Blok M Plaza

We went to Blok M Plaza for the first time. It wasn't a super nice mall like many of the malls around Jakarta, but it felt comfortable. It felt like one of the normal malls in the U.S.

We picked up a few things at Matahari. The store seemed well stocked and organized and the prices were very reasonable. I have found Sogo and Metro to be rather pricey.

While we were walking around the mall, we even came across a super cute vintage Honda. I don't know that I have ever seen a convertible Honda in the U.S. My kids all thought it was the cutest thing.

Blok M Plaza also has a Pizza Hut and Burger King, 2 of my kids' favorite places to eat. My son also said he noticed that Hotel Transylvania was playing at the theater. He has been wanting to see that movie. So...I think we will be back to Blok M Plaza sometime.

Rainy Thanksgiving

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving with a group of friends from church.  However, our friends live in Kemang (a naturally low-lying area), and during our drive over, it was raining, alot.  The rain kept coming and pretty soon, our Kijang was more of a boat than an SUV.  Luckily, we were able to avoid the truly deep water as we saw people in waste-deep water wading across the road.  It took 2.5 hours to arrive, but at least we made it!  Luckily, the water quickly drained away and we had an uneventful ride home after a great evening with good friends and stuffing ourselves with turkey, yams, and pie.  Mmmm, pie....

2014 Ford Transit Connect

Ford just announced a new fuel efficient family hauler: the 2014 Ford Transit Connect.  This is exciting as it will be available as a 7 passenger van that should get 30+ mpg with the EcoBoost motor.  I must admit that I've always liked the quirky styling of the current Transit Connect and am pleased that the new version will have a similar feel. 

I think my wife will like driving it as it would be similar in size to our 2008 Mazda 5, which is much smaller than "mini"vans and SUVs.  I grew up driving full size trucks, but I certainly don't like trying to park them.  Also the sticker price and fuel cost for the larger vehicles is a pretty strong deterent for our family.

Too bad the new Ford won't be sold with a manual transmission, but I shouldn't be surprised as most Americans can't (or don't like to) drive stick shift.  All of our current vehicles have 5 speeds, but that will likely change in the future as our car needs to be larger, and I am not aware of a 7+ seater that offers a manual tranny.

We really are pleased with our Mazda5, but always wished it had an extra seat so we could fit all three kids in the second row.  With all three rows of seat up, there is very little cargo space behind, so we had to invest in a roof rack and bag setup to carry luggage.  This works pretty well, but isn't completely water proof and does take some effort to setup.  Plus the car is already 4+ years old, and we'll likely buy something new for reliability for long trips when we return to the US.

Pricing isn't out yet, but if it starts in the low 20's it should sell well.  It won't be out yet for another year, but that's ok.