Singapore Changi Airport Staff Canteen at Terminal 2

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In a world-class airport like Changi Airport, most foods are ridiculously overpriced. But, my friends, fret not. There are 2 staff canteens in the airport where you can find food under S$5, one in Terminal 1 and another at Terminal 2.

At the time of writing, the staff canteen at Terminal 1 is under renovation. I’ll surely give it a visit and write about it once it’s completed.

Today, I’m going to show you how to find the new staff canteen at Terminal 2 because the canteen is rather hidden from the public. Continue reading “Singapore Changi Airport Staff Canteen at Terminal 2” →

NParks Intertidal Guided Walk Sisters Island - May 2017

Appreciating Marine Biodiversity at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park

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Do you know that Singapore has a Marine Park? I didn’t until last year. Upon researching about the islands, I learned that NParks conducts free guided walks twice a month. It’s called Intertidal Guided Walk. It is conducted during low tides of 0.4m or below, to let participants observe and interact with the marine life easily on the shore.

If you’re wondering whether it is worth your time to visit the Marine Park, read on as I share my experience about visiting Sisters’ Islands with NParks’ Intertidal Guided Walks. Continue reading “Appreciating Marine Biodiversity at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park” →

wedding on budget - indoor

How We Planned 3 Weddings on a Budget

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You must be thinking, “If you want a budget wedding, why not have 1 wedding instead of 3?” I know, our decision to have 3 weddings might sound ridiculously unwise to some. But we didn’t regret it even for a moment.

For we both love our family and friends back at our hometowns and home countries dearly, we want to share our happiness with all of them. I’m from Indonesia, he’s from Malaysia, so we’d have a wedding in Indonesia and Malaysia. In addition, we want to do the formal registration of marriage in Singapore, the country we are living in. That makes it 3 weddings in 3 countries!

The challenge in planning for 3 weddings lies in, obviously, the cost. Being a frugal couple, we wanted to cut as much unnecessary cost as possible. Continue reading “How We Planned 3 Weddings on a Budget” →

Mount Sinabung, Berastagi, North Sumatera

A short visit to the town of Berastagi

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From Sipiso-piso waterfall, we continued our journey to the town of Berastagi. I had been to Berastagi many times in the past but have never written about it. This time, our first stop in Berastagi was Eropah Restaurant where we had a great Chinese food for lunch. There are a few famous Chinese food restaurants in Berastagi: Eropah, Asia, and Timur. Asia and Eropah are just a few steps apart. Since Asia was not open that day, we settled for Eropah. Right after we were done for lunch, it rained heavily! But it didn’t hinder our determination to visit Fruit Market. Even though our drivers discouraged us from visiting the market when it rains, we decided to go for it. Continue reading “A short visit to the town of Berastagi” →

Sipiso-piso waterfall, Tongging, Lake Toba, North Sumatera

Sipiso-Piso Waterfall

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We had an early breakfast at the hotel before departing to Simanindo ferry terminal. Instead of taking ferry the usual way (from Tomok to Parapat), our driver suggested taking ferry from Simanindo to Tigaras, which is a shortcut to Berastagi.

The journey from our hotel in Tuk Tuk to Simanindo took about 30 mins. We arrived at Simanindo in time, enough to go to the toilet and do some quick shopping. The toilet has an awful smell, do not go if you don’t feel urgent. Feel free to donate as you wish for the toilet fee, there wasn’t any cleaner in sight. Continue reading “Sipiso-Piso Waterfall” →

Exploring Samosir Island

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Day 2 of our trip is dedicated to spending time on Samosir island. After breakfast, we went to Tomok village with our bus. The roads in Samosir island are narrow with electricity cables hanging low at certain locations. Our bus was like a Godzilla in a small city at times. Our driver drove extra carefully in order not to damage electricity cables, hit any properties or roaming animals. It was about 2-3 km drive from our hotel in Tuk Tuk to Tomok. Continue reading “Exploring Samosir Island” →

Lake Toba Samosir Tomok ferry

From Medan to Samosir Island (Lake Toba) via Siantar and Parapat

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The first leg of our Lake Toba & Berastagi journey started with a bus ride from Medan to Parapat. Parapat is a town from which travellers catch a ferry to go to Samosir island. The bus arrived at our hotel in Medan on time, at 8.30 am. Soon, we made our way to Parapat via Siantar. The duration from Medan to Parapat for a non-stop trip is approximately 4 hours. However, most people, including us, would stop at Siantar for souvenir shopping and lunch, thus extending the journey by 1-2 hours.

Our first stop in Siantar was Paten, it was a shop selling homemade local snacks. We got to try the samples before buying. Most of the snack cost IDR 25,000 per pack. Continue reading “From Medan to Samosir Island (Lake Toba) via Siantar and Parapat” →

4D3N Itinerary Lake Toba & Berastagi (North Sumatera, Indonesia) Trip with My Extended Family

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Now that my holiday blues have worn off, I’m ready to write about my trip to Lake Toba and Berastagi! After 6 months of sitting still, I finally got the chance to fly out of this tiny red dot of Singapore. This time, I went home for my wedding dinner reception! Since I am from Indonesia and my hubby is from Malaysia, we are having 2 wedding parties at each other’s hometowns. Indonesia’s wedding was in January, and Malaysia’s one is coming up soon in February.

Since my hubby’s family members are coming over all the way from Malaysia to attend the wedding, and my relatives are coming over from other Indonesia cities, we decided to organise a trip to Lake Toba and Berastagi after the wedding, to introduce the beauty of North Sumatera. Continue reading “4D3N Itinerary Lake Toba & Berastagi (North Sumatera, Indonesia) Trip with My Extended Family” →

samosir car ferry

Post-Holiday Blues

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Have you ever experienced coming back from a vacation feeling depressed? I have. Since 2005. And it’s still happening in 2017.

I have just returned from my hometown three days ago. My energy has been very low since my return to Singapore. I didn’t have much appetite nor enthusiasm. My mind kept on playing flashbacks of events that occurred during my time in my hometown. I felt tired most of the time. And I felt lonely in my rented apartment room when I was unpacking, doing housekeeping and clearing my emails. Continue reading “Post-Holiday Blues” →