LeafLeavers

Kuta, Bali

*Bali is a province in the country of Indonesia

For our term 3 holidays we checked in at the Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta, Bali. It was an easy 3 1/2 hour flight. Bali is a very popular holiday destination for Aussies; it’s often cheaper to travel to Bali than within Australia. 

We stayed 7 great nights at Hard Rock. Lots of food options nearby and the service was great. Each morning we ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. Atticus had pancakes everyday and I mainly ate rice and noodles. Paul had eggs and bacon. We couldn’t use tap water, even to brush our teeth, so we were cautious about what we consumed to avoid Bali Belly (stomach bug) . The standards at our hotel were high. Beyond the hotel we chose restaurants that were well-known and avoided uncooked foods and ice drinks.  

Pool Days…

We chilled in a cabana and lived it up like rockstars with food and drinks. All the servers were so friendly. Hard Rock has the largest pool in Bali and it’s an awesome spot for families with kids.

Atticus loved the playground pool and het met new friends daily. He gained more confidence by swimming each day with his daddy. His favourite memory is sipping on Shirley Temples at the swim up bar while daddy had Bitang (Indonesian beer)we rented one of the cabanas on the left 

When we walked out of our hotel the streets were busy, lined with taxis, scooters zig zagging all over, many stalls and low-budget spas. Someone was always trying to sell us something, convince us to get a massage or get a taxi. The stalls sold cheap knock offs and souvenir items. Paul had a good handle at bartering.  Everyone we encountered had a great sense of humour and even though they were trying to rip us tourists off we all still had a good laugh about it. 

Scooters are the most efficient way to travel. On one scooter we a saw a family of 3. Dad driving, mom on the back and the child tucked in “safely” in the middle. Both adults had helmets, the kid did not.  Makes me wonder about our “precious” first-world country kids and the “bubble” we put them in to protect their livelihood. 

temperatures were 35 C and feeling like 39-40 with humidex

Ubud, Bali

One of the days, we hired a driver and left the busy city. We drove 1 hr 1/2 to Ubud to see monkeys at  Monkey Sanctuary Forest and then we had a Balinese-style lunch overlooking rice terraces. The cost of a driver and car was 35000 IRP for 6 hours. We averaged around 40000 -60000 IRP for our meals +drinks. 

Prior to our holidays, Bali was put on high alert (and still is) for possible eruption of Mount Agung- a volcano. The people living around the volcano were being evacuated and travellers were told to travel with discretion and have travel insurance. Kuta is 70 km away from the active volcano and we were safe. Around the hotel it was not as busy as we anticipated. I think many people cancelled/delayed travel plans due to the travel advisory. We are thankful that we traveled back and forth with no delay/interruption. Good times in Bali.. until next time. Cheers!