Bali Holiday (March 2015) – Villa Bali Blue

Posted in Bali, Holidays, Travel with Kids by jahbella

We were finally off for our long awaited Bali holiday with JahBella and some of JahBella’s uncles and aunties. (yes mummy has many siblings so we had to pick our favourite aunties and uncles to join us for the trip :p just kidding!).

Which favourite uncles and aunties got to go on a holiday? :p

Bella learning to sit still (not quite) in her own seat at 1 year 10 months..lets hope she does better on the next trip (for Papa Joel’s sake)

“Mummy you don’t bother me, I do my own thing and you do your own thing. You fill up your forms.” – True Story!

The advantage of travelling in such a big group (7 adults and 2 kids) is that you get to rent a huge awesome villa and have so much crazy fun in your own private pool.

Our villa (Villa Bali Blue) in Jimbaran was an approximate 20 minutes car ride from the airport which was perfect for kids who can’t endure long car rides. The villa is located on a pretty secluded uphill area which meant that we had to depend on our villa manager and the villa transport when we wanted to leave or return to the villa. But for S$50 a day (12 hours use of the car) for the 9 of us, I’m not complaining. Having to coordinate two cabs back and forth may have cost us more money and/or stress.

The moment we entered the villa, I felt like we were transported to another world. 2 levels, 4 bedrooms, 1 entertainment room, a pool overlooking the ocean front, a pool table and kids toys. The villa manager and his housekeeping team were on hand to assist with any request or questions we had. I will let the photos do the talking.

Given that we arrived in Bali on the eve of Nyepi (Day of Silence), I am really quite relieved that we stayed at Villa Bali Blue. Staying there meant that we were pretty self-sufficient and the kids had enough to keep them occupied even though we were not allowed to go out.

Locals all dressed up on Nyepi Eve while we were in search for any food place that was opened..

Bella enjoying your breakfast and the sunrise…this girl knows how to enjoy…

Simple dinner while the sun sets on Nyepi

Sunset view from our villa

From repeatedly coming down the pool slide (Bella) to going skinny dipping (Jah), the pool was our family’s favourite hang out place and any reason was a good reason to take a quick dip in the pool. In fact the kids gained so much water confidence during the trip, it was really quite amazing to watch them. 🙂

Next Up….Pandawan Beach and Pirates Bay…Stay Tuned! 🙂

JahBella’s Mummy

8Mar2015

Penang Holiday (Oct 2014) – Adventure Zone

Posted in Holidays, penang by jahbella

Adventure Zone was initially meant to be a back-up activity in case it rained during our time in Penang. How could we let good sunny days go to waste, after all we were staying at a hotel with fantastic pool facilities and a nice beach right in front of us. However the kids got alittle bored of swimming everyday and so we had to bring in our stand-by activity.

Adventure zone is a facility with drop slides and play equipments for the whole family. There were slides available for all ages and also for those with little dare devil children (I didn’t know mine were until then). For those who are considering to go to Adventure Zone, please bring along socks, long pants and a long sleeve top , this is to help prevent ‘burns’ when coming down the slides and they are really strict on the dress code.

I know my kids look like they are on a winter holiday

It is located within the grounds of the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort and Golden Sands Resort so it is ultra convenient for families staying there. It is a 3 minute cab ride away from Hard Rock Penang. The good thing about the place is the fact that adults need not pay if they were accompanying a paying child.

Upon entering the facility, you will find lockers for you to keep your belongings and a small café area for the kids to take a break or for parents of older children to ‘hang out’. The café area has an unblocked view of all the slides so that you can keep a watch on your kids from where you are. It is also located right next to the toddler play area which is very convenient.

Toddler Play Area (Separate from the big play area and slides)

We spent alittle bit of time at the toddler play area for Jah and Bella to warm up but they really didn’t need much of that. I think all our indoor playground sessions in Singapore made them a little more adventurous. :p

We initially rode tandem with Jah and Bella on the ‘gurney sack’ slide but it wasn’t long before Jah wanted to go on his own and we were coming down the slide, side by side. The only downside of him having so much fun and wanting to go again and again, was the fact that I had to repeatedly climb up the long flight of stairs for 3 seconds of ‘thrill’.

Whee! It was quite fast!

Thank goodness there were other areas for them to explore and Jah and Bella occupied themselves with climbing up ramps and across ‘bridges’.

Miss Dare Devil Bella

We were there for almost 2 hours and in that 2 hours, Jah had silently worked up the courage to attempt one of the vertical slides. I never knew this boy was so fearless. I have to say that it was probably easier for him to attempt it since I was lowering him down the side whereas other kids and adults (like myself) had to sit on the ledge and well push ourselves off the ledge. Scary stuff!! (And it wasn’t even their scariest slide).

The scariest slide of the lot…we didn’t try it

My little fearless boy looked like a rag doll coming down the slide and he was so disoriented after landing in the ball pit that he wasn’t quite sure where to go but 30 seconds later, he wanted to go again!

I have to say that we didn’t really expect much from Adventure Zone but I guess sometimes all you need are a few slides and a dose of courage! We will be back the next time we are in Penang for sure!

JahBella’s Mummy

16Feb2015

Royal Caribbean – Mariner of the Seas – JahBella Part 5 (Johnny Rockets and Fisher Price Toys)

Posted in Cruise, Holidays by jahbella

After our little ice-skating adventure, we decided that it was time to eat (AGAIN!) Yes, I think our helper wanted to faint from the frequency and size of our meals on the cruise. We didn’t head to the usual lunch spots like Main Dining Room and Windjammers for our lunches onboard so I will not be able to attest to the quality and menu there. However if like me, you have kids who can survive on fries alone and don’t mind a chocolate milkshake or ice-cream ;P then Johnny Rockets would be the place for them (and you). We went there for all our day meals and those meals were perfect for a nap after. At Johnny Rockets, you basically pay a flat fee of $5 per adult and get to order anything from their menu. Items on their menu include burgers, fries with different toppings and desserts. Beverages are charged separately but that didn’t stop us from purchasing their yummy milkshake. As Joel and I were on the drinks package, our beers and soft drinks were covered and our yummy milkshakes were 1 for 1, for Crown and Anchor Society members. Super duper yummy!!! Jah was also introduced to the smiley face ketchup at Johnny Rockets where they asked if he wanted ketchup and they would draw a smiley face on a plate with ketchup. He started asking for a smiley face at every meal after that (the staff always obliged :p). Thank goodness he hasn’t asked for it since we got back. Johnny Rockets is the perfect place for some casual American dining plus a little entertainment from the dancing staff. 🙂

Burgers are awesome!

Yes super awesome!

Performance!

Just around the corner from Johnny Rockets, you would also find the Babies Club for little ones from 6 months to 36 months. Babysitting services are offered there and we saw that some parents had avail themselves to this paid service. We, on the other hand visited the Club for an entirely different reason. The Club also offered a toy rental service for kids below 3 years of age. You are allowed to take ‘home’ to your cabin, 1 set of Fisher Price toys which you can either choose to keep for the entire length of your stay or return the next day and exchange for another set of toys. As these toys are available on a first come first serve basis, we would recommend you hop over early to select your toys. When we got there at 8pm on the first night, most toys were already taken up and we were very fortunate to have found something that Jah liked. We almost had a meltdown when he realized there were no more cars or train related sets. The Fisher Price toys were pretty fun and came in very handy in keeping the kids occupied in the room. Now if only our kids could be occupied with just one toy at home. Apparently kids understand the concept of making do and making the best of it. :p

Playtime!

I have to say that this toy rental service came in very handy for us during our first cruise trip with Jah and now even more so with two kids. No more lugging toys on holidays to keep them occupied! Although I will probably have to figure something else out once they both of them hit the 4 year old mark….

JahBella’s Mummy

8Feb2015

Penang Holiday (Oct 2014) – Yummy Food Outside of the Hotel!! Fishing Village Seafood, Nonya Breeze, Golden River Zi Char)

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Holidays, penang by jahbella

So yes while we thought that the food at the Hard Rock Hotel Penang was pretty awesome, we did still head out for our food fix. No, travelling with two young kids was not going to prevent us from savouring the good food that Penang had to offer. We just had to think alittle more creatively and do alittle bit more research and planning. This meant no Gurney Drive Hawker Centre (although I would admit that we did try one evening but it was pouring!) and also meant that exploring the alleys and road side hawkers of Georgetown was out of the question. However I have to say we did really well and so if you are looking for something alittle more kid friendly (places where there are high chairs), something super yummy and authentic and something that won’t break the bank…Read on for our 3 recommended restaurants in Penang and we will let the photos do most of the talking…;)

Golden River Zi Char

Located in Batu Ferringhi and a 3 min taxi ride away from Hard Rock Hotel Penang. This zi char restaurant was not found on the main thoroughfare and we actually had to do abit of way-finding in the rain (walking over from our tailor) but we were well-rewarded with good homely zi char food.

Nonya Breeze

I did quite abit of research on this one..more so because I really wanted to try the Nonya food in Penang but most places were either really far out from where we were or were supposedly so good that you had to wait a long time for your food. Waiting is not really an option when you have kids who like to do things really ‘chop chop’ – yes I think they inherited that trait from me. :p So I kept Nonya Breeze on my ‘standby’ list of places to eat at if we were in the vicinity of Straits Quay Mall. I have to say that this place did not disappoint because Joel actually requested that we come back the next day for lunch. So please do not be shocked by all the photos, we ate there on 2 separate days!!!

Fishing Village Seafood

This place is really really rustic and you would need a driver to bring you in and preferably wait for you to finish. The drive was approximately 15 to 20 mins from Hard Rock Hotel Penang and in the other direction away from the city. So plan this for a night where you just intend to have dinner and head back because there is nothing much to see or do in that vicinity. The food though was worth it and we even indulged in some crabs which we don’t normally have when we eat with the kids. Portions are not huge so we managed to order quite a number of items and finished everything! (Note – there were only 3 adults and 2 little ones).

Rustic side of town

Everything feels so old school…down to the highchair

Jah took a walk with Joel and discovered the beach and a little jetty of sorts..

So the next time you are in Penang with the kids and lament that you can’t enjoy the Penang goodies with kids in tow, you know where to go…:)

JahBella’s Mummy

20Jan2015

Royal Caribbean – Mariner of the Seas – JahBella Part 3 (Dreamworks Breakfast Character Dining)

Posted in Cruise, Holidays by jahbella

Our non-stop eating adventure continued the next morning when we all woke up bright and early and was at breakfast at 8am. This was not just any ordinary breakfast! It was the Dreamworks Character Dining Breakfast which Jah had been looking forward to, for the past few months. I had envisioned that we would be eating in our PJs, given that the breakfast started at 8am but the kids had no problems getting up early and dressed for this special meal.

For families who would like to bring their kids for the Dreamworks Character Dining Breakfast, I would recommend that you sign up online prior to your cruise. Alternatively, you could do your booking once you board the cruise but I hear that it is rather popular. The breakfast is chargeable at $10 per person. Honestly the breakfast option looked good on paper with a specialized menu but the food left much to be desired. We didn’t quite touch it and I was alittle envious of the other tables in the main dining room who were having the regular breakfast. Although I suppose they were probably also envious of us and the time we had with the characters.

Dreamworks Character Dining Menu

Shrek Ears for all the kids 🙂

We met 3 of the Dreamworks Characters (Shrek, Kungfu Panda and Fiona) during our breakfast and they came around to each table to take photos with us. We were supposed to attend the breakfast on the following day as well but Jah decided that he didn’t want to attend if Alex the Lion was not attending. We were told that 3 other characters (Puss in Boots, King Julian and Gloria the Hippo) would be at the next day’s breakfast. On hindsight, we should have probably just attended for the fun of it but oh well Jah had his wish and met Alex at the separate Meet & Greet session so I decided not to put everyone through an early not so yummy breakfast again.

Oh and do note that the photos below were taken by their photographer and purchased as part of the photo package. The photos are not included as part of your breakfast cost. You can get the staff to help take pix with your camera/ handphone if you don’t intend to purchase the package. 🙂