Cleaning the motorcycle!

Not sure who ended up cleaner; the bike or Zachary!

Bali!

An amazing 2 week holiday in September filled with adventure sports, new experiences, wonderful weather and beautiful surrounds! What more could you ask for?

Backyard fun in August!

The boys love to swim! Seb moves through the water like a fish and Zach moves around the pool independently using a creative 'doggie paddle' style.

Football Season starts again!

This year Seb was assigned to the England team, which of course pleased his father! Sebastian once again made many new friends and enjoyed the ups and downs of the competition.

Singapore

A change of job met another trip to Singapore for a visa run. This time I was lucky enough to have Grandma visiting so we decided to make it a four day break.

Seb loves Singapore and each time we go he insists on a trip to the Science Centre. The hands on activity ensure hours of fun for both him and Zach. Although they are so excited by the moving parts, amazing displays and flashing lights the scientific concepts kind of get a little lost. This time we also included a visit to the IMAX theatre which caused my stomach to do a few turns but didn't seem to bother Zach as he feel asleep!

On this trip we also visited Jurong Bird Park and Sentosa for the first time. The bird park was great value, both boys enjoyed the attractions and pull along wagon. Plus the water playground was a welcome end to the hot and sticky day. Unfortunately we did not get to Sentosa until late in the day so the boys decided to head for the beach. It is a strange feeling to take a dip and watch giant cargo ships sailing by just a kilometre or so away.

Broken Promises

Ok, so the big claim I made back in May about posting more often did not exactly come true, but I am determined to try again! All I can say is we will see...

Obviously so much has happened over the past few months its hard to know where to begin. Will create a few blogs in an effort to catch up.

Road Trip!

After a recent overnight hiking trip was cancelled due to torrential rain, a friend and I sat to look at the optionals for the upcoming long weekend. But it was actually my wonderful husband who came up with this brilliant idea - Road Trip! Four days, no children let's just go. Destination - Yogyakarta! (Just a short 10 hour drive away - or so we thought!)

In fact the journey took us 16 hours, including a couple of stops, but it was amazing. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and with the company of a fantastic friend of 20+ years, it was a perfect way to begin a long weekend. After a few issues at the hotel, I will not go into details, we headed to the bar for a relaxing drink.

The following day was Waisak (big Buddhist celebration day) so we headed for Borobudur. The temple is a spectacular monument that just appears as you walk up the path from the main gate. It is an amazing six levels complete with 2,672 relief panels showing the life lessons of Buddhism, 504 Buddhist statues, including 72 sitting inside stupas on the top levels.

This amazing monument is a shrine to the Lord Buddha and also a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. You follow a certain path, circumnavigating the different levels and ascending to the top three levels of Buddhist cosmology; Kamadhatu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness).

Buddhists reaching the top of the monument after ascending through the different levels are said to reach enlightenment. The history and spectacular beauty of this place is breathtaking. I thoroughly recommend going in the early morning, before the crowds and having a guide is truly a necessity if you wish to really understand and experience it properly. (Available for a flat rate - Rp.75,000)

The next day we headed for the Sultan's Palace, and to be honest a bit disappointing. The Sultan and his hundreds of relatives still live at the palace so there is only a very small portion open to the public. Again we opted for a guide and it would have been a complete loss if we hadn't. His stories and historical info were much better than the drab buildings and very poorly kept outer area of the palace.

After leaving the palace we drove out of town in search of Mt. Merapi. Without a map it was a case of following road signs (which were seriously scarce) and relying on the wonderful locals who pointed us in the right direction. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Mt. Merapi but we did find some delicious Cap Cay at a local cafe before making it to the Japanese Caves.

The caves were huge holes cut into the side of the track, apparently left behind after the Japanese occupation on Indonesia in World War II. It is difficult to find information on this, but it was an excellent walk. Although, we were not in the good books because we arrived back after closing time to find security waiting for us! Actually found out later they were begin to become concerned that we might have been attacked by wild cats!!!! Still not sure if they were serious, surely if there were wild cats perhaps a warning sign to advise would be great.

For our final evening before heading back to the pollution and macet of Jakarta we decided to stay in the ground of Borobudur. After a wonderful dinner and a walk to enjoy the peacefulness of the area we headed to bed early in preparation for arising to watch the sunrise.

Watching the sunrise from the top of the monument or simply the grounds around it, it something every visitor should do. Spectacular doesn't cover it!

Unfortunately after breakfast it was time to hit the road again. This time travelling along a different route the journey took us 15 hours (but this also included long weekend traffic from Bandung).

Overall, a wonderful trip; great company, breathtaking scenery, fascinating history and lots and lots of laughs!

World Cup

On Saturday the football community in Jakarta took part in their own World Cup. Expats and locals hit the pitch together to represent their home country in a friendly World Cup tournament at ISCI.

As the sun fried the skin of many and the banter flew, the international sides fought it out and relaxed over beers between fixtures.

Manuel took the role of Manager for the Spanish team and even organised for several team members to fly in from Singapore for the event. Sebastian was a loyal supporter and cheered on from the sidelines during each game. By the end of the day the Spanish boys were very happy with their 2nd place (2nd division) and headed off for several more celebratory drinks.

Will I make it home before the rain?

Chances are if you actually think you need to ask the question, the answer is probably no. Especially here in Jakarta.
Still, it is a question asked by millions here everyday. As they don their helmets and put the key in the ignition ready to battle the mayhem that is Jakarta traffic.
I too have recently joined these millions, although I confess only as an ojek passenger. At first its a great feeling to be in amongst the locals as they make the daily trip to work, but very quickly the heat of being so close to some many hot engines, the fumes that rise up underneath your helmet and the sheer boredom of sitting still for so long can really get to you.
So to make things a little more interesting I have started making little bets with myself. At what point on the way home will the rain begin? It may be the dry season, but afternoon downpours still bring excitement to the trip home! There is something very different about tropical rain, the raindrops seem 10 times bigger than in other parts of the world. One single drop can completely saturate half your arm! Ok, slight exaggeration, but not by much.
Last week as I put my helmet on and glanced up at the sky, I figured I would be lucky to make it 100 metres before the giant raindrops hit. And yes I won that bet. At first it feels refreshing, a cool down from the humidity, but with so much rain falling so quickly the streets can very easily turn to rivers. (And this is no exaggeration!)
The majority pull off to the side of the road to break out the wet weather gear or to wait out the storm under a nice dry shop front or bus stop, but not us, we plowed ahead, I would rather just get home.
Having lived here for over 3 years now I am used to being wet through on a regular basis, but when you are moving along on the back of a motorbike the rain can actually make you cold - something I am certainly not very familiar with. Normally you try to avoid the splashes from other bikes and cars, but I found myself hoping to be splashed by others passing by. I was already wet and the water being splashed up was actually warm after being heated by the hot road surface. Strange feeling; cold water hitting from above, warm water from below.
However, my adventurous journey home was still not over. With so much rain in so little time the roads, in parts, had really become temporary rivers. It is actually quite fun to drive through them and I couldn't help but smile, although in the back of my mind I was thinking about the thousands of potholes which cover the roads and how long it would be before we hit one!
As we drew closer to home my confidence grew, there would be no flying over the top or skidding sideways on this occasion. The last little stretch was quite humorous as we hit the oncoming waves, yes waves, left my cars going in the opposite direction. It was like watching a speed boat fly across a lake and know that the resulting waves were going to crash over you.
Thankfully I made it home in one piece, just completely saturated and in need of a warm shower. But I have to laugh and honestly say I enjoyed it! Some people may say it is mad to travel by ojek, (especially in a downpour), and on some occasions I'd agree. But if you are going to live overseas, experience it!

Being a mother.

"A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments, soccer games, romances, best friends, location of friend's houses, favourite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house."

Unknown

Absolutely love this one

These photos were posted on a friend's facebook. When you leave your house in Jakarta you never know what you will see. And believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Its been a while...

Well, its been over a year since the last blog. Coincided with the start of a new job which let's just say we'll put down to a learning experience. Now I find myself with more time on my hands and exciting new experiences to come.

For us as a family it has been a wonderful year. The boys are growing a hundred miles an hour and eating us out of house and home! God help us when they get to their teenage years.

Some of the highlights - trip home, two trips to the hospital (stitches and a broken arm), stage debut and work changes.

So where are we at now - bigger, brighter and more time to blog!