Bali - Seminyak Day

I've mentioned that Australians travel to Bali frequently. We got a lot of great advice from friends in Sydney. We chose our hotel, babysitter and several of our activities based on the recommendation of a mum from Tess's class. When we told people our plans for July holidays another friend piped up that she'd be there as well. We figured out we'd be in towns about 40 minutes apart. We swapped numbers and email addresses and decided to meet up on one of our two overlapping days.

We spent the morning at our hotel with the kids playing by the pool at the kids club and Brian and I getting massages. Then we drove over to Seminyak. I'm thrilled that we did this! Allison and Jonathan are wonderful hosts. They invited us to the spectacular villa they rented and suggested we drop the girls for lunch and a few hours of swimming. We all met up again in the afternoon in time to enjoy a sunset dinner on the beach. A lot of families rent villas in Bali. It was wild to get a look around and imagine a whole other way to enjoy the island. 

Seeing friends also gave us a chance to view another part of the island. Much of the development on Bali centers on the southwest coast. Kuta is the busiest spot - think spring break in Cancun. Development has extended northward from there over the years. Seminyak felt much swankier than Sanur. High end shops line the streets and the area abounds with great restaurants. I'm told you can even get a good cup of coffee there. I'm happy with our choice of locations as it proved a central spot for our outings but I can definitely see the appeal of Seminyak.

Thanks to our friends Brian and I got to enjoy a delicious lunch at the famed La Lucciola. It proved another great recommendation from an Indonesian colleague of Brian's.  

With a few hours to ourselves we could have stayed and cruised the shops but we decided instead to drive up the coast to see the beautiful seaside temple of Tanah Lot. I credit Brian with this find. He spotted it on the map and thought it would make a good stop and save the girls from more time in the car. 

After admiring the spot from afar we waded through the surf to enter the cave underneath, dip our hands in the spring and receive a quick blessing. I really felt the power of the spot although I'm glad we didn't glimpse any of the harmless (but still poisonous) snakes that inhabit the area.

I'm sure this view is spectacular at sunset but we needed to be back in Seminyak by then.

Driving up to Tanah Lot also gave us a chance to see a more rural side of the island. Tourism has surpassed agriculture as the biggest driver of the Balinese economy but much of the land is still covered in small scale rice farms. It's fascinating to see them in action. 

We also logged more time on the congested Balinese roads. This is the view of workers coming home at the end of the day. The traffic weaves all over the roads with little regard for lanes, signals and sides but somehow it works. 

Once back in Seminyak we headed to Gado Gado beach to find our girls at La Planche. They were deeply involved in building a sand castle and barely looked up when we arrived. I'm glad they could get some quiet outdoor play while we did some site seeing. We loved having grown ups to talk to over drinks at sunset. It made for a wonderful end to another gorgeous day.

Bali - Ubud Day

On our first full day in Bali we decided to drive inland to visit the town of Ubud. Often called the cultural center of Bali this area boasts museums, galleries and temples. Our driver had a list of recommendations for us - watch Balinese dancing, visit stone carvers and wood carvers, see batik work done - but we bypassed these to begin our day with a walk. We got the idea off Trip Advisor and it turned out to be one of my favorite things we did in Bali.

After an hour or so of driving on congested roads it felt good to get out of the car. We tried to start early before the heat of the day but it was still hot and incredibly humid. The Campuhan Ridge Walk starts from the main road through town with a little sign saying Karsa Kafe 2km. From there a brick path winds across a bridge and up to a ridge top. All around us felt lush, green and tropical.

We came out at a dirt road and passed a few places selling cold drinks. Tess was dragging by this point and we were tempted to just buy a bottle of water and call it a day but we kept on and I'm thrilled we did. Here we are arriving at our destination.

I initially went to sit down at one of the first tables we saw but Tess spotted the over water seating and we were lucky enough to get the last one available.

We ordered mango smoothies, watermelon juice, lime juice with honey and a fresh coconut. They tasted amazing after our hot trek. 

Then we kicked back and enjoyed the view out over the terraced rice fields. I found it incredibly tranquil. 

The girls bought some food to feed the fish.

I could have stayed in this area all day but we had more much more to see so we started our walk back into town.

On our walk back we saw a procession of women carrying offerings to a nearby temple. Religion suffuses so much of life in Bali. More than 80% of people in Bali follow Balinese Hinduism. The other 20% are mostly Muslim like the majority of people throughout Indonesia. There are temples everywhere. Each house has its own temple. Every place of business has one. You come across small offerings tucked all over. With all that is put on for tourists the religious back drop stands out as something far more genuine. Seeing all of this prompted a lot of questions from our girls. We did our best to explain about offerings and prayer and admitted our own ignorance when asked for more specific details about things like the powers of specific sea gods. 

Once back in town we decided to walk through the main street and visit some of the open air markets. I promised the girls they could each pick out a dress and a sarong at some point during our stay but I cautioned them to start by just looking to see their options. I figured I would look around first and get a sense of prices but with no fixed prices this is hard to do. As soon as I touched a dress the negotiations began whether I wanted them to or not. Emily kept asking me how much things cost and I honestly couldn't answer her. The exchange rate is 10,000 rupiahs to $1 - not particularly hard math but with the speed of the haggling I had to keep double checking in my mind whether this meant $30 or $3. 

In the end we purchased a dress for each girl and a sarong and a beach cover up for me and it all came to $25. It took a grand total of fifteen minutes and I walked away feeling like I had probably over paid and I definitely had decided too quickly. From that point on I only looked from afar and made a point not to slow down near any more shops. 

For lunch we stopped at Naughty Nuri's Warong. We received two different recommendations for this place and I can see why. I ordered the mie goreng - a traditional Indonesian fried noodle dish. Brian went for the restaurants' signature barbecue ribs. The ribs were so good we actually ordered a second helping to split between the two of us. The woman at the front of the restaurant kept a steady stream of ribs grilling the entire time we were there. 

We ended our day out with a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest. We read that the monkeys have been known to make off with people's glasses, hats and iPhones so we paired down to the essentials. Tess couldn't believe her good fortune to see her favorite animal and not have to wear her glasses! Our driver was much more casual about all of it and reassured us we would be ok with our camera so we brought our small one. I'm glad we did because I found the cool dark setting of the forest just enchanting. The trees towered over us all around.

The monkeys were all over and clearly some of the visitors were not shy about getting in close. Emily got braver as we went along. She kept asking to buy some bananas so she could feed them. One even grabbed her dress at one point but she remained calm while I shooed it away.

We loved watching the monkeys interact. We watched them play and wrestle, climb trees and nurse their young. Brian bravely set up a photo with Ducky. 

Emmy spotted this pair and said, "Look, a mum's group!"

On our drive back to Sanur we stopped at a batik workshop to see some of the craft first hand. 

Brian and I enjoyed a lovely dinner out while the girls stayed back at the hotel with a babysitter. It was clearly a long journey just to get to Bali but this day alone made the trip feel worth it and we still had three more to come. 

Bali - First Impressions

I cannot believe how many experiences we have fit into our time abroad so far. Somehow we went from traveling once a year on our own without the kids to getting a stamp in our passport every other month. I actually caught myself in June bemoaning that I hadn't left Australia since April. We looked at our budget and vacation time and decided we could do two more short trips before we head home in the end of August.

We decided one of these trips should be somewhere in Asia. We sought advice from well traveled friends. Thailand, Vietnam and Bali all came out high on the recommendation list. The exchange rate makes these destinations affordable once you get there. The people in each location enjoy children and seem to welcome families in hotels, restaurants and all over. Of these Bali is both the closest - only a seven hour flight! - and the easiest. Australians go to Bali all the time. For years it has been the most popular international destination for Australians with many of them saying it is cheaper to go to Bali than to go on a beach vacation elsewhere in Australia. People here view Bali a little the way Americans view Mexico. 

We liked the idea that Bali would give us a mix of experiences. We could enjoy a family friendly tropical island get away and yet also get a dose of culture and the experience of being in a relatively accessible Asian country. We have loved Australia and New Zealand but we also want our children to go somewhere really different and see people of other backgrounds, races, and religions.

Each day we started our day at our hotel with its kids pool and continental breakfast buffet, and self service juices. And then we headed out into the chaos of trying to get anywhere by road. 

The girls were prepared for buying sarongs and enjoying the warm weather in Bali. They were thrilled to see it look like this.

And then overwhelmed to see it look like this. 

We casually looked out the window and played games of see who can find the most people on one motorbike. Emily and Tess tied at four. While we brought our booster seats with us and insisted they sit in the rows with shoulder seat belts they marveled at the families they saw out the window. "I think a kid is driving that one!"

They definitely snuggled closer on the first drives. Tess told me she thought she felt homesick and Emily kept saying that this wasn't what she expected. Brian and I had our own moments of uncertainty. Would the driver that his Indonesian distributor recommended actually show up even though he hadn't returned our texts? How much were we supposed to pay him? Did we pick the right hotel? Where are we? Is it okay to eat that? This level of uncertainty was stimulating at times and exhausting at others. We expected to do a lot of our planning online while we were there only to find our hotel Internet intermittent at best. Sometimes we felt really on top of things. Other times we felt totally clueless. 

I suspect if you go to Bali a lot (and people do) you could get very good at knowing where to go, what to eat, how to make your vacation just what you wanted. We did a whirlwind of five days and I'm thrilled with how we ended up but we only scratched the surface.

Happy Birthday Tess!

Our darling Tess turned five today. She is kind and loving. She cares deeply. She gets excited and talks too loud and gestures wildly with her hands. She is a goof. She can whistle. She loves to snuggle and gives amazing hugs. She makes friends easily and keeps them. She really struggled with leaving the U.S. and her friends, family and dog behind and yet she has made a lovely transition here. I am so proud of her. 

She really drew this birthday out. We talked about her party for weeks before and then we had nearly two more weeks to go before her official birthday. We decided to open family gifts on the actual day. Brian let the girls into our bedroom early so she could tear into the presents while he got dressed for the day. 

Tessie loved all her gifts. She swapped in and out of new clothes all day, made me read everyone of the books and dug right into the doll play. Brian and I gave Tess Australian Barbie. I'm sharing this commercial photo since our one is already in her Snoopy pajamas and in bed with Tess. 

The girls and I put the finishing touches on the brownie cake with food coloring (read: frosting) and butterfly sprinkles and prepared to have a playdate with friends.

Tess invited Chloe from her Kindie class. Emmy loved chasing Caelan around and I enjoyed chatting with Lynne. All in all it was a terrific play date even if Tess wouldn't pose nicely for the camera.

We had a second playdate in the afternoon and then a family dinner out at Gigi's in Balmain.

We read Possum Magic before bed and snuggled on down. Two sleeps until Bali. 

Friends and Animals

What's better than a play date with friends? A play date with fun friends who also have pets. We each got a chance to hold John the rabbit. Charlotte said I was a natural. The girls got to hold the guinea pig too.

We chatted. We ate cake outside in the garden. We walked to a nearby playground. It was lovely.

The girls didn't want to say goodbye. I'm really thrilled with all the wonderful people we have met during our adventures.