mummer

Four, she wanted

The even will improve the odds

Four, she created

An investment she asked the gods

Four, she raised

They walked in eggshell floors

Four, she expected

Daily to do the chores

Don’t tell her about the bullies at school

Don’t tell her you cry at night when they fight

Don’t tell her your shoes put you in ridicule

Don’t tell her lunch was a little too light

Four, she preached

Education is all she could give

Four, she believed

Had everything needed to live

Four, she instilled

Gratitude for their service

Four, she feared

Would kick them when they’re useless

Don’t tell her your life aspirations 

Don’t tell her when you find inspirations 

Don’t tell her complaints about your boss

Don’t tell her about dealing with your loss

my own worst enemy

i have always been self-aware. i know my strengths and weaknesses. i know what i need to work on, and what unpopular traits i have that i should continue to be proud of. but that is not enough. knowing does not come even close to doing. 

in the philippines, we have this idiom called ningas cugon which literally translates to flame grass. it actually refers to that attitude where you initiate, be enthusiastic and passionate about doing something only to lose that drive too quickly. this is associated as a common filipino trait.

after i hiked in greenland, i came to terms with the fact that there are things i could do that i never explored in the past that i could actually be interested to pursue, but that also i need to start doing more things in my life. inspired, i came back to singapore enthusiastic about doing nature walks and even planned a trip to climb a volcano. i also upped my workout regime from a mere weekly kpop-x aerobics to kickboxing mondays and crossfit bootcamp wednesdays. i also got more conscious of what i ate, tried to eat less and no rice for dinner. i was losing weight. my old clothes fit again. i was feeling quite happy and accomplished.

and then two weeks ago i caught a viral flu. this somehow led me to think that perhaps i need to take a break, and be a bit more easy on myself. i have also gotten back my appetite, which was dwindling when i was serious on my workout since i would usually worry that eating much would belittle my exercise efforts. then i had a family visit, which is always a good excuse to keep diet and exercise at the back of the mind. and then, this week, viral fever again.

even though i still work out i'm starting to feel that familiar, old feeling of getting lazy and doing things with mediocrity. that fire that makes me put on those workout outfit and shoes is starting to die. and if i don't snap out of it, i'll just be the same old me: mostly bored, mostly alcoholic and mostly mediocre.

i write this so that one day i can look back and remember this feeling and say to myself, i outwitted my own worst enemy. defeat leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so i should not let myself defeat me.

Fun and Misadventures in Ho Chi Minh

"Lovro, we're going to Vietnam. Don't tell omi and opa, okay?"

I was pretty sure he'd forget it. I was planning to only tell them when we check-in at the airport.

When mams and paps finally arrived, I confidently asked Lovro "do you remember where we're flying with omi and opa?"

No response. I smirked. And then suddenly..

"We're going to Viet. Nam."

I should be ashamed that I didn't trust him to remember!

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The first week of November is always a difficult time for all of us, so for their 3rd-year-in-a-row visit to Singapore,  I wanted to plan something get their mind off that date. I wanted a destination that is no more than a 2-hour flight away, as we have limited time. It was going to be a Friday-to-Sunday trip so I can only take a day off (I've no more PTO credits) and same for Lovro so he won't miss out on school too much. With reasonable flight fares and somehow good memories of great food and experience in Vietnam, I booked flights to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). The last time I was there was only for a quick stopover on my way to Mui Ne, so I thought, why not go back and actually do something in the city this time.

meeting a fellow airplane enthusiast

As we are traveling with Lovro, there is a limitation to what we could do especially with the time we had. We still managed to have a memorable experience - both awesome and not-so-much. 

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Vietnamese food is a-maaaaa-zing. So it would be a shame to not eat local food when you're there. Even if you're visiting for a week or so, given the variety of food they have, you'd find something different to eat everyday.

When we arrived at the airport it was almost 1pm (2pm in Sg) and we were starving (I was hangry). However, there aren't many food options in Tan Son Nhat airport (I didn't fly to Saigon to eat Popeye's fast food, thank you very much.) so we decided to get a car and drive straight to hotel. 

(SIDE NOTE: Wifi works perfectly in the airport. Awesome! Also, Uber does exist in HCMC. Double awesome! It works even when you go outside to actually wait for your car, and Uber is most definitely cheaper than metered taxi. You're welcome.) 

As we checked in, the lady does not seem to be quite sure of what to do - asking us to leave our passport and what not. After a few minutes of a lost-in-translation-kind of conversation, paps asked her if we can sort it out after we eat as we were starving. She recommended a place to go, which we could not figure out where, and so we settled on a street food cart stall that seemed familiar - beef pho. The lady does not speak English but was smart enough to go and show us the meat that goes in the noodle soup. With an understanding that a bowl is only 30.000vnd (~1 euro) we gave her a thumbs up and sat down. The bowl came with a bucket of sliced lime, tubs of condiments and green garnishes (basil and mint, I believe). It was delicious.

We went to visit War Remnants Museum after freshening up at our rooms. While the outdoor patio which had a display of helicopters, fighter jets and tanks were entertaining for Lovro, to actually go inside the museum and read the war stories was pretty heavy. There were a lot of exhibits on the devastating effects of war and at the museum entrance there were in fact a few handicapped people selling souvenirs, and I wondered if they were war victims too. 

the eerie sound of a bomb dropping from the fighter jet plays over and over

We had a coffee break as Lovro wanted cake, and we needed a perk up after that stint. I don't drink coffee but I hear that Vietnamese drip coffee is very good, so I was happy that mams and paps were pleased with the latte and espresso at the nearby coffee shop. As dusk came, we started to walk around the city. I already know from prior experience that crossing the street is a feat in Vietnam, because the scooters are kings of the road. When you cross, you just have to walk in a slow, steady pace, and the motorists will just find a way around you. We had an extra obstacle as we had a stroller knowing that Lovro would be too tired for a long walk. There were occasions when we had to carry the stroller so we can cross the street from the elevated sidewalk. What I did not experience last time, was seeing scooters actually take the pedestrian walkway so they won't be stuck in traffic! I could not take photos, but in fact we were walking on the side street with scooters racing past us. It's so widely practiced that when we walked past Book street, I saw a postcard that had photos of motorcycles and a caption "Red Traffic Light. I (1) keep going (2) slow down and keep going (3) take the side street."

walking in the heart of the motor city

ho chi minh city hall

  
Our city walk was bound to end at the famous Ben Thanh market. I did not visit this place last time so I was curious to see it. Also, was somewhat hoping to see a good find without having to spend too much time inside. There is a Ben Thanh street food market and we wanted to have dinner there. We arrived in a somewhat odd time perhaps (around 6:30 or so?) and most of the food stalls were closed. We caught the attention of the few that were open and like fish in open seas, we were swarmed. We sat down and after a stressful negotiation on what we want and not want, we settled with some spring rolls, fried rice, summer rolls and vermicelli with pork. They had Saigon Beer bottles but they were warm, and we did not want ice (and risk our stomachs) but the ingenious stall guy scouted for cold ones and got a few cans. That's what I call customer service!

hangry vs happy look - the difference food makes :D

Lovro was tired so we got back and I put him to bed, and went downstairs to catch up with them afterwards for - guess what - more beer! Always a good time :)

The next morning, the couple went off for Cu Chi tunnel tours while Lovro and I took it easy and went to the mall. We went to an indoor playground (similar to Kidzoona) and Lovro had a blast with the unlimited train rides. In malls in Singapore, a ride costs $6. Here I paid $8 for 2 hours of fun. Excellent mommy choice :D

When we reconvened in the afternoon, it was raining. I had a not-so-brilliant idea of visiting Botanic Gardens as it was in the original itinerary, hoping that the rain would subside. It didn't, and it did not make for a good experience paying 50.000 VND each to spend a few minutes inside the garden, until finally deciding it was a bad call and took a taxi to seek refuge in a mall. Despite the stress, we were looking forward to dinner at Chilli Quan, because I saw a friend post in Jasmine's wall about the 24 oysters grilled different ways. 

It was definitely worth the hype. The oysters and grilled prawns and other stuff we had were very nice. Now the difficult part came. Before we ordered, paps went to an ATM to get some VND but was not able to. We already knew we don't have enough VND and were speculating that perhaps worst case they would accept our SGD. When we got the bill for 665.000, paps tried to explain the situation. They were not agreeable to take SGD, the guy said only USD would be acceptable. Paps had to walk a few blocks and try 3 ATMs until finally he came back a millionaire. Whew!

On our final morning, we went with the hotel owner's suggestion to visit this cafe apartment building in 42 Nguyen Hue street - an abandoned building turned shopping center with an ultra hipster vibe. Khai suggested to visit this before the government demolishes it, adding to its appeal. It's filled with artsy-fartsy shops and hipster cafes which would have been an awesome place to hang out if we had time. 

We then walked around the area towards Saigon River before finishing at Ben Thanh market for lunch. Then a final visit to Art Cafe which is in the Fine Arts museum, just a block from our hotel, before we left for the airport.

The biggest misfortune of the trip happened as we were boarding for our flight to Singapore. We lost Lovro's dear friend Roti (his favorite rat plushie). Earlier in that day as we walked he exclaimed that "Roti is my first toy ever!" and as we got on the plane, he was looking for it, and realizing that he lost it, he started to cry. It was so painful to see him heartbroken! But such is life, and this is the first of hopefully not many.

Roti's final portrait, with our excellent avocado toast for breakfast

Mams, being an excellent grandma and very experienced in child-rearing, had sent a 'backup Roti' over two years ago, when the first Roti was lost. Back then Lovro was too young to remember losing him, and when we took him to the store in Alkmaar, he picked this same rat plushie. Mams then sent a packet a few months after with the same toy, as a backup in case it gets lost. The day has finally come! I explained to Lovro that Piep (the backup Roti) is now the new Roti and that it will love him just the same, so he agreed to it. Now this new toy just had to be broken in - get dirty and smelly and then it'll be Roti in no time!

Despite this loss, he still claims that he likes Vietnam. So in fact, it was not a bad getaway. But then again what's a family trip without fun and misadventures? The best thing is always about traveling together.

(Goodbye Roti. May you make some other kid as happy as Lovro. <3)

The Rocky Road to Pantai Timang

after we were done with our cave adventure, we were heading towards our final stop. as part of this explorer tour, we were given a few options after goa jomblang: cave tubing at goa pindul, light trekking at nglanggeran volcano, air sri gethuk (waterfall) or see gondola at pantai timang. initially we opted to see the sri gethuk waterfalls because (1) we've just been to a cave, so we don't want to do tubing in another one (2) we've just been to the most active volcano and (3) we're not really interested to ride the gondola. 

as we left goa jomblang, dodi dropped a harmless comment that sri gethuk is just a small waterfall. the lack of enthusiasm in his tone made us reconsider. he takes tourists around central java for a living, so i bet he knows what the best places would be. we asked about cave tubing at first, since it's just close by, but then we had to pay entrance fee which goes beyond whatever rupiah we had left. then we asked about pantai timang. i honestly thought that this is just a beach, so i asked if we can actually lie down by the beach and swim. dodi almost gasped, "no! it's a cliff! you can't swim!" confused, we googled up. the place is called timang beach because there is indeed a white sand beach, but that was not where we were heading. instead we were to go at the cliff, overlooking another one, and the gondola brings people between the two over wild waves crashing against the big rocks. the pictures were so beautiful.

he said riding the gondola is optional but we need 50.000 IDR for the motorcycle ride from the drop-off point to head to the area. this we could afford. so we went.

pantai beach is way south so it was going to be a couple of hours drive to get there. after a while of driving dodi calmly said, "remember the bumpy road to goa jomblang earlier? this is worse." and he giggled slightly. he probably thought, you guys have no idea what you got yourself into.

when we finally arrived, there were a bunch of men hanging around and chit-chatting alongside a number of motorcycles. dodi made arrangements and picked a couple of guys to take us. it was going to be 3km of unpaved road, he said. hang tight, and don't worry. we waved goodbye and off we went.

the roads started as tolerable. unpaved dirt and rocks, it was shaky but quite alright. and then another 300m on, the road started to have more rocks and less dirt. in fact, it felt like they just dumped a lot of rocks and called it a day. i did not dare take photos because i want to live, but if you want to imagine what it was like, think of muesli. now amplify that muesli by a million times and imagine taking a motorcycle ride over it. exactly.

grabbed from allrecipes.com

what's more, the path was winding up and down, so the driver have to throttle to climb up, and the motor roared like it's about to break. and then, when it's winding down, you couldn't tell if the driver was actually using brakes because it was going too fast! my arms and legs were so tense, my muscles couldn't relax. my palms were sweaty which worried me as i gripped on the steel bar behind me, which is pretty much the bar between life and death. it was so stressful! on the other hand, the scenery was so beautiful. lush vegetation on the hills, rice terraces, farmers working with their straw hats on. it was like seeing heaven, when you're on a ride to hell. LOL

after 15 minutes of reflecting on how many bruises it would give me or how many stitches it would take to fix me should i fall from this bike, we finally arrived unscathed. woot! i get to to do this again later!

there are some customized platforms for photography for a fee. we opted to support the locals and paid up. we took turns taking photos using jasmine's camera. it was definitely not for the acrophobic. 

the main viewing platform is a giant rock that's been chiseled by years and years of water erosion. from there you can see the renowned gondola and the hanging bridge, which was a recent installation.

the gondola is in fact a wooden cart hanging on thick ropes that cross between the cliffs on timang island and a tiny 'island' called panjang. this island is abundant with lobster, and this gondola which is now a tourist attraction was originally a transport used by the fishermen who brave the wild waves to catch lobsters. it was 200.000 IDR (about 20 sgd) for a roundtrip ride, which at this point we do not have. as for the hanging bridge, it's 100.000 IDR to walk through it. 

gondola ride

walkers

it must be exhilarating to ride the cable car or walk the hanging bridge, especially when the big waves come in! it's really a shame we ran out of cash! 

the sight of the big crashing waves was irresistible that people come close to the edge for a closer look. there was a group of 3 friends and they all got drenched. ha! i knew the risk, but i sat near the edge waiting for that perfect raging waves so i can capture the moment. and it came. and i snapped that shot, and paid for it. it was too late to move, so i got drenched. from head to toe, to my phone and camera and every item inside my backpack. smart of me to put my wallet and passport inside a ziplock plastic bag!

kodak moment

totally worth getting drenched for

i didn't know that jasmine was behind me, taking photos. it was pretty awesome that she captured this. haha

UH OH.

OH NOOOOOO

there were benches and a few cafeteria around. i asked the lady if they sell beer (i saw a few beer bottles near where the drivers were). she looked startled and said "no we don't sell". ahh, how can i be stupid, of course alcohol should not be allowed there! sharp, slippery cliffs AND a roller-coaster-rocky-road-ride back to civilization + alcohol does not seem like the right combination.

we left around 4 as we have no intention of sticking around until it's somewhat dark, as we imagine the ride back. but in fact it was not so bad this time, because a 4x4 jeep was in front of us. our bikes could not overtake until we got to a wider road (and thank god they didn't try) so we were going pretty slow. the folks in the jeep kept taking photos of us, probably curious as to how that ride was like.  

finally we headed back, a long drive to the hotel. along the way, we had a final chance for a blissful sightseeing of rice terraces and hills and the sunset and everything beautiful about java.

before we reached the traffic jam on the way to our hotel, dodi let us have a pit stop at bukit bintang for an overlooking view of the city lights. it was a favorite spot among locals, there were a lot of young couples along the bridge.

as we were flying quite early the next morning, we opted to stay in a hotel that's really close to the airport. the coolest last thing we did was have dinner at the rooftop of the hotel, where we have a direct view of the airport and enjoyed an air show. 

and it's a wrap! what a great holiday, definitely a memorable destination. special thanks to kresna tours (merapi trekking) and discover your indonesia (tours) for the tour arrangements. highly recommended!

"Light of Heaven" at Goa Jomblang Cave

for our third and final day of adventure in jogja, we opted to do an amazing cave adventure at goa jomblang. apparently this is one of the highlights of any jogja trip, so i was really looking forward to this! 

we started early for this trip. dodi picked us up at exactly 7:30 AM, punctual as always. it was going to be a two-hour drive to get there. after a long drive and a rugged 200 meter bumpy ride to jomblang resort, we got off and picked our rubber boots and red helmet. we're ready for action!

goa jomblang cave is in fact a cave complex where we are to be lowered through a sinkhole, about 50 meters ~ 15 stories down. from there, we take the muddy stairs towards the dark muddy track in a 300 meter cave tunnel and to the end of it is where the treasure will be - the light of heaven.  

there were a lot of adventurers though, and we were group 19 in the queue. we had a lot of time to kill, and i didn't want to spend all that time in those smelly boots and smelly helmet haha. i took them off as i sat at the edge of the sinkhole to watch people rappel down and disappear to the jungle down there. we were admiring this dad who is traveling with his 2 teenage girls (and their girl friend) and going all-out stage dad on them: adjusting one of the girl's go pro snapped onto her helmet, fixing the other's harness and photographing every single move they make. talk about #dadgoals :-D 

i was carefully watching the process of them lowering people down via those ropes. i was impressed that they work very fast while making sure everything is safe. they would let the next batch of people sit down first, and when it's their turn, two guys would immediately attach their safety ropes to each person. as they come closer to the platform, the safety rope is attached to the back side of their harness, before the first rope attachment is removed. and then, they would position them and pull up their harness in front a little bit (must've hurt for the guys) so they can put lock the main rope in place. then it's go time. 

when it was finally our turn it was already 10:45 am. there is a cameraman from the tour company who ensures that people's moments are captured as they abseil down. however, there are those who want to take their own photos, so a lot of selfie sticks were present. we didn't have one, but jasmine managed to take this cute short video haha

i also took some photos as we zoomed down. i couldn't resist it (no selfies though). you'd think a 50-meter-down glide would take some time, but we were going down so fast most of the other photos were blurred!

a guide was waiting for us as we landed. he told us to trek down, walk through the tunnel where there's a bit of light (but we had to use our phones too) and we'd know when we get to the end. before we went, we waited for the next set of people to descend to see what it was like.

it was really muddy and slippery, so there were ropes to hold on to as you walk down the stairs. the guide told jasmine to walk backwards and hold onto the rope to avoid slipping. i did not listen because i'm a rebel because i didn't wanna miss the view of the cave entrance and after a bad fall from the hike, i have no more fear hahaha 

 

here's a photo for you to appreciate how dark it was going to be in the tunnel.

there were a few spotlights inside the tunnel but they were not enough. my new phone (which Lovro calls "mama's phone not broken anymore") came in handy.

and then i could see the light at the end of the tunnel, literally. along with that, the exciting sound of rapids. there was indeed a river system here. as there were a lot of people who were there ahead of us, we had enough subjects to take photos of. 

this is my favorite photo.

the human evolution

it was nice that the tour operators got things orderly and in control. it was wet and slippery everywhere, and there is this spot where everybody wants to go and take photos of the light of heaven. so they assembled people to queue and allowed only about a handful at a time, to avoid accidents.

and then finally, it was our turn. as we moved forward, the sun shone brightly and the sunbeams piercing through the cave came brighter and stronger and therefore awesome for photos. the previous group awww'd in unison as they missed out. poor guys.

wait for it...

hello there!

it was so heavenly. i swear this angelic sound was playing in my head. (yes, you need to play it.)

there were a lot of ingenuous people who were setting up tripod and their own lighting to take the perfect photos and people posing with their arms stretched out. i'm pretty sure they were pretending to depict jesus christ's second coming. 

for people like me with normal photography skills, we can only manage to do portraits with a noisy light background, or do silhouettes.

after all that fun, we were ushered to go back along with everyone else. and then it was queueing time again! the same was as going down, only two people can be pulled up at a time. but first, a bunch of people went astray. i followed them as they seemed to have stumbled upon something. it was some sort of graffiti.

earlier before we got down, dodi told us that it takes only one person to get two people down, but about 30 to pull up. we made sure that we weren't the last in the queue so we'd get a chance to see it in action.

i didn't count if there were in fact 30 of them, but there sure were a lot! they also take turns, a different group of guys would do the pull alternately. it must be exhausting! they seem to be having fun doing it though. that's definitely the attitude you want the boys to have if you're hanging on a rope and your life depends on them :)

we finished our adventure around 1pm, and i was starving. i was so happy to learn that they were providing lunch! yeaaah! 

after a satisfying morning, we headed to our next and final sight-seeing for this trip.