#sgperth0312

So you already know I am an Instagram freak, well here's my entire vacation to Perth with the family this month as an extra large instagram collage :D To make head or tail of the images, I guess you should go to Instagram and search the hashtag #sgperth0312 to view the entire collection complete with captions and comments. All instagrams shot and edited with my iPhone 4S. DSLR images to come soon :)

Bali 2010 - Last minute shopping & SPA

Our final full day in Bali was met with a light drizzle in the morning but it cleared soon after breakfast. I've decided that today, it was going to be shopping and a spa treatment for me at the villa while the kids took their afternoon nap :)

Look mum! We have a palm tree sticking out of our heads :D




We also indulged the kids by letting them swim as long as they liked in the pool. After the tips of their little toes and fingers resembled raisins did they finally get out of the pool for a bath.

Family photo attempt in the bath tub was failure #4 as putting the camera on timer and running into position without tripping on the wet floor was quite a feat! Then not to mention we have no control over the kids' expressions when the shutter clicks :p Check out this failed attempt, my right knee in an awkward position, Kay's fake half smile and Dyl's "bo chup" face!



But I did managed to get some shots of the boys enjoying their bath.






Attempt #5...


#6


and #7


Ok you get the picture! I gave up after attempt #7 and decided to just shoot the kids. This is my favourite picture of the both of them together. So loving, makes my heart melt :D


More of the villa before we leave...


Goodbye Bali, we will miss you! Hope to visit again someday.

ZZZzzzzzZzzz!

***read Day 1 here***

***read Day 2 here***

Bali 2010 - The extremely tiring second day

It's a good morning on our second day in Bali! We had to be up early as we were scheduled to meet our driver guide at 9am and getting kids ready is you know...never easy ;)



The nude milk-drinker






Our breakfast prepared and cooked in our villa by our lady butler :)


We met Pedro, our driver guide and headed northwards to a temple which housed a holy spring, the Tirta Empul Temple in Tampark Siring. It was a really long car ride there and I was stuck at the back seat keeping the kids entertained. By the time we got there, the small one was grouchy (check out his pout) and the big one lost his enthusiasm.





I think the Mr Grumpy shirt should go to Dylan ;P


It was also at this temple that Dyl had a fall and scraped his chin but as we will find out later, it's nothing compared to the many mosquito bites he will suffer! Strangely the kid's blood must be sweeter because us adults got just one or two bites, go figure! We asked Pedro to help us take a family shot in front of the temple, he decided to include the sky so in the picture we had the very beautiful blue sky and all of us in sillouette hahahaha! Attempt at family picture #2 fail!

Next stop was the volcano. Pedro was engaging us in conversations with him so we won't be bored. He's a father of a little girl about Dylan's age but she's 3kg heavier :p He wants a son next as it is hindu custom that the son looks after his parents. Another fact we learnt, the majority of Balinese are hindus! We thought Indonesia was a nation of muslims but no, Pedro explained that in Bali, almost everyone is hindu.

Along the way we passed many villages, Pedro tells us that each village will specialise in a particular handicraft. We saw one that makes beautiful kites! Many were stone and wood carvers and there were also a few that make jewellery. There were also many shops that sold synthetic rattan furniture, very nice to have by the pool area IF I lived in a bungalow *dream dream* Pedro says he's from a village of wood carvers. I find it really interesting that every Balinese will specialise in a certain craft and it makes you wonder how all of them are born creative?

Ta dah! We arrived at last! Here's the view of the volcanos. We also had the worse lunch ever at a restaurant here. I think the only thing keeping it in operation is the view :p







We had another failed attempt at family picture #3 here, both kids having been woken up were not in the least bit happy.

Pedro next suggested the Ubud market for some shopping, hurray! But damn, it was crowded and there was no parking plus the kids had already dozed off in the car so we decided to give it a miss and started our journey back down south to Uluwatu. Along the way, Pedro stopped us at a scenic rice paddy field. He said he will watch the kids while we took some photos. I love this shot of these girls trying to lift the heavy basket :D





Eventually, their father or uncle had to take over the job hehe :p


We arrived in Uluwatu just in time to to see the beautiful sunset plus a free show of two frisky monkeys doing IT right in front of us! :p They were notorious for snatching caps, sunglasses or anything off you if you are not aware so Kayden was screaming for me to stay away from the wall where they were seated as I jostled for a better spot to get my shot. Sometimes this boy worry too much!





It's been a really long day, we were all beat when we arrived back at the villa. We bade Pedro farewell and had a really nice Italian dinner at Trattoria before walking back to the villa to call it a day.

***read Day 1 here***

***read Day 3 here***

Bali 2010 - The Villa, Cafe Bali & Sharkey's

Our last family vacation was September last year in Oz (good grief I just realised I've not blog part 2 of that vacation yet!). We have never been to Bali before so I was very excited about it. A few hiccups for the trip though, our travel companions who would be sharing the lovely 2 bedroom villa with us stuffed up their flight booking so they couldn't get on the plane. We tried to downgrade to a one bedroom villa unsuccessfully as they were fully booked. So you can say that we ended up spending a bomb on our lodging but seeing how much the boys enjoy themselves, it was worth it.

We stayed at Bvilla in the Seminyak area. Bvilla is owned by one of my clients and I love the contemporary design of the place while still incorporating Balinese accents. Very chic ;) We checked in, had a refreshing welcome drink while gawking at our private pool before setting out on foot to grab some lunch.



We ended up at Cafe Bali, lovely lovely interior! The lamps in the restaurant were the work of lighting artist Robert Nollet and his gifted team of Balinese craftmen.



Naturally I wanted a nice picture of us here but the boys were cranky from waking up so early that morning for the flight and the waitress who took the shot didn't focus the camera correctly so we were one blurred blob of colours in the picture, arrgh... failed attempt at family picture #1. Reminder to self, bring the LX3 next time, not all service staff knows how to use the D700.

The difference between the two, one wears his heart on his sleeve showing me his grumpy tired face, the other acts silly to hide the fatigue :p




yes yes, I am aware that he needs a hair cut.

After lunch it was back to the villa for a dip in the pool. That certainly perked the big one up!





Treating the deck chairs as a trampoline was a genius idea ;)


We tried to make them take a nap but it was quite impossible. So we decided to go for an early dinner so we can turn in early. Friends recommended seafood dinner at Sharkey's which was at Jimbaran Bay. The tables were set out near the beach front and you get sand on your feet as you enjoy your dinner and the sunset was lovely to behold. Just that you get the "smell" of the sea as well which may spoil the ambience for some. But it was small issue for a great meal and view.





Dylan was so sleepy (the both of them did not have their afternoon naps) that he fell asleep at the table with his mouth still full with rice. Poor baby.


It's been a long day, we bid the sun and Sharkey's farewell to hopefully a great night's rest at our villa :)


***read Day 2 here***

***read Day 3 here***

Adventure Down Under - Part 1

How did me signing up for a 1 day photography workshop in Sydney become a family vacation to Australia?
Here's how
- Signed up and paid USD800 via Paypal past midnight one evening
- Told husband the next morning and got an earful
- Decided to just bring Dylan along since he is still being breastfed
- Jumped for joy when I found out SQ was having a promotion to Sydney for just $600+
- Explained to Kayden that Mummy is going to Oz for work with Didi
- Explain again 100x, he still don't understand why he can't go
- Told husband that I can't leave Kayden behind, it will be too unfair
- Dawned on me that bringing Dylan along for the shootshop will have the other photographers rolling their eyes at me
- Hmmm, need someone to look after Dylan
- Asked husband again if he would go?
- He agreed so I logged on to SQ's website to book our tickets
- NONE of the dates 1 week prior to the workshop date are available at the promotion price
- Got sad, sulked, tried other airlines but none suitable
- PANICKED!
- Decided to wait a few days for the NATAS fair
- Tickets to Sydney were still hovering around the 1k mark, too much
- FINALLY got a twin city deal from Qantas for $700+! HURRAY!
- Get to fly back on the A380, WIN!
- BOOKED and worked like hell for the next few weeks to pay for the workshop that became a family vacation :p

Day 1:
The red eye flight to Brisbane was terribly tiring for me. Dylan has outgrown the bassinet so he slept on me and ate off me. When we landed in the wee early morning and got into the rental car, I was ready to drop dead into deep slumber but worry for Erwin who's driving kept me awake while the kids look like this...



We were in awe of Jaeden's granny's house when we arrived. It had a pool and overlooked a beautiful lake. The kids had fun feeding the wild ducks and eels (yes, unagi!) with bread. For lunch, we headed out with Ik Hui and Jaeden to Pacific Fair. I came to this shopping centre a few times before when I was a student at QUT. It still looks the same but this time as a mother and with kids along, we had other agenda apart from shopping :p The boys had fun on the kiddy car racing track.





After a short rest at home, we headed for the beach and playground.













Day 2:
It was off to Seaworld! All Kayden was looking forward to were the SHARKS so you can imagine where most of our time was spent.





He also sat the viking boat roller coaster ride with me and ended up crying as the fast drop scare him after the initial slow uphill climb :p Ok he was born in the year of the rooster (chicken), what do you expect? At least he wasn't afraid of the cable car ride ;) and managed to touch the starfish :)









They were so ready to leave by now :p


Day 3:
If you have been to Australia, you would know that the day tours companies are a thriving lot. Reluctant to spend A$200+ for a trip down to the Natural Arch/Bridge, we decided to drive ourselves there with the help of the GPS. After almost 2 hours of driving, we arrived but it didn't look as spectacular as in the brochures :p







So after a short walk around the area, we had our picnic lunch of roast chicken and avocado sandwich then keyed in "Strawberry Farm" on the GPS to see if it will bring us to one.

It did. But this farm only serves fresh strawberry ice cream and other strawberry products, they don't actually grow the strawberries here, ahh! However they do have some goats and small animals on their farm and the boys did entertain themselves there. I was just thankful for the yummy ice-cream and a chance to sit down without the small one attached to me ;)



"Don't go too near them gor gor!"


"Euueew! It licked me!"






Day 4:
Finally on my 3rd attempt at trying to wake up earlier than the Aussie sun, I got my sunrise shot at 445am! This is the view from our room's balcony.



This day we were headed for the Sunshine Coast to the late Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. I regret not visiting while he was alive. It's a long drive and how could we not stop by our favourite Yatala Pies along the way? Not a beef eater, I had the totally scrumptious curry chicken pie and it was DELISH :D



We bought a few pies as we were visiting Joan & Ken before the zoo. While I was a student in Brissy more than 10 years ago, I bought 3 persian kittens from Joan's cattery. She's like a grandmother to me and such a fiesty old lady - she zooms around in an Astina! Of late her health has not been good as Ken tells me and she's now housebound and not allowed to drive :( For the past 2 times that I've visited Brisbane since I graduated, I always made time to pay her and Ken a visit. This time was no different and I was glad to see she's still as spritely. She has met Erwin before but this was her first time meeting the kids, thankfully they weren't such a terror during our visit :)









Finally we arrived at the zoo! Crikey! Kayden was happy to be out of the car :p



It was a really hot day and even the crocodile didn't performed well during the show. We decided not to walk all the way to the elephants enclosure because of the heat but hey, there was a pretty wall with lots of elephants on it :)







After the zoo, we went to meet my film school mate Michael Noonan for dinner. We would meet with Denis the next evening as he couldn't make it tonight. I really enjoyed catching up with them. Denis is recently married and has a great job, Noonan is still making films and has a feature that was aired on ABC. He gave me the DVD and I will have to organise a screening of it with our QUT gang in Singapore!

Day 5:
Our final day here. We took a drive to Point Danger which was the cross border between Queensland and New South Wales. We had beautiful weather and Kayden and I even had an enjoyable time getting our feet wet at a quiet side of the beach while Erwin rocked Dylan to sleep in the shade under the tree. Kayden was in his Mr Funny undies as we did not bring our swimming gear along :D















We got home before the sun set to feed the ducks (and eels) one last time...









Day 6:
We leave for Sydney this morning. We thanked our lovely host and headed for the airport. Goodbye too to the pretty purple trees that reminded me of my plum trees on Farmville :p





view more images from the trip on my Facebook

Part 2 to come soon...