Post Bali

We are very happy that we survived our first long haul overseas trip with Tessa! Yeah! We did it!

Not sure if the little one realized that we've been to a place far away from home and back. But the trip has been very enjoyable and rewarding for us, definitely worth all the trouble we've been through.

We've been quite busy since we got back from Bali, partly because our poor Tessa baby was down with red eye. Her right eye was watery and a tad bit swollen. We brought her to the doctor who diagnosed a slight infection and prescribed eye drop.

Bali Day 05 - Bye bye Bali...

This morning, all of us woke up really early to prepare ourselves for the flight home.

Before we leave our little haven - the beautiful villa, we pose for a family photo.



At the Bali airport, we did some last minute shopping.



While waiting for Mommy to finish shopping, I was having alot of fun playing with Peter Gonggong.

I enjoyed this trip very much even though I had mosquito bites on my face, arms and ears! Naughty mosquitoes!

Bali Day 04: Rice terrace, coffee plantation and more!

Today is the last day of our road trip around Bali.

After breakfast, we headed towards northern Bali.

First, we come across some gorgeous rice terraces.

Passing the rice terraces, we come to an eco-farm where coffee and other spices are planted. Adrian gorgor tried his hands to pound coffee beans into powder.

Leaving the plantation, we headed towards Tabanan to the hot springs. But in the end, all of us decided that we do not want to go to the hot springs after all.

Our next stop is a market where we can buy local souvenirs. Daddy had a great time shopping here.

Moving towards Bedugul, we came to a temple by a lake. Most of us are tired of temples. So only Daddy and Mommy went into the temple for their romantic stroll.

As we headed back to Seminyak in the evening, it started raining again. So it was decided that we will dine in the villa again tonight. Mommy and Daddy went out to Warung Italiano and Bale Bali to buy take-out, and we all gather in our villa for a good dinner.

After dinner, Daddy and Mommy headed out to Chill for massage while all of us retire for an early rest because we need to wake up very early the next day for our return flight back to Singapore.

Bali Day 03: Gunung Batur and Ubud

Today, after breakfast in our villa, we set off for a day out to the volcanoes and Ubud, the cultural centre of Bali.



Our first stop is a batik factory where they hand-painted all their batik. Gonggong bought a nice batik shirt here.




On our way to the volcanoes, we past by many artefacts shops and rice paddy fields.

Bali has 2 active volcanoes - Gunung Agung and Gunung Batur. The highest point is Mount Agung at 3,142m high, an active volcano that last erupted in March 1963. Mountains cover centre to the eastern side, with Mount Agung as the easternmost peak. Mount Batur (1,717 m) is also still active; an eruption 30,000 years ago was one of the largest known volcanic events on Earth.



We stopped by for a simple buffet lunch overlooking the volcanoes as well as Lake Batur. The weather is very cool and cloudy, as rain was deemed to pour down soon. The cloudy, misty weather added a romantic feel to our lunch.


Saying bye bye to the volcanoes, we travelled to the famous culture centre of Bali - Ubud. There, the group visited the Ubud Palace where the Sultan used to live.

Leaving Ubud, on our way back to Seminyak where we stayed, we visited a temple.


Opps, no... 2 temples... this one is very gorgeous as it is situated by the sea.



When we reached back to our villa in Seminyak, it was raining. Initially, we had wanted to go to Made's Warung for our reunion dinner since it's Chinese New Year's Eve. But because of the weather, we decided to dine in our own villa.

Mommy and Daddy went out to order take-out from Made's Warung - supposedly a famous and must-try restaurant in Bali and highly recommended by our driver uncle.

Bali Day 02 - Part 2: Kuta and Jimbaran Bay

Bali is an Indonesian island that lies between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island.

With a population of more than 3 million, the island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia's small Hindu minority. Abour 93% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese Hinduism, while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.

To see the best of Bali in 3 days, Daddy chartered a van with a driver to take us around Bali.


The first stop for today is Kuta Square where we can jalan jalan, eat lunch and head for Kuta Beach.

We had some very delicious traditional Balinese and Indonesian food. Yummy!

After lunch, we headed to Kuta Beach to enjoy the sun, the sand and the sea.

The next stop is a temple by the cliff with the notorious monkeys who are famous for snatching hats, glasses and other stuff from tourists.

However, I fell asleep on our way there and missed the picturesque view.

After that, we headed to Jimbaran Bay which is famous for their BBQ seafood. We had a sumptuous seafood dinner of lobster, prawns, fish, squids and mussels.

Bali Day 02 - Part 1: Our Villa

The next morning, we woke up early to have a good look at our 3-bedroom villa.

It is very huge and gorgeous, with 3 bedrooms, a large living room, a kitchen, a beautiful garden and a large swimming pool!

We even have breakfast cooked by the chefs in our villa!

After a sumptuous breakfast, Daddy declared that it's swimming time! But I wasn't allowed in the water because I am still having a runny nose! What a let-down! But Gonggong allowed me to soak my little feet in the water and join in the fun!

Bali Day 01

Today, I'm going on a family vacation to Bali with Gonggong, Mah-mah, Daddy, Mommy, Peter Gonggong, Yan-mahmah and Adrian gorgor (he's actually my uncle!).



Our flight is taking off at 7pm. We reached Changi Airport Terminal 2 at around 5pm to check in.

After check-in, we proceed to Crystal Jade Restaurant for some food before boarding the plane.



This is my first flight ever! I'm so excited! Wonder how the plane looks like....



I was given a bassinet for me to sleep in onboard the flight. But I'm too excited to sleep! Everything is so new and exciting to me!



I was having so much fun onboard the flight... so many people and things to see and explore! I'm enjoying it so much!

Are we there yet, Mommy? My eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.... Finally....



I fell asleep onboard the flight before we reached Bali... Daddy said that's the right thing to do to conserve my energy for tomorrow.

Happy 9 months old!

Happy 9 months old, my sweet darling!

You are clearly one of the greatest gifts we've received in our lives. I'm so addicted to you! I can't get enough of the sweetest joy you bring, your sweet innocent face, melodious chuckle and brilliant smiles...

Love you baby!

Tessa with the Snot Bubble

Tessa is down with running nose, cough and phlegm. She created quite a ruckus in Dr Chin's clinic, refusing to let him check her.

Daddy's stuck in a meeting and missed seeing her snot bubble. A little disgusting, but nonetheless adorable.

Dr Chin weighed her and claimed that she's 8.6kg. Mom and I had a shock because she's 10kg on our home weighing scale. But Dr Chin said that at 8.6kg, she's between the 50th and 75th percentile (weight for age), she would be grossly overweight if she's 10kg.

That sounded quite reassuring.

Our little princess didn't have a good night sleep. Guess she's suffering from a bad case of blocked nose. Poor baby. Get well soon, ok?

Mom-Power

Usually, only Ah Mah has the power... But today, my little Tessa bestowed the power upon me...

This morning, as I changed, kissed Tessa good-bye and opened the room door to leave for work, my little princess screamed in protest and called out "Mama Mama..." Her eyes were watery and she launched forward towards me.

Obviously, my heart melted and I rushed back for a long, big hug and many kisses.

Isn't she sweet?

Coming attractions

Dear Loyal Followers,

I know you must be yearning for new updates. Yes, we do have alot to update. We took Tessa on her first overseas road trip to Melaka. Tessa also finally got into the pool and got herself wet and wild in her new swimsuit.

I'm still trying to sort out loads of photos and stuff.

So stay tuned!

In the meantime...

Melaka Day 2

Melaka Day 1

Swimming!

Daddy & Mommy brought me swimming again. This time round, I truly enjoyed myself although I was initially a little scared about getting into the cold water. But I've learnt to conquer my fear.


Hi, do I look gorgeous in my hollywood star swim suit?


I had a lot of fun in the water with Daddy.

I Can Crawl!

Note from Mommy: The little one finally "graduated" to the REAL crawl aka on all fours.