My hubby am quite worried of the situation and is trying to psycho me to abort the whole trip… but my dad has been keeping me well informed of the situation.. and its all safe and well to go… apart from the airport situation…  but to all foreigners, I would still advise against travelling…

My mum, who is now in India on some religious tour, will probably have to either extend her stay in India or we have to repurchase her ticket - India-Jakarta-Sinagpore-ChiangMai…  I am imagining my mum cursing the PAD so badly at the moment…

The reason we chose to land at Chiang Mai instead of Phuket is simply that the airport will be less crowded and that the road trip to Bangkok will be about 4 hrs shorter compared to the south of Thailand… but also, we have holiday house there so… that’s why

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and yesterday, my country (Thailand) has gone chaotic… and it’s so so so angry to think just how the government or the police ever let the protesters to take over the International Airport !!…  Thaksin is definitely corrupted though he has done a lot for the country and the anti-government, are they not corrupted? when they choose to PAY the protesters to make the scene???.  I am no longer supporting any side, coz both are mindless…

with the on going financial crisis hitting EVERY countries, economies are going from bad to worst and it’s just sad to even think how some financial institutions need billions dollars to be bailed out while at the same time, the top executives are still being paid in millions.  To argue that THESE people are genius and that we need them to steer us out of these crisis, … personally.. it’s total B****t…

and with holidays nearing, US government is warning of possible another terrorists attack to their NY subway system…

with our generation experiencing through these crazy stuff, its hard to even think what our children will have to go through…

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this is the view I get every morning, and I absolutely work so hard to make my house as green as possible..

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The Deluxe Room which we stayed in, is surprising one of the smallest I have stayed for a 5 star hotel… (The Ritz Carlton Singapore is  double the size!!) .. but the deco is nice, simple and has the modern touch..

We asked for the double bedded room.. as most newly built hotels will have the queen size bed, but this was not what I found… its about 120cm bed… though its nice and comfy.. since pillow is goose feather..

But I was a little disappointed by the bathroom!!!  IT’s terribly SMALL.. very very small in my opinion… it would actually fit only a person inside…

nevertheless, I was very surprised by the toilettries provided… most 5star provided will have the soap, shower gel, cotton wool/bud, shower cap etc… but here, you will find 2 black hair bands (which is a nice touch for the ladies) and a hair brush in addition to the standard hair comb!!!

But it was the BIG Breakfast that made me smile and longed for more…  honestly, I was not expecting much after what I get from the room… but 1 word… AWESOME!!!..  I am a breakfast person, so I always love the buffet breakfast.. and I had such a nice hearty meal… they have EVERYTHING!!!  a nice varieties of breads,  egg station, fruits, cold dishes, a good salad bar, waffles, juices, warm oriental dishes, like porriage,  fried rice, fried bihun (its was yummy),  and they even have  the local Lontong too…

the salmon cold dish, whenever or wherever I stayed, it’s would surly be the tray that practically needs to be refilled constantly… but at the Aryaduta Hotel in Medan… it’s hardly touched!!!  since many local prefer the fried rice and Lontong!!!!

In fact, I would recommend anyone to spend a lazy Sunday morning at the hotel for the Breakfast.. price? about Rp 115.000++ per person..  an extremely good value…

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my 5.5yo and 4y.o were laughing and asking what the big uncles were doing… all I can replied was that, they want to have some fun too..

the ride was about to begin but my boys ran toward the counter, the operator decided to wait for us as well… and they were busy joking around with a lady operator asking ” ada polisi di sini ???   ok.. so I was laughing… and as they were busy taking photos of themselves, I took my camera out to snap some for the blog… and with several flash  pointing at them.. the crazy laughter began to die down.. realising that someone am not just pretending to take photos of the two small boys…

safety first… seat belt is put on too!!!.. hahahah

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Imagine, you are going on 2 weeks holidays to Australia, America or Europe..  most of us would then need to change our Indonesia Rupiah to the according currencies… so, with 2 weeks of holidays, you probably be carrying the cash in thousands of dollars around … all along, worrying of losing, robbery, pick pocket etc…

Then to consider purchasing goods with credit cards, the exchange rates are some 3%-5% higher…

Then to think of just using the ATM to simply withdraw cash, we will then be charged twice, the exchange rate as well as the cost of drawing the fund.. these will be converting from the Rupiah in your Indonesia account..

but Here’s the trick… to avoid all of the above..

what you can do is that, you open a Citibank foreign account.. i.e AUS$, US$, or the EUR (no minimum balance needed and no charges) …..  ask for an ATM card for the account…  from there, you buy the currencies needed using the bank T/T rate (which is cheaper than changing your Rupiah at the money changer).. and have the money deposit into the foreign account…

so assuming, I am going on holidays to Australia, I will arrange to buy AUS$ using T/T rate.. the money is kept in my AUS$ account….  and before I leave for the holidays, I will ask Citibank to link my given ATM card to my AUD$ account… with that, when I arrive in Australia, I will just withdraw the cash as needed at any Citibank ATM machine or any machine with the ATM Bersama logo which can be found everywhere..

I stumple upon the solution as we have plan to go there for holidays since, the Australia $ is cheap at the moment.  But when I called up money changer, they are charging me some Rp1000 more than the rate since they are running low on the notes… so to avoid the problem, I was twisting my brain at the bank and talking to the banker and it just click me…

so really.. I have been dumb for a long long time… in fact, this apply to any country that the bank allows you to hold the country’s currency…  but you just have to remember to inform the bank to link the ATM card to the according account..

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It’s been 10 years since I last entered a cinema… you are right… 10 YEARS !!! … I am laughing at myself too.. In fact, I am not alone, my hubby too…  sound crazy isn’t it..

The last time we went to watch a movie in a cinema was back in the UK about a year before we left the country…around 1998  you see., I am not really a movie person, I often fell asleep by the first 20 mins..

So last Satureday, we went as a whole family, us with 2 boys… its their first time.. so they were rather excited.. and of all the movies… we decided on the HIGH School Musical 3..

one word to describe… even after 10 years of not having entered the cinema…  "Troublesome"

1. I need to go early to get the tickets.. that would mean.. 2 trips down to the crowded Sun Plaza

2. Pay Rp 6.000 for the parking fess.. (a pirated DVD cost Rp 8.000)

3. Queue for 20 mins at 1pm to be told that the earliest round is at 6.30pm..( I was hoping for the 4.20pm as it may be too late for the boys)

4. going back and forth between home and Sun.. costing me 2 hours in travelling time as well as the Petrol

But the funniest part has got to be that…

we didnt know what time to get to the cinema.. though the ticket stated 6.30pm… my husband and me were like.. 6.30 to the show viewing? or 6.30 door open? ..

and definitely considered us worst than an orang kumpung, we arrived at the cinema at 5.50pm..

we waited.. waited and waited some more.. making 2 trips to the loo… and to hear the door opening annoucement for Studio 1at 6.30pm!!! ….  Kids were eager… I was already half frastrated… and then seated again for all the advert and when the movie show began… it was some 20 mins later… in total.. I have waited 1 hour to watch the movie!!! and costing me  Rp 120.000 more just to watch a movie in the Cinema than staying at home with a pirated DVD…

this may sound mean … but to me … it just take too much time, effort and money to watch a movie in a cinema…

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Lately, the service has been way TOO TOO SLOW and BAD… especially during the weekends…

I was there on Sunday afternoon at about 12pm.. the place is not fully taken… waiter and waitress can be seen walking around.. but damn it.. I have to wait like 15 mIns !!! asking for the special menu from 3 waitresses!!!  I really wanted to just walked off…

worst yet… some how.. the sahimi was not fresh and it’s not as nice as before…

Medan is in need of another Sushi Restaurant!!!

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Maid, it’s a love and hate situation in this country.. basically, you can’t live without them but at the same time, you just can’t live with them..

I never have a maid who managed to stay with me longer than a year.. having said that,

1. I never scold/nag/whine at them.

2. their basic salary has always been the above average as I often feel that they are always underpaid

3. I never mistreated them and food in my home is pleantiful

now, with that, what have I done wrong???  initially, I often get a local Medan Maid and since I have to keep finding a new one every year, I decidied to get a Surabaya with 2 years contract, paying 3JT.. thinking that I am maid hassel free for the next 2 years…

guess what… after 7 months, on my bright sunny morning, she ran in to my room sobbing that her mum has passed away… I felt bad instantly.. and of course she wants to go back home… apparently she lived in Kupang.. after deducting those advance money that she had already taken and the air ticket that she need to buy back herself, she has little left to bring home..

before she left, she insists that she would be back as she liked it here… and put long story short… a typical Indonesian maid… after arriving home, she decided that being poor is ok.. not having to work to support her daughter is ok… what else can I said.. her salary is at Rp 700.000 purly doing simple house work and not even laundry or cooking!!!

My friends and families often advice me against being too nice or I will often be the one to lose out… this has been going on and on ,one after the other and frankly in the past, I did not take those advices seriously as often these maid are the poor people and that for me, I see it as doing some charity work.. thats all…

But now, I am at a point where… I have given up hope and that I am simply seeing my daily life here like in the UK where I have to clean and look after the house myself with no maid…  that’s what I have been doing for the past 2 weeks… and surprisingly, I am enjoying it… and feel a lot much better

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I have never done camping before and with kids having watched so much of Barney and how schools always mentioned camping to the kids BUT will never ever experienced it….. so, I decided to plan a camping for my two lovely sons with lots of fun activities…

as we know that camping involved staying in a Tent and bringing all the packed foods, stuff, etc.. frankly.. it’s too much of a hassel for me to dealt with.. so instead I put us in what we Thai called a Boutique TENT…!!

The place is at Khao Yai.. a famous national park with much nature.. and is about 3 hours drive from Bangkok… when I first told my husband and my dad that we are going on a camping and staying in a tent.. both of them scolded me and whined on how silly of me to spend USD$65 per night staying in a tent… you see, the 2 big guys were imagining that they have to set up the tent, crawl into it and sleep on the ground.. like the real kids movies…

and so, when we arrived at the hotel, they were in shocked and as we walked towards the tent, they got just as excited as my 3.5 y.o and 5 y.o …

The tent is in the compound of a 4 star resorts.. so.. its all provided and set up for me… I don’t have to bring/buy any of the camping necessities .. ^0^

better yet.. its comes with ensuite bathroom and beds… !!!.. PLUS fully air conditioned.. ahhah… the tent also comes with a fridge, room service and TV…

The tent is surrounded with clean greenery… and the place do have several spots for picnic.. as the night falls, we were worried that the kids won’t be able to sleep and if they will be scared since its the first time that they stayed outdoor…

what happened was that, the kids fell asleep like a pig, while me and my hubby couldn’t.. not that the beds were uncomfortable, its actually the ghostly feeling… I have to entertain myself with ipod till 3am in the morning…

As Khao Yai is a nature place, hence what you find in the areas are very outdoor activities, like the Buxter that we rode on… the kids just loved it…

then you have the mini real motorised bikes .. don’t they just look cool and real gangster… but, no.. these bikes aren’t for them… in fact its for us.. the adults!!!

thats me.. trying really hard to balance.. its not fun for me but simply doing it to entertain the kids and let them laughed at me.. the center will provide you with a disposal head cap for hygiene before you have to put on the real helmet…

there’s the standard rock climbing… but I prefer the one below…

Its specially built, you will need to climb and complete each section where each ones are tougher than the next… and once you reached the top, you get back down by taking the flying fox…

Its so so so much fun….

Then on the second day, we took the kids to a milk farm, the farm ChokChai.. it’s one of thailand’s leading milk producer.. the owner has the love for cowboy, so he decided to convert part of his vast extensive farm land into an interesting in house company tour.. where at the same time, they do have the camping facilities as well but it’s a bit overpriced..

THE FARM CHOKCHAI

In there, you need to pay for the standard 2.5-3 hours tour.. its quite interesting for the kids though…

The lady explained the methods and the technologies used on how they get the milk .. so for now.. at least my sons seem to appreciate their milk better now.. but best of all.. they get to see their daddy milk the cow…

when they asked for a volunteer, my 3 y.o was eagerly raising his hands as he really want to have the try, and since that he was too young, my husband, seeing the boys face turned gloomy, being a good daddy, he just gave in and did it…

the tour then proceed to the ice cream factory..

then the kids watched the cow boy shows.. and we were given free time to do horse riding, but instead, being boys, they each chose to go for 2 rounds of ATV…

that’s Jadon, my 5 y.o on his ATV… he begged, cried, whinned till we finally have to give in.

and the all time favourite mini zoo.. the kids get to play and feel the real farm animals like, sheep, duck, goats etc.. and feed them food… it’s kind of make the kids feel like they are in the Barney movies.. you see..

and have you ever wonder how a Drangon Fruit trees look like… here it is… very cute though

Personally, Khao Yai Thailand is one of those places that kids as well as adults will enjoyed and bond the family.. it’s a good place for the kids to experience rather than the usual city sightseeing, shopping, beach… since we came back, they have been asking to go back… for their modern camping again…

Its also one of those places that I wish the Greenhill @ sibolangit should implement as an extra… though I did mentioned to the management but they kind of finding me weird when I told them the concept…

More Information @

Boutique Tent: The Phuwanalee Resort

Activities Center: The Greenery Resort

Farm ChokChai: The Farm ChokChai

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