Bali - Part III: The Elephant Safari Park and Monkey Forest

We took several day trips.  Thankfully, the hotel had a car big enough to transport our family together.  One day we visited the Elephant Safari Park.  It is a sanctuary for rescued Sumatran elephants whose homes are being destroyed by slash-and-burn farming.  We were able to ride the elephants, feed them, watch demonstrations (the kids especially enjoyed the elephants playing soccer and painting),  and eat a delicious lunch.

Then there was there was the Monkey Forest.  Cuh-razy.  According to Wikipedia, as of 2011, there were over 600 monkeys inhabiting this forest.  Yeah, kind of wish I knew that before we went.  Actually, our first visit there was quite nice.  It was the late afternoon.  The hotel dropped us off in the middle of downtown Ubud, and we walked and walked and walked to get to this forest.  The concierge at the hotel warned us not to feed the monkeys, as they can scratch, but when we got there and saw just how cute they were, and how there was a banana stand just outside the entrance, and other people were feeding them, well, we just couldn't resist.  And it was fun!  How many times in your life will you be surrounded by wild monkeys and be able to feed them?  Too bad Jack was asleep in the stroller the entire time.  He missed it all!  We decided we just had to go back.  

1st visit: Happy kids

Sleeping Jack

Sweet, docile monkey

We decided to return on a different day, early in the morning when Jack would be wide awake.  Early in the morning…Do you know what monkeys are early in the morning?  Hungry!  Hungry, aggressive little monsters.  We were swarmed.  It was bad.  The minute the bananas were in my hands, monkeys began to jump on my shoulders.  Poor Caleb was in the carrier on my back and had monkey butt in his face.  My shorts were all muddy from their paws.  It was nuts.  The kids just threw the bananas at charging monkeys.  Jack was screaming.  Ah, the stuff memories are made of, right?  Oh, but it gets better.  Aaron thinks we should leave, but I whine that we just arrived, and there were cute baby monkeys to see, and ancient temples to explore, and besides I'm sure it's safe now that we don't have anything they want.  Yeah.  Well, I guess we did have something they wanted.  Turns out untrained monkeys can actually work a zipper.  As in the zipper on the backpack that is hanging off the stroller.  One really big guy unzips the pack, steals Caleb's bottle, and pops it in his mouth.

"Hey!" I shouted angrily, instinctively taking a step toward him.  Um, did I really plan to arm wrestle this giant monkey for a baby bottle?  With a baby strapped on my back?  Did I mention monkeys have claws and fangs and diseases.

Each time I retell the story this monkey gets bigger.  Let's just call him an ape, shall we?  So this big ape gets up on two legs, shows me his fangs, and lunges at me.  He swipes as I run away (backward - so I can keep an eye on him).  The whole thing lasted only a few seconds, but even writing about it now makes my heart race.  Needless to say, we decided we had seen enough monkeys for one day (or lifetime) and practically jogged out of that park.  There is a reason people don't feed wild animals, kids.  Lesson learned.

2nd visit:

My first visitor

Baby monkeys I just had to see

Monkey temple

More monkeys (I know, I know.  Enough already.)

Okay, just one more...

Bali Part II - The hotel

We arrive at our hotel nearly an hour after we'd left the airport.  I spot Aaron getting out a cab just in front of us.  Hallelujah!  Aaron made our reservations, and whoa - did he do a good job!  The place is called The Mansion, and that's just what it felt like.  It was like something out of a movie…I was certain our kids would destroy it in no time.  But of course, my amazing Type-A hubby had done his research to find the most family-friendly place on the planet.  Lots of kids, super-friendly staff, and limited breakable items in our rooms (plural because due to our family size, we had to book two).  

The kids were in hog heaven.  They actually requested to bathe because the bathtubs were so glamorous and huge.  One room was on the top floor of the main house, past a chess table (where Parker challenged us to innumerable games) and a up a curved staircase.  The other was just down a stone paved path, right next to 3 pools and a lily pond where frogs sang to us in the morning. 

(I didn't take nearly enough photos.  The pictures I took of the hotel were mainly taken during the night when the kids were asleep, and I could explore on my own.)

These were taken in front of the hotel.

As you get closer to the entrance...

And closer...

 All the statues lining the walk made me feel like I was in a museum (okay, an Indian Jones movie if I'm really being honest here…just waiting to trip a booby trap and watch a poison dart shoot out of this guy's mouth).

The entrance hall

Up we go...

Looking back down, you can see they still have a Christmas tree up.  They were playing White Christmas on the speakers…I recognized the tune but not the language.

Portrait of a traditional Balinese dancer.

Our room upstairs.

Luckily Aaron took some pictures of our other room, which was really its own little cabana.

The lily pond [death trap] just outside the door that lead to some pools.

The inside of the cabana...

The magical tub (in that the kids actually wanted to bathe for once).

This picture of the master bed do not do this place justice!  It was gorgeous.  There were sheer, colorful curtains and canopies everywhere.  Maddie was in hog heaven!

Now on to the pools.  There were about ten, all very different, down paths overhung with vines and bananas, through stone archways, along mossy stone sidewalks.  I didn't get a single picture of them!   Maybe it was because I was too busy having a ball with the kids.  We swam and napped, watched cartoons and played chess, snacked, took long baths in the giant tubs, ate, and swam some more.  

Lucky for me, Aaron did take some shots….

Next stop…Monkey Forest and The Elephant Safari Park!

My Favorite Things

No matter how lovely the foreign land, international travel with small children is innately stressful.  No longer is losing your passport your biggest concern.  Now you must keep track of multiple passports, carry an array of snacks (because who knows where or what you'll eat next, and hungry kids are not happy kids), and find diaper changing areas in places where they simply do not exist.

While we absolutely loved our recent trip to Bali, a certain inevitable amount of physical and mental strain was present during the entire trip.  I didn't even realize it was there until we landed at Changi Airport.  Coming home to Singapore felt like, well, coming home.

I noticed it the minute we departed the plane.  A familiar terminal.  A spotless bathroom (complete with pristine changing table).  An efficient immigration process.  We had been in the airport enough times to find our way to the baggage claim area easily.  We got our carts, bags, and headed for the taxi queue [line].  After a very short wait, we were on our way.  A smooth, safe ride [during which the driver obeyed all traffic laws], and we were home.

The following day was a rainy Sunday.  It was a little slice of heaven.  I found we were doing lots of little things we used to do back at home in the States.  Wandering from room to room, I actually began humming "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.  Only instead of "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens" it was…

the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

the sound of rain on the windows and cartoons on the television

Christmas PEZ dispensers being emptied at record speed

little boys hard at work, silently creating new realms made entirely of Legos

a new chapter in our latest [1950's] Hardy Boys adventure

Ahh…This was familiar and relaxed and fun.  I was so grateful for our beautiful vacation, but I was even more grateful for the unexpected gift I was given upon our return.  The gift of home.  

Bali - Part I

I have been trying to write about our trip to Bali for weeks.  There are so many wonderful things I wish to remember that it's too much for one post.  So here is part one of our series...

We had the privilege of visiting Bali over the kids' Christmas break.  If you are anything like me, when you hear "Bali" you think gorgeous, exotic, faraway island.  Well, yes, yes, and no.  Thanks to our relocation, Bali is relatively close…It is one of the thousands of islands that makes up the Republic of Indonesia, located northwest of Australia and south of Singapore.

We stayed in a town called Ubud (pronounced oo-bood) in the south central part of the island. Words cannot capture this place.  It was incredible.  Lush and wild and wonderful.  Frightening at times (especially on the roads and in the Monkey Forest), but so beautiful it made my heart ache.

I was giddy with excitement as the plane landed on the runway.  My head whipped around trying to take it all in.  Even the kids were wide-eyed as the bus took us from the tarmac to the building.  I thought they were enjoying the scenery, but no….They were more interested in the people.  Loudly, "Mommy, why is there a ninja on our bus?" "Honey, that's not a ninja, that's a Muslim woman."  Perhaps we should have had some cultural training before we arrived.  *Sigh*

As we neared the airport, I was struck by the beauty and intricacy of the architecture.  I wish I had snapped a few shots, but we were too busy herding children, locating luggage, and trying to get two cabs to take us to the hotel.  My heart was racing as I piled into the car with two kids and lost sight of Aaron and the other children in a cab behind us.  I couldn't reach Aaron on his cell, our driver spoke broken English, I couldn't remember the name of our hotel, and I didn't happen to have any Rupiah (local currency).  My excitement was beginning to give way to panic.  Just breathe. 

I repeatedly asked the driver, "Did my husband tell you the name of the hotel?"  "Yeah, yeah."  I couldn't tell if he understood me or just wanted me to shut up.  So I shut up…and prayed.  Visions of the movie Taken flashed in my mind, but I pushed them aside and instead focused on the road in front of us.  Big mistake.  Apparently traffic laws in Bali are merely regarded as suggestions.  Our driver weaved in and out between cars, motorbikes, stray dogs, and spent a great deal of the time on the wrong side of the road.   Okay, maybe looking out the window was a better option.

Wow!  Bali was barely-contained nature.  It was evidence of man peeking through wild rain forest in the form of statues and temples around every turn.  It was impossible to tell if the structures were ancient or recent given the way moss and foliage crept over anything and everything.  It was terraced rice fields dotted with gatherers bending to the earth.    Women carrying baskets on their heads while balancing babies on their hips.  Motorbikes everywhere, many carrying small children on the front or rear, zipping around so quickly, my heart caught in my throat.  Roosters pecking in the dirt and stray dogs stretched out on sidewalks, oblivious to passers-by.

I was intrigued by the plethora of small, square baskets that appeared to be everywhere.  On the streets and sidewalks, on shrines and statues, on thresholds.  If there was a flat surface, it had a basket on it.  They were made of woven coconut leaves containing colorful flowers and food.  I learned they are called Canang sari and are daily offerings made by the Balinese to express thanksgiving and praise to the supreme god of Indonesian Hinduism.  Clearly, the Balinese were a thankful people!  And why not, they obviously lived in paradise!  (By the way, I totally stole the image below off the web…didn't get a good shot of these baskets myself!)  

Partially clothed statues caught my eye, as they stood perched at gate and temple entrances.  Sometimes grinning, sometimes scowling, but always modestly covered from the waist down by a checkered patterned cloth.  It is a simple pattern of white, black, and gray.  Apparently the solid colors stand for good and evil, and the blended areas stand for the belief that sometimes things are neither good nor evil but a blend or the two.   

I was just in awe of the beauty of the place.  Long, tapered bamboo poles lined the streets, bending at the top and drooping over the road like natural street lamps.  Only instead of lights on the ends, they had rounded baskets, filled with more offerings.  They are called penjor, and the offerings were for the spirits of deceased relatives.  It turns out we had arrived during the Balinese holiday of Galungan.  During this time it is believed that ancestral spirits revisit their earthly homes and are offered hospitality via prayers and offerings.

What an amazing ride!  I felt like I had landed on another planet.  I couldn't wait to see what else was in store!

You are...

Right now you are asleep on the couch.  You woke early from nap, snuggled in my arms, and drifted off again.  You are no longer a little baby.  You do not sleep well in my arms.  You fidget and wiggle until I lay you down where you can stretch out comfortably.

You are long lashes and crazy, sweaty, little boy hair.  

You are scraped knees, evidence of a many walks and tumbles.

You are rounded toes and thumb in mouth.  

 

You are precious, and you are mine!  And oh how happy that makes me!

I tiptoe upstairs and peek in another room.  I see you in a few years…

Even longer!

Toes still deliciously plump.

The same scraped knees, only now it is essential they are covered in multicolored bandaids.  

No problem, buddy.

You are still thumb in mouth, but you are growing.  Tears sting my eyes.  What a lovely little guy.

My eyes travel around the room.  I see your afternoon absence in a few years.  A bed without a nap.

A closet full of Legos - waiting.  

You are not home, but this is still your home.  You are learning and laughter and friends in the street.  

And while I'm so very happy to be a witness to this progression, I will not yet allow myself to think about the day when your home will not be with me.  Right now, I will sneak back downstairs, sit on the floor in front of the couch and thank God that I can just watch you breathe and grow.