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I wrote this article several years ago, when we first bought our computer, mainly to try out the word processing programme. It developed into something that I am now quite fond of.
Because it was written some time ago things have changed. Tim is now 16 and Jess is 11. Also the exchange rate and prices quoted have changed a bit but not enough for me to change them in the article as I feel this would change the context.
I have read many books written about Bali, in fact all I was able to lay my hands on, and most of them I read more than once. They were all interesting, informative and some truly fascinating. But being a mother of two small children and the wife of a mechanic I fall into neither of the common categories, overland explorer or wealthy tourist. I feel there is a need for something to be written, that would give hope to families who wish to travel, probably only for a short time each year, with children and not a lot of money.
My husband John and I have travelled to Bali on six different occasions, once before children arrived, once Timothy stayed with his grandparents and four times we have been accompanied by Timothy (now 8) and Jessica (now 4). The first time we travelled as a family, Tim was 6 and Jess was 18 months old. I must say we have truly enjoyed the experience of family travel, without major problems, only the minor hassles associated with any family outing be it a trip to the local shops or a 3,000 kilometre journey.
We have found air travel to be quite trouble free, although airlines vary in their acceptance of small travellers. Qantas was by far, in my opinion, the most hospitable and helpful to travelling parents, no request is too much trouble for the friendly attendants, and in most instances a request is unnecessary as they seem to be one step ahead at all times, always ready with colouring books and pencils, puzzle books for older children, finger puppets, wiping up cloths and all other necessities for the little ones.
Airport staff also seem to be aware of the unsettling effect that long waits have on little people and carry out their procedures as promptly as they are able, usually in a friendly manner which is always helpful in keeping nerves intact.
Upon arrival in Bali you soon learn (usually at the airport) that Balinese people have a true love for all children, and will amuse and entertain them endlessly, wherever you go. We have been welcomed into restaurants on return visits, mainly because they were so pleased to see the children again. No sooner have we settled at a table, than Tim and Jess have been whisked away to the kitchen for dishes of ice cream (es crem) and Balinese dance lessons, to reappear for a quick meal and off again on another adventure. On our first visit when Jess was still only a baby she was greeted everywhere with calls of "Hallo, Babee" while Tim became used to being welcomed with "Hi, Boy, how are you" to which he would reply "Bagus" (Good). Whilst browsing in one of the many small shops in Kuta, Jess in her stroller may disappear into a nearby shop at the hands of some friendly Balinese, which in Australia would be cause for alarm, but in Bali there is no need of such feelings as the people are so caring for children's welfare that no harm could ever come to them. On our third family visit, Tim who was at the time seven, roamed off thinking he had been left behind. Now this was cause for alarm as we wondered how we would ever locate him in the myriad of tiny shops without the assistance of a public address system so familiar at home. Our panic was soon put to rest, as he was promptly returned to us by a wonderful Balinese man into whose shop Tim had strayed, to be questioned as to the whereabouts of his parents, and the proprietor tracked us down without delay. A child is never ignored or not noticed in Bali, they are all treated with respect, kindness and care at all times.
We are always made to feel right at home at the hotels in which we stay. We always choose the cheapest available package that provides us with the things we like best about Bali. That is close to the beach, restaurants, shops etc. without being noisy and boisterous, and our other main requirement is a swimming pool, for relief after hot dusty outings. The staff are always friendly and helpful and we have never had any complaints about our room or the service provided. Of course, you have to travel with an open mind as Bali is not a fully westernised country and some of the customs and facilities are not what you would find at home. That is not to say they are worse, just different, and is this not why we travel, to experience other cultures and different ways of life. Learning to cope with hundreds of thousands of Rupiahs is an experience that is quite exciting, changing $100 into 150,000Rp., makes you feel far more wealthy than you really are. But you soon get used to it. John and I can converse in rupiahs now as easily as dollars and often do. Even Timothy understands the value of the Rupiah.
The great joy of Bali is the wonderfully, casual atmosphere. No-one hurries in Bali. It takes a couple of days to slow down to their pace, and you should never expect anything to be done in a hurry. But then who would want to hurry in a climate like their's. The weather is absolutely glorious. It is always warm, sometimes hot, often humid, and quite often a shower of rain will appear from nowhere, soaking you to the skin, but no matter, you can be dry again in no time. The evenings are warm and balmy and you will wish they could go on for ever. You will have no need of anything but your coolest, casual clothes. Because of the climate, eating out is always a pleasure, nearly all the restaurants are situated outside under a pergola, often on a beach, where you can sit and enjoy your meal while your children play nearby in the sand and water, and when they concede to sit and eat, any mishaps that invariably occur are barely noticed, and messy table manners most certainly never raise eyebrows. Our favourite restaurant since our first visit has been Sanur Beach Market Restaurant, the food is wonderful, and reasonably priced, not cheap, but reasonable, and it is situated right on the beach at the Bali Beach Hotel end of Sanur Beach. We have sat down there for lunch and stayed for dinner more than once. The little market behind the restaurant is ideal for a bit of leisurely browsing and bartering, and the beach is perfect for unadventurous swimmers. Sanur Beach is situated on a bay that is surrounded by a coral reef. The water is shallow and calm at high tide, and low tide reveals beautiful coral reef, alive with starfish, crabs and tiny colourful fish as well as shells and pieces of coral.
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Food is never a problem for youngsters, as there is always a jaffle (toasted sandwich) or a banana pancake not far away, and noodles seem to satisfy the most fussy palate, satays seem quite popular and fresh fruit salad is another favourite. There is a variety of so called western food, but we tend to find that this does not quite meet the standard of our two fussy eaters, and as it tends to be more expensive than standard food, we try to steer clear of it as much as possible. There are an assortment of drinks available, freshly squeezed fruit juice, milkshakes, lassis (a sort of milkshake with yoghurt added), as well as the usual assortment of cool drinks - Coke, Fanta, Seven-Up etc. Drinking water seems to be of major concern to most travellers, particularly those with children in tow. But we have found a little bit of pre-travel tutoring and plenty of common sense to allay any problems caused by dodgy water. Bottle water is available everywhere, even the most remote roadside warung sells bottles of purified water. In all our visits to Bali we have suffered nothing more than minor tummy upsets, probably due more to spicy food and excitement than unclean water, and the children have suffered none.
One would think that an island famous for its religion, temples, and arts and crafts would hold no interest for children. But it is a place of true wonder and the unexpected. We visited the Bird Market in Denpasar, where Jess was able to feed a baby monkey from a bottle, as well as seeing bats, snakes, squirrels, and thousands of multi-coloured birds and parrots. We visited the famous Monkey Forest (every time) where Tim had a tiny monkey peek up the leg of his shorts much to his amusement, and which has been the source of many tales since. We have watched the sun set over Tanah Lot and swam in luxurious, hot, sulphurous springs in the mountains. We have climbed seemingly endless steps at ancient, ruined palaces, and driven higher and higher up the majestic Mount Agung Volcano. We have seen the most breathtaking scenery and enjoyed beautiful, untouched beaches.
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On our child-free holidays in Bali, John and I hired numerous motor bikes, which were driven around most of the island, without mishap, including Denpasar, which I must admit to being quite hair-raising, but incident free. We now hire cars, for obvious reasons. They are relatively cheap to hire, and petrol is quite cheap and easier to come by now than it used to be. We find the freedom of driving ourselves far better than having to rely on public transport, or having to conform to the timetables of arranged tours. You need plenty of drinks, snacks and amusements and a good map, and the wonders of Bali are at your feet (or wheels). We have driven through parts of Bali that seldom see tourists, much to the delight of the local children, who seem to think we are quite spectacular. We once became lost trying to find a relatively unknown (then) hot spring and pulled into a little local school, all the children ran out to greet us, we tried to make ourselves understood in our limited Indonesian only to discover that they wanted to practice their English on these seldom seen tourists. After much chatter and fun, and garbled directions we proceeded to find our hot spring only to discover it was under construction as a tourist resort (sadly), and upon returning the following year, we were amazed to find a complex of swimming pools, individual spa areas, restaurants and accommodation all at very inflated prices, unfortunately a sign of the times. Alas, one has to accept these changes, and realise that all these so-called improvements provide much needed employment for an overpopulated country. Tourism has raised the Balinese standard of living greatly, and hopefully sensible planning will allow for the wonderfully traditional Bali to survive alongside these changes.
As the children have grown older, they have learnt more and more about this amazing country, the language is quite an easy one to pick up (on a basic level), and the culture is so colourful and full of fun that it becomes known to you without having to try very hard. One of the sad things to see in Bali, is the tourist who settles into the pool or bar at the hotel and never ventures further than the local restaurant or pub and returns home having learnt nothing about this paradise that isn't in a travel brochure. We have met people who were amazed that we had roamed just ten kilometres down the road under our own steam. Still, each to his own. If that is what you want from a holiday, where better to laze by the pool and drink coconut milk straight from the coconut.
We have stayed at different hotels each time, each one delightful in its own way. The only one we would not return to, was situated about five kilometres north of Legian, and it was such a large complex, that to go for a swim in the pool or at the beach meant a ten minute walk from our room which was situated in a three storey block, which to our way of thinking is not the way to enjoy the delights of Bali. All our other accommodations have been cottage type rooms set in beautiful gardens with plenty of room for running and playing games, far more sensible. Many hotels only allow one child to share a room with parents, and two children must be accommodated in a separate room, which can work out too expensive for the average budget. But we find with a bit of investigating work there are places that will supply two extra beds at no extra cost. In most cases you only pay the children's airfares and their accommodation is free. We find New Horizons Travel usually able to arrange this at most locations. We used to include breakfast in our fares so as not to have to account for it in our daily budget, but have found on our more recent trips that this can work out very expensive, when you can stroll along the beach to a nearby restaurant and get a hearty breakfast for much less. The same applies to transfers to and from the airport. We have only discovered on our most recent trip that these do not have to be included, and you can find your own transport for much less than the $80 we were quoted, if included in our fare, which works out at $40 each way, approximately 60,000Rp., when you can hire an airconditioned taxi from the airport to Sanur for about 10,000Rp., (about $6.50).
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Something that many people find makes them feel uncomfortable in Bali is the bartering system. Although the restaurants, supermarkets, department stores and many expensive fashion and specialty shops charge fixed prices, the ancient bartering system is still alive and well in Bali. Whilst browsing at the markets or small handicraft, fashion or souvenir shops you may decide you would like to buy a particular item and enquire as to its price, you will be quoted a phenomenal amount, far above what the vendor is willing to accept. You then proceed to offer an amount far more to your liking and then the fun begins, they will come down a bit and you will go up a bit, until gradually you agree at a figure, probably between one third and half of what was originally asked. There are a great many factors that can affect this deal, ranging from the time of day, the weather, how business is going that day, and how much the last customer was willing to pay, which is particularly unfortunate if the last customer happened to be a Japanese or European tourist, as they are usually willing to pay far more than we Australian tourists, often not even bothering to barter. The Balinese do not take offence at this process, in fact quite the opposite, they really do expect it and usually seem to enjoy it as much as we do. With much feigning of disappointment, and many tales of starving children and disabled relatives, which may have been true once but not so in these much more prosperous times, and with much fun and laughter one transaction can take quite a long time, while you chat about their family and yours, their home and customs and yours, finally ending in a sale of mutual satisfaction, from which you will depart with a smile on your face, not just from the wonderful bargain you have just purchased. Of course, you will always meet someone who bought the same article for less than you did, but rest assured there is always someone who paid more. I find this system very enjoyable, as well as a great way to meet and talk to the locals. There is one catch however, in that if you are looking at something you do not want to buy, it is difficult to convince the seller of this fact and the recommended procedure is to offer a rock bottom price, to which, supposedly, they will be shocked at your impudence and go away, this works quite well in most cases, although I have ended up purchasing unwanted items because my offer has been accepted, and once you have made an offer you cannot back down. A well known ploy to bring the price down in your favour is to pretend disinterest and walk away, whereby they will follow you and accept your offer. However, the sticking point is usually only a matter of 5,000Rp., or so and as this is only $3 you will probably pay up if you want the article in question badly enough. So don't be put off by this charming custom, and give it a go, you will probably enjoy it, and your budget will stretch a lot further if you do.
There are, of course, the much maligned street and beach hawkers, who will hassle you mercilessly as you walk along the street or try to have a peaceful sit on the beach, (much more prevalent in Kuta than the other resorts) but if you are firm in your dealings with them they usually get the message. But once again, remember they are only trying to make a living, and unless they become too obnoxious, try not to be too hard on them, a bit of joking goes a long way in Bali, and their watches and sunglasses are amazingly cheap if you use the abovementioned bartering system. There is also the men on bicycles laden with cheaply made plastic toys, who ride the streets tooting their horns, whom the children come to know very quickly, as he tries to entice them with his wares, and very expensive prices, probably more than at home. But you can usually get the price down if you do find something appealing enough. We bought Jessica a lovely little set of kitchenware, with everything in it Balinese-style, from the gas cooker to the rice bowls and spoons, quite a novelty.
Travelling around Bali can be quite deceiving, as the road distances are quite short in comparison to our own. But if you get up into the mountains, where the roads can become very steep and winding, you will often find yourself stuck behind a huge truck or bus heaving itself up the mountain and issuing unbelievable clouds of exhaust fumes. This can take up quite a lot of your travelling time, and needs to be considered when calculating time and distance. Also, if you are travelling out on the eastern coast road, this can also become quite congested on the return journey in the late afternoon, as all the work trucks return to Denpasar at the end of the day and this makes for a very slow trip home, especially when hot, tired and hungry. The road rule in Bali is the bigger your vehicle the more rights you have, and you will find trucks tooting at you furiously to pull over for them to pass at break-neck speed. We were once climbing through a mountain range, rounding a very tight bend, to be confronted by a large truck coming down, who passed so close to our vehicle that he took our rear vision mirror with him, which did not impress the car hire agent greatly, but he seemed to accept it as a common occurrence, although we have not had another such experience, thankfully. The tooting horns, by the way, is not a sign of arrogance or impatience on Bali roads, it is the accepted way of informing other road users of your intentions to pass them, whether they be a car, pushbike, pedestrian with a water bucket on their head, or a sleeping dog in the middle of the road, or even a mother pig with six piglets trailing behind.
The Balinese dogs seem to have a sixth sense about cars, however, and will invariably get out of the way just as you approach, or then again they may eye you arrogantly, as much to say "I am not moving", and you will have to squeeze around them. While on the subject of Balinese dogs, they are the one thing about this paradise that is not quite fitting, as they are the mangiest bunch of animals you will ever see. The Balinese belief is that every good thing has an opposite, hence the black and white cloth you see wound around many statues to represent good and evil. Well the dogs are considered the compulsory ugly side, to balance their otherwise perfectly beautiful island. You often see them scrounging through rubbish or gobbling up an offering that someone has placed outside their shop or home. But other than this they are not a real problem and you get quite used to them, and you even get over the urge to feed them after a while. They are quite timid and if you are afraid of them, you only have to raise your hand sharply and they are off and away.
The only other unpleasant and sometimes upsetting encounter you may be confronted with is the beggars (again more prevalent in Kuta than any of the other resorts), who unfortunately seem to be becoming more common. They range from very small children to elderly people, and in the majority of cases you will get the feeling that they are not quite as badly off as they would have you believe, but occasionally, particularly with the elderly people, you will feel their need is genuine, and a small gift will be greatly appreciated, but beware once you have given to one, all and sundry will think you an easy target.
Getting back to the more pleasant side of Bali. There are several resorts at which to stay. The three most popular, Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua, are all situated at the southern tip of the island clustered around the beaches. Sanur, our favourite, is on the eastern side just on the outskirts of Denpasar, although there is no sign of being so close to the city except for the convenience should you wish to visit the bustling metropolis. Sanur is relatively quiet and laid-back, and makes for a very relaxing holiday. There is one main street which runs the full length of Sanur where you can find every type of restaurant imaginable, and the shopping is truly mind-boggling. Little local buses (bemos) run up and down this street continuously, you merely flag them down, climb aboard and call out when you want to get off. The fare is 200Rp., per person and is astonishingly good value, particularly when little feet get tired of walking. Some people think that Sanur is more expensive than Kuta, but having stayed at both we find there is not a great difference, and the peacefulness of Sanur is worth any little extra we may pay. Kuta is on the western side of the peninsula, and much more hectic and fast moving, more suited to young people who wish to be where the action is. There are shops, pubs, restaurants, and nightclubs everywhere you go. There is endless accommodation ranging from the very, very cheap losmen to world class hotels with every luxury imaginable. We have enjoyed staying in Kuta, but would not return to stay there again, having enjoyed the tranquillity of Sanur. Then there is Nusa Dua. We have not stayed here, so I cannot claim first-hand knowledge, but we have visited on several occasions to view the splendour, and it is not our idea of the true Bali. It is excessively plush, with luxurious hotels lined up along the beach, all claiming to be 'Balinese Style', which is absurd when your average Balinese would be mind-boggled at the sheer size and luxury of these complexes, and the price you would pay for a week's accommodation would keep a family for a year or more here.
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There are other resorts located around the island. Ubud in the foothills is a delightful place. It is the heart of the painting and wood-carving industry, and many Australians, as well as other nationalities, have come to settle permanently in this most tranquil place. It is becoming quite westernised these days, with the odd plush hotel springing up here and there, but the true spirit of Bali is still prominent, and a holiday here is most refreshing. Lovina Beach on the outskirts of Singaraja on the north coast is a quiet little settlement of small hotels along a beautiful (black) beach. John and I stayed here in 1988 for a couple of nights and found it very calm and peaceful. One evening we ventured out for a stroll after dinner, and came across a Wayang Kulit performance (shadow puppet) at the roadside, we were ushered in as very honoured guests to enjoy the evening's entertainment with the local people. It is one of our most treasured memories of our times in Bali, a real true-life Bali experience. Candi Dasa is located on the far eastern tip of Bali, was once a small fishing village, as was Kuta, but now is quite popular as a get away from it all resort. Set on a rapidly eroding beach, it is acclaimed for its colourful and interesting diving off the reef, it has several very small offshore islands that you can visit. It is a good spot to base yourself if you wish to visit the beautiful water temples and palaces in the area, also the scenery in this district is simply breathtaking. Take a drive through the mountains from Amlapura (also known as Karangasem) through Selat to Rendang and you will see the best scenery in the world. There are other resorts springing up all the time but we have not visited them as yet, so cannot remark. If you are planning a visit to Bali I am sure you will be able to find somewhere to stay that will suit yours and your budget's needs, to ensure you will have a holiday of a lifetime.
The one most necessary requirement in enjoying your Bali holiday is the right attitude. We have met people who have visited Bali and returned home with tales of horror and disgust only because they have gone off expecting to find Australia set on paradise island. You must remember that until the 1960's Bali was just a little island where people went about their daily business, with no knowledge of the outside world, with its cars and televisions, hot water and flushing toilets, some village people to this day still find some of these things out of the ordinary. Their medical facilities may not be quite up to the standards that we are used to. But should you be unfortunate enough to have a need of medical assistance, it is available at clean, well equipped hospitals, mostly in Denpasar. Although good doctors, dentists and pharmacies are available at all the tourist locations. Needless to say, should you be in a small village, and in need of medical aid you will need to travel to the nearest large town before seeking help, and Travel Insurance is good value for money should you become seriously ill or injured and need to be 'Medi-Vacced' home. But I must stress that tales of horrific injury are very much exaggerated, we have only met a couple of injured Aussies in our travels and both were due to the excessive use of alcohol, by inexperienced young travellers.
There are far too many wonderful places to visit in Bali for me to recommend any in particular, nor would I suppose that our favourites would be yours. I truly believe that to experience the wonders of this magical place you would need far longer than the average package holiday, hence our six trips, and we still find new experiences each time we visit
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