July, Don’t you cry.
Greets mate!
And that was yet another hiatus from this space. So much for updating on-the-go about my Krabi & Koh Phi Phi trip. I lied, I admit. But you might get a sense of how exciting and adrenaline-punching the trip was then, yea, considering how I could not squeeze some time to update this social media space right here.
I’ll give a quick summary of it for now and do a more detailed update later when I actually bother (that will be like…yea…whenever)
Two words: Fucking awesome.
Flew with Tiger Air as it was cheap and all. Safe flight compared to my previous adventures on Lion Air towards Indonesia way. hah.
I actually scuba dived for the first time in my life and LOVED it for the life of me and Nemo the clownfish. Come to think of it, it was a trip of many firsts…first scuba dive, first rock climbing…
first almost-cliff-jump-but-did-not-because-I-could-not-climb-up-in-the-first-place, yea. And oh yes, I must boast that it was the first time I…
saw a sunset out in the open sea on a boat.
Beautiful, that one.
Imagine a serenity like no other, chilling by the Maya Bay on the south island, busking in the warmth of summer sunshine, soft sands under you as you look far out into the horizon.
There is something about the place that makes me hooked and wanting more of it. I would say that spending 4 days there wasn’t enough, and I would definitely go back for more, one day.
Ah…bliss I tell you.
3 weeks after this and I am still hungover from the holiday and craving for more adventures.
Talks have been made about making my way to Australia some time, either in October or January. But this is all very tentative right now so I am not banking any solid confirmation on these just yet. Thinking of hitting Sydney but it all depends very much on how my schedule for the next 6 months looks like right now.
All I am dreaming for right now is the Sydney harbour at sunset with the emerald sky up ahead, walking downtown with a companion and talking about the most random of subject, yet so eloquently and animatedly, with thought-provoking notions about the world and people. Will this ever be?
You tell me.
July, July, don’t you cry.
xoxo
Syida
Krabi & Phi Phi awaiting, kids
For the life of me, I really can’t wait for my upcoming trip. All these planning has suddenly made me really excited for it.
And so here we are at June 17th, finally, a day away from the completion of my Professional Internship. Come to think of it, it’s kinda surreal now that we are even here. I remember counting the days to this day with my partner-in-crime, Yue Ting, looking forward to our summer plans each and completing this internship.
I must say though, that it is definitely a bittersweet feeling. On one side, my heart is heavy to leave the company, since I admit I learnt a lot during my stint over the 24 weeks. Working for a media company has definitely been fun, and handling various promotional projects one after another was very very interesting. However, I am also looking forward to the next part of my summer plan and that is joining a PR company and hoping to service accounts just to see if I would like it. (and plus, they are paying me slightly more over there. no complains)
But before we even get there, we’ve got a mission, friends.
And this time, we are discovering a new destination: Krabi & Koh Phi Phi, Thailand.
Plans have been made for the 5-day, 4-night adventure with my buddy and I am sureeeeee bloody excited for it. Even saying “bloody” doesn’t quite make the cut. I just wanna hop on that flight already and get out of here like NOW.
Nonetheless, we’ll be flying on Tiger Air this time, so not to worry, hopefully no more aeroplane-get-strike-by-lightning antics anymore, huh?
And our accomodations for these two places are pretty neat as well.
For Krabi, we’ll be heading over to Ao Nang and staying at Alis Hotel.
As for Phi Phi, we’ll be staying at Phitharom PP Resort.
Got the details for pick up all ironed out and ferry services etc. Gosh I hope it’s gonna be smashing.
Watch this space for zee updates y’all!
xx
Syida
Jakarta…let me hear you scream!
Our Jakarta trip has officially gone down in history as a trip-to-remember. Despite how extreme our experiences were while we were there, the fact that Jam and I are each sitting at home, missing those little adventures and escapades is testimony that that was one epic trip.
And so it began, this little adventure, on the afternoon of December 16th. We were at the airport to catch our Lion Air flight from Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia. The thing about travelling within South East Asia is that citizens of ASEAN do not need a visa to go to a neighbouring country. Convenient, isn’t it? Much like travelling within the EU, I suppose. But anyway, us 3 musketeers began to act all loco, and I knew it was going to be an amazing trip with the other 2.
An approximate 3 hours later, we landed in Jakarta. The flight only took close to 2 hours, but it got delayed due to poor weather conditions.
Once at the airport, I surprised Jam with my ability to speak Bahasa Indonesia while asking the airport staff the direction to the immigration counter. LOL. Managed to get out of the airport for what seemed like 3 seasons later, and all the airport service staffs were calling out to us to offer us their services. Jamuna, the beauty queen amongst us 3, got asked “Are you from Istanbul?” by some guy at the airport. That was rather funny. She just walked away, surprised.
Once we were out of the airport terminal, cab drivers surrounded us asking where we were heading. It’s not that funny when you realise that they are trying to cheat you, cause when I told them we were looking for a shuttle service to Blok M, an area in South Jakarta district, they claimed that we have to go to the other terminal to get the shuttle service, and it will cost us Rp100,000 to go there. That’s about $17 approximately, mind you, just to be driven to another terminal. Good thinking we saw the ticket stand for the shuttle service called Damri which brings you to anywhere in Jakarta out of the airport. And so we purchased a ticket each, costing about Rp30,000 (if I had remembered correctly) to go to this elusive of a place called Blok M.
Boarded the bus and I could say that Jam, Neem and I might have died and got back alive and died again and then became alive again, for about 5 seasons later and the bus took forever to get out of the airport. For close to 2 hours later, we arrived at this area called Blok M, and hitched a cab to get to this hostel which I initially saw in hostelworld.com. The thing about being a tourist in a place like Jakarta is that you’d inevitably get ripped off by cab drivers who try to earn a few extra profits from supposedly-clueless and blurish people like us. Fortunately, we have a few nice and friendly locals who informed us earlier how much it would cost to hitch a cab from a certain destination to another. After much negotiation (or perhaps, arguments) with the cabbie, reached an agreement (he doesn’t operate by meter charge), and we were in his cab, not-so-patiently waiting to be driven to our accomodation.
The joke was on him when he turned around and asked for an additional Rp2,000 to pay for the “farking”. We were like “what?!”, and I defiantly told him off saying how I’m only going to pay for the drive, Jam and Neem were already chuckling at the side realising his mispronunciation of such an innocent word. 5 minutes into the drive, Jam realised that Rp2,000 is merely SGD$0.30, or even barely 30cents. Hahaha! Well, you can’t blame us for thinking he was trying to rip us off right? I mean, scepticism is probably the key to this trip. (no, wait, we are just stingy bastards, more like it) And their currency comes in thousands, so like, seriously, wtf?!
Anyhoos, the cab ride which seemed to last forever finally took us to our hostel. I was sitting on the right side of the cab, and so noticed nothing. Jam saw what seemed to be a park on her side of the street, and when we arrived at the gate of the hostel called Jakarta Bed & Breakfast, Neem grabbed Jam’s wrist, and I saw a crucifix somewhere, and Jam refocussed her eyes, and much to our anxiety, it was…ladies and gentlemen…a cemetery we were at. Our little timid hearts could not do such places as we each have wild imaginations to manage, each. So we pleaded to the cabbie to take us out of there back to where we came from, paying him double the amount. Just for as long as we are out of that place.
And so it was still Day 0, and we were hungry and without a place to stay at about 11pm Jakarta time. We were about to call it a horrible trip, on the verge of giving up, thinking it was a bad mistake to come to Jakarta. Until we managed to use the wifi service at KFC and found a hotel with vacant rooms.
Another 30minutes cab ride later, we arrived at Swiss Belhotel at Jalan Mangga Besar on the fringes of Central Jakarta. Everyone were tired, but we were at least determined to get a room and crash.
We got an awesome room, with Plasma TV and all and really comfy beds and toilet, and not to mention, full length mirrors. Hahaha! Naturally, with our new found happiness, we got all loco in the hotel room.
Arvi and Abdul came to visit and it was so nice to see them again after a long time.
These two jokers were probably the entertainment for the night as they rattled on with the curiosity over the Indian culture when they discovered Jam and Neem are Indians. Funny lads. It was all good to catch up with them, and then they had to leave. Jam, Neem and I spent the rest of the night in our hotel room, having a little bit of girly chat and playing fun games. Day 0, I must say, had been a real-life lesson there.
The following morning, we were greeted with a great scrumptuos hotel breakfast and a day at the “beach”. And off we went on our pursuit to Ancol, supposedly a recreational district in Jakarta. From cute boys in the bus to being “stalked” by old beefy Dubai men, somehow I conclude that we could have done with a male companion to Jakarta with us. Then again, once in Atlantis Water Adventures, us 3 girls went all out to make our own fun and we knew it was good that way, just us girls and no dudes around. Haha.
A&W for late lunch after swimming, and exhausted us hitched a cab back to the hotel to prepare for the night.
Parties in Jakarta are really awesome, if you know where to go that is. For one thing, the 3 of us could definitely say that we took most effort in dressing up for the night. Thaat’s right, no doubt about that. A dinner at Hard Rock, where I met my soulmate, and a random exploration of a closed shopping mall later, we were good to go. X2/Equinox at Plaza Senayan has got to be THE party of Jakarta. The crowd are amazing, we have so much space to dance around, something you won’t get much of in Singapore’s clubs. And we made a few new friends on the floor. We started the dance floor, for the record. Arvi came to join us much later after he booked out of work, and it must had been one of the two memorable experiences in Jakarta. Haha!
Two nights in a row and we were rocking it out. Bandung was awaiting in Day 3 where we shopped, and I managed to contact Try and his wife to bring us around town, albeit for a really short time, and managed to pack a few new items home. But we were down for one last party before catching the flight back, and so we returned to the ever-promising Equinox, ready to hit the floor again.
The highlight of the night was probably some Cameroon football players (who are playing for some Jakarta football club) trying to hit on us. So not what we were looking for. Saw a number of cute Indonesian guys I might have been tempted to flirt with. But to my dismay 1 of the cuties was boring and could not speak English, another one had a girlfriend, and…yea. That’s about it. Until I met Yudi and he was so cute and all and when he found out I was from Singapore, introduced me to his friends and bla3. Legendary, I must add.
3 hours later, we were at the airport, checking in to catch our flight. What a way to end the trip.
So here’s the my 2 amazing friends and our one helluva trip. I love you girls. xx
Day 5, and day 4 in summation
It’s been one helluva adventure, I must say. I was afraid a solo travel would bore me off my mind due to the fact that the lack of a companion would mean absence of a partner to share my random yet much needed verbal diarrhoea. But I must admit it’s been quite a great couple of days.
In the bus at the moment towards Goteborg, phone dead, left my charger at Aini’s (excellent Syida, excellent…) and bus has no functional wifi. On a normal day that’ll scream a big huge de jode puta…fan helvete…mitra vitoa…and anything synonymous to those in a million dialects and languages possible. But today, when I look back in retrospect, I guess it is a day to muse about.
Yesterday Aini and I walked around Central London again, this time she showed me the East side of Central. Started out by heading towards London Bridge, and then walked all the way to Brockbury (or was it?) Market place, and then to The Globe theatre (which was a bit too pricey for me to get in). Went into Tate Museum and explored our childish behaviours. Crossed the bridge towards St Paul Cathedral, and then took the bus towards Finnsbury towards the Emirates Stadium. Walked around and then went to Piccadilly again to have hot chocolate at this café (awesome shit I tell you) and then I ran to Victoria to catch my bus. Yes, one helluva adventure that was.
I had my fair share of going around town in Liverpool today, starting the day (early, mind you) around Albert Dock, admiring the pier and being self-poetic. And yes I talked to myself, as a sign that I am suffering this thing called a “Lack-of-talking-company syndrome”. It’s a real diagnosis alright, I’m not kidding! Anyhoos, I pictured a love story right there at Albert Dock, before I came across the International Slavery Museum and got nausea at my thought. Not a very conducive place to get all sappy huh. Past the maritime museum, walked around the dock and past The Beatles Story, which unfortunately I could not find time to re-visit at a more sane time later in the day.
After musing around Albert Dock, I walked down the glamourous street of Liverpool One and had breakfast at McDonald’s, and ironically picking up the free wifi signal from Burger King. Had an awesome budget breakfast and became a paedophile when I found myself smiling at a couple of school boys a few seats away from me. Well, can’t blame me, they were too loud for me to avoid my eavesdropping habit anyway. But with those appetizing English accent, they have all the right in the world to speak as loud as they want to alright. I couldn’t help but be fascinated.
After figuring my day itinerary, I had an insane idea to do some creative production, in the name of being in the culture capital of Europe. Hurhur. Got my ass to starting on it, it’s going wik-kid yea! Lol.
Found my way wandering around town, seeing the National Museum, The Victoria Monument and such, and then took the bus to min preferit! Anfield, baby, Anfield.
Anfield Road felt so homely to me suddenly, as I alighted from the bus and stared at the gigantic red Kop logo. There I was, looking up to the sweet homeground I’ve always been admiring from the TV screen. Home of the Kops, grounds where legends such as Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish once stepped, and legacy carried forward by sensational names of today such as Steven Gerard, Dirk Kuyt, Fernando Torres and the the list goes. I beamed deep down as I knew my mission for this trip was about to be fulfilled.
Got myself a stadium tour ticket, and while waiting, visited the museum where I was surrounded by shiny glory of the Kops from time to time. The Istanbul Story of 2005 was featured in the movie room, as fellow fans reminisced in the miraculous victory our team clinched back in the days against AC Milan. Who’d forget that legendary match when Jerzy Dudek managed to save the penalty shoot outs which contributed to the Kops winning that year’s Champion’s League. And then, after chatting with a few fans, shopped a little for the brother and father at the official store, and made it in time for the stadium tour.
It is moments like such which redefine my ambition to be a journalist, sometimes. Or a TV reporter, or whoever so long as I can be in the scene to capture such legendary sporting moments and be the one to tell the world about it. Sigh, dreams.
By the time I got out from the stadium vicinity, I knew I had to run. Time to be in a mysterious coordinates, baby.
[Eurotrip- England] Travel log, Day 3 with day 2 in summation
Song of the moment: Slide – Goo Goo Dolls
Greetings from Mother Land, dearest pals. It’s been an amazing day out today. Started around midday as I made my way to Baker Street in hopes to catch the Swedish embassy at Montagu Place while it was still open, but the embassy has a queer opening hour. Of course. Swedish embassy. Who’d forget that. Jeez.
(This entry is typed in a lazy mood, thus bear with any possible grammatical errors and such)
After being disappointed at the unavailability of embassy staff to serve me, I walked down Marylebone Road. Busy street there. With loads of tour bus passing and tourists making bargains with the staffs. It started drizzling as I was walking, yet I decided to just walk down the street, with no map in hands mind you. Just going wherever these 2 feet feels like it. To a certain extent, this kind of travel habit is rather invigorating I daresay, when you are not bound to a rigid plan and go with the flow. I feel like I have adopted this habit much that I have shaken myself off my old rigid self.
And so I took a rest at Starbucks (of course, that one addiction I can never give up), sipping my Hazelnut Hot Chocolate away, people watching as I spot young professionals in their black-and-white, phones or Blackberry in hand, looking exceptionally crisp in their business-like manner.
The sun was out a few minutes after, and I decided to keep on walking, this time managing a map I successfully took from a tourist stand. Found my way to the bus stop which took me to King’s Cross station. It was an impulsive bus ride, by the way, since I was actually planning to take a bus towards Westminster only to find a bus service 390 which goes towards King’s Cross. Wasn’t exceptionally spectacular as I might have seen it in Harry Potter, they probably filmed it somewhere else. Who knows.
After which, I caught the bus and dropped off at Bloomsbury, where I walked towards Soho. Soho is really amazing and beautiful. Probably the richest cultural hub in all of London. Loved it. Imagine streets filled with West End theatres and book stores. I walked into a few and managed myself a book from Foyles, just to accompany me when I feel for a read.
From Soho to Trafalgar, and I continued walking. When I saw crowd sitting around an extensive fountain and a monumental building, I knew I was in the middle of Trafalgar Square. I sat down by the fountain for a rest, people watching again, as the National Gallery dominated the background. It was breathtaking.
By late afternoon, I found my way to Westminster area. I found myself walking through the massive entrance into St. James Park, which is spectacular. The park is an excellent place for a day out sunbathing when the sun is out, of course. Walked towards Buckingham Palace, bought a sandwich for myself and then fed pigeons, remembering our little pigeon jokes back in Jonkoping. Good times.
Walked towards River Thames, and saw the Big Ben and Houses of Parliament. Had an adventure as I was trying to look for the toilet in the Westminster Underground Station when I realised I entered the wrong toilet. Can’t blame a girl who has been living in a land of equality for 6 months now can you?
The London Eye did catch my eye for a while, as I mused how Singapore Flyer does replicate this modern-piece of art-architecture.
By the time, I realised I had to head down to Piccadilly to meet up with Aini for dinner with her gang.
Piccadilly is pretty fabulous too. Shopped a little and committed a sin in the form of purchasing a shoe. Again. I couldn’t help it there was a sale!!! Okay but it’s a necessitty so I guess, I can be excused? Haha.
Aini found me by the Eros statue fountain. That is right, a little cupid fountain, perfect for a scene of lost-and-found love or something like that. I did imagine it for a while as I sat along the steps waiting for my companion, scribbling my thoughts away. Ah…London, too many possiblities.
Met up with Aini and gang, had an awesome dinner at a rather American diner. Chatted and socialised more for hours, and then headed back when it was late.
Aini’s been an amazing host. Omg she fed me with her roti jala yesterday I can’t be anymore grateful.
Anyhoos, yesterday she also brought me to Greenwich and yes I did the cliche tourist thing of stepping on both sides of the GMT line and took a picture. Loved it!
London’s been amazing so far. Too bad I am leaving tomorrow for Liverpool. But hey! Liverpool baby, here I come.
But before that, more London adventures from me tomorrow! Till then, kisses from me!
Love,
Syida
[Eurotrip- England] Travel Log, Day 1
(stream of consciousness here I come)
Please help me please help me please help me. Some weirdo is talking with me. I mean sure I’m sociable but when you assume that my country is near North Korea, I think you’re fishy. Dude! Don’t be one of those who assume Singapore is in China, goddammit!
Anyhoos, this entry is typed in the Norton Station in Liverpool. I have been traveling for the whole day. Pretty psyched but a part of my heart is back in Jonkoping. The whole weekend had been all about saying goodbye to friends and packing and I had not spent adequate time with you before I fly off for England.
(okay getting emotional here)
Well, the previous week had been kinda tough. I had been keeping it inside me all the while and on Friday night the eyes just continuously welled up with tears. Wednesday night was the last Akademien night we had together, so it was preparty at Alfa and then hit Aka after that, and it was reaaaaaalllllyyy great. I had a smashing good time with all the international bunch, although I wished a few other people were there too. It was pretty crowded in Aka but nonetheless I managed to snap pictures with a number of people and it was AWESOME! After Akademien, a few bunch of us crazy people decided to jump into the lake, but since it was a bloody cold night (think +6deg C), we ended up at the canal which is equally cold anyway.
Thursday was all good, and us Spanaporeans had a family dinner together in full strength one last time. I cooked Nasi Lemak for them again (yay to me). [OMFG CAN THIS FREAK LIKE ERM…NOT TALK TO ME?] Anyway, so Thursday we had the family dinner and I felt nostalgic as I went home that night. Started packing a little bit and I really emo-ed out that day.
Friday, I headed to school to hang out with Michael and then After Work. The last After Work with everyone. Had a great time socializing once again, with an undertone of sadness in everyone as we talked about when each are leaving the beautiful town of JKP.
And then, it began. At 1800hrs on Friday, Daniel Tan was the first to leave town. Ran to the bus station to bid farewell to my dearest Singaporean bro and then it dawned on me. It just dawned on me. This great period of our lives, this Erasmus experience has come to an end. I couldn’t help but cry despite knowing I will still see dearest Dan Tan back in SG, of course.
And then that night, I decided to not go back because apparently a few people are leaving too. We headed down to a rooftop party and had a great time. But at 0145hrs, another batch of people were catching the bus out of town, and that included Dia one of my favourite person here in JKP. Another group left at 0330hrs and so I kept on waiting. And then, Jamie Xavier’s turn to catch the bus at 0620hrs.
Got back to a depressing Saturday, packed some more and hung out with Judit and Carlos later in the day to watch soccer (Sweden vs Denmark). Bade farewell to Ale at Delta since he was going to leave on Sunday morning. And then headed to Raslatt to say goodbye to the Spanish bunch. Zurine and Egoitz left on Sunday early morning, so I saw them off (they are driving all the way back to Spain, must be an adventure I daresay).
Got back to a depressing Sunday (once again) and finished packing entirely and moved my things out of the room. Had lunch with the “survivors of Jonkoping”. Lol. Bunch of us, Marcelo, Matteo, Marco, Angela, Marilyn, Judit, Carlos, Tono, Aline and me. Great time chatting and reminiscing the semester.
And today, I had been traveling for more than 12 hours as of yet. Left JKP town at 1005hrs and now it’s 0019hrs by Swedish time. Bus to London in leaves in 20minutes, and that will be another 6 hours of travel. I’ll probably sleep and hibernate anyway.
Not that traveling alone is boring, it’s only fun when you don’t have idle time to dwell on. I hate idle time. It only depresses me. But howells, I shall cherish this trip.
Much love,
Syida
Spanaporean, mi familia!
Yesterday, we had the planned Spanaporean bbq at Stadsparken. It was planned by the big brothers Jamie and Daniel, but completely organised by ME! Yay me! I’m so proud of myself…haha. But most importantly, I am glad that I could make my friends’ Sunday! =D
The location was really beautiful and surreal. It overlooks the city and the lake, albeit I must admit the wind was too chilly as always. But we had a good spot and we were all happy.
I cooked Nasi Lemak for the gang and although it wasn’t the best Nasi Lemak you may ever try, they liked it still. 
Everyone seemed to have a good time barbecuing and eating. To top it all up…I also provided some form of entertainment to my dearest friends…it was all part of the plan.
http://www.youtube.com/v/4lgJ4DMsmgI&hl=sv&fs=1&rel=0
And then…we saw ponies and goats and sheeps and lambs and llamas.
There’s a reason why I love this country. Don’t you see?
Double update
Okay since I have not updated much about the REAL activities I had been up to, let’s get this dual post up.
[Roadtrip] Destination: Stockholm. Again.
Brendan pretty much randomly texted me on Saturday morning informing me they got an extra space in the car, so I decided to hop on the trip to Stockholm. Purely impulsive and random roadtrip once again. And mind you Stockholm isn’t anything like driving from one end of Singapore to the other…it’s about 6 to 8 times the distance. So 4 hours drive later we arrived in Stockholm and pretty much bummed around, sightseeing and then had a mini barbecue in the park where the grill failed them boys miserably.
Here’s a sneak…
International Day @ HLK
On April 22nd, we had the International Day for both the HLK (that’s the education and communication school I’m at) and Engineering school. Nice colourful festival on campus. Here’s a glimpse…
Okay that’s all I have for now.
Good day!
Pictorial Update: PART 2- EASTERN EUROPE
Welcome to Budapest, Hungary.
Bratislava, Slovakia was okay…nothing spectacular though.
This is Vienna, Austria. The best city from the trip I must say (though Spain’s cities are top of the list anyday)…
I loved Prague, Czech Republic as well. It was AWESOME!
And finally, Krakow, Poland, the city where you can feel the remains from the war decades ago.
okay bye.
Pictorial Update: PART 1- SPAIN
For the lack of anything better to do, and since I have not updated PICTURES from ma fabulous trips (haha action), I shall do it now.
This is Girona. It is part of the region called Catalunya. For more information, see Wikipedia: Catalunya.
This is what I call the “Top of the world” pose.
This is the crew.
Yup. Sunny sunny Spain!
Lavabos = toilet.
Here’s Barcelona, which needs no more introduction…
And then this is Valencia.
We climbed a mountain…
went sightseeing in the town…
And watched soccer at the Mestala Stadium =)
And we also stayed in a summer beach house. That’s the Mediterranean Sea in front of me. =)
okay the end. Bye.
