A Sunny Holiday

I was very pleased to have a lovely family holiday away in Bali. We really needed a holiday to just chill out so that's what we did.

We spent some time by the pool, getting massages, eating amazing food, drinking, shopping and in true fashion we couldn't stay too still so we went on a few adventures too. This time we stayed in a villa and visited many places we had not seen before. We checked out Matahari Shopping Centre, Discovery Shopping Mall and ate at places like Strawberry Farm, Ling Ling and Potato Head (well just a drink there!)

Potato Head was all about sustainability, we weren't allowed to take in our disposable plastic bottles! The building was designed by Indonesian architect Andra Matin, it features colourful antique shutters salvaged from across Indonesia, and a display featuring salvaged thongs from the ocean.

Potato Head was swanky

The villa would have been very fancy when it was built, but it looked a little worn when we were there, never the less it was still lovely. The pool was very cold, however, there was a giant bath to plunge in.

We watched the sunset over a busy Kuta Beach, it was fun to watch all the people bustling around, but it had nothing on an Esperance sunset!

Lifeguards keeping watch at Tanah Lot

We hired a driver for a day and a half to take us to several places, some were a lengthy drive and there was alot of traffic. We went to Tanah Lot, an ancient Hindu temple in Tabanan. It was strange to walk through markets with shops like Polo Ralph Lauren and Quicksilver plonked in between them, and then to walk into the holy grounds. When we visited, the tide was high, so the temple itself was completely surrounded by the ocean. It was incredible to watch the waves crash against the temple. We were told that fresh water is found inside the temple and it is one of seven sea temples along coast where each temple is in eyesight of the next to form a chain.

The driver asked us if we wanted to see the 'Big Statue' so he took us to Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park in Badung. The park was only opened in August last year and it was very busy. It is devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu, and  Garuda. The Vishnu statue is 120 metres high and is the  15th tallest statue in the world, nearly double the height of the Statue of Liberty!

Garuda Statue

Big swing!

We stopped at a Bali Swing and surprisingly mum had a go on it with me! There, we also tried the different Balinese coffee and teas (something we have done many times). At Tegallalang Rice Terrace we walked down to the bottom and along where the rice was growing, it was a great opportunity to have a close up look.

At the Elephant Temple (Goa Gajah) in Ubud we were conned into buying sarongs. You have to cover your knees going into the temple, however, they provide ones to borrow when you pay to go in. It was built as spiritual place for meditation and has Hindu and Buddhist artwork.

All that rice!

With our sarongs 

The Tegenungan Waterfall was one of the busiest places we visited. It was a difficult walk down because we had already done lots of walking for the day and there were probably a thousand steps. It was nice to see and I enjoyed putting my feet in the cool water, but it was just so busy!

Three of our five travelers took a bike tour where we rode through a bamboo forrest, a traditional village and along rice fields. We began the day with breakfast on Mount Kintimani over looking Mount Batur, it is incredible that you can still see the lava scar from an erruption in the 60s.

Mount Batur

The ride was mostly downhill which proved very difficult for me as the bike I ended up with had almost no brakes! The ride finished at a secret waterfall which was truly spectacular. It was tucked away and we where the only ones there. Again there were many steps, but we could go all the way to the bottom where the river ran by.

Our secret waterfall

When we returned to Perth we had just enough time to catch up with all the cousins before heading back to Esperance. It was lovely to have us all gathered together, and hopefully, I could host a catch up in Esperance! Our next holiday has already been booked!