姨姨's Wedding DAY!!
The Wedding is in the late afternoon around 6pm, thus we have the entire morning and afternoon to play and prepare ourselves in the gorgeous estate.
I had an easy time as the Estate provides full butler services, from laundry services (including JY's teeny clothes) and washing her bottles & containers (hooray!). Their quality is impeccable as i scrutinised their work, the bottles/ containers were spotlessly clean and our clothes smell refreshing & evenly pressed with care. These small but important daily chores makes my stay even more pleasant.
We woke up bright and early and spend the early morning at the pool. All of us had breakfast as usual at the dining room. JY was all dressed up in her swimming gear and almost everyone is ready to take on the pools! We tried out the different pools throughout the day, and one thing i love is how fast JY fell asleep after each dip :D
JY watching why her daddy is blowing bubbles in the pool.
JY then wanted her dad to blow bubbles again....
and again...and again........
And we were ready for lunch again!
JY dressed in an Oobi Baby sundress! she look so adorable with a flower in her hair. She'll potter around the room, walking round and round, exploring the corners of the room, poke her fingers here and there.
My brother and cousin, Ron were quite cooped up in the Estate, as any youngsters would do, with the Villa's chauffeured car, they ventured out to Kuta to buy.....slippers.
JY meet Uncle Made (pronounced as (Ma-Dhek), who was attentive to the villa's guests despite a badly sprained ankle. He hobbled around to make us comfortable, although during our latter part of our stay, his injury were so bad that he was desk-bound.
The other efficient butler, Wayang, is like the right-hand man of Made. He speaks perfect English, holds a degree and quietly settle some trouble on the side created unnecessarily from other guests. Of course, there are like 8 - 12 other folks around to clean, wash, cook for the guests staying in the Villa.
The view of the Dining Room is similarly facing the sea and have a infinity pool as well.
Proof that these photos are not ripped from magazines or internet, ta-dahhh....my brother....
Then we went to the Living Room's infinity pool where almost everyone took a dip....except J who is fast asleep
姨姨's Bali Wedding - Day 2
It was a glorious morning and today is all planned out for every relatives that has congregated in the island of Bali.
We were rather groggy when we woke up as all of us manage to sleep only close to midnight. The day was beckoning to us when we drew the curtains apart and the brightest sunshine came through the full-length window. We excited prepared and went for breakfast amidst the breathtaking view facing the sea.
The view from the highest point of the Estate, where Rou & KT, my parents and our Villas are perched.
Breathtaking view from one of the 2 infinity pools we can choose to have our morning swim from.
View from the Living Room Pavilion, where we stepped in the previous evening. It was simply relaxing to see the sea and patio and the grass turf, what i cannot blog is how the sound of the waves crashing around the cliff....immediately i'm being transported back to the moment.
JY all dressed up to go temple-visiting!
All the relatives signed up the half-day Bali tour to Besakih and Tirta Empul Temples and then stop by Kintamani for lunch.We somehow manage to survive the van ride with an active toddler scrambling at the back, especially in my arms & all around me. It was such a bliss when she falls asleep finally to give me a short respite, and that's like maybe 45mins max. JY's grouchy look when she just woke up from her afternoon slumber at the first temple stop.
At Tirta Empul temple, the Holy-Spring temple. We see a number of balinese bathing or sipping from the fountain hoping to get blessings from the Gods. My mum happily told us she managed a sip of the holy water as well and it's clear as crystal....
At the Besakih Temple, we see devotees unloading baskets of prayer offerings& balance on the top of their heads. The ladies were neatly dressed in beautiful lace motif long sleeves with batik sarongs, complete with light make-up, it's equivalent to "Sunday best for Church".
The statue with yellow sarong means the temple having a celebration. As the Balinese will say, everyday, one of the temples will have a celebration and devotees will flock to give offerings and prayers.
The lunch at Kintamani restaurant is really forgettable but company is great and with the little one full of antics, it's a great lunch entertainment. View of Mt Kintamani & Batur Lake. Our guide told us a tale of the village situated just at the foot of the mountain. weird but he said it's true.
One of the Malay village there put their dead out in the open, with no burial as there are some chemicals exude from the trees that will keep the bodies from decomposing. He brought some tourists there before and the moment they alighted from their sampan, they could see the bodies. Some women travellers then felt uneasy, preferring to stay onboard the sampan. He then offered to bring us there if we are up to it, of cos there's no guess what our answers were.
KT must the happiest person cos JY let him carry her for a long long time...and even 'sayang' him by touching her forehead to his face.
JY's unique way of showing 'sayang' - her forehead to the recipient's face.
Trying to catch a slight drizzle
Even managing a smile for her Uncle KT!
JY is coping pretty well i think although it was worrisome that she lost her appetite and even skipped her milk twice, but she soon resumed her milk but not the food.
The day's visits end around 5pm and we head back to the beautiful Khayangan Estate.
JY has learnt to climb staircases pretty well, with her practicing on a weekly basis at Srgn Gdns :)
JY & Her Jiu Jiu still have some time to have a romp at the grass turf before we washed up and round up everyone to go Jimbaran Bay for seafood.
At Jimbaran, there's a group of percussion singers who came by our table and JY started shaking to their tunes. Soon enough, around 9plus...way past JY's normal bedtime, she started to feel sleepy and fell asleep promptly in her Babybjorn. By the time we reached back to our villa, changed and fed her last milk bottle for the night, it was close to midnight, yet again.
姨姨's Bali Wedding - Day 1
Everyone from me, my family, to my aunties, cousins were all so hyped up for The Trip! It was a first for our extended family to go overseas somewhere, first for JY to travel via airplane, first for my family with WJ & KT along. I'm excited because it's to BALI, my favourite regional destination! La-la-la....!
I started preparing for JY & ourselves like weeks before, mentally doing a checklist every week. Digging out new clothes for JY bought months ago, 90% of the clothes are brand-new.
JY all dressed up for the flight and anticipated a big adventure as she saw the turn out at the airport.
At the departure hall, rare monent of JY allowing Aunt Jee to carry her and she made the most of it and nonetheless, plaster JY with her red lipstick stains. JY still entertaining everyone with her popeye look. Sighting a big big plane, she gestured with a loud "Eeeeee"
The flight was initially quite worrisome with JY. She embarked the plane with a huge dose of curiosity & excitement at 530pm, of course dinner is a negligible issue compared to this big adventure, her porridge went cold then stale then into the dustbin. The take-off was fine with her checking everything out, then i guess the pressure building up her ears were too strange. She howled for a full 10mins (then it seems like 10hrs), then wet her pants...changing her diapers become such a nightmare with 2 frantic parents trying to quick and a howling toddler. She was finally pacified by sucking on her milk bottle and promptly fell asleep..YAY! i got some time to see the inflight entertainment and settled her down the seat in between WJ & me. She only woke up 20mins before landing, and fussing was minimal.
Because of 'connections', we were given VIP passage, so little queuing at customs with a otherwise small mishap, someone from KT's family was sent back as her passport were less than 6mths and we waited for an hour before being sent on the way back to the Estate.
Khayangan Estate, Uluwatu It was lovely stepping into the sanctuary after a not so lovely flight & 45mins drive. The windy pavement and smell of grass filled our nose the moment we stepped out the car. The air was tranquil and we can see twinkling stars and this pavilion loomed up ahead of us. It was a welcome sight and offer a slight reprieve from the flight.
