being a solo traveler

I am writing this at Changi International airport, waiting for my connecting flight to HongKong. I travel a lot lately. For pleasure and family purpose. From one airport to another. I get used to the hustle  and bustle of airport atmosphere. 

I love traveling. I love going on holiday with my family or just by myself. You might think I am weird, but I am a loner so it's no problem for me eating by myself or noone to talk to. 

Taking a trip by myself can actually be empowering. I can set my own schedule, do the things I would like to do, and embark on my own personal adventures. Plus, I don't have to worry about anyone other than myself. 

I don't mind  traveling with friend/s too. Though I will feel sorry for them, because I can't tolerate lazy and un-cooperative travel companion, and high maintenance ones. I travel on budget so I won't stay at five star hotels and eating at expensive diner. I would love too, of course, if someone generous enough to pay for  me .

camping with kids

This is part two of our school holiday-extravaganza!  Yes, after a trip to Bali, my darling husband decided to spend his two weeks off bonding with his lovely sons and gorgeous wife.  He opted for road trip to down south.  As much as I would love to stay under the five star hotel or resort I was presented with camping at the caravan park under the blue sky or dark actually at night time, with a star :)

 

After we had organized who was going to look after all our animals, got stock up on food etc, checked the engine and tires of our Ute, as early as 5.30 am we were all up and off we went! It took about 5 hours or more to Bremer Bay.  Stopped at Williams for fuel and yummy pies, then Kataning to let the snot-gobblers ran wild at the cool park!

bali with kids

The school holiday that just passed was pretty full on.  My boys and I went to Bali for couple days.  The main purpose of the visit was to attend my cousin wedding.  Mister Hubby was busy with work so unfortunately couldn't join the fun.

We flew with Jetstar as usual, thank God it was punctual.  We arrived in Bali past noon and went straight to the hotel.  This time I chose Seminyak area to stay, where all other families from Jakarta ( including my mother ) and Manado were staying too. The boys went straight to the pool and didn't come out until we almost left for dinner.

 

Over dinner I had been thinking what was I gonna do to keep the boys occupied during this 5 days.  For sure I couldn't drag them around Kuta Center every day or along the Seminyak road to check out the gorgeous shops.  I was very glad that I found this book! It packs with practical information and activities for kids from all aspects, i.e.; nature, art and culture, action,water sports plus the kids friendly restaurants as well.  Highly recommended!

2012 in words and photos

I guess it's not too late to post this favorites pictures from the last year.  As you know I am not making any resolutions for the new year.  But I am hoping for just three little things :  good health, "something" for my mother that hopefully will be done by this year, and if the situation and condition are allowed a little work for myself out of my mama's job.

Here are the highlights of my 2012 in words:

Between March and April we spent five full weeks on big road trips.  We drove from Western Australia across to Tasmania. Our accommodation varied from B & B, a friend's house, a little cottage, a relative's house, a little shack near the beach and just with our two tents out in the bush. There's something about the joys of a road trip.  Hopping in and out of the car for new experiences, witnessing amazing scenery, and getting a chance to try lots of new food.  Most of the times was pretty good and smooth, but we also had some rough times.  Still we enjoyed our journey and I can't wait for another road trip!

In July I went back to my home town while my husband and the boys went back to his home town.  While I was enjoying a bit of retail therapy, pampering myself,  eating yummy good food and caught up with my friends, they encountered a little farm life style and father and son quality time.

Darwin was our next destination in August! It was also my brother-in-law's 50th birthday, so we had a big celebration at the very nice resort!   It was my second time to Darwin after more than ten years ago.  It was awesome time, we caught up with all our cousins and relatives who also came to wish my brother-in-law a happy 50th!

During school holidays in October, we paid a visit to Sydney where my husband has been working for couple months. I took the Boys to Taronga zoo, Luna park, museums, Sydney tower and did the sky walk during the afternoon while hubby was working.  I also met my cousin who I haven't seen for very long time, more than ten years!  Last time we took the boys to Sydney was when they were 5 years old.

Then came December, a month that just passed, we spent two weeks  altogether for Christmas and New Year in Jakarta and Jogjakarta.  This time I had managed to arrange a trip for us to Kota Tua or Old Batavia.  We had bike riding around the old Batavia, which was fun and very interesting.  Some of the buildings are ruined and I guess haunted.  The old café Batavia is still there and still amazed me! Going to Jogjakarta by train was a fun experience for my boys.  We had pretty good time exploring the culture of Jogjakarta, and of course the famous Borobudur and Prambanan temples are a must to do while in Jogjakarta!

I'd like to begin the new year with good spirit, regular exercise, clean eating, stay healthy and happy! :)

it's that time of the year!

Every time our family  has to go  back to Indonesia to see my mother or to spend Christmas together I always dread  the idea that we are going to JAKARTA.  I am happy to go home alone or just with my kids.  But not with hubby.  Why? Because Jakarta can be cruel to people  who can't tolerate the pollution and the traffic.  Jakarta is not friendly for people who love outdoor things, and honestly it is not that kind to children either. 

eat often travel well

My husband and I are pretty much love traveling.  Interstate and international we love to explore and experience new places.  It's easier when it's only two of us, but it doesn't hold us back now that we have children.  My twins are good traveler since they were babies.  Maybe because they were exposed to it since they were 3 weeks old!

Traveling with toddler/baby is bit tricky than now that they are 8 years old.  At least no more nappy changing in every stop, mind you I have double of everything :) My T1 is very observant  in the surrounding when we travel by car. He can occupy himself by reading or drawing, while the other one sometimes can be a lit bit handful.  All he wants to do either playing games on his DS or Ipad, or watching movie.  Which is alright, but as parents we would love to encourage him to look out of the window not only buried his head on games for hours.  I prefer him reading than playing on his games, which of course have to begin with argument and sulk.

Couple months ago, we traveled by car interstates for 5 weeks full.  Took us three nights 4 day from Western Australia to South Australia.  For those three nights we camped.  The Boys entertained themselves pretty good, from reading, playing on their games and watching movies then counting how many cows on the farm that we passed,  how many trucks, and singing.  We stayed one night in Victoria at our relative's place on our way to Tasmania.  Left Port Melbourne around 6 in the evening the next day on the Spirit of Tasmania to be arrived in Davenport at 7am in the morning, rain, dark, and very cold!

I can say that we covered almost 80% of Tasmania, from East to West, North to South.  Our accommodation varied from rented house, B & B, caravan park, and out in the bush!  Not to mention camping on Bruny Island and got beaten by heavy pouring rain and thunderstorm and gusty wind.  I was amazed that our tents were still intact and we didn't get wet at all! My T2 didn't even noticed all the drama, as when we talked about it he was confused and said he didn't hear anything.  Almighty!

Bruny Island Cruise

We cook most of the time while we're traveling around Tasmania.  Except at the wedding reception and twice dinner out, for those 5 weeks I cooked more often than when we were at home! Food wise, we tried to cook simple thing such as pasta, rice, curry and BBQ. I am not big on camping but I have to admit that I enjoyed it.  

The caravan parks and/or camping grounds are pretty good, the showers and toilets are clean and we didn't even have to queue, the kitchen is also useable and has everything you need mostly.

My survival kits for traveling with children are:

• Food including healthy snacks and bad snacks (lollies, when you have no other choice and/or run out of patience and entertainment)

• Books

• Travel diary, my kids love to write what's on during our travel.

• Games, such as card games or any other board games that easy to pack/bring.

• Crayons, drawing books/coloring books.

• And my last survival kit is the DVD. ( especially if you just longing for some peace and quite or adult conversations! )

Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer

for the love of NYC

 

Grew up in a town that is famous as a place of movie scenes
Noise is always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say
Seeing my face in lights or my name in marquees found down on Broadway

Even if it ain't all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams Baby I'm from New York! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do Now you're in New York! These streets will make you feel brand new Big lights will inspire you Hear it for New York, New York, New Yooork!

On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew, ladies work so hard Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock, preachers pray to God Hail a gypsy cab, takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge Some will sleep tonight with a hunger for more than an empty fridge

I'm a make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams Baby I'm from New York! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do Now you're in New York! These streets will make you feel brand new Big lights will inspire you Hear it for New York, New York, New Yooork!

One hand in the air for the big city Street lights, big dreams, all looking pretty No place in the world that can compare Put your lighters in the air, everybody say Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

In New York! Concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do Now you're in New York! These streets will make you feel brand new Big lights will inspire you Let's hear it for New York, New York, New Yooork!

Do you know that song?  ..... New York, the streets maybe dirty, the people can be rude, everyone has an opinion about this city.  But I loved it, every minute of it!

I traveled to New York across the Pacific sea and thousand kilometers apart from where I live by myself for the first time since I become a mother.  And I was proud of myself!  I had to thank my wonderful husband for letting me had a "me" time and looking after my boys for two weeks and couple days.  Also I thanked my gorgeous boys for being such an angel while I was having fun across the continents.

The city is heady, shocking, and almost overwhelming in its intensity but also incredibly exhilarating.  When my plane landed in JFK in the evening of September 11, I felt nervous but excited at the same time.  When I sat at the back sit of my new friend's car who kind enough to pick me up from the airport, my heart sank a bit when I saw how dirty the streets and how tacky the suburbs are! I thought Oh shite, why I wanna go here?? Is this it?? And then it's not all chaos and grit.

Romance and ruin blend together in the city that never sleeps.  Brooklyn is not as scary as it pictures on television shows or news.  In fact lots of writers, artist or young couples/family live in this creative area.  I am lucky enough that my friend introduced me to her friend who lives in New York and we hit it off straight away.  It's so good to have someone local that take you here and there, so I didn't only see the "normal touristy" stuff but I also had a chance to experience some "local thingy".

From glorious Manhattan to dirty Bronx,  from Saks Avenue to Chinatown, Soho, Noho, and Nolita, Central Park to Union Square, Harlem to Chelsea, Empire State Building and many more....every day I won't be hit the sack til about mid-night sometimes even later.  I walked every day and every where most of the time, or hopped on and off between one subway to other then walk again. I got lost probably hundreds of times, and got abused by  people when I asked what exit should I take to get to here and there.  But not everybody is heartless there.  A nice young lady even escorted me right into the front of Macy's department store!

While in New York, I also had a chance to visit my girlfriend who lives in Pittsburgh.  It took 9 hours solid on the train from NYC to  Pittsburgh, what a day!  I spent two nights in Pittsburgh and went to  Andy Warhol museum that I always wanted to visit! :)  From Pittsburgh, my girlfriend and I went back to NYC by double decked bus.  The journey that supposed to be 8 hours stretched out to 12 hours because of ....flat tires!!  We spend almost 4 hours tried to get some sleep on the bus seat at Walmart car park, how comfortable!  Instead of 7 am arriving in New York it was almost noon by the time we got there.  But, that was another experience that I won't forget and I can smile now when I am thinking about that time!

Washington D.C, I did it in one day bus tour courtesy of my girlfriend (am I such a lucky girl!).  It wasn't a great day, it was gloomy and wet and cold.  Still I got a thrilled when I got to see the White House and Lincoln memorial and Capitol Hill.  Had lots of fun with my girlfriend at Madame Tussaud wax museum too :)

Busy street in Manhattan

Statue of Liberty

Times Square at night

Manhattan Bridge

Flatiron Building

Horse carriage in front of Central Park

Capitol Hill, Washington D.C

The White House

A tribute to John Lennon, Strawberry Fields, Central Park

In New York: I laughed. I had fun.  I made new friends.  I shopped.  I ate hotdogs at Central Park and it's so delicious.

I love New York.

If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere!

Note: My special thanks to my new girl friends Elza Finishya and Evie Tanjung for the accommodation and took me around NYC.  Hope our new friendship can last forever.  Also to my Nathalie, though we had a bit of "misconception" time but I love you girl and hoping that one day we can meet up again somewhere in this big big world.

xxx

a journey on roads

It's March already, autumn should approach this part of the world. But guess what? It's freaking HOT! You won't believe that today the temperature is 40C....yeah, and it's autumn!

Anyhow I have an exciting road trip to look forward to. It will be my third road trip and the second for my twin boys. We are going to drive to Victoria from Western Australia then continue to Tasmania. Of course, we need to cross the sea to Tasmania by ferry. For that matter we have booked our seats on Spirit of Tasmania. Another thing to look forward and get excited as I've never been on the big ship before :) We will spend most of the time traveling and exploring Tasmania.

We always long to do this road trip. Originally we planned to do a round trip all over Australia and it would probably take about three to six  months. But for school and work reasons we decided to postpone that idea and do this mini five weeks road trip first. Then see how it goes!

My hubby gets most of car and camping stuff sorted and organized. Food, kids' entertainment and clothes wise is my part. It's a bit chaos and stressed at the moment as we are leaving next Saturday, only 6 days to go!  Meanwhile lots of things to do, what to bring / to pack,  what to prepare, and on top of that we still have to pack up the house and sort out the water system in the garden area and of course not to mention the animals. In this case, the fish and the big hairy sulky four legs Sammy. Lucky, our neighbors offered to look after the garden, fish and the dog :)

Speaking about clothes, I am a bit in dilemma on what to wear and to pack! Around Western Australia and Victoria the weather probably will be hot to mild while in Tasmania will be cold. So, to me looks like I have to pack both summer and winter clothes. Plus we also have a wedding to attend in Tasmania. Now, what about the footwear? Should I bring flip-flop, flats, boots, walking shoes, oh and a high heel for the wedding?? Ohhh....headache :))

These are ready to go, folding tables, couple containers for food, swags, our tent, but not the lawn-mower though :|

Here are couple great reasons why we want to drive:

1. No hire -car fees. Don't need to pay for airport parking, bus, rail, or taxi fares.
2. Freedom to explore.
3. Make our own time-table.
4. Family essential on hand. For family with children taking your own car is so much convenient.
5. Taking our own kit. There's nothing like having your own fishing rod on hand!
6. Take our own accommodation. Bring the caravan or tent and stay at holiday parks, saving on accommodation cost.
7. Bring back souvenirs, without have to worry about the extra luggage :)
8. Drive on, drive off.

Above all of those reasons, I think it would be a great experience for the children and sure we would have lots of fun traveling around the states.  We also are  prepared ourselves for the tantrums and fights between the kids,  and bickering between my hubby and myself :)

Last but not least, I am obsessed with color jeans at the moment. They are so cute and I love all the vibrant and gorgeous shades. Perfect company for my road trip , they can cheer me up for when we get bogged in the sand dune or lost in the middle of the desert!

jakarta : my love & hate relationship

 

I went back to Jakarta couple weeks ago with my two children.  Though I wasn't born in Jakarta but grew up there so I still called Jakarta my home-town.  It was nice to be back again, I try to go once a year if it's possible.

However, we didn't really enjoy the flight though. I always dislike the flights to and from Jakarta, it's always at the odd hours.  Initially our flight was at 2.20 am then I got text message that said it had been delayed to 3.20 am, and when we got to the airport the screen showed it won't fly until 4.20am.....arrgghhh!  To make it more miserable both of my Boys were not feeling that flash at that time. One had bad croup and the other had really bad cough and high temperature.   So, I really didn't appreciate had to spend couple hours waiting at the airport with two sick boys.  Honestly I actually almost turned back and cancelled my trip!  I felt so stressed and sorry for my kids.   When we finally on the plane, one boy slept the 4.5 hours flight (thanks God!) while the other one was so restless and didn't close his eyes at all!  When we finally landed at around 8am Jakarta's time we felt like and looked like a zombie!

 

Jakarta is always busy and hectic.  The city is really never sleeps, even at midnight the traffic jam is still crazy! Things that I hate about Jakarta are; the traffic, it's really getting worse and unbearable every time I come to visit.  I had to endure 2.5 hours sitting in the car on our way back from Ancol to Kuningan.  Some people in Jakarta had to get up by 5 in the morning to be at work by 8 am!  When I was still living and working in Jakarta, in the peaks hour we could go through back alleys or shortcuts to avoid the traffic jam. But today the taxi driver told me there's no alley or shortcut that you can go through, peak or  not busy hours, cars and motor cycles  jammed together side by side not moving at all.  I really think that the government should do something with the public transport system.

Secondly, I hate that Jakarta is lack of park and play ground for children.  They build so many shopping malls and yes one or two of those shopping malls may have children entertainment area or indoor playground but that's all. Plus the fee is not that cheap either to leave your children in one of that indoor playground.  The lack of outdoor space for children, green area and parks probably because so many high-rise offices, malls, and residential building keep growing and growing.

Next hate is the pedestrian walk.  There's no way that we can walk safely and comfortably around Jakarta, especially with young children.  Road works, building constructions, vehicles, make it impossible and unsafe.

The most I love about Jakarta is the pampering.  From massage to hair spa, body scrub and any other beauty treatments that you can name it, Jakarta has it all for a very good price too, way cheaper than in western country.  Won't you love when you spend 2 hours massage and body scrub that cost you just around A$25???

The other thing that I love in Jakarta is the food for sure.  Eating out is cheaper, not to mention your mother's home cook too.  Also, there are always food 24/7 be it in the fancy posh restaurant, small little restaurant along the street, or even in the street in front of your house; from morning to midnight they will push their little cart and yell what they are selling ( teee....for satay, for example ).  You will never go hungry in Jakarta for sure :)

Shopping is also number one activity for the shopaholic. From expensive designer brands to  the copy cat of them you can find it in this crazy city pretty easy.  Least but not last is the night life! For clubbers and party goers Jakarta is the city that you can party on all night long and hang out with so much fun and style.

My wishes for Jakarta is to solve the crazy mad traffic jam and for the government to stop granting permit for new malls and apartments. The city is getting too much pollution from the million numbers of cars and please have green parks than more shopping malls and high-rise apartments.

 

a week in a metropolitan

My nightmare travelling alone with my two little monster-balls turned out to be a pleasant experienced. They were just perfect like two little angels. Our flight took off right on the dot at 8.40pm from Perth. The Boys were so excited that they had their own seat, the look on their face was so cute… a mixed between proud and impressed on themselves. They thought they were ‘a big man’ (as Dylan always refers to himself, i’m a big man..) as they didn’t seat on mummy’s or daddy’s lap anymore. They ate their meals very good, which was surprised me for they had their dinner before we boarded the plane. It took a while for them to sleep, but they were busy entertained themselves with the coloring books that were given by Qantas. Finally, around 10.30pm Perth’s time they both fell asleep. I had to wake them up couple minutes before we landed.
The first two days in Jakarta, The Boys were very calm and in a good behavior. Although, my brother’s car doesn’t have seat belts in the back row and I didn’t bring any boosters or car seats, The Boys remained sat still in the car. They didn’t jump around or stand up during the trip. I thought, hmm….maybe they were getting mature now. But then, on the third days and the rest of the week they were getting back to their normal attitude. My dream didn’t last that long.

 

When we had dinner at Bebek Goreng in Senopati with my old friends from school, they bashed off an orchid pot plans (to my horror, but it was too late for me to react) and since we sat kinda on the back veranda of the restaurant and there were gravel stones around, they managed to move at least some of the gravels into the big empty pot near by. 

 

Another time, at the restaurant I managed to get them drawing or coloring their book. But it only lasted about 10 minutes then they decided to explore under the table area by crawling all over the floor — can you imagine how clean and hygienic they were??

Thanks God at the apartment there’s a big pool and play ground for them to waste all the energy they had. Some of my friends lent us their children toys and bike too, so it was a good relieve. I must say, despite the destroying of the orchid plant, they were not too bad. In the car, they got bored when the traffic was bad but they were still in control. I took lots of healthy snacks and toys and books with me every time I went out.

 

But, my oh my…. Jakarta is more crowded than ever, lots and lots of vehicles especially motorbikes! I didn’t think two years ago, the last time I went back home, the traffic was this bad. Although already bad enough at that time, but now it’s even worse. Or maybe it is just me who get used to the very quiet life in Perth???

The shopping is still best ever. And the beauty maintenance is still so great. For a week I was in Jakarta, I went twice for cream-bath, one time wash and blow-dry, one time manicure and twice pedicure, also spent almost 5 hours for body scrub, massage, and facial. Goshhh…. I can always be pretty and terpelihara if I live in Jakarta! That is the only thing that I really miss about living in Jakarta. I do love my beauty treatment.

My highlight in Jakarta was I was able to catch up with most of my old friends, even though I only met them once and for couple hours but it was better than nothing at all. And of course, since I have The Boys so visited all the relatives in my Mum’s order was a top priority.

 

One thing that I didn’t do this time (unlike every time I go to Jakarta) was going out clubbing. It was just didn’t enough time and I supposed I wasn’t in the mood to go out dancing. Or maybe I had enough already lately!

 

Our flight back to Perth was 12 o’clock at midnight. I managed to put the boys down to have a nap during the day so that they won’t be too tired and cranky later on. And I was lucky again, they were really good boys. Once we were on the plane, before even it took off, both of them already fell asleep and they slept through until couple minutes before landed. Phewww…!!

So, my conclusion on this trip back home; it was really good to catch up with family and friends and for them to see The Boys in flesh but I don’t think I would stay more than a week unless we go outside of Jakarta and my partner in crime comes along too. I am lucky that Nathan and Dylan are not clingy to myself and can easily get along with everybody otherwise it would be a nightmare. The Boys are used to play and enjoy outdoorsy things like, parks and beach, so sometimes I felt sorry for them to tag along from one mall to others, or from one traffic to another. Thanks God too, The Boys ate and slept good through our stay and healthy. Because that is my other nightmares if they don’t want to eat or don’t sleep through the night.

New things that I found out about Jakarta since two years ago are; there are new big flash shopping malls that contain most of the-designer-brands and another middle class mall that always caused bad traffic around. There will be a subway thing too in Jakarta in the future, can you imagine? I just hope it will help out the bad traffic. Thing that remains the same is bad traffic alias macet… But still, for me Jakarta is a one unique city in the world.