theXtraSuitcase

 

Bali, Indonesia

May 2014

 

 

 

We finally had a family member visit us in Singapore - D's sister Tammy.  It was the perfect time for her to come, as D and I were both flying home together from the US the last part of April.  It would make the 23-hour flight much easier and more fun if she flew one way with us.  She stayed with us for three weeks.

When we asked her what she wanted to do ... her top two choices were: 1) visit Bali; and, 2) ride an elephant.  So her Asian adventure started here, in beautiful Bali.

Notice the volcano we are flying over in the photo above, on our way to Bali.

 

The Villa

 

 

We stayed in Ubud in a brand new private villa (Villa Kami).  It was a fun walk to get to the villa as it was in the middle of rice paddies.  They carried our suitcases on motor scooters, as it would have been impossible to pull them along the trail.

 

 

 

 

What I liked about this villa is that it had two master suites with stunning bathrooms.  Many times when you rent a villa, one of the rooms is a kid's room - which isn't fun when you are traveling with all adults.

 

 

 

The bathrooms were amazing - large and luxurious.  Check out that double shower.  The bathtub does not look that big in the photo but it was one of the longest tubs I have been in.  It took over 30 minutes to fill it for a normal bath!

 

 

 

 

 The Elephant Ride

 

 

 

There is an elephant camp just outside of Ubud.  We opted for the early morning package where you got to bathe the elephants and ride them bareback.  

 

 

 

We started on dry land, scrubbing the elephants with brushes.   And to say that the elephants enjoyed it was an understatement!

 

 

 

The elephant loved to have her trunk filled with water, which she then put in her mouth.  If we stopped, she would tap on our foot with her trunk for more water.  Adorable!  A full-grown elephant will drink 40 + gallons of water a day.

Look at that face, happy and content.

 

 

 

 

Next, we went into the water for part two of her bath.  Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants, but as far as I am concerned - they are still huge!  The Mahouts (elephant keepers/riders) said the elephants love their bath time.

 

 

 

My turn - whewwwww hooooo...

This was D's and my second time riding an elephant and it was equally as fun.  The first time was in Laos.  How could riding an elephant NOT be fun???

 

 

 

 

The mahout went much deeper in the water with D.  If you have the opportunity to ride an elephant, try to select a program where you get to ride directly on the elephant's back, not just in a chair.  It truly is a unique experience.

 

 

 

 

Then we each had some elephant lovin'!

 

 

 

 

 

Driver in training!  This baby elephant, a male, is only one year old and is in training to carrying people.  They start him off with just a blanket on his back and slowly work him up to carrying heavier items.  They said it takes five years to fully train them.

 

 

 

 

We also had a ride through the jungle, but this time it was in a seat.

 

 

 

An awesome day with the elephants!  I know some people do not support elephant camps such as these, but we felt it was extremely well run and the animals were well taken care of.  Most of these elephants were rescue elephants from Sumatra and wouldn't be alive if not for this camp.

 

 

A Walk in the Rice Fields

 

 

Bali has many working rice fields.  Tegalalang in Ubud is one of the most striking ones due to its sloped terraces.  You are able to walk along the ridges.

 

 

 

 

We hired a taxi driver/guide to take us around for the day.  His name was Kadek.  I mentioned that the owner of our Villa is also name Kadek... this opened the doors to a fascinating lesson on names.  

In Bali, they ONLY use four names.  They are based on birth order and it does not matter if the child is male or female.

The names are:  first born - Wayan, second born - Made, third born - Nyoman and fourth born - Ketut.

What happens when the fifth child is born?  They start all over with Wayan

They do have a few alternative names such as Putu for the first born (upper caste families) and the second could be called Kadek and the third could be Komang.  They also refer to each other with nickname and for women; a  ‘Ni’ is placed before their name.  It is like ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’.   Men use ‘I’, like ‘Mr.’

But still - how confusing is this?  D and I would both be called Made.

 

 

 Kintamni Volcano 

 

 

 

Kintamani Volcano is still active today.  They say it has erupted 24 times since the year 1804.  The dark part you see is lava from a large eruption in 1968.  Next to the volcano is Lake Batur, the biggest lake in Bali.  Locals fish in the lake and farmers use it as an irrigation source.

 

 

A taste of durian

 

 In Asia the durian is known as "the king of fruits" - it is either loved or hated.  It is often described as smelling like rotting onions, road kill, or sweaty socks!  In Singapore you are not allowed to take it on any public transportation!

 

 

We were driving along with our guide when we saw a durian stand.  Well, really a woman selling them on the roadside.  The driver told us durian was in season so it was the best time to taste it.  We have had food flavored with durian, but this was our first taste of a real durian.

 

 

The verdict?

 

 

 

All of us liked it!  And what a great experience for our first time.... enjoying it with the locals, who came out to watch the westerners taste it.  And if you are wondering about that outfit I have on... I had to wear a sarong in the temples.

 

 

D below with our guide, Kadek - who LOVES durian and ate half of one himself.

 

 

 

 

Temples

 

Bali is known as the "island of a thousand temples" and a trip here would not be complete without visiting a few of them. 

 

 

 

Showing respect by covering up and blessing ourselves before entering the temples.

 

 

 

Gunung Kawi is an 11th-century temple with shrines carved into the cliff.

 

 

 

Offerings

The Balinese make offerings to their Gods three times a day.

 

 

 

Pura Taman Saraswati temple (below) is dedicated to honor the Hindu Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning, literature and art. 

 

 

 

The temples can be extremely colorful with animated sculptures

 

 

 

Sacred Monkey Forest

 

The monkey forest scared me last time we went and I swore I would not go back... but I did.  We all enjoyed it - although it still scared me.  A monkey jumped on Tammy as it wanted her water bottle.  They are little thieves and will take anything in their sight.

 

 

 

They are approximately 605 long-tailed macaques in the park (39 adult males, 38 male sub adult, 194 adult females, 243 juvenile and 91 infants).

 

 

 

 

The macaques breed year-round.  We saw many females carrying their babies, who are born, covered in black hair. They keep this until they are about 6 months old.   

 

 

 

There are beautiful ancient sculptures, bridges, and stairways throughout the monkey forest.

This baby wanted to run but the mother kept him close by holding onto his tail.

 

Gorgeous scenery

 

Bali truly is breathtakingly beautiful.  We were very lucky as every day we had perfect weather.

 

 

 

 

 

Colorful puppets 

 

 

Food

 

We were eager to have Tammy taste the local food.  We did more upscale dining with her  :  )

 

 

 

 

On of our favorites became her favorite - fresh watermelon juice!

 

 

 

The locals

 

A local school bus.  Safety first!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the last night in a resort at the beach in Nusa Dua.  A perfect ending to a perfect visit to Bali!