Weekend Break Carita

I have just returned from a one night stay in Carita on the annual works outing which was fun and a change of scenery.
Basically all the staff and teachers and most of the administration staff based at Puri got a on a bus, went to the coastal resort town of Carita on the west coast of Java for the night. We sat and ate food, told stories, drank a few beers and enjoyed the evening.
Sunday morning was breakfast, group and team building games followed by 'throwing people into the sea time' and then time to chill before lunch, packing and going back to Jakarta.

It took us around 4 hours to get the Lippo Condominium place we were staying at. My review for this place can be found here.

The rooms were big and were allocated 3 or 4 people per room ( there was 40 of us). Luckily for me, I was sharing with one other teacher and we had our own private bathroom, however just one bed so I opted for the sofa and that was kind of comfy for the time I slept there.

Each room had a balcony and a view of trees and in front of them, the beach.

The view from the balcony

Getting there at night and in the driving rain did not dampen our spirits and as soon as we had eaten the catering food of chicken, rice and spicy satay sauce, we headed to the beach and sat on benches under a tree watching the storm and lightning, singing a few songs and chatting. It was rather warm despite the rain and the storm rumbled on for a good few hours, ending somewhere near midnight.

The place at night

Lightning over the sea

All lit up by the lightning

How the sea looks at night at Carita. The lights are from Ships

In the morning, by 6am the beach was already becoming full of people walking or swimming and with the sun burning the clouds away it was going to be a hot morning.

6am on a Sunday morning at the beach

Breakfast was rice, noodles, chicken and watermelon and then after that we headed down to the beach area for the team games. Once they were out of the way and prizes awarded, time really was our own and so swimming and using boogie boards seemed to be the order of the day, although I was more than content sat on the balcony enjoying the view and serenity of it all.
The best thing about the morning was the sight of Krakatoa Volcano which was very clear to see for a change, which was great.

With some sun

Thats the volcano

The worst thing had to be the constant procession of sellers trying to sell you their wares even though you don't want them, they would hang about until you became annoyed and then they would move on.

One guy was wandering around trying to sell me prawns, lobsters and squid which he carried about in his hands and looked terribly upset I did not want them.

Once lunch of more rice and chicken with, this time, very spicy prawns, sambal and sour soup was over it was a case of packing and waiting for the group photo before getting on the bus.

A motley lot.

The bus trip was as eventful as the trip there. We left around 2pm and got to EF Puri at 6.

All in all it was a great trip away and a chance to relax and enjoy some time at the beach and chill out with those I work with every day. 

Kondominium Lippo Carita

I have just spent the weekend in Carita on the annual works outing and we stayed in Carita, which is a resort area town place on the west coast of Java with views of Krakatoa Volcano, the Sunda Straits and the sea. And with the sun shining it was a nice place to be.
40 of us went from work and we stayed at a place called Kondominium Lippo at Carita about 3.5 hours from Jakarta.























The place is on the beach and is a long 4 storey building with access to rooms being through a designated staircase.
The rooms were 3 bedroom, with 1 room ensuite and a separate shared shower. A seating area and dining area, small kitchen and a balcony facing the ocean. 4 rooms booked soon had us all hidden away and so there was plenty of space.
Food was provided by someone and brought to one of the rooms for all to eat.

Between the building and the beach was a small patch of ground and gardens and then a wall and once through the wall, hawkers and sellers annoying you with offers of massage, bananas, boogie boards, banana boat rides and the like which was not so nice.
There were also men wandering around offering you fresh Squid or lobster and prawn (in their hands) to buy should you want it. Clearly I never.

Looking at the place from the beach

The condition of the room I stayed in was clean and tidy. It had a broken cabinet, the bed looked as old as the buildings and the pillows far too used for my liking so I slept on the sofa. I think the mosquitoes got me there, a lot.

The shower and bathroom was functional and clean. Plenty of water but not hot.






















Overall the place was run down and needed some repairs but it was OK for a night away and the beach and the view from the balcony of the ocean made it worth while.

11 months on

Gran says Jeremy took his first steps today or some first steps. That is very exciting news. He sometimes stands up for a second or two before sitting down again. He likes to walk while holding onto something and when he crawls you have to think fast to stop him going places he shouldn't. Thats a challenge but we are learning!!!

He seems to have a perpetual cold and running nose, his cough has gone and he now makes the best faces with his 3 teeth and strange clicking noises and then laughs.

Due to there being no house keeper to help at the moment, I have lots of time with him in the mornings until around 11.30 so that means I get to play, talk, carry, feed, wash, watch and grow with him. I have his sleep routine sorted so that once he has had his morning bath and fight getting dressed, he gets fed, I get fed, he then has milk and will promptly fall asleep. I normally then follow him and get another hour in so that when he goes to his grans' he is wide awake and full of life.

Jeremy likes birds and pointing at everything. He seems fascinated with light bulbs and likes to stare at them regardless of whether they are on or off. He enjoys watching life from the balcony and we spend time there in the sun in the mornings watching the bikes and cars go by.

Jeremy is beginning to achieve eye hand coordination and can put things inside other things but not always. This again is amazing to watch. His vocal skills are developing and whilst he has not moved much from Da and Ma and ba ba ba etc he does I, believe, understand more words and sounds and when he is able to say them he will be quick to speak.

Times are getting exciting for us because mum is coming out in May for his birthday and this will be the first time they have seen each other. It will also be the first time Jeremy will fly, see the sea, eat sand and all the other things toddlers do when at the sea side. 

Weekend getaway Jakarta

Lots of things have been happening recently making all of us very tired. Everyone sick, everyone working hard and Jeremy getting more active, oh and the housekeeper deciding to want a break, which has left us without for a while, we decided to book into a hotel for night and have a little bit of pampering and peace and quiet.

So last weekend, we booked up a room at the Morrissey in Menteng. It is just off Jacksa and I have stayed there before for work reasons but it is a comfortable place to stay

On Saturday morning, Yovita brought Jeremy to my office so the staff could see him and take photos with him and so when I went to work, I took most of the things we would need for the night away. Pram, clothes, food, toys etc all for Jeremy and gin for me.

I like postcards, so send me some

After leaving work, we headed straight to the hotel and checked in. Our room was on the 9th floor and over looked a building site looking north east. The window was floor to ceiling which was nice because it meant Jeremy could lookout whilst sat on the floor.

Enjoying the view

The room itself was fairly compact but it came with a small kitchenette and had a fridge, microwave, untensils etc. There was no bath just a shower which was good enough.

Around Menteng there are lots of places to eat so we walked to Thamrin and Sarinah, ate in Oh La La by mistake (the food was ok but the flies were everywhere). Don't buy beer there. 64k for a bottle of Bingtang. I had a coke. We then ordered take out Pizza from Pizza hut, got coffee from Starbucks, beers and Baby food from Hero and then went back to the room for the night.

The best thing about hotel rooms is the peace and quiet, large TV screens the lack of need to do anything at all. Which was nice.

Sunday morning started early and we were having breakfast at 6.30am. Toasted French Brie Sandwiches and all the yoghurt you could eat with very strong coffee was the order of the moment. The gin and beer was needed the night before and now coffee was next. Breakfast was in the Bella and Ocha restaurant in the hotel, so the food was good. I would not eat there because the prices are expensive although drink yes because they have good deals.
Deciding it would be good to go for a walk, we took Jeremy into the street and to the Car Free event on Sudirman, which happens every Sunday. Not much was happening to be honest except it was hot, there were many people on bikes or walking and that was about it. So we went back to the hotel and spent a few more hours chilling out.

On returning home, the expected news that our housekeeper would not be returning greeted us and so now we are with a carer for my son and the house and the weird thing is that she left money, clothes and shoes in the house.

Ah well, the anger has subsided. All that needs to happen now is we need to find another housekeeper....

7 hours in Singapore

My visa run leaves approximately 6.5 hours of daylight in Singapore. I land at 9am, rush through the airport and then get a taxi into the city. This takes about an hour. I hand over my passport and cash and then I am free to around 4.30pm when I can get it back. Bearing in mind that I left my home at 4am and will get back around 11pm, the joys of rushing are somewhat limited.

So what to do?

Happily now, the meeting point is an actual office and it is very close to China Town if you walk through the Korean part of the city ( assuming that is what it is ). China town is huge and there is lots to see and do although at that time of the day most places are opening up. 

Some views around China town

You can jump on the MRT and ride about. I went from China town to Bugis. Go off at Bugis, when up and had a look. It seems just roads and buildings and too hot to walk too far, so I got back on the MRT and headed to the Promenade which is next to the Singapore Flyer and a short walk to Marina Bay Sands, so that was good.

It was very quiet on the MRT, almost empty

The mall there is cold so after wandering around outside it was nice to chill out inside. From there I went back to China town for lunch and sat again somewhere cold and read a book.

By now it was around 1pm. 

Around Marina Bay Sands

After that I decided to walk back the meeting point and found a bar selling buy one get 1 dutch beer which was very well received and of course real bacon, which is too expensive to find here. The next few hours were very well spent.

Dutch not the stuff made in Indonesia

After collecting my passport and visa, I headed back on the MRT to the Airport. Checked in at T3 for Lion Air, ate in Subway, brought some gin and waited for my flight.

Departure Lounge and a plane, a big plane.

I have also over the years been to:

Little India, On the Singapore Flyer, travelled all over the city on the MRT, been all the way and down Orchard road, been to the parks, the butterfly place, the coast, various bars etc. All my working visa trips are time limited but if you push yourself ( I really don't any more) then you can get a lot into your day.