Hello again, Asia (SG, Indonesia, Malaysia)

Hi guys. Yes, I’m back. It’s been 10 months since I last posted a blog here. Been really busy with work and stuff. And I’ve been procrastinating writing one for quite some time now so here it is. 🙂

Marina Bay Sands

So this blog is about my journey in SG, Indonesia, and Malaysia last March. We stayed at B88 Hostel (http://www.b88hostel.com/) and the place was pretty nice, with free breakfast and all that other good stuff you find on hostels. It was also my first time to sleep on capsule-ish bed so it was a nice experience too.

The trip lasted only 4 days I think, so you can imagine how the hell we managed to explore 3 countries in that timeframe. But surprisingly, with 1 country a day formula, we made it happen. And although we didn’t have much sleep throughout the span of our trip, we still had fun with the places we visited. I’m sorry if I can’t provide any travel details about this trip like I always do (hostel rates, entrance rates, etc.) . I forgot most of them and I didn’t take notes while travelling that time. And I was also the “designated photographer” with my “model friends” so paying attention with the itinerary was the last thing on my mind that time. And also I was enjoying myself too much. 😀

I went with my high school friends and this was my first trip abroad with them. Though this was not my first time in Singapore but I was still very excited going back because I really love the place. I won’t be talking a lot about SG because I already blogged about it before. But it was my friends’ first time so I became somewhat their travel guide/photographer. We went to some iconic places (Marina Bay Sands, La Salle College of Arts, Sim Lim, Park View Square, etc) and did a looot of eating.

With the welcome party Ogie, Diana and Johanna

La Salle College of Arts

We went to Indonesia our second day, specifically in Batam. It’s near Singapore so might as well go to a country and add stamp to my passport. 🙂 Also their timezone is an hour earlier than ours so that was my first time-switch. We had a tour guide which was very convenient also. We booked our tour from a travel agency (I forgot the name) in Lucky Plaza, and most of the employees there are Filipinos (well, the entire mall is filled with Pinoys). We first went to the Chocolate Factory and I think 50% of my rupiah allowance was already spent with so many yummy chocolates. We then went to a Buddhist temple and it was really serene. We had lunch at We also visited their local market where we found some coffee (and beans), dried fishes, spices, fruits, and stuff.

Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Temple

What kind of sorcery is this? Only in Indonesia

On our third day we went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We rode 2am in the morning via the night bus. It’s very cozy actually because the bus seats can be reclined and they provide you nice blanket. But I didn’t had much sleep because the bus was travelling like crazy, 100mph most probably (or I might just be exaggerating). We arrived at KL around 4am and we were hoping to see a brightly lit Petronas Towers but it was turned off already. Then morning came and travelled by train to the Batu Caves. Damn, the place was really majestic. And there’s a lot of monkeys too. We never had the chance to go up the caves because we were dead tired and sleep deprived. It was really frustrating because I heard the view from the top and the actual cave was really beautiful.

Petronas Towers

Batu Caves

Finally, on our last day we went to Marina Bay Sands, Sentosa Island, and Universal Studios. Met with our other high school friends who are working in SG, and it was really nice to see some familiar faces. With lots of talk about high school memories, stories, and buckets of laugh, the trip was far from dull. It was really awesome! Here’s to hoping that we get to have more trips like this, just friends building even more memories. Till next time guys!

More photos from the trip: