Pictures at 933 Golden Prawn Seafood

Seafood lunch was included in our tour package. Here are some of the pictures to share! The "Free" Lunch at 933 Golden Prawn tasted "okay" only. Prawns were not as nice as what we thought, but I heard from my friends that if you are going there for dinner, the quality of the food will be better. We had crabs, clear soup and fruits as well, but I was too busy eating, so i did not take the pictures down. Anyway, the crabs were smaller than what we have in Singapore......

Sweet and Sour Deep Fried Fish

Gong Gong

Curry Vegetables

Steam Prawn

Pictures of My Batam Trip

Pictures taken at Barelang Fisabillah Bridge Barelang Fisabillah Bridge
That is me taking a picture at Barelang Fisabillah Bridge
Barelang Fisabillah Bridge
Traditional Dance by the Local People
Golden Prawn 933 Seafood Restaurant
I will be posting more pictures in my next post. Cheers! :)

Batam Trip Itinerary

Here is the itinerary that I have for my batam getaway.

Day 1
7.50 am
- Depart from Singapore to Batam

7.50am
- Reach Batam Sekupang Ferry Terminal and proceed for immigration and custom clearance. You will be pick up by KTM staff who will escort you to the resort.

8.15 am
- Check into our rooms

9.00 am
- Board onto air-conditioned coach with a friendly local chinese speaking tour-guide.
- Visit scenic spot and take pictures at Barelang Fisabillah Bridge, the biggest bridge linking few islands of batam.
- Visit Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Laughing Buddha Temple, the largest buddhist temple in south east asia.
- GST Local Product Shop - Variety of local products can be found here such as coffee, batik and handy craft.

1.30 pm
- Seafood lunch at Golden Prawn 933 Seafood.
- Watch traditional dance by local kampong villagers like swallowing fire and eating glasses.

2.30 pm
- Visit Bengkong Dry Food Stuff Market
- Visit Polo Shop were Polo Ralph can be purchased at reasonable prices.
- Tua Pek Kong Chinese Temple. (The famous & Oldest Batam Chinese Temple which was moved from kusu island of Singapore during 1980)

- 3.30pm
- Batam City Shopping Mall (One of the biggest and newest shopping mall in town)

- 5.30 pm
- Tour ended. We requested the tour guide to bring us to a massage parlour for massaging. Massage cost $20 lasted about 1 and half hour. Proceed back to resort by taxi about 40,000 rupiahs.

Day 2

-9.30 am
Massage at Batam Spa Villa

- Rest of the day
Free and Easy
(Pictures can be found in the next post)

Batam Trip Getaway- KTM Resort Part 3

On the second day, we were checked into the beachfront cottages. Beachfront cottages were small, but very clean. You will have shared balcony with your neighbour. We were quite happy with the shared balcony as there were six of us and it gave us more conveniency instead. However, if you are going together with just your partner, I guess it is kinda weird to share with unfamiliar faces. The view at beachfront cottage was much better. You can see fishes swimming in the lagoon from your cottage because the lagoon will be directly below your cottage. You can also swim with the fishes if you want to,but I chose not to because the water seems hmmmm.....................

View 1 from my room

View 2 from my room

View 3 From my room

View 4 From my room

View 5 From my room

Beach Front cottage

Beach front Cottage

Batam Getaway - KTM Resort Part 2

This is Me, acting silly

View 1
View 2

These pictures were taken outside our Family Cottage. If you would like to check out more on this resort. You may visit their website: http://www.ktmresort.com/ for more information

Batam Trip at KTM Resort

Finally, I am back to Singapore! As I expected, the rooms did not turn out to be fantastic, but the sea view from the villa was great!

Upon arrival at batam on the 21st March, we were picked up by their bus. KTM Resort was situated about 5 minutes car ride from the jetty. On our 1st day, we were checked into 1 standard stilt and 1 family cottage. To our astonishment, the standard stilt room really cannot make it!!! I swear it was horrible!! I didn't take the pictures of the standard room because all of us were too shocked when we saw the room. Anyway for that night, all of us bunked into the family cottage. The ventilation for the standard stilt was bad, if you are thinking of booking their standard stilt room the next time, I would strongly advise you to pay more and get the beachfront cottage. To our understanding, standard stilt room was meant for the elderly and their staffs to stay there. It was not built on wood, the floor was ceramic tiles, toilet lock was rusty, it looks worse than staying in a 1 room flat in singapore! The whole concept was bad and rubbish!

Whereas, family cottage was very different. There is a living room, pantry and 2 rooms. It was well equipped with refrigerator, flask, stoves and pots. It seems fine to us, just that walking to the restaurant was quite a distance away.

If your purpose of the trip is just to find a good spa, but budget constrain, you may try KTM Resort. They have excellent spa, but PLEASE remember to select either the beachfront or family room if you are staying there. (However, do note that it is not going to be like 5 stars standard resort) You will regret for sure if you choose their standard room!

Family Cottage A2

Antique Chairs (Scary sia!)

The Other side of the Living Room

One of the Rooms

Toilet

Batam Trip Getaway

Another few more days to good friday. I managed to find a cheap and great deal for 3 days 2 nights getaway at Batam. Many resorts were fully booked this friday, so we decided to settle down at this "Kelong Lookalike" resort named KTM Resort since budget is our priority. As there will be 6 people going for the trip, we were given a family style cottage and a standard room for the first night and 3 beachfront cottages for the 2nd night. I hope this trip can really unwind my tiredness & also to let me "rot" on the island.....

Stay: 3 days 2 nights at KTM Resort
Price per pax: $148
Inclusive: -Breakfast for both days
- Ferry Tickets (Return)
-90 Minutes ocean spa (Foot bath, Hydrotherapy Bath and Aromatherapy Massage)
- 1 Seafood Lunch
- One Day tour around batam with chinese speaking tour guide.

I shall update this site with more pictures and information on batam trip again. Cheers! :)

North Border Bar & Grill - Singapore

This is one of my favourite restaurant in Singapore. Restaurants along Rochester Park are embrace by the nature. The ambience is relaxing if you have a drink in the early evening when the crowd is not there yet. If you like spicy hot sauce, you should try their "ass kicking hot sauce" where it is graded from mild to extreme. With an Alfresco Dining Style, you should try their specialties like Baby Back Ribs, Rack of Lamb, Arizona Chicken & Bean Stew, Sante Fe Crab Cakes and many more great dishes.

Complementing your dishes with a glass of wine would be a great idea for the dinner.

North Border also caters to private parties like weddings, Corporate Function, Birthdays or Wine Dinner.

Rating: 4 stars for ambience, 3.5 stars for food.

Name: North Border Bar & Grill

Address: 2 Rochester Park, Singapore 139213

Tel: 6777 6618

Fax : 6778 7018

Email : enquiry@northborder.com.sg

Website: http://www.northborder.com.sg/

Operating Hours: LUNCH: 12pm to 3:00pm

DINNER: 6:00pm to 11:00pm

HAPPY HOUR: 12pm to 8:00pm

SUNDAY: Happy Hour from day to night.

SPECIAL SUNDAY: (LUNCH ONLY)11am to 3:00pm

Parking In Orchard Area Will Cost You More Now

For those people who are staying in Singapore should know that parking in orchard can be a killing. Parking Fees have gone up at 18 out of 20 malls.

A 3 Hours Shopping Spree can cost your parking charges to be this much.

Note: Charges calculated here are from 11am-2pm

My suggestions to drivers is to park either at Plaza Singapura and walk down or parking at the open space carpark may save a bit for the charges. The best solution is to take train to Orchard and you save the hassle of parking charges.

Brain Maggots - Interesting Pictures

All these pictures are gruesome and this is a true story.

This man developed a severe headache for the past 3 years and has put it off as migraine and stress from work. It was only when he started losing his psycomotor skills that he seeks medical help. A brain scan and X-Ray reveals little however. But upon closer inspection by a specialist on his scalp, the doctor noticed small movements beneath his skin. It was then that the doctor did a local anaesthetic to his scalp and discovered the cause when tiny worms crawled out. A major surgery was thus immediately called for and the extent of the infestation was horrific.

Please Do Not See The Pictures If You Have Faint Heart.
Please Click On The Image For Larger View.