Last Sunday we finally decided to go to the beach, Ancol Beach, to be precise. As it was a long weekend, and Ariq did not have school on the Monday.. so yes, we thought it would be a good time to go on a day trip.
At first we were planning on staying overnight at the hotel as we had a free voucher, but when we called to make a reservation, the hotel was already fully booked for the weekend. So, we stayed at my parents' house instead and planned to have a day trip on Sunday. The kids wanted to go to Fantasy World (Dunia Fantasi), with all the rides and everything.
So, on Sunday, the kids were already excited about going away for a day. It was no problem at all getting them to get up, have breakfast and have a shower. We left the house at around 9.15 a.m. The streets were still empty and we got to the beach in less than an hour! When we anticipated about 2 hours drive.
As it was still early, first we drove to the beach area where we could a traditional boat ride (without engine). The sea was still calm and the waves were low. We were basically making a big circle in the shallow water (not really shallow for my swimming expertise, though). We crossed the path of a jellyfish about the size of fist. The guide/owner of the boat, picked the jellyfish up with a small net and put it in a bucket filled with sea water. It was really a good idea to keep the children on the boat busy and calm during the ride.
The first thing I found out that day was that my 2.5 year-old son had much more confidence than his 6 year-old brother. He would just walk around the boat as if he was walking on a steady surface! I remember his brother when we first took him on a boat ride, he wasn't afraid to hop on the boat, but he would just sit still, not walking around.
After the boat ride, both boys saw the people playing on the beach. They wanted to play on the sand too and get wet in the waves, of course! Gladly, I had thought about the possibility, so I brought a bottle of antiseptic shampoo and body wash, some towels and a few sets of change of clothes for them.
As their dad played with them, I took pictures and videos (don't worry, I will put them up here). They were sooo happy that I was glad I was prepared for this, rather than telling them that they could not play on the beach.
After they were done, and showered, we were ready for lunch. The closest outlet was McDonalds, so, there we went. As we were walking away from the beach, people had just started coming and the place was getting really really crowded. Again, I was glad that we arrived early.
It was about 12.30 when we finished lunch and we were considering going home straight away. Ariq, my 6 year-old however, still wanted to go to the Fantasy Land. After considering for a while, we decided that we wouldn't know when we would be coming to the beach again, so, we thought that we might as well do what we wanted when we still had all day.
So, we went to Fantasy Land. Aza, my 2.5 year-old, had a little sleep in the car on the way from the beach to the Fantasy Land area, due to the traffic inside the beach recreation area. The beach was close to the entrance, while Fantasy Land was towards the exit.
When we finally reached Fantasy Land, Aza woke up. We sat him on his stroller, but once he felt refreshed he chose to walk. First, we went on the merry-go-round, then the giant wheel. After that, we went on the doll palace ride. The doll palace was little kids favourite place, it had dolls dressed in different outfits from cultures around the world and there were songs which the dolls move to. The decorations were colourful and some of them were glow in the dark materials.
After that, Ariq wanted to on Crazy Ball game. The two of us (Ariq and myself) were put inside a balloon that was inflated by air. Then, we were floating on a river for about 10-15 minutes. It would've been cool if the weather was not so hot!
From the Crazy Ball, we went on the mirror house and took pictures with some fixtures outside the mirror house (horse, carriage, etc.), then Ariq wanted to go on the bumper car ride. The one that he could go on was the kiddie one, so he was the only one who could go in there. He went on three times! (Gladly in Fantasy World the ticket was all-in, so we didn't pay for individual games anymore).
While I was waiting for Ariq outside the bumper car ride, Aza wanted to see the carnival. Every weekend the place has a carnival walking around the area. Aza enjoyed it very much.
When Ariq finally came out, it was 5.30 pm and we were ready for early dinner before we drive home. We were thinking about having dinner at the most famous seafood restaurant there, 'Bandar Jakarta', but when we got there, it was really really full!
Next to it was a new restaurant, a Thai restaurant with the steamboat menu. As the place was quite new, it wasn't as busy as the next door place. We decided to give it a try.. knowing our taste buds, hot clear soup wouldn't be a total disaster, even if it didn't taste so well..
We were glad that we chose the restaurant. The fact that it was steamboat, we pretty much did not have to wait for the food to be served. We also could choose a table with a pretty scenery, looking out to the beach. And the kids.. well.. prawn balls, squid balls, tofu, were familiar enough for them to quickly enjoy. Plus, we were tired and starving too. The restaurant, 'Seaside Suki' turned out to be a great choice! Their steamboat was delicious! We finished everything we ordered.
During dinner, my husband's bike riding friends arrived after riding for about 3 hours, from home (which is pretty much the neighbouring town from South Jakarta, while the beach was in North Jakarta). The kids wanted to play on the sand after dinner, so I thought we could give their dad a chance to catch up with his friends.
Once the kids had enough, we still had a set of change for each of them and the restaurant had an outside bathroom that was wide enough to give a child a shower. So, I gave the kids a shower (The kids' nanny came with us that day, and she was having fun while I could still catch a breath with her around). Once we're done, we finally got in the car and drove home.
Aza fell asleep right away, Ariq, however, was still up unti we got home and had all the pictures and videos copied on to the laptop.
What a nice day! I was really tired, but as the kids kept saying how happy they were that day, I really believed that it was worth it!
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