How much?

Whew... finally some breathing space.

I have been busy catching up with work since I got back, and then there was that back-to-back Saturday and Sunday gaming sessions, and then the family (mom, dad, bro, aunt, uncle, aunt, cousin) were here for a whole week, and I have to entertain them. Then there is the upcoming Boardgame Championship on 29th and 30th of July at Kim Seng CC. Busy busy busy.

My cousin declared that she would not like to live in Singapore. She prefers Surabaya (where she is now currently pursuing a degree). My bro was fascinated by all the second hand phone shops, and MP3 players. My mom insists that I pay for meals when dad is not around, while my aunt vehemently refused to let me pay (there was a 'mini scuffle' in one of the restaurants to see who gets to pay). The wallet battle was a tie. (I paid twice, she paid twice, and I think dad paid for the Thai Village dinner, which I could not attend because I had food poisoning! Talk about suey...)

My holiday was pretty good, although I would have preferred a more sedate pace. There were so much travelling that it gave a rushed feeling. I had quite a lot of good buys though. Good quality work shoes for $30, clothing for $10 a piece, good restaurant food at $6 per serving, and great road side stall food at $1 per serving (prices did go up...). Indonesia is a country where you can have a $5 designer haircut, and yet have to fork out $1 for one slice of "designer bread" at the mall, just 15 minute's drive from that hairdresser.

We made quite a few trips to Jakarta, and I finally managed to take a peek into the gaming community over there. I am happy to say that there is actually a community, although it is still in an early stage. Availability of boardgames is also quite an issue. The new malls in Jakarta are quite impressive too. I think they still need some work with regards to interior design, lighting, and maintenance. I also made a trip to Bandung to visit my aunt, and to partake even more delicious fares. We went to this place called "The Valley", and it was gorgeous. Imagine yourself sitting in an open air restaurant, breating in the cool, clean and fresh mountain air while being served scrumptious fare. Dinner for 4 there only runs up a bill of $50. This place is like a mountain resort, and they have twin sharing cabins for $100 per night. It even has swimming pool! My aunt told me that there are numerous similar establishments in that area, and that this is one of the better ones.

Anyway, it is kind of refreshing to see my immediate family in Singapore instead of back home. Here, I get to show them how to go where. Although I am pretty clueless about where to go.

And, I'll write about the "negative" experiences later :P