Articles from this Category
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 […]
7 August 2016
I had booked a private transfer from Patong to Phuket airport that was cheaper than most. The driver took the coastal road north before cutting inland closer to the airport. It was slow but still gave me plenty of time at the airport. That gave me some time to chat to the driver who was […]
6 August 2016
Today we finished our last day at Absolute Bangla Suites. The week went quickly. Just as a recap, this was our fabulous deal of NZD99 for 2 pax for 7 nights in a 3.5 star hotel including daily breakfast and nightly 4 course dinner. Yep, all up – not per person and not per night. […]
30 July 2016
Today I fly to Phuket for over a week of hopefully doing very little. It all started with an online promo for a 4-star hotel going at NZD99 for 2 pax, 1 week including breakfast and dinners. The catch is that we need to attend a timeshare presentation for 90 minutes (and it is low/wet […]
29 July 2016
Today I flew to Singapore (which I jokingly call the breakaway republic for historical reasons). It was a cheap way to get to Phuket and actually costs about the same as transiting in Kuala Lumpur. It is less efficient in terms of time but I get to spend some time with my aunt. Singapore culture […]
25 July 2016
I woke early again and set off around 0730 after breakfast. I have big day in front of me getting from Kudat to Kuching by road and flight. First up was the drive from the Tip to Kota Kinabalu took about 3h15 this time to Inanam and a further 40 minutes to the airport. So, basically, […]