Happy New Year 2006

Around 30 minutes more and it will be 2006.

Just want to wish everyone there a Happy New Year! May the year 2006 be a more fruitful and productive year for everyone :)

Tags: Events

Medan Trip - Interesting Things

There are some interesting things that I found or had happened while I was there.



There's The Body Shop and Ya Kun Kaya Toast there. Didn't expect to see these two shops in Medan...haha.

But there was this shop that surprised me.


Bread Life! Lol...


Can you believe it? Ice cream at 1,000 Rp! That's like S$0.20! Cheap huh?


This happened when 2 of my family members went to see the doctor. The sign at the door says, "Perhatian, mohon jangan parkir mobil tepat didepan pintu ini. Terima kasih." In English it reads, "Notice: Please do not park your car right in front of this door. Thank you."


And I thought I never would see his face again...lol.


Found these books in a bookshop. Well, it only goes to show that schools there like the books we use here...haha.


Found this poster at a KFC restaurant in one of the plazas. It basically means that the Rice Meal consists of 1 Chicken, 1 Rice and 1 Reg Coke for just 9,000 Rp (it's about S$1.80). I found the "1 Rice" part weird. One rice?



Found a stray dog and cat on different days when I returned home. The dog reminded me of my days as a dog handler. As for the cat, my cousin took pity on it and decided to adopt it. However, my Grandmother said no. Sad huh?

Well, I guess that's all for my trip to Medan. Hopefully you've enjoyed the photos and the articles :)

Articles:
Medan Trip - Medan
Medan Trip - Family And Friends
Medan Trip - The Food

Tags: Happenings, Holidays, Indonesia

Medan Trip - Medan

Life in Medan is so different from that of Singapore. For example...


Look! No helmet on the streets!




The first photo shows the back of a man selling cigarettes and two boys selling newspapers for money. The second shows a man playing his guitar for money. The third shows another boy selling newspapers for money.You won't find these here in Singapore. Well, these are poor people who are asked by their parents to look for extra income by these means. Some of them like the one in the second photo can't find a proper job and has to use such means to earn an income. It's sad but this is the life of some people there.


The road conditions there...hmm...can be improved. It's no wonder to see holes here and there along the roads.



This was my school where I studied in. Methodist 3, the place where I had my kindergarten education. I would have looked like these children back then dressed in white shirt and red pants.


This is Normansen. It used to be one of the top universities in Medan. But recently, standards have dropped. It's no longer as impressive as it used to be. It looks like it's poorly maintained.



Live chickens and cows! You don't get to see farm animals such as these in Singapore man...but I saw them! Haha...they were walking about and eating. It was quite an experience. It's one thing to learn about them through books and another thing to learn by actually SEEING them LIVE!


Parking your car is not as safe as it is here. This car here was scratched. Scratches like these are common there. Some are done by juveniles while some are done by "tukang parkir" (parking attendants) who help drivers find a parking space. The reason? May be due to not receiving enough money or simply just for the "fun" of it.


This is called a "Becak" (Trishaw). It's very common in Medan. The one in the picture is used with a motorcycle. Traditional ones are used with a bicycle.


This is what some people do in their free time - playing chess. After this photo was taken, I realised that the advertisement behind the man on the right looks kinda awkward...lol. It was an advertisement for some massage cream.


This woman was smoking and sleeping at the same time! But by the time I got my camera ready, the cigarette was no longer there. How sad it is. But scenes like this is common where people will display their goods on the floor on top of a mat to sell to potential customers. Of course sleeping is not part of their job scope.




These are pictures of the market there. They even have a CD shop!

Articles:
Medan Trip - Interesting Things
Medan Trip - Family And Friends
Medan Trip - The Food

Tags: Happenings, Holidays, Indonesia

Medan Trip - Family And Friends

This post will show the people I mixed with during my trip to Medan. First of all, my family.


My family at Sulat Panjang. It's a place where there are many stalls lined along a small road. You can choose to eat from different stalls. I like the "mee pansit" there. Sadly there's none here in Singapore.


This is my family at the Exchange Club. As you can see, it's like a chinese restaurant with chinese tea and chopsticks.


These two are my cousins, Eunice and Hanniel. Cute aren't they? Haha.


Here are my cousins in the family car playing Uno. The girl in orange is my cousin Kardya.

Now for my friends...


Here's Kardya, Jinny and me at Papa Ron's Pizza.


Me and Sunarto. I met him while shopping with my friends at Sun Plaza. Coincidence?


Sunarto, Kartika and Hanniel outside the Church.


Susanti, Yokhebed and Shirley in the resting room.


Nancy, Yokhebed and Maia after Christmas Service in Church.


Hezkel (Guitarist), Ronald (Pro Drummer) and me (Drummer).

Now for some group photos that I have with MORE friends...haha.






Articles:
Medan Trip - Interesting Things
Medan Trip - Medan
Medan Trip - The Food

Tags: Friends, Holidays, Indonesia

Medan Trip - The Food

First of all I would write about the food there. Not all the food that I've eaten were captured into photos as I have a limited space in my memory stick. Well, the first food that I ate on my trip was...


So what's inside?


Well, it looks like some "popiah"...haha.

In Medan, they have Papa Ron's Pizza. It's something like Pizza Hut and Californian Pizza. But they have something interesting. They have an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet for just 12,000 Rp! That's just about...$2.00! Wow...it sounded attractive so I decided to try it out with my friends.


For that trip with my friends, I ate the most with a record of 8 slices (the most in the group). I ate another time with my Grandmother and broke my previous record with 10 slices! Lol...no wonder they don't have such things in Singapore...we'll eat the whole shop up...haha.

I also ate "chee chong fun" and "ak bihun" (Duck Bihun) there. The "ak bihun" is from this shop called "Bihun Bebek AMIN". It simply means "AMIN's Duck Bihun". Both the "chee chong fun" and "bihun" used are different from the ones in Singapore. The texture and tastes are different. I would say that it's unique. Both of them tasted way better than their Singapore counterparts...lol...




Then there's the "mee soto". It can only be found in Indonesia. It has a lot of coconut milk and can be spicy if you want. This "mee soto" was cooked by my cousin's auntie there. He said that when coming to Medan, I must try her "mee soto" as it was the best. So I tried and I must say that it tasted great.




At times, my uncle would bring the family to eat at restaurants as it's only in December do family members go to Medan to be with my Grandmother.


Well, that's roughly about it. There's also the "mee pansit" (wanton mee) and "nasi tim" (steamed rice) just to name a few. But I didn't manage to take their photos. Well the last food item that I had was...


Chicken puff and banana muffin with nuts.

Articles:
Medan Trip - Interesting Things
Medan Trip - Medan
Medan Trip - Family And Friends

Tags: Food, Holidays, Indonesia