Today we did an incredible cycling tour with Bali Budaya Eco Tours (a GREAT company!) through the rural villages and rice paddies of central Bali. One of the absolute highlights thus far.
Our companions on the tour were another family, who are also travelling in Bali for a month. Jesse and Felicity, and their 3 kids Sam (10), Mia (8) and Liv (22 months), and Felicity's mom Lorna are from the San Francisco Bay area. They’ve been living in Hawaii for the past year (minus Lorna)…and just decided to extend their time there for another year. It is always a pleasure to meet other like minded people who are living abroad and travelling with their children. There are many such adventurers out there. Our second night here, we met a family of 5 (the children were probably aged 12, 15 and 17) who are travelling around the world together for 15 months. They have been all over Southeast Asia, and are moving on to Africa next. So inspiring.
We began our tour with a drive up to Penelokan, a mountain town on the rim of Mount Batur. We visited the same area a few days ago with Rai, but that time we stopped at the town of Kintamani, maybe 10 kilometres further north.
We ate our breakfast at a restaurant overlooking Batur, and it was an entirely different view of the volcano and its crater lake. Gorgeous beyond description. Maybe the pics will help.
We then hopped back in the van and drove to our bike pick up spot. The mountain bikes were fitted with Australian child seats which were great and comfy for the kids. We spent the next 3 or so hours biking downhill past villages, rice paddies and family compounds. The Balinese traditionally live with their extended families within these compounds, which include a central kitchen, a temple, and a livestock area. We saw bamboo mats being made as well as roosters, a cow, and the biggest pigs I’ve ever seen.
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Mia and Jonah at the family compound |
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| Producing a bamboo mat |
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| Stopping for a break at the edge of a rice paddy |
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Banyan tree along the way |
The kids loved being on the bikes, and Little J even had a snooze in her seat towards the end of the ride. Our journey ended at the tour company’s gorgeous restaurant, set (of course) amidst lush rice paddies.
A wonderful time was had by all. The kids got along well, and we hope to get together with our new friends again soon. They are here for the rest of the duration of our trip (they are even flying out the same day as us!), so I hope we will experience more adventures together.
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