Exploring Bali: Family Style 

Exploring Bali: Family Style 

By Jetta Allen 

Bali, the center of the universe, mystifies travelers from all over the world! The verdant valleys full of rice, forest with mischievous monkeys, and ancient temples make Bali a once in a lifetime adventure! Our family decided we just had to experience it last December! Although the wet season is from November to April, and the dry season from May to October, we encountered only light showers one evening and into the night during our trip. December was an absolutely perfect time to visit Bali as a family. 

We started our adventure by learning about Balinese cultural sights and must-see places through travel blogs and groups on social media. To sightsee and fully take advantage of our vacation by adding in time to relax, we found out we wanted to be there for about a week. Orbitz, Expedia, and Agoda are great websites to book airfare and accommodations. You can choose to rent a house, apartment, traditional hotel or resort, or a villa which is a private space to yourself. The dates for our flights and our accommodations were set! Aria Villas in Ubud would be our home away from home and Korean Air would take us there!

Our countdown to vacation was filled with necessary preparations. Gathering or purchasing our must have vacation items had begun. The pile grew as the week went on, but we didn’t want to forget anything! Getting an e-Visa for Indonesia is an option, but we found the website very tricky. We opted to fill out on arrival. Transportation would also be a need, again to the travel blogs! “Book Bali Driver” worked for us! Communicating through WhatsApp, we shared our must-see places and they created a custom itinerary, shared times for pick-up and how much we would have at each location, and a cost for a driver in an SUV for the 3 days we would sightsee. Transportation is priced very reasonably. It was around $40-$45 USD each day for a driver all day. Drivers don’t just drive, they are your eyes and ears to the local scenes, best money exchange places, a translator, and they will even book your lunch and dinner reservations for you! Need groceries or a pharmacy, they will take you there too. Travel made easy! 

Flight day arrived! 

Korean Air boarding was seamless and our late night arrival into Denpasar was magical. The terminal was filled with welcoming Balinese and Indonesian art and facts. The line for a visa took about 15 minutes. A 30 day Tourist Visa For Indonesia is IDR 500,000 about $35 USD per person, if you pay in USD cash, they will give you IDR in return at the daily rate. Customs would not be as quick. Expect about an hour or more in the customs line. Bring snacks for you and your family and something to do. After customs, pick up your bags, fill out your declaration forms, pass the forms off, and WELCOME TO BALI! 

Aria Villas staff picked us up and we dozed off on the hour and a half drive to the villa in Ubud from Denpasar. We stepped out of the car, no longer in the big city, but in a tropical jungle with our own room, small backyard, patio for breakfast and meals, and our own private pool overlooking a valley filled with tropical plant life. The outdoor shower was spacious and the tub allowed you to see the stars! The night arrival left us pretty tired, so the comfy beds welcomed us with open arms! 

Family Walking Tour

After our late night flight, we slept in for our first day and enjoyed a lazy morning with breakfast on our villa patio poolside. We video chatted with friends and family showing them the rainforest. Our villa was close to the Ubud Art Market and Ubud Palace, so we took off walking in the afternoon. The streets require a lot of caution for little ones, but the stunning views of traditional Balinese houses and temples take your breath away. I remember telling my husband, it feels like we are walking through a museum. 

It was an art lover's dream and a photographer's paradise! 

The Ubud Art Market and Arjuna Art Market offer many popular Balinese souvenirs. Here you can find hand carved wooden masks and animals, batik sarongs, religious items, clothes of all kinds, and so much more. Spend time looking first at all the shops, then buy after comparing prices. We made our way to Ubud Palace for pictures and found you can buy tickets to a nighty fire dance. We chose a different venue for this in our trip, but it is still an amazing option! We walked home and used Grab to order some delivery and enjoyed our night as family with a night swim and games. 

Silver, Temples, Monkeys and More 

Day two was our first day with our driver from “Book Bali Driver”. Suta would first take us to Celuk to see how silver jewelry is made and to Artika’s Gallery. Silver making is an art form in Balinese culture with a distinct style of dots, swirls, and madalla like motifs. At Artika’s we learned about the process of making silver jewelry and a showroom filled with stunning items. Some of the jewelry was a bit pricey so we headed to a wholesale place called SSS Silver. We found amazing pieces for everyone in the family! 

Pura Puseh Desa Batuan Temple in  Batuan Village, was our next destination. Historical records for this temple go back 1,000 years, with a founding in 1020 AD. Before entering, we rented sarongs and a sash around the waist. This is a requirement for entry, along with a modest shirt. The bright red brick with the contrasting darker brick made this temple stand out. The temples in Bali were nothing like the temples in South Korea, but they had similarities, art, culture, and history was everywhere the eyes could see! The grounds are expansive with ponds, sculptures, offerings, paintings, pictures made from cast concrete, and musical instruments for ceremonies and festivals. 

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary or Monkey Forest Ubud left us speechless! The forest looks like a scene from Indian Jones: Temple of Doom. Vines hanging, expansive trees,ancient temples, mossy covered statutes, and the main attraction, free roaming monkeys! Entrance fees range in price from weekend to weekdays and for adults and children, but expect to pay no more than $8 USD per person. 

This is a destination where you can easily spend half of your day exploring the trails through the forest, the cafes and museums, the many temples on the grounds, posing with many statues, and of course watching the monkeys! 

Monkey Forest Ubud is home to over 1200 macaque monkeys ranging from infants to adults. The staff regularly feed the monkeys at feed areas every few hundred feet as well as monitor for the patron's safety. The rules posted for safety, when followed, will ensure a safe visit. We started going over these rules a few days before to help our child understand the rules and be comfortable around the monkey. On Saturdays there is also a free live performance for visitors called The Story of Lubdaka. Children and adults in costume put on a performance that is interactive and even includes cast members sitting and mingling with the audience. This performance had live music with drums, chimes, xylophones, cymbals, and so many other percussion instruments I’ve never seen. The most interesting was a hand carved wooden turtle that sat in the ground. On its back, 4-6 cymbals were mounted for the performer to hit to make a sound. It was so intricate and beautiful! The dancers had amazing costumes as well. 

Lunch was in order after and our driver Suta made us a reservation at Tebasari Resto, Bar & Lounge. We sat at a private table by a pond overlooking fields and forests. Their menus consist of Balinese favorites and western food as well. The “health” drink with lime, coconut, basil, and rosemary was so uniquely delicious.  The Ayan Goreng which is crispy chicken with rice, Balinese vegetables, and lemongrass was my favorite. As a traveler with stomach issues, Bali treated me well! 

Food is mostly organic, fresh, free range, and bought daily at markets, having less preservatives, fillers, and other “junk” ingredients found in western food. 

Tegallalang Rice Terraces in Ubud is one of the greenest places I’ve ever seen! The green rice terraces, sprawling forests, walkways, swings, photo opportunities, and cafes make this a must see destination! While we didn’t swing, we took advantage of all the fun photo opportunities and just relaxed and took in the view as the evening rain slowly blew in. 

Solo Day for Mom, Father and Son Bonding

Vacations are meant to be a respite from your daily life and provide you with what you need. I needed a day exploring but the boys wanted to chill at the villa and play poolside, that meant, solo day for me on our third day of travel! Suta was a great guide and I felt perfectly safe traveling with him alone.

A Hindu purification water temple called Tirta Empul Temple in Ubud, a temple built in the 10th century would be our morning stop. Located near the town of Tampaksiring, the temple compound consists of a petirtaan or bathing structure, famous for its holy spring water, where Balinese Hindus go to for a ritual purification called Melukat that is said to cleanse the body, spirit, and mind. There was a Hindu holiday the day I went, so lots of people. I absolutely loved seeing the architecture and atmosphere. I don’t fully understand everything about the Hindu religion or the practices, but I did try to be as respectful as possible during the holy day event. 

Traditional housing and living was something I wanted to see. Much like Korea’s folk villages, Umah Bali Kuno House spotlights life in Bali without modern technology. 

The Umah Bali Kuno compound is a working farm and forest with people still living in traditional communal huts!

On the property the families grow all kinds of fruits, rice, make chocolate from the cocoa plant, and Luwak coffee made from digested coffee cherries from a civet. Many of the items grown are used for their teas as well. 

Here you can explore Bali life, culture, and farming without the influence of modern machinery and technology.

A kind lady even taught me about Hindi offerings, the meaning behind each item, and how to make them! When you visit, you have a choice of a coffee or tea tasting, I opted for tea. I tried rosella, turmeric, lemongrass, cocoa, mangosteen, lemon, and ginger teas. The favorite being mangosteen which had fruity, floral notes. The farm sells tea, coffee, and the best chocolate in Bali! Try them all and buy many! The storefront takes paper money or cards, but the guides and farm run purely on paper/cash donations. Support Bali eco-tourism by visiting here. 

Nulu Petanu Waterfall in Kedisan gave me a great cool down after the forest adventure at the farm. This was a great stop on a very humid day, definitely worth the 25,000 IDR or roughly $1.50 USD! The hike down isn’t even really a hike, just a few flights of stairs. Here you can swim, stick your feet in, or walk up and down the river created by this waterfall. The rocks are lush with moss and greenery. Parts of the waterfall area have closed ponds and fountains with koi fish. It’s so very beautiful! The sound of the waterfall was so peaceful. Next time I’d definitely bring a lunch to enjoy!

Family Day in Ubud

Ubud had so much to offer, that we went out again on our fourth day exploring markets, shops, and food. We found the neatest little shop with intricate wood carvings. I bought our son Joshua a winged dragon to hang from the ceiling that disassembled with expertly carved and painted tongue and groove parts for easy travel! Balinese lunch at Tropical Restaurant in Ubud would have amazing spring rolls, great services, and cold drinks of all kinds! It was a great easy family day!

Art, Walks, and Goodbye

Our fast few days were spent relaxing in our villa, taking long walks in Ubud, and discovering local artists. On a random street in Ubud we stopped to buy a cold beverage at a small shop of sorts. From the street it looked like one counter of snacks and one cooler of drinks. We approached hoping for a cooldown.

Instead of a drink, we were given an art tour!

We met an artist named Ni Ketut who lives there in Ubud with a disability. Because of her disability, she can’t walk to the local market to sell her art. She lives with her family, helps run the small, family owned convenience store. Behind the convenience store counter, she welcomed us to her art gallery. We talked about life, where we are from and found she has an amazing outlook on life and international connections through a common media, art. We learned she paints and draws in her spare time and has an amazing talent for recreating traditional art that showcases Indonesian religion and living. I left Bali with a piece from her gallery. A hand carved frame surrounds a draw picture of Barong, a mythological creature of Bali, host of good spirits. Connecting with people from around the world is truly one of the best parts of being a military family. Ni Ketut Rauh can be found on Facebook at Ketut Ubud. 

Our trip to Bali was perfect for our family. Families in Korea should put Bali on their list of must-see places. Make Bali what you need it to be, fun, relaxing, or a complete adventure, the possibilities are endless! 

About the Author

Jetta Allen is Co-Editor of United on the RoK, a writer, and photographer. She loves nature, travel, and culture, but most of all, making memories with her family.