HenryFamilyAdventure

Northern Thailand and Chiang Mai…

Well it was a little sad leaving Bali as we spent 3 weeks and really enjoyed our stay there for sure, although I’m still a little concerned about how quickly the island has turned from an oasis and surfing destination to a very frequently visited tourist destination with no infrastructure to deal with the massive amounts of waste.

So once we were at the airport in Bangkok ready to head north to Chiang Mai, we found out that “Songkran” new years festival happens in Thailand from April 13th to the 15th and the water is representative of washing away the bad of the previous year and starting fresh which is a great way to finish our trip…”we should be prepared to get wet” They said….huge understatement as for the next 3 days in Chiang Mai we were literally soaking wet whether we liked it or not so when in Rome… So we got the kids a few buckets to be able to join the festivities, and I must say…nailing a group of 3 Asians riding on a scooter with a surprise bucket of water does not get old!!!! We could have watched them do it all day and no doubt they would have been happy to do it.

The first day in Chiang Mai we decided to enjoy the festival and lucky to have stumbled across Thailand during the special occasion. The streets were absolutely jammed with people in trucks with buckets of water and lined with street vendors cooking up local cuisine. We also ran into an Australian couple with 3 beautiful girls similar in ages to our kids at our hotel who had been taking a leave from work to do some travel as well, so was great to chat about all the interesting things that come with travelling with children…did I say interesting? or challenging….either way they were a great couple and we wish them well as they are travelling for a full YEAR!!!! next stop hiking in Napal with 3 kids…good luck you will need it.

We had an absolutely amazing second day as we visited the Tiger Kingdom outside Chiang Mai and were driven there in an open Tuk Tuk type vehicle that was hammered the entire way at every intersection with buckets of water… There were approximately 50 Tigers at the facility of different type and each is fed 6 chickens each day and like Tigers do they lounge around in the hot sun. You are allowed to go inside the cages with these magnificent creatures and pet and lie with them?? We opted to hang with the babies….seemed a little less like Russian roulette to me. To be that close to these animals was truly amazing and the kids absolutely loved it.

The next day we decided to head to an elephant farm up in the hills outside the city and again we were all amazed by the shear size of these Asian elephants. The way that these animals listen to voice commands from the Thai people, a very smart animal for sure. Again these animals are hunted down simply for the value in the Ivory and this remains a danger to the species as a whole. As you can see from the pictures, we were more frightened getting close to the elephants than we were hanging out with Tony the Tiger…

So we are currently at the airport flying over to Bangkok to spend 2 nights before going home and our last night happens to land on Jacob’s 14th birthday! Hard to believe he is 14 years old 😦 We will have a special night in Bangkok…

Starting to get excited to see everyone!

Padang Padang Beach in Bali where we spent many days surfing!

Uluwatu Beach we thought we would try our luck....better left to the pros! — Uluwatu Beach we thought we would try our luck….better left to the pros!

Heading out to Uluwatu Waves.... I know what it would be like inside a washing machine. — Heading out to Uluwatu Waves…. I know what it would be like inside a washing machine.

Soaking another Group of eager participants!

Wrapping it up in Uluwatu…

Things are coming to a close here in Bali as we have today and tomorrow and head to the airport early Monday for a long day of travel. Today we plan to continue our quest to ride the master wave here in Bali….or we could just call it another day enjoying the ocean for a swim. I must say that the Bali routine is pretty relaxing and even if you try to worry the pace and people won’t let you.

A couple nights ago Ella had scheduled a Skype chat with her classroom back in Bangor and although I was a little unsure as to how things would go, I was certainly impressed and it was fun to watch. Jacob and Steph also had aspirations of staying up to participate but when 10pm rolled around they were out for the night….they have much in common. So as Ella was preparing what to say to her classmates, Preston was very eager to show his face on screen and he did…..the entire time. It was great to see Ella’s friends and once the teacher got things kicked off, and Ella gave a little summary the questions began from the kids. Have you seen Tigers? Do they have chicken fingers there? Have you seen any war museum’s? and on and on they went for 45min… It was really a great thing that the teachers organized and I know that Ella was excited to talk to everyone for the first time in 6 weeks.

Last night we decided to go to a little swanky spot that is ranked #2 in the world for views while having an adult beverage, so we opted to give it a shot (Called Rock Bar for those who would like better pics). We took a taxi over which was pretty close to our place and arrived at the Ayana resort. We made our way to the side of the cliff where security was and Jacob was not allowed in due to his tanktop? “Jacob…didn’t I tell you to wear your best shirt?” Anyway, so up we go to one of the shops where we get him an entry appropriate shirt…perfect! We then take the tram down the side of the amazing cliff where the view was beyond amazing! We are walked through a mini cave to our seat and are enjoying the sunset…. Steph orders a special drink with dry ice and smoke coming from it wow….just as she is about to have a sip Preston jams himself at the table and spills the entire thing on Mom…:(… Here is the moral (or 2) of the story; a) When going to a very fancy restaurant with a view, consider the appropriateness of the entire group. b) No use crying over spilled volcano juice

I may have mentioned that when we first realized that getting around Bali from our villa was going to require a couple scooters, Steph was less than excited about the idea for sure! In fact there was what I would like to call a good “Henry” style debate (Steph calls it a lecture) around why it is going to require a little “Step out of the comfort zone” bravery here or else it’s going to be a split vacation. Again for those who know me, my ability to sit at a villa in a sun chair for longer than 10min has not yet been mastered (I’m working on it). Now I’m happy to say that our family is now bombing around the wild streets let a scooter gang. I’ve got Ella on the back and Preston on the front, and Steph has Jacob on the back of her ride….these skinny little roads are not for the faint of heart as 8 foreigners are killed monthly in Bali on motorcycles. I’ve attached a couple clips to give you an idea of what it’s like. Good job Steph!

Our plan is to explore a few more beaches and surf spots over the next couple of days before Monday hits. Originally we were on the fence about hitting northern Thailand but we decided the opportunity is likely not going to cross our paths anytime soon so we arrive in Bangkok Monday around noon and stay at the airport for our flight to Chiang Mai around 3 hours later. It should be a great way to finish up the trip and will be spending 3 days there and will be sure to visit the Elephant sanctuary. Then Saturday a week from now we will be flying home.

Off to catch some waves….or fall into some waves

Villa at Uluwatu Bali…

So here it is on Tuesday night and we arrived here yesterday afternoon and certainly could not have found a better place to stay in southern Kuta. Our goal was to be central to the numerous surfing spots across the southern portion of Bali so that we could hit the surf and do our best to leave Bali with at least the ability to stand up on one of those waves!

This morning as I was unpacking my backpack and removing my sneakers, this monstrosity spider popped out and I nearly crapped my pants! It was likely very angry that it was trapped in the bag with my running shoes….It looked like a skinny tarantula.. Once we gathered round and enjoyed looking at this large spider, Jacob and I prepared for a day of surfing at Padang Padang Beach, so off we went. It was a little overcast but absolutely amazing waves and certainly could see me picking up the sport of surfing although it’s a little tough to find good waves in Bangor. It is very relaxing as you sit and wait for the next string of decent waves to come along but as you wait you are surrounded by amazing beauty that is difficult to put into words and beyond that you are among people of all backgrounds chatting away…..France, South Africa, Ireland, England etc…..

As the trip begins to wind down, it seems that we are getting more used to spending so much time together. I’m feeling blessed to have been able to spend the time with my wife and children. We have been giving the children little mini projects to work away at depending on the location we have been at and they would chug away preparing as we had downtime…working together and taking notes and then Steph and I would sit and enjoy watching them present to us in the evenings and loving every moment.

We miss our friends and family and are also beginning to get excited to return to our home.

We wish everyone well.

Little Family Scuba with Dad, Ella, & Jacob in Amed!

Amed….or I like to call it “Amen” which is what I said when we arrived…

So off we went to northern Bali from the lovely town of Ubud which was very eclectic and artsy. In fact we wanted to stay longer in Ubud as it had so much more to see and experience, but we have a timeline and wanted to check out the northern part of Bali. This pictures being uploaded may not jive exactly with the post as it depends on where we are staying and the internet….I tried to upload a few at the last spot but it was approximately 30min per photo…so I gave up.

It was a long 3 hour drive on the twisty turvy roads of Bali and as I looked back and witnessed the 4 members of my family jammed in like sardines and many family members (I’m not going to name any but hints that names start with S, E, J, & P) have had issues with driving in the back seat. In the end we had a couple close calls but everyone was able to survive….at one point when Preston felt a little ill we stopped and the local store owner poured my a glass of Palm wine to try…I suspect in the hopes of me buying a jug or 2, but although it was drinkable it would not be in the top 20..a little too sour for me.

Amed is on the north east side of Bali and is directly on the Bali Sea. We arrived at the Pura Warita Dive resort and it is certainly a beautiful location, I’m sure the descriptive terms I’m utilizing are getting a little worn, but Steph and I were talking and it seems that everwhere we end up is better than the last….. It is a town that has skinny roads that you could not get 2 cars simultaneously past each other but scooter and car no problem. There is a great amount of diving and snorkeling here in Amed as the coastline is packed with coral and a number of shipwrecks that have happened over the last century. Outside our door 50 feet you can throw on a snorkel and you are immediately immersed in an amazing underwater world! Unfortunately there is a slight negative and as amazing as it is under the sea viewing the incredible coral world of fish and beauty, there is another world that represents the sad truth of human consumption and trash… I’m not speaking of the odd piece of trash, but the sheer look and feel of millions of items of plastic and trash and bags floating among the beauty is very disturbing to say the least. We are in what I would consider a remote part of the world that has such amazing natural wonder and it is tarnished with trash floating like oil slicks throughout the ocean. Although it is labeled the Bali Sea, or Indian Ocean….it is all connected to one single body of water and things have degraded significantly in 10-15 years..hope the pictures represent what was seen. We need to make changes as although we may have tighter waste treatment and trash disposal, it will not be long until north America begins to see the affects washing up on shores all over. Ok…now back to the good.

Today we ripped around Amed to run a few errands and decided to stop in and check out a dive shop and met a kind young gentleman from Montreal…he and his partner run a dive company and said that we could all try in the pool at 3pm. So Jacob and I scootered back to grab the troops and give it a shot… Things went well an 3 out of the 5 of us are heading into the reef tomorrow morning for some SCUBA and we are excited!

We are starting to get used to sleeping in the same room 🙂

Sending our best to everyone! only 2 weeks left 😦

Kecak Dance Ubud in the village.... — Kecak Dance Ubud in the village….

Preston Guided Down... — Preston Guided Down…

Piggyback....I could not catch this guy and he had Preston on his back! He makes the 1700 Meter Climb with Tourists daily.. — Piggyback….I could not catch this guy and he had Preston on his back! He makes the 1700 Meter Climb with Tourists daily..

Amed Pool overlooking Bali Sea... — Amed Pool overlooking Bali Sea…

Rare pic of endangered species (3 Kids getting Along)

Staged Shot of Preston Reading (Kidding...True impromptu) — Staged Shot of Preston Reading (Kidding…True impromptu)

Finally a little Internet….time to catch up!

Blue Point Beach Surf Spot near our villa next Monday!

Hello again…..sorry it’s been a while but we have been shifting around and have been a little delinquent on the blog posting for sure so time to jog my memory a little here.

It’s been a busy few days for sure here on the beautiful island of Bali….We ended up leaving our villa in Canggu due to the major construction going on during our stay and decided that we would spend about a week travelling around Bali and then settling down again in South Kuta where the waves are great and we can spend the last week of our time in Bali surfing.

So to try and recap the last few days as we sit in our villa in Ubud for our last night stay and heading to northern Bali in the morning to a place called Amed which is a little more remote and quite famous for it’s snorkeling and diving experiences.

We left Canggu Monday and headed about 1 1/2 hrs away from the coast to a central town in Bali called Ubud, it is a great way to get away from the beach and tourist action in Kuta and experience the Balinese culture. The day before leaving Canggu, we were taken to the southern part of Bali to look at another villa for the final week of our stay and ended up visiting Uluwatu temple….the temple is perched on a cliff side and is visually stunning as you walk the cliff side and look out over the Indian Ocean. We decided to take the villa from the 6th to the 13th of April which is central to about a 1/2 dozen surfing beaches in southern Bali…

So off to Ubud, it is an interesting little town with local artisans everywhere….We decided that on our first day we would explore the Monkey forest sanctuary and it did not disappoint. It engulfs you in rain forests with amazing stone sculptures everywhere and as we walked through the entrance Monkeys were everywhere and so I grabbed some readily available bananas and was told to hold them above my head at which time I was surrounded by Monkey’s climbing up my body looking to be the first to access this lovely snack… Although it was a little intimidating, it was only afterward that I noticed several of the monkey’s had babies clinging around them waiting for the scraps…..truly amazing to be so close to these animals. Hopefully the pictures help describe….. That evening our villa host recommended that we go up to his village to watch the local dance at the temple and we took him up on his offer and glad we did. It was incredible as the village has around 700 population and all 150 families are involved with the ceremony. Hope the pictures do it justice…

Today was also incredible as we decided to take a trek to the top of mount Batur which is approximately 1700 Meters high and is the second highest peak in Bali and also an active volcano. We woke up at around 2am to catch the ride to the mountain about an hour and a half away. The kids were a little groggy for sure and this was certainly a difficult hike but somehow the kids toughed through it. At the top of the mountain, the guide who was only 18 and a senior in high school cooked breakfast for the group of around 11 people….a very kind young man who wants to be a teacher but is unsure he will ever be able to afford University…:(. On the way down, Preston was feeling a little tired, so one of the other guides threw him over his shoulders and carried him the entire way down the mountain and I could not keep up. Later I was told that this young man guides tourists up the mountain 6 days of the week!!!! Amazing..

We are happy to have chosen to come to Ubud…..Oh and Jacob had another go at the scooter and did much better!

It’s been Difficult to load up pictures so they will likely be posted tomorrow….

Surfing Lessons Bali Style!

Today was certainly a great day in Bali… as mentioned in the previous post, we made a great connection with a group of local surfers that have a very informal surf shop by one of the many beach accesses along the coast. So as we mentioned to them yesterday we decided to get up early and have a quick bite to eat and then head over that way to catch the morning surf which is supposedly the best time of day…. I guess after the morning surf you chill at the shop and sip on coconut water and chat about the surf….pretty nice style of living for sure.

I believe that while getting crushed in the waves I even saw Stephanie up on a board riding away??? I thought she was scared of the ocean, but I guess Surfing with young handsome Balinese men make her feel very comfortable out in open water.

It takes a great deal of energy to paddle out past the breaking waves to the point where you can actually begin to consider catching a wave and doing a little surfing, or in my case falling into churning water from a piece of fiberglass that you utilize to stay afloat. So once we had a couple hours of surfing, that was about all that the arms could handle.

Tonight we decided to take it easy and hop on the handy scooters and shoot down to another entry to the beach which is where we came across this fantastic little bar overlooking the surf and decided to enjoy the local DJ and the sunset with the kids. Steph and I are planning to head there solo tomorrow night as the villa assistant was gracious enough to offer to watch the little ones….

Tomorrow will be my first attempt to try out the knee and head for a little beach run before date night….wish me luck!

Sending out love!

Canggu and the Scooter!

Well we have had a couple nice days so far on the island of Bali, certainly a beautiful place to spend a day or perhaps a lifetime! Our Villa is beautiful but it has proven a little difficult to get around as the roads here in Bali are extremely narrow with really no ability to walk which brings us to our next choice….Scooters!

Stephanie was less than excited thinking about having to drive around in a scooter but after a little or perhaps a lot of discussion she agreed to give it a try (Jacob’s first try ended in a small crash so I guess I can understand). We had a couple scooters dropped off at our door this morning for around $4 USD each for a day of use and one has a surfboard rack in case we decide to lug around a surf board. This morning we did a little crash course and after a little overview I sat on the back and off we went…so fast in fact that I was able to get off and have a coffee and then board without Steph knowing I was gone.

So with a little confidence under her belt we loaded up with the pit crew and off we went to attempt to locate a beach up the road. Hopefully the video does the situation justice, but a funny thing to watch for sure but she made out fine and needs to give herself more credit for her untapped potential :).

We ended up coming across a great little hidden away beach and parked the scooters just passed a small local surfboard rental hut and stood on the beach watching the surfers for a bit. We noticed that there was a young bearded guy swimming away about 50 feet offshore looking like he was on his way in….5 minutes later he was still 50 feet offshore…..10 more minutes pass and he is still 50 feet offshore…. so as we watch him he quickly waves his hand and yells “Help”…. Uh oh.. So we ran to the surfboard hut and they quickly grabbed a couple boards and off they went and grabbed this gentleman and brought him to safety. The currents are strong in certain areas and no matter how quick you can swim, you would never overcome those currents…. Anyway…glad he ended up OK…guy from Colorado who thought he could swim with the dolphins…perhaps the kiddie pool would be the place for you!

So we made a great connection with the local surf bums from Bali and we are getting up early tomorrow morning to head that way and get some one on one surf lessons….looking forward to it.

Bye for now.

A Few Pictures…..

Bali…..Time to learn how to surf!

Well I have been a little delinquent for sure on the blog but I will do my best to be a little more religious…..

So our last city was Hanoi Vietnam and it was really a fairly short visit as we prepared for another couple days of travel to Bangkok and then off to Indonesia for part 2 of the adventure! It is hard to believe that we are coming up to the half way point of the trip, it feels like we just left for sure..blink of an eye.

So for Hanoi, it really is a great city and we went to the history museum the first day and the second day we went to the Hoa Lo Prison or otherwise known as “Hanoi Hilton” to the pilots captured during the Vietnam war. We saw pictures of John McCain and other pilots. Certainly a great bit of education for all of us for sure! To make the long story short, the Vietnamese have been fighting off the Chinese for thousands of years, then they fought the French, then they ran right into the Vietnam war….when your country has a wealth of valuable resources, look out! I guess Canada is just to cold to attack.

So after our short stay in Hanoi, we were off to Bangkok for a quick overnight until our flight to Bali today. The kids have been great, but I have to say that living as a group of 5 in a hotel room for 3 weeks has it’s challenges! Did I mention that yet? So this morning we flew from Bangkok to Bali and had a driver with the sign “Mr. Philip” whom we suspected was there to pick us up and waved him over amongst likely 100 drivers holding signs. After about a 25 min drive we arrived at our home for the next 21 days! It is beautiful and we are excited to spend our time here….oh and we finally have our own room 😉

It was dark when we arrived and Ella and Preston were game to go see if we could walk to the beach, so off we went… There are absolutely NO shoulders on the road here, so we walked down about five minutes very carefully until a guy working at a yogurt shop hopped on his scooter and asked if we needed help, and before we knew it all 4 of us were on this young mans scooter!

Great way to meet the locals, just “Act” lost……

Goodbye Hoi An and hello Halong Bay!

Our last day in Hoi An we decided to head out for a little Scuba/Snorkeling Trek as a family and it was a good way to spend the last day there. We were up early to catch a ride to the coast and ended up meeting Steve who is a British guy that came to visit Vietnam 9 years ago and is now running a Scuba/Snorkeling tour boat. It was about an hour ride out to some islands that had some interesting coral formations and got everyone outfitted for snorkeling and in we went. it was certainly a beautiful day and again at only a portion of what it would cost to do this anywhere else on the planet…money well spent.

We made a nice little stopover at a secluded beach and decided to get a coconut off a tree….this was easier said then done for sure but we finally managed to boost Ella enough for her to work it free. Why buy one from the vendor when you can leverage a child to get it done for free.

The next day was a long one as we needed to make our way over to Da Nang and then catch a flight to Hanoi at which time we would need to somehow find a way to get to Halong Bay which is approximately 200km from Hanoi. During these Asian travel adventures we are quickly finding out that it is difficult to find anywhere in the part of the world to avoid some level of second hand cigarette smoke! Having breakfast….who sits at the table next to our family but some European’s or Asian’s that decide to spark up and puff away!! Not to get on a huge tangent here but we are certainly getting to the point where we can appreciate some of the nice things that we may take for granted and being able to eat without breathing in smoke that you did not choose is certainly a great thing. So anyway we get on this flight and I’m usually pretty good with flying but am always looking at Steph to see how she is doing with her “Meditation” and she is giving me the look at pointing to the vent which is spewing out some form of vapor?? So I quickly respond as best I can to calm her down “Oh the vapor is just because its so muggy? Anyway I have absolutely no idea what was going on but my heart was beating rapidly and I was feeling faint but it went away :). Needless to say the rest of the flight was less than relaxing and I have a feeling that the balance of our flying will be equally so…..

So we finally arrive and get a taxi to take us the 3 hour ride in a small sedan with the family of 4 in the back and I’m sitting in the front trying to chat with little success. We finally somehow agree that we all like music so he puts a CD of some very lame 80’s music in and we begin to all sing the songs we are familiar with (On the first loop through), then on the second and third time through, the only thing that I could think about was opening the door and jumping out!

We arrive in Halong Bay sometime around dinner time and get our Junk boat tour of the bay scheduled for the next day, have a quick dinner and hit the hay. Just as another aside, we are certainly anxiously anticipating our next good home cooked meal, living in the same room with 3 children certainly has it’s up’s and down’s, but we are mere days away from a separate room in Bali….. But back to Halong Bay, this is certainly a magical place and visually captivating in every sense. The pictures we will post certainly do not do the area justice but should at least give an idea. Now the contrasting down side….:( garbage is everywhere and development is everywhere! They just do not seem to be as concerned with the preservation of the resources as I’d hoped and at the rate it is likely to degrade it is difficult to imagine that if the kids returned as adults the experience would be anywhere near the same. ( I Hope that I am wrong!)

People were always squeezing the cheeks of the kids and wanting pictures of and with them so took a pic of someone taking pics of them.

We miss everyone at home and hope all is good!