Peter Visits Indonesia

Our 2nd visitor has just come and gone. It was a great few weeks spending more time with my brother than I have ever done before. Maya certainly loved spending time with her "Wojo Peter", especially playing her favorite game of "What's your name?". Peter and I were able to get away for a few days for a wonderful trip around Bali. A few days chilling at the beach was followed by an extremely rocky boat trip to Nusa Penida Island. Despite having amazing snorkeling, unfortunately did not impress us due to the rough waters to and from the island. We took a breathtaking bike tour through the rice paddies and villages of Ubud and were extremely lucky to come across the early celebrations of the Balinese holiday Nyepi. After some shopping, we drove to the second largest volcano on the island, Mount Batur. The drive to and from the volcano allowed us to visit a number of Balinese temples, coffee plantations, and local markets throughout central Bali.

The morning after arriving back in Jakarta, we drove to the Puncak (embassy owned cottage approx. 1hr outside the city), where the boys got to enjoy another game of golf. A relaxing weekend by the pool led us back to the city for more dinners out, movies and of course massages.

Thanks for the visit Peter and hopefully you will look back fondly at the new experiences and memories made.

Maya turns 2!

I'm sure every parent feels this way, but I cannot believe that the little baby I rocked to sleep not long ago is now a little girl. Two years have just flown by and when I look at Maya`s baby photos and videos, I have a hard time remembering her being so small.

Maya had a wonderful 2nd birthday party last Sunday. We ended up with a full house, 14 adults and 8 kids altogether. She especially enjoyed the Dora balloons, Dora cake, Dora decorations ... yes, the theme was Dora. A huge highlight of the party was an Australian friend of ours who once has a guitar in hand, calls himself Aussie Bob, serenaded the kids with fun songs which they all sang and danced to. A belly full of pizza and cake, Maya crashed afterwards and didn`t wake up until 7:30 the next morning! Birthday was a success, although many people were dearly missed. Now ... on the potty training!

Long Weekend in KL

With this past Thursday being Chinese New Year and Sunday being Jared's birthday, we decided it was a great idea to get away from Jakarta for a few days.

Kuala Lumpur was the perfect destination for what we needed and wanted to do. No traffic, sidewalks to push the stroller down, parks, good food and of course culture.

We began our holiday with a visit to Chinatown. We were expecting bustling parades veering through the streets with many onlookers on the sidelines. Instead we were led through crowded streets with vendors selling knock-off purses, watches and the worst replica of Tiffany bracelets I have ever seen. Not what we expected, but nonetheless, an experience.

The following day was spent at a beautiful butterfly park which was like a scene out of the Enchanted Garden. Hundreds of butterfly species whisked around, sometimes even landing on us, all the while the sound of water fountains trickled in the background. Following the butterfly park, we visited the largest outdoor bird aviary in the world. A bit louder, but still amazing to see that many birds, most of which were freely flying around your head! Jared especially fell in love with a little parakeet that took a liking to his forehead sweat.

One of the highlights of KL, was a short 15km drive outside the city to a Hindu shrine called Batu Caves. After climbing the 272 steps to the top (yes, Maya too, although she had some help), we entered these breathtaking limestone caves where Hindi worshipers have been coming to pray for over 100 years.

Last but certainly not least, we got up close and personal with the Petronas towers which are still the tallest twin towers in the world. Maya however had more fun running around the water fountains and away from Daddy.

All in all, a great 4 days away in a great city.

Maya's First School Trip

Last week, Maya's class went on their first field trip. The first stop was at a local bakery where they had to select and then pay for some bread. It was the cutest thing seeing all these little 2 year olds running around this little store with boxes of buns.

The next stop was a travelling post office. The kids wrote letters to their moms and dads and learned all about the postman and how letters get delivered. The above picture is Maya handing her letter to the postman. In true Indonesian fashion, we have yet to receive our letter!

An interesting tour I recently had the pleasure of doing was a hands on Dim Sum cooking class at the Four Seasons Hotel. Accompanied by my Canadian Women's Association members, I learned to stuff, fold and most importantly, taste these delicious dumplings. After a morning of hard labour, we were treated to a Dim Sum feast. The only downfall was no pork, but still very tasty.

A Visit to Kiddy Cuts

Last weekend we took Maya for her first professional bang trim at Jakarta's famous Kiddy Cuts. She sat in that chair for 15 minutes without even realizing she was getting her hair cut. The staff made sure to entertain her with bubbles, toys and cartoons while she sat in her little race car listening to kiddie tunes in the background. Best $7 we spent! She was treated to some frozen yogurt after her brave performance.

Christmas in Canada

What a wonderful holiday! Well, not sure if I would call it a "holiday", more of a really busy trip. Nonetheless, it was great. Three weeks with family and friends, eating, drinking, and catching up on time. What more can you ask for? Christmas was magical as for the first time, we experienced it through a little person's eyes. Three days of gift opening later, she was exhausted. Thankfully Maya had a better reaction with invisible Santa than the real one at the mall.
30 hours later, we arrived back in our apartment in hot and congested Jakarta. No two places could be different, and yet each having their own beauty. It is nice to get back to what is now our normal life and we do so with great memories we made with the people we love.