We’ve had several friends asking…. and I guess, it’s no longer under wraps. So, yes! We’re expanding the brood and little Vera is gonna be a little big sister soon!
With the second pregnancy, my belly seems much bigger than it was with Vera. I guess that’s completely expected, due to those already-stretched muscles.
This pregnancy has its fair share of differences as compared to the first, and hopefully, I’ll be able to get down to that in a separate article soon :D
We decided to go on our second babymoon, and took my birthday weekend as an excuse to fly. It was our first couple trip in three years, since our last babymoon with little Vera baking inside.
And boy! This was a little guilt trip for the both of us, leaving V behind for the first time. It was also the first time that she would spend the night at my parents’ place, and for a few nights, no less! The folks were worried, and so were we! What if she couldn’t get to sleep? What if she kept crying asking for us? Would my parents get any rest?? Our minds and hearts were in two extremities! :(
On the day of departure, my parents and V sent us off, but V was such a cool kid, all our fears got thrown out the plane. She hugged and kissed us, gave me a final handshake (she said “shake hand”), blew a flying kiss (“muack!”) and turned her back to walk towards my parents. Hubs and I stood there dumbfounded and felt every bit like a kid there and then! But I guess, this was a much better outcome than what we had imagined!
Hubs and I boarded the plane and took a deep breath, looking forward to Bali and some much-needed couple time together.
Like other parents, I’m sure many secretly feel that having children seem to sometimes create a wedge between the both of you. Gone were the days of holding a proper conversation without junior shouting for your attention or throwing a tantrum. It’s definitely important to reconnect with your partner as a couple, and remember why both of you were together in the first place, sans offsprings.
So we pretty much planned to have a fulfilling trip and lined up some activities which we otherwise not have been able to do with V in tow. Sharing our trip ahead!
Day 1: Singapore – Denpasar
We arrived at early noon in Bali, and landed in their new airport. During our last trip, this place was only starting its construction!
Unlike the previous airport, this new one didn’t have a Blue Bird taxi counter (one of their local official taxi companies) to get a cab so there were tons of independent drivers (ie. unofficial freelancers) touting their services and trying to get the attention of tourists.
We hopped onto one of these independent cabs and the driver took us to our lodging for the next two nights – The Trans Resort Bali.
Drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport to Seminyak takes about 30 – 40 minutes, depending on the traffic. We arrived at the hotel and I must add that I was impressed with the hub’s choice of hotel. It was one of the newer ones in Seminyak (there are nearly 2,000 hotels in Bali!) and the entire feeling was promising! Wait till we got to the pool with its famed Australian white sandy beach which kids loved!
Upon checking into the Premier Room, it was such an inviting and cosy cove… i didn’t want to leave the room. It was spacious, clean and had a big bathroom with a bath tub (bath salts and a scrub mitten included! Talk about attention to details!), separate toilet and stand shower area and two basins with thoughtful and sufficient toiletries for two!
The king-sized bed called out to me and i seriously felt like jumping on it. Of course, i didn’t! :p
While figuring out the switches, i actually made an amazing discovery that even the hubs hadn’t know! Guess what??
Yessss! It’s our private jacuzzi with an al fresco sitting area of the pool view! This is so totally a honeymoon place for newly weds or couples here for a rendezvous! LOL!
The Trans Resort Bali is very family-friendly! There are villas you can book and there is even a special kids room for children plus childcare services too! More on that to come!
After sorting out our stuff, the hungry man says we should grab food before our pre-booked spa session at 3pm. So we inquired with the friendly reception folks on the nearest place to go for local Balinese delights and promptly asked for a cab to head over.
We headed to Made’s Warung which serves up quite a variety of food. Besides Balinese, they had Western and Thai too.
Mades Warung Seminyak
Br. Seminyak, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Tel: + 62 361 732130
After relishing in those crispy pork skin, also known as, Babi Guling which my hubs absolutely was craving for, we took a slow stroll along that stretch despite the scorching Sun.
Then we hailed a cab (do note that cabs usually don’t go by meter – it’s a flat rate that the drivers would offer and the rates in Seminyak are actually lower than that in Ubud!) to make our way to O Spa! Can’t wait to get those knots sorted!
O Spa Bali
100 X Jalan Drupadi Seminyak – Bali 80361
T: +62 361 849 9619,
M: +62 878 608 90704
booking@ospabali.com
The hubs did all the research (there, I’m honest!) and found pretty good reviews for this place. But truth be told, it really wasn’t what it was painted out to be.
The rooms are small with almost zilch decor or facilities except a small cupboard to put your belongings, and there are only solo rooms, so no couple rooms for spa either. There was only a single common toilet, which doubled up as a shower room. Maybe they don’t usually have multiple guests at any one time.
Massage technique was mediocre and we left feeling somewhat disappointed. Well, of course it wasn’t expensive either, so it you’re looking for a so-so place, this works!
Do note that pregnant women are NOT supposed to do a full-on body massage. These areas MUST be avoided as a precautionary measure: Feet and soles, tummy area, lower back and breasts. And soaking in a jacuzzi or hot tub or sauna are big NO-NO’s!
So after my simple massage, I opted for a pedicure to prettify my toes, and also to fill time before we headed over for my birthday dinner.
If you’re planning to do any fancy designs at O Spa, forget about it. These ladies are pretty inexperienced and my initial request for a French Pedicure, ended up with the wind.
While my pedicure was in progress, the hubs requested for dead skin cells removal. Well, let’s just say from the session, we concluded that these ladies were either very new or just simply inexperienced. She even started scrapping his feet with the wrong side of the tool! LOL. And out of the blue, caused a cut on his foot -_-
After we were done, we got the receptionist to help call for a cab. This was helpful because O Spa is located in a dark alley, and hardly any vehicles drive in.
We got on the cab and headed to Ku De Ta for my birthday dinner! I know, lagging big time right? Hipsters are supposedly heading to Potato Head, Sardines and everywhere else. Haha! But hey, you’d be surprised – the dining area was packed!
KU DE TA & MEJEKAWI
JL. Kayu Aya NO. 9 Seminyak
Bali, 80361, Indonesia
For reservations: +62 361 736969
Well, it was really dark and we were practically eating by the moonlight. So, please excuse the poor photos! And our entree was gone too quick for us to snap. LOL. No really, it was just too dark, and yours truly was kinda hungry.
Entree: Fried Polenta, which consists of grilled oyster mushrooms, chimichurri, parmesan and red onion.
My mains: Sweet Black Miso Cod
K’s mains: Parmesan & Sumac Crusted Pork
Although the food wasn’t superb, but the ambiance was lovely – hey, how often do we get to enjoy nightlife after parenthood started? :P Well, being parents, our conversation was still speckled with our thoughts about Vera and B2 (yup, the other cupcake that’s baking in me!), and ramblings about life which we hardly have time for these days.
Since it was only the first day of our babymoon, and being preggers, I wasn’t supposed to tire myself out, so we hailed a cab to head back to our hotel. We couldn’t end the night without a video call back home with the little girl – so we had a chat with her, and were relieved to know that all was good. Except when we returned to SG, my mum told us that she didn’t have a good rest that very night due to V being put in the cradle at night and she kept waking and asking to be shook… *OOPS* For us, it was our first night sleeping without worrying about squashing Vera who co-sleeps with us.
Looking forward to our hands-on cooking class the next day, and another round of dinner at one of our fave restaurants in Seminyak, Bali. We’ve got snap shots of the kids room in The Trans Resort Bali too, which has childcare services for families! Stick around for our Bali babymoon adventures!
Did you do sneak away for a babymoon and some couple time too? Do tell us which other countries make great babymoon holidays as well! :)
Discover what we are up to on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and G+ too!
