While our 2-week vacation in Bali earlier this year wasn’t flawless, we had a fantastic time there. The little one especially liked nasi goreng (fried rice), mi goreng (fried noodles), dancing and pool time, while my husband and I enjoyed all the temples, traditions and green landscapes. Bali really had something for each of us.
I can’t deny though that we suffered from the heat. While adults can more or less deal with 30°C and higher, young kids struggle. Our daughter is usually a good walker, but in Bali 200 metres were waaaayyy too long for her. So we had to do a lot of carrying, which isn’t enjoyable under such conditions. You might wonder why we carried her instead of using a stroller; the road and pavement conditions make it impossible to go for a walk with a baby buggy (especially in Ubud).
So we did a few trips with our Deuter Kid Comfort (which is a life-saver) and spent a lot of time in taxis to visit different places in the cultural Centre, relaxed East and buzzy South of the island. Word of advice: if your kid is too small to properly sit in a regular car seat with a regular seat belt, you should pre-book your taxis with a service like Bali Bubs, who do not only offer airport transfers with baby conform vehicles but also rent out baby equipment if you plan to travel light. We were lucky in a way, as our girl is way too tall for her age and was comfortable and safe in the middle seat of the taxi back bench.
Time wise, two weeks were perfect without being in a constant rush. Quiet days are essential when travelling with kids and so we spent 7 days in Ubud, 4 days in Amed and 5 days in Benoa Beach. But even the lazy days at the hotels were an adventure (pools, restaurants, kids club, …), so I would have been glad to stay for a third week.
Our accommodation was always kid friendly, which is why we can recommend:
The gallery below is chronological. Read the image captions to discover Bali the way we did and learn more about this beautiful place in the heart of Indonesia.
My favorite temple photo! Pura Tirta Empul is a holy place for buddhists and we were lucky enough to experience this wonderful Hindu Balinese water temple in the quiet morning atomosphere before the tourists rushed in.
Getting ready for a bath in the holy water…
…of Pura Tirta Empul in Bali.
Judging from the faces, gestures and screams, even holy water is cold.
Most temples in Bali come with ponds full of koi, which symbolize good fortune, success, prosperity, longevity, courage, ambition and perseverance.
We were surprised by some of the daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus, especially the ones including real bills.
Welcome to the jungle, welcome to Bali!
Enter and enjoy!
Loved those amazing details in Balinese stone art.
Another example, from a Balinese temple in Ubud.
Small detail from a Balinese chair #WoodCarving
View over the rooftops of the Ubud outskirts as seen during the Campuhan Ridge Walk.
Just strolling down the streets of Ubud and stumbling across the Water Palace.
Now that’s a Starbucks location! #OnlyInBali (Ubud)
The beautiful rice terraces of Tegalalang.
It’s hot in Bali. Even stones threaten to sweat if not protected. :D
Bali is a scooter country. That’s how the kids go to school here!
Ubud’s market…
…full of souvenirs and kitch.
The landlord of our Ubud accomodation recommended us a very nice Balinese dance show at the Peliatan Royal Palace in Ubud.
Look at this costume; the headdress and ornaments are fantastic!
Visiting a traditional dance show in Bali is a must for travellers.
We loved how they dance with their faces, even the eyes move in the rhythm of the music.
Hand positions and gestures, the mudras, are also extremely important for Balinese dancers. To see these dancers in action and listen to some Balinese music, please have a look at my video further down below in this blog post.
The king of the spirits, a lion-like creature, is a popular character in the Balinese mythology and can be found in most dance shows as well as various temples and palaces.
Tirta Gangga Water Palace was a great location to discover more characters from the Balinese mythology.
Tirta Gangga, …
…the Koi pond invites you to walk over water.
A protected idyll and home to many animals…
…and colorful flowers.
My daughter and I loved it here!
Is there anything more Balinese than Mount Agung, a temple and frangipani in one photo? Amed was our location of choice to explore the waters around the island. We had a couple of snorkeling days. Check out the video below to get an idea of the underwater landscape near Amed.
Travelling Bali end of April has been fantastic, just like our eco friendly Hotel Uyah Amed. We had this gorgeous pool side almost always to ourselves during 5 days.
Don’t you want to swim in such a pool too?
Or such a pool?
That’s the waterfall in the pool of Hotel Nikko Bali in Benoa Beach.
Tanah Lot was an interesting place to see; not so much for the rock formation, which is home to the pilgrimage temple, but because of the crazy amount of tourists showing up there to get a blessing during low tide (when you can actually walk to the temple). I have seen nicer temples in Bali (especially since this one is mainly hidden by trees), which means I wouldn’t really recommend going there when it’s not on your way. We arrived here after a 2.5 hours trip in a taxi, passing lots of traffic jams, just to stare at hundreds of tourists. If that is not your thing, go visit another temple. Bali is the country of a thousand temples, so you should find one you like.
Tourist crowd at Tanah Lot.
Sunset at Benoa Beach.
Lucky enough to witness a blood moon in Bali (May 1, 2018).
Can’t get enough? Here are two bonus videos I created.
Enjoy a compilation of various Balinese dancers that appeared on stage at the Peliatan Royal Palace in Ubud on the 21st of April 2018.
Get a feeling how snorkeling in Amed can look like.
After visiting El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands, I have been approached several times by people asking us how much time to spend there. Obviously, it all depends on your holiday style. If you love spending quiet days at the beach you can stay there forever. But if you are interested in visiting all the popular corners recommended in travel guides, I’d say 1 week is perfect, especially if you travel with kids and don’t want to (read can’t) go at a crazy speed.
Here are my personal highlights from our week in El Hierro. Please click through the gallery to read the captions for more details…
A stunning sunrise above the sea as seen from Las Casas. Morning magic!
View over Las Casas and El Pinar from the Mirador de Tanajara. This is where we stayed for a week in October 2017.
I really like the burnt look of El Hierro’s pine trees near El Pinar. Don’t get me wrong. There was no fire here. It’s all natural.
Pine tree close-up.
Mirador de Las Playas is best visited in the morning to witness the sunrise or the beauty of the sea under the sun.
The Western part of El Hierro feels like a volcanic wonderland with its fierce-looking rock formations. It’s practically uninhabited from the North till the lighthouse of Orchilla, Spain’s most southwesterly point.
If you’d ask me what I am thinking of when I see the volcanic landscape of El Hierro, I’d probably say an underwater scenery, just without the water. Don’t you see corals here?
A “coral” close-up.
More corals ;)
That’s how official beaches in El Hierro look like. So much for the sand. Here you see the beach at the Lighthouse of Orchilla, the most southwesterly point in Spain.
This pretty white chapel is the home of El Hierro’s patron saint, Nuestra Señora de los Reyes (Our Lady of the Kings). You can find it after a long and curvy drive to La Dehesa, the western part of the island.
Juniper trees, wind-twisted like this one, have become the symbol of El Hierro.
You can find them at El Sabinar in the western part of the island.
Beautiful La Restinga in the South. Come here for a great snorkel experience. I can recommend the Playa de Tacorón to see heaps of fish.
El Golfo is known as misty region on El Hierro where clouds easily get stuck on the mountains, but I didn’t imagine to get to see something like this!
Same location as on the previous photo (El Golfo), just a few hours earlier.
Frontera as seen from El Golfo.
Go down there and do the board walk between La Caletilla and Maceta.
Or visit the Ecomuseum of Guinea to learn how the first settlers survived here.
Gotta be sturdy to grow in El Hierro ;)
What are these? They were everywhere, but they aren’t regular earth worms…
A rather easy hike around volcano craters and through some forest can be done at La Llanía.
The red-sand beach at Playa del Verodal.
The public pools of La Caleta are pretty cool for kids too! (Not so much the sea; check out the video below.)
I simply love this graffiti that I discovered in Valverde. It’s about love, family, generations and it fills me with warmth each time I look at it ❤️
This art installation is one of the first things you will see after leaving El Hierro’s airport by car. It’s a bit creepy I find, but I like that it’s made out of recycled bottle caps.
And here is a short bonus video of some crabs in La Caleta, fighting against the strong waves of the sea. I filmed this on our way out from the public pools in La Caleta. Who’s up for a bath?
You have to imagine the Parc de Maisons-Laffitte like an oasis in the concrete jungle of the Paris suburbs; an oasis to not simply stroll, picnic or play in — it’s an oasis to live in. Therefore, its preservation must be ensured.
A municipal association is deciding about each single construction project that could change the look of the park. You want a larger garage? Get the association to approve. You want to build a house? Get the association to approve (tough one!). You want to open a shop or restaurant? Deal with the immediate rejection. There are no commercial buildings in the Parc de Maisons-Laffitte, despite of its size: 7km². The park makes up for 60% of the surface of Maisons-Laffitte, while 40% of the city’s inhabitants live there.
Those 60% of Maisons-Laffite are a haven for castle lovers and horses (they have priority at all times and even better walkways than pedestrians do). The park is wild, lush, full of trees and birds (I have seen parakeets here) and undergoes an ever changing floral look. Maisons-Laffitte Parc is a great place to be for nature lovers, who seek a remote spot for living while being only a 20 minutes train ride away from Paris.
I visited Burgundy’s capital during the Christmas holidays last year, aiming for some good wine, maybe a Kir or two and of cause a good sausage with Dijon mustard. Little else did I know about that place.
So like the majority of tourists I started exploring the city by following the owl trail(La Chouette), which leads through the town’s center and stops at 22 different points to make everyone discover Dijon’s history and charm.
Right there, on day 1, I was totally blown away how photogenic Dijon is. I thought it was so fabulous (chouette in French) indeed that I did not only climb up the old Tour Philippe le Bon in the heart of the town to marvel at the view above its rooftops, but I also revisited the same corners with my tripod after sunset.
Please browse my photo gallery for location descriptions:
Dijon, France: Porte Guillaume
Dijon, France: Porte Guillaume
Dijon, France: Grand Hotel La Cloche at Place Darcy
Dijon, France: Place de la Republique
Dijon, France: View from Tour Philippe Le Bon towards Notre-Dame
Dijon, France: Notre-Dame
Dijon, France: View from Tour Philippe le Bon towards Saint Michel
Dijon, France: Saint Michel (“Holy Churros”)
Dijon, France: Saint Michel
Dijon, France: View from Tour Philippe Le Bon towards Cathedrale St-Benigne, St Philibert and the Theatre Dijon Bourgogne
Dijon, France: Cathedrale St-Benigne
Dijon, France: Typical roof patter for Burgundy (tuile vernissée de Bourgogne)
Dijon, France: Rue Stephen Liegeard
Dijon, France: On top of the Musee des Baux Arts (on the tower “Philippe the Good”)
Dijon, France: Place de la Liberation
Dijon, France: Place de la Liberation
Dijon, France: Place de la Liberation
Dijon, France: Place de la Liberation
Dijon, France: Musée des Beaux Arts
Dijon, France: Rue des Forges
Dijon, France: Place Francois Rude
Dijon, France: Place Francois Rude
Dijon, France: Rue Stephen Liegeard
Dijon, France: Musee des Beaux Arts
Dijon, France: Tour Philippe Le Bon
Dijon, France: Owl Trail (La Chouette); follow these signs on the pavements of the town to discover all of the above places and more…
As we travelled from Cairns to Brisbane (North to South) we discovered that Queensland is much more than sunny beaches, surfers and adventure parks. There are also endless stretches of straight boring roads, millions of acres of sugar cane and in between — these treasures…
Mossman Gorge, not far from the Daintree National Park
On hot summer days, bathing tourists at Mossman Gorge often become victims of peculiar thiefs
After a short ferry ride, Daintree National Park and its mangrove forests lie ahead
Cape Tribulation
Huge carpets of sand balls created by millions of crabs
These crabs have a different technique
Tall fan palms are a great rain protection on gray days
Ants are green in Daintree NP
And then there is also this: The Cassowary is a big flightless bird native to north eastern Australia and New Guinea. It’s rare and you need to be really lucky to see one. This one decided to cross the street in front of our campervan :)
A fig tree skeleton
Typical for Daintree: Trees with enormous roots. You see me standing behind it?
Teaching a whining wallaby
Mereeba is a beautiful location to get in touch with these cuties
There are 2 of them!
Cairns is clearly the “Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef”
We took the boat till the Outer Reef…
…and discoverd a different universe
Heaps of fish
Big fish (it doesn’t look like on the photo, but this one was at least 1,5 m)
Tourists
Curious spectators under the boat
Hervey Bay thunderstorm
Hervey Bay
This is the perfect spot for some serious whale watching
Humpback Whales reside in Hervey Bay
This one enjoys the fresh rain water as a change to the salty water he lives in
Whale waves rainbow
Fraser Island Beach
Fraser Island is a sand island which can only be crossed with 4WD, or special tourist buses
Funnily enough, a tropic rain forest is growing on the sandy soil of Fraser Island
Fresh water lake on Fraser Island (Lake McKenzie)
Maheno shipwreck on Fraser Island
The coastal walk at Noosa is spectecular (and popular)
“Wild Horse Mountain Lookout” over the Glashouse Mountains
Remote Angles of a Digital Nomad 