Penang Kia!

With the passing of our last grandparent last year, the folks opted not to return to Penang this year. Staying in KL meant we got to drive to shopping malls in downtown KL without having to fret about the usual crazy jams. A rare experience for my parents as they are back in Penang without fail every year. Another rare experience as the family actually went out together! Sad, but true.
This year a small part of Penang came to us, with fave/closest cousins and their parents coming to visit. As the kids get older, reunions and meet-ups like these are getting far and wide. Sad if you think about it as we used to hang out a fair bit and get into a whole lotta mischief together. As we age, we seem to drift further apart, living our own lives even though most of us live a mere 10-mins away. Well, we're making a vow this year (mum and i at least) to plan trips every year to try and bring everyone together - especially the younger generation.

Lets not forget our traditions and carry on the basis of Chinese New Year - a reunion. Lets pass on these values and traditions to every generation... after all, we are family.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Chinese New Year and may the year of the tiger be a roaring year for everyone!

Reunions

(pic courtesy of TribalDDB's Ms.Renee)

Its that time of the year again where everyone makes their trek back to their hometowns, put on weight, lotsa packet drinks, gambling, fireworks, and the all important reunion dinner. Remembering and celebrating our roots. Lets all have a safe and united CNY.

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

May the year of the Tiger bring great wealth, health and happiness!

MIA again

The blog has been uber quiet lately due to the author's overly busy work schedule in the last month or so. Managed to get ONE weekend off and headed to Jakarta for a much needed quick weekend R&R holiday. With a big rave party, concerts and a carnival coming up in August, it looks like it'll be my last weekend till the end of August. After that, i'm really looking forward to seeing the missus in September when i fly off to Australia for a couple of weeks. A long delayed trip back to the land down under to visit friends & Family in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast... it'll be my well deserved holiday.

As with my previous trip to Jakarta, here's what came back with us this time round...

Singapore Sling

The missus of mine wanted to head to Singapore again after reading about a couple of nice places to visit, pick up a Charles & Keith bag which is unfortunately unavailable in Malaysia, and to hunt for some retro Casio watches. I happily obliged to the road trip as i had intentions to take the Odyssey for a drive and have an autopass card registered for it anyway. Plus i like Singapore, and it would be our last road trip/holiday for the next four months. So, we hopped into the car after clocking in half-days work on Friday and headed to kiasu-land. To those of you Malaysians who constantly complain about Singaporean food, you need to pay attention to this blog post.

First stop was to check-in to our hostel (yes, its not a spelling error). Its a quaint little old house that has been creatively converted into a boutique homestay that is managed by an extremely friendly old lady named Irene. Who by the way thought EmilyT was "very pretty", i couldn't agree more really. One Florence Close as it is aptly named (its house no.1 on Florence Close, duh!) is conveniently located 3-mins walk away from Kovan MRT station and proudly has Singapore's Best Nasi Lemak situated directly opposite! We'll dwell on the nasi-lemak later on. One Florence Close is clean and affordable albeit the small rooms and the shared bathroom. Which isn't bad as the toilets are clean and designer like. I'm the sort that likes to splurge during holidays, and my standards in hotels aren't Burj-Al Arab but i'd like to come back to G-Hotel like type of Ambiance and facilities (G-hotel btw is my regular stay when in Penang nowadays, hehe), but for the money, One Florence Close makes the grade in my books. They could do with a bigger parking area though...it currently fits one.

(sorry as there are more pics of my car than the hotel, i'm a lil' engrossed with it at the moment)

Sleeping arrangements aside and back to Singapore's Best Nasi Lemak. Its called PONGGOL NASI LEMAK CENTRE, which really is only a corner shop lot. The amazing thing about this nasi lemak... is the QUEUE!! yes! the Queue! from 6pm till late, there's literally a Queue! And earlier parts of the evening/night sometimes sees the Queue going round the shop!! amazing.. utterly amazing! The nasi lemak is Chinese-style nasi lemak, with the sambal being a little sweet. They also serve up a smorgasbord of dishes. You can have luncheon meat with your nasi lemak, which is great! I honestly thought it was pretty good. Where's it at? Its located at the corner of Florence Close and Upper Seranggoon Road.

Ponggol Nasi Lemak

The mad Que forming...

Our yummy nasi lemak

The next day we took a one and a half hour trip to The Singapore Zoo, only to decide not to go as we wanted to catch the sunset at Changi (which is the other end of Singapore!!) and we had wasted 2 and a half hours waiting for some friends to arrive (tsk! tsk!). En route to Changi Point Boardwalk, we pit-stopped at Queensway Shopping Centre and another mall (i forgot the name) to pick up the aforementioned Charles & Keith bag and a pair of kicks. There's a food stall near the main foyer of Queensway shopping mall that serves up one of the best packet-nasi lemak and otak-otak combo and awesome curry chicken with bread. It is one of the more popular stalls, as we had to wait around to get a seat. And when we finally did, it was at the very corner of long bench-like table next to the ice dispenser! Must try if you're in Singapore.

A routine for me when visiting Singapore.

yummy!!

Then it was off to Changi Village & Changi Point Boardwalk. The sleepy hollow of Changi Village comes alive on the weekends as it plays host to a flea market and some lively entertainment. I'm a sucker for sunsets, which makes Changi Point Boardwalk a notable mention as it's probably one of the best places to catch the sunset in Singapore. Unfortunately for us (and a host of pro-looking photographers), there was heavy cloud cover and powerful as the sun may be, it's rays could not penetrate the darkside. Fear not! We'll be back!!. Word of advice though, be prepared for a whole lotta walking if you intend to visit. I'll let the pictures below do the talking.

Us in Changi Village

Changi Village Flea Market
En route from Changi Village to Changi Point

The boardwalk, that seems to stretch on forever

Children scurry away as Jwan approachesSights along the boardwalk

EmilyT strikes a pose!

"Don't let the sun go down on me..." (sing it)

After all the walking, and lugging the shopping around, we headed back to the hostel. I was supposed to head to China One in Clarke Quay with the missus and her friends, but my feet were killing me and i just wasn't in any mood to go squeeze with people in that tiny club that i honestly think kinda sucks (i was there during Christmas btw). The thought of going to that club again kinda just dampened my spirits even further. So much to the dismay of the missus, i opted not to go...which created much unwarranted inconvenience for her as she had to travel one and a half hours on the MRT by herself, which naturally resulted in flowing rivers and red eye generation when she got back. My apologies for my insensitivity my dear. Small sacrifices have to be made in the future.

We went to collect some family portrait photos from a studio the following day, then headed to Mustaffa Centre to hunt for some retro CASIO digital watches. For those not in the know, yeah, retro is in. Mustaffa centre is located in the heart of Little India which makes for a very lively and colorful place to be. EmilyT netted a couple of watches and a huge luggage bag, and we were off for some shopping mall hopping before heading back to KL.

BrekfastOne of the reasons we were in Singapore - going retro

Shanghai "small dragon bun" lunch

Pics by: EmilyT & Jwan

Jakarta JAM!

2 days in Bandung & 5 days in Jakarta. Jwan Heah is a changed man after visiting Jakarta. No more ranting about Kuala Lumpur's traffic and bad town planning, if there was a competition for "World's Worst Traffic Woes", Jakarta would win hands down. Of the 7 days in Indonesia, i think we spent on average about 3 days in the car. Thank god we engaged (a requirement if you plan to visit Jakarta) 2 personal drivers, who were on 24hr standby and at our disposal. A trip that should take 30-mins, takes about 2 hours in Jakarta. Picture 6 hyperactive males trapped in an Innova and stuck in 2 to 3 hour jams... mental anguish.

Traffic jams aside, one thing i noticed in Jakarta is the great lengths people go through to beef up home security. I was forewarned by former Indonesian Uni-mates to NOT walk around Jakarta at all, as i WILL get robbed. Coming from a local, we took no chances. Looking at the height of home fences, gates and the presence of security guards in every home makes you wonder how bad the crime rate is in Jakarta... the minimum home fence/wall height is almost 12 feet high topped with barbed wire and spikes, with most holes covered off to limit visibility into the home compound. And anyone with a little bit more money has a minimum of 1 to 2 security guards in the house, with some employing up to 4 or 5 guards. i honestly think with the current inflation rate, and Malaysia's continuously escalating crime rate, Jakarta is Kuala Lumpur's future. Already, we're compelled to pay private security firms to patrol our neighborhoods, i don't think it'll be long before we need to have guards within our own house compounds.

Notice Height of fence...

Anyway, security fears & traffic jams aside, Jakarta is a sprawling metropolis. Skyscrapers, buildings, houses and not forgetting ram-shackle squatter looking houses and shops stretch as far as the eye can see.. and then some! Jakarta is home to some great clubs that play host to some of Jakarta's finest, places such as DragonFly, BlowFish, and X2 are some of the popular hotspots now and have played host to numerous international deejays including John Digweed recently. Jakarta is also home to numerous shopping malls. And because we were there for so long and there really isn't much to do in Jakarta, we spent our days mall hopping and visited numerous malls. Senayan City, Plaza Senayan, Pondok Indah Mall, Plaza Semanggi, and Taman Anggerik are some that i can remember. And most of these malls are pretty huge and are home to a wide selection of brands, local and international. Brands such as Gucci, LV, Prada, to masstige brands such as Raoul, Rip Curl, Zara, G2000, Quiksilver, etc make their presence felt throughout Jakarta's malls. To sum it up, Jakarta is basically a party, eating, and shopping mega city.

Taman Anggerik Mall

Jwan @ Dunhill Dimensions Feat. DJ Simon Dunmore, DragonFly Jakarta.
The fantastic crowd at DragonFly

The only historical site worth a visit is the Kota Lama, formerly known as The City of Batavia, the old centre of Jakarta during the dutch days. A handful of 17th to 19th century streets and buildings centred around a cobblestone square called Taman Fatahillah are the only remnants of the old city of Batavia. These old buildings, other than the ones housing museums and a cafe, are sadly left in a deplorable state. The Cafe Batavia is a noteworthy mention though, it is housed in the second oldest building around the square (circa early 19th century) and has seen numerous superstars, presidents, etc, wine and dine in its premises. The owners/management has maintained its old world charm, with alot of the furniture, interior fittings, lighting, and decor retained from the early dutch days. Cafe Batavia in all its grandeur and splendor, surprisingly will not cost you an arm and a leg for a decent meal and drinks. Its sad that most of the buildings around the square have been left to rot and crumble. I think if the government were to spend a little bit of money restoring the buildings on the streets surrounding Fatahillah Square, the entire area would easily become a huge tourist attraction. I can picture the place looking fabulous with sidewalk cafes, horse drawn carriages, antique shops, etc.. oh well...

Somewhere near the entrance to Cafe Batavia
Tons of old antique pictures adorn the walls and 19th century collectibles dot available space
The grand dining area upstairs with a view of Taman Fatahilla
Leaving Cafe Batavia (L-R: Justin, Gavin, Jwan, Vince)

Besides shopping and partying, we did savior alot of the local cuisine which i truly enjoyed, as most of it was hot and spicy. We had NASI PADANG at a restaurant called SEDERHANA, where oddly, they serve EVERYTHING and i mean EVERYTHING to you without you having to order! Almost every single dish, drink, and desert is brought out to your table and whatever you don't consume is simply not charged to you at the end of your meal. What a good way to tempt you into eating more than you'd like. It did have its downside though, waiting for the cashier to tally up the bill took ages! This restaurant called AMPERA, which was recommended by a friend served up a good selection of local Indonesian food, i'll try to look for the address and post it up here soon.. a worthwhile visit if you're heading to Jakarta.
Besides all the glorious food, our selection of hotels awarded us with a lovely abode both in Bandung & Jakarta. Not only offering us a luxurious living space but also providing some excellent views of the surrounding. We put up at The Grand Setiabudi in Bandung, and Somerset Berlian in Jakarta. I highly recommend staying at these two hotels if you are planning on visiting Bandung or Jakarta.

I think i left out Bandung huh? Well.. Bandung, which is located approximately 2 and a half hours away from Jakarta (we took 4 and a half hours due to traffic!!) is like the denim and clothing centre of Indonesia. Factory outlets and fashion warehouses dot the main streets of Bandung selling clothes from various brands and manufacturers. And cause its located up in the hills, Bandung provides a cool refreshing getaway from the hustle and bustle of Jakarta. We didn't have enough time in Bandung, but i was told the scenery from the many many restaurants up in the hills is spectacular and a quick drive will take you to the top of a volcano... it looks like i'll have to make another trip to Indonesia soon...

The living room in our duplex penthouse suite @ Grand Setiabudi in Bandung

One of the FOUR huge rooms

View of the hills in Bandung

Chilling in Jakarta-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
J-1 & Don Kon

Finale.... the reason we were in Jakarta, Don Kon is getting hitched.

For more pictures from our Jakarta Jam! excursion, feel free to visit:

Jakarta Jam!

More Jakarta Jam!

Dunhill Dimensions @ Dragonfly Jakarta