Long but mostly good Saturday...

It was a very long and mostly good Saturday.

The day started at 10AM. I had a 1230 appointment with my dentist in JB. In my mind, I was quite confident that leaving at 10AM was enough lead time to get over the other side of the Causeway.

Man, did I think wrong?!

I cleared Malaysian immigration at 2PM. Yep, a total of 4 hours to get from one side of the Causeway to the other side. It is unclear to me what has changed. Previously, it only took an hour or so. The last two times I went to JB, it has always taken 3 to 4 hours. Crazy. Haha!

While I was patiently queueing in Malaysian immigration, I have accepted the fact thatI missed my dental appointment... again. I decided to call them just to apologise and to ask if they could accommodate me still. Hey, it never hurts to ask. The lady on the phone asked if I could be at the clinic by 230PM. I checked my watch and it was 215. Yay! I confirmed that I can be there in a few minutes.

When I got off the phone, I made my way straight to the taxi stand. Thankfully, there's always a good queue of cabs just across the immigration building.

I finished my dental appointment at 310. Thinking that I deserved to pamper myself after the 4-hour ordeal, I walked to nearby Jalan Keris for a foot reflexology session at my fave place. Initially, I thought of getting a 30-minute session but ended up going for the 60-minute back and foot massage. How could I not? It was only $30!!!

It was a good session. I know because I fell asleep on the couch while having my feet massaged. Lol!

There was a big surprise though when I stepped out of the reflexology place. It was pouring... heavily. We're talking a la Manila typhoon levels. Good thing there was a shelter outside of the massage place and its neighbouring shops. I walked a bit to the nearest corner and patiently waited for a cab.

Thankfully, this one cab picked me up. He said he had to go around another block to fetch me because he was on the other side of the road. Thank God for human kindness... or he just needs to earn. Hehe! Whatever, I am grateful.

The trip back to Singapore took only about an hour. Immigration was fast. Getting a bus was fast. The only slow portion was crossing the Causeway. Still, it wasn't as horrible as the morning trip.

From Kranji where I got off, I took the train to Yishun to quickly meet HB Boy. He was stuck at home the entire day doing work. He agreed to meet up for dinner though so it was a good one hour of quality time with him.

Following Yishun was a trip to Clementi. Jon invited me to a house party and I said yes. It was a good one. The theme was 80s and I was really glad to see almost all of the guests in costume. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my shirt, shorts and boat shoes. So did the boyfriend of one of the girls who was also in shirt and shorts. Hehe!

I left Jon's place at 1130 and reached my place just before midnight. Couldn't wait to hit the bed. Haha!

Except for the morning jam, it was definitely a good Saturday.

Loooong day at the other side of the Causeway...

What a looong day today turned out to be!

Just got back a few minutes ago. I'm just resting a bit before I shower. Afterwards, I'm going to hit the sack immediately. Wo hen lei!

I was supposed to go see MkSurf8, RKGreg and the other guys tonight but the trip to JB took so much longer than I expected. And even if the spirit was willing, the flesh is already so Lola. Haha!

Today was my scheduled appointment with Dr. Tan of Advanced Dental Surgery at JB. Dr. Tan was the one who did the crowning for my molar that had to go through RCT. I was very happy with his service. His clinic is very impressive. The staff are all pleasant and hospitable. How can I not stick with this clinic?

My appointment was at 2PM. Thinking that 2.5 hours should be enough for me to get to the clinic, I decided to leave Singapore by 11:30. Mr. Lim decided to join me at the trip to the other side of the Causeway as he wanted to get a massage and have dinner as well. Bryan also joined us much later as he had work until 5PM. It was really nice of him to go through the trouble of going all the way to JB for dinner.

Going back, 2.5 hours weren't enough to get to the other side of the Causeway. Everything that could go wrong this noontime just went wrong.

By the time I reached the clinic, it was already 2:40ish. I already expected Dr. Tan would not be able to see me so I was content with just setting up a new appointment.

A few minutes of waiting and his assistant told me I can come back after an hour. Woohooo! He really is the best!

Today may not have started out very well but it certainly got better and better. Just glad that I was able to do the things that I wanted to do at JB. I wish I had the energy to go out tonight but my eyelids are closing even as I type this. Haha!

Birthday gathering in JB...

After the afternoon lecture at the Asian Civilisations Museum yesterday afternoon, I made my way to Woodlands station to meet up with Mr. Lim for our overseas trip.

Overseas trip. LOL! It sounds like we were going somewhere far. The truth was we were just going to Johor Bahru, which was on the other side of the Singapore Straits. Hehe!

Our common friend Miru was celebrating his birthday and he booked a room at one of the hotels in JB. Luckily, there was no jam from Woodlands Interchange to the Customs and Immigration Complex at JB. There weren't that many people at Immigration as well so it was quite fast.

From JB City Square, Mr. Lim and I headed to the hotel to meet up with Miru and his friends.

The room he got was quite big. It was a three bedroom suite and cost only SGD200. Thinking that there would be too many people and that we wanted to have a comfy sleep, Mr. Lim and I booked our own room as well. We got a studio for only SGD70 via Agoda and it was quite big as well. Dun expect too much but the beds were comfy enough. I got an extra pillow. And it was super cold because of the AC.

Anyway, after meeting up with Miru and the rest of the guys, we walked over to the neighboring Korean restaurant for dinner. The restau was right across Danga Bay. It seemed like a popular Korean restau because almost all tables were occupied. Again, since we were in JB, the total food bill of 7 people RM250 (or about $100). We had a lot of food and the food wasn't bad at all.

From the restau, we walked back to the hotel and spent the next few hours chatting and playing board games. Seriously. Haha! I've never felt so old! I kept on losing. It was good fun though.

This morning, we just spent a few hours chillaxing by the people before prepping to head back to Singapore.

It was a good weekend getaway.

Back to JB for Part 2 of the RCT...

So, I was back in Johor Bahru last March 4 for part 2 of the root canal treatment.

This time, it was a much more fun trip because I was with Chris, Ian, MkSurf8 and of course, Pg Boy.

When they found out that I was going back to JB, Chris and MkSurf8 asked if they could go. Of course, I said yes. They wanted to go look for a good place for lunch and a place for a massage (since everything in JB is much more affordable than here in SG). I, on the other hand, had to go for the second part of my rct.

Like the first part of the treatment, the second one was uneventful and it was done in under an hour.

Seriously, Dr. Wong is really good.

If you're in SG and you need to have a root canal treatment but you're worried about the hole it'll burn in your pocket, please do make the trip to JB and head over to the clinic of Dr. Wong. He's the best.

Below are his details:
Pakar Gigi Endodontik Wong
Wong Endodontics ( Dental) Specialist
No 14C, Jalan Harimau, Taman Century,
80250 Johor Bahru, Johor
Please Call 07 -3344991

Dr. Wong is an endodontist and he's one of the most popular ones in JB, according to Alan.

The cost for my RCT is RM900 (about $375). That includes the first consultation, two rct sessions, and a post-procedure consultation.

He will refer you to another clinic for the crowning. From what I've read, it may cost about RM600-650 (about $270).

The charge for the root canal procedure alone in SG is $1200-1500.

Such a huge difference, huh?!

However, you need to book an appointment by phone because Dr. Wong is always fully booked. I had to wait for a week before I got my schedule.

Alright, hope this helps.

The best thing about the trip to JB...

in 2008...

in 2012...


The best part about the short trip to the nearest town of Malaysia was not just getting to see an endodontist, but alsot getting to see couchsurfing buddies Alan and Marco.

The last time I saw these guys were in 2008... in Manila!!!

We've been in touch once in a while. Alan even invited me to his wedding, but I just was not able to go.

When I moved to Singapore, Alan messaged me but our schedules never matched so we never got to arrange for lunch or dinner.

Who would have thought that it would be Alan who would help me find a dentist in his home town of Johor Bahru?!

Pg Boy suggested our next best option to SG was JB. I've never been to JB, and now I had a reason to go.

My appointment yesterday at the endodontist was at 3PM, but I decided to go early to meet up with Alan and Marco.

It was my first time in JB and Pg Boy wasn't free to go with me. I was really grateful that Alan offered to send me to the clinic after we have lunch.

They picked me up at the City Square mall and we headed to one of the local restaus that served fried beehon which reminded me so much of how bihon is cooked back home.

We weren't able to do much catching up, because I had to go to the dentist already and they both had to go back to work (even if it was a public holiday).

However, we agreed to meet up again when I go back. Maybe next time, Alan will bring his wife Ivy and their baby Elicia. Would be cool to see them, too.

Good trip to JB.