One of the best decision I made for our Bali trip was to fly by KLM. We paid SGD$246 per ticket and we did not have to battle with delayed or re-scheduled flights operated by budget airlines.
Meals were provided on board.
And the kids had inflight entertainment to keep them occupied throughout the 2h15min flight.
The next best decision I made was to book ourselves into Novotel Nusa Dua, at the recommendation of Wee Keong and Sally. With children in tow, we wanted to escape the buzz at Kuta. Nusa Dua was perfect for us! For 2 paying adults, Novotel offers 2 children to stay and enjoy daily breakfast for FREE :)
I booked a SPECIAL ROMANTIC ESCAPE package. It comes with free upgrade from Deluxe room to 1-bedroom suite, daily breakfast, 1 breakfast in bed for 2, 1 candlelight dinner with a bottle of wine and airport transfers.Upon check-in, the staff informed us that we were being upgraded to a 2-bedroom suite! Our suite comes with living, dining and a kitchen with cooking facility.
The children slept in a twin-sharing room.
And our bedroom had a huge double bed with a huge attached bathroom! It was a great start to our holiday. I did an online check; we would have had to pay DOUBLE of what we paid to enjoy the 2-bedroom suite! Thank God!
Bali is more than just beach and sun-tanning. We went to Ubud; the infamous place from Eat, Pray, Love. We even drove past the Cafe Wayan; but it was getting late and we did not make a stop there.
We saw rice fields at Ubud.
Drove up to Kintamani, Batur Lake and Volcano. We had lunch at a mountain-top restaurant.
The scenery was breath-taking! Something we will never see in Singapore...
Of course, our Bali trip would not be complete without visting Kuta Beach!
Kuta is the most happening place in Bali. Sad to say, it was also the same district where the Bali terrorist bombing took place in 2002.
The beach was beautiful and the waves were huge! There were people surfing, drinking, sun-tanning everywhere...
We did not bring our swimming gear to Kuta; but we brought the kids to the Novotel's private beach at Nusa Dua instead. The beach was quiet; 3mins drive away and only accessible by hotel's beach tram.
Food was another highlight of this trip! JX and myself love Indonesia food. On our way to Kuta, we asked our taxi driver for recommendations. He told us MADE'S WARUNG. Later, we asked a shop assistant and she too, directed us to the same restaurant.
As we were only about 10mins walk away, we decided to find our way there for dinner. The place was crowded and dark... I think it's the Balinese thing...dimly-lit atmosphere. The food was authentic and nice! Worth the visit!
Daily breakfast was at the restaurant. Kids ate for free :)
The complimentary breakfast in bed was enough for 5 of us! There was so much food that we even packed the pastries as snacks for our day trip to Ubud!
In Ubud, you had to visit BEBEK BENGIL. My sister, who once holidayed in Bali for 2 months, strongly recommended this place. A must try; the Crispy Duck.
Bebek Bengil Crispy Duck - Half a duck steamed in Indonesian spices and then fried for a crispy finish. A bit over-rated; but definitely a unique dish that is worth a try. The ambience of the restaurant is awesome! You can choose to dine in the restaurant or pavilions; overlooking rice fields! Great place for both dining with family or romantic dinner for 2.
Another highlight of FOOD was our complimentary BBQ Seafood Dinner. It was buffet-styled and of course the best part was that someone else was BBQ-ing for us :)
Many people asked me if Bali is a child-friendly place. I would definitely say YES! Especially if you choose to stay in a resort with organised kids activities. Denise had her hair braided at Kuta Beach.
Did her manicure and pedicure at the hotel spa. For hygiene purposes, I chose to pay more for the "princess" pampering to be done in the hotel.However, for us adults, we had our massage done at Bali Refresh Spa; located just outside our hotel. They were having a promotion. For 2 hours of foot massage, full body massage, body scrub and hotel transfers, we only paid SGD45 for couple treatment!!! Super cheapppppp..... And the service was excellent too!
Besides the pampering, a child-friendly resort comes with their own kids club. Kids are well-taken care of by babysitters. There were many organized activities in Novotel. Denise and Debbie fed the fishes, painted, swam, baked muffins and did many other stuff. The place was well-equipped.
Regardless of age, your child will find something to do during the day.
It was overall a relaxing and fun family holiday for us! It is a place that we all agree that we would like to go back again :)
