We experienced a certain brand of luck during the Covid-19 debacle.
We had the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world - and just missed not being able to get to the hospital because of insane lockdown restrictions.
Often 'being online' for work -- on-and-off for parts of three academic years -- The Boss and I were both able to spend tons of time with our little munchkin when she was but a wee little Bubs. This was especially fortunate for me because I was able to be with The Boss, The Bubs, and Sir Toby virtually all the time for the first six months of Bubs' life and last six months of Toby's. You just can't plan that. Excuse me for a short cry...
We also had a certain degree of travel luck.
Early in the pandemic we were able to go all around Vietnam with virtually no restrictions. We took full advantage and had the opportunity to see some of the most remarkable places on Earth with no real crowds. We never would have seen that much of Vietnam without being trapped in the country. Sometimes being trapped isn't so bad.
Once travel restrictions lightened to the point at which we could travel outside Vietnam again, we still experienced thin or no crowds, which, in Southeast Asia, is a small miracle these days - Covid notwithstanding.
Perhaps no tourist destination transforms back into paradise quite to the extent that Bali does when the crowds thin-out, which we discovered when we strapped on an eight-month-old Bubs and flew to Indonesia in April 2022.
Hopping from place-to-place is no treat with a baby, so we have to choose our spots these days. We chose Ubud. We wanted lush foliage and waterfalls; we didn't need beaches. This will sound terribly spoiled, but at that point we were pretty well set with tropical beaches, so Ubud it was. Only after arriving did I learn that Ubud is where Julia Roberts went in the film about eating and praying and such. I don't know new movies...or music...or anything really except Phillies prospects and IB assessment criteria.
In Bali, we had what might be our best resort stay ever at The Purist Villas Boutique Hotel. We were upgraded to an enormous suite with a full private pool and a bigger patio and outdoor dining pavilion than anyone should ever know what to do with at Purist Villas. And we paid less than $100 USD per night - now that's a 'thanks, Covid.' What one would pay for a single night there these days we paid for three nights. You have to take advantage of that.
And it wasn't just a nice suite. The food was great. What was even better regarding food, though, was that they were fine with us ordering delivery, which really helps when there's a baby in the picture. In fact, they weren't just cool with it; they would receive the delivery food at the front desk and bring it to our outdoor dining area with dishes and silverware and glasses and everything we needed, and then they cleaned it up before morning. The service at Purist was impeccable. They also took Penelope off our hands during breakfast - they adored her! I mean, who doesn't? But they made her love them, too, and gave Mommy and Daddy time off, which never happens.
Purist also hooked us up with the best driver and guide on the island, Gede Gunasta, a.k.a. Gooday Bali.
We had a hard time figuring out which waterfalls to visit with the Bubs, but Gede knows all the waterfalls in Bali - and he's a dad, too, so he understood exactly what we needed. Therefore, we can say with confidence that Tibumana Waterfall and Kanto Lampo Waterfall are easy hikes with an infant in tow. Tibumana is a picture-perfect ribbon waterfall with a peaceful cove for a splash pool, and Kanto Lampo is a wide cascade that you can climb on - very popular with the 'look-how-hot-and-wild-I-am' snap-a-gram crowd.
Rice terraces are popular in Bali - surprise! The Tegallalang rice fields are well-known and easy to trek with a baby. We found the rice terraces in Bali to be nice but no match for those in the north of Vietnam. If you're new to rice terraces, do go. If you've been to Sa Pa or thereabouts, prioritize the temples and waterfalls if you don't have unlimited time.
Even after a fair amount of standard SE Asia temple fatigue - a real condition afflicting many sufferers - the temples near Ubud were pretty impressive. Our first temple stop was Pura Gunung Kawi, where Penelope made friends with several monkey statues.
Pura Tirta Empul is the main event for Ubud-area temples. We participated in the full-on purification ritual, and we brought baby Penelope along for splashes. We found it pretty funny that some of the pop-tart tourists in front of us were so aghast at how 'disrespectful' they thought we were being -- as though their insta-chat feeds are evidence of devout Hinduism or some nonsense. All the Balinese people there (and many of the other visitors) loved seeing Bubs' fascination with the water and her joy from being in the pool as we moved through the purification ceremony.
Our last temple stop was Goa Gajah Temple. At Goa Gajah you can tour the ancient Hindu temple on the main level and then go look around the even more ancient Buddhist ruins down in the gorge below. The super-ancient Buddhist foundations were rocked by several earthquakes over the years and now look like an Indiana Jones set. Perhaps my favorite thing about Goa Gajah is that there are flowers there (I think they are flowers) that look like pink truffula trees straight out of The Lorax.
There are plenty of delivery food options in Ubud - it's a well-established tourist destination, so just search up stuff on your phone and order. Delivery food makes parenting so much easier, especially on vacation, so (as I mentioned earlier) it was nice that our resort was so nice about it. Nasi Goreng (rice) and Mee Goreng (noodles) are always solid choices in Indonesia.
When we ate out, we went to Clear Cafe, an organic restaurant with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. The White Strawberry milkshake at Clear Cafe was life-changing; the rest of the food was good, not great. The building is beautiful.
After eating dinner at Clear Cafe, we went to Tukies for some coconut ice cream with toasted coconut on top. If you like treats, don't miss Tukies. The coconut ice cream is excellent. They also have coconut brittle that goes well on any treat you can eat with a spoon, and you can take a bag home with you. You'll also want to pick up a pack of Tukies chocolate coconut cookies. Try not to eat them all in one sitting - good luck. They also go well in ice cream.
There wasn't much local beer, but one brewer we liked was Kura Kura, and we were able to have it delivered.
Although the crowds in Bali are sure to have recovered, which will undoubtedly result in agitation that we were mostly able to avoid, we found Ubud to be worth the trip.
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