Kenangan Hari Kerja di Singapura: Murtabak, Coffeeshop Hunting & Belanja di Mustafa

 

Saat itu sih tidak terpikir ini akan menjadi kunjungan kerja terakhir ke Singapura sebelum pandemi. Karena foto-fotonya masih tersimpan di HP, lebih baik saya posting di tesyasblog. 

Saya pergi ke Singapura sore hari, tiba di Changi malam. Niat banget mampir dulu ke Jewel, supaya bisa foto Jewel dengan lampu. Ternyata tidak sia-sia jalan kaki dari Changi ke Jewel, mengunjungi Jewel di malam hari, lebih indah daripada di pagi atau siang hari.

Baca cerita pertama saya mengunjung Jewel di sini.

Lampunya berganti terus, saya menunggu ungu, dapatnya biru hehe

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Coffeeshop Hunting di Singapura: % Arabica Bugis Street

 

Sebelum buka di Indonesia, % Arabica membuka cabang di Singapura terlebih dulu, dengan cabang pertama di Bugis Street. Cabang pertama ini, saat awal buka selalu antre. Tidak dipungkiri, yang antre banyak juga wisatawan dari Indonesia, apalagi saat weekend.

Agar tidak perlu antre panjang, saya dan teman-teman sengaja datang pagi. Kami menginap di Bugis Village Hotel yang terletak hanya beberapa meter dari % Arabica.

Foto wajib di depan % Arabica

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One Day in Singapore: From Jewel to Floral Fantasy and Tulipmania Festival 2019 in Gardens By The Bay

The yearly Tulipmania Festival in Gardens By The Bay is always on my bucketlist. Visited it back in 2013 (see the post here) and also in 2017 (you may refer to this link) all by myself, this time I got two companies. Hence I haven't succeeded taking mr.husband to the Tulipmania Festival.

Ibu Diah and Janie are my colleagues, who agreed to do a one day trip to Singapore. Actually we had bought a Friday night ticket after office hour, but Air Asia cancelled the flight, and we were given a new schedule which is on Saturday's morning. Whilst our return ticket on Saturday at 10 pm remained unchanged.

The show must go on, and the bright side is: we are very sure now that Singapore is doable in one day. I am going to share with you on hourly basis how we managed our time effectively:p

A mini Dutch house welcome us at Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay

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Kurasu Singapore: Speciality Coffee from Kyoto Is Now Getting Closer

I remember it was in January 2017, when we flew to Osaka and took JR Haruka from Kansai Airport to Kyoto Station. The first thing we did in Kyoto was to visit Kurasu Kyoto. We fell in love with Kurasu, bought some of their coffee equipments online, and having them delivered it all the way from Kyoto to Indonesia.

We were so thrilled when we read from their instagram feed that they opened their first branch in Singapore! All of the sudden we put Kurasu Singapore on our Singapore's weekened getaway itinerary.

Kurasu Singapore is located at Odean Towers, not far from Bugis area, but anyway we took bus to get here from where we stayed in Bugis (Village Hotel). Unfortunately I missed the bus stop closest to Odeon Towers, so we had to make a detour to Odeon, from City Hall MRT. 

And when we arrived at Kurasu Singapore, I felt like "we were home at last!"

Ordering our drink to the barista

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Yotel Singapore: A Hi-Tech Hotel In The Heart of Orchard

My search of a hotel around Orchard Road led me to this purple hotel called Yotel Singapore. Mr.Husband was the one who introduced me to this hotel, and when I saw how purple this hotel is, I proceed with the booking.

We alight at Orchard MRT station, and walked through ION's underground to Wheelock Place, then continued taking the underground to Shaw Towers. Yotel Singapore is located at the back of Shaw Towers. The underground might be very confusing, pay attention closely to the sign heading to Shaw Towers.

The drop off area of Yotel Singapore

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Weekend Akhir Tahun di Singapura: Itinerary 3D2N Menikmati Suasana Natal dan Tahun Baru

Ada banyak alasan mengunjungi Singapura, dari mulai shopping, bermain di Universal Studio dan Sentosa Island, hingga menonton konser musik terutama yang artisnya tidak datang ke Indonesia. Dari semua event yang diadakan di Singapura, menurut saya yang paling special adalah saat liburan akhir tahun, karena nuansa festive season sangat terasa.

Singapura merayakan natal dan tahun baru secara besar-besaran setiap tahunnya. Orchard Road dipenuhi lampu dan hiasan natal, begitu juga semua shopping mall berhias diri dengan ornamen natal. Bahkan, rumah kaca raksasa Flower Dome dan Cloud Forest di Gardens By The Bay juga di setting dengan tema natal. 

Selain itu, Gardens By The Bay juga menjadi tempat berlangsungnya event Christmas Wonderland. Sejak melihat video di YouTube turunnya salju buatan di Christmas Wonderland, event ini masuk ke dalam bucketlist saya!

Walaupun hanya bisa menikmati suasana natal dan tahun baru di Singapura over the weekend, namun tetap sangat menyenangkan. Untuk teman-teman yang berencana liburan akhir tahun di Singapura, kami akan share apa saja yang tidak boleh dilewatkan:

Polar Express Train di depan Ion Orchard  

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Mommies Day Out Trip: Our Lau Pa Sat Satay Weekend Trip to Singapore

I've never had the idea that we could go to Singapore just for the satay! But my friend Iin requested us to go on our mommies day out trip once again because she was craving for the satay in Lau Pa Sat, Singapore.

Singapore is always in my heart so I wasn't hesitate to answer "yes" right away:D We bought ticket when Jetstar was having a promo, and of course apart from the satay, mommies always spend time for shopping:D

But let's skip the shopping part and just focus on the Singapore satay we ate at Lau Pa Sat, or to be precise at the back of Lau Pa Sat on a street which is called Boon Tat Street. If you come from the main entrance of Lau Pa Sat, just ignore anyone offering you food or seats. Keep on walking until you reach the outdoor area. Once you see many smoke around, I bet you are in the right place.

It is a lovely outdoor area to hang out with friends & families

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Siapa Takut Naik OCBS Skyway di Gardens By The Bay

Udah berapa kali saya ke Gardens By The Bay di Singapura? Tempat yang saya nobatkan sebagai "my happiest place in Singapore" ini sudah merebut hati saya sejak awal pertama buka.

Saya kagum dengan Flower Dome, kubah kaca raksasa yang di dalamnya sangat dingin dan dipenuhi bunga yang indah. Waktu terbaik mengunjungi Flower Dome tentunya untuk saya si penggemar bunga tulip adalah saat berlangsungnya Tulip Mania Festival.

Children's Garden yang ada di dalam Gardens By The Bay, merupakan tempat bermain favorit kedua Kiddos, ditambah lagi favorit saya karena taman bermain sekeren ini bisa dinikmati gratis.

Namun ada satu atraksi di Gardens By The Bay yang belum pernah saya coba naik, yaitu jembatan setinggi 22 meter yang menghubungkan Super Tree Groove. Sampai akhirnya saya pergi berdua mr.husband ke Singapura dengan itinerary khusus untuk mencoba OCBC Skyway.

Beneran nih mau naik? Tanya saya dalam hati ketika melihat OCBC Skyway dari dekat. Hahaha.. Tapi tentunya kali ini tekad saya sudah bulat. Siapa takut?

Melihat OCBC Skyway dari dekat

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Enjoying The Cloud Forest at Gardens By The Bay

This is my second visit to Cloud Forest, the cool moist conservatory. As you may know, Gardens By The Bay has two conservatories: the Flower Dome and The Cloud Forest. Flower Dome is the one I visited during Tulip Mania Festival 2017. While the Cloud Forest has never been explored thoroughly by myself. On my first visit, I had only limited time, so we didn't go up to the mountain. Wait, is there a mountain inside the conservatory?

Yes, there is an artificial mountain inside! The Cloud Forest features a 35 meter tall mountain covered in lush vegetation, shrouding the world's tallest indoor waterfall. The Cloud Forest is completely different compared to the Flower Dome. But of course both are very beautiful and worth to be visited. Actually I would say if you have boys, they will surely love Cloud Forest because of the hike, the bridges and everything else.

Through this post, let me show you how Cloud Forest looks like. This post will be very heavy with pictures captured by mr.husband :)

The air conditioned conservatory with a stunning view

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Haji Lane & Arab Street Singapore: What To Do, Where To Take Pictures & Where to Stay

You've probably heard so many things about Haji Lane, an artistic street with lovely murals in Singapore. Haji Lane is a small lane in Arab Street area. I always visit Arab Street whenever I go to Singapore, because of Murtabak Zam Zam.

But now there are so many things to do around Arab Street. From buying a halal certified cupcake at Fluff Bakery to having a delicious cup of coffee at ARC. Of course with so many taking pictures opportunity in between :)

This post will be full of pictures, and after reading it, I am sure that you will understand why Haji Lane and Arab Street is my favorite area in Singapore.

This lane will lead us to Haji Lane

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Pengalaman Menginap di Airbnb Area Bugis, Singapura

Sudah pernah menginap di airbnb di Singapura? Saya belum pernah, sampai dengan secara impulsive saya membeli tiket Jetstar PP untuk melihat Tulip Mania Festival 2017. Karena dadakan, saya mencari penginapan yang murah meriah.

Alhamdulillah saya memiliki travel credit di airbnb yang saya dapatkan dari program referral airbnb. Jadi kalau teman-teman sayang sama saya (ihiiiy!), sign up di airbnb dengan kode booking TMERIAM1 (<-- atau di klik aja link nya ya). Nanti akan ada diskon USD25 untuk reservasi teman-teman (min harga kamar USD75) dan saya pun mendapatkan what so called travel credit. Yuk sign up! 

Mari kembali ke pencarian airbnb saya di Singapura. Secara spesifik saya memasukan "Bugis Singapura" saat mencari lokasi. Memilih "1 person" karena saya bepergian seorang diri, tidak lupa filter "entire home" karena saya tidak mau tinggal di rumah orang lain, dan mengklik tombol search. Airbnb mengarahkan saya ke beberapa pilihan dan tau sendiri kan yang saya pilih? Yup, yang paling murah!:D

Jodoh mempertemukan saya dengan sebuah apartemen yang very compact di area Bugis. Harga yang saya bayar? Rp 200 ribu semalam setelah dipotong travel credit (harga normal Rp 1 juta semalam). Tapi begitu saya tiba, eh.. kecil banget yaaa! 

Shock juga kamarnya mini tapi setelah dipelajari lagi, konsep dan idenya patut ditiru!

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Tulip Mania 2017 at Gardens By The Bay, Singapore

There is always something about me and the tulips, well at least that's what I think:D I remembered my one year in the Netherlands (during my student exchange program in high school), when I was riding bicycle and I saw tulips along the way. 

I haven't had the chance to see the tulips again in the Netherlands ever since. Actually the plan is on our bucketlist to go back to the Netherlands, we just have to wait few more years when the lebaran holiday is around April or May, the same period as the tulips. Perhaps another two or three years to go.

Gardens By The Bay, my happiest place in Singapore, held this what so called Tulip Mania Festival since 2013. Of course I went to see the festival back in 2013, all by myself. You can check out the link here. And now in 2017, I went all alone by myself to see the tulips once more.

It started when I realized that we had a holiday on Wednesday during the Jakarta's governor election. Mr.husband's office is located outside Jakarta, so unfortunately he doesn't have one day off from the office. But he let me to travel solo to Singapore. The problem was, I forget how it feels to travel solo anymore hahaha..

But I made it to Gardens by The Bay, and these tulips said hello to you all.

When the door to Flower Dome was opened, the first thing I saw was this lovely pink tulips

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Amaris Bugis Review: Hotel di Singapura Rp 1 Juta-an

"Mba, saya cari hotel murah di Bugis untuk keluarga, sebaiknya apa ya?"

Banyak pembaca blog yang bertanya kepada saya mengenai hotel murah di Bugis, Singapura. Dan karena faktor lokasi yang very central, hotel di Bugis itu cukup mahal.

Pilihan hotel di Bugis yang Rp 1 juta di antaranya Fragrance Bugis, Marrison Hotel yang reviewnya pernah saya tulis di sini, Parkview dan ada juga chain hotel Indonesia yang membuka cabang disana, yaitu Amaris Bugis. Tapi ya itu, kamarnya kecil-kecil, kalau anaknya masih kecil dan hanya satu, mungkin cukup.

Familiar kan dengan lambang "a" ini?

Mr.husband pernah menginap di Amaris Bugis dan membawakan saya oleh-oleh berupa foto hotel dan kamar Amaris Bugis. Siapa tau bisa menjadi referensi teman-teman yang mencari hotel di Bugis dengan harga Rp 1 juta-an.

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Cycling in Singapore : Exploring Punggol Waterway

Singapore is not just shopping malls, Sentosa, Universal Studio and the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel. You could enjoy the beauty of this country from a bicycle. What? Cycling in Singapore? I am not talking about cycling inside the city, I choose a place away from the hustle bustle of Singapore, where sometimes you feel the place only belongs to you, as there was no one else.

 

I am talking about cycling in Punggol waterway area. Have you heard about this place?

 

It all started by a Jetstar promo ticket, and our need to have a time only for me and mr.husband. It is not easy nowadays to get permission from our Kiddos to leave them at home, and not joining our weekend getaway in Singapore. Just like their Mom, our Kiddos love Singapore so much (or to be precised, they love Toys R Us in Singapore!). With some deals, we succeeded getting approval from our Kiddos, and the story of our weekend getaway in Singapore begins at Punggol waterway.

As I told you, there were nobody else! It was like having this place only for me & mr.husband

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Mandarin Orchard Hotel Review

What's the most famous and favorite hotel on Singapore's Orchard Road? Probably, Mandarin Orchard Hotel is the answer. The location is at the heart of Orchard: 2 minutes walk to Ngee Ann City, a stones walk away from Paragon Mall, and H&M is around the corner.

 

This is definitely not my choice if I travel with my family (although the beds in the room are huge!). First of all, because of its price, and I am not really "an Orchard person". But I had the opportunity to stay here (for free), so I guess it's not a bad idea to share my experience staying at Mandarin Orchard Hotel.

 

The ground floor which is directly linked to a shopping mall called Mandarin Gallery, is only a waiting area. You have to go to the 5th floor to reach the lobby area. The lobby has a modern and minimalist design, with a touch of luxury from its lighting as well as the hanging lamp.

 

I love the hanging lamp at the lobby area

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Cycling at Coney Island Singapore

This is my second post regarding Punggol Waterway Singapore, I bet you've read how we got lost in Punggol Waterway by foot. Now let's continue the story by exploring this area on a bike.

Well, I always wanted to do cycling in Singapore. But I have never found a bicycle rental place, until I found the GoCycling FB page. We decided to have it a try and visited their branch at Punggol Promenade.

How to go to Punggol Promenade: head to Punggol MRT station, exit the station to the bus terminal. Take bus number 84, and stop at Punggol Promenade (bus stop: Punggol Road End). From a distance you will see the Go Cycling counter inside a park.

Go Cycling was easy to spot

We rented two bicycles cost SGD8 per hour for each bike. So we rented 2 hours, and as a bonus we got the 3rd hour free of charge. For your information, helmets were not included in the rental fee. 

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Lost at Punggol Waterway Singapore

Yeay! So happy that I and mr.husband decided to have a weekend getaway in Singapore once again. This time, I wanted to do something different, and go to a place which we have never been before in Singapore.

After those blogs walking and googling, our choice was to cycle at Punggol Waterway, this place was found when I search information about Singapore National Parks.  

I have read, that we had to take bus 84 from Punggol MRT and alight at the Punggol Road End bus stop. But it was our first opportunity to take LRT in Singapore. I wouldn't miss that!

And that's how we got lost in Punggol Waterway. We took the wrong direction from Damai LRT Station, and suddenly we were on a bridge surrounded by huge apartments. 

The Punggol Waterway, between the apartments

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Skyline Luge Sentosa Singapore

One of the Sentosa's attraction which I always recommend to our blog readers and friends is the Skyline Luge. Having tried only the Gondola and not the luge in Queenstown-New Zealand, I was planning to try the luge in Sentosa.

We arrived early in the morning and headed to the ticket counter. My friends choose to buy the 3 Luge and Skyride cost SGD26, while I choose only one ride cost SGD17. There was no queue at all, so we went directly to the Skyride.

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Budget Traveling: A Weekend Getaway in Singapore

Rp 2 Juta: 3 Hari 2 Malam di Singapura

When I offered my colleagues to spend a weekend getaway in Singapore with a maximum budget of IDR 2,000,000 (including airfare ticket, hostel, transport, daily meals and a ticket to try the Sky Luge in Sentosa), 11 person signed up, that made 12 participants including myself.

I booked promo ticket from Jetstar in November 2014, for the travel period in January 2015. Our ticket cost IDR 800,000 per person including tax, leaving for Singapore on Friday night at 9.30 pm, and returning to Jakarta on Sunday morning. There were 10 person from the same division, so we couldn't take leave.

Arrived safely in Changi Airport, at midnight

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Staying at The Pod: a Luxury Capsule Hotel in Singapore

It was my first experience to stay at a capsule hotel, and I was lucky that the first capsule hotel that my wife choose was a luxury one:D It was The Pod Boutique Capsule Hotel in Singapore.

Tesya came across The Pod when she was searching for a Singapore hotel in Agoda for me. Then we checked its website, and we both amazed by the pictures of the bed and also the price:p Anyway, we reserved one single pod for my night stay. We'd love to try how it's like to sleep in a luxury pod.  

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