I’ve been in Asia for 4 months and have been to Indonesia,  Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. There are millions of people on motorbikes in these countries because they are cheap, small and can swerve in and out of busy traffic. As they don’t have cars they carry all sorts of crazy stuff on their motorbikes.  Here is my list of some things I’ve seen...

There is nothing ‘mini’ about Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.  Glad I checked the Lonely Planet before we went because initially I had thought it was a miniature Indonesia. No. It is a 100 hectare park with 27 full-scale traditional houses from the 27 provinces of Indonesia – well, now 26 since Timor Leste is no longer part of Indonesia.  The park opened in 1975 and much of...

Jakarta International School Ambulance, Karina and Franz (School Nurse).

Another day comes and goes. Today we visited the Jakarta International School which Marshall attends. The boys ate large chocolate crepes prepared just for them in the school canteen. We walked around and took it all in. Popped into the School Nurse office and met Franz, one of the nurses. We had a...

Headed to Taman Safari in Cisarua, Bogor close to the Embassy cottage in Puncak.  The turn-off for the park is marked by a large wooden sculpture of African animals and the street leading to the park is lined with people selling bunches of carrots. We bought a bunch since we had heard a few snippets about what we were in for … seeing is believing!  We bought tickets and...

Kidzania is an activity filled kidsize world for children under 16 years, recommended by an Australian family we met at the apartments.  Kidzania is designed so the kids earn money by participating in different workplaces, all branded by Indonesian companies (of course);  then are able to use that money to pay for different experiences or items (junk)  in the flea market or...

Started the day with a drive into the city, with Harsono, to the Monumen Nasional (Monas) – the National Monument. We walked all around the monument before we found the entrance. You pay money to get into the diorama history museum and then paid more to get the lift up to the top of the tower. The tower was built during Soekarno’s presidency and was opened in July, 1975. ...

Our first big day out in Jakarta saw us head into Kota, the old town of Batavia.  Three of us drove in with Harsono in airconditioned comfort, whilst my cousin James, his son Marshall and Harris took a taxi.  Every Sunday one part of the road is closed to cyclists so there were different bikes and people to watch along the way. We saw big flash hotels, dingy little side...

Just in case you were wondering, day 2 did occur but it was a lovely low key day at the apartment complex. Checked out the swimming pools – indoor and outdoor; playgrounds, walked around; ate; rested and chatted with my cousin James and his family Karen and Marshall.  We also spent a good amount of time just looking over the 11th floor balcony to people watch. The kids had...

6 am start on our last day in Australia. Arrived at Brisbane domestic by 7.15 am and sitting on a plane at 9.15 am. Checked in and no worries.  Arrived into Sydney with plenty of time to catch the shuttle to the international airport.  Sat and enjoyed a hot chocolate whilst the boys played in the McDonald’s playground and checked out the free Wifi on their iPods.

Flight out...