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At 7:30 am our flight from Kuala Lumpur touched down in Siem Reap.  The first glimpse we get of new destinations is often through the small oval windows of an airplane.  On our arrival, in Siem Reap, two things immediately caught my eye.

First was the warm golden glow of the morning sun.  I’m not sure what causes this exact colour here, it’s unlike the dawn light in other places I’ve been.  It’s likely a combination of the dusty air in the midst of a dry season coupled with the morning mist as the warm sun hits the cool tree tops.  Whatever causes it, the lighting floods your mind with the sense that you are somewhere very far from home.

Second was the lack of buildings – noticed during our descent and right down at ground level.  Siem Reap has undergone rapid change over the past few decades but remains a small city – a tourist hub to be sure, but taxing back to the terminal building, one notices farmers working their land right up to the edge of the airport fencing.  There are no warehouses and highways and delivery service companies populating the land near this airport, just the farms that have been here for centuries.

Our hotel arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport.  Tuk-tuks here are far more comfortable than India. The Cambodians have perfected a homemade hitching mechanism for motorcycles that allow them to pull trailers so the tuk-tuks here comfortably hold 4 people plus bags while offering lots of fresh air.   So we piled in and puttered along the vey flat 15 min ride to our hotel, stopping along the way for the ritual of obtaining a local SIM card (a step that seems destined to disappear soon but for now is still the way to go).

While most people come to Siem Reap for 3-4 days to check out the ruins at Angkor Archaeological Park,  we booked 8 days for ourselves so we could go at an easy pace and still fit in our normal life routines (back to school Monday to Friday).  We didn’t even get to Angkor until our third day here (more on that below) because there are so many fascinating things to do, here are a few of our favourites:

Apopo Demining

Cambodia has a long history of armed conflicts.  Those over the past century left a harsh legacy for the Cambodian people to live with.  Current estimates for landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXOs – bombs that did not explode) are in the millions.  These instruments of war continue to lead to injuries and deaths every week with more than half of these incidents involving curious children who find them while playing.  While we were in Siem Reap, we visited Apopo Humanitarian Demining – an international NGO making massive progress to rid the country of this devastation through an unconventional group of employees – rats.  At the visitor centre, we learned of the amazing work these “Hero Rats” are accomplishing, slowly sweeping the countryside to reclaim land that is otherwise too dangerous to use. I don’t link to other websites very often, but this one is worth checking out because I won’t be able to summarize the work as well.  Check it out when you have a chance: www.apopo.org

Phare Circus

Everyone knows Cirque du Soleil.  Phare is sort of a grass roots Cambodian version of that.  The Phare Circus is the tourist part of a large organization that aims to improve the lives of Cambodians through art, education and social programs.  The circus is an amazing show of acrobatics, dance and music performed by young adults who were trained through the organization and now have full time employment as circus performers.  The show opens with a short documentary on the organization and interviews with several of the performers. The performers acknowledge that the career of an acrobat is short but that the employment is enough to create new opportunities for themselves and their families to break the poverty cycle.  After the short intro documentary, we were treated to a spectacular hour long performance under a purpose built big top, simply put, it was awesome!

Laundry

Not everyday is glamourous on this trip.  Some days we make plans for simply things like laundry.  At the start of the day, we are all stinky and tired. At the end of the day, we are sparkling and smell great!  In Siem Reap, we found an excellent laundry cafe. Throw your clothes into the machine that automatically dispenses soap and fabric softener while you kick back with a cappuccino and if you get hungry while waiting for you clothes to dry you can order lunch too.  We made our first laundry outing a family affair. Sometimes the kids are spared from these onerous tasks, other times they get dragged along because hey if I have to wash your stinky clothes, you’re coming with me!

Chat with a Monk

Siem Reap is a fascinating town full of funky little cafes and businesses, many of which at least claim to be associated with one of many NGOs or other social causes aimed to improve the lives of Cambodians.  Being at least somewhat seasoned in the travel game now, we have a certain level of skepticism regarding some of the self proclaimed do-gooders. I want to believe that everyone out there has the best of intentions.  That’s not always the case but a lot of the time it works out. There is a little art cafe in town called the Peace Cafe. They have a restaurant and a shop that sells handicrafts made by Cambodians. They also offer an interesting session twice a week called Chat with a Monk… and it’s free.  They don’t even have one of those “Donations accepted” boxes. This was flat out free. Spend an hour visiting with a local Buddhist monk to learn more about his life and what Buddhism means to him. Given the set up, it felt pretty legit and was a great opportunity to meet a person with a completely different life from what we know at home.  This spawned lots of great questions from the kids which is sort of the whole point of this trip!

Cooking Class

Throughout Asia, the food is really good.  There are regional differences (Cambodian food is not as spicy as Thai food).  I have a feeling we might do this again in a different country because it was so much fun.  After confirming arrangements, we were picked up from the designated street corner in the middle of town along with a few other tourists interested in the same.  The class started with a trip to a local market – like really local – to pick up a few of the ingredients we needed for the class. After a fun wander through the stalls where Lauren took the lead on carrying the groceries for the group, we headed to a home where the backyard has been converted into a culinary studio of sorts – 6 food prep stations, 6 wok stations and a separate dining area to eat it all at the end.  Since arriving in Asia, one of Lauren’s favorite foods has been spring rolls – fresh or fried doesn’t matter. When we learned that fresh spring rolls was one of the things we were making, she got to work right away and probably made the best looking rolls in the group!

To complement our morning of culinary adventures, for dinner we headed to Bugs Cafe where the star of each dish is… bugs.  Bugs are one of those things that tourists like ourselves are awed by, while the locals just see it as food. You can buy all varieties of creatures from several street vendors through the city, but that requires a certain level of comfort/knowledge/risk that we weren’t ready for.  This restaurant we went to is set up for tourists (so it carries tourist prices), but it’s an accessible way to try something new. We were shocked that the kids came along for dinner without question and agreed to try several of the dishes on the sampler tray we ordered. Before leaving home, I doubt either of them ever would have eaten fried tarantula, but that’s the cool thing about kids, they are way more adaptable than adults, full of surprises and natural curiosity that makes it so easy for them to go with the flow.

Pottery Making

The easiest homeschool art day ever!  We took a pottery class where we learned to make bowls and vases on a pottery wheel.  This was super fun and messy. Turning clay on a wheel is not as easy as it looks. Getting the clay centred in the beginning is both the hardest part and the most critical as we all learned.  Even a little wobble and the whole thing will blow apart at some point. After a few tries, we started getting the hang of it and eventually made a couple of passable bowls that were then decorated and fired overnight for us to bring home.

And of Course, Angkor Archaeological Park

Angkor Wat is but one temple in the midst of a vast ancient city with more temples than one can count (more ruins are being discovered every year).  The area is said to have been home to nearly a million inhabitants at a time when the great European cities were merely small towns. The scale of the place in mindblowing, Angkor Wat itself is cited as being the largest single religious monument in the world… ever.  The city covers grounds as large as modern day Paris. Suffice to say, one cannot see it all so everyone needs a plan that works best for them.

So how does anyone tackle something of this scale, particularly with kids in tow?  Slowly! We bought a three day pass which is valid on any three days over a week, that way we were able to spread it out over a Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in an effort to limit saturation.  Finally, we got our trusty tuk-tuk driver lined up to drive us around. When in Siem Reap, you need a tuk-tuk driver (more on that in another post).

Our plan worked perfectly and everyone loved it.  It’s impossible for kids not to enjoy exploring ruins when you walk right inside them, through the many passageways, climbing to the top of towers and watching sunsets from the highest points around.  We benefited from having been in Asia for a while which had us much better acclimatized to the heat than most newly arrived tourists. This meant even the kids were able to last a good four hours each day before heading back into town for a break from the dusty heat.  In the end, we merely scratched the surface of what there is to see but enough to capture our imaginations and leave with the right sense of wanting to see it again someday.

So that was our week in Siem Reap.  We all agreed it was one of the top destinations we’ve been to so far.  Great people, interesting things to do and a super manageable size of city.  You should go, it’s awesome.

Bali is an island that westerners rave about.  People who have been here will talk ad nauseam about the tropical paradise, the people and the food All things here are apparently magical and wonderful all the time.  Logically, we had to come and check it out. I have to admit, when we first arrived I struggled to connect with the place, I felt I must be missing something. Don’t get me wrong, I immediately found it to be interesting, but I was missing the “Wow” people spoke of.  The longer we spent on the island though, I slowly started to see past my first impressions and I think when we leave, I will look back and remember the wonderful experience we had on this tropical island.

To describe Bali, the best place to start is the people. Uniquely of places I have visited, the Balinese people have found a surprising willingness to co-exist with tourism.  The arrival of large resorts, beach clubs and restaurants, all of which carry prices that are astronomical compared to local wages has not brought about the animosity seen in other places.  The local cultures and customs here continue to thrive alongside the modern changes. One is not constantly bombarded with sales pitches, requests to visit a friend’s shop or endless other mechanisms to squeeze every last Rupiah from the visitors.  Nor is there a sense of reckless pricing for services (taxis for example) to constantly haggle your way through. Make no mistakes though, prices are negotiable and it will be part of the experience, but many times prices are set (even posted on signage) for all to understand.  Pricing structures typically follow a three tier system – a low price for locals, a medium price for non-native residents and a higher price for tourists. This is to be expected in a place where the average local wage is less than 10 USD/ day while the average tourist is spending more than that on each meal.  It is important that tourists provide an appropriate stimulus to the local economy and it is encouraging to see that this injection appears largely to be creating jobs and not lost in greed or corruption that plagues so many other places.

Temples & Daily offerings

One of the most beautiful things you encounter on your first day and every day thereafter is the the dedication Balinese people have to their faith.  Bali is unique in Indonesia as a tiny enclave of Hindu faith (the country is otherwise predominantly Islamic in the west and Christian in the east). Here the faith is so integrated into daily life that one literally has to be careful not to step on it as the daily offerings provide a colourful adornment to the streets and steps everywhere.  Walking along any road in Bali one instantly notices the presence of temples at every private home, smaller temples tucked along pathways and the larger village temples decorated with wonderfully exotic statues. The rituals of prayer and commitment literally fill the air through the scent of marigolds and incense from every doorstep.

Christmas in Bali

At the start of our trip, we knew the one time of year we would really miss home was going to be Christmas.  This year there would be no white Christmas, no letting it snow, no gingerbread, no warm wholesome winter meals, no singing Christmas carols with friends, no living nativity at Science North.  So many of the traditions we love during the holidays would be missed this year (and we already are looking forward to having again next year). So we knew we needed to find the right spot to spend the holiday – somewhere that would be memorable for its own sake and so it was that we settled on Bali.  We arrived in Bali late the night of Dec 21st (technically early on the 22nd – it was 3am when our heads hit the pillow). Enough time to have a few days on the ground before the big day.

We stayed in the Pererenan Beach area in the lead up to Christmas and had some good beach days, enjoyed the hotel pool, figured out which was the best brunch spot to return to on Christmas day and explored the neighbouring village of Canggu (pronounced Chang-gu) and it’s busier shopping areas (we all got a new shirt / dress for the big day).

When Christmas Eve arrived, we were super fortunate to share in the excitement of this family holiday at the home of a Canadian family currently living in Bali (friends of friends sort of connection).  They had a party with several families (at least a dozen kids were running around) which was the perfect change of pace for us after so much time on our own over the past few months. We all had a fabulous time, the kids playing with other kids while Darla and I visited with other parents who had taken on similar adventures so could share our excitement while understanding the challenges of the experience.  Always nice to feel you are part of a shared experience and not out on our own.

Christmas morning finally arrived and was simpler than years past.  Instead of a Christmas tree, we had a bouquet of flowers sent for us by Grammy and Grampy that we set gifts around.  Instead of decorative oversized Christmas stockings, we had actual socks (clean ones to be sure) for a few simple treats.  In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we all had a chance to make or find the right gifts for each other – often replacing items we need (hello new water bottles!) or adding to our experience and memories (massage and mountain biking – more on these later).  After our Christmas morning, we had a delicious brunch at a nearby restaurant, spent time swimming in the hotel pool (we had the whole property to ourselves for the day) and headed to the beach in the afternoon. At the beach, we splurged on fun drinks and appetizers at the local Beach Club, played in the sand and waves and watched the sunset.  As we walked back we realized we were all still a bit hungry so finished our day off with some pizza at a restaurant on the walk home. I don’t think I would ever add pizza to our regular menu for Christmas dinner again, but here it was one of the many pieces that completed the picture of our Tropical Christmas in Bali – one that was very different from the traditions of home, but still built around family and friends and taking the time to enjoy being together, remembering the year that passed and looking forward to the one ahead.

New Year’s Eve in Bali

New Year’s Eve is sort of a big deal – everywhere, Bali included.  As with most days, the traffic is nuts but actually starts to subside early in the evening when everyone gets where they are headed.  There are fireworks for sale on every street corner and definitely a level of excitement builds through the day. Unlike Christmas when we were the only guests at the hotel, on New Year’s Eve, the place was full (all 6 rooms).  The owners of the hotel (a couple – one American, one Indonesian) arranged a wonderful Indonesian meal at the hotel for anyone wishing to join. This turned out to be the perfect demographic divider as the 20-something guests opted for the beach clubs while the family guests stayed for the feast.  In my humble opinion, we got a way better experience – the local meal was dynamite, company was great and we didn’t have to pay through the nose for a cold drink! We spent the evening visiting with a Swedish family who were staying in the room next to ours. This was exactly the reason we opted for a small hotel – the chance to meet other families.  We quickly became friends and joined together in more adventures over the following week.

After eating more satay than I can count, we all headed up to the rooftop patio around 8:30 to watch the fireworks we could hear had already started.  Over the next few hours, there were continuous bursts of fireworks all around, but as with anywhere, the big show began as the clock struck midnight when the entire island seemed to set off fireworks in unison.  360 degrees around us, the horizon was filled with the glow of exploding stars, flares and the constant booming and whistling of the pyrotechnics. The great cities of the world may make it onto highlight reels for their massive choreographed displays, but the people of Bali put on an unrivaled show of genuine celebration.

Mountain Biking in Bali.

For Christmas, the rest of my family sent me away on mountain biking day trip in Bali (it can be debated if a day away was a gift for themselves more than for me).  I was a little bit nervous to see how I would cope riding along in the relentless heat, but it was an opportunity simply too good to pass up on so I set out with a giant water bottle ready to see a different side of this island.

The guide and support van driver picked me up exactly at the arranged time.  This on its own was impressive given how horrendous the traffic gets here. We drove north for close to an hour to the top of the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces on the slopes of Mount Batukaru.  The proud locals share that these terraces have been acknowledged by Unesco for the unique water management system that allows agriculture to continue even through the dry season every year.  Mount Batukaru is a dormant Volcano which is of course much preferred to nearby Mount Agung that erupted several times over the past three years (I don’t think our travel insurance covers mountain biking on active volcanoes).  The rice terraces were the starting point for the 40 km ride back to the hotel. At 950 m above sea level, this meant the ride was mostly a gentle downhill punctuated with the occasional punchy climb of 100-200 meters. The ride turned out to be the absolute best way to see the true local Bali as it meandered along pathways between rice paddies, watermelon fields and small villages all the while I was the only tourist in sight.  Unless guided along, a tourist would never find these trails. We stopped for lunch half way through at a delightful Warung (Indonesian word for local restaurant) run by a family with little kids running around with their dinosaur toys while we ate lunch. The food was fabulous, and made fresh just for myself and the guide (we may have been the only patrons that day).

After lunch we descended lower as the sun got higher.  At this point I was more than happy to crank those pedals to get the wind in my face.  Anytime we stopped the heat felt like I had stuck my face in front of an open oven door.  The ride finished right at the front gate of our hotel, 3 hours ahead of the 9 hour schedule.  I’m not sure what happens on other rides but the guide told me “Canadians are always very strong”.  Given that I haven’t been on a bike since we left France in October, I think it had more to do with being a solo rider, not hungover and better acclimatized to the heat than most vacationers they get out, but I’m happy to have continued the mythical powers of Canadians!

Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest

Many years ago, my sister returned home from travels through Asia and I distinctly remember her sharing a story about going somewhere with these crazy monkeys that would attack if you looked at them the wrong way, showed your teeth or carried anything that looked or smelled like food.  When we arrived in Bali and started reading up on the many things to do here, I realized the Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest must have been that exact spot and what better thing to do than drag our children to a place they might be attacked by monkeys and surely scarred for life.

I will start by proudly reporting that no one in our family was attacked by a monkey – we are really good at reading the warnings at the entrance of attractions and were already a little weary of monkeys after India and Malaysia.  With this as our experience, the Monkey Forest is a totally amazing place to visit (according to internet reviews, not everyone would agree!). We learned a lot about the monkeys from the various info-boards along the walkways and had fun watching them be monkeys – swinging from vines, using tools, playing games with each other, and of course attacking other people!

Garbage – Mostly Plastic

This one cannot be ignored, yes there is a lot of garbage in developing countries (most of it plastic), Bali is no exception.  Whether walking down the road or sitting on the beach, there will be garbage visible somewhere. The thing is, this is not a local problem, this is an everyone problem.  In developed countries we really don’t understand how much garbage we create because we have these amazing services that carry it all away somewhere – out of sight, out of mind.  When we left Canada last year, there were ongoing discussions at various levels of government about banning single use plastics (straws and bags being the primary targets), but really no action.  We’re so concerned about figuring out how society could possibly function without these conveniences that we delay the action until we’re certain of a solution. Meanwhile in India, Malaysia and Bali, we have already seen the changes implemented.  Stores do not even have single use plastic bags anymore – you must purchase a reusable bag or have your own. Plastic straws are almost non-existent, having been replaced by either paper, bamboo or washable stainless steel (we bought a few of these for ourselves).  So yes, there is garbage and they struggling with where to put it, but instead of waffling through another election cycle on what to do about it, they are far ahead of the west at implementing changes to at least slow the production of new plastic waste while trying to figure out what to do with the existing litter.

Plastic bottles are likely the next major hurdle to resolve.  I can’t count the number of times I saw a plastic bottle floating in the ocean or tucked under a banana tree.  Again on this front though, huge strides have been made. The majority of hotels and restaurants have installed RO purification systems and use clean water in their kitchens and to make their ice.  They almost always offer the opportunity to refill a bottle for you to prevent purchasing more disposable bottles. Even small locally run convenience stores have bottle fill stations. There were a few times when all we could find were disposable plastic bottles, but these could be counted on one hand and hopefully in a few more years, will be gone altogether.  It does require some effort on the part of tourists to ensure they travel with refillable bottles (and not lose them!), and to have a means of water treatment (we are using a Steripen and so far no tummy troubles), but the effort must occur because the alternative means eventually having to move plastic out of the way to make room for your towel on the beach.

Bali Dogs

All developing countries I have visited have street dogs.  In Bali however the dogs are iconic. The dogs here all appear well cared for – many even have homes (well they wear collars so I assume they have homes).  While it’s good practice to keep your distance from unknown animals, the dogs here are hard to avoid because they will crawl right under your chair during lunch and enjoy the shade you are providing.  They are the happiest street dogs I have seen anywhere and will often be found in groups of three or four just playing in the waves at the beach or sniffing around the daily offerings to see if any good food can be found.  The locals all respect the dogs much as we do at home, and enjoy the company they provide.

Nusa Lembongan

The Island of Bali is made of very diverse landscapes – from active volcanoes to rice terraces to white or black sandy beaches.  During our time here, we wanted to move around and see some of this diversity. When our new friends from Sweden told us they were planning a trip to the nearby island of Nusa Lembongan, we followed suit and booked ourselves onto a boat for the crossing.  This neighbouring island is like Bali’s cute little brother. It is certainly seeing the impact of increasing tourism with development everywhere, but doesn’t have the crowds of the main island. The roads here are well maintained but small and there are no real private cars to be seen.  Locals and adventurous tourists travel by moto-scooter while many businesses around the island provide free shuttle services in what I like to describe as modified cattle trucks (small pickups with two benches in the back).

We arrived mid-afternoon after a rather rough crossing on one of the many “fast boats”.  We were guided to one operator by our taxi driver (who of course was the husband of one of the staff members at our first hotel – all about the connections).  I think pretty much ever tourist gets some kind of referral like this as there are simply too many operators to know what the difference is or to have any reason to pick one over the others.  The boat company provided free transport to our hotel in one of these cattle trucks and we quickly settled in and began exploring. This cute island is small enough that within half an hour, we bumped into our Swedish friends on the road and confirmed plans for dinner and a snorkeling trip the next day.  The snorkeling trip was incredible, the only regret being that we didn’t have a waterproof camera to take along. The tropical fish and coral were stunning and Lauren and Owen both got a chance to leave the boat and see these wonders for themselves.

Final Days

After three nights on Nusa Lembongan, we returned to the main island of Bali (much better crossing on the way back) and settled into a small apartment in the Sanur area for our final few days on the Island.  After a lot of meals in restaurants, we were all happy to have our own kitchen and dining table that let us enjoy some quiet mornings and family dinners the way we’re used to. We still have some more exploring to do before we set off to new lands.  Our next stop will be Siem Reap, Cambodia, after an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur. Bali has definitely grown on us while we’ve been here. It is not without challenges but is a fascinating place with so much to explore and I feel we have only scratched the surface.  Perhaps someday we will have a chance to return but for now, a new adventure is calling.

Canadians by nature are obsessed with meteorological phenomena.  It’s just part of our nature. We say sorry, we say “eh” and we make comments about the weather (too hot, too cold, too much snow, not enough snow… you get the idea).  I try really hard to just enjoy whatever weather we get, after all you can’t change it so might as well make the most of it. Where we live there is an impressive annual temperature swing of more than 60 degrees Celsius so we have a lot of practice getting used to different temperatures.

Be that as it may, adjusting to the heat of South East Asia is a different animal altogether.  Since we arrived in India over a month ago, moved through Malaysia and now Bali, it has become common place to have daytime temperatures in the range of 32-34 C.  Of course Canadians aren’t satisfied with such basic numbers so we also pioneered this thing called the humidex to show off just how hot it FEELS. In this part of the world where humidity ranges from 60-80%, we have some fancy math that tells us it FEELS like 38-41 C.

Now, I’m fully prepared to admit my own obsessions with the weather are downright silly.  And while I’m a big fan of science, math and data to explain away the validity of the humidex, in the end the numbers here don’t matter at all.  All you need to know about South East Asia is that it is CRAZY hot. It’s so hot that everytime we walk for more than 5 minutes, it’s guaranteed that we need a change of clothes when we get back.  It’s so hot that our shoes are literally falling apart from the hot roads. It’s so hot that they don’t have hot water heaters – there is only hot water from the taps.

I keep thinking that eventually I will acclimatize to the heat – it should work that way. So far though, it hasn’t.  I’m still shocked everyday when I got outside and it feels like I’m melting. Thank goodness for swimming pools – the one at our hotel must be around 31 degrees, so refreshing!  In the end, I may never get used to it being this hot. But the really funny part is that while I likely won’t get used to the heat, I will likely become less tolerant of the cold, so winter next year will “FEEL” even colder than it is, but then at least I’ll have something to talk about.