100 Days of Happiness – Day 14

Written by on

This morning I was woken with tiny feet kicking into my face and squeals of delight as Samudra played with his toys between his mumma and bapak.  I couldn’t help but start the day feeling happy just watching him so engrossed in what he was doing and tasting his toys and chewing on everything.  He changes so much every day and just keeps getting more adorable, well, to me anyway!

I also received a package in the mail today.. real mail! Yah! It’s such a rarity these days that it feels extra special, and todays package was special indeed – two Alistair the Armadillo books signed for Samudra.  He was grabbing at the pages as he sat on my knee with me reading and the stories were uplifting and positive.  A great concept and fun to read with cool illustrations of Alistair and his friends and they definately filled our day with colour.  Look out for them on iTunes and hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Putra and I made it to the gym next to AIS Kemang today too..  Miracles really do happen and it felt great to get back on the vespa to go there and finally do some exercise.. time to get this post baby body into shape and it just felt great to be moving again.  I love that gym as it’s quiet so we had all the equipment to ourselves as we began our transition to a healthier lifestyle.  I haven’t been to that gym since I first came to Jakarta in 2009 and it was funny to see they still have the same staff there.. now that’s Indonesian loyalty for you.

We ended today celebrating the gorgeous Talisa’s birthday at Largo on Jalan Benda in Kemang. Delicious risotto and pizzas, a great catch up, and Samudra keeping us entertained with his laughter after vomiting all over me!

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

Day 13: What a beautiful start to the day seeing this beautiful face. Happiness.

Day 13: Receiving positive story books in the mail. Happiness

Day 13: Celebrating Talisa’s birthday at Largo. Happiness.

Day 13: Listening to Samudra’s laughter. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 13

Written by on

Another day over and another reason to celebrate as Bib and Jo welcomed their gorgeous little girl into the world back in Melbourne. Big love and congratulations to you from us here in Jakarta, your daughter definately chose her parents well.

Babies = happiness for sure.  Babies also = sleepless nights.  So today has been fairly low key as I was up all night with Samudra being really unsettled.  Bless.  I wonder if this constant haze in my head is to become a permanent fixture? Walking around in a dream like state all day long and having an insatiable appetite!

For some reason our internet connections throughout the house have been down for a few days so we went to ITC Fatmawati to try and get the new modem sorted and I only hope it works faster than the service there – ha!  We were there for what seemed like hours and little Samudra eventually fell asleep in his little koala-like sling while some little girl came along and played with his toys I was holding in my hands.

A quick vegetarian nasi gorgeng and lemon tea for lunch in a super cute cafe at ITC (I forget the name of the place!) and a pit stop at Informa to check out sofas and pick up a few things, before returning home to move our mattress and necessary items upstairs into one half of the studio.  We will be ‘camping out’ upstairs for a few weeks as our bedroom roof needs to be cleared of termites! It’s fun for a change of scenery and now we only have to get out of bed and walk to the other side of the room to get to work.  No macet to the office for us.  Happiness.

As I listen to the sound of the rain outside I hope you all had a happy day too wherever in the world you are.

Day 12: I liked this old school poster on the wall in the cafe at ITC Fatmawati. Happiness.

Day 12: Live well, love much, laugh often. Happiness.

Day 12: Samudra sleeping in our temporary set up in the studio. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 12

Written by on

What a great, santai (relaxing) day it has been! Samudra has just fallen asleep after keeping us amused tonight with his constant laughter and squealing.. I think he has just discovered his voice and is seeing what noises he can make.. it’s been so entertaining for us and it’s making me realise just how quickly he is growing and changing. I thought babies stayed as babies for a long time, but how wrong I was!

This afternoon Treen and I went on an adventure into Kemang as I really wanted to get myself a copy of ‘Jakarta. 25 Excursions in and around the Indonesian capital’ on recommendation from Mumun from Indohoy (a super fun Indonesian travel blog).  It’s a book written by Melanie Wood who has been living in Jakarta since 2010 and writing about her adventures in her ‘Gangs of Indonesia’ blog.  I wanted to get re-inspired for places to visit here since I am wanting to rediscover Jakarta all over again.  I have only had a quick scan of the book, and I have visited most of the places, but there’s a few places I have yet to get to so will make a plan to work my way through them and hopefully with Treen too!

I bought a copy of the book and then Treen and I decided we would walk through Kemang back down Jl Kemang Raya to Koi for lunch.  It’s been years since I have walked down that road although I have been up and down it hundreds of times and always wish I could get out and take a closer look, and Treen has never walked down in her 5 years of living here.  So we stocked up on Monggo chocolates (a delicious Indonesian brand of chocolate) and supplies at Kemchicks at Kemang Mansion and hoped it wouldn’t rain on our walk.  Instead it suddenly turned incredibly HOT, as we made a quick stop at the DVD shop (do I REALLY own almost every new release dvd out?? eeeeek), a pitstop at Aksara Bookstore and then we walked, and walked… and we were wondering what on earth had we been thinking we had been missing out on by passing this road thousands of times by ojek or taxi? Kemang is forever changing with shops opening and closing, being knocked down and rebuilt, and it looks completely different to what it did 4 years ago when I first arrived.  We only stopped at a seriously over-priced furniture shop and then I went and drooled over colourful cushions at Chic mart but resisted the temptation to buy more as I was too lazy to carry them.  So apart from Ranch Supermarket, Adorama for photo printing, The Pantry, EMax (Apple store + cafe), JPC Photography Shop and Nikki’s Salon, there wasn’t all that much else to see before we arrived at our destination, Koi Restaurant.  At night Jl Kemang Raya comes to life with loads of bars and cafes, but during the day it’s pretty quiet but I was happy for the exercise and had left Samudra at home so I could give my back a rest.

Koi was delicious as always and we finally managed to walk up the stairs to check out the next two levels.. awesome furniture but waaaaaaaaay outside of my price range, but it’s nice to dream, and it’s always awesome to catch up with my beautiful sister Treen.

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

Day 12: Inspiration for new adventures around the city (nice showcasing of the book Treen!). Happiness

Day 12: Pricey but cool furniture in Koi Gallery. It’s nice to dream. Happiness.

Day 12: This painting reminded me of a friend, Windy Sucipto, who is always posting pics of his super cute pugs. Happiness.

Day 12: I loved this painting up in Koi Gallery. I must remember to start drawing again! Happiness.

Day 12: I LOVE chocolate and I LOVE the pictures on the front of all Monggo packaging. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 11

Written by on

Another late night = another late post.. I will stop apologising for this as it seems that posting a day late has become normal for me!

We had a slow start to the morning as Samudra slept in late (WOW!) after a restless night and he looked exhausted, so he had a quick play with his nenek and with Daffa, before the heavens opened up and it started pouring raining once again… just in time for us to leave to meet Putra’s former VOA fellowship friends at Grand Indonesia.  It took hours to get such a short distance in the rain with the traffic barely moving, but I realised I had been indoors every time it has rained so far this year so it was good to be out in it and Samudra amused himself watching the raindrops trickle down the car windows.

We settled into Ninety-Nine Cafe in Grand Indonesia for the rest of the afternoon, eating cake, sipping a refreshing and delicious lime iced mint drink, and watching Samudra flirting with all the beautiful girls… bless!.  I am so happy that he loves to be around people and we can take him anywhere.  Apart from a few tears here and there he is changing every day and we truly are blessed to have such a gorgeous little boy.

We somehow got distracted when we said our goodbyes and got up to go home. I had wanted to see if we could watch the dancing fountain on Level 3a at Grand Indonesia, but it only goes every hour and our timing was off last night which was a shame as it’s been almost three years since I last sat and watched it.  It’s easy to be sucked in by all the bright lights, fountains, and New York themed pathways on Level 3a and we ended up finding a vegetarian restaurant, Dharma Kitchen, and stuffing ourselves silly before heading off at last.  Full bellies and a fun day. Happiness.

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

Day 11: Morning laughs in the garden for Samudra with his nenek. Happiness.

Day 11: Living in a country with mobile tailors that can cycle to your home. Happiness.

Day 11: Super cute bear in a coffee cup at Ninety-Nine Cafe. Happiness.

Day 11: Meeting Putra’s lovely VOA fellowship friends. Happiness.

Day 11: Samudra not crying while being held by Vina. Happiness.

Day 11: Samudra looking like a koala in his new sling. Happiness.

Day 11: ummm, ok then. Enjoy your food. Fook = Fortune. Yew = Friendship. Happiness.

 

 

100 Days of Happiness – Day 10

Written by on

I am sooo happy! I just found out that the beautiful Deasy and Tommy’s new little boy has arrived safely.. Welcome to the world Prada Bintang Amaru.  Gone are our days of sitting in Largo listening to music, drinking vodka and smoking copious amounts of cigarettes (it feels AMAZING to be free of you Mr Sampoerna!!), and hello days spent in wonder of our lovely little boys.  Welcome to parenthood and enjoy the ride.

So, it seems fitting that all today’s photos are about children as Putra took off for meetings with my wallet in his bag, leaving Samudra and I no option but to stay close to home all day.  We did go for another walk around the complex and took a completely different route and were greeted by so many curious children and adults.  In Melbourne everyone keeps to themselves and you barely know your neighbours, but here, walking around I was asked so many times where am I from, is my husband Indonesian? where are his parents from? where did I meet my husband?  what is your address here? is your house small? and the list goes on… I wasn’t sure if I was meant to answer or they were just trying to make polite conversations.  Luckily I avoided most questions by choosing to take photos of the children or talking to the kids as they gathered around to get a closer look at Samudra.  It’s still a shock after all these years that complete strangers would ask such questions, but it’s funny at the same time.

Well, this week flew by yet again and it’s been fun for us.  I hope you have had a happy day wherever in the world you are too.

Day 10: Beautiful little Panji and his adorable big brown eyes. Happiness.

Day 10: Cute kids drinking from plastic bags and being cheeky. Happiness.

Day 10: So curious and so many questions for me! Happiness.

Day 10: She was so sweet walking with her umbrella in the sunshine. Happiness.

Day 10: It’s a miracle! Samudra spent hours with Aunty Treen and didn’t cry once! Happiness.

Day 10: Ending the day with pizza, in a funny box. Are only single people meant to eat pizza? Who is this packaging for? Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 9

Written by on

Another post, another day late, but this is the life of a newbie mum so it seems! Time got hijacked once again yesterday, but in a good way.  I decided to skip taking Samudra to the BWA Playgroup in favour of a sleep in, A SLEEP IN? what on earth was I actually thinking? I was up from 4.00am but managed to stay in my pyjamas until 1.00pm, laughing and playing with Samudra, and feeling blessed that I was able to do so.

We ate Thai food for yet another incredibly late lunch at Senayan City, before Putra headed off to a meeting at Plaza Senayan.  I stayed at Senayan City with Samudra in the pram, and I wondered what is the function of a pram in Jakarta? Unless you want to spend all your time in the malls with a flat surface, you can’t take them anywhere outside the complex as there are no footpaths on the side of the roads, and if you were to try and attempt to take one out onto the streets, aside from being overwhelmed by the traffic pollution, you risk being hit by a car, motorbike, bus, bin man, bakso cart, or other such strangeness!  I love to see Indonesian women carrying babies around in slings made from batik sarongs, it’s so simple and effective, and they never complain of sore backs or look to be struggling.. and now that Samudra is so heavy the baby carrier has put my back out on more than one occasion, so on recommendation from a friend, I went straight to Mothercare and bought a baby carrier sling.  Ok, so it’s not the simple and effective Indonesian carrier, but it’s a step in the right direction for this bule, and what a difference it makes!

So with lots of offers of help by lovely people, I managed to carry Samudra while pushing an empty pram and we ended up in Portico for an evening post-meeting brainstorming session with Putra.  I love that even though it’s rainy season, it’s always warm enough to sit outside.  Living in a country without a cold winter. Happiness.

Arriving home to the complex being mati lampu  (‘dead lights’ = power blackout) was a good excuse to go straight back to bed again after another fun day of mini adventures.

I realise that this blog was set up to show you our experiences of Jakarta and what goes on here, and now seems to be all about Samudra, but this is just my experience in Jakarta now that I have a baby, so bear with me while I navigate my way around and get back into the chaotic rhythms again… It’s like having to start all over again here… one baby step at a time.

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

Day 09: Lazy morning playing with Samudra. Happiness.

Day 09: Fortunate enough to be a household of freelancer workers means time for morning fun without rushing to an office. Happiness.

Day 09: Portico Bar at Senayan City. Fake grass, outdoors, warm weather and beer in the rainy season for a meeting. Happiness.

Day 09: Ending the evening with big smiles. Happiness.

 

 

100 Days of Happiness – Day 8

Written by on

Is someone messing with the clocks these days? I seem to be losing time and my to-do lists are getting longer by the minute and the days and nights disappear so quickly.  Samudra was up screaming last night and so when my alarm went off this morning it felt like I had closed my eyes for only 10 minutes, but I opened them to see him fast asleep and looking peaceful at last and it made me smile to start the day.

We caught up with Ayu in the morning, the gorgeous and lovely owner of ‘Strawberry Patch’ at Lippo Mall – she is so creative and makes beautiful and colourful toys and bits and pieces for kids.  I have one of her elephant pillows which I used throughout my pregnancy to rest my big belly on when trying to sleep, and now Samudra cuddles up to it and chews on it’s trunk every night!  Today he received a gorgeous outfit from Ayu and the top has an elephant patchwork on it! Perfect!

This afternoon I took Samudra for a walk around the complex again, but this time I decided to take a different route as we always seem to do the same circle around the block to the park.  I was reminded just why I fell in love with Jakarta all over again.  There were people all out on the streets, men and teenage boys nongkrong and smoking cigarettes,  women rocking babies in their slings, kids squealing while riding their bikes, chickens pecking at the road, what sounded like children screaming afternoon prayers from the mosque speakers, old men pulling rubbish carts and everyone was so friendly and happy and wanted to come over and say hello.  I must remember to take new routes more often for more pockets of unexpected happiness.

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

Day 08: Samudra getting a cuddle from Ayu at Starbucks at Lippo Mall, Kemang. Happiness.

Day 08: We were leaving Lippo Mall when Samudra fell asleep so we managed a very quick detour to Market Bar for spaghetti pesto and a lime juice.. enak! Happiness.

Day 08: I heard squealing voices and the next minute I saw this Kereta Mini come around the corner as it had just dropped off a load of kids in the complex. By the time I got my camera up it was almost too late.. bad shot, but Happiness.

Day 08: This gorgeous little boy came running over to us to tell me Samudra is lucu banget (cute). Happiness.

Day 08: One of the many gorgeous little babies we met on our walk today. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 7

Written by on

Ah, it’s 10.34pm, my beautiful baby boy is finally sleeping peacefully (for now..) and I have the chance to get back to my computer to upload snapshots from today.

This morning I had an appointment in  Jalan Benda in Kemang, and seeing as I had a spare 25 minutes to wait once I arrived, I decided to take a quick walk up to Dia.lo.gue to see what’s happening there as it’s been awhile and I love that place! Of course I couldn’t make it past the shop without buying something, and got a gorgeous kids story book which is written in both English and Bahasa Indonesia (time for me to stop being bingung and malas and learn Indonesian at long last, it has been four years afterall!).   I checked out the small exhibition on display and the colours and amazing images made me instantly happy.  I think it’s time I get out my sketch pad and start drawing again as I used to love doing it and it’s also been awhile.  I also heard about a drawing club via Putra yesterday and must remember to get the details and go and check it out sometime.

I also ran into the security guard, Gerry, who works at W Residence on Jalan Benda where I lived for awhile a few years ago.  He was so excited to see me and showed me that he still has the photo I took of him in his security hut, and asked if I could take a new photo as it’s been almost three years since I took the last one.  I happily obliged, being proud of myself for actually remembering to take the camera on my outing today.  Gerry picked a spot to have his photo taken and stood there proudly smiling while  I clicked away and he asked me to print them for him by Friday.  No problem I thought, and waved him goodbye promising to be back later this week.  As I walked to find an ojek I decided to check the photos as he had looked so happy, only to gulp out loud as I read ‘No Card’ on my camera screen! I hadn’t taken a single photo as I had forgotten to insert the memory card after uploading yesterdays photos.  When will this sleep deprived brain of mine start functioning again? ha!

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

Day 07:  Oil Painting ‘Circuzophrenic #1’ by Tinton Satrio at Dia.lo.gue Artspace, Kemang. Happiness.

Day 07:  Oil Painting ‘Circuzophrenic #2’ by Tinton Satrio at Dia.lo.gue Artspace, Kemang. Happiness.

Day 07:  Oil Painting ‘Circuzophrenic #3’ by Tinton Satrio at Dia.lo.gue Artspace, Kemang. Happiness.

Day 07: Painting by Stereoflow ‘Tied Up’. Happiness.

Day 07: Painting by Stereoflow ‘Feather Flight’. Happiness.

Day 07: Having brunch at 5pm! Lapar banget! Delicious tahu and nasi at Little Asia, Pejaten Village. Happiness.

 

Anatman Pictures

Written by on

As I didn’t get a chance to capture much of todays happiness in Jakarta, I thought I would share some stunning images shot around picturesque Indonesia by my super talented and beautiful sayang, Putra. He has recently started his new company, Anatman Pictures, which specialises in documentary film making.

Anatman is a sanskrit word which means that all things in this world are interconnected and interdependent, so we are all connected in some way and nothing has a separate existence. Everyone’s stories form part of our own story.

Let us know if you, or anyone you know, has a special story we can film and share.

Showreel January 2014 from Mahatma Putra on Vimeo.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 6

Written by on

 

It took awhile to get today going, after a late night and waking super early, it was hard to leave the comfort of bed this morning. Samudra and I went out to visit a new friend and her beautiful kids in Kemang Village today, so it was great to have some proper chats while the kids played. By the time I finally took my camera out I had a split second to try and take a photo before Samudra and Elias both ended up in tears of tiredness and it was time to go home. So I didn’t really capture the essence of todays baby play date happiness but it was certainly there a few moments earlier!

It has rained non-stop since we left Kemang so it’s been another afternoon indoors, trying to be productive in between playing with our beautiful boy. Hopefully this rain will stop long enough for us to venture out and snap some daily life on the streets of Jakarta to share soon.

Until then, I’m going to snuggle up and watch one of my happiness dvd purchases while listening to the sound of the rain outside. Ah, what bliss!

Hope you all had a happy day too wherever you are in the world.

Day 06: Samudra loving being mobile moving around in his new toy in the garden. Happiness.

Day 06: Baby play date with Elias and although it doesn’t look it here, they were happy a split second before this photo. They crashed with tiredness at the same time. Happiness.