Things to do in Singapore on weekend

Some of you might be wondering what am I doing on weekend here.. Yes, it is a small city indeed but there actually things that you could do here where you couldn't do it in our lovely Jekarda.

East Coast Park

Local people here loves to do outdoor activities during weekend. There is a big park in front of the beach called the East Coast Park. You could do a lot of activities here like cycling, jogging, barbeque-ing or even just go for a walk and have dinner.. You could see all of the available activities here. 

I did a barbeque party with my colleagues from the office a while ago. So basically we just rent the barbeque pit (it cost you about 20 bucks for 4 hours of use) and there is an online delivery package for barbeque that caters to everything you need.. isn't that cool!! The package includes the food, drinks, plates, charcoal, alumunium foil, etc.

You have to take taxi or bus to reach here as it is not near to any MRT.


Sentosa Island

There are lots of things to do in Sentosa other than visiting the Universal Studio. Basically, there are four main areas in Sentosa, Imbiah Lookout, Siloso Point, Beaches and Resort World Sentosa (this is where Universal Studio is located).

The cheapest way to reach Sentosa is by taking the Sentosa Express. How to get there? Easy, just take the purple line MRT to Harbourfront and then go to the 3rd floor where Sentosa Express station is located. It will cost you 3 bucks per person to ride the Sentosa Express. There are 3 stations in the Sentosa Island where the Sentosa Express goes.

On some weekends, I like to go to the last station, it's near the beach, and ride the Skyline Luge. Skyline Luge is a combination of skyride and go-cart. The skyride will take you to a higher point where after you reach there you will go down with your go-cart in a downhill designed track. It's quite fun and refreshing. 

You could also ride segway, cycling, swimming, etc at Sentosa Island. For more information about Sentosa please see here  

Okay, I can't think of anything else. Will write again later then..

I'm Booked!!

Holla people!

I'm in a good mood for love baby! That's because i just got engaged with my long time boyfie.. Woohoo.. (time to be a bridezilla now :D)

The party was held on Saturday on the 4th of June. But I have to tell, the preparation for the engagement party in Indonesia is definitely not easy at all. 

I landed in Jakarta on Thursday nite hoping that everything is settled by then. But what happened when I reached home??? All the cakes to be given to my bf fam are not ready, my kebaya and kain are still not ready, forgot to book the sound system.. yupp, it's a total chaos after all.

But at the end I do love almost everything about my party. I love my kebaya, my make-up ad hair do, my tent decoration. I'm not really happy with the caterer though, it's just not as good as I expected.. well, but it's over now so no need to go on and on about it.

Here are some pictures from my engagement party. I'm so happy that most of my bestfriends came to the party.. Thank u for coming galss!!

tent decoration by myra tent (mamie hardo)

make up by Sofia Make Up

highschool besties!

grad school besties

my lovely genkgonk!!

Local Trip : Batu Karas, West Java

This was my very first journey to visit one of the beaches in Java island.

I went there quite a while ago with my friends and my boyfriend. We stayed at a lovely beach hotel called Javacove located right in front of the beach. It's a very nice, quiet and private area as it is located quite remote and not many hotels are available here. The owner of Javacove is an Australian expat couple who has been travelling around Indonesia.

It was an 8-9 hours drive from Jakarta to Batu Karas. 

It is located near Pangandaran Beach so the location is actually near to the border between West Java and Central Java. Lots of people came here to learn how to surf as the waves in Batu Karas beach is perfect for beginners. 

We found a hidden private beach not far from Javacove but the road to reach there is a bit hilly. We were so glad that we found that beach so we instantly ran into the water.

the private beach 

to the beach!!  

Girls!!!

We also went to the Green Canyon, you have to ride a motorcycle to go there. It will be too far if you go by foot.

 me and my boyfie

Boyss!!!

There is a mini waterfalls not so far from the Green Canyon. All of my friends jumped to that waterfalls

 Jumped and frightened to death!!

And this is where we sleep and rest after a long fun day

Places to visit in S'pore

I know that most of Indonesian people will go to Orchard when they visit S'pore.
But there are still lots of places to go in S'pore other than Orchard. These places may not offer the shopping experience like Orchard, but it definitely offers things that we won't find in Jakarta.  

Here are few places to go in S'pore for sightseeing:

        Singapore National Museum

A very famous landmark where people could learn the history of S'pore since the beginning of British occupation until it became independent under the leadership of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew who is know act as the country’s mentor minister.

You could easily reach here by taking the red line MRT and stop at Dhoby Ghaut or City Hall, and then just follow the direction.

                                              photos courtesy of www.nationalmuseum.sg

       Botanical Garden 

A garden located in the middle of the city. It is near to Orchard area, a very nice place for people to hang out and have a picnic, jogging or just sitting around enjoying the scenery. I was really surprised when I first came to the botanical garden, it is well designed and it's a very good place for people to get fresh air and relax.

You have to get a taxi or take a bus to reach here as it is not near to any of the MRT. It is actually located between tanglin and dempsey (not so far from the gleneagles hospital).

photo courtesy of http://www.findsingapore.net/gallery/index.php/Singapore-Botanic-Gardens/Botanic-Garden-Singapore

                                   Nice Gazebo!

photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Singapore_botanic_gardens_gazebo.jpg

Henderson Waves Bridge

This bridge has a very unique architecture as it's shaped like a snake. The scene is very beautiful at night with the view of Singapore skyline. Ideal for couples who just want to walk around. This bridge connects Telok Blangah Hill and Mount Faber Park.

photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Henderson_Waves.JPG 

photo courtesy of http://deputy-dog.com/2008/08/9-amazingly-unique-bridges-you-may-not.html 

 Skypark Marina Bay Sands

The Marina Bay Sands building consist of 2 towers, the hotel and skypark tower and the shopping complex, casino and theatre tower. These new buildings has now become tourist destination. All of the tourist (non-guest to the hotel) must pay S$20 to get to the 57th floor Skypark. In this Skypark, they can view Singapore and they could eat at one of the restaurants available (so far, Ku De Ta and the Club has open). Not to mention the casino which has attracts many tourist to come and try they luck here.

swimming pool, only for guests to the hotel 

 laser show on every weekend (night)

photos courtesy of http://blog.brillianttrips.com/2010/09/singapores-soaring-marina-bay-sands-skypark/

the hotel 

photo courtesy of http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/luxury-hotel-pools/marina-bay-sands-singapore

the mall and the casino

photos courtesy of http://www.marina-bay-sands-casino.com/about

Living in Singapore

Seperti yg udah saya janjikan, blog kali ini akan membahas mengenai berapa besar uang yg harus qta keluarin klo qta tinggal di S'pore (hmphh, my least favourite topic.. cost). Biaya yg paling signifikan dari seluruh biaya hidup disini adalah biaya sewa tempat tinggal. Qta bisa memilih antara sewa kamar atau sewa whole unit.

Utk jenis2 tempat tinggal ada bbrp macem yaitu:

1.   HDB/public housing 

     Ini apartemen yg disubsidi sama pemerintah Singapura, cuma boleh dimiliki sama S’pore citizen atau permanent resident. Jadi utk foreigner cuma bisa sewa aja. Bentuknya kaya rumah susun di Indonesia tapi bagusan dikitlah. Sarananya pun udah cukup bagus (ada lift, taman, jogging track, playground buat anak2). HDB ini adalah tempat tinggal dari sebagian besar penduduk S’pore. Letaknya biasanya deket ke bus station atau MRT dan didukung sama prasarana kaya clinic, supermarket, sekolah yg letaknya juga berdekatan. Dan harga sewanya paling affordable dibanding apartemen atau condominium. Tergantung dr letak HDB-nya dimana, rata2 harga sewa per bulan utk 2 bedroom HDB whole unit di daerah yg masih tengah2 kota sekitar S$1,800-S$2,500 (yup, itu per bulan yah.. klo di Jkt udah bisa sewa apartemen mewah di sudirman kayanya.. hiks). Oia, disinilah saya tinggal di S'pore, di salah satu blok HDB di daerah Bishan.

2.   Apartment

Apartemen yg ada disini bentuknya mirip-mirip sama apartemen yg ada di Jakarta tapi dengan umur bangunan yg udah cukup tua dan fasilitas yg ga terlalu lengkap. Mungkin kelasnya kaya Sudirman Park atau apartemen2 di casablanca (tp jelekan dikit) kali yah. Nah harga sewa apartemen ini yg letaknya di tengah kota bisa sekitar S$3,000 - S$5000. Klo yg di daerah CBD skitar S$5,000 - S$8,000 (lama2 nulis harga sewa di S'pore bikin puisng kepala nih..)

3.   Condominium

Okeh, yg ini type paling mahal neh (dr namanya aja udah keliatan kan klo bakal mahal). Ini adalah tempat tinggal paling common utk expat (maksudnya expat disini yg dapet paket expat yah alias biaya hidup ditanggung kantornya.. biasanya bule-bule atau orang2 yg ditempatin di S'pore siy yg dapet paket ini, klo yg apply2 sendiri trus kulitnya sawo mateng kaya saya siy ga masuk itungan - eh maaf ya eike jadi curhat). Condominium ini fasilitasnya banyak, ada swimming pool, gym, tennis court, sauna, sama barbeque pits.

Untuk lebih jelasnya coba buka website http://www.guidemesingapore.com/blog-post/singapore-life/singapore-housing-rental-property-types untuk keterangan lebih lanjut mengenai tempat tinggal di S’pore.

Alternatif lain adalah dengan nyewa kamar aja. Itungannya kaya ngekos gitu deh.. Klo sewa kamar di apartemen atau condo yg masih di tengah2 kota biaya per bulannya berkisar antara S$1000 - S$1600.

Biaya transport per bulan untuk yg kebanyakan naik MRT dan cuma sekali2 aja naik taksi kaya saya ini sekitar S$100. Sedangkan biaya makan sehari2 utk level food court dan sehari 2 kali makan diluar adalah sekitar S$600 (dgn asumsi klo weekend qta aga boros lah ya..)

Jadi bagi mereka yg mau kerja di Singapore dan sedang proses interview, silahkan dihitung2 kira2 pengeluaran per bulan sama gajinya imbang ato engga. Klo cuma beda2 tipis, mending kerja di Jakarta deh. Secara di Jkt kan rumah gratis, ada pembantu yg bisa bersih2 lagi.  

Living By My Own

Ga pernah kebayang klo someday gw akan kerja sendirian di negeri orang.. Thought I will never survive.. But here I am, living by myself, working in another country.. 

Di negara manakah saya tinggal? Sebenernya negara yg amat sangat dekat dgn Indonesia, negara tempat dimana pengusaha2 kaya menanamkan duit korupsi hasil kerja mereka, negara dimana banyak sekali orang Indonesia berkunjung baik dalam rangka berobat, rekreasi, maupun belanja.. Yup, tebakan anda benar sekali, saya skrg tinggal di singapura.

Awal pindah kesini, tentunya saya sangat excited. Bayangan akan tinggal di negara maju yg modern, teratur, aman, dgn gaji yg kayanya klo di Jakarta cuma bisa didapetin klo qta dah selevel direktur di perusahaan menengah ke atas (ehm, boleh ya sombong dikit) membuat saya sgt menanti2kan kepindahan saya k negara ini.

Now, it's already 6 months I live in this country (and trust me it feels like a year), dan apakah semua seindah yang saya bayangkan? tentu tidak. Banyak sekali kenyataan2 lain yg membuat saya berpikir seribu kali - am I making the right decision by moving here? - Well, nasi sudah menjadi bubur, tentunya saya hrs bertanggung jawab atas pilihan saya sendiri.

Bukannya saya ga suka or benci sama negara ini, in many ways, banyak yg patut dicontoh dari negeri ini dalam hal tata kelola kota, sistem dan sarana publik, dan jg bagaimana pemerintah peduli terhadap rakyatnya. Tapi negara ini terlalu sangat teratur sehingga kadang saya merasa seperti robot dengan rutinitas yang sama. Lingkungan bekerjapun dibuat sangat kompetitif dan ambisius. Banyak sekali orang-orang disini yg mendewakan kedudukan, jabatan, kesuksesan, dan uang. Bagaimana keadaan singapura akan saya bahas dalam satu blog tersendiri, lengkap dengan foto-foto dari kawasan2 beken di singapura.

Oia, bagi mereka yang berencana untuk kerja disini, perlu diingat bahwa biaya hidup disini sangat tinggi, jadi pinter2 yah nego gajinya (hehehe). Mengenai biaya hidup disini akan saya bahas dalam blog selanjutnya.

The Beginning

Akhirnya launching juga my very first blog..

Rasanya deg2an, ser2an, sekaligus seneng (ini beneran pertama kalinya gw nulis sesuatu in public area.. soo.. yes, it is a big deal for me to start my own blog). 

Ide awal peluncuran blog ini adalah untuk memberikan inspirasi, tips serta masukan bagi para wanita di seluruh dunia mengenai berbagai macam hal dalam kehidupan (okay.. enough for the bullsh*t, sbenernya blog ini dibuat karena penulis kurang kerjaan, sendirian di negeri orang, dan ga terlalu banyak temen di negeri tersebut. mau tau penulis tinggal dimana? nanti ya dibahas di blog tersendiri). 

So, jadilah blog ini dibuat utk membantu penulis menceritakan pengalaman2nya (yg pastinya tak terlupakan.. wait until I blog about my job and the current city that I live) serta berbagi dengan para pembaca. 

Semoga diluncurkannya blog ini dapat meramaikan dunia per-blogger-an dan dapat berguna bagi yang membacanya.  

Cheers