount. They have two restaurants there the Greek food and the beach side cafe, so you can choose where to spend the 25k. Although i must say it is such a waste if you had your big lunch or dinner here , because there are so many restaurants out there that have better food , like Jimbaran seafood area in fact you will go through Jimbaran area on the way to Karma Kandara , just look for Four Season and then turn right and not far from there on your right hand side you will find a compound of seafood restaurant, pick for Menega because they are the best.

Like this above picture, also one of the best food you can find in Bali Naughty Nuri's pork ribs. They say if you want to break your diet then do it on something worth it! You can go crazy with this ribs and one bite will not be enough,the sweet and sour gravy will spoiled your taste bud. Naughty Nuri's located at Batubeliq Seminyak, Jalan Batu Belig 41,T: (0361) 847 6722; Make sure you saved the phone number on your cell phone so you can call them for bookings. Some people like to eat in Naughty Nuri's Ubud but the taste with the one in seminyak is the same plus if you stay in seminyak the batubelig's one is closer.

Even the dogs are crazier in Bali, i found this two golden retriever running around in the 66 beach in one morning and capture them when they're about to take a swim in the sea, i was astonished by their bravery of hitting the wave and taking the dip in the sea. And i thought why not take a swim as well..oh well nobody will notice if i'm only wearing an underwear, a black underwear .

Sunset is a big thing in Bali, there are a couple of places you can go to see the beautiful sunset, the most famous one is Kudeta located in Petitenget, Seminyak, it's very difficult to get a spot here, but alternatively u can go to this new place called Potatohead , not far from Kudeta just opened in the beginning of 2011 and the place is bigger, more couches and they've got swimming pool and more variety of cocktails.

potatohead

The decoration of the place is also very artistic as you can see above they put a old traditional wooden door and window plastered all over its wall, below you can see the inside of the place during the sunset. A lot of people sitting down on the grass, and in between the stage and the crowd there is a swimming pool. Live music is also one of the attraction here, if you're lucky you might catch one of your favorite DJ or band playing here on your visit. You might want to make reservation before you come here at reservation@ptthead.com

sunset at potatohead

the crowd @potatohead

For me, doing nothing in Bali is just something you should do and the perfect place to do that is somewhere you can get a tan and soak up the sun and i know just the right place to do it, and it's called dreamland located in the village of Pecatu, Badung regency, located on the southern island of Bali. You can reach this beach is about 30 minutes from Kuta Beach at Jimbaran. The beach is still beautiful and natural is located at the southern tip of South Badung. You’ll find this beach on the way to the famous temple in Bali, Pura Uluwatu. 

Dreamland

 You can just spend the whole afternoon here until sunset, go topless if you like because nobody will care.A lot of the original visitors don't like this anymore because it is already commercialized with this new place called Klapa but you can still enjoy it specially if you like to surf.

However, if you don't like or can't surf (like most of us) there's a lot of things you can do beside swimming
you can play soccer with the locals, or you can just play with your kids like usual or u can ride a horse ..yes surprisingly at the beach there are these 2 horses and you can rent them and the horses are quite nice and looks like they all are been well groomed.

play soccer with locals

play with your kids

ride horse

you can spend all day in the sand and no one will complaint not even your boss. Don't be afraid to swim , but you just have to mind the flag, it will tell you where is the safe area, but even though somehow you've got carried away by the wave and almost drawn, there is a lifeguard on the beach stand by to monitor what happen in the beach, like this one coincidence happened while i'm there at seminyak beach, so this is truly a real life show, watch the woman in the middle on the picture below, and she was saved by 4 men , 2 of them are lifeguard and 2 of them are civilian. Amazing to witness a life saving moment and you won't get this everyday. Thumbs up to the lifeguard, and i would like to know that if something happen to me somebody can help me. I feel like watching Baywatch only without the hasselhoff :p

 And i thought it won't be a break free night if you don't try something that you won't do in regular day, so during the night , if you got tired of the conventional clubbing scene which you can found around double six area, there's club called de javu and bacio, both are a very famous one ,you can find something else that may be interesting to try and that is one of the gay club called Bali joe in Seminyak , you can meet Beyonce here..and her friends. The crowd here are very welcome, and there is also alot of straight men and women here, aside from a friendly environment, the music here is also not bad. This, photo was taken after she just finished singing one of Beyonce song, and she or he just strike a pose to the camera. Now, how about that for a change?

At the end of the day, nobody should be the judge of what you do in Bali not even yourself. No matter what you do consider yourself  bradley cooper and his entourage in the hangover or blair and serena of gossip girls during summer in the hamptons. and whisper this..What happen in Bali stay in Bali

The Bride of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh ,Vietnam

Hi!

It's time for Vietnam!
Who would think of going to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam for holiday or known by Saigon?I've heard that some of the people talking about Hanoi and its gorgeous Ha Long Bay but it takes another flight to get there from Ho Chi Minh  and 2 days by train and there is no direct flight from Jakarta. I mean seriously before AirAsia  got the Ho Chi Minh route from jakarta, i don't think people would not consider to go there unless they are there for business. What to expect? and what to see? again the people you travel with can really make a difference. This time, i travel together with my colleagues ..again, actually this one happened before Phuket. It's just that i haven't got the time to collected all the photos yet, and now that i have, i can tell u all about it.

After we landed, i was really surprised with the airport because it is a lot better than ours, maybe because it's new so its clean and modern. Good first impression, but still i'm thinkin..what will i see here..? turns out it's a hell of adventure. This Bride and Groom represents the Vietnam today, Simple, Urban Modern City Hall Marriage like Sarah Jessica Parker and Mr Big in New York, funny how before i got here some of my colleagues said that Ho Chi Minh , previously known as Saigon is like the New York City of USA , central of business and hustle bustle of the city, whilst Hanoi is similar to Washington a governmental district with much quieter town with slower paste. Funny, how a younger independent country than Indonesia can figure this out!To separate between business district area and governmental administrative area, we would save a lot of life quality by avoiding demonstration, riot,,etc that caused traffic jam in relation to governmental issue!
Alrite, i think i crossed over the subject a bit - can't help not to..but we found this bride and groom while cruising in the city and taking pictures around city hall , and it strike me how a country that i thought 10 years behind have such modern couple like this and a simple wedding like in the west.

The Bride and Groom @ City Hall, Ho Chi Minh

First stop is Mekong River , we cruise the river using a small boat , the concept is sort of like gondola in venice, but with the brown water and without the good-looking rower , it was like cruising through a tropical amazon rainforest with trees coming over your head. Often times, u can also help to row the boat, but careful of not getting too excited, you may hurt yourself. There can only be 4-5 people in one boat and we were just enjoying the tropical rainforest cruising experience.

traditional song whilst eating fruit

Mekong River

Then its Cuchi Tunnel famous battlegrounds of vietnam war , now its a prime tourists attraction. It's a bit of shock to see this, since if u see the tunnel it is so small and amaze how a person can go inside that hole in the ground and live there for days, weeks, and even months. In fact, they made it really small so that the US troops cannot get in due to their large body. Don't try to get in if u are clostrophobic because it gets pretty scarry down there , and u can even move a shoulder and u need to croll, for those of you with a big size body, don't even think of trying.

Getting around the area you will find a Shooting area : in there u can use AK47 , rusty old weapon made by soviet used during the war. For beginner, becareful cause they won't give you time to get use to it, and the people there is kinda rude and not helpful. I mean , of course i don' know how to use a gun before if i did, i wouldn't wasted my time using this old AK47. What the F@$%? I've paid for it am i not entitled to ask, and firstly get use to the weapon?? seriously i was pissed by the weapon instructor and they cannot even speak english! If i may guess, the employee of this place is a war veteran so they have this attitude.

The weather is very humid here and immediately we felt that we need a shower! I think that if they have a free shower service in this area it will be awesome. After few hours a the Cuchi Tunnel  the ladies were very impatient to go shopping..shopping at CHo Ben Thanh Market , anything u want they have it, and they accept US dollar these are few things u can find there , like lampoon, lacqueware, etc. You can bargain , but most of their english is not good, so u need to use your fingers and body language.

From river cruising, tunnel crolling, and shoppping it's one unique and exotic adventure. It's so nice to end the day with Vietnam Coffee , you can find them inside the market or in most of their roadside cafes (see the chairs set-up that facing to the street, sort of a street cafe in europe only with humid air.

roadside cafe

the city ho chi minh at night

Funtastic Phuket! Your Comments are welcome...

Hi again, Happy New Year everyone !

It's back to work time.., just happy to be able to find time to write again.  I'm a bit torn about what to write first this time, because i've just watch the tourist and felt like telling u a story of my euro trip which include the beautiful Venice. But i kinda worried that Venice is overated because i'd bet a lot of people have writen about Venice times and times again. So ehm.., i'm going to write about Phuket Beach, Thailand instead..yes it was the city that was hit by Tsunami. Not too worry though because i am going to write about my euro trip later of which i consider to be the longest and the most exhausting trip ever.
Right, where to begin..oh yes i need to tell u that i am travelling with my work colleagues here and i am acting as their travel organizer so basically i manage all the itinerary in coop with our travel agent. We are so excited to be able to go on travelling together with i think around 15 people.

We flew with AirAsia, and we arrived in Phuket Airport around late noon, picked up by bus that arranged by our local guide and we didn't go to straight away to the hotel but went on for a early dinner at one of the restaurant by the pier that was recommended by one of us called Kaneang@pier restaurant. The restaurant is really nice it is located right by the pier and open air so u are able to eat outdoor, but of course it is a bit humid so make sure that u wear airy clothes. I think the view will be a lot nicer in the evening because all the lights from the pier will be on ,contrasting with the dark of the night. They are very famous for the mango sticky rice (see below pics) and the seafood.






Mango sticky rice

 We end up eating both the Mango sticky rice and the Lobster with Tom Yam Goong, I think for Asian the taste will be not that different from what we usually eat, but it maybe different for u westerners. The lobsters and Tom Yam was great but the Mango sticky rice felt a little bit short to me , i don't know the rice felt heavier and not as good as expected. I suggest to eat this first before eating anything else so that you won't feel that feeling like u had to much to eat.Oh ya The Thai Ice tea was excellent though...rrrr very Fresh and the tea tasted little bit different than my usual. I guess , there supposed to be special technique in mixing the tea and milk together so it will tasted like they way it was tasted because if u try to literally mix a tea with milk by yourself at home it won't taste that way.

sunset at promthep cape

little buddhist temple

Moving on, since we have a very tight schedule we didn't go to the hotel yet but we go to promthep cape to see the sunset. This is a real good place to watch sunset and in fact it is been commercially prepared just to do that. So u will be joined with many other people coming here just to see the sunset and it is really beautiful. Take a look at some of the pictures above u can see a huge rocky hill area and a little temple to say prayer for the buddhist. U can stay here and relax for a while , take pictures and do people watching.

Then we went back to the hotel to check-in and get ready for Phuket Fantasea  theme park ,there is no time to breathe we were not going to waste anytime, its the nightime cultural theme park and famous for the Fantasea Show a sort of theatrical mixed with acrobatic show with music and dance. U can find complete information in the link i provide , but i wish i can take pictures inside the park but unfortunately camera is not allowed during the show because they charge u for taking pictures with the player after the show. I think this is a custome here to restrict photograph, so they can commercialize it of which i can't blame them for that since the dancer and the player are all wearing a very attractive costumes so u are very tempted to take pics even though maybe it's just because u want to have some kind of a real proof that u have been there before. I know i've done it before with the gladiator in front of the coloseum rome, italy and i'm so happy that apparently the Romans and me are about the same height..he.he.

Please do prepare urself for a quite a long show, specially when u have a full day . I found myself a bit sleepy from mid to the end of the show. Maybe, it just because that the cultural part was not much different from mine, but i do enjoy the acrobatic. Perhaps it will be better if u reserve ur energy should u want to watch this show.

Day2

We are going to Phi Phi Island today Yeay! Finally i can go the Maya Beach where the Beach movie was taken place. All are pretty excited because we are going to have a full on day at the island.We stayed at Ibis Patong which a veru decent hotel with nice swimming pool and to get to island we must go to by boat and it takes around 2 hour to go back and forth so it is beter to spare a one whole day for island roaming. Our destination is Phi Phi Don Island where we will do watersports and snorkeling and we were hoping to get to see the caves and the famous Maya Bay on the way through. Unfortunately the travel agent didn't tell us that we must take the smaller boat to be able to get really close to the caves and to be able to take closer look to Maya Bay. We were really upset when we found out that we are using a big boat with a lot of other people so we can't get too close to the islands let along the Maya Bay.



us in the top deck of the boat




the caves as the background

 Despite the disaster of not being able to stop by at Maya Bay, we really enjoy the view from the Top Deck and also the nice weather. We end up taking too much picture during the ship. We stop at Phi-Phi Don and picked up by small boat to be able to get to the shore and prepare to do snorkeling



Phi Phi Don Island



snorkeling preparation




snorkeling in action

 It's funny when among us there is one person who is really scare of flight and also there is one person who really scare of swimming and getting into the water, so we kinda push her into the water and she end up screaming and yelling to us afraid that she might drawn and choked on sea water. We really had fun! Even thought we didn't find many of the colourful fish or reef. I don't know whether it is the timing or we are not snorkeling at the exact site, because one of the boat driver said to us that the water is a bit shaky so it is a bit dangerous for us to go further. We finished in about 1,5 hours and ate lunch at the island. Again don't expect much on the food because it is a buffet and u cannot choose the menu, luckily the fried chicken is not bad.
Oh ya , btw u need to rent the snorkeling equipment and often if there's too many people going snorkeling u need to wait to take turn on using it. It is almost 3 in the afternoon when we are finish and about to wait for our boat to go back into the city when a guy came to us offering to take us to Maya Bay with a speed boat by paying 300 baht each of minimum 5 pax. I tell u it was tempting but we don't have time since we need to go back using the last boat going to town sigh..

Well, ok it's fine we have gone a long way here and not to see the Maya Bay..me trying not to be too dissapointed. After all we did have fun until now and tonite there's one more FUN awaited to watch a draq queen show at SIMON CABARET and this was not originally on the agenda!! OMG it was really breathtaking the girls are even prettier than real girls. They were singin and dancing to some of the current hit song e.g Beyonce Dreamgirls and all of us was stunt but entertained. There was also some sort of stand-up comedy at the end as one of the most silly draq throw jokes and do some crazy stuff.
Among the ladies ehm i pick one of the crowd favorites that i though almost don't look like an ex male at all , and take picture with her, and yes u have to pay around 200 baht for 2 picture. Enjoy..rrrrrrr

We had FUN again watching the cabaret show and want to end the night on high note, so afterwards we went to a night -club BANANA discotheque in Patong near the beach until late. This was a very nice club for foreigners because the people there are quite a mix between locals and foreigners and the sound are current. U have to pay cover charge to get in, but i thought it was worth it.

We've got a bit crazy that nite, and someone from our group is a little bit generous that nite and bought us 2 round of tequila shots on top of other thing we drank. Dancing and jumping to the song of Black eyed Peas ..ohh gotta feeling tonite is gonna be a good nite! Some of us got out the club ehm.. a bit kinda wasted with one that needed to be carry to the cab haha ... n in fact one of the funny thing was i was left behind with one other person since the cab was not enough for all of us, and i end up walking halfway back to the hotel and stopped a motorcycle and asked her to take us to the hotel. Crazy...crazy nite. However though i felt more secure walking in the street because i don't know why i think Thai people are nice and very welcome to outsiders and they look really harmless.

I was safe back to the hotel and go sraight into bed. All of them are going back tommorow with the first flight out early in the morning whilst i am extending for another 2 days. To be honest i feel good in a sense that we've got a little bit closer together, and i feel i got closer to my colleagues -- this is not me just having drama
i don't know ..alcohol brings us together hahahha....i know it's bad but i think there's moment in our life that we just need to let loose and go crazy.

As soon as i woke up the next day i moved from Patong to Kata beach and stayed at Katathani Resort which is a very nice award winning hotel. I've spend almost all day laying under the sun and finish my book while resting after a FUN CRAZY 2 days. Look at the georgeus sunset...speechless this i thought even better than the one at Prompthep Cape.

 On the next day , while roaming around Patong street shop i came accross a tatoo parlour called the Siam Ink which i thought quite a popular one among the young people which reminds me of the Miami Ink. I've been wanting to have a tatoo for quite some time but haven't have the guts to do it. The thought accross my mind but i end up not doing it. Some of these days i think i will.

I continue to shop for gifts for people at home and finished my trip with a pinneaple fried nice with cashew nuts which become a favorite of mine during my stay in Phuket oh..ya and with Thai Ice Tea of course..

Please give comments if you like and let me know your thoughts..i surely hope this can help somewhat if u would like to visit Phuket ---as i've stayed until 4 in the morning to finish this.

Next trip i would probably can write about Bandung, Vietnam, Singapore, or Europe ..i still have a lot of stuff stored but the photos may not be in good resolution since i often used my blackberry , but moving forward i will be ready with my camera..always

Enjoy and Have FUN!!!


What i've missed -Maya Bay hiks..