Nice Dinner last Friday and Saturday!

Deparment dinner was on last Friday at Mushroom Pot @ OG Orchard, also as a farewell dinner to Cathy and Kelly who will be going back to our Shanghai office after half a year's training over here. It's gonna be quite cold in Shanghai now when they fly back there this Wednesday so my manager reminded them to wear thicker clothes that day.

On Saturday, Mich and I went for Western buffet dinner at Melting Pot Cafe which is in Holiday Inn Atrium Hotel, we got one for one deal so it was quite a good deal since we were just paying for one person's price($28+++). There were mussels, prawns, lamb kurma, fried rice, satay, rojak, pan-fried fish and chicken, cakes, minestrone soup and pork rib in bitter gourd soup, roasted beef, beef patties, mini sausages, fruit salads and etc, nice buffet dinner, and then we spent about 2 and a half hours there eating and resting and eating and resting again~~haha..we left the place at about a quarter to 10 and by that time I was totally replete!~

Backlogging about my Day 3-8 in HK will be done soon, please be patient yeah!I hope I w0n't forget some of the details though~~=p

HK Trip Day 2(7th Jan 2007) Sunday

And so in the morning, Edmund helped me to call the bus company and taxi company to ask if anyone who happenned to find my wallet or not. My hopes for getting back my wallet were actually dashed(見財化水). But my friends consoled me and asked me to think of it as "破財擋災"..Haha..Anyway, luckily I had some spare cash in another wallet of mine, and I still had my passport and flight ticket back to Singapore~Haha..gotto really be thinking from a positive view, otherwise I could not enjoy my stay in HK since it was just the 2nd day. Since Edmund had church session, so he could not accompany me until late afternoon. I took KCR to Mongkok and had breakfast at one of the "tea restaurants"（茶餐廳).

Just a simple one, chicken sausage beehoon(雞肉腸米粉) that comes with a pineapple bun(菠蘿包) and a hot beverage(I ordered 奶茶) for HKD15. After breakfast, I just walked around at Nathan Road and then called some of my old friends to ask them when would they be free to have a Re-U gathering in any of the days in the coming week. Especially those that I had known through Social Service Group(蛇蛇豬 or SSG) where we got to know one another closer through O-camp at Wu Kai Sha(烏溪沙). Then after that I decided to go to the Chi Lin Nunnery(志連靜園） which is near the Diamond Hill MTR.

There was also another park opposite the nunnery by the name of "南連園池". Went over to walk around too. There were quite number of interesting rocks to look at over there. Since I was waiting for Edmund, so I took my time to take a look at every rock they had over there. There were also bonzai trees which looked quite amusingly old along the pathway and a distinctive gold-plated pavillion(圓滿閣) stood in the centre of the park. Took me about 3 hours plus to cover both parks and at the end of it, I went over to Hollywood Plaza to walk around and then had my lunch. Settled my lunch at Hachiban Restaurant and after I was done with lunch, I went to meet up with Edmund and we went to Causeway Bay to walk around to see if I had anything to buy or not. Went in to Sogo but the things being sold there were rather expensive even if there was a sales promotion going on. Anyway, I had nothing in mind that I wanted to buy at that moment also. Haha. We then had dessert at Hui Lau Shan(許留山).......

I had the one on the left while Edmund ordered the one on the right. Deliciously fragrant and yummy!~Haha..feeling so nice after the dessert. Cateline called me to ask if I was interested to go to her friend's(Aida) house for steamboat dinner with her family, which I said yes! So after we were done walking around in Causeway Bay, we took a bus to Aberdeen(香港仔) and then sat at a bench overseeing the river area of Aberdeen while waiting for the girls to come meet us up since they were doing their hair at saloon for the evening. Had a good time chatting with Edmund as we shared our little secrets and some recent happenings that we came across. Waited for an hour plus till the girls came and Cateline's friend's house was located at Ap Lei Chau so we could take mini van to reach there. Before going to her house, we went to the market to buy some more food for the steamboat.Upon entering Aida's house, there were already a lot of food on the table prepared by Aida's mom. The flat was not quite spacious but I could already sense that the house was filled with family warmth. Hehe. Didn't really eat much, probably due to my extreme state of fatigue. Didn't really talk much too, probably was feeling quite shy having dinner with so many people I didn't know. Haha. The food was quite nice and I　 found myself kept on cooking the 肥牛. Haha..it was quick to be cooked and tasty, so I liked it alot. Edmund was really a big-eater！No wonder he could grow so tall! Hmm..Good to ask him to buffet meals then. After dinner, we watched a new TVB gameshow and by then I was totally exhausted,due to the cold weather I suppposed. We thanked Aida and her mom for the nice dinner and then I also thanked Cateline for bring me to that dinner so that I could get the warm experience of having a steamboat dinner in a HK family. Reached Edmund's house 11 plus and then his mom had boiled shark bone soup for us!~Wah...I was feeling so warm again, soup was delicious and it was my first time trying the soup. Hit the sack at about 2am after catching up with some friends on msn to inform them about my mishap over here. Haha.

HK trip(6th-13th Jan 2007)

Day 1(6th Jan 07)

The number lock of my big luggage was suddenly spoilt! Had to use plier to wrench the zippers off the lock and then just simply using the manual padlock. Haha. Shouldn't have bought a rather cheap luggage. Anyway, rather than taking MRT to Changi Airport(which will take an hour an a half), I took airport bus no 858 from Woodlands Regional Interchange and it took about an hour and I arrived at the airport at about 2pm. My flight was Jetstar Asia 3K695 at 3:45pm,flying from Changi Airport Terminal 1,Gate C33.Bought a pack of chocolates to be given to Edmund's parents as souvenir. Checked in one piece of luggage and it was about 13kg of weight(20 kg was the maximum).This was my first time trying budget airlines, I think for short journeys, it's still acceptable though I found that leg space was not really ample(certainly not for tall people with long legs~). And when the food/drinks trolley are pushed in by the cabin crews, you can get quite a hard time to get to the toilet which is situated at the back of the plane. I had a nice window seat which I always like, except that going to the toilet means making your neighbours stand up and go out to the alley to allow you to leave your seat. I got myself an iced Milo(for SGD2) since I didn't feel hungry. Smooth journey except a minor turbulence for shortwhile during the flight. Touched down Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok International Airport at about 7:35pm(10 minutes later than the scheduled time!).Transferred to a airport shuttle bus from the plane to the airport. Went to get my luggage and then trolley, pushing it to the arrival hall, and then Hong Kong Custom. Welcome to Hong Kong~~~Cold~~~~~Temperature was about 13 degree Celsius!! Received Edmund's phonecall that he was already waiting for me outside at the arrival hall~Soon, finally saw him and waved at him. Haha. He had bought me the Octopus Card I'd asked him to buy beforehand. Thanks! Haha, and then we went to 7-11 at the airport because I wanted to get a prepaid card. Got myself a New World SIM card(HKD60). Bought ham and egg sandwich too since I was feeling quite hungry that time. Then he helped me pull my big luggage and we headed to the airport city bus stop and waited for the bus to his house at Tai Po. We took Long Win Bus no E41 to Tai Po(HKD13.50) and it took about an hour to reach Kwong Fuk Road. We had Indian food there, where I ordered Curry Beef Brisket with Rice. It was suprisingly quite tasty! Yummy! After we were done with the dinner, from there, we took the green cab(HKD12.50) to go back to his house since we had luggage with us. His house is a condominium in Tai Po, by the name "Classical Gardens Phase II", accessible by green mini van and also the condominium's shuttle bus itself. Arrived at his house about 11 something and then greeted his parents. They are both retirees by the way. Settled down and unpack some of my stuffs and I'd be sleeping in the study room on a foldable airchair-bed! Quite comfy actually.And then it came as a great shock to me after my shower, as I suddenly couldn't find my wallet that contained my Malaysia ID, the Octopus Card and my HKD2000 cash~~~~Could not sleep well that night and had to hope that somebody kind enough to pick up the wallet and return to me.

It's just 3 days from now!

Hmmmm..Soooooooo excited to be going to HK again, many memories suddenly keep on flashing in my mind!!!!

Got a lunch treat by one of the Research Director(RD) in my company for my entire department at Ling Zhi Vegetarian Restaurant(Tung Lok Group) @ Far East Square.

Lunch (Daily 11:00am - 3:00pm)
Dim Sum & Mushrooms Hot Pot
Adult @ S$20.80++

That was the first time of me having a try on vegetarian steamboat, gastronomically speaking, the eating experience was rather distasteful to me. The soup could not be blander considering that the ingredients for the base did not include any meat nor prawn to supposedly enhance the taste of the soup. Vegetarian Dim Sum was not nice at all. Oh gosh, I will never want to spend so much money on such kind of meal! Rating for the restaurant is 3/10.

Details of Batam Trip

As promised, here is a travel log for my trip to Batam.

Dec 29 06(Friday):

Decided to go to Batam(one of the Riau islands in Indonesia) so I went over to HarbourFront Centre during lunch time to check on the package prices. Recommended by Princess on Indo Falcon, so on 2nd Floor where there were several travel agency and ferry counters, I asked around to make enquiries. At the Indo Falcon counter, I asked for the package price, then was directed to the office on 11th Floor. Hurried up to the office and then talked to the travel agent(Muslim Indian) and after knowing the package details, gave a call to Mich to confirm with her. Booked a two day one night package at $85 per person(including surcharge of $6 for public holiday). This package includes a one night stay at Harmoni Hotel(4 star hotel) in Nagoya Town, return ferry tickets, pier-hotel-pier van transport, and a buffet breakfast at the hotel. Did not remember my passport number and expiry date and had to ask for Mich's as well so told the agent that I'll let her know the next day. Was given some kind of invoice and two round stickers with the word "Batam Indah".

Dec 30 06(Saturday):

Emailed the travel agent our particulars. Packing up and went to the library to do some quick research on Batam through travel books. Bought some titbits and cup noodles to be brought there. Learned some last minute Indonesian phrases from Sherly. There is a slight difference of Indonesian language from Malay language, despite that, some of my Malaysian friends still think that it's almost the same). Went to Causeway Point to change some money to Rupiah but eventually knew that the rate was rather lousy. The rate was SGD1:IDR5500 only. Called my gf and she changed at the rate SGD1: IDR6000 at Mustafa Centre! Grrrr..I changed SGD50 and already lost about $4 for that rate disparity!

Dec 31 06(Sunday):

Woke up at 6:30am, washed up and left house at 7:15am to make sure that I reach HarbourFront Centre by 8:30am. Met up with Mich at HarbourFront MRT and walked over to HarbourFront Centre and then showed our invoices to the counter staffs, was in turn given the ferry tickets(including the return tickets which are open) and the arrival/departure card for the Indonesia Immigration(they helped us to type our details on it,so that's good). Since it's the eve of public holiday, there were already many people crowding the place, all mostly leaving for a weekend getaway to Batam like us. =) Hopped on the Jet Raider Ferry(Batam Fast) at 9:35am we just stayed in the lower deck(air-conditioned) and didn't go up to the upper deck as it was a smoking section. We arrived at Batam Centre Ferry Terminal 40 minutes later.

By the way, Indonesia is one hour behind Singapore. Upon clearing the custom, we were greeted by a Chinese speaking Indonesian Chinese who could recognise the stickers that we were wearing, and then being led to the van which will transfer us to the hotel. Along the way, we looked at how Batam was and found most of the places were rather slum, roads having frequent occurences of potholes and not properly paved, and then most of the shops along the way seemed to be close for New Year. To our dismay, the traffic seemed not to be in order, not many pedestrian crossings seen, there was no overhead bridge also. It took about 20 minutes to reach our hotel, Harmoni Hotel, looking good exterior and interior too. We were given welcome drinks as the agent helped us with the checking-in and then I was made to pay $50 as a refundable deposit for room service(beers in the mini fridge for eg) if it's used. We sat at the lobby since it was only 10 something the room was still being cleaned and we just took several quick photo snaps at the lobby area, where there was a giant bronze statue of three galloping horses facing in different directions. Kept on asking the counter staffs on places to visit in Batam and then was informed that there's a kelong-style seafood restaurant by the name "Golden Prawn 555", they were saying that best seafood in Batam could be found there. Sounded good, so it should be one we would be going to later for dinner. After being told that the room was ready, we went up and rested for a while, with the TV blaring with news and then killed our time by watching the remaining part of the movie "Wimbledon" on the HBO Channel. After we were done with our resting, we decided to walk around to see if there's anything interesting to see or not, just to end discovering not much. Ha! Then we decided to walk to Nagoya Plaza(shopping mall nearby) and did some shopping there, the slice of cake and brownie we bought at the Hypermart did not really taste good(the things being sold there was totally dirt cheap!). Also bought two long sleeve shirts and some daily necessities. Went on look around to see how cheap the things are in comparison to the things in Singapore. Bought a can of Heineken beer for IDR7000(SGD1.15), where can you get such a cheap beer in Singapore?!Haha. After all that, we decided to go to the seafood restaurant from Nagoya Plaza instead of going back to hotel first, so we hired a cab to Bengkong where the restaurant was located in, negotiated with the driver for a return trip and one hour waiting time for IDR70,000(about SGD12). I spoke Malay plus a little bit of Indonesian phrases that I've learned so far, and we managed to understand each other because he also knew a bit of Malay.Haha.The trip to Bengkong was not really a breathtaking one as we saw more slum parts of Batam along the way. At the restaurant, it was about 4 something when we reached there, there was only a few patrons since it was still early, but we kinda like the tranquility of the ambience. We were shown the menu and it seemed to be so cheap that we ordered five dishes which might be too much for two people to stomach!Haha..but I am not called Buffet King for nothing!Haha. So we ordered Red Snapper fish(caught alive from their pond-we can even choose which fish to catch), Fried Sotong, Die Pan Doufu, Sambal Belacan Kangkung and Mee Goreng. Can assure you that all the dishes were delicious and fresh! Worth the money, only IDR255,000(~SGD42) for two people.Actually I kinda ate two-three person's portions!Glutton me! Had fresh coconut drink too! Dinner was heavenly and really tantalised our tastebuds! There were kepitings(hermit crabs) and lobsters too, also looks cheap and surely I will go there to try these and others too!

After that very sumptuous meal, we went back to Nagoya Hill on the same cab to do the remaining shopping. Paid the driver tips(IDR10,000-about SGD2) for telling us stories about Batam. But thinking about it, we should have gone to DC Mall or BCS Mall to shop since they might offer different shopping experience!

Countdown for New Year was Noname cafe and Ktv pub at the hotel I stayed at, paid admission fee of IDR90,000(SGD15) which was inclusive of a bottle of Mix Max Vodka Cranberry Grapefruit 4.8%. There was a belly dance performance for which the performers flew all the way from Jakarta. Quite cool actually. Received some happy new year sms from friends in Singapore and it was actually still 11pm (Batam Time). After the countdown, I went to McD to buy fries and a big ice cream cone for supper. And then killed my Heineken beer. Haha.


Jan 1 2007(Monday):

Woke up at 9am, was actually planning to wake up earlier to have more time for the buffet breakfast(6-10am) but couldn't get up. Haha. Dressed up and went down to the Borobodur Cafe where we had the buffet breakfast. The food was not that nice so didn't really enjoy the breakfast. After breakfast, we went back to hotel to rest while watching the classic "Star Trek:First Contact" on HBO. Forgot that the official check out was 12pm and we only realised
at quarter past 12, so we hurriedly packed up our luggage and then went down to do our check-out, no surcharge was imposed, fortunately. Haha, got back my $50 deposit too. A travel agent from the same company came to pick us up with the bus, and then we made our way to Batam Centre to catch the ferry at 2pm. The agent seemed not to be quite organised in assigning the ferry tickets, rather inefficient. After paying him the ferry tax of $3, we headed to the custom counters and boarded the Ocean Raider Ferry. It was also free seating style, so initially we tried looking for seats in the lower and middle deck but it was futile until when we were at the middle deck, one of the sailors opened up the business class deck and then offered us entry. Waaa..The seats were in couch style and looked high class enough. Pretty lucky ha! The ferry started moving and we bid farewell to Batam, thinking that we will go there again just for the seafood! And maybe shopping at DC Mall and BCS Mall. Other that those, it remains not much a reason to be visited. A good rugged travel experience, making sure we don't take for granted the things we have back in our hometown, despite having to pay more for tax for the extra-added convenience which makes our life more comfortable to live.

Happy New Year 2007 to Everyone who reads my blog~~~!!

Random pictures above taken during my trip to Batam with Mich from Dec 31 2006-Jan 1 2007. Stay tuned for details of the trip~~~=)