Today was our first day in Bali, so we obviously just took it easy. The main purpose of coming here is to spend some time just relaxing and slowing down. So this morning we went out for a walk to find somewhere to get some breakfast. We found this cute little restaurant that reminded us a lot of The Hideaway in Chiang Mai, that had a HUGE menu. We opted to go with some new Balinese food and OH MY HECK. Who knew this food is so good?!
Just walking around here is simply amazing. There are statues everywhere and so many offerings. Like on the statues, on the sidewalks, everywhere.
We are millionaires here!
On our way home we stopped at a little market close to home to see what we could find. Honestly, it was slim pickins, but it is always so interesting to see what the markets have. This place had lots of flavors of pringles, but also look at the price! Haha!
When we got home we changed and got right in the pool! Both of these babies are complete water babies and love having the pool here so much. They loved jumping in and floating around and just having the whole thing to ourselves.
Views from our patio
May 2:
Today we decided it was time to make it to a beach here in Bali! There was one in Sanur that was close to our place, so we stopped by that restaurant again and then headed to the beach. Here's the bummer about the beach here (and what we later found out about all of the beaches here) is that there is so much trash. We were floating out in the water and trash was floating all around us. We dug in the sand, and ran into trash down into the sand. Bali is beautiful and the beaches are beautiful, but the trash really takes away from everything. We were there at low tide and looked around at the rocks. We saw so many fish swimming around us!
After dinner we headed back home to go to the Sanur Night Market. I love markets because you learn so much about the culture, and this one was really fun. It was really small as well, but packed a lot of charm and culture into a small area. The food all looked good, but honestly I was too nervous to try any food or let the kids eat anything, but we did get smoothies. And they were so good that we returned every night to get more haha.
Smoothie place
The kids got to pick out a toy each
Some food
Dragonfruit smoothie and mango smoothie
May 3:
Today we had a low key day at the villa, just hanging out and getting some work done. We cut open the dragonfruit that we bought and Rusty was especially excited about it being pink inside haha. I guess when we were in Thailand and cut ours open and it was white he was kind of disappointed and wished it could be pink on the inside. Well who knew, but they do have pink ones!
That night for dinner we went to a pizza place within walking distance with really good reviews. They had a Koi pond right next to our table and the waitress brought over some fish food for the kids. The kids, especially Adeline, really loved our waitress and even wanted her to take her for a little walk. Turns out, the people running this restaurant lived right next door so they took the kids to see their dogs. Henry and Della were thrilled.
Dadar Gulung- Indonesian crepes with coconut filling
After dinner we came home to go swimming! I was a little nervous about the kids getting fleas from being with those dogs so we ditched the clothes right away and threw them in the pool before showering them. But look at those little bum cheeks!
May 4:
Today we invited our driver Donny and his family to come and swim in the pool with us. Donny picked us up at the airport and we immediately loved him, especially Henry. We enjoyed talking with him and he mentioned that sometimes other guests would invite his family to swim and the kids just really love it so much. So we decided after talking with him some more and figuring out what we wanted to do and that he would be our tour guide for our time in Bali, that it would be nice to have them over to swim. They came over and we had a great time! They brought some delicous food that I'm not even sure what I ate but it was so good. They brought Donny's sister, wife, and two children Kindy and Didan. Della loved the sister and wanted to go everywhere with her, and Henry and Kindy had fun playing together even without having the same language.
Teaching VIPKID classes
Teaching VIPKID like Mommy
May 5:
Today we ventured out for our first time in a car, and we didn't have Donny take us because we weren't doing an sight seeing. We wanted to make our way to the church building for church! We looked it up and it was about twenty minutes away, which isn't bad at all! But on the drive there I thought we were all going to die! The taxi driver was crazy and the traffic here is seriously crazy- the craziest place we've been. They drive in the center of the road, in between lanes, then make extra lanes whenever they want to pass someone. They get so close to the cars in all four directions and I was having a mild panic attack about having my babies in that car haha. I was so relieved when we got out.
I probably shouldn't have been so relieved though because we got out and then were very lost. The address took us to some big shopping complex, and so we wandered around trying to find the church. Finally this nice guy said, "LDS? LDS?" and then showed us where to go. Without him, we never would have found it. We went in and had the best time with this ward. It was my favorite place we had visited on our whole trip. They had people that all looked so different and we had the best discussion in Sunday School, just a real discussion among people. It was amazing.
Henry sure loved doing puppet shows with this alligator
After church we tried this dessert that was kind of like shave ice, but man it was so disgusting. Definitely the worst thing we have eaten here. It had these weird green jello pieces and it was just no bueno.
After church we went over to Kuta Beach while we were on that side of the island. This was a much more beautiful beach than the one we were by in Sanur (later we found out that the nice beach in Sanur is further South than we were). Here we just played in the waves and laid on the beach. A lady came and tried to sell us stuff and wouldn't leave but wanted to talk and talk. Eventually she put bracelets on both kids and then when I told her I didn't want them she said they could have them for free. We knew there was no way that was going to happen, so we paid her for the bracelets and then she promptly left haha.
Tired on the drive home
May 6:
Today was a big day! We made a big trip to go up North to the Lempuyang Temple. This was about 2 and a half hours away from our house, and Donny suggested going really early so we could see the sunrise. We were pretty excited about this, but when we actually got there the whole mountain was enshrouded in fog. Donny kept apologizing and felt really bad, and part of me was bummed for sure, but man most of me didn't mind at all. There was something really magical about being in a temple above the clouds.
When we first got to the temple we had to be "washed" with their special water. We also had to put on sarongs.
The main reason we went to this temple was to see this gate, "The Gate of Heaven", that opens right up into a gorgeous view of the volcano right here. But on this particular day it was all cloudy which I thought was pretty cool.
Then we explored the temple a little bit before walking down to the car
See? Pretty cool.
Walking back to the car
Our next stop was the Tirta Gangga Water Palace, which was built for to be a garden for a king in 1946. But it was all destroyed when that volcano we were trying to see from Lempuyang Temple erupted, so it had to be rebuilt. It was beautiful and we loved walking around. Henry and Della got some fish food and Henry shared his with Donny (they are best friends).
Me trying to convince Henry to take a picture with me haha
We played for a while and then we decided to go out on one of the traditional boats, jukungs, for a little ride around the island off in the distance. It was so beautiful and really fun to get out in the water! I was a little stressed because I made sure that they had life jackets for the kids, and then we got out on the water and we asked him and he was like, "Oh yeah, we don't have those." WHAT? Yeah, it was not a peaceful, relaxing ride for me haha. I don't want my babies going in the ocean without a life jacket. But the water was as calm as I've ever seen, so that helped.
Then we came back and played in the water and had some lunch. We ate right next to the water and had some yummy sea food!
View from the restaurant
Kites are a big deal in Bali, and especially in Sanur where they have big kite festivals in the summer. This guy was selling a really cool kite that looked like a big pirate ship and Henry was so excited. We didn't buy many souvenirs, but this one was pretty cool.
We got home and jumped in the pool to wash off before we showered, and then Rusty ran over to get some delicious desserts for us from the night market. I LOVE THESE THINGS. They are Martabaks and I love them so much.
May 7:
So, originally the plan was not to come to Indonesia. We were going to spend May split between Morocco and Namibia. Then it changed to Tanzania for a couple of weeks, and then we scratched the continent of Africa off altogether. We were trying to decide where we wanted to go and Bali seemed like such a unique and exciting place. I'm so happy that we did end up there because it was so much fun! A huge bonus to going there was that we got to go scuba diving again (my favorite thing to do in the world) and it was awesome. We got to dive with manta rays!! We were a couple of months early for diving with the Mola Mola, which is kind of a bummer because that would have been so rad! But diving with the manta rays was a big thing on both Rusty's and my lists. Today Rusty got to go scuba diving while I stayed home with the babies. The guides told Rusty that he was exceptionally lucky and got quite the show from the mantas! When I saw his videos after my dive trip I was a little jealous haha. I don't think there was a moment when Rusty couldn't see at least three manta rays the entire dive! He loved it. Then he did two other dives and had a fantastic time as well. I invited Donny and his family to come over and go swimming after Rusty got home.
Today I went scuba diving! I got picked up near the market by our house and then was dropped off at the shop. The boat ride out to the first dive spot was just beautiful. Seriously, how is this Earth so gorgeous. My first dive was amazing: just full of manta rays swimming above me and right next to me. One came straight at me and then turned at the last second. They are so graceful and beautiful and it was amazing to see them. My second dive was at a place where you can see Mola Molas when it is their season. We went to the spot and hung out for a few minutes just hoping that they would show up, but we weren't that lucky. We were still a good month early for when they normally start showing up. But this dive was still amazing because I saw two octopus, another manta ray, and some really beautiful coral. The third dive was a drift dive- my first!- and it was not a letdown. Allowing the current to take you was a bit of an adjustment. At first I fought to control it because I was so nervous about just letting an ocean current direct me, but there was no fighting it. Once I let go and just literally went with the flow it was the most amazing feeling. We went over the coolest coral, saw some turtles, and I saw my first sea snake! It was so cool. I loved this! We got back to the shop and the driver left so I told them I would walk home. I wasn't really sure how far the walk would be, but it was only about a fifteen minute drive so I figured I could do it. I walked for a while and then the driver came and honked at me and told me to get in so he could drive me home haha. He was so nice and was like, what were you doing?! You should have waited for me! The people here are so kind.
May 9:
Donny took us out on some adventures today. Some of the things I had requested, and some he suggested. Our first stop was the Barong and Kris Dance, which was his suggestion but we were excited about it because it is very cultural here. There are lots of statues of characters from this play. It was... an experience haha. At first it was just us trying to figure out what was going on, and then it took a weird turn where the midget people started being very crude and inappropriate haha. We were like, um what is happening!? The music and the dancing was really cool because it was so unique and traditional to Bali.
Our next stop was the Tegalalang Rice Terraces where we had lunch. Donny told us that we were a couple weeks after they had harvested the rice so it wasn't as pretty as it normally is, but we thought it was beautiful. We had lunch with a view of the terraces and then went t our next stop.
We made a quick stop at a silver shop in Celuk, which is a big gold and silver town. Many people here are gifted silversmiths and so the town has become known for that. We got to go into a workshop and see how they make jewelry, and then I bought a necklace for me and some earrings for Jessica's birthday.
Ubud was our next stop, and we wanted to head over there because it has the jungle part of Bali that you miss when you're in the South in Sanur like we were. Ubud has a reputation for spiritual healing and peace. It was really cool to drive into this area and see the trees just start to surround us. We went to the Monkey Forest, which was a big hit for all of us. There are monkeys everywhere and you just walk around and get to watch them. It's like being a part of the zoo. We even were lucky and saw some brand new baby monkeys with their moms! They were so tiny, and kind of a mix of cute and scary haha.
While we were in Ubud we checked out the Saraswati Temple and the Ubud Palace. The Saraswati Temple is really small but has beautiful lily pads on a pond right in front. It's not a huge tourist draw, but I found it while I was looking for which of the many temples I wanted to visit.
Ubud Palace was much more popular and had many more tourists there. My favorite thing there was all of the statues and how intricately they were carved. After the Ubud Palace our day was finally complete and we drove back to our house for the night. It was a long, adventure filled day!
May 10:
Today was our last day exploring Bali! Donny had a complication with picking up his daughter from school so his friend was our driver today. He was very kind and we enjoyed getting to meet him! The time seemed to fly by here and there were a couple of things that we didn't have time to cram in. Our first stop today was the Taman Ayun Temple, which was by far our favorite temple in Bali. The temple grounds were very beautiful, and when we walked in we were given Sarongs to wear to be more modest than our shorts. We loved walking around this temple complex (there were lots of little structures here) and it felt very Indonesian.
We stopped somewhere for lunch that had good reviews, and right as we were pulling up Della puked all over her carseat and consequently the driver's car. We were so embarrassed and we tried to get everything cleaned up but our kind driver told us to go and get Della cleaned up and he would work on the car. He got a big tip at the end of the day haha. Bless his soul.
Tanah Lot Temple was our last stop for the day, and our last adventure for our time in Bali! It is a beautiful temple that you can only walk to at low tide because it is built out on a little island just off of the coast. Donny told us specifically that we had to go at this time to be able to see it, so we were surprised when we got there and it was high tide haha. So, we didn't walk around the temple but I think it looks prettier at high tide and that meant that there were no tourists too... so it was a win. We sat down at a little restaurant with a beautiful view of the temple and got some drinks.
We went to the night market one final time before leaving this beautiful country. The Sindhu Night Market was one of our highlights of our time in Bali! You get to see the people, the culture, the food, and the nightlife all at once.
May 11:
Today we hung out and tried to have a low key day. Our flight left late at night, around 11, but we wanted to give the kids plenty of time for a chill day before our long flight to Ireland. We swam in the pool, watched some shows, and played games in the house. It was Mother's Day so Rusty had arranged for me to get a traditional Indonesian massage. It was really kind of him, but I much prefer a Thai massage haha. The lady kept hitting me!
We got all packed up and Donny picked us up and took us to the airport! We boarded the plane and then had an uneventful (gratefully) flight.
May 12:
Today we were still on the plane, and we had a layover in Doha, Qatar. It was fascinating to fly in somewhere that was a complete desert like that. I would love to go back and spend some real time there. We enjoyed eating some of their food on the plane and in the airport! And that was by far the nicest airport I've ever seen. It was crazy.
Della chasing the brown skinned people because she loves them so much
