Cycling from Tampines to Changi

the weather was good today and we decided to go ahead with our cycling plan. wanted to cycle along changi coastal road but realized it was too far. found online about this relatively new PCN Pitstops for bicycle rental. there are 6 pitstops along the Eastern Coastal Park Connector and cyclists can rent bicycles and return them at any of the 6 stops along the way. thought it was really cool cos it means we dont have to cycle back to the same shop and we can travel further.decided to try cycling from Sunplaza park in Tampines to Changi Beach. rented our bikes at Sunplaza park and discovered they were having promotion. $6 for 2 hours! i initially thought it would be $5 per hr. it was easy finding our way around as there were many signs along the way and we just had to follow the bicycle path. cycled along a few canals in pasir ris to downtown east then along loyang avenue which is mostly factories or just trees. its fun just following those signs though, anticipating where they will lead us next. a long stretch of gentle slope really zapped me of all my strength and energy to cycle on. but i'm glad i managed to get through without having to get off and push my bike. haha..the reward after that was a fast downhill. woohoo~

then we came to a junction in changi where we were supposed to turn right to Netheravon road. but i insisted on riding straight as i wanted to detour to the changi boardwalk. had always wanted to go there. but haha, super wrong decision to go there with our bikes. there were so many stairs, upslopes, downslopes and narrow paths. guess its not called a boardWALK for nothing. we ended up being so tired from having to carry our bikes up and down. or rather dear carried his while i dragged mine. while dragging the bike up one of the stairs, i think i dragged along some angry red ants and brushed the bike against my leg. the ants were all over my shoes and ankle and a few went into my shoes and bit me! i was really panicking and jumping non-stop then finally managed to brush those damn ants away. changi boardwalk is actually a very nice place just by the sea and some quiet beaches. saw many people with dslrs taking photos. wished i could have taken more photos too.

returned our bikes at the pitstop at changi beach carpark 1. we have cycled around 10km in 1 hr 45 mins. would have been faster if not for the delay at the boardwalk. shall try other routes next time if possible! i love the old rustic feel of changi, the quieter and different route that we took as compared to just cycling in east coast or other parks. feel more accomplished? haha.. had dinner at changi village after that. my fave carrot cake! enjoyed myself today~

Jap food weekend

last friday i met up with yu and hui to celebrate hui's birthday. decided to try out Botan at Far East Square after seeing mz's recommendation. i was early off work and spent time by myself at the esplanade library and rooftop before walking down to raffles place, taking a detour to fullerton hotel. first time inside the fullerton..so pretty! having time by myself like this is quite relaxing sometimes. anyway i digressed.. botan was located amidst a few bars and restaurants lined outside the building. as it was happy hour when we went, the bars were really crowded with many office workers holding a bottle of beer and chatting outside. botan seems to be hidden among all the activity and we nearly missed it. the chefs are japanese and we were given hot towels right after sitting. read much about their value-for-money bento sets and we ordered the pork katsu, chicken terriyaki and beef yakiniku sets. and boy were the servings huge! my set consists of rice with pork katsu+salad+macaroni, chawanmushi, agedashi tofu, salmon+tomato side dish, chasoba+fried salmon, miso soup and watermelon!

Pork katsu bento

Pork katsu bento

the food was quite nice overall but the pork was abit tough and beef abit too salty. the soba and salmon was really bad though. but at $18++ per set, it was still worth it.

sat went liang court for dinner with dear after watching harry potter. wanted to try another recommendation by mz. hee.. reached Saizeriya and saw a loonng queue outside. but the restaurant was quite big and the queue moved fast. the restaurant was very noisy but we managed to get a corner seat. oredered the chicken chop hotplate with cheese and tomato sauce, cabonara and doria with beef meat sauce. when the cabonara came, i thought it look very plain with only a few pieces of bacon, but to my surprise it tasted quite good. it got sticky after sometime though, due to the egg coating on the spaghetti. the doria was really delicious!! another good thing was that they had a drinks bar buffet which was really worth it. had free flow of a selection of drinks. the bill came up to $28, cheap!! thanks mz for the recommendation! walked to city hall after dinner. i love night walks~ good food and company makes me happy. haha..