Recent Activities in Bali

We first came to Bali over six months ago, and are now feeling quite settled, despite leaving every month or two to renew our visas. We’ve developed some routines, made some friends, and gotten a bit busy with life. And we absolutely love it here!

Every day is an adventure in some way, but we like to get out and do different things every once in a while. Here are some of the more noteworthy activities we participated in during the past month. At least, the ones I have pictures of…

Elephants

When we asked Emily what she wanted for her 9th birthday, she said she wanted to ride elephants. The Elephant Safari Park in Bali is a beautiful facility with opportunities to ride, bathe, learn about, and interact with these sweet animals. We all had a wonderful time, and even got picked up by an “elephant taxi” for dinner. It’s many times more expensive than riding elephants in Malaysia or Thailand, but was an amazing experience and a great way to spend a birthday. Read what Emily has to say about it here.

Beach with Friends

Twice this month, we took a trip to the beach with our friends, about an hour drive away. Once to Legian/Kuta, and once to Sanur. Legian was a great beach for surfing and playing in the soft sand and waves, but there were a lot of people trying to sell you things. Sanur was less commercial, and there are no waves because of the nearby reef. We were there at low tide and there were many local families swimming around in the sea grass. Plenty of shopping and restaurants surround both beaches. We also had fun hanging out at a swimming pool.

Sanur Beach, Bali

Permaculture Workshop

One day, we went to a permaculture workshop at the IDEP Foundation from 9am-3pm where we learned about soil testing, compost, garden design, agroforestry, and much more. Some of it was lecture, and some was hands on. A very educational day not exactly directed at the kids, but they drew pictures and took notes when they got bored, and definitely enjoyed helping out in the garden.

Village Children Festival

We love the community in Ubud, and a recent village children’s festival was a great way to experience it. Expats and locals all met at a beautiful estate and proceeds were donated to help a local boy suffering with a brain tumor. There were many activities, face painting, circus performers, live music, hula hoops, watermelon eating contests, palm reading, raw chocolate, a bubbly fairy that danced around sprinkling flowers on people, and much more. The kids had a great time playing with the other children. We visited with people we know, and even made some new friends. In the evening, there was a full moon ceremony with singing and dancing, and my friend Shamir did an impressive fire dance performance you can see in the video below. We left both energized and relaxed, feeling somewhat like we were at a hippie convention, and also like we fit in just fine. ;)

Here are some more pictures and videos.