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One of our uncle come visiting us during his business trip to Jakarta. Oom Thom, as what we call him, is our uncle who lived with us during our childhood years in Bontang. So today we gather at Mbak Wik's house to meet him and laugh those fun stories from the past.
Pure Restaurant offers beautiful night view of Jakarta city. As it is also a revolving restaurant, you will Be able to see 360 degree view of Jakarta, from north to south, from west to east.
I and Elok celebrate our 10th Anniversary by having dinner with the kids at Pure Restaurant, Menara Imperium. Time flies so fast, we've been together for total of 15 years. Hopefully til death do us part. Amen.
It is 30 minutes past 10 at Kuta Square Bali, but the night looks just began here. Cars are jammed in the street crowded with shops and tourists.
Representatives from Management and Union took pose in front of Kuta Square before we hold consultation session for collective labour agreement.
My favourite Indian dish: Bryani Rice with mutton. They put it on top of banana leaf, which looks exotic. Courtesy of Banana Leaf Apolo Restaurant
During a business trip to Singapore this week, last night I was asked to a dinner at Little India. Currently there is Deepavali festival where they lit up the lights along the streets.
What is the commonality between these four boys? All of them are gamers! They are always busy with their PSPs on family function! :-)
My mother's big family hold a ritual event, Halal Bihalal at D'Cost Kemang. An event of reunion and forgive each other after Idul Fitri.
Rafif showed off his latest Lego creation, Jedi Starfighter. He's good at this.
Back to our home sweet home, Aya can't stand to see her Koi pond become filth and dirty. She assisted our maid to clean up the pond. A big job, but she seems to have fun with it.
One feature at Siam Ocean World which Jakarta's Sea World doesn't have is Glass Bottom Boat. With this boat, visitors ride on the surface of the gigantic fish tank while observing the life underneath through its glass floor. As shown, Aya and Rafif had a close encounter with Tiger Shark from South Africa swimming past below the boat.
On our last day in Bangkok, we visited Siam Ocean World, an underwater park which was highly recommended by my friends in Bangkok. It did not disappoint the kids, as it presents number of water living creatures in attractive ways.
Kids just love fish! Aya and Rafif stare at the large fish Tank on the top of the dining table on Siam Paragon mall food court, the place we eat every day at Bangkok, as it is just across the road of our hotel.
While his mother busy shopping for Thai's souvenirs, Rafif do a monk-style seating, dodging laser missiles on his PSP :-)
Visiting Grand Palace without a tour guide means Elok has to recollect her memory of our tour guide story last year to guide her mom and Aya.
A trip to Bangkok is not complete if you don't go to Grand Palace. A beautiful palace with rich collection of sacred cultural heritage.
The entire family, including my mother in law, took photo together with Noot.
I had dinner together with Jason and Noot, my old Friends from Singapore International Foundation Asian Student Fellowship back in 1996. They work and live in Bangkok, and we haven't met for long time, so we catch up with each other at a cafe in Paragon Siam Mall.
Our tour finished in style. We took a ride on Grand Pearl River Cruise to Bangkok through Chaoprya river. I took picture of Aya and Rafif while they are sitting on observation deck at the back of the cruise. They love it!
Ruins and temples may be a bit boring for the kids, especially Rafif. But they are definitely excited to hop on elephant back and take a 10 minutes ride at Ayutthaya.
View of Ayutthaya ruins. Formerly capital city of Thailand which were destroyed by war and natural disasters, It is now become one of the most visited tourist destination in Thailand.
Today we take a tour to Ayutthaya, ancient city heritage, an hour drive from Bangkok. We stopped by at Bang Pa In Summer Palace. A beautiful palace indeed. One thing that makes it absolutely delight in the eyes is because of the excellent maintenance of the place. I wonder why can't we do the same for Kraton Jogja or Kebun Raya Bogor? Surely they have similar potential. Oh well, no wonder our tourists are only one third of Thailand's.
I and Elok found quite interesting activities on Siam Square surroundings. People are selling various foods that we can only think they are delicious, as most of them are pork!
Elok and Mom are thrilled with the much lower price of artificial flowers at Suan Lum. 30-50 percent cheaper than in Jakarta!
For foreign tourists, Suan Lum Night Market is one of the must-go place, as it offers wide array of Thailand souvenirs and antiques at bargain price. If you know how to bargain, that is.
Thanks to GPS technology on my Samsung i780, I suddenly become experienced Bangkok visitor! I can point out number of stores, ATM, restaurants, and stations nearby our hotel. Actually I just downloaded the map last night from an GPS community site. And it happened to be brilliant thing to do!
Rafif posed in front of baggage claim lanes at Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok, right after he had been cleared from immigration check.
Aya and Rafif are busy reading their book and magazine while waiting for our flight to Bangkok.
In a packed Saturday afternoon, we watch Indonesian latest movie hit, 'Laskar Pelangi' together with Mbak Wik's family, Chita and Bona. We all found the movie both enchanting as well as entertaining. Great stuff.
Rafif have his hair cut today at Kiddy Cuts Pondok Indah Mall. He enjoys it so much, particularly because he can get a grip on Playstasion during the process.
Idul Fitri in Indonesia also means days without maids. Typically, all maids are going home to their towns or villages, leaving all of us take care the domestic duties. Just like Aya here, mopping the floor early in the morning. :-)
Today is Aya's 9th birthday. We have little celebration at Bambu Apus with close families.
After tiring Idul Fitri, my niece, Rania fell to sleep on her favourite cradle. :-)
Idul Fitri feast in Indonesia means ketupat, opor ayam, lontong sayur and sambal goreng. We all are well served with excellent dishes today at Elok's parents house.
We start the Idul Fitri day praying at Masjid Al-Falah, Bambu Apus, Jakarta. I posed with Rafif and Rangga.
