The other day I had a play date with my two girl friends in Jakarta, Erica of expatria, baby and Ana of Stumble Abroad. It was a play date with a fashion value added where all of our kids wore Le Petit Society clothes. Thanks to Erica and Le Petit Society, my baby son received a couple of really adorable outfits as a gift. Lucky boy! Thank you, Erica and Le Petit Society! The best part to me was that this gave me an excuse to see my two lovely girl friends, dress up my baby boy in adorable clothing, and take photos of the cute kids playing. That’s like a candy to me.

Oh yes, by the way, I gave my son a haircut. Can you tell the amateur look…?

先日、ジャカルタで２人のお友達、expatria, babyのエリカとStumble Abroadのアナとプレイデートをしました。エリカとLe Petit Society（ル・プティ・ソサエティー）のお陰で、息子はとても可愛いお洋服を贈り物として頂いちゃいました。有り難いです。エリカとLe Petit Society、どうもありがとう！私にとってもっと嬉しかったのは、２人のお友達とプレイデートをする口実ができた事、息子に可愛い服を着せられた事、そして子供達が遊ぶ可愛い姿を写真に撮る事が出来た事です。私には嬉しい甘い出来事でした。

そうそう、息子の髪の毛を私が切りました。ド素人のカット分かります。。。？

If you are interested in learning more about Le Petit Society, please scroll down.
Le Petit Societyについて興味がある方は、下の方までどうぞ。

Erica
expatria, baby

I found Erica’s blog through Little Steps Asia. I was attracted to her blog because she was an expat blogger in Jakarta just like me. As soon as I entered her blog, I fell in love with Erica’s breath-taking photos which she takes in Jakarta and I was sucked into her world of beauty. I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to get to know her in Jakarta.

エリカの事は、Little Steps Asiaというサイトを通して知りました。彼女は私と同じようにジャカルタに住む駐在員で、しかもブログをしているというところに惹かれました。彼女のブログに行き、ジャカルタで撮る彼女の写真の虜になり、エリカの素敵な世界に引き込まれました。ジャカルタに居たお陰で、彼女とお友達になれる機会に恵まれました。

Ana
Stumble Abroad

Ana is a talented friend of mine with amazing eye for design. I have had prestige to witness her stunning birthday parties for her sons. Here are the posts for Nautical Birthday Party and Space Birthday Party. We both were pregnant at the same time in 2011 and now we have boys of the same age. She’s been a wonderful friend and a blogger buddy to me in Jakarta.

アナは、デザインセンス抜群のとても才能を持つ友人です。ジャカルタ在住中、彼女が息子さん２人のために開いたお誕生日パーティーを実際に見る機会に恵まれました。以下が彼女の誕生日パーティーのブログの記事になります。航海がテーマのパーティー and 宇宙がテーマのパーティー。彼女も私も2011年に妊娠しており、今は同い年になる息子がいます。ジャカルタでのとても素敵なお友達であり、ブログ仲間でもあります。

Le Petit Society

Le Petit Socity is a babies and kids clothing brand found by two Singaporeans who base their business in Hong Kong: Robyn Liang and Dylan Onga kids. Le Petit Socity is a harbinger in kids fashion based in Asia who aims to be the brand that is trendy, chic, and fun to wear with European quality and more importantly, approachable prices. Great news for those who live in Asia is that shipping within Asia is free! (Le Petit Society Shipping Information)

Happy Shopping!

ル・プティ・ソサエティーは、ベビー服とキッズ服のブランドで、香港をベースにする２人のシンガポール人、ロビン・リアンとディラン・オンガによって創立されました。ル・プティ・ソサエティーは、質はヨーロッパ並みでも値段はお手頃で、デザインはトレンディーで、シックで、ポップな服を目指すアジアベースのキッズファッション業界の先駆者です。アジア在住の人に嬉しいのは、アジア圏内の郵送料が無料ということ。（詳しくはLe Petit Society Shipping Informationまで）

買い物楽しんで下さいね。

Le Petit Society
Website
Facebook
Twitter

On the last weekend of April, 2013, I took a trip with my 3 kids and nanny to Bandung as my husband was away on his man-cation in Bali and Komodo island for a week. The weekend away in Bandung was a blast!!! I only wish my husband was there with us, but you know what? It was great for him that he was in Komodo island snorkeling with his guy friends just like back in his college years. I was happy for him. I was also glad that I was able to go to Bandung one more time before leaving Indonesia. Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers made it possible for me. I was there for overnight from Saturday till Sunday, so it was a quick trip. It was well worth the almost 3-hour car ride from Jakarta to Bandung though. Even my kids did not want to leave on the next day. Thank you, Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers!!!

2013年４月最後の週末にバンドゥンへ行って来ました。夫がその週末丁度コモド島へ男友達とスノーケリングに行って１週間留守だったので、私一人で子供３人とナニーさんを連れて行ってきました。とても楽しかったですよ！！夫も一緒だったら良かったのに、とは思ったのですが、夫にとっては、まるで大学時代に戻った様な、男だけのスノーケリング旅行が出来た事はとても貴重であったと思います。彼がこの旅行が出来て私も嬉しかったですし、私がインドネシアを離れる前にもう一回バンドゥンへ行けた事もとても嬉しかったです。この旅行は、シェラトン・バンドゥン・ホテル＆タワーズのお陰です。１泊だけと大変短かったのですが、片道３時間程掛けても行く価値のある旅行でした。子供達もとても楽しかった様で、帰る日には、帰りたくないと言われました。シェラトン・バンドゥン・ホテル＆タワーズさん、有り難うございます！！

Lobby

Lobby For Tower Guests

I felt like I was in a resort hotel in a mountain in the U.S.
アメリカのどこかの山にあるリゾートホテルに居るような気がしました。

How this trip came about was one email I received from Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers. I got invited to stay with Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers and the marketing personnel, Ari, mentioned a post about my experience. I was delighted. This is another gift besides the jewelry from Milky Way Gem & Jewelry that I recently received as a result of blogging over 3 years. Who would not take a free stay at a beautiful hotel like Sheraton in Bandung? Moreover, I get to take as many photos of the hotel as I want. It sounded like a great deal to me, so it was realized. What a great gift to receive from Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers and the timing could have not been better. If the email came 2 months later, I probably would have not been able to make this trip.

どうやってこの旅行が叶ったかというと、シェラトン・バンドゥン・ホテル＆タワーズよりメールを頂いたのです。シェラトン・バンドゥン・ホテル＆タワーズに宿泊するご招待をいただきました。マーケティングのアリーさんより、ホテルでの体験をブログにもしできれば、との事でした。３年以上ブログを続けて来て、今年になって初めて、ミルキーウェイ・ジェム＆ジュエリーからのジュエリーの贈り物、そしてシェラトン・バンドゥン・ホテル＆タワーズより宿泊の贈り物を頂きました。シェラトンのような素敵なホテルに無料で宿泊できる贈り物を喜ばない方は居ないかとも思います。（出張経験が無い物で…）しかも写真も撮り放題なんて、こんな素敵なオファーに感激しました。タイミングも丁度良かったのです。もし頂いたメールが２ヶ月遅かったら、多分この旅行は出来なかったと思います。

Our Room in Tower

I asked for a crib for my son and a cute blue crib arrived.
ベビーベッドを頼んだ所、この可愛い青いベビーベッドが来ました。

I set up a little office for myself.

A little photography session with my excited kids.
喜ぶ子供と一緒にカメラ撮影。

Lunch

After lunch, we went to Kampung Gajah for strawberry picking as requested by my two daughters.

娘達のリクエストで、カンプン・ガジャーでの苺摘みに行ってきました。

Tea Break

For the Tower guests, tea is available after Lunch hours.
タワー客のためのラウンジでは、お昼御飯の後、お茶を楽しめます。

Happy Hour

Dinner

You will notice that I ate every single meal at Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers. When I visited Bandung before, I went to restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Vanilla, a cafe I fell in love with at the last Bandung visit, crossed my mind, but during my stay this time, I was really happy staying at Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers with all three of my kids especially with my busy 14-months-old. This was the easiest and most relaxing option for me and we all enjoyed the food at the hotel.

気づくかと思うのですが、お食事全部はホテルのレストランで済ませました。以前バンドゥンへ行った時は、朝、昼、夜の３食を外食し、前回バンドゥンへ行った時に大好きになったバニラというカフェへまた行きたい！とも思ったのですが、子供３人を連れ、しかもとても手がかかる盛りの14ヶ月の息子が一緒だったので、ホテルでお食事を取る事が一番楽で、リラックスできました。お食事も美味しかったので、迷う事もありませんでした。

Breakfast

I admit that I went a little crazy over taking photos of the food. I never have this free opportunity to take whatever photos I can take of a hotel and I went a bit overboard!

食べ物の写真を撮りすぎました。こんなに自由にホテルの写真を撮って良い機会に恵まれた事が無いので、ちょっと調子に乗りすぎたかもしれません。

Activities With Kids

Playground

Seating Areas with Gazebo

Horse Back Riding

A horse back riding is offered for free on weekends. I just paid tips after each ride. My kids were really excited and loved this!
週末は無料で広場で馬に乗せてくれます。子供が乗った後、チップだけ支払いました。娘達は大はしゃぎ。

Swimming Pool

What To Do in Sheraton Bandung

Massage at Spa was fantastic. I highly recommend getting one if you stay because it was very inexpensive and well worth it!! I loved the traditional Indonesia Massage. I felt so relaxed that night!!!
スパでのマッサージはとても良かったですよ。しかもお値段もとてもお手頃なんです。インドネシアのトラディショナルマッサージは気持ちよかったですよ。その晩良く眠れました！

Gym

Jacuzzi

My kids loved getting in the jacuzzi as the weather was a bit chilly for swimming in Bandung.
バンドゥンはプールに入るにはちょっと涼しかったので、娘２人はジャグジーが大好きでした。

Last Lunch during the weekend get-away at Sheraton, Bandung

We did not want to leave! I get this expression often from my 14-month-old son.
帰りたくない〜。最近よく見る息子の訴える顔。。。

Thanks to everyone at the Sheraton Hotel in Bandung being very nice and welcoming all of us with warm hospitality, we had a fabulous time. If we ever have a chance to go back to Bandung again, I would love to stay there again.

シェラトンホテルの皆さんはとても優しく、暖かく迎えて下さり、お陰でとても楽しい一時を過ごさせて頂きました。また機会に恵まれたら、是非あのホテルに泊まりたいな、なんて思いました。

Thank you Ari and Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers!
アリーさんとシェラトン・バンドゥン・ホテル＆タワーズさん、ありがとうございました！

Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers
Jalan Ir. H. Juanda No. 390
Bandung, West Java 40135
Phone: (62)(22) 2500303

In Japan, there is a proverb “Sit on a rock for 3 years” (“Ishi no ue ni mo 3 nen”). The origin of the saying means that if you continue to sit on a cold rock for 3 years, it’ll get warm. It refers to the philosophy that no matter how difficult and challenging it seems to achieve your goal, perseverance prevails. Thus, be patient. I have been blogging for a little over 3 years and I recently had two occasions that made me feel very rewarding and the meaning of the proverb felt close to my heart. It has never been my intention to blog in order to get a reward, but it certainly feels good to be rewarded for my hard work and know that what I do has a meaning.

One of the occasions is a gift from Milky Way Gems & Jewelry. If you have been around in the blog sphere for a while, it is very obvious that bloggers receive different kinds of deals. This is my very first time to receive a gift as a result of blogging. One of the founders of Milky Way Gems & Jewelry had left a few comments on my blog a while back. I’ve got to know her a bit as I also visited her blog. It was a long before she launched her business. Then recently I heard from her again by email. She wrote to me that she would like to send me some items of the jewelry sold in her online jewelry store, which was launched in April, 2013. She softly mentioned a blog post with the jewelry. I looked at the jewelry and said yes. I saw some items in the list that I could see myself wearing. I like fashion and even though I sort of fell off the track of Monday Mode, I am happy to have a resource to write and photograph about for my Monday Mode column. I was honored that Milky Way Gems & Jewelry thought of me and picked me to wear their jewelry.

So, here I am posing in front of my camera, took photos of myself and shamefully posting them on my blog. (It’s been a while since I took photos of myself for this blog, so I feel shy about this.) I wish I was a better photographer and know how to Photoshop. All the photos are pretty much untouched except for exposure, shadows, saturation and temperature. You see my blemish, red spot, pimples, wrinkles and dark spots, so I apologize. I hope that these photos can get you interested in Milky Way Gems & Jewelry. It was a pleasant surprise from my reader and it marked a nice 3 year blog-anniversary. Thank you, Milky Way Gems & Jewelry!

Black & White

With a black outfit or with a white outfit, you can wear it in a more formal way or dress down with a casual wear with this jewelry.

Happy Shopping!

Milky Way Gems & Jewelry

Bali, INDONESIA
PHONE: +62 87 888 579 381
BBM PIN: 20F728B1
EMAIL: info@milkywaygems.com
FACEBOOK
Twitter

I attended my first farewell get together last week with my Japanese friends. I have roughly a month left till our departure and it already started. Eight Japanese friends and I had lunch together at KOI Mahakam, which is the topic of this post, but please allow me to write a bit about personal side.

In the past 2 years and 9 months of my stay in Jakarta, I have bid farewell to many of my friends. The turn over in the expat community every year is big in this city. I knew that my turn would come eventually at the end of our 3-year assignment, but now it has really arrived, it feels strange. In some way I don’t want any farewell gatherings for myself. I want my farewell to be a regular “see you”. I almost wish that I quietly leave Jakarta without saying a formal bye to my friends. Why? It’s easier emotionally that way. I have already teared up a couple of times with the thought of leaving Jakarta. At the same time though, I recognize that I need a closure to our time in Jakarta and maybe the farewell parties are the answer.

先日、ジャカルタで初めての私のお別れ会に行ってきました。ジャカルタを離れるまで残す所１ヶ月あまりとなったのですが、もう始まりました。８人の日本人の友人と私でKOI Mahakam（マハカム）へ行ってきました。KOI　Mahakamが今回の本題なのですが、少しだけ私事を語らせて下さい。

過去２年と９ヶ月のジャカルタ生活の中で、多くの友人を見送ってきました。この街の駐在員の入れ替わりは毎年割りと大きいです。３年と決まった期間の赴任であったので、いずれ自分の番が来るというのは分かっていたのですが、実際に自分の番が廻ってくると、なんか不思議な感じです。ある意味、自分のためのお別れ会はいらないとさえ感じます。お別れは、普段通りの「またね」にしたい位。かしこまったさようなら無しで、静かに皆に気づかれないままこの街を去りたい、とさえ感じます。何故かと言うと、その方が精神的に楽だから。もう既にジャカルタを離れる事を考えただけで涙が出てくるし。同時に、ジャカルタで過ごした時間に終止符を打つ必要性も感じます。終止符がお別れ会であるかもしれないですね。

Now back on the topic, the lunch at KOI Mahakam – it was fantastic. KOI Mahakam recently started a lunch set menu which is a great deal for everyone. Only for IDR 95,000 ++ (about US$9.5), you can either get a combination of an appetizer and main dish or a main dish and dessert. I ordered the chicken dish in the photo above and apple crumble. YUM! My friends who know that I have a blog encouraged me to take photos of their dishes. Aren’t they nice? The apple crumble come with a homemade ice cream made by Benoit, the head chef of KOI Mahakam as well as KOI Kemang. I love anything homemade, but I have a weak spot for a homemade ice cream. It was delicious!

この記事の本題に戻りますと、KOI Mahakam（マハカム）でのランチ – とても良かったですよ〜。実はKOI Mahakam（マハカム）は最近ランチセットメニューを始めました。95,000ルピア＋＋（９５０円くらい）で前菜と主菜の組み合わせか主菜とデザートの組み合わせを選べます。私は上の写真にある鶏肉を主菜に、デザートにはアップルクランブルを頼みました。下の写真は、友人達は私がブログをやっていることを知っているので、親切に写真を撮ったらどうか、と撮影を後押しして下さいました。アップルクランブルはKOIの自家製アイスクリームが付いてきます。自家製と聞くと弱い私なのですが、特に自家製アイスクリームには目がありません。アイスクリーム美味しかった！

My friend is holding my son. She has a great taste for interior design. She invited me to take photos of her home last Christmas in December 2012. You can see her Christmas decoration at her home here.

友人が息子を抱っこしてくれています。彼女はインテリアのセンスがとても良いんですよ。去年2012年のクリスマスにご自宅に招待され、写真撮影の依頼をして下さいました。ご自宅はとっても素敵です。ご興味がある方は、是非こちらの記事をご覧下さい。

My heart is filled with gratitude. Thank you.

感謝の気持ちで一杯です。ありがとう。

Welcomed with fragrant Jasmine leis

Hyatt Gold Course

Rooms

Restaurant

Menu for the little ones was quite popular among our kids.

Weather

It started raining in the early afternoon, which was the pattern everyday during our stay in March. Apparently, the rainy season was not over in Yogyakarta in March.

Buffet Dinner

Swimming Pools

The big water slide was the biggest hit among our kids and it seems that it’s a big selling point for family tourists. We ran into some friends we knew who were also staying at Hyatt Regency for the spring break. We did not go anywhere as we have two very young children, but we did not mind it at all and the older kids, my two (8 and 5 years old) and our friends’ oldest one (6 years old) would go down the slide for hours straight. It seemed to be the case for other kids as well.

Ramayana Special Dinner

Can you tell that kids got really into it? The three girls in the front were my friend’s and our girls.The Ramayana Dinner is offered every Saturday. It was IDR150.000++ per person. I find it very reasonable for dinner and performance and the best part is that you don’t have to leave the hotel! As I started to feel very sick on the last night of our stay in Yogyakarta/Jogjakarta, I could only see the performance for a short while and I had to go back to our room to rest. It worked out fine as our baby son needed to go to sleep by then. The Ramayana dinner started at 7:00 p.m.

My daughters still to this day talk about our trip and ask if we could go back to Yogyakarta. Even though I got sick towards the end of our trip, I had a blast. It was a successful trip and we always think fondly of our time. If you have good family friends who would travel with you to Yogyakarta, I highly recommend doing so. It was really FUN!!!

The cost of the hotel was about IDR 1.500.000 (US$155) with KITAS (foreign registration card) which does not include breakfast and breakfast for 4 people was IDR 280.000 (US$28). Therefore, it ended up being a little over IDR 1.800.000 (US$185) for a family of 5. Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta requires an additional room if you have 2 children or more if I remember correctly. The annexed room had a discount price, so the room rate for an annexed room was less or about half of a regular room and thus it was not too bad.

HYATT REGENCY YOGYAKARTA

Jalan Palagan Tentara Pelajar
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 55581
Tel: +62 274 86 9123
Fax: +62 274 86 9588
Email: yogyakarta.regency@hyatt.com

On the second day of our stay in Borobudur in Magelang, Central Java (40 km/15 mi northwest of Yogyakarta), Indonesia, we did a sunrise tour at Borobudur. We all woke up at 4:00 a.m., so we all took a nap in the morning. The husbands kindly took our older children to a local restaurant for lunch for a change and adventure so that the wives could stay at our hotel, Saraswati Borobudur Hotel, and chill with the younger ones, but after they got back to the hotel, the husbands were tired again and took a nap. My son started fussing and I didn’t want him to disrupt my husband’s beauty nap. Plus, there is so much you can do in a hotel. So, I took him for a walk in a stroller. I strolled around on the street where the Saraswati Borobudur Hotel was located. I love peeking some local lives when I travel. Here are the photos of a few things I snapped during my short walk around the neighborhood.

Motorcycle Parking

Car Wash

Chicken Noodle & Indonesian Meatballs

Gasolin

Don’t leave me on a bench!!

My heart is aching for the people who lost loved ones and also for the people who were affected by the bombings happened during the Boston Marathon on April 14, 2013. It makes me very sad that the atrocity like that created victims among innocent citizens.

My son played in Chicco Little Driver Walker for almost 6 months. My friend passed it to me after her daughter had outgrown the Chicco Little Driver Walker. I gladly inherited it. He was 6 months old at the time and he loved it. Then around 10 months or so, he started crawling and I thought maybe he didn’t want to ride it any more, but he used it up till he was 12 months old. The Chicco Little Driver Walker used to be his walker and then it turned into his baby scooter ride.

He would be running in Chicco Little Driver Walker.

You hear his food steps.

Flap, flap, flap!

Sliiiiiiiiiiide

My older two girls used to love an Excersaucer that I borrowed from my friend when they were babies. An Excersaucer was a life saver and a great 30-minute baby sitter. The Chicco Little Driver Walker for my son was equivalent to an Excersaucer and he was driving it like a speed demon.

I recently passed it to another friend as my son started walking.

I miss seeing him in the Chicco Little Driver Walker. Now he is on his feet all the time. He hasn’t started running yet, which is a good thing for me. He’s 13 months old now and at the busiest time for parents where he is not stable enough to be on his own. I have to watch where he falls. Our living room and foyer look pretty empty these days partly because of the upcoming move which motivated me to get rid of some toys and furniture, but also for the busy bee baby son of ours who like to walk around in the house with his arms up. He’s like a little bear.

He’s a lot of work for us parents at the moment, but he’s at the cutest stage, too. I love to squeeze my Koala Bear son.

During our trip in Yogyakarta (Jogjakarta), we stayed at 2 different places. The first hotel was Saraswati Borobudur Hotel, a hotel located right by the entrance to Borobudur. We stayed there for 2 nights. We were glad we stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel because it was very close to Borobudur and the location was convenient for the Borobudur Sunrise Tour, which I highly recommend anyone doing if you have a chance to go. I did it with my 13-month-old baby and it was fine. He slept in my Ergobaby carrier. During the second half of our trip, we stayed at Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta for 2 nights and we were very happy there as well. I will post about Hyatt Regency Hotel later.

We let our son crawl around in the hotel lobby while we were getting checked in. After about 5 minutes though, his hands and knees got dirty as expected. This is a hard age.

ROOM

I booked a Junior Suite since there were 5 of us. It is nice that Saraswati Borobudur Hotel let us stay in one room because many hotels in this region ask for 2 rooms if you have more than 2 kids. We received an internet rate of US$175 for a Junior Suite, which is cheaper than the published rate. On the day we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised that we were upgraded to a Royal Suite. I assume that they let both us and our friends stay in Royal Suites because it was an off-season and we were one of the few guests staying at the time. The Royal Suite was huge and it was really nice for our kids, too.

We changed the first entrance space into our kids sleeping space. We moved the extra bed from the bedroom and moved it next to the sofa so that one child can sleep on a sofa and the other sleeps on the extra bed.
We also moved a suitcase rest from the bathroom and placed the baby cot in there so that our baby son would have some space to himself and the rest of us have a peaceful sleep. So I thought. My son did not like to sleep in the cot/pack and play. I think he recognized that he was in a different space and cried and cried. I lost sleep on both nights because he would wake up 3 times.

DESIGN

BREAKFAST

DINNER

SWIMMING POOL

Kids had a lot of fun playing at the pool.

We all enjoyed staying at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel. If you were to do a visit at Borobudur, I highly recommend doing the sunrise tour. If you do a Borobudur Sunrise Tour, I recommend that you stay near Borobudur. If you stay near Borobudur, I can tell you that Saraswati Borobudur Hotel is great.

When I was researching where to stay in Yogyakarta, I was recommended by my friend to stay at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel. I went online and looked at their website as well as TripAdvisor’s reviews. I take reviews on TripAdvisor as a guideline to make a decision, but don’t necessarily take in everything I read on TripAdvisor just because everybody’s review comes from different expectations and standards. We had a good experience staying at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel.

One thing that I noticed was that some people pointed out and complained on TripAdvisor about the noise level of call to prayer at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel. Hearing call to prayer at 4:00 in the morning at full blast is very common everywhere in Indonesia and you probably cannot avoid it. One of the few places that you might not experience the blasting sound of call to prayer at 4:00 a.m. is Bali because it’s an island with a majority of population practicing Balinese Hinduism. We went on a sunrise tour at Borobudur on the second day of our stay and 4:00 a.m. call to prayers was a perfect alarm clock. We asked for a wake-up call, but it was almost unnecessary. We left Saraswati Borobudur Hotel at 4:30 to walk to Manohara Hotel to buy tickets to get in. You could probably leave Saraswati Borobudur Hotel at 5:00 a.m., but 30 minutes wouldn’t really make much difference, plus we were with little kids, so we wanted to make sure we had a plenty of time until the sunrise.

We got back to our hotel, Saraswati Borobudur, around 7:30 a.m. and had breakfast. We all had a wonderful morning nap after breakfast. It was nice that we could just stay at the hotel and relax in the afternoon as well. Since we went to Yogyakarta with our good friends, the kids entertained each other. If you have kids, I recommend planing a trip to Yogyakarta with friends with kids. It’ll make a trip and tour at Borobudur more fun for the children and easier for parents.

Saraswati Borobudur Hotel was literally a minute walk from the main entrance.

*This is a regular gate which opens at 6:00 am and different from the entrance for the sun rise tour. In order to do a sunrise tour, you take a left facing this gate and walk about 300 meters and you’ll find a Manohara Borobudur Hotel‘s gate to your right. It was a 5 minute walk from Saraswati Borobudur Hotel.

Saraswati Borobudur
International Boutique Hotel & Resto

Jl. Balaputradewa No.10, Borobudur, Magelang – Jawa Tengah – Indonesia
Ph : 62-293-788 843 ; 62-293-5503643 ; Fax : 62-293-788 842,
info@saraswatiborobudur.com

My family made a trip to Yogyakarta/Jogjakarta during a mid-term break this year. My husband was finally able to take some time off from work during our children’s mid-term break.  We debated whether we should go to Bali or Yogyakarta. I had never been to Yogyakarta and after having talked to some friends, I came to a conclusion that I needed to see Yogyakarta before leaving Indonesia. So we did. We got on a plane and went to Yogyakarta and saw Borobudur!

学期の中間休みに、ジョグジャカルタへ家族で行ってきました。夫もやっと子供の学期の休みに仕事の休みを取ってくれました。バリに行くかジョグジャカルタへ行くか迷ったのですが、色々な友人に相談してみた結果、インドネシア離任前にジョグジャカルタを見ておいた方が良いという結論に達しました。それなので、飛行機に乗ってジョグジャへ行き、憧れのボロブドゥールを見てきました！

We got to Borobudur around 4:50 A.M. in the morning and it was still dark.

午前4：50頃ボロブドゥールに到着。まだ暗かったです。

I had my baby son in my Ergobaby Carrier and climbed the steps. It was actually easier than people have told me. The kids, 8, 6, and 5 years of age, had no problem going up to the top.

赤ちゃんである息子を、エルゴベビーの抱っこひもの中に入れ、ボロブドゥールの階段を登りました。聞いていたよりも楽でした。８歳、６歳、４歳になる子供達も、難無く上まで階段を上がって行きました。

Hungry Stomach

Sleepy Eyes

I was thrilled that we made a trip to Yogyakarta and saw Borobudur. Now I can say that I saw Borobudur!! I loved seeing the sun rise at Borobudur, which I have seen so many pictures on many blogs in the past 2 and a half years which made me long for it even more.

ジョグジャへ行って、ボロブドゥールを自分の目で見れた事は感動でした。ボロブドゥールに行って来たよ！ってもう人に言えます〜。過去２年半の間、ブログなどインターネット上で見て来たボロブドゥールの日の出写真。実際自分の目で見る夜明けのボロブドゥールは、幻想的で素敵でした。

Many of the photos you see on blogs and internet probably don’t show what it was like to be at the top of Borobudur because people look for angles or a spot where they can avoid having tourists to be in their photos. When we were at the top of the Borobudur site, it looked like this below.

ブログやインターネット上に載っているボロブドゥールの写真の多くからは、実際ボロブドゥールに居るとどんな感じかが分からないのではと思います。というのは、皆さん観光客が写真に入らないアングルやスポットを見つけては写真を撮影しているからなのです。ところが実際ボロブドゥールへ行くと、下の写真のような感じ。

Steep Steps

The steps were pretty steep and each step was tall, so it is not easy for elderly and little people to go down.

We went down the exit that leads to the Manohara Hotel (#4 Dark Blue on the map below) because we did a Borobudur Sunrise Tour through Manohara Hotel. If you do a regular tour entering from the regular Borobudur Office (#4 Light Blue on the map), I imagine that you will probably have a different exit. I heard from my friends that there are a few different exits and one of them is out to a long walk with souvenir shops. If you want to shop, that’s fine, but if you’re tired after the tour and want to go out, I hear that it could be tiring. They said that people guide you to go to this one exit that leads you to the market, but there is another exit and you do not have to go through the shopping. You might want to check before you go to Borobudur.

私たちはマノハラ・ホテル(下の地図上では濃い青の４番)を通じてボロブドゥールの日の出ツアーを行ったため、マノハラ・ホテルへ行く方面の出口を利用しました。通常の入り口(薄い青の４番)から入場した場合、多分他の出口があるのだと思います。友人曰く、出口がいくつかあり、人が誘導する方はお土産屋さんの並ぶマーケットがある道でまるで迷路の様で疲れるとのこと。買い物をされたい方には丁度良いかもしれません。もしすぐに出たい場合は、他の出口があるとの事です。行く前に調べておくのも手かもしれません。

I turned back to look at Borobudur again after we had descended. What an amazing place…

ボロブドゥールを出て下った後、もう一度ボロブドゥールを拝みたいと振り向いてみました。素敵でした〜。

via Wikitravel

BOROBUDUR SUNRISE TOUR
 

We did a Borobudur Sunrise Tour. Thus, we went to Manohara Hotel (#4 on the map), hotel only 5-minute walk from Saraswati Borobudur Hotel (#8 on the map) which is where we stayed. We were instructed by the receptionist at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel to go to Manohara Hotel for the tour, and we paid IDR 250,000 (about US$25) with our KITAS, a foreign residency permit. The admission fee for the Borobudur Sunrise Tour for a foreign visitor who does not reside in Indonesia is IDR 380,000. With this ticket, you get a flash light, an escort to the bottom of the steps and a light snack with coffee or tea after the tour at the Hotel breakfast area.

I thought that it was quite pricy and I found out later that it was much cheaper to go to Borobudur during the regular hours which is from 6:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The whole reason why we stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel was so that we could see the sunrise at Borobudur with our young children, so it didn’t even cross my mind to check what the cost would be or if there are different charges for different times. It was, however, well worth the money and efforts to do the Borobudur Sunrise Tour and I do recommend it. If you want to do the Sunrise Tour, I recommend you stay near Borobudur. We stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel and were happy with our accommodation. Do I recommend you to stay at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel? Sure. I don’t know other hotels, but we liked it. It was also recommended by a few expat friends to stay there.

From 6:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., the Borobudur regular tour opens to public. For more information, I recommend checking Wikitravel sight.

私たちはボロブドゥールの日の出ツアーをしました。それなので、サラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテル(地図⑧)から徒歩５分程の距離にあるマノハラ・ホテル(地図④)まで歩いて行きました。サラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルの受付の方に言われた通り、マノハラ・ホテルへ行き、KITAS（外国人在留許可証）を見せ、250,000ルピアを日の出ツアーの入場料として払いました。インドネシアに在住ではない外国人観光客であると、380,000ルピアであるそうです。(2013年現在)このチケットを購入すると、懐中電灯、ボロブドゥールの下までのエスコート、そしてツアー後に、簡単なスナックとコーヒーまたは紅茶が頂けます。

値段がとても高いなと感じました。また通常の開園時間である午前６時以降に行くと、値段が全然安いことを後になって知りました。でもサラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルに泊まった理由は、ボロブドゥールから徒歩で行けるホテルであるため、朝早くても子供達も連れてボロブドゥールの日の出を見にに行けると思ったので、ボロブドゥールへ行く入場料の値段に違いがあるかなどを調べようとも思っていませんでした。振り返ってみて、お金を出しても日の出ツアーをやって良かった、と思います。またボロブドゥールで日の出を見たい方は、ボロブドゥールの近くに滞在する事をお勧めします。私たちはサラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルに宿泊し、良かったと感じました。お勧めかと訊かれたら、お勧めと答えますね。

午前６時から午後５時までは、ボロブドゥールの開園時間となります。詳しくは、こちらをご参照ください。

I enjoyed our whole trip in Yogyakarta even though I started to feel sick a day before we returned to Jakarta. We were staying at Hyatt at that time and thanks to the hotel, I actually had a great time even though I wasn’t feeling well. On the day we flew back to Jakarta, I felt even worse. Apparently I had a stomach virus. It was very challenging for me to go to the airport, get on the airplane and come back. I wasn’t sure if I could make it, but thanks to my friends and family’s support, I did. Thank you!! What a relief! Thus I did not blog for a quite a while because I was on vacation and then had been sick in bed. I’m better now.

My 2 Cents

We stayed at two different hotels during our 5-day trip in Jogja. We first stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel, which is located literally 1 minute walk from the gate to Borobudur, for the first 2 nights and then we moved to Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta for the last 2 nights. We were happy about the way we scheduled our stay and I recommend both hotels for people who want to visit Jogja, but for different reasons. I will write posts about both Saraswati Borobudur Hotel and Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta next.

ジョグジャでの旅行は全て楽しかったのですが、実は最後の方で体調を崩しました。帰る前の日に既に調子がおかしかったのですが、ジャカルタへ戻る日が一番辛かったです。どうやらウィールス性の腹痛にみまわれたようです。飛行場へ行き、飛行機に乗って、タクシーで戻るのがしんどかったのですが、夫と友人たちが手伝ってくれてなんとか戻ってきました。戻って来て、ほっとしました。旅行、そして体調を崩していたという理由がもとで、しばらくブログからはご無沙汰していたのですが、お陰さまでやっと体調も戻ってきました。

私のお薦め

ジョグジャ滞在中、私たちは２箇所のホテルに宿泊しました。最初の２日間は、ボロブドゥールの門から歩いて５分のサラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルに、そして残りの２日間はハイヤット・リージェンシーで泊まりました。宿泊を分けて正解でしたし、これからジョグジャへ行かれる方に両方のホテルを、違った理由でお勧めします。ホテル・サラスワティ・ボロブドゥールとハイヤット・リージェンシー・ジョグジャカルタに関しては、後ほど掲載したいと思います。

Essential bed n’ bath is a store with items to fill your space in a bedroom and bathroom as suggested in the name. Essential is part of the Vinoti Living group. There is a store in Kemang Club Villas where I took these photos. White interior design is my favorite, so I always admire their window displays whenever I pass by their store.

Essential bed n’ bathは、名前の通り、バスルームやベッドルームを飾るもので溢れているお店です。エッセンシャルはVinoti Living（ビノッティ）グループに入っているそうです。Kemang Club Villas（クマン・クラブ・ビラズ）にお店があり、そこで写真を撮りました。クマンクラブビラズには、他にVinoti Livingのお店もあります。インテリアで私の一番好きな色は白なので、この前を通る時いつも素敵だな〜と思っていました。

I think the photos tell you what type of store Essential is. It’s a lovely store. I love their big silver tin decor. I have one heart and two stars at home which I love. I have also been eying on the fluffy rugs they sell, which my baby son could destroy it. Thus, I am contemplating whether to get one or not, but I would love to have the gray or white one.

写真から、どんなお店なのかお分かりになれるかと思います。Essentialはとっても素敵なお店です。ビーンバッグの上に飾ってあるシルバーの飾りは私のお気に入りです。家に、ハートのものが１つ、星を２つ飾ってあります。ふわふわのラグも可愛いな、と目を着けています。息子がきっと駄目にしてしまうので、買うのを躊躇しているのですが、グレーか白のものが欲しいななんて思います。

To go to Kemang Club Villas from Kemang Raya, a main road in Kemang, you take a left on the small street next to The Papilion and Kemang Club Villas is at the end of the street. There are a great Kiwi/Australian cafe Antipodean, and Vinoti Living, in the same center and Authentique French Bakery close by.

Kemang Club Villasは、クマンラヤのパピリオンの横の道をずっと奥に行った所にあり、同じセンターには、お洒落なニュージーランド／オーストラリアのカフェAntipodeanや家具屋さんのVinoti Living、近くにはフランスパン屋さんのAuthentique French Bakeryなどもあります。

Essential

Kemang Club Villas
Jl Kemang Selatan I,
Jakarta
Ph, +62 21 71791667
Fax +62 21 71791688
ebb-kmg@essentialbedbath.com

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