Seminyak

Good morning Bali. Our view from the bedroom balconies

We woke up to stormy clouds, apparently unseasonable. Little did we know that this pattern would continue. The upside was that it kept temperatures cool with lovely sea breezes. I've included some more photos of the villa taken at various points of our stay.

As we lazily got dressed, our complimentary continental breakfast was prepared freshly for us by the villa staff with a great assortment of pastries, jams and tropical fruit. I loved not having to get up to make myself a cup of tea. Breakfast was a relatively short affair for the children. We couldn't hold kids back any longer from the enticing pool and they jumped in for a post breakfast swim.

The garden entry of the villa

The living and dining area

The media room

One of the 4 King bedrooms

The outdoor bath (there was an indoor shower)

The inclinator to take us down to the Cabana and beach access

The Cabana has an extra ocean facing bedroom

Also houses an air-conditioned gym which can double up as a massage room

Complimentary continental breakfast with selection of tropical fruits

Breakfast is ready!

Jonah loved the binoculars to look out to the ocean

Elliot has found his favourite reading spot

This view from the living area did not deter the children...

In they went!

With their swim out of they system, we were introduced to Made, our driver and our minivan. This service (for 8 hours per day) was also complimentary as part of our stay. We did have to pay for petrol which was cheap by Sydney standards.The first order of the day was a haircut for the 2 boys.
Made brought us to a hairdresser who took his job very seriously. He carefully cut each boys hair with scissors rather than clippers and so the cuts took much longer than expected!

A visit to the money changer gave us the cash needed for our trip to Potato Head Beach Club. As we arrived the heavens opened up and it poured. The beach unfortunately hadn't recovered from the recent King Tides. Much of the sand had been washed away and the beach was not a pretty sight! The food, mostly Western with a slight Asian twist, was still highly enjoyable and the ambient relaxing despite the rain. Mocktails were only AUD$3-5 and desserts that would cost around $10-15 in Sydney only came in at around $6 each! We let loose and ATE.

With a break in the weather, we took the opportunity and shopped around Seminyak before making our way back to the villa to relax. We also had a few important things sorted:

• Vital supplies - 40 cents for unfridged 330ml can of Coke!
• Game of thrones confirmed to be on cable in the villa. We didn't want to miss the season finale...

We're set...

We dined as a family at the villa before Mal and children went fishing with a local fisherman organised by the villa stuff. In the meantime, I had a 1.5 hour in-villa massage for a total of $45. Life couldn't be better. If I really wanted to save I could have travelled to the spa with the driver and it would have only cost $30...

Very pleased with his new haircut!

The distinctive and colourful shutters of Potato Head Beach Club, our lunch venue

With drinks so cheap. Drink up! 

Soft shell crab sliders

Nachos

One of the tastiest salt and pepper squid ever!

Sugar cane margarita

A study of coconut

Dragonfruit sorbet

Churros ice cream sandwich!

Off to Bali

Our trip to Bali crept up on us. After what seemed to be weeks of crazy concert schedules, we were driving for the airport. It was fortunate that Oma's paranoia had us leaving early. Traffic was horrendous and we crawled for nearly 40 minutes just to go up the ramp to the departure hall. We were blessed to be directed to shorter queues at immigration and security and made it to our gate right on time only to be stalled by the grumpiest lady on earth shooing everyone away. Jeepers! Perhaps she should ask the people making the announcements not to go to the gate! We could have had time to buy food prior to boarding after all. As it turned out, it may have worked out for the best. Elliot declared the he just ate the best airplane food ever. Believe it or not, the food and drinks were generally cheaper on board (We flew Air Asia X)...

We're off!

Rendezvous with Nana and Grandpa went smoothly

We found Nana and Grandpa at the airport easily enough and we were soon whisked off to our resort, Bidadari Cliffside Estate. We were welcomed by our very own Ketut with fresh towels, drinks and the most fragrant frangipani wreaths.The children explored the AMAZING villa with great excitement. I will post more details about the villa when I have more photos but in short, the villa looked just like the photos of the website.

Dinner was at the villa with a Balinese meal prepared by Ketut, the in villa chef. Delicious! I just love having to do nothing!!! The services of the chef was included. However, we did have to pay for the cost of groceries and the petrol used to in the trip to purchase them. This turned out to be good value as the cost of the fresh produce itself was very cheap from the markets. The staff produced a detailed receipt for each purchase. Ketut was a great chef and had a wide array of skills from local food & Indonesian food to western food and BBQ expertise!

At the entrance of our villa

Our first meal prepared by the in villa chef, Ketut

Cockatoo Island

An introduction to camping was in order for my brother, Brian, and his family. So "glamping" we went on Cockatoo Island, the largest island in Sydney Harbour. It had rained the whole morning and as we ate at the Woolwich Pier Hotel prior to catching our ferry, we wondered if we had made the right decision.

As soon as we hopped on to Cockatoo island after our 5 minute ferry ride, the sun and blue skies graced us with their presence! Check in to our 2 bedroom tents (permanent erected tents) was quick and easy. The tents were spacious and toiletries and linen/mattresses/camp cots were provided. The shower block was clean and had hot water as well as power points! The kitchen block was also well equipped with communal fridges and boiling water at the ready. A selection of cafes and restaurants were also available on the island providing a variety of food as well as coffee and alchohol. Camping doesn't get any easier than this...

The sunny weather allowed us to explore the island and learn about its history as a former convict establishment and ship building site. There were activity books for the children available and we let the children guide us around. It was soon nearly sunset and we farewelled Oma as she headed back home. The rest enjoyed their dinner with a harbour before settling down for an early night in our tents. We brought our own breakfast as the cafe didn't open early enough for Brian's girls and it was goodbye to Cockatoo Island!

Having lunch and waiting out the rain at the Woolwich Pier Hotel

Brian and Alana

Jonah and the kids fish and chips

A quick ride on the ferry!

We're here!

One of our two 2-bedroom tents

The middle "living" area

One of these on each side of the living area. Beds all made!

Let's go exploring!

Solitary cells for the convicts

A glimpse into the Island's ship building past

Heritage convict buildings

There was an art exhibition on as well

The view down to the campsite

Our tents

Time to relax...

Oma has had enough of walking

Baby duties and alcohol can mix

Oma's ferry

Enjoying Sydney Harbour