:: My Tj Balai Experience 2009 ::

ohh... here's an update about my balai experience in 2009! haha..

Persis and I wanted to visit our friends in the Balai church since the beginning of 2009, but haven't been able to find time to do so. Managed to free up one weekend in Nov, so I contacted Phei Phei, Uncle Subas, Rev Lee KK to make sure the slot is available for us to go there. We were open to serve in the Sunday School.



Persis teaching dance for the children's Christmas outreach


Surprised to see them use projector and Opensong software!

Saw uncle Daniel there, he was preaching for Sunday Service.

After service, Persis and I almost walked to the jetty, but she decided that she wanted to go shopping at the supermarket, so we took oplik to Indo A Yani to shop.

And then, tragedy happened. As we reached the jetty and almost checked in at the customs, the officers told us that the jetty has closed. The last ferry back to Singapore has been cancelled. we were as helpless as other Singaporeans. But thank God we have friends here. So we changed our ferry tickets to the next morning's first trip and called PP to inform her what has happened, and Asun gu-gu came to fetch us to his house. He came in his motorbike which can only take one other adult as pillion rider, so he actually waited to see if he could bump into a friend to give us a ride.



Watching the coast guards and the ambulances waiting at the jetty to bring survivors and dead bodies to the hospital.

Uncle Daniel was due to return to singapore the next morning, so we planned to make a trip down in the morning to try to see if we could take the first ferry back. Since we had nothing planned for the evening, we had dinner at Asun gugu's place and went to visit a church member to chitchat. That's the national pasttime for Indonesians.

While we were chitchatting at a church member's house, which is right in front of the main road, we heard ambulances driving by many times. That meant that there were still survivors found.


Aimei's now in primary school! Persis and I actually watched her grow up.

Since Persis and I didn't plan to stay overnight at all, we didn't have change of clothes, toothbrush and stuff. It was gross enough that we perspired alot in the hot Indonesian weather... we wore the same clothes for an extra day thinking we should just tahan till we get home! But thank God, Persis and I actually brought more than usual singapore dollars for other reasons, but it came in handy. So we spent our last rupiahs on gifts to thank Asun gu-gu for taking care of us the extra day.

The next morning, we boarded the first ferry. But alas, while waiting for it to leave the jetty, which was a longer wait than usual, we were told to alight. The ferry trip was cancelled again.


All the ferries lined up, none of them could leave the Indonesian waters.



All the irritating DOMs panicking, dunno how to explain to their wives about their trip to Balai. Crowded around the ferry ticketing booth.


My passport was stamped, that means we have "left" Indonesia, so our white cards were returned to us as proof.


On board the first ferry on 25 Nov, 3 days after our scheduled return. Thank God we made it back to Singapore! What an experience! I should have bought travel insurance to cover my expenses like handphone bill... :(

Now u know!

:: uninvited guest at SFC Retreat ::

5 Jan 2010
No la, i'm not referring to any of the J3s. I'm referring to this 25cm long centipede!! It invited itself to our BBQ pit and parked right there. Brave Samuel picked it up with charcoal tongs and flung it over the fence! Hopefully it didn't land on any lovebirds behind the fence.

:: deformed ball ::

2 Jan 2010
Buahaha... Matt's deformed volleyball! Kel kept it in his carboot during cell group... wanted to bring it to SFC Retreat the next day, unfortunately.... But at least it happened before it was too late and we could still arrange to bring another ball.
Brought it to the Thanksgiving BBQ at our youth camp site in the evening.
Overeat again!! (and Vurger right before the BBQ!)

:: NYE ::

31 Dec 2009
Lunch at Cathay Billy Bomber's with Kel and Matt.
Been eating lots during this festive season!! But NYE's an excuse to eat a bit more expensive ;)

:: Youth camp site ::

21 Dec 2009 3am
This is our campsite for Mustard Seed Camp 2009! Nice colours in the sky. That was taken at 3am okay! Was playing Bridge all the way until ...6am? muahahaha...

:: Peperoni Pizzeria @ Greenwood ::

16 Dec 2009
Ooh! Check out the sheer size of the pizza!
My first time here in this area.... makes me go "woah..." like a suakubao!
And Lana chocolate cake for dessert... :P

:: Ooh! Shopping on board Doulos! ::

15 Dec 2009
Wanted to look for Vincent and Clara's Christmas presents (and Vincent's belated bday present), chanced upon MV Doulos. Shopped $50 worth of items! Including... Cover to Cover (my new year's resolution), Captivating (limited edition wor!), journals, etc. Proud buy!

:: Sabo-ing the newly wed! ::

12 Dec 2009
After the guests left at Jeff & Jac's wedding dinner...

Wicked! ;)

:: Fireworks at Vivocity ::

2 Dec 2009 8pm
Pre-fireworks setup at Vivocity at the...area facing Sentosa... Played Plants Vs Zombies while waiting for Theodore to arrive. =P

:: My Murtabak! ::

Mutton Murtabak for lunch at Casuarina with Pastor Chi Shyan, Matthew, Andrea on 1st December 2009. ;)

:: Hong Kong Summer 2009 ::

Supposed to update this VERY long time ago!! But have been VERY busy too.

Here's the photos from my Hong Kong trip this Summer!

Day 1 - 24th July Friday
Photo 1: Stitch went along with me, as a substitution for Theodore, whom I couldn't bring along with me on this trip.

Photo 2: My dear boyfriend surprised me at the airport by being there! Apparently he slept there after sending me home the night before. My flight was in the odd hours of the morning, so it was very sweet of him to send me off...

Photo 3: Arrived at Hong Kong International Airport! Was 1-2 hours early so I went to Hui Lau San to have snacks.

Photo 4: Chi man and her family arrived, met her cousin who drove us to their grandparents' place. Stitch's first time in Hong Kong~

Photo 5: This is where her grandparents live. Looks familiar? Like featured in HK dramas before.

Photo 6: Went out for afternoon tea with her family, checked out this place, i think in Kwun Tong, called Megabox. The carpark goes all the way even to level 15! Woah! Kinda interesting to keep going round and round. Found this open ice skating rink in the middle of the shopping mall... Singapore doesn't even have ice skating rink anymore, except at Kallang Leisure Park!

Photo 7: This whole holiday seems to be about Stitch..... u'll find out why in a while!

Photo 8: First time taking taxi in Hong Kong for Stitch as well as for me!

Photo 9: Ate gai-dan-zai aka little-egg, actually it's just egg cake, at a roadside stall. Chi Man says that's not the nicest she's eaten.

Photo 10: APM! Wanted to visit this mall for very long time already. Heard that it opens till late. But actually... it still closes around 11pm. Not very different from Singapore la.

Photo 11: Chi Man's grandparents' home. Very spacious compared to my expectations as what I've watched on dramas.

Photo 12: Had supper on the first day.... hungry and must try HK food!

Photo 13: View from one of the rooms. Nice!~ Kwun Tong is Very very heartlander. Hidden from tourists.


Day 2 - 25th July Saturday
Photo 14: Somehow we managed to find out way to this ferry terminal to take a ferry to Ma Wan Park Island.

Photo 15: Found the Noah's Ark Park!

Photo 16: So cool... The Fruits of the Spirit painted under a flyover!

Photo 17: Queuing for tickets at the entrance

Photo 18: There were rooms inside the life-sized Ark, each a specific theme related to "life". Sorta like a Science Museum. This girl stuffed Stitch into the mannequin!

Photo 19: There were "tasks" in each room too. This one's for people to draw a message of encouragement on one another. =)

Photo 20: Darling, this one's for you! =*

Photo 21: This room is for people to "scale" the wall, checking out messages at random areas. Also for encouragement. One of them goes something like, "Can you touch your face with your palm? Be thankful for you are abled!"

Photo 22: These mirrors too, pasted on top are messages like, "No matter how fat, or slim you are, it is okay as long as you are healthy"

Photo 23: Exterior of the Ark. Supposed to be built according to the dimensions God gave Noah. Could all the animals at that time fit in?

Photo 24: Tsing Ma bridge! We're very near the airport.

Photo 25: All the animals exiting the Ark...

Photo 26: So are we... taking bus back to mainland.

Photo 27: Hungry! Didn't eat lunch... Time for afternoon tea!~

Photo 28: Taking Minibus to Saikung to find Chi Man's dad's friends.

Photo 29: Mr Softee! Must be a lot of Hongkongers' childhood favourite. Plays a background music as it serves ice cream. =)

Photo 30: Dogs sniffing at each other, saying "hello". Lots of people bring their dogs here... saw many big and small dogs.

Photo 31: I love the idea of a cafe by the beach/seaside... =)

Photo 32: Here's the pier at Saikung... sometimes featured in HK dramas.

Photo 33: Many boats and private yachts... (there was news the following day that someone drown off the coast =S)

Photo 34: Famous seafood!

Photo 35: Haha.. crabs on the ground for display. Huge!~ Hmm... what kind of crabs are these...? Hairy crabs?

Photo 36: Here's where we're eating for dinner.

Photo 37: Inside it's VERY noisy!!! Everyone's talking loudly. =(

Photo 38: Had dessert here! Though we were VERY full after dinner, i didn't want to miss out! There was a nice (and cute?? can't rem) waiter who served me (yes, only me!) water though I didn't ask for it. Hehe... Oh don't worry, I didn't flirt with him.

Photo 39: I ordered mango mochi. Interesting... but not as worth it as desserts like Mango Ice / Beancurd / Almond Milk etc. cuz it's simply taken from a packet!


Day 3 - 26th July Sunday
Photo 40: Can see the shopping mall's exterior? Took train from Kwun Tong MTR station to Jordan to attend Sunday Service at St Andrew's Church with Chi Man. It's my third time there. =)

Photo 41: After service we went to Tung Chung, wanted to check out the cable car ride on Lantau Island. Expensive!! And also since it was going to rain, it was not very safe to take the cable car ride.

Photo 42: At the Factory Outlet shopping mall, waiting for the rain to stop. Didn't buy anything though. Wanted to buy Crocs, but the designs and sizes were very limited.

Photo 43: After waiting and not knowing when the rain will stop we decided to head down to Mongkok for some shopping. Bought a few pieces of clothings, not more than 5. Not much shopping this trip. Had tea while Chi Man asked her cousin where to find the Christian bookstore around the area. (Not many Christian bookstores in HK =x) Bought many many stuff!! Happy. =) Cuz now I believe in buying souvenirs that are meaningful.


Day 4 - 27th July Monday
Photo 44: On the Disney train to Disneyland!! Thank God for Chi Man's cousin who works in Disneyland. She could give us free entry passes!

Photo 45: Why so many Stitch around? ...because it's Stitch fest in Hongkong Disneyland this summer!!

Photo 46: Queued to take photo with Mr. Stitch. So not cute!!! Head's too small!

Photo 47: Took the tram to Fantasyland and took this dizzy cup ride. I like it!! Safer than rollercoaster, with a similar effect!! Wanted to have my own cup so i could spin it as hard as I want, but then a family climbed in with me and the mom was so reluctant to let her son spin the cup... =x

Photo 48: Ooops! Didn't realise Stitch was facing the back. =x There were 5 (or 7?) Stitch statues around in Disneyland, Chi Man and I set out to the challenge to find all of them and take photos.

Photo 49: Taking the river cruise ride. Quite... alright la, not too exciting.

Photo 50: I didn't know Stitch's girlfriend is called Angel!! So interesting! Hahhaa... maybe it's meant to be :P

Photo 51: Watched fireworks in the evening. Tried very hard not to get pissed over all those ... people trying to squeeze into a space in front of those who came early to wait. Oh well.. nice fireworks! People went "awwwww...." when there were nice effects. Took train back home and then packed up and rested.


Next morning I was supposed to be at the airport at 9am to check in my luggage. Chi Man and her parents left for China for a short holiday already. It was arranged for her grandfather to walk me to the bus stop to take the bus to the airport. But he didn't know what time I was flying and so he went out for breakfast and was only back at 9am. Lol... He bought breakfast for me... nice custard buns! Very heartlander. =) Managed to board the bus after frantically waiting for 10 minutes... was trying very hard to tell myself, it's okay, it's okay... but i was mentally planning how else to return to Singapore if i missed my flight. =P Smsed theodore to pray for me... and thank God! Managed to check in my luggage with other people still queuing too. But it was still rush cuz i HAD to buy some dried goods for my mom and some wife's biscuits as souvenirs. Was short of money at the cashier though i already withdrew some money at an ATM. Had to end up using my debit cards, which were also short of money. =( My pay came in, but was in another bank account! haha..haiz.

Thank God I made it back home though. My dad came to pick me up. Not many luggage cuz i didn't shop much. Went to meet Theodore in the evening and had Jap food at Liang Court cuz i had craving for Japanese curry... =P