Tuesday, March 29, 2011

(Trip Report) Oriental Outings: Accounting and Finance!


Below is the summary of what we spent in the trip:

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SingaporeIndonesiaMalaysiaSri LankaTotal
Air Ticket*          30,456          22,556        30,456          30,456      113,923
Visa            9,527          14,638          4,123                   -          28,288
Airport Transfer                563                857              703            2,212           4,334
Intracity Travel            2,452                245          3,000            1,154           6,851
Intercity Travel                   -                     -            6,039               596           6,635
Meals            2,201            4,281          6,803            3,505        16,790
Sight-Seeing            2,211            7,326          2,000            1,505        13,041
Hotel                   -            11,295        10,047                   -          21,342
Miscellanous            1,597            2,253          4,449            2,680        10,979
Tip and Donation                299            1,450              584               338           2,672
Shopping                911            1,669        15,123            2,804        20,508
Total          50,216          66,571        83,327          45,249      245,363

 * Air ticket has been appropriated between Singapore, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka so are some other combined expenses

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

(Snapshot) Oriental Outings: 4 Countries in 3 Weeks

Misha is enjoying her first flight
Day 0 Monday, February 28, 2011
·       Departure from Karachi at 17:00: Petrol Pump Strike in Karachi, so no cabs!
·       Misha’s First Flight: She enjoyed the Baby Bassinet, good sign!
·       Colombo Transit: A mess in Colombo transit area and the dank transit hotel

Dinner with Hadi at Ang Mo Kio
Day 1 Tuesday, March 01, 2011
·       Arrived in Singapore at 16:00: Long and delayed flight (via Kuala Lumpur)
·       Life in Singapore: No life without MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) 
·       Local experience: Couch Surfing with Jeffery, Cai Shi, and Ah Poi! 
·       Meetings: Dinner with Travel Buddy’s Hadi. We got late!

Lunch at Chinatown!
Day 2 Wednesday, March 02, 2011
·       What to see in Singapore: China Town and Sentosa Island. Song of the Sea was good!
·       Eating Out: Dinner with Khalid. We survived the food test this time!

Air Asia's peanuts! Literally speaking!!
Day 3 Thursday, March 03, 2011
·       What to See in Singapore:  The Casino experience and the disappointing Merlion!
·       Gotta Go: Departure for Bali at 20:50. Arrived in Bali after the midnight and in heavy rains
·       Budget Travel: Peanuts and A cup of water in the Air Asia flight
·       The Blunder: Forgot to pick our luggage and only realized when we had left the airport!

Children carrying Ogoh-Ogoh!
Day 4 Friday, March 04, 2011
·       Motorbike in Bali: Go as Balinese Go!
·       Local Experience: Couch surfing with Hendra and Rahadi  
·       Culture: Ogoh-Ogoh with couchsurfers!

A Balinese monster: scary yet artistic!!
Day 5 Saturday, March 05, 2011
·       Culture: Nyepi Day, the day of silence
·       The Blunder: Nothing, we just turned-on the tube-light in our room, and that was a crime!

Watching Kecak-Kecak (Top Right: Arabian Sea)
Day 6 Sunday, March 06, 2011
·       What not to Miss in Bali: Jimbaran beach 
·       Culture: Kecak dance and sunset at Uluwatu Temple besides Indian Ocean

Misha doing some water sports!
Day 7 Monday, March 07, 2011
·       Adventure: Water sports at Nusa Dua
·       Eating Out: Couch surfing with the newlywed Hassan et family

Our last dinner in Bali!
Day 8 Tuesday, March 08, 2011
·       What not to Miss in Bali: Spa and massage in Ubud

Finally at peace, after a long travel!
Day 9 Wednesday, March 09, 2011
·       Gotta go: Departure for Malaysia at 08:30
·       Long Day: Bali – LCCT (KL) – Ipoh – Cameron Highlands, 15 hours in all!
·       Change of Plans:  Enough of humidity and heat. Let’s go to a hill station!

Patrit Fall
Day 10 Thursday, March 10, 2011
·       Nature: Jungle Trekking and the waterfall!
·       Eating Out: Yes, we found Naan, Roti, and Paratha!

Tea plantations
Day 11 Friday, March 11, 2011
·       Nature: Tea Farms, Strawberry Farms, Rose Farms, Butterfly Garden, Insects and Snakes!ature: Jungle Trekking and the waterfall!


Attending a Malay wedding
 Day 12 Saturday, March 12, 2011
·       Local Experience: Couch surfing with Eda and attending her sister’s wedding!
·       Eating Out: Steamboat, the unforgettable experience!

TV lounge of Red Inn Heritage
Day 13 Sunday, March 13, 2011
·       Gotta Go: Back to lowlands. Penang experience!
·       Go by Ear: Red Inn Heritage Hotel, an excellent hotel deal without booking!

World's largest reclining Buddha!
Day 14 Monday, March 14, 2011
·       Culture: Penang is all about heritage, culture, and food!

Little Misha with her little host Rayan!
Day 15 Tuesday, March 15, 2011
·       Gotta Go: Penang to Kuala Lumpur
·       Local Experience: Couch surfing with Umair et family
·       Go by Ear: Meeting travel buddies in front of Twin Towers!

So we saw it! Luck us :P
Day 16 Wednesday, March 16, 2011
·       Local Experience: Lunch with a Malaysian born Pathaan!

King Coconut; mouth watering, literally!
Day 17 Thursday, March 17, 2011
·       Gotta Go: Making it to 70km-Out-of-Kuala-Lumpur-Airport for the 09:10 flight!
·       Budget Travel: Tuk Tuk in Colombo. But that’s not budget at all!
·       Local Experience: Couch surfing with the awesome Dharshana!

The Elephant Or
Day 18 Friday, March 18, 2011
·       Nature: Friendly elephants in the orphanage

Pakistan defeating Australia!
Day 19 Saturday, March 19, 2011
·       Happy Ending: Finally watched Pakistan live bringing an end to Australian winning streak!

Day 20 Sunday, March 20, 2011
·       Back Home!