JBR Family of 5 in Bali - Pt 5, Final


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Posted by TLM on Friday, 21. August 2009 at 07:48 Bali Time:

Had a few dramas when leaving Sanur. Despite being all booked with our sponsor child's organisation to pick the 5 of us + all luggage up for our visit, they turned up with a very small van that would barely fit us all, let alone bags. Off they went, to return 1.5 hours later with a van a fraction bigger, so we squeezed in and instead detoured via Kuta to drop our luggage off and then continue the trip. We've been sponsoring Anita for 3 years now, she's 8 years old (actually only 10 days younger than our 8yo, which is quite neat). Have exchanged the usual regular letters and photos during that time, but to actually meet her and her family was something we were really looking forward to.

Anita lives not too far from Tanah Lot, so was an easy drive. First they took us to the project office, where there were copies of all our letters on file and they manage 130 sponsored children. Then it was onto the Clinic where Anita and her Mum were waiting, and to finally see her after years of photos was an amazing feeling. Of course she was understandably very shy and clung to her Mum, but it was just wonderful. Her Mum was so engaging, we then went to their house, met her Dad, Grandmother, Auntie, cousin and sisters and her Mum just never stopped making us feel welcome and was so warm and friendly. Of course all her conversation was in Indonesian (with many apologies for not speaking English, and we of course said we didn't speak Indonesian so we were even!). Thank goodness the sponsor group provided an interpreter. Our 2 eldest kids studied Indonesian at school, so they'd bought their Indo/English dictionaries and were able to converse a little which was also great. We'd bought some small gifts, and our 8yo had fun demonstrating the skipping rope to Anita, finally making her giggle when our daughters skirt kept falling down as she skipped. They too bought out all our letters, which has inspired us to write all the more in future, and it will be so much easier now that we can picture her home and family. We stayed for a couple of hours, enjoying Anita's Mum's homemade treats and our interpreted conversation and really hoping we will be back for another visit or 2 in the years to come. Her Mum was already talking about her teeth filing ceremony when she's about 17 years and how wonderful it would be for us to be there, and that they would have an ceremonial outfit ready for our daughter then too (which is a terrifying thought - our 8yo being 17!!)

When we left it was late afternoon, and our driver suggested we stop at Tanah Lot for sunset which was a surprise treat. We'd done Tanah Lot 4 years ago, but not at sunset and it was just lovely, a perfect end to a wonderful day. The markets there are great, after years of looking, I finally found 3 frangipani paintings there that are now hanging in our hallway and make me smile every time I pass them.

Then it was back to join our luggage at Kuta Townhouses again. True to form there was another issue with our 10 month old booking. We'd asked for late checkout, it had been confirmed at time of booking and when I checked earlier in the month, but it turns out they'd had a better offer now, and there were no rooms available so we'd have to checkout by noon, when our flight left at midnight. Not happy Jan! I book early to avoid this type of drama, and that apparently meant nothing. By our 2nd last day however, they'd managed to check with the owner, and he was coming later than originally advised and we did get out late checkout so at least all ended well.

Our final few days in Kuta were a blur of last minute shopping and activities. Highlights included;

• Visiting Unangi (loved this place, so tidy and organised and great shopping) and Geneva. Our Yr 7 teacher had given us some money to buy treats and trinkets she could give the class who were studying Indonesian so we went to town there and bought heaps (I love spending other people's money!)

• Syah paintings in Seminyak - this was based on so many BTF recommendations, and boy were they right. The quality of their work was stunning, well above the usual market stuff. As I'd bought my paintings at Tanah Lot the night before I didn't get any, but now that I'm home I've found a spot that would be perfect for a Syah masterpiece and it will be top of my list next visit.

• Teppanyaki at Carrefour - I've raved about this on previous visits, but if you want to introduce your kids to teppanyaki but can't afford the cost at home, this is the place to go. They have outlets underneath Matahari's at Denpasar and at Carrefour and are brilliant value for money. The kids were entranced watching it all being cooked on the hotplate right in front of them, and for $5/ head (incl. drinks) we had a fantastic meal.


• Bali Hai tour to Lemboggan Island - pricey for a family, but we'd never done it and were keen to see Lemboggan, and had lots of fun on the banana boat, snorkelling and loved that water slide. Actually if anyone out there is near sighted like me and can't see 20cm from their eyes without their glasses it's good to know that you can rent optic snorkelling masks on the Bali Hai pontoon(I think only 50,000rph) and they were brilliant. I could have spend ages just floating around in the snorkelling area marvelling at not only being able to see underwater (a good start!) but the colour and spectacle of the coral and Finding Nemo like scenes underneath me. Kids all had a ball as well, especially with the waterslide and diving board. It also included a tour into Lemboggan which was informative and enjoyable. Only downside was the the 1hr ride there and back, which was quite wild. Thankfully none of us succumbed, but it's very hard to hold onto your last meal when you're watching multiple other day trippers bringing up theirs in front of you.....delightful. A waitress did a spectacular spill of drinks in front of us (thankfully over a group of Koreans seated opposite us, she wasn't facing our way), but there was glass and liquid flying everywhere so must have been a wilder than usual return voyage. We were very happy to be back on dry land, but definitely a great day for all.

But all good things (apparently) must come to an end, so we eventually headed home. Jetstar were on time (with seats that seemed luxurious compared to Air Asia). We walked to Kuta beach and watched our last sunset, had a lovely dinner at Kuta Puri and made our bittersweet final walk back Poppies 1 to catch our ride out. Thankfully I'll be back in December for a few days so that made the parting a little easier to take. You can't beat Bali for a value for money, fantastic family holiday. Was also wonderful to share much of our trip with friends on their first visit (now also hooked on Bali). Thanks to all who contribute here, it's a brilliant source of info and a great place to escape to when we need a Bali-fix!

Tracey




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