Bali lovin'
How was your September holidays?
We just got back from beautiful Bali - a few shades darker, with mozzie bite marks and a feverish baby (oops) and in super high spirits.
It was our first overseas trip for our family of five (my first in more than a year!) and it was a very much-needed break for us.
Foops and I were last in Bali as newlyweds some six years ago before any of the kids came along. It was very different going back with 3 little ones (with my mum and brother) in tow this time.
We definitely saw less of the sights and hardly shopped but it was great fun sharing the experience with the kids.
We stayed in Bali Asri Villa - Batubelig in the Seminyak area. I chose it mainly for its central location, and because they offered to upgrade us from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom villa!
Our villa was very spacious and lovely. It had everything we needed: a big living and dining area, kitchenette, a private pool and a huge tub in each room. We would have been quite happy staying in it all day! The friendly villa staff also went out of their way to make our stay comfortable. Gotta love the Bali warm hospitality!
We started our days with breakfast in the villa. Sean and Ryan swam naked in the pool and had luxurious bubble baths in the tub everyday.
My mum and bro took one kid each every night so all we had to do was look after Jordan. He slept between Foops and I every night, and was a complete angel. When you have 3 kids, having to looking after one kid only is really easy peasy!
We even had massages in the villa while taking turns to mind the kids!
Thought I will just share some of the nice places we visited or dined at. (We found Ladyironchef's Where to eat in Bali guide very useful.)
Seminyak
We stayed about 10 minutes from Batubelig beach (by the hotel buggy) so we checked it out on one of the mornings. It is a nice quiet beach - not as pretty as Kuta for sure but we liked it coz there were absolutely no touts! The sea is quite choppy in this area so I really had to watch daredevil Sean like a hawk.
There are lots of nice restaurants and pubs in the area so this is a great place to be if you are a foodie!
Our most memorable meal of the trip was at Naughty Nuri's, a stone's throw from our villa. They serve THE best BBQ ribs ever - really tasty melt-off-the-bone-soft meat with just the right spicy 'kick'. The other dishes we ordered were top-notch too: chicken chop, crispy 'bebek' (duck) and Porn Corn. Sooooo good we went back to tapau supper on our last night.
We also had brunch at Sardine which was especially charming because of the gorgeous padi fields backdrop and the resident brood of chickens and ducks. Made for really nice pictures. They serve fresh seafood and homegrown organic vegetables. This was also our most expensive meal in Bali.
Two other places we dined at: Merah Putih (very fancy for Bali standards, food was good), Warisan (the food was unfortunately quite forgettable).
Kuta
We spent half a day in Kuta. Shopped a bit around Kuta Square - they have lots of surf shops - and then headed for the beach for some sand play. The beach is dreamy but very crowded! Sean had a field day playing in the water.
We also saw baby sea turtles (they are just a few steps away from Hard Rock Bali)! Apparently, they get released to the sea every evening - too bad we didn't stay long enough to do it!
Lunch was no-fuss Indonesian fare for lunch at Made's Warung. Service was patchy but the food made up for it.
Ubud
On our third day, we visited Ubud which was about two hours away. Traffic out of Kuta/Seminyak was horrendous.
We walked around for a bit around the Ubud market. This is really a great place to pick up souvenirs because there are so many stalls and you can bargain like crazy (for at least half the price)! I got some cute flowy pants for the kids (you can see them in the pics), dresses for my mum and MIL, a big straw bag for myself and pretty necklaces for my sisters.
Probably could have shopped more if not for my fidgety offspring!
We had the famous babi guling (suckling pig) at Warung Ibu Oka. Sadly wasn't as good as I remembered it to be - maybe because it was served quite cold :\
Then we had a second lunch at Bebek Tepi Sawah which is set in a tranquil padi field. We had the famous crispy bebek (duck) and bebek betutu (grilled duck) which were delicious. The boys and I also had a fun time traipsing through the padi fields :)
Jimbaran Bay
No trip to Bali is complete without a seafood dinner at Jimbaran Bay. We caught the gorgeous sunset (tip: go early and try to get a table on the beach itself) - the view was out of this world. We munched on grilled corn on the beach and rounded up with a sumptuous seafood dinner at Menega Cafe. Man, the food was soooo good!
***
We had a great time in Bali.
The kids really enjoyed themselves and got up close with nature - they chased chickens and ducks, saw turtles, frogs and cows, played in the sea, drank from coconuts, swam naked in the pool (haha), ran around padi fields, swam in the sea and even learnt how to wind up the windows in an old car.
It made me realise how restrained they are in Singapore sometimes, always rushing here and there. They were so unfettered and happy everyday in Bali - it made me feel like bringing them out of Singapore for extended periods every holiday!
Looking forward to our next holiday already, wherever it may be :)
We just got back from beautiful Bali - a few shades darker, with mozzie bite marks and a feverish baby (oops) and in super high spirits.
It was our first overseas trip for our family of five (my first in more than a year!) and it was a very much-needed break for us.
Foops and I were last in Bali as newlyweds some six years ago before any of the kids came along. It was very different going back with 3 little ones (with my mum and brother) in tow this time.
We definitely saw less of the sights and hardly shopped but it was great fun sharing the experience with the kids.
We stayed in Bali Asri Villa - Batubelig in the Seminyak area. I chose it mainly for its central location, and because they offered to upgrade us from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom villa!
Our villa was very spacious and lovely. It had everything we needed: a big living and dining area, kitchenette, a private pool and a huge tub in each room. We would have been quite happy staying in it all day! The friendly villa staff also went out of their way to make our stay comfortable. Gotta love the Bali warm hospitality!
We started our days with breakfast in the villa. Sean and Ryan swam naked in the pool and had luxurious bubble baths in the tub everyday.
My mum and bro took one kid each every night so all we had to do was look after Jordan. He slept between Foops and I every night, and was a complete angel. When you have 3 kids, having to looking after one kid only is really easy peasy!
We even had massages in the villa while taking turns to mind the kids!
Thought I will just share some of the nice places we visited or dined at. (We found Ladyironchef's Where to eat in Bali guide very useful.)
Seminyak
We stayed about 10 minutes from Batubelig beach (by the hotel buggy) so we checked it out on one of the mornings. It is a nice quiet beach - not as pretty as Kuta for sure but we liked it coz there were absolutely no touts! The sea is quite choppy in this area so I really had to watch daredevil Sean like a hawk.
There are lots of nice restaurants and pubs in the area so this is a great place to be if you are a foodie!
Our most memorable meal of the trip was at Naughty Nuri's, a stone's throw from our villa. They serve THE best BBQ ribs ever - really tasty melt-off-the-bone-soft meat with just the right spicy 'kick'. The other dishes we ordered were top-notch too: chicken chop, crispy 'bebek' (duck) and Porn Corn. Sooooo good we went back to tapau supper on our last night.
We also had brunch at Sardine which was especially charming because of the gorgeous padi fields backdrop and the resident brood of chickens and ducks. Made for really nice pictures. They serve fresh seafood and homegrown organic vegetables. This was also our most expensive meal in Bali.
Two other places we dined at: Merah Putih (very fancy for Bali standards, food was good), Warisan (the food was unfortunately quite forgettable).
Kuta
We spent half a day in Kuta. Shopped a bit around Kuta Square - they have lots of surf shops - and then headed for the beach for some sand play. The beach is dreamy but very crowded! Sean had a field day playing in the water.
We also saw baby sea turtles (they are just a few steps away from Hard Rock Bali)! Apparently, they get released to the sea every evening - too bad we didn't stay long enough to do it!
Lunch was no-fuss Indonesian fare for lunch at Made's Warung. Service was patchy but the food made up for it.
Ubud
On our third day, we visited Ubud which was about two hours away. Traffic out of Kuta/Seminyak was horrendous.
We walked around for a bit around the Ubud market. This is really a great place to pick up souvenirs because there are so many stalls and you can bargain like crazy (for at least half the price)! I got some cute flowy pants for the kids (you can see them in the pics), dresses for my mum and MIL, a big straw bag for myself and pretty necklaces for my sisters.
Probably could have shopped more if not for my fidgety offspring!
We had the famous babi guling (suckling pig) at Warung Ibu Oka. Sadly wasn't as good as I remembered it to be - maybe because it was served quite cold :\
Then we had a second lunch at Bebek Tepi Sawah which is set in a tranquil padi field. We had the famous crispy bebek (duck) and bebek betutu (grilled duck) which were delicious. The boys and I also had a fun time traipsing through the padi fields :)
Jimbaran Bay
No trip to Bali is complete without a seafood dinner at Jimbaran Bay. We caught the gorgeous sunset (tip: go early and try to get a table on the beach itself) - the view was out of this world. We munched on grilled corn on the beach and rounded up with a sumptuous seafood dinner at Menega Cafe. Man, the food was soooo good!
***
We had a great time in Bali.
The kids really enjoyed themselves and got up close with nature - they chased chickens and ducks, saw turtles, frogs and cows, played in the sea, drank from coconuts, swam naked in the pool (haha), ran around padi fields, swam in the sea and even learnt how to wind up the windows in an old car.
It made me realise how restrained they are in Singapore sometimes, always rushing here and there. They were so unfettered and happy everyday in Bali - it made me feel like bringing them out of Singapore for extended periods every holiday!
Looking forward to our next holiday already, wherever it may be :)