Back from beautiful Bali! My parents spend 4 weeks there every February to escape the Dutch winter (or at least 4 weeks of it). Since it’s relatively close we decided to join them for 10 days. Another holiday from our holiday!
Bali is a beautiful island. Definitely less developed than Malaysia, but very lush and green, warm and inviting. The people are very friendly and the culture is so different to what we’re used to in Kuala Lumpur. Instead of the formal and sober Muslim religion they practice their own form of Hinduism, which is much more liberal and colourful. You see small temples everywhere and three times a day people weave a small basket and fill it with things like rice, flowers and sweets to offer to their Gods. You see them everywhere, on the sidewalk, but also on cash registers in a store or on dashboards of taxi drivers. There are also countless statues, often decorated with brightly coloured fabric.
The money is worth next to nothing. 10.000 Indonesian Rupiah is about 1 Canadian dollar. There are coins, but those are barely used because they are worth so little. Instead of change you often get sweets. Even at the supermarket, somebody will give you a few bills plus a couple of sweets as change.
My parents arranged for a driver for a day and we visited an old temple, set between rice plantations and beautiful greenery, we went to a batik factory, a place where they make silver jewelry and a wood carving workshop. We also visited a coffee plantation where we tasted different kinds of coffee and tea. We had lunch on a mountain facing the volcano and that made for a special experience, getting glimpses of it during the pouring rain and fog. In the afternoon we visited Ubud, a small artist town where it was interesting to see the mix between modern and traditional art.
On a different day we went to Kuta Beach, which is where the Bali bombings of a few years ago took place. It is a much busier part of Bali than where we stayed (Sanur). The crowd is a lot younger and there are a lot of people trying to sell you stuff which I’m not generally too fond of. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe though, we go there everywhere we go. And it can be such a treat to have an American meal!
The rest of the days we spent a lot of time in the swimming pool, either at our hotel or at my parents’. It was an absolute joy spending time with my parents and seeing them, Lorelei and Quinn together. A few nights, my parents would watch the kids before bedtime so Henk and I could go out for dinner together. There are countless places to eat on the beach and it was so romantic, sitting there with your feet in the sand, watching it get dark and enjoying a meal with just the two of us. Our favorite dish was tiny pieces of chicken on skewers, served on a sizzling hotplate or above hot pieces of charcoal with a side of peanut sauce for dipping. Delicious!
Lorelei loves loves loves the water and can literally spend hours making “cups of tea”, “juice” or “coffee” and handing them out to the people around her. She also went looking for shells on the beach with opa and oma. Quinn loves splashing in the water, playing in the waterfall or standing in the kiddies pool, holding the side.
Unfortunately, all four of us had a case of “Bali Belly”. I thought I was spared, but it hit me on the last day with a high fever too. The men have recovered by now, but Lorelei and I still have an upset stomach. I do not want to know how many diapers I changed over the last two weeks...
We are back “home” in KL now and it’s nice to be in familiar surroundings again and have everything we need nearby.
I find that usually during a holiday, the idea for the next holiday is born. We are looking at different options, but will probably go away again at the beginning of next month.
We also made a decision about how long we’ll be staying in Malaysia. Spending Christmas away from family and spending time with my parents, here and in Bali, made us a little sentimental. We’ve decided that we’re moving to Holland for 7 months in June. That way we’ll be there until Christmas, regardless of whether our paperwork for Canada comes through before then. Since we are planning to emigrate to Canada and won’t be able to spend a longer time in the Netherlands once Lorelei goes to school we figured this was our last chance to spend a while in Holland. We would like to experience living close to family with our children. Also, that way Lorelei will get a solid base speaking Dutch. At the moment her language is a bit of a mess. Dutch at home and English at school, but with a heavy accent. I think she’s been picking up things from the Chinese interns at school. The other day she said “solly” instead of “sorry”... Lol.
I have often said that I wouldn’t mind not living in the Netherlands again. Although I do feel Dutch it doesn’t necessarily feel like home and I like to think of myself being a worldly citizen. My parents and my sisters live there though, so I’ve made it clear that we are moving to Holland, not to live in Holland, but to live close to family. And now we’ve made the decision the idea is growing on me. I’m looking forward to putting the kids in their bike seats and visiting my mom for lunch, or spending a weekend in Amsterdam with my sisters.
It’s still a few months down the line though, so in the meantime we’re going to make the most of our adventure here In Asia. To be continued!
