WW: Last Days of Holiday at Sari Ringgung Beach, Lampung

Cheers from Sari Ringgung

How is your summer break?

Here in Indonesia, the kids only enjoy 2 weeks of holidays or summer break.

The new class starts on July 15th, 2019.

It seems so short a break but the kids actually enjoyed a long break, around 3 weeks, during Ramadhan and Eid al-Fitri, prior to the summer break.

So all in all, they have enjoyed 5 weeks off, which is not that bad at all.

the gate..

Again, we went back to my hometown to meet our parents and say hi to the beach again.

We went to Sari Ringgung Beach a bit late so we didn't go to one of the islands surrounding it. But we managed to have a little reunion with our extended families here on the beach. Two huts, tons of delicious food, and endless photo sessions, that's what we had. Moreover, the kids enhoyed their swimming and canoeing sessions at the beach.

It took around 1 hour 15 minutes from down town Bandar Lampung to reach this beach. it takes a while mostly becuase we only have one busy road leading to the area. 

The entry ticket is Rp 20.000,- (or less than USD 2) per person, including kids, with car (including driver) for Rp 20.000,-. You can rent the big hut for Rp 100.000,- for 5 hours and rent floats fro Rp 10.000,- or canoe fro Rp 25.000,-. They also have Banana Boat package for 1 - 5 persons for Rp 150.000,-.

It was a beautiful weekend celebrating the last days of our kids' holiday.

Happy to see all those smiles!

Here are some pictures from our last days of holiday at Sari Ringgung Beach, Lampung.

Selamat datang

the playground

Bo..enjoying the sun!

Obi and I..super hot day..

Love the swing..

They have many spots here on the beach

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5 Cool Things to Do in St. George’s, Grenada

Welcome to St. Goerge’s, Grenada

Visiting Grenada for your next holiday?

Sounds like a great plan!

This has been a long overdue post since I visited beautiful Greanda in May 2018. So before long, I know I should share more stories about this lovely country situated in the Caribbean. 

Happy me joining catamaran sail in St. George’s ♥️♥️

Blessed with amazing weather and long lines of white sandy beaches, lush jungle and waterfalls, mountains and more incredible natural landscape, Grenada has long been known as the Spice Island. 

Grenada is indeed one of the world’s major sources for spices, like nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, as well as cocoa.  Interestingly, Grenada originally has its nutmeg from my country, Indonesia is the world’s top producer of nutmeg and Grenada is number two. I guess it all happened during the colonial period, where Grenada was colonized by English. Indonesia was colonized by Dutch for more than 300 years but we had the presence of English for a brief period of time.

My morning stroll at Grand Anse Beach, Grenada

Grenada is composed of three large islands,- Grenada, Cartiacou, and Petite Martinique, with the additional tinier island along the Caribbean or the West Indies. I was privileged to get a chance to visit St. George’s, the capital city of Grenada, as we are invited to the Regional Seminar of the UN Special Committee for Decolonization. My dearest friend, Narissa, from the Permanent Mission of Grenada in New York, had ensure me that we would definitely have great time in her beautiful hometown. And I couldn’t agree more!

I stayed in Radisson hotel at Grand Anse Beach and it was great!
Four days and five nights, we attended the meetings and enjoyed what St. George’s Grenada can offer.

Here are 5 cool things to do in St. George’s Grenada

Enjoying Grand Anse Beach

Coming to Grenada and you don’t get a chance to enjoy the world-famous Grand Anse Beach? You gotta go back then :). Grand Anse beach has long been famous for its powdery white sand and turquoise water. Perfect beach weather all year long is a bonus!

Again I was so lucky as my room in Radisson was facing the beach and every morning, I swam and jogged along the beach! So enjoyable!

Diving and Snorkeling

My favorite activities here in Grenada!
On my first morning in Grenada, I signed up directly for a diving trip with Nature Spirit Grenada, the dive center located in my hotel, Radisson Grenada Resort Hotel.
I went to two spots, one is a ship wreck and the other one is packed with coral reef.
I recorded our 25-meeter deep ship wreck diving but I haven’t put it in my YouTube channel. i will.. hopefully soon

Thank you to our host country, the participants of the Seminar also got a chance to enjoy the Catamaran sailing. It is indeed a great experience!

Trying the Local Cuisine

Caribbean food is numero uno!
I just love them all, particularly the fresh seafood and their famous super duper hot chilli!
And for sure the nutmeg and all products using it are must try!
I dis try the nutmeg jelly, spread, bread, chocolate and nutmeg ice cream as well!
There is one soup I tried and loved but unfortunately I forget the name! dang.. I should have noted it down!

Don’t forget to try the chocolate as well! It’s delicious.
If you drink alcohol, Grenada’s rum is hard to beat!

I literally try everything :)

Exploring the historical sites

There are many historical fortresses and building here in this beautiful city.
I went to Fort George and Fort Frederick and the view from above is absolutely stunning!
It is a very interesting mix of French and British occupation and for sure the stories about colonialism is always sad and bitter for the local people.
But the remnants of those dark eras are a great reminder for us all

Shopping in the Local Market

Let's shop!

I came here in the morning and loved it so much!
Such a vibrant ambience and I bought a lot of mangoes!
They are super duper sweet and yummy!
I also got my nutmeg supplies here and met many friendly locals.
The mangoes are super! 

For sure there are so many other interesting things you can do in Grenada. These are some suggestions to start with.

I really wish I can stay longer to explore the other side of Grenada or indeed coming back to this beautiful country. Now that I have new best friends there, I feel like coming back here again.

WW: Tegal Mas Island, Lampung - continued

Here are more photos from our excursion to Tegal Mas Island, Lampung, Indonesia
I am still drafting the full story of it, so stick around yaaa.

the 4 of us enjoying snorkeling..

one of my underwater shots..I mean my hubby :)

cute turtle for the kids

cheers from me and Bo :)

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Kisses from Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia

Kisses from Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia!

I AM SUPER HAPPY!
And blessed, obviously!
I finally got a chance to visit one of the amazing spots in my beloved Indonesia.
The city of Ambon, the capital of Maluku, or famously know as Moluccas, has been on top of my bucket list. 
I know I will be traveling around once I'm home as it's part of my job as well.
Nevertheless, when I found out that I will be visiting Ambon for a 3-day-2-night working visit, I dance like a kitty cat getting its favorite fish crackers!
Well, in short, I'm super happy.

Cheers from Liang Beach, Ambon

So I left Jakarta on Wednesday morning with Garuda Indonesia direct flight there.
We have a few option in terms of flight, including the ones with transit.
But this time, I chose the direct flight because it took more than 3 hours already and we need to prepare for the meeting.

Martha Tiahahu

Flying at 8.15 AM, we landed safely at 2 PM local time.
It was a smooth trip and the view from above is breathtaking!
We passed some flocks of islands and they look so inviting from above.
I don't know exactly which islands they are but looking at the map, I saw the famous Wakatobi islands as well as Tailabu and Buru islands.

One of the islands we passed otw to Ambon

Ambon, Maluku, is 2 hour earlier than Jakarta. 
Once we landed, we went to our hotel, Santika Premier Ambon, and checked in first.
It's a lovely hotel and just recently opened.
Love the room and the food here, although the pool is unfortunately not yet ready.
It has wonderful view of Ambon from above as well.

View of Ambon city from Santika Premier Hotel Ambon

Once we're done with check-in, we just realised how hungry we were all.
Since Ambon is famous for its nasi kuning or the yellow rice, we went to one of the the famous local restaurants serving this yummy delicacies.

I have perkedel kenning or potato fritters and mung beans stew

 We went to Restrain Ibu Nanik which serve traditional Ambonese nasi kuning with various main dishes like fish, meat, chicken, shrimps, vegetable fritters, and sayer kacang hijau or mung beans stew! That one is new for me and I like it!

This is yum!

Later that day, we went to another cafe to see the famous sunset!
So we went to Wailela Cafe at Rumah Tiga, Ambon.

We just chilled out and enjoyed the sceneries during the sunset time.
The cafe was packed with visitors and those enjoying the sunset like us.
It was beautiful for sure.

Sunset at Wailela Cafe, Ambon

I managed to record a live video on my YouTube account as well during the sunset in Wailela Cafe, Ambon. Feel free to check it out!

And here is some photos I took during my stay in Ambon.
We went to Liang and Natsepa Beaches as well.
Nothing else I can say but those beaches are drop dead gorgeous!

I am writing it as I'm boarding to Jogjakarta so, I don't really have much time! 
For sure, more stories are coming but meanwhile, enjoy the beauty of Ambon with these photos!

Smoked tuna! super yuuum

Galala Port, Ambon, where we buy the smoked tuna

Rujak time!

My favorite! Clear blue sky and turquoise water!

shall we take a (banana) boat ride? Liang beach, Ambon

Happy me at Liang beach, Ambon

Liang beach, Ambon

Lots of love from me and mini me!

Cheers!

Enjoy your weekend!

And see you on the next story and adventures.

WW: Santa Maria Del Mar, Havana, Cuba

Enjoying the beach while you're visiting Havana, Cuba?

Santa Maria Del Mar, Cuba

Why not!
Santa Maria Del Mar will be the perfect choice for you, beach lovers. 
Erma and I really loved it!

Cheers from the beach...

Let's swim :)

Mini me and I ..

for my dearest Em(b)ak Ceria :)

We really had fun enjoying the beach, great sunny day, and friendly people.
And the last surprise that I love is the purple vintage car I saw on the beach!
Super cute indeed!

Excuse my shameless pose :)

It's purple!

Just love it!

Do you think you will go to the beach while visiting Havana, Cuba?

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