DAY 1-2

Ok.The irony is not lost on me that within 12 hours of launching my new travel blog, a site focused on getting OFF the beaten path, we found ourselves surrounded by monkeys in what is likely the most touristy spot in Ubud, the Monkey Forest. 

Here’s the thing…. I might want to avoid touristy activities as much as possible, but sometimes, I find that they are still fun to do and you know what? The Monkey Forest was great! I mean, how often do you get to be surrounded by adorable monkeys???? We even got a “monkey selfie” (bonus points to anyone who can figure out how we got this picture!)

Another popular activity on Bali? Going on a swing high above the rice patties. Yes… we did that too! What we didn’t do? Stand in line for hours with hordes of people waiting to do a purification ceremony in the holy water at one of the temples. I drew the line there! LOL.

Today was back to travel Debra-style on the not so beaten path biking through the countryside outside of Ubud. We followed narrow concrete sidewalk-width roads through brilliant green rice paddies, past locals working the fields, and through the narrow streets of small charming villages full of shrines and homes. Total number of tourists seen? Zero. My kind of day! 

Tomorrow we continue our off-the-beaten-path adventures with a day spent in a village outside of Ubud.

DAY 3

Walking through rural, Balinese rice paddies and farmland is pretty great! Doing so with a local is even better! We spent the entire day in Bakas Village, a 700-resident town an hour outside of Ubud with Little Wayan as our guide. His mission? To educate outsiders on life in his village, from farming practices to medicinal plants to the centuries-old traditional dances to how to make offerings of thanks to the gods. He doesn’t advertise what he does. Instead, he selectively picks who he works with which determines the type of visitors he gets. He’s not looking for hordes of tourists, just people truly interested in experiencing Balinese life first hand which in turn, helps maintain the culture of the village.

It was a remarkable day getting to know the people of Bakas and letting them show us firsthand how they live. One of the many highlights was playing music with the local kids on a Balinese “gamelan” (a giant multi-part xylophone that takes 20 people to play) and then learning to make the same offerings we’ve been seeing outside every Balinese home. It was a long day but not seeing one other tourist makes this a must-do activity for anyone who’s visiting the area and wants to experience the not-so-beaten path. 

DAY 4

Syd hit a wall… luckily not literally! But there we were, biking in the shadow of Mt. Batur volcano when she tearfully said she couldn’t go any further. Fortunately, the van was nearby so the bike was tossed on the back rack, Syd hopped in, and the rest of us continued. 

Here’s the thing with planning trips…. You never REALLY know how much is too much. I intentionally skipped the sunrise hike up Mt Batur with hundreds of people and opted instead for circling the base of the volcano on foot, bike, and paddle. And while a hike across lava fields, then bike through villages, and a kayak across the crater lake all sounded like a great adventure on paper, in reality, on the heels of our full day yesterday in Bakas Village, it was just too much. 

This is not to say we did not enjoy it. For the second day in a row, we did not see one tourist and I just love the villages. As we biked past, roosters crowed, people set out offerings, others manned their shops and stray dogs wandered around. At one point, three old ladies got on one moped, and off they went! We truly saw daily Balinese life going on!  

Tomorrow, we head north to the small town of Munduk for three days. Stay tuned!

DAY 5

We’ve dubbed it “Bali Time”: the severe underestimation of how long it will take to get from point A to point B. “15 minute” drives take an hour; hour drives take two; and so on. The slow-going traffic of the southern end of the island has been replaced by the slow speeds required to navigate the steep, windy, narrow roads of the mountainous north and the occasional detour around a washed-out bridge. But mostly, it’s our guide. He could not possibly be any nicer… he just consistently underestimates time. However, so far, the scenic drives and the destinations have totally been worth it. 

Two days ago, after a “two hour” drive, we arrived four hours later in the small town of Munduk in the northern mountains of Bali. Our hotel, located in the middle of a beautiful valley of green and golden rice terraces, only had one place that could accommodate a family of 5: their private garden compound that featured a three-bedroom, two-story villa overlooking its own infinity edge swimming pool and the rice terraces below! It’s serene and absolutely beautiful. Glad we had that third child! Lol. 

DAY 6

We arrived an hour after we left on our “15-minute” drive to the Banyumala Waterfall. Have you ever felt like you’ve stepped onto a movie set? That’s how it felt seeing the central 100-foot waterfall cascading down the sheer rock cliff flanked by fern-covered rocks and myriads of jungle plants dripping water. Totally spectacular and totally Instagram-worthy. This area is known for its amazing waterfalls and Banyumala did not disappoint. 

DAY 7

The jury is still out as to whether I’m a “cool” mom or just a really crazy one! I pondered this question as we bumped along barely paved narrow dusty backroads on a Bali-made cross between a dune buggy and a go-kart with a motorcycle engine bolted onto its back. Whoever was driving would almost get burned from the engine being so close… but it was all great fun. 

We drove down from the mountain ridge to the lake below to paddle traditional Balinese canoes and trek through the nearby rainforest to see large and old banyan trees.

Even Syd got to do several laps behind the wheel driving through the homemade “race track” that wound its way through the local coffee plantation. The scenery was beautiful as were the villages we drove through. 

There were only a few moments when it felt a bit sketchy, especially when Josh’s buggy stalled out on a steep hill causing him to roll backwards and almost crash into Tyler. As the men scrambled to fix what was wrong (it was a loose gas line) Tyler turned around with a big smile and mouthed “this is definitely an adventure!” So maybe I AM a cool mom after all! 🙂

Tomorrow, we head to our homestay (supposedly a 2-hour drive) where we will spend two days and one night with a Balinese family in their family’s compound. Homestays aren’t all that common here, so fingers crossed it’s a good experience. 

DAY 8-9

It was only a matter of time before we got into an accident. Driving in Bali is crazy. Like Vietnam, there are far more motorbikes than cars and very few traffic lights. People pass when they aren’t supposed to and tailgating seems to be the national pastime. 

As we made our way to our homestay, somebody cut us off and our driver was forced to stop short. Unfortunately, the motorbike behind us did not and with a great thud, hit the rear door of our van….and so, we were thrust into another Balinese roadside experience!

Of course our first thoughts were:. “Are they ok?” “What happens now?” We were full of questions. But when our driver and guide returned from speaking with the motorbiker, all we got was a wave of the hand suggesting the whole episode was not a big deal and within 5 minutes we were back on our way to our homestay. 

The scoop? Apparently, despite minor injuries, the motorbiker didn’t want to involve the authorities, so even with damage to our car, the whole thing was just waved off as if it never happened. Perhaps a little money changed hands to get the dents knocked out? We’ll never know!  If only our own minor fender benders were that simple!

When we finally pulled up at the end of the narrow alley that led to our homestay in the small village of Gadungan, owners Herry and Dwi and two of their small children greeted us with huge smiles of welcome. Their home was like most homes in Bali: several generations living in the same complex consisting of a kitchen, buildings with rooms, and an area dedicated to worship, dotted with small shrines and a raised covered platform for ceremonies. All this, and the four perimeter walls of the compound, surrounded a central courtyard and a small garden. Neighboring compounds were on all sides except the rear which abutted acres of beautiful corn and rice fields. 

We only had time for one night, but if I could do it again, I would stay for two. We just didn’t have enough time to really get to know Harry, Dwi, and the kids and to maximize our homestay experience. It did not help that in Bali, there are no family meals…. You just eat when you are hungry. So they never ate with us which felt like a missed opportunity to get to know one another. As it was, we enjoyed visiting their local waterfall and hot springs, reveled in the spectacular rice fields, and ate absolutely delicious food. 

Dwi and Herry couldn’t be any nicer, so if you are planning a visit to Bali, I’d highly recommend staying with them for two nights IF you are interested in how local people go about their daily lives. 

Tomorrow, we leave Bali and fly to another island to board a dive boat for 5 days. There won’t be any Wi-Fi so no posts until we return on Saturday.

CHECK OUT MY BALI TRAVEL VIDEO!