Friday, September 25, 2015

Bali day 3: too many pictures!

So I really should have split day 3 into at least 2 posts. But by the time I realized just how many pictures we took most of them had already been uploaded to this post so it's just going to stay that way. 

Friday night we decided that the best way to handle Saturday would be to hire a driver for the day. We needed to get down to Kuta by Saturday night anyway so it just made sense to pay a little extra to have a driver to take us around all day and then drop us in Kuta. We tried to get Leroy, the driver who had been recommended to us and picked us up from the airport, but he wasn't available for an all day job. He said he could give us a driver who works for him and it would be cheaper too. Not really feeling like we had any other options at this point we went with it. 

Made came to pick us up at our hotel the next morning. Turns out when Leroy said his driver speaks a little bit of English he really meant a teeny tiny bit of English. He was a really nice guy but communicating with him proved to be a challenge a few times throughout the day.

Our first stop was the Monkey Forest Sanctuary. I wasn't overly interested in going because monkeys truly freak me out. I had more than my fill when we walked by the Monkey Forest both of the previous nights. But we decided there might not be much else in the day that the kids would like so we went for them. I can be a good mom sometimes, see? :) Except, maybe not since they both kind of got traumatized.

Declan loved it at first, just walking along waving saying "hi monkey, hi monkey, hi monkey".

And it was truly beautiful inside the forest.








We were busy trying to figure out what was going on with a monkey making a crazy noise and all the workers acting concerned and looking down in the ravine, when this guy just suddenly appeared behind us on the railing. Yikes!
Weird monkey cry:



Declan is totally unconcerned with the monkey just a few feet away from him. But that same monkey would minutes later show his teeth and grab Declan's arm trying to get the yellow leaf in his hand. I was standing on the other side of a big tree so this all resulted in Declan holding the front of Brennan's shorts, Tatum holding the back and both kids screaming while the monkey "growled" at Brennan too. Luckily a worker came to the rescue and scared him off with a big stick. It was certainly freaky but didn't take long for us to start laughing about the whole thing and wishing we had a video of it. Poor Declan sort of acted like he had been betrayed by his friend after that. I was carrying him and in a sad little whimpering voice he would say "monkey grab arm" and hold his arm where it happened. He still likes to tell people about it so at least it was memorable, right?


These guys were working on carving a dragon. So impressive.
Here is the completed, matching one on the other side of the walkway.

We didn't stay in the monkey forest much longer since Tatum kept saying she wanted to leave because she doesn't like it when "the monkey show their teeth".

Next we stopped by the Ubud Palace to check it out.







From there we walked down the road to the Lotus Pond, the same place we saw the show on our first night. It's such a beautiful place, we are glad we went back to see it in the daylight.






A statue at a big intersection. There are so many statues and sculptures, temples and intricate work in Bali. Everywhere you turn there is more art to be admired.
We stopped by the famous Tegalalong rice terraces. It would have been so neat to hike through them on the paths and explore a little more. But with the state of the kids and the heat we decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Timing wise we probably made the right choice as well. But even without walking through them, they were still an impressive sight to behold.


Declan has started enjoying being goofy for pictures.
We sent Brennan back to get the driver rather than walk there ourselves, that's how hot it was and how lazy we were. :) And I kind of love this selfie we took while we waited for him.

It was amazing to see how much stuff people could put on their motor bikes!
Next stop was lunch in Ubud at a Mexican restaurant, Taco Casa. It was delicious! Tatum drew Anna while we waited for our food.  :)
More food pictures from Brennan haha.
My fajitas were so good. Now I'm craving them!


We stopped to grab a monkey souvenir for Declan. They totally kept the kids entertained in the car too which was awesome.
Our next destination was Tegenungan waterfall. We didn't really know what to expect but we ended up loving it. I think we could have spent the majority of the day there.
Hiking down to the falls. These ladies were carrying so much dirt (I think that's what it was? I can't really remember and I can't tell from the picture.) on their heads. Watching them made me realize (not for the first time) that I really don't know what hard work is.

It was really hard to keep the lens of the camera dry because of the misting from the waterfall, so most of our pictures didn't turn out great.

Declan was just happy to throw rocks. Lots and lots of rocks.

I didn't get my swimsuit out of our luggage because I wasn't sure if there would even be swimming at the waterfall and I don't really have the same freedom as the kids to just change wherever I want. ;) I was so sad about it though. I would have loved to have been able to swim. Oh well, dipping my feet in was nice too.

Looking at this picture of Made helping Tatum with her shoes so she doesn't get her feet muddy again is getting me thinking. Tatum is as shy as can be, but later when Made  her quite a ways on the trail she totally didn't mind, which is weird for her. And he really couldn't communicate with her at all. I guess I just find it fascinating how kindness has no language barrier. I'm sure I could have explained my thoughts much better, but that's as good as it's going to get for now.

Brennan and Tatum hiked up a bit further to check out the view.
There's me and Declan hanging out down below.

Being a mom sure has a way of making you a nervous-Nelly. I hated watching Tatum up there, she always looked so close to the edge!
He couldn't have cared less about the huge, beautiful waterfall and scenery surround him. Rocks, rocks, rocks, that's all he cared about. :)


Another little waterfall we spotted on our hike back up.

So pretty. The kids fell asleep pretty quickly in the car after that. I wish we would have told Made to skip the next thing on our list, a traditional Balinese compound. It wasn't as neat of an experience as we were hoping for and it totally disrupted their rest, and gave us no time for a stop at a market for some souvenirs. Hindsight is 20/20 right?
The compound.
I think it probably would have been neat if we had a driver who could have explained things to us. But he couldn't and the people who lived there seemed oddly unwelcoming considering they open their open to tourists like this for a donation. So it's at least part of the way they make a living. And you would sure think they would realize that the more kind and warm they are, the better their donations will be. But oh well. It is what it is.



The entrance to the household temple.
The kitchen.
Chickens they train for cock fighting.




Declan slept through the whole thing.
Porcupines. With the language barrier we couldn't quite figure out from Made why they had porcupines.
Checking each other out.
Tatum, always the observer.


We felt short on time so we skipped stopping at a market and headed straight for Tanah Lot, a temple on the coast. It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset.


It was pretty crowded but for the most part I don't think it made it less enjoyable.






Tatum and Brennan loved standing close to the edge where the waves would crash over the top.

I told him not to get soaked before they went back for more. This happened a few minutes later:
So beautiful!
There was quite a line of people waiting to get blessed with the holy water.

These boat kites were pretty neat.












After Tanah Lot we had a long drive down to Kuta. The kids were crazy hyper and the drive seriously felt so long. Because they were so hyper we thought we would hurry and go for a swim to let them get some energy out even though it was nearly 8 o'clock. But the lights in the pool weren't on for some reason which seemed to make Declan nervous. This combined with his overall grumpiness made for a very short and frustrating swim. Maybe not the best idea we have ever had haha. 

Day 3 was long but we saw so much!


1 comment:

  1. Tatum has really long legs. That temple on the beach is gorgeous and that monkey experience freaked me out just reading about it. I can't believe all the stuff you guys did in one day. You are quite the world travelers!

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