Joining the May 2010 parent's club

I am very happy to announce that I am 14 weeks pregnant. In give or take 26 weeks there will be a baby Beuthe in the mix.

We are still trying to imagine our lives with our +1. Although it's pretty daunting, knowing that we will soon be responsible for someone other than our selves we are really excited about becoming parents. We've had 3 months to discuss the anticipated changes in our lives and trying to picture our NEW LIFE with a little baby. I consider the first tri-mester the "prep time". Getting yourself used to the idea and preparing yourself mentally for the life changing experience awaiting the new parents to be. And of course the Morning sickness was a constant reminder of this.

Now that we've entered the second tri-mester and the thought had sunken in and the Morning sickness almost completely worn off the reality is starting to set in.

There is no bump to talk of just yet. But, we imagine that within the next month or so it will become even more real when I start to look pregnant.

Being the impulsive, "if I want something, I want it now kind of person" that I am, I've always thought that 9 months is such a long time have to wait for something. Now I realise that it's all part of the process and I'm truly grateful that we have this time to ease into this new very exciting chapter of our lives.

My take on the "process" - Once you have accepted the facts, there is only 6 months left. And then you realise, in those 6 months you would need to prepare yourself for the arrival and there are a million and 1 questions regarding the delivery (Do we have the baby in Jakarta or in Singapore), putting together a short list of names, not to mention all the concerns about a healthy baby, which you can't wait to confirm with the next appointment with your OBGYN. There is also the exciting part of starting to think about and listing all the things you'll need for the little one. Doing research about which travel system and cot is the best, which monitors are the safest etc. etc. and the TO DO LIST just keeps getting longer.

I imagine in the months to come trips to the shops will become less about what we need and more about what "baby" needs. Instead of shopping for a new dress for myself I imagine standing in front of the onesies, picking out a cute outfit for our little one instead.

And so the count down to parenthood has officially begun...

In between all the baby talk we do have an exciting November and December planned. We are off to Cubadak, Sumatra for Marc's birthday on 26 to 29 November and Bali from the 26 December to the 3rd of January.

Watch this space!

The past couple of months

I realised that I haven't done a blog post in a while but I didn't realise how long, OOPS.

Due to my tardiness I will be posting/cramming the past couple of months into this one post.

I'll start by mentioning what I've been keeping myself busy with (hence the late update). I have been attending weekly art classes and in between I take every chance I get to paint at home. It is an acrylics class where we learn different techniques and attempt different projects incl. Chinese watercolour technique (with acrylics), collage abstract and still life.

I never actually thought that I would like doing abstract but it is truly a lot of fun. Here are some of the works I've done at home, playing around with colours and different painting techniques:
Apart from the painting, I have also just finished designing a website for a South African artist friend of ours, Shaun F Parker. I still have to make some small changes, but it's up and running. Check it out: http://www.chrisandshaun.com/

We published the site last week, just in time for Shaun's exhibition that was held at Kemang Villange on Thursday, 30 October.

Marc and I admiring Shaun's fabulous catalogue in the form of post cards.

Marc and I with Joe

"Thanks for the pics, Shaun and congratulations again"!

As I have a real interest in graphic and web design and I was very happy when Shaun asked if I would design a site for him. I grab every chance I get to do other design work, incl. flyer's for a yard sale and illustrated name canvas's.


I have also been approached about getting involved with doing some design work for http://www.familyguidetojakart.com/, which I am now busy with.

Between the hours that I seem to be spending in front of my PC there is always time for some fun...

We've had fun the past couple of months:

We were surprised by the turn out at the yard sale on 26 and 27 August.
Mel and I at the pay station.

The ladies taking a well deserved break.

4 South Africans (Shaun, Willem, Marc and I) and Joe (Aus) at Joe and Sydney's birthday bash - Gypsy party on Saturday, 29 August.

The girls at Mel and Row's house on Saturday, 3 September.

On the 14th of October we flew to Singapore for Matthew and Annalisa's wedding. It was a fun 5 days in Singapore. It is such a fantastic city: Great shopping, good food "I love it".

We stayed at the Swizz hotel on Stamford Road, right next to the Raffles Mall.

It was great spending time with Matt and Annalise in between them running around with last minute wedding arrangements for their BIG DAY that was on Friday, 16 October.

On Wednesday night we had a lovely evening at a great bar/resto off Orchid road called, Ice Cold which I would highly recommend. "What a cool bar"!

On Thursday morning Marc and I strolled the streets and did some shopping.

Marc rubbing the Big Happy Buddha for good luck.

Thursday night we all went for dinner at the famous Jambu Seafood restaurant at East Coast Parkway for Matt's b-day.

Followed by a couple of drinks at the Insomnia bar at Chijmes.

Friday morning we had a relaxed followed by a brief shopping trip to the Raffles mall.

By 3pm we were dressed and ready for the wedding celebrations.

The shuttle bus left the hotel shortly after 3pm for the botanical gardens where the ceremony took place.


Marc, dressed in tails for the special occasion.

Here comes the bride...

Mr. and Mrs. Naisby

After a lovely wedding ceremony followed by cocktails and snacks we returned to the hotel, at around 6pm.

The reception was held on the 69th floor or the Swiss hotel with spectacular views of Singapore.
Marc and I with the beautiful bride and her handsome groom - "Congratulations, Matt and Annalisa"!

After a 8 course dinner, speeches, cutting of the cake and champagne pouring the next 2 hours was spent on the dance floor.

Marc strutting his stuff.

Saturday morning, we said our goodbyes to the happy couple and other wedding guests.

Marc and I roamed the city again and in the late afternoon we met up with friends at a fantastic German bar called Brotzeit.

Outside at Brotzeit, Vivo City mall.

Followed by a drink at the world famous Long Bar.

Later we had dinner at The Tapas Tree restaurant in Clarke Quay where we met up with friends of ours from Jakarta and old friends from Bangalore, now living and passing through Singapore. "It's such a small world"!

We had a nightcap at Indoshine before we headed back to our hotel.

We returned to Jakarta at 2pm on Sunday after a very enjoyable long weekend.

Saturday, 24 October we attended an Octoberfest at Die Stube, our local German pub.
PROST!

"That's all folks" Until the next update!

Sending our love from Jakarta to all our family and friends all over the world!

I felt the earth move under my feet

On Wednesday, 2 September we were reminded that we lived in a city that sits on the "Ring of fire", when an earthquake struck at 2:55 p.m measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale.

It was quite a scary experience, definitely not one that I would like to experiencing again. Having said that, Marc was in the car on his way back to the office and he didn't feel a thing. He actually said that he was sorry he missed it.

Three of us were sitting at a table, when I thought I felt a light motion (like I was back on the Tambora boat). I asked if it was just me and if anyone else felt something. Rozi actually said that she thinks she may have bumped the table and a second later the light motion turned into serious shaking. We quickly moved outside where we stood for approx. 1 minute, watching the water in a natural rock pool sloshing around. We of course debated what the best course of action during an earthquake would be. We figured that our move was a good one but still hoped that the high outside wall wasn't going to come tumbling down.

After about a min. (it felt a lot longer though), we went back into the house and couldn't believe how the lights above the pool table was swaying heavily. Even more shocking was the swimming pool that looked like a wave poo as the water was rocking from side to side, spilling over the sides. Hard to imagine, I know!

I think our experience was quite tame compared to others. What is really hard to imagine is being on the 30th floor of a swaying building; furniture moving around, windows cracking while 100's of people are trying to make their way down the still swaying stairwell.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has reported that the epicenter of the quake was 142 kilometers southwest of Tasikmalaya, West Java, and 30 kilometers below the seabed.(JP/Hans David T).

There were some reports of casualties in the Capital. But, most of the casualties and deaths occurred in two towns in West Java province, near the epicenter.

Click here to read more:

In loving memory of my grandmother, Annatjie

In April I did a blog post; in loving memory of my grandmother, Kota. Little did I know that I would be doing another one 5 months later for my grandmother, Annatjie who past away on Monday, 17 August and was laid to rest on Monday, 24 August.

Anna Catarina Susanna (Annatjie) Erasmus will be dearly missed by her 2 son's, 3 daughter's, 11 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren that she left behind.

The memory of our dearest Ouma Annatjie will stay with us, always.

I never got to say thank you:

For the many times you helped me out with my home economics, needlework assignments, for eating my Green beans when my mom wasn't looking, for dealing with minor scrapes and bruises and for making it all better.

I will always remember Friday (steak and chips or ravioli and vetkoek) nights. I am yet to taste rusks, chocolate cake or milktart as good as yours.

But mostly I will remember the magic in your touch, the sunshine in your smile and love in everything you did. Hope and courage could be found by just looking in your eyes. Your laughter was a source of joy, your words always warm and wise. There was always real kindness and compassion in your embrace.

Your life was full of loving deeds,

Forever thoughtful of our special needs,

Today and tomorrow, my whole life through,

I will always love and cherish you!

Komodo Island dive trip - 12-17 August

Our long awaited Komodo trip has finally come...and gone!

We arrived in Bali late on Wednesday night, 12 August after our Air Asia flight was rescheduled from 5:30pm to 9pm. After an additional 1 hour delay, we finally departed Jakarta at approx 10pm. It worked out well in the end though, as the hotel we were booked into, Puri Dibia was not exactly booked for "leisure", but rather as a "transit" hotel. We got to the hotel after midnight and checked out again around 9am on Thursday, 13 August.

After breakfast, we were introduced to the people in our group that we were going to spend the next 5 days with. We proceeded to the airport for our 11am flight to Labuan Bajo. We flew pt. Indonesia Air Transport on a Fokker propeller plane, which was an experience in itself.

Our luggage was checked in by our organiser, Chika earlier, so all we had to do was weigh in (with our hand luggage), pay the airport tax and wait for our boarding call, which to our surprise was on time ;-).

Very excited, we boarded our flight for the 1 hour, 40min flight to Labuan Bajo, West Flores.

We arrived in Labuan Bajo at around 12:45pm, at the smallest airport I've ever been to. The luggage is carried into the airport building and shoved across the floor (no baggage conveyor belt).

We took a taxi to the harbour.

While our luggage made it's way, on the roof of a different taxi. LOL ;-0!

We arrived at the harbour at Labuan Bajo at around 1:30pm.

After a short ride on a zodiac, we boarded the "mother ship".

Unfortunately we didn't board and sail off, as we imagined. There was a slight delay in the itinerary when there was a problem getting clearance from the Marine National Park Authorities; something about the photo copier being out of order and the boss being away. NOTE: If you are planning to do this trip, it would be a good idea to email scanned copies of your passports through to your organiser, prior to the trip.

In the meantime, we unpacked our dive gear into plastic crates, which we left on the lower deck where we kitted up for dives.



We were shown to our very comfortable cabin "Talang-Talang", with AC and hot water.

Lunch was served at around 2:30pm.

After which we sailed to the spot where we we were suppose to do a late afternoon "check" dive. We kitted up, got on board the zodiacs, but due to the time delay and our skipper not getting the correct information as to which dive site to go to, we ended up "aborting" the dive when it appeared that it might turn into a night dive, which we all decided was perhaps not a good idea on the 1st day.

We returned to the boat and started sailing to the site where we where going to be moored for the night.

The time delay in our schedule also meant that we took part in what I can only call "Adventure eating" that night. The sea was a little rough and it was quite a task ensuring that our 3 course meal ended up in our stomach's and not on the floor like all the cutlery did minutes earlier.

We moored around 9pm and soon after we decided to retire to our cabin. If the "adventure eating" was anything to go by I should have guessed it might also mean "adventure sleeping". Grrrrrr! Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep on the first night as I just couldn't get used to the rocking motion. Thankfully the next 3 nights the sea was calmer though and I slept like a log.

We were up at 6am the next morning (every morning), enjoyed a cup of coffee on the upper deck taking in the breathtaking views of the surrounding islands around the Komodo National Park.

At 7:30ish (never managed to be in the water at the exact scheduled dive time) we did the first dive, followed by breakfast.

At 11ish, the second dive followed by lunch and at around 3ish we did the third dive, followed by a late afternoon snack.

At around 6:30ish, a night dive followed by dinner. (Below are more pictures of the 3 days, diving around the Komodo Island).

I brought home a little souvenir (above my right eye) - I actually had to sit the 2nd dive out. I learned first hand that the rocking can inflict injuries. The rocking of the boat and the fact that I was still trying to find my "sea legs" caused me to bash my eye open on the cupboard door. It was luckily only a small cut, but it still hurt. It is actually still a bit sensitive.

I did my first night dive. I enjoyed the experience, but have decided that I prefer diving in the day time, though.

In between diving, over the next couple of days we enjoyed the amazing surroundings. Now, this is the life!

Stunning sunsets and sunrises, blue seas, cool sea breeze.
Relax and unwind.

Taking in the early morning and late afternoon rays on the upper deck.
The inviting, beautiful, clear, blue ocean.

Like one tends to do on a dive trip, it feels like you just eat, sleep and dive, eat sleep and dive..

We were lucky to have such a great group of people on board. We enjoyed our breakfasts, lunch and dinners with interesting people from all walks of life, most of them living in Jakarta. Marc especially enjoyed meeting Pascale, a real life treasure hunter. After many a long discussions about lost and found ancient treasure, Marc is dreaming of perhaps on day joining a team in search of such sunken treasures. Check out Pascale's website: http://www.oceantreasures.org/

We had 3 birthdays during our 5 day trip. Marie-Louise (the wife of one of the birthday boys) arranged a surprise party on Friday, 14 August. Complete with balloons, hats and birthday cake.
Thanks to me and my trusty ipod and shox (speakers), even dancing. Well, not so trusty; as it seems to be giving up the ghost but we at least managed to get it to play until about 11pm. Which was a good time to go to bed anyway, considering that we had to be up early again, to dive.

Returning to the Tambora after yet another great dive:
At around 2:30 on Sunday the 16th we visited Loh Buaya on Rinca island, part of the Komodo National Park.

Komodo dragons basking in the sun.

We returned to the boat at around 5pm and the girls decided to pack a cooler box and have sundowners on a small island, which we dubbed, Bintang, after we consumed quite a few.
We returned to the boat where we followed in the boys footsteps and jumped off the side of the boat.

We had a great sushi dinner and thanks again, to my trusty backup, ipod shuffle we were able to connect to the sound system in the dining room and enjoy a fun farewell party. We maybe had a couple of Bintangs, to many. The problem with "free flow"....
"Bintang" smiles!

On Monday, 17 August we sadly had to say goodbye to the Tambora crew when we made our way to the airport at around 10:30am. We got back to Bali at about 1:30pm where we bid our fellow divers farewell, until next time.

Marc and I booked the 9pm Air Asia flight to Jakarta, to avoid missing our flight in case of delays from Jabuan Bajo.

We had a couple of hours to kill and decided to go for lunch at our favourite Greek restaurant, Mykonos in Semiyak.

We ended our trip with a full 1.5 hour massage at Amora's Spa.

We finally arrived home at around 11:30pm from this once in a life time trip. It was truly a fantastic experiance. We could definetly reccommend this 5 Days of fun in the sun on the Tambora, liveaboard.

Below are a couple of underwater shots. NOTE: The diving in Komodo is spectacular. Great 15-30 meter visability, amazing fish life and vibrant colourfull coral.

ABOUT THE TRIP
We booked the trip through Kristal Klear Dive who has scheduled tours around Indonesia, througout the year.

Kristal Klear Dive@ Hotel Kristal

Terogong Raya, Cilandak Barat, Jakarta Selatan, 12430. Indonesia

Ph. (6221) 7507050 x 674

Ph/Fax (6221) 75818025

kkdtour@indosat.net.id

divewithkkd@indosat.net.id

http://www.kristalkleardive.com/

Price includes:

• Return air tickets Denpasar-Labuan Bajo
• 4-night fullboard, twin-sharing accommodation onboard the Tambora
• Unlimited diving (max. 4 dives per day)
• Overnight twin-sharing accommodation with breakfast in Denpasar (Tuban area)
• Marine national park entrance fee guided tour in Rinca to see the Komodo Dragons

Price excludes:

• Flights from Jakarta to Bali
• Tip for boat crew & dive guides (Rp.50 per person, per day)
• Alcoholic drinks - Bintang beer was included. Take your own wine and spirits.

ABOUT THE TAMBORA

The Tambora liveaboard is brand new, we were actaully the first group on board. Which had it's pro's and con's. Though it meant that everything was new and clean, it also meant that there were some minor teething problems. Mostly on the "diving" side, which I don't really want to complain about as I was happy over all with the boat, their staff and the service they offer. The little problems we experienced with delayed dive times, getting in and out of the zodiac's, gear etc. seemed to have worked it self out by day 3 of the trip.

I have confidence that after a couple of groups have come through there, both the boat crew and dive guides will make the Tambora one of the "top end" liveaboards in the area.

Overall the food was good and we never went hungry. The fridge was always stocked with cold drinks and Bintang and the staff was very accommodating. They went above and behond to make our experience a memorable one, which it truly was.

Thank you, Tambora!

Emily's "baby shower" - Mitoni Ceremony

I wanted to arrange a baby shower for my friend Emily before she left for South Africa, where she will be until after the birth of their baby boy. I found out about a Javanese ceremony called MITONI, which I figured would be the perfect "baby shower" as opposed to a traditional shower.

I arranged the ceremony through Arie Rahmaniati, who you can email; arierahmaniati9@gmail.com should you be interested in arranging a Mitoni ceremony in Jakarta.

The legend of the Mitony ceremony:

The Mitoni ritual has been held since the 11th century. The legend involves a couple, Ki Sedya and Niken Satingkeb. Niken had given birth to 9 babies, but non of them lived very long. The couple went to their wise King Jayabaya for help. The wise and just King that was said to have a very sharp intuition, gave them fatherly advice. The King suggested that the couple purify themselves and pray solemnly to their Holy Creator. Niken had to take a "holy" bath with water from seven springs.

About the Mitoni ceremony:

Mitoni comes from the word pitu, which means seven. The ceremony is performed for a mother to be, during her 7th month of pregnancy and is usually performed for the first child. The ceremony is performed to request God's blessing for the safety and happiness of the parents to be and their baby. And for the child to live a noble life.

The ceremony was held on Friday, 31 July. Below is an account of the ceremony:

The parents to be, looked the part in their traditional Javanese clothes.
Sean's parents happened to be visiting and they stood in for Emily's parents during the ceremony proceedings. Sean and Emily had to show their respect to the 'parents'.


Emily was briefed on the Siraman). Siraman comes from the word "Siram" which means to take a bath. The holy bathing ritual is meant to purify the mother to be and the baby.
The garden area was beautifully decorated for the Siraman Ceremnoy. A big brass bowl, filled with "holy" water from 7 springs and petals from 7 different flowers incl. Rose, Yasmin, Magnolia and Cananga (ylang-ylang) was used to "shower" Emily with.

Emily was showered with the water and petals; first by her father in-law (representing a grandfather).


Sean and 7 "mothers" also each got a chance to "shower" Emily, 3 times.

The Siraman (holy bathing) sure gave new meaning to the term "baby shower".
Following the showering an earthenware, spouted jar "kendi" is broken. If the spout brakes off it is suppose to be a girl and when the spout stays in tact, a boy. We didn't tell the ladies conducting the ceremony that we knew the sex of the baby, but the ritual proved to be accurate.

We moved back into the house for the 2nd part of the ceremony; "dressing up" the mother to be. The batik cloth was draped over her, to save time. There are 6 kinds of batik cloth and one lurik cloth. Each piece of cloth has a different wish for the parents to be and the baby. The pattern of Ksatrian "a responsible fighter"; Wahyu Tumurun "heaven’s revelation - to be in a honorable position"; Sidomukti "to live prosperously", etc. We were instructed to say "belum" (Not yet) until the 7th cloth, the lurik (traditional woven cloth) was draped. The lurik lasem depicts a weaving of a happy love that should last for a long time.

A piece of yarn tied around Emily's waist symbolized the umbilical cord. Sean cut the "cord", with a keris, that had a piece of turmeric stuck to the tip of it. The cutting of the "cord" depicts that all obstacles faced by the family will be cut by the father.

After cutting the cord, Sean took 3 steps back, turned around and ran out of the house. This action depicts the smooth delivery of the baby.

Brojolan: 2 young yellow "Gading" coconuts were pushed through the lurik cloth, and placed on the pile of batiks on the floor. This also depicts a safe birth.
The two coconuts depicts the God Kamajaya and Goddess Kamaratih. It is believed that God Kamajaya is the most handsome God and Goddess Kamaratih, the most beautiful Goddess and that when the baby is a boy, he would be as handsome as God Kamajaya and if it's a girl, she would be as beautiful as Goddess Kamaratih.

Angrem (Javanese word for egg hatching) - The couple had to sit on the pile of batiks (as if sitting on eggs) which depicts that the baby would be delivered safely and on time. They also had to take different food from the offerings which they ate together off a big stone plate (cobek), which depicts the baby's placenta.

The offering consisted of 7 kinds of rice cones, incl. Tumpeng Megana. The rice cones are surrounded by vegetables. The sprout's mean "growing the life". Tumpeng Robyong, means "safety". It also included other traditional Indonesian food like Tumpeng Gundul, Tumpeng Urubing Damar.

Fruit and sweet cookies from peanuts which means, "a sweet life".

The offering also consists of red and white porridge. The red porridge, is to remember and respect mothers, while the white is for the fathers.
At the end of the ceremony the happy couple had to sell rujak and dawet, which we paid for with a earthenware coin. Rujak (mixed fruit with hot sambal) symbolizes an "enthusiastic life" and dawet (sweet coconut drink), also predicts a "smooth and safe birth".

It was a fun afternoon and everyone enjoyed witnessing and hearing all about this interesting Javanese ceremony and trying all the different Indonesian food as well as other yummy food stuff incl. my very own scones with strawberry jam and cream, which I was very proud of.

Emily left for South Africa on Sunday, 9 August and we all look forward to her return to Jakarta with their new bundle of Joy sometime towards the end of November.

Thinking of you Em, good luck with the last 2 months of pregnancy. Wishing you all the best!

Update - the past two months

In light of the recent attacks in Jakarta I thought it was important that I do an "update" post to show that its not all doom and gloom. A lot of people probably wonder, if these bomb blasts didn't scare us in thinking; 'perhaps it was time to leave'. But, no..it hasn't. To be honest, I haven't spoken to anyone that have indicated that they were thinking about leaving Jakarta due to these attacks.

I don't think that means we are immune to these situations. Of course we are all affected by it and deeply concerned. I believe everyone will take necessary precautions to keep their families safe. And, rather than going to our favourite bars, or restaurants we might 'hang out' at home instead. But we are definitely not packing our bags.

Remembering that we live in a crazy, messed up world. More people are killed across the word on a daily basis, be it race related killings, hate crimes, the war in Iraq, and the list goes on. Also, considering South Africa's crime rate is probably the highest in the world and I don't even want to think about how many people are killed in South Africa every day.

Asking myself; when will it stop? will it ever stop? And though, wishing for world peace seems so cliche; wouldn't that be fantastic....

It is a crazy world we live in, but we have to LIVE. LIFE, how every sad, hard or unfair it is; will GO ON.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.

I am happy to report that besides a mild stomach bug/parasite and the sniffles we have been well otherwise. As per usual the past two months have flown by. Doing this blog post just reminded me that I was not so "good"early in June though.

My 5 month old Sony Vaio crashed and to my horror, I lost all our photographs, we took since January. Isn't it ironic. While I was using the old Siemens I backed up regularly, expecting it to give up the ghost. Thankfully I saved some of the photo's on facebook and the blog, so all is not lost.

Between June and August Jakarta is usually very quite. Well, at least in Kemang (the area we live in). Most of our friends have gone to their home countries, for 4 to 6 weeks, for their "summer holiday". It has been so quite that I didn't have art classes for 4 weeks, no regular get together's and I've even had 'one on one' gym sessions as the classes have been empty. This happens every year around this time. People are slowly but surly returning though, so I imagine things will be back to normal in a another week or two.

It is quite around here, but not dead. Although, I missed the girls...life does go on!

Below are short accounts of what we've been up to over the past two months. Well, at least of what I have photo's of:

Saturday, 27 June we attended an Indonesian Rugby untion dinner. Where we watched the SA vs. Lions match in the "lion's den" at the Ritz Carlton. Phew...we were very relieved that we won. As you can imagine the 4 South African supporters took a lot of slack but we walked out with our heads held high. Thanks, bokke!

Proudly South African!

Some of the evenings formalities before the game started.

1 July was Canada day and we were invited to a Canada day picnic at the Four Seasons hotel on Saturday, 4 July. It was a casual event with hotdogs and hamburgers and red wine flowing throughout the afternoon.

The money made from the raffle, was donated to the ykaki (Indonesian care for cancer kids foundation).

Vita, Katrina and I ended off the days celebration, in the pool.

Later that evening we entered yet another "lions den" but this time unfortunately the bokke lost.

We of course took a lot of slack, but we were still smiling, as the bokke at least won the series.

Katrina (Canadian) "Go bokke", was more interested in the players then the game ;-)

After a relaxing morning at home we popped over to a fellow South African, Shaun's house for a late afternoon drink which in true South African style and hospitality, turned into a late evening.
It is true that the best parties are the unplanned ones. Thanks, Shaun!

Saturday, 18 July we had a lovely evening with a French couple that we met the week before at a BBQ. In true French style we only went to the restaurant after 10pm, and though I couldn't get myself to eat a meal that late, I did enjoy the chocolate crepe with ice cream.

We were invited along to an 'open house' party, which apparently happens a lot around here. I'm not sure I would be opening my house like that, though. It was fun, though.

Armid and Jav, this photo is for you. When ever we talk about you guys, we do a 'blue steel' in your honor. Well I missed that one, but Marc as you can see is really trying to perfect the look)LOL ;-)

Another first that night (or I should say morning) - The only transport home was a couple of ojek's (motorbike taxi's).

I was very happy to resume my art classes last week. This week I did my first painting. And it was also my first experience with a completely nude, male model. Not as strange as I thought it might be. I was not quite ready to examine and paint his "whole" body though. Hehehehe! I just kept my eyes focused above the belly button.

I am wondering though, if my painting would have been better if he didn't go Full Monty ;-). I would be lying if I say I was completely comfortable with the nakedness of a strange man.

So with another week nearing it's end and the end of July now in sight, we are looking forward to our Komodo Island trip coming up from 12-17 August. We are really excited to dive this "National treasure", which would probably be considered a once in a life time trip and real national geographic stuff.

So, watch this space!

Jakarta twin bomb blasts

I still can't get over it. It is just very unnerving to think that a couple of weeks before the attack we were at a function at the Ritz Carlton. And like us, many people probably have the exact same thoughts going through their minds. It just really hit close to home....The big hotels around Jakarta are "hang out places" for many foreign and Indonesian nationals. They are frequented by people for their famous Sunday brunches or some or other special event, work/embassy functions etc..

Talking about hitting close to home; some people we know, were supposed to have attended the meeting at the Ritz on Friday. And some of Marc's clients unfortunately were not so lucky, and were killed. Along with many other innocent people.

My heart goes out to all the people affected by these attacks. I am really saddened by these unnecessary attacks and I am sorry for these innocent peoples, loss.

To the poor families that buried their loved ones and in some cases having to arrange unidentifiable mortal remains to be flown home. To the survivors that have witnessed this tragedy and that will probably be haunted by the images they've seen, for the rest of their lives.

I don't think anyone can every truly understand the extent of the 'damage' that these kinds of attacks cause. At least, I know I don't.

All I can say is, or ask is; WHY? What could anyone possibly achieve by killing innocent people. I just don't get it.

A horrific image of the damage caused, leaving 9 dead and 50 injured.

Click here to watch a CECN.com video about the twin blasts.

Click here to read a News24 article about the bombings.

Gunung Gedogan Trek, Puncak Pass

On Saturday, 20 June we did a Trek to the foot of Mount Pangrango, Puncak. The trek was arranged through Perhimpunan Persahabatan Indonesia-Amerika and is definitely something I could recommend for the outdoor/adventures type.

The trip as a non-member cost Rp.150,000 per person and incl. transport.

We were up early to meet the rest of the group at thePPIA office, Jl. MT. Haryono Kav. 49, Jakarta Selatan, at 6am. We departed for Puncak at around 6:40am and arrived at Gunang Mas at around 8:15am.

We started trekking at about 9am. We hiked through cinnamon and pine trees, forest, scrubs and tea plantations.

Though the trip is listed as a moderate hike, it was actually quite hard and definitely more of a climb than a hike.

One of the guides gave us sticks, which really came in handy on some of the steep uphill climbs. The fact that nearly half of the hike was in the shade also made it a little easier.
We loved the challenge, and thoroughly enjoyed the 3 and a half hour hike, a total climb of 515m.

We reached the finish point at the Puncak Pass Resort at around 12:40pm.

We enjoyed lunch at the Puncak Pass Restaurant, a Dutch colonial style restaurant on Jl. Raya, Puncak. Try the sweet Poffertjies, they are delicious!

The Restaurant is on the highest point in the Puncak area and has a lovely view over the Puncak valley.

At around 2pm we made our LONG way home. Though Puncak is only 100km South of Jakarta it took us 3 hours to get home.

We were literally stuck on Jl. Raya Puncak, for 2 hours just trying to get out of Puncak. At least "daily life" in the village kept us amused.

People watching at it's best - The street is lined with vendors selling all sorts of interesting vegetables and more.

We watched people clean their homes, feed their babies, fix motorbikes and prepare food at the small road side restaurants on every corner.

Notice the cute, fluffy bunnies inside the cage: This is outside a restaurants selling Sate Kelinci (Rabit Kebab's). Lunch anyone ;-0

Once we reached the highway it only took about an hour to get home.

Even with the crazy traffic, this trip is definitely worth it and we look forward to the next one.