Hari keempat di Aceh (hari kedua di Banda Aceh)

Hari ini, aku cuma ingin eat and shop.

Sudah empat hari di sini, aku dapati Aceh is not a food haven. Untuk sarapan pagi, kebanyakan penduduk Aceh makan nasi putih bersama sup sapi dan sambal hijau. Satu lagi alternatif adalah, lontong.

Selepas sarapan, kami mundar mandir di kawasan sekitar Hotel Siwah. Banyak juga kedai-kedai yang menjual ole-ole tetapi kebanyakan adalah produk berasaskan tas tangan atau beg wanita. Pilihan untuk fridge magnets tidak banyak.

Kami naik becak untuk ke Hermes Mall, pusat membeli belah utama di Banda Aceh. Tiada yang menarik, umpama Ampang Point. Aku sempat juga membeli pakaian untuk anak-anak buah, dan juga sepersalinan untuk diri sendiri.

Dalam perjalanan balik, aku singgah di supermarket untuk membeli roti and pastries untuk kudapan dalam bilik sambil tonton saluran Macau TV.

Malamnya, kami ke food court berdepan dengan Hotel Medan.

Tak sabar yang pulang ke tanahair.

Hari ketiga di Pulau Weh, hari pertama di Banda Aceh

OTepat jam 7 pagi, Pak Jaffar sudah tunggu di hadapan Hotel Citra untuk membawa kami ke Pelabuhan Balohan.

Kali ini, kami menggunakan perkhidmatan feri perlahan. Ada dua jenis tiket iaitu tiket VIP berharga 60,000 dan tiket ekonomi berharga 25,000. Terdapat kantin di dek atas feri yang menjual kuih muih dan minuman. Sebiji kuih berharga 1,000.

Perjalanan dengan feri perlahan mengambil masa kurang lebih sejam 30 minit. Ferinya bertolak tepat pada masanya. Setibanya di Pelabuhan Ulele, kami dijemput oleh Pak Jo.

Destinasi pertama kami adalah Masjid Baitul Rahim, satu-satunya struktur yang terselamat daripada Tsunami di kawasan Ulele dan kawasan ini adalah yang terjejas teruk dengan bencana tersebut.

Seterusnya kami berhenti di Rumah Aceh di Lampisang yang merupakan replika kediaman kemerdekaan Aceh iaitu Srikandi Cut Nyak Dien.

Replika Rumah Cuk Nyak Dien

Hentian seterusnya adalah pantai Lampuung dan kawasan penempatan baru Lohknga. Pak Jo menerangkan perbezaan rumah-rumah bantuan yang dibina oleh kerajaan Turki, Jerman, Arab Saudi, Jepun dan Amerika Syarikat. Menurutnya ada juga rumah bantuan dari dana Malaysia tetapi aku tidak sepanjang seharian dibawa berjalan.

Pantai Lampuuk

Perahu dan bot di pantai Lampuuk

Masjid Rahmatullah, Lampuuk

 Selesai sahaja merehatkan minda dengan pemandangan pantai yang cantik dan mendamaikan, kami dibawa ke pusat kota untuk melihat kesan-kesan bencana tsunami.

Oleh kerana Museum Tsunami Aceh hanya buka pada jam 2 petang selepas solat zuhur, kami mengisi perut di Rumah Makan Aceh.

Aku sangat suka senibina Museum Tsunsmi Aceh. Unik dan Gah. Namun, kuratornya biasa-biasa sahaja. Tayangan dokumentarinya tidak memberi impak seperti yang diharap-harapkan. Walau bagaimanapun terdapat beberapa foto yang meruntun jiwa.

Bendera negara-negara yang membantu membangunkan Aceh

Senibina Museum Tsunami Aceh

Museum Tsunami Aceh

Di belakang muzium ini, terdapat kubur-kubur lama penjajah Belanda, yang dikenali sebagai Peucut Kerkhof. Dikhabarkan kira-kira 2,000 askar Belanda telah terkorban dalam peperangan Aceh.

Tsunami tour diteruskan dengan persinggahan di Situs Tsunami PLTD Apung. Dengar khabar, pihak berkuasa sedang berusaha untuk menjadikan kawasan ini sebagai salah satu World's Heritage Sites.

Kapal seberat 2,600 tan hanyut dibawa bah tsunami sejauh 5km

Berdiri di pintu masuk Situs Tsunami PLTD Apung

Aku secara peribadi menganggap struktur batu ini adalah antara peninggalan sejarah yang paling hodoh yang pernah aku lawati. Ia dipanggil Gunongan, satu taman buatan yang dibuat oleh Sultan Iskandar Muda untuk isterinya, seorang puteri yang berasal dari Pahang, Malaysia. Ia dibina untuk menghilangkan kerinduan sang isteri terhadap kampung halaman. Taman ini dibina kurang lebih 40 tahun sebelum Taj Mahal.

Gunongan yang juga dikenali sebagai Taman Putroe Phang 

59 orang dikatakan telah berlindung dalam kapal ini semasa bencana tsunami

Masjid Raya Baiturrahman

Menara Masjid Raya Baiturrahman

Hari kedua di Pulau Weh, Aceh

Kami mulakan hari kedua dengan bersarapan di Kedai Aneka Ria. Aku cuba nasi lemak dan kopi O. Nasi lemaknya berbeza dengan versi Malaysia. Nasi dihidang bersama-sama kerepok ikan, kriuk, kacang dan sambal yang rasanya pekat bak sambal belacan. Aku tambah rendang ayam sebagai lauk tambah. Harga nasi lemak ialah 15,000 and kopi Acehnya 4,000.

Tepat jam 9 pagi, Pak Jaffar sudah sedia menunggu kami di hadapan hotel. Perhentian pertama kami adalah KM0. Di sini adalah awal sempadan Republik Indonesia. Pemandangan laut dari tebingnya sangat indah dan mendamaikan. Tiada bayaran masuk. Dan terdapat deretan kedai-kedai yang menjual makanan, minuman dan ole-ole.

Kilometer Nol

Pemandangan dari tebing Kilometer Nol

Tugu lama Kilometer Nol

Perhentian kedua adalah Iboih. Ini adalah tumpuan untuk scuba divers. In shaa Allah, kalau diizinkan Allah taala, aku ingin ke sini semula untuk buat scuba diving. 

Pantainya bersih dan lautnya jernih, memang cocok untuk aktiviti snorkeling juga. Terdapat beberapa resort yang sesuai mengikut bajet masing-masing. Berdepan dengan pantai Iboih, ada sebuah pulau yang dipanggil Pulau Rubiah. Nama Iboih diambil daripada seorang lelaki tempatan di situ dan Rubiah adalah isteri beliau.

Kedai runcit yang dipunyai oleh seorang wanita tempatan

Pantai Iboih tatkala air surut

Salah satu penginapan di Iboih

Perhentian ketiga adalah Gapang, satu lagi tumpuan untuk aktiviti pantai. Akan tetapi selenggara kawasannya kurang terjaga. Terdapat beberapa resort di sini, termasuk Lumba-Lumba, yang diusahakan oleh pasangan daripada Belanda.

Kami sempat berborak dengan seorang wanita dari Jakarta yang berkahwin penduduk tempatan. Beliau cukup mengagumi Malaysia, dan menanam hajat untuk ke Kuala Lumpur.

Kami segera balik untuk mengejar solat Jumaat.

Pantai Gapang di sebelah kanan 

Pantai Gapang di sebelah kiri

Perhentian keempat adalah Sumur Tiga. Satu lagi tumpuan untuk aktiviti pantai. Pantainya putih, masih tidak terusik.

Pantai Sumur Tiga

Pohon-pohon kelapa di pantai Sumur Tiga

Perhentian kelima kami adalah Kubu Jepang. Kawasan berkelah seisi keluarga dan kaki pancing.

Pemandangan laut dari tebing Kubu Jepun

Penduduk tempatan berkelah di Kubu Jepun

Perhentian keenam kami adalah Masjid Agung Sabang dan Bulatan Sabang. Senibinanya lain sedikit daripada masjid-masjid di Banda Aceh tetapi kubahnya tetap diwarnakan dengan warna gelap.

Masjid Babussalam yang juga dikenali sebagai Masjid Agung Sabang 

Bulatan di Kota Sabang

Perhentian ketujuh kami adalah Taman Ria dan Kantor Walikota.

Tugu peringatan di Taman Ria, Kota Sabang

Kantor Walikota Kota Sabang

Pak Jaafar menghantar kami pulang ke Hotel Citra tika azan Maghrib baru dilaungkan. Kami rehat seketika, mandi dan solat sebelum keluar semula untuk makan malam.

Sebelum pulang ke hotel, kami pusing-pusing Kota Sabang melihat suasana malam. 

Banda Aceh, Aku Datang

Sudah lama aku teringin untuk menjengah ke bumi yang pernah dilanggar tsunami kurang lebih sedekad lalu.

Pada awalnya, kami bertiga - aku, Aidie dan Mazlye. Dua tiga hari sebelum berangkat, Aidie menghantar mesej yang mengatakan bahawa dia tidak dapat sertai lawatan bersama-sama kami :(

Nasib baik Mazlye bersetuju untuk teruskan juga. Langsung kami ke Banda Aceh dengan tiada tempah penginapan dan pengangkutan, kerana tempahan awal yang aku buat telah dibatalkan gara-gara diyakini oleh Aidie agar menggunakan khidmat kawannya di Banda Aceh. Namun, apabila Aidie membatalkan pemergiannya, rencananya lenyap juga.

Alhamdulillah, penerbangan yang mengambil masa sejam sejam 15 minit itu telah selamat mendarat di Bandar Udara Sultan Iskandar Muda sekitar jam 1.35 tengahari, waktu tempatan.

Mengikut wikitravel, keluar sahaja dari terminal lapangan terbang itu, belok kiri dan terus berjalan sehingga nampak airportbus. Hasilnya? Nan ado!

Aku segera bertanya dengan gadis di kaunter Rotiboy tentang jadual bas ke pusat bandar. Katanya, sejam lagi.

Diusik rasa khuatir akan ketinggalan feri terakhir di Pulau Weh (Sabang), kami terus setuju dengan pujukan abg Amir untuk menggunakan khidmat teksi sapunya. Harga yang diputuskan adalah 140,000 + 10,000 (taxi tax???), terus kereta jenis Avanza itu bergerak ke Pelabuhan Ulele. Dalam perjalanan ke sana, abg Amir rancak menunjukkan kawasan-kawasan yang terkesan dengan bencana tsunami. Di samping itu, ada juga penempatan baru yang dibina dengan dana dari luar. Jalan raya yang dilalui itu dikatakan dibiayai oleh kerajaan Jepun.

Sempat juga abg Amir berhenti di satu mass grave, yang menjadi tempat bersemadi 40,000  jenazah.

Di terminal feri, ada dua pilihan pengangkutan ke Pelabuhan Balohan (Pulau Weh) iaitu feri cepat and feri perlahan. Memandangkan kami masih belum ada penginapan di Sabang, niat di hati agar segera sampai dan terus cari hotel di Sabang. Ada dua syarikat yang mengendalikan iaitu Kapal Cepat dan Rondo Feri. Kami pilih Kapal cepat kerana kaunter itu sahaja yang berpenjaga. Kami membeli tiket Eksekutif yang berharga 85,000 seorang. VIP tiket berharga 105,000 dan cuma ada 30 kerusi sahaja dan pembelinya akan dihidang snek ringan.

Balik nanti, kami ingin menggunakan feri perlahan kerana menurut seorang wanita yang duduk di belakang aku, beza masa perjalanan cuma 15-20 minit sahaja. Ada dua jenis tiket juga, yang mahal berharga 60,000 dan yang murah berhargs 25,000.

Sampai sahaja di Pelabuhan Balohan, aku mengekori wanita yang menjadi rakan borak dalam feri tadi, dengan harapan dia boleh dapatkan pak supir yang bisa membantu kami mencari hotel di Kota Sabang.

Supir kami bernama Pak Jaafar, orang tempatan yang ada iras-iras orang Asia Selatan. Rancak juga beliau berbicara tentang Sabang dan kawasan-kawasan sekitarnya. Sabang adalah pusat pentadbiran dan perniagaan di Pulau Weh. Akhirnya kami mendapat kamar di Hotel Citra dengan harga 250,000 semalam. Hotel ini baru dua tahun beroperasi dan warnanya ungu agak menyerlah!

Day Three in Bangkok

Today I'm on my own because my host is working. At first, I wanted to have breakfast at the halal foodstall in front of Tesco Lotus, but unfortunately it was closed.

So, I went to Tesco Lotus and bought myself some green salad, white bread, tuna spread, banana and low-fat milk. After that, I headed straight away to Abstracts, and having my breakfast overlooking Lad Phrao and Chatuchak from level 31 of Abstracts.

I received a text from my cousin, asking a favour to buy him an iPad Mini cover. But he asked me to get it from MBK Mall. Although the weather was not as hot as yesterday in Udon Thani, I was hesitated to go all the way to Sukhimvit. So, I just walked to Union Mall.

To be continued...

Day Two in Vientiane

I started my second day in the capital city of Laos with American breakfast - toast with butter and jam and a cup of black tea. Andrew had got up earlier and went out for a walk while Masahiede was still sleeping.

Just right before I chewed my last bite of toast, the Dutch lady (I'm so sorry, I really cannot recall her name) came and joined me.

We talked about work and of course, travel. She's a buying assistant (her own word) for a chain of departmental stores in the Netherlands. This is her second time to the Southest Asia region. She visited Indonesia five ago and now she is on a mission to cover Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

Like Andrew and I, we're leaving Laos today but on different journeys. She will be taking a sleeper bus to Luang Prabang, the journey that I'm dying to go! While Andrew will be taking the 9.30 am bus to Vien Vang, I will be taking a two-hour bus trip to Udon Thani, before taking sleeper train to Bangkok.

At about 9.15 am, I bid farewell to Masaheidi, Andrew, Emma and the Dutch lady. Instead of taking tuk-tuk, I decided to walk my way to the Central Bus Station. On my way there, I stopped for a while at the Vientiane Jamia Masjid, which is next to the Ibis Hotel. The masjid was built in 1970 with the donations from Lao people. It's a small green-coloured mosque, but unlike Jamia Masjid in Bangkok or Yangoon, the nearby food stalls do not sell halal food :(

I also passed by the National Library and the Presidential Palace. Nevertheless, these two places are not open to public (tourists in the case the National Library) and I just took a couple of pictures from outside. Opposite the Presidential Palace is Sisaket Museum, which was in 1818.

Not far from this museum is Sala Tao Mall, and I guess it's the only shopping mall in the city centre because I didn't find any in my two days there. Next to the mall is the infamous Morning Market, which opens until evening every day. I did not give them a visit because I don't have much kip left. So, I went straight away to the bus station, which is just across the street. The bus station was built in 1990 with funding from the Japanese government. If I'm not mistaken, there were quite a number of development projects in Vientiane that were funded by foreign governments such as Japanese, Vietnamese, German and French.

The bus station is also small, which caters both intra and inter city buses. I bought a 10.30 am ticket which costs only 22,000 kip. The bus fare to Nong Khai is only 15,000 kip.

The 48-seater bus was full, with only four foreigners and the rest are Laotians and it departed at 10.30 sharp. It used the same Frienship Bridge as the shuttle train I took from Nong Khai to Thanaleng. The security process at both immigration checks were quick and smooth. Alhamdulillah, slightly over an hour, the bus sped up it way to Udon Thani after crossing the border.

Goodbye Laos, in shaa Allah, will visit you again.

A Day in Udon Thani

The bus that I took from Vientiane, Laos arrived at Udorn Thani Bus Station at about 12.30 pm.

The weather was hot and dry. I quickly walked to the nearby shopping mall i.e. Central Plaza Udon Thani. I was strolling the 5-storey mall with the intention to grab a quick lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't have much choice. The safest option is filet-o-fish at McDonald's. As per tips given by Encik OC, you just need to ask what kind of cooking oil they use, whether it's vegetable-based or animal-based. 

Next, I went to the Apple reseller store to recharge my iPhone before proceeding to the train station. Central Plaza is not that far from the train station, about 5-minute walking. The train fare is 669 baht, which means 19 baht cheaper than the fare from Nong Khai. Once again, I bought the upper berth because of two reasons. Firstly, it's a night trip so I won't be seeing anything much. Secondly, it will be less cool in the upper berth because cool air is heavier than warm air (if my secondary school Physics still do me justice).

I asked the tourist policeman whether there is locker for rental so that I could leave my bag while strolling along the nearby UD Town. He was very kind to offer to look after my bag himself  in his office. Alhamdulillah, there are still kind-hearted people around :)

Udon Thani or some may call it Udorn, is a city in the northeastern Thailand, in a region called Isaan. It's about 82 km from Vientiane and about 60 km  and 564 km from Nong Khai and Bangkok respectively. Beside bus and train station, it also has its own airport. Basically, the city is well-connected with various mode of transportation.

To be continued...

Day One in Vientiane

The train arrived at Nong Khai station around 8.50 am and I got about 10 minutes to purchase a connecting train ticket to Vientiane and get my passport stamped at the immigration check before boarding the train that scheduled to depart at 9 am. The ticket cost 300 baht, whereby 20 bath for the train and the balance for a bus shuttle from Thanaleng to Vientiane city center.

The immigration check at Nong Khai was fast, but its counterpart in Thanaleng was slow and directionless. I was queuing at the Visa on Arrival counter, but was told to go to the next window since I'm from an ASEAN country. When it came to my turn, I was told to fill up the arrival/departure card there and then. Would be more useful if we were given the card way in advance. All in all, the whole process took about 20 minutes, before getting the ninth ASEAN country stamp stamped on my passport. Yeahhh!!!

My happiness diminished slowly as I have to wait for my shuttle-bus-mates to finish theirs. At about 9.50 am, the bus departed and arrived in Vientiane city centre 30 minutes later. We're dropped off near the National Museum.

Since I have yet to arrange for my accommodation, I decided to tag along with another two first-timers to Vientiante. One is an American who is teaching English in Thailand and another one is a Japanese who is currently reading a law degree in Kyoto.

Andrew suggested that we take tuk-tuk to Sihome Guesthouse. The tuk-tuk driver asked for 40 baht each from the three of us, since non of us have kip.

To be continued...

Day Two in Bangkok

Sal brought me to Old Siam Plaza for fabric shopping. The two-storey plaza was not that big and seemed to specialise in mature Thais' fashion. There is one section on the ground floor that sells Thai's delicacies.

In terms of fabrics, only one store (on the ground floor too) that owned by a Punjabi family offers some varieties of fabrics.

On the second floor, a lot of shops sell either thai silk or women dresses. Again, they seem to cater for professional or mature women. Also, shops selling jeweleries, shoes and women assessories.

Overall, the place is very clean and offers pleasant shopping ambience.

From there, we took a cab to Platinum Fashion Mall to collect some goods that we pre-ordered yesterday. Once again, I was surprised with the varieties of clothing and assessories offered here.

On the way back to Abstracts, we stopped at Tesco Lotus to buy travel-sized toileteries and fruits in preparation for my trip to Laos.

After a quick shower, Sal sent me to Hua Lamphong train station. At first, I thought of buying pad thai rice in case I feel hungry on the train or I could have it for my breakfast next morning. I am sure whether the guilt feeling of eating rice or the worry that it will be sploilt that made me to change my mind to buy buns instead. Pandan and taro/yem buns each and a 1.5l mineral water, plus some apples and bananas that I've bought earlier to accompany me in a 12/13-hour train journey. I tried to buy a reading material or two but cannot find any English magazines or novels. All are in Thai. What a good lesson for me not to forget to bring some from home.

The train did not depart at 8pm sharp and unlike my Bangkok-Butterworth journey in October 2013, I didn't wander around, hence didn't make new friends on train.

Only at the Udon Thani station, I realised that I'd left the charger at Sal's place and iPhone has already dead.

Another good lesson for me, I guess :)

Day One in Bangkok

We started our day a short ride in motorcycle taxi to Phahon Yothin MRT station. I didn't try this mode of transport in my first two visit, so I was kind of excited at this new experience. The 2 or 3 minutes ride without any safety gear costs 15 baht.

The first stop was a clinic in Sukhumvit because Sal had an appointment at 10.30 am. Before we had our brunch, Sal brought me to a Doi Krom outlet, a Thai Royal project to raise the standard of living of rural poor. His Majesty had donated fund to build a manufacturing plant to process agricultural produce into F&B, and health and beauty products.

My first Thai dish for this year was a plate of seafood pad thai. This local restaurant boast a claim that their food was ranked by CNN Travel as Top Five's Best Food! The portion was generous with 'lauk' but contained very little rice noodles. It costed 135 bath with a glass of very sweet fresh bael juice.

With a full stomach, Sal and I went to Platinum Fashion Mall for our retail therapy. According to my host, this is THE place to shop fabrics and clothes. It is situated next to Indra arcade and near the Pratunam market. Here, you are entitled for wholesale price if you purchase in quantity of three. "One, normal price. Three, wholesale price", the common tagline used/adopted by the retailers there. After two hours of strolling the five-storey shopping mall, the time has come for a drink. We decided to join the crowd in Swensens for its all-time favourite, the creamy (and guilty) iced white tea. 

At first, we thought of taking cab to the Hua Lamphong train station to purchase advance ticket to Laos. It all changed when we failed to a taxi, and Sal suddenly saw the 'blue bus'. This is a free bus service sponsored by some rich people in Thailand for selected routes. Although the aim was to go to the train station, once again our plan changed with spontaneous idea to visit Rattanakosin Island.

According to the travel guide, the man-made island was created when King Rama I moved the Thai capital to Bangkok and ordered the construction of canals circling the royal city. Important landmarks here include the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho. Nearby, there is a jetty (Tian Pier) for boats to ferry you to the other side of the riverbank. 

We took 8 baht boat ride to visit one of Bangkok's most spectacular sights i.e. Wat Arun. The temple is not huge, but it has a steep steps to the top of its porcelain-bedecked prang that gives nice view of Rattanakosin Island. We didn't stay that long because it was hot and we were sweating like pigs. We took the same boat (they call it ferry) back to Rattanakosin Island and strolled along the sourvenir shops near the Silapakorn University until we found the Bangkok Smiles Bike station.

Some of the architectures around the Old Siam

Sal came up with this wild idea of cycling our way to Hua Lamphong train station! I don't even cycle in Kuala Lumpur, and the last time I rode a bicycle was 2008 when my friends and I visited the Putrajaya Wetland Park. Frankly speaking, I'd never ride a bicycle in city, what more big and congested cities like Bangkok.

At the end, I managed to buy my train ticket and definitely we lost a few pounds from that 90-plus minutes ride. And not to forget, the golden opportunity to see the colourful life of typical Thais outside the touristic areas of Bangkok.

After returning the bicycles to the station which situated next to Tourist Police post, we had a leisure 5-minute walk to bring down our temperature. We found a halal foodstall near the Nagaraphirom Park and stopped for another delicious seafood pad thai. This one is cheaper (60 baht) and gave more rice noodles but less 'lauk'. 

By the time we finished our meal, the time is just perfect to view Wat Arun at sunset. So, we walked to the nearby Sala Arun, a boutique hotel which has an open deck cafe overlooking the Temple of Dawn. The sunset view of Wat Arun from Tian Pier side was kind of overrated to me. 

Enjoying the sunset overlooking the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

After we finished our drink, we walked our way to the flower market. Ya Rabbi, I've never been to a market that sell flowers of this scale. And the flowers are cheap too! A two dozen-plus of red roses was only 40 baht!!! No way I can get such price in Kuala Lumpur. At least, I found one thing that is cheaper here in Bangkok than my hometown.

Colourful and cheap fresh flowers at the flower market

At 8 pm, we decided to call it a day and took a bus home. The bus fare was 8 baht in case you're wondering :) 

Sawasdee Khrap Bangkok

This is my third visit to Bangkok. Whilst the first one was in 2005, the second trip was quite recent i.e. in October 2013. My initial plan was to use Suvarnabhuhmi Airport as a transit for onward journey to Vientiane. Laos is one of two ASEAN countries that I've yet to visit. The other one is Brunei Darussalam.

It all changed when I received an invitation from an old friend, Sal who has just relocated to the Land of Smiles in October 2013, to crash at his place. His offer to show me around Bangkok had made me to bring forward my flight from Sunday to Friday.

My MH0769 flight landed safely around 11 pm and the immigration and security checks took about 30 minutes. I met Sal at Exit 3, and we took taxi to his residence in Lad Phrao/Chatuchak area. The cost of the taxi ride was 300 baht. Well, I hardly take cabs in Kuala Lumpur, so I cannot compare it with KL rate. According to Sal, living costs in Bangkok is trended upward and nowadays more and more things here come with higher price tag than in Kuala Lumpur, especially residential properties. His two-room condominium unit, for example, comes with a monthly rental of 25,000 baht. Even ready-to-wear clothes at Uniqlo and Zara will cost much less in Kuala Lumpur.

This piece of information has made me to reconsider my initial plan to a quick retail therapy in the capital city of Thailand.

Both of us retired around 2am, after a quick catch-up of what have happened since our last encounter in 2004.

The night view of Lad Phrao from the balcony of Sal's residence

Travel Advice: Singapore Haze Report

Some of my friends love to go shopping in Singapura. I hope the appended travel advice would be helpful.

Masalah jerebu ini bukannya masalah Singapura sahaja, malah juga mendatangkan masalah kepada rakyat Malaysia juga. Pihak berwajib Indonesia perlu lebih serius dalam menangani aktiviti pembakaran hutan di Indonesia yang mendatangkan masalah pencemaran kepada penduduk di rantau nusantara ini.

Dan ianya berlaku saban tahun.

Sudah berbuih pihak berwajib Singapura dan Malaysia menggesa agar pihak berwajib Indonesia bertindak segera tetapi macam tiada perubahan yang total kepada masalah ini!

I have an handful of Indonesian friends and all of them are hospitable, rational and accommodating. I'm sure the Indonesian authority is the same too.

Kita kan serumpun :)



Dear Valuable Partners,

Warmest Greetings from RMG Tours Pte Ltd SINGAPORE!

Hope that all is well with you.

Please be alert that Singapore has been effected recently by transboundary smoke haze

transpired by the forest fire in Sumatra. 

Hazy Conditions Update

(Updated on 18 June 2013)
Southwest Monsoon conditions have onset over the region since the beginning of the week, with low level winds blowing predominantly from the southeast or southwest. The Southwest Monsoon season typically last from June to September and is the traditional dry season for the southern ASEAN region. In the coming months, occasional extended periods of drier weather can be expected in the region. During the season, increased hotspot activities may be expected in Sumatra and Borneo. In addition, transboundary smoke haze could affect the region during periods of persistent dry weather conditions.

Weather conditions in the region have become drier and an increase in hotspot activities has been observed mainly over central Sumatra.  113 and 187 hotspots were detected over Sumatra on 17 and 18 June 2013 respectively.  The smoke haze from the fires in Sumatra was brought over by prevailing winds blowing from the southwest or west, and has affected Singapore since 13 June 2013.  The hazy conditions are expected to persist for the next few days.

Remembering 1st Backpacking Experience

Yeap, it was my first time backpacking to our neighbouring country, Thailand. Well, not the whole Thailand, merely its capital city.

There were three of us – Shai, Fai and I. Whilst Fai have been there a few times, Shai and I were totally alien to Bangkok.

The best part is we did not book our accommodation in advance, so we spent the first four hours in the Bangkok, literally running from one budget hotel to another. Thank God, we found one, in Silom Street. So, moral of the story, book your hotel in advance!

I’m sure Bangkok has changed a lot since the first and last time I was there, which was way back in 2005. I think it’s timely to revisit this city, may be with my family this time. But, definitely not backpacking style and will make sure that I’ve book my room way in advance.

Thank you Shai and Fai for introducing me to the world of backpacking.

Photolog: Medan Trip 2012

Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia and the flight to the city from LCCT takes less than a hour.