April

05/16/09
Already halfway through the month of May, and we have only just left Munduk in our journal, where we actually were about a month ago!! Time flies when you're having fun...

TREE TOPS
From Munduk my parents go on to Lovina (North coast of Bali) and we go back to Ubud. On the way, we stop at "Tree Tops" in Kebun Raya (Botanical Gardens). Steyn balances on cords between the trees and comes zipping down at high speed. He has a blast.
Quinten plays some soccer with Spek and I am being photographed by a ton of Javanese students.

MONKEY FOREST - UBUD
Although Lotte has just arrived last night from San Francisco, she's up for a visit to Ubud's well known Monkey Forest, where we meet our other friends, Guy & Carley, who just came from London. The monkeys love Carley and Quinten...

SANUR
Douwe is a boy Steyn and Quinten befriended during the Easter Egg Hunt in Sanur. His family invites us to join their weekly dinner on the beach. We learn - the hard way (yuk) - that the only drinkable local wine is the Hatten Rose and NOT the Hatten white wine.

In the meantime, a Balinese family is holding a ceremony and brings offerings into the sea. That's Bali!

CAMPUHAN RIDGE WALK
Today Lotte and Spek go to the 7am yoga class at the Yoga Barn (aparently 'the' place to do yoga in Ubud). The kids go to school and we drive on to Ubud to do the Campuhan Ridge walk. After Spek shows Lotte and me the wrong way twice, we finally do end up on the right trail along the Campuhan river. By now it's getting pretty hot... As soon as we're back home, we jump into the pool!

EARTH DAY - PELANGI SCHOOL (MAS/UBUD)
On April 25th, Steyn & Quinten's school host a big celebration for Earth Day. Tons of kids perform, play and run around. Guy goes straight to the bar to have a cold Bintang beer.

DUTCH QUEEN'S DAY - SEMINYAK
On April 26th (3 days before the actual Queensday in Holland), the NTC (Nederlandse Taal & Cultuur) organizes an old-fashioned Queen's day fair, with games for the kids and beer with typical Dutch snacks (e.g. bitterballen) for the adults.
We munch on yummy poffertjes and buy some second hand Dutch books for the boys.

In the evening, Spek and the boys go back to Ubud, while Lotte and I walk to our hotel in Kuta and stop for a wonderful foot massage along the way.

The next morning we hang out for a bit at Kuta beach. After Lotte is photographed with a Javanese toddler in her lap, we set off on our quest to find nice summer clothes... It takes a full day to find the one store that has something 'different' (for anyone who's interested: "Pigmees" just north of Cafe Moka on Jl. Legian). We have dinner with my parents (who're now staying in Seminyak) and head back to Ubud.

AMED - DIVING AND FISHING
After a few relaxing days in Ubud, Spek, Lotte, Guy & Carley head out to Amed to do some diving and fishing.

04/30/09
EASTER EGG HUNT - SANUR
In the local expat paper, "The Bali Advertiser", we notice an ad about the Easter Egg Hunt at a school in Sanur. We decide to try it out and of course the boys are overexcited to see so many children, chocolate eggs, and ride-ons. They have a blast, while we get to meet some of the parents. Some of them are sent to Bali as expats, others came here on their own. It seems like they are all enjoying life on Bali immensly. A great crowd.

SANUR BEACH
After the Easter Egg Hunt, we meet up with my parents for lunch at "The Beach Cafe", which is - of course - right at the beach. There is a small 'boulevard' lined by cafes and restaurants, where people (mostly foreigners) stroll or cycle along the beach. The colorful fishing boats on the beach are newly painted in bright colors and are for sale ;-). It's definitely a touristy place, but enjoyable and not spoiled.

MUNDUK
According to the Lonely Planet, Munduk, a village with an old Dutch mountain resort, should now be Bali's "most interesting place". We decide to take a look for ourselves. Spek (yes, he's now our "sopir"), drives us through scenic backroads along Lake Bayan to Munduk. When we arrive, dark clouds gather and we get to the little restaurant of our colonial hotel, just before the rain comes down heavily. It's hard to stay dry with only a roof over your head...
A little later in the afternoon we take a stroll through town and enjoy the flowers we know from San Francisco, against a backdrop of dark green mountains and vulcanoes.
The next day my parents continue to the North Coast, while we hike to a nearby waterfall.

MuNDUK HOTEL - OLD DUTCH SUMMER HOMES
Other than the cooler climate and therefore different vegetation, to me Munduk was also an interesting place, because we stayed in a hotel that consisted of old Dutch summer homes, where in colonial times, the Dutch would cool off during their holidays. On the glass doors, you could still see some painted images of colonial Dutch figures. Sitting on the terrace, looking out over the coffee plantations, and seeing as far as the vulcanoes on Java, you could almost imagine how it must have been a hundred years ago. The old and basic interior of the houses helped us imagine it even better ;-)

04/29/09
YEH PULU
The main tourist attraction, closest to our house is Goa Gajah, the Elephant Cave. We have visited it in March and on our earlier trips to Bali. However it is our first time to the nearby Yeh Pulu reliefs fromm the 14th century. The setting is very nice. We take the steps down and follow a path along ricefields with lots of ducks and a small waterfall. An old women claiming she maintains the reliefs, blesses us with 'holy water' in return for a donation. Her husband prepares grass baskets for a next round of offerings.
On our way back, we have a drink at a tiny and cute cafe.

SIDEMEN
After hanging out at our house for a few days, we feel up for a small outing. We head north-east to the town of Sidemen. The town itself is not the goal of our trip, but we do have lunch there, in a 'resort' with beautifully landscaped grounds but with rather run down bungalows. The restaurant is out of about everything, but they manage to cook us a Thai dish that is actually quite tasteful.
The main reason to go here, is the Sideman Road, which goes through a magnificent scenery with bright green sawahs and rivers with a backdrop of vulcanos.
Before we reach that road, we're in crazy traffic, including mopeds with life chicken hanging from the back (up-side-down).