Bali - A learning experience
It’s always exciting to share a trip that was amazing, it’s so much harder to share a trip that didn’t live up to expectations.
Bali was going to be a family trip to celebrate our Dads 70th birthday. Unfortunately he passed away on his 69th Birthday so wasn’t able to make it, but my brother, sister and I and our families decided to head there anyway to remember our Dad and celebrate our family. It was something we had looked forward to for a long time. It was my third time in Bali (and I had loved it so much in the past!), but it didn’t meet my expectations, and that was hard to deal with.
We spent 10 days in Bali: five nights in Canggu and five nights in Ubud.
What I’ve realised (and has been reinforced over the last few weeks), is that when I travel with my husband and son, we travel fairly slowly, making sure we have time to chill out. Relaxing days, not getting out every day (my son definitely needs it, my husband to a lesser extent but they all feel the impact when I don’t get it!). However when I’m with other people I feel the need to keep pace with them, moving faster, doing much more, being busier, than I probably can actually cope with (potentially an ADHD masking/mirroring thing - trying to match the energy of the people I’m with rather than honouring mine. Something for me to explore more in my journaling definitely!). So we had a lot going on!
Canggu was the first half of the holiday. Lots of food which I loved. Some exploring which we enjoyed. However I also got my first hint that maybe Bali isn’t the place for me any more (at least not those very popular places and in peak season!). I really struggled with the heat. Heat intolerance is a symptom of perimenopause, so heading to a tropical country was an interesting and challenging choice. I’ve learned from it though! We’ve booked a holiday to the Gold Coast later this year for my husbands 50th birthday, but it’s happening a couple of months after his birthday to avoid the hottest months. Another situation when I really struggled, was when my Brother and Sister wanted to go to a beach club, so we headed along. But while they taxi’d there we walked. The combination of walking in the sun, then having to walk through a crowded market to get into the club I actually got pretty close to a panic attack. My nervous system really wasn’t coping, and I have to admit it was kinda scary. It probably didn’t set me up well for the rest of the holiday either.
While In Canggu we headed to Waterbom waterpark. That was a great fun day. Benny even loved the kids waterslides, something I was worried about! In the past he has often freaked out with new experiences, but I think all the swimming lessons he’d had before we went probably helped quite a bit with his water confidence.
On the way to Ubud our driver suggested stopping at Junglegold chocolate factory. It was definitely a stop worth taking! Delicious, free tastings, and all dairy free. Total bonus.
We got to our villa and settled in for the night. The next day was the Ubud Monkey Forest. And this was where things really started to go downhill for me. The first part was great. Monkeys everywhere, great photo opportunities. Plenty of shade so not overwhelmingly hot… then I got bitten by a monkey! I couldn’t believe it when it happened! A baby monkey was climbing over me and biting slightly, like a puppy or kitten would. Cute and slightly annoying, but not overly painful and no breaking of the skin. It bit me on my elbow and I I kinda pushed it away to check and make sure there was no skin broken, then all of a sudden mumma monkey came flying at my and launched itself at my forearm. The look of it staring up at me while its jaws were in my arm is something I won’t quickly forget. I got to the park medical centre and they cleaned it up and I asked how many bites they get each day. Apparently 5-10 is normal. And the nurse reassured me that their monkeys are clean. They regularly get tested for rabies, and from my research afterwards, while there are rabies in the dogs down south, the monkeys in the monkey forest have never tested positive for rabies since the park was opened in the 60’s. Dave actually caught the whole thing on camera, so if you want to have a look at it, send me a message and I can send it to you.
We also did a Mt Batur Jeep tour (definitely not the sunrise one!). It was really cool to see the black lava and explore a new part of Bali. I did enjoy it, but on the way home I swapped jeeps with my Brother and realised their jeep was WAY louder. On the way home everyone else stopped at a coffee plantation but Benny and I headed back to the villa so we could chill out and recover from the noise and heat.
Unfortunately for me the rest of our trip I spend holed up at the villa with Bali Belly. My sister in law got it for a day or two, Benny had some symptoms but managed to keep going, but I felt miserable and couldn’t go too far away from the toilet. The others managed to visit coffee and rice fields, as well as waterfalls and a butterfly park. But I hung out watching movies and reading books and regularly visiting the toilet. Definitely not the relaxing and refreshing holiday I was hoping for! At least I learned some more about myself along the way though I guess!
