Author archive
5 February 2017
I grabbed a breakfast of gado-gado and very sweet milk coffee next door. I had brought milk and muesli but got tempted into this. Yesterday I had finally agreed to go with the pricey car excursion. That’s what I thought but at 1000 Meng turned up on his motorbike (called “Honda” in Natuna regardless of […]
4 February 2017
My destination today is Ranai on the island of Natuna Besar in the Natuna Archipelago, which is part of the Riau Islands of Indonesia. It is not well known so I guess I’d better give it an intro. Background & History of Natuna Natuna consists of 272 islands in the South China Sea that is […]
3 February 2017
Flying to Singapore Today I fly to the tiny Republic of Singapore to transit to Batam in the other Republic … the big one, Republic of Indonesia. The head of the big republic once jokingly called the smaller one “Little Red Dot”. A good friend Boo happened to book on the same flight to just […]
22 January 2017
For the second leg from Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur, I ate my meal and took a pill and slept till about an hour before landing. It was over 3h of waiting before the first flight of the day to Kuching so I had some breakfast of Assam Laksa, knowing full well I’d have a […]
21 January 2017
This trip starts with another one of my regular visits to family in hometown Kuching, but it will be more special as I’ll spend Chinese New Year there with them. And on the way back, I’ll do a detour to Pulau Natuna, an island in the South China Sea that is now part of Indonesia. […]
27 December 2016
With travel, work and keeping fit, this year's album started small but it appears to have grown rapidly towards the end… Posted by Alex Chan on Saturday, March 12, 2016
15 December 2016
Bakso is an Indonesian-style meatball served in a soup, sometimes with noodles. I try making it and use it in a Malaysian-Thai-Chinese beef noodle soup. With Kimball John Gaitely and Jo Spiers. Posted by Alex Chan on Wednesday, December 14, 2016
13 December 2016
Malaysians don't rave about Filipino food. It isn't spicy enough for us. As a challenge (and a private joke between me… Posted by Alex Chan on Monday, December 12, 2016
27 November 2016
I was getting tired after midnight and lay down in the check-in area. I dozed for an hour before waking up, as the check-in counters were being prepared for opening. I got a boarding pass for my flight back to Auckland immediately. It has been a good trip with all going smoothly until the little […]
26 November 2016
First thing I did when I woke was to check on the internet whether my aircraft had departed Perth to come for us. The internet was broken. Fortunately it livened up again and the plane had a 10 minute delay. Weather was cloudy and drizzly. I filled up the car (1/3 empty) for AUD44. Must […]