Wonderful Batam Experience

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I just got home from Harbour Front Centre. As I have written, I was on an overnight trip to Batam. We had to thank Ria, my colleague for seeing to all the arrangments. Although it was only a short trip, we had sufficient good food and proper shopping. What happen in the last 24 hours?

We took a Penguin Ferry from Harbour Front, which took about an hour to reach Batam Center. The rocky ferry feeling made 2 colleagues felt nauseous, but it didnt spoilt their appetite for seafood. The GM at our Batam industrial park had chartered a driver cum van to bring us around. Our next destination was a seafood restaurant located at a kelong. Such a pity that it was too dark to see anything out in the sea. Knowing malay is helpful if anyone wish to visit Batam in future. Fortunately, Ria was around to order the food for us. There were too much food for everyone, which left me with the plate of chilly crabs to finish alone. The final bill was about 1 million rupiah, way cheaper than dining in SG. We were driven to our 4-star hotel, Island Garden Hotel, to rest for the night. Some colleagues wanted to play cards. However, they discovered I was already in dreamland before they even started. Hehe.

Early this morning, we were having a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant. After a short rest, we went to the nearby massage parlour within walking distance. I had the Traditional Thai massage costing Rp73,000. The masseuse did a decent job making me feel revitalised and got my tip of Rp50,000. It was her lucky day. Following that, we were brought to 3 shopping centres consecutively to make our purchases. My best buy was a jersey. As recommended by VP, I paid Rp45,000 for a facial plus mask. Time flew by and we are on the way back to SG via the same ferry service.

From W to K, but still 800i

To put the unhappy things behind me, I chose to pamper myself with a mobile switch. Had been waiting for this contract renewal date. The last mobile switch was 5 months back, through a cash plus trade in deal. I was holding on to SE w800i, which I thought was suitable for my MP3 needs. Now, I realise picture quality is more important than music quality. Had 3 phone models in mind. Nokia N73, SE k800i and Samsung E900. Read through several phone reviews, to conclude on purchasing the highly rated SE k800i. Without hesitation, I headed for the mobile shop and extended the contract for 2 years. Though I couldnt bear to let go of my w800i, I had to sacrifice it to salvage $300 trade in value. The sales guy was curious why I wanted to dispose w800i. He would consider that to be one of the few models still in demand. Overall, it was a fair deal, with a 1 GB card thrown into the purchase cost.

Utterly Disappointed

I was expecting an sms from her for the time to meet. 2 days ago, she mentioned that a common fren would be joining us and the timing to be confirmed. Needless to say, one would expect everything to occur as planned. After 10 months, I let bygones be bygones. Not withholding any ill feelings nor true feelings. Just carrying a thought of becoming friends once again. Another group of friends will meeting at a cafe, but I rejected their offer to stick with hers. After a long wait, the sms still didnt come. I sent her one instead. She replied she couldnt make it. A great sense of disappointment developed inside myself. I lost my cool for that short moment. A conclusive sms was sent to her stating, "If you are not sincere, please dont waste my time. We made all prearrangements and it came down to nothing". Any hope of seeing her in person have vanished into thin air. Giving her up wasnt such a bad thing after all.

Batam Excursion

During lunchtime, my VP was mentioning about paying a visit to Batam. She used to work at our company's Batamindo Industrial Park for a few years. From her experience, it would be nice to go for an overnight stay. Tentatively, we are looking at 27 Oct. The programme plan she had in mind was:
- head for Batam directly after work on friday evening
- enjoy fresh seafood dinner (Dunno if I can take lots of seafood)
- spend the night at a good hotel
- go for cream bath n massage the next morning
- do some shopping before we head back to SG

Some of us were keen to participate, as she could serve as a guide to us. However, there was one issue on accomodation. Cat agreed to be in the same room with me, as I am the only guy around. VP asked why she wasnt afraid to be with me alone. I thought it was ridiculous. Do I look like a sex maniac? To avoid further gossip, I chose to be alone. Before we knocked off from work, she managed to get her brother to join us and share the room with me.

The Old times Remains

After looking at several brands of casual watches the past few weeks, I went to the Casio Boutique at Bugis. It was about a decade ago that I switched to other brands from my Casio watch. Now, I am back to the old times. I cant deny that their designs have changed with time. This is one of their latest designs I acquired for a decent price.

Inter Gift Exchange

Today, I had an extra bag with me. It was the gift, which I bought for the birthday girl. I was wearing my new long sleeve shirt to meet P for a small birthday dinner with her. Our birthdays are less than a month apart. As I reached earlier, I went to the CityChain shop at Suntec to browse some watches. The temptation to buy one arose with a $50 voucher that I am holding on. However, the good models cost way above what I am willing to fork out.

A while later, I met up with her outside Kuishin Bo Jap Restaurant. It was sad to see her carry her notebook all the way here from her campus. This meal was on dutch, since it was an inter-celebration. Some sushi as appetitzers kicked start our buffet dinner. She was a bigger eater than me, but I had my flu to thank for reducing my appetite. Fortunately, it didnt affect the enjoyable conversation we had. She was more chatty with me than the previous meetings, which was a good sight.

Once we were finished with the food, she wanted to shop for her clothes. I offered to carry her notebook for her to shop better. She was overjoyed to see Iora having a big sale. Most ladies would go crazy for sale, and she was no exception. As I stood there waiting, she went to try on the clothes and bought a few. We took the same train route back, but were separated at an interchange. She had to return to hostel to rest for class tomorrow.

Money In < Money Out

I was expecting Singapore Mint to be at my Community Club offering coin exchanging service. The 1st 1000 pcs would be free of charge. An opportunity to get rid of the 5-cent coins and other coins in my piggy bank. If any bank does the exchange, they would charge you regardless of any situation.

I joined the queue, with about 20 people in front of me. Most people didnt sort out the denominations and disputed the error counts from the machines. I thought it was absurd. Singapore Mint should have thrown out those people who dont follow rules, or at least make them count on the spot. My transaction got through smoothly and I could tallied every count of the different denominations with my precount numbers. Those bulky coins made me richer by $100+ in notes.

A sudden thought of new office wear came to my mind. I made a trip to Metro, which I like to patronise for office clothings. I made a purchase of 2 formal long sleeves and 1 casual one, totalling near $200. Within a few hours, my cash outflow has surpassed my inflow. There was a saying, "Something Comes Something Goes".

Acquired Fossil

This watch was bought using the birthday vouchers given by my friends. It is one of the latest arrivals in the boutique. Had to part with a bit of cash to acquire it.

3Ts in One Night

A date with T after work was arranged at Tiong Bahru. It has been a few months, since I met anyone there. This used to be a frequent place to meet one fren and my ex company was nearby as well. Those memories have been archived in my past.

I gave her a call as I approached the meeting place. She was waving to me from a distance, even though it was the 1st time she met me. Although this place was near her residence, she was in smart casual. Her efforts to lay a good first impression has paid off. I propose to her to have dinner at Thai Express. She indicated her interest to try some spicy food.

As we were dining, I got to know more about her personal self. She was a chinese national, but awarded PR status. Coincidentally, my forefather was from Fujian Province, where she is from. Her current occupation is a noble one. Unfortunately, her roommate forgot to bring the house key and requested her to go back early. It was a short meeting, but this laid the path for subsequent ones.

Dining in New York

I headed for Cityhall to meet her after work. I had some thoughts of her reactions after I asked her a question previously. I got her answer, and was dead convinced. My mind was restless about any awkward situation to arise between her and me. I am still happy to remain as her friend. Some friends commented that I should persist on. Does it really help to be persistent towards love? Sometimes, persistence may contradict with happiness. I would prefer the latter.

She arrived early, as i waited outside the restaurant "New York" inside CityLink. It was a new concept worth trying, although they serve common western food. To my surprise, she never ask her best fren along. A silly question popped out of my mouth to ask why she didnt ask her along. There was no intention in asking that. We ordered about 3 dishes to satisfy our hunger, which we couldnt even finish. Tummy filled and I gave her a treat this time. She agreed to treat me the next time round.

I had to buy a gift for a friend, whose birthday is approaching. She agreed to come along to advise on the gift. She has good taste, concluding from her dress sense. It didnt take long before we decided on one. She offered to do the quality check on the product before I made payment. From this point onwards, I am certain that our friendship was still intact.