Hello all!
Well, I am sad to say that we are back. After 6+ months of planning and dreaming of our first overseas holiday as a family, it all went way too fast and now I find myself sitting here in Melbourne in the cold and rain wishing I had sweat running down my back whilst haggling over a sarong in Bali!
I am not much for remembering names of shops or prices I paid but hopefully some of the following will be of help or provide some entertainment for some of you out there!
Background: Mum, Dad and 5 children aged between 10 and 15 years. Mum's 2nd time to Bali, Dad's 3rd time, kids 1st time. Main reason for trip was to attend my sister's wedding and for a family reunion.
21st April: Left Melbourne at about 7pm, flying Jetstar. Flight was about 1/3 full. No issues whatsoever. Flight was great, service fine. We had eaten before boarding and had some snacks for the kids so didn't bother with the meal service. Rented 3x Video-On-Demand units for the kids to share. They enjoyed watching some movies and TV shows and before they could get too bored we had arrived in Bali, about 10.50pm local time!
Love that initial whack in the face of humidity, Bali smell, gamelan music etc. that hits you as you step out of the air conditioned cocoon of the plane! Got great joy in watching the goggle eyes of my children as they experienced another country, another culture for the very first time.
Sailed through VOA and customs in less than 25 minutes.
Picked up by the staff at Villa Natalie (www.villanat.com). Had 2 cars, one for us and one for luggage. Took about 30 minutes to get to the villa which is in Canggu. When we arrived all the staff were there, including the manager. They showed us around, and we had a freshly made fruit juice and some home-made pizza before collapsing into bed.
22nd April: Woke up early to the sounds of roosters and birds. Got up, showered in the gorgeous outdoor bathroom and then went to check out the villa properly. Villa Natalie is in Canggu, north of Seminyak. The villa has 2 main bedrooms, each with a huge bed, sitting room, patio and enormous indoor/outdoor bathroom. Beautifully presented, clean, comfortable and air conditioned! There is also a 3rd room which is upstairs and has twin beds, not air conditioned but does have a fan. Has an amazing view. Our teenage boys enjoyed having their own private room, sort of like their own tree house! The living areas of the villa are open. Full kitchen which guests are able to use if desired. Big dining table which seated 15 members of our family with no issues. Lounge area with TV and Xbox. Xbox had heaps of games, DVD movies and hundreds of songs to choose from. There is also a second lounging area called the 'Watch Tower' which has a great view overlooking the surrounding countryside and the pool. The pool was beautiful, not too cold, plenty of room for relaxing plus silliness for the kids. The gardens were immaculately kept and very pretty and peaceful.
The villa is staffed by Gusti (manager), Ketut (cook extraordinaire), Iluh and Made (Ketut's very able off-siders), Nyoman (gardener), 3 security guards who keep watch over the villa and guests day and night and Putu (driver). They were all wonderful people, happy to help with whatever requests we may have had. Nothing was ever too much trouble.
Ketut made us the included fruit, toast and juice for breakfast. Plus I had requested banana pancakes and bubuh injin (black rice pudding) as well which were superb. In fact everything Ketut made us was superb! We just asked her to make whatever, she would do the shopping, cook it and we just paid the cost of the ingredients and 10% extra for her time and energies. Best 10% I ever paid!!!
After breakfast we asked Putu (excellent driver, quite shy but willing to answer any questions and go anywhere, wait however long... cost US$50 per day and well worth the cost) to drive us to the villa where my parents and brother, sister-in-law, niece (nearly 4 years old) and nephew (2 years old) were staying. They stayed at Villa Echo Beach (http://www.villaechobeach.com/), brand new villas less than a 5 minute walk from the Beach House Restaurant at Echo Beach, Canggu. Their villa was 3 bedroom, very nice, lovely private pool. After a lively and happy reunion with my family we headed to Made's Warung in Seminyak for lunch and further family reunions. My family live in Perth, Albany, Brisbane and Melbourne so we very seldom are all in the same place at the same time... it was magical to catch up with my parents, brothers and sister and their respective partners. Had a lovely lunch and then spent some time wandering the streets and shops. The kids were amazed at the shops, the people, the smells, the sounds. They had their first experience of exchanging money which went well and they were very impressed that they had somehow become instant millionaires! My daughter and I bought some Bali bling... bead necklaces, bangles etc. She did well with her first ever experience of haggling... I am pretty sure we got done badly but when we are taking just a dollar or two who really cares, she was happy with her purchases and for about 4-5 necklaces I think she paid less than A$10!
We stopped at Carrefour on the way home. Wow! Amazing place! Besides food, you could furnish your whole house from this one store! Was good fun browsing the shelves, meat, deli and bakery sections, checking out all the tropical fruits. Bought some pastries for afternoon tea.
Kids were a bit sensory overloaded by this time so we headed back to the villa for a swim and a lie by the pool. We had invited all the family back to the villa for dinner (a simple phone call to Gusti and all was arranged!) and Ketut made us a beautiful meal of sate chicken, rice and vegetables. Nothing better than a delicious meal, a Bintang or two, a balmy night with a chorus of crickets and geckos and frogs to serenade us and a lazy swim in the warm pool.
23rd April: Delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs and banana pancakes by Ketut, very ably assisted by Iluh and Made. Had ummed and aahed about whether to go to the Bali Zoo or to the Safari and Marine Park today.... price won out so we headed to the zoo. Had lunch along the way at a restaurant in Ubud... can't remember the name... along Jl Raya Ubud. Was delicious and reasonably priced. In fact, most of our meals in Bali came to approx. Rp. 1,400,000 for 9 people (including my parents) which equates to approx. $20 per person. Pretty good when you consider how many milkshakes and the amount of food my 5 children (including 3 teenage boys) can easily consume! Kids ate and drank whatever they wanted (appetizers and mains and 2-3 drinks each) and my husband enjoyed a large Bintang with just about every meal! We ate at some very nice restaurants so if you wanted to you could very easily reduce this cost substantially by eating at more local joints, with equally as delicious meals! Back to the zoo...Cost was US$20 per adult and US$10 per child under 14 years. Lovely gardens, animals seemed happy enough although the enclosures were not particularly large or realistic. Kids held some big birds, played with some gibbons in the petting zoo, patted a deer or two, held an iguana and a lion cub. Also a 'bear cat' which was big, hairy and very friendly. We have some great photos! It was a fun day out but a little exhausting as we were yet to acclimatise to the heat. Averaged about 32 degrees every day, humid, clear skies mainly with only a little cloud at times, only one day of rain at the end of the trip.
Headed back to the villa for a swim. Hubby and kids stayed at villa tonight (more Bintang and a take-away meal from Beach House restaurant... wasn't that crash hot apparently) whilst I went out with my sister, family and friends for a hen's night. Ate at the Melasti Hotel. Was reasonable food, but nothing to rave about. Home by midnight so that we looked ok for wedding tomorrow. Taxi driver got hopelessly lost getting us back to Villa Nat... we had a map but in the dark I couldn't recognise any landmarks! I guess that was the one draw back to staying at Villa Natalie. It is fairly isolated, which is great to be surrounded by locals rather than tourists, to see everyday life, to hear the frogs, crickets and geckos, to see chickens and cows and ducks and rice fields everywhere. But if you want more excitement you had to have a driver or call a taxi and Seminyak was about a 15 minute drive away. Didn't overly bother us but if you like the lights, noise and people of Kuta then a villa in Canggu will probably not be your style!
24th April: Wedding Day!
Breakfast of lumpia (kids request!), banana pancakes and fruit. Delicious as usual. Then some of the family headed to Seminyak for some retail therapy. Bought some more Bali bling, some DVDs. None of us are great shoppers but we did enjoy watching the locals and tourists!
Dropped hubby and children back at the villa so they could sample Ketut's lumpis and then daughter and I headed to my sister's villa to get ready for the wedding. Sister stayed at Villa M (www.villambali.com). Nice 1 bedroom villa. Private pool.
The wedding was held at Villa Natalie. Owner Dan and his wife Sam, along with Gusti the manager and other assorted staff made the organisation of the whole wedding, mostly via email, a dream. My sister and brother-in-law had already been legally married in Australia so the Bali wedding was just to be a celebration for family and friends. My sister had put me in charge of organising the ceremony so I was feeling a little stressed. Villa was decorated with Balinese cloth decorations (wrapped around the pillars), flowers, palm leaf decorations etc. Looked fantastic. Guests got a lei of frangipani flowers and a fruit juice as they arrived. Ceremony started with a few words by me welcoming everyone on bride and grooms behalf, followed by a reading by the grooms best friends. Then a very short wedding blessing and exchange of vows and rings by a Balinese priest. Turned out to be a little more Westernly religious than anticipated (lots of mention of God, with not too much Balinese influence) but it was beautiful anyway. Then a reading by some of my children, then a speech by the groom's mother, a reading by the bride's parents and finally a resounding rendition by all family and friends of 'Hopelessly Devoted To You' (as in the movie 'Grease'... long story, has personal significance!). It was memorable, fun, heart felt, beautiful. Bride and groom only knew about the Balinese priest part so the rest of the ceremony was a surprise for them. I am pretty sure they enjoyed it!
We then all mingled for a while at the villa, lots of guests had a swim. Then we got some taxis to Beach House Restaurant at Echo Beach for the reception. Beach House Restaurant has a very laid back, relaxed and informal air about it. Clean and comfortable but certainly not fancy! We loved it! The restaurant had decorated the area we were sitting in with palm leaf decorations. A separate bar had been set up for our party and we indulged in many a cocktail (they make a very nice Pina Colada!) and a delicious seafood BBQ. Most of this had been arranged by email before we arrived in Bali. The restauarant's band also played for 2 hours straight. They were terrific and everyone danced till they were drowning in a pool of sweat! It was such a fun night. No pretensions, just fun, laughter and silliness! And it was less than A$20 a head (food only).
25th April: Woke up early again (bloody body clock went haywire in Bali!)... still a little tipsy I think! Breakfast of bacon and eggs (apparently good for a hangover!). Kids wanted to experience Kuta so off we went for the day. Stopped at Gloria Jeans for a drink before heading out into the fray. Kids bought some shorts and singlet tops, DVDs, Bali bling. Had lunch at a restaurant in Poppies Lane... can't remember the name but the food was ok. Then headed back to the villa for a swim, early dinner by Ketut (crispy chicken, rice and veges... outstanding as per usual) and then early bed.
26th April: Early brekky then off to Bedugul and the Bali Treetop Adventure Park (http://www.balitreetop.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/lang,english/). Cost US$20 for adults and US$13 for kids under 14 years. Was incredible fun! Had short education session first on a low ropes course... learnt how to work our harness and how to not fall out of a tree... always important to know! Then we were let free to caper like monkeys through the treetops! Kids had a ball. Hubby and I also had heaps of fun, although we were much slower at hopping from tree to tree than the kids! There were a couple of different courses ranging from easy up to very difficult. Spent about 2 hours there and came home with a few bruises but was worth it. Then headed to Ulun Danu Temple on Lake Bratan... very pretty temple. Headed back down the hill and found a restaurant on the way down for lunch... once again can't remember the name but the slogan was 'A view to dine for!'. It certainly was an amazing view however the food and service were pretty mediocre.
Back home to the villa, swim and relax then headed out for dinner. Rest of the family were too tired to join us which was a pity as we had a terrific dinner at Queens Tandoor in Seminyak. Wonderful service, great atmosphere and the food was delicious.
NEXT EDITION- AMED....