24 hours in Bali.

Last December Dolly and I headed to Bali for 5 days before going to France with the Rambling Expat. It was cheaper for Dolly and I to take an earlier flight and spend 5 days in a Bali then it was to get the same flight as my partner. So we went off on our adventure with a very small amount of baggage that we planned to give away as we went.

All of our baggage on arrival.

I didn't book a room before leaving Australia and many of my friends thought I was taking a stressful risk with a small child. But I know there is always some place, some where available at the right price.

Once outside Denpasar airport I looked around for a middle man, which didn't take long. He showed us some expensive fancy hotels in his book that I declined and explained exactly what I wanted and our budget. My criteria was simple, clean, quiet, child friendly, away from the rowdy Kuta nightlife and no more then $25AUS a night. He found us the perfect Bed and Breakfast at "Bunut Garden".

Clean Room.

Off the street with lots of lush green plants.

Our own bathroom.

Verandah with 3 shrines near our room.

The room was perfect. Within a few minutes Dolly was excited to see a cat on the verandah, I went to check on her and promptly told her it was a monkey, my poor Dolly shocked at my unexpected news.. ran inside and hid behind the bed.

Our 1st morning in Bali, I found a small local restaurant with friendly staff. Dolly order pineapple pancakes and I had a Balinese dish of chicken, vegetables and rice. We shared a freshly made fruit juice and enjoyed each others company. Our meal cost roughly $5AUS... I love food :-)

Delicious Breakfast

The rains then poured from the sky flooding the roads up to out knees. I chatted to a local asking what I could do with Dolly for 6 hours before our lift came to take us to the mountains. She directed me to a indoor playground. Dolly had a fantastic time playing with Balinese and tourist kids. 3 girls on the outside had been hanging around game machines watching rich kids play, looking for tokens and tickets for about 4 hours. I couldn't bear it anymore and invited them inside the playground. They were sooooo excited, they couldn't stop smiling and hugging Dolly. At $4AUS a kid for a full day of play including socks, this to me is a good investment. Kids laughing and enjoying themselves is a glimmer of hope for the future.

Fun and Laughter.

Once the day was coming to an end our Couchsurfing Host Pat Jero arrived with his family and we headed to his lovely home high up in the mountains. There we spent 2 nights of sharing with this generous family.

Our Couch Surfing Hosts.

Wild Weather Soup

When Carlos left us we got on with cleaning up. While I am relieved for myself and my family that nothing happened to us and our STUFF, I know that others are suffering as they have lost and are currently loosing to wild weather and flooding.

After giving generous help to Australia in the past couple of months, New Zealand is suffering their own very scary natural disasters as an Earthquake has shook their city and taken the life of many.

I know how scared the people of Christchurch must be. As a 10 year old I experienced an Earthquake in Bali. I was asleep in a bed full of Balinese kids away from my mum as she slept alone in a hut further down the track. The whole room shook so hard. I cried and yelled out "Are we being attacked" - They not understanding what I was saying yelled out "Yes". I was so scared. My mum found me in the chaos and explained that it was an earthquake after she understood this herself.

Since having Dolly 3 years ago, natural disasters worry me more and more. I can avoid places of conflict and war but I can't prevent all other hurtful things happening. Being a mum has changed so much of me. The party girl who wanted to be in conflict and risky zones now craves safety and assurance. Gone are the days of wanting to run to war torn lands to help with my bare hands. Gone are the days of squatting in empty buildings with bad boys and guns. I just want to shield my baby from all the bad things in the world.

Instead I am determined to try and teach her resilience and action, as I feel these will help her more in an uncertain future. One book I have read to her this week to expand her understanding is Wild Weather Soup. A story about unusual weather, the hole in the ozone and turning off the gas. A light take on protecting the atmosphere perfect for my 3 year old to ease into discussions about weather and how to care for our planet.

Does the over exploitation of the planet, atmosphere and other places further afield worry you too?

Bali Again

Couchsurfing in Bali

As I recounted a few posts back, Dolly and I spent 2 nights with a poor family in the mountains in Bali. We were their guest as a couchsurfers. Couchsurfing gives you an opportunity to share the lives people live in their own home.

I chose the Pat Jero family due to their location, social status and also due to them having a 4 year old daughter for Dolly to befriend. Dolly packed toys and clothing to give knowing the little girl had very little. I highly encourage couchsurfing to have a enriching travel experience.

I explained to Dolly that the family is very poor and are unable to purchase food or go to school sometimes due to this poverty. This is allowed her to reflect and ask thoughtful questions about her new friend and thinking of solutions in how she would like to help her new friend.

One child speaks French and English the other speaks Balinese and Indonesian - No language in common - Yet they had no problems playing and communicating with some of the gifts Dolly had brought from home.

The small home they own has a 2 small rooms, a kitchen and a small communal room where we played and ate on the floor. The outdoor traditonal toilets were a struggle for Dolly but made her see how lucky we are.

The House High In The Mountains - Plastic sheets to cover the glassless windows.

The squat toilets and shower area.

Offerings to the Gods. Shelter, food and drink.

Gateway to the small village. Dolly being carried by the mother of the house to avoid dogs and rabies.

My delicious meal of rice, choko, egg and a mix of garlic, lemongrass, ginger and chili. Fruits on offer from the garden; passionfruit and tamarillo.

I gave 25$ to the mother of the house to purchase a gas cooker as my studies on women in developing countries has taught me that the heavy smoke from the wood fire in the small kitchen is a high risk for lung cancer.

The father of the house saved me time and hassle by picking me up and dropping me off at different Bali locations on different side of the island on 3 occassions. I was thankful for this and left them 50$ as a thank you to cover fuel, time and his kindness. This is a large amount of money for them. To give you an idea the 18 year old son works every morning for 4 hours earning .50 cents per morning.

Sightseeing with our host. Dolly had given some of her dresses, leggings and hair clips to her new friend who wore them with happiness.

We had a great time.

Now in Lovina - Bali

We are in Lovina in the North or Bali. The sand is black as it's volcanic.  We swim, walk and eat. I also pay for the service of local ladies for $5 massages. I could bargain down but this would be too exploitative in my eyes.

We spent 2 nights with our couchsurfing hosts in the mountains. But it was cold and I was scared of the dogs and the serious cases and deaths of Rabies at the moment in Bali. The government has shot many dogs but I am still highly concerned for our safety when there are dogs and monkeys around.

Our baggage is halved now as we have given away about half of our belongings, clothing, toys, books and toiletries. This was intentional as we packed for Bali with tropical clothing and The Rambling Expat arrives today with our winter gear. All of our stuff was second items from op-shop 1$ days. We are travelling with 30 kilos for the 3 of us and that includes gifts for family and friends.

Now In Kuta - Bali

On arrival at the airport I purchased our visa's and exited the airport and started to look for a person who works as a middle man for accommodation. I was spotted quickly and he started with high end hotels. I explained I was traveling on a tight budget and was looking for somewhere cheap, clean, quiet and safe for me and my daughter. So he offered a room with bathroom and breakfast at 200, 000 rupiahs (25$AUS) per night.

We ate a gorgeous dinner at a small restaurant in our alley and made friends with the cooks and waiters who spoilt Dolly with 2 bananas and 1 mandarin to take home. The cost of the dinner came to $5 for both of us, including drinks. We left a novel behind that I had finished reading on the table.

We are now about to head to Singarja where we would like to stay with a poor traditional family and share floor space in their home in exchange for a learning experience for myself and Dolly. They do not use a computer so it's a task trying to contact them.

Here's a link for a Bali Map. My budget is $40 maximum a day and this is living the rich life.

Right now Dolly and I are about to head off. We are currently sitting in the internet cafe with 1 bag each About $10 kilo's in total, all stuff we can leave here when we head to France next week.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask... By the way, I tried to buy a second hand Lonely Planet but ended up having to purchase it new :-(