The week started off with mom, Azizah assisting our younger son to finalize year-end tests for online schooling at the Gandhi Memorial international School.
Cancelled Around the World Pre-Paid Trip:
Dad was frustrated more than ever at not only the loss of business at their PT. Bali Luxury Villas hotel in Sanur but even more so at the final determination that a around the world trip to celebrate another decade on this earth was not going to happen.
Months of planning home exchanges in places such as England, Ireland and Canada on both coasts and prepaid tickets that at best will be replaced by tickets valid for only half the original voyage continued to create sleepless nights and massive frustrations.
Doing everything he could to keep almost 100 staff working full time with no pay cuts has been full of trials and tribulations.
Fortunately 10 hours of tennis each week helped alleviate some of the frustrations.
Sunday Drive Through Paradise :
On Sunday morning there was no resistance from dad when mom said let's go for a drive up to the mountains and check out some waterfalls.
Fortunately our long-time assistant/driver Gusti agreed to change days off and off we went.
At first frankly the family was not too excited because we had done a similar trip a little over a month ago and ran into some bad weather along the way. That kind of dampened the success of the trip.
This time the weather was also questionable but off we went. Everyone had their mobile phones rolling with headsets on.
When we started doing shortcuts that only our trusted driver would know several of us abandoned the phones and began to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Our first stop was by chance when dad asked for us to pull over to the side of the road at one river gully.
Mom said be careful because this is a place where they not only wash clothes but also shower and we did not want to interfere with the local tradition.
Our son roamed around while dad took some shots of beautiful mama which we haven't had a chance to do very often lately.
As always there's usually a small temple that give you some Kodak moments.
The boys are growing fast and elder son Xander has already exceeded mama's height.
Out of the blue appeared this very interesting lady who has been growing her hair for a very long time.
I thought this is what we might look like months from now if the salons don't open up soon.
On Sunday morning there was no resistance from dad when mom said let's go for a drive up to the mountains and check out some waterfalls.
Fortunately our long-time assistant/driver Gusti agreed to change days off and off we went.
At first frankly the family was not too excited because we had done a similar trip a little over a month ago and ran into some bad weather along the way. That kind of dampened the success of the trip.
This time the weather was also questionable but off we went. Everyone had their mobile phones rolling with headsets on.
When we started doing shortcuts that only our trusted driver would know several of us abandoned the phones and began to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Our first stop was by chance when dad asked for us to pull over to the side of the road at one river gully.
Mom said be careful because this is a place where they not only wash clothes but also shower and we did not want to interfere with the local tradition.
Our son roamed around while dad took some shots of beautiful mama which we haven't had a chance to do very often lately.
As always there's usually a small temple that give you some Kodak moments.
The boys are growing fast and elder son Xander has already exceeded mama's height.
Out of the blue appeared this very interesting lady who has been growing her hair for a very long time.
I thought this is what we might look like months from now if the salons don't open up soon.
Our driver said the lady believes that if she cuts her hair she will be sick.
We gave her a small token of appreciation and were on our way.
Next by chance we stopped at a Sangeh monkey forest that I didn't even know existed after 22 years of being here.
Sometimes I admit I feel I am totally ignorant of many of the sites of Bali.
I swear that during this time we will discover most of them.
It was closed because of Covid-19 but of course the monkeys didn't know that.
It was closed because of Covid-19 but of course the monkeys didn't know that.
The statues are quite unique. Frankly I can't wait to go inside as soon as it opens up.
A big benefit of course this there were no tourist around and only a few locals who stopped with their children to feed the monkeys.
Great shots of mom with the boys and all the boys.
They will realize as we all do later in life that we wish we had more.
A rare glimpse of dad with glasses which he forgot to take off and only needs for long distance after having recent cataract surgery
The monkeys were non-aggressive.
They were more than happy to watch us as we were watching them eat their delicious fresh fruits and vegetables.
The babies were just too cute. You wanted to reach out and touch them but not a good ideal as there's a mama always around.
Our young son Darius now at 12 years old is turning to quite a handsome little woman killer. And I think he knows it.
Darius taking an opportunity to feed the monkeys
My gorgeous wife Azizah makes taking photos very easy.
She makes this old guy look good.
Last few photos before we departed.
As we left we realized how big the monkey forest is and can't wait to go back there and go inside the forest.
A rare glimpse of dad with glasses which he forgot to take off and only needs for long distance after having recent cataract surgery
The monkeys were non-aggressive.
The babies were just too cute. You wanted to reach out and touch them but not a good ideal as there's a mama always around.
Fortunately some kind souls have been bringing large amounts of food and feeding them, making them pretty complacent.
Our young son Darius now at 12 years old is turning to quite a handsome little woman killer. And I think he knows it.
Darius taking an opportunity to feed the monkeys
My gorgeous wife Azizah makes taking photos very easy.
Last few photos before we departed.
As we left we realized how big the monkey forest is and can't wait to go back there and go inside the forest.
They will probably climb on you play, with you and if you're not careful steal things such as cell phones, sunglasses, etc.
Then it was time to climb the hills of the Bedugul heading towards our final destination of the Munduk waterfalls.
Then it was time to climb the hills of the Bedugul heading towards our final destination of the Munduk waterfalls.
We traversed the Twin Lakes of Danau Buyan and Danau Tanblingan which have some spectacular views.
At the top there are some very sight seeing spots to stop and take some photos.
Once over the top we headed down and finally found our goal of the Munduk waterfalls.
At the top there are some very sight seeing spots to stop and take some photos.
Once over the top we headed down and finally found our goal of the Munduk waterfalls.
We were told that they had reopened it and we felt compelled to visit.
It is a lovely walk down along a relatively easy hard surface.
Once you arrive at the river there were some paths that were closed, which we did not take. We will definitely have to investigate them in the future
Although this bridge may look strong it was really rickety when this large Canadian walked on it.
We wandered on not knowing if we were going to see any waterfalls but the scenery was so beautiful it didn't matter anymore. Even our boys weren't complaining
When we came up to the waterfall it was frankly much more impressive than we thought.
Napoleon Hill one of my mentors always said "every adversity has within it the seed of an equal or greater benefit".
The greater benefit of COVID-19 is that there aren't any tourist to ruin your beautiful shots.
Although you probably could've went into the water at around 22°C we decided not to knowing that the water would be much colder
Some great family shots.
I may be wrong but I believe this will be one of our most favoured shots of our two boys growing up during this entire year perhaps this decade.
On the way back we found a restaurant that looked relatively clean with a lovely view.
Then back down the mountain and home in approximately 1:45 minutes.
As an afterthought it's easy to see why Bali is ranked the fourth most sought-after destination in the world even during the coronavirus pandemic by the readers of the largest online travel website Tripadvisor.
According to Instagram readers Bali is second only to the Giza Pyramids in a more recent survey the last couple weeks.
Where can you get photos like this and a meal for $30 for four people.
Only on the Island of the Gods.
After you do a trip like this you forget about all your woes and realize that you are blessed to live or even have the opportunity to visit Bali.
This is why I chose Bali as my permanent home for the rest of my life 22 years ago.
If you know friends, relatives or clients that are biting at the bit to get back to Bali please share this with them.
Maybe it will brighten up their day as it did ours.
To share this information copy this link & send https://baliworldnewsviews.blogspot.com/2020/06/back-to-bali-1-it-was-best-of-time-and.html
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