Day trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia

One of the nearest "overseas" place from Singapore, it is literally over-the-sea, Johor Bahru (JB) is the capital of Johor, Malaysia. Easily accessible through buses and taxis through Woodland Checkpoint, it's a favorite destination during the weekends, mainly because you can eat and shop at half the price due to the currency difference!!

We made the mistake of going over this Saturday at noon...biggest mistake ever! The crowd is so huge that the queue for buses from Queen Street to Singapore Immigration is at least 4 buses trip. And since that is not sufficient to warn my pea size brain, we went ahead and took a taxi to the checkpoint, pass through Singapore Immigration and got stuck in a situation where:

• the queue for buses from Singapore Immigration to JB Checkpoint is twice as long, if not longer than the earlier queue, and
• there is no way to u-turn (cos we are out of SG and not in any other countries yet!)

which means we die die must get ourselves to JB!! 

So how did we get ourselves there:
Longer, more expensive route (which we took since well, our brains are not functioning today...) 

• Initial plan was to take CW2/ SBS 170 bus from Queen Street Bus Terminal straight to Woodland Checkpoint (around SGD2.40)
• Ended up we took a taxi to Woodland Checkpoint (SGD18++)
• Proceed through the immigration with the intention of taking one of the buses to JB Checkpoint
• Ended up walking there (FOC 30 minutes of exercise) which was faster due to the bad traffic today. Not really recommended though - the hot blazing sun is not very kind and pedestrian walkway ends halfway, so it's quite a dangerous walk.

A better option would be (which in my opinion is faster for those using public transport): 

• Take MRT to Kranji station
• Board SBS Bus No. 170 to Singapore Checkpoint (get your passport stamped)
• Back to SBS Bus No. 170 to JB Checkpoint (get your passport stamped again)

and you are free to explore the city! Or you can proceed with the bus that goes straight to Larkin Bus Terminal in JB.

For those going for a quick shopping spree, City Square is just right next to JB immigration. Though not very big, it does house quite a number of salons, nail parlors, Sg. Wang style (street/ youngster wear) kind of boutique & a mixture of international fashion brands like Uniqlo & soon to be opened H&M. I find the stuff is a little on the high side though (equivalent/ more expensive than KL). Well, it's cheap for SGD but expensive for MYR if you get what I'm trying to say... 

So, instead of shopping, we went to get a good meal & pamper our hair :) 

Lunch was at Dontaku Japanese Restaurant. The food is pretty good and reasonably price. Shabu Shabu set starts from RM17 and their bento starts from RM15 (add on RM5 for rice, etc). We ordered additional Volcano sushi (which is their in house speciality) at RM14. It was pretty good but some might find it over price since it's just crab stick. The sauce though is mouth watering, really gives one a 'starter' appetite.

Lunch at Dontaku Japanese Restaurant

After a good meal & a visit to the salon, we got our butts back to SG before 9 p.m. to avoid the crowd heading back.

Wouldn't mind coming here again for a pampering session but would totally avoid Saturday noon (esp. during school holiday season)! Perhaps I should try going on an early Saturday morning for a more pleasant ride (maybe...)

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3D2N - Rawa Island, Malaysia

Back from a 3D2N island vacation in Malaysia. These days due to the rise of budget airlines, one tends to look for overseas vacation, forgetting that sometimes there are gems near us. I'm one of those guilty as charged. Better late than never though, this year is a Cuti Cuti Malaysia year for me and seems like our quick island escapes has garner a lot of interests and I'm more than happy to share our little discovery here :)

Rawa Island is a beautiful private island located in Johor, 34km from the more popular tourist destination, Tioman Island.

Just a tiny dot on Google Map, the low density of this island is it's main attraction. With crystal clear waters and limited tourist, it gives one a sense of peace and tranquility - perfect for a short getaway from the hustle and bustle of KL city/ Singapore. Plus, for locals, one need not bother with flight arrangements nor long annual leave as a 3D2N package is just nice.

Get the location here

Getting there: 

Depending on where you depart from, there's direct buses to Mersing. From Mersing bus station, it's about 15-20 minutes walk to the jetty. Else, you can opt to cab to the jetty, though I don't think they will go by the meter.

My friends opt to drive from KL (which took about 4 - 5 hours). There's a gated car park area near the jetty for those driving. It cost us RM18 per day. Best to bring an extra pair of car locks just to be on the safe side.

From Mersing jetty, the boat ride would be about 15 - 30 minutes to Rawa Island depending on the sea condition. 

And the view that greets you after the boat ride is amazing...

Accommodation - there's only 2 on the island:

The more "atas" or expensive one would be Rawa Island Resort. As the name implies, it's a resort, thus one can expect better facilities like hot shower & air cons. Their sea sports equipment is pretty comprehensive and well maintained too. The only downside, ka ching $$ ka ching $$...you would need to rent most of the items plus the package itself is quite pricey.

For us, we went for the more basic B&B style accommodation at Alang's Rawa. A 3D2N package cost us RM650 per head. This includes:

• 2 way boat transfers - with additional RM5 boat tax to be paid at the Jetty
• 2N accommodations - no air cons, no hot shower, just basic bed & fans. O I almost forgot, no keys to the room as well...so pandai pandai la (use your creativity here)!!
• 7 meals (B/L/D) - do note that drinks are NOT included in the package except for breakfast time
• sea sports equipment/ books/ board games!! A deposit of RM50 is required per head if you wish to use their snorkeling equipment/ kayaks/ etc.

The package is slightly cheaper as we went on weekdays (Sun to Tues). Weekend rate would be more expensive as it includes Sat Buffet BBQ.

In terms of accommodation, the bonus is, whether you choose to go with Rawa Island / Alang's Rawa, both places embrace the open concept. So you can still enjoy the beach from either side of the resort.

Meals:

The standard package includes 3 meals per day:

• Breakfast - bread, eggs, fruits with coffee/ tea/ orange juice
• Lunch & Dinner - 1 main meal (chicken/beef/seafood) + 2 sides (salads/ rice/ noodles/ etc)

The food is pretty good, a tad bit too salty but good nonetheless. Plus, I find them quite generous with their servings, enough to feed me full. So, for those who knows me well, surely this is quite an "ok" serving.

Activities:

Other than the usual sea activities, the one additional item here would be the slides which goes straight down to the sea!

Trekking is officially off-limit as there was some incident with their generator blowing up, suspect due to tourist cigarette. Unofficial trekking at your own risk though is another thing...just saying.

If you are not into it, then do the next best thing, i.e. to "nua"/ simply just do nothing & enjoy the view, whichever view you like - blue sea/ white sand/ bikini gals/ bare chested hunks :P

Judgments (solely my personal one):

Perfect for those looking for a quite place to relax. Beautiful sea minus the crowd is a plus. Not so much for those looking for a party unless you come during the weekends (Fri - Sat) where the place turns to a party zone at night. 

Accommodation prices in Rawa has gone up in recent years, but given the economy of the country and the fact that I save on flights & annual leave, I would say it's still a good getaway option.

Here's some short videos:



For more pictures taken in Rawa, please click here.

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2D1N - Batam, Indonesia

Another short escape from the city life, this time I went for a package deal offered at Deal.com. 

For SGD39.90 per head (excluding additional SGD29 for fuel surchage, terminal fees & tipping), we got ourselves a 2D1N stay at Pacific Palace Hotel and a full day shopping tour. Do note that they required min. 2 pax to travel together, i.e. 2 paid vouchers. Plus, the rate is only valid for weekdays (travel between Sun to Fri). Extra $$ will be require for weekend stays.

Get the location here

Getting there:

All I needed to do was to secure the travel dates I wanted and collect the ferry tickets in advance from the ferry operator, Wavemaster. You can collect it on the day itself as well, but since my ride is early in the morning, I'd rather sleep in a little more.

Our ride to Batam Island

Their office is located at Harbour Front which is just right beside Vivocity. Once this is done, we'll just need to be at the Harbour Front Ferry Terminal about 30-40 min before departure time for immigration/ baggage clearance. More on ferry advisories & guidelines here.

Leaving SG for the day...

Accommodation (comes with the package):
The package includes a night's stay at Pacific Palace Hotel, a "casino" turned hotel which was built like a cruise ship. Even the interior was designed like one.

The room was ok, not much lighting and the tv reception was quite bad. But location wise, it was pretty strategic for seafood lovers since a quick walk behind the hotel will bring us to an open air food court with various seafood stalls.

Meals:
7 course seafood lunch was included with the package. Food was not bad and it came with coconut drinks as well, which was just perfect for the hot day!

Lunch at Golden Prawn 555

Dinner was on our own and what better food to have other than seafood again! Seafood is pretty cheap in Batam, a good meal for 2 person is less than RM50 and it's fresh!!

The other meal included in the package was breakfast. It's a buffet spread in the hotel's restaurant. Nothing much to shout about, basic cereals, eggs & noodles.

Activities:
Well, it's a packaged shopping deal. Upon arrival at Batam's Ferry Terminal, our tour guide greeted us and brought us to shops after shops of not so exciting shopping places:

• Kueh Lapis (a well known Indonesian cake) factory - is actually a visit to a small shop/ house where they let you taste their Kueh Lapis and get you to order. Can't remember the price exactly but one thing for sure, it's not very cheap.
• Chocolate House - is just a shop which sells, well, chocolates. Not much choices if I recall correctly and I can easily get better varieties/ prices during sales in SG.
• Kuda Lumping/ Cultural Show - this is nearby the Golden Prawn 555 restaurant where we had our lunch. Although short, the show is quite interesting with cultural dance and performance (jumping over fire, swallowing of burning charcoal, etc). Tipping is required after the show.
• Polo Ralph Lauren outlet - this is everywhere in Batam! Bought a Polo T-shirt and the color faded after the first wash! Totally not buying again!!
• Tao Pek Kong temple - went for prayer
• Go Kart, Flying Fox, Paintball - just a small area where you can opt to go for it or not. Prices ranges and are excluded from the package.
• 1 hour massage - I'd have to say, this is pretty good. Tipping is required after the massage as well.

Cultural Show and some of the random stuff we had in Batam

Judgments (solely my personal one):

All in all, the package is cheap but with it comes the many unnecessary shopping stops. Other than the seafood and massage, there's really nothing much interesting to do. 

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