SuperBowl weekend

10 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Fun Facts, Restos & Food Tags: ,

Some days you wake up and you have no idea what’s in stored, or that pleasant surprises are just waiting for you to enjoy them 🙂  Last sunday, was SuperBowl weekend and one of those fun-filled days!

The day started off great with my amazing swimming class. Splishing-splashing in the water drains my energy out (and mom’s too), and I always look forward to the yummy snacks that I get to eat afterwards. It’s always better when dad prepares them cuz he’s way more generous than mom (Triscuit crackers, cheerios and dried fruit is pretty much the standard, but this week dad added something new – sesame sticks and some sweet cookies too!)

Then dim sum with Gong Gong (grandpa) is always a treat…as you can see anything related to food is the way to my heart 🙂

Since we were all having so much fun, I even got the opportunity to skip my afternoon nap. I HATE going to bed, what a waste of time. There is always something more fun to do than going to sleep…even if I’m totally exhausted. Today was great cuz I did not even have to fight and nag my way out of nap time. Mom & dad must have simply forgotten that I normally have a nap scheduled in the afternoon. I got to run around and chase mom & dad around through aisles with really big TV screens, some little black and silver boxes with smaller screens, and through men dressed in some boring uniform of black polo shirts with “Future Shop” written and beige pants.

Following all that running around, we took a ride to our friend C’s new place and I got to play with her cat, “Meru”. I even got to feed him little ‘snacks’ directly to his mouth. Speaking of snacks, I got to try this new thing called “Popcone” which are these small crunchy balls. Mom and dad had this huge bowl which I got to pick from… at first. But then, they decided to give me my own small bowl, so I did not have to share with them. There were orange ones that were salty and turned my fingers orange, but I much preferred the brown ‘cawamel’ sweet-flavoured ones.

We never get to this at home, but as I was snacking away on my ‘Popcone’, mom and dad were watching the Big TV and kept screaming at this men dressed in red. They were skating really fast, and it was so amazing cuz they never fall. Mom told me they were playing ‘Haw-Kay’ and that the red men were nice and that the white men were bad, so also started screaming at the TV.

Mom decided that i needed to take a break from all my snacking, so we started dancing along to this fun music that C decided to play for us. It was great cuz as the music was playing, there was this funny looking man on her big-screen TV who was also dancing and saying the words ‘Gangnyam Sty’. I loved it so much that I think we listened to it at least 5 times in a row! I love to dance.

Then I was drained and needed some energy, so more ‘popcone’…Mom and dad didn’t see, but I was able to sneak a few extra ones by asking C in a my sweetest and most charming tone and she could not resist… Yes! Mom then hid the bowl and started giving me carrot sticks, cucumbers and peppers, which I also love…especially when there is ‘Dip’!!! Yummy!

Later on more friends came to join us and we got to eat some more while watching some other men running after a brown ball, called “Football” I was too busy eating to really watch what was going on between the men with helmets chasing the ball, but I always love eating with other people around…it’s like going to a party!

For dessert, instead of fruits, I got to try these crunchy squares that dad made in the morning. They’re called ‘Lice Klispys’…they’re the best. I easily got away with two squares, but then as I attempted to get my hands on a third, I was told it was time to leave 😦

It was way passed my bedtime, and I did not want to go to bed but I could not complain too much since I had an amazing day filled with fun and lots of Snacks!! I resisted a little bit, cuz that’s part of the bedtime routine afterall, but I did not really try to hard. I was really hoping that when I would wake up the next morning, it would be SuperBowl day all over again, and every day after that!!

Gotta get the braids

18 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Beauty, Fun Facts, Travel Tags: , ,

I know that it may be the trend for some people to get ‘Ze Dreads‘ or the ‘Ze Braids‘ while vacationing on the beach, but that’s just not the look I’m going for.

When I talk about wanting to get the braids, I’m talking about the two SUPER long braids that the local school girls sport on a school day. They all have super long, thick, black hair that seems like it has never been cut. They all coif it exactly the same way, and I mean EXACTLY the same way. Two regular braids (no fancy stuff like French Braids or the like) that start low and fall lankily on either side of their slender bodies. I really wonder if it’s a rule from the schools or if it’s just a fashion trend and ALL (without exception, that I could see so far) the girls are wearing The Braids to school. Some have little colourful ribbons tied at the bottom which adds a nice accent…But even then, all the girls from the same school have the same ribbon.

The fact that their braids are perfect seems to match the way they wear their uniforms. It’s really interesting to see the mass of school kids walking or biking home on the narrow roads with their uniforms worn very neatly. Each school has its own uniform, and pretty much everyone wears it the same way: T-shirt tucked in, skirts exactly below knee length, black shoes, perfect braids and smiling while chatting with their buddies, with broom in hand (don’t ask me why, haven’t figured that out yet…)

Hey, watch it! Motorbike coming!

I know that if I were to wear a uniform, I would be doing little things to add my own flare to it – Gotta express myself and have my own look!

I really wonder if the low braids is a  rule from the schools or if it’s just a fashion trend and ALL the girls (without exception, that I could see so far) are sporting braids to school.

Although I may not follow all the rules regarding the uniform (especially the ‘keeping it clean’ part – shuuut! Don’t tell my mom), I would definitely wear the  braids. Unfortunately, my hair is still not long enough – I’m still growing it out, but one day I’m going to be flaunting my own set of braids too 😉

School girl walking home - with 2 braids of course!

Family Day

07 Dec 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Beach, Cool Stuff, Fun Facts, Fun Spots, Restos & Food, Travel Tags: , , ,

Family day today….Yeah! I know it sounds silly, cuz I get to see my parents Every single day, but family day is a dedicated day each week, where it’s just us – no appointments, no meetings, no house-cleaning people, no Nanny (even though I love Ami, and sometimes I do miss her on family days too when mom and dad are too boring!)

Today was quite eventful!
1- Petitenget Beach – It was a bit cloudy so was not too hot so we could actually run around the beach without burning our toes, like last week. Sand castles and burying our feet in the sand…Ah what a great start to the day!

Building sand castles at Petitenget Beach

Where Is everyone? must be too early!

2- Bike ride to Denpasar – Perfect for a mid-morning nap!

Streets of Denpasar

3- Bird Market – Went once, but should be enough for me…
4- Lunch at Sakanaya/Ramen on Jl. Sunset Road – I was so hungry before we got there, but then I fell asleep when we arrived. It was perfect cuz I continued my nap while mom & dad ordered. Then, the lovely smell of the Ramen Broth gently woke me up. First words out of mouth? Mum-Mum (ie. LET’s EAT!).

Sakanaya & Ramen Restos - Yummy!

Ooh, the Char-Siu ramen in Miso soup was delicious – I am a little sumo afterall! The fish cakes from Sakanaya were also yummy, but the burrito that dad ordered was a little weird. For older folks who actually eat raw fish, I would probably recommend the Sashimi plate (good quality and very reasonably priced), or go for a fried or grilled fish. Although this spot is set on Jl. Sunset Road which is a busy road with quite a bit of traffic, the setting is still quite nice with tables set outside on a deck.

Just look out for the huge Blue sign with “RAMEN” written vertically and the “SAKANAYA” sign is in front. You’ll see it on Jl. Sunset Road heading from Kerobokan towards Kuta.

They supply for “Ryoshi”, a very popular Japanese restaurant here in Bali. Here is the truck loading up before making the rounds to bring the fresh goods to the restos.

Ryoshi Truck Loading Up

5- Pit stop at home for a quick shower to take off the sand from the beach
6- Bike ride to Kuta – Good afternoon nap (Man, the traffic was so bad. Kuta was actually worse than Denpasar, if you can believe it!)
7- Chill out at home for a nice dinner and a cool Bintang!

Bintang anyone?

Ok, I didn’t really drink the Bintang, but I tried to

Did I say I LOVE Family Day! It should be everyday! xx

Spesial Price for You!

01 Dec 2011 1 Comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Fun Facts, Restos & Food, Travel Tags: , ,

What is a nice refreshing drink that you must try when coming to Bali? Es Kalapa, of course!

They are sold in fancy restaurants, little warungs as well as at little stands that only sell this popular drink. It consists of Young Coconut Juice on ice, served with a little Honey syrup…They scrape the inside and put some of the fleshy white edible parts in your drink….Hmmm Yummy!

The other day, mom & dad when to pick up some Es Kalapa Bungkus (takeaway) at one of the little stands close to our house. It’s the same man who’s there everyday with his pile of coconuts waiting to be cut open and served.

In the scorching heat, they waited as the Bapak finished the order of 3 Es Kalapas for the client in front of them. The standard price is around Rp 3000 (less than $0.40) for one Es Kalapa, and this is what the previous client had paid.

Mom and dad patiently waited for their 3 drinks to be prepared, and packed into small plastic bags**.

**It is quite popular to have your takeaway food or drink served into many little plastic bags. Dad gets pretty frustrated with this, particularly for dishes with lots of sauce. We don’t know how they do it, but the Balinese tie the tightest knots which makes it sometimes impossible to open your takeaway without making a total mess. Ok, back to the coconut drinks…

When the Pak handed over the drinks to mom and asked for Rp 12,000 for the 3 drinks, she was a bit surprised cuz the previous client had clearly paid the lokal price of Rp 9,000 for 3 exact same drinks.

The Pak saw the hesitation in her eyes, and he proceeded to explain in Bahasa Indonesia that he had more juice in his drinks (Banyak!) compared to the standard places and that’s when he said: “Spesial Price… for you!”

Mom kindly paid the Pak, hopped onto the motorbike with dad, and they went on their way, still looking forward to sipping their cool drinks…

Although many people say that mom and dad look like Lokal Indonesian people, they definitely got the Spesial price for “Bule“ today (Bule = white person/foreigner)…Ah well, that’s what you get for not learning to speak the language after almost a year in Bali….

It’s getting hot in here…

29 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Fun Facts, Travel Tags:

So the muggy hot season has started again in Bali…What it’s not 30 degrees Celsius all-year round you ask? From what I’ve experienced, although it is warm the entire year, it’s not always so muggy and sticky…

During the rainy season (Dec-April) which apparently was longer than usual this year, it can get quite humid. Defintely put on the AC for bedtime, if you have it! Then, from May to Sept, it’s just nice and sunny during the day with nice cool winds in the evening that help freshen up the air – makes for a good night’s sleep…aaah! In Oct-Nov, the humidity kicks back in and this is what we’ve been experiencing for the past 2 weeks….Yuck!

**Warning: Parental Advisory – inappropriate song lyrics**
So, as Nelly says in his song: “It’s getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes…” Sometimes I wish I could just chill out in my Mamy Poko Pants all day long just cuz it’s so hot
(Note: Mamy Poko is a local brand of diapers equivalent to Pampers or Huggies)

On days when we go out and I actually do have to get dressed, I just do what the Balinese guys do when they want to cool off – Lift your t-shirt over your belly… I figured it was just to stay cool, but who knows, maybe it’s a fashion statement here….hmmmm…

Beat the heat by exposing belly 🙂

Gives new meaning to the term “Bali-Belly”…

24hrs, 1 gecko & 1000000 ants

27 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Bugs and creatures, Fun Facts, Travel Tags: ,

During our stay here, I’ve had to learn to adapt to the ‘EcoSystem’ in Bali and to embrace the many bugs & creatures that live on this beautiful island with us. Trust me, this is not so easy for some people – just ask my mom…She used to Freak Out at the site of an ant or a spider at home. Since coming to Bali, she’s learned to accept having ‘roommates’, not really by choice mind you…

I, on the other hand, have had no problem (in general) getting used to these little creatures – aside for the recent attack of the red ants at the beautiful villa in Ubud (see Word of the week: “Ubud”….and “Salad”). Word of advice: If you see red ants, beware cuz they tend to sting (compared to the black or brown ones) so I would keep my distance.

When we first arrived here, they told us that the Geckos were harmless and they were handy to have around cuz they eat the pesty bugs (ie. mosquitoes, flies, dragonflies 😦 …). Unfortunately, from what I could observe, they don’t eat ants!! This is really too bad for them, cuz there are a Gazillion ants (and more) running around freely, ready to be feasted on. Perhaps, it’s a good thing otherwise the Geckos would become Humungous and scary! A Balinese friend told me that the reason why geckos don’t eat ants it’s cuz they’re bitter – but I really don’t know how reliable this source is…Did he taste the ants for himself or perhaps he interviewed a gecko to confirm this? I have no idea, but this is what I’ve been told. I haven’t had the urge to taste for myself either, but I’m sure that unknowingly, we’ve all eaten our fair share of ants so far here in Bali…

It turns out that having ants around can be sometimes pretty handy. They demonstrate some good qualities such as: perseverance, patience, being hard working and methodical, they promote team work and they help clean up….I’m sure that some Employers would be glad to hire them… I’ve recently noticed these characteristics during the event of the “24-Hour Feast”!

One morning, there was a baby Gecko, measuring about 5cm, who was looking extremely weak, probably due to the humidity and heat like the rest of us!

Baby Gecko

Given its dire condition, my friend Ami decided to move him from the middle of the kitchen floor to the edge of our counter top, to protect him from being accidentally squished I presume. Although we did not notice, that is when the 24-hour Feast began for the happy ants in our neighbourhood…

The next day, at exactly the same spot where we left the gecko, there remained only the skeleton of our poor gecko. The ants had patiently taken their time, shared the ‘joy’ and cleaned out that gecko leaving only it’s little bones…What can I say…Poor Gecko!

And I thought geckos were supposed to eat insects, not the other way around!

Poor Gecko 24 hours later...

 

Mata Genit

28 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Fun Facts

We’ve been living in Bali for almost 8 months now, and although I haven’t taken any official classes, I am starting to understand the language a bit. I’ve learned that ‘Mata Genit’ can be quite useful at times… I think it means ‘Flirtatious Wink’, usually a look that ladies will give a guy when they think they’re cute or something…

For me, I mostly do it when I want to get the waiter’s attention cuz I want good service at a restaurant, or the food is taking too long.

It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, boy or girl, will you be able to resist my Double-eyed Wink? I think not…Just say ‘Mata Genit’ and I will cast my ‘spell on you’… 😉

Mosquitoes go into stealth mode?

14 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Fun Facts, Travel

Did you know that mosquitoes go into stealth mode? How do they do that? One minute you see them, the next minute they’ve disappeared. A few seconds later, you see them lurking about again, or you hear them annoyingly buzzing in your ear, but your hands are just not fast enough to Smack them!

Unfortunately, you know you were not just imagining them cuz a few hours later, you see those little red itchy bumps on your skin that tag you as the Victim!! And trust me, since living in Bali, I’ve been a victim many, many times…

Jawbreaker Sidewalks!

04 May 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Fun Facts, Travel

For those who have never been to Bali and are thinking the best way to travel with your kid around here is with your souped-up colourful stroller…well, you’re in for a nice surprise. The sidewalks here are ‘Jawbreakers’, when they actually exist!

Here are some examples of sidewalks that I’ve encountered thus far in Bali.

 


Word of caution to parents: Note that unless you are looking for a good workout in 35 degree Celsius weather in the hot sun, forget about trying to navigate your child in a stroller in Bali (unless it’s for short distances). Mom and dad tried to take me out for nice afternoon ‘strolls’, but ended up being exhausted and all sweaty instead. Also, if you think you can cool-off by entering some air-conditioned shops…Think again, that’s no easy feat either. There are normally uneven steps to get into a store around here – You’re in for some more sport!

Recommendation: Use the a sarong as the locals do, or any comfortable baby carrier. One advantage to this is that we get to turn either which way and observe all the action occurring on the street 🙂

Ogoh Ogoh & Nyepi in Bali

06 Mar 2011 1 Comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Fun Facts, Travel Tags: ,

March 5th marked the Caka Lunar New Year Nyepi holiday here in Bali – Year 1933. It is a day of silence and rest for the entire island, and apparently one of the most important rituals for Balinese Hindus. Trust me, this holiday is taken extremely seriously as we have been hearing about it for over a month!

It is a day where you are not to work, you are to stay at home & spend time with your family, not use electricity (not even for cooking or lighting), and not enjoy any form of entertainment. Just to give you an idea of how serious this is, even the International Airport of Denpasar is closed on this day. Tourists are asked to stay on the hotel grounds where they are staying at and to not leave the premises. Access to beach is also closed to everyone on this day…

The day before Nyepi, the Balinese Hindus perform special purification ceremonies at the temples.  There is a parade of giant Ogoh-Ogoh’s, which represent evil mythological creatures made of paper-mâché. Following the long procession, the Ogoh-Ogoh’s are burned as a ritual to ward off evil. Despite the late night, my parents decided that this was a must-see and worth keeping me up later for…Yipppeee!

We headed out at around 5pm and saw all the Ogoh-Ogoh’s on display. It was incredible to hear already how quiet the city was. Streets which were normally lined with parked motorbikes were suddenly empty! The one day that I could’ve gone out sitting comfortably in my Baby Jogger stroller, mom decided to take the baby carrier for fear that the streets would be too crowded.

It was still early so there weren’t too many people on the streets yet. We were actually able to walk on Legian Street, which is normally filled with cars and motorbikes in crazy traffic! We made it up to the main Temple, where a purification ceremony was already taking place. Unfortunately I could not see anything, nor could my parents 😦

Since it was getting late and we didn’t know when the procession would start, we decided to stop and grab a quick bite to eat cuz it was already way past my supper time! We went to Ristorante Italia (see upcoming post)

Although we did not get to see the full parade and be with the crowds the night before Nyepi, I’m glad that I got to stay up later than usual and to see all the Ogoh-Ogoh’s. Some were indeed quite scary, but I’m a tough gal. I didn’t even have any nightmares that night!

The next day was just a nice relaxing family day spent at home with mom and dad…in the silence of Bali…

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