Ubud, Bali with young kids
Oct 15th, 2014, 02:05 AM
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Ubud, Bali with young kids
Hi we are holidaying in Bali next month for about two weeks. We've booked a villa in Seminyak for a week close to but not on the beach. We have another five nights to book at another locale. The kids are 3 and 5 yo. I was thinking to go to Ubud or maybe another beach location. We fly out of Bali at 1030 in the evening. I'm keen to present the kids with an insight into culture and way of life different to their own. Partner keen for beach.
Oct 15th, 2014, 03:49 AM
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OK now don't go ballistic on me but I don' think at those ages you should focus on cultural enrichment for the kiddies. Now for the record when my daughter was in that age range it was Disneyland. When she was older , around 12, we took her to Europe. It was a time when she could appreciate the culture thing.
Oct 15th, 2014, 04:13 AM
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The roads in Ubud are v.busy, the pavements often narrow and uneven. Monkey Forest is fun, but the locals are wild animals. The rice fields are beautiful, but not somewhere that children can roam.
Oct 15th, 2014, 03:01 PM
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'm going to be the minority opinion here and say take your kids to Ubud! Our son made his first visit to Bali -- beach and Ubud -- when he was three, and he's been going back repeatedly for 26 years. Kids, even little ones, love Bali and the Balinese love kids.
First some caveats: you have to really watch the kids. Bali is not childproofed (and this includes the beach). Stairs are uneven, railings are wobbly, drop offs are not protected, electrical outlets are suspect, sidewalks are potholed, motorcycles are a menace, monkeys and dogs are at child-height and pools of water are everywhere. You have to be constantly vigilant.
If your budget allows consider hiring one or two babysitters to stay with you during your time in Bali. This will give you some time to yourselves. Otherwise, hotel/resort childcare is generally good. Just be careful around water as many caregivers do not swim. I'd also try to find a villa or resort in Ubud that has some run-around room, probably outside of the town itself. Plan to spend ample down time at the pool or reading/drawing on the balcony.
That said, kids love the drama and pageantry of Bali and nowhere is it as evident as in Ubud. The masked dances, the gamelan orchestras, the ferocious Barong, the battles between good and evil. Kids relate instantly. And Balinese performances are not like Western events where everyone sits quietly and claps at the end. At Balinese dances kids can run around, sit with the gamelan players, meet the performers. Kids also like to see the other artisans, like the carvers and painters and will often get impromptu lessons.
An in-town shopping excursion with two little ones sounds miserable to me, but a walk through the rice paddies (be prepared for some mud) or through the little villages and lively markets can enchanting. If you walk down the gorge to the river, someone's likely to carry your child back up. The monkeys, the bat caves, the lizards, the bugs are new and exciting. A visit to a family compound full of Balinese children will fascinate them.
Culture is a slippery concept. In Bali it is the way of life and kids relate to it. They may not remember it 30 years later, but you will and the pictures will be priceless.
First some caveats: you have to really watch the kids. Bali is not childproofed (and this includes the beach). Stairs are uneven, railings are wobbly, drop offs are not protected, electrical outlets are suspect, sidewalks are potholed, motorcycles are a menace, monkeys and dogs are at child-height and pools of water are everywhere. You have to be constantly vigilant.
If your budget allows consider hiring one or two babysitters to stay with you during your time in Bali. This will give you some time to yourselves. Otherwise, hotel/resort childcare is generally good. Just be careful around water as many caregivers do not swim. I'd also try to find a villa or resort in Ubud that has some run-around room, probably outside of the town itself. Plan to spend ample down time at the pool or reading/drawing on the balcony.
That said, kids love the drama and pageantry of Bali and nowhere is it as evident as in Ubud. The masked dances, the gamelan orchestras, the ferocious Barong, the battles between good and evil. Kids relate instantly. And Balinese performances are not like Western events where everyone sits quietly and claps at the end. At Balinese dances kids can run around, sit with the gamelan players, meet the performers. Kids also like to see the other artisans, like the carvers and painters and will often get impromptu lessons.
An in-town shopping excursion with two little ones sounds miserable to me, but a walk through the rice paddies (be prepared for some mud) or through the little villages and lively markets can enchanting. If you walk down the gorge to the river, someone's likely to carry your child back up. The monkeys, the bat caves, the lizards, the bugs are new and exciting. A visit to a family compound full of Balinese children will fascinate them.
Culture is a slippery concept. In Bali it is the way of life and kids relate to it. They may not remember it 30 years later, but you will and the pictures will be priceless.
