Bali (9 - 13 December 2012)

This is a back-post on our Bali trip in December.

We didn't quite know where to go as we already did a pretty "big" trip to Melbourne in September. So at the last minute, we decided on Bali. We booked the trip only about 2 weeks before we were due to go. And we knew that Kieran's kindy classmate was going to be there as well, we planned to meet up there.

This trip is a little different from the other trips that we take in that there was no theme parks to visit. :P The boys also saw a slightly different world from what they were used to seeing. I think they were quite surprised when we landed at Denpasar. The airport was old, not something that they were used to seeing, but I think it was a really good experience for them.

We did the usual touristy stuff like Tanah Lot, Monkey forest and Uluwatu. It was a good restful holiday. No rush, just lots of sightseeing and beach-lazing. The people in Bali were really friendly and helpful. We used a transport service (Sila Bali Tours) during our 3 days of sightseeing. It was recommended by a friend and we were really happy with their service. They were on time, the cars were clean and the drivers were all friendly and very flexible to take us places for sightseeing. They do not mind that our itinerary sometimes changes at the very last minute. The service isn't too expensive either. A car for the 4 of us for the entire day cost us 400 000rp (S$51). On the last day, we still used the service when we went shopping. It was so convenient. He would drop us off and then pick us up when we were done shopping. No hassle.

Of all the places we saw. We loved Tanah Lot the most. Somehow, the partially submerged sea temple has its magic.

The waves are strong and the constant battering by the waves have created many holes on the sea bed. Some are shallow and the kids could peer in to see little fishes swimming in there. There are also holes that are really deep and you cannot see the bottom of it. How did we know that? Our friend and her son backed into one of them and fell right in. Even though we laughed about it later on, she said that it was quite frightening at that point as she couldn't touch the bottom at all. At that moment, we hubby was trying to hold on and haul her son (Kiefer's classmate) out and then get her out. Me? I took a photo of both of them when they got out. :P

We stayed at Conrad, Bali (Nusa Dua) the entire duration we were there. It was a nice quite resort hotel with a huge pool for the kiddos to swim in. Even though Conrad has their own private beach, we didn't play much in there as we had a scare on the 2nd day when Kieran came running to us yelling " Mummy! That man says that there are snakes in the water!".  We found out that there were reports of sea snakes being spotted near the buoys just a month or so before. After that, we didn't play at the beach any more. Fortunately, the pool has a little sand play area and they boys could still dig and build their sandcastles. They loved the pool so much that they spent entire mornings in the pool!!

I think we will return to Bali again. It is nearby, not too expensive and a wonderful, wonderful place for a restful holiday.