Travelogue: Mt. Rinjani (Transit x Sembalun Crater Rim)

"Nature, in the purest sense, is where both serenity and wilderness coexist in harmony. When we visit it, we feel both peaceful and uneasy all at once."

Still feeling the "Post-Rinjani Withdrawal Syndrome" even after being back in SG for a few days now. Miss everything about Rinjani, other than the torturous climb and aching muscles.

Well, here's my recount of the trip for future viewing!

Decided to go on this NTU ODAC public trip as my 7rek mates were signing up for it and they asked me along. Rinjani was on my list since last year after we completed our 7rek Indo recce (Read more about the previous trip here). And since the trip leaders are people I know too, so why not? 

This was a 5D4N trip with 1 day of transit from SG to Lomobok and resting one night before the start of our trek. However, it soon became a 5D5N trip... Read on to find out why.

Anyway, we went with Green Rinjani and yes their service was really good! From the accommodation before the trek to the food and tents provided during the trek, they were all excellent! We had 6 guides and approximately 25 porters for the 28 of us. The guides were extremely friendly and patient with us, accommodating to our needs and all. Really thankful to have them during our trek! 

I was all excited yet nervous all at the same time while preparing for the trip, not knowing what to expect. 

Day 1 (SG x Bali x Lombok):

Our day began at 6am at Changi Airport T2. Gathered for check-in and prepared for our flight to Bali. Flew by Tiger Air from SG to Bali, which took approximately 2.5hrs. 

First stop: Bali International/Domestic Airport. Made our way from the international arrival hall to the domestic departure hall, with plenty of time to kill. So we went around looking for lunch before checking-in for our domestic flight to Lombok.

View from domestic departure hall

 If you look closely, you can actually see the blue seas behind the runway.

 Second experience on a propeller plane

So our domestic flight was by Wings Air and it was a propeller plane! There wasn't much ventilation in the plane before take-off cause the air conditioning wasn't turned on. It felt like we were in a sauna x.x Thank goodness it was only a 30min flight.

Felt like ages before the plane finally took off.

 Bird's eye view of Bali

Product Review: Essential Haircare Range

Time for another product review. Previously I've done a review on Essential Sleeping Hair Mask (you can read about it here) and today I'm going to be reviewing on their relaunched haircare products!

Received these products from SampleStore.com a few days ago!

Essential haircare range has relaunched with new, improved formula and technology!
Now, Essential is available in 4 variants to suit all hair needs and types:

• Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) – for weak & damaged hair
• Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) – for dull & rough hair
• Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) – for flat and limp hair
• Deep Cleansing Care (blue) – for oily scalp & dry ends (new)

Out of these 4 variants, the yellow and blue variants have technology that caters to people with combination hair – oily scalp/roots yet dry ends.

The concept of ‘combination hair’ is similar to that of ‘combination skin’, where hair condition 

from the same person is not uniform from root to tip. People with combination hair usually 

have oily roots and dry ends. 

People with combination hair currently do not have one haircare product which they can use 

to solve both problems of oily roots and dry ends. Using a rich moisturizing product to care for 

their dry ends usually ends up having too much product buildup on their scalp, resulting in a 

heavy, oily scalp. Using a light, clarifying product to care for their oily scalp will then cause 

their ends to be even drier. 

As a result, people with combination hair will either have only one out of the two problems 

solved, or they have to rotate between using a rich moisturizing product and a light clarifying 

product to achieve a balance.

However, New Essential Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) and Deep Cleansing Care (blue) variants have the optimum combination of Smart Cuticle Care & Sebum Cleansing Technology to target 

both problems of roots and hair ends! 

So firstly how do you choose the correct variant for your hair type?

Ask yourself the two questions and choose from the matrix below:

1. Do you have oily hair roots/scalp?

2. Do you have dry/damaged hair ends?

Deep Cleansing Care (blue) variant has the lightest formula and is suitable for people with very oily roots, followed by Light Finish Volumizing (yellow) variant.

People with very dry/damaged hair should use the richest formula Nourishing Breakage Defense (orange) variant for treatment and mask while the rest can use the Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) variant which is comparatively lighter.

For me, I have oily hair roots and my hair ends are a little damaged due to the heating hair tools I use occasionally. Hence I would choose the Deep cleansing care (blue) variant for shampoo and conditioner together with the Moisturizing Frizz Free (pink) variant for treatment tube & hair mask.

Treatment Tube
Improved treatment now works its magic on your hair in 30 seconds! The result – deeply moisturized and manageable hair. Perfect for busy days.

Hair Mask
For more intensive treatment to treat those dry/damaged ends, leaving hair softer,
smoother and more manageable.

Do note that you should apply treatment/mask to hair ends only and NOT on your scalp.

So after trying out the shampoo and conditioner, my hair feels really smooth when I finger comb through it whether wet or dry. My hair does not get tangled up too and drying of hair is surprisingly faster too! Oh and did I mention, I love the smell of the shampoo and conditioner!

Apart from the smoothness of my hair ends, my scalp felt less oily at the end of the day after using the shampoo.

And for the hair mask/treatment tube, it worked like a charm! Even after a whole day out, my hair was visibly less fizzy!

The hair mask is to be used twice a week. So on days which I don't use the hair mask, I replace it with the treatment tube and the conditioner alternately.

Hence if you have combination hair, do try out Essential haircare range! Redeem free samples at http://on.fb.me/1pkXmPr.

Also, like Essential on Facebook (www.fb.com/Essential.SG) and follow Essential on Instagram @essentialsingapore (:

Tulipmania 2014 @ Gardens By The Bay, Singapore

"I'd rather wear flowers in my hair, than diamonds around my neck."

So, finals began yesterday & I've got 3 remaining papers coming up next week. But since it's Labour Day today, gonna spend some time blogging about our visit to Gardens by the Bay.

Took time off revision last Sunday to spend some quality time with my family. It's been a long time since we went out as a family. Since Mothers' Day is around the corner, I suggested visiting Gardens By the Bay as Tulipmania was ongoing. Mummy has been talking about making a trip down since forever but we keep postponing the trip. I actually feel guilty about it :/

Though finals was only a few days away, I thought that I should take a break from studying and relax for a little too, since it was rather productive the past study break. So we made the trip down to Gardens By the Bay early in the morning, wanting to beat the crowd.

Got there by MRT via East/West line from Clementi station and made a transfer to Downtown line at Bugis.

 

The reserve seats on the Downtown line are too cute!

We reached Bayfront MRT station at around 9am and made our way to the conservatories. There was already a queue by the time we reached but it took less than 10 minutes to get our tickets. Ticket prices are at $20 for 2 conservatories for Singaporeans/PR (adults) and OCBC card members get additional 15% off ticket prices. So we paid $17 for the entrance to both conservatories per adult. Do check out Gardens By the Bay website for more ticket prices as well as the different on-going discounts & promotions available. (Do note that Tulipmania is only ongoing until this weekend!)

We went into Flower Dome first to view the tulips. As soon as you enter the conservatory, you would be able to smell the fragrance of the tulips. We immediately head down to the bottom level to view the field of tulips. It was a splendid sight! What better way to brighten up your morning by looking at these vibrant flowers?

Picturesque view of the field of Tulips

Last day of Year 1 Semester 2

Had my last day of lectures and tutorials for year 1 yesterday. Didn't really have the mood to really study yesterday though. "last day of school = play" :P But sadly there's still finals coming up in 13 days. WOAH. 13 days. Seriously, time to start studying...

But since it's the last day of school, we had to take some mandatory photos to conclude our first year in uni! Hahaha. So we went to ADM Rooftop just before Linear revision lecture. We thought we were going to get sunburn because the sun was so strong! Despite the complains, we still made it up the roof. Hahaha. Luckily there was a shaded area there. So we camped there most of the time hehehe. All photos are taken by iPhone 5. Everyone loves the chrome effect hahaha. It makes the photo so much better! Though we did use Camera360 for the group jumpshots. It was a good exercise for me cause I was the one setting the timer and the timer only allowed 3s setting -.- So well, it tested my shuttle run speed hahaha.

And here are some of the better shots we got!

This shot was meant to be a "fight scene" but it seems like we're doing a couple dance instead. Hahaha

Brunch @ Artistry Cafe

Went for brunch @ Artistry Cafe with my ex-colleagues. Reached there around 11am and there were still seats available. Probably because it was a rainy morning, so it wasn't so crowded. But the crowd started coming in as soon as the weather turned sunny.

First look at the cafe, the decor was nice even though it was smaller than what I expected. We got a corner seat at the cafe. It was more of a coffee table so actually it was quite hard to eat on that. Besides the point, we ordered a few dishes to try. Starting with the Belgium Waffle that received quite a good review online and the Big Breakfast. Ordered a double scoop of ice cream to go with the waffle which cost $12 in total. The big breakfast was approx $20 which was abit pricier. But the good news is that this cafe doesn't have GST or service charge! *yay*