Holidays Part III(back to Bali)

So, Part I and Part II are a little out of order, but read on a maybe I'll be able to fill in the gaps. While I was in Singapore with Judy, our husbands and children headed to Bali and had a few beach days before we got there. Tris bought a few body boards and so my family spent many hours in the sand and waves (sometimes both at the same time). Upon arrival Judy and I, on the other hand, spent more time under the umbrellas and in the shops than in the ocean. Our first stay was in Legian, which is where I would recommend if you like good surfing, good sand (some of Bali's beaches are white or black sand...Legian is great for castle building), good shopping and good restaurants. If you want peace and quiet, go elsewhere.

After Legian and Lombongan Island, we parted company with the Comries and headed to Amed, northwest Bali. Talk about quiet. We knew that ahead it was quiet, and brought along some books and dvds. The tv was teeny tiny but if we all huddled on our master bed we'd be able to watch. Speaking of the bed, the view from it was incredible. We'd part the mosquito netting, open the front doors and could see the rising sun. The sunrise shot I got was actually taken from outside and it's evidence of the first proper sunrise I've ever see in Indo. We were too busy reading and eating to take many photos, but trust me, it was lovely. A few things occurred at the boutique hotel (Anda Amed) that we stayed at that weren't quite up to par, but I won't use my blog to vent. Overall our experience there was great and we'd definately return to Amed if we were looking for a quiet, romantic Indo getaway.

No matter where we go, we always say amongst ourselves "I wish we could show this place to so-and-so (and you've all been named at one time or other!)" so hopefully you get a sense of what our experience has been like so far.

Our final destination was a place called Benoa, which is near Nusa Dua, the place where the Comries stay part of their time in Bali. We weren't impressed with the hotel at first...it's huge and seemed to be filled to capacity. There were naked people all over the place and a lot of them really, really liked each other. Needless to say we kept our kids away from the pool/beach area after dark...We didn't stay long, but near the end it seemed like about 2/3 of the hotel guests had left and so the atmosphere changed quite a bit.

We saw a wedding on the beach and that was nice. The photo is of the gamelan players (a traditional Indonesian instrument) who played during the ceremony. It was an Australian couple and they added a few Balinese touches.

Nothing much happened here except we finished a few books and we celebrated Canada Day here (all wearing our Canada Day shirts, mom!). We spent some of our time with the Comries in Nusa Dua, where the kids and the dads sailed a Hobiecraft in the afternoon. Again, Judy and I guarded the beach chairs with enthusiasm.

I think that although we took over 900 photos total, the ones here depict the general idea of our Bali (-Singapore) holiday. I hope that by checking out the last few posts a travelling seed may have been planted in some of you... (?)

Thanks for reading.