Beautiful Bali - Family Holiday. Sep 2015
So as our 2 weeks near to an end, I have to say our family has thoroughly enjoyed the school holidays in beautiful Bali. It’s been 15 years between visits for me with all the previous visits being BC (before children) so this a new experience and what a great place for a family holiday and an introduction to South East Asia for children.
I love walking off a flight in an Asian tropical destination, the instant hit of warmth & smells engages excitement for what lies ahead; arriving at Ngurah Rai International Airport delivers just that.
Easily & fuss free with the crowds we navigate our way through immigration & customs. Warm smiles are exchanged between our Balinese driver & us Murphys; relief for both of us as we’ve found each other so easily amongst the sea of drivers and tourists alike.
We’re whisked off in our air-conditioned bubble to our accommodation for the night… Tomorrow brings a new day!
With some friends we’ve chartered ‘Haruku’ from Indo Charters – she will cruise us around the Gili Islands for 4 days. Complete with an excellent crew that not only cook, clean & taxi us around in tenders as we please – they happily watch the children swim, leaving us adults with peace of mind and time to catch up on old times.
With a Dive Master onboard we went diving and found some amazing spots – fish & coral in all colours of the rainbow, turtles & star fish. It was really beautiful. This is a great diving & snorkeling holiday destination.
Lunches & visits to the Gili Islands is a great experience. Cruising past Mt Agung – Bali’s highest & holiest mountain at sunset on the top deck of Haruku was extremely memorable.
After a couple of days of lunches and sundowners with friends who live at Canggu – it’s off to Ubud for 7 nights.
Bali Spirit Hotel – a quaint 3 Star property beautifully set on the side of hill overlooking the Was river; offers a very comfortable Villa that suits my family of 2 adults & 2 children (13 & 7 years). Traditional Balinese gardens, décor, super friendly staff and a pool our children loved!
Ubud is now a bustling little city since my last visit 15 years ago and while many of the rice fields have been replaced with shops it has retained its holistic and alternative feel. A cosmopolitan mix of tourists from around the world here for the art, food & yoga lifestyle!
Food
The food was great, the choices excellent… big call with a couple of gorgeous but fussy kids!
Local Warungs offer inexpensive eats with fresh juices and respite from the hot streets! International Cuisine… so much choice, some of our family favourites Mama Mia – great Pizza Casa Luna – famous Lime Tart Miros – delicious Indonesian Tulsi – traditional Indian in a local back street X – Japanese authentic cuisine in a gorgeous small Balinese garden Gelato -so many places and from the many we tried – all fabulous!
Shopping
You will find everything Bali is famous for in Ubud beautiful rattan baskets, canvas paintings, wood carvings, ikat textiles, silver & leather goods. Not so much the ‘Bintang’ type goods, I suspect you’d need to visit the Legian/Kuta areas for that.
Mountain Bike Tours
We chose the ‘Intermediate’ Tour & as my 13 year old son pointed out it wasn’t the ‘flat & easy’ I had spruiked at dinner the night before…. but once we all found our feet so to speak the rough tracks were fun and the downhills exhilarating with the uphills a balance for all the Gelato we had consumed through the week.
Ginger (7 years) was lovingly cared for by her own guide on the attachable childrens bike, leaving the rest of us to focus on the ride & enjoy the views. Villages, rainforests, rice paddies, coffee plantations, bamboo bridge crossings – was a great day. Ended with an excellent lunch.
This Bali holiday has proved to me again how important it is to travel with my children while they still have to come! We’ve bonded over memorable moments and experiences for them many of them brand new and for Shaun and I experiences new with children.
We’ve loved the people, the culture, the food and while Bali has changed its soul is still very much in tact in the areas we’ve spent time.
Us Murphys will be back again at some time I am sure! Terima Kasih (thank you) Bali!