Bali, Indonesia

We've had a busy month here in Hong Kong! We've had Aunt Nellie visit for 9 days and then spent Easter in Bali, Indonesia. Aunt Nellie's blog post will be coming later as I'm still gathering pictures, so Bali first. 

The brief geological and cultural lesson first...Bali is a providence located in the country of Indonesia. It is approximately a 4 hour flight south from Hong Kong, located in the Southern Hemisphere. Bali has remained mostly Hindu, however, much of Indonesia is Islamic. There are influences from India and China; however, I would say that the Hindu culture is most prominent. There are many temples and offerings of incense and flowers to the Hindu Gods. Bali has a booming tourist economy, gorgeous beaches, the Indian Ocean, and a hot, tropical climate.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt resort, which was highly recommended by some Canadians that we know from Hong Kong, and we were not disappointed! The above picture is just 1 of the 5 pools at our resort. 

We had a cave, water slides, loungers built-into the pool, and so much more! We had a hard time convincing the kids to leave the pools to do anything else, ever. In fact, we didn't do much else, which is why Mark and I want to go back and explore Bali without the kids. There is so much culture and the area is simply gorgeous, but it's hard to convince the little ones the importance of cultural enrichment :)

The other nice thing about the resort was its' size. Living in Hong Kong, you can get a little claustrophobic. Although our area is very nice and not congested, it's nothing like Ohio. We had to reference a map to reach the medical clinic, tennis courts, and various restaurants. There was a huge Prudential insurance conference for Eastern Europe being held here, and not once did we feel that it was crowded. There were plenty of lounge chairs, plenty of staff, and plenty of beach space. We could see the stars at night, which is not very common in Hong Kong. It was just a really great place to visit and re-group from our daily life here. 

 

Evie went to the Kids Club for face painting one day while the rest of us played tennis. She is a (sweating) butterfly.

Like I said, our resort was huge, but once we walked off the property, there was this nice clearing on a cliff featuring a temple, these Hindu statues, and an "ocean boom" viewing point. We could not find much about these statues in English, partly because we didn't have time to read the 6 foot by 4 foot book that was located in the base of the building, and partly because the kids were getting hungry. But, I will research them later.

                                                      

Here we are visiting the "ocean boom" look-out. We walked up onto the deck that you can see in the background because you could see the waves better. Then a nice little wave came up so we could get some cool pictures and "BOOM" the after effects....as you may guess, E was less than impressed, C said "that wave was wicked-cool!"  (Of course, E looks less than impressed in the "before" picture as well, but that's her natural persona)

Right across from our resort, about a five minute walk from our room, was a large market area. There were many restaurants, spas, and shops, which was very convenient and more cost effective than resort food all the time. Asia has a great customer service sector and the salon business is no exception. So, I was all about the salons at the market. All of them offered "fish therapy" which is basically a treatment to remove dead skin cells from whatever body part you stick in the tank. I had just had a pedicure before we left for our trip, so I thought it would be a good idea for the boys to try out this little treatment. (Not that I would have done it anyways, but it sounded good). Anyways, C was all about it, Mark took some convincing. However, we paid our money, they dipped there feet in and went for it very bravely. Turns out, C loved it!This salon had 4 tanks in it, so when the fish grew tired of him in 1 tank, he would run to the next one. He ended up dipping his hands in as well. They described it as tickling, especially when the fish went for the skin between the toes. Mark ended up with smoother skin, but more interesting than that, the fish loved his leg hair. He now looks as though he wears bad socks that rubbed off all the hair from right above the ankle. There session lasted 20 minutes and they both stuck it out for the duration.

A close-up view of C having his feet nibbled. He eventually relaxed his toes, but he said it tickled!

Apart from the pools, eating, and the beach, we attended a traditional Balinese dance production. I still need to upload those pictures, but the costumes were beautiful and we were all able to take pictures with the actors. Evie enjoyed the princesses in it. C found a boy that resembled A.J. (his cousin). He decided that was his favorite person in the show, so they had a picture taken together too.

We ate a a Japanese steak house, located at our resort, which is where this family picture was taken. The kids enjoyed the food and the adults had our first experience with "seaweed casserole" for dessert. (No going back for seconds on the dessert).

We had a fantastic time and can't wait to explore more!!! Happy Easter everyone.