Flower Power @ Botanic Garden!

Did I hear myself right? Farah visiting the Singapore Botanic Garden? Well, I actually did!
My visit to Singapore's iconic attraction of greens was actually my first. And thanks to the new Circle Line, I managed to land my feet on this very rare part of Singapore. :)

Hello....Botanic Garden! My first visit in 25 years! Wow!

It was drizzling when me and boyfriend reached Botanic Gardens station. Decided to head for Adam Road Food Centre  for our lunch. Got a little lost, actually despite referring to the so-called reliable GPS system on his Ipad. Both of us settled for Nasi Goreng Seafood from Siti Nur Jannah stall..You must be wondering why I remember the name so well? You would remember things when it is a great experience or bad. Unfortunately, it was the latter. First, we waited very long for the food. Good food and Adam Road seems to "marry" . But sadly, this stall fails to live up to it. The portion was very small, I am sure if you stuff this to your cat, it will look at you in disbelief!

After about less than 15 spoonfuls of our so-called lunch, we made our way to Island Cremery for a well-deserving treat of ice-cream! Wanted to try their new flavours..but couldn't see any..so we stick to our old-time favourites..

Great flavour combo! Nutella and Burnt Caramel blends in well together!
Made me a very contented girl after the disappointing lunch.

Then off we went..heading for the Botanical Gardens. The place is divided into several segments like National Orchid Garden, Healing Garden (seriously??), Evolution Garden (I imagined "Transformers"..flowers come alive to attack the world) and even Ginger Garden!

One of our first stopovers was the bamboo plants! Most of them looked very much the same (at least to me..) but there was one that is called the Chinese Goddess Bamboo. It doesn't even look like a typical bamboo but definitely caught my eyes!

Bamboos everywhere!

Chinese Goddess Bamboo!!?? Bamboo?? Don't look like at all..

And just for those out there like me, who has never been here..walking from one place to another seems to take forever for not-so-active people like me..figured out that we took about 20 - 30 mins to walk from the entrance to the next garden.. so my advice to you, do bring your water bottle, preferably a 1.5 litre bottle to last you through!

Throughout my once-in-a-lifetime walk at the garden, I was so intrigued by the different leave shapes of the various plants that I came across..and decided to name them myself!

We also visited the Nature's Shop where they had a galore of souvenirs like preserved flowers, miniature plants, gardening tools and even calendars! Nice stuff but a little pricey..

Our last stop was the National Orchid Garden. We didn't explore the garden..can't bear to part with my $5 for the entrance fee..so we decided to give it a miss!

Overall, I felt that it's a worthwhile visit..you really get to drown yourself in the beauty of nature.. And it does make me more observant to my surroundings..since the visit, I began to appreciate trees and flowers more..and feel more attached to mother nature..Sounds a little bit too good to be true but I think it is also a therapeutic thingy..nature really makes you calm.. :)

Would definitely embark on my next visit to perhaps another garden! :)

My first Bangkok Trip!

Am sure everyone will jump just like I did whenever they go for a holiday!

This is my first time to Bangkok..and so I selected Citin Pratunam Hotel after reading many good reviews about it on Tripadvisor. Location: Not the best but not too bad either. Not the best, because you can easily miss the lane(or Soi) where it's located at . Thank god for a local (we asked about 4 locals, and they gave conflicting directions!) who showed us the right way. And the area here, is kind of small, nothing much to explore. Pretty near Ratchaprarop station (airport rail link), so you can actually come here straight from the airport without needing to take a taxi. And it's just 60 baht, i think.

We reached about 2.15pm at the hotel. Citin Pratunam has 2 blocks. The first block you'll encounter is the block with the reception counter. Upon registration, we were told to wait for 15 minutes for our room as it was not ready. So we left our bags, thought we can probably go out and familiarise ourselves with the place. Came back about 20 - 25 minutes later, hmm..room STILL not ready. Were told to wait for another 20 minutes. "Super"! Not what I expected seriously. Am really so tired, and just needed to rest my legs. So in total we actually waited for close to one hour for our room!

Finally we got our room!

Our room is located at the next block, with the restaurant. The restaurant is a vegetarian restaurant, definitely a plus for Indians. Didn’t try the food there as I prefer to get out and have some meat! And there were really many Indians and Indian shops at this area. I would recommend this place for my Indian friends for sure. There’s even a place called Namaste something, “Namaste” is a normal Indian greeting and lots of Indian restaurants.

 

So what do I think of Bangkok?

CHAOTIC! I didn’t expect it to be so modernised! The MRT/BTS/Airport Rail Link system is very well structured, and it’s seamless getting from one place to another. J Throughout our 4-day stay, we relied very much on the public transport, only took a taxi and tuk tuk once!

On our first day, our plan to go to Chatuchak kind of backfired due to the room delay. Realising that we may only have 1 hour at Chatuchak should we stick to plan, so decided to go MBK instead. One big mistake, we didn’t know that Platinum is just streets away from our hotel.

Not sure whether it’s just me but both myself and partner didn’t enjoy MBK.

Did they say that you can bargain and slash prices at MBK? I tried (to bargain reasonably of course) but got rejected so many times! But what is good about this place is that all floors are categorised to the things they sell. So that is more organised in a way, less confusing for travellers like me. Then we went to Siam Discovery Centre. Other than the usual branded stuffs, there really nothing much here. Legs got way too tired, and decided to ‘surrender’ for the night. Went for a foot massage at Pratunam, at 160 baht. Probably the cheapest I’ve discovered so far. The place is called Health Room Thai Traditional Massage. Had dinner at a side lane street-food place near the hotel, which is abit pricey..

Green Curry Chicken!

Sweet & Sour Fish!

Shrimp roll!

All the above cost about 800 baht..which is around S$35.

2^nd day in Bangkok was spent at Chatuchak Market! It was crazy! We don’t even know where we were going as we explored lanes and lanes of shops, selling so many different things at pretty cheap prices!

Madness starts at the bridge towards Chatuchak Market!

Had a quick lunch along the streets near Chatuchak Market for just 140 baht before we roamed the lines of shops!

Spent 4 hours at Chatuchak Market, hardly covered half of them! By 2pm, I was so shagged and decided to head back to the hotel.  We reached hotel by about 3pm, had lunch at the same place again near our hotel. Had rice with basil leave beef, tom yam. Boyfriend had fried rice with salted fish..total damage: 400 baht! Ireally thought it was way too expensive for only 2 main dishes..

 Then we had a full body massage at Citin Spa, pretty nice, peaceful and rejuvenating massage. When night comes, we decided to head for Khao San Road. We asked a taxi driver if he can switch on his meter. He refused and quoted us 550 baht instead! Finally we managed to get a cab who willingly switched on his meter. Guess how much it cost?? Just 75baht! wow..that is alot of difference!

Dinner at Khao Sand Road cost us only about 200baht. Loving the place, so much relaxed, not as noisy as Pratunam. Line-ups of bars, not strip bars like those at Patpong. Pretty cool! Went to this place called Lucky Beer, where we had some drinks. Went back to our hotel around midnight, taxi fare cost about 65 baht.

3^rd day in Bangkok:

Damnoensaduak Floating Market! Started the day very early at 6.45am, a van picked us up to head to the market. Our first stop was at an Elephant attraction! We had no idea about it! As usual, they tried to entice you to feed the poor monkeys with bananas for 100baht, or hop on the elephant for 600baht or simply enjoy coffee for 20baht. We chose coffee, that’s what we really needed in the morning! Upon reaching the pier, we boarded a long tail boat to our desired destination.. :)

Everyone, including the sellers were all in high spirits, adding to the exciting atmosphere at Damnoensaduak Floating Market!

 

After floating market, we were brought to the Cobra Show! Another surprise! Decided to skip it and do our own activity instead..cam-whoring!

At the entrance of Cobra Show

After the cobra show, we went to a furniture shop. Pretty impressed with their wooden scuptjures. Definitely alot of hard work!

This elephant is one of their amazing works of the artists!

3D wooden carving!

Oh did I mention that the staffs at our hotel were really mediocre. Really nothing great to shout about. We used the free tuk tuk after our floating market tour, to proceed to Platinum Shopping Mall. The tuk tuk operates every half an hour. The hotel is pretty near to Platinum. So we decided to walk back to the hotel after shopping. It’s just about 2 – 3 streets away, about 10mins walk.

We decided to sum up our day with a trip down Chao Praya river..

 

Bangkok at night is beautiful...
(not the "red light" part of course!)

Till I see you again Bangkok...maybe next year? :)  

Batam Trip with Gfs!

It was freaking early in the morning!

Woke up at 6am when I was supposed to meet the girls at 6.15am! Nice!
Well this happened like a good three weeks back! ;p

So well.. we booked a full day tour with Batam Spa Villa for me and two other gfs. Cost about S$73 before all the taxes.. After taxes, tipping (mandatory!), it set us back by a total of $107. 

Harbourfront Ferry Terminal was super packed that morning! Didn't realise that Batam has taken over JB as Singapore's fave spot! By right, we should be taking the first ferry at 7.50am. Was shifted to the next ferry for no apparent reason! I always believed that when you booked, it means the ferry seat is reserved for you..no? ok i am wrong!

We reached Batam at 8.30am (Batam time is late by an hour)..tick tock tick tock...clock's ticking...was so awfully painful looking at how the immigration officers worked. Took them like 3 minutes to clear a visitor, then turn around...talk, talk, talk, talk..then turn their face to look at you, expressionless  as if we should understand that their conversation is far more important than clearing the bloody line.

Two hours just to get out of the terminal..oh my..there goes 2 hours of my life! Crazy! Took the bus to the spa, where I thought I had the best spa message ever...actually even fell asleep. My masseuse was the quietest among the 3 who were assigned to us. The other two (assigned to my friends) seriously need to stop chattering and laughing. I am not sure how well my friends handled them but I definitely can't stand such masseuse. I could hear my girlfren kept asking her masseuse to soften the way she massaged..like close to ten times! ahakz...seems like mine was the best. good job, lady..so I gave her a well-deserved tip! :)




Massage by the sea....

Then after that, we went to the Polo Shop! OMG Polo Shop!?? Guess, this works well with the aunties and uncles...I have no idea what's the big deal, man with Polo! Scrap this from the itinerary pls.. seriously! But the interesting part to this..while the rest of the aunties and uncles were busy spending money on Polo, we decided it's a good time to try out the local delicacies.. and one of them is telur penyu (turtle eggs...)! aWWww... yummy yum yum! And you know how much he 'quoted' me?? 13pcs for 100,000 rupiah!?? siao tin tong! so one pc cost about 7,692 rupiah which is around S$1.10? Still cheap..but I don't think an egg should cost that much..hmmm...ok for an exotic one, maynot so ex but I remembered it was sold for less than a dollar then..in Singapore when it was still legal..i tried to bargain, didnt work..so i left... and then, the seller was upset, tried to bargain further..and eventually, ka ching!
3pcs for S$2! I got my deal! yay! :)

Wyda..My Partner in Crime!

"Penyu" Victim!
Liza tried her first telur penyu!

After that, we made our way to a bungalow in the middle of nowhere.. this bungalow was made into like a cake factory for cake lapis! Smell so good! But wasn't exactly my cup of tea...ok, i admit i didnt bring enough cash! They were selling their cakes for about $25. The ones with prunes are selling for $28. Its ok...maybe next time when I need to please someone back home.

Looks so tempting...



Stomach growling... dancing... asking for food...and yay...we were soon setting off to our next venue..Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant where we enjoyed a super sumptuous seafood lunch! We had crab...yummy but not much flesh... prawn..super small... (maybe leftovers), fish..but not fresh.had those "gong-gong"..(is there a bloody english name for this animal? pity him)..vegetables..and a tasteless coconut! hahahah...oklah, good enough to fill my stomach! 

Liza savouring her chili crab!

Big big coconut..but super super tasteless.. alamak..

Oh, prior to our lunch, we also visited their keropok shop.. where I bought instant noodles (their famous maggie goreng!), and a few packs of keropoks or snacks! Being a typical Singaporean, I kept comparing them to the prices back in Singapore. So I didnt manage to bring back much..uurgghhh... After lunch, we watched a Kuda Kepang show..or "horse shows" in English. 


"Horse shows" or Kuda Kepang is a signature Indonesian ritual performance where the performers go through a moment of trance and do crazy painful stuff..

Those guys were mad! Eating glass shards...ouuuch! Inserting hot fiery charcoal into their mouth..then after that..they asked you for donations. heh.. :) so bein nice, I gave them lah and hopefully they stop their crazy acts.


And then after, we started to get...sleeppy.....the next stop was a garden..I have no idea what garden it was but the tour guide was saying that it's a place to take photos. Hmm... blah... we decided not to go down the bus..and take a nap instead. Soon both my girlfriends were already in LA LA land by the time we reached our next destination, another keropok shop. Being the keypo me, I decided to take a look... and my auntie instincts kicked in, I bought more snacks!


Then we stopped by a souvenir outlet..with a factory outlet opposite it. The souvenir outlet sells those batik kind of apparels, cute keychains, sandals and even a durian cake. The factory outlet has brands like Timber Land etc.

 Last but not least, we ended our itinerary at Batam Square Centre. It's pretty big..and we didn't have much time to do shopping..or even window-shop.. got myself 2 tops for a sweet $7! :) and also a meal to last me through the trip back to Singapore!

Sunset at Batam... pretty..

Ever You...

Ever wondered why u were stuck in a position

Ever spare a thought why you remain in that situation..

Will you stay put, or make a big move..

For the answer lies in you..it lies in you..

 

When was the last time you felt magical

As if a fairy cast a beautiful spell, life was all well..

A child you were then, running around..no worries in mind

Don't you ever wish you can turn back the hands of time..

And what happens as our number grows

Fears, anxiety envelopes our innocent lives

Cringe like a child, sad look in the eyes..

Get yourself out of there, it's not too late to realise..

 

So if it ever strikes you that you were stuck in a position

If worries and unhappiness is your morning greeting every day..

Will you stay put, or make a motionFor the answer lies in you..it lies in you..

When I Saw You...

When I first saw you....

We were just friends..

But feelings grew..

And I was afraid..

When I hold your hands..

I was afraid to love you..

And after I love you..

I was afraid to lose you..

Now that I have you..

Is that enough for us two?

Shared moments of joy, moments of sadness..

Are we strong to stay unite, after all we've been through..

And when I look into your eyes..

And you look into mine

The answer's found...

And only us to define..:)

Back to the 90s at Genting!

Stunt would be the perfect word to describe my feeling when we reached Genting Highlands! Uber-shocked to see everything in Genting is simply so outdated! So packed with aunties and uncles, definitely pale in comparison with my past holidays!

Well, I thought a trip to Genting would be nice as I've never been here! Sadness! If only my mum brought me here when I was small, I am sure I would remember this place for a long time, and won't even come back!

Ok let me go back to where it started. Booked the package for 2 pax, inclusive of 2 nights stay at Resort Hotel for $400. On 15 April, boarded the bus to Genting, at 6.30am from Golden Miles Complex.

Bus ride was smooth and we stopped over at Yong Peng for a heavy lunch! Definitely a trap for diners, 'swallow' the money of the casino-goers even before they gamble their money away. On a positive side of it, perhaps a good trade off between feeding yourself well, than losing your money at the tables later!

Bubye SG

At Yong Peng! Smoke Break after 3 hours!

The roads leading to Genting was way too winding since we were on a double decker bus, you'll actually felt like the whole bus is tilting to one side each time it curved! Gosh! At that kind of height (from sea level), I couldn't stop worrying till I can feel my feet on the ground!

6 hours passed...and finally! Upon alighting, I was greeted by a flock of aunties and uncles! Wow! Didnt realised it was this many, definitely! Looked around aimlessly, so many things going on, damn..this just couldnt get any more worst after a long bus ride, bum aching..only could think of running to our hotel!

It was definitely a long walk to our hotel, but worth it. I couldn't even dream of staying at First World Hotel. From outside, it looked like old flats at Chinatown and the lobby..was as busy as a ferry terminal! Heaved a sigh of relief when we got our room. So much relaxing, away from the chaos outside! No aircon but hey, the weather is even more cooling than aircon! Love that alot! :)

Wee!!

'Blown up' crackers!

View from our room

So our first day was pretty much spent jalan-jalan at First World Plaza, looking around, indoor theme park sux big time. So we tried Ripley's. Pretty good, alot of weird stuff but definitely would enter only once in my lifetime unless Ripley rise from the grave!

Robert Ripley!

But a scary thingy happened naturally when me and boyfren walked passed a section of the exhibition, with old prison doors (cant remember where they originated from) but we heard noises from the door! As if something or someone wanted to come out so badly.. our hair stood up, and we scurried away to the next section. Even in the next section, we felt as if all the wax figurines were looking at us and naturally we ran even further till we decided it's best to leave. No idea what it was but it was definitely as scary as hell! 

Fortunately, my boyfren didnt change to be Ripley or some weird  metal-eater man after that. Had dinner at McDonalds..trust me, you won't want to eat their nuggets! Bloody hard chicken nuggets! Gosh!

No kidding! The skin was damn hard!

Casino anyone??

And what better way to end a pretty 'great' night, than to end up at a Chinese KTV Bar! Hahah! I find it very hilarious! Got cheated by the English songs when we walked by and only realised our terrible mistake when the 3 girls started belting Chinese songs non-stop, and that was after we bought a jug. Thanks goodness, it was only a jug to sum up our first night bloopers!

2nd day: Outdoor Theme Park!
Had my reservations to try the rides judging how they looked! As if they have never gone through safety inspection since it was built! So didnt tried out that many rides..Sungei Rejang Flume Ride (super slow 'boat' that goes up a damn steep slope, before dropping fast..super fast, and water splashed all over!

                        Way up to splashing good times!

Then tried the Flying Train Monster. 2 mins ride! hahahaha.. boring. Then we tried some kiddy ride! Pirate Train! Omg, what was i thinking! Then we tried the Pirate Ship or something, this is as scary as hell! Did I tell you that I am afraid of heights?? I keep imagining what would happen if my hand slipped from the safety bar, releasing it..? Next, we tried the CorkScrew! Gosh! This was it! I closed my eyes all the way, and said a few prayers in my heart! Hung on for dear life.. No more rides for me, i promised!

Cyclone..quite fun... bearable! This one on the right, tried it..in my dreams..


Crazy Corkscrew ride on the left..
on the right: loving the weather..

Then we have high-tea at the hotel, which cost us about $20 for two pax! Not bad, pretty substantial varieties of food, but boyfren not happy because not many desserts and cakes! heh...after that, more jalan - jalan, dinner from their foodcourt, which set us back by another $15, and coffee before watching Man U - Man City match! Such a sweet girlfren, i am.. and boyfren even claimed Man U always lose when I watched with him! Grrr!

Trip back to Singapore seems to take forever! Bus driver might have been high on something or what! 8 hours ride! Almost rammed into cars several times! Gosh gosh..i am so relieved to be back in SG! Seriously! Well, i think that pretty summarise our trip to Genting. Till we meet again!