It was so nice to get out of town together, away from work, away from household duties, and away from the fast paced city. Ah, how lovely to be on island time…it was perfect.
Having just found out it was rainy season in Bali at the time (oops, note to self for next time: check out weather patterns prior to booking a trip), I was nervous that the weather would be terrible - raining and cloudy - and the kind of image we had in mind of a picturesque tropical island trip would be ruined. And it would be all my fault. Thankfully (Thank You, God!), we had beautiful weather each day!
The first three nights, we stayed in Kuta - a busy area well known for surfing, restaurants and night clubs. Because, you know, Mark and I still like to go clubbing. We bring the kids, too.
Anyway, no, I did not know this either prior to booking the trip. Oops again. For the first three nights, we stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in the busy area of Kuta, strictly for the kids. The kids activities and the pools/man made beach within the pool area were perfect for them. We got to see a lot of professional and amateur surfers, too, which was neat.
During this time, we took a two hour trip to an area of Bali called Ubud, known for its beautifully stacked rice fields, wood carvings and art. On our way, we stopped at an old workshop to learn the ancient and famous art of batik. Batik is a wax resist process in making beautiful, incredibly detailed fabrics. The fabric retains its original color wherever the wax has been applied. The wax cloth is dyed, then more wax is applied to preserve the dyed color. The lengthy process is repeated - waxing then dying - several times, then the wax is removed, producing a colorful, patterned fabric.
Next, we visited a monkey forest - a large forest where many kinds of monkeys live and roam throughout the massive trees. They've become quite tame and the place has become a tourist attraction, as you can buy bananas and other fruits to hand feed the monkeys. Beware, monkeys roam throughout all of Bali - and are not so tame anywhere other than this forest. So I learned when one jumped on the back of my legs, stole my flip flop and tore it apart while visiting a temple in Uluwatu...
Ubud is also now known for the place where the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" was filmed and the book was written, too. The same healer as written about in the book practices here and there's always a long line of people waiting outside of his house. Here, we ate at a beautiful restaurant that overlooked uninterrupted rice fields, with a shade of green so stunning, I've never seen it before. Unfortunately, after lunch, I got sick (not from the food) and we needed to come home…hence, no pictures of Ubud rice fields. Well, maybe I'll get some next time. :)
After staying at Hard Rock, we went south to a quiet resort area called Nusa Dua, and stayed at the Grand Hyatt for three more nights. Ahhhhhhhh…..this was what we were looking for….the quintessential picture of an exotic tropical island, with the idyllic clear turquoise water, white sand beach, and tall palm trees peppering the border of the beach. Everything was so serene. Immediately, when we drove into the grand entrance and walked into the hotel, it was truly magical. The hotel was decorated in true Indonesian style with an open air concept architecture. Every corner, ceiling, statue and trim had a Bali influence, with ornately carved wood or stone. Standing at the front of the hotel, looking through the luxurious lobby to the back of the hotel, all you could see was bright blue water, white sand and palm trees. Off in the distance were hills of jungle and a lone temple. Time stopped and you held your breath for a second, making sure it was real and wouldn't go away in the blink of an eye. But no, it was real, and we were more than thankful to be there.
While in Nusa Dua, Mark and I enjoyed a long kayaking excursion. We were able to paddle up to another old temple nearby and get a closer view of it from the water. It was so cool. We also enjoyed some great local Indonesian food and got to see our first Indonesian traditional Kecak dance. One day, we went to Uluwatu, also on the southern coast of Bali. Here, we visited the Uluwatu temple, which is stunning to see at sunset. We also saw another larger Kecak and fire dance performed near the temple at sunset, which was absolutely beautiful. We rounded off our trip with surf lessons for Mark and Madison - both did great - especially Madison, who got up on the board on her first try and wanted to surf every day for the rest of our trip.
Alas, it was time to fly home (wow, I don't know the last time I've used that word - alas - haha) and although we were sad to leave, we were grateful for all the memories this island was so generous to give to us.
You can view more pictures from our trip here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/
During this time, we took a two hour trip to an area of Bali called Ubud, known for its beautifully stacked rice fields, wood carvings and art. On our way, we stopped at an old workshop to learn the ancient and famous art of batik. Batik is a wax resist process in making beautiful, incredibly detailed fabrics. The fabric retains its original color wherever the wax has been applied. The wax cloth is dyed, then more wax is applied to preserve the dyed color. The lengthy process is repeated - waxing then dying - several times, then the wax is removed, producing a colorful, patterned fabric.
Next, we visited a monkey forest - a large forest where many kinds of monkeys live and roam throughout the massive trees. They've become quite tame and the place has become a tourist attraction, as you can buy bananas and other fruits to hand feed the monkeys. Beware, monkeys roam throughout all of Bali - and are not so tame anywhere other than this forest. So I learned when one jumped on the back of my legs, stole my flip flop and tore it apart while visiting a temple in Uluwatu...
Ubud is also now known for the place where the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" was filmed and the book was written, too. The same healer as written about in the book practices here and there's always a long line of people waiting outside of his house. Here, we ate at a beautiful restaurant that overlooked uninterrupted rice fields, with a shade of green so stunning, I've never seen it before. Unfortunately, after lunch, I got sick (not from the food) and we needed to come home…hence, no pictures of Ubud rice fields. Well, maybe I'll get some next time. :)
After staying at Hard Rock, we went south to a quiet resort area called Nusa Dua, and stayed at the Grand Hyatt for three more nights. Ahhhhhhhh…..this was what we were looking for….the quintessential picture of an exotic tropical island, with the idyllic clear turquoise water, white sand beach, and tall palm trees peppering the border of the beach. Everything was so serene. Immediately, when we drove into the grand entrance and walked into the hotel, it was truly magical. The hotel was decorated in true Indonesian style with an open air concept architecture. Every corner, ceiling, statue and trim had a Bali influence, with ornately carved wood or stone. Standing at the front of the hotel, looking through the luxurious lobby to the back of the hotel, all you could see was bright blue water, white sand and palm trees. Off in the distance were hills of jungle and a lone temple. Time stopped and you held your breath for a second, making sure it was real and wouldn't go away in the blink of an eye. But no, it was real, and we were more than thankful to be there.
While in Nusa Dua, Mark and I enjoyed a long kayaking excursion. We were able to paddle up to another old temple nearby and get a closer view of it from the water. It was so cool. We also enjoyed some great local Indonesian food and got to see our first Indonesian traditional Kecak dance. One day, we went to Uluwatu, also on the southern coast of Bali. Here, we visited the Uluwatu temple, which is stunning to see at sunset. We also saw another larger Kecak and fire dance performed near the temple at sunset, which was absolutely beautiful. We rounded off our trip with surf lessons for Mark and Madison - both did great - especially Madison, who got up on the board on her first try and wanted to surf every day for the rest of our trip.
Alas, it was time to fly home (wow, I don't know the last time I've used that word - alas - haha) and although we were sad to leave, we were grateful for all the memories this island was so generous to give to us.
You can view more pictures from our trip here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/
Just catching up! What beautiful pictures! You guys look AMAZING. Miss you and the kids sooo much! Hunter looks like he is really happy...and Madison? What has happened to your first born? She looks all grown up! What a blessing to be able to have this opportunity! Tell Mark...Purple is his color! lol. Loved the sarong! Love you..Big hugs to everyone.
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