9Thursday, August 31, 2006
Above is a video clip from the american reality tv show, Americas Got Talent. This clip features Jessica Sanchez. She performs really well and has astounding vocals. Unbelievable. Even though she lost in the end to Bianca Ryan (who has a POWERFUL voice too), she's still a great singer and has a lot of courage for a 11 year old.
I woke up this morning again with "doughnut" in my mind! Haha. I raced to the table and saw five juicy sugar dougnuts! HAHAHA! I chomped down two before I took my shower.
There were still so many things that I had to pack. I was thinking how I was going to smuggle in one carton of chewing gum. Haha! I ended up scattering all the packets around my luggage to avoid unecessary attention from the custom officers. Heh heh!
I left the hotel again with two doughnuts on hand. I had to leave the last doughnut behind because I couldn't afford to carry anymore >< SO WASTED! -bawl-
We left for the airport soon after and haha, I snapped a few final shots of this magnificent city.
Yeah, I'm going to miss this place so badly. No, I'm not exaggerating, its the truth. It will be another quadraple of months before I can visit this beautiful nation. It's diversity, its culture, its people and its wonderful charm.
I arrived at the airport not long after. The crowd today wasn't that bad as compared to usual days. Yanto, who was our airport aide speed us through immigration and in less than 5 minutes we were ushered us to the airport lounge. Haha, we didn't have to queue for our ticket or have our passports checked, it was all done for us already. Sweet. Here are a few photos that I shot at the airport. 
Oh, you saw the pic of the Boeing A380! It's godamn cool larh. I wanna ride on that monster one day. Hahaha! Oh, I also saw some US Airforce Pilots. They were seriously damn cool larh and I managed to get a glimpse of the F-16s. Sleek and wowza! Can I be a pilot too one day? No >< I have myopia. Crap!
Before long, our plane was ready for boarding. It was actually delayed by an hour and I was stuck at the lounge for a while. At least, I had food to comfort me. Sob sob, I'm still thinking about that poor doughnut that I left behind =(
The plane ride home was better this time. I managed to grab three main courses from the flight attendant. They thought I was mad. One was beef rendang, one was seafood spaghetti and the last one was salmon noodles. HAHAHA! I'm a glutton! Everyone's glad that I'm eating normally (more like abnormally) right now. The video screen this time was detachable on the seat unlike the previous flight so I didn't have to crane my neck like before. I watched Thank You For Smoking. It's a very analytical show and humorous at the same time. Ever thought of being a tobacco, alcohol or firearms lobbyist? Imagine working for an industry that cause potential harm to the mass public. Such people are labelled as mass murderers by the public, so can you live with it? It's actually a great topic to debate and harvest upon.
I reached home almost two hours later to a raining Singapore. It looked gloomy but I was looking forward to the weather. Wasn't hot and dry like Jakarta at least.
Oh, IMF & World Bank posters are everywhere. I can't wait for all the delegations to arrive soon. We Singaporeans are gonna give them the most PLEASURABLE (lol, so wrong) time of their lives! A few of my relatives, uncles and aunts, will be heading several delegations and attending the conferences too. Maybe I'll bump into them somewhere. I volunteered for IMF but I was seperated from my classmates, Dixon, Mich and Jere. They have different roles and are on different days too. Bummer. But, otherwise, you guys have fun too!
Security is definitely going be at a critical level for the next month or so. For the last few weeks, I was wondering why outdoors protests couldn't be allowed, I thought the police was just a little too prudent with themselves, but thinking again, yeah, outdoor protests just won't do. Remember the IMF World Bank meeting in Hong Kong? That didn't turn out to well. Regulated protests are needed. Yeap. Cuase, this is a matter of national security. Like I said before, our saftey (and reputation at the same time) cannot be compromised.
Well, time to end my post I guess, I need to start unpacking my luggage. Gotta sort out my stuff and all. OH YEAH .... I miss Jakarta already =X ...
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9Tuesday, August 29, 2006
That was a damn lame commercial larh. They were trying to promote this wonder powder that would increase your strength and stamina. Even Christiano Ronaldo endorsed that product. Hahaha, its a cute but lame commercial. Really.
Well, Another day has just gone by in wink of an eye. What a day it has been. I woke up this morning with doughnuts for breakfast again. MAN! I just can't seem to stop eating them. I had 3 of the sugary ones and a rainbow doughnut for breakfast. YUM! The dougnuts were simply LICKIN' AWESOME! heh.
A picture of mom and me again just as we left the hotel. Yeah. I've been taking lots of pictures with her larh. Lol, cause I dunno who else to take with. Maybe should take with animals and stuff. ><
I snapped more pics of the streets of Jakarta. So, you guys can see more of what this city is like. Don't get the perception that Jakarta is lagging behind in Singapore, I tell you (tell you e'vthing), its a booming city, so Singaproe shouldn't be too complacent with its current position. Time for us to change, adapt and move on before our neighbours finally catch up with us. It's just a matter of time. I already have half a mind to migrate here when I complete my studies. Less stress, people work at a slower pace, you actually DO GET to enjoy yourself.
Yeah, so we had lunch at Coca-Suki, a steamboat restaurant. The food at COCA in Jakarta is much much better than in Singapore. It's considered a luxury here. Lol. Btw, in Singapore, we usually drink ice mountain right, here, Aqua is the people's choice .... there is no ice-water at restaurants, water is encouraged to be bought in bottles, cause the city's water isn't THAT clean as compared to Singapore.
After lunch, we went to the OCBC Main Office in Jakarta. Before the merger between Keppel, Tat Lee and OCBC, my Dad used to run the Tat Lee division. I used to go to my dad's office everyday after school and spent most of my days there studying and playing. Yeah, it was godamn funny larh. Spending my childhood days in bank offices. Haha. Some of the people who used to work there survived the mergers and acquisitions and are still working there today. I was glad to meet some of them again after a decade.
The building btw, is always under heavy terrorist threat because most of the major companies have their HQs here and most of them are western companies.
There are only two entrances into the building and visitors have to go through intense security checks. Safety is not compromised. I had my IC seized larh. 
I went to Pasar Raya today, which sells traditional Indonesian stuff and managed to get some souveniors =D ... hope u guys will like it. I waited for so long cause they were all hand made >< ....
We had dinner at SOGO again. Chatterbox! I had seafood spaghetti. Yum! Take a look!
Shopped for more things at SOGO Supermrket. I asked the staff to bundle me an entire carton of chewing gum. Shit la, now I just realise, how am I going to smuggle all of them back =X ....
I'm back in my hotel room now and guess wad! I'M MUNCHING ON MORE DOUGHNUTS LARH! OMFG! I reckon I've gained a ton of a kilo! Sheet!
Whatever, I'm on vacation, I should enjoy. I'll be back tomorrow with stress again. Garhh!
Well, i'll be leaving tomorrow, I'm so going to miss Jakarta so much. Muack muack! I love this place to hell! ... i mean heavan!
Until I see ya guys again!
Hasta La Vista Babe!
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9Monday, August 28, 2006
Indonesia, an archicpelago nation consisting of 18,000 islands and enriched with almost 3,000 years of fascinating history. It is one of the world's most fascinating country with an abundance of nature and culture.
I was born in Singapore and brought to Jakarta when I was one and grew up there for most of my childhood life until I was 7 and a half where I moved back to Singapore to begin Primary School. Jakarta just brings back the nostalgia of the good old days, when I was just a wee little lad.
I will always love this adopted nation of mine, just like Singapore, it is a land of opportunities and filled with wonderment that you cannot imagine. If you ever get a chance, visit this nation. Don't let the tainted image of corruption, terrorism and insecurity get to you, Indonesia is really a fascinating place.
Well, enough of Indonesia I guess, haha. I woke up late again today. Sheesh. I managed to get 7 hours of sleep at least, thats adequate I suppose. I shot a picture of our suite, its messy I know! I'm messy lar.
I had doughnuts for breakfast. My relative is going to launch a doughnut company and there was a soft launch yesterday which coincided with the wedding and everyone received a pre-sample of what the doughnuts would look and taste like. I took a bite and then grabbed three boxes of em and sneaked it to my hotel room. Hee hee hee! I hope they franchise it to Singapore!
After my breakfast, I had lunch! LOL ... CRAZY Right? We had dim sum for lunch. The restaurant is reputed to serve the best dim sum in Indonesia and I can't object. You should have tasted it, like gold!
After lunch, my mom and her business partner, francis, wanted their production team for their haut couture stuff, so while on the way there, I snapped a few shots of Jakarta from the car. Heh.
You've seen the skyscrapers of Jakarta, now, see a little bit of the shanty and suburban area of Jakarta too. 
Ok, so we headed to Plaza Senayan Later. Well, PS is my favourite hangout place, I practically grew up there. Lol, along with Pondok Indah Mall and Plaza Indonesia. The mall along with Sogo and Metro department store in it is mostly family-owned so I know some of the people there. I know, my family seems to own a bloody hell lot of companies larh. I also dunno why, power hungry la I guess. I just want a simple life, free of family political complications. Anyways, I still remember some of the people at Sogo since the time I was young and managed to say Hi to some of them. Haha. So Fun!
The people in Indonesia are nice. Their service is 5 stars. Seriously, they smile at all their guests and even on street side, when you wanna buy a bowl of bak me, they will smile at you. It really is a nation of smiles. They didn't even have a Smile campaign or GEMS initiative like Singapore, reputed for having the most campaigns, some quite looney, like Romancing Singapore, SHEESH!
The best part of Sogo is perhaps its food hall. It has everything larh. Even breadtalk and like wth!! OSIM o.o ... It's like the basement of paragon like that larh.
After the dim sum lunch, I had late lunch again at the ChatterBox Cafe in Sogo. This Cafe really serves the best ordinary food, like fish n chips, chicken rice and etc. etc. Just like the Chatterbox at the Mandarin hotel, only cheaper, but more chic! My grandma told me that they sought out one of Singapore's best chefs to head the kitchen. 
I walked around the mall after lunch and looked for goodies and stuff, I got myself two more new sweaters to my collection. HAHA. I'm a jacket addict larh! Nothing much while I just accompanies my mom around to do her shopping and stuff.
After that, DINNER TIME. Lol, you think i'm crazy right? I just got my appetite back because I have not much stress at the moment. Everyone was amazed as I cleared plate by plate.
We went to one of Jakarta's exclusive hotels, the Dharmawangsa, for dinner. I had Soto Ayam, LOL and Nasi Goreng for dinner there. The decor is really beautiful. I managed to take photos indoors but couldn't the majestic outdoors because it was too dark. 
OK, guess what I did after dinner, SUPPER! Yea, serious. We went to Kemang for supper. While I was growing up, I stayed in Permata and Simprug, but most of my daily activities took place in Kemang, I studied there, played there and just spent time there. Kemang is filled with chic areas, lavish restaurants, modern mall joints, even groovy disco clubs. There are no roads, just streets, its a small community.
We went to the De La Rossa. It serves the best Creme Brule in town. I ordered that of course! I tok photos of the interior and the exterior just as we were about to board the car and head off back to our hotel.
Well, I took alot of pictures today and I only managed to put up a mere fraction of what I have in my phone. It was a great day larh, cause I managed to eat alot. I think I've gaine alot of weight but I walked alot too, so that probably cancelled it out. Now! I'm in my hotel room, CONSUMING MORE DOUGNUTS LARH! addicted. shit.
I'm tired bah. I'm going buy souvenier tomorrow! Yay! Hope I can get nice stuff from Jakarta. I'll cya guys soon!
Ooh!, before I leave, a photo of me. HAHAHA. cause the other photos dun have me one! 
DAMN FIERCE RIGHT! ... lol ... just kay kay one .. tomorrow I take a smiling one. >< ... Night All! *munches dougnut*
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Winston
22 June 1987
Cancerian
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