An Indonesian wedding in Jakarta's Rumah Maroko

On Friday afternoon, Dear Hubby called to say we'd received an invite for a wedding of one of the partners in his company and he wanted very much to attend. OOH. I was pretty pleased because I wanted to experience what an Indonesian wedding was like. (Perhaps the word "Indonesian" here is not the correct one as Indonesia is very diverse. I think the wedding was Javanese in nature... not quite sure. I wanted to ask around but the music was so loud proper conversation wasn't possible.)


Anyway the invite said it was going to be held the next day in Rumah Maroko (Morocco House). By coincidence, the place was featured in that day's Jakarta Globe. Wah. Look very grand hor. Then it hit me - what on earth am I going to wear??? Although I've lost almost all of my pregnancy weight, I'm not back to the shape I was pre-baby and can't quite yet squeeze back into my old dresses. Luckily I'd kept a dress from my fat days (yes I was erm... chubby at one point in my life, so I know how it feels like to be not size 8 and not pregnant) and slipped it on. Loose but wearable. Phew. Moral of the story - forget not thy (fatty bum-bum) roots.


The next day, Madam Not-Quite-Yet-Fit-Back-Into-Old-Clothes Expat went off to get her hair done. I knew everyone would be glammed up for the event and I knew that I hadn't a hope of out-glamming the ladies of Jakarta but I had to look like at least I'd tried. And yes, dear readers, the hairdresser gave me a hairdo that made me look a little like those Jakartan high society Imelda Marcos lookalikes kik-koking in their high heels. I think Jakartan hairdressers only know one style of blow-dry. ;) Connor actually looked doutbfully at me when I arrived home and cuddled him so I knew I must look very different.


It was a 40 minute drive from our house in Kemang to Rumah Maroko in Menteng. The janur told us which street had the wedding party. A janur is an ornament woven out of coconut fronds and is usually placed at the entrance of the street where the wedding ceremony is taking place. I think my syntax is all wrong in that last sentence but I don't know how to fix it. Anyway.... it's just like the bunga manggar we have back home in Malaysia.


Wah. It was impressive - a white dome rising up above the rest of the houses lining the quiet street. We signed the guest book and entered Rumah Maroko. The corridor leads to a large room with a huge chandelier hanging from its ceiling and a trio of musicians playing Moroccan music in the corner. We are ushered through another door and it opens out to a set of steps which lead out to an open air courtyard. There was a buffet line in the courtyard and a live band was accompanying a female vocalist who was singing love songs. I looked up to see the night sky and a solitary cloud and looked downwards towards the guests.


Wah. WAH. W A H.

Look at all that hair, baby! Fuyoh... I bet LOTS of hairspray had been used! Looked like the set of a new game show - Who Wants To Be Imelda Marcos. I'm sure plenty of the attendees were Who's Who in Jakartan high society as our host is a society man but I hadn't the faintest idea who they were. Apparently Indonesian Tattler was there to cover the wedding but no one approached us to pose for photies. I guess they recognise hoi polloi when they see 'em. Maybe I should have asked the hairdresser for more hairspray.

The invite said the reception starts at 7pm but when we left at 9pm, there were people who were just arriving. According to our driver, this is perfectly acceptable in Indonesia. Our host, the groom, greeted us when we arrived and accepted our congratulations and urged us to have a bite to eat. We joined the queue at the buffet and tried a bit of everything. Okay.. I like a lot of things in Indonesia but one thing that has yet to win my heart is the cuisine.

Halfway through the reception, the groom disappeared and then re-appeared minutes later with his beautiful blushing bride (the only woman there beside me without big-big hair but then she had a head covering on) as the emcee announced their entrance. The happy groom then made a speech and we all clapped and cheered.

Then the karaoke started and we decided to leave. We'd brought Connor along, left him with the maid in a quieter part of Rumah Maroko and decided it was time to get him home. So we sought out our host to congratulate him again and said our goodbyes.

This was quite different from our own wedding. We had a traditional Chinese wedding and we spent most of the time sitting at our guest-of-honour table, doing the yamseng rounds and going up on stage for yamseng and cake-cutting. I barely got a bite to eat and never got to talk to any of our guests.

We had a good time and it was really our first night out together alone since Connor was born. Rumah Maroko is open for events such as weddings, birthday parties... perhaps a product launch? You can check out their website at www.morocco-andalucia.com

Grandma was here

We flew my mum over from Malaysia last Sunday. Dear Hubby was going off to Balikpapan for a week and we thought it would be a good idea for mum to come over so that I would have some company. It turned out to be a GREAT idea.

I actually got some time to have proper showers and could wash and dry my hair properly. I could even sneak away to browse a little. I only cooked her dinner on the first night. The rest of the week, it was good ol' Mum's cooking. Yum, yum!

I'm not sure who enjoyed the experience most. Me - who got some time off. Or Mum - who got to spend time with her grandson. Maybe Connor - who found someone willing to carry him 24 hours.

It's uncanny how Connor knew how to exploit the situation to the fullest. I don't walk/rock him to sleep because I don't want to make it a habit. But Grandma, being Grandma, willingly rocked him to sleep the whole week. So Connor would turn to me first for some breastmilk and when he got himself all nice and sleepy, would turn to Grandma since he knew she's that nice lady who would walk round and round the hall with him. I was half-annoyed and half-amused that my son, who now doesn't really like anybody but his parents to carry him, was so quick to size up the situation and work it to his advantage.

I think my mum did have a nice time. She got to enjoy being a little tai-tai while she was here. She even got to enjoy a spa session... it was her birthday present from me brother and me. And I think she absolutely loved showing Connor off and lapped up all the "Lucu banget!" remarks she got.

She and Dad are planning to come over end of this year to stay for a bit but I hope to be back in Malaysia for a visit before that.

Thanks for everything, Mum. :))

Connor with Por-por at the main door to our house just before she had to leave for the airport.

Eye candy: Connor aged 7.5 months

Connor aged 7.5 months. He's mad about the bamboo wind chimes we've hung near the glass doors and I can't keep him away from them. So I decided to let him play with them since it seems to make him so happy. He'll sit there for a long time, clinking and clonking away.

Taken last weekend. Connor loves splashing in the pool as long as his feet are touching the bottom.

Lunchtime with Mommy! Me making all sorts of faces to cajole him to eat. This was taken probably 2 weeks ago. Nothing is more annoying than having your baby refuse the food you've lovingly prepared for him.

Our little baby aged 7 months, standing up. That sheepskin rug is on our leather footstool and he was leaning on the footstool for some balance when Daddy snapped this pic.

I was looking at the pic I posted when I blogged about his birth and boy, has he grown!

Will the real Connor Xian please stand up?

He did. He started doing it last Saturday.

We were relaxing in the hall, Dear Hubby was reading papers and I was watching tv. Connor was playing on the carpet as usual. I looked over at Connor and knew something was up. I don't know how to explain it but I just knew. It seemed to me he was sitting funny and fidgeting in a funny way.

So I got up and went over to sit by him, looking him over to see if there was anything wrong because Connor sure had an odd expression on his face. Then it happened. I could see he was trying to stand up all by himself. Trying not to sound too excited for fear of distracting Connor and upsetting his balance, I squeaked to Dear Hubby, "Quick, quick... look over here! He's going to stand up!"

Just as I finished squeaking, Connor slowly and carefully rose up and stood there beaming at us, pleased that he'd finally done it. He managed to stand for perhaps 30 seconds before his legs gave way and he sat down again with a loud thump. Proud Mummy broke into cheers and gave him a hug while Daddy beamed.

Since last Sat, he's been trying to stand up unaided more frequently and for longer periods. I used to be able to leave him for a few minutes in the hall as I knew he'd be playing on the carpet. I can't do that anymore because he'll just stand up now and I'm afraid he'll lose his balance and topple over backwards and bonk his head.

So here we are, just a week shy of 8 months and Connor can stand. The paed told me he's likely to walk early given his advanced physical development, so Dear Hubby said that Connor will probably be the first baby to walk before he's had a tooth in his head. LOL