Ulang Tahun

Dear Kakak Najla,

Selamat ulang tahun ke 14,

Semoga terus sehat, tetap baik hati, makin sholehah dan jangan lupa bahagia.

Salam sayang,
Mama-Ayah-Dd Zea

Turning 12

Dear our new year baby,

On this first day of a new year, we would like to cherish you with a birthday wish.
May you be gifted with life's biggest joys and never-ending bliss.

After all, you yourself are a gift to us.
So...you deserve the best.

Happy 12th birthday, our little pumpkin, Zea.

-Abundance of Love from Ayah, Mama & Kk Najla


And wish all of us, a joyous new year of 2019...

Birthday

Dear Daddy,

We may find a prince someday

but...you will always be our KING.

Happy birthday.

Love,

Najla & Zea

#ABelatedBirthday
#August10,2018
#DaddysGirls

Weekend Getaway: Hotel U Janevalla Bandung

Ah .....after five months left this blog, I am so very happy to finally write something here. Miss you, my blog:)

  

My hubby got two wedding party invitations in Bandung last week. Considering the crazy traffic from Jakarta to Bandung, it seemed it's impossible to go back and forth from Jakarta to Bandung. Then in the injury time, I browsed in the internet and found this cozy place to stay, Hotel U Janevalla on Jalan Aceh, next to Arya Duta Hotel and behind Bandung Indah Plaza.   

The hotel has an industrial design. Simple yet interesting. It's completed with a mini library (with limited books and visitors), and what the girls love would be the rooftop restaurant and swimming pool. It reminded us of a small version of Jane Orchard Hotel Singapore's rooftop swimming pool.

Athough the hotel was just open for the past three months however I saw that it was quite full. I guess that's due to the power of Traveloka, Trip Advisor, Social Media and all which give high score for this property.

One thing that disturbed us was only the breakfast. The restaurant for breakfast was too small while the hotel guests were soooo many. The hotel provided two floors for the breafast unfortunately the food and the drink were only available on ground floor while mezanine floor only had chairs for sitting. Since my family was a leyeh-leyeh group and arrived there on 8 o'clock then almost all places have already been occupied so we finally sat on mezanine floor and needed to go back and forth from one floor to another with glass and plate on our hands to get our breakfast. Gosh...it's killing me (makan jadi ga maksimal, KZL).

Hopefully the hotel will do something about the breakfast thing since this hotel is quite recommended. It has strategic location and  lovely design. Although the parking space is limited but the hotel provides a valet parking. If you're looking for an alternative hotel in Bandung, this hotel might be an option since it has instagrammable spots in many areas.  

Find more on Hotel U Janevalla here.

Semarang, The Little Netherland #1

We didn't realise  we were making memories

We just knew we were having fun.

Destination: Umbul Sidomukti, Pondok Kopi & Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah

This Semarang trip was kind of a sudden idea. Our family is really not into crazy crowd therefore we always stay home on new year's eve. Lucky us, last week people already got back to their works and kids were back to school so..yes, it's a perfect time to just enjoy our holiday peacefully.   

I love old and historical buildings and I never thought that Semarang has LOTS of grand historical buildings in many places. God. However the maintenance is not so good though but the guide at Lawang Sewu, Pak Aris, told me that the recent government seems to care more for these cultural heritage.

I really hope that when I go back to this city, Semarang has changed into the little Netherland just like what's stated in my daughters' t'shirts.  

Turning 11

Hey, our new year baby!

Here's wishing you a birthday as special as you are.

You are one-in-a-million and deserve the best birthday ever!!!

Love & Hugs,

Ayah, Mama & Kk Najla

#CelebratedOnJanuary1st

Backpacking with Kids: Korea #3

Destination #3: Seoul

"Not all classrooms have four walls.

Through travel, the world becomes a classroom."

Seoul in Summer was kind of confusing. Sometimes the heatwave came, then suddenly the pouring rain wetted us all.  Perhaps it is not the best  time for holiday, yet the positive side is lots of favourite photo spots were empty and we could take photo shoots as many as we want. #Greedy

We really felt we're lucky when we rented Korean traditional dress (Hanbok) and walked through Bukchon Hanok Village for photo session. This place is always full of tourists but that lazy hot afternoon we only met couple of tourists.

Bukchon is  a 'house' for around 900 Korean traditional houses (Hanok). Every spot here is beautiful. Try to get lost in the alleys while enjoying the houses, the walls, the roofs, the garden and everything, you'll feel that you're sent away to Korea in hundred of years a go. Bukchon  is such a contrast with the modern city afar.

Beside Bukchon, we also dropped by at Gyeongbokgung Palace and got the opportunity to watch the changing palace guards ceremony.  

Banana Milk is the perfect drink during Korean summer

Other happening place in Seoul, it must be Myeong-dong, a heaven for skincare, cosmetics, shopping for all tourists and cosmetics sellers. Such a packed place with local products and imported products, just choose what you want. People were busy spending their money on everything. Many of them brought their luggages to put all the stuff they bought. If you're into Korean products, you'll love this place since there are many variations of skincare put in a beautiful package and sold at affordable price. Do not forget, Koreans like to give their customers some bonuses, buy 10 hand creams and get 20, buy 15 face mask and get 25, and more and more offers that will make you headache and later on you will be shocked to see your credit card bills, what the hell did I buy at Myeong-dong??? Hahaha...

I didn't shop much since I need to accompany my girls there. We just tried several cute-look-yet-yummy snacks sold by the street hawkers there.  

Seoul was the last place we visited during our eight-day of backpacking with kids. The girls were super happy. They kept saying, 'This is the best day in my life." 

All in all Korea is not only K-Pop or DraKor. It is also an alternative destination for backpacking with kids.  

"Holiday with young kids isn't about the holiday, (because let's face it, it's beyond exhausting), it's about making MEMORIES."

Backpacking with Kids: Korea #2

Destination #2: Everland, Nami Island and Petite France

You need to be an adrenaline junkie when you travel with kids. 

                                                                    --Graeme Le Saux

"Let's try the roller coaster," the girls screamed while seeing the fasterst, longest roller coaster in South Korea and also the second talest wooden roller coaster in the world. While I stepped aside and calmed down my heartbeat, duh...Gusti.

Everland is the biggest themepark in South Korea owned by Samsung Group. This place is simply amazing, huge with a flower garden,  playground, a zoo with its healthy and complete animals collection, and many more. We're lucky to come on weekday so we could try almost all rides, 

Our next destination was Nami Island. A favorite place for Korea Drama movies fans. Nami Island is located in Chuncheon. The island first bought by Mr. Minn Byeong-do in 1965, he just planned to live in harmony with the nature. To achieve his life goal, he started planting lots of different trees in the area, that's the reason why  now we can enjoy the beautiful trees all around this exotic island and use it as a selfie background :) 

As of  2001, Nami Island focused its activities on nature, arts, and culture. Many events took place here, mostly  related to painting, writing, and illustration. Nami Island also collaborates with Unesco and Unicef  in order to turn this island into a child-friendly area.   

From Nami Island, we took taxi to go to Petite France (actually there's a bus to go there but the girls were already tired so we chose taxi instead). This miniature of Paris is dedicated to Saint Exupery, the writer of the legendary Little Prince story.

Every parts of the area is well crafted. You can just take pictures everywere. Almost all places are awesomely beautiful. If you're not into photo session, no worries, this place is completed with Saint Exupery museum, painting gallery, puppet show, marionette dance, and merchandise shop that is full with stuff of Little Prince. If you're a huge fan of Little Prince, this place will make you super happy.

In the end, kids won't remember the fancy toy or game you bought for them,
they will remember the time you spent with them. 

--Kevin Heath    

Heaven on Earth: Kineruku, Bandung

An old house with an extraordinary collection

Baca-Dengar-Tonton, that's the tagline of Kineruku,  a cafe library at Jalan Hegarmanah No. 52 Bandung. Established in 2003 under name of Rumah Buku and changed its name into Kineruku in 2009, now it has 4000 of books collection, 1000 CDs collection, and 1000 movies collection, this place is a heaven on earth for book/music/movie freak. 

I once found this place via Kompas, my hubby and I still read  newspaper, yep, we're such an old-fashioned couple. When last week we visited Bandung due to a friend's wedding, out of the blue we just remembered this place and headed there with the help of Waze apps. 

Located in an old yet cozy house, this place is completed with merchandise shop, indie books/CD/VCD, and also good foods. We ordered Nasi Goreng Kencur, Mendoan, and Cucumber Ice, all were super tasty. So tasty even I didn't have any pics of them, the food arrived and suddenly they're gone, hahaha....

Kineruku sometimes organizes some programs relating to books launching, music concert or Nobar, watching movies together at its back yard or you can also borrow its movies collection and watch them there since it has special room for movie watching.    

Interested to drop by? Check its website at www.kineruku.com

Btw in Bandung, we stayed at De Paviljoen Hotel at Jalan R. Martadinata (Riau),  if you just want to have a good sleep and enjoy cafes, restaurant and Factory Outlets, I guess this hotel is perfect since everything are within walking distance so you need not to worry about Bandung Weekend Traffic Jam.

Just a short weekend getaway but it turned out to be real good :)

Backpacking with Kids: Korea #1

Hanok in Gyeong Ju, the place we stayed 

"Why travel with kids?

Childhood is a short season."

-Helen Hayes

Destination #1: Gyeong Ju and Busan

Ready for Lantern Festival

Beautiful Gamcheon Cultural Village

After flying for 7 hours from Jakarta to Seoul and continued by getting on and off of the bus, train and lastly by foot for around 6 hours in total, we finally arrived safe and sound in our  Hanok in Gyeong Ju. Hanok is a Korean traditional house. Although its look is traditional but inside the place is very modern completed with all up-to-date home appliances. The host is very nice, she provided us with free toast, home-made jam, milk, juice, egg and Samyang noodle (Korean noodle), what a bless.

One of beautiful spots in Gamcheon

Gyeong Ju is a peaceful city. UNESCO awarded it as a cultural heritage. It is full of temple, tombs, museum, castles, observatory, and small yet intimate cafes. 

Jagalchi Fish Market

From Gyeong Ju, we took train to Busan, a large port city in South Korea and also the second most populous city after Seoul. We dropped by at Jagalchi Market. A world famous market for fresh fish and seafood to take away or eat at the informal stalls. The kids enjoyed the fish market so much. They amazed to see how complete the seafood collection and how clean the market is. 

A Busy Busan City

Next we headed to Gamcheon Cultural Village. It is a beautiful spot for selfie. The houses here were built on the foothills of a coastal mountain, earning this village the nickname of "Machu Picchu of Busan." The place is full with colorful and beautiful houses, cafes and shops. Every part of the place is decorated by the residents vibrantly with murals and sculptures. 

Luwak Cafe in Gyeong Ju

Latest destination on that day was actually swimming and enjoying Haeundai Beach. But...unfortunately the universe was against us. The rain's heavily pouring accompanied by wind and thunder. We couldn't stay long in the beach, so we had a negotiation with the kids to drop by in a Korean restaurant and have a delicious dinner while waiting for the rain to stop. Still a perfect way to end that day's adventure.

So happy to see the Dandelion flowers

"Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport."