Ian and I have 2 distinct personalities exactly why we never really belong to the same cliques when we were in UP High together. If I remember correctly we were even classmates for 2 years yet we never really noticed each other. For me my significant memory of him was only on our graduation practices because we have to be seated a seat apart from each other. This was some sort of a prelude to whatever we have now. That level of connection we had then made us comfortable to talk to each other even when we were outside UP grounds. When we see each other when we were in college he remained to be one of those people in high school I will always be close with. The friendship remained steadfast when we had each others Instant Messenger details. He became my best friend. My boyfriend.My husband. Now, the father of my son.
There is one thing that Ian and I share a very strong passion for and that is to travel. We celebrate a lot of milestones in our relationship but we always vow to at least travel on our wedding anniversary. What better way to celebrate us than to explore the world near or far. Just go somewhere new that both of us haven't been to together. If there is one thing that has kept us connected is the constant need to explore. I always believe that traveling is the best teacher, and we want to share this passion with our son. So his birthdays are also our excuse to pack and get away.
Our 3rd anniversary is coming along this weekend in fact. So we decided to pack up for a quick weekend getaway to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But of course before that I want to write about our last years escapade.
Last year we went to Bali, Indonesia. It was our first major trip with Casey so you can imagine the amount of research and preparation we have to do. Looking back I think we over prepared for the trip. My son is as cowboy as we are. We even changed his diapers in a sunbed for all he cares. In this trip we learned that as early as 10 months we have a wanderlust for a son, just like mom and dad!
We got our tour from Deal.com.sg. It was a 4 days 3 nights stay in 4 star hotel in Nusa Dua with a 2 way airfare with Garuda Airlines. Airport transfers, Wifi in room as well a halfday excursion tour is part of the package. It was a very reasonable deal and the main thing that got our interest is the airline as we want to make sure that Caseys flight experience would be better.
I did not joke when i say we over prepared for the trip. As a matter of fact I will share a snapshot of our 4 day itinerary. I'd spare you from the details of each POI (Points of Interest) as this would make this blog super long already. So a snapshot of our guide will suffice.
I would have to say that Bali is a very baby friendly destination. Probably because of the number of families visiting the place there are a good number of services that is pretty much geared for babies. For us, during this trip we managed to prepay and reserve a sterilizer, a baby bathtub and a beach tent. It was delivered to our hotel room prior to our arrival and they will just pick it up too as soon we depart. It was a very cool service from Bali Baby.
We went to a lot of wonderful places and this is thanks to our driver. We also arranged this before arriving and this is thanks to TripAdvisor. Made Dodi is now my facebook friend. He has wonderful reviews in trip advisor that is why we got his family team of drivers to tour us around. He is a very busy man so our driver that day was his brother.
To make our trip more interesting we go through the wonderful photos my husband took.
I thought I have mastered the art of packing but packing for Casey was a challenge for a first time mom like me. I sought the assistance of other bloggers on the items I must bring with me for a 10 month old. The list is quite long so we decided to get Casey his very own luggage. The black vintage luggage is a purchase I made with my sons Chicco 4 in one (rocker/stroller/walker/toy car) toy. Because of that purchase I can get the luggage for a minimal amount. Good bargain, definitely!
It was a very smooth check in. Totally different from budget air flights. Of course you can see that in my sons easy demeanor even when we have to wake him up very early for our flight.
This is us prior to flying after checking in at Changi Airport. We can use our baby stroller all the way to the boarding gate for our comfort and convenience. Of course with a non budget air flight no need to have carry on luggage as we have enough baggage space for check in so we checked in everything except for my sons baby bag.
It was a very comfortable flight with Garuda Airlines. I particularly love the baby buckle for Casey. My prayers has been answered for a peaceful wonderful plane experience with my son not disturbing the whole plane by being quiet and cheerful the entire 3 hours. Our hotel transfers also came through on time too.
Our hotel was also impressive. We stayed in Bali Relaxing Resort and Spa. Prior to arrival I emailed the reservations for a baby cot and a few other requests mostly for my son. Everything was ready when we got there. In fact they gave us an upgrade for free! Breakfast in the hotel was also an experience in itself. The staff were very friendly and each requests were also attended upon consistently.
This is us in the hotel lobby waiting for our driver for our first tour for the day. Waiting is never an issue as the hotel lobby has a fast WiFi for free.
First point of interest that day would be Uluwatu Temple. We chased the sunset as they say sunset is spectacular in this cliff. But somehow it wasn't the sunset that got my attention it was the monkeys all over the place! I have a bad history with monkeys so even when most of the tourist find them cute and took their picture, I hid behind my husband.
The second point of interest that day was dinner at Jimbaran. We had a wonderful dinner by the beach with fresh fish and other Bali specialties. I have to say the food here is pretty much overpriced! I think they also charge you for the view and the ambiance. Nevertheless, we just enjoyed the experience of being able to dine by the beach with the breeze in our hair and the sand in our feet.
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