100 Days of Happiness – Day 5

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Yet again I was home too late last night to be able to post my day’s happiness, so I have to post it a day late again.

I have been to many weddings during my time in Indonesia, most of them I had never met the bride and groom before, but was taken along as a ‘token bule’ to go and see, and it has always shocked me the sheer amount of people that attend these weddings.  Last night was no exception.  Outside there were so many floral signage boards congratulating the couple that I knew instantly this was going to be a pretty special occasion.  This was one of the most beautiful weddings I have been to here, held at Taman Mini and it was decorated so exquisitely, with flowers and cherry blossom trees and soft lighting, beautiful traditional Javanese performances, chandeliers, and thousands of guests! Who on earth knows so many people? It was like the whole population of Melbourne in one room, and all the men looking handsome in their batik and the women looking stunning as always.

I love to see the stages where the bride and groom must stand for hours on end to greet each guest and have photos taken with everyone, they always look like part of a movie set.  Alice & Andika looked amazing in their traditional Javanese wedding outfits standing on their beautifully decorated stage.  I’m still confused though that although the bride and groom invite so many guests they don’t have a chance to socialise with everyone at all, maybe that’s just as well as there would be no time to stand and basa-basi with each person.

So I wish you all the happiness and love in the world Alice & Andika.  May you grow separately, but together, always support and understand each other, forgive and love each other, and may your home always be filled with sunshine and happiness.

Wishing you all another happy day wherever you are in the world.

Day 05: Traditional Javanese dancing at Alice & Andika’s wedding. Happiness.

Day 05: With the loves of my life. Happiness.

Day 05: Javanese performance about love. Happiness.

Day 05: I had tears in my eyes meeting the most divine baby girl! Happiness.

Day 05: Samudra with his future girlfriend – ha! Happiness.

Day 05: Anika & Alice, the happy groom & bride, with their long time friends. Happiness.

Day 05: Alice & Andika’s pre-wedding photo. Happiness.

 

 

100 Days of Happiness – Day 4

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Sun’s out! Ayo let’s go to the zoo! I was so happy so see some sunshine this morning that I decided to take Samudra to Ragunan Zoo, and it seems that half of Jakarta had the same idea!  It was busy there, lots of families sat on the blankets on the still muddy grounds for picnics, but for me it was a good excuse to stretch my legs and show my sweet boy some animals for the first time.. and we took along Daffa and his gorgeous sister Poppie too which was fun.  We visited the monkeys, ate ice-creams, played on rides, had our pictures taken and then it was time to head home with Daffa sleeping in the taxi, exhausted and content.

Oh! and I was almost bursting with excitement to see TWO  BEAUTIFUL BABY ELEPHANTS there.. elephants are by far my favourite animals, such intelligent gentle giants, so this was really a moment of happiness for me.

I hope your day was a happy one too!

Day 04: The first time for me to ever see a baby elephant up close. Happiness.

Day 04: Beautiful mumma elephant and her baby. Happiness.

Day 04: Lovely Poppie with Samudra getting some shade from the sun in the amusement park. Happiness.

Day 04: Poppie and Daffa on the Dinosaur monorail. Happiness.

Day 04: Daffa on a cute ferris wheel. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 3

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OK! So things got a little hectic yesterday and by the time I got home last night and a chance to get to my computer it was already today, so thought I would wait until this morning to post yesterdays happiness.

We headed in to Ratu Plaza for a quick new release dvd fix as I love watching dvd’s after putting Samudra to bed and I have a rapidly growing collection – when you can buy around 15+ dvd’s in Jakarta for the price of only 1 in Melbourne you can’t help but go a little overboard.

Next it was a very quick stop at Plaza Senayan to try and see the Dragon Dance for Chinese New Year… There were so many people there that although we are taller than the average Indonesian, I still couldn’t get a good view, but it was LOUD and it was FUN to see the dancers jumping around the stage.

Delicious snacks followed at the cafe alleyway outside Plaza Senayan before heading to Eastern Promise to congratulate Erin and Mark on their impending marriage.  Never before have I gone to a pub and spent the whole time in a kids play room – but this is life with a new baby and a smokey pub inside. Happiness.

Hope you all had a fun day too and HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! Wishing you good health and success in the Year of The Horse.

Day 03:  Very early morning and Samudra chewing on his hilarious dummy while resting on his sleeping bapak. Happiness.

Day 03:  Gong Xi Gong Xi. Ang pao ang pao.. Happy New Year Dragon Dance at Plaza Senayan. Happiness.

Day 03:  Cool cafe strip outside Plaza Senayan with delicious food. Happiness.

Day 03:  Being able to buy all the latest New Release movies super cheap. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 2

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Today started with more heavy rain and flooding but I managed to make it along briefly to the BWA Playgroup in Pejaten for a quick song circle with all the kids and Samudra half asleep.. I also managed to go for a long walk around the complex while the sun was out, with the aim of capturing the funny things around here and all the beautiful smiling friendly faces, only to realise I left the camera by the front door when I left! haha… So I’ll leave that for another time..

Day 02: Meeting up with the gorgeous Shweta and Shiv at BWA Playgroup in Pejaten. Happiness.

Day 02: Cheeky Daffa in an Australia t-shirt playing with birds out on the street in Pasar Minggu. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 1

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Last night there was some seriously heavy rain falling non-stop for hours on end and yet again Jakarta was left underwater and flooding in many parts of the city… so I was wondering what I would do to entertain myself and Samudra as we were going to be indoors for most of the day avoiding the chaos created outside by the hujan.. then I opened my emails and saw a message which read “Can You be Happy for 100 Days in a Row?”… hmmmmm… challenge accepted! So I have decided to post a picture or two a day of what makes me happy in Jakarta, along with any other posts of events that we visit… So here are my snapshots of Happiness for Day 1….

Day 01 : Playing with my beautiful little boy all day. Happiness.

Day 01: My gorgeous sister Treen holding Samudra at Koi, Kemang, and he’s not crying. Happiness.

The Color Run Jakarta

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Well, it’s almost the end of January and FINALLY I am writing my first post for the year! Happy New Year everyone.. better late than never, right? I figure I still have 11 months of the year to go so there will hopefully be lots of posts to come.. It’s proving a little tricky to carry a baby and a heavy camera around Jakarta, so I will update whenever possible and let’s see what 2014 has waiting for everyone in Jakarta! Please feel free to let me know of any child friendly events or places of recommendation I can check out and share with you all as well. I’m looking to keep Samudra out of the malls as much as possible but stuck for ideas on where to take him.

So yesterday Jakarta I was SHOCKED! I mean really SHOCKED!!! I have been waiting in anticipation for The Color Run to come to Jakarta and it’s been pouring raining every morning in the lead up to the event, and most of Jakarta is still flooded and underwater, so I kept my fingers crossed that the sun would shine on January 26.. and it did! My alarm went off at 5.00am and I headed off in the taxi, leaving Samudra at home to sleep with his bapak (aaaaah free time is such a rare luxury these days!)… Knowing that most Jakartans would rather ride their motorbikes or drive their cars the 5 metre walk to the warung, etc.. you can imagine my surprise to arrive at Parkir Timur Senayan to a sea of white tshirts and colourfully dressed eager participants.. the tickets to the event sold out in just over a week.. so that was 11,000 people who actually WANTED TO WALK or RUN 5km! Hooray Jakarta! I am so proud of all those that took part in the ‘Happiest 5k on the Planet’ and don’t I feel like the lazy one now.. I was dripping in sweat in the heat and all I was doing was walking around taking photos! The run promoted healthy living and there was such a diverse mix of people out there making the most of the sunshine yesterday morning.. next year I WILL join in and get covered in colour rather than stand on the sidelines.

Congratulations to everyone who participated and I know you all had fun doused in your sachets of colour – it was a morning of laughter and happiness.. and a great way to finally start blogging again for this year.

I realise that I have gone overboard in posting pictures today but I wanted to share some colour and fun with you for January.. Enjoy!

6.00am and looking glam to run

Jakartans LOVE to have their photos taken

The bride and her bridesmaids

Some pre-event fun in the photo booth

Love their wigs, such a happy crew!

What an angel! Is it an unfair advantage to run with wings?

..and they’re off.. and still ready to pose for the camera!

Participants get splashed with colour at every kilometre.. this is near the start

Cute colourful mini mouse ears!

Waiting for the start of the fun run

What a fun way to go around the track

Racing to the finish line

Happiness to have reached the end

Surprise! Expect to be coloured when you least expect it..

A rainbow of Color Runners

Let the madness begin..

Bless! PDA… now that’s also a rarity in Jakarta..

The after party explodes into colour!

Let’s do it again!

Colourful angel and bunnies

Sampai jumpa lagi Jakarta

Clean Up Jakarta Day

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On Sunday November 10, we hit the streets behind our school to join in the Clean Up Jakarta Day campaign.  About 40 students, teachers and parents worked our way up the back lanes of our school to pick up the stray plastic bags, water bottles and of course, the millions of cigarette butts covering every surface of this country.  There is nothing really enjoyable about standing over a drain and pulling at congested plastic and hoping it doesn’t come flying up in your face, but it certainly felt right to be making even a small gesture in helping to clean up this place we call home.

The locals were certainly amused at the strange mixed bag of people with their cleaning gloves and recycling bags as they became theTukang Sampah (rubbish person) for the day.  In the end we collected 16 bags of rubbish and sent them off for recycling.  Hopefully it at least stopped the flooding of the drains for one day.
Next year, we hope even more people get involved in the campaign and that the government can start to make more of an effort to reduce the waste in this place, and to educate people about where to put that waste.  I was thinking this as my ojek driver threw his used plastic bag onto the street and I imagined that plastic bag making its way eventually into the belly of a fish, and it made me sad about what we are doing to this planet.  So many people in Jakarta exist more in a survival mode, rather than one of flourishing so it’s okay if there is rubbish everywhere, or if you burn plastic and inhale the toxic fumes, or sit behind a bajaj blowing poison in your face, or toss your rubbish into a drain; there isn’t a chance to make a connection between a toxic environment and bad health when you are on survival mode.  But something has to be done fast for this place and Clean Up Jakarta Day is certainly a good beginning.

The amazing team from AIS Pejaten! (Photo courtesy of Talisa Tulip…. Thanks so much!)

Students cleaning the streets surrounding Australian International School (AIS). (Photo courtesy of Talisa Tulip)

Amazing work everyone!. (Photo courtesy of Talisa Tulip)

Cleaning drains around the school..  (Photo courtesy of Talisa Tulip)

Awesome job! Well done everyone at AIS.. super effort by all those involved. (Photo courtesy of Talisa Tulip)

NOTE:  Also a HUGE THANK YOU to Angela Richardson at Jakarta Expat Magazine for starting the Clean Up Jakarta campaign, now in its second year.. well done in being active in making positive changes in Jakarta!

CRAFINA at Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC)

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Crafina returns to Jakarta for it’s 6th year and is a massive craft bazaar and expo held at the Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC). It has isles bursting with colour from all the gorgeous Tenun, Ikat and Batik fabrics from all over Indonesia.  There are  clothes, bags, shoes, knick knacks, jewellery and much more on sale and fashion parades and entertainment throughout the day.  So if you’re looking for ethnic gifts or treats for yourself, get yourself down to JCC as it ends this Sunday the 23rd November.

Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Hall A, B, & Lobby, Gelora Bung Karno, Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Check out www.crafina.com or their Facebook Page.

Super cute and colourful shoes for kids and adults by Corpies

Vintage looking wall hangings by Baliluna Handicraft – they also have a great selection of bright furniture and decorations

How great are these fabrics and bags? I couldn’t resist and bought a great bag made from plant fibres with pom poms on it..

Gorgeous batik motif stamps.. seriously regretting not buying these roosters.. by Amalia Jewel+Craft

More great gift ideas at Amalia

I wanted everything in this booth! I couldn’t resist an awesome batik rain cloud hanging mobile for my beautiful little boy. Gorgeous cushions and knick knacks by Anggraini Batik & Craft.

A gorgeous selection of Batik giraffes

 

Car Free Day in Jakarta

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Ahhhh Sunday… you have saved my sanity by giving me a chance to walk around outdoors without the fear of being run over by weird and wonderful vehicles… although the amount of bikes on the road this morning was a little overwhelming! Great to see so many eager Jakartans up at 6.00am to take advantage of Jl Sudirman being free from horrendous traffic… It was good to get my legs moving and work up a ridiculous sweat rather than wandering around an air conditioned mall for exercise!  I have to remember to do it more often…

I’m not sure if there was a celebration on this morning but there were hundreds of men in traditional clothing riding around and yelling all morning!

Go the red and white! Proud Indonesians 🙂

Good Morning lovely ladies!

Let’s celebrate with the marching band!

I can’t resist a beautiful Indonesian baby!

Possibly the happiest and most enthusiastic dance instructor I have ever seen!

Brightspot Market – Lotte Shopping Avenue

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Hip hip hooray! It’s the Brightspot Market time of year again already and this time it’s being held at the brand new Lotte Shopping Avenue (as if Jakarta needed yet ANOTHER mall!). Today is the last day so head on down if you have the will to battle the traffic and check out the men’s section, loads of women’s clothing, gadgets, shoes, kids clothing, eat some delicious cupcakes or just santai and soak up the atmosphere… it’s the place for all things cool from Indonesian designers and seems to pull a crowd of all Jakarta’s young hipsters…

Cool necklaces and jewellery at Antyk Butyk

Samudra wearing adorable little ears by Saure

Cute kids clothes, toys and bunny ears by Saure

I love these mosaic style necklaces by Meet Market – they source cool jewellery from around the world..

More jewellery from Meet Market

Funky shoes by JD Kids.. wish they made smaller than size 1!

Handmade toys by Cipta at goodguysneverwin

Chilling out in the sweet treats to eat area ..

Clothes shopping at Geulis

Love the booth sign for Ensemble

Fun ring designs by greedysassy