Cambodia & Thailand Trip

HELLO ~

I just came back from my Cambodian & Thailand trip. It was a short getaway of 5 days 4 nights for a visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia & Bangkok, Thailand. 

How do I like it? two words - FUN & TIRING. 

Day 1: Jakarta - Bangkok - Siem Reap.

There aren't any direct flights from Jakarta to Siem Reap, Cambodia. So we decided to take Air Asia from Jakarta - Bangkok, transit in Bangkok for 8 hours before flying to Siem Reap. We arrived in Bangkok at about 10.30am and our flight to Cambodia was at 8.00pm. In the 8 hour transit, our plan was to visit Wat Arun Temple & have lunch in Wang Doem Road (behind the temple). However, things did not turn out as simple as we planned. :( 

#1 taxi driver dropped us at the Grand Palace instead of Wat Arun Temple... !!! 

#2 it started raining heavily. ==" we didnt bring umbrella, and so we had to buy. 100baht per umbrella. My dear friend was bold enough to ask 3 umbrellas for 100baht... .... that made the seller really upset and ignored us instead. it was hilarious.  

#3 we were drenched and had to take tuktuk to Wat Arun because no taxi wanted to drive us there. so we got MORE wet.. zzzz! 

our first attempt taking the tuktuk during heavy rain 

However, the tuktuk driver was kind enough to help us find good food for lunch. It was by far the cheapest & best home cooked Thai food we tasted. I did not take pictures of the food because we were all too hungry. 

Smaller version of Komodo Dragon walking on the street?!

After lunch, we walked to Wat Arun Temple and somehow we came across a big lizard (like the smaller version of Komodo Dragon) walking on the street! It was SO RANDOM that our brains couldnt even process the fact that there's a BIG lizard walking in the street of Bangkok. RANDOM!

Entrance Fee to Wat Arun Temple is 50 Baht

So anyways, we found Wat Arun Temple and it began pouring again. ==" The weather wasn't on our side but we still embrace the fact that we are in Bangkok. Walked around the temple for 1.5hr before we head back to the airport to catch our next flight to Siem Reap! That pretty much sums up our 1st day! 

Wat Arun Temple - really steep steps

Day 2: Siem Reap

The reason we went to Siem Reap is because of famous Angkor Wat temple that is in the complex of Angkor Archaeological Park. So within the complex itself, there are over 200 temples (the area is about 400km2!) This area contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. We visited 3 famous temples - Bayon Temple/Angkor Thom, Ta Prom (the famous tomb raider) & Angkor Wat. The entrance fee to the park is 20USD for the entire day. Thankfully, the weather was much better than Day 1; well,it was scorching hot. I would say the sun is better than rain. So here are some of the pictures.

#1 Bayoan Temple/ Angkor Thom - this temple is my least favourite. There are WAY too many tourists and i feel suffocated. :( 

#2 Ta Prohm - this temple was the location of the film Tomb Raider. It is also known for its trees growing out of the ruins. 

#3 Angkor Wat - This temple was first built as a Hindu temple, then changed to Buddhist temple. It is also the largest religious monument in the world. 

We were exhausted by the time we visited the 3 temples. and I think we walked for more than 10km !!! The weather was so hot that we were drenched from our own sweat. (eww!) We went back to the hotel to take a quick shower before dinner. After dinner, we visited the night market and hang out at the pub. That was the end of our Cambodia Trip! 

Day 3: Siem Reap - Bangkok
Took the flight out to Bangkok and Day 3 was more of a chilaxing day for us. We had lunch, went to the platinum mall, tried thai massage, have dinner & visited the famous Sky Bar Dome. 

Food: We LOVE Thai food - so we had to try as many thai snacks/desserts/food as we could. Of course we tried WAY more food than the picture. Mango sticky rice, Thai Ice Tea & Coconut Ice Cream/Juice are a MUST to eat when you're in Thailand. 

Shopping: We visited Platinum Mall & Chatuchak Market (Day 5). Clothes are CHEAP! I think many Indonesians go to Bangkok to buy the clothes and sell it in Indonesia. The clothes are really cheap that they range from 30,000 IDR to 115,000IDR. I spent a total of 1,800 baht for 12 tops! (opppps) 

Thai Massage: This was our first time trying out Thai Massage. Whole body thai massage for 60min costs 250 Baht. The masseuse used her hands, knees, legs, and feet to work on stretching our body. It felt more like yoga without doing the work instead of the regular massage in Indonesia. 

Sky bar Dome: This is the highest sky bar in the world and the movie Hangover 2 was filmed here as well. It is located at Lebua Hotel. Really pretty view once you are up there. The only downside to this place is that the cocktails are extremely OVERPRICED. One regular cocktail costs about 700baht/268,800IDR... that is even more expensive than in Indonesia! So most people only came here to take pictures. 

Sky Bar - Dome

Day 4: Bangkok 
We visited the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew & Wat Pho on the last day. 

#1 Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew
Opens from 8am - 3.30pm & 400Baht entrance fee. 

I believe this is the #1 tourist attractions in Bangkok, because THERE ARE JUST SO MANY PEOPLE... #toomanychinesetourists that you actually feel that you are in China. Like I said, I am not a big fan of crowds, so this place was kinda mehhh for me. But don't get me wrong, it is an extremely pretty and breathtaking temple & palace.

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew

The Grand Palace

#2 Wat Pho - Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Opens 8am - 5pm & 100 baht entrance fee

Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest Wats in Bangkok and home to 1,000+ Buddhe images. 

Wat Pho - The Reclining Buddha

Day 5: Bangkok - Jakarta 
Day 5 was pretty much waking up and getting ready to the airport. Overall, it was a fun getaway trip and definitely a memorable one! Glad that I did not get tanner, because the next trip this week will be Aceh and I think that will make me go one shade darker.  

Stay tune for my next trip - Banda Aceh~ 

With lots of love, 
Claraaaa <3 

Bali, the weekend getaway

If you are looking for a beach & sun weekend getaway, Bali is the answer. It is just 1.5 hrs away by flight from Jakarta. So what can you do in Bali? One can visit the local temples, eat great food, play water activities (snorkeling, diving, para-sailing, etc.), sunbath or even enjoy the night life. If you want to fully enjoy Bali, a weekend getaway is not enough. There's just so many thing that you can do there. It is the perfect place to go with your friends, family and/or your loved ones. 

I visited Bali 3 times in 3 months (once a month?!) and I still couldn't get enough of the island. The combination of the sun, beaches & friendly people will make you fall in love with the island. 

Here are some of the places/things to do in Bali that I highly recommend:

Recreation:

- Water Rafting 

- Water Sports (Para-sailing, banana boat, jet ski, etc.)

- Snorkeling & Diving 

- Hike in rice padi fields

- Visit Temples (Uluwatu Temple, Monkey Forest, Tanah LotTemple)

(at the Monkey Forest Temple. Notice that I did not wear sunglasses/umbrella. This is because the monkeys in the temple will snatch those from you!)

(view of Tanah Lot Temple, you can actually get wet during high tide)

Beaches:

There are beaches all around Bali that serve to different purposes. I prefer a quiet and secluded beaches and these 2 beaches provide such peace & tranquility. These are two of my favorite beaches in Bali. 

1. Padang Padang Beach (Another clean beach with many Caucasians sunbathing)

(view of Padang Padang Beach)

(Padang Padang Beach)

2. Karma Beach (there is an entrance fee for this. I think about 130,000 IDR, but you get to use that to purchase food/drink. It is a private beach, therefore it is really clean and not many people go there)

(view of Karma Beach from the top)

(Karma Beach, a small & private beach)

(the clear water at Karma beach)

Food:

- Naughty Nuri's (serves really awesome pork ribs)

- Mamasan (Asian Fusion Restaurant and you will need to make reservations ahead of time)

- Jimbaran (Menega Cafe) (a MUST go for dinner. They serve seafood by the beach, literally!)

- El Kabron Cafe (Mexican restaurant that is on top of the cliff. So you can imagine how beautiful the scenery is)

Lounge/Cafes:

- Potato Head Garage (a good place to chill and relax with your friends. Get the sofabed if possible. So you can actually lie on it while hanging out with your friends. They serve good drinks & food with good music)

- Ayana Rock Bar (best place to watch sunset. Start coming in at about 4pm if you want to watch the sunset. Otherwise, the line to get into the bar can get really long and you will miss the sunset)

- Kudeta (My least favorite lounge as it is situated too close to the beach. But it is still a good place to hangout.)

- SkyGarden (this is more like a nightclub with beach attires. It is a 5 storeys club house with different gendre of music at every level. A lot of Caucasians like to go here) 

Bali is also the new hotspot for many Indonesians to get married. If you want to avoid inviting over a thousand guests to your wedding, Bali is the answer. Couples who get married in Bali will invite about 250 people to their wedding. However, the cost of Bali wedding with 250 guests is equivalent to Jakarta's wedding with over a thousand guests. 

(a good's friend wedding at Banyan Tree, Bali)

(Pretty decorations)

 (the bride & groom the night before the wedding)

So there you go! I hope you will visit the beautiful Bali. And of course if you are an Indonesian, IT IS A MUST that you visit the island. :) 

With lots of love,

Claraaaa <3

Singapore

Spent most of my life in Singapore - from 7 to 17 years old. That being said, I grew up thinking, behaving, speaking like a Singaporean. Like I said in my first post, I was the geekiest kid on the block, but surrounded with many wonderful friends. In fact, I've made friends with some of the most wonderful people and I'm glad that we are still in touch. So let me write a little bit about the wonderful Singapore~ 

TRANSPORTATION
Visited Singapore 6 times in the span of 7 months. Yes, I am definitely having a monthly affair with it. Singapore is a totally different city than I used to know 7 years back - there's just WAY more people & everything is SO pricey. Nonetheless, I would say that it is one of the cleanest and well-organized countries in Southeast Asia. Singapore's public transportation is AWESOME! You can get to almost anywhere and everywhere with the buses or the train (MRT). MRT maps are easy to read and they are all in English! To travel by MRT, you will need to purchase the EZ-Link card at the ticket office or ticket machines in the train stations. Single trip ranges from about SGD$1.10 to SGD$2.80. MRT & buses can get REALLY packed during the peak hours. 

Or if you are not into public transportations, taxis are easily available, but they can get ridiculously expensive during peak hours. Peak hours are 7AM-9.30AM & 5PM-8PM for monday thru fridays. That being said, peak surcharges is 35% add-on to the metered rate, a call booking is $3.50  and $2.50 after 11pm. Midnight surcharge is 50% of the metered fare. So you can imagine how expensive taxi fares can get. A normal fare from airport to Orchard area would be about SGD$22. 

THINGS TO DO

So as a tourist, there's a lot of things that you can do in Singapore! Especially if you love the sun and beach. 
#1 Gardens by the Bay: There's 3 areas that you can visit here - Flower Dome, Cloud Forest & Supertree Grove. If it is your first time in Singapore, Gardens by the bay is one place you should visit. Go around 4 or 5 pm and wait until the sun sets. The view gets prettier by night time. :) 

 (Inside the cloud forest)

(flower dome)

#2 Sentosa 
There's a lot activities that you can do in Sentosa. There is a SGD$5 fee to take the Sentosa Express train from VivoCity to Sentosa. There are 4 stations. 

Sentosa Station - is where you board the train from Vivocity.
Waterfront Station - this is where you can Adventure Cove Water Park, S.E.A Aquarium, Casino & Universal Studio Singapore. I have never been to the Adventure Cove, so I cant really say much about it. As for S.E.A Aquarium, it is the world's largest aquarium. Tickets are SGD$38 per adult. You can get a discount if you are a foreigner and have your passport with you. It is home to more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species. You will enjoy here if you are a marine lover. As for the casino, they say that the one in Marina Bay Sands is better. Universal Studio is really small as compared to the one in LA, but they have many one-of-a-kind rides. 
Imbiah Station - has the big Merlion for you to take picture with.
Beach Station - is where all the 3 man-made beaches are located. 

 (in one of the beaches in Sentosa)

 (Imbiah Station)

(USS)

(S.E.A Aquarium - really pretty ;))

Those will be the places that first timers should visit. Most Indonesians would just go to Singapore to eat local food/fine dining food and shop in Orchard. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing that we shop and stay indoor (aren't we doing that already in Indonesia?!) However, I think they should be more adventurous & be less afraid of the sun to hang out in the beach or at least be out in the sun! Enjoy the clear sky and fresh air that we don't get in Jakarta (okay I don't like the humidity part too).  Nonetheless, I love my people :D 

I personally LOVE the sun & beaches. But my mum would nag if I go to Bali or just stay too long under the sun. Apparently, being tanned isn't a good thing for us. But hey, a little bit of sun WON'T kill you... One of the things that I have yet to do since I'm back is to go cycling in my favorite park - East Coast Park. I will get that done, eventually! 

With lots of love,

Claraaaa <3

Past Trips

As I mentioned in my first post. I've been traveling in the past 7 months. So I will be writing brief summaries on 7 trips. Will be skipping Singapore & Bali because I've been going there way too often, so that will be a separate post. 

#1 Sangkalaki, Kepulauan Derawan, Indonesia

Visited in March 2014 

One does not need to travel far to Maldives to experience the clear water and blue sky. Indonesians can take a 3 hours flight from Jakarta to Tarakan and hop on a boat for another 2 hours to see this beautiful island - Sangkalaki. Not to mention that this island is  the "hatching center" of the endangered sea turtles! Spent 2 nights in the small island snorkeling, playing in the beach and letting baby sea turtles into the water! 

(did not even filter these pictures...)

(clear clear waters)

(breathtaking view of the sunset)

#2 Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Japan

Visited in March 2014

Japan is known for its cherry blossom festival and that was the reason why we visited the country! Being my first visit to Japan, I was in awed by Japanese perfectionism & friendliness. I don't think anyone can hate Japan, except maybe for those who still feel hatred because of WW2. Everything is just so awesome! BUT, it is an EXPENSIVE country to travel. This is because you just want splurge on everything that you see. 

(as you can see, the cost of this white/pink strawberries is about USD$47!)

#3 Seoul & Busan, South Korea 

Visited in April 2014 

Visited South Korea for a good friend's wedding. We were reliving the REAL korean drama lives. If you are not a fan of korean dramas/artists/cosmetics, I don't think South Korea will interest you. Food tasted good but not as memorable as Japan's. That would be because korean food in Koreantown, Los Angeles taste as good as the ones in Korea. I used to eat kfood at least once a week back when I was in LA. (yupp, i loveeee koreaaaans ^^) 

(felt like as if this is straight out of a korean drama)

 (attended Oppa's wedding with my favorites)

(wannabe koreans)

#4 Yogjakarta, Indonesia

Visited in April 2014

People would recognize the famous Borobudur & Prambanan Temple in Yogjakarta. I was blessed to be given a second chance to visit these temples. (the last time was back when I was 5/6 yrs old?!) Just make sure that you bring hat, umbrella & enough sunblock if you don't want to get baked under the sun! 

#5 Macau 

Visited in May 2014

I don't gamble & the only reason I visited Macau is because my grandparents live there. But hey, since I'm there why not enjoy it? Macau is the Asian Vegas, except that people are more hardcore in the gambling than in Vegas. All I did in Macau was just eat, visit touristy areas & quality time with gramps. 

 (the famous portugese eggtarts)

#6 Sapporo, Furano & Tokyo, Japan

Visited in July 2014

2nd visit to Japan, but this time to see the Lavender fields in the outskirts of Sapporo. We were literally in the small village named Furano. Took us 2 airplanes & 1 train ride before we reached our final destination. I think it's worth the scenery but I wouldn't go back for the second time. 

#7 Italy, France & Netherlands, Europe

Visited in July 2014 
Fell in love with Italy, except that you have to be careful with pickpockets We visited Vatican City, Rome, Pisa, Venice & Milan in the span of 10 days. And of course, visited all the important landmarks. :) The prettiest city would be Venice. I would definitely come back Italy. And as for France, we only visited Paris to see the famous Eiffel tower and Musem Louvre. Our last country is the Netherlands. Amsterdam was having their Annual Gay Parade when we arrive. Time was not on our side and we did not manage to watch the parade. But we did go to the Red Light District.

(The Colloseum, Rome)

(Tower of Pisa, Pisa)

(Venice)

(Eiffel Tower, France)

(Voldendam, The Netherlands)

I am still trying to figure out the layout for this blog. People has been telling me that I should have a brighter background color. So please forgive me if I keep changing the layout & colors! 

With lots of love, 

Claraaaa <3