In Reply to: safe for children to walk around posted by cazza on Tuesday, 4. January 2005 at 10:35 Bali Time:
& their level of maturity.I suppose it would also depend on the age of the cousins & if you feel they are sensible together.
Our 14 year old son was about 12 1/2 when he was first walking around on his own in Bali & he'd go off on his own for an hour at any one time.He'd tell us the general area where he would be as well.
He's pretty confident & enjoys talking to people as well.He also only had a small amount of money on him but was pretty good at bargaining on his own.He used to come back with some great bargains for himself,sometimes better than if we were with him ! He thinks it's great these days as he walks past shops & people also call out his name.
To start with a lot of the time he'd come back & ask us what we thought of the price before he'd buy something.My kids are both precious to be but I strongly believe that if you don't give them some independance as they are growing up that they will not learn to be independant.
Only you know you child & nieces & nephews so ultimately you have to make the decision yourself.Maybe a good way around it if you are a bit unsure it to give the eldest child a mobile phone with a Balinese Sim card in it & that way you can keep in touch.To start with you could maybe also tell the kids they had to stick to one side of the road.