Canberra

Good day to you :)


Canberra is the capital city of Australia. It is more like where the government operates, where the embassies of various countries are located. One of the Australia's iconic building is here, The Parliament House. Canberra is quite close from Sydney. You can take the bus (3 hrs 55 mins), train (4 hrs 05mins) , or even plane (50 mins). I have always took the land method and the view along the way just made the time passed by. Pretty!

Since I lived in Canberra when I was a toddler, so most of the time the trip was walking down the memory lane. Visiting the house, relatives, and eating at the same old place, hahaha.

We went to the Parliament House, the symbol of Australian democracy. It is the House of Representatives and Senate chambers. Your family can enter the building, it is free! Then take the guided tour. A visit to the roof of Parliament House provides one of the best views of Canberra and the opportunity to get up close to the building's iconic 81-metre high flagmast, one of the world's largest stainless steel structures (www.visitcanberra.com.au)

Parliament House

On the way we passed a fountain that is located in the middle of a lake. The lake name is Lake Burley Griffin. The fountain is actually a memorial water jet of Captain Cook. The water jet is powered by two 560 kilowatt electric motors driving four stage centrifugal pumps capable of pumping up to 250 litres per second against a head of 183 metres. The water velocity at the water nozzle is 260 km/h. While running both pumps simultaneously the main jet throws approximately six tons of water into the air at any instant, reaching a maximum height of 147 metres. Alternatively the jet can be run on a single pump reaching a lower height of 110 metres. During special occasions it can be illuminated, often with coloured lights (Wikipedia). The jet operates between 2pm and 4pm daily.

A visit to Cockington Green Gardens is fun too. Here you can stroll the miniature buildings and gardens. It is fascinating how detailed those miniatures are. 

Tired walking around then you might want to take the train. The whole family can take a ride with the steam-train miniature. You think the kids who will be enjoying it? Guess again!

That would be all from my 1 day trip in Canberra. See you later!!

Harus bawa mainan!

Hai semua!

Gimana travelling sama anak-anak? Makin seru atau ada sport jantungnya? Hahaha

Kalau ajak anak-anak pergi, suka denger kalimat seperti "Aku mau bawa Avengers'nya"  "Mobil-mobilannya dibawa semua ya?" Atau tiba-tiba siap dengan 2 tas besar penuh dengan mainan. Apalagi kalau mainan baru, kemanapun harus ikut. Horror yaa.. Hahaha.

Jangan buru-buru dilarang dulu. Bisa berguna lho si mainan ini untuk jadi teman si kecil kalau bepergian dan mengajarkan anak untuk bertanggung jawab untuk barang miliknya.

Sebelum saya memberi izin untuk membawa mainan, ada beberapa hal yang saya masukkan di "perjanjian" dengan anak.

Pertama, ukuran mainan. Saya ambil contoh mainan, karena anak saya laki-laki, misalnya mobil HotWheels. Saya bilang "Bolehnya bawa yang ukurannya seperti ini ya". Jangan sampai dibawa robot yang tinggi besar karena biasanya  ada saat kita yang membawakan mainannya.

Kedua, jumlah mainan. Saya memperbolehkan 3 - 5 buah mainan untuk dibawa. Walaupun kecil tapi kalau 1 tas penuh juga menjadi kerjaan tambahan untuk kita ya.

Ketiga, bertanggung jawab. Nah, namanya juga anak kecil ya, tetap saja kalau ada yang hilang atau rusak, kita juga ikutan repot. Tetapi kita bisa melatih tanggung jawab mereka dengan barang bawaan ini. Suruh mereka untuk menyiapkan tas untuk mainannya. Hitung bersama-sama jumlah mainan ketika memasukkan ke tas. Lalu biasanya saya bilang misalnya "Al, ini mainannya ada 5. Harus dijaga ya. Tidak boleh nangis kalau ada yang rusak atau hilang. Ok? Deal?"

Itu adalah perjanjian kita. Nah, kalau ada "korslet" nah ingetin ke perjanjian tadi.

Semoga berhasil ya

Lombok...a piece of heaven on earth

I’M IN LOVE WITH THIS ISLAND!!!

From the first time I landed my feet at this island, I just knew there is something about this island that will take me back again and again. 

The main attraction here is the beach and the small islands nearby, called Gili. But don’t get me wrong Pulau Lombok has various other natural attractions that would just mesmerize the whole family. There are local villages that are still hold strong their heritage tradition, even their floor are made from cow’s poop! Mount Rinjani will also take your breath away. The water falls are amazing as well, it is rumored that Jenny from the Block a.k.a Jennifer Lopez visited one of them.

         

So how to get to this beautiful island of Lombok?

If you are from outside Indonesia, you can take a connecting flight from Jakarta or Bali. Actually from Bali you can opt to use ferry from Padang Bai, cheaper but takes longer time. The domestic airlines that goes to Lombok International Airport is Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, Lion Air, and Batik Air. Plenty of flight times to pick from.

Touchdown!!

My favorite area is these hidden gems around Kuta. Yes, it has the same name with the famous beach in Bali. But this one fascinates me! Seeing the view already leaves me in awe, then the clear sea water, and the unique sand. If you are thinking what so unique about sand, well let me tell you, the sands are pepper-like, or as locals say "Pantai Merica", tiny marbles!

Pasir Merica at Kuta Beach, Lombok

With grandma... isn't it magnificent?!

Just can't wait to play

My hotel of choice has been Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort. They have beautiful pool, nice clean beach to stroll, and definitely helpful staff. It is located in the city centre, however it takes approximately 1 hour from the airport.

Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort from the beach

My little tiger enjoying his down time playing at the hotel's beach

But if you want to stay in hotel that is closer to the airport and near the infamous beautiful beaches in Lombok then I would suggest, Novotel Hotel.

Photo cred: Novotel Lombok Resort and Villas

Come and visit Indonesia's hidden gem!

Babymoon with my toddler Part One!

Hello my ladies! Hope you all are fine :)

I wanted to share on my first long haul travelling experience during pregnancy. It was actually a surprise trip because my dad won a hole-in-one from his golf tournament. He got a return ticket Jakarta - Sydney - Jakarta and gave it to me. I was so excited since my brother was studying there as well. 

Unfortunately, my husband couldn't come on this trip and my mother was only able to join towards the end of the trip. I guess I was too excited to think that I will be doing a trip, at 6 months pregnant, alone with my 3 years old son. Oh yeah, it is my first time traveling being pregnant without any adults accompanying me (HA!)

We took our flight in the evening by Garuda Indonesia. Thank God it was a smooth departure. Al slept all the way until we landed. After 7+ hours finally I could stretch my legs, phew!! We boarded off the plane and off to the toilet. Pregnancy made me have a shy bladder, hahaha! I asked Al if he needed to go to the toilet. Surely, he said No! 

About to wait in line for the immigration check and my cute little boy said he needed to go! So all the way back we went to the toilet. Lesson learned for me was just sit him at the toilet and just wait, don't just ask. He would eventually need to do his business!

With my circumstances, for my carry on, I tried to have less weight to carry on my shoulder. So I used a cabin size wheeled suitcase and I also put my handbag along with my son's stuff there as well. Turned out when he got tired while he was waiting, he could sit on it and I just pushed him around. Happy mama!

One of my concerns on this trip was on taking my luggage out of the baggage conveyor belt. I was ready just to pull and let it fall. Thank goodness for the nice man that helped me and made it settled on my trolley. Back in line for the quarantine check and finally remembered that I forgot to grab the stroller!!! Damn this pregnancy brain!!! 

All settled and finally en route to the hotel!

My next blog post on this topic will be about Preparing myself to travel while pregnant..

Stay tuned! ;)

Perlu bawa apa yaa?

Hallo!

Pasti kalau mau liburan dan travelling kita semua excited ya... Dan tugas ibu-ibu apalagi kalau bukan bagian beberes dan packing. Kadang kita mikir apa lagi ya? Ada yang ketinggalan ngga? Take a deep breath! Pasti kita semua pernah merasa seperti itu. Jangankan untuk pergi yang berhari-hari, yang cuma beberapa jam aja kalau ada yang tertinggal rasanya sebel banget yaa.

Here I have put down my kids to-go items. List ini saya print dan tempel di lemari anak-anak. Oiya, daftar barang ini saya laminating jadi kalau lagi packing, ambil spidol whiteboard dan checklist barang yang sudah di-pack. When you are done, just erase it and ready for use on your next adventure!

Siapin 1 tas yang ukurannya tidak terlalu besar untuk cabin bag. Tas ini isinya keperluan anak dan care giver, dalam hal ini ibu, yang ditempatkan selalu dekat kita. Jangan di checked-in atau ditaruh ditempat yang susah ambilnya ya.. Bisa kacau urusannya ! Hahaha
Jadi isinya: oiya untuk jumlah, I'd rather pack more than be sorry. This applies on the light stuff only ya! Karena tas ini bakal kita bawa kemana-mana, jadi kalau berat bakal capek duluan.
- kantong plastik 5 > baju kotor, diapers kotor
- tissue basah dan tissue kering > yang banyak yaa
- diapers/popok/celana dalam > 2 - 3 pcs
- minyak telon
- baju ganti anak
- baju ganti caregiver > kenapa? Kita gatau kalau anak muntah, susu atau makanan tumpah arahnya kemana. It could be on you
- makanan/minuman ringan > snack, susu, air minum
- sendok garpu
- gendongan bayi > baby sling
- nursing cover untuk ibu-ibu yang breastfeeding
- selimut
- kaos kaki
Kayaknya banyak yaa, but you will have an ease of mind knowing that what you need is handy.

I hope this post helps you. The next post will be packing the big bags! See ya!