House of Chua - Jeffrey Chua » Travel

How to go to tanah merah ferry terminal?

Jeffrey Chua — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:58:13 +0000

I am organizing a free and easy trip to bintan and i found that i cannot take the ferry from the usual Singapore Cruise Centre at harbourfront. I have to buy ferry tickets over at the other ferry terminal, the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (or TMFT).

You will need to take a MRT to the Tanah Merah mrt station, then change to Bus number 35 to reach the ferry terminal. The bus will take about 15 mins to reach the ferry terminal.

tanah merah to bintan

Kuala Lumpur 3D2N

Jeffrey Chua — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:56:39 +0000

Day 1: Singapore -> JAM -> Ming Ang -> Hotel -> Time Berjaya Square (Neway KTV with ah B) -> Back to Hotel Day 2: Breakfast next to Plaza Low Yat -> KL Bird Park -> Deer Park -> Lake Garden -> Mid Valley Mall -> Chinatown (Portugal grill fish with ah B) -> Sungei Wang Plaza -> BB Plaza -> Pavilion Day 3: Breakfast next to Plaza Low Yat -> jalan jalan -> Lunch at Outback -> Ming Ang -> JAM -> Singapore Related posts:Cameron Highlands, Malaysia 3D2N Japan trip 3 weeks (Free ... Related posts:

Jeffrey's wonderful world: Dili, Timor Leste

Jeffrey Chua — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:33:37 +0000

This was my first trip to Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. After trying very hard to fly some engineers into the country, i decided it is time to fly in myself. This was considered as “cost saving”.

Timor-Leste also known as the East Timor, it used to be part of Indonesia. Timor-Leste became an independent country on 2002 after some fierce struggle. Timor-Leste is a mysterious country to many people as it does not enjoy much publicity. In fact it is a rather strange country to me as well.

Jeffrey has landed in Dili, Timor Leste

Why Timor-Leste is an interesting country

1. The first language is Portuguese.

2. They deal in US dollar, no local currency.

3. They have a culture similar to Indonesian.

How to go to Timor Leste

I know three ways to travel to Dili, Timor-Leste

1. There are direct flight twice a week (Tuesday and Saturday) to Dili from Singapore by SilkAir. It can be difficult to book the flight on Tuesday.

2. There are daily flight to Dili from Bali Denpasar airport, Indonesia by Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

3. There are flight to Dili from Darwin by Airnorth.

Things to note when traveling to Dili, Timor-Leste

1. Timor-Leste is 1 hour ahead of SG time (GMT +9).

2. Visa on arrival US$30 for a period of 30 days stay. Owners of Portuguese passport are exempted.

3. Airport departure tax of US$10.

What is Timor-Leste good for?

Dili is good for a few things:

1. Fresh seafood

2. Coffee

3. Diving

Where did Jeffrey go?

I am there for work. So most of the time were spent with the customers/resellers. The only free time we had was mostly at night.

Jeffrey's first seafood dinner at Dili, Timor Leste.

We had the above dinner at a restaurant called Victoria. There was no fixed menu, you just go to their fridges and pick up whatever you like to eat, ask for the price and seal the deal. The chief really took their time to grill the seafood and we waited like more than an hour. Maybe due to extreme hunger, the seafood was fantastic (Haha…). To be honest, the seafood was extremely fresh. I heard from the local they were freshly caught every day.

Jeffrey visiting a local coffee factory

One of the morning, our Dili contact brought us to a coffee factory. I have been to a few tea factories but this was my first time seeing how coffee beans are processed into coffee powders. The place was very fuming. This was the day i breathed in the most coffee fume/powder. Timor Leste produces some of the best Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. The local told me that the Robusta beans are higher in caffeine and can make you stay awake a whole day. Wow!

Jeffrey bought a packet of Arabica coffee beans

I have been hearing those coffee grinding machines working very hard in Starbuck, Coffee bean and TCC, so I decided to buy a pack of the coffee beans to experiment. First i need to get myself a mini grinder. Any recommendation?

Jeffrey visiting the market places

We moved on to visit the various market places. The locals sell their goods mainly along the beach or roadsides. Their goods range from chickens, fruits, fishes, handy crafts, coconuts and honey drinks. We also saw a few rare stuffs along the way like below.

A taxi driver trying to sell a sword fish he has caught in the morning.

Before the trip, i did some research on Dili. There is a Jesus statue on the far eastern end of the island. So i asked my local contact person to bring us there. Along the way, we were mesmerized by the unspoilt beach. Wow! Wow!

Beach view at Dili, Timor-Leste

After some stairs climbing, we reached the bottom of the Jesus statue… … Only to find that it was under renovation. So sad…

Jesus statue in Dili

Ok lah! Let’s go for a good dinner! The local decided to bring us to the best western food eating place. The journey was rather long. The road condition was very poor. There were many potholes. The local has to drive very slow in order not to damage his car’s suspension.

Jeffrey eating the famous steak and drinking local beer.

A Malaysian runs this western food restaurant cum hotel. The owner built a “private” jetty and put up a eating place on the seaside. The place offers a very good atmosphere to rest and relax. The steak was great!

Jeffrey at various places

Near my return day, the local brought me all over the places for some last minute visit.

Jeffrey left Dili, Timor-Leste

Jeffrey世界正美麗，我們一起走出去!

Jeffrey’s wonderful world: Japan

Jeffrey Chua — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:03:02 +0000

The wonderful world of Japan. I went to the Ueno Park on the first day outing in Tokyo, Japan.

Jeffrey at Ueno Park

Jeffrey世界正美麗，我們一起走出去!

Jeffrey's wonderful world: Cambodia

Jeffrey Chua — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:16:14 +0000

Tonight i was inspired by Miss Duck to write about this article. The wonderful world of Cambodia.

Jeffrey at Cambodia

Jeffrey世界正美麗，我們一起走出去!

One day Batam trip

Jeffrey Chua — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:59:17 +0000

One day Batam trip to eat and shop. A group of us decided to go Batam (free and easy) on a weekend. Batam is an Indonesia island very close to Singapore.

How to go Batam

There are many providers to bring you to Batam from Singapore. Some of them are located in Harbourfront center. They are the Penguin, Wave master and BatamFast. They operate ferry serice to and from Batam Center and Singapore at regular intervals.

Things to note when going to Batam

1. Batam is 1 hour behind SG time.

2. Beside the ferry ticket, there is a fuel surcharge of S$6 (both ways) and port fee of S$7 on return.

Batam, here we go

We met at 830 at Habourfront mrt in the morning and booked the tickets for the 0930 ferry with BatamFast. Their price was cheaper.

Our ferry to Batam

Inside the ferry to Batam

The ferry was pretty crowded today. The journey took us around an hour to reach the Batam Center.

Welcome to Batam center

While walking over to the Hyper Mart/Mega Mall, we saw a nostalgia bear, the A&W Bear we used to see in many locations in Singapore. They can be found in many places in Batam.

A&W Bear at Batam

The main travel medium in Batam is by taxi and they are not running on meters. There are licensed taxis as well as unlicensed ones (or private cars). I recommend you to take those licensed taxis if your safety is more important. The licensed taxis charge a higher price. If you are on budget, then you may want to consider those private cars, the locals are friendly people. Our first stop is to Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall. It is one of the latest shopping mall and offers many food and clothing shops.

Nagoya Hill Shopping Center, Batam

It has a huge floor area devoted to Food Street.

Food street in Nagoya Hill Batam

Here is the other side of the food street.

Another side of the food street

After shopping for a while, we went to the top floor’s Bistro Godiva for lunch.

Nagoya Hill Bistro Godiva

I ordered the steak.

Steak at Batam

and the Avocado milkshake. This is a very popular drink in Batam.

Batam Avocado milkshake

Another interesting observation is many restaurants are offering free wifi service. You can bring your netbook along too.

After more shopping,we had some A&W root beer floats.

A&W root beer floats

Here is a closer view of the root beer.

My A&W root beer

We continue to the next stop, Lucky Plaza, and then move on quickly to DC Mall. It has changed a lot since our last visit. Next we returned to the Hyper Mart/ Mega Mall for light meal at their KFC. We tried one of their local drinks, the fruit tea.

Fruit tea at KFC Batam

After a short rest, we returned to the Port and board our ferry to return to Singapore.

Ferry back to Singapore

Batam 2D1N – 01/02 Jan 2009

Jeffrey Chua — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:43:13 +0000

Day 1: SG -> Batam -> Maha Vihara Maitreya Laughing Buddha Temple -> Barelang Fisabililah Bridge -> Bengkong Local Dry Food Stuff Market -> Golden Prawn Seafood Restaurant (Lunch) -> Pondok Wista Cultural Dance -> GTS Local Tourist Shop -> Polo Outlets -> Nagoya Hill Shopping Center -> Planet Holiday Hotel (Dinner). Day 2: Breakfast -> Combination Therapy (Feet therapy, head and shoulder massage) -> Mega Mall (Lunch) ->Batam Center Ferry Terminal -> Singapore. Related posts:One day Batam trip Kuala Lumpur 3D2N Cameron Highlands, Malaysia 3D2N Related posts:

Sri Lanka (Second visit, 14-23Sep)

Jeffrey Chua — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:30:51 +0000

Day 1: Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple

Day 2: Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara

Day 3 20 Sep: Kalutara temple -> Kande Uiharaye (Temple of Mount)

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia 3D2N

Jeffrey Chua — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:37:41 +0000

Day 1 15 Aug: Singapore -> Cameron (overnight coach)

Day 2 16 Aug: Stop over at Hotel Brinchang (Signed up Agro Delight tour for RM$65) -> Check in to Hotel Equatorial -> Mini Orchard -> Flower nursery -> Water-cress farm -> Strawberry plucking at Kok Lim Strawberry farm -> Hydrophonic farming at Red Big Strawberry farm -> Cactus Valley -> Steamboat dinner -> Night Market

Day 3 17 May: BOH Tea Center Sungei Palas -> Sam Poh Temple -> Parit Falls -> Hotel -> Durian tea break at Brinchang Central Market -> Shopping -> Foot Massage -> Night Market

Day 4 18 May: Watch Sunrise -> Breakfast -> Back to Singapore.

Japan trip 3 weeks (Free and easy)

Jeffrey Chua — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:18:47 +0000

Day 1 26 Apr: Singapore -> Tokyo Narita Airport

Day 2 27 Apr: Ueno Park 上野公园 -> Kyomizu Guanyin Temple -> Ueno Toshogu’s Botan display -> Ueno Zoo -> Akihabara -> Asakusa Bashi -> Sensoji Temple -> Kaminarimon (Thunder) Gate 雷门 -> Nakamise-dori Arcade (Shopping Street)

Day 3 28 Apr: Kitakami 北上

Day 4 29 Apr: Kamakura? 鎌倉 Yuigahama Beach -> Great Buddha -> Hasedera Temple 長谷寺 -> Komachi-dori Street (Shopping Street) -> Hokoku-ji -> Yorakuchou BIC Camera

Day 5 30 Apr: Nikko 日光 -> Chuzenji Lake 中禅寺湖 -> Mt. Nantai 男体山 -> Chuzenji Tachiki Kannon 中禅寺立木观音 -> Kegon Waterfall -> Rinno-Ji 輪王寺 -> Toshogu 东照宫 -> Futarasan Main Shrine 二荒山神社 -> Shin-kyo Bridge 神桥 -> Kanman Park -> Kanmangafuchi Abyss

Day 6 1 May: Mitaka 三鷹 Ghibli Museum -> Akihabara

Day 7 2 May: Tokyo Sea Life Park -> Kasai Rinkai Park -> Panasonic Building

Day 8 3 May: Yokohama 横浜 Parade -> Harbour View Park -> Chinatown -> Red Bricks Houses -> Yamshita Park -> Yokohama Hard Rock -> Nihonmaru Ship 日本丸

Day 9 4 May: Shibuya?渋谷 Hachiko (忠犬ハチ公) -> Ginza Shopping (Sakuraya, BIC Camera, Lemon, Nikon House) -> Akihabara (Ishimaru, Yodobashi)

Day 10 5 May: DisneySEA

Day 11 6 May: Hakone -> Odawara-jo 小田原城 -> Begonia Garden -> Mountain Railway -> Gora?Park -> Mt. Souzan -> Togendai (Lake Ashi)

Day 12 7 May: Tsukiji Fish Market -> Imperial Palace -> Asakusa -> Asahi Building -> Sumida Park

Day 13 8 May: Osaka Aquarium -> Tsurumiryokuchi Park?花博纪念公圆鹤见绿地 -> Amerikamura アメリカ村 -> Dotonbori Food Street

Day 14 9 May: Hiroshima Miyajima jinja -> Kyoto Tower

Day 15 10 May: Golden Temple 金閣寺 -> Ryoanji 龙安寺 ->?Tenryuji -> Togetsukyo Bridge?渡月桥 -> 手塚治虫World

Day 16 11 May: Kiyomizudera Temple 清水寺 -> Ryozen Kwannon 灵山观音 -> Fushimi Inari Shrine 伏見稲荷大社 -> Amerikamura アメリカ村 -> Dotonbori Food Street -> 夫妇善哉 ->?法善寺

Day 17 12 May: Nara Todai-ji 东大寺 -> Nara Park -> Kofuku-ji -> Den den town

Day 18 13 May: Osaka Castle -> Osaka Bay Cruise on Santa Maria Ship -> Suntory Museum IMAX -> WTC Cosmo Tower -> SHOP 99

Day 19 14 May: Back to Tokyo and Yurakucho’s BIC Camera.

Day 20 15 May: Hikarigaoka, invited to a Japanese lunch by AKA’s friend, Megumi-san.

Day 21 16 May: Morioka

Day 22 17 May: I fell sick, 我病了.

Day 23 18 May: (AKA back to Singapore) Harajuku 原宿’s Takeshita Street -> ?Ueno’s Ameyoko アメ横??Market Street -> 二木之果子 -> Snoopy Town -> Tokyo Character Story -> Pokemon Center TOKYO -> Tokyo Tower

Day 24 19 May: Kawasaki Plaza. Goodbye Japan.