Bali
Bali is the perfect place for families, a magical world where you can listen to frogs chirping in the dark, mingled with the the sounds of the gamelan in a nearby village, biking through rice fields, snorkeling in tropical waters.
Temples in Bali - Bali has scads of wonderful temples and they are always having festivals. Smaller festivals in the villages have a homey, intimate feel to them. Wearing a sash is appropriate to enter the temple. Stopping to watch the processions is always exciting too.
A great festival for the splendor and splash, is Kuningan at the Pura Taman Pule in Mas. We did have to wait to go inside the temple courtyard, but while we were waiting, I had great conversations with Balinese families standing in line with their kids too.
One of my favorite temples is Pura Batukau, off the beaten track on the edges of the mountains high above the lowlands. It's a lovely a large, temple complex with lake and island in the middle, surrounded by dense, dark green jungle.
Fun food
At any roadside stall (warung), stop in for peanuts, pisang susu (milk bananas), crackers and bottled water or soft drinks. There are also delicious tropical ice tea, milkshakes, lassi (yogurt fruit shakes) and coconut ice cream in the restaurants. (Adults, if you are a coffee drinker, Balinese coffee is excellent.
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Shopping
Bali is full of fun things to shop for souvenirs
– fans, sarongs, sashes, carved wooden owls, frogs, ducks, kites, musical
instruments such as bamboo flues, drums and gangsa (small xylophones), toy
outriggers. Kids will have a great time picking
out their own treasures to take back home, a lovely reminder of your holiday.
