"A holiday from a holiday..."

Bali has been in our minds from the time we left, on our first trip around Aus we flew to Bali at an unbelievable price of $150 return from Darwin so we kept our eyes open for bargains however nothing good came out while we were there. We did not lose hope and approaching Perth we found the perfect tickets, yes we were off to Bali. I feel like any other place you visit frequently enough you become quite conformable and accustomed to their way of life. This was to be our third time in Bali and we love it, many people give us a very strange look when we tell them we are going there…again, but let me show to you the Bali we see. It was a love affair from the first time we arrived, this is, Padang Bai, it was surpassingly quiet, not overcrowded, not that much traffic. Padang Bai is a fishing village and unlike the more popular or well known areas of Bali, Padang Bai also has truly beautiful beaches, but it is the sea that keep bringing us back, the clear (visibility 30+), diverse and most importantly warm water of the sea, diving in Bali is incredible as it is the unquenchable search for the Mola Mola or Ocean Sunfish as it is better known. We have dived in Bali every time we have been there and feel very comfortable with a diving centre called Geko Dive Bali, we know all the divers and the owners and I would like to say that we are somewhat friends now.

We flew late October and left our van at a friend’s house named Mario, he was very kind and welcoming and even took us to the airport, although we didn’t spend much time with him on that day we were looking forward to getting to know him better once we returned from our trip. Any trip to any airport is exciting, you must buy a drink, check shops and wait at the terminal and when you are sitting there you know that it’s happening, in a few hours/minutes time, you will be boarding a plane. The kids have become experienced in flying and I am surprised the level of patience and maturity they show when flying.

We arrived in Bali late at night and we were transported for two hours by car to the west part of the island. We arrived looking like zombies but happy we were there. Having travelled there a couple of times we now know our favorites, this time we stayed at a two star hotel called Puri Rai hotel, an oldie but a goodie, very traditional hotel, that has 3 pools with distinctive white chariot & horse statues surrounded by frangipani - we were comfortable.

Another funny look we got when we told people we were going on holidays was “ but you ARE on holidays, a holiday from a holiday?” Yes indeed, but let me explain to you that being on the road for 9 months is not as easy as it may seem, (I can feel the rolling of eyes now). Firstly organising where to stay, where to buy cheap diesel, have we got enough food, where can we buy cheap food, homeschooling, the dogs, setting up, packing up…its hard work. Our stay in Bali was nothing but rest, sleep and eat and that is exactly what we did.

Our first week was getting to know everyone again, we've met with a very special lady called Martini, her story I must share.

Martini

About 17 years ago, Martini was just like many other balinese women, either selling sarongs, giving massages or promoting something. She spent a lot of hours by the beach, selling sarongs, giving massages, sometimes she would massage with her daughter strapped on her back but she was determined and did what was necessary to survive. One day she met a German tourist named Renata and after Renata got to know her better, she wanted to help her. She gave her the option of choosing between a Warung (traditional Bali restaurant), a Taxi or Textiles to own and she would help. Martini chose to own a Warung, cooking traditional Indonesian food. Since then the Warung has enabled Martini to send her kids to school, her son graduated this year as a pharmacist and will get married next year, her daughter is still in high school. But this has not come easy, Martini typically worked a minimum of 12 hours a day, selling fruits early morning in the market, selling groceries from her shop/Warung and cooking food and I said worked because recently she suffered a stroke and had to slow down. She told us how she had given up on life at that stage but what got her through was her children and providing a better future for them. We live a very blessed life, listening to her story grounded me even more and helped me focus on what I have and not what I don’t have.

Seafood was on the menu every day, why wouldn’t it be, king prawns, fresh fish of the day, squid and delicious fruit juices for under $40 for the whole family, it was definitely not a “see - food” diet, Carlos and the boys were in heaven.

But we didn’t just eat and laze around, Noah did his open water Padi certification so now he can dive with Carlos and I. Initially I must say I was a little nervous, after all you are 12 metres below the sea breathing from air stored in a tank but we trust Geko Dive Bali instructors and most of all we were confident with Noah's ability to learn and follow instructions. The first time he went in the water it was like he has always dived, great buoyancy and he was super excited, his face lit up to the possibility of being able to be in the water, amongst fish, it was like discovering a superpower, our hearts just swelled, with pride.

Noah was ready for the sea, after passing his theory component achieving an unheard of %100 score in his test I was very comfortable with him diving. Carlos went with him and it was very special to see him doing so well in something that is incredible to do as well as to experience.

On his last dive we decided to join him and we picked a wreck dive off the beach, an old war ship called the USS Liberty that was sunk by the Japanese and pushed closed to shore through the years. As you dive in (we have done this twice before) it is always a shock or a great sight when you look in front and you are facing the ship. The wreck has become an artificial coral so there are hundreds of fish, I could tell Noah was so excited just by looking at his eyes. I must admit that all the recordings I did on the go pro were all of Noah and none of the fish, he was perfect and Noah being who he is managed to still pick on Carlos and I about not doing certain things according to theory, “yes Noah” after all, we are only advanced divers !

Our time in Padang Bai quickly came to an end, our daily routine of morning swims, breakfasts, walks, siestas , dinner and a super comfortable bed, over but we had an amazing time.

This time around we decided to stay 2 nights in town, Legian to be specific so we could take the kids to a water park called Water Bomb. The kids were excited and enjoyed every single minute they spent there, me, of course, bench warmer and photographer, did a great job like always, I can never do the scary dangerous looking slides and drops and you name it, I was happy to do my job and I must say I did a hell of a job warming up that bench.

Unfortunately staying in the busy town the kids were also exposed to the bargaining and the selling/buying of things and they did well, better than me actually, I always want to help everyone, anyway that is all I need to say about that.

We will definitely be back to Bali, we have to of course, to bring Josh and Raf for their diving certificate, a family tradition? Not sure but we do enjoy the village and our new friends.

Till next time …