Exploring the Island of Bali

We took several excursions to explore the island of Bali.

Erik went out by himself one afternoon to scope what was out there.
We took the kids on a full day tour that circled the island.
And Erik and I did a couple of other excursions while the kids were safely tucked away at camp.


Lots of temples, I mean, several per block, they were everywhere and most were very ornate


Most of Indonesia is Muslim but Bali is Hindu - we were surprised to see so much meat when India is so veg. Erik even had an honest-to-goodness McDonald's cheeseburger on one of his excursions... we only get the McAloo Tiki in India.


Darling Indonesian Princess



Little palm baskets filled with offerings to the Gods were everywhere. Temples were piled high with them but every shop had a basket or two or three or five outside. The palm baskets were filled with flowers and some type of food be it fruit or crackers or whatever. We even saw some with cigarettes in them. So when you were out shopping, you had to be careful not to step on the baskets all over the ground because it's an offering and also because the baskets were ususally covered in ants (red ones) and they will bite you. Yes, it happened.


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Balinese rice paddys



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Batur volcano




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Coffee / spice plantation




Man roasting coffee beans over an open fire on a hot day... wouldn't want that job

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Goa Gajah, The Elephant Temple read more

Built at least 700 years ago, the cave was rediscovered in the 1920s and fully excavated 30 years later.

The Ganesha statue discovered inside the cave.







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Got our attention...


Darling little Balinese boy


Not something you see every day...

Christmas Day in Bali

Club Med did a really great job for the kids on Christmas Day.

The kids were asked to arrive at Kids Club early so they could get ready for Santa's arrival.




Santa arrived by boat on the beach


A Balinese marching band played for Santa's arrival
(And Dude, it was super hot... kids were all in their polyester elf costumes and the marching band was in full uniform)

And every child received a gift and a photo with Santa

Club Med Kids Camp

The Kids Camp was amazing.
It opened at 7:00a, there was a family event/contest at 4:30p, you had to check your kids out by 5:00p but you could check them back in at 7:00p so the kids would eat dinner with the kids club and there would be some kind of after event and you'd pick them up by 9:00p. (My kids are usually in bed at 8:00p)

Every day we did some kind of mix of family time/Kids Camp. Some days they swam with us, some days they were in camp for the whole she-bang. It was really nice having the option of having the kids eat dinner with their friends so we could have some Helen/Erik time.

Both kids managed to make great friends, and they happened to be brother and sister; Benjamin and Alexa from Australia.

August and Benjamin

Kids camp put on a lot of evening shows for the parents.


"Candy Millionaire" Who wants to be a Millionaire for kids

They put on the play Peter Pan. They rehearsed for days before the show and did a really nice job.





This was billed as a Talent Show but it was really just a show of rehearsed dances.
Another really nice job and the kids seemed to have fun doing it.









Fun in the Kids Camp pool

Activities

You could be doing something every hour of the day, or nothing at all, it was totally up to you...

Erik and the kids entered a sand castle building contest...


And won! The kids cherished their medals and wore them all the time. (Good thing they didn't notice that every participant received a medal.)


I took wind surfing and went snorkeling. The snorkeling trip was a boat excursion that dropped us over a reef so we could see lots and lots of colorful fish. I felt like I was swimming in an aquarium. The boat captain threw bread into the water after a while so we could experience the fish swarming around us. It was pretty cool. But I kept feeling tiny sharp shooting pains while I was in the water. Like mosquito bites only worse. When we got back on the boat the captain was explaining to another passenger that the water is full of plankton-sized jelly fish and that's what the stinging sensations were. Actually, I'm glad I didn't know ahead of time.


Auggie on the trapeeze!


You go Aug!

Club Med Bali

Erik ran to the beach to feel the temperature of the Indian Ocean. Like a bath...


Lots of lounge chairs - by the busy pool or in serene spots like this.


Pool was a big favorite. The Kid's Club had a canopy over their pool so their sun exposure was reduced, I liked that.


The bar... the center point of the whole complex. Great espresso in the morning, refreshing drinks all afternoon, and cocktails any time you wanted, all included and served with a smile.


The beach right after sun rise.

Let's hit the swimming pool!

We arrived at Club Med Bali around 3:00pm on 22nd December. As soon as we were able to check in, we put on our "swimming costumes" (as they say in India) and headed for the pool. The kids swam and swam, stopped for dinner, swam some more, then we turned in early since we were all tired from the trip.

August's feet after swimming


Annika's hands

Since Bali is SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR it's Summer rather than Winter. It was hot and humid but very easy to get used to. We always had a thin layer of perspiration on our skin but I was never uncomfortable. It was also Bali's rainy season but it didn't rain much, when it did it was usually at night, and the rain actually cooled the air rather than making it muggy.

Off to Bali!

On Sunday, 21st December we started our journey to Bali, Indonesia. We were all very excited.
We had a 12:30am flight and left for the airport at 10:00pm. This gave us a full weekend at home before the trip and we were hoping the kids would just sleep on the plane and we'd arrive in Bali ready to go.

Gopi took our picture as we were leaving for the airport


Because of the late hour, A&A fell asleep almost instantly on our way to the airport (a 1 hour drive at this hour)

Two kids very excited to start our adventure


We had a few hours layover in Bangkok before continuing on to Bali.


Two impressions of Bangkok airport:
1. Was shocked to see so many white people. It made me realize how few white people we see in Bangalore. Our neighborhood is quite western but as soon as you step out of the gates you rarely see another white face. Walking through Bangkok airport and seeing white face after white face was actually quite jarring.
2. It's a BEAUTIFUL airport and I could see why those protestors camped there for two weeks, I could have stayed longer myself.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year to our friends and family!!

When we were ringing in the New Year in Bali it was still 8:00AM in California/Oregon!!

We arrived home at 1:00am on 2nd January. It was a wonderful trip, too short, lots of pictures to post this week.
Also, it's a little bizarre to come "home" to India. But Gopi was waiting for us at the airport with a big smile on his face and warm wishes for a Happy New Year to the Vignau family.