Around SINGAPORE: Jaunt through Batam, Indonesia

Think you've had enough of Singapore already?

Why don't you take a breather to another country (and add another stamp to that passport of yours) for a day or two? *wink wink*

Batam is one of the numerous islands surrounding Singapore where you can quickly jaunt in and take on a whole new experience. Still at its infancy stage, but surfacing potential as a tourist island, Batam is a developing community where the most you can visit are the resorts.

If you're not there to golf or swim in pools, here are some activities you can do:

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5 Year Old Girl Goes to Saudi, Then More

I was 5 years old, and my sister was 7.

It was our second trip to Saudi Arabia, but that summer, we were to go there by ourselves. Mom and our younger brother already went ahead to visit dad. All throughout the flight, our knees wobbled, until the time we were to deplane. From the plane to the immigration, a flight attendant was by our side. It was only when I saw a familiar face, that of my parents', did I breathe a sigh of relief.

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Jogjakarta During Garebeg Mulud

March is that time of the year when Javanese celebrate Sekaten, in commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

The term "gerebeg" is Javanese for the sound of noises of people. This Festival is Java's most colorful and grandest processions, where palace guards are dressed in their traditional garb and large floats of flower gunungans (mountains) make their way to the mosque west of the kraton.

smaller flower mountains

floats of gunungan (mountain)

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Ubud: Eat Pray Love Sundays

Eat. Salak.
Also called "snake fruit" due to its scaly skin, salak is grown in Bali and in Yogyakarta. I encountered this fruit from a trip to the organic coffee growers who were selling exotic fruits (at least, to Westerners) at the same time.

Eat. Salak.

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Yogyakarta: Eat Pray Love Sundays

Eat. Gado Gado.

Gado-gado is a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing, and optionally topped with some fried crackers.

Eat. Gado Gado.

Pray. Prambanan.

Candi (Temple) Prambanan is a Hindu temple in Indonesia and at the same time a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pray. Candi Prambanan.

Pray. Candi Prambanan.

Love. Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat.

Kraton is the Javanese word for royal palace. It is a complex of halls, museums, and the residences of the sultan and the queen.

Love. Kraton palace guards.

Love. Kraton halls.

Love. Kraton museums.

@--->--------

Eat Pray Love Sundays is a series I'm doing, highlighting one destination and how it nourishes travelers and locals alike. 

"Eat" features a location's food; how it nourishes the physical body.

"Pray" pertains to anything about worship or nourishing one's spirit.

"Love" is such a broad topic that it covers the rest--people, nature, culture. Those that nourish the soul. 

Next Sunday, I'll be putting Jeju on the spotlight!

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Travel Gear: SCARF

Why does this item deserve an entire entry? One word: versatile. Never leave home without it.

Where to get them: If you’re in Asia, they abound in night markets or in bazaars.

Cost: Between US$ 1 TO 2.

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