Nostalgic..

I still feel like half my soul is left in New Zealand! Although I've just been back for 2 weeks, my travel bug is itching again and I found myself looking at travel packages to Hong Kong! (I think I really have a problem.)

Then again, work has been crazy and coming at me at full force. I know I said that this year will be the greatest year yet, but man, I'm going to have to earn every bit of that dollar. Ha! Okay, I'm supposed to blog about my New Zealand adventure, but I don't even know where to start.

Should I start at how terribly sick I got on the first day we reached Christchurch? Or maybe I should start describing how amazing and gorgeous New Zealand landscape and view is, and how I immediately got depressed that I probably wouldn't see that kind of view ever again. Or hey, maybe I can start writing about that breathtaking stargazing tour we had at Lake Tekapo, seeing Jupiter and the milky way and the most beautiful night sky full of stars that I have ever seen in one lifetime. Or the glow worm caves, or the zipline adventure in Queenstown, or the out-of-this-world Mount Cook and the glaciers at Franz Josef, or the horse riding journey along the lakes and mountains, feeling like Arwen in Lord of The Rings.. and I could go on forever.

But the sad thing is that nothing I would say could do any of it justice. Where's the blue lake and green mountains and bright blue sky?

Brb while I sob myself to sleep, dreaming of the gorgeous view of New Zealand..

Bintan Revisited

So I haven't really blogged about my family trip to Bintan last weekend, life has been quite a handful. But I've just gotten the pictures from my sis' camera so the good memories are flooding back again!

Anyway, the reason why we went to Bintan in the first place was first of all because Sis won a free stay at Bintan Lagoon Resort from her company as a reward for her excellent work! Yeah, she's been doing a great job there, and unlike other companies (ehem ehem), hers really make sure the employees feel appreciated. So she got a free room for two nights and we thought why not ask our Dad to join too and make this a family vacation? It's been ages since we had that. In fact, I can't remember the last time. Ever since our mom passed away, family vacation has been the least on our thoughts, but I think it's important now that we do it sometimes.

So we booked another room since they wouldn't allow 5 people to stay in only 1 room. And my sister and I took a day of leave on Friday and set out to Bintan until Sunday!

The ferry was super clean, and throughout the journey the television was playing Mickey Mouse cartoon. Not exactly engaging, but it was at least something to look at. The trip by ferry only took an hour or so.

After we arrived at the Bintan Ferry Terminal and got through Immigration, we were taken to a bus which would take us to the resort.

And this was what greeted us there. Some four dancers came out and danced to the local music played by these local musicians. It was quite nice, and we were given welcome drinks also. The check-in was fast, and we settled in our room.

To sleep? Don't you always goof around in the bed everytime you stay in a hotel, though?

We then went for lunch at an Indonesian-Chinese fusion restaurant in the resort. The fried rice was heavenly! That first day Dad wanted to see a friend of his in the city, so we rented a car and drove to Bintan city, which took 3 hours of commuting! I think the main difference was, well, in the resort we pay everything by Singapore Dollars still, and in the city, it was more resembling Indonesia. You'd find local food and small shops at the side of the streets selling corn, satay and meatballs and we use Rupiahs! Home sweet home. ;)

While waiting for Dad talking to his friend, we were outside goofing around and taking pictures.

See? The familiar sight of meatball seller on the street. None you can see in Singapore, but a sight of this, and you know you're home. (Well, if you're Indonesian like me. Duh.)

After we got back, we didn't do much of anything since it was already late! We just relaxed in our hotel room, and oh, we did buy some Padang food in the city so we had that for dinner.

The next day, we woke up early for breakfast and then it was water sport time! We tried out banana boat and also jetski which was such a rush! It was really awesome being outdoor and near the sea!

The restaurant / chilling area from the outside.

Palm trees and blue sky! We couldn't take pictures while we were jet skiing 'cos the camera shouldn't be wet! Quite bummed out that there weren't any pictures, but hey, it's all in here anyway, right? (pointing to the brain) Alright, that was dorky. We spent the entire morning and afternoon playing in the sea and came back to the room feeling energized but exhausted!

At night we had dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant, played footsie at the recreational room, had karaoke and watched telly until we fell asleep. It was a great day!

Food! Food! Glorious food!

On Sunday we had breakfast early and headed to the beach to take some pictures.



The weather was great when we were there. The day we were playing in the water, it wasn't so sunny, it was a little cloudy even, so that was great. On Sunday, it was way too hot outside, you can tell it from the pictures. So we thought, "wow, thank goodness we were doing all the sports yesterday, otherwise I would have been burnt to crisp!"

So at about 11 am, we boarded the bus back to the ferry terminal and headed home to Singapore. I know it was a short trip, but it was great and I'm glad we did it. :) So 'til next time!

Happiness Project - Day 20-23

1. I spent the last three days in Bintan with my family! It was such a great trip, and it was awesome being away from the city into the peacefulness of the nature and the great ocean. I definitely was in my element!

We tried out jetski and banana boat and we swam at the sea, spent time singing at the karaoke lounge, playing midnight foosball, tried out various different restaurants in the resort, took great pictures, relaxed at night in our resort room watching 'Survivor' and Discovery Channel, and most importantly, spent fun time together as a family. I can't remember the last time all of us really went on a holiday together. It was really great.

Even though my body's all sore now (result of being so unfit), and my butt hurts like mad, I am so glad we had that trip together, and I'm gonna post the pictures later on! :)

Don’t you think it’s better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?

This great hotel website

Movers and shakers of the world!

(Isn't that an empowering opening or what?!)

Some of you are probably wondering (or not), about this big banner right here on my right. Why am I suddenly putting a travel site?

I used to have a lot of family vacations when I was growing up, and it's something I would never trade for anything. The whole experience makes up my childhood, and even though I don't remember much about watching transvestites' shows in Bangkok, crossing the river to Hongkong, and feeding kangaroos in Sydney, I knew we were all there, and everytime we got together, snippets of funny stories from those trips never ceased to make us laugh.

It has been so long since we have one of those family trips, it's harder now to get all of us together now that we're busy with our own things. The next chance we get, it's gonna happen for sure. My dad has been working too hard, and what for? What's the point if he can't even enjoy himself? Take a break once in a while?

The last trip that I've gone was that month-long trip to the States, and I absolutely loved it. It reminds me how much I love travelling in the first place. (also part of why I love The Amazing Race so much.) I think everyone should travel more, and see the world, because there's nothing like it, really.

So when you're all ready to conquer the world, there's still the issue of accomodation. When we already spend much on the plane ticket itself, we sometimes compromise on the hotels. But we shouldn't; it's one of the most important aspect of a trip, because you don't really want to share bathroom with 10 other people in a hostel, or worry about hygene for that matter. My friends and I spent a lot of time choosing hotels for our trip, because we wanted it to be cheap, but still good enough. We compared prices, locations, services from various sites and had to read many reviews before making our decision. It's a lot of hassle.

Well, that's why I'm putting this site here. I came across it the other day and I really wanna share it with you guys. They are offering affordable hotels rates in Asia Pacific region in just one site. Here.

From all around Asia to Australia, it's so easy to find whatever hotels you want under any budgets (from cheaper to more luxurious!) For each country, you can find list of specific locations, and the site will show you all hotels within that area that you want, complete with the map, photos, hotel details, and rates.

(For example, if you click Indonesia, you will be able to see all hotels from each province and island. It really doesn't get any easier than this to plan a trip anywhere.)

I also love the fact that in each location you choose, they provide background information and popular places in the area, which makes it even easier for us to know where to visit!

If I knew about this sooner, I would advise my dad to take a look before he went to Hongkong a few weeks ago. So yeah, I thought I'd share it here, and hopefully some of you find this useful. Here's the website again. Here. Take a look and be inspired. Ha! It certainly makes me wanna pack my bags and leave for Cook Island or something. (Saw that on Survivor!)

In that note, we definitely need a family vacation again.

On a separate note, hope you guys have a great day. I'm gonna blog more later on.