Welcoming Christmast and New Year

Wishing you a wonderfull Christmast and a Happy New Year 2012!

Well, it is almost the end of the year again. Time flies. This Christmast is going to be our last Christmast in Thailand, as my husband working contract will come to the end on June 2012. We decided to stay in Pattaya this year, welcoming the year of 2012 from our Royal Cliff Condo in Pattaya, Now as we live in the 7th floor of the building, we can enjoy more of the fireworks show which is ussualy run from Xmast nite till New Year's Eve. We did a lot of travelling in the last six months of this year. It is good to stay at home, only the three of us. I remember we had visitors from Germany last year; and we were bussy with them. We travelled around and entertained them. It was really fun! But it is also good to be alone, to enjoy our solitude as a small family.

I welcome the Christmast and new year through decorating the rooms with some red colors, and a Christmast tree in the corner of our living room. I am not a religious person, but I like decorating and celebrating important days. Some holly days, such as Idul Fitri (Muslim holly day) and Christmast, also Easter and Halloween. Those days will make  me bussy with decorating and being more creative than ussual.

I baked on those days, alone or with Nola. It was really fun to bake and forming the cookies during christmast time or else. Nola love it also! She will use her playdough plastic form to crreate some cookies in many kind of form. Off course I have my own cookies form, so we can work together with fun. The most interesting part of this celebration is when the D day come, and we can open all the presents. Most of the presents are basically for Nola. But we are all so excited to open them together, but it is still a few more days. We have to wait till we can open all the gifts!

Nolas with her baking project.

The school ended on Dec 16th. Two days before, Iwent to the Christmast show at the Regent's school,  and watched Nola in the show. She had some lines she should say during the show, beside dancing and singing. We did practise at home to make her able to remember her lines, and she did it very well. At the beginning, I was really worry that she would forgot her lines...but she didn't! I was proud of her. She was not too shy to perform on the stage, and she was able to articulate her sencentence loudly and clearly enough. The last day at school, they have a party. The kids came with their party dresses, and brought some food to share. I made brownies and popcorn for that occasion. I picked her up from school on her last day, then we drove home together, and started our end of the year holiday now!

The Hopeles Camels Show at the Regent's School Pattaya. Welldone Kids!

Ladies End of the Year Party a la Bollywood



I love this Picture of us, wearing Indian costumes. My friend  from Bangkok took this beautifull foto. I thank her for that!



Mala and Nadila were also in the party

My younger sister, Mala, and her daughter, Nadila, visited me in Thailand at the begining of December. It was the week when Lorenz was supposed to be in Germany for a business trip. It was not a coincidence though, we invited her as it will be good for me and Nola not to be alone for a week. Beside, this will be our last chance to have a family visit in Thailand as we are leaving this country in 2012 soon. On the other hand, Lorenz last business trip to Germany had also some other missions: visiting our apartment in Munich to make some decorating plan with the furniture company in Munich, and also  looking for a suitable school for Nola. It is still six months ahead, but the registration for the next term in Germany has already started. We are looking for an international or a biligual private school in Munich for Nola, and I know it is not an easy task. We know that the staatliches schule in Munich would be easier for us to find, but Nola already going to a British School in Pattaya. We want her to go to a school where she will be taught in English and in German languanges equally. The week would be very bussy for Lorenz, and also for us in Pattaya.

I took my sister and the kids to the Ban Amphur beach during their first days in Pattaya. The kids love it, they played in the sand and swam in the calm water of Ban Amphur beach. We ordered food and had lunch on the beach which was very good price. Another day, we went to the Crocodile Farm to see the animals and watched the Crocodile show. The next day, we went to the Floating Market, the Mini Siam and the Nong Nooch Garden. It was a bussy week for me.

On Dec 8th, the ladies in Pattaya  organizing End of year party a la Bollywood. The party venue was at the India by Nature restaurant. It is one of the nicest Indian restaurant in Pattaya. I took Mala, Nadila and Nola with me to the party. We went to the hairdresser first to do our hair and make up. We all wore the Indian costumes. The party itself really fun! The ladies wearing all wonderfull and colorfull Indian dresses and accesories. We did the gift exchange also. Nola was not feeling weel on that day. I took her already to the doctor in the morning; that also the reason why she did not go to school and join the party instead.

lovely ladies in their Bollywood costumes!

Triathlon Getaways

Around one thousand pepole participated in Phuket Triathlon this year.

Combining holidays with a triathlon is one of Lorenz idea which was came out since the last two years. I can understand that he is not the type of person who will be happy enough to lay on the sun bed next to the swimming pool during holidays. He is some one whos doing sport is a part of his life, even his soul. And sport for him is not just sport, just like what I am doing regularly at the gym during the week. There are some part of Thailand we had never seen before but we were not really keen to visit. For example : Phuket. Why? Because we are living in Pattaya which is also located directly on the beach. We asumed Phuket is not more different than Pattaya. But there was a Triathlon in November in Phuket which attracted us to fly to Phuket.

Enjoying the scenery of the Laguna during our break in Phuket.

The Phuket Laguna Thriathlon is the most prestigious Thriathlon competition in Asia. Many profesinal athletes flown to Phuket to participate in this event. As we arrived in Phuket, only a week after our trip to Jakarta, and checked in to the Dusit Tani Phuket laguna hotel, we saw already many international Thriathlon athletes preparing themselves for the race.

For me, the atmosphere is different than only the beach getaways. It is a combination between relaxing and training. The wives and their children were spending their time at the pool or at the kids club, meanwhile the men were bussy preparing for the Triathlon. The race itself started at 6.30 am with an earlier breakfast at 3.30 am organized specialized for the athletes by the hotel,and Lorenz could finish the race around 1030 am. So, me and Nola did not feel being left alone at all. He left when we were still in bed, and came from the race when we were still having our breakfast!

In Mariott hotel Hua Hin, our favourite hotel there.

We did two other Triathlon getaways this year before the Phuket one. The one in Hua hin was in August this year. It was not as big as Phuket, but Hua hin was only five hours drive away from Pattaya, so we travelled there easily. we went to Hua hin two times this year, because missed the exact date of the race. It was not his lucky Triathlon as the second time we went there with only seven days different, he had problem with his bike. We stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Hua Hin at our second visits there in August. I like the hotel because it has many activities for the kids, so Nola won't be bored spending the whole day with me during the race time.

Another Triathlon getaways was the Rayong Triathlon. Again, the location was very easy to reach for us. We just drive 2 hours direction to the south, untill we  find the Rayong beach. But this getaway is not as beautifull as the other two destinations I have mentioned above. Rayong beach is not a five stars beach. It is a very natural and a public beach, it has white sandy beach and flat surface and small waves which was good for kids to play around, but it is a public beach in Thailand, located between local villages there. Some people like its naturality, but some, just like us, like something more clean and organized.There were many huts and traditional seafoods restaurants along the beach, there were some rubish and wild dogs. We could not find any five stars hotels in the Triathlon location, so we went to the Bali Village resort. We took this resort because of its name. But the bungalows was not as nice as we expected before. It was a very simple accomodations, and it was quiet old. But it reminded us to many bungalows in Bali, so... only a hunderd meters away, we found another, the Tamarind resort hotel, clean and modern design, it was the hotel where some of the athletes were staying. We were thinking to go to that hotel next time we should come to Rayong for another Triathlon getaways...

For Nola, anywhere are good, as long as she can play.

 

The hotel in Rayong, very simple accomodation.



My Niece Wedding

Attending Ami's Wedding in jakarta, November 20th 2011.

Left to right: Alex (eldest brother and Ami's father), Ningrum (Ami's mother), Yudi (Mala's husband), Mala ( my younger sister), Nadila(Mala's daughter), Ami's husband and Ami herself. I still have one more sister, one brother and another brother (deceased) and their families which were not in the picture here,

We flown to Jakarta November 19th untill 21st this year. It was the wedding of my eldest brother"s daughter, Amy, who was held in Cimanggis, south of Jakarta. The visit was a very short one, but an important one. It would be our last visit to Indonesia from Thailand, as we are going back to Germany for good in the middle of the year 2012. We did not stay long, because Lorenz couldn't leave his work which was becoming more bussy before the end of the year, and we do not want Nola to leave school  for longer time.

We stayed in the Ascott Residence in Sudirman"s area. I can recomend this place to anybody who want to visit Jakarta. The apartment was very nice, and I love the location. Located in the central of the city, it is only a short walking distance to the luxurious shopping mall the Grand Indonesia, and even a shorter walking distance to the cheap ITC Thamrin City mall. We went for lunches and coffees at the Grand Indonesia, and in the evening, I sneaked out from our apartment for a quick groceries and Batik shopping at the ITC Thamrin.

The next day, we were ready for the wedding. My sister, Mala, came to Ascott with her husband and daughter to pick us up. We drove about one hour towards the southern part of Jakarta, pass the toll way, and then to Cimanggis city. The wedding was hold in a building near Bogor. It was a combination between traditional Sundanese wedding and a Muslim wedding. I saw the first time my niece"s husband on that wedding. I also met many of family members, brothers, sisters, nieces, cousins, aunties,uncles...many more... almost everybody were there,

With farah, one of my Niece

Sadly, I even met some relatives who still remember me but I couldn"t recalled them back, or I did not feel so close to them as they have expected me to. I felt sorry about that. But I have been away for such a long time. I left Indonesia since 1993, almost twenty years ago! I have met thousands of new faces during this period of time; people from different cultures. I have been away for too long, and am growing up in different life.  I am travelling to Indonesia every two or three years from wherever I live before (from England, Germany, Spain, Thailand), alone or with my husband and then my daughter. But it was ussually only to meet my family  from my parents (deceased) only: brothers, sisters, in laws, nieces and nephews, and some closest relation cousins and aunties, also some close friends. I would not be able to maintain the contacts with 'the whole families''. The .focus in my life is my husband and daughter, and then family members from my parents (deceased) only. Indonesian tends to have a very big family, and a 'family' means all members from your parents sisters and brothers, and grand parents sisters and brothers, and it is getting biger and bigger as they are all getting maried and having children..

With other nieces, Hana and Fara

However, it was always a wonderful feeling to see my grown up nieces and nephews, and watching them with their new life, walking forward towards the better future.

Celebrations at School

These krathongs created by the year one children of the Regent's School, Pattaya

As every year at school, there were many celebrations in which Nola was taking a part. In November this year there was the Loy Krathong celebration. What is Loy Krathong?  It is something to do with Budhism,   it is also a part of Thais culture. I take a look at the Wikipedia, and found the explanation about this Loy Krathong celebration which takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Callendar, which is usually falls in November. Loi literally means 'to float,' while krathong refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle which can float on the water. Originally, the krathong was made of banana leaves or the layers of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. A krathong contains food, betel nuts, flowers, joss sticks, candle and coins. But nowadays we can find the modern form of the krathongs in supermarket which are made of bread or styrofoam. A bread krathong will disintegrate in a few a days and be eaten by fish and other animals. It created less water polution problem than the other form of the krathongs. The festival is believed to originate in an ancient practice of paying respect to the spirit of the waters.

Nola and Lautaro, best friends since Nursery.

Let the krathongs flows on the water surface.

But water issue was something very sensitive for the Thai people this year as the worst flood happened and almost drown some of the cities in the North part of Thailand such as Ayyuthaya and its surroundings, and later the flood also entered the capital city of Bangkok. The water surface was reported to be as big as the land of Denmark! It took months for the flood to be receded and flowed towards the gulf of Thailand. However the Loy Krathong celebration at school was something we shouldn't miss. It was time for the kids to have fun. They wore Thai traditional costumes, and then floated the kratongs into the swimming pool. Not to forget, the kids were praying for the flood victims first.

We had some other celebrations at school beside the Loy Krathong. There was the Chinese new year in Ferbuary, and then the Thais new year in April or Songkran. There was also international day in March. All of those were the days where the children can spend a day at school with a lot of fun!

Chinese New Year Celebration at school.