Better Than Cinderella

You've seen the pictures of Kereta Kencana. Now you can see pictures of other coaches kept at the keraton museum in Yogjakarta. According to the guide, they're mainly made in Netherlands, Germany, Yogjakarta, and Solo. All the coaches have their own special names. I didn't write down the names of the following coaches. Suffice to say looking at some of them made me wanting to be a princess! :)

Which one is your favourite? Sorry can't give you bigger pictures, it would have taken me forever to upload.

On a different tone, I had my first trip to Sephora in Singapore the other day. I'll tell you more about it next time.

Kareta Karaton Nyangyogyakarta

I thought this picture is a perfect start to the re-telling of my adventures in Yogjakarta, which is situated somewhere in the middle of Java Island in Indonesia. It was my third trip there, the first one for hubby. My cousin L was assigned by his parents to be our tour guide/driver. I can tell you that he did a very good job! :)

The picture was taken outside the Museum Kareta Karaton Nyangyogyakarta (= Museum of Palace Coaches in Yogjakarta). Keraton is the palace where the king and his workers live, the reminder of an ancient Javanese kingdom, before it became part of Republic Indonesia. This museum is still used as the royal stables, where they keep coaches and horses belonging to the king. The present ruler is known as Hamengkubuwono X.

The most important coach they keep there is Kereta Kencana (= the Royal Coach). This coach has been used on coronations of a number of kings, 8 horses are needed to pull it. Local legend says that it was impossible to take pictures of this royal coach using manual cameras, as they always came out as blank pictures when the films had been processed. Not sure why exactly.

I've made sure that the pictures hubby took are here for you to see. But if for some reason you can't see them, let me know, the legend might be true for you afterall. So here goes: 3 pictures in total.

Kereta Kencana

Interior View - taken by tall hubby

Notice the golden fruits decorations. They symbolise prosperity.

Gift With No Purchase

I bought these cute sandal keyrings on my last trip to Yogjakarta, Indonesia. The top part is made of real traditional batik cloth, with rubber on the bottom part of the tiny sandals.

Now, the dilema is: should I include them in my Mystery Giveaway? As I'm currently in "no man's land" (= in between countries), I'm extending the closing date to 31 January. To be fair, those who had entered before 31 Dec 09 are automatically given another extra entry to show my appreciation. It's my giveaway, my rules! Hehehe...

What I Do With My Hands...

My hands aren't good for making music only, I love to do things using my hands. That includes cooking, baking, doing crafts, and doing household chores!! LOL. After some dilly-dallying, I'm finally feeling brave enough to show you some of the things I made in my spare time. Warning: it's my very first foray into this type of craft. Look away if you don't like them. Hehehe...

Necklace: silver beads on an adjustable leather string.

The next 2: hairclips decorated with natural & man-made materials. I used silver wire to tie everything together - no offense, stucked on glue are sooo last season! Hehehe...

What do you think?

Psst... I've officially made them a part of my Mystery Giveaway...

P.S. I assert my right as the designer & maker of the above items. I don't believe that immitation isn't the biggest form of flattery. Therefore: copying my ideas without my permission = stealing, punishable by your own conscience and also by law (they're copyrighted). 

The Mystery Continues...

Dear my lovely readers,

It's been ages since my last "proper" post . Not my fault, really, as my relatives kept us busy. I think hubby felt a bit overwhelmed and blowned away by their hospitality and unusual habits. He couldn't believe how much eating and snacking happened in my family!! We talked a lot, ate a lot, laughed a lot, then ate some more, travelled a bit, followed by more talking, more eating, and more everything. In a nutshell, the last trip to Indonesia was quite full-on, kept me busy from morning to evening. At the end of most days I collapsed in exhaustion. 28 days of good exhaustion if I may say so. *grin*

Thus my disappearance from the blogging world. I shan't be missing for long once I manage to get some proper computer time again. Afterall, I have loads of stories to tell, like the ones that go with the collage above - notice the lady in the hat: it's your's truly. Hehehe...

Which brings me to another point: I'm typing this in a hotel room in Singapore. How long am I going to be here? Only God knows. Like I said, I'm in the process of relocating to another country.

Now, tying up loose ends. About the Mystery Giveaway. I haven't taken photographs of the prezzies yet. I haven't drawn the winners either. My deepest apology.  Since they're supposed to be "mysterious", I'm going to show some of the prezzies soon. I would also like to extend the giveaway due date to another week or so. I know, it's been ages. Sorry again. I'll also try to be fair to those who have entered previously. The details will be on my next post. Promise.

Time to sleep, I'm looking like Garfield right now...