Wonderful snorkeling trip @ Tidung Island, Jakarta

Last month I traveled to one of the Thousand islands located approximately 60km from Jakarta -- Pulau Tidung. It is situated in the in the area of Kepulauan Seribu Selatan, in the bay of Jakarta. The island consists of two islands, namely Tidung Besar (Big Tidung) and Tidung Kecil (Small Tidung). Of course we took a boat there instead of swimming over to the island. XD

My colleagues and I took a Blue Bird (taxi) to the jetty very early in the morning. Actually I was still half asleep at that moment. However, I was awoke by the stinky smell while we were passing by the fish market. Then, we walked along the wet and uneven streets before reaching the jetty. We stood next to some boats while waited for W to confirm the correct boat to Tidung Island.

There were a lot of people at the jetty. Some of them were eating their favourite Pop Mie (instant noodles in cup) at the side

Ten minutes later, W found our double-decker boat and we boarded the boat. We were quite shocked that the boat was bench-less/ chair-less. OMG! We had to sit on the floor! We didn't see any life jacket around. Luckily B went hunted for 5 life jackets from the bottom deck of the boat. Even though none of the passengers bothered to get the life jacket and B said 'safety first'. Yea, he was right. We didn't care even others were laughing at us. Hahaha!

We were happily sitting on the floor and snapped a group picture

2 and a half hours later, we finally reached our destination - Pulau Tidung. By that time, we were so sweaty and our butts were painful (the floor was hard!!). But we were happy to see the beautiful island in front of us.

B snapped the bridge connecting the big island and small island

Look at the clear blue sea. Aren't it beautiful?

When we got onto the island, we check-in our hotel guest house. Goodness! We requested for a 2 bedrooms guest house, but we ended up with a 2-bedded room. The room has only 2 queen size beds. So, both guys shared a bed, while 3 girls shared the other bed. We had to bear with the run-down guess house.

After we settled down and had our lunch, we proceeded to our snorkeling activity! Wheee~~~ That was my very first snorkeling experience! I was seriously excited with it. We took a small boat to the middle of sea. The sound of waves were covered by the noises from the boat engine. However, I still enjoyed the cold breeze. =)

I was tieing up my hair and getting ready for our snorkeling activity!

For the first time I put myself into the water, I felt a little bit scared. I struggled for a while before I can get into the icy cold sea water! Later, when I saw the corals, they were so beautiful! It was worth it!!

We posed in the sea :)

Our boat operator gave us 3 stops altogether. There were small waves in the first stop, while the waves in the second stop were very strong. We even saw some baby jelly fishes!! One of them bit M and she was screaming for help in the middle of sea. For me, I had not enough strength to swim forward and the strong wave kept pushing me away. Every 3 inches I swam forward, I got pushed back for 1 inch. So, I was getting further and further away from my mates. In the end, I shouted.. "HELP!!!" Then, Mr C swam over and rescued me. Hahaha!!

In the third stop, the water current was much calmer and the corals were even more beautiful! We also saw the colourful fishes swimming freely in the sea. After the 3 stages of snorkeling experience, all of us were exhausted. We dropped by some food stalls located in Pulau Payung for a rest. We had some snacks and coconut drinks before heading back to our guest house.

Even though I suffered sun burnt after that event, I didn't regret that. This is definitely a great experience and I am looking forward for the next snorkeling trip. Hehehe! Pulau Redang/ Pulau Perhentian anyone??


Photo credits: BWK

*Cheers*

I spent HALF A MILLION on hair!!

I have not done anything to my hair for quite some time. The last time I cut my hair was about a year ago, which I chopped off my my hair from waist length to shoulder length.

This is how I looked like a year ago =)

Now, my hair has grown longer and it got messy and messier (You will agree with me if you have seen the pictures in my recent posts). So, I decided to restyle my hair a little. I went to a famous hair saloon, Johnny Andrean at a nearby shopping mall - Mal Ambassador. Although there were plenty of hair saloons in the mall, I thought this saloon should be more reliable as they have a few hundreds branches all over Indonesia.
 

Firstly, a shampoo girl washed my hair. Then, a hair stylist approached me and recommended a layer cut for me. I replied with my limited Bahasa Indonesian 'Bisa...' (Okay, can), followed with a wide smile. :) After the hair cut, I found it was so short! She quickly brought a mirror and showed me that my hair is still long at the back. It looked shorter at the side as that was a layered style. Well, I had accepted that.

Later, she applied some vitamins onto my hair, followed with some hair rebonding cream. The whole process of rebonding took about 4 hours. I felt bored while waiting for my hair to get done. In between the waiting time, I grabbed some magazines and flipped for the pictures. Sadly I am not so good in Bahasa Indonesia, but the pictures do tell a thousand words. Hahah! Other than that, I was playing with my phone and I snapped a picture of myself!

I looked stupid but I had nothing better to do. LOL!

Half an hour later, another shampoo guy washed off the cream and blown my hair dry. Then, my hair stylist came back with a rebonding tool and slowly ironed my hair straight. I was hoping that she won't burn my hair. LOL!

It wasn't done after the ironing. Right after that, she applied some cream onto my hair. I have no idea what cream was it. I supposed it was hair straightening cream. By the time she finished applying the cream, it was just in time for the Muslims to break fast. So, the crowded hair saloon had became empty and quiet in a sudden. Most of them had gone for dinner. While waiting for them to come back and continue to work on my hair, I started to eat the tidbits that M bought me. She was afraid that I might die of hunger. Hahhaha!!

About half an hour later, a shampoo guy washed my hair again. My hair was washed 3 times for the past 4 hours. *Phew* Lastly, the hair stylist ironed my hair for the second time. Voila!! Now, my hair becomes much straighter and smoother.

Is my hair look better now? :p

The bill came out to be.... closed to HALF A MILLION!! Of course it was in Rupiah. Hahaha! It was approximately RM 160 only. So, I thought it is quite worth it and I hope it will last long.

*Cheers*

20 Ways to Create More Time

I saw an interesting post by nimmy78, who is one of the Citizen Blog bloggers. She found 20 tips on how to create more time from a Christian publication magazine. I thought the tips are very useful, especially for those who are living in the fast pace and competitive city.

A print screen of Citizen blog by The Star Online

20 Ways to Create More Time

1. Keep a daily to-do-list
• I do keep my daily or sometimes weekly to-do-list (it depends on my workload)
  
2. Synchronise your calendar
• I don't think I have so many appointments to manage yet
  
3. Write an "Action Plan"
• This is one of my tasks at work
  
4. Generally schedule your most important tasks
5. Set goals over which you have a large degree of control
6. Acknowledge that you will not have time for everything
• Prioritisation is very important
  
7. Keep a time log
8. Schedule less
9. Minimise interruptions
• I have temporary stopped using my MSN for quite some times
  
10. Schedule the most challenging work for the time of day when you are most energetic and alert
11. Do the most unpleasant task as soon as possible
12. Allow time for the unexpected
13. Use transition time
• I do have lots of transition time every fortnightly when I am waiting for my flight (AirAsia always delay for at least 30 minutes!!) 
14. Apply the 80/20 rule of thumb
• One of the McKinsey ways, which I learned during work assignments 2.5 years ago
  
15. When you feel overwhelmed with work, write each task on an index card
16. Periodically, take time off to 'recharge' your batteries
• Holidays!! Cameron Highlands will be my next trip! =) 
  
17. Think on paper
• Scribble/ brainstorm your thoughts on paper 
  
18. Don't be a perfectionist
19. Work like a professional
20. Be flexible

Source: Citizen Blog, The Star 

Many of us find it difficult to manage our limited time. Very often we would wish to have more time in order to meet our project deadlines/ more free time for leisure/ relaxations, friends and family. However, if we successfully pick up some of the above 20 tips, we may be able to work more efficiently and effectively. Then, we will have more time for others! Let's start with keeping a daily to-do-list first. =)

*Cheers*

Company outing @ Pantai Anyer

Last month, I traveled to Pantai Anyer with my Indo colleagues. Pantai Anyer is located in the west coast of Java about 120km from Jakarta. That was the first time I traveled to an island in Indonesia. Although I was very excited before the trip, I was praying hard not to get sunburn again. LOL!!

A group of 50++ of us gathered near our office building early in the morning. Some of us were busy transferring the presents (for lucky draws) and other goods from the office to the bus, while others were busy distributing breakfast boxes. It was quite tiring as we had to carry down boxes of stuffs from the 12th floor to the bus, which was parked quite far away. *Sweat*...

When I got onto the bus, I was quite surprised that the bus has 5 seats in a row!! Altogether it can fit more than 50 passengers! If I am not wrong, Malaysia's express bus can fit a maximum of 48 passengers only. This is seriously something uncommon to us - Malaysian. On top of that, this air-conditioned bus was fitted with an LCD flat screen TV!! Its for our karaoke session. However, we forgot to bring some English CDs... So, there were Indonesian songs all the way. I enjoyed the songs but I can't sing along. How sad.

I snapped a picture of the bus (Actually the aisle was very narrow due to the extra seat)

On the way to Pantai Anyer, we passed by a lot of small and bumpy roads. We were like sitting on a rocky boat instead of a bus. I was quite dizzy at times *(>_<)* After a few hours (I cant remember exactly how long it took to reach our destination), we finally arrived at Caritas Resort. *Phew!!* 

After some group activities and lunch, we proceed to our respective chalets. It was an attap roof chalet (a house built with attap leaves) with 4 rooms. I shared the chalet with another 7 colleagues, while M was my room mate. We were lucky enough to get a room with an attached-bathroom (It was assigned to us, we didn't choose). Hahah!

While we were waiting for the next activity, we entertained ourselves with the camera. *snap snap snap* We kept snapping pictures like nobody business...

B is the thorn among the pretty roses XD

Later, all of us were grouped into 5 teams and the games had began. Firstly, it was just some light warm up exercises. Then, it follows by other games that required more energy.

I participated in a game where we tied up our legs as shown in the picture below. Then, we had to 'run' to the other end, picked up a ping pong and ran back to the starting point. Although my team ended to be the second last team to arrive the finishing line, we did not fall down like one of the groups. We were slow and steady. Hahaha!! After the game, my legs were hurt. Probably, the rope that tied our legs was tied too tight. =(

I was busy discussing our so called strategies with my team. Why do we still lose? Blame my short legs. LOL!

There were another game that required us to make the longest human-bridge. We tried our best to connect ourselves with everything we can find at that time. For example, I took out my slippers and hair band, while one of my team mates took out her shoe laces and belt! Some of them even took out their shirts and pants in order to win the game!! Awww... On top of that, we continued with this game even though it was drizzling. Therefore, all of us were dirty and stinky. Hehehee!

The longest human-bridge... Amazing...

On the following day, we carried out some in-door activities instead of the dirty outdoor games. Some of us didn't bring enough clothes for change! Hahah! In this game, everyone took turn to dance in front of the rest, while the rest followed the leader's movements. Emmm... I ran out of ideas so I was doing some stupid movements.

Waka waka ehh ehhh....

After the fun and tiring games, we proceeded to the seaside for banana boat!! When I was sitting on the banana boat, I couldn't see much as I wasn't wearing my spectacles. However, I did feel the cooling breeze and heard the loud sound from the speed-boat's engine. Few minutes later, we were tossed into the middle of the deep blue sea. Although it was not my first time got tossed out from a banana boat, I still felt panicky as I can't swim. Besides panicky, I immediately held my Finance Manager, S with all my strengths since he was the nearest to me. I thought I probably made him panicky too. Hahaha!

Then, for the second round when we got tossed into the sea, the banana boat operator immediately rushed towards me. LOL!! He knew that I will probably scream out loud, so he saved me before others. I felt quite embarrassed at that time. Kekekeek!

My colleagues were so happy after got tossed into the sea

I got a little sunburned and a bit tanned after the trip. However, my skin got less irritated after I applied almost half a bottle of the aloe vera gel recommended by M. The gel is working!! I could feel and see the difference after applying the gel generously on my burnt skin. I am going to standby more of the gel if I am planning for more outdoor outings in the future.

I bought this gel from Watson for around RM12 only. Do try it if you have sunburn problem too! =)

 *Cheers*

Shocking snatch thieve experience in Jakarta... OMG!!!

On last Friday night, my CEO - Mr C invited me and my other 5 colleagues for a dinner. He drove us to a Chinese restaurant with his Toyota Alphard. The restaurant is located along the main road in Kota, which is a busy area. We saw a number of restaurants, bakery shops, entertainment centres and etc. along the way.

I cropped this picture from Toyota Alphard's brochure

The traffic was quite heavy and all the vehicles were traveling at slow speed. Even the motorcycles got caught in the traffic jam! We were chit-chatting in the car and hoped to get over all the heavy traffics as soon as possible. =/

When we were approaching the main entrance of the restaurant, Mr C slowed down his car. While he was trying to change into the inner lane, we heard 2 loud sounds. "Pong Pooooong!!!" I thought we knocked down a motorcyclist! Even Mr C was shocked and he was wondering if he rammed into someone/ something. 

Two seconds later... YES! Literally 2 seconds!! A pedestrian (a.k.a. the snatch thieve) walked away with our side mirror on the driver's side. My colleague saw him walked to his partner's motorcycle in a slumber manner before ran away.

All of us were in shocked!! Trauma! /(*O*)\ We still can't believe that somebody can just approached a moving vehicle and snatched away the side mirror within seconds!! He must be a highly skilled snatch thieve! He was also very smart to target the expensive model! According to Mr C, his side mirror cost a few thousands RINGGIT and this is not the first time his side mirror got snatched!!! 

See, the side mirror was gone within 2 seconds!!!

Maybe you will be wondering why wouldn't us chase after the thieves? Sigh... Due to the bad traffic condition, there was no chance for an MPV to move fast. So, all we can do was to say 'bye-bye' to the side mirror. =(

With the relatively high crime rate, maybe driving an expensive car in Jakarta is not really a good option. Now, I think it is so much safer to drive around in Kuala Lumpur. Hahaha!

*Cheers* 

Quote of the Day

I came across a meaningful motivational quote by Greg Anderson.

"Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to" by, Greg Anderson

According to motivationalquotes, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1984 and given 30 days to live. But instead of killing him, the cancer motivated him to begin living. He shares the simple yet profound lessons he learned in The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness. 

I have not read this book yet but from the online book reviews, it looks like an excellent overall philosophy on how to lead a good life. I will check out this book in the future. =)

*Cheers*

Romantic dinner @ Kampung Daun, Bandung

In Bandung, D brought us to a unique and romantic gallery culture cafe called Kampung Daun. It is a restaurant situated on a hill at the Northern part of Bandung city. The restaurant is surrounded with green and beautiful scenery. This is a famous dating place for couples. =p

When we reached the car park, we had to walk quite a distance into the restaurant along a candle light pathway. =) It got even more romantic that night as it was a cold rainy night. However, too bad, we did not come here with our other halves. LOL! 

We had only one umbrella. So, we had to share it. M and I hugged together, while B was shading us from behind. Pity D and K who shaded themselves with their jackets. We were so cold, yet happy to be there.

This is a unique sign of Kampung Daun at the entrance

A nice waterfall in the middle of Kampung Daun... could be an artificial waterfall. But I like the sound of water flowing down from the rocks

One of the food station, where the chefs were busy cooking for us... =)

M and I posed in our hunt. This is actually a very romantic dinner place for couples... :p

 My dinner - an Indonesian cuisine... I cant remember the name of the dish... was it Nasi Bakwon? Anyway, its rice with some veggie and a pot of hot beef soup. Yumm!!! I enjoyed the hot soup so much!

On the way back, 'Captain Jack Sparrow' and his friend were trying hard to get our attention. Hahaha! Hence, I snapped a picture with them. They are funny!

If you are interested to spend a romantic night with your other half or even your family, why not consider Kampung Daun? On top of that, the prices are quite reasonable and food is not bad. Maybe you can check out their website and photo gallery for more pictures. 

I love the environment of Kampung Daun... =)

Photo credits: B & M

*Cheers*

Strawberry crazee @ Ciwidey, Bandung

On our way came down from the hill top of Kawah Putih (white crater), we passed by a rest stop with lots of small stalls. Some stalls were selling local delicacies, such as Mie Bakso (meat balls noodle), satay and etc., while others are selling strawberries!! There were fresh strawberries in various sizes, strawberry jam, strawberry dodol, and even strawberry pillows!!

Most of the strawberry stalls are selling small/ tiny strawberries, which looked sour to me. However, one of the stalls was selling pretty big and red strawberries!! The strawberry seller allowed me to test the strawberry before making my purchases. It was quite sweet and juicy. I can't resist to grab some for myself! I ended up bought half a kg of strawberries for myself. It costs IDR 22,500 (approximately RM 8) for the yummy strawberries... :)

Initially the strawberries were arranged row-by-row in a proper manner. However, they were messed up after my colleagues and I chose the 'best' strawberries. LOL!

After that, we passed by a lot of strawberry farms. We stopped by at one of the largest farm in Ciwidey, and started our 'strawberry picking' spree. Hahahaa! M and I had a great moment in the farm. We checked out each of the plant for the juicy strawberries, which very often hiding in between the leafy leaves. At times, we found some spoil berries too!

B snapped the overall view of the farm

He also snapped a closer view of the strawberry plants. See the little strawberries tangling on the plant. Aren't they pretty?

B was showing off his good photography skills here. There were an unripe strawberry, a ripe strawberry and a pretty strawberry flower. Hahaha!

M and I picked a small basket of strawberries (of course we had to pay for that). We picked mostly the baby strawberries as almost all the beautiful big berries were picked by the early birds. We were told that if we arrive at 9am on a weekday, we will have a higher chance to pick the pretty berries.

These strawberries became my lunch for the past 3 days (Monday to Wednesday). Hahaha! I thought maybe its time for me to diet after eating so much over the last one week. =p 

I will definitely travel here again in the future. I love the greens and cooling weather.

Photo credits: BWK

*Cheers*

The beautiful white crater lake (Kawah Putih) @ Bandung

Even though many of us known Bandung as food and shopping paradise, it is also a nice tourism spot! D drove us to Kawah Putih (or white crater), which is located on the top of Mount Patuha in South Bandung. When we arrived at the entrance, we paid IDR 45,000 (approximately RM 16) per person to drive up the hill. Besides self-driving up the hill, other tourists also can opt to travel by shuttle bus.

When we got down from the car, I immediately felt the cold wind blew towards me! Goodness! I was wearing a 3-quarter pants instead of long jeans! I was freezing cold. I quickly wore my jacket and grabbed my shawl from my backpack. *Phew* At least I got myself a little bit warmer. 

Before reaching the crater lake, we had to walk down a long staircase. Along the way, I smelt very strong sulfur. That's why, I wrapped my nose with my shawl too! I looked exactly like a ninja. LOL!

When I walked nearer to the crater lake, I saw the beautiful greenish-white lake and a mountain behind the lake. D told me that the lake contains sulfur, which turned the lake into greenish-white. He also told me and M that the sulfur water is good for skin! So, 3 of us walked into the warm-water lake and hoped for smoother skin. Hahaha!

From left: D, B, me and M. All of us were having great time there... :)

M and I snapped a photo on the rock. This photo showed very clearly that I was still suffering from my recent sunburn... =(

The sulfur is poisonous to our body. Therefore, we were advised not to stay near the crater lake for too long. Hence, we left the place after finished snapping our pictures. When we traveled down hill, we saw a look-up point. We can't resist to get down from the car and snapped some pictures with the beautiful scenery.

These 2 Bandung posts are just part of the places we traveled. I will post more in the future. =)

Photo credits: BWK

*Cheers*

Exploration outside Jakarta city @ Bandung

I traveled to Bandung town with another 4 of my colleagues over the weekend. Our Indonesian colleague, D was kind enough to drive us to this food and shopping paradise. We departed from our apartment early in the morning and the journey took us about 3 hours. 

Along the journey, we saw all sorts of trees, estates, paddy fields, and also the buffaloes who are working on the paddy field. I think this is even more interesting than traveling along our North-South Expressway from Kuala Lumpur to Penang. :p Probably this is my first time traveling out of Jakarta's golden triangle, that's why everything else looks so interesting to me.

The first thing we did when we arrived Bandung was to hunt for our breakfast. D recommended us nasi kuning. It is yellow rice with some beef floss, beans, crackers, and sambal chili. This is similar to the nasi kuning in-flight meal that we usually order from Air Asia. However, the difference was we ate this along the roadside! Basically, we sat on a bangku (stool) and ate our breakfast along a main road. On top of that, this is so much yummier and cheaper than the in-flight meal. I should have snap a photo of it. Hahah!

After that, D drove us around the city, which is surrounded with dozens of factory outlets. Oh my goodness! We had to control ourselves in order not to overspent! He brought us to one of the famous factory outlet called Rumah Mode.

He was jokingly telling us that he needs to hide away his ATM card and credit cards. Or else, he will be 'donating' all his money to Rumah Mode. Hahaha! My other 3 colleagues really had a great time shopping in this outlet, while I came out empty handed. =( The reason why I didn't grab anything for myself was because most of the female clothing are in bigger sizes/ European sizes.

During lunch, we discovered a very unique washbasin! I love the design of this washbasin. Check out the tortoises. Aren't they cute? The interesting part was I couldn't figure out how to turn on the water tap at first. Three of us, me, my colleague, M, and another restaurant customer were trying to figure it out. We pressed the tortoise head, pulled its tail and legs. We even tried if that is an automatic tap by moving our hands below the tortoise mouth!! But, none of the above ways work! HOW TO TURN ON THE WATER?!?!

In the end, I saw the round switch on the right-hand side of the washbasin. I pressed it and still got no water running out from the tap. Then, I turned the switch clockwise. Voiilaaa!!! The cute tortoise finally puke out some water for me to wash hands. Hahaha! This is so interesting!! 3 of us laughed. XD

I wish I can have this cool designed washbasin at home too!! =)

Photo credits: BWK

*Cheers*

How to diet when you are surrounded with all sorts of food? XD

Ever since I came over for this assignment in Jakarta, I have never skip my breakfast, lunch and dinner. On top of that, I eat tit-bits during tea time too! I just cant resist the biscuits, candies and chocolates lying on my table. Stop buying them? No way... Hahaha! =p

For these two days, it is even better! Some of my colleagues bought us some local delicacies - prunes layer cake, Medan layer cake and bika amboi (ginger cake). OMG... There's so many cakes to be consumed for these 2 days!! We got to eat them for breakfast, tea and supper. Or else, the cakes will not be fresh any more. 

My colleague snapped me holding the pretty basket of prunes layer cake =)

Now, I am stuffed with cakes... I need to go to the gym and burn some calories!!

*Cheers*

Unique Wedding Invitation Card

Last weekend when I was home, I found a unique wedding invitation card on the table.

This is so coool! On my first glance at the card, I thought there were 2 MAS boarding passes given to my parents to fly over to somewhere and attend the wedding. When I looked closer to the 'boarding pass', I found that those were fake passes. Hahaha! They were wedding cards!! So cool and creative!! I like its design.

I wonder if the groom and bride are pilot and air stewardess for MAS. Hahaha!!

For those who are getting married, this may be an idea for you.. Consider the contemporary cards instead of the conventional types. Be creative and make it memorable. Its once in a life time event... :p

*Cheers*

Stop cutting down the trees!!!

I received this funny picture through a forwarded email from a colleague of mine. I find it very funny and meaningful. So, I thought I can share this with all of you. *(^_^)*

See what will happen when the human beings chop down all the trees.

There will be very limited toilets available for the doggies. Poor doggies got to queue-up for their toilets...

Go green! Think before you waste any papers =)

*Cheers*

Millionaire @ Monopoly

My colleague, M and I become a millionaire here in Jakarta. LOL! Each meal will cost us about 15,000 to 30,000!! Of course its in Rupiah... =p 

Two weeks ago, we went to a very crowded food festival. We bought a stack of food vouchers before exchanging them for those yummy food. The picture below shows that we were so excited over such big stack of 'money'... LOL! They looks exactly like monopoly money... =p

*Cheers*

Cute porcupine

This afternoon, colleague of mine brought me and my team out for lunch. We had the famous Indonesian Soto Ayam (chicken + soup) with rice. The food stall was located along the road side and it was so crowded. So, this is probably one of the nicest soto ayam in town. :p

After lunch, my colleague bought some pastry from the nearby bakery shop. He is a big fan of breads and cakes!! So, he left the bakery shop with a huge bag of pastries. 

Guess what? He bought a cute porcupine too!!! This is toooo cute to be eaten. LOL!

*Cheers*

Food exploration around Jakarta

It has been almost 2 months I am working in Jakarta. I find the environment here is somewhat similar to KL. I have to go through the heavy road traffic every morning and evening. However, I need not drive here as I have no international driving license. =p Anyway, I don't think I can ever drive in such busy roads. I can see motorcycles, bicycles, mobile food stall and even horse on the road! Serious! I saw this horse cart was traveling on the road once. The rider gave hand signal to other cars before changing lane as there weren't any signal light. LOL!

Very often I will either cook instant noodles or take away a packet of fried rice + satay from the food stalls outside my apartment. After we got bored with those meals, my colleagues and I also eat at the nearby plaza - Plaza Setiabudi. There are lots of food varieties including Chinese, Japanese, Penangite, Western and also desserts.

Last Friday, we ate in a Japanese Restaurant - Sushi Groove. This is an international chained restaurant, which you can find it in KL too. However, the sushi and sashimi here is way better than KL's. Especially their salmon sashimi! Its fresh and served in a big portion. *yummers* On top of that, I always get my 15% 'student' discount by flashing my university card. Hahaha! It was actually my old university staff card, which is no longer in used. But now I can use it for discount. =p They didn't question me even though the word 'STAFF' was printed on the card. Probably they thought 'STAFF' was my surname? LOL!

 A plate of yummy eye roll, with tobiko and prawn *slurp* It costs IDR 30,000 (approximately RM 10.80)

Yesterday, I had another outing with my fellow colleagues. We hung out at Kelapa Gading Mall in the afternoon. First of all, we had our lunch in the so-called largest food court in Jakarta. M and I shared a plate of mixed carrot cake as we were still quite full from our breakfast. We also ordered a glass of unique drinks. Its green in colour with some jelly-ish balls and seaweed (I think). The jellies were great but the drinks were a bit too sweet.

My green drinks with some funny eggs... =p

After lunch, we walked around the mall for awhile before I split with my colleagues, as they got to catch their movies. While I was shopping alone, I found a pretty working shoes with reasonable price. Sadly, they did not have my size. =( What a luck...

2 hours later, I joined my colleagues for dinner at the food festival. That was the second last day of the festival. We were shocked to see the crowd! Many of them brought their whole family there. There were lots of stalls selling a variety of food, from appetizer to dessert to supper. *drolling*

M and I cant resist the temptations of food and we immediately bought our coupons. Then, we started to purchase our food from stall to stall. In the end, we got ourselves a plate of mutton fried rice, Indonesian crispy pancake, fruit rojak, tofu rojak, Bangkong noodles, martabak Medan and some local kuih muih.

These are our dinner for 3 pax (martabak Medan was not in the picture). In total, it costs about IDR 100,000 (RM 36)

This is the yummy crispy cake, comes with 2 flavours - pandan and chocolate. It costs IDR 10,000 (approximately RM 3.60) for 5 pieces

Fruit rojak (front); tofu rojak (back left); and Bangkong noodles (back right)
I love the fruit rojak the most. It taste different from those we have in KL. Basically, the fruits were blended and mixed with spicy sauce. *like*

After meal, we had our dessert - 'Es durian'!! We thought it was durian ice-cream. But it end up to be 2 durian fruit + condense milk on ice. XD Although the 'es durian' was not bad and it is something new to me, I still prefer the conventional durian ice-cream. hehe!

When we were about to go home, we saw a parade was held along the road side. M, B and I walked near the fence and watched the parade performance. I even stood on a metal stuff to get a better view. Haha! Luckily no security guard came and chase me down. The parade continued with a few minutes of fireworks!! I felt the fireworks were so near! It was just right in front of my eyes. Nice... Due to my cacat-ed handphone camera, I didnt get to snap any nice pictures on the fireworks. All I have is the following picture on the fireworks.

It was a wonderful outing. =)

*Cheers*

My photos appeared in random forwarded email

I received a forwarded email from a colleague of mine, E. The title of the email was 'English menu of a 3-star hotel in China'. When I opened the attached pictures, I found that those pictures were very familiar. Guess what? I was the photographer for those photos! LOL!

In order to confirm that, I opened my blog and compared each of the pictures. Yup!! I snapped the funny English menu using my mum's handphone in China. Later, I blogged about the funny menu in December 2007. It must be someone read it and downloaded those pictures from my blog. =p

I can't believe that my photos can ever appear in some random forwarded emails. Hahaha!!

*Cheers*