Back From Trip - Part 2

This was our third time to Bandung. We stayed at Rumah Ebo (our second time there), a homestay in the Dago area. What we like about this homestay is that it's cozy, clean and cheap. They even give free breakfast, which is served at their lovely garden. Their location is awesome, too, as it's only 5 minutes walk to the famous Dago factory outlets, like Jetset, Grande, Episode and Blossom.

Husband and I are not really a fan of sightseeing. We prefer to shop. And that's why we enjoy going to Bandung so much. But, unlike most people who go there to shop at the factory outlets, we shop at their distros. For those who have never heard of distros:

"Distro is a shortform of the Indonesian word distribusi, or distribution. Generally distro differ from other youth fashion outlets by their links to the independent music industry, the age of those involved, and collective ownership styles." From TripAdvisor Bandung.

Another thing that we both like to do is eat! At Bandung, the foods are good AND cheap. It can't get any better than that. Just stay away from the stalls by the road sides unless you're in for some food poisoning.

I would have to say we feel safer walking around in Bandung compare to here in Malaysia. The people there mind their own business, we don't get stared or ogled, and we don't have to worry about getting snatched whenever a biker pass by. They may look like they can bite your head off, but once you talk to them, they're actually polite and helpful. However, the way they drive is insane! They're good in the sense that they don't crash into each other, but still, pretty crazy. We've never seen an accident the whole time we were there, not even one. In KL, you see accidents left and right everyday.

Back From Trip

Traveling for the first with a baby (an aggressive one at that) was definitely challenging. We were in Bandung for 4 days. The journey there was not so bad. The first hour of the flight was spent playing with a little bit of tantrum here and there, but for the next hour the baby was asleep until we touched down. We were lucky that there was an empty seat next to us because the extra space made the flight more comfortable. He didn't get any air pressure in his ears, thanks to breastfeeding during take off and being deep in slumber when landing.

The rest of the trip was a fast blur. It was raining almost every day, starting from noon till night so getting around was difficult. The baby refused to eat the banana, avocado and rice cereal that I brought along, so he ended up eating only Farley Rusk's. He didn't seem unsatisfied or hungry, though. So, yeah. Probably it was the change of surrounding. Anyway. When we went shopping, he was either ecstatic to see all the new faces (he can get a bit too friendly) or angry because he wanted to get down on the floor and crawl. Bedtime was not so bad. He's used to sleeping in his cot back home, so he had all the space to himself to roll around before falling asleep. Therefore sharing beds with his Ibu and Ayah on this trip was a bit frustrating for him due to the lack of space. But he complied, such a good boy.

The flight back to Malaysia was almost disastrous. Compare to the plane going to Bandung, this one was smaller. Leg space was so tight, and I'm only 155 cm tall short! The baby was screaming right before take off, fell asleep almost instantly during take off, woke up 30 minutes later and continued throwing tantrums for almost the rest of the flight. There was no empty seat this time around. A teenage boy sat next to us kept throwing irritated looks whenever the baby started screaming and stared whenever I was nursing. The husband was this close to poking the kid's eyes out. I had a nursing poncho on, but nursing an aggressive baby means having him grabbing everything from my hair to the poncho while lifting his legs up and twisting his body around. There were times when I happily took off the poncho and realized that I forgot to zip up my top, baring my brassiere for the whole world to see. So I don't know whether the teenage boy managed to catch a glimpse of that. It'll either make him very happy or very disturbed by the image.

I think the best tip for flying with a baby is to bring along some cute stickers. Yes, stickers. These stickers were our lifesavers! It kept the baby entertained for a good period of time. His other toys that I brought along was thrown on the floor every time I handed one to him.

He almost put a sticker on a man's head who was seating in front of us.

Though challenging and difficult, we couldn't be happier to have the baby along with us. At the end of the day, patience and a sense of humour made this whole trip possible.

Going Traveling

Nervous!

We'll be traveling with the baby for the first time this weekend to Indonesia. I can't stop freaking out about the whole concept of traveling with a baby. The packing. The change in routine. The flight. Oh dear God, the 2 hours flight! He can't even sit still for 10 minutes in the car, let alone 2 hours in a plane. Please oh pleasssee behave, okay sayang?

Sibuk je si bulat ni

Okay, who am I kidding? There's no way I'm going to fit all of the baby's and my stuffs in a luggage this size! I need a bigger luggage!!

This is so nerve-wrecking.

Hamata, Mom & Baby

I was reading The Star last Saturday when I came across an article by Nicole Tan about Hamata Villa, located in a secluded tourist town in Myanmar border. The pictures caught my eyes.

Images from The Star and Scenery Resort Online

Beautiful, isn't it? Makes me want to have a romantic getaway with the hubster.

To read the article, you can go here.

On a different note, good news for all shopaholic moms out there. Babyland is having a sale until this Sunday, 2nd May 2010. BUT! For those who can contain their splurging urges, you can wait until the 7th to 9th May because that's when the Mom & Baby Expo 2010 is happening at MidValley Megamall. I hope this time it won't be as disappointing as the Motherhood Expo 2010.



Apa lagi? Serbuuuuu!

 

MIA For A Week

The whole past week was spent with family, eating, meeting up with old friends, going to the immigration and being sick. Mostly being sick. I thought I caught the flu bug, but it turned out I got myself Mastitis. Yessiree. It was not a pretty experience. My body temperature was high, my breast was swollen and painful, I was shivering cold even when I was all wrapped up in thick clothing and hiding underneath the comforter with no AC nor fan switched on. One week on antibiotics and I'm all better now, Alhamdulillah.

Right, moving along.

On Wednesday (right after the Chinese New Year public holiday), husband and I thought,

"Oh, everyone's back to work, so the immigration must be less crowded."

Wrong! We went to the one in Shah Alam, and the crowd was insane. Just to take a number would've taken us about an hour. I heard people saying that they went to almost every immigration in the Klang Valley, and it was jam packed everywhere. But thanks to daddy-in-law, we managed to get everything done within 2 hours, huzahh! We paid RM150 for 5 years validity. So now my baby boy is a proud holder of his own international passport.

In case you're wondering what you need to bring if you want to apply for your baby's passport, here is the checklist:

• Two (2) copies of baby's passport photo
• Baby's MyKid
• One (1) photocopy of baby's MyKid
• Yours and your spouse's MyKad
• One (1) photocopy each of yours and your spouse's MyKad
• Original baby's birth certificate
• One (1) photocopy of your baby's birth certificate
• And of course, the baby himself!

Alternatively, you can check out the Immigration Department of Malaysia's website.

A point to remember if you're planning to collect the passport on a different day: Make sure to bring your baby along!! The immigration won't release the passport unless they see the baby in person, no matter what documents you bring to proof that you're the baby's parent.

And on to the eating part. I wanted to take more food shots, but I tend to remember to do so after I've gobbled down half of the food portion, some even until the last bite. That said, I present to you the photo of our half-eaten Yee Sang :P