Monday 19 May 2014

Down my road part 3

Last night around 9pm someone starting blowing a whistle outside the house and from where I was sat, sounds of something being organised and directed.
Whistles in Indonesia are used often as a way to marshall and direct and so being noisy I went and had a look. Normally I pay no attention to the stuff that goes on outside because there is always some commotion happening; beit from cars parking or bikes stopping suddenly, processions, weddings or ad hoc singers causing everything to slow down a lot.

Looking over the gate all I could see was a huge cement pumping truck trying to get down a road which is not wide enough for 2 cars and all those bikes, getting down the road. This big blue truck had people sat on top of it pushing cables up so it could go further into the street and there were a couple of men in front of it with flashing sticks and whistles waving and shouting at people to get out of the way.







 25 minutes later, the truck rumbled by and then turned the corner and parked up. Its huge hydraulic arm was hoisted up clearly waiting for the next set of trucks to arrive. The cement mixers. These arrived 10 minutes later and they too rumbled down the now clear street. Then they both reversed up the street because they needed to be the other way round and so the top of the road turned to total chaos.






Then the trucks proceeded to reverse like champions down the street and round the bend and successfully too. An hour or so later, after the cement was pumped and everything was cleaned up, the street returned to its normal self. I was left to wonder, who knew this was going to happen? And how did these huge trucks get to my house with the 90 degree turns in all the roads that lead to it?

Never a dull moment in Pancoran....

Saturday 17 May 2014

Weekend in Bali

My mum came over with my Auntie Pat for a couple of weeks which has been great fun. She was here to see her grandchild for the first time, help celebrate his birthday and then relax in Bali for a week or so before going back to England.
It was just great to see them both because its been a long time and I am not sure when the next time will be. 

They stayed at the Kuta Paradiso Hotel near to the Discovery Mall in 5 star splendour and had a great time. With Mums birthday also whilst on holiday, the hotel made her a cake and so I am sure that she enjoyed eating that.

I flew to Bali a day earlier than the rest of my family and I stayed in the Adi Dharma hotel in Poppies 2, which is behind the BeachWalk mall and near the Best Western. I had meant to book the Adhi Jaya for an extra night but in the confusion of names I paid for a night there and it was a great hotel. My review for that is here.

The flight with Citilink was non eventful. I left via Terminal 1 and that is nothing special. The flight took me over Bromo and the erupting volcanoes, the south and south east coast of Java and on the cloudless day that it was, the flight and the views were great.






Terminal 1


Bali Beach
Mum and Pat enjoying a Sunset drink

I spent the afternoon and evening with Mum and retired to my hotel for a nights peace and a long soak.
On the Friday I checked out, found a taxi and then went to my next hotel, the Adhi Jaya which is opposite the Discovery Mall and very close to where my mum was staying. The review for this is here.

The hotel kindly provided a car for me so I could pick up my wife and the kids and the mother in law and we arrived just as they were leaving arrivals which was great. This had been Jeremys first flight and whilst there was no screaming through the flight, he had kicked the seat in front for the majority of the flight but had no problems with the pressure or travelling. My looked stressed a little but with her mum there it had not been too bad. 
Once we had unpacked and sorted Jeremy out in the hotel, we then met mum on Kuta beach and for the first time, Jeremy saw the sea and could play on the sand. The sea and the sand both seemed to intrigue and scare him at the same time but I think he enjoyed it.



Saturday saw us in a rented car and we took the opportunity to go shopping once we had visited a couple of places. The first place we headed to was a beach called Pandawa Beach which is on the way to Uluwatu. The trip took about an hour. The beach is very long and full of yellow sand and it was a glorious day to visit. The sea looking out had huge breaking waves and then near to the beach the water was calmer but there was a pulling current and it did not really feel all that safe to swim in, but I did. 
Jeremy was not so keen on the sea as the waves on the beach were faster and stronger than Kuta and the sand turned to broken coral at the edge. But he enjoyed the time with us there.





We left when the hoardes turned up

From Pandawa we took the new Madara Tol road which goes across the sea and marsh and avoids the congestion roads. It is a nice trip and we could see the volcanoes and mountains as the clouds were light. Sadly I could not stop and take any photos but the next time I return to Bali I plan to rent a bike and ride across and stop so I can take photos. The tol way cost 10,000 rupiah so it was worth the extra journey.

A quickly taken shot from the car

Saturday afternoon Yovita and her mum went shopping so I took Jeremy to the pool and we had fun splashing and bouncing in the water. He liked the pool and splashing and I will not have to find a way for him to go swimming so he can become a confident swimmer. That will be fun.

In the pool

After goodbye photos and food, we left mum and Pat in Bali on Sunday afternoon and headed back to the airport. Jeremy again was well behaved in the airport and took to the travelators very well. So much so I spent quite a while walking on them with him. The flight from Bali was OK. He was still kicking chairs and seemed very restless throughout and would not settle. Happily the other passengers around him seemed pleasant and accommodating with this.


All the family that would have their photo taken

And that was Bali and Jeremys first flights, first trip to the beach, first trip to Bali, first time in a pool and his first holiday with his grandmas and family. It was exhausting and a different experience for us all but still great fun. 


Flight home
Getting from the airport to the house with luggage and strollers and people. we hired a car for 250k and whilst it is a little more expensive than a taxi. It was twice the size of a taxi and so there was plenty of room for all. 

Friday 16 May 2014

Adhi Jaya Hotel Bali

I stayed here with my family for 2 nights in May. I booked it through Agoda and it was room only. The hotel is around 15 minutes max to the Airport and is opposite the Discovery Mall in Kuta. The rooms were clean and tidy and with ours being on the first floor, it had a balcony.
The Staff here were very helpful and they all seemed ready to help. They provided a car to pick up my family from the airport ( I arrived a day earlier ), kept our baby stroller downstairs and looked after it. Allowed packages to remain at reception and when we forgot to ask for the room to be cleaned, cleaned it immediately we went and asked.

The room itself was fairly big and comfortable. There was a shower instead of a bath which was no problem. The only issues we faced were with the AC not really cooling the room quickly and there were lots of ants wandering around in the bathroom. Still everything esle was great.





View from the Balcony

View from the Balcony

In the pool with my son
This was a great place to stay and I am sure to return.

Some links:

http://www.adhijayahotel.com/
http://www.agoda.com/adhi-jaya-hotel/hotel/bali-id.html

Adi Dharma Hotel Bali

Recently I was in Bali and I booked one night in the Adi Dharma Hotel in Poppies 2 Bali instead of the normal Poppies 1 choice of Hotels.

The hotel itself is about 10 minutes walk from the Beach Walk mall and very close to the Best Western, however Taxi drivers did not like to take me there or pick me up due to the very narrow lanes in which they have to negoiate to get there.

The cost from the Airport was 70k and it took about 40 minutes. On arrival and check in I was presented with a voucher for a welcome drink and shown to my room.

My room was on the ground floor and right next to the pool. It had a big bed, good AC, a bath tub and lots of hot water.


A big room which was great

Nice Bed

The hotel rooms have 2 doors, one this side and the other face the pool

View from my chair in the morning

Seating area facing the pool
The hotel itself was very quiet and that was also a plus point for it. On Thursday night they had traditional Balinese dancing but I was more content with using the bath tub and having an early night.

I would go and stay again there because it is a nice hotel but I would need transport due to it being tucked away and quite far from the beach. None of this is a big problem for me but at night it could be.

The hotel was booked through agoda and here are some links:

http://adidharmahotel.com/accommodation.php

http://www.agoda.com/adi-dharma-hotel/hotel/bali-id.html

Tuesday 6 May 2014

Jeremys First Birthday

Saturday we celebrated a year in the life of my son Jeremy. To think a year ago I was stood in an operating theatre watching my son being delivered and then 365 broken sleeps later I was watching him walk, stumble crawl accross the lounge floor laughing and gibbering.

My first year of fatherhood has had its challenges good and bad but everyday waking up and being with my son and coming home to my family has been a fantastic experience.

Photos then...

Jeremy born May 3rd 2013


First days at home








1st Hair cut October 2013





January 2014









Birthday Boy

Jeremy 1 year later :)