Category Archives: Indonesia

Travelogue: Our QBR (Quarterly Batam Retreat)

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Like the title suggest, it’s a quarterly date to Batam! However, due to our busy schedule, we only made it happen three times since it first started two years back! WAHAHAHA!

Most of our QBRs are day trip hence what we do are pretty standard! Marketing, Massage, Seafood & Groceries shopping! If this is your kinda retreat, read on!

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Let’s start with MASSAGE! Who doesn’t love a good press on their shoulder/back! We’ve been to different Spa Center to try out their service and below are my thoughts

First Trip: SPA SECRET

According to locals, this is their number 1 Spa in Batam! True enough, their massage was really good and spot on for me! They have many different kinda of spa service and is almost like a one stop place for you – from foot to body to hair! I had my first V Ratus treatment here tooo!

Oh best of all, they serve complimentary snack! Free flow some more! Call me cheapo but I’m always hungry after a massage and having a snack (or two) definitely help me pull through my next meal time!! ❤

Second Trip: ESKA SPA

If you’re a regular, you will know that ESKA is everywhere! They have 8 Spa outlets (at various mall) and they have a Spa hotel too – ok, maybe two hotel. If i didn’t remember wrongly, their prices are very competitive to Spa Secret and like any other Spa, they got you covered from head to toe!

However, between the above two, i wouldn’t recommend the latter as i had unpleasant experience there and i actually left the place (after my hair spa) feeling grouchy. My recommendation, just still to massage and you’ll be fine. My massage was heavenly awesome but the hair spa spoil the whole experience.

Third Trip: SPA SECRET & SPA CENTRAL (i extended my trip hence the extra massage session)

Spa Secret is nothing new now that it’s my third! However, i chance upon Spa Central and decided to give it a try since i saw quite a few positive review. I recall reading somewhere it’s actually own by a Singapore but that doesn’t really matter i guess.

The good thing about booking a spa with them is that they provide complimentary pick up service (around Nagoya area) and have transport to drop your off too (at a fee, RP50.000 to Batam Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal).

The holding area, at Nagoya Hill outlet, made me feel quite at ease – bright and clean. I love the ambiance when you enter your treatment room. Dim lights (like any other places) and there’s a magnet chart on the wall where you can pin the area you want your masseur to focus on or the strength you want them to use! I enjoyed my session totally as the masseur paid attention to every details and i was kinda pleased when she massaged my knee cap! I mean, i haven’t met any masseur who massage my knee cap for me before until i came here. It didn’t even came to me that knee can be massaged! LOL!! But good treatment comes with a higher price. I compared the price a little and find that it’s slightly pricer over here – prices/package can be found on their website.

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After a good massage, let’s talk about Seafood! Who wouldn’t do seafood lunch/dinner when they’re in Batam?! Out of the 3 times we went, twice were at Wey Wey!

First Trip: Wey Wey Seafood

We kept seafood for dinner and it was bad choice!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! We were so overrun on schedule and we had to keep rushing the kitchen to quickly get our food done! The only SEAFOOD we had was seafood fried rice maybe? & a sambal prawn petai! We had to do take away and RANNNN all the way to catch our ferry before it leaves! Yes we were the last to board and we had PETAI! hahahaha!!!! It was too memorable!!

On my subsequent personal trip, i did get a chance to enjoy Wey Wey Seafood at my own pace and I’m loving it! Not only they have fresh seafood, they are very cost effective tooo!  I can’t find a reason not to dine there!!!?

Second Trip: Love Seafood Restoran

This place is kinda out of town for me but the scenery is so beautiful! You are really like so out of town until all you can see is green. Green sea water and green forest and because it has nothing blocking, the restoran is sooooo breezy i need to tie up my hair!! LOL!

If you have a driver or you’re driving, make a visit! the location is really nice! Very chillax place for lunch and drink!

(I do apologies for the lack of picture but it looks like we always forgot about photo taking when it comes to food!! I promise to take more for future trips ok!!)

Third Trip: Wey Wey Seafood

Yeap we returned to Wey Wey again! It was, apparently, everyone’s favourite! However, this time round their prices seems to have increase a lil bit and they now have a second outlet within the same area but more atas (maybe because it has aircon? IDK)..

Taste wise, it has never failed me that’s why we keep coming back! Just that some dishes seems to have changed recipe, a lil disappointed but it’s okay! Other dishes has compensated that emotion! LOL! (you’ll see the food pictures at the end of the post!)

Another thing we observed is that coming in group may be more cost effective! You get to order more variety of food and then cost (per pax) is cheaper than if you come in 2-3 pax.

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Massage done! Tummy filled! What’s next?! SHOPPING!!!!! but hold it hold it!!! I’m not going to factory outlet or exclusive premium store! As i aged, i learned to appreciate supermarket so much more than any other shop and hence here’s my shopping heaven!!

First/Second Trip: Hypermart at Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre

This is the hypermart where we got over excited and lost track of time! That’s why ended up having to rush for dinner and run for ferry!! Per the name suggest it’s a hyper market! It has all your groceries and household needs!

Third Trip: TOP 100 Supermarket at Grand Batam Mall

This is the local go-to supermarket in Batam. The price is consider cheapest among other competitor. Smaller than Hypermart but I still manage to get what I need/want!

Now you must be thinking, what’s so attractive there that we want to go every quarterly?! Everything is attractive! Fresh seafood! Wallet-friendly massage! Great saving household products!

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Some ideas on what to get when you’re in Batam, or rather what we usually loot home! Here goes nothing!

Layer Cake – if you don’t how expensive kueh lapis is in SG, tying waking into B*Solo! I will never buy one in SG! In Batam, even the most popular brand (Batam Layer Cake, the one we always go to) is selling half the price we have in SG. Based on my poor memory, maybe S$25 for a whole cake (original). Depending on the store, some have more Creative flavours, some stick to the usual one. The flavours I came across are original, prune, raisin, cheese, coffee, pandan, durian, chempedak, mocha (different from coffee), nutella and chocolate.

Sanitary Pad – Ladies, you can get a whole year supply at a friction of the price in SG! Charm is their local favourite I believe. Cheap and so many variant! Laurier user, they got you covered too!

Laundry detergent/softener – Most of the time the only thing I won’t give it a miss is Downy! No matter how many time I said “I’m not buying anything this time”! Downy is so expensive in SG and I had to resort to buying from Batam! Yes, I am totally fine with looting my 6-8 refill pack back to SG! Heavy die me but save my wallet!stick up my Downy softener when I’m there!

Personal care – Toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel (I recall Ginvera Spa collection are worth buying too!), body scrub (must buy!!), shampoo, hair mask (Samantha, Eclipse, Dove, so many brand to choose from), face wash and deo. Your name it, we bought it!

Instant Noodle – Instant noodle came individually packed! You choose your own bundle and they just 20-30 cents per packet! Why cannot buy?? Remember the hot favourite salted egg indomie? Yeap! Can be found there at less than a dollar!

All in all, just remember to bring along a shopping/trolley bag or whichever bag that u find most convenient for u! No need to feel paiseh because when u realised u don’t have a bag, u will blame yourself for not bringing one along! Ehem, that’s a friendly reminder! #dontsayinoshare

Always the most anticipated trip!!! ❤

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Travelogue: Indonesia Bali (Day 3 & 4)

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Day 3 was one of the day i super look forward to! Our 3 hours massage day! In-villa spa service by Ziva’s vendor!

I’m so loving my egg bene breakfast with spinach! There’s was nothing much plan on this day except a spa at 11am!

Initially i thought we are going to do it at the outdoor area since the space is bigger and that’s how they advertise too! When the masseur came, they came into the room set up and i was like Hallelujah!  The masseur was friendly and massage was good. However, i didn’t think it was worth it. We booked for 3 hours, they came late, spend a while setting up and most of the time was just waiting time.

  1. Massage
  2. Simple facial (more like light facial massage with cleanser)
  3. Apply facial mask
  4. Waited for 20 mins for mask to dry (meantime, they set up the milk/shower bath then will just sit aside and watch TV)
  5. Wash off mask
  6. Then they disappear for a while – probably go mix the body scrub mixture for us
  7. Apply body scrub
  8. Waited for the scrub to settle (20 mins maybe?), they continue watching TV
  9. Briefly srcub
  10. Then help you up and tell you to go for your milk/flower bath.
  11. They continue to watch TV while you bath..

Wah.. sound so long right?? In the end, the spa ended 1:30pm! 30 mins earlier and minus off the late start (another 30 mins).. so the whole spa was only 2 hours. That’s not all, rmb there was some idle time.. another hour gone.. so the actual hands on was only an hour or so..

I would rather just take a 60 mins massage session really. Or maybe you know what, just go batam to massage!

After my not-very-satisfying spa, we head out for lunch at this chinese restuarant which I’ve been wanting to try!

(image from google)

From the outside, this shop looks perpetually closed. Dono is it food not nice, nobody wana come! We take a deep breath and stepped in!

“Table for two please”

& WOW…. got crowd de leh! The interior was pretty ancient and traditional dynastic feel kinda furniture – go google and you can find plenty of pictures!

We ordered peking duck, dim sum platter, xiaolongbao, fried rice, soup & a dessert (take away).

Wah the food is not bad de! Especially the peking duck! Got imperial treasure feeel! LOL!! Dimsum wise, so-so, can do without. Xiaolongbao was good though.

I will definitely come back here again if I go Bali next time!

Finally it’s the day for our departure!

 

After a hearty breakfast, we head off to the airport to catch our 1pm flight! Thoughout the ride, we were just busy catching pokemon!! LOL, must utilise out wifi egg eh!!!

Vacation is always so short!

Here I am in a flight back to Singapore.

Now for the not-so-nice experience.. So when I arrived SG, I texted in my family group chat to let them know i had safely arrived!! Then my cousin text me separately to ask if there was any surprise on board? I had 2 glasses of coke can that be consider a surprise?? LOL..

 

Apparently my cousin actually made a call to SQ to arrange for a birthday surprise for me but it didn’t happen! SQ confirmed with my cousin that they will arrange a birthday cake but it didn’t came. Nothing on my actual day nor return flight day!

My cousin called back SQ to verify and wanted an explanation why it didn’t happen when they gave their words. SQ now say they didn’t promised anything but only try their best. After investigation (probably playback the past recording), they offered my cousin a service recovery voucher (for me and my mister) BUT later call back again to say they can’t give it to her anymore because they did not make any mistake. -___-

Seriously SQ. If you DID NOT make any mistake like you claimed, why offer service recovery? And if it’s just a goodwill gesture, why take it back after you offered? FYI, we did not request nor insist a service recovery. All we wanted was just an explanation why SQ did not deliver their promise. It was their initiative to offer the service recovery to BOTH the passenger and decided to take it back later saying they are not at fault.

EXCUSE ME?? In case you thought the service recovery is a lot of money, NO. I can’t even buy a ticket KUL. To be exact, it’s only a TWO figure compensation. EHEM.  A lost baggage claim payout is worth more than their service recovery.

Shortly after the incident, I received the service recovery voucher. I guess they decided to honor only HALF of their words. Only I got the voucher but my mister did not get anything (they agrees to send two vouchers).

#SQdisappointment #whereistheexcellenceservice #notSQfansanymore #byebyeSQ #convertingmymilestootherairline #notangryjustdisappointed #continueyourpride

SQ, today you potentially lost 10 customers. It may seems insignificant to you but have you heard of this Chinese saying “好事不出门  坏事传千里”..

All the best to your future endeavor!

Travelogue: Indonesia Bali (Day 1)

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Yay!! Returned to BALI after 1 year to celebrate #DALOVEKNOT anniversary!

This is a love and hate post! I will tell you why later. For now let’s stay focus on the happy event first!! Woohoooo! VACATIONN!!

Just by the look of the above teaser, did it made you wanna go Bali already?

This is my first trip with SQ using my miles redemption! I’m totally elated to hear my waitlist flight got confirmed!

But a lil disappointed no crew realized I was traveling on my birthday – exact day I’m saying! You can tell me about how many XXX number of guest SQ received everyday, how will they noticed or check every guest details.. what am I to them? But.. ain’t excellence service make them different from other airlines? Or maybe it was because I didn’t “pay” for my ticket so I should even be happy I wasn’t being ask to leave the plane due to full flight – not sure if it was even overbooked!

Perhaps I expect too much outta SQ. See too highly of them. -__-

Brought a book along this time round and was hoping to kill time, but time killed me instead! I was fully occupied the whole time – TV, selfies, small talks, meals & still hoping someone would pop by and say “Happy Birthday Ms Eng”.. BUT BO LEH~!!

 

In-flight meal is definitely not always the best meal but it’s never fails to get me excited!

Very soon 2 hours swift past and here we are in the tropical land Bali!

Upon arrival, our villa airport pick up driver was already at the arrival hall waiting. It took so long for our baggage to arrive – more than 30 mins and we thought he probably had left without us!!

The journey from airport to our villa in Seminyak was a mere 30 mins drive (or 40 mins, depends on traffic condition). If you recall in my previous trip, we stayed in Seminyak area too. In fact, this villa location is just along the same street.

DID I EVEN TELL YOU WHERE I’M GONNA STAY?? (my goodness if i haven’t!!)

We had booked ourselves a one bedroom villa in Ziva A Boutique Villa!! We booked via Agoda through Shopback! Never missed the chance to earn rebate!! But you know luck doesn’t always stand on the same side with you! When I tried to book on Agoda, the first night wasn’t available! But i really love this villa and decided still go ahead with whatever available then emailed to villa directly to check!!

Luck came back! Ziva crew was able to arrange a villa for me and combined my Agoda booking with their booking! Vacation saved!!

Ziva only has 10 unit in total – 9 x one bedroom and 1 x three bedroom! I had put in a request for the nearest room to the main recept so that we do not need to walk too far inside and risk lizard dropping dropping on my head! I can’t imagine walking this corridor at night (eek!!)

Without further ado, let me open the door to my vacationnnnn!!!

Just standing outside, i can already hear the birds singing, the tree dancing and the water calling!!!

Now walking into our room, we thought it will be a lil warm inside since it’s a bright sunny day shinning through the full glass room! It turns out, cooler than expected!!

& Ziva was so sweet sia!! still got honeymoon deco and a stalk of roses (I assume it’s for me and not my mister!)

They even got flower bath ready for us! Sweet max – so sweet until I forgot to take a picture of the toilet!! LOL!!

After settling down, we head out to grab our lunch it was almost 4pm by the time we reach Ziva and settle down! Hungry is the only thing in my mind!

We wanted to go Ultimo but it was close for break and only re-open at 430pm. I was so hungry i can’t wait for another 5 mins so we went a lil further down and walked in Char Char!

Regulars in Bali definitely knows to find Char Char! Even first time, Char Char is so hard to miss! The steps alfresco sitting was like their distinctive icon!

We parked ourselves comfortably there and ordered our lunch!

Fruity Coconut drink is super refreshing on such summer days! Quench your thirst, keep you cool!

We ordered Happy Hour Oyster too. Was cheap but not as yummy as what we had in Melbourne! You can skip this IMO.

Sorry for the weird angle, like i said, i was tooo hungry already!

We ordered a prawn aglio olio and a beef steak. Portion was generous but taste wise, I still prefer Ultimo’s pasta. However, the steak was good! we only ordered 100g and we were laughing at ourselves for being a silly customer! 100g and we want it medium rare! The chef must have thought we’re crazy, 100g how to cook M.R.? It turns out, the steak was really medium rare and absolutely tender and juicy!

After lunch, we went supermarket for a quick shopping and head back for a dip as the sun is almost down!!

The best time to swim is probably between 5-7pm, no sun yet still bright! I believe Ziva does have floaties for guest to rent but since we had one, why rent?? Bought my pizza floatie from Taobao and this is probably one of my many best & happiest buy!

In the evening, the villa still very pretty and looks even more romantic with all the warm/orange lights!!

But of course, as the night turned dark, my guts became smaller! (LOL!!!) I had to ask my handsome hubby to make tea for me because I don’t want to startled myself when i see lizard or even hear one!!

Then suddenly(!!), the door bell rang!! It was the crew giving us a pleasant surprise!!

A birthday cake & a heart-shaped anniversary cake!! Wahh.. scored full marks liao!! Briefly mentioned before that I would like to spend my birthday and anniversary in their villa (because i couldn’t get a room on the first night and had to write to them, remember?) and here we had 2 cakes to celebrate!!!

Really, when you expect nothing, you will truely be surprised when there’s one! Thanks Ziva!!

Ended a day with high sugar and I know I will definitely gonna have sweet dream!

Stay tune for Day 2!!

 

 

Travelogue: Indonesia Bintan (Day 2 & 3)

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I’m never gonna get tired of looking at the above picture i think! LOL! Who doesn’t love vacation!

Waking up to day 2, I took a morning swim the moment i woke up, before sun is fully up and before breakfast even starts,

After a good 30 mins swim, we took a morning stroll to the restaurant for our breakfast. If you’re feeling lazy, feel free to press “0” and get a buggy to pick you up!

I wouldn’t say they serve the best breakfast but at least, it wasn’t so bad that it’s inedible. Pulut Hitam, Mee Soto, Nasi Goreng, Siewmai, Cold cuts, Salad, Juices, etc..

We chose an alfresco seating since the sun wasn’t that glaring (yet) and the view was somewhat romantic!

To make our anniversary trip even more romantic, we took a long walk along the beach while it’s low tide (no guard btw, walk at your own risk!)

Standing at a spot where I know when the tide suddenly rush in, I have time to run up the shore with my pair of short legs!!!! LOL!!!

When the sun is up….. we walked back to our room. Too hot, I will melt! But before i melt, the ice cream mustn’t melt! Woohooo!! Oh in case you finished your snacks, fret not! There’s a minimart (real mini) here where you can get snacks, cup noodle, ice cream, cold drinks, simple medication, sunblock, bikinis, etc…!

Yup, here’s me and my rainbow ice-cream!!!

& since it was really really near my birthday, my mister ordered a steak to share (in-room dining) as my BIRTHDAY TREAT!

In-room dining so far was good. Food was up to my expectation and price was still affordable! In the end, we only finish our snacks but not the cup noodles!

After dinner, we went back to the beach for another evening stroll.. It was windy and quiet.. We had the beach all to ourselves and thankfully, we didn’t fed much mozzie!

Back to the villa, in case, you’re keen to know how dark is the room at night, it’s actually still decently lit up!

The pool still looks so good to take a night swim!! However, do note that it gets quieter at night hence if you’re at the outdoor area, do speak softer, your neighbor might just hear what your conversation is (at least we heard our neighbor’s conversation for the few hours before they went to bed)!

Before you knew it…

It’s time to check out… 😦

Sad but still looking forward because i can have my favourite HOTDOG BUN from BRF!!!!

This marks the end of my 3D2N getaway and I’m totally glad I came! This is definitely a more cost effective resort than Montigo (at least for now)!

If you haven’t read my day 1 post, check it out HERE!

REMARK: Family travelling with children, the villa offers floaties and activities too! However, IMO, it’s not cheap eh! Let me share the price with you after i found the leaflet which i took!

Travelogue: Indonesia Bintan (Day 1)

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When you worked hard (I mean extra hard) for a period of time, what reward you most is TAKING A BREAK!

This trip is so relaxing you basically do nothing plans nothing and think only about summer!

HOLIDAY VILLA PANTAI INDAH BINTAN

Came across this accommodation while doing agoda e-window-shopping and Facebook captured my search result then recommended me this place! Did a lil more homework by going through tripadvisor and other travel blog.. I must say this place sure have not been explore much by locals (or perhaps they just didn’t share much!)

If you are reading this blog, let me tell you, you’re in luck! You will not regret reading this and may even start booking this accommodation (but dun expect 6 stars reviews)!

I booked my accommodation on Agoda (via SHOPBACK – earn up to 6% cash back!) The rate I managed to book for a one bedroom villa was about SGD608.00 – 2 nights stay (inclusive of taxes) with land transfer, breakfast and wifi!

Ferry ticket was by Bintan Resort Ferries. It cost about $67 per pax and I booked via Shopback>Easybook too! NOW ALERT: Not all deals found on shopback are best deal! you need to do a lil homework to compare the price. Apparently after I book my ticket, I then realized brf site was offering $1 hot deal ticket but it was too late to realize it! T__T boohooo!

ANYWAY… SOOOON it was time to depart!! Sorry, didn’t take much decent photos on departure.. Didn’t even took anything upon arrival at the villa reception!

!

The only photo of the common area I took was probably this alley to my villa!

Clean living room upon entry. Cooling aircon is the best in a country where it’s all-time-summer weather!

What’s waving at me upon entry is the BIG POOL!! you can see the pool from the living room already!

Almost fully equipped kitchen! We brought out microwaveable food, cup noodle, snacks and hosen canned fruits! Trying hard to minimize expenses!

Enough of the living room and kitchen (or pantry area), let’s head over to our bedroom!

Woohoooo! Honeymoon anniversary!!!! The staff here sure take note of casual comment (was just telling them we are going there for our anniversary and woohoooo! so much better than SQ – will share this in another post!!)

Toilet was “outdoor” but dun worry, no one’s gonna peek and it’s all sheltered!

Toilet comes with bathtub and separate rain shower! Super spacious toilet I think I can fit a king bed inside if without the fixture! Probably even bigger than my room!

(pssst, anti-lizard fans, my stay here was very safe, no lizard sound no sight of them too! PHEW!!)

So here’s the exterior of the our villa.. Everything you need was just within a few steps and totally comfortable stay!

Wasted no time, get changed and started to shoot a few insta-worthy pic before i get all messy and unglam!!!

After all the play and swim, we got a lil hungry and started heating up our microwaveable food.

We saved the best for last! In-villa dining! The price for room service food/beverage was still quite affordable but it’s not dirt cheap kind.

Beef burger and Fish & chips! Do try the fish and chips if you have the chance! I thought it was not bad and i love that they actually fried in small sizes!

Day 1 was pretty much about it.. Settling down and enjoying my afternoon under the sun (heat rash after that!! LOL) and not forgetting our FULL-FILLING dinner!!

Stay tune to catch Day 2!!!

Travelogue: The Surprise Party

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Per the title suggested, this is gonna be a happy and exciting post!! Because it’s about a PARTY!!!! A SURPRISE PARTY!!!

We planned this party about 3 months prior the actual day!! Secretly planning this with the help of our family members too!! So the plan is to have someone bring our birthday girl to Canopi (it was one of the place where she has been wanting to go then) without our smart girl being suspicious about it ! But HOW??? Thankfully luck was on our side! She happened to asked her family to go on a short trip and we played along her story instead. Smooth!

In her impression, this trip was just between her family as my mom & me doesn’t have enough leave and suppose to be going for a charity walk (Yes, we rejected her invite a lot of time!). I’ll skip the details and fast forward the to week of the surprise staycation!

So on this particular day before the trip, we accompanied her to TPY for dinner and went to money changer..Well, it’s not about money changer here we’re gonna talk about but it’s the rainbow coloured drink!!

 

We bought this from a Thai eatery. We didn’t try their food but this drink was so cool! Tasty and colorful, seeing it definitely stirred up all the excitement about the secret vacation!

Yes, up till this day, she still has no idea what grand surprise we had planned for her!! LOL!

On this beautiful Friday morning, my mom & me took the morning 9am ferry to Bintan! The perks of traveling early, less crowd less noise more peace more space!

Just a mere 50 minutes, we arrived THE CANOPI! Yeap, complimentary airport pick up thus no worry of having difficulty finding Canopi! less than 5 mins drive, and ta-daaaa!

Upon arrival, other than the friendly staff, LOOK WHAT’S WELCOMING US??

Beautiful crystal clear lagoon and safari tent!! MIND BLOWN!

We requested for early check in but the room wasn’t ready when we arrive. However, it wasn’t a long wait before the front desk came up to us (we were sitting at the restaurant prepping the room deco) to inform us about OUR BIRTHDAY GIRL’s room is ready for us to “check in” for the deco mission!!

Here’s part of the stuff we bought for the decoration! Apart from these, we arranged Canopi to arrange room deco too!!

Let me show u the original room state..

And now for The Canopi’s decoration..

Not too bad, but wait till you see our add on!!!

Side track a bit.. While working on our deco.. we rec’d an sms!

It was our birthday girl sharing her wefie, perhaps trying to “show off” that they’re heading off to their staycation! Lol!

Yeap, it’s a photo of them on the ferry! With that photo, it means that it’s almost 2pm already (they’re on the 2pm ferry)! AND WE’RE NOT EVEN NEAR DONE!!! OMGGGGGG…

We need to hurry before they arrive in an hour’s time!!

So both my mom & me hurried and speed up and here… check out our add on!!

     

Pls tell me we did a great job!!! My mama almost had a heart attack and swear she doesn’t wana do surprises anymore!! LOL… Made her so gan jiong and even rushed through the decoration with her hand injury.. Awwww… (are u touched, birthday girl?)

About 3pm, we handed over the room back to the front desk for them to lock it up and get ready for their normal check in ! Now all we had to do is ask for our own room check in so that we can have a place to freshen up and “hide” ourselves (rather than sit in lobby)..

While we were in our own tent, we.. we probably been the most troublesome guest.. we texted the front desk for help as our TV couldn’t receive any channel…. less than 5 mins, we text the front desk again!!! This time we actually asked for access to the decorated room – we wanted to grab a cup of confetti for ourselves so that we don’t surprise empty handed! Probably another 5 mins, we texted front desk again! This time, requesting them to give me a heads up when the birthday girl and family are at lobby for check in because it’s already passed 3pm but no sign of them arriving! (No phone service in the tent hence it’s important to connect to resort’s wifi so that guest can contact front desk via whatsapp.)

About 4.05pm, we rec’d a text from front desk…

“Your friends are at lobby“

WAHHHHHH the critical time now!! My mom and me quickly ran outta our own room, lock up & ran to hide at the back of their tent!

we heard “wow” *laughter* (birthday girl impressed!) and once we heard them in the room, we ran in and threw the confetti – I think we scare the kids, made both of them cried (oops!)!! We made our birthday girl cried too!!!! She gave a tearing speech and we spent at least an hour in the room admiring the decos!

So glad the surprise had surprised her (them)!! LOL.. the crying kids??? Yea.. after a lil warm up, they started the enjoy confetti too!!

See how happy they are.. I bet they secretly love confetti!!!!

Note: we cleared our own party mess. Canopi probably will faint if they see this mess when we check out.

About 6pm, we took a transport out to a nearby jetty for our kelong dinner.

This jetty looks eerie ya.. LOL! But probably the only way we can reach our kelong venue. Both land and sea transfer to the kelong is complimentary.

We had the boat to ourselves.. We too had the chance to enjoy this…..

Beautiful sunset!

[Photo credit to my sister-in-law]

Shortly after a boat ride, less than 10 mins, we arrived Kampung Kelong for dinner..

I must say, this is definitely not the most romantic place to celebrate birthday! They do not have the most appealing dishes too.. BUT!

We judged too soon!

Surprisingly, their dishes taste better than it look! We ordered the veg twice!! We ordered more than these actually, we had a fish too but i probably misplace the image as u know this post is kinda overdue!! >_<

By the time we finished dinner, it was already dark! Goodness, the ride back to land was pitch dark!! Not only the kids are afraid, me too!! >_< what if the boat sink?? what if there’s crocodile?? what if we collide with something?

Thank goodness we made it back alive!! LOL!

We didn’t go to bed immediately of course.. we still have a surprise part 2 for her!!

WAHAHAHAHA i bet u can’t tell what is this!!

We arranged for an ice cream cake (strawberry flavour- this cake actually taste quite nice) with my firecracker candle and my aunt super bright torch. thus the result of this image.

By night time, i think most of the resort guest probably already knew there’s a person name JESS in this tent!

After enjoying the cake and drink, the kids went to bed and us?

Lotsa wefie and catch up time!!! We haven’t really talked so much for the longest time!!! Until we ran outta mosquito coil, we decided to end the day!

One more wefie of 四个女人一个梦 before we turn in!

Next morning, we didn’t plan much to do either… just enjoy a lazy Saturday with family. Kids running around after breakfast. Kids swimming in the afternoon.

And adults?

SCOOTER time!!! If you haven’t tried riding a bike before nor have a license, fret not!!

At Canopi, there’s expert here to give u a test/trial ride! After the test ride, you can then decide whether or not to rent it! After the test ride, we rented 6 hrs and everyone got a chance to play!

A quick tips, if u plan to do massage at the resort, try the one further to the resort (the one that’s open to public). Heard that it’s cheaper there and longer massage duration available too.

Well, Good time flies! At a blink of an eye, it’s already our 3rd day, time to check out!

All in all, I’ll definitely recommend The Canopi! Especially if you want stay away from the buzzing city!

Food and recreation is not a problem within the resort hence there is no need to leave Canopi unless you want to do shopping! Good place for family, romantic tent for couple! Best of all, staffs are pretty friendly and helpful! They serve with a heart and not by-rule.

Once again, Happiest Birthday our dearest Ah Girl!

This conclude our lil surprise party for her big 3!!

Travelogue: Indonesia Bali (Day 3 and Day 4)

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After so much fun on day 2, we planned to stay in for day 3! It me & my flamingo day!

Seriously, it’s just a chillax and do nothing day for Day 3. we basically just chilled, swim & eat..

Who knows time can pass so fast just by nua-ing in the villa! Very soon it’s our massage day (Day 4!)

Checking out was a fuss free and thanks to Putu, we got a “free” airport pick up!

Yeap.. we booked a couple massage session via Putu and this Spa provide free pick up and sending to airport!

Upon arrival we were greeted by friendly smile and seriously, this spa seems quite popular!

We were then led to another quieter place to rest and enjoy (I didn’t) a cup of cold ginger tea!

I didn’t enjoyed the tea because i don’t like ginger tea but my hubby enjoy it a lot thus i gave mine to him.. Very soon, our masseur came and head over to our couple room!

Overall, the place is quite clean and staff are generally quite friendly.

A few times I actually fell asleep during the massage, i guess its because they’re good! LOL.. TBH, it’s not the best massage skill I’ve try but i will still give it a 7/10..

Good thing is that we already paid half the bill during day 2 hence by day 4, we were tooo broke to pay anything extra!!

Another good thing…

Sunset view is FREE on PLANE!!!

Check out below for see what we’ve done for the past few days!

 

 

 

 

 

Travelogue: Indonesia Bali (Day 2)

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A planned tour on day 2 of our Bali trip! We got this private tour (driver) contact from a friend! The funny thing is, she herself never engaged his service before. However, she recommended to many others and received positive feedback about his service.

So here we are, a Day Tour to Ubud with Putu! …If you had read my Day 1 post (HERE), you’ll realize my airport pick up driver’s name was Putu too!! But they’re not the same Putu! 🙂 Anyway, Putu was pretty on time, 9:30am texted me about his arrival at my villa reception.

We didn’t have a fixed itinerary to follow, most of the time, it was played by ears. Hence don’t be too surprise if your tour is different from mine even if you planned to go Ubud.

First stop, Artist Village (if i didn’t remember wrongly). We went to this place that show tourist how batik is made, it was a pretty short introduction actually and then you will be brought to the souvenir shop to do shopping.

 

If you ask me, I think you can skip this place unless you want to buy some batik product. They have very extensive goods available – ie: bedroom slipper, shirt, dress, table mat, pouch, drawings, shawl, etc.. However, if you want to know how to make batik, go youtube instead..

We left this place pretty soon after we walked one round and yes, we bought 2 table placemat for our dining table – was given 50% discount.. Probably because we’re Putu’s guest? I don’t know..

Next location was one of my favorite location, Coffee Plantation.

 

When we reached there, the plantation staff greeted us and brought us in. Again, it was short tour giving us knowledge on how Luwak’s Coffee was produced..

When the cats (civets) eat the coffee berries, fermentation of the coffee beans occurs in the cat’s digestive system. During this process, the cat’s proteolytic enzymes seep into the coffee beans, thus creating shorten peptide as well as an abundance of amino acids. This is what gives this coffee it’s unique flavor and aroma. So during this entire digestive process, the beans are transformed into the Kopi Luwak many coffee drinkers have grown to adore. This process is known to lower the bitterness of the coffee.

So at this plantation, they will also demonstrate to your how they prepare the coffee..

 

Best of all. you get FREE coffee/tea tasting!

On the left are the sampling size coffee and tea.. There a laminated sheet of paper on the tray (beneath those cups) showing you what coffee/tea you’re drinking.. Roselle tea, herbal tea, Mangosteen tea, Ginger tea, Coconut coffee, Ginseng coffee, etc etc…

As for Luwak coffee, you’re need to pay 50,000IDR, and my coffee lover hubby ordered one for Putu and one for himself..

 

So after tasting the sampling size, we decided to buy a few pack for our families and friend to try.. If you have the chance to come here, give Luwak coffee a try..

we spent quite a while here before heading to our next destination..

While on the road, we noticed that there isn’t much public transport hence we asked Putu.. According to him, there are public buses available but the frequency is 50 mins interval.. Like seriously?? That probably explains why the road are always full of motorbikes and car – busy road always!

So next destination…

Another souvenir shop.. we did not spend a lot of time here, probably 5 mins and we left.

Next attraction, Tegenungan Waterfall!

Tourist will need to pay 10,000IDR per pax. Quite a decent amount actually..

Tegenungan Waterfall is located at the Tegenungan Kemenuh village, in Gianyar, North from the capital Denpasar and close to the artist village of Ubud. The waterfall is isolated but has become a popular tourist attraction to explore and relax. It is one of the few waterfalls in Bali that is not situated in highlands or mountainous territory. The amount and clarity of the water at the site depends on rainfall but it contains green surroundings with fresh water that can be swum in. The waterfall includes varying highs that can be climbed after the decent down stairs to reach it. This attraction also features a viewing point to the jungle and waterfall at the main entrance

Before we check out the waterfall, checkout Putu’s sexy back!! ^_^

 

It was quite crowded actually! many tourist actually walked down to play with the water! This reminds me of Kota Tinggi waterfall tho..

If we had come with more people and extra clothes, we would have stay to play a while.. 🙂 There’s bathroom for you to wash up too..!

Just before we left………

OMG! I saw my favourite CORN!! GRILL CORN!! Grilled with coconut husk!

The prettiest picture I had in that 4 days!! A shot with my grilled corn filled with coconut fragranceeeee!!

After this, Putu told us the next stop will be another crafty shop, we were a bit relunctant to go but I guess it’s still a good exposure..

After the wood carving shop, we were given the option to eat babi guling or dirty bebek..  As we didnt get to eat my babi guling last night, we chose babi guling at a local stall!

Our happy meal!!! 40,000IDR for a set like this I think.. This is not the usual portion the local eat.. LOL we got Putu’s help to get us a set where we can try everything..

Pig’s blood, Pig’s skin, vegetable, pork, soup..

I recall reading somewhere this was one of the recommended babi guling stall to visit!! We even dabao 20,000IDR worth of babi guling back to our villa as snack! Imagine by evening time when we when back, the skin is still crackling crispy!!

So after lunch, we all had food coma~ I dozed off in Putu’s car!! By the time i woke up, we were at the padi field already!

Again, there’s an entrance fee that you’ll need to pay but I was already zzz hence not sure how much my handsome paid too!

This field was quite a tourist sport.. the farmers sure knows how to earn extra income.. a photo with them cost 5,000IDR, it’s not very expensive but a lil too “commercial”..

I would still recommend you to visit as it’s a really beautiful place! ehem, pls remember to bring mosquito repellent if you have sweet blood!

About 4pm, we are finally heading to out LAST destination before dinner!

   

Upon reaching Batuan Temple, I was mesmerized by the temple structures. It is noted for its artwork and style of painting which originated in the village in the 1930s and has since emerged into a major Balinese artistic style, known as a Batuan painting.

Batuan is mentioned in historical records as far back as 1000 years. The Hindu and Indian influence in the region in the village is evident from the carvings and temples. In the 17th century, Batuan and southern Bali were controlled by the royal family until a priest’s curse led to their losing their control; eventually they dispersed to various parts of the country. During the period of 1947–1949, most of the Batuan people remained loyal to the Gianyar Regency and opposed nationalism.

’nuff said about the temple, we shall go for dinner now! It’s quite a bit of distance from Ubud to Jimbaran, bout 45-60 mins? What else could I do in the car, zzzzz…

we reached the beach at about 6pm, another 30-45mins to sunrise. Again, thanks to Putu, we get to have a front row table for the best sunset view!! (How are we gonna make it through without Putu??)

Due to budget constraint, we ordered the cheapest seafood package @ 900,000IDR!!

While waiting for food, we enjoyed the view the sun and the breeze!

Here comes our food!!!

Don’t underestimate the pathetic looking vegetable, it’s actually quite tasty!

Good for you if you are a chilli lover. The 3 types of chilli they give are totally heavenly! Especially tasty with the grill fish/calamari! The clam was so-so but the lobster is pretty fresh!

And where’s the sunset?

  

Beautiful isn’t it? We were suppose to have dinner while watching sunset.. However, I guess sunset was late. We were done with dinner even before the sky turn orange.

At about 7-7:15pm, we left the place as the sun was almost down and we were already kinda tired.. With this beautiful sunset, we ended our 1 day tour with not much cash left!! Good thing is, day 3 will be our stay in villa day!! HAHAHA!..

Check out below to continue the journey