All smiles after our first diving trip in four yearsAsk anyone who has been to Indonesia, and they say "Ahhhh...Bali." So, as our first school holiday approached we decided the best place to start exploring the country would be in the famed location of "Ahhhh...Bali." Why wait any longer to see what all the hype was about?
With only a week to explore, we decided to spend most of our time in the northwest corner of the island in a village called Pemuteran. Pemuteran is a quiet little place with black sand beaches and abundant coral reefs. We stayed at the bungalows our dive center offered and couldn't have been happier. We spent four wonderful days diving and snorkeling. The diversity we experienced was incredible. The different varieties of coral alone were unbelievable, not to mention the life swimming around it! We watched sea turtles with remoras on their backs, pygmy sea horses hiding in fan coral, and puffer fish parades. It was simply stunning. At night we played games and had laughs while we enjoyed the sound of the crashing waves. It was paradise after a hectic few months of settling in.
To round off our Bali week, we finished up in Ubud. Interestingly enough Julia Roberts had been in town the day prior to our arrival shooting for her upcoming movie Eat, Pray, Love based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. We hoped to get cast as extras, but there were no crews in sight. We went to lunch followed with a fright at the Sacred Monkey Forest. We had been warned by our friends that the monkey forest was pretty intense, but we didn't fully understand this until we saw it for ourselves. We watched aggressive monkeys attack each other, jump on onlookers’ backs, and snag food out of visitors’ hands. The entire time Jen and I pretty much clung to each other while Jim and Brian took photos and laughed. When I watched a large man with three monkeys on his back fling from side to side, I knew it was time to go. We returned to our Balinese induced state of calm after a little window shopping, which is endless in Ubud.
With only two days in Ubud, we didn't get a complete view of everything to experience, but we did join a cooking class, which gave us an interesting window into Balinese culture. We went on a tour of the local market to learn about the common spices and ingredients used in Balinese cuisine. After that we returned for what was more of a demonstration with tasting than a cooking course. This was the first time Jim and I had ever done anything like this and we really enjoyed the experience. After the cooking class, Jen and I spent the afternoon at the spa. We had massages, body scrubs and then hair conditioning crème bathes. It was four fantastic hours of pampering. A must while in Bali!
A week in Bali was certainly not enough, but it did help us understand why people refer to it as, "Ahhhh...Bali." The people have a calm and warmth you don't experience in other places in Indonesia. The food is incredible and every where you look you are surrounded by beauty. It really is paradise...and we are going again in February!
With only a week to explore, we decided to spend most of our time in the northwest corner of the island in a village called Pemuteran. Pemuteran is a quiet little place with black sand beaches and abundant coral reefs. We stayed at the bungalows our dive center offered and couldn't have been happier. We spent four wonderful days diving and snorkeling. The diversity we experienced was incredible. The different varieties of coral alone were unbelievable, not to mention the life swimming around it! We watched sea turtles with remoras on their backs, pygmy sea horses hiding in fan coral, and puffer fish parades. It was simply stunning. At night we played games and had laughs while we enjoyed the sound of the crashing waves. It was paradise after a hectic few months of settling in.
To round off our Bali week, we finished up in Ubud. Interestingly enough Julia Roberts had been in town the day prior to our arrival shooting for her upcoming movie Eat, Pray, Love based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. We hoped to get cast as extras, but there were no crews in sight. We went to lunch followed with a fright at the Sacred Monkey Forest. We had been warned by our friends that the monkey forest was pretty intense, but we didn't fully understand this until we saw it for ourselves. We watched aggressive monkeys attack each other, jump on onlookers’ backs, and snag food out of visitors’ hands. The entire time Jen and I pretty much clung to each other while Jim and Brian took photos and laughed. When I watched a large man with three monkeys on his back fling from side to side, I knew it was time to go. We returned to our Balinese induced state of calm after a little window shopping, which is endless in Ubud.
With only two days in Ubud, we didn't get a complete view of everything to experience, but we did join a cooking class, which gave us an interesting window into Balinese culture. We went on a tour of the local market to learn about the common spices and ingredients used in Balinese cuisine. After that we returned for what was more of a demonstration with tasting than a cooking course. This was the first time Jim and I had ever done anything like this and we really enjoyed the experience. After the cooking class, Jen and I spent the afternoon at the spa. We had massages, body scrubs and then hair conditioning crème bathes. It was four fantastic hours of pampering. A must while in Bali!
A week in Bali was certainly not enough, but it did help us understand why people refer to it as, "Ahhhh...Bali." The people have a calm and warmth you don't experience in other places in Indonesia. The food is incredible and every where you look you are surrounded by beauty. It really is paradise...and we are going again in February!
Our vacay crew...Jen, Brian, Liz and Jim
My jump shot is really improving! Must be the yoga:)
Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest...enter at your own risk!
This fiesty little monkey was ready take on Jim because he had his hands in his pocket and the monkey thought he was hiding food.
Ubud Market
Jim pulled out his bandanna for his turn to marinate the meat...as always he got the group laughing!
Making pork skewers...yum!
Rice paddy in UbudMore photos can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizhaske/OurFirstTripToBali?authkey=Gv1sRgCNGgq-HbsLDUPw#
Lola
Minke
Their brother who has been placed in a home.