A Very Bali Holiday

Have A Holly Bali Christmas!

For the winter holidays, me, Dre and the Pea jetted off to Bali, a short, manageable flight from Jakarta. Accompanying us was my brother from another mother and my sister from another mister Vince and Jen. Some friends may navigate a few states to visit you but true fam travels a few continents. From snorkeling and sighting sunken shipwrecks to palling around with a gang of monkeys, this was a strange and unforgettable Christmas.

Our first stop in Bali was the small coastal town of Amed. Bali is highly dependent on tourism, accounting for 80% of its income. Therefore, we tried our best to select places to visit that weren't rampant with tourists.  Amed was a beautiful and remote resort with volcanic black sand beaches and fantastic snorkelling.

Seth, a 1st Grade teacher at NJIS and his lovely girlfriend, Tatia, joined us in Amed as well. They have become very good friends of ours and are so attentive to Pea. 

Although 86% of Indonesians follow Islam, 90% of Balinese are Hindus. Thus, you see Hindu temples and offerings just about everywhere you go. What is beautiful about this devotion is that it is very genuine, and not some sort of spurious display for tourists. The towns are riddled with religious Balinese people making offerings to their gods, ensuring good Karma and consequently a more fortuitous afterlife. 

Volcanic beaches with warm tropical water. Unfortunately, there was also occasional refuse resting along the coastal shelf, arguably Bali's greatest shortcoming.  

Renting a boat was very reasonable in Amed. 

It was difficult to get crabby with such lovely weather. However, sadly, this crab had no choice but to be crabby...as it is a crab...so it's crabby...yeah...

For $25 a night, we stayed in a small one bedroom villa with this view. Why did we ever leave??

Another view from where we were staying. Life is so hard. 

The ladies enjoyed some time to themselves getting massages and were also visited by a praying mantis. 

Many strange and wondrous insects in Indonesia. This one could speak Bahasa. I'm not usually impressed by bugs, but this guy!

Put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up! I think Harry Nillson once said that.

Happy feet! Feet are a big deal in Indonesia. Most temples do not allow shoes. It is considered extremely disrespectful to lift your feet towards someone or put your foot on someone. A respectful sitting position involves having your feet pointed down or firmly planted on the ground. 

The ladies came back from their massage claiming this was the best massage they had ever had. Not only this, but they made friends with the masseuse, Nyoma, and she later treated us to an amazing Balinese feast at her farm house down the road. 

While the ladies received massages, Pea and I watched the Seahawks game and then passed out. Vacations are so hard. 

Roar!! It's a rowdy girl! Hopefully topless yelling is just a phase. 

These kiddos found an awesome pool to swim at overlooking the big blue sea. 

If there is one thing Pea loves other than Elsa from the movie, "Frozen," that is the beach. This girl would spend all day and every day at the beach if she was given the chance. 

Most Balinese have one of four names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman or Ketut. These names simply mean, first born, second born, third born or fourth born. Also, it matters not what gender the child is. This picture is of Pea hanging out with who I am guessing are Wayan, Made, Nyoman and Ketut.

Uncle Vinnie and Ms. Pea and enjoyed some quality time together playing in the sand.

Although Uncle Vinnie was a bit freaked out by Pea's baby bikini, he still enjoyed hanging out with her.  

Pea by the sea.

Most of our family photos are action shots due to Pea's restless ways.

The fellas and ladies took turns snorkelling by a shipwreck. The coral reefs and massive variety of fish were quite stunning. 

It was a fantastic day of snorkelling, though most of us ended up with some sun burns on our back.

It is amazingly difficult to coordinate a thumb's up picture underwater. However, we were successful.

I believe these are called Penjor, long decorative posts found throughout Bali during times of festival. Evidently, we came at the right time. 

As aforementioned, the ladies' masseuse, Nyoma, ended up inviting us for traditional Balinese cooking that was to die for. We all agreed that her cooking and hospitality was a major highlight of our trip. 

Fresh fish and chicken kabob with rice and sambal served on banana leaf. Sambal is a mixture of hot peppers known as Cabai (pronounced Chob-I), lemon grass, onions, and oil. It was ridiculously delicious.

The best Christmas present ever. 

Located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency, Ubud is a very interesting town bustling with artisans, cafes, and many, many tourists. We stayed a little outside of the town in a quaint little farm house we booked through Air B&B. It was a beautiful home, but it did not have any air conditioning. Needless to say, we were a bit warm at times, but cold beer was always a welcome remedy.

Another highlight of our trip was viewing the beautiful and timeless art of Balinese dancing. The dancers express ancient Hindu tales from the Mahabharata through carefully arranged dance routines. The dances place special emphasis on hand, finger, and eye movements. 

Pea was entranced by the hypnotic Gamelan music and colourful displays of movement. After watching the dancers for a short time, Pea herself began dancing around, mimicking the rituals respectively. Funnily, many audience members shifted their attention to Pea's interpretation. 

Home to 605 long-tailed macaques, the Ubud Monkey Forest was a very interesting stop along our journey. Prepare yourself for a plethora of monkey puns. 

Before we came to Bali, I had heard from many people to avoid the Monkey Forest as the monkeys are quite aggressive. Although these warnings did not deter me from visiting, I was extremely cautious with my precious daughter. Fortunately, she was equally cautious and we came out from the experience without a scratch. They did not make a monkey out of me.

No monkeying around these guys. If you have any food on you, these grimy thieves will likely snatch it from you. Unfortunately, in a heated moment motivated by revenge, I couldn't any food worthy of stealing from them.

Vince and Jen made a new friend.

Vince just can't seem to get that monkey off his back.

Andrea was jumped by this macaque and he ate half of her hair clip. I ate the other half. Tasted like chicken. 

Here is a statue of "Barong," a protective spirit in Ancient Balinese mythology. Barong is depicted in many forms of art including carvings, paintings, and his spiritual triumphs are represented in dance and song. I wanted to make "Barong it on" shirts, but no one else seemed to think it was a good idea.

For these Westerners, a trip to Taco Casa in Ubud was a must. Amazingly enough, the burritos and tacos we ate were incredibly delicious and was easily the closest thing to Mexican food we have found thus far. Damn good margaritas too. I cannot wait to go back!! Makanan ini enak sekali!! 

Pea enjoyed the tacos as well. 

This was our host in Ubud, a friendly farmer named Hars. On Christmas day, he and his wife presented us with a fresh salad dinner from their garden. 

In Jakarta, greens are a bit sketchy to eat. I was very happy to have this delicious meal, as there were no diarrheal repercussions. 

Hanging with Hars. He's the guy in the middle. 

Family photo op! We are the best. :)

Pea taking some time to herself, chilling in Ubud.

During one rainy day, Andrea and Pea took a class from Hars on how to make coconut oil. 

Hars offers all sorts of classes on gardening. His website is http://harsgarden.com if you are interested! Andrea really enjoyed it.

Pea snacked while they worked. 

Hardy Har Hars!

And voila, fresh coconut oil! One is hot pressed and one is cold pressed! Want to learn how? Go to Ubud and take a class from Hars!!!! 

The final product.

Vinnie and I were stoked about the fresh tomatoes. We are Italian after all. However, we have an opposite sad picture when we held up onions.

And then while we were out to eat, we saw this spider. Apparently it does not bite, it just scares the living crap out of you.

The level of artistry in Ubud was truly incredible, but not as incredible as my girls. And when you say and publish nice things like that about your wife, it adds longevity to your relationship. Next time she is mad at me, I will just remind her that I typed that...and meant it.

It is amazing to consider that Bali is just one of 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia's massive Archipelago, the largest Archipelago in the world I might add. Each island is so vastly different from each other. With different foods, languages and religions, Bali could easily be its own country. Needless to say, we can't wait to go back! Kita Sayang Bali!!