Bali

Bali definitely lived up to the hype. We spent Christmas there, accompanied by our good friend Steve, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I don't think I've ever been anywhere that was so overtly geared toward tourists, but when you have beautiful beaches, lush vegetation, amazing culture, and friendly people, it's no wonder that the whole world wants to come and be a part of it.

Our trip started out in the south of the island in Sanur. We had picked the location for the child-friendly beach, and sure enough, the water was incredibly still, almost like a lake.

Nothing better than eating literally on the beach!

It's also a convenient way to entertain your child while you enjoy your food...

...and the sunset

We took a morning trip to the nearby capitol of Denpasar to take in the national museum and one of the big markets. The museum's best feature was its architecture--beautiful!

A couple was getting wedding pictures done here--good choice!

The major indoor market

Offerings for purchase

Back at the beach, locals enjoying the water

Beach bums

We really enjoyed the food, which was fresh and healthy, and very cheap. It was easy to be vegetarian there; every restaurant had meatless dishes, and tofu and tempeh are part of normal life for the Balinese.

This place's version of gado-gado, a kind of salad with peanut dressing

There was loads of fresh fruit and spices, since both thrive in that climate. I had some delicious drinks with lemongrass and ginger, and once I had turmeric sorbet! It was an experience. :)

Also, Bali is known for its spas and massages. We fell into a routine starting the very first day: after lunch when Evangeline would go down for her nap, we would take turns going to get massages. The cheapest we saw was around $6 USD for an hour--crazy! My favorites were the hot stone massages that I had. Another highlight was a 2 hour treatment including a body scrub, body mask, and traditional Balinese massage. Bliss!

We headed inland to Ubud for the next stage of our trip. Ubud is considered to be the cultural center of Bali, the home of countless artists and performers. There were literally ten or more performances happening every single night in Ubud, and the amount of stores selling woodwork, paintings, textiles, jewelry, and stonework was overwhelming. I especially liked the food in Ubud; there was a real emphasis on organic, and it was also very creative. The place we stayed was really special, a group of eco cottages in a gorgeous setting.

Our cottage

The organic garden, which supplied the restaurant

Petting the bunnies. There were also a bunch of goats!

Evangeline, of course, loved the pool the best

My favorite massages were here at the in-house spa

Ubud is known for its beautiful terraced rice paddies, as well. One morning we took a hike on the outskirts of town. It was hot but the views and the experience was well worth it.

Families bring their ducks to the paddies for the day, then bring them home at night

As you can imagine, Evangeline just loved them

A food stand where the man hacked open a young coconut for me

And it even had a swing!

I definitely earned my daily massage over the course of the morning

Rice paddy fam

The patio of this restaurant was right next to a rice paddy

My pictures of the traditional dance I went to turned out terribly, I'm afraid. I only took a few, and I don't know much about outdoor night photography. :) The performance was spellbinding, though. Something I'll never forget!

The gamelan accompaniment was on both sides of the "stage," Ubud Palace

But I think the main highlight for all of us was the trip we took to the Elephant Safari Park in the hills north of Ubud. Elephants are not native to Bali, but the ones from this park were rescued from logging camps in Sumatra, where they are a critically endangered species. Although not truly a preserve, since the elephants are still "working," at least they have a safe environment and seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were about 30 elephants of various ages, including three small ones that were born at the park a few years ago. It was incredible to be able to be so close to these amazing, gentle creatures.

These gals want some food!

Feeding them pieces of coconut palm

Trunk shot

Evangeline was in heaven; she could have fed them all day!

Me and a new friend

Evangeline with a three year-old male, Handsome

We also got to take a ride on the elephants through the nearby jungle. It was amazing, and also a good opportunity to talk to the handlers and learn about the lives of the elephants. Evangeline and I were on Ryan, a 15 year-old male who had been at the park for about seven years. The park has each elephant paired with a special handler who is with them all the time. Ryan and his handler had been together since the day he arrived from Sumatra. Steve and Joseph were on Miki, an older female who had given birth at the park about three years ago. We definitely noticed the difference in personalities between Ryan and Miki over the course of the ride. Ryan was a lot friskier and more vocal, which was fun to see.

Ryan strikes a pose

At the end of the ride, the elephants got to play in the pond a little bit

Ryan had fun cheekily spraying the bystanders

I wish I had taken a picture of the "wall of fame" inside the main building at the park. They had pictures of all the celebrities who had been there, which was hilarious. Not only had the park hosted A-listers like Julia Roberts and David Beckham, they had also had Dolph Lundgren pay them a visit! But seriously, we had such a good time and will always remember it. We had to practically drag Evangeline away!

Our last stop in Bali was Balangan Beach, in the far southwest of the island. We had a morning flight for our departure and wanted to be in reasonable driving distance from the airport. It was interesting to think about what that area would look like in another 20 years. Currently it isn't heavily developed, with the cliffs above the beach dotted with small operations like bungalows and guesthouses. Our bungalow was right next to a cow pasture, and we had groups of chickens and roosters wandering around

Steve hits the beach

Evangeline and me playing in the waves

What could be more fun than being buried in the sand?

Happy faces

The rough life

Joseph goes in for a dip

Dinner at the beach

Surfers at sunset

After the sun went down the clouds all turned pink--gorgeous!

The Jones Fam doesn't want to go home!

Truly, we were sad to go. I can see why there is such a large expat population in Bali, and so many people on extended vacations. We did a lot, but we barely scratched the surface. It's a good reason to go back, right? :)