Dearest Natalie,

We had our first trip out of Singapore together without Daddy last Friday. It was our "soon-to-be-an-annual-event" gathering with my best pals from secondary school days. We didn't go anywhere too far because your Daddy didn't agree of us going to Hanoi. We went to Batam Holiday Inn instead, which was only a 45 mins ferry ride away. As all we want was to be away from our lovely sunny island, so any other place is fine too!

I packed our bags like an excited school girl going for an excursion the night before the trip. Auntie Angel even came over to help. She brought along a blue sarong for me to wrap around during pool time. That was really sweet of her. You sensed the excitment and was hyper active the whole night, wanting a part in everything that we did and happily taking everything from the bags one by one when I wasn't looking. It almost drove me nuts when I saw everything on the floor again! Ho Ho Ho!

Auntie Angel came to pick us up at 7:45 in the morning and we all got into her car and began our journey to HarbourFront! Everything was bright and cheery and I thought what a good way to start out our day. We were met by Auntie Wanqin, Qimin and Youhong at Harbourfront. Angel and I decided to bring you to Macdonalds first while the rest helped us with the checked in for the ferry. They joined us for some Macdonalds breakfast before we said goodbye to Auntie Angel and went on the ferry to Batam.

The journey there was a breeze because you nursed to sleep shortly after we got on the ferry. You didn't wake up until we arrived at Indonesia. After clearing the immigration, we got on the hotel bus and went straight to the hotel. You were very happy to be at a new place and were cheery and smiley. You explored the hotel lobby and the the hotel room with much excitment and it was all too cute in my sight.

The first thing on our itinerary was shopping. We didn't really know where to go so we just went to the city center and got the cab driver to drop us at one of the malls. The mall that we went to looked like one of those old malls we used to have in Singapore in the 70s. It was poorly ventilated, the air was really stale and it was really warm inside. Obviously the air-con was set at a higher temperature to save money.

We stayed at the mall for a few hours. We had our lunch there and spent the most amount of money in the supermarket. You fell asleep again in the sling after we left the supermarket. While you were alseep, we saw a photo machine and decided to be young and cute again and took some pictures of us together. Ho Ho! It was good fun to behave like teenagers again! We shopped around for Kebaya with Auntie Qimin before we left the mall to go back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we went to swim after resting for a a little while. You had alot of fun at the pool but was terrified of the jacuzzi. You tried to pull me away from the jacuzzi whenever we went near. It was rather hilarious. I liked to tease you by going near the jacuzzi and seeing your "no no.. let's get away!" expression after that. Naughty mommy!

We had seafood dinner nearby after our swim. The company was nice but the food was not. What was interesting was we saw a baby shark being fished while having our dinner. I brought you near to get a close up view of the baby shark. It was an interesting experience. After dinner, we got the waiter at the restaurant to send us back to the hotel at a nominal price. It is possible because I think we are the only customers there!!

Next was Karaoke. You were kept busy distributing us with the snacks provided and messing with our drinks. I knew you were tired from the way you played. You were in your hyperactive mode which usually occurs when you are too tired. I gave you a quick feed and you fell asleep soundly amidst all the noisy singing. I had a relaxing time singing my heart out, torturing the rest of your aunties. After Karaoke, we went back to the hotel and chatted till 12:30 am before we fell alseep.

It was a good gathering for us despite the boring place. It is nice to know that despite the commitments we have, we are still able to make time for each other and go somewhere together. I am also glad to be away from the daily mundanes and breathe again as an individual. Since your birth, I have been very occupied with my role as a mother, as a wife and as a daughter. The trip and the company of 3 good friends took my mind off all these for a day and even though I brought you along, I still managed to feel like myself minus all the roles and responsibilties. It was nice to be able to do something different with you out of the routine.

We have decided to make this a yearly event for us, to a different destination each time. I will be bringing you along with me again next year if the rest of your aunties don't protest coz I know I won't be able to enjoy myself without you next to me.



Our 1 and only group photo




A picture at the pool before we got out of the water


Love,
Mommy

natnat's mom at 5:23 AM 0 comments