I just came back from a 1 week work trip in Pontianak and thanks to buddy Eko, I get to know more about Pontianak. From there I would like to share with all of you about the little tips i got from my local friends! 

Things you should know about Pontianak :

1. Knowing a lil bit of Indonesia Language helps a lot
The Indonesia language is somehow similar to our Bahasa Malaysia but its different as well. But if you know how to speak bahasa malaysia, it will helps. Do try to learn and adapt to Bahasa Indonesian when you are in Pontianak because it really will make your  life easier. Basic words to share:

Cerowok = Man
Cerewek = Lady
Cerowok Gantang = Handsome Man
Waysay = Toilet
Kama = Room
Moto = Motorcyle
Mobil = Car
Enak = Yummy
Lucu = Cute
Kalian = You
Marga = Surname

Okay.. suddenly cant think of any liao. Hahahahahahha! 

2. It is best to visit if  you have local friends around

Typically, there are a lot of shops selling similar items but if you have locals to bring you around, you will be able to try all the good stuff. And to avoid double standard in pricing too. It is hard to explore Pontianak without a car or transport. So.. yea.

3. Motorcycles are everywhere and they are the KING of the road

It is very easy to own a motorcycle in Pontianak that’s why they are everywhere. They can drive wherever they want to even in an apposite direction or an illegal U-turn. You have to anticipate they next move no mater you are in the right lane or whatsoever. If accident happens, whether you are right, you are still wrong. They are the King.. and don’t even think about calling a traffic officer for help.

4. Road are very narrow

Road are generally very narrow even in the highway or the overhead bridge. Its just enough for a car to go up and another car to go down. No room for others

5. There’s no law in driving

You can drive however you want just need to be careful of the bikes. No seat belt is needed but please do put on your seat belt for your own sake.

6. Air is very polluted

It is very hazy all the way. 

7. It is not safe to go out at night

Whether you are a male of a female. Its not safe to go out at night unless you have a local friend to bring you around.

8. Pontianak is always very hot as it is located at the Equator

9. Beverages is ultra sweet

TOO SWEEET! Do not order less sugar. You can just make it.. without sugar. 

10. There is only one shopping mall in Pontianak

Ayani Mall is the only megamall in Pontianak. Cinemas, exhibition and all the sales will be in Ayani Mall.

11. Girls generally do not smoke and drink in the public

If female smoke in the public, people will look at  you like you are a monster

12. There’s some restricted are which is not advisable to go

13. Do not put your valuable items on the table while eating

Like I said, its not safe. Keep your phone in your bag or pocket to lower the risk of being snatch.

14. You need to pay an amount of 2000 to 5000 rupiah to an usher no matter where you park

Even if you park at the roadside, if someone help you to ascot the car, you have to pay.

15. Most of the Indonesian are generally friendly

Where to stay in Pontianak?

If  you want to stay near the Ayani Mall, stay at Mercure Hotel like I did.

If you want to stay along the street food, stay at either Harris Hotel, Hotel Gajah Muda or Aston Hotel Pontianak

Where to visit in Pontianak?

1. Paradis-Q Water Park Pontianak

It is the largest water themed park in Pontianak. Not only it is the largest, they have the latest water-themed games and facilities. They are planning for future development of villas at the same area too. Please stay tune.

The waves pool!! I wanna try this so badly

The racing path! Something I am  dying to try 🙂

2. The Equator Monument / Tugu Khatulistiwa 

The monument makes the division between the northern and southern hemispheres. So you can basically step your foot one side on the northern hemisphere and one side on the southern hemisphere. 

3. A boat ride at the waterfront

Take a cruise at the waterfront sailing along the Kapuas river, the longest river in Indonesia and the world longest island rivers

4. King’s Crab Restaurant

Not the best food but the environment is a plus point. 

After all these basic info, you are ready for the MUST EAT FOOD IN PONTIANAK! 

Its Shopping Day! There’s always one particular day with less photos taken, that’s when we had our shopping spree. Today, we are going to explore the CBD area; from Darling Harbour to George Street to QV Building and all the areas nearby. Oh! What’s first?

#OOTD

We start our day with homemade breakfast then exploring a little bit of our neighbourhood the Lavender Bay and Milsons Point. There’s a art gallery which Lao Mao is kinda interested so we drop by to have a look.

Feeling very artistic hor

#pretendingtoknowwhatisthedrawingabout

After like a 5 mins tour at the art gallery.. we left for Darling Harbour!!! 

Need not to subscribe how beautiful it is; let the picture do all the talking

We spend quite sometime running and playing along the Darling Harbour bridge before we reach the other side of the bridge where the infamous Hurricane’s Grill is located!

So overall excited!

We waited around 20 mins for our table and we are ready to feast!

We had Garlic Mushroom as our appetiser and it totally blown our mind. It is so flavourful you can taste the strong aroma of fried garlic infused in the mushroom. Yums!

The star dish of Hurricane’s Grill — The pork rib! We ordered half rack to share and it is more than enough. the portion is sooooo big i think it can cater for 5 person! 

Look at my gigantic pork ribs!! I mean fall of the bone pork rib! The pork rib is very juicy and tender, it is charred nicely on the outer layer but when you take a bite on it, it literally just fall off the bone with zero effort. Oh my oh my.

We ordered another combination of steak & ribs just merely because we wanted to try all of the pork, beef and lamb! Steak is cooked medium rare and its served perfectly, marination is spot on but what caught my attention more is the lamb ribs! As a lamb person, I cant wait to dig in to the lamb rib. Personally I love the lamb rib more than the pork rib. A lot of people don’t take lamb but if you try the lamb ribs in Hurricane’s Grill, I’m sure you will fall in love with it. Soft and gelatinous lamb ribs devour with a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, what is better than this? I LOVE YOU LAMB.

Our sharing portion and we brought back half of them as our dinner. HAHAHAHA!

We went explore George Street after our satisfying lunch! 

People on the street are all very lovely. We being trying to snap a few wefie and some nice and random pedestrian just came for a hug and a picture.

Nice! I love the combination of the traditional architectural buildings with a slightly modern one in one area.

Hello from us!

We then visited the famous Queen Victoria Building. Everything is quite pricey in QV Building but its definitely worth a visit there. 

We wanted to try Adrianno Zumbo dessert but guess we were too late! By the time we were ready for the dessert they are closing already. Its ok we will hunt the other branch the next day!

We opt for Koko Black since we haven filled up our dessert quota. They are famous for their handmade premium chocolate. 

Hmmmm.. honestly if you asked me what have we ordered, I have no idea at all. 

Basically we just point at whichever that caught our eyes. Turn out yums too!

We went back to Darling Harbour wanted to see the fireworks at 8.00pm but unfortunately there’s no firework on that month. However, the beautiful night scenery compensate our heart 🙂

End today’s blog with the beautiful scenery at the CBD area! *love*

OH YA! Our dinner.. Left over Hurricane’s Grill and sauteed veges!

and Supper >.<

Visit Day 1 : http://yienyien.com/travel/sydney-travel-guide-day-1-lavender-bay-paddys-market-pho-pasteur-el-loco-mr-crackles/
Visit Day 2 : http://yienyien.com/travel/sydneytravelguideday2/

Day 2 in Sydney and it will be the iconic Sydney Fish Market Day! We woke up kind of early that particular day, had simple breakfast as we always do every morning because the ingredients is just simply fresh not to cook for your own!

#OOTD We somehow bought the cute hair tie at Singapore planning to wear it together today but… errr…. Not really suit me and lao mao so we took it off right after we had our OOTD pic.

Sydney Fish Market is the world’s largest fish market that sits on the Blackwattle Bay foreshore in Pyrmont, 2km west of the Sydney CBD. There are divided into a few sections, the fishing port, wholesale fishes, seafood retail market and some eateries. Just go to the eateries is good enough.

How to go: Go to the Central Station and catch a Sydney Light rail straight to Sydney Fish market

Whether you like markets or not you will definitely love Sydney Fish Market, it is clean and magnificent; I bet you drool on the way till the end. These are a few sections of the seafood eateries;

Our first stop will be the Fish Market Café. You can never miss this café because it’s right at the entrance; they have varieties of seafood grilled and BBQ. Choose whatever you like or you can opt for the platter.

We had the sharing platter so we can sample a little bit of each. FYI, portion of the French fries is incredibly big!

After the heavily grilled and fried food, let’s go for something raw and fresh! THIS!

All kinds of seafood that can be served raw, we had sea urchin and scampi shrimp.

Oh-so-sweet you scampi shrimp!!

Do you like my scampi shrimp earrings? They are crystal jelly bright orangey!

Next up is everyone’s favourite, CHEESEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#yesweboughtquitealot

We finished off the Sydney Fish Market trip with a beautiful view of the eating section outside which is now too cold to enjoy and their meat section at the other side of the market.

Just want to show you these awesome freshly made sausages!!!

We proceed to Circular Quay station from Central Station to stop by The Rocks Market.  It is a weekend market so be sure to visit only on Fridays Saturdays and Sundays.

We passed by the stroll at Circular Quay and this is the place where you came for the Harbour Bridge sighting and Sydney Opera House. For sure we will be coming again but as for today, we will give our priority to the weekend market. 

This is The Rocks Weekend Market.

We bought some nuts from the Turkish vendor and he gave us his hometown speciality snacks! We thought it would be overly sweet but it was surprisingly yummy! Baklava, it will be one of our top favourite desserts from now on.

We then try out the famous German sausage.

A simple sausage bun with a squeeze of mustard and chili is enough to fulfill our taste bud. That will be our best sausages throughout the whole Sydney trip.

The market wasn’t as big as we expected. We finish touring and exploring the market in less than half an hour so we decided to grab a drink at the nearby café while waiting for dinner time to meet up with our high school friend, Ben.

We had cheese macaroni balls and it was very mediocre.

But the waiter is simply so sweet. Hahaha!

DINNER TIME!! We have been eating the whole day. Ben suggested a place called Bar Luca. It was along the Philip St nearby Museum of Sydney in walking distance from Circular Quay.

Walking on street of Sydney is never depressing. Just by looking at the beautiful architectural building, mesmerizing! — Sydney Town Hall

We had this scrumptious horse cut sweet potato wedges and it just blow our mind! Now when you asked three of us what we miss the most in Sydney: SWEET POTATO FRIES

The lamb riblets is a bomb too, served with tomato, chili, garlic and lemon. Not too zesty but a touch of lemon does help us to wash down oiliness of the lamb. Don’t get me wrong, lamb is just as impressive. The riblets are grilled to perfection with a slightly charred layer but juicy inside. I can even chao down the whole plate of lamb by myself.

Classic Beef Burger and Bar Luca Beef Burger, I think all the burgers are the star.

Ben wants more. He had the set of Chicken Karaage Burger with Fried Chicken! OK next time I know what to order! And, get the Stone and Wood Draught beer! MUST

We end up fabulous night with dessert! Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café.

Thanks Ben Ben for the time! Great catch up with lotsa laughters!

We finally had it! The unplanned spontaneous trip to Sydney!

So the story came like this, I was taking my 2 months holiday after my previous company and was brainstorming where to have my solo travel/adventure. I chose Darwin at first, thinking of having some fishing trips, cooking some barramundi or just explore this city for a while. A little bit laid back but it means peaceful as well! I somehow mentioned my plans to a best friend of mine during lunch and she was like..

Lao Mao : I need a break from all the dramas in my life
Me : Really? U wanna join? 
Lao Mao : Where? Why la Darwin.. so ulu.. nothing to do.. Go Melbourne lar
Me : Eeee.. how about Sydney? I never been to Sydney lei. And Joey is asking about Perth. Sekali we all go Sydney together?
Lao Mao : Can lei. On nia

So we texted Joey ask if she wanted to Join and less than a day, she say lets go! I am quite amazed actually because its very hard to get travel mates without all the discussions like “no leave” “see how” “no money” “ticket how much” “need to bring how much”. There is no such questions and all we do is.. OK LETS GO. We quickly check the air ticket and airbnb, and get the job done in 2 days! The cheapest air fare we got is from Singapore to Sydney for RM 1400 by Scoot and airbnb a nice and cozy apartment at Lavender Bay for RM 656 per person! WOOOOHOOOOOO!! In less than a week time, Hello Sydney!

It was a midnight flight, and this is how we make ourselves happy at Changi Airport. Honestly, Scoot is actually not bad but we got a lot of noisy passengers and crying babies on board so.. oh well. I still prefer other airlines over budget airlines for flight duration 4 hours and above. But this trip is too random and we need to take care of our pocket too!

When we arrived Sydney it was already morning. We checked in to our Airbnb which is located at Lavendar Bay, North Sydney. It is just 1 stop to City Center and most importantly, Lavender Bay is famous for the spectacular view! SEE!!

Love every bits of our apartment except there is no heating, we were like staying in a fridge for the past 1 week but the view and scenery make it all worth. 

Oh, we bought a bottle of Baileys for our morning shots. Means we had a few shots to get crazy keep us warm every morning before we start our day. But i think Lao Mao finish almost 70% of that bottle herself. Hahaha!

We made an effort to do #OOTD everyday.. so.. yay! Something to look forward to!

Our first stop will be Paddy’s market at CBD. Alight at Central Station and use the light rail. Light Rail will stop directly in front of Paddy’s Market.

Paddy’s Market is the best place to buy all your souvenirs, nuts, dried food and groceries. Price are relatively cheaper than anywhere else in Sydney. 

Opposite is the Chinatown of Sydney. No we dint eat there. We went to Pho Pasteur, a Vietnamese Restaurant for lunch. It was quite a popular restaurant but for me its very average. I still think Mekong Pho Bo Ga in Melbourne had the best pho. 

Beef Pho. Not the most tender one but its alright

Summer rolls are average. Broken rice is ok. 

We continue our shopping at another section of Paddy’s Market and Market City. Remember, buy all your souvenirs there.

Sydney is even more impressively beautiful during the evening. Our evening walk from Paddy’s Market to Surry Hills is a heart catching one. We often just stop by and enjoy the breeze and the colours of the surroundings. 

Hello Sydney! Enjoy the breeze but not that strong wind ok!

Beautiful stroll

So Surry Hills is the place where this humble Mexican Restaurant is situated. 

El Loco, they served their own brewed and draft beers and all sorts of tacos. 

We headed to the outside because it was overly crowded inside. Thanks to the heater, we barely wanna move after we settle down. So cozy and warm!!

Aloha from El Loco! 

Oh ya! We came here for the secret taco!! Don ask me what is the secret taco because its still remain a secret until today. But its a big yums! 
 Chicken wings are light and crispy as well

Oh did i mention Beer? 

We were stuffed. So fully we would barely move but we decided to follow our plan for the roasted pork skin. Mr. Crackles at Darlinghurst!

It is a takeaway shop selling pork and lamb.. and not to forget, the cracklings!!

I mean CRISPY PORK SKIN. ULTRA CRISPY PORK SKIN.

We were so full so we decided to bring back to our apartment as supper… pipping hot braised lamb, roast meat and the cracklings. AND YOU KNOW WHAT?

It’s almost frozen! The excess oil of the meat is already coagulate after a 15 mins walk!