Bali
We weren’t overly impressed with the beaches in Bali. Although the water is warm, if you want a relaxing time on the beach, don’t go to Kuta for it. Try some of the northern beaches. A morning’s trip up to one of the volcanoes in the north was interesting – very barren landscape, and you can see exactly where the lava overflowed – great geography for the kids. Less endearing are the local vendors who abound at tourist spots. They are persistent and of the ‘in-your-face’ variety. They have no scruples about trying to use your kids to ensnare you as a buyer and will go so far as to put a watch on your kid’s wrist and ask him if he wants it!
Our kids want to go back to Bali before we leave this part of the world. What for? Roxanne wants to go shopping and the boys want to go to Waterbom Park, which is in Kuta – a refreshing change from temple pace, with slides and tyre floats and lots of splashing.
Yogyakarta we enjoyed very much, with a number of cultural activities as well as ancient sites that are well worth the visit. The kids still have vivid memories of climbing the old stones and looking at the relief carvings of Borobodur while Roxanne went on a batik course with her dad, and produced a very creditable wall painting which now hangs, framed, in her bedroom. Live performances of shadow puppets were a bonus, especially when we were invited round backstage to watch during the show.
The highlight of Java though was probably our overnight visit to Mt Bromo, a live volcano. Christopher and Tim, on top of the crater rim were less interested in the steam coming from the crevice down in the heart of the volcano than in going back down the steps and riding ‘their’ horses back to our four wheel drive to take us across the ‘Sea of Tranquillity’ to breakfast at our tiny hotel.
If you do go to Mt Bromo, try one of the overnight packages from Bali to Yogyakarta or viceversa, which includes the dawn trip up Bromo to see the sun rise. We went to Surabaya and drove down especially to …. and back, and wasted a few days in the process. Surabaya is very much a bustling commercial city.
We flew to Lombok from Bali, but the ferry sounds reasonable and is cheaper. The boat ride up to the Gili islands in the north was worth the effort and we had some amazing snorkelling off the coast of Gili Meno, although we stayed at Gili Trawangan. We saw a turtle along with some beautiful coral and fish and that remains one of the kid’s best memories of Lombok, along with the ultra cheap fresh fruit juices that we all enjoyed.
Organised and efficient, Singapore must be one of Asia’s cleanest cities. It has all sorts of touristy activities that are appropriate for kids. But the best we felt were the animal attractions – Jurong Bird Park, the Singapore Zoo and next door, the Night Safari – a nocturnal zoo where lions roar and other animals who you normally see basking in the sun are awake and active.
Sentosa Island is a must for most kids, and taking the cable car across gives a bird’s eye view of the busy port. We also had interesting insights into the life of a port at the Maritime Museum, where you travel around in a container! Shopaholics can delight in the pleasures of China town, and there is a huge assortment of food available everywhere – we enjoyed our banana palm lunch in Little India. Roxanne and I had a special ‘high tea’ at the refurbished colonial Raffles hotel – a nice girls’ afternoon out.