AmBank Group 2013 year end concert @ Putrajaya

If you are wondering where to countdown to 2014 this year, you can consider attending the AmBank Group's year end concert @ Putrajaya Precinct 3.

From the looks of it, there are big names like Dato' M. Nasir, Amy Search and Ella involved. I am very surprised to see Dato' Jamal Abdillah in the list too. So it will be a much anticipated event.

Not only will this be a star studded event to end 2013, there will be fireworks display at the stroke of midnight and I'm a sucker for fireworks.

So see you there.. unless you want to catch it from the comforts of your living room Live via ntv7.

YTL Majestic Hotel Malacca

To read a review of YTL Majestic Hotel Malacca click ytl-majestic-hotel-malacca

YTL Cameron Highlands Resort

To read a review of YTL Cameron Highlands Resort click JL Journal/ytl-cameron-highlands-resort

Redang Island vs Lang Tengah

For a comparison between Redang Island vs Lang Tengah click JL Journal - Redang vs Lang Tengah

Hopefully after reading this, it will help you decide on which island is more suitable for your holiday.

Laguna Redang

Lang Tengah beach

Best time to renew your international passport

All these while, I was under the misconception that it is ok to renew your Malaysian passport any time before the expiry date as the new expiry date would run 5 years from my current expiry date.

I was WRONG!

My cousin who renewed hers recently was shortchanged 2 months!!

Note expiry on 1 Dec 2013

Note new expiry on 17 October 2018 and not 1 Dec 2018

When she renewed on 17 April 2013, meaning another 8 months before expiry on December 2013, she was given a new expiry of 17 October 2018.. extension of only 5 years 6 months.

How did it happened??

A check with the immigration department website reveals that:-

"Jika pemohon ingin memohon Pasport baru menggantikan Pasport yang belum tamat tempoh sahlakunya , baki tempoh (had maksima 6 bulan sahaja) yang ada dalam Pasport lama akan dimasukkan ke dalam Pasport baru dengan syarat-syarat berikut:

a. Bukan kes hilang atau rosak

b. Bukan kes dalam siasatan

c. Bukan permohonan gantian pasport untuk tempoh sahlaku dua(2) tahun"

(For more information, click pasport-malaysia-antarabangsa)

So what does this mean?
DO NOT renew your passport until you have less than 6 months before your expiry date!

You will end up giving money earlier to the government and being punished for doing so. What a stupid system!

Tips for travelling from Hong Kong to Macau

If you think travelling from Hong Kong to Macau is daunting, well take heart cos it's not.

But it does involve travelling out of one country and entering another, which means immigration checkpoint comes into play and you have to fill in arrival cards. But the form is really simple and straightforward.

Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal in Kowloon

HK Arrival Card

BUYING TICKETS
Kind of like Puduraya buying bus tickets. There are many counters as well as touts. Actually I reached at 11am and could have bought the 1130am tickets but wasnt sure whether it's the correct ferry cos I didnt want to end up in Cotai so bought the 12pm ticket. PLUS I wanted to be on safe side in case the immigration procedure may take long.

TIPS:- sometimes there are promotion with credit card when you buy RETURN tickets but I didnt find out about it until I boarded the TurboJet and read it from their on-board magazine.

TURBOJET SCHEDULE

IMMIGRATION
Websites will advise you to be there early for the checkpoint but from experience at the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal in Kowloon, the whole process is real quick. Less than 5 mins esp if you do not have any luggage.

Seats are allocated manually when you check in. They put a numbered sticker on your tickets.. somehow I think the person in charge have been briefed to put tourists near window seats.

Not sure but this is my feeling cos the person took a look at us before selecting the seat numbers and coincidentally we were given window seats on both trips.

TIPS:-
1) there are shops in the HK China Ferry Terminal, including Esprit outlet, SASA etc.

2) local currency in Macau
Even though merchants accept HK currency in Macau, you must use Macau currency for local buses! So prepare in advance if you plan to take buses.

3) getting around in Macau
most hotels provide FREE shuttle buses to their hotels. To catch these shuttle buses, make sure you walk to the nearest tourist attractions.


4) concierge service
All the major hotels in Macau have excellent concierge services! Besides directions, you can even buy your return Turbojet tickets from them directly as their computers are linked online with TurboJet ticketing system. So you can be sure you wont be stranded in Macau!


5) a good tip for TurboJet is to get a LATER ticket but if reach the ferry terminal earlier, you can opt to board the EARLIER TurboJet (provided there are seats available).

For more travel tips such travelling without roaming data plan, click JL Journal

Useful tips when travelling to Hong Kong

AIRPORT
Travelling out of HK with Air Asia is from Terminal 2, not Terminal 1. However if you like me, alighted the bus at Terminal 1, no worry.

You just need to take a lift down and make your way to the bus / train direction. Near the entrance of the train station, pls take an escalator or lift to go down. When you walk out, you need to take an escalator up one floor to reach the check in counters.

Sounds confusing? No worry.. as HK is very systematic, they have personnels on hand to give directions.

EATING
even though most signboards and menu are in chinese, there are high chances are they will have english menu when you ASK - the operative word is ask. You have to request for it!


SIGHT SEEING
1) you can get cheaper entrance fees from local hong kong travel agent - eg from your hotel or etc. They are normally cheaper by HKD20 - HKD30.

2) Ngong Ping 360 cable car
you may get cheaper vouchers from travel agent but the best method is to pay FULL online as the queue can be very very long especially during weekends. I waited for 1 hour on Sunday at about 11am. The queue got longer at about 12pm. You do NOT have to queue when you purchase online.

What's there?
Well unless you join a local tour once you reach Ngong Ping Village or you are into climbing up the hill to see the Big Buddha or eat the vegetarian food, there is basically nothing much to see or do in Ngong Ping.

3) Ocean Park vs HK Disneyland
This is personal preference. If you like colours and taking photos of animated characters, then Disney is for you. I mean, how to fight with Mickey and gangs right?

But if you are into nature, there are a lot of interesting exhibits in Ocean Park especially in the Grand Aquarium. You get to see real sharks, jelly fish, sturgeon, pandas, sea lions, penguins and etc.

Price
Ocean Park HKD280 adult
Disney HKD399 adult

Rides
More thrill rides in Ocean Park but no 3D or 4D rides in Ocean Park.

Rides at Ocean Park

Overall feel around the park
Disney beats Ocean Park on this hands down. I mean the entrance at Ocean Park looks very aged and boring to say the least and the signboards inside the park are quite confusing in Ocean Park and a lot of places looks a bit 90s, like the sitting places as well as eateary outlets.

Even some of rides look outdated.

Getting There
This deserves a special mention as again Disney beats Ocean Park on this hands down on this cos at the end of the Symbio show (which runs at 7pm daily) in Ocean Park, everyone rush out to go home and only mode of transportation are either taxi or bus no. 629. Can you imagine the queue??

VERDICT:-
Priority is Disney but if you have been to Disney and you have the time and money to spend, then you can go for Ocean Park as well cos where else can you find 4 pandas in one park outside of China.

SHOPPING
I actually enjoyed most of my shopping in Citygate Outlets, which is a big mall adjacent to the Ngong Ping Cable car station with the largest number of outlets shops!

Because of it's close proximity to HK airport, you'll see a lot of people with luggage in the mall.

It's big and most major brands are there but dont expect good service as due to the crowds most of the staffs will be missing in action. You basically have the find the size, colour etc yourself.

But you'll be rewarded with good prices and extra discounts when buying more than 2 items at most shops.

I prefer here cos it's air-con, covered and you get everything under one roof cos I find Mongkok area too  crowded for my liking :(

ACCOMMODATION
I stayed in a budget place called Golden Wave Hotel. They do not have online booking as you basically call and speak to the proprietor themselves. Prices are seasonal and fluctuates from time to time. Dont expect big rooms but this is HK!

Location is very very convenient. Just a stone throw away from Jordan MTR station exit C2. To get here from airport, the fastest and cheapest way is via airport bus A22 HKD39 one way as the bus stops right next to the hotel.

Worth mentioning is the hotel is just next row to Australian Dairy Co. and same row as Yee Shun Dairy Co.! Yummy yummy!!

CONCLUSION
leave me a comment if you need help getting around HK and I'll be most obliged to help when possible =D

Package "Hamil Baru Bayar" @ D'Cost Seafood, Indonesia

Introducing cheap seafood in Indonesia. It costs Rp22,000 (approximately RM7.50) for a box of this takeaway complete with rice, 4 different types of dishes, a bottle of water and a thin slice of fruit.

Well the food is nothing to shout about.. like a normal bento set with (from left to right) stir fry vegetables, tempura squid, fish and prawns.

A check on their website reveals that these boxes are part of the delivery menu.
D'Cost Seafood delivery
D'Cost Seafood delivery menu

For dining in, they are a real seafood restaurant which serves crabs and fish dishes.

They also have a dish called NASGOR.. Simply out of curiosity, I clicked on it and found out that it's short for NASi GOReng... Haha.. Such ingenuity! Price from Rp10,000 (roughly RM3.40).
D'Cost Seafood nasgor

Interestingly they have this new promotion called "Promo Hamil Baru Bayar" which is a special package for those planning a wedding reception, where you pay when the bride gets pregnant! Wow!! I guess they must be really convinced that most, if not all brides get pregnant pronto =D
D'Cost Seafood promo

Wallet Friendly Public Transportation in Singapore

I really liked Singapore's public transportation cos it has gotten better over the years.

A very good example is how the fare is now calculated based on your JOURNEY, meaning you can go from point A to point B with various modes of transport (bus and MRT) and the fares are adjusted according to your final destination, which is seen as a whole rather than individual trip.

EXAMPLE to travel from Harbourfront (Sentosa) to Bedok blok 534 I would need to take the MRT then change to bus.

Under standard fare calculations it would be SS1.66 for the MRT ride and then S$0.73 for bus ride BUT under the new system the total fare would be S$1.70 only!! Wow!!

But note that you'll need a singapore EZ-Link card to enjoy these rates.

Another cool point is this system is that it allows you 45 minutes of transit time between stops.

The full terms of the TRANSFER RULES are:-

1) Maximum of 5 transfers within a single journey, with a 45 minute allowance between each transfer.
2) All journeys must be completed within 2 hours.
3) Single entry and exit for rail travel.
4) Same bus service number must not be taken more than once in a journey.

You can click the link below to have a go at the new fare system.
Singapore Public Transport Fare Calculator

Asiathique Riverfront Night Market

A funny thing happened during my trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

We were happily walking around this new night market venue called Asiathique (for how to get to Asiathique, jump right to the bottom half).

We were happily exploring Asiathique especially since it's quite big with a few buildings which they numbered as  "Warehouse 1", "Warehouse 2" and so on.

Then we came to the eateries or restaurants section when we saw this guy and girl standing about 10 feet across each other, motionless.. looking at each other.

We were stumped.. like.. what is happening?? Is he proposing to the girl or something cos they were like exactly across each other, not moving and standing still.

But when we look around us, we noticed the same thing with everyone around us.. Then only we noticed the place was playing a song.. Thailand's national anthem!

Wow!! Such respect for the national anthem! Not sure what will happen in Kuala Lumpur if the shopping malls like Sogo played Negaraku (the name of Malaysia's national anthem), would anyone notice and show respect.

Kudos to the Thai government for instilling love for all things Thai!

ASIATHIQUE Riverfront
Getting there:-
You can take a cab there but the best experience is by FREE shuttle boat just adjacent to Taksin skytrain (BTS) station.

Note:-
1) The place is only open from 5pm so the boat only starts about 430pm. We were there early so we killed time at a shopping mall nearby Taksin BTS station. The boat ride takes about 30minutes.

2) Go there early as there can be quite a long queue for the boat ride from Taksin station at night.

3) A good itinerary is to go Asiatique, then take the shuttle boat from Asiathique to Taksin boat station, from there change to another boat to Chinatown.

The boat ride from Taksin to Chinatown station by boat costs 20Baht per person. It takes about 3- 4 stops to reach. Ask around for help on when to alight.

From the Chinatown boat station, take a tuk tuk to Chinatown to eat at the famous T n K seafood (their staffs wear green shirts).

I tried to walk from the boat station to T n K - it's too far and felt dangerous since it was already nightime. Plus there are plenty of tuk tuk waiting at the boat station and they are quite cheap.. so save your energy and take tuk tuk.

The food at T n K is quite good but definitely cheaper than KL and the plus points are the prices are already written in the menu, so you wont be overcharged later.

We had a steamed fish, seafood tomyam, grilled prawns, kangkung vegetables, rice and coke for 700 Baht. What a feast!

Useful tips for Universal Studio Singapore

BEFORE GOING
Be sure to check weather forecast before your trip. Their forecast are quite accurate since Singapore is such a small country, they need to be on alert at all time to changes in weather.

For 3 days forecast go http://app2.nea.gov.sg/weather_3day.aspx
For 7 days forecast go http://www.weathercity.com/sg/singapore/

Also note that since Singapore is an island, weather can change drastically.

On the appointed day, it did rained in the morning which makes quite a cumbersome walk in Universal Studio Singapore (USS), hence we purchased the poncho / raincoat for S$3 each. The size is really big so I ended up tying the poncho at the bottom.

Most of the Hollywood areas are cover by roof so you can enjoy even when it rains but not the rest.

USS OPERATING HOURS
USS opens from 10am to 7pm but for exact operating hours, click http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore/VisitorInfo#hours


GETTING THERE
To get to USS you must first get to Sentosa Island.

There are 5 ways to get there:-
From Harbourfront MRT station which is under or next to VivoCity shopping centre:-

1) sentosa express (sentosa island monorail) S$3.50
2) bus S$2
3) walk S$1 - it costs S$1 cos there are travelators (moving walkway) along the way.
4) cable car - Adult: S$29 Child: $18*
5) drive
dont worry about getting lost as there are plenty of signboards showing you the way to go.

Note:- you only need to pay to get into Sentosa Island. Once you are inside Sentosa Island, you are free to take the Sentosa Express to all other stations. Basically it runs from (not in a loop):-
Sentosa Station (VivoCity) - Waterfront (USS, Casino etc) - Imbiah Station - Beach Station

Which means when you leave Sentosa Island, regardless how you enter, you can take the Sentosa Express to exit for free!

ONCE THERE
Entrance fee depends on peak, super peak season but do look for occasional offers with Maybank or Mastercard cos apparently Maybank is one of their major sponsors.

Just google Universal Studio Singapore then the ones with offers link will be right on top of the sponsored links. The online purchase site is quite sneaky sometimes cos I was looking at the Mastercard promotion at S$60 but later after looking closely found another page with the Maybank offer of S$58.

You can purchase the tickets online or buy them onsite for same day or different dates.

SUGGESTED ITINERARY
As you can see from the map, USS is like a circle.. but make sure you remember to catch a few must watch live shows like Waterworld which is located way up north.

So better to tackle the attractions in a circle so as not to miss anything or tiring yourself out walking to and fro from one end to the other even though there's a shortcut in the middle.

At first I tried to think of a way to avoid crowds and queues but in USS it's quite hard cos new crowds kept coming, even in the afternoon. Maybe from singaporean annual pass holders or tour buses I guess.

BTW the Monster Rock show.. dont bother unless this is your first theme park visit. I nearly fell asleep inside the theater.

There are 3 rides which did not allow any bags / belongings. That's the Mummy and Battlestar Galactica (2 different rides with 2 different queues - human and alien version). Lockers are real easy to use.

Note you dont get to choose your locker number. The machine will assign a nearby locker for you. Just key in your Date of Birth and choose a favourite colour.

Certain rides, you might not want to wear your shoes, so you basically leave it beside the exit area.

WILL YOU GET WET IN JURASSIC PARK RIDE
Yes and no.. cos it pretty much depends on where you sit. It's a circular ride where people sit 3 - 3 - 3. Me and my boyfriend sat at the end of the 3 but across from each other, not side by side, as they want to fill it up to 9. Since we were the last to board, we had to sit whatever seats left.

I didnt get wet at all but my boyfriend was drenched!! So unless you dont like the idea of getting wet, best wear a poncho. Actually he did wear a poncho but he was not mindful to pull it way down to cover his jeans.  So he was drenched from backside all the way down to his legs ;p


FOOD IN USS

Foodwise, I read from other blogs that New York Pizza is good but I tried Mel's Drive In.. Loved their double cheeseburgers at S$13.50 with fries and large soda drinks. Comparable to malaysia's Carl's Jr burger.

For S$13.50 you get a burger, fries and large drink

S$13.80 for turkey leg combo
S$12 for turkey leg only
Collectible souvenir bottle from S$8.90 - S$25.90 then refill at S$2

S$9.80 for cotton candy with souvenir.
Bottled drinks are from S$3.30 - S$5.80
Ice cream are from S$3 - S$6.

WHAT do you do after 7pm?
USS close pretty early so stay back in Sentosa to check out the Resort World Sentosa casino. Just make sure you have your passport with you. Also make sure no sleeveless shirt for guys, no shorts, no slippers or sandals. In other words, no beachwear to enter.

Then make sure you stay for the Crane Dance at 9pm (Monday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays and the eve of Public Holidays)
Link to their calendar http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/EntertainmentNightlife/CraneDance/CraneDanceCalendar
Be there like 15min earlier for higher up seats.

FIREWORKS in USS
Only available on Saturday nights around 09:30pm (subject to availability and weather conditions) for the Hollywood after Party.

If you did not purchase the USS pass, you can still see the fireworks from outside USS. However it's best viewed from inside the themepark. 


SPECIAL NOTES on EXPRESS PASS and etc
a) expect plenty of crowd and from different nationality. Usually people recommend Express Pass only on Saturdays and Sundays.. I went on a Friday which coincides with malaysia's independance day. The crowd was there from malaysia, indonesia, singapore, india and etc...

Even though I arrive at 11plus, I just barely manage to catch all the rides (minus all the kiddies' rides) and a lunch. No photo taking with any characters. Didn't even have time for a 2nd round on any rides.. So I would recommend Express Pass if you can afford it especially when you know it's a public holiday in Singapore or Malaysia or Indonesia.

Those with Express Pass have a certain smug look on their faces as they bypass all those waiting in queue.. guess this kind of privilege is priceless in USS plus you get to do it over and over and over again.. Sigh...

b) no checking of bags at point of entry.

c) there are plenty of water fountains especially near restrooms and some at the start or middle of the queue line for certain rides. Great for those who dont fancy carbonated drinks.

d) you can exit and re-enter USS. Just make sure you get your hand stamped with an invisible ink and show your USS ticket for same day re-entry.

* * * * * * * *

For more tips on:-
left luggage services in Sentosa Island, click JL Journal/left-luggage-or-locker-services
travelling by public transportation in Singapore, click JL Journal/wallet-friendly-public-transportation