2D1N Batam Trip on 15 & 16 August 2009

35 residents took part in the 2D1N Batam Trip organised by Bukit Batok East Zone 3 RC. The travellers gathered outside the RC Centre at Block 268 and were ready to set off at 6.45am.

The ferry set sail at 9.00am and reached Batam also 9.00am (Indonesia Time). They felt younger by an hour because the time was one hour behind ours. We were greeted by the friendly tour-guide, Mr Hendri.

The journey with first destination was to the famous Temple for the God of Fortune. All devotees paid their respect and journey continued. Before Lunch, the places visited were Kue Lapis Factory and Benkong Dry food Store. There was a demonstration how the kue lapis was made and sample tasting of the local products at the Dry Food store.

A succulent seafood lunch was served at Restaurant Golden Prawn 555. In the Restaurant, various kinds of seafood were displayed for the patronage to choose from.
The program after lunch were as follows

     • Watched a cultural show.

     • Visited the POLO cum souvenir shops.

     • Tour to the Vietnam Village, which was almost 20 years old.

     • Visited the one and only Dragon Fruit Plantation in Batam. 

The dinner was at Golden Fish Restaurant. Although there was a slight rain, but the view of the sunset could still be seen. The scenery was beautiful; diner could witness the sunset over the Barelang Bridge, while enjoying their dinner.

After dinner, before we proceed to the Golden View Hotel, around three quarter of the group when for a 90 minutes Indonesian body massage. The rest who were not so kind were happily shopping at Nagaya Hill Shopping Mall.

After a full day of activities, everyone had a good rest in the hotel room.
The following day, after breakfast, everyone was ready ‘to charge again’. For those who were adventurous enough went for the Gold-Karts ride. Thereafter, the tour guide brought all to the Miniature Park, whereby we could see different miniature houses built by different villages.

Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Buddhist Temple is one of the biggest Buddhist temples in South East Asia and is a major attraction in Batam. We stop to visit the temple is located in the Batam Centre before lunch.

We had our 9 course lunch at the Fisherman Restaurant. The lunch was luscious. Before we proceeded to the Ferry terminal to take the ferry back, we went to Mega Mall at Batam Centre for a last minute shopping to spend all our Indonesian currency.

The resident had enjoyed the tour very much. The bonding and friendship built would definitely encourage them to come together for other activities moving forward.

Please click the below link to view more photos: Batam Trip 15 to 16 Aug 09

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!

It was a blessed evening with beautiful weather that was not too much of heat above us. Bukit Batok East’s Residents gathered together at the open space of Bukit Batok East Block 283 to celebrate the 44th Birthday of Singapore. More than 3000 Residents of Different Races, Language and Religious came together as ONE for the Observance Ceremony organised by Bukit Batok East Community Club.

The residents from Bukit Batok East Zone 3 were part of the celebration, since the open space of Bukit Batok East Block 283 was within the Zone 3 vicinity. For a moment, the open space has converted into a ‘Red Sea’. There were contingents formed by the Yusof Ishak Secondary School, PCF, CCC, CCMC, All Sub-Committees, Residents’ Committee and Neighbourhood Committee.

The atmosphere was extremely high when our Guest of Honour, Mdm Halimah Yacob - MP for Jurong GRC and Advisor to Jurong GRC/GRO, arrived. The residents sang the National Anthem proudly and resided the Pledge with pride in ONE voice. Thereafter, Mdm Halimah inspected the contingent formed by the Yusof Ishak Secondary School. After the inspection, all the contingent march / walk pass the Grandstand to given greet the MP.

Prior to National Day, Bukit Batok East CC together with all RC & NC has encouraged residents to recycle their water bottles. With these empty bottles collected, students from the Ngee Ann Polytechnic have constructed a scripture using 5010 of these recycled bottles.

The highlight of the evening program was the Variety Show that was host by the Singapore Famous Actress Liu Ling Ling (刘玲玲) and the Lucky Draw.

The residents had an unforgettable and wonderful evening that they had look forward for more.

Please click the below link to view more photos: National Day Celebration 2009

Or visit the Bukit Batok East Blog at http://bukitbatokeast.blogspot.com