Bontang Kuala, East Kalimantan, Indonesia (21 Febr 2010)

To improve my 'out of town' driving skill, today I drove to Bontang Kuala with my brother and cousins. Bontang Kuala is an area in Bontang town, about an hour driving from Sangata where I live.

Bontang Kuala is a water village and has been inhabited by fishermen family for a long time, long before Bontang is established as a town. We can tell from some houses in the area:
The housing is built on water on the side of wooden walkway which connecting the land to the end of the neighborhood. The area is completed with a big mosque and also domestic stores selling basic groceries.

Besides being a place to live for the fishermen, Bontang Kuala has becoming a tourism area for people who live in Bontang and its surrounding area like Sangata. Mostly, people come to eat in the restaurants which can be found at the end of the Kuala. The restaurants becoming very popular because it offers not only delicious seafood, but also beautiful sea and mangroves scenery.

Well, my original mission was actually to have a good lunch. We went to Anjungan Indah Restaurant which is located at the end of the Kuala. I ordered Sweet and sour calamari with my rice and Sauteed spinach. My brother and cousins ordered Grill calamari, Grill fish, Grill lobster, Fried Prawn and of course nice hot chili sauce.
Hhmmm, the food was so yummy!

On the way back to the parking lot, I stopped at the mosque in Kuala to do my noon pray. Before we left the area, I bought some seaweed jelly for my kids.

Let's Make a Piñata!! - Step 1 (The Shell)

As you see, Lilo was very busy busting the Orange Pinada ... Cute Pinata with chocolate and candies inside. No wonder all Lilo's friends were very excited ...

Well, the Pinada was made by Lulu, Lilo's big sister. It was her sweet present for Lilo's Fifth Birthday.

Home made Pinata may not be as fancy as the one we buy from the store, but with colorfull decoration; no matter what its shape, the kids would like it. After all, it is what inside that matter the most! Chocolates, lolies, candies, .....

How to make a pinata? There are two steps:
1. Make the Shell
2. Decorate the shell

In this posting, Lilo will show us how to make a PINATA SHELL.

A.Things to prepare
A balloon, some old newspaper - shredded , a cup of glue, a stick brush.
B. How to make it?
1. Shred the old newspaper.
2. Apply the glue onto the balloon.
3. Stick the shredded newspaper covering all part of the balloon. Make five layers. Leave a small surface (Around the knot) uncovered.

4. Leave the covered balloon for 24 hours to dry the glue.
5. Lilo ask his Mama to poke the uncovered surface of balloon with a Pin.
6. Look Mama, the Pinata Shell is ready to be decorated!7. Decoration? See the next posting.

My Kind of Indoor Kid's Party

A great kid's party is where the kids have FUN by doing the things they love. What the kids love? Lots of lolies, lots of action and ..... 'the messier the merrier' experience. The lolies may not good for them, so usualy I save the sugary yummy munchy stuff to the end of the party.... in a Pinata!

Hhmm, what do we need to make a GREAT kids party?

A. Preparation
1. There has to be a THEME ... Halloween, Princess Tea Party, Pirate Attack!, Let's Go Tropical!, Wizards, any theme which can tickle the kids imagination.
2. A colorfull home printed INVITATION. Dont forget to write the theme.
3. BALLOON and colorfull FLAGS for house decoration.
4. Don't forget the happy MUSIC.
5. Make your own PINATA. It will save money and you can create your kids any character they want ... Lucky me, for my kids, a pumpkin pinata will do!

B. The D-Day
1. A WHISTLE for each kid as the starter ..... let's the party begin!
2. Dont forget little CUP CAKES and fruit juice for the little guests.
3. A colorfull home made B-DAY CAKE with lots of candles. If the kid is having a fifth B'Day ... put 10 cake candles instead! Sing the BIRTHDAY SONG, blow the candle and save the cake for later.
4. Have EASY LUNCH before the games.
5. Distribute the GOODY BAGS so the kids can put their game prize in. For the goodybags itself, I suggest to includes tiny games articles and non-sugar snack.
6. My kind of GAMES is 'Pass the Parcel', 'Musical Chair', 'Limbo', 'Ular Naga' (The Dragon), 'Pecah Balon' or 'Singing Contest.'
Dont for get to have 'PARTY POPPER' or CONVETY between the games. The house may end up very messy but the party mission will be accomplihed. The kids would love it!
7. Once the kids get tired, B-Day cakes would cheer them up.
8. And the PINATA would get them back in action! 
Ask the kids put the lolies and chocolate in their Goody bags. Also, make sure the adults do not get in action as well when the Pinata burst. I suggest the host to have a bag of lolies as a spare in case some kids do not get any from the Pinata.

Tips: If you're running out of idea in the middle of the party, turn a fast music ON and ask the kids to dance along.

So, what do you think? Let's do it. Let's make a party to remember!

Day 3 - 4 - Cape Town, South Africa (29 Jan - 3 Feb 2010)

Pada hari senin, saat jam makan siang, saya naik taxi ke Green Market untuk membeli suvenir tambahan oleh-oleh. Capai juga, tangan kanan membawa materi conference, tangan kiri penuh oleh-oleh. Tapi saya ngotot aja jalan kaki pergi ke South African Museum. Abis kapan lagi? Rasa capai bisa menunggu sampai saya balik ke Indonesia!

Jalan kaki dari Green Market ke SA Museum juga tidak terasa karena semua pengunjung harus melewati taman bunga The Old Company Garden. Tapi sesampai di musium saya mengurungkan niat masuk saya, karena ternyata exhibit nya lebih ke hal-hal yang purbakala, selain itu jam sudah menunjukan 1230. Saya harus balik ke Conference!

Sore harinya, selesai conference, dengan baju rangkap dua dan sepatu boot, saya pergi sendiri ke Table Mountain cable cart post. Ini adalah sky lift yang akan membawa penumpangnya ke puncak Table Mountain. Beruntung, untuk penumpang diatas jam 1830 mendapatkan 50% discount. Dari puncak gunung ini kita bisa melihat indahnya Cape Town dan matahari terbenam:
Dan tebing-tebing di sekitar gunung tersebut:
Hari Selasa adalah hari terakhir saya di Cape Town, setelah conference saya langsung pergi ke V & A Waterfront untuk beli tambahan oleh-oleh lagi dan titipan teman. Capai juga, tapi senang. Karena bisa punya banyak bawaan untuk handai taulan di Indonesia. Asal jangan bayar kelebihan bagasi aja ya!
South Africa .... For me it is more than just a business trip, it has been a beautiful business trip. I am so lucky to go to there. I did not just see the beauty of nature but also the beauty of people. I met a lot of nice and helpful local: black, white, indian, malay, chinese ... hang on, I did not met any chinese, where were they?

I remember how the bell boy smiled at me and said 'I hope we will see you again in June, Madame' before he shut the taxi door when I left the hotel It is beyond what I expected before I actually arriving that stunning country. And the Diamond? Well, it is good that my debit card did not work there (Shhh ...), otherwise I may as well spend all my life saving over there. Bravo South Africa. Good luck with the World Cup!

Day 2 - Cape Town, South Africa (29 January - 4 February 2010)

What's the most beuatiful city in the world? Kalau saya yang ditanya, jawaban saya adalah CAPE TOWN. Setelah berkeliling kota ini, hari kedua saya isi dengan tour ke sekitar Cape Town.

Jam 0830 pagi saya beserta beberapa turis asing ikut tour ke Cape of Good Hope (Tanjung Harapan). Dalam perjalanan ke sana kami melewati dan mampir ke beberapa tempat menarik dan indah. Di perjalanan ini saya melihat betapa indahnhya Cape Town. Saya tidak pernah bilang 'Beautiful!' atau 'Wow!' sebanyak  itu seumur-umur. Karena pemandangannya memang indah sekali.

Pertama kami stop di daerah Hout Bay dimana banyak penjual suvenir dan juga ada kapal ferry yang membawa turis ke Seal Island. Di Hout Bay saya membeli sebuah boneka rekaan wanita suku Ndebele untuk puteri saya.
Setalah itu kami ke area Misty Bay dimana pantai nya berkabut karena pecahan ombaknya yang besar:
Kami juga stop di tempat peternakan burung onta dan juga tentunya ke Tanjung Harapan:
Yang paling indah adalah saat kami pergi ke Boulder Beach untuk makan siang dan melihat Penguin:

Setalah istirahat sebentar di Kirstenbosch Garden, kami diantar kembali ke hotel. Selang satu jam, saya dijemput Marijke yang membawa saya pergi ke Blouberg. Area yang tempatnya bersebrangan dengan Cape Town. Dari sana kita bisa melihat Cape Town yang d kawal oleh table mountain: