Christmas Time in Doha

Christmas time in the middle east is very interesting and a change from being in the states. We really missed the lights and decorations. I know that going through the stores and all the music and such is too much since they always start it too soon in the season but having all of that sure does help you get into the season.

We got a tree and decorations from someone leaving the country so that did help us get into the spirit. We also watched Muppet Family Christmas which is one of my most watch movie for the time of year. There are a few shops that have Christmas decorations and we picked up a few more to add to our collection.

             

 My handsome guys! Xavier isn't too sure!

 Santa Gus

 Xavier isn't too sure about the singing Christmas dog. 

Enjoying Aunt Dena's Christmas Card!

I tried a new recipe for easy cinnamon and sugar doughnuts from Little Bit Funky

Can of Biscuits (Not the flaky kind).
Melted butter (4 Tbls per 8 biscuits) 
Sugar & Cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

Heat up oil for your pan (about 1/2 in or so) for a few minutes on medium heat.

While it is heating up, cut holes in the biscuits with a cookie cutter or some other circular object

 I used a small star cookie cutter to cut out the center of the biscuits. 

Put a couple of them in the pan until one side is golden brown, flip with tongs.  When that side is golden remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined pan or plate.When the donuts have cooled enough to handle, use your fingers to dip one side in the melted butter, let the excess drip off, dip in cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Get it nice and coated.  Flip over and repeat for the other side. 

ENJOY!

 Xavier says, "I'm on my auntie's Good List"

  

 He loved the sparkly ones on the tree

I know its a little blurry but if you look closely he has his little foot sticking out of his sleep sack and he always did it- Just like his mom wanting mom foot out of the covers.

Sadie was being a party pooper all day! 

Merry Christmas to you and yours from the Kantolas

Explore Bali

Hello, everyone! And welcome to the final edition of Kantolas Go To Bali! I'm your host: Mix Master Zach! We took the advice of David (the owner of Ellie's Hotel) to go and see some different sights of Bali. It's important to note that no one uses a car seat there. We insisted on it whenever possible, but some of the taxis didn't even have seatbelts. When we got places we found taking the umbrella stroller was more convenient because of the narrow space between shelves in most stores, so the car seat was occasionally just a hassle. You can see in the photo below that while we were using the car seat, there's no seatbelt keeping it in place.

 Don't worry buddy, Daddy's got you.

One of the first places we went to that day was the Garuda Wisnu Kencana. Wiki link for more info on this, but it was very impressive. Once again the star of the show was Xavier. One Mexican couple (and we wish we had a picture of this as proof that we encountered Mexicans in Bali) we cheering him on and telling us how cute he was.

Included for scale

Just stand right there, hun. Don't look back, no giant birds at all. 

This statue is huge, and it's not even close to finished. Above is what the finished work will look like when it is complete. The grounds were lovely and not too many tourists were present that day.

Some of the rock carvings were outstanding. The one you see below isn't even a main carving, but was added as decoration only.

There were several high-reliefs depicting the Garuda Wisnu story. The english is worth a read if you can see it. It's pretty abysmal.

We got a nice couple to take the shot below for us, finally a group shot! Xavier is in the marsupial pouch on my chest - ready to burst out like a xenomorph.

This is the Wisnu torso that will eventually ride on Garuda. Right now he's going through a disarming experience. AHAHAHA, sorry, I couldn't resist that one. You should give me a hand for keeping it clean though *snicker*.

My right and left arms? How can I eat? How can I write?... HOW CAN I ... NOOO!

This is the view from the top of the hill where they're setting up this statue. It's really an impressive overlook.

DERP

This is what was called Tortoise Plaza (Plaza Kura-Kura), note all the turtles.

And one random cow. Hello, cow!

Moo

Finally, after a long hike (many many stairs not pictured) we settle at the bottom for some coconut water to rehydrate. It was about 20,000 IDR (about $2.50 [two fiddy]).

Proof! Proof that Jennifer is not deathly allergic to coconut! (Not pictured, multi-hour emergency room visit for severe allergic reaction)

Xavier drinking from the coconut! (not really)

At this point, Baby Moo was done.

Our second stop was a famous surfing point. I think it was called Blue Sky Ridge? Maybe?

Idiots! I mean, Surfers!

The pictures don't show this very well, but this little village is carved directly into the cliff face and it pretty much goes straight down. Very steep stairs. Jennifer's knees didn't care for this too much, so we had to stop about half-way down because going all the way down meant going all the way back up. This is also the home of the only pay-per-use toilets during our journey and thankfully they were clean.

The reef surrounding the cliff side was huge, I believe our guide said these were coral reefs. Doesn't that sound fun to wipe out on?

Check out that mad reef!

More reef.

Even more reef.

Still more reef! Those dark specks are whats left of some surfers.

We left the following day. We may have a panorama shot we took on the beach, we will have to see.