100 Days of Happiness – Day 52

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Tonight as we were heading home on the vespa Putra noticed the bright lights down one of the narrow streets in the complex – a Pasar Malam! (night market).  We quickly headed home and picked up Samudra and walked back the short distance to the markets.  Loads of teenagers were hovering near the entrance on their motorbikes as we walked through the little stalls of weird and wonderful snacks, clothing, pirated dvd’s, a children’s tiny train ride and more.  There was also a small blow up pool with shallow water and lots of fish and nets.  Apparently if you could catch a fish you could take it home in a little plastic bag with water which didn’t look too difficult to me, but lots of fun for the youngsters. There was an air of excitement from all the little kids with their parents and we ran into some familiar faces from the neighbourhood asking why I hadn’t been taking Samudra around the complex for a walk lately. I guess it has been awhile but we have been taking it easy this week while he recovers from being unwell.

A fun little random adventure to the market was the perfect end to another chilled out day in Jakarta with my little family.

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever you are in the world too.

Day 52: A tired and sick little boy today, but love those cheeks! Happiness.

Day 52: A random night market in the Kompleks. Happiness.

Day 52: Kids ride at the market. It was so small but so fast! Happiness.

Day 52: Samudra meeting a new friend, but both too distracted! Happiness.

Day 52: Playing with bapak on the street on our way home.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 51

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Samudra’s temperature was up and down all morning so we decided to take him for his 8 month check up a week early, to make sure that everything is alright.  It turns out he is just teething so feeling a little low and also has a bit of a head cold. I love going back to the Mother and Child Hospital on Jl. Ampera Raya and seeing all the beautiful tinsy tiny newborn babies being walked around in the foyer.. so much cuteness in one place! and it’s nice to be back there and actually be feeling healthy after having to stay in there far too often with complications while I was pregnant. Here’s to good health always!

I walked over to Putra’s apartment in Pejaten with Samudra in the sling via the crazy busy main road and almost got hit by so many crazy motorbikes on the way.  They really do take up every single bit of space on and around the roads and leave no walking space at all, so thankfully we arrived in one piece to check out the new cupboards and dipped Samudra’s feet in the pool to cool down which he loved. He was splashing his feet around and had it been sunnier I would have tried to take him for a quick swim.  I ate some dinner in the new cafe downstairs and then we went for a quick visit to Treen in her apartment and watched a spectacular lightning show from up high as the rain started pelting down yet again in the darkness.

Putra picked us up and took us home again and we watched the Texas Buyers Club on dvd which I LOVED! My first attempt at watching it the other day had me disinterested within 10 minutes, but this time I stuck with it and really enjoyed it! Another movie to recommend to you all..

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever in the world you are.

Day 51: Being above the traffic and not in it. Happiness.

Day 51: Samudra playing on the floor at the apartment. It’s available for renting again.. Anyone interested? Happiness.

Day 51: The view from the balcony at Gardenia Apartments, Pejaten. Happiness.

Day 51: Overcast but still steamy! I miss swimming in this pool with the fountains on. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 50

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Today is the half way mark to 100 Days of Happiness! Well at least it was as I am writing this very late again as getting to my computer has proven to be all but impossible lately..

This day was spent in bed hugging my sick little boy all day and feeling a little crazy as I couldn’t leave his side without him crying.  I’m not sure if the fever has been caused by him teething but he is very lethargic and light on smiles the past two days which is very unusual for Samudra. Bless him.  At least he has two adorable little bottom teeth making their way through which may explain him feeling a little out of sorts.

Tonight I met with the lovely Gaby from Indonesian Expat Magazine at Face Bar to take a few photos and have a little taste test of what’s on offer there.  What a gorgeous hidden treasure in the back streets of Menteng near Bundaran HI! The venue was very dimly lit but had a great relaxed atmosphere and many oriental decorations which bring a sense of serenity to the place.  There are two restaurants here – Indian food downstairs and a Thai restaurant upstairs, and from the samples we ate I definately want to go back there for a main meal!  I also met some really fun ladies there having a networking event and they offered my some sparkling wine and to join them, but I had to refuse and instead tasted cocktail samples with Gaby while chatting to the Face Bar General Manager, Ramon.

It was a great night and just what I needed before heading home with a dodgy taxi who took me the longest way ever possible home then trying to tell me we were somewhere we were not.. I then arrived home to Putra standing outside waiting for me with Samudra screaming at the top of his lungs until I held him in my arms once again. It’s nice to be missed and always the best feeling to hold my baby again after a moment to myself.

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever you are in the world too.

Day 50: Gaby and Ramon at Face Bar. Happiness.

Day 50: Ladies champagne networking event at Face Bar. Happiness.

 

100 Days of Happiness – Day 49

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This post brings me up to date (finally!) with all my happiness days so far… so sorry to have bombarded you today, but I have to do it whenever I get the chance.. and today I finally had lots of time..  It seems that my beautiful little boy was not feeling too well today.  After a quick play outside with Iyah and Daffa, he was back in the bedroom and he slept beside me almost all day long.  He seems to have a runny nose and a bit of a high temperature and couldn’t stay awake today so I stayed in my pajamas until 5.00pm just sitting on the bed beside him while replying to emails and sorting out my photos. It was a much needed rest day for both of us and he has been around sick kids a bit lately as there seems to be some bugs going around, to best to let him sleep it off.

When he finally did wake, we went for a quick walk up to Total Supermarket for some fresh air and when we returned he was laughing and happy and had a play with his nenek and kakek before passing out again quickly.

I didn’t get a chance to take any photos today, so thought I would just post two more from last night of Samudra because they make me so happy!

I hope you had a beautiful day today too wherever in the world you are.

Day 49: What a poser! Happiness.

Day 49: Get well soon my sweet boy. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 48

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What a day this was! After another early hotel breakfast pig out on waaaaay too much rice, we went to visit Edhi Sunarso so Putra could return his book and give him a copy of the short film he had made.  I felt so honoured and privileged to meet such an incredibly talented man and have attached a copy of Putra’s documentary below so you can learn more about his life story.  I took a walk around his new home where they are in the process of building a huge workshop and museum to house many of Edhi’s sculptures, some of which we had a sneak preview of, and I look forward to hopefully returning there once the museum is finished and opened in September this year.  I don’t know why, but I wanted to cry with happiness after meeting him.

It was then time to visit the people Putra has been filming to say our goodbyes and it seems that time just flew by these past couple of days and it has been fun to meet lots of new people and catch up with good friends also.  We took a becak to Jl. Marlioboro and raced through the markets as we were running out of time, before meeting up with kakek and nenek to eat at Loving Hut again (yah!) before the rain started and it was time for more flash floods!

Another 1 hour flight and we arrived back safely to Jakarta and spent the next 1 and a half hours getting back home in a taxi, then becoming a ridiculous paparazzi before Samudra went to sleep as he looked way too cute in a little Bonds outfit I found in the cupboard which he has been yet to wear.

I hope you also had a beautiful day wherever in the world you are.

Day 48: What an absolute honour to meet Edhi Sunarso this morning! Happiness.

Day 48: Some of Edhi’s early sculptures waiting for the museum to be finished. Happiness.

Edhi Sunarso, Pejuang from Mahatma Putra on Vimeo.

Day 48: Putra on Jl Marlioboro in the crazy heat! Happiness.

Day 48: Samudra with his kakek on Jl Dagen. Happiness.

Day 48: I love Jogja! Happiness.

Day 48: Home again in Jakarta and ready for bed. Happiness.

Day 48: We love you Samudra.. Thanks for spreading your happiness everywhere we go. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 47

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Today started with an early complimentary breakfast at the Hotel of nasi goreng and tempe mendoan, followed by way too many mini croissants.. what’s with my ridiculously insatiable appetite?

It was another steaming hot day in Jogja, all of it spent meeting people with Samudra at the locations where Putra was filming.  I would like to share some photos of the characters but you will have to wait until a later date as I can’t give much away at this time, but they were all so lovely and welcoming towards us so we had a fun day.

I caught a becak back to the hotel in the late afternoon with Samudra so he could cool down in the a/c.  Our becak driver was yet another old man and I felt so sorry for him in the searing heat, pedalling away with us in the front and going so slowly that I could tell that he was really struggling.  I did love seeing life on the streets in Jogja though, it’s such a colourful city and there’s so much to explore and discover here and it’s also easy to walk around without fear of being run over like in Jakarta.  Our becak driver took us right to the front step of the hotel and tipped us out and I gave him a big tip so he could hopefully go get himself a drink and meal and have a rest.

We met Putra later for dinner at Loving Hut.. I can’t believe our luck at having this restaurant only a 3 minute walk from our hotel!  I used to be addicted to their food in Jakarta when I lived in Kemang, until they closed the restaurant down as it seems that Treen and I were the only people in the area that were ever in there eating their vegan food. This time it was just as tasty as I remembered it so Putra and I were super happy!  Putra even managed to make another quick trip back there with Samudra before we were picked up by our lovely friend Ulet and his wife and kids for a catch up at their place.  They have a little boy Hara who is the same age as Samudra and he was so tiny last time we caught up and this time he was towering over Samudra in height but not feeling too well unfortunately.  They still had a roll around the mat together and pulling at eachothers arms and heads which was funny and it was great to catch up with Ulet again.

I hope you all had a beautiful day too wherever in the world you are.

Day 47: Samudra giving some love to the mother of one of Putra’s documentary characters. Happiness.

Day 47: Back with Kiki for the day. Happiness.

Day 47: Kiki getting so excited playing on my iPhone for the first time. Happiness.

Day 47: Samudra playing with the neighbours in Jogja. Happiness.

Day 47: This little boy didn’t want his photo taken, but kept sitting and watching and waiting.. Then he didn’t want to leave after seeing his photo on my camera. Happiness.

Day 47: Becak’s parked out the front of Ibis that Samudra and I passed while riding on a becak. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 46

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This morning was another early start and for once I had to wake Samudra up as we were heading to the airport to fly to Jogja for a few days so Putra could film for a new short documentary.  I had forgotten how quick the flight there actually was, and no sooner had we sat and fastened our seatbelts for take-off and fed Samudra, we were ready to land again. 1 hour certainly does goes fast!

It was steaming hot as we descended the steps from the plane onto the tarmac, and although Jakarta seems ridiculously hot, Jogja seems to take it to another level! Samudra’s kakek and nenek also happened to be there at the same time, so kakek picked us up from the airport and we headed to an open-air cafe for some delicious nasi goreng, sayur, tempe and tahu (I am sooo predictable with my food!).  While we were there the sky darkened and rain started pelting down, until the raised dining area we were sitting in was surrounded by rising water.  It looked like a beautiful water feature, but infact the whole area and out to the street was flash flooding!  As we drove to our hotel the water in the surrounding area was rising, but once we reached our destination on Jl Dagen off Jl Marlioboro there was no sign of any rain having fallen near there.  Oh it’s great to be back in Jogja!

We spent the afternoon meeting with subjects that Putra wanted to film, and it turns out that the person who was to be the main character was very ill in bed and unable to move, so the storyline will change and evolve to a new main subject.  I can’t reveal too much right now.. but stay tuned to see the final documentary.

We headed to Tiga Nonya near Tugu Statue for dinner (actually the restaurant name has changed but I forget what it is now! but the menu is the same) and it was absolutely delicious Indonesian vegetarian food which we scoffed down, before heading to the divine Phoenix Hotel to meet our dear friends Lynne and Thomas who recently got married, and who also manage the hotel.  Samudra was transfixed by Thomas’ french accent and his eyes were wide open and focused as Thomas spoke to him and it was so funny to watch! I absolutely love catching up with these two, they always leave me feeling so happy from their funny stories.

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever you are in the world too.

Day 46: Samudra meeting his new friend Kiki for the first time. Happiness.

Day 46: Keeping Samudra safe in the Jendra Dagen hotel room. Doona on the floor surrounded by pillows with cartoons on the telly. Happiness.

Day 46: Catching up with lovely friends Lynne and Thomas. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 45

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OK, I am once again finding myself far behind with updates after a quick trip out of Jakarta.

On Friday, my 45th Day of Happiness, I spent most of the morning just playing with Samudra before braving the heat with him for a quick walk up to Jasons Supermarket on Jl Ampera.  I had planned to quickly get groceries, but we made a pitstop at Cali Deli to cool down, so he could chew on the end of a cold Aqua bottle and I could down an apple freeze!  Finally Samudra has two tiny bottom teeth starting to come through so his favourite thing to chew on is an Aqua plastic bottle filled with cold water to soothe his mouth.  I have tried cooling teethers from the fridge but the cold disappears so quickly that they don’t seem to work for him, so as long as this calms him down I am happy to keep doing it no matter how bad it is chewing plastic bottles!

In the late afternoon we headed to SLAM Sky Lounge at Mercure Hotel for Treen’s birthday drinks.  Putra, Samudra and I were the first to arrive and watched as the staff set up for the evenings Brazilian Bash party.. The female staff were in costume and were so busy taking selfies that it took HOURS for us to get served.  We had to wait until Treen and the others all arrived before anyone paid us any attention and we had been the only customers in there.  What’s with this addiction to selfies??  It’s not unusual to see women all over Indonesia taking photos of themselves with a sexy pose, fixing their hair, checking, re-doing, it’s like an obsession with vanity.  I am not sure what it’s like everywhere else in the world, but from personal experience here, people LOVE taking photos of themselves.. to the extent that people are walking around with the hand held phones on a pole to get a selfie photo from a further distance away.

Back to SLAM Sky Lounge.. this bar is on the 19th floor of the Mercure and looks deceptively large if you view photos online, so walking out of the lift I was shocked to see that in reality it is so cosy.  There is a swimming pool and chairs and tables around it, and the space is very small, but the view definately makes up for it!  It is right beside the Toll Road and Poins Square and you can get a great view of Jakarta and I am sure it would be incredible if you were able to catch a good sunset from up there.  This evening there was no spectacular coloured sky as usual as it was too cloudy but we had a great night having drinks and catching up before Samudra decided it was time for us to leave and battle the crazy traffic below, while the others stayed on and ended up at a karaoke bar in the wee hours of the morning. Happy Birthday again Treen and may the celebrations continue throughout the weekend..

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever in the world you are too.

Day 45: View of Jakarta from the 19th floor of Mercure Hotel. Happiness.

Day 45: Samudra and his bapak at SLAM. Happiness.

Day 45: Treen and Jackie choosing cocktails. Happiness.

Day 45: Claire in the afternoon sunlight. Happiness.

 

Day 45: Janelle is all smiles as her mojito finally arrives! Happiness.

Day 45: The toll road beginning to get busy with afternoon traffic beside Poins Square. We’re enjoying drinks above. Happiness.

Day 45: The insane macet of Jakarta. Watching from above and not being in it. Happiness.

Day 45: Treen sneaking a cuddle while Samudra sleeps. Happiness.

Day 45: Time to join this festival of lights and head home after a fun afternoon. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 44

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Today started much earlier than I would have liked.. at 3.00am! Samudra decided to wake up and start pulling my hair and rolling around the bed to his bapak and keeping us both awake.. All attempts to settle him by feeding or sitting in the rocking chair failed, and after 5 minutes of peace he was at it again, and this continued until just after 6.00am when he finally decided to sleep again for half an hour.  Needless to say I didn’t achieve too much today at all.

I did manage to make it up to Nikki’s Salon in Kemang to get my hair coloured and I was looking forward to just relaxing in the chair for a few hours, zoning out on trashy magazines and enjoying some peace and quiet time.  That didn’t happen! Instead I looked at loads of gorgeous photos of one of the hairdressers sons on his blackberry, and everyone was in unusually chatty moods so no zoning out for me!  I then felt relieved to have survived a hair raising ride home on the back of a pretty dodgy ojek, who had so many near misses on our ride home as he was going so far, despite my requests to go slowly! Once upon a time I would have found the situation funny, but now I have Samudra to think about, I really want to make it home in one piece.

I also didn’t have a camera today so didn’t get a chance to take any photos while I was out, or when I returned home to Samudra out the front of the house in the baby sling with Iyah, surrounded by loads of kids and adults all just hanging out.  It really is a lovely atmosphere out on the street, now if only I could have a proper conversation with everyone!

As I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures, I am having a ‘Throwback Thursday’ and posting two photos taken earlier this year that really make me happy when I look at them!

I hope you had a fun day wherever in the world you are too.

Day 44: Oooooh I LOVE those chubby cheeks! Happiness

Day 44: Got to love the dribble! Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 43

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Today was a special day… my beautiful sister Treen’s birthday! We were a little slow going in the morning, so by the time I got Samudra and I ready to go birthday shopping, the heaven’s opened up and it absolutely poured with rain!  This limited our options of where to go as rain + traffic = insanity, so we headed to Kemang to pick up a few things and by the time we finally made it there the rain stopped.  This meant that we had the chance to go for a quick walk through the broken, muddy pathways around the area and Samudra got his fix of smiling at complete strangers while we did a little window shopping.

Back at home my attempts to get Samudra to hold onto a birthday sign for Treen were all but impossible, with the paper reaching his mouth 1 second after I let go each time.  Needless to say we didn’t get a good photo and the sign ended up a soggy mess with holes all through it.. it’s the thought that counts, right?

We celebrated Treen’s birthday at Koi in Kemang, eating a random mix of vegetarian spring rolls and some mashed potato and I was so wishing I could have a wine or vodka to celebrate, but settling on a lime mint squeeze instead.  This was followed by a surprise super chocolatey tart with candles for Treen. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TREEN!  I want to tell you that I have the most amazing, selfless, generous, intelligent and beautiful sister in the world and I wish her every happiness in the world today and always.

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever in the world you are too.

Day 43: Attempting to get Samudra to hold a birthday sign for Treen. Happiness.

Day 43: If I am going to hold it, I am going to taste it! Happiness.

Day 43: Super chocolatey tart and ice-cream.. Selamat Ulang Tahun Treen! Happiness.

Day 43: Treen and Samudra. Happiness.

Day 43: Happy Birthday! Happiness.