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….

And the countdown begins…

26 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Travel Tags: , , , ,

Our stay in Bali is now winding down to it’s last month 😦
I have to take advantage of the hot, sunny weather while it lasts cuz apparently we’re going to be welcomed by some Wintery Snow and its accompanying Wind-Chill factor, whatever that is? But we’ll be quickly warmed up by the hugs & kisses of friends and family – THAT, I can’t wait for, especially since it’ll be Xmas! Ho Ho Ho!

If it’s colder than Perth in July, then Mom and Dad will have a tough time surviving! (see OMG – It’s freezing in Perth and Trip to Perth: Best & Worst List blogs for more details) I personally don’t mind the cold that much, but perhaps I’m just naive since I haven’t been victim to the treacherous conditions of a true Canadian Winter yet! Dad says it’s not sooo bad and that I’ll have fun playing in the snow…no doubt!

Also, to make it easier to swallow the news of leaving Bali, I’ve been told that a new ‘throne’ awaits me back home? Hmmm, I’m really curious to see how cozy this new chair is going to be. Here’s a pic of my new Britax Marathon. Looks comfy, eh? Unfortunately I won’t have the CowMooflage fabric 😦  It would’ve help remind of all the cows I’ve seen here in Bali…

New Throne - Britax Marathon

Although I’m excited to try out my new seat, I really can’t complain cuz my ‘throne’ for this past year has been the Healthy Careâ„¢ Deluxe Booster Seat by Fisher-Price, which has served me REALLY well during my entire stay in Bali and throughout my travels, or simply dining out at restaurants that don’t have high-chairs. (Thanks to Auntie Jo for this one! This was a MUST HAVE item for me this year…). It’s surprising how much time I’ve spent in this chair… I really don’t know if I spend more time in the chair or in my bed…hmmm? Did I say that I LOVE to eat!

Best Booster Seat Ever (by Fisher Price)

Well gotta go and catch some waves and rays before the sun sets…As they say here in bali, “Da Da” for now…

PEACE

23 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Super Power

For months now I’ve been trying to practice the peace sign – so I can pose in photos like all the Japanese Girls do…Afterall, I am a Sumo Girl…

Unfortunately, my fingers are stuck in this position, so I guess this is going to have to do for now. Anyhow, I think it still looks cool – my own signature Peace sign!

Besides, let me see you try to bend your index finger like that…Not so easy huh?

My version of the Peace Sign!

 

Now I know my ABCs…

20 Nov 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff Tags: ,

Mom & dad bought me this new game with all these different and colourful shapes. It’s really fun to pour them out of the metal box and throw them all around. Don’t worry, they’re made of some soft rubber so no one actually gets hurt when I start throwing them up in the air….

What’s even more fun with this new toy is when mom sings a song with all the shapes. She’s even made me listen to the song on her screen, which is sung by some bright and funny characters from a cool place called ‘Sesame Street’. I would love to go there someday to meet all those people… All I can say is ‘Wooh’ everytime I see them!

The song finishes by…’Now I know my ABCs…Next time won’t you sing with me’…I can’t sing the song yet, but hey, at least I recognize the ‘O’, ‘Q’, ‘A’ and ‘S’ which I learnt in this order…I think there’s much fun left to have with this new game…

Another weird thing is that mom, dad, and Ami (my best friend in the world – who’s actually a real person) were pronouncing the shapes differently, so it was really confusing to me. Recently, they’ve all started to pronounce them all the ‘same’ way (at least they try to)…apparently, à la Française, whatever that means…It seems, I’m not the only one who’s learning the new game cuz Ami seems to have a bit of trouble pronoucing some of the shapes. It’s pretty funny when she tries to sing the song, cuz she makes ALOT of weird ‘grimaces’….or is that supposed to be part of the song? We’ll see if I get the hang of it faster or if Ami is going to beat me to it…

What do I want to be when I grow up – Segment 2: Yogilates Instructor

07 Oct 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Travel Tags: ,

It seems like it’s one of those latest trends to get kids started on activities early on, starting at only a few months. I remember, that at less than 6 months, I already had a weekly agenda to keep track of all my activities:

Baby-swimming classes, Baby-massage classes,…all this in addition to my regular daily activities: Nap time, eating time, Tummy-time, learning to roll-over or crawl time, bath time – and changing diapers time was not negligible either.

On top of all this, I had to accompany mom to her Baby-Cardio Classes, grocery shopping, and other ‘so-called’ meetings that she may have…

I know that baby-yoga and baby-dances classes are all the hype now.  Before I start complaining about yet another class…mom has actually started teaching me a few yoga poses and Pilates exercises at home and I’m having a blast! Every day, I now look forward to my little Yoga/Pilates sessions. Who knows what this will lead to in the future for me? Perhaps, shall I consider becoming a Yoga/Pilates instructor?

So far, although I’ve not mastered them yet, I’m practicing the following poses/exercises:

  1. Cat pose
  2. Child’s pose
  3. Tree pose
  4. Boat pose
  5. Open Leg Rocker
  6. Double Straight leg raises
  7. Leg slides on small Pilates ball
  8. Cobra pose (which I’ve been doing since I was 3-4 months old, don’t mean to show off or anything…)

Since I’m having such a blast learning new moves, I won’t complain about my weekly swimming classes and my daily yoga/pilates sessions. My schedule doesn’t seem that hectic afterall – besides we’ve truly adapted to the Bali-Beat (of taking things nice & easy!)

It actually feels good to move my body – gotta learn healthy habits early on, especially considering the amount of food I eat. Really should burn off those calories somehow…might as well, have fun while doing it!

I gotta ‘keep fit’ (as the Chinese folks say) if I don’t want my belly bulge to keep growing….out of control! If I keep at it, perhaps a few years from now, I’ll be able to offer Yoga/Pilates classes to others 🙂

Here’s an image of my first Yoga/Pilates ‘Studio’ in Bali – Fully equipped with Big Ball, Small Pilates balls (or Bola, as I liked to call them à la Bahasa Indonesia) and the Pilates Circle…And finally some traditional Batik mats for that Bali feel! Don’t ask my why everything is purple??

My first yoga/pilates studio in Bali

Word of the Week: Ami

14 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Travel

September 12th marked a huge milestone! After 8 months of living in Bali, I have finally been able to say: AMI!! This comes as a pleasant accomplishment, especially for my baby sitter, whose name is Ami.

You would think that since I spend almost all day with her, 6 days a week, that I would’ve been saying her name months ago…Ah well, better late than never I guess…

Now I love saying her name. It’s quite befitting cuz Ami just happens to mean ‘Friend’ in French, and she’s definitely won Best Buddy of the Year in my books! Cheers to AMI!

Word of the day: HABIS

08 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Travel

After every meal I have, I hear the word: “Habis??”
I normally shake my head, signalling that I still want more food cuz there’s never enough!

In Bahasa Indonesia, “Habis” means “Finished”, so when they ask me if I’m finished eating, by default, I always say ‘No-I’m not done!! Bring me more!”, not is so many words mind you…but they get the message, with all my head-shaking and my hand signalling towards the fridge…

However, with a little bit more reflection, I may have been misinterpreting the tone with which “Habis” is said to me. Personally, I hear it with a question mark, thinking they’re asking me if I’m actually done. But come to think of it, they may just be saying – ‘Habis – It’s finished! – there IS NO MORE food left’!! Ah well, doesn’t hurt to try. I’ll take whatever food I can get…

Today, I actually started saying the word myself, but it had nothing to do with food. It was pertaining to my small bathtub which had no more water for me to play with….Habis 😦

Did you say Nemo?

28 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Beauty, Cool Stuff

A few weeks ago, mom’s friend came to visit us in Bali. She figured out pretty quickly that I love animals and that I particularly like imitating their sounds. As a result, she thought that I would be interested in learning on how to look like Nemo (the cartoon fish!)

She’s gone back home now, but I’m stilly practicing the Nemo-Lip-Pout. I think it might come in handy if ever I want to pursue a modeling career – gotta learn how to do the pouty-lip thing, à la Angelina Jolie!

Learning to Surf…with QuickSilver!

12 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Beach, Cool Stuff, Fun Spots, Travel

Now that we’ve been living in Bali for 6 months, we’ve had time to get used to : the food (Spicy), the weather (nice and warm), the people (super friendly), the motorbikes (crazy in traffic), the mosquitoes (who love me) and the beaches (for the amazing sunsets)

It was now time to move onto the next step, we had to hit the waves and TRY to learn to surf…key word in that sentence was “TRY”!! It looks so easy when you watch the pros paddling away and popping onto their boards to catch the gorgeous waves on the beaches close to Uluwatu or at Echo Beach in Canggu…Nothing to it all!

We decided to register from some Surfing lessons with the QuickSilver Surf school at Double Six beach. The waves are not so killer and the boyz who give the lessons are cool and friendly, and do know what they’re talking about – and you have time while trying to get vertical onto your board…Oh, by the way, when I say ‘WE’, I mean mom, dad, their friend, took lessons while I chilled out playing in the sand at the beach…Don’t worry, my turn will come soon enough…If I could only get the paddle-paddle, kick-kick-kick thing that my swimming instructor keeps repeating to me…Once I get the swimming thing down, I’m definitely going to hit the waves – I already have the surfer dudette’s haircut (all natural, of course)

In 2.5 hours, the wannabe surfers learned the basic techniques on how to carry the board (in and out of the water), get onto the board, and then finally how to stand on the board. Easy 1-2-3 Steps, and Hop! You’re ‘Surfing’ by the end of the class 🙂 You may not look like the cool surfers doing barrels, but you are actually standing on the board and ‘catching’ a wave.

The class is safe and fun, and suitable for almost ‘all’ ages – there were entire families doing the class together (even kids about 6-7 years old taking the class!) They were actually the cooler ones cuz they didn’t have that ‘FEAR’ in their eyes…And trust me, if my mom took the class, anybody can – she just learned to swim! If you threw her into a pool 3 months ago, she would’ve drowned…

And they have a photographer on hand to take pictures of you, which you can purchase at the end of the class for a very reasonable price (they can even give you a CD with your pics!)…Check out these cool pics of my folks and their friend in action…

 

 

 

Note: The guy with the inverted Quicksilver jersey standing the surfer is actually the instructor giving the student a push… 🙂

For more information on the various surfing lesson packages, you can check out The Quicksilver Surf School site below. Or you can simply show up at their office at Double Six Beach the day before to register. They have classes at 9:30am and 2pm everyday…

http://www.quiksilversurfschoolbali.com/lesson.php

Trip to Perth – Best and Worst Lists

20 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Fun Spots, Travel Tags:

If you’ve ever been awoken from a deep sleep, you know that it’s a terrible feeling, especially if you’re a bit grumpy like me. Luckily it was nice & cozy in mom’s arms…What was happening? I was having a great time in dream world, then I realize we’re in a taxi at 6am off to a huge place with counters, security checks and people in different coloured uniforms…

Then, we get into this ‘spaceship’…ooh, how exciting? Unfortunately, I was expecting this to be a comfy ride with lots of cool gadgets, but it turns out there are rows of 3 (small) seaters on either side of this very narrow aisle – how was I supposed to do my daily exercise with so little space? To make matters worse, there were these so-called ‘Sky-Beauties’ in uniform who were taking up all the space with their large carts of food and drinks…Unfortunately, they didn’t even share their goodies with me 😦 No gadgets or TV to keep me entertained either, so I had to play with mom and dad in our cramped seats…

After a 3.5 hour flight, we arrived in cool, chilly Perth, Australia. I was already missing the warmth and sunny weather of Bali, but not as much as mom and dad I think. We were staying for the week, so I had to get used to the climate change…

Here are my Best and Worst moments, in no particular order:

Best moments in Perth:
1- Watching surfers at Scarborough Beach.

Hot or cold, and despite all the Dangers…they’re always there, never wanting to miss the chance to ride The Perfect wave.

  

2- Finding my rolling-horsy…for free! It was large rubbish pick-up week while we were in Perth, so people were putting out large TVs, furniture, etc on their lawn.

Despite being parked on the lawn, no… this car is not ‘rubbish’. People just like to park their cars on their lawn, even if they have driveways and garages…

3- Running around in all the parks and playing in the sandbox – wow, it’s safe to run on the grass here. And people are always barefoot it seems, even when they go to do their groceries…

4- Eating meat pies and sausage rolls – Let’s just say, mom and dad loaded me up on meats during the week.
Note: Meat pies and sausage rolls are meant to be eaten without utensils, so right out of the bag (with their perfected tomato sauce squeezer) – but it is really messy to eat, especially in the car, and for beginners like us…

5- Mom & dad using the oven. In addition to keeping us warm, they got to do a little more cooking than usual and we got to eat lasagna, carrot cupcakes, oatmeal cookies…Although mom could’ve used the manual for the fancy oven, cuz her cookies didn’t turn out as well as usual…

6- Seeing Kangaroos and Koalas, and the different birds at Yanchep National Park

7- Hanging out in the play area of Little Creatures Brewery/Resto while the adults enjoyed a local beer, It also gave me chance to warm up from being outside all afternoon, strolling around in Free Mantle.

8- Going to Ikea for a cheap meal – hmmm, yummy meatballs – did I say that I ate alot of meat this week…

9- Watching the sunset at Scarborough beach

10- Being able to drink water from the Tap (using a Britta filter) – no water bottles – yeah!

11- Walking around in North Bridge area, pushing my stroller and seeing the cool bird chillin’ on a bike

12- Most of all, being able to spend time with Auntie-S & Uncle-C, and P’tit Wombat, of course! As the Mastercard ads say…Priceless!

Worst moments in Perth:
1- Freezing in the rain for the first two days. However, some people were still brave enough to go swimming without a wetsuit…I suspect this guy is in the water on a dare… otherwise he’s just crazy…

2- Not being able to eat fruits cuz the prices are ridiculous (bananas at 20 AUD/kg, grapes at 13 AUD/kg, …), so ended up eating kiwis and oranges. which were more reasonably priced…

3- Having to wear so many layers of clothing – I’m used to being in tank tops and shorts…

4- Missing out on a pair of Ugg Boots while shopping in Free Mantle…Mom & dad couldn’t justify the expense since I would be back to sandals in Bali…

5- Leaving the playgrounds while I was having so much fun…Mom & dad are cruel…

All in all, it was definitely not a bad week. As you can see, there were more positive moments than negative ones, so I would definitely recommend a visit to Perth…just not in the dead of Winter (July-Aug). Please go when it’s summer and catch the awesome waves with the rest of the surfer dudes!

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