Bali

Arriving in Bali

We travelled to Bali with Jeff's parents for the last four days of their trip to Singapore.  We rented a private villa in Canggu complete with our own pool, two cooks/housekeepers, gardener, daily laundry service and a private driver.  We were spoiled with wonderful service by the staff who catered to our every need.

The outdoor bath and shower were wonderful.

The grounds of the villa were beautiful and we enjoyed daily massages, swimming and relaxing by the pool.

Bali

The majority of Balinese are Hindu (the rest of Indonesia is mostly Muslim).  There are temples and alters everywhere in Bali.  The Hindu's make daily offerings which they place in the alters or on the ground.  A man came twice a day to our villa and placed fresh offerings both on the alter and on the ground.

This temple in Ubud was covered with offerings.

Bali is extremely crowded and it takes a long time to travel around the island due to both the number of motorbikes/cars and the lack of (wide) roads.  Like Vietnam, there are hundreds of motorbikes and   people weaving in and out to get around.  We were driven around in a van, and it was not uncommon to have other cars/motorcycles coming at you head on before getting back in the lane, at the last minute, to avoid a head-on collision.  Again, people in Bali were never upset about the driving conditions and we did not witness one accident.  Amazing!

Motorbikes lined up in front of Seminyak Beach

This is where many of the motorbikes go for petrol.  They either fill up at this station or bring their own plastic water bottle to put the petrol in.  Many of the bottles on this stand are old Vodka bottles.

The shopping in Bali is amazing.  There are so many things to buy at such good prices that we had a hard time deciding.  This lady was selling small toys that she kept in this basket on her head.

Highlights of the trip

• Staff of five women showed up to our Villa and for 100 USD we received: 2 (45 min) foot massages, 2  (45 min) facials, 2  (60 min) body massages, 2 pedicures and 3 mini-massages for the kids.  Unbelievably wonderful and relaxing.  This experience was so amazing and unique that we did it again the next day.

Jeff and Lou getting massages on the daybed was priceless!

The kids loved their massages and bought special oils at the Ubud market the next day and we were all treated to more massages by Jake and Kate.

Papa getting a massage from Jake and Kate.

• While sitting on the beach in Seminyak we were swarmed by peddlers selling their wares.  Although it was uncomfortable to have so many people trying to sell to us, we later learned that we got some good deals and wished that we had bought more!  On the way home Donna said, "That was exhilarating."

Donna trying on Sarongs while others wait to sell her more items.

We were so happy to have Lou and Donna visit us in Singapore and just thrilled that we could travel to Bali together.  Bali was a unique and wonderful experience and we are so glad that we got to share it with them.