Bali

This was Nathan's first flight out and he looked relax and unafraid. He seems to be in his natural element, there was no fear at takeoff and landing nor traces of anxiety during turbulence. One will not be able to tell that this was his first trip on the plane. He got his headset and demanded for his movies during flight. Krisworld was not fully enabled on our trip and he was disappointed by the non-interactivity of the system since it's not on  demand and lack screening of his favourite "Cars" movie.  I must say he adapted really well on board though he  is not at all a frequent flyer and his experience of flying was inherited from dearest Natalie who had educated him of the in flight entertainment and child's meal and toys. Glad I packed their books and activities packs to keep them occupied. With kids who demand to seat only with mummy, I hardly had time to watch a movie myself!

5 days in Bali zoomed by without full relaxation coupled with low use of luxurious facilities. We rented this super spacious villa with pool and dual storey so there were ample beds and rooms for all. Each room comes with a giant circular tub thats 2 metres wide. We didnt even need to go to the pool and the kids ended up having bubble bath each night and they enjoyed it thoroughly. 

So where did we go and what did we do? First day was shopping at Kuta area. I managed to get a really good looking batik shirt for gong gong who was unable to go on the trip with us. We visited the afamous Jimbaran seafood restaurants by the sea. Beautiful sunset but food was way overpriced! To fill stomachs,  seafood bill will come up to a minimum of $500 to $1k. Sounds like our very own long beach restaurant with over priced seafood? Well kids didnt like eating by the beach and wanted to go home so in other words we were saved by them. Instead of paying for exorbitant overly hyped seafood, we had good old kfc which was wonderfully appetising!

Next day we visited Nusa Dua beach. They had the whitest and softest sands. The beaches are extremely well maintained by 5 star hotels around the area and had workers cleaning up the debris after the tides came in so it looks sparkling white for the comfort of visitors. Grandma enjoyed the nasi padang most and had a jolly good time feasting on the array of beautifully cooked food placed at the table. Over 20 dishes for you to choose from and fortunately mimi was there so we were educated on what we were eating. Well at least we avoided the inerts and fried baby eels.

Along the 2 hour drive to Tanah Lot, padi fields and rural architecture welcomed us. Drive was long but we were well entertained by the kids who sang and played "I spy". We saw medicinal products sold in bottles carried and sold along the roadsides. Indonesians believe in the organic medicinal qualities of plant products which consists of all sorts of ingredients including ginger, payaya, lime, honey etc. Medicines were prepared at home by these street "pharmacists" and people will purchase it in containers and drink them on the spot. The adventurous me wanted so much to try the satay sold along the streets.  We got the driver to stop by and managed to buy 10 sticks for the price of 50 cents!  How cheap is that!! It had this wonderful aroma of charred meat..I tried one and it was yummy, but popo warned me about hygiene and fear got the better of me. So mimi ended up enjoying the flavourful sticks of satays made from unidentified meat.

I suppose the visit to Luwak plantation was the highlight of the trip. Kids got to see and touch the Luwak or civet cat and brave Natalie even carried a baby Luwak! We all had a jolly good time sipping coffee, ginger concoctions and eating goreng pisang (the indonesian style). Back to kampong days felt so good and relaxing! I am surprised the clean freak in me did not flip and had a heart attack when the kids started to pat the animals and tried the concoctions from unknown origins.  Well at least they should be organic! I guess....

We were all super tired at the end of the trip and mum said we should have spent more time at the villa instead of travelling to multiple places. Good advise for the next villa type trip. Since it was our first, we will plan it better next time!

My colour book

I made these today for the kids to keep them occupied in Bali..hopefully they will love it as much as I do =). Am kinda into scrape booking now as it saves money, great versatility,  accordance to preferences and serves multiple purposes. Best of all I utterly enjoyed the book making process! 

Christianity

Natalie is starting to explore into religion and her hunger for knowledge is so strong and the wanting to share with the people she loves makes her a much stronger person than me. I am wishy washy with religion.. well I definitely believe in the almighty and trust that He is there protecting and looking out for my family. What I don't possess is the tenacity and commitment to attend all the bible lessons and succumb to the discipline. Mum said that's because my egoistic self got the better of me. Also my complacency won't get me closer to Him either. However I feel that time is what I lack. If I have all the time in the world, I can be religious too. Spend retirement preaching. . Evangelising His goodwill and be a great brand ambassador of God.

KTKLN card for indo helpers

The government of Indonesia introduced a card called Kartu Tenaga Kerja Luar Negeri (KTKLN) or in English, Overseas Worker Card. This card has been made compulsory to all Indonesia workers both leaving overseas to work and those already working in another country. 

What is the purpose of this card ? 

(a) Easier for the Embassy of Indonesia to contact and to provide assistance to the workers in the event of troubles or accidents. Information can reach the relevant authorities and families in Indonesia fast. 

(b) To prevent workers working illegally and human traficking 

(c) To prevent falsification of the workers' identity. 

For workers already working overseas, they only need to apply for the card when they return to Indonesia for vacation. Failure in doing so may result in the worker being denied leaving the country for work. 

There have been many cases where workers who were unaware of this requirement, were stopped at the airport and denied flying. 

Prior to this the implementation of this requirement was not strict and not consistent from airport to airport. Some workers were allowed to fly even without this card whereas some were denied leaving the country until they had obtained the card. 

Workers ( including maids ) will not be allowed to leave Indonesia without first applying for this card. According to the law of the country, those caught without this card may be fined up to Rp 1.5 million or imprisonment of 1-5 years. However this is just the laws, in reality workers are only stopped from flying if they don't possess this card. 

Mother's day Surprise

From the kids.. and I feel so loved darlings!

Puzzles

Nathan loves puzzles that comes in all shapes and sizes. He could play it over and over again, toppling them over immediately after completion. I am pretty certain he gets a great sense of achievement when he finishes his puzzles, but the act of starting all over again before bedtime can sometimes push you to the limits. We tried turning off the lights to end the game but he will attempt to see using the street light. Not sure where this spirit of relentlessness came from well at least he is not easily distracted when it comes to playing and it helps him concentrate. I certainly hope he will use this on his school work as well!