Bali Tree Top Adventure Park

The Bali Tree Top Adventure Park is Nathan's favourite attraction in Bali. I liked it too! Nestled in Bali's Botanical Garden in Bedugul, where the weather was nice and cool, we spent a good two hours there. Noah was too short to participate, but he had fun roaming the gardens under the watchful eyes of our friendly driver. Kids had to be about 4 years old and at least 110cm tall (raised hand height) to participate.

The adventure park had a total of 7 circuits constructed using the trees in the park as support. The height of the circuits ranged from 2 to 20 metres and it was refreshing that we got to have a bird's eye view of the park. There were patrol guides to advise/assist us, but we hardly needed any help. Each of us had two carabiners and a pulley (for the flying foxes) attached to our safety harness. At any one time, at least one carabiner would be attached to a life-line support. The instructions were simple. Each time we arrived at a new junction, there would either be red markers or blue markers. If we saw a red marker, we attached one carabiner on the support. If there were two red markers, we attached both our carabiners on the support. The blue marker tells us to attach our pulley. The park is well maintained and this activity is safe (even for kids).

The three of us conquered the first two circuits together - squirrel yellow and squirrel green circuits. I went first, Nathan followed behind me and Dean was last. This way, I could help Nathan to secure his carabiners and show him which way to go, and Dean could help him from the back if he needed help. Thru this activity, Nathan experienced what it means to work as a team and to look out for one another.

There are a total of over 70 challenges in the entire adventure park. These are some of those we conquered. 

Wood Ladder

Foot Bridge

Trunk Crossing

Fishing net

Fox's hole

Elephant's steps

Climbing wall

Nepalese bridge

Railway bridge

Giant steps

Swinging logs

I was surprised that Nathan was not afraid of being so high up, standing on the logs that were swinging left and right. He had a bit of difficulty with one of the obstacles - the swinging logs, as they were too far apart. The patrol guide asked Dean to help Nathan by moving the log that Nathan is standing on forward, so he can actually step on the next one. A very helpful tip! Other than that, Nathan completed all the other obstacles pretty much on his own. Strangely, Nathan found the flying fox the most challenging, when I thought that should be one of the easiest. 

Dean and I continued on another circuit without Nathan as he was too short to reach the life line. I would have loved to complete all the circuits, but since Nathan wasn't able to participate in the rest, and we didn't want to have them waiting for too long, we only managed to complete 3 out of the 7 circuits. We might return when Noah is older, and hopefully, he'll be brave enough to participate like Nathan.

The cool weather and fresh air made this a very pleasant activity. I love the varied challenges and it is nice that Nathan was able to complete the two squirrel circuits. I can imagine getting all hot, sticky and sweaty if we were to do something like that in Singapore. 

While you are at Bedugul, I recommend stopping by Strawberry Stop. It is a home style restaurant serving simple home cooked food. We had lunch at Strawberry Stop right before we visited the Bali Treetop Adventure Park. Main courses are about US$5. We really enjoyed the strawberry juice. Made from the freshest and juiciest strawberries that are grown in the strawberry farm sited in the same compound. Merti's (our driver) family owns this restaurant and strawberry farm, and we got a private tour of the farm. Noah loves strawberries and was thrilled that he got to eat them right off the stem. It is just opposite the Ulun Danu temple. Just look for the big bottle by the road side.

For more of our Bali Adventures, click here!

Book Review: Sam, Sebbie and Di-Di-Di at the Night Safari by David Seow

Following our trip to the Bali Safari & Marine Park, we received a lovely book about a night safari. This beautifully illustrated book captured the attention of Nathan immediately. We learnt about nocturnal animals and read about the predicament of the animals as they faced a giraffe who fell asleep in the middle of the road. Noah had fun identifying the animals and spotting the ones he saw in Bali. A good bedtime read and definitely a hit with kids who love animals.

Disclaimer: We received this book for the purposes of this book review. All opinions are our own.

Bali Safari & Marine Park

I decided to make Bali Safari & Marine Park our very first stop so that they'd be something to get the kids all excited at the start of our trip. Our driver, Merti, met us at the airport and got us there in slightly under an hour.

Mara River Safari Lodge

Accommodation for the first night was the Mara River Safari Lodge, which is located within the park itself. All the attractions were walking distance from our hotel room.

This is the view we wake up to in the morning... animals grazing right outside our room! Noah was so excited... "mommy, look zebras"!

Safari Journey

Entrance to the Bali Safari & Marine Park is included in the room rate, so you do not need to buy tickets separately. The highlight for us was the safari journey - an air conditioned tram that let us see the animals up close. This is free if you are hotel guests at Mara River Safari lodge. Just show you hotel guest card.

Elephant

Sun bear

Bridge that separates the carnivores from the rest of the animals

Tiger

Looking at hippos

Cheetah

Zebra crossing

Lion

Rhinos

Our hotel room in the distance

The entire journey took about half an hour. I've never seen so many animals up close before. We enjoyed it so much, we went on it twice!

Animal Shows

There are animal shows throughout the day. Check schedule for show times.

The boys particularly liked watching the elephants bathe...

Animal Rides

There are animal rides available in the park. Nathan wanted to ride on the elephant but it was so expensive (USD80/person), I said no. :( I was told that elephant rides are expensive everywhere in Bali, not just at this particular park. The reason - elephants eat a lot!

The camel ride was much more affordable (USD5/person), so Nathan got to ride a camel. Noah didn't want to try.

Tsavo Lion Restaurant

There are two restaurants situated inside the Bali Safari & Marine Park. The one closest to our hotel room was the Tsavo Lion Restaurant, and we ended up having all our meals there while we were at the park. The restaurant overlooks the lion enclosure, so it was pretty much like dining with the lions! Buffet breakfast is included in the room rates if you are staying at Mara River Safari Lodge. Lunch / dinner main courses are about USD15 and up. They have a kids menu that had stuff like spaghetti and bangers & mash which my boys enjoyed.

Can you see the sleeping lion?

The Bali Safari & Marine park is a family friendly attraction that all kids will probably enjoy. Noah's smile says it all...

For more of our Bali Adventures, click here!

The Greatest Thing About Having Kids Is...

Our family was involved in the filming of a TV commercial a couple of months back. A TVC to promote parenthood amongst Singaporeans. As we interacted with the crew, one of the questions posed to us is the title of this post. As I ponder... several things came to mind.

Deeper appreciation for my mom and dad

Having kids has certainly made me appreciate my own mom a lot more. I never knew how difficult being a mother was, until I became one. My mom and dad moved to Singapore to seek employment when they completed school. Their schooling years were difficult as my grandparents were not well to do. My mom shared that they did not even have money for textbooks, and relied on what was handed out by the welfare organisations. Very often, by the time they received their school books, half the school year had gone by. With little more than the clothes on their backs, and no immediate family support, they moved to Singapore and laboured to carve out a better life for themselves and in time, their children. I can only imagine how hard the initial years of bringing up me and my sisters were for them. But my mom and dad are resilient, and they soldiered on. They provided me with many opportunities when I was a child, and always gave me things that I needed and wanted. As a child, I didn't understand why they didn't like yummy stuff like fried chicken, fish balls  and strawberries, and always let me have the last piece. But now that I am a mom myself, I find myself doing the same for my kids. They are quick to dote on their grandchildren, but also give me the space I need to be the parent. They have never criticised the decisions I make for my kids, and never interfere when I discipline them. That to me, shows me how much they know and trust me. I treasure their wise counsel and am thankful for all the help I get from my mom and dad... with washing smelly bums and changing soiled diapers, making milk, mending uniforms, cutting fruits into bite sized pieces, tucking my boys in bed... Having kids has made me a better daughter for I now appreciate my parents so much more.

Deeper appreciation for my husband

The first month with a newborn was the most difficult. I struggled with breastfeeding, had difficulty deciphering what my baby's cries meant, and craved uninterrupted sleep. I still remember cradling a crying Nathan, sitting by his cot with tears flowing down my own cheeks. Dean walked into the room, put his arm around me, and said 'we can do this together'. We prayed and asked God to help us in our journey as parents and will always look to Him for wisdom and guidance in our parenting journey. It has been such a joy watching our boys grow day by day. Dean makes it a point to be involved in their daily lives despite his hectic work schedule. I struggled long and hard over deciding whether to quit my full time job to be a stay home mom. I worried about many things... Will we have enough money? Will this be long term? If I want to return to the workforce in future, can I still find a job? I do not have answers to these questions but jointly, we decided that in this season of our lives, it is best for me to stay home. He asked me not to worry about whether I can find a job in future. He encouraged me to quit and focus my energies on bringing up our boys. He is working hard to provide for our family, and I am thankful that I am able to be so involved in our boys' growing up years. Having kids has certainly drawn us closer together as a couple and made me a better wife.

Deeper appreciation for the simple things in life

Having Nathan and Noah has opened my eyes to the way kids view the world. I learnt to see beauty thru the eyes of a child, I learnt to delight in simple pleasures. Our home is filled with much joy and laughter. Our weekends are filled with fun and games. Our hearts are filled with love and hope.

So, the greatest thing about having kids? I can't put my finger on a single thing because it is so much more than that. Dean and I are blessed with two boys who have brought us much joy. True that there are adjustments to make, and heartaches along the way. But our lives have been enriched and made more complete ever since they joined our family.

Do you have children of your own? How would you answer the above question?

Bali with Kids

I never really thought that Bali was a family friendly place to visit... More than 10 years back, I went there sans kids and all I remembered was a lovely dinner by the beach and my first full body massage.

We wanted to go on a holiday with the kids, and Bali is about as far as our Krisflyer miles can take our entire family. So I went about my reasearch and was pleasantly surprised to discover several gems. We stayed in Bali for 6 days and had just enough to fill our itinerary.

If you are planning on visiting Bali with kids, read on.

Itinerary

We stayed at a different hotel every night as we were planning on travelling all the way up north. My itinerary is detailed below, together with the hotels we spent the night at. I'd have opted to stay at Mara River Safari Lodge for two nights and spent the second day doing the Odyssey Submarine if not for a hotel voucher that we wanted to utilise at Intercontinental Hotel. We had to spend two weekend nights at Intercon and hence, had to do a bit more driving to Odyssey on the second last day. So if you are planning to go on the Odyssey Submarine, consider staying somewhere nearer Gianyar.

Transport

The best way to get around Bali is to hire a driver. He doubles up as your tour guide and can give you insights into Balinese life. We hired Merti from Drivers with Distinction to bring us around. His rates are reasonable and our kids enjoyed his company. Drop him an email if you are planning to go to Bali. If he is busy on the days that you'd be in Bali, he'd be able to recommend someone else from his team of 8 drivers. I was so glad that his car is equipped with seat belts for every passenger. I brought along my boys' booster seats so they can be safely belted up while we travelled.

Other than the main city area, the roads leading up north are narrow windy roads. If you are relying on google maps to provide you with distance / time estimates, do multiply the estimated journey time by at least 1.5. It took longer than I had anticipated to reach our destination because of the road conditions. Thankfully, my boys were such angels on the long drives and hardly fussed. It helped that there were interesting things to see along the way. The blue highlighted path in the map below marks out the path we took in Bali.

View Bali in a larger map

Weather

Weather was generally dry in September. It gets cooler as we drove up north, and that was lovely! Avoid rainy months as there won't be much to see or do indoors.

Currency

Other than the more established hotels and restaurants, most other attractions and eateries only took cash. Have sufficient Indonesian Rupiah for the trip. You'd need to pay airport tax of IDR150,000 per person when you fly out from Bali. Only cash is accepted. Thankfully, our hotel left a note to tell us about it. If not, I might have tried to use up all my Indonesian currency. 

Food

As both my boys are already toddlers, we didn't have to worry about bringing / cooking baby food. They pretty much ate whatever we ate, though we made it a point to stay clear of street side food. There are many home style restaurants that serve simple home cooked fare. My favourite was at Strawberry Stop, located just opposite the Ulun Danu temple. There is a strawberry farm in the same compound and they serve the nicest strawberry juice. Main courses are about USD5.

I will be writing about some of our favourite attractions over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
Bali Safari & Marine Park
Kintamani
Bali Treetop Adventure Park
Strawberry Farm at Bedugul
Dolphin Watching at Lovina
Jatiluwih Rice Terraces
Odyssey Submarine

Freshly Baked Madeleines

I've always loved eating madeleines. And after I introduced them to Nathan and Noah, they love it too! Quite often, we'd go to Starbucks for breakfast, and we'd usually buy a small packet for the boys. Several times, they ran out, and they were disappointed. Oh well... we finally decided that since we love madeleines so much, maybe we should try baking them ourselves. 

So there... I scoured the web for some recipes, and finally found one that I liked. The following is adapted from the Joy of Baking. I adjusted the quantities, and this recipe fits on my madeleine tray nicely.

Madeleines 

Makes 10

60g butter (melted)

65g flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs (at room temp)

65g sugar

15g brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1) Preheat oven to 190 deg C.

2) In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar at high speed until it turns creamy and pale yellow in colour. 3) Add in vanilla essence and beat for a few more minutes.

4) Sift 1/2 of the flour into the batter and fold in. Continue with the other half and fold in gently.

5) Add melted butter. Stirring in gently.

6) Transfer batter to madeleine tray. 

7) Bake at 190 dec C for 20 minutes.

Madeleines make little boys happy

Put it in the oven to cook!

Fresh out of the oven

The best part is, madeleines taste so much better fresh out of the oven! These days, I'd bake it almost every Saturday and Sunday for breakfast. Simple. No fuss. You can choose to double the quantity, bake one batch on Saturday, refrigerate the batter and bake the other half on Sunday.

Tip - get a non stick madeleine tray. costs more but saves you the hassle of greasing the tin. mine glides off so easily!

For teacher's day this year, we baked some to share with the teachers we love. I sure hope they enjoyed it as much as we do. 

Happy Teachers' Day!

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