Beaching it in Kuta Lombok

Walking on the ferry to Lombok

After a night in Padang Bai, a boat town on the eastern side of the island, we boarded what the locals call the slow boat, the ferry to Lombok for the 4-5 ride between islands.

Lombok is one of the bigger islands that make up Indonesia and is located to the east of Bali. We don't have to meet my friend in Bali until later in January, so we are going to spend about 2 weeks exploring Lombok and the Gilli Islands. Unlike Bali, which is predominately Hindi, Lombok is mostly Muslim. It is also a lot less touristy, but still has some killer beaches both for surfing and snorkeling.

Our first stop is Kuta Lombok a small village with a few hotels/homestays and surf shacks. Despite the fact that the typical trash of a developing world village is everywhere on the streets, the beaches are generally clean and nice. This is the town that allowed me to experience my first cattle drive on a beach, while eating killer grilled fish (Mahi-mahi) and drinking a cold Bintang beer (the big one).

This town has the feel of a place that is a newborn in the tourist industry. The locals are starting to figure it out, but still have a feel of being open and welcoming, which is massively refreshing after Bali.

The area is pretty spread out and since I only have about a 1 km range with Jas walking or me carrying her I needed to find alternative transport to get out and see the area. Luckily walking up the beach yesterday I ran into an Australian couple with kids just around Jas' age. So we all rented a car together and set out to explore with the idea that the kids would keep each other busy. Since it was pouring rain all day, our trip was pretty much road trip, with play in the sand stop. Just so nice to talk to grownups and for Jas to have someone to play with.

A note on traveling with the Jasminator. We are doing okay, but I think the extended time together (now going on 14 days) without a break is starting to wear. And when I say without a break I mean the only time we are not together is the hour or two each evening I get when she is asleep before I join her. We even sleep in the same bed, with her touching me. It is starting to wear on me and her. I am now starting to to actively search for a babysitter I can trust enough to get a break, a day or afternoon anything. Though having a playdate and a couple days of hanging with Tess and Xavier, the Aussie kids, has done wonders for both of us.

We are so outa here

I can't believe I finally made it through all of my lists and pretty much finished everything I needed to.

We had a lovely white Christmas (one day early) where Jas got everything she wanted from Santa; including the princess barbie doll and a kai-lan sticker book. It was so nice to have a mellow celebration and keep the excessive holiday toys to a minimum.

Plus she got her big-girl ready to take on the world first backpack, a Deuter Jr., from Grandma. She loves it and we loaded it up and she wore it around the house so so proud. And just in case you people out there think I am treating my 3 yr old like a pack mule... She is carrying a change of clothes, her stuffed doggie, a water bottle (empty of course since she might try to smuggle explosives onto the airplane with it), 4 pull-ups, a go-fish card game, a headlamp and a few snacks. Total weight approximately 5 lbs. Mommy will be carrying everything else in her backpack plus day pack. Total weight approximately 40lbs.

We are going to attempt to go carryon, since we only have 1 USA flight and it's a puddlejumper. So hopefully we won't have to fight for our overhead big space.

A big THANKS to my friend Wendy for taking us to the airport at 5:30AM on Christmas morning. You Rock!

She's wearing a dog tag (Really)

So one of the things I worry about is losing my daughter or having her wander off in a place she doesn’t speak the language. We have been practicing her name but in stressful situations (or heck anytime an adult asks her) she freezes. Sometimes she will remember her first name but I have yet to hear her say her whole name to anyone but me.

In addition, I worry because we don’t look alike and transracial adoption is a concept most people have never heard of or can’t comprehend. Needless to say I travel with copies of Jas’s birth certificate, our adoption certification and translation, and her certificate of citizenship as proof of our relationship. I’ve never needed them but I would rather have them than the alternative.

I also worry that she will wander off and not be able to tell anyone who she is or where I am. So I did a bunch of research on the internet for some type of durable id for her and couldn’t find anything I really liked. There were bracelets but they cost $20 and id tags were also expensive. I finally realized that the id tags for people sold on the internet were exactly the same as the pet tags that Petsmart sells in the store. So I went down to Petsmart and got Jas the pink heart dog tag ($6) and put it on a silver necklace. It has her name, nationality, my name, my email and a couple of phone numbers of contacts in the states (since I don’t travel with a phone).

I know she will love it as long as no one tells her it’s a dog tag! So SSSHHH!!

T minus 36 Days: Potty training

And I am freaking out. Because we are still not fully potty trained. Potty training has been the bane of our existence. Jas has accidents all the time including the poopy kind. She is by far the oldest kid in her school still having problems. And I am about to pull my hair out in frustration. I have been planning on taking pull-ups for the nights but if we need them in the days or she has accidents while traveling I am not sure how we will handle that.

The thought of not having to deal with someone else's "bathroom functions" again is a dream I dare not live. Argh! The more I push to get her ready for this trip the worse she gets. So I went the other way and ignored it and she still has accidents all the time. So then I tried rewards (stickers) and that works most the time. Unless of course she is at school where they don't give her stickers then she has accidents.

So we are at an impasse. Right now I am functioning on the hope that it will all work itself out and there won't be so many accidents that it makes our trip miserable. Everyone cross their fingers for us.

I guess this is the payback for never having any sleep issues!

First Big Trip W/ a Preschooler ( or Are you Crazy!?!?)

So you thought of yourself as a world traveler back in those carefree single days?? Well so did I and then I adopted a little girl and it all came to a screeching halt. I now spent more time preparing to go to the grocery store than I spent prepping for my last international trip. Not that I wasn't loving it, but it was an adjustment. I managed to sneak one trip into Mexico when Jas was 2 because we had 3 adults (love the grandparents!) to wrangle one quick moving baby.

But the wanderlust has set in and Jas is finally old enough to hit the road with me. I'm not sure what to expect but the one thing I do expect is that traveling with a preschooler will be WAY different than traveling by myself. I expect we will go slower and take shorter trips, oh and I guess those late nights out at the bars won't be happening. But I hope that traveling with a preschooler will open doors to places and experiences I would never have without her. And that is pretty exciting.  

We are headed to Indonesia for 6 weeks leaving in Dec and returning in February. Jasmine will be 3, just about to turn 4. This trip is our kickoff, practise a long trip trip. We fly into Jakarta and are planning on visiting Java, Bali, Lombok and the Gillis.