Epic Holiday: The Epic Loot

The biggest, most epic loot from the epic holiday came in a heavy cardboard box with a pink Hello Kitty stamp. 

And just in case you are wondering, yes, this particular loot is also Mama's biggest justification for calling the holiday Epic. 

Especially since  we had to drag this particular piece of loot through 3 airports (with 1  night stopover in between) before we finally arrived home safely with the said item. 

Thank God for the availability of cars, taxis, trolleys as well as luggage deposit service through out the journey!

And if you are wondering about the loot.... let's first start with a story.

About a year back, Ami arrived back from her holidays with a small, pink bicycle. 

Well.. in her case, actually the bike arrived slightly later in a delivery box. 

But the point is that the bike became an instant hit. 

Do remember, however, that Ami is older than Kecil, so at the point when Kecil is still content about being pushed on her old, small tricycle, Ami was quickly picking up proper cycling.

Kecil, on the various occasions when she got to borrow the bike, usually only manage to move small distances on the smoothest surfaces. 

Most of time, she prefers to pedal backward. 

Me thinks because it's the path of least resistance, or something. 

In any case, Kecil's trike broke one day, sometime before we embarked on our Epic trip. 

I think it was a combination of a heavier load, general wear and tear as well as some abuse through the ups and downs of the road. 

But it broke, and we couldn't fix it. 

And Kecil demanded for a new one, a particular Hello Kitty one that Daddy once showed her on the computer.

And so it became one of the objective of our holiday to find the said item.

Thankfully, we succeeded.

A pink, super girly Hello Kitty bicycle, with hearts and Hello Kitty everywhere, complete with a matching pink helmet 

(Mama was so going to kiss that nice store employee for actually rummaging through the store and coming back with an adorable PINK helmet to go with the bike! That was some awesome service at Rodalink Store, Rungkut, Surabaya!)

Oh, and did I mention the cute Kid on top as accessory?

Yup, that Kid.

Anyway, unfortunately we do not really have smooth, flat roads around the house for Kecil to easily cycle on. Although somehow having her own bike managed to make her learn  how to pedal properly (in the right direction) within record time, climbing uphill is still  quite beyond her ability.

So Mama got a bit creative (more inspired by Ami's Mama, actually).

Oh, yup. We actually put a leash on the bike, so Mama can pull the bike whenever it gets too heavy for Kecil to pedal. It turned out pretty useful too, because we have to figure out the proper setting for the brakes. So now the leash can be used to pull the bike through steep inclines, or slow/stop the bike when going downhill. We really should be getting along with fixing the brakes, but in the meantime...we also have a bundle of energy ever so eager to 'test-drive' her loot.

Yeah, not a day passed without seeing this familiar sight near the front door these days. On the other hand, Mama also managed to get this pic:

Absolutely adorable! Hahaha.... I guess it was really Epic, the loot. Until next time!

Epic Holiday: The Cathedral

As part of the Christmas traditions, we flocked to attend Christmas mass on Christmas Day. Giving special consideration to Oma's health condition, however, we agreed to attend the quieter mass at the end of the day, already towards the end of Christmas day. Somehow the arrangement worked out beautifully, the sparse attendance lending the mass a much more solemn air, a wonderful atmosphere that we all enjoyed.

Kecil behaved very well throughout the mass, and at the end of the mass, we took a mass photo at the crypt. I do believe, however, that the biggest highlight for Kecil that day was lighting the candle at the statue of Mary.

Encouraged by the night's success, we came back the following morning for the children's mass.

It was quite good, and I believe Kecil did quite enjoy it. However, it was definitely longer, noisier, and less solemn that the night before. (Especially when you are taking pics and making paper airplane instead of listening to the sermon... hmm... not a very good sign)

Ah well, but at least we did attend Christmas mass at the Cathedral. Twice. Mama does love that church.

Anyway, we'll cover the rest of our Christmas celebration in another post. Here's hoping to finish the rest of our Epic Holidays coverage before Valentine's day!

Epic Holiday: A New Friend

Next stop in our Epic Holiday was Opa & Oma's house in Bogor. The visit was also timed to happen during the Christmas weekend, with the hope that all the Tante's from Mama's side of the family would also be around. It was pretty good timing, especially considering Oma's recent surgery.
Somehow, amidst all the scheduling, we also managed to arrive at home while there was a little friend for the Little One in house, and so Kecil quickly acquired a new friend and companion while on holiday.

Her name is Ayu, and she is the daughter of Mama's childhood nanny, who came for a extended visit and help out in the house during the holidays. We are all happy to have them around, especially, it would seem, Kecil!

In the speed of lightning in which apparently typical bonds between two little girls of similar age seems to happen, the two became fast friends, quite literally.
They ran around the house together, they looked for each other constantly, Kecil even insisted that Ayu got a share of her favorite (oversized) pink apples that she filched from Oma's fruit basket.
And the only other thing that make the whole affair cuter is the fact that Kecil speaks primarily in English while Ayu in Indonesian and Sundanese, and they just managed to get along fabulously nevertheless.

Oh my Kid, the apple filcher!

Ah well.. anyway, as I was saying, the fast friend ran amok throughout the house, creating mayhem and destruction in their wake (kidding). Among other things, they did managed to help Tante Ela get the Christmas cookies down in production:

They poked and prodded the dough, they chose the most difficult shapes, generally making a nuisance of themselves, but the did help. And we all had fun, didn't we?

And since the cookies need to be baked for a while, they still had some time to blow some bubbles outside, which kept them out of the way, at least for a while.

Of course, the time spent in Bogor was not only spent playing with Kecil's new friend. But perhaps we'll cover that in the next post.

Here's for new friendships, especially those that go beyond cultural boundaries like languages!

Epic Holiday: The Grand Temple

The Grand Temple: Candi Prambanan

Following the ride with the white horse, we proceeded with our plan for the day, which was to visit some of the areas of interest around the region, namely Candi Prambanan as well as the city of Yogyakarta. There are also some other temples around, including the famous Borobudur Temple, but since we started out late, we decided to just focus on one temple for the day.

Some people are of the opinion that this temple is one of the most beautiful Hindu temple in the world. I would so whole-heartedly agree to the assertion. With its beautifully carved stone structures rising majestically into the sky, the whole complex is easily recognizable from afar. Even the ruins around the perimeter of the central (fully renovated) temples served only to add to the whole mystique of the place.

Anyway, once we got there of course we started taking pictures, and that included Mama, Daddy and Tante Rina:

(Haha... as usual, while Mama likes to take pics of people taking picture, no pics of Mama taking pics. Maybe next time Mama will engage a professional second shooter, ya?)


After some wacky pictures, we moved on into the central part of the temple:

There are many pics of Tante, but surely there are also pics of Kecil and her Mama & Daddy:

We even went up into one of the temples, but there was no good pics of the dark interior. It did not quite show in the pics, but actually both Mama and Daddy were still suffering from a mild stomach bug that day, which made it a bit difficult for us to follow in the footsteps of the feisty Little One. Still, I think we managed to enjoy our time at the temple.

And on that high note, we'll end the post here to be continued next time. Cheers!

Epic Holiday:The Saga of the White Horses

The story was that, as we first arrived in Solo, right outside the train station, we were greeted with a sight of delman and its horse, one of them being the one pictured above. Not shown in the picture was actually another delman with two white horses strapped on. Somehow, these horses manage to 'haunt' us for the rest of our sojourn in Solo as Kecil insisted on a ride with "white horse!".

We actually did not find the said horses on the first day, but on the second day, we made a point of looking for one before we set off for the day's activities. And what do you know, we actually found PINK carriages pulled by a WHITE horse! It can't get better than that, and so Kecil set off for her ride with Mama.

And that was the end of it, right? Wrong.
We did continue with our plans for the day after the ride. But the saga did not end there. (It wouldn't be a saga were it be so short, no?)
The following day was a free and easy day, waiting for our scheduled flight to Jakarta, so we went to explore the city a bit on foot.

We tried the roadside delicacies, we walked under the sun (well, Mama and Daddy walked while Kecil sat on Daddy's shoulder), and we found ...

... a pair of statues Kecil declared to be her White Horses! Let's just say she was very happy with Mama's idea of taking her pic with the said statues. She wouldn't stop looking at the photo on our way back to the hotel.

(and the saga continues...)


As it turn out, however, the statues were in place as the city was hosting the 2011 ASEAN Para Games. In fact, the games were held exactly at the sport facilities that we circled around as we rode the horse carriage the day before. The statues are actually the mascot for the games, AND they are NOT horses, but komodos!

Image from here

Hilarity ensues as Mama and the Tantes figured out the ... ahem... misconception. But I guess we are still keeping Kecil in the dark and let her be with her interpretation. Perhaps someday in the future we will correct the story for her, but in the meantime, I will let her cherish her time with the Horses.

And so ends the Saga. I hope you enjoy it!

Epic Holiday: Solo

Kecil & Daddy looking out the hotel window

At the end of our train trip, we arrived at the City of Batik, Solo. We were picked up and sent promptly to the hotel. It was an interesting hotel, with ornate decorations that befit its location in the city of Batik. Check out the lobby and the decorations on the wall:

Hotel Lobby

Mama making use of one of the many mirrors in the room

The hotel even boast a Christmas tree since it was shortly before Christmas. The tree sure captivated the Little One.

'Teddy Bear' Tree

As we arrived shortly before lunch, we spent the day checking out the city, which include a tour into one of the keraton (palace) in the city.

Serene courtyard with trees planted in geometric symmetry

Three of us in front of the reception hall

Visitors going into the courtyard are actually required to either wear proper shoes or go barefoot. Since Mama did not wear shoes (on holiday, yes?), we all went barefoot. But actually Kecil cheated, since she only wanted to be carried around rather than walking on her own.

We took it light that first day, due to the morning train as well as our plan for the following day. So, other than going out for dinner and checking out the new (and only) mall in town, we did not go anywhere else that day.

We'll continue on the next part of the holiday in the next post. Cheers!