Okay, well I cant log on with my old user name so I've registered as a new person (similar name). Didn't actually ask any questions on the forum for over 1 year as this trip I just jumped on and used the Archives and it was all there. Good old BTF, don't know anyone leaves home without it.
So, very unplanned trip, to cut a long story short, starting a new job TOMORROW and thought I might not get holidays for another year so told hubby I was off to Bali for a few weeks. He said, fine, as long as I take the kids with me...nearly got away with it.
So, the kids and I packed up for our 12 day holiday in Bali without Dad. Asked the kids if they were nervous about the executions.. My son decided that if there were problems it just meant he got out of more school. My daughter didn't say much at all, I asked her if she was concerned about anything and she just said that she was going to miss the play at school and I was very mean.
So, wont bore you with VOA lines etc but my girlfriend was due to pick us up at the airport so this would be great, cabs, catch up chat with her all the way to her house. Well, drama started when we went through so quickly that we were outside and she wasn't there, so I told the kids we had got through quicker than expected and we just had to wait. But then when she wasn't there after 1 hour from landing and my mobile roaming wasn't working, Its always worked before, Only spoke to her the night before and she had confirmed flight details etc. She was hiring a car for the 12 days and I was going to pay her for it - she drives a scooter, couldn't see the 4 of us on that. About another 1.5 hour passed and I was talking to the police to say I think she'd had an accident and she shows up running across the carpark saying she was sorry, traffic etc and she thought I'd take about 1 hour to get through customs so didn't rush. The kids were not impressed, they were sitting on their luggage outside and when they saw the car she had hired were even less impressed, it was called a Karimun and it was a tiny little thing that only just fitted us in, with the kids suitcases in the back with them, so the kids actually sat on their cases all the way to Ubud...little did they know that they had to kid used to sitting on cases.
We arrive at my girlfriends place (took the kids through the drive through at McDonalds on the way just to appease them). My girlfriend on our last trip to Bali declared that if she had not met then man of her dreams by 40 she was going to live in the country of her dreams, so for 3 months now she has been living in Bali...you get the picture. Well, it was not what I expected. It was certainly not what the kids expected; my daughter was horrified that there was no swimming pool. My son was horrified that there was no TV and both of them were horrified that there were no seats. I mean there were two chairs on the porch area and a small table, but that was it....hence the kids sitting on their suitcases a lot.
Anyway, all turned out fine, the kids both had their own small rooms (Very small) with single bed and this pleased my son who did not want to share with his sister, I had my own room, thankfully with a double bed and an ensuite bathroom (which was actually an outdoor bathroom made of gorgeous stone with ferns hanging over the edge.
For the first few days they spent a lot of time walking up to the monkey forest (it was only a 5 min walk and my girlfriend told them to keep to the path on the right and they could walk all the way through for free). Then my son discovered that one of the kids in the family had a TV so in his usual style he made friends with a Balinese boy who I don't believe spoke any English and my son still bonded with him as on the first night he watched the Racing Motorbikes...my son ended up in this boys room every night, if we were out all day as soon as we got home he just walked straight across the garden into this Balinese boys room. My daughter is a bit of a mummy's girl so as my girlfriend and I sat on her porch drinking Bintangs and the bottle of Baileys I bought duty free (thank god as spirits were a little pricey) overlooking the rice paddies and just soaking it all in. My daughter stayed close by but a little girl in the family continued to say ‘Hello' to us every time we came and went, you know how Balinese kids are, Hello Hello Hello Hello and eventually my daughter wandered off one night and found there were actually 2 little girls, about the age of 3 and a smaller child about 1. My daughter who loves babies found an excuse as well to cross the garden every time we got home. I'm not actually sure how many children were in this family but there was a pregnant woman as well as another lady the same age and an old lady who a couple of times was not wearing a top and my son kept going on and on about her boobs hanging down and could he take a photo for dad. I don't know how many times I had to remind him it was rude to stare or point or giggle and no he could not take a photo and it was time to get over it.
Okay so enough about all of that, I think it is my duty to the forum to give back some information on where I went etc. So, here's what I have for you.
My girlfriend loves to cook so didn't eat out all the time as usual and it was strange going to the supermarket with her and buying all this stuff as on holidays we usually eat out for every meal. We went to the Bintang Supermarket, quite big in Ubud and seemed like a lot of expats shopping there so we bought breakfast cereal etc for the kids, Kelloggs cornflakes were only 13,500rp for a 275gram box so 2 of them lasted the kids the entire trip and some toast, bread was only 10,000 for a loaf, their sliced bread has no crusts so my son wanted to know what they did with the crusts, if anyone knows please tell me. (very cheap breakys compared to previous years).
On our last night (last night) we ate out at Naught Nuri's, it's a bit out past Mozaic and they have a BBQ going all night which smokes you out a bit. Great BBQ food, the kids liked it, they had sausages and fat chips, my girlfriend liked it as it was full of expats that she hasn't quite had the confidence to met as yet. We started talking to this one expat as he brought his 2 dogs into the restaurant and the kids were playing with them, when a plate of ribs arrived we said oh, we'll let you enjoy your meal. He said, on no these are for the dogs (60,000 per plate), I just come down here to have a martini and the dogs have their dinner, they also love the chicken wings at Cinto. Turns out he'd lived here for 3 years, lives in a Villa, not married and has 9 staff and a swimming pool, he invited the kids for a swim but we were leaving the next day, the kids were not happy we hadn't met him the first night. I think my girlfriend may go back there again...she'll kill me for saying that.
Also ate at; Ubud Village, nice enough, Tropical - can never go wrong, Chile Café (very quiet, we were the only ones there both nights we went but a beautiful setting and really good kids menu).
The kids got their swim, for 10,000rp per person you can swim at (I can't believe I have forgotten the name, will post tomorrow night) in Monkey Forest Road. we found this out when we stopped there for a drink and the best pancakes I have ever had (sugar syrup and grated coconut on top of a crepe filled with banana), they took us out the back to the most beautiful gardens as there were no tables at the front and then told us if we wanted to swim it was 10,000rp per person, we ended up there every second day, it was great as in the end one of the lovely guys 'Gede' watched the kids so mum could go shopping, I wouldn't do this in a Western country but he was lovely and very feminine and gentle and the kids felt comfortable, every time I came back he was standing watching them or throwing their ball to them etc.
Went shopping (a lot) as needed a new smart casual wardrobe for work and with summer coming had a great excuse. The quality is very high in Ubud and a lot of ‘designer' stores. Spent days dragging my girlfriend through the stores, she was very patient. Found you can barter at a few but many were fixed price (hint, the ones with AC are fixed price). Some things were pricier than I'd pay back home so just left them...maybe next time.
Venezia, I want to thank the BTF for this one, what a little taste of paradise. My girlfriend and I had a room together, not shy, we had our own separate showers which were set overlooking the rice paddies with a beautiful water feature in the middle. Then after a wonderful massage, probably the best I have had in Bali, we had fresh fruit on sticks and ginger tea, I was expecting this from reading the forum but it was so much more. I went back twice without my girlfriend, well, I was on holidays, and only 80,000 for all this.
Cycling Tour - okay, didn't do Wyan's this time as my daughter has bad memories, we shouldn't have taken her last time she was only 7 and as soon as we took off, she got off the bike and refused to go anywhere, it was the first hill, she was crying as she went down as it was too steep and then she hit a pothole and it scared her so much she got off. She cried and then wanted to get in the bus, but mum had to get in as well, my husband and I took turns the whole time get in and out of the bus so that we could have a bit of a ride, my daughter spent the whole time in the bus and refused to get out. So, we did C.Bali this time and it was great, can't recommend it enough. My daughter has been riding her bike at home so I thought she would be fine and she has just turned 9 so we took off (no hill this time) she was fine for about 100 metres but then a slight hill down and she got off. I just thought, here we go again. But this time, the girl taking the tour (her and her husband run this business) came up and walked with my daughter and said 'mum, go on ahead', so I did, looking back, half expecting tears. My son didn't help with his ‘Here we go again, get in the bus' comment. But I looked back and my daughter and the girl were walking and talking. Only 5 minutes into the tour and you get off to walk. My daughter and the guide put their hands in the air and shouted 'yeah'. We walked through these tiny gangs and saw the most amazing sites, we actually got to go behind the villagers homes and these people are poor, very poor. I don't want to ruin it for everyone as you have to experience this for yourself. Then after the walk it was back on the bikes and I was amazed, again I was told 'mum go ahead' and I kept looking back and they were walking and talking again and then as I went round a bend I looked back and there was my daughter up on her bike riding proudly. This guide stayed with her the whole trip encouraging her every step of the way, it was wonderful and at one stage they overtook me both screaming and laughing and my daughter yelled back 'hurry up mum you slow coach'. At the end of the tour they took us inside a school, school was finished but they provide supplies and English lessons to the school so have permission to go in. My kids were in shock, nothing like there classroom at home. They were very quiet after the school visit, actually they were exhausted and slept the whole way back to Ubud, but the next morning my daughter came and woke me up to tell me we had to do something to help those kids. We will be, you can donate to this company to support this village.
So, quickly as this has been long enough, we did Waterbom (they are renovating next week and it did actually look like it was due). Safari Park and the Bike ride (has canoeing as well) with C.Bali.
With Waterbom and Safari Park my girlfriend dropped us off and picked us up and each time she gave us some money when we got in the car, she just said 'commission' and refused to not let me take it. On the last night she said to me 'don't forget when I take you to the airport to get my 'commission' for when I drop the car back. She finally explained that in Bali any driver that takes you to one of these places comes back after you have gone in and gets 25% commission from what you paid so every time she dropped us somewhere she would wait till we went in and then go and say she was the driver and get the commission, so she saved us 25% on all these things, it was hilarious I still can't believe she did it. She said if I wasn't such a good friend she would have just kept it.
All in all, the kids were speaking to me by the end of the trip and I think they learnt that they have a very easy life here in Oz, so was a success.