I'VE MOVED!

It's high time I get a kickass blog layout and my own domain so here you go.

http://sophiachong.com

Will be closing down this blog in a week's time so remember to go to my new one instead k?

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

Trinity Medical Centre : Fixing clogged pores

Well, you can say I've been preparing this blog post for half a year already (except of course it's not an expose). I've always had pretty good skin in year 2014 cos I was very diligent in my skincare regime and Albion was awesome. However, I decided to try out a new and very renowned brand in November 2014 hoping that it would make my complexion even better. Look at what happens to greedy girls. To my dismay, it was really the WORST nightmare. I don't wanna name the brand of the skincare cos it has actually worked for many many people. I'm just one of the unlucky ones who reacted so badly to it. 

Let's call it Brand X. 

I used a full range by Brand X for a month and it gave me massive breakouts and clogged pores around my jawline and cheeks. I had never faced such bad complexion before, to such a point where my face was extremely bumpy. I couldn't and didn't want to hide it with make up so I ran to Doctor Lim from Trinity Medical Centre for help. Of course, I completely stopped using Brand X. 

Think I'm exaggerating about my bad skin condition? Here's a collage to validate my point.

I used to have dewy skin like this just slightly more than a year ago. Can you imagine how devastated I was?

Dr Lim advised me to do extraction + aqua ST treatment + carbon laser every 3 weeks to treat my skin and remove the bumps underneath my skin. The pores on my cheek were rather enlarged (I used to pick on my pimple when I was young) so I could understand why it would be clogged but I just didn't understand why would my jawline be SO clogged since the pores are barely visible. And I never had breakouts on my jawline before! There were at least 20-30 small bumps on each side of my jawline each time I visited Dr Lim. 

I entrusted my complexion to Dr Lim and diligently went for my treatments.

You can read about both treatments here.

It took almost half a year and almost 6-8 sessions for all the bumps on my jawline to disappear. Slowly but surely. 

It's a bit long but I'm just so glad it has finally COMPLETELY disappeared. The bumps affected my self-esteem so much and I didn't like being under the sun cos it was even more obvious.

Carbon Laser

Now that 7 months have passed, my complexion has improved tremendously from the first time I ran to Dr Lim for help and I'm so so so grateful for what he has done.

My complexion still isn't as good as it was before but I'm sure it will get there soon!

Here's how it looks now!

*With only eye make up*

As you can see there's still a bit of bumps on my cheek but it has decreased and lightened significantly. My jawline isn't clogged anymore too! It's also a bit dehydrated cos I'm still laying off moisturizer.

Personally, I think the one treatment that really helped me a lot was Carbon Laser. It controlled my oil sebum and also prevented clogging of pores. So if you are facing the same problem and can only afford one treatment, I say go for Carbon Laser. Also, I've laid off a lot of skincare products during the past 6 months. I am only using my toner and acne gel.

I'mma get back to using the one and only Albion once I feel the time is right!

Looking forward to my next treatment with Trinity Medical Centre.

If you're looking for skin solutions, feel free to head down for consultations (:

Trinity Medical Centre

87, MARINE PARADE CENTRAL#02-500A, Singapore 440087.Tel : +65) 6344 0027
Ending off with a picture I took last week with little filter (:

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

Bali Guide 2.0

I'm back with the 2nd part of Bali Guide and I'm so excited for you guys to check out Nusa Lembongan for yourself. Well Lembongan island is a small island off the main island of Bali and it takes approximately half an hour to get there by fast boat from Sanur informal "ferry terminal". It's a pretty quiet island to shake legs and chill so if you're looking for adventures, I'd say look elsewhere!

We hired a driver for 6 hours for USD$50 (for both Daniel and I) when we reached Nusa Lembongan to drive us and that included fees for snorkelling and its equipment. So our first stop was to this inconspicuous hut that conducts snorkelling tours. We were lucky enough to get our own boat and a very friendly captain!

1. Snorkelling

Crochet top : Upcoming on The Juice Market
Bikini : Seafolly
Tribal Pants : Overseas
Accessories : Overseas, Marc Jacobs

Our captain sailed us out further for about 10 mins so we could see coral reefs and colourful fishes and I'm so happy we snorkelled there cos it was the best snorkelling trip I've ever gone on! Wish I brought my underwater cam, so many beautiful fishes and coral reefs!!!

We spent about 1 hour snorkelling in the water before heading off to our next destination!
Here are some beautiful aqua blue sights along the way

2. Yellow Suspension Bridge

Daniel and I were very disappointed when we reached cos we were expecting a very nice and maybe majestic-looking bridge but nope, it was JUST a normal bridge that linked Nusa Lembongan to Nusa Ceningan. Meh. We left very soon after taking some touristy pictures.

Spotted a seaweed plantation!

3. Dream Beach

Okay, now we are talking. Dream beach was literally a dream. I was astounded by the beach cos it was beautiful!!! The crystal clear water, clean beach, huge crashing waves and rustic brown cliffs. Although I've been to similar ones in Bali main island (in Uluwatu), I kinda prefer this cos it's less touristy and the cliffs are just incredibly nice! We had lunch at the beach club and soaked in the sun for a good two hours. I actually fell asleep on the beach for like an hour so I became really tanned after that, ouch. There's also a pretty nice infinity pool facing the pool but non hotel guests have to pay 50,000 rupiah to use it.

4. Devil's Tears

Devil's tears is just 5 minutes walk from dream beach so if you're planning your trip, do put it together!

Devil's tears was magnificent and absolutely breathtaking, yet intimidating at the same time. It was the most beautiful thing I've seen at Bali this trip and it really blew my mind. The waves were HUGE, I swear. The pictures can't seem to portray the magnitude of it but it was mega. Never seen anything like that.

Literally mind blown right there, Daniel.

So I decided to be garang and climbed down to the part where the waves actually hit once in awhile. Daniel was pissed with me for not caring about my safety and kept persuading me not to go down cos it was damn dangerous but I just had to :x

Just look at the waves. It look like it was gonna consume the whole of me.

Then guess who went down himself after awhile.................
and who took such a nice photo for you huh.......................

Thank God we were safe (but of course I did careful observation first to see which is the safe spot)

One last hilltop shot before we bid goodbye to the small but beautiful island.

Nusa Lembongan is really small so I feel a day or two should cut it. The water and beaches are nicer than those at mainland Bali and the devil's tears alone makes the trip worthwhile. We reached the island at 9.30am and left at 4.30pm. If you're planning to hire a driver, you can just hire one when you reach the island. Make sure you bargain! However, if you wanna be adventurous, you can rent a bike for around SGD$8 for the whole day!

We booked our ferry transfer at a random stall at Kuta. You know those booths that sell island hopping tours and water activities? Make sure you haggle for a good price too! We paid 350,000 rupiah (about 35sgd) per person for a two way fast boat ride via Glory Express and I think that's pretty ok. It includes pick up and drop off at hotel too! There's nothing much to spend on the island itself so you can just prepare cash for meals and drinks (: Oh yes, bring your own towels too!

You can also read about my Bali Guide 1.0 here. 

This sums up my recent Bali trip and it was beautiful. Always a beach gurl at heart but for now, I'm craving for some cities ^^

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong

Bali Guide 1.0

I've decided to a Bali Guide and I'm splitting it into two posts. This post will mainly be on flights, hotels and food whereas the second post will cover what to do and this island I went to. I am not entirely familiar with Bali, in fact there are a lot more I want to explore so for starters, don't blame me if this guide isn't good enough k. Just wanna share my Bali experiences with those who might need some recommendations (:

Here are some beach visuals of this trip before we start!

@ Seminyak Beach

The love of my life.

@Legian Beach

Pardon me if you're cringing at my VS moments, just having them while I can hahah

I wish I had been to Bali earlier because it's pretty big and there are so much to explore! Honestly, I don't think 2 weeks is enough so if given a chance, I would love to stay in Bali for a month and of course live like a local on some days.

So let's start with flights from Singapore to Denpasar Airport!

There are many airlines that fly into Bali from Singapore. If you're looking for cheap flights, you can consider Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and AirAsia. I've only flown to Bali with Jetstar so far for the past 2 times and both times, my air tickets including 15kg baggage were around $120 each! Secret? Start camping for their sale 2-3 months beforehand, which happens almost weekly or bi-weekly really.

If you wanna splurge a little (which really isn't necessary imo considering the flight duration is only 2.5hrs)

, you can consider taking Singapore Airlines or KLM. They have sale every few months and you can snag an economy seat for around $230 - $300+. I've taken KLM once to Bali via business class and it was awesome! I'd definitely fly KLM again. You can read about it here (: However, I recall the timing wasn't very good so yeah Jetstar for the win for Bali!

Next up, hotels!

Pandawa All Suites Hotel

Kitchenette and living room on the 1st level

Loft bedroom upstairs

Breathing in fresh air from our balcony

View from our room

Walkway into the hotel!

Pandawa All Suites Hotel is a fuss-free hotel which provides basic amenities and Balinese activities such as Balinese cooking class, yoga classes, detox spa and rural village cycling. The rooms are very spacious and they also come with a very affordable price tag of approximately SGD$55/night for my room. That being said, you can't expect 4 or 5 star services! If you have a budget but don't want to compromise on space and comfort then this might be a good choice! It's a bit inaccessible but there is shuttle service to Seminyak area so that's not really a problem.

Ratings

Room : 3/5

Service : 3.5/5

Price : Approx $55/night

Location : 3/5

Facilities : 3.5/5

Overall : 3/5

The Wolas Villa & Spa

Our one bedroom pool villa at Wolas which I loved!

*2 pictures above taken from Google*

Love big toilet and huge mirrors!

I really love taking afternoon dips in our private pool after coming back from the beach. So refreshing and I just love the privacy! There's just something different about having a private pool and swimming in a communal pool. Love having breakfast in our villa by the pool too!

Can I just say I love the food at The Wolas?!! The garlic lemon butter prawn I had was amazing (and it was only SGD$10 with mashed potato and sautéed veg)! Breakfast was also tasty and they served it to the villa (: I've stayed with Bali Villa Properties the previous time at Ossotel, Nyuh Bali Villa (my fav so far!) and Samaja Villa and their food are just consistently good!!! Big big bonus for me since I'm quite the foodie!

I'm so happy they put me up at Wolas Villa this time cos I've been meaning to try it cos the reviews on Tripadvisor are very good! It's also located in Seminyak, my favourite area! Shuttle service is also provided to the main beaches like Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. Bali Villa Properties has a lot of other villas and hotels under them and most of them are quite reputable so don't worry you can definitely trust them when it comes to accommodation!

Here are some photos I took just outside my villa, along the walkway!

New bikini top from Seafolly!

Ratings

Room : 4/5

Service : 4.5/5

Price : Approx $260/night

Location : 3.75/5

Facilities : 4/5

Overall : 4/5

This trip I didn't really get to eat at lots of nice places but I'll also recommend others which I haven't tried but highly raved online k? Let's start with those I've tried myself first!

1. Roadside stalls

The roadside grilled corn is one thing I look forward to the most when I'm in Bali. I LOVE IT TO DEATH. I don't know what butter and chilli they grill it with but it tastes heavenly! Best $2 spent! It's usually located at random roadside or by the beach so you gotta pray that you get lucky. The one that I always go to is outside Seminyak beach.

2. Sea Circus cafe

This is definitely the most famous cafe in Bali and it certainly lives up to its reputation! They serve really good tacos, quesadilla and smoothies! Not to mention the cafe interior is so Instagram worthy. Even my toilet selfies are nice haha.

Sea Circus

Jalan Kayu Aya No. 22 A, Petitenget, Seminyak, Badung, Bali 80352, Indonesia

+62 361 738667

3. Made's Warung

It's my second time at Made's Warung and I will definitely head back for more Nasi Campur Special. It's essentially a Malay mixed rice so it consists of different kinds of vegetable and meat! Daniel said their Nasi Goreng was so so only though.

Made's Warung

Br. Seminyak, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: 62 361 732130

4. The Junction Restaurant

I quite like the Nasi Goreng at The Junction but I'm pretty sure you can easily find good ones around too. Not sure if this is a hit but if you wanna be safe, you can most definitely visit this restaurant!

The Junction Bali

Jl. Kayu Aya, Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia

+62 361 735610

5. Gelato Factory

*Picture taken from Google*

Being the ice cream girl that I am, I just had to get my ice cream fix and so glad I got it here. I loved the simple yet sinful chocolate ice cream cone that I had. They have many other funky flavours and their waffles seem like a hit!

Gelato Factory

Jalan Kayu aya no 32 (oberoi) Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia, Indonesia

+62 361 739124

Here's a list of other restaurant/cafes recommendations which I have compiled from past experiences/online research

1. Potato Head Beach Club (tried, good food and ambience but quite pricey)

2. Cafe Bali (tried, good and cheap food)

3. Revolver Espresso

4. The Bistrot

5. Angelita Patisserie

6. Watercress Restaurant

7. Taco Beach Grill

8. Naughty Nuri's

9. Wahaha Bali (tried, good and cheap pork ribs)

10. The Glass House

11. Ultimo (tried, relatively good and cheap)

12. Gabah Restaurant

13. Sheppy's Bar and Restaurant

14. Warung Eny

15. Tekor Bali

16. Mamasan

17. Swept away at The Samaya

18. Fair Warung Bale

19. Bambu Restaurant

20. Sundara Bali

I hope you've enjoyed this post cos I put in lots of effort in it (: 

If you're feeling nice, you can send me your recommendations/itineraries to sophia.chong@hotmail.com so I can use it for future Bali trips. Fanks!

Next post will be Bali Guide 2.0 which will focus on Lembongan Island and things to do in Bali!

XX

Sophia

Instagram and Twitter : @sophiachong