Bali , part 1

Sitting in my cold and drafty Tokyo apartment with a box of tissues close by, I stare at the pictures of the glorious sunsets we saw every night as we sipped our cocktails by the ocean. What a wonderful vacation it was. Beautiful place, great food and people and the perfect combination of beach and culture.

We arrived about 10:30 pm and after going through immigration (not the nightmare as had been reported), we met the driver from the hotel and were quickly whisked into an air conditioned van, with cold towels and water instantly provided. The fifteen minute drive to the hotel gave us our first glimpse of Bali - not at all the pretty sunsets and rolling rice fields. Bumpy roads crowded with motorcycles, some with 2 and 3 passengers; child beggars on streets approaching the stopped cars; small worn down buildings lining the roads -a bit sobering at 11pm. Arriving at our hotel, the car was stopped and searched for bombs; an event that would become a daily occurrence.


At the hotel, while our luggage was loaded on to a cart, we were escorted through the open air lobby to a comfortable seating area to check in - none of this stand-behind-a-counter business here in Bali. After wiping off with a cold cloth (this too would become routine) and sipping at some cool tea, we were taken to our room. And what a room it was! On the second floor of the 4 story building looking out over one of the pools, the luscious gardens and yes, the ocean, this was one of the most comfortable rooms I'd ever been in. It was very quiet, but not so much that you couldn't hear the rolling surf or the birds and with the comfy black chairs, the balcony would prove to be the perfect place to listen.


Sunday was a day to relax and explore the hotel. After breakfast in the lounge, we headed out to the pool; actually a series of pools - some wading, some with fountains and finally the main one with the requisite bars stools in the water. Ariana found one with fountains she liked, so we plunked ourselves down:


and jumped in:

Another family joined us. The mother was covered from head to toe as is the traditional Muslim way, while the kids had on regular bathing suits. Certainly that mom didn't get her shoulders sun burnt like I did, being swathed like she was in colorful fabric.

After we had enough of the pool, we headed for the beach. It was quiet with only a few others walking along. In fact, most of the people we passed were local children or enterprising Balinese who offered us massages right on the beach. We passed a group of restaurants, really just shacks with tables in front of them, which we later discovered had the freshest, most delicious fish. We also discovered that was the location of one of the Bali bombings, the reason for all of the security and car searches.


Lunch, a mani and pedi followed. Yes, I know, it's a tough life. But, after the year I had, it was certainly well deserved. We stopped at the beach side bar for a cocktail, something that would become a nightly routine. Besides the amazing sunsets, the clean air and being able to watch the surf from a stress sapping Balinese beach chair, how can you resist a place that even makes milk look good???

under the weather

The cold season has come to the DiLaura house as both Ariana and I are sick. Baba san has been doing an excellent job of taking care of us, making food and basically keeping Ariana occupied so I can sleep.

We have also been making use of one of the more brilliant Japanese drug store items. Ariana is wearing it on her forehead - it's a gel strip that cools (for fevers) and also has menthol to ease breathing. Ariana loves them and actually knew she had a fever before I took her temperature. She went into the medicine cabinet and got one (I can do this myself, thank you very much!!) and then said to me "I have a fever". I took her temperature and sure enough she was right.

As you can see, Simba has not left her side for a minute since Christmas. She has taken it to her friends house and to the movies and slept with it every night. In fact, one night she woke up asking for it (silly me, forgot to put in into bed with her). She knows Santa brought it and fully understands the "ask Santa, get from Santa" concept. What she is having a hard time understanding though, is that Santa only comes once a year. She will say "I think I want to ask Santa for....", and I explain that she has to wait until next year.

Needless to say, she is not happy.

Christmas As Planned

Simba showed up just in time and so, early Christmas morning, I watched as Ariana slowly opened.....
the well wrapped doll with a sense of wonder......

and then...................................................... a big smile!!!
She carried it with her the entire day, as we went for Chinese food and then to a movie. The movie had to be postponed though, because it was sold out. Who would have thought on a Wednesday here in Tokyo there would be a problem seeing a movie, as Christmas is not a holiday here (proven by the symphony of hammer and drill that greeting us at 9am!!) . But, sold out it was, so we made our way to friends Clare and Jason's for a bit of champers.

On the way there, Ariana got a lesson in saying "please don't touch" and "you can look, but please don't touch" as she was adamant that Rhianna and Tom could not touch Simba. I explained that it was always good to share, but she wasn't' having any of it. She wasted no time playing with all of their new toys, forgetting about Simba as he sat on the couch, feeling ignored I'm sure.

Simba was reclaimed as we left and she carried him all the way home. She spent the evening putting him to bed, wrapping him in the new Mickey Mouse blanket that Santa brought. It was all very sweet....

....and happy holidays to all!!!!!

Moving Christmas

Finding a Simba doll here in Japan has proved impossible. After a trip to the Disney store where the shelves were full of everything but, I discovered the reason for the absence of anything "lion king like".

Apparently, the original story was written by a Japanese person years and years ago. Disney made the movie and was promptly sued and the resulting settlement prevents any merchandising from being sold here.

So I ordered one from the United States and here is where it gets sticky. If it doesn't arrive by Christmas, what do we do? I don't want to ruin Christmas and Santa for Ariana especially after she bravely sat on Santa's lap and asked for it. Imagine her getting up in the morning and looking high and low for Simba only to find nothing. Too sad.

Baba san and I have decided that our Christmas will be celebrated exactly the day after Simba arrives. We will be celebrating Hanukkah too and it is very late this year, starting just a few days before Christmas, so she will be preoccupied with candles and little gifts.

Now, off to finish packing.......Bali here we come!!!

Hello Santa!!!

After a sugar laden lunch at TGI Friday's (yes, we do still live in Tokyo and yes, there is a Friday's here) we headed over to the Tokyo American Club for a meeting with Santa. All week long we had been preparing for the big event, with me explaining to Ariana that she had to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. Since she is normally very quiet around strangers, we were practicing in the hopes that she would feel less overwhelmed by the big guy in the big red suit.

It worked!! She walked up to the big guy a little tentatively, sat down a little more so, but was able to answer when he asked her what she wanted. We all heard a soft little "I want Simba". And then a big smile when she realized she did it!!!

Now, she did get a little put out when she realized that she couldn't get the Simba doll right there and then. I had to explain that Santa (me) has to go back to the North Pole (Shibuya) and make the Simba for her (has to fight my way through the crowds in the Disney store and pray there is a Simba doll - or Simba something). Then if she is a good girl (and I find the time to do this before Christmas sometime before we leave for vacation next week) when she wakes up on Christmas day, Simba will be there waiting for her.

Ahhhh, the joys of Christmas!!!!!

Have Turkey Will Travel

It pays to have a resourceful husband sometimes........................and a very large stroller.

On Sunday, my friend Darla and I decided to have a belated Thanksgiving. Since I had the larger oven, one that could actually fit a turkey, it was decided to have it at my house, so early Sunday morning, I put the turkey in the oven and started on the rest of my dishes. Darla would bring her stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie over around 1pm and we would eat.

Everyone was dressed, the table was set and stomachs were beginning to growl when the phone rang about 12:45:

Ryder was running a fever.

Now for all of you who have children, you know what that means. The balancing of two thoughts: "I must take care of my child" with "can we still make it?"

Having been in this situation many times myself (and with the turkey just about ready to come out of the oven) I said we would just wheel the turkey over there. Luckily Darla lives close - about a 5 minute walk.

So, as I was starting on the gravy, baba san rigged up the "turkey delivery devise" and wheeled it over. I followed once I had finished the gravy and a wonderful dinner followed, with a revived Ryder partaking just a little bit.


Sometimes it really does pay to roll with the flow, or should I say turkey..................