Author archive
7 February 2017
Above: Last glimpse of Natuna, near Ranai after take-off. With a mid-morning departure from Natuna back to Batam I neither had plenty of time nor had to rush. I had a breakfast of soto next door before being taken to the airport by Yuli. It wasn’t a long drive but speed was restricted in the […]
6 February 2017
Meng couldn’t take me out today but Bey had offered. As she was busy in the morning, it would be a 1230 start with her.Yuli brought nasi dagang with a choice of egg or tuna, and mini bread balls filled with tuna. I was told I couldn’t have just one so walked away rather full. […]
5 February 2017
I grabbed a breakfast of gado-gado and very sweet milk coffee next door. I had brought milk and muesli but got tempted into this. Yesterday I had finally agreed to go with the pricey car excursion. That’s what I thought but at 1000 Meng turned up on his motorbike (called “Honda” in Natuna regardless of […]
4 February 2017
My destination today is Ranai on the island of Natuna Besar in the Natuna Archipelago, which is part of the Riau Islands of Indonesia. It is not well known so I guess I’d better give it an intro. Background & History of Natuna Natuna consists of 272 islands in the South China Sea that is […]
3 February 2017
Flying to Singapore Today I fly to the tiny Republic of Singapore to transit to Batam in the other Republic … the big one, Republic of Indonesia. The head of the big republic once jokingly called the smaller one “Little Red Dot”. A good friend Boo happened to book on the same flight to just […]
22 January 2017
For the second leg from Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur, I ate my meal and took a pill and slept till about an hour before landing. It was over 3h of waiting before the first flight of the day to Kuching so I had some breakfast of Assam Laksa, knowing full well I’d have a […]
21 January 2017
This trip starts with another one of my regular visits to family in hometown Kuching, but it will be more special as I’ll spend Chinese New Year there with them. And on the way back, I’ll do a detour to Pulau Natuna, an island in the South China Sea that is now part of Indonesia. […]
27 December 2016
With travel, work and keeping fit, this year's album started small but it appears to have grown rapidly towards the end… Posted by Alex Chan on Saturday, March 12, 2016
15 December 2016
Bakso is an Indonesian-style meatball served in a soup, sometimes with noodles. I try making it and use it in a Malaysian-Thai-Chinese beef noodle soup. With Kimball John Gaitely and Jo Spiers. Posted by Alex Chan on Wednesday, December 14, 2016
13 December 2016
Malaysians don't rave about Filipino food. It isn't spicy enough for us. As a challenge (and a private joke between me… Posted by Alex Chan on Monday, December 12, 2016