Eat. Pray. Love Bali- Day 2

Assalamualaikum wbt..

It's been a while since I shared about our Eat. Pray. Love journey in Bali. My life was a bit hectic since Aulia' was hospitalize due to Rotavirus infection. On the other hand, mom also recently was hospitalized because she was complaining she had exactly the same symptom like last year. I, myself decided to further my study after thinking to do so for four years. We'll see how it goes.

So, back on the farm, our day 2 of Eat.Pray.Love Bali continues with a light breakfast at the hotel. There is a cafe called Kopi Langit at the rooftop of the hotel. I had Seafood fried rice, fried banana with chocolate topping, fruits and pineapple juice but really sleepy to had breakfast that day. I can't remember what hubby had for his breakfast haha.

Pak Sastri have waited for us at the lobby as early as 8.30 a.m. 

We then headed out to Batubulan where the Kris and Barong Dance were held.I wasn't excited for this show though because I have seen the Kecak and Fire dance on our first day in Bali, so I thought it would be the same. I was up more to sculptures and the traditional Balinese architectural temples and I really wanted to go to Tirta Empul but Pak Sastri said it will be closed by the time we get there on the evening due to prayers ceremony for Nyepi day. Sigh!

We arrived at Sari Wisata Budaya Kris and Barong Dance a bit late and the place was already jam packed with people. The entrance fee is about 100,000 Rupiah per person. 

The dance is depicting about a "good versus evil" story based on a mythology of Bali which the "Barong" plays the protagonist role of the story.

There you go, your's truly looking fatty as usual, taking photo with one of the actress.

The Barong. Although the mask they wore were quite frightening, their acts were full of expressions and emotions flowing accordingly to the storyline.

Our second destination that day was art villages where all the local artists display their masterpiece such as paintings, wood craft and jewellery gallery. All handmade! Amazing.

After a long hours tour at the art villages, Pak Sastri brought us to Tegalalang Paddy Rice Terrace located in Ubud, Bali. The entrance fee is 5000 Rupiah per person. 

Due to its unique landscape of uneven land and steep ravines, the paddy farmers of Ubud has strategically utilize the terrain and plant rice paddies in layers or terrace (rice terrace). The excessive water in the rice terrace will then flow naturally from the hilltop to the lower area. Bijak kan Indonesian people ni:) :) We stayed about 30 minutes to enjoy the scenery and took some photos.Many of the tourist had lunch at restaurants located at the undulating paddy field and enjoying the beautiful view. We decided not to have lunch here because most of the food are non-halal food.

We then proceed to our lunch, a place where everyone should go in Bali-Mount Batur, Kintamani. To compare our lunch of the day with the previous meals we had, it was slightly special in terms of environment, providing the fact that the restaurant was located at an elevation of 1200 meters above sea level. It's almost like Genting Highlands in Bali! We got excited over the chance of watching an active volcano, the Mount Batur. We weren't jakun. Malaysia never has a volcano!

Mount Batur is located at Kintamani and it has erupted about 24 times since year 1800 and still active up to now. Since the mount erupting, it has impacted to the local society life around this mount, like removing altar, improve or repairing the village and re-arrange the tradition. Lake Batur is the biggest lake in Bali and functioning as irrigation source to all farmer around it and it is also for all Bali society generally. 

Our lunch was just typical Balinese cuisine served in buffet style with one preferred soft drink or fruit juice included.

The environment was very nice, they also provides musolla for muslim tourist who wanted to perform their prayers. 

Mount Batur behind us.

Quick tips for you travelers... Don't ever buy anything from the roadside vendors or else you'll end up buying the merchandises from all the street vendors who came and bugging you non-stop.  Trust me, we had that experience. 

Later on the evening, we went to Kopi Luwak farm in Tampak Iring nearby Kintamani area. Kopi Luwak is also known as the most expensive coffee in the world.Although the coffee is expensive, a cup of home-brewed civet coffee actually costs less than an average cup of brewed coffee bought at a cafe like Starbucks. We ordered a cup of Kopi Luwak and we got free to try out six difference coffee and tea (I remembered the lemongrass and coconut tea was nice-I brought home some of those too!). 

IDR 50,000 a cup, about RM15..(not extremely expensive thought). Well, I don't feel like drinking the cat poop so I passed it on. Eeek! 

This time, I can't do any food review because we skipped few meals and we also had dinner in our hotel room. But, btw, lunch in Kintamani was awesome. Probably because of the weather (^_^)

I shall share our Day 3 of Eat. Pray. Love in Bali next time.

My kind of labour day

Assalamualaikum wbt..

We all have those days..When you wake up wondering how on earth you're going to make it til the evening. As a working mom, those days may come often  but it's a bit more challenging when you know there is another little person depending on you for food, love and so much more. Well, I'm not gonna elaborate on the people at work. Working mom is no joke, I'm tired almost always and the insomnia that has managed to stick with me for the past week only adds to the fatigue. Last week was especially tiring. I woke up one morning in the hospital with Aulia' to an abnormally early riser after getting only two hours of sleep. Two hours. I seriously felt like my body was going to break into half. It was one of the very few times I wished I had a nanny or anyone who could help me out.

At the same time, I feel so blessed that I have a decent job & good pay. However, sometimes it's hard not to feel like I'm failing my family when I'm too tired to give them a fulfilling day. And it adds to my funk. That's why we've been given a holiday that we called a 'LABOUR DAY'. Yeayy!! More time to rest while hugging my kiddo!

But my husband just knew there was no way in the world I would be able to accomplish anything at home while feeling that way. So... instead of staying at home and sulking in my misery my husband decided that the best thing to do was to fake it. Fake a full nights rest and a peppy spirit. Fake the desire to be up and about and running from here to there after my oh so very active toddler. So fake it we did.

There was a new store that I would love to go. Some outdoor shopping fun. We went to MODVIER in Bangsar, KL. Ahhhh...*Rubbing palms* I finally got a chance to treat myself with lotsa stuff here :) :) They have many collections from famous local brands such as Eiliya, Minaz boutique, Dream Cloud and many more.

I managed to get myself some stuff. I bought a nice pink Bella Ammara tiara jubah, Rico Rinaldi Eiqal skirt, Farah Iskandar halfway Setade skirt and Rina Salleh metal belt. I was thinking to get more stuff especially when they have very nice staffs that are so friendly and hardworking.

 

The best part was that, I manage to met Sarah Shah Nor- the owner of Modvier. It was so nice to met her in-person. 

After we came back home for Aulia nap, I had one of my productive days. I felt great and Aulia' was the most pleasant little girl ever. Even while going from store to store in the morning. Faking it worked out well for us. Although. a full night rest wouldn't have been too shabby either! :)

Happy Labor Day!

Aulia' down with Rotavirus

Assalamualaikum wbt..

Last week, Aulia' was down with the deadly Rotavirus. Rotavirus is scary. It's scary because there's a vaccine for it right? If it weren't harmful, they wouldn't have created a vaccine to save us from it. Well, I didn't vaccinate Aulia' and so to happen she contracted Rotavirus. Would she have contracted it if I had vaccinated her? Who knows? While I am no expert, I am also not a fortune teller. 

Rewind a little and let me explain: I do not advocate all children being vaccinated or not. I have firm beliefs on the issue on who should and who should not vaccinate... so don't get your panties in a knot and start screaming that I'm what's wrong with the world.   

So back on the farm, Aulia' is not vaccinated.  Either way some basic facts about Rotavirus: it is the most common cause of diarrhea among children, is very common and affects almost all children by the age of 2-5. It infects the intestinal tract, generally causes vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, fever, etc. The reason it is considered a worldwide epidemic is due to the extremely limited clean water supply in third world and developing countries. Obviously, dehydration poses a much bigger threat there. Dehydration is a serious issue and it varies in severity from case to case. What work for me may not work for you.

Some basic info about the vaccine: it is an orally administer vaccine given to babies at 2,4 and 6 months. Aside from other things, the vaccine contains MSG. Among a number of less serious side effects, it has been known to cause Intussusception (which is a much bigger deal) and sometimes around 2008, Death was added to the list of side effects.

So.. now that you have the basics...

This is Aulia' when we fetch her on Wednesday from the daycare. We noticed on her illness when she hurled up something fierce. Twenty minutes later when we reached home, she upchucked on me causing vomit to run down my tudung, collecting at my blouse and overflowing downward to my pants. Lovely. I kind of just sat there in the way you do when you don't know what to do. I couldn't move without dumping a steaming pile of puke onto the carpet. The vomiting continued about every 20-30 minutes until midnight, to the point of dry heaving at times. We brought her to the nearby clinic at 12.00 am and the doctor gave Novimin (to stop the vomit).

 Thursday with 3 short episodes of vomiting ensued followed by the start of diarrhea. A fever started midday. Though she was lethargic the night before, her attitude was normal despite her intestinal troubles and her refusal to breastfeed or eat anything. Her Paed advice to admitted her to ward for further treatments.

After doing an extensive check up and taking stool sample to the lab, her Paed determined she had Rotavirus. Pitiful as she was Friday, Rotavirus was a big deal for us. Doctor advised to breastfeed her, so I made sure to keep my diet super duper healthy full of vitamins and minerals. Secondly, to combat any dehydration and boost her gut flora at the same, I gave her some coconut water. Coconut water is high in potassium and is natures own Gatorade, chock full of electrolytes. The doctor's treatments are based on symptoms and more to prevent dehydration because it is not the virus that is life threatening. It is the dehydration that comes with it!! So the doctor get her the IV drip to avoid severe dehydration.

Aulia' slept. A lot. Her body was busy repairing itself. Scary as it can be when baby is vomiting. I check on her very frequently and try to lay her on her side to sleep in case vomiting ensues. I just need her to rest as much as she needed. This caused me to be restless while I watched her sleep making sure she didn't choke. Aulia' took twice as many naps as usual.We were so worried when her temperature strike up to almost 41 degree C. Doctor has worn us that it might caused convulsions to Aulia'. Well, papa gone crazy with the news that he insisted to stayed up in the hospital with us.

Doctor advice us to wash hands frequently. The virus is pretty damn contagious. Once you touched the foods/drinks with your dirty hands, there you go the deadly Rota.

We stayed in the KPJ Ampang Puteri for 6 days because Aulia' need at least a week to fully recovered. . Pretty bored and she quite happy when her favorite cousins came and visit her in the hospital.

Aulia' and Amani :)

 

And she got a lot of presents too! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

 Alhamdulillah, I am glad she is now fully recovered from the deadly Rotavirus. And this is what our Paed always remind us about; STAY CLEAN, WASH YOUR HANDS, STAY HYDRATED :)