evanns, Author at evannsee

Batam July 5, 2016

Lotte Mart Wholesale in Batam – YES!! (Must-Go!)

Lotte Mart Wholesale – Jl. Engku Putri, Batam Centre Core kel. Gulf Tering, district Kota Batam, Batam, Riau islands Date of visit: July 2016 Having stayed in USA for a year, I’ve grown to appreciate Costco and their wholesale supermarkets – being able to buy things in BULK (like serious bulk) and feeling like I’ve saved a ton of money. I think I’ve once bought like 60 packets of instant Quakers flavoured oatmeal for $15 or something… cool right?? That’s something I miss in Singapore, going grocery shopping with my friends and buying the staple things in bulk. So imagine my excitement when I stumbled into Lotte Mart Wholesale on a weekend trip to Batam! WHAT IS LOTTE MART Lotte Mart Wholesale is a super-sized grocery store aimed to provide businesses (retail, hotels..) and SMEs with quality products at very competitive prices. They use a membership system with these businesses (sending…

Accomodation June 22, 2016

Ban Sainai – Krabi’s Hidden Gem below $150 (Must-Go!)

Ban Sainai –550, Soi Aonang 11/1, Moo 2, Aonang Beach, Krabi, Krabi, 81000, Thailand, ‏‎800 120 6467 Date of Visit: May 2016 During my last trip to Krabi, we needed a stopover place to stay before our flight home, as we were in Koh Lanta for the majority of the time (see my review on the gorgeous Atlanta Villa). Because it was only for a night, I was issued a strict budget and reminder to be practical haha! I kept overlooking this particular hotel on Hotels.com since it looked rather “rustic” and “scruffy” from the first glance – no doubt it had a nice rustic charm, BUT I didn’t particularly want to sleep on wooden floors and straw cottages, so I never did any research on it. However, since the rooms started from $60+ a night (wow!) and had a great rating score of 4.8/5 on Hotels.com and was also listed as one…

Uncategorized June 1, 2016

5 Reasons to Get Travel Insurance (and how to use it)

Everybody knows what Travel Insurance is – it’s that thing that kiasu people buy before they go on a holiday, in case die or kena earthquake hor? Or.. it’s that thing that airlines sneakily add into your fare (then you have to remember to uncheck the box, if not your GOOD DEAL airfare of $80 suddenly becomes $150++ , because of travel insurance, upgrades, seat selection, meals, yada yada) and honestly, alot of people don’t buy travel insurance because we travel so often (#wanderlust #yolo #vacay) that we think – what are the odds of anything happening to us? Even an extra $25 not worth it! I travel quite a fair bit, especially short trips, so i totally feel your pain (go batam ferry ticket only $48 but travel insurance $20+ very expensive leh!) But recently I’ve been able to appreciate travel insurance a little better. So here’s 5 reasons…

Accomodation May 14, 2016

Atlanta Villa – Koh Lanta, Thailand – Villa Paradise below $150 (Must-Go!)

Atlanta Villa – 429 Moo 2 Saladan, Ko Lanta, Krabi, 81150, Thailand Date of Visit: May 2016 Since we were visiting Krabi (for the first time) for about 6 days, we really wanted to stay on one of the islands nearby. I was torn between Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, and so I read reviews and blogs to decide. Conclusion: Phi Phi Island is prettier, but wayyyyyy more touristy. Koh Lanta is apparently also pretty, but quieter and slower. So Koh Lanta it was, since I’m honestly not a fan of hordes of tourists shouting and being rude, and jacked up prices. Accommodations weren’t hard to find, as Hotels.com had plenty of cheap and legit-looking hotel rooms starting from $24. However, I wanted something reallllly special and outstanding – and I found it! Atlanta Villa was rated 5/5 on both Hotels.com AND Tripadvisor – despite the photos looking meh, when I read into the reviews,…

Taiwan April 26, 2016

5 Reasons to visit Addiction Aquatic Development 上引水產 (Taiwan)

Addiction Aquatic Development, 上引水產 – No. 18, Alley 2, Lane 410, Minzu E Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 104 When you think about Taipei, you immediately think of great (sinful) street food and awesome shopping at mainstream places like Ximending, Shilin Night Market, Raohe, Wufenpu… however, during my recent trip I was recommended a place that I absolutely fell in love with – Addiction Aquatic Development, 上引水產. Here’s 5 reasons why you need to go, like ASAP. #5. It’s easy to get there! Unlike most popular places, hipster cafes and must-go tourist areas, this place isn’t in a far-far-far away isolated area where you would have to hire a car to, and then walk for 475183012938 minutes. The nearest MRT station is Xingtian Temple Station, and then it’s a 15 minute walk. (You’ll also see the other interesting markets in the vicinity too.) After the walk, you should be all ready to…

Accomodation April 5, 2016

Time Capsule Adventure, Malaysia (Must-Go!)

Time Capsule Retreat – EB4 Belakang Sek Men Sg. Lembing (Pahang, Kuantan) Date of Stay: March 2016 Another last-minute long weekend planning led to everywhere being overbooked & ridiculously overpriced (Telunas, Langkawi, Tioman…) so I was desperate for ideas. Fortunately, I recalled that a friend of mine had mentioned that there were pretty capsule houses in Pahang, Malaysia – so we googled and bingo! We found the most amazing place to visit. (Pictures from their Facebook) Imagine getting away from the bustling city of Singapore, into a quiet town, and staying in these pretty capsules in the middle of the forest? What more could you ask for? While you are drooling, let me tell you about the experience. Transport This is the only cumbersome aspect of this holiday, the travelling to get to this ulu place. There are a few options available – we tried both A & B due to costs and…

Food March 16, 2016

5 Reasons To Get Your Salted Egg Yolk Fix @ Bread Society/BreadTalk

Like many others, I’ve been sampling many salted egg yolk dishes recently – what’s there not to love? Thick, creamy, sweet & salty – all in one bite. It’s so good, it literally goes with anything – waffles, ice cream, cakes, donuts, bread, crabs, veggies… you get my point. It’s such a big thing that salted egg yolk dishes are sprouting up everywhere, and people are rushing around to try each one (me included, guilty as charged!). We chanced upon The Bread Society today (ION, food basement) and was surprised to see signs promoting their salted egg yolk croissants, and we thought – why not? We bought a box of 6 for $5.50 and OH MY… I could gush about it all day, but to spare you from dying of boredom, here’s 5 reasons why you should drop by and get yourself some. Like now. Price at The Bread Society: 1…

Accomodation March 15, 2016

Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson, Malaysia – Villa Getaway by Coach (Must-Go!)

Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson – 12th Mile, Jalan Pantai, Pasir Panjang, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, 71250, Malaysia Date of Stay: March 2016 So we’ve been pretty burnt out at work and I wanted to arrange a surprise 3d2n getaway to celebrate his birthday, but I severely underestimated the cost of a whole trip for 2 (2 x transportation, accommodation… why so ex?!). I spent days searching for a place which was not too far away, a little luxurious yet not too expensive, what a typical Singaporean! No flights, since they were too damn ex – so I was left with either Indonesia or Malaysia to run to! After comparing prices, and hotels, I decided on Port Dickson. Port Dickson (Malaysia) is situated about an hour away from Kuala Lumpur, approximately 5 hours by bus from Singapore. Thankfully, they had a direct coach from Singapore straight to the hotel (SGD$70/round trip), so the transportation was pretty straightforward. Why…

Bandung March 9, 2016

Ola Spa, Bandung – Cheap & Awesome (Must Go!)

date of visit: August 2015 Address: Jl. Bahureksa no. 23. Bandung – West Java. Indonesia 40115. Contact number: 62-22- 4234253/ 62-22- 6168898 No holiday is complete without a massage, so we were pretty determined to find a good massage place (at a good price, of course). We were recommended by the hotel to go to Everyday Spa in Bandung, as they told us it was the most popular massage place. But when we called to ask about the price, it was really expensive, about IDR 295,000 for an hour. That was way more than we wanted to spend on a massage – almost Singapore price! So we did some research and looked through reviews to find a better option. Pinisi Relaxation seemed like a contender, but some reviews stated that it was in a really sketchy, dark building. So it was out (We didn’t feel like getting assassinated). We,…

Bandung March 3, 2016

The White Crater, Indonesia (Wanderlust-worthy!)

Date visited: Aug 2015 Entry fee: IDR 150,000 for foreigners/ person & IDR15,000 for locals. Kawah Putih (eng: White Crater) is located in Bandung, Indonesia – about 1.5-2hr drive from the city center. It is aptly named for its eerily beautiful white appearance. Unlike in normal volcano craters, the lake here is highly acidic (ranging from pH 0.5 -1.3 – please don’t fall in guys!), hence the color changes from bluish to whitish green to even brown, depending on the sulfuric concentration. The sand/rocks surrounding these waters are whitish-yellow, due to the contact with the acidic waters. The result? Breath-taking and beauuutiful – almost like a painting. Light turquoise waters, trees and greenery everywhere – if the waters were not killer-acidic, I would have taken a dip! We were terribly lucky to have visited in an off-peak season/timing, which meant almost no other tourists except for us. (Tip: We set…