Batam - Casio Nongsa Cycle 2015 with Casio EX-FR10

Date of Cycle : 9 - 10 May 2015

Putting medals to the pedals, the inaugural Casio Nongsa Cycle 2015 rolled off to a brisk start by attracting close to 200 cyclists from around the region to participate in this cycling event. Held in Batam (Riau, Indonesia), the event caters to both competitive racers as well as leisure cycling enthusiasts and spotlights the island's potential as a destination for long-distance pedalling.

Although my speed on the two-wheeler is about as fast as a sloth on its most active day, I decided to accept the invitation by Casio Singapore to take part in the race. Not to win, hell no, not with my 16km/h crawl compared to the 28km/h average speed of pro racers, but to explore the possibilities of going on weekend cycling vacays in Batam and test drive the Casio EX-FR10 action camera.

Trying my best to look the part of a pro racer. Pass or not? Heh heh...

The starting point was at Nongsa Ferry Terminal. Batam island consists of a number of key districts served by a couple of ferry terminals scattered across the island.

The Nongsa district, about an hour by car from the island's busy downtown area known as Batam Center, is a much quieter part of the island with a couple of high-end resorts located here. Nongsa is also where the best beaches on the island can be found.

Being an enthusiast of bicycle touring, I've been thinking of getting an action cam to record my cycling trips but found single-screened cams rather restrictive as I can't see what I'm filming.

Casio EX-FR10 comes with a camera that can be detached from its viewing screen so that I can mount the screen on the bicycle handle and see the footages I'm shooting and make adjustments. The screen also serves as a touchscreen control panel to turn the camera on or off and choose shooting modes such as single photo, video, or time-lapse video. This camera also makes taking selfies easier as I can frame the shot by looking at the detached screen and using it to take a shot remotely. My only grouse is that the screen's luminance is rather low under natural lighting conditions and hard to see.

Getting ready to roll off... this is the only moment I managed to capture the racers behind me because as soon as the starter horn sounded, they zoomed past me and disappeared in the blink of an eye!

But not all who took part in Casio Nongsa Cycle are professional racers. There are other leisure cyclists like me who are in it for the exercise and thrill of a self-powered road trip.

This vehicular bridge straddling an estuary below is found near Nongsa Ferry Terminal and the most scenic stretch of my ride. Scenery-wise, there's not much to see as the 12km cycling route at Nongsa follows a loop from the ferry terminal that passes by a couple of small villages and private resorts.

Compared to the choked roads in Batam Centre, Nongsa's lighter traffic and well-paved roads make for a safer and less stressful cycling experience.

Taking a shot with Casio EX-FR10 with the detached screen and control panel. Recording the journey is definitely much more flexible with this action cam as I can change between photo mode, video mode or shooting time-lapse easily.

This insane upslope gave my eyeballs a heart attack! The toughest section of the entire 12km cycling route is this 1km long steep climb at 70 degrees elevation that seriously burns the thighs and aches the lungs. The tougher the challenge, the greater that sense of achievement in overcoming it. So yeah, I felt great reaching the top!

Then came the realisation that I have to climb this slope 4 more times as I 've signed up for the 60km ride. The route goes in a circle and each loop is 12km so I have to complete 5 rounds to clock 60km. Imagine those who registered for the 120km full marathon! After the initial shock of encountering this monster, it became rather monotonous to climb it but it sure fired up the adrenalin.

After an exhausting 4 hours, I completed my first bike-a-thon challenge! I may be smiling but my ass felt like it was on fire. I guess that's how buns of steel are forged right? LOL.

As this is my first marathon cycling event, I have no basis to gauge the logistics of Casio Nongsa Cycle but I think it was pretty well organised. Hopefully the event will gain traction to feature annually on the region's sporting calendar.

A 2D1N Nongsa Cycle early bird package cost about S$350 per pax (twin share) and includes ferry transfers from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Nongsa Ferry Terminal, bicycle handling, land transfers, hotel stay, race pack, jersey, medal, and celebratory dinner.

Outside of the Nongsa Cycle event, you can bring your own bikes over from Singapore onboard the ferry to Nongsa for a cycling trip. A bicycle handling fee of S$10 is levied.

The less populated Nongsa district is suitable for an easy cycling weekend getaway to explore the tranquil side of Batam away from the downtown hustle and bustle. But we still got our shopping and massages done after the race by hopping on the free shuttle bus provided by Batam View Resort Hotel (where we stayed) to Batam Center's Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall.

If you are a seasoned cyclist, you can consider arriving at Nongsa, cycle from Nongsa to Batam Center (approx. 28km according to Google map), stay a night and return to Singapore via Batam Center Ferry Terminal. There aren't that many arterial roads on the island so I think way-finding should be pretty straightforward although sign posts may be lacking. Perhaps I'll try this route one day. Or if you've done it, please share the experience and tips with me :)

This being my first attempt at a competitive cycling event, I was more focused on catching up with the pros, which I failed miserably, than taking more shots and videos with Casio EX-FR10. Below is a video shot by my fellow cyclist Danny for a preview of the action camera's performance as well as scenery along the 12km Nongsa cycling route. Hopefully it'll inspire you to bring your wheels overseas with wonderful memories to keep...

This post has been made possible by Casio Singapore.

Jakarta - Shopping & More Savouries

Date of Exploration : 4 Nov 2013

Having stepped into the nostalgia-laden heritage district of Kota Tua and swam in the eco-rich waters of Putri and Sepa Island, my discovery of Jakarta continued with an initiation into the city's shopping scene.

Historical, natural, commercial... my virgin trip to Jakarta is made complete with the 3 distinct faces of this wildly contrasting city. In the final segment of my vacation, we checked into Aston Marina Jakarta hotel and serviced residences before receiving retail therapy at ITC Mangga Dua and Plaza Indonesia, and pampering our palates with fine dine selections at Taste Paradise and indulging in a staggering display of nasi padang 'acrobatics' at Simpang Raya Istana Ayam Pop Restaurant.

Our third hotel during my 4D3N Jakarta trip was Aston Marina hotel cum serviced residences. As the name suggests, the lodge is not too far from the coastal district of North Jakarta and a short ride from Ancol, a tourism hub with several themed parks.

Stylishly pleasing and modern, Aston Marina is a good accommodation choice although it has no nearby lifestyle developments such as shopping complexes, eateries or shops.

The apartment units come with an adjourning kitchen, cozy lounge area and dream space. A 2-bedroom unit costs around Rp1,158,000 (est. S$120 per night).

Aerial view of the sprawling Jakarta cityscape from my unit's balcony.

Breakfast at Aston Marina was a rather elaborate affair of western as well as local spreads.

The donut towers were tempting but I preferred the saccharine smiles and services at the serviced residence.

Shopping - ITC Mangga Dua & Plaza Indonesia

After dropping off our travelling bags, we were ready to pick up shopping bags at ITC Mangga Tua and Plaza Indonesia, 2 of the city's many retail landmarks. Both malls are huge but that's where the similarity between the 2 megaplexes ends. ITC Mangga Dua is fertile ground for bargain hunting while Plaza Indonesia tips the luxury scale to create a shopping scene that caters to every fancy and budget.

Resembling a factory building more than a mall, ITC Mangga Dua is insanely packed with stalls selling everything that you can wear and decorate yourself with as well as food and snacks.

ITC Mangga Dua forms only one part of the colossal Mangga Dua shopping district which consists of 6 main shopping centres - Mangga Dua Mall, Harco Mas Mangga Dua, Mangga Dua WTC, ITC Mangga Dua, Dusit Mangga Dua and Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua. Each mall specialises in different products such as electronics, furnishings, foodstuff, etc with ITC Mangga Dua being the hub for fashion and accessories.

Hundreds of shops crammed onto 6 levels leaves narrow walking aisles between retailers and makes for a dizzying shopping experience to visually sieve through the myriad of merchandise. The human traffic can reach epic proportions during weekends so go on a weekday if you can help it. And as anywhere with a crowd, beware of pickpockets.

Always bargain when shopping at ITC Mangga Dua. Something that costs Rp300,000 may be bargained down to Rp200,000 or less. We bought 4 souvenir t-shirts for Rp100,000 but a street peddler at a restaurant later sold the same t-shirts at 5 for Rp100,000. So things may not always be cheaper here and be daring to slash prices.

If you see something that you like, buy it straightaway instead of trying to locate the shop in the retail maze later. The wholesale centre operates from 10am to at 6pm so do go early.

Located at the financial ring circling the famous Selamat Datang (Welcome) Statue about a 20-minute car ride (without traffic jam) from ITC Mangga Dua is the upscale Plaza Indonesia mall.

Doing a conjoin act with the Grand Hyatt, Plaza Indonesia is opened in the mid 80s with more shop space and offices added during a 2007 extension that turned Plaza Indonesia into one of the country's top-of-the-line mixed-use development.

Call me maybe? Plaza Indonesia is also home to the first Starbucks (opened in May 2002) in the country. This lady was nonchalant about us taking photos with the sign so I decided to 'pose' with her in the shot after giving up on waiting for her to move away. The outcome is rather hilarious!

Bvlgari, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Celine... the big brands in luxe are gathered at Plaza Indonesia that sees tai-tais arriving in chauffeured posh cars.

There's also an in-mall amusement deck for kids... and those who refuses to grow up. LOL.

Brand shopping is not the only thing to do at Plaza Indonesia with funky boutique cafes and art-decor restaurants deserving eyeball time.

Even the mall's food court is an interior design spectacle that melted ethnic elements from various cultures into a feast for the eyes and stomach.

Love this industrial-meets-wharf ceiling installation and other artistic detailing that turned Plaza Indonesia's Urban Kitchen into a must-see attraction at the mall.

Taste Paradise
Address : Plaza Indonesia South Gate, 4th Floor #01 JL. M.H. Thamrin kav 28 – 30, Jakarta 10350
Tel : +6221 2992 3838

It is ironic that it took being out of Singapore for me to learn about a home-grown restauranteur made good. Being a Singaporean and somewhat foodie, I was almost embarrassed to admit that I've not heard of Taste Paradise which originated as a humble zi-char stall in a Defu Lane coffeeshop within one of Singapore's industrial park.

Known as Seafood Paradise when it started in 2002, the small business had since grown into the Paradise Group of restaurants with a bevy of signature dining outlets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Japan. To make it so big from such humble beginnings, the food must be really something.

And it was.

Taste Paradise Jakarta celebrates the Grandeur of Chinese Dining both in taste and ambience.

One amazing feature in the restaurant design of Taste Paradise is the creation of various dining settings - from the casual tea seating at the entrance to wooded nests with plush cushions to oriental boxes where curtains provide a screen for privacy to the resplendent open banquet hall hued in chrome and gold to 2 ornate VIP chambers, the restaurant is a library of eastern decorative styles.

The VIP seating reflected in the mirror door that cleverly serves as a wall to conceal the exquisite chamber behind it.

We were hosted to lunch where we sampled items mainly from its dim sum menu. Our opening dish was the restaurant's popular Snow Mountain Bun (雪山包) with a sandy crust that crumbles to reveal the char siew filling within. Having tried that Hong Kong brand dim sum restaurant that have Singaporeans queuing for hours for its char siew bao, I prefer this version at Taste Paradise. It is not oily and the bao skin's texture flakes like savoury snow. Loved it!

Honey glazed char siew that was fragrantly smoked and charred to perfection paired with crispy skin roast pork with a gelatinous layer of fat that melts in the mouth.

Soup of the day (left) and rice skin rolls wrapped with meat and seafood (cheong fun).

Top Left : Fluffy egg tarts. Top Right : Flavourful chicken feet. Bottom Left : Siew mai with fish roe. Bottom Right : Pumpkin and yam cake.

The showstopper on the table was the flaming claypot kurobuta pork rice (left) while the creamed cod medallions (right) was a fine example of the culinary innovations that are unique to Taste Paradise.

Dessert was a trio of Avocado Ice-Cream, Coonde Oonde Durian Ice-Cream and Aloe Vera Jelly that were almost too cute to eat. Taste ranged from mild to sweet to sour-tangy which brought the sumptuous luncheon to a crescendo. Taste Paradise is Eden on a plate!

Simpang Raya Istana Ayam Pop
Address : Jalan Kramat Raya No. 71, Central Jakarta City, Jakarta 10450, Indonesia
Tel : +6221 392 0161

When the dinner bell rang, we found ourselves at this restaurant with a zesty name, Simpang Raya Istana Ayam Pop. I was really tickled and imagined chicken (ayam) dressed in hip hop clucking the latest Billboard hits. But my expectation of it as the local equivalent of KFC quickly ran afowl when the restaurant's reputation as one of the best places to sample authentic padang food was revealed.

Padang food refers to the cuisine of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra who favours curry, heavy spices and coconut milk in their recipes.

Dinnertime acrobatics. We were floored by the number of plates the waiters can balance on their arms! Can you count how many plates they are holding?

A train of food is laid out on every dinner table and customers are charged according to what they consume. Uneaten dishes are inherited by the next diners. As the food had been laid out for quite some time, they were cold and the fried chicken was rather dry and tough.

Of all the dishes, my favourites were the tiny fried fish and this... cow brain curry. The nutty flavour of the curd-like brain went really well with the aroma of thick coconut milk.

Perhaps because the dishes lacked warmth and most of the meats were rather overcooked, I didn't quite enjoy the meal although I found the interesting dining experience a fitting wrap for my first tastes of Jakarta. The city has a wide offering of tourist attractions all laid out for a memorable vacation, but most of them needed some reheating to keep delicious and fresh!


This post has been made possible by Jakarta Tourism Office (represented by Russell Cheong, Winsemius Consulting). For more vacation insights on Jakarta, visit http://jakartasavvy.com/

Jakarta - Ancol Putri Duyung Nyiur Resto & Ocean Eco Park

Date of Exploration : 3 Nov 2013

Docking at Ancol Marina after our 2D1N Putri Island stay-over, we began a new page in exploring Jakarta with a traditional Indonesian lunch at Ancol Putri Duyung Nyiur Resto & Cafe and giving our green fingers a stretch with the neighbouring Ancol Eco Park.

Ancol is a sprawling lifestyle and leisure waterfront resort with no less than 7 themed parks (Atlantis Water Adventure, SeaWorld, Ocean Dream Samura, Pasar Seni, Executive Gold Fun, Jaya Bowling, Beach City, Eco Park, Gondola, etc) 5 beaches (Pantai Ria, Pantai Elok, Pantai Indah, Pantai Carnival, and Pantai Festival) and various recreational developments at the northern coast of Jakarta.

Ancol Dreamland (Taman Impian Jaya Ancol), heralded as Southeast Asia's biggest tourism precinct is also located here. I've heard much about this mega amusement park but I'll have to save this for another visit.

Nyiur Resto & Cafe
Address : Putri Duyung Ancol, J1. Lodan Timur No. 7 Ancol Jakarta
Tel : +62 21 2601 680

Spotting classical indigenous roofings, Nyiur Resto & Cafe's visage takes a cultural bite into the Putri Duyung Resort skyline.

Ample outdoor and indoor seating accented with bamboos and wooded hints cajole tradition to blend with the modern.

We eased into lunch with Tempe Mendoan (Rp20,000), which is fried soy bean cakes in a savoury batter that fires up the tastebuds when eaten with the small but spicy green chilli bulbs.

Sate Udang Kemangi - Grilled prawns skewers with spicy herbs and kemangi (Rp50,000); Sup Iga Sapi Asam Pedas - Hot and sour spare rubs soup (Rp40,000); and Pecak Gurame - Fried marinated carp in coconut milk with herbs (Rp48,000).

Amongst the delectables at Ayiur Cafe, my favour went to Sup Buntut (Indonesian oxtail soup, Rp47,000).

And no meal would be complete with staples eaten with Nyiur Cafe's tongue-flaming concoction of chilli pastes and sauces!

Our gastronomic journey at Nyiur Cafe came to a sweet ending with an assortment of mocktails and the delicious Pisnag Goreng Keju (banana fritters topped with flaked cheese, Rp20,000).

Ancol Ocean Eco Park
Address : Taman Impian Ancol, Jl. Lodan Timur, Jakarta Utara, p. 
Tel : +62 21 29222222.

Hunger satiated, we headed over to the nearby Ancol Ocean Eco Park (5 minutes ride) for a breath of fresh air in the urban city. Coming into form in 2011, the Ocean Eco Park has 4 zones (Eco Energy, Care, Nature and Art) to raise awareness and inculcate environment-centric civic coexistence. The park is free to visit.

Yesteryear kampong lush is resurrected with tall coconut palms and attap stalls lining a path that leads to a pond and waterway where bumper capsules and rides await.

But the real hardcore action comes from the fanatic horde of kois hungry for feed, which can be bought at the ticketing booth for rides.

Ostentatiously decked out in oceanic themes, sculptured floats ferry visitors down a canal that winds through the park.

Our ride took us to the edge of a set where aquatic performances are held at the park before we disembarked on a deer enclosure...

... and were welcomed by stags...

... and a following of adorable doey-eyed deers. Eye contact is guaranteed to melt hearts.

Feed consisting of apples and fruits can be obtained to lure the deers for a close encounter. It was magical to feel their wet tongues on my hand and trusting that they won't bite me. And the enclosures didn't smell bad.

Ancol Ocean Eco Park has a few deer species of which these dwarf deers stole my affection. So tempted to smuggle one home!

Deers are not the only 'wildlife' to get friendly with. Roaming freely around the grounds are geese and a collection of water fowls who are shy but can't resist a hand-fed treat.

I've worn down the letters C, U,T, and E on my keyboard while writing this blog post! I tried to 'hypnotise' this young fawn which I've grew so fond of into following me home. But instead, it hypnotised me into making it a point to visit the deer enclosure if I come to Jakarta again with those eyes. Heh heh...

Our brief tour of Ancol Ocean Eco Park saw only the iceberg's tip of attractions and activities that the park has to offer. Urbanites would find the greenery and rustic throwback to idyllic kampung days a rescue for the senses while the deer enclosures and park pets provided plentiful opportunities to nurture animal doting.

Ancol Ocean Eco Park is the meditative space amidst Jakarta's choked traffic and urban cacophony.

This post has been made possible by Jakarta Tourism Office (represented by Russell Cheong, Winsemius Consulting). For more vacation insights on Jakarta, visit http://jakartasavvy.com/

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