Friday, January 30
(continuing my previous post…)
I flew to Singapore using Citilink, subsidiaries of Garuda Indonesia, 1050 AM flight. My friends and I decided to use it since it’s a budget plane. Despite the bad rumors about the lateness of the airlines, it departed and arrived per schedule, 1300 PM. After collecting our luggage which took around 30 mins due to not many lines were opened, we bought the ferry ticket Batam Singapore, SGD16 each of us. Taking taxi to Batam Center port cost us IDR80,000 for both of us.
This is the interesting part..
We didn’t know how to get our paperwork done.. Firstly, we thought that we need to pay for fiscal first, we went to the cashier and told the officer that we would like to pay our fiscal. The officer asked us whether we had checked in, since we hadn’t, we were told to checked in. After following the officer’s instruction, we paid the fiscal, first mission (on ground floor) completed.
After that, going to the second floor – the immigration. Just close to the counter, we were stopped by another officer. The officer told us to go to luggage area since saw how big our luggage were. Yeah right, we went down to ground level again. Okay, there is regulation that luggage more that 30kgs will be charged IDR2,500 per kg. Since we’re two, suppose to be 60kgs right? It’s a big NO! The officers treats us as one passenger. Therefore we need to pay extra… Argh!!! IDR20,000 mukyaaa… Second mission completed.
Luckily our ferry was scheduled to depart at 1510 local time, with that tossing here and there, we didn’t wait long 🙂 We boarded 1440 and just exactly 1510 we were leaving the port. It was cloudy and bit windy, therefore it’s bit rough sail. I was sleeping on the way, but woke up after one hour and so sail. My friend was bit unlucky, he still had a little bit of motion sick after the plane landing then this trip was his nightmare. He threw up and looked pale a bit even after we reached Singapore around 1730 local time, it was an hour and twenty minutes trip by ferry and an hour difference with Indonesia time.
Collecting luggage, passing the customs and last scanning system, I saw my friend waited outside.
Last mission .. completed.
My friend told me to go to his place first since he need to do some errands. It was 1800 local time, rush hour, so he told me that he decided to use taxi instead of MRT.
[night time]
At Bishan, my friend’s place. My friend told me that he could accompany me until around 7-8 pm since he needed to meet his friends around Orchard. Therefore I was at his place, put my stuffs and rested for a while. Another friend of mine finished from his work, and we’re planning to meet around CBD. We went to Bishan MRT station, bought my MRT ticket and my prepaid phone cards.
Here’s the “fun” part. 🙂
The EZ Link MRT card cost me $15, which already included $10 credits. I gave the officer 2x$10, he handed me the MRT card, route guide booklet, the receipt, and announcement about replacement old card to a new card. Then we went to the other side, 7-Eleven, to purchase the prepaid phone card. While waiting the shop attendant to register the prepaid card for me, I asked my friend, whether the officer has handed me $5 change for the ticket. My friend told me since he was behind my back, he didn’t pay attention to that. Ha! Searching it through my purse and bags, yep! I didn’t find it. Therefore, I pay $5 more for the ticket… Gyaboo!
I met with another friend which just finished his work.
Then we discussed about me, where was I going to stay for the next day. Let’s called my friend with their names haha.. to make our life easier hey :p I was picked up by Didik and the one that just finished his work was Iwan.
So, it’s been decided that I was staying in Didik’s for the first night. Iwan told us that he still need to tidy up and prepare the room for me, so it’s better for me to come tomorrow instead of that night.
I took shower while he still do some house works. After that, I was chatting with him until pass midnight. I guess, we haven’t talked for a while since we’re graduated, well, chatting didn’t count :p he was one of my best mates during college years. When I heard his story, I’m pretty sure that he has quite a hard life here. I realize that each of us has different standards or sort of idealism, and in my opinion, Didik is one of my friends who holds his idealism and trying his best to make it comes true. I was lost to his fighting spirit. 🙂 Anyway, listen to him and sometimes I said my opinion, until we decided to take a rest since tomorrow I’m moving to Iwan’s, so that we have some energy. 😛
what a long day!! first night .. completed
….
