Happy 13th Birthday!

The best thing that has happened
To both your Mom & Me
Is You

We wish you the best & cool teen year!

Glad We're Home

At Borobudur with a Buddha in an exposed Stupa

Phew!

We are back home again!

The vacation was fast-ending as it was fast coming when we first yearned for an escape.

Yes, we had fun. Seen lots in a foreign land and experienced plenty... the beautiful culture, the magnificent landscapes and the sad human realities there too. An eye-opener especially for our Sonny.

Central Java, Indonesia has a rich past dating from ancient times. From ancient ruins showing testaments to their past Hindu and Buddhist civilizations, to the old buildings of once occupied country by the Dutch, the English and the Japanese before their centuries-long fights for freedom gained their independence in 1945.

Going from places to places together with the rest of the tour group - our family of 5 people and 3 middle-aged couples from Singapore, the trip was made fun and alive especially from a hilarious and very animated guy, not our tour-guide but our own local man named Pak Shukri from Ang Mo Kio.

The Java Overland Tour Group

11 of us were the closest to a family we got with Pak Rizal as our tour guide and time keeper, we spent during our 6-day Java Overland Tour as we journeyed together across the vast land.

Starting from the capital city Jakarta in the west, stretching all the way to end of tour coverage as far as Jogjakarta, about the centre of Central Java island.

A nice experience overall for me simply because I have the most favorite people to share it with... my family and parents.

The only drawback is my weak stomach. The second last day proved that I am not that tough after I eat a packed of steamed ground nuts Mom bought from a street peddler who came to our coach.

Mom eat a few, so did Sonny, but I eat most of it and finished it all, so I got the worst reaction... only me!

This time around, Wifey got to tell me "I told you so" when I fell ill coming back to Jakarta from Bandung. My stomach was in so much pain as I felt it twisted and turned upside-down inside of me from food poisoning.

She kept reminding me not to buy food or drinks from the street peddlers. I did not, but my Mom did. I am not blaming, I just tend to forget the hygiene level there as our stomachs are accustomed to living in Singapore.

The vast padi fields dominating most of country's landscape

That was the most longest and painful, grueling 3-hour coach ride of my life!

The medication we brought for the trip took a long time to take affect but did a good job nonetheless reducing my trips to the toilet... everywhere we could stop at one along our journey.

Disposable underwear came in handy too, I tell you! Fortunately the toilets at all pit stops were surprising clean. Phew!

Well, I have to stop here as nature calls again, the third time today.

I promise the next few posts will be pleasant ones... the ones we immersed ourselves with enjoyment entirely.

To-the-loo... for now!

Packed And Ready

There! We are finally packed for our vacation starting tomorrow.

Wifey was exceptionally chatty while we were packing... a little bit too excited at times. I have been focusing on the photography department, checking and packing the camera and video cam and all its accessories.

Sonny was focusing on the gaming department. Loading-up on all the games, songs with is laptop, PSP, PDA and accessories into his knapsack.

Wifey has a medium-sized luggage all to herself, while the larger one is shared by both Sonny and me. We also packed some snacks and sachets Milo, 3-In-1 coffee and tea for our late night chats there.

I am beginning to feel the excitement, but at the same time cannot help but feel sad to leave our pets behind. We will have to say good bye to our fish, plants and especially our hamsters. Actually, I am quite sad that we will not be seeing them for the whole week.

Fortunately they are not home-alone. My Niece has graciously agreed once again, to come by our home at least every other day after her class to help water the plants, top up the automated fish food-feeder when its running low and feed our hammies.

The last time she did the same was when we left for Bangkok, Thailand in December last year.

Our Qatar Airways flight which will depart from Singapore from Changi Airport Terminal 3 at 2:00PM for a 1 hour and 45 minutes flight reaching Jakarta, Indonesia, with a time zone an hour earlier.


We will travel across Central Java going to interesting natural wonders - caves and volcanic mountains, hot springs and historic places. We will also visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the ancient Borobudur temple.

Going from one tourist destination to another everyday, most of our time will be spent in the coach, just like our trip to Perth Australia with my parents too. So Mom and Dad are quite accustomed to what the trip entails.

Hotels will therefore be different everyday in every province.

All together we will be visiting 5 provices throughout the 7-day tour.

Hopefully it will not be taxing to both Mom and Dad. Definitely, some places will be almost inaccessible to my wheelchair-bound Mom, but the tour guide assured us not to worry.

We will just pray that this is true. I would hate it if Mom were to miss out on any once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We pray for a safe journey there and back. Hoping that we can enjoy ourselves thoroughly together and bring lots of fond memories and experiences back... souvenirs, pictures and all!

See you in a week's time! Have a super-great week everyone!

It's A Shoe-in

We have less than a week to prepare and pack for our vacation to Indonesia.

Everyone is quite excited about it, especially my parents. Mom has been calling me frequently asking about stuff they should bring along and updating their packing status.

My parents are now all packed and ready.

Here, no qualms from Sonny and me. We are ready as we can be, but Wifey has a painful story to tell.


That's Got To Hurt!

Wifey has been having bouts of leg cramps these past few weeks. On several occasions her middle toe curled up so badly she cried because of the pain.

Recently, she had leg cramps while we were in the shopping mall. I had to stop and message her leg for a while until the pain went away.

She since had several more cramps... either on the toes or her calves. She thinks its age catching up. I think it is her newly bought pair of casual shoes.

For the life of me, I have no idea how her sprawling toes can fit into such a tiny, triangular-pointed pair of shoes?

"It's a tight squeeze but I'll manage..." she defends herself, "you don't know women." Was her final statement whenever I brought the matter up while messaging her after those attacks.

Darn right I do not know women! I cannot comprehend any person willing to forgo comfort for pain. "Beauty is pain" and in this case, leg cramps.

"That's got to hurt." I warned Wifey as she was trying those particular pair of shoes at Eastpoint Mall in Simei.

"No. I think it looks great." She always says, "This matches my dresses..."

Sigh. So be it.


The Revelation... Not Really

"I think you're right. I tend to get leg cramps after walking long distances in those." She explained, pouting her lips to point to the last week's pair of shoes while trying a new one on Saturday.

I told her that she needed a proper pair for walking... be it for casual wear to run her errants but mostly for the concern while on the trip that involves quite an amount of walking.

"I know I am." I told her nodding my head, eyebrows lifted. I told you so was more like it though... but...

"Then again, maybe I walked to much..." she went back, "I have been on my feet all day doing house chores... blah... blah... blah..." The words just softly muffled to nothingness in my ears...

I believe we have hunted for her "prefect" version of walking shoes at all shopping malls in the eastern part of this island. Sadly, it was still allusive.

We gave BHG at Tampines Mall another look and found her casual shoes for the trip.

"I don't think that is what I call walking shoes, honey." I had to remind her.

"The soles are tough but flexible unlike the last one." Wifey analyzed, "I feel comfortable in them."

"I think that one is more suitable." I tried to reason with her "Yes, it does look like sports shoes, but those are made for walking comfortably."

"I like these better..." she said while looking at her feet through the mirror, "besides, it matches with the green dress I already picked for the tour."

Of course it matches. It is black. Everything matches with black! My mind screamed.

She was adamant. She bought the pair of shoes the shoe salesgirl specifically recommended for desk-bound office workers. For walking? We had to see. It should be interesting, but it was more taxing.

I guess if beauty takes precedences over comfort, then matching that perfect pair of shoes with the handbag that goes with the dress is a darn good argument!


Putting My Foot Down

That was the only weekend left for us to buy anything we need for the trip. I finally had enough with "beauty is pain" concept and had to put... well, my foot down in the name of practicality.

She wore her new shoes yesterday after my insistence "You need sneakers!" for our trip.

"Never mine. I'll buy you one." I exclaimed because I definitely do not want any instances of her legs cramping-out on me while we are on our vacation. Besides we already have my mother to care for.

"We go shopping at Queensway Shopping Centre, OK?" I told Wifey.

This is the mall that is a haven for all sporting men.

Though it is an old building, the whole 5-storey mall has everything from jeans to business shirts and pants, sneakers to branded business shoes and rollerblades to dumbbells.

"I think this black Reebok sneakers fit better." Wifey assessed while trying on the third pair.

For once, I agreed with her choice of shoes. It fits the purpose and occasion. It does not look like rugged sports shoes, but can also pass as "casual dress shoes" as she puts it. It actually gives me comfort.

"I think I'll wear it straight away..."she informed the salesgirl, "no need to pack it."

I looked at her with raised eyebrows. Explain!

"Those shoes give me blisters," she explained spontaneously, pointing to the new shoes we bought yesterday "I don't think I can walk far in them."

Bingo! I shouted in my head. I thought to say "I told you so!" loudly but was just like rubbing it in... no pun intended.


The Test Drive...

"So..." I exclaimed, "would you like to give this pair a test-walk?" I suggested that we go on a nature walk at the newly opened Southern Ridges Trail, since it was just a few bus stops away from the mall.

The word "Sure." from her was the happiest moment for me then. It was worth the trip all the way to the southern part of the island to get her the right kind of shoes.

National Parks has recently opened trails after trails of nature walk connecting the various parks in Singapore with interesting bridges.

Each park has its own unique attraction and each linking bridge has its new unique experience for the people.

We only managed to stroll through two parks - the Flora park at Hortpark in Alexandra Road, where we started from Alexandra Arch and all the way to Henderson Wave... ending at Faber Hill.

We took the feeder bus 409 down to Habourfront Bus Terminal on our way back.

The whole nature walk experience was incredible. Lots to see, lots of pictures taken... but only if I had taken my Lumix FZ10 camera. The shots would have been better than my iPhone camera.

Anyway, about that will be in another post.

Coming back to my dear Wifey. It was proven... Wifey did not suffer leg cramps after the exceptionally long walks in her new sneakers I bought her.

"I should have bought more comfortable shoes earlier on if I 'd known it makes that much difference." Wifey summed-up her shoe fiasco.

I told you so! My heart said. But I just smiled to her in agreement.

Safe journeys ahead...