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    • Reflections on a year away with your family

      Posted at 9:24 am by Charlotte, on August 9, 2019
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      On the road!

      Its exactly 1 month since we flew home from Bali, and having committed to writing this blog post, I don’t feel remotely qualified or ready to articulate what this trip really means to any or all of us, or how it has impacted us.  What I can categorically state is that it was the most incredible experience to embrace as a family.  We have lived and learned through so many adventures together, created the most amazing memories, and built some life-long friendships.  For all of this I will be eternally happy and grateful.

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      Here’s to lifelong friendships!

      Getting home was a mix of exhaustion and jet lag….

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      ….plus euphoria to see family and friends again after such a long absence:

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      The entire unfiltered story of Monicofamilytravels is far more complex and gnarly than these blog posts of elation, joy, and beauty would belie.  While the moments of bliss, family harmony and adventurous spirit portrayed in the blog were all real, we (obviously!) weren’t without our blow ups and blow outs.

      Over the course of the year we certainly grew stronger.  We got to know each other as much as we got to know the world, and we recognise that there is yet so much more to learn and explore in life, in the world, and in each other.  I’m glad not to have ‘done it’!!

      We certainly underestimated how much time and attention it took manage the ongoing planning and execution of a trip like ours.  There were the future bookings (finding an apartment in Niseko…… in peak season…..with just 2 months notice), the crazy dreams (finding a house to move into in the countryside of Argentina….. in a ‘real’ local community….. with land….. and our own horses…..), the adventures that just wouldn’t happen if you were on a 2 week vacation (camping in the Atacama desert or taking a boat into the lost depths of the Ecuadorian rain forest), and the day to day activities  (lets go and learn polo……or on a street art tour……or sliding down waterfalls…… or how to do acro-yoga….).  There was also the day-to-day of food shopping, cooking, laundry etc.  All the domestic activities this took far more time to execute than they do at home.  Initially I missed Ocado, but quickly learned to appreciate the challenges, random encounters, and cultural experiences of handling chores in the communities that we lived in vs outsourcing or online.  We pretty quickly adjusted to being full time parents.  Having the time to be fully present, and to get better at listening and empathising was a gift that we will try to hold on to back in our regular lives.

      Lots of people ask us how we conceptually planned our year away.  We intentionally chose to immerse ourselves in 3 very different cultures (S America, Japan, Indonesia) for the interest and learning that they would inspire in contrast to each other.  We didn’t want to bounce from flight to flight box-checking Unesco sites and Wonders of the World.  Rather, as much as possible, especially during term time, we strived to ‘live as locals’ and get under the skin of the places we settled in, spending time with local people, eating local food, and experiencing life as citizens vs tourists.  This stability really helped with the school routine, as well as achieving our goal of experiencing different ways of life (vs vacationing).  Come the school holidays, we put on our backpacks, and hit the road.  These periods were more reminiscent of the ‘traveling’ we did in our 20s and 30s, but with the lens of exploring and experiencing the world through the beautiful eyes of our children who have none of the prejudices and preconceptions we do.  It was enlightening as adults to learn and grow from how they would react to people, places and experiences when we gave them sufficient space, time and support, and when we really stepped back to watch and listen.

      Getting home felt in many ways as if we had never left, and in other ways shocking to us (exorbitant levels of food packaging, bulging wardrobes of unnecessary clothes, everyone rushing everywhere).

      Some things don’t change though for family Monico.  Bella still gets in the car without shoes on, and only notices her lack of footwear when we arrive somewhere.  Emily still always needs a poo when we are at the furthest possible distance from an actual loo.  We have stopped squabbling over the travel adapter, but still steal each other’s charging cables.

      We are currently in Umbria staying at the affectionately named ‘pink palace’ belonging to James’s uncle David:

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      ….and heading next to a Monico cousin reunion in Tuscany hosted by Frances.  Having spent the summer visiting friends and family in Ibiza, Suffolk, Somerset and now Italy, it has felt like the European extension of  Monicofamilytravels.  I start my new job at Founders Pledge next week which I am humbled and grateful to feel hugely excited about.  The girls go back to school in September, and James has a plethora of business and philanthropy ideas that he is itching to look into as soon as our new nanny Zoe gets started.  That will, I guess be back to ‘real life’ but I think ‘new life’ in many ways, as we have changed and evolved as individuals, as a couple, and as a family as a result of this incredible experience we have shared.  Ask me in 1/5/20 years what it meant, and I fully expect to have more to say than I do today.

      Over and out for now.

      x

      Posted in Countries | 12 Comments
    • Reflections on Bali

      Posted at 4:48 pm by Charlotte, on July 10, 2019

      As the last resting point of Monicofamilytravels, we strangely took a while to settle in to Bali, mostly because I think we all had ‘the end’ hovering in our minds.  However the spirituality, lushness and warmth of the country and its people soon overtook any hesitation in our embracing its culture and impact on the culmination of our travel adventure.

      Our list of Bali blessings is bountifully long, so here are just a few that resonate for all of us:

      1. Arriving at the start of the rice-growing cycle, and being immersed in the local paddy way of lifeIMG_20190628_111119
      2. Ducks crossing the road MVIMG_20190518_155329.jpg
      3. Crazy beautiful Hindu statues at all the road crossings (even the small ones)IMG_20190616_101558
      4. The neighbourhood we ended up living in – it was genuinely untouched and unspoiled by tourism, and we were so welcomed by all within it as well as by Wayan, Agus and Gade, the rotating staff in our villa that became more like family friends over the 7 weeks we stayed together.P1040216
      5. A great supermarket: the girls were hugely relived to be able to buy some ‘normal’ ingredients for us to cook them some ‘normal’ food.  We didn’t quite manage a Sunday roast, but lots of stirfrys, and stuffed wraps made for happy meal times.P1040186
      6. Eating outside by the pool – for me al fresco dining is the epitome of freedom and the ultimate happy holiday vibe.P1050148
      7. Enjoying the beautiful view of the pool by night – it speaks for itself!IMG_20190601_220317
      8. Finally getting some time to read and relax.  Having expected to have boundless free time to read/meditate etc, throughout the trip it really didn’t happen.  Planning the trip took hours of each day with both of us going at it whenever the girls were in school.  As the last stop we only had the day-to-day to plan and book.P1050189 (2)
      9. But of course there WAS planning to do for our homeward mission (finding a nanny, getting our house back), but at least we got to do it in a beautiful setting!P1040681
      10. And some great escapes for James and I to get away for a bit of couple time before our reinsertion into ‘normal’ life back in the UK.

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      Some curiosities we appreciated:

      1. Everyone had the same name!  Well, not quite, but nearly….  In general, Balinese people name their children depending on the order they are born, and the names are the same for both males and females.  The firstborn child is named Wayan, Putu, or Gede, the second is named Made of Kadek, the third child goes by Nyoman or Komang, and the fourth is named Ketut.  If a family has more than four children, the cycle repeats itself, and the next ‘Wayan’ may be called Wayan Balik, which loosely translates to ‘another Wayan’!
      2. Sickness remedies: we all fell down with a horrendous bird-flu type illness over our final weeks.  Emily raged a temperature and sweated it out for days, Bella hacked and hacked  and James retreated to our bedroom for a 3-days of man-flu sympathy bid.  Our yoga teacher Theo recommended Jamu to us – a Javanese remedy with turmeric, ginger and other herbs and spices.  Agus massaged James with a technique he had learned from his grandfather to heal the sickness that comes with the change in the weather as winter ensues.  Between these 2 remedies James got well!  By that time I was necking Jamu like it was going out of fashion, so when I finally lost the battle to fend of the lergy it was mercifully mild.
      3. The rules of the road, or rather the lack of them!  It took a little while to get used to what I would describe as ‘the slow merge’ which occurs at all junctions great and small.  Essentially when you arrive at a junction, you wait a bit while other people go past, and when you feel ready/justified to take your turn, you gently insert yourself into/across the traffic……..and it lets you!  Occasionally there are ‘human traffic lights’ in the form of polite men who create some order in the chaos of rush hour.  There are also nice men that stop the traffic to let you out of car parks.  There is under-taking and over-taking, and much playing chicken.  The chicken game actually takes on new levels of freakishness, as drivers typically adopt the middle of the road for the majority of their journey, and just swerve to the left when an oncoming vehicle renders that necessary.  I would occasionally just close my eyes and hope for the best!  In an effort to improve my road safety I google searched ‘rules of the road in Bali’, and the below came up as the second search result!

      Bali’s Spiritual Traffic Principles

      • Don’t get angry
      • Don’t get offended
      • Don’t take yourself too seriously
      • No need to rush things
      • Nothing is what it seems
      • Anything can happen anytime
      • Let things flow naturally
      • Don’t insist
      • Accept others how they are
      • Feel, sense, anticipate
      • Stay respectful
      • Always be alert, aware and fully conscious

      I would have to say that these spiritual rules describe far better than I could the way locals actually DO behave on the road.  It was humbling to behold, generally a joy to partake in, and a far cry from road-rage infested London!

      One thing we were happy to say farewell to:

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      As beautiful as these fine fellas were, they didn’t even wait until dawn, and not even industrial ear plugs could drown them out…..

      This post more or less wraps up our Monicofamilytravels blog.  I will poll the family in about a months time to see what reflections we have on the whole crazy adventure in its entirety, and if there is anything worth sharing, I’ll pen a last last post.  For now I thank all of you who have followed us and taken the time to read all about our shenanigans!

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 2 Comments
    • Sliding and balancing our way to the close of Monicofamilytravels

      Posted at 10:03 am by Charlotte, on July 9, 2019

      Our last weekend was always going to be a high stakes operation, and one that was somewhat fraught with multiple conflicting emotions.  Overall we did pretty well.  The girls picked Saturday activities, James and I took Sunday, and Monday was something new, cool and distracting for us all.

      So Saturday comprised a return visit to Waterbom. It was the water park to end all water parks, and it certainly finished me off!

      Having been before with James, the girls knew their way around, and exactly in which sequence they wanted to inflict the torture. They lulled me into a relatively false sense of security before lunch with Boomerang (the name says it all…..) and Bowl (essentially a ginormous plug hole!).

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      Hurtling towards the bend of the boomerang!

      Despite the overall clientele being a far cry from the glamorous Omnia crowd, lunch was pretty decent.  They were kind enough to swap the dressing on my salad (they served salad!), and green enough to serve everything on banana leaves accompanied by water in innovative recycled plastic bottles.

      Us adults were allowed an hour ‘off’ after lunch ‘to digest’, but the girls needed no such allowance and took themselves off for their own adventure in the park.

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      Wooo Hoooo!!!

      After a strict 60 minute respite we were dragged back into action, with a sharp hike to the ‘thrill’, ‘drench’ and ’speed’ ratings of the slides.

      We bombed down the Twin Racers several times before hitting the first of the ‘Speed Level 5’ slides, Fast and Furious, where you are strongly advised to cross your arms and legs. The arm-cross feels a bit like preparing yourself for long-stay in a coffin, and the leg cross is mandatory to avoid some kind of colonic episode.

      Bella and James braved Smash Down, the killer slide that has no queue (go figure…….). It comprised a >10 story monster of a side where they stepped into what essentially WAS an upright glass coffin suspended over one heck of a drop.  After a disconcertingly unspecified time period, the glass floor of the coffin flew open and they free-falled for several seconds before hitting the slide and whooshing directly to the ground. It was TOTALLY FREAKY!  Emily and I did the marginally lower version that dropped you out of a similar glass coffin, but then swerved you round a few loops to slow you down on the way to the ground. Not entirely sure the deceleration was worth the additional duration and spinning!

      In a posture to ‘calm down’ a bit, the girls took us up the Python, which they pitched as a ‘family ride for 4’. We did indeed all 4 get into a giant inflatable ring together, but the little pickles ended up tricking me on 2 counts. Firstly, as we mounted, they pointed out the sign with an image of stars flying round a dizzy head warning of ‘potential nausea caused by tight corners in the darkened tunnels’.  Then they had a small spat about which of them (sitting opposite each other to balance the ring) should get to go backwards (apparently this is desirable) at which point the pesky attendant announced that ‘Mama could go backwards!’ and launched us off with a hefty shove for good measure…….. I was very jelly legged by the bottom, and wobbled my way to a seat while James and the girls hit a final few adrenaline highs.

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      Look, Mum loved it, she’s really smiling!

      We stopped for dinner at fabulous Famous on the way home, and raised a glass to Rob – it didn’t seem quite right to be there without him.

      On Sunday James and I chose a return visit to the Virgin Beach where we’d had such an idyllic day with Robin. IMG_20190707_123741 As creatures of habit, the girls were keen to go back to the same restaurant and same loungers. Sweetly the owners recognised us and gave us a warm welcome, and a warning about the waves (shortly after they had swept away my flip flops!).  As alluded to, it was super-high tide, and as the waves hit their crescendo in their cycle of 7, they whooshed right up the beach and encircled our loungers. Once we had got all our possessions out of the danger zone it was quite fun being marooned, every few minutes, and we enjoyed a last blast of sun, and a last swim in the sea.

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      I had a last meal of my favourite meal ever – deep fried snapper – pulled apart in your fingers. Nothing beats that!

      The girls got henna tattoos, and picked out bracelets to take home for their friends?

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      Dad got his last ‘wear’ out of Santa’s budgie smugglers

      We had a final fly of the kites. Dad’s fish swooped around in circles before making a dive for the sand:

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      ……. but Bella’s owl took to the air with wings of wisdom.

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      All in all it was a very special place to spend our last day of Monicofamily travels:

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      After a slow drive home, a long evening of packing ensued, interspersed by very welcome BBQ chicken from James (who had finally found a workable BBQ!). It felt strange to be filling the packing bags for the very last time.  We were not really ’thinking’ too much about the end of the trip at that exact point, but we had prompted plenty of mental preparation for us all over the past few weeks.

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      Our final morning, we welcomed Cass and Astri (fab yoga instructors) back to Villa Arcadia to introduce us to Acroyoga (and in doing so distract us from what could have turned out into a bit of a melancholy last morning).  Acro is essentially creating balances in pairs.  The experts add in graceful sequencing and transitions between postures.  We started with some hilarious mental and physical warm up exercises, before having a good go!

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      The Chair

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      Superwoman!

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      The Flamingo

      Acro is a super fun family activity which builds trust, strength, balance all while having a good laugh.   We’d love to do some more of it if we can find an instructor in London.  We all surprised ourselves what we could achieve, both as ‘bases’ and ‘flyers’:

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      More emotional farewells ensued to the gorgeous staff at Villa Arcadia who had embraced us like family, and been such a warm and friendly bedrock of our lives in Bali:

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      From left to right: Gade, Wyan and Agus

      We flew home via Bangkok, and had an enlightening episode in the Novotel Suvarnabhumi where the all the contestants for Miss Grand Thailand were congregating at the breakfast buffet to see how long they could string out eating a lettuce leaf.  The girls were (thankfully) fascinated, yet not remotely put off sneaking past me with chocolate milk to pour all over their coco pops, and rounding it off with bacon sandwiches, all washed down with hot chocolate.

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      Hugging an air conditioner at the airport 

      The flight home was uneventful.  Back to back movies for the girls, some movie edits for James, and blog-catchups for me.

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      Back in the arrivals hall at LHR – one year on, a lifetime experience for us all

      I don’t feel sad – it just felt like were flying to the next place on the crazy adventure of our blessed lives.  We had my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary, and a trip to Ibiza to reunite with many of our closest friends to look forward to.  I have a feeling ‘the end’ won’t hit us till long after we actually set foot back on British soil, or maybe (I hope) it will just feel like ‘the next beginning’.

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 8 Comments
    • Farewell Bob Bob

      Posted at 10:06 am by Charlotte, on July 5, 2019

      If you have been following our travels, you will know that we were lucky enough to have had the most incredible teacher traveling with us.

      His remit was to keep the girls on track with the the UK core curriculum, but he has brought SOOOOO much more to their education, to the girls more broadly and to James and I as a friend and travel companion.

      He has had many names over the 10 months that we were together.  We started rather formally with Robert, and worked our way through Rob, Roberto, Rob San, Bob San, Bob, to Bob Bob.  He will now be forever Bob Bob, but we promise not to call you that ‘in public’ Rob, just in the safety of the Monicofamilytravels cocoon.

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      Here’s just one of the crazy, spectacular, and downright extraordinary classrooms that Bob’s taught in this year

      We had a protracted IMG_20190703_184117set of celebrations and goodbyes starting with the last night he hung out with the girls while James and I enjoyed a date night.  They  started recording a cooking show together (YouTube stylee) as they often do to have a lark while Rob prepares their tea.  Bob Bob totally surprised them this time instructing them to pull out 3 boxes of lurid and spectacularly sugary cereal from a secret stash drawer.  We have an ongoing joke with Rob about cereal, so the girls were both taken aback and totally thrilled when they realised that they were legitimately getting to eat unlimited amounts of  unhealthy cereal for their evening meal!

      Next night was the materialisation of one of a series of fabulous Christmas presents Bob Bob gave to James and I.  It consisted of a delicious home cooked meal.  Bella and Emily were kind enough to act as waitresses, so we had the most amazing gourmet experience without moving from our spectacular alfresco home table, and  without lifting a finger.

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      It was so delicious we suspect Rob left it until the last week to deliver in case we figured out what a great chef he is and attempted to prevail upon his cooking talents more frequently!

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      Cheers Bob Bob!  Happy Christmas (!), and THANK YOU

      After dinner, Rob performed a song for us.  He wrote the lyrics (copied at the bottom of this post) all about our trip to the tune of Old Town Road by Billy Ray Cyrus, and there weren’t many dry eyes by the time he finished.  Music is just another one of Rob’s talents that he shared so generously with us all.

      On Robs last full day, Emily and I disappeared to town for some girl time in the afternoon, and the Minecraft maniacs (James, Bella and Bob) had a bit of a binge back home on the sofa.  I can’t tell you exactly what they did, but I know that it involved villagers, racing horses and deadly zombies.  Anyway, they had fun and Millie and I were glad to be elsewhere!

      We went to one of Bali’s classic restaurants, Bridges, for Rob’s last meal of the trip.  Over drinks at the bar, we presented him with cards, Monicofamilytravels t-shirts, ’string art’ masterpieces from the girls, and James read a poem he’d written about our time together (copied at the bottom of this post).  There were lots of laughs, and a few more tears, followed by some delicious dining.

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      Emily celebrating one of Rob’s encouraging catch phrases

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      Another Rob-ism from Bella that will be with us for life (along with the accompanying head/shades flick)

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      Bob bob turned out to be a bit of a hippy magnet, but we’ll leave him to tell you those stories!

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      The nice one

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      The Insta pout (needs working on!!)

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      Delivering his poem

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      Listening to James’s poem

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      Opening the string art masterpieces

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      Fancy dining!

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      Beautiful view over the valley of the old and the new bridge

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      a 360 (by Bella) of the restaurant

      That night was the last of the sleepovers where the amazing Roberto bunked in with the girls.  What kind of amazing teacher does that?!?!!?  Last seen disappearing with fizzy cola bottles and a box of glow sticks,  we imagine they got some sleep, but their eyes in the morning suggest that it wasn’t much!

      In school this week, Rob recreated an entire learning journey for the girls.

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      They started with a day of ‘reception, having fun mis-writing their spellings, colouring, asking to go to the toilet constantly, and enjoying nap time and story time.  The learning journey culminated in a re-creation of University, receiving a ‘lecture’ from Rob.  He cunningly weaved in lots about different learning styles to help embed the personal maturation the girls have achieved this year with the benefit of his 2-on-1 tuition.

      Some of the outputs from reception class:

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      After Monicofamilytravels University finished for the day, Bob Bob held a wonderful graduation ceremony for the girls.  He had created bespoke certificates for them to commemorate their incredible achievements……….

      Bella Millie Bob School certificates:

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      …… handed over their schoolbooks…….

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      …….and gifted them the most fabulous bag of goodies.  The bags themselves were constructed from printed montages of BMB (Bella, Millie, Bob), and the gifts inside all had personal stories behind them: some weird pizza sweets (must be an inside joke!), a beautiful wooden spoon (for cereal), a Bob bear each, a hair band (because the girls were always playing with his hair, and regularly helped him shave his ‘back-burns’), elephant bracelets, and a rubber (marked on the back to remind the girls that they shouldn’t always rub out things that they are not 100% satisfied with, but should challenge themselves to work with what they wrote/drew, and keep going).  I’m sure I’ve missed loads, but the point is that the gifts represented the level of thoughtfulness and creativity with which we will forever associate with Rob San!

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      The girls also held onto one of his t-shirts each which they haven’t really taken off since he left.

      The finale to the graduation ceremony was a series of photos set to music that Rob compiled from all the occasions when the girls and he had had their own adventures.

      It was so fun to see moments captured that James and I hadn’t even known had happened, and it was a bitter sweet visual journey of happiness, adventure, love and nostalgia.

      I can’t dwell too much on the final farewells, as I’ll get discomBOBulated and teary again.  There were a lot of soggy hugs:
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      Its soooooo hard to let go!

      Robert Thomas – THANK YOU for coming with us, and we wish you all the very best for your next walking adventure, and your incredibly promising future in the teaching profession.  We are counting the days till we can come hose you down, feed you up, and swap stories again.
      In the mean time, Monicofamilytravels RULES!!!
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      Monicofamilytravels t-shirts!

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      Monicofamilytravesls crew

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      Drowning our sorrows in a giant glass of rose after Bob Bob left – our home felt very empty without him.

      James’s ode to Bob Bob

      There was a young lad from Saltburn on Sea
      With a peculiar liking for Yorkshire tea
      While eating a late night bowl of frosteeees
      He saw an ad that was surely a tease

      The advert set out in clear nomenclature
      The details of a crazy year long adventure
      Bob set about becoming the best interviewee
      To join Monico family travels with his box of Yorkshire tea

      His first day as a teacher
      Was in delightful Argentina
      At a house in Palermo soho
      Surrounded by street art and delicious gelato

      With the first lesson completed
      We know Mr Thomas would not be defeated
      For the girls and he just clicked
      And Charlotte and James loved his kindness and wit

      A note to all teachers who are learning to ride
      Buy a pair of budgie smugglers, your manhood should hide
      For Bob quickly mastered galloping with style and grace
      And an ever so slight wince on his face

      Like a charm from pandora
      Bob bobs magic aura
      Attracted hippies from the beach to airbnb

      For late night chats
      About spirit animals and all that
      When all he wanted was a cup of Yorkshire tea

      On this Minecrafty day
      We wish Bob bon chance on his way
      And we know in our hearts
      This friendship will last

      As we raise a glass with love and thanks
      To Bob Bob Thomas

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      Bob Bob’s song

      Well the Monicos are going all around the world
      Were goanna fly till we can’t no more

      Well we start in BA
      Where Bob loves the Crepas
      Millie love the chocolate
      And Bella loves the wagu

      We’re In Argentina
      Of course were riding horses
      Bob’s on Chimango
      Bella’s on Tornado

      Now were in Los Pots
      Jeff is swearing
      Kevin’s teasing
      Massi’s sleeping

      Now were in Colombia
      We digging on the beach
      We’re walking in the forest
      We’ve got a guide taking selfies

      Now Lela’s here
      And your mum and dad are partying
      We went to a man bar
      In Santa Marta

      Now were on aeroplane
      We land in japan
      It’s very cold
      In Shibu Onsen

      Then we take a train
      and then take an aeroplane
      we land in Hokaido
      then we go to Sapporo

      We get to Niseko
      We ski down a mountain
      We’re on snow mobiles
      For James’ birthday

      Now we’re in Tokyo
      Where we go on lots of trips
      But bob got lost in
      Tokyo station

      We hired a car
      And went to the mountains
      We slept on the floor
      And walked the dogs in the morning

      Now in Indonesia
      Where the food is good
      But It’s very hot
      and we have to wear long sleeves

      Then we went to Bankaru
      oh no we didn’t
      we went to Tailana
      it was very beautiful

      We went back and helped out
      Tom, Prass and Feetree
      we said goodbye
      and we went on half term

      Now we’re in Bali
      Living in a villa
      It’s got a nice pool
      Surrounded by rice fields

      Bob got his hair died
      And Millie got her hair done
      Sarah taught us RE
      And Robyn came for Pete Tong

      Now it’s nearly over
      We had a really good time
      But I’ll stay in touch
      so I’ll say see you next time

      Well the Monicos have been all around the world
      Were goanna fly till we can’t no more

       

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      The sun has set on our first adventure with you Rob, but we know that somehow, somewhere we will have more together

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 3 Comments
    • Embracing Instatourists, the hippies, and the l♥ve

      Posted at 5:03 pm by Charlotte, on June 30, 2019
      For Robin’s last full day, we hit Virgin Beach.
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      A promising track took us over the brow of a hill to a spectacularly blue ocean

      Bali is not always the best for beaches, but this Culture Trip highlight didn’t disappoint!  Soft sand, blue warm sea, enough waves to have fun in without being scary or dangerous, comfy loungers, tasty fresh fish in the restaurants and various beach urchins selling tat to keep the kids occupied.
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      On our way back from the beach we stopped at Aloha Ubud,  one of the proliferating swing complexes that aboundWhatsApp Image 2019-06-29 at 22.13.02(2) and surround Ubud.  On discovering that it was (yet again) purely a set up for the Instahounds, much to the horror of the girls, we embraced wholeheartedly to join vs beating them. Step one, rent a long dress from the closet and change out of cut offs and shredded t-shirt.  Having failed to spend the day at a salon in hair and makeup I was never going to rival the dedicated Instacrowd, but we figured the ‘from behind shots might work out OK.  It was actually more fun than we thought it might be, and after a certain amount of cajoling we even got a shot or 2 out of the Bella Bean where she engaged (albeit reluctantly) and even offered a smile.
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      Its the money shot!

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      I think Millie might have gone whole hog given a different wardrobe option (ie her own).

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      If I told her how elegant she looks she’d kill me!

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      Frame It baby Frame It!

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      For Friday movie night we got all set up around James’s laptop to watch Ferris Bueller’s day off (which somehow seemed fitting given that we has Cooch in the house who has been seeding all sorts of fun mischief with the girls throughout the week!).  Bella and Emily made their famous guacamole for us all to enjoy with some nachos, and we settled in to enjoy the show.

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      In a (successful) attempt to send Robin out in something close (but so far) from the style that we welcomed him in,

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      Ubud Yoga Barn

      we got up in decent time on Sunday morning to go worship at the church of Yoga Barn for their regular Sunday morning Ecstatic Dance.  So popular is it that we joined a long queue at 8:45 am along with the Neo-hippies, yogis and other loons-such-as-ourselves to get our numbers (we were 82nd – 84th in line to buy tickets – the girls got in free), and then extracted ourselves to go for brunch (fuel for us, bribes for the girls).  The main event kicked off at 11 and consisted of a slow build up of movement to a mixture of tribal, trance and dance beats.  It built to a crescendo over 2 hours and then slowed right down until all were lain out prostrate on the floor (or hugging someone) while the DJ brought us down from our high with some soothing guitar music.  It was the most bonkers out-there ‘clean’ rave that we’ve ever enjoyed. It sat somewhere between exercise, yoga, self expression and raving.  I have to say that as an early adopter I stuck close to the open-sides of the room as the extreme BO closer to the centre became somewhat unbearable.  At this point I was (once again) slightly relieved that nudity was strongly discouraged.  Having said that, despite extreme sweatiness, everyone had enough self-awareness not to bump into each other (at least not unintentionally!), which is more than can be said for Space in Ibiza!  It was a room full of beautiful people of all ages and races losing their inhibitions, and dancing freely which is a precious and rare thing.

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      The girls needless to say were mortified and having none of it.  I bribed them to sit at the side of the room for half an hour, and James even convinced them to walk around a little with him, but then we took mercy and released them to the outer terrace with their iPads.
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      This celebration of sweat and love and music marked the end of our fabulous week with Mr Robin Cooch.  After a quick shower and lots of happy-sad hugs we waved him off to the airport.  Thanks for visiting Robin – you were AWESOME, and it was wonderful to have such a great chunk of time with you.
      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 0 Comments
    • Getting down with the locals

      Posted at 8:54 am by Charlotte, on June 27, 2019
      After a few weeks of practicing on my scooter I finally built up the courage to ride with Bella on the back:
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      This brought us new freedoms as the ‘back route’ to N Ubud was just 20 minutes on 2 wheels (vs 40 on 4), and took us through gorgeous countryside, and across a rather unnerving bridge (which is sometimes even more unnervingly ‘closed’ resulting in a splash through the ford instead).
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      It was one way traffic only!

      We had been introduced to Christine (a wonderful artist) and Tim (a fabulous photographer) who gave us a tour of their spectacular home and studio (completed just 2 years ago), view to die for, dreamy architecture.  We joined them for lunch and enjoyed more wonderful organic fare, and great company as we listened to tales of their life from gold-rush days in Oz to living the dream in Bali, and a great many twists and turns along the way.  What an inspiration on so many levels!

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      On our way home we made a planned stop to hang out with Arya the son of Made (our cycling guide) who had kindly agreed to take us kite flying – local style.  He was just back from University (hospitality school) for the day, and it was about that time in the late afternoon when the skies fill with kites.  They are all made from bin bags and light bamboo, stuck together by piercing overlapping pieces of plastic with lit incense sticks (now that’s a trick we’d never have guessed!). Arya had learned how from his grandfather.  He gave us all sorts of tips like the right weight of thread/wire for the wind strength, and size of kite, and also how to string it properly (apparently we’d tried to string ours upside down – doh!

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      Our kite was a bird, and it was so artfully created that when it flew it really looked like it was flapping!

      Its really hard to describe the sense of space and serenity when there are dozens of these kites flying so high in the sky (length of string released definitely appears to be a source of pride!).

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      There are big kites…..

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      …..and swan kites…..

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      …..and then there are the ‘rocket’ kites?!?!?!  The young likely lads were giggling a lot when the released their ‘rocket’ near us.

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      What was so unique and lovely was to go fly with the locals.  We were of course somewhat of a curiosity down in Arya’s local paddy, but everyone was so friendly and ready to help our somewhat inept flying efforts, and to show off their own skills and creations.  The light was soft and beautiful, the air was warm and thick with humidity and the lingering heat of the day mixed with a smokey overlay from burning the rice stalks.
      I might have dropped the back end of my scooter into a ditch getting into the field, but no one was hurt (including the bike) thankfully!
      Bella was determined to reel ours in, which took a while.  She narrowly escaped a crossed string, and finally landed our kite with confidence.

      To continue our inadvertent day of local experiences, we were relaxing by the pool and Augus shinned up a tree, not for coconuts this time, but for a fruit which we have still yet to identify, but enjoyed tasting with him!  Eating from the Arcadia Villa garden has been such an unexpected bonus.

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      For dinner Robin, James and I headed to Gianyar to the night market (leaving BMB (Bob, Millie, Bella) at home with a safe packet of pasta.  In comparison with Ubud which is artistic, sophisticated and vey much catering for tourists, Gianyar is a local local town, and we were the only gringos in the market.

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      Colourful from a distance, like many of these places you get close and see that the colour is often the trash.  Having said that, as ever in Bali, cheerful bright offerings abounded, and there were plenty of Bali dogs curled up awaiting for whatever pickings would come their way.

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      Food stalls followed one of 3 themes: duck (Bebek), pig (Babi) or chicken (Ayam).
      Robin was unconvinced we’d be sufficiently nourished on the duck…

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      ….and so we opted for the pig…

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      ….along with a side of entrails….

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      Neither of these faces look convinced to me!

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      And here’s why….actually it probably wouldn’t have been too bad if it had been hot, but actually the fat had congealed which made it tough to swallow.

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      We popped into the supermarket on the way home to pick up some provisions, and found a basket of tapes on sale – blast from the past! Bless!

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      Anyhow, none of us fell ill that night, so altogether we could call the evening a success, although in retrospect I wish we’d tried the sate chicken……which looked more popular with the locals themselves which says it all!
      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 2 Comments
    • Mepantigan: celebration of the spirit

      Posted at 6:32 pm by Charlotte, on June 26, 2019

      I can honestly say that when I signed up for some mud fun at Mepantigan I had literally no idea what I had actually gotten us into, or how incredibly entertaining it would be.  There are a lot of videos in this post, but while we got some great static shots, really you need to see the movement and hear the craziness to get a sense of what we actually got stuck (!) into!

      We were greeted with some delicious lime and lemon-grass water, and a few local sweet treats.  Apparently the greeness of the green one comes from extract from suji leaves  pandan leaves which was a pleasant surprise (I assumed lots of food colouring!).

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      Before long a lone drummer came stomping and dancing around the corner dressed in a rustling leaf contraption.

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      He was soon joined by his friends, and they performed a vibrant physical tribal song and dance for us before demonstrating some of the moves and calls that are used in the prelude to mud-wrestles:

       

      I think at this point we were all feeling somewhat bemused (possibly nervous!) inside, but the infectious smiles and good humour of our ‘crew’ lulled us into a fab warm up team photo.

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      Mepantigan is a actually a form of IMG_20190626_161149 Balinese martial arts that involves similar physical techniques to those found in self-defense traditions around the world. But Mepantigan extends the form by also drawing upon Balinese drama, contemporary dance, and gamelan music, fusing fighting with the performing arts to create an entirely new cultural phenomenon. Participants wear uniforms consisting of traditional Balinese clothing, and can compete on the beach, in the mud of rice fields, or in any open space.

      Practitioners of Mepantigan gain physical fitness, release stress, and learn valuable lessons in camaraderie and sportsmanship. In addition to physical skills, strength, and agility, both emotional and spiritual intelligences are utilised.

      According to Putu Witsen Widjaya, the founder and senior teacher of Bali Mepantigan Arts and a martial arts champion, students of Mepantigan evolve as human beings and avoid violence while cultivating compassion. As he observed, “Wherever proper martial arts develop, evil will diminish and a respect for others will grow. This is particularly true for those who practice Mepantigan, which is a celebration of the spirit”.

      We did some prolonged ‘land-based’ warm up games of chanting and singing and finally practicing some wrestling moves.  These were a lot of fun in themselves, and I think their purpose was as much to tackle our inhibitions and warm up our sense of crazy fun as they were to warm up our muscles.

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      The mud warm up took it up a notch!  Amongst other hilarities, it involved various running races across 2 split level mud ‘pitches’.  The water was about a foot deep, and the mud underfoot was on the squidgy side, and a bit slippery, but didn’t smell bad which was a relief.  In fact the mud here is purported to have multiple health and skin benefits, and to be very sanitary.

       

      The next exercise was to help us learn a technique for cleaning our eyes should they inadvertently get any mud in them whilst fighting.  You put your face near the water, slam the water with your hand to shoot (muddy?!?!) water against your face, and then clean it away with your palm.  It sort of worked!

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      Then it was time to embrace the mud wholeheartedly!

      And then get right in!  There was no sitting by the sidelines with this outfit….

       

      We did a final practice of the pre-wrestle ritual:

       


      Lastly before the games began (finally!) in earnest, we sat with our eyes closed while we were painted up with war paint.

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      Emily opened the mud-wrestling games

      She sustained a convincing  (!?!) win, and received lots of appreciation for her dance at the end (victors are expected to dance not gloat at the end, and then to help up their opponents and give them a hug – we love you Bali!).

       

      The battles then began in earnest!  We all embraced the fun and the challenge and the mud!  Our crew went fairly easy on the women and children, but didn’t hold back so much for Robin and James!

       

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      Bella masters the basic throw:

       

      I suffer a hugely undignified shoulder spin, but come back with a vengeance:

       


      James gives it a good shot with the Papuan from our crew who comprised a solid mass of dense muscle.

       

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      I’m kinda proud of this one….

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      Emily mirrors the facial sparring that comes before the arms interlock

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      Bella embraces the mud!

      More wrestling videos at the bottom, but I’ll fast forward for now to the end of the battles, when we had a nice sit down and a cup of coffee (matured and roasted of course in mud).  It was very treacly but actually quite tasty and reviving after a very physical afternoon.

       

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      Then came the duck bit!  I believe in the authenticity of most of what we did that day, but never actually got to the bottom of whether the duck-on-the-head has any cultural relevance, or whether its just the crew’s way of having a good laugh at our expense (fair enough – they worked REALLY hard!).  So, they slapped a huge dollop of mud on our heads, and then put a duck on top.  The duck pooped on me – apparently that constitutes very good luck (obviously!!), so lucky me!

       

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      Now that we were nicely cooled down it was time for a mud massage, and a mud face pack.  We suspected that this wasn’t the crew’s favourite (or most expert) part of the programme, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime, so why not?

       

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      James looks like he might be enjoying his massage just a little too much?!?!

      Lastly we took a turn in a home made sauna, heated by water infused with local herbs.

       

      It was pretty pitch black in there, and on the more tepid side of hot, but we embraced the steam and a darkened chill out for a while before emerging to be washed off by the warm herby water.

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      We took a final rinse in the local river which was thankfully warmer than it looked because we were getting a bit chilly by that stage, and then tasted some delicious fried tempeh and battered bananas before wending our way home.

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      This definitely constitutes one of the more bonkers activities of Monicofamilytravels.  We certainly discovered some Balinese traditions that few tourists get to enjoy, and added to our repertoire of ‘you’ll never believe what we did….’ stories.
      2 more videos for you:

      1. James and Robin go at it

       

      2) If you know Robin watch this one (and see it through to the end!)

       

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 4 Comments
    • Pedal power!

      Posted at 5:36 am by Charlotte, on June 25, 2019

       

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      What better way to explore the villages of Bali than on 2 wheels (maybe 2 wheels with a motor if you ask James, but on this beautiful balmy late afternoon I appreciated hearing the sounds of nature around us, and the breeze blowing gently past us)?  Especially when its downhill ALL THE WAY (well 90% of it)!

      Our guide Made was the perfect balance of fun and informative.  He picked a trail that took us through some really remote villages, away from the tourist rat routes, and we stopped often to explore.

      Robin didn’t last long at our first stop – he squealed louder and escaped faster than even Bella and Emily!  Made showed us a vast web of golden silk orb spiders 10 feet tall and wider than it was high.  They live communally.  The spiders are highly prized as they keep the flies away from the neighbouring chicken farm!

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      We learned that typical villages contain about 8-900 people.  This is a workable size for the water irrigation Subak collectives, and most of the houses in each community line just one or 2 intersecting streets.

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      Families live IMG_20190625_145915 in compounds together.   You can count the number of families by the number of water pipes in leading in from the street!  Within the compound, sub-families have their own detached rooms or small houses, and often contain 3 or 4 generations.  As Sarah explained in her guest blog, the older generation are usually taken care of by their eldest son, who’s wife comes to live with them.  If a couple only has daughters, they need for one of their daughters to find a husband who is willing to come and live with them vs staying with his own family.  There is no dumping old folk in ‘homes’ in Bali!

      Each compound has an ornate gate, and then a ‘blocker’ so you can’t see from the street into the compound.  The ‘blocker’ will have a statue of one of their gods, often Ganesha who is the deity of good fortune. Daily offerings of flowers and food are made to the god, and also and also to the demons to keep them away (these consist of small pieces of banana leaf with rice on them as on the RHS below).

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      Every village or town has its craft.  The village we explored specialised in making offerings and baskets from bamboo which is unfortunately for them not very lucrative.  Others community specialism examples are wood carving, pottery, bone carving etc.

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      Drying bamboo for weaving

      The main courtyard at the front of each compound has 4-6 pavilions for various purposes including celebrations, sleeping (for the head of the family), a rice barn and a kitchen.

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      Each compound also has its own pamerajan, or family shrine, which is always enclosed by a stone fence, and is positioned at the most auspicious northeast corner.

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      Grandma making little pockets from bamboo leaves to house mini offerings:

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      The kitchens were very basic and fire fuelled.  All the food is essentially rice based, or just rice.  Balinese don’t eat communally.  Someone cooks first thing in the morning enough for the entire household/compound, and then individuals graze and help themselves throughout the day.  Families are around each other all the time, helping, working and hanging out, so they don’t feel the same compulsion to come together for ritual eating that we do in the West.

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      Family groups tend to own a pocket of paddies, and farm their own rice subsistence-style, in addition to working other jobs to support themselves.  The rice you see drying by the side of the road, or inside the courtyards is rarely if ever sold.

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      As with all households in Bali, cockerels abound, and this one had a particularly fine fellow!

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      We got some great paddy views on our descent, and saw plenty of harvesting, as well as the ducks cleaning out the last morsels of nourishment from the stubble fields.

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      Loving the blues in this family group!

      It was astounding the number of temples we passed.  Every village has 1-3 temples (or more!), all of which are well tended and regularly used for offerings and celebrations.

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      Some were nestled in pockets of jungle on the outskirts of town:

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      We stopped for bananas and water under the BEST TREE EVER!!!

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      We felt very much that we had opened up a deeper understanding of Bali and the Balinese over the course of this afternoon.  Its people are so warm and friendly.  Kids called out to us the whole way, and high-fived us as we passed through, and villagers welcomed us to explore their homes, and embraced our presence with the warmest smiles.

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 8 Comments
    • Welcoming Robin with a clifftop sundowner

      Posted at 4:56 am by Charlotte, on June 23, 2019

      We excitedly met Robin (the much anticipated final guest to Monicofamilytravels) at an airport hotel where he had crashed for the night after his bag had finally caught up with him following flight-delay shenanigans.

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      Random shot from the hotel shop, but we’ve been shocked by how many smokers there are in Indonesia.  Cigarettes are sold everywhere, accessible to all, merchandised in view and reach of children above the crisps and chocolates!

      With huge gratitude to Mr Matthew Adams for setting us up, we hot-footed it to Omnia day club, an all-day party destination perched atop a cliff, 100m above the Indian Ocean on the southern most tip of Bali.

       

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      We kicked off the welcome celebrations with cocktails and a spot of lunch:

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      During the afternoon we chilled out and admired the abundant beefcake and bottoms!

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      Pete Tong came on at about 5ish to play the sunset set….

       

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      ……and suddenly the loungers were empty and the dance floor was full!

       

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      The crowd didn’t take long to warm up and neither did we!

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      Sunset was gorgeous and euphoric:

       

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      After which it all really kicked off:

       

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      Bit of an incident with the podium…..

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      Here she goes!!!

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      And here she gets off…. escorted by the most courteous bouncers in the world!

      It all went a bit Pete Tong…..

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      …..so time for me to flip the photos into black and white:

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      ……and for Robin to get in the pool!

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      Luckily Monday was quiet, so we spent the day catching some rays, and playing with the girls in the pool.

      Millie took out her braids!

       

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      We even treated ourselves to a guest chef to cook dinner in the relaxed surroundings of Villa Arcadia so very little finger-lifting was required that day.

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      and Emily took a turn on the mixing desk!

      PERFECT!

      WELCOME ROBIN – WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU IN BALI!

       

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 2 Comments
    • Last seen…..

      Posted at 10:30 am by Charlotte, on June 22, 2019
      ……disappearing into the beach horizon.  More fleet-footed horses involved of course!
      On a top tip, we hot-footed it to a village just between Chang Gu and Seminak for a beach ride.  The horses looked well pampered, and smartly decked out in their red bandages.
      We were slightly surprised when the yard wanted to send foot-runners with all 4 of us (given that we were on the advanced ride), but ultimately they sent 2, and it turned out to be quite a good thing.

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      We were set up with 4 steeds, and took it calmly down some fairly ‘major’ roads** to the beach.  B & E rightly baulked at being led, so their runners trotted along side them.
      ** a major road equates to one where you can pass an oncoming vehicle without bypassing onto the verge, or dropping half a wheel into a ditch
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      When we got to the beach, all became clear.  The horses started dancing and prancing, and it turns out that the main function of the stables is for riders (or actually more often non-riders) to get their Instagram shots.  Apparently plenty of girls arrive in long flowing dresses or bikinis and expect to go out for a hack…….
      If you can’t beat them, join them….. so we took our turns to walk the length of the beach, and hoon it back while the patient photographer took pictures on my cellphone.
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      Here are our Insta-shots – duly colour filtered!

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      Once we were ‘post-ready’, our escorts were rather surprised that we wanted to go again, (EVEN though we already had the money shots) purely for the love of the gallop!  Actually the staff were fab.  Galloping technically wasn’t allowed by the stable’s owner (most punters predominantly stand and pose in the shallow surf), but seeing that we actually loved the horses and the riding, they let rip, and cheered us on.

      The horses got seriously excited, and Bella in true Beanie style was completely unstoppable:

      Squiggler was brave in the face of her speed demon:

      James encouraged his steed out of its leisurely cruise into overdrive, and mine frothed in the foamy waves and generally looked beautiful (when she wasn’t going mental at being held back to last-to-go in the galloping order!):

      We cruised through Chang Gu on the way home to check out the scene (having heard much), and grab a late lunch at a popular beach club.  It was on a spectacular setting on the coast line, and served a very decent grilled fish (and some sausages!).  The bathrooms were somewhat ‘hose-down’ and it was clearly a big party venue by night that cleaned up just enough by day to pull the punters in for the lunch shift before picking up the pace again at sunset.

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      Another high adrenaline day for Monicofamilytravels (those horses were, yet again, entirely unstoppable!!)

      Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 4 Comments
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