On Monday, 7 June my mom arrived from South Africa and as you can imagine she was over the moon meeting her first grand daughter. My mom arrived with a 20kg suitcase but only about 3kg of that belonged to her... the rest was all for little Svea. 
We loved spending time at home just "catching up" as we haven't seen each other for more than a year. Most of our time was spent just Oh'ing and Ah'ing over the latest addition to our family.
My mom did get to see a little bit of Jakarta and we spend 6 days in Bali, a weekend at Ocean Queen and 2 days in Singapore. All in All a trip to remember...even if for the most part it consisted of nappy changes, bath time, nap time, preparing breakfasts, cooking dinner and washing dishes.
"I miss you, mom"! One thing for sure, one only come to "really" appreciate your own mother when you are a mother yourself. It was so nice to have my mom here and it was bliss, having an extra pair of hands in those early weeks.
Again, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for everything you did, Mamma!
Below is a brief photographic account of our trip to Bali and Singapore and around Jakarta:
On Wednesday, 16 June my mom and I left for Bali and Marc joined us the next day. Our fist destination was the scenic and very relaxing Ubud where we spend 2 nights just "chilling" at our bungalow and of course shopping for the many gifts my mom took back with her.
We stayed at Agung Raka Bungalows. It was a comfortable but a very rustic stay. 
Lunch at Bali Pesto.
Mom: "I have an empty suitcase, let's see if I can fill it"....And she did ;-)
On Friday, 18 June we made our way to Nusa Dua. We stopped off at the fantastic ceramic shop Jenggala . Worth a visit if you are looking to buy ceramic ware. 
We stayed at the Nusa Dua Beach Resort, what a treat! Although I really do not mind the occasional rustic get away, there is just something about staying in luxury.
Svea getting a morning cuddle from her ouma
My Mom and Marc with our driver Nyoman.
We decided to follow the tourist trail and visited the Uluwatu Temple where we watched the Kecak Dance performance at sunset. Hours later we still had the chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka chaka CHAK CHAK CHAK CHAK sound reverberating in our heads! Well worth seeing if you are in the area.
On Sunday, 2o June we made our way to Tabanan. The 1 hour drive from Nusa Dua was very scenic with beautiful rice terraces stretching for kilometers.
Marc was super excited about our stay at Nirwana because he got to play golf on this amazing course right next to the ocean. On the 14th hole he had to hit his tee shot over the sea. He was very happy that he didn't sacrifice any balls to the sea Gods ;-).
We thoroughly enjoyed the walk on the golf course (after 5:30pm only) to the viewing area overlooking the Tanah Lot temple.
We watched the breathtaking sunset over Tanah Lot . Even Svea managed to sneak a peak...
On Monday, 21 June we had a great buffet breakfast, overlooking the golf course with a view of the ocean. At around 10:30 we made our way to the airport to catch our 2pm flight back to Jakarta.
As always, we had a fantastic time in Bali and I do believe my mom got to see and experience Indonesia at it's best.
A special thanks to Nyoman that was not just our driver but also our tour guide. I would highly recommend booking Nyoman for your next trip to Bali. His rates are really competitive at Rp.350.000 for full day. Contact: http://www.santorinibalitours.com/ or Tel: +62 361 9194412
The next week was spent at home and around Jakarta, visiting friends, lunches, BBQ's and of cause more shopping...
"What a beautiful mom, I have".
A cuddle with little Svea, every chance we get.
Lunch at Payon on Kemang Raya.
On Tuesday, 29 June our friend Anne arrived from Singapore and besides being happy to see her of course I was really happy to be able to send my mom and her off to do a bit of sight seeing around Jakarta as I didn't really feel up to doing it with a 5 week old. 
Anne and my mom had a fun day exploring the city. The rest of the week consisted of more shopping trips, spa treatments and on Friday, 2 July we went to Ocean Queen in Pelabuhan Ratu. Only 4 hours drive from Jakarta, Ocean Queen is the ideal spot to unwind. 
We lazed around listening to the sound of the ocean. 
Enjoyed fantastic 1hour massages for only Rp.50 on the beach.
And Marc and Anne also tried surfing for the first time and although they came back with a couple of scrapes and bruses and a surfboard rash they thoroughly enjoyed it and can now say that they've surfed ;-)
On Monday, 5 July Anne returned to Singapore and the next day my mom and I followed on a visa run for Svea. We spent one night in Singapore at the Robertson Quey Hotel and squeezed in a bit of sight seeing:
Shopping and visiting temples in China Town.
On Wednesday, 7 July we managed to walk around the Raffles area, had a quick look at the famous Orchid road and Merlion, which was unfortunately under construction. But with a small baby that was unfortunately all we had time for before we had to leave for the airport to catch our 17:30 flight back to Jakarta.
My mom's last week in Jakarta flew by and we had to say our very sad goodbyes on Monday, 12 July. Until next time "Liefste Mamma en Ouma"!
My mom with our staff on her last day.
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