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If there’s one thing I *think* I’m good at, it is definitely doing research Even before we embark on a trip, I’ll make sure I research well on the must-see and eat places and print it out. I plan ahead with an itinerary. Always. It may not necessarily materialize end of the day but at least I have some rough idea on what I’d like and should do when I’m in a new country.

Anyway I have NO idea how I came across the website of the villa we stayed in as it was already bookmarked on my laptop. Whatever it is, I”m SOOO glad we stayed here. You can read the EXCELLENT reviews on Tripadvisor too. The villa is actually located some 10 minutes away from Ubud Town. However, the hotel provides FREE transport into Ubud at any time. Since there are only 7 villas here (thus making it exclusive), getting a van out wasn’t a problem – it was readily available at all times. After you’re done with your shopping, they’ll even come and pick you up. All free of charge!! Transfer from and to the airport is also FREE. It’s the only hotel I know so far that includes all these excellent thoughtful services FOC. Oh and whatever you also see in the fridge is FREE

Here we are after a 1.5 hours journey – traffic was bad that day due to the cremation of the Ubud King.

I love the walk way heading to our villa. Was getting all eager to see the villa’s beauty.

The FIRST view of our 4-day home.

That’s right, it comes with our very own private pool. SWEET.

The comfy bed with one sleeping beauty on it.

Day bed

Yup doubled up as Sairah’s food storage area, lol

OUTDOOR shower!! And Sairah’s bathing tub She treated it like a mini baby pool.

Baby woke up from her slumber all happy with the villa.

Sairah-approved – the most important aspect of the trip

The hotel staff here are generally one of the best we’ve encountered in a long time. They are VERY accomodating and thoughtful. Extremely friendly and always making sure that you’re comfortable with your stay. Asked if we wanted a cot and never in a million years did I expect to see a cot that’s half the usual size, haha.

Balinese-style cot yo.

Sairah has been rolling her tongue alot lately. New trick!

Nah, can you see what’s up my nose woman?!

Of course the cot was only for show and worked as a play pen (a damn small one) as she slept with us on the bed.

I especially loved our breakfast area that overlooked the pool. Absolutely serene and peaceful. I also had a pedicure and massage done on that chair – how’s that for awesome service?!

And of course I’d be lying if I say I didn’t enjoy breakfast. It was literally unlimited until 12pm!! The stingy husband would order in a big plate of nasi goreng and bihun right before the strike of 12pm and have that as an early lunch. Then again, I’m pretty sure alot of people would have done this too Most likely, Malaysians

Tea time was also readily available from 1pm-7pm. Unlimited.

Baby girl sure as hell knows how to chill out

This was baby Sairah’s FIRST swim. I got the bikini for her when I was only two months pregnant in Phillipines. It finally came to good use.

All eager and ready to play with water!

She absolutely loved being in the water so we’re going to start teaching her how to swim from now on. But I”m not keen on seeing my pretty baby with a tan. She tans easily, lol.

We took the honeymoon package (I know i know – we’re like wayyyy past that!) that comprised of 2 massages AND a romantic candle-lit dinner in the villa.

Tea-light around the pool

Well-set table. It WAS indeed romantic except……..

Fried Lumpia – so damn good!

Grilled Chicken with Wedges

Chocolate cake with ice cream – Sairah’s fav!

Pretty romantic like I said except…….

We had one cheeky baby with us.

Oh-hai, here to disturb your romantic dinner. Aren’t you two too old for that now??!

And one uninvited guest that didn’t please the baby too much. Sairah’s a dog lover alll the way! Damn cat stole our breakfast and Sairah’s food!

So Baby, did you enjoy your stay here?

Yes maam and let’s make it 5 nights the next trip shall we?

Nefatari Exclusive Villa is indeed a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED villa if you want a place that’s value for money. It may not be the most high end villa around Ubud, but for a mere USD440 for a 3 night stay (coupled with all the other value added services), this is indeed the BEST villa to consider that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

I should know, coz I did the research

17 August 2011 – 21 August 2011

We finally did it. We took our 11 month old baby to BALI last week for her FIRST holiday.

I was nervous and excited before our family trip. Nervous because I wasn’t sure how our baby would react to a 3 hour flight. Nervous because I had to make sure we had packed everything she would need without missing a single thing out.  Thank God everything went smoothly both ways. Feeding baby a BIG bottle of milk as we took off helped alot.  We brought some books and toys to keep her entertained though she was a little restless.  The flight out was much easier as we took the earliest flight - she slept througout the entire journey making it easy for mommy

Sairah’s grandma and grandpa drove us to the airport last Wednesday. Grandpa actually missed a turning into LCCT and it literally took us 30mins finding the damn way back to the airport thanks to our crap sign boards. I really thought we were gonna miss our flight but luckily, we made it in the nick of time. My poor dad felt sooo bad about missing the turn but how many parents are this nice to drop their grown up buffaloes kids and grandchild to the airport aye

After 2 hours and 40 minutes we arrived with a HAPPY baby to Bali.

Since we arrived in the evening, we spent the night in a bed and breakfast  in Kuta before we transfered out the next day to an awesome private villa (but more on that later) in Ubud.

Baby Sairah spent some time walking around the streets of Kuta with her daddy the next morning.

While mommy did some shopping for herself And for baby of course.

Eagerly waiting for our transport to arrive. 

The transfer to Ubud took about 1 hour plus. Traffic in Kuta according to our driver has become horrible. I don’t remember it being this way the last time we were there. But I still love Bali very much that we’re making Bali an annual trip every year :lol:

After checking in into our gorgeous villa, we decided to walk around Ubud. First stop was to Cafe Wayan & Bakery which was a truly amazing cafe with lush greenery.

I really love the way the dining area is soo traditional and huge so baby can shuffle around and do her thing

Went banana juice crazy througout the trip.

We just walked around that area until our pick up came.

Then on Friday we had to go back to Kuta because someone left his damn glasses in the previous hotel. So it was a gruelling 2 hour journey back to Kuta and another 1.5 hours back to Ubud. But since we didn’t have a choice, we decided to make the best of it.

All set for Kuta mom, do I look pwettie?

SILLY DADDY

@ a Cafe in Matahari Mall

Oh hi mom, can I place my order now please?!

Best banana pancake ever!

Though this is our third time to Bali (BALI ROCKS!), this was our first time to Jimbaran to experience the sunset and it’s fresh seafood.

The beach isn’t the cleanest or the best around Bali…..

But it sure gives a good sunset view.

Even Baby Sairah approves

We had yummy Ikan Bakar with rice, some vegs and juices that cost us less than RM40. A little note  however is to be careful with your orders as waiters tend to be a little pushy. Since prices go by the gram, always let them know the exact quantity you want. Lia Cafe is a good option to eat in as they are the cheapest among the restaurants there.

Then on Saturday, we decided to explore Ubud a little more.

All ready for Ubud market maam.

But not before making a customary supermarket stop

Her gorgeous halter dress was actually bought in Bali last year by my bestie Wylane. And to think Sairah wore it here :D  

Mommy and Baby cam-whoring in a restaurant.

@ Ubud Market

REALLY love this photo of her, she looks sooo cheeky. My cheeky monkey!

What?! DVD are only RM5 here?? Load up on Baby Einstein series will ya?

One last shot outside the market.

Cheeky lil baby all set for bed before her early flight out.

Do I have to sleep now?

As much as it’s not easy travelling with a baby around, I’m glad I got to bring Sairah on this trip.  As a mother, it’s amazing to see my baby girl explore and adapt to her new surroundings. She was a happy baby throughout the trip. It made us bond, showed that we work well as a unit even when thrown into a new environment. We’re soo proud of our little one.

Now I look forward to many more trips with her.

And this is also the last trip for this year. MEHHH!

A good busy weekend certainly goes by quickly

I really have to show off  Sairah’s outfit that she wore to Mid Valley on our outing on Friday. I shipped  this in from the US recently and only paid less than RM50. It’s a gorgeous long tunic top (which can also double up as a dress) that comes with the cutest looking pink leggings.  I love it coz it’s soooo vibrant and has a touch of ’salsa’ feel to it. It really screams TGIF in any case

I look super girly today mommie.

But sometimes I can’t help by being a total rebel.

Ok I took off the damn headband, what YOU gonna do about it, whatttt?!

The top is a little loose (this is afterall meant for a 12 month old baby) hence the straps were falling though I do think the off-shoulder look is even nicer

The customized crotchet headband that I got online goes really well and matches her outfit. 

Then on Saturday, we were up early for a mission: to get our baby’s passport sorted once and for all!!  Though we Malaysians are not really known for our efficiency, our Immigration Department has indeed come a LONG way! We got her passport done in under 2 hours.

For starters, they have a special counter for old /disabled folks, pregnant women and babies @ Counter 9. Thoughtful much? Why yes. You have to fill up the form, pass either mom or dad’s photocopy IC, together with a copy of baby’s birth cert ( don’t forget to bring the originals too) followed by 2 passport size photos of the lil one, like so:

Isn’t this the cutest mug shot ever??! 

Yea so I had a few shots of milk earlier officer- is that going to be a problem??!

It’s ME!

And this is what I have to say about mom trying to teach me colors and objects. In public.

Even though we got there a little after 10 a.m (tried waking up earlier but just FAILED), we were attended to in less than 30 minutes after taking a number and filing up the necessary forms. I reckon it would be even faster if there were less old folks and babies around but given the fact that it was a Saturday – a day that most Malaysians choose to run errands, it was considered fast.

Is it our turn yet daddiee?

Application process was done in a jiffy. Either dad or mom signs off the form followed by a thumb print taking full responsibility over baby’s passport. We had to wait for our number to be called again in order to make a RM150 payment for her 5-year long passport. We were then told to come back in one hour to collect it.

After killing sometime eating and shopping at the nearby supermarket, we got to the collection counter, not before the officer shouting out for Sairah because they recognized her from the photo and were eager to meet her,  lol. Babies also need  to be present during passport collection.

Collection done, and we were out of there by 12pm! Efficient much? Of course a friend had to state that she got hers done in less than 5 minutes in Singapore and quite ruin the glorious moment. We’re not in SG now are we damnit??!!

What the heck is this red book about? Is that woman still trying to teach me red objects?

Oops, iz my passport mommie. YAY, does this mean we’re going on a holiday soon??! *promise to be on my bestest best behavior*

Then later that night, the cousins came over for a little get together. Been a while since we had one of those!

Some yummy Mojito to wash down the thirsty throats

Lots of local food bought at the Ramadhan bazaar. Poor husband went in the rain to get this!

And I just quit my highly stressed job says the gigolo Roshan dropping a huge bomb. Who needs cheap labor? The boy needs the $ to pay off his bills.

The awesome baked pasta that I made Think I might have perfected a yummy cream sauce recipe coined by yours truly :D  Need to make it on more time before I publish the recipe here and give it a funky name immortalizing moi

See all gone. I still suck at getting the breadcrumbs fully cooked since it tends to get super brown quick. Tips anyone?

The mille crepe cake redemeed from JackCow. Only RM40 instead of RM80 But no where close to the yummy crepes we had in Malacca.

Good weekend. Now I look forward to this coming weekend

Ok last post on my trip!

What can I say about The Hague except that I really loved and enjoyed it more than Amsterdam (ironic? Why YES) . It’s a very pretty lil city which is also the home of the Dutch government.

Den Haag is the local name for Hague. The weather was cold and the air was sooo fresh and clean – did my lungs some good I reckon.

We stayed at Hilton and it was truly a gorgeous hotel. Helps that it is centrally located near the shopping area

Yes I wore slippers in the cold. My feet hate shoes! And vice versa (I read a comment somewhere that if you see an Asian in a cold climate country wearing slippers – chances are he/she is Malaysian, lol – well spot on buddy!)

But funny story about these babies – the ones I wore  for the trip (and have been with me for the past 2 years) gave way thanks to the cold and rain so I had to buy a new pair. The only son of a bitch shoe I brought along was just BITTING into my feet. Shoes and even slippers are MAD expensive in Netherlands I swear. They cost at least 40 Euros and above (but at least they’re of great quality – according to the hotel receptionist) and no way in hell would I spend that much on something that touches the ground. So I walked into god knows the entire shoe shop in Hague (coz I was too cheap and didn’t want to splurge) only to happily find these babies for a grand total of 9 Euros ONLEH. *pats my cheapo back*.   

Moving on, I love Hague mainly because you get a large area of green space, nicer walking streets and in my opinion, better shopping too. It’s a perfect place for bringing up children. The air is fresh (unlike Amsterdam where you can smell weed sometimes and the BOs of many people), here in Hague you hardly have alot of people in some streets and people are generally quite friendly. Quite a number of Dutch Indians too, we’re everywhere aren’t we?  Because of that, they tend to speak in Dutch first and then English once you tell them you don’t understand a word they’re saying.

The entire city is accessible via their awesome train and bus and even so, it’s just so nice walking here. I did ALOT of walking and for once, didn’t even complain.

Just outside the hotel:

Hague is really the definition of quaint. But I digress as they say the prettiest city in entire Europe is actually in Bruges, Belgium, which hopefully we’ll get to visit one day *crosses fingers* We only got to see Belgium on the way to Paris via train and it looked SOO beautiful. And speaking of Belgium, Belgium chocolates are to die for, says the few boxes that I brought back and have already eaten :D  

Can literally sit on the road without being hit :) Try doing this in KL and see what happens :D

Waiting for the bus that is always on time The public transportation here is just top class and very convinient. Something Malaysia could learn and follow?

My schedule here was a more lax. The husband had to go to work during the day so I lazed around and explored Hague on my own for that 2 days. I did alot of walking and also shopping

Shopping street – walk ahead to find ways to spend $.

Ready. Set. SHOP!

Just quarter of my hauls. Summer sale here is MAD AWESOME! And it’s also serious fun to shop without the pesky husband around. Time just flew by really fast!

The Peace Palace

Shoulda held up the peace sign damnit

What’s he looking at?

Go figure

We did ALOT of shopping in their supermarket. On a dollar to dollar comparison things are dirt cheap. Heck even after converting, it’s VERY affordable. Imagine a BIG box of milk for less than RM2, quality chocolates and biscuits for less than RM4.

Stocked up lots of biscuits, chocolate and snacks to bring home Some of it are still sitting prettily in the fridge.

And here’s the world’s awesome waffel with caramel /chocolate called the Stroopwafel. I’ve read about them online even before going for this trip and it’s most definitely heavenly. They’re so famous you can literally buy em online here.

Believe it or not, I only spent all of 7 days for this entire trip for obvious reasons But I have to say, it’s probably one of the nicest trip this year (ignore me, I say this after EVERY trip), and will definitely hold a special place in my heart since it was an early expensive Birthday gift from the hubby. 

So now it’s going to suck big time NOT receiving any gifts on my actual Birthday. Oh well, can’t get em all!

Amsterdam bitches!!

LOL okay for some reason I’ve ALWAYS wanted to say that

As part of my “Accomplishing the Before 30 List” I’ve mentioned that going to Amsterdam is something I would like to do before I hit the BIG 30. (Please ignore the reason why I wanted to go there for I was young and stupid back then, heh) Honestly back when I blogged about it I really didn’t know how we were gonna get the $ to go since Europe is expensive to visit (unless you’re blessed with alot of moolah, in that case – I hate you) ,  but I just wrote it down anyways *hoping* that one day we might get the chance and what do you know – me magic blog converted my wish into a reality :D  

But yea, I remember once saying to the husband we would try for our first baby if he ever took me to Europe………..we obviously did the opposite – I got knocked up AND then only he got me tickets to Netherlands and claimed it as my ‘early’ 30th Birthday present!!

Since we stayed in Hague, I took a 1 hour train down to Amsterdam alone since the hubby had to go to work. Train tickets are pretty hefty after conversion – it was about 20 Euros so I was bent on making my entire day worth it.

This was my favorite sandwich and I had it 3-4 times in total Must be an Indian thing.

My first impression of Amsterdam as I got off the train was WOAH – this place is seriously over-whelming!! Honestly, this wasn’t what I expected at all but then again when you have coffeeshop and hookers at every corner – it should be packed with hoards of people!

Heh. Old Uncle busted walking out of there.

I did my research well before heading here. I was deciding between a tour by canal, bus or foot and suprisingly the last one won. I came across this Sandemans website where they conduct FREE walking tours. That’s right, why pay 20 Euros when you can just tip em 5-10 Euros when the tour ends (yes they rely on tips!). It was probably one of the BEST tours I’ve been to.

It did feel akward going on a tour (more so a walking one) by myself. While I can shop alone by myself, everything else I hate doing it on my own. But luckily I made friends with this Finnish girl so perhaps one day it will be HELLO Finland

Ignore the stupid umbrella. It was a bloody hot day so even the jacket was of no use. It was an awesome 3 hour walk with her just exchanging stories from our country and of course exploring Amsterdam.

Dam Square

Our half Nigerian half Bulgarian tour guide

And the first stop was the Red Light District! We were specifically told not to take photos of them else they’d come chasing after us with a bottle of urine, lol. Not sure how true this is but since I didn’t bring any spare clothes to change, why bother.

They all stand in their lil cubicles dressed in their sexiest of lingeries. Some were pretty hot (think big boobs, awsome body -the whole works) and of course you get some off ones too. Despite saying that- the sex and coffeeshop industry actually generates billions of Euros. Owning a coffeeshop there now doesn’t sound so bad afterall eh?

See the green cubicle? Free pee station for men.

For 35 Euros, you get to see them doing it LIVE.

And suprise suprise, there is actually a CHURCH in the middle of the red light district. Funny story back then – when men (eg: Navy / Merchants) used to come to Amsterdam, there would be 3 things on their mind, obviously 3 very sinful things like drink, drugs and sex. So obviously the next day they would feel guilty about their indulgence hence will visit the church to confess before heading back. And interestingly enough, these churches even receive ‘advance’ confessions. Interesting times indeed.

One thing you’d notice about Amsterdam and I would say Netherlands , they probably still believe that the world is FLAT. As in you won’t see steps at all anywhere you go. Hence forth, this is the HIGHEST point in Amsterdam. For real.

As usual, no country is complete without Chinatown

This is what they call the New-Amsterdam where they’ve refurbished it time after time. Not really digging the yellow look though. Locals don’t dig it either.

East India House

Just one of the many coffeeshops around each corner – hey, like Starbucks!

That gorgeous building used to be a post office. Well now it’s a SHOPPING MALL!

Another Church right smack in the central area

Back then, when they didn’t have house numbers, people used to identify or find the owner of the home by looking at the plaque. So for instance, if people associate pigs with you, you get a pig plaque outside your home

This is THE famous coffeeshop featured in Ocean’s 11, mmmm, to think Brad Pitt and Georgie Porgie was once sitting in that coffeeshop

Literally the widest bridge walk-way in Amsterdam. Fun fact – see the statue with the word Maltatuli? That’s the dude’s name in Dutch. But apparently in Finnish – it means ‘I came’ and not as in I’ve arrived

And this is literally the smallest/narrowest home in Amsterdam. Someone actually lives there.

Kind tour guide handing out free Gouda cheese. Taste just like cheddar, only better!

Anne Frank’s home – wanted to go in but the entry line was pure massive. That was also the end of the 3 hour tour! Walked sooo much (and did sweat a lil) yet enjoyed every second of it.

Me outside the Famous Bulldog – they have an outlet at every corner. Hey, like Starbucks!

Some random sex shop.

The hubby joined me for dinner in Amsterdam after work and yes that’s actually some pretty good chinese dumpling from a Dutch restaurant.

Last but not least -  a MALAYSIAN restaurant if you ever get sick of tired of cold sandwiches. But don’t think I’d want to pay in Euros for food I can get cheap back home.

And that was the end of my Amsterdam trip. Accomplishing the Before 30 List – OH YEA check.

Awesome early 30th birthday gift – check check.

Now the husband asked where should we go to celebrate my 40th. I shamelessly told him Greece, but not before saying we should totally have an ‘early’ celebration…….like say, next year Maybe, justttt maybeee we’ll try for a second one then.

I said maybe.