Today we got into Bali. we almost had to cancel our trip because the big volcano, Agung was erupting (the volcano canceled all of the day before’s flights)! We had an early flight and mom forgot that she booked our tickets home on a different airline.  We had a panic attack on the plane when she couldn’t find our tickets in the scoot app and book us a 2nd flight home (thankfully she realized her mistake before she actually bought them).

When we landed we met our driver who was the same person that we had the last time we were in Bali- 5 years ago- Bee and Jay were actually cute back then (editor’s note: hey!). we stared out by going to a restaurant called La Luciola which has an amazing view of the ocean. We took a nice walk on the beach and saw a small temple right near the restaurant- our 1st time wearing sarongs for the trip. The temple had lots of great intricate statues.  After that we went to a temple called Tanah Lot which is a temple on a rock formation in the sea- becomes an island at high tide.   At low tide, the surrounding area is very cool rock, some covered with green moss.  Great tidal pools are formed with fish and crabs.  A hike along the cliffs provides more great views of the temple and rocky coastline.

We drove to Ubud and luckily caugh an awesome view of Mt Agung – even saw some smoke coming out.   Had agreat dinner at a traditional Indonesian restaurant and then called it a night.

From Na No’s perspective:

Someone noted that the people of Bali “have a serenity, and aura of being truly happy and blessed in life.” It was our good fortune to spend some time in Bali and experience that for ourselves. The people are so welcoming and gracious! And the island is a very special place.

We started our visit with brunch in a charming restaurant at the beach – and ended our visit with dinner again on the beach…sand under our toes, soft breeze across the surf. In between, we sampled the good life that this island has to offer.

The brunch and the view put me in relaxation mode. After a beach walk, we visited 2 temples. (A fascinating fact: Bali, the size of Delaware, has 20,000 temples. Many are actually shrines, but still are part of daily life in every community.) The temple Tenah Lot was built on a beautiful cliff and on our visit the tide was out and we were able to walk around the structure checking out tidal pools and enjoying the scene and taking pictures. Lots of use for those “kid props”(thanks for posing Jay and Bee!) that we brought along! The next lovely thing that day was our villa in Ubud. We were greeted with such warm hospitality, fresh tropical fruit drinks and a pretty good view of the volcano in the distance, which was still sending steam and ash into the air.

 

And now for everyone’s favorite game:

Now or Then!

i will put some pictures of us on this trip and some from the first time we went to bali 5 years ago and you have to figure out which is which! (answer in the comments) (okay, it’s kind of obvious)!