Bali Day 2 Part , Seminyak

I woke up to bright sky slightly before 7am. The kids were still sleeping despite the morning light seeping into the room.

I had some quiet moments to myself while the rest slept on. I went around snapping pictures of the villa. The villa definitely looked better in the night. Lol. There is no shelter between the living room and bedroom. I wonder if we had to use an umbrella if it rains.

The toilet. So resort feel. Got natural lighting some more.

I like how the villa's decoration was modern and not Balinese.

As I sat quietly blogging about our 1st day, I heard the mosquito flew by my ear and quickly grabbed our best friend in the villa.

Soon, I was joined by Lil Shauna and the housekeeper came to make bfast for us and also clean up the place.

Next, of course we must swim in the private pool even though it was super cold. So I made Daddy Lim swim with the kids instead.

They didn't last very long. It was way too cold. The kids entertained themselves for a while and we went to the main streets when they got bored. We needed lunch too.

The dark paths looked very much better than the night before. The houses along the road had very nice decorations.

There were many other villas in that area and many more being built.

It was alright when we left the villa and walked along the narrow paths to the main road. Then it got hotter and hotter. By the time we reached the main road where the boutiques and restaurants were, we were super hot and tired. Seriously, we had no idea where we were heading. We arrived at Seminyak Square, where a few shops were grouped together. The kids insisted to go to the beach. The housekeeper told us that it was about 15 mins walk from the villa, the sales from one of the Seminyak Square shops said that it wasn't far away and so we made our way.

Not far, 15 mins... my foot! We walked like forever in the hot sun. The kids started grumbling and complaining.  We didn't know how much further. It was a situation where we were caught wondering if we should turned back or pressed on.

Eventually, we did see the beach ... but we didn't go to the beach. The kids took off their shoes and were excited to jump onto the sand only to find that there was no shade and the sand was freaking hot; too hot for us to go barefooted. Being all hot and tired, the kids agreed to turn back and come back to the beach when it was cooler. This time, we took a cab back.

Getting a cab is an art here. The cab asked for 50k and we bargained it down for 30k. The distant was barely 2km (I think). The cab was supposed to bring us back to the villa but we forgot which mini road to turn in. We ended up dropping along the main road, which was a blessing in disguise - Lil Shauna got to do her feet massage and we managed to get lunch.

Mummy Lim

Bali Day 1, Arrival

Tiger took off right on time. We have been really fortunately so far that none of the budget airlines that we took had major delays. *Crossed fingers".

Daddy Lim and I were supposed to each sit with a kid but he ended up on his own while I with the kids so that another family could sit together. I bet Daddy Lim was smiling secretly. Lol. The kid meal - simple hotdog and bun proved to be a blessing and helped to burn some time. It was funny how the kids could still find space in their little tummy after their lunch that wasn't too long ago. They also doodled on their activity books but the most popular were the tablet brothers. Zzzzzz. Lil Isaac, who woke up at 7am, insisted that he wasn't tired.. ya, I believe you.

We landed safely and rushed to the immigration. I heard about the notorious custom wait that can last an hour. The q wasn't that bad and they opened up an account for tourists from ASEAN countries. We cleared the custom in under 15 mins. Yeah!

The exit was really smooth. There were so many people in the arrival hall and a giant q for taxi. Luckily, we had pre-arranged for transfer. Our driver from the villa. Hohoho, I felt like a VIP leh.

The ride to the Yasmee Villa in Seminyak took about 40mins. We booked the villa using Flipkey and it was a breeze. The villa cost us USD135 per night. This would be our very First experience living in a villa.

There was some jams but otherwise fairly smooth traffic. The kids got bored and started fighting. Zzzzz. Finally, the car turned into some small alley that was so small that it was almost invisible. Then the driver turned left and right and left and right and right and right... it got more and more remote and we finally arrived at our villa.

This was what greeted us. Wonderful!

Everyone was excited exploring! The villa was not too big, made up of 2 pool facing bedrooms, a private pool, an opened living room and an opened kitchen. I was actually worried that it would be too big for our family.

After exploring, we finally walked out to the main street to look for food. The walk out was scary. I also read about how people lost their way while trying to get back to their villa and reminded Daddy Lim so many times to memorise the map. Lol. The walk out was a little dark in the beginning that scared the hell out of the kids but not that bad thereafter. It wasn't that long but was a little dangerous given that there was no proper pavement.

We stopped at the 1st restaurant for dinner and the food was good, for about S$23. It served Indonesia and Western food.

We made our way back to the hotel after dinner and almost lost our way trying to get back bcos we saw another ang mo couple in front of us, followed blindly and took a wrong turn. Nevertheless, we made it back safe and sound.

The rest of the night was sent watching tv, playing the tablets and bedtime arrived really soon. Good night.

Mummy Lim

Hello Bali, Here We Come

Daddy Lim and Lil Isaac came in a cab to fetch us from JCube, right after Lil Shauna's ice skating class.

Both kids were tired - one just finished her class and the other woke up at 7 am. Did they sleep in the taxi? Of course not, pretend only.  Lil Shauna rarely takes nap.

We were on time, checked in and had a quick lunch. I bought in-flight meals for the kids. It is a budget flight and I think eating will help to burn some time. Nevertheless, it was lunch time. They were very hungry. By the time I managed to order all the food and purchased a duty free loose powder, I came back to these.

Next was definitely the playground.  We come to this playground whenever we fly off from T2.

Looking forward to our Bali trip. I hope we have a smooth flight. While on the way to the airport, I also checked that the volcano wasn't angry. Lol.

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 22

We squeezed in a lesson before we set off to Bali. Lil Isaac was so excited about the holiday that he was up at 7am! Luckily, Daddy Lim didn't have to work and the boy gladly stayed at home with Daddy Lim. We also left home a little later than usual and of course had the usual Mac bfast.

It had been 2 weeks since our last lesson . We missed lesson last week bcos I was on the plane home from Geneva. Lil Shauna took a while to get used to the ice. She really looked like a rusty robot. Lol.

The rink was fairly empty as there were no core classes lessons this morning. We had so much ice to practice. Yeah! I encouraged Lil Shauna to skate and combine as many different moves but I think she cannot multi-task. She cannot perform a move and think about the next one that she wants to execute. Lol.

Class was ok, but we have lots of work to do next week. Maybe it was due to the lack of lesson/ practice last week, she struggled with not looking down, holding her arms up and using more strength to push. Aiyo, all her issues came back. At least she is aware. Hopefully she will be better next week.

Mummy Lim

65 diagou

I was 1st introduced to Q10 Singapore by colleagues. It was so convenient to let the finger do the shopping. There are so many sellers selling the same thing and the cost for what seems to be the same things could be so different. It is almost impossible to go into Q10 and start browsing. There are just way too many things. I usually go to Q10 when I know specifically what I wanted. I have bought stuff from Q10 and they all turned out fairly decent so far, for the price that I paid. Sizing can be challenging though, just like all online shopping.

I heard so much about Taobao. As most of the things are MIC, the prices are way cheaper too. I didn't meddle with Taobao bcos it is like an even bigger black hole than Q10! I heard too from people who had tried Taobao of how sometimes the actual products didn't look very much like the ones they saw on the website. Lol.

Recently, I have started buying stuff in preparation of the winter Korea trip. Most of what we had were from the last Korea winter trip and that was 2 years back. The kids had outgrown most of the stuff. During the last gathering, Auntie SR related about her treasures from Taobao via an agent – 65diagou. She said that the whole shopping experience was a breeze through the agent. There was a small agent fee applicable but definitely worth the convenience.

Of course that got me excited and started my journey with Taobao. It was indeed cheaper. I bought a total of 11 items – 2 kids winter hat, 3 face masks, 3 pairs of waterproof gloves, 1 pair of woolen gloves and 2 thick lining kids legging, all for about S$85 including the domestic shipping (if applicable). The agent will purchase the items on my behalf and I pay a lower price if it happened that the agent was able to get the stuff at any discount, which happens from time to time. I was informed via email to check my 65diagou account when the agent had purchased all that I requested. I then made a payment to the agent through bank transfer. Upon receiving my funds, the items were shipped to a warehouse in China, location of my choice. I opted for Shanghai, thinking that big city should be safer, right? Lol. There were altogether 3 locations if I remembered correctly. 

When all the items had arrived in the Shanghai warehouse, it was automatically shipped to Singapore. I was again informed via email. There was an option to hold the purchases in the Shanghai warehouse too and cost could be incurred if they were held for over a specific period of time. I supposed it is more for people who buy in bulk and would want to have more control over the delivery? Anyway, mine came automatically to Singapore.

Another email was sent to me when the loots arrived in Singapore. I opted for courier for the delivery. There’s options of self-collection and collection at MRT stations too. Inclusive of the shipping, agent and courier fees, I paid another S$20.

The parcel was delivered to my office yday afternoon as per the timing agreed. Not bad. All the items arrived as well. I was excited. Hehehe. 

Our loots.

I was glad that most of the stuff turned out well in terms of quality. The kids love the winter caps and face masks. The leggings were a little too big and the kids have a few more months to grow into them. My waterproof gloves were too big too but still wearable. Lil Isaac's waterproof gloves are too small and he also has big issues putting all the right fingers in the right slots. Lol.

So the experience with 65 diagou was great! Next, I shall look for some woolen gloves for the kids, a pair of fingerless waterproof gloves for Lil Isaac and the all important waterproof winter boots for the kids. With these the shopping for Korea is almost completed! Yday I briefly ran through what we pieces we have that looked decent enuff for wintery Korea and it seemed like we do have enuff long sleeves and pants. Oh well, nobody sees what we wear under the huge jacket anyway. We can always repeat the clothes. We really need to travel as light as possible given that it would be just us and the kids and a free and easy trip. I counted 5 big vacuum packs of just winter jackets and accessories last night without considering the long sleeves and pants. I need some magical to squeeze everything into 2 big luggage. Wish me luck. Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Grading Test

About 3 weeks back, one of the Masters informed me that Lil Isaac was ready for grading test. I was very surprised. It had afterall been only 2 months since we started TWD. I thought I heard wrongly and double confirmed with another Master. Their heavily Korean-accent English was so tough to understand. Come to think of it, there weren't really much taught in white belt class. I always see Lil Isaac do the same few strokes in class and they aren't that hard for a 5-YO to learn.

After the double confirmation, I paid $50 for Lil Isaac's grading test this morning, 9am at the center at Bukit Timah shopping center. I was told that the test wouldnt take very long.

We took a cab to the venue. By the time we arrived, about 10 mins before 9am, many other students were already there. Some of the masters helped to make sure that the kids were properly attired before the kids made their way into the school. Parents were not allowed into the school and I was worried that Lil Isaac would start crying but he did good. He saw some familiar faces from his class too.

The school probably tied up with the cafe/ mini indoor playground beside. A projector screen was set up and many parents gathered, quite some had a cuppa - good business for the cafe.  We had a good view of what took place within the center.

At about 9am, the masters performed some drill that looked tough. Then there were also some good smashing of planks. In one of the acts, Master David, the young and handsome master of Lil Isaac, jumped off the wall to kick some plank. Lil Isaac declared after the test that Master David is now his favourite master. Lol.

The grading test began after the drill, starting with the white belt. The 1st group of probably 8 looked really young. One of them decided to freeze for a good time until the master encouraged him to move. His parents must had seem their $50 flew away as he played statue. Haha.

I think Lil Isaac was in the 2nd group. If the person whom I think was him is indeed him, then I think he did great. Back row, 1st pax. Is that him?

He was ready to go after his test that barely took 2 mins. He was standing at the door when I went back. He was really excited to tell me about the drill and about how Master David jumped off the wall. Lol. I think he is very inspired.

After the test, we took another taxi to Clementi Mall for Mac bfast. Ah, I do miss junk food.

 The boy was so cheeky but I had much more patience for the kids after the week's rest. We even had time for ice cream before church.

Look at his cheeky face! I totally enjoyed the time alone with the boy.

Results will be out in 2 weeks. Lil Isaac claimed that he did well and have passed the test. Let's see. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Thoughts after the Geneva Trip

After 14 hours of flight, I was finally home yday evening. The kids picked me from the airport and you cannot imagine how much I missed them. I missed home very much. The trip seemed eternity and I was yearning to come home.

I had a great time with ah yee. We didn't manage to spend a lot of time together but took the effort to wake up slightly earlier every day so that we could have a morning cup of coffee/ tea and bfast together. Ah yee said that she had a fantastic time by herself too. I couldn't be more glad. She has always been really independent. 

On Wednesday, it was finally a free night and I had dinner with her. We took a train to town and looked for a Korean restaurant that she had Googled earlier.  She was dying to eat Korean food. The dinner was well-deserved bcos we walked very long in search for it. Lol.

Ah yee left on Thursday morning. On Thursday night, I turned on all the light when I went to bed. The TV was on the whole night too. Lol. Though without ah yee, my bfast didn't turn out too sad. I love bread.

Ah yee looked great. She took great care of me. I had hot coffee every morning after I brushed my teeth. The short time of being a wife has definitely trained her well. Lucky C. I hoped the trip has given her renew energy, back in Paris, to tackle the new chapter of new house. 

I didn't talk much to the kids over the week. I managed to watsapp call with them twice. They didn't seem very interested to talk to me though. Chey! At least I managed to text Daddy Lim as and when. Thank you technology!  

Jetlag was non-existent. I went to bed when it was bedtime last night. No problem. Lol. I think the trip was a great break from the kids too. I thought I sensed renewed energy and patience for the kids. Daddy Lim said that the kids were very much manageable when I was away. They went to bed no later than 9.30pm. 

Now that I am back, all is good. Thank you bb, for making dual roles in my absence. Muaks.

Mummy Lim

Meeting Ah Yee in Geneva

After checking into the hotel, I met my colleagues at the lobby at 10am. They had wanted to go to town for lunch, while I wanted to go to the airport to meet ah yee, who was arriving at 12 noon. Then, it was waiting for even more people and it was about 11am when we returned to the airport.

I saw the all important revolving door where I was supposed to meet ah yee. It was the same door where we met her last year. 

I had an hour to waste and ended up walking the few shops in the airport and train station. It brought back so many memories! I walked the same shops with Daddy Lim and the kids almost a year back! The same pastry shelf in the same Migros supermarket.

I was so hungry and bought the same bacon pastry that I found so tasty a year back.

Yum!

After walking that same few shops many times, I finally spotted ah yee! I was so super excited to see her.

With her hand trolley, we headed for lunch in town. It was pretty decent and tasty. I saw her order food in French and I am impressed! She was so humble and said that it was basic French but it sounded great to me.

After lunch, we basically strolled and talked and caught up. The weather was fantastic; cool and nice.  We spent almost an hour waking but literally no sweat. We visited places that I have never visited before.

We finally sat down for a coffee outdoor to fantastic views. Ah... life is great.

We headed back to the hotel and I took a nap while waiting for dinner. I was way too tired and ordered food service. Food came, I gobbled up and actually went back to sleep. Ha!

My meeting starts on Monday. How I wish it is a real holiday.

Mummy Lim