Our first visitors, and our last few days in Bali.

On the morning of November 26, Kieran’s Dad, Subhash, and his partner, Swee, arrived in Bali on a cruise ship. We were thrilled to have visitors and we had a really nice time touring around the island with them. We hired a driver each of the days for about 50 dollars for the entire day.

First, we went to Ubud and on the way we stopped at a local restaurant for some delicious food. In Ubud, we visited the Monkey Forest and this time around, noticed the human cemetery that is in the sanctuary, and where monkeys often “hang out”.

Subhash and a monkey.

Next, we went to the large market in the centre of the town. There we purchased some fresh fruit. In the afternoon, we went to visit The Green School, which I was super excited about. The Green School is a private school that was opened in Bali by a Canadian, John Hardy. The entire school is constructed from bamboo and all of the learning spaces are open air. Students ranging from elementary to high school in this program, focus on academics in the morning and hands-on activities in the afternoon. All work is completed at school, so that the students are happy to attend without having the dread of incomplete homework. The school also has a huge focus on being sustainable for the environment. For example, the whiteboards are old windshields, they are currently constructing a hydro dam for electricity, and student projects are focused around growing plants and vegetables in different conditions, such as urban spaces.

Kieran and his dad on the bamboo bridge.

One of the classrooms.

The dam they are constructing to generate electricity.

A desk made out of bamboo.

The cost to tour this school is 12.00, which is steeper than many of the other tourist attraction costs; however, all of the proceeds go to sponsoring local Indonesian scholars so that they can attend this school, which is an idea I happily support.

The river that runs alongside the school.

A bamboo hut that a student is building for a project.

 

After leaving the Green School, we headed to the Tanah Lot Temple in time to see it at sunset. This temple has beautiful pictures on the internet, but does not photograph the same with the crowds of tourists.

The temple, with the tide out.

Nevertheless, we did receive a Hindu blessing and enjoy some nice photos on the stairs of the temple.

 

The next day began by visiting the temple in Uluwatu, which had some stunning landscape that reminded me of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

You could walk along a path the whole length of this.

The temple in the distance.

Monkeys hanging out near the temple.

 

At this temple, you had to wear a Sarong if you weren’t wearing long pants.

This temple provided a nice early morning walk, with some great views.

Kieran and his Dad, showing some leg.

Checking out the views.

Subhash, patiently waiting while I take a photo.

The rest of the day we went to beaches, but mostly Kuta beach. Here, we were able to take Subhash and Swee to some of our favourite restaurants and places.

On the beach, Kieran and his Dad began a game of chess. One of the expert Indonesian players came over to let Subhash know that he was losing, at which point Subhash asked him to take over. He did, making a comeback and winning the game.

The following day, Subhash and Swee were leaving on their cruise for 1pm. Subhash came over to our hotel in the morning and Kieran and him played a few games of chess and went swimming, before we went to say goodbye at the pier.

It was really great having people we know visit and we are sure if you ask Kieran’s Dad and Swee, they will assure you they had a wonderful time, just like we did:) As always, we welcome more visitors!

With only a few days left in Bali on our own, we decided to stay on the beach and continue surfing, rather than heading somewhere new. On one of the days though, we planned for something that we had laughed at when we arrived in Bali. TripAdvisor will tell you that one of the top things to do in Bali is go to the waterpark, which we initially thought was a ridiculous way to spend your time in Bali. However, after speaking to another couple who had gone and loved it, and wanting to break up our surf, beach routine, we decided to go. And we loved it! Really, really loved it! Waterbom is the #1 rated waterpark in Asia and #3 in the world. After going, we can totally see why. The slides are like nothing we have ever tried, from a boomerang slide that shoots you down one way and then straight up the opposite side. To slides where you stand on a platform, that gives out underneath, plunging you down a vertical tube, and racing slides that you can go against another person, on a crazy carpet, head first.

Us taking a picture of the staff who was taking souvenir pictures for the tourists. We had the same camera.

Kieran’s favourite, and the one I’m glad I tried after an hour of hesitation, was the Climax. This one drops the floor from beneath you and shoots you down, but then pushes  you back up before winding down another chute.

Here is a video of Kieran at the start of this crazy slide.

We would definitely recommend a day at this waterpark to anyone visiting Bali!

Now, after 41 days in Bali, we have left and landed in Thailand, and just in time for the King’s birthday, which is a very big deal here. Sampai jumpa, Bali!