ketut's hideaway!

We had some good friends who had been to Bali and found the coolest place called 'ketut's hideaway'.  Ketut and his family met us at their waterfront 'hideaway' for the day and took us snorkeling, on a water tour, and fed us lunch!

in the back is one of bali's famous volcanoes!  the weather and water here were our favorite in all of bali!  there was a breeze from the water and it wasn't crowded at all!

Ketut's bungalow had places to relax and enjoy the views!  our family had the place to ourselves for the entire day!!

We had fresh coconut water (which I think is kind of yucky).

But Mack thoroughly enjoyed it :) 

we got a boat all to ourselves with Ketut as our captain!

It was so nice to have a 1 to 1 ratio for adults to kids!!  it made our day exponentially better.

I loved the area with mountains and beach!

this was our kiddos' first experience snorkeling!!  they all did really well. Metta was initially terrified- but ended up loving it!  Zeb was a natural.

mack mostly enjoyed checking out the fish from inside the boat!!

there's nannie, gramps, and metta!

there really is something so incredible about snorkeling.  seeing an entire new world that exists under the water is magical!!

after our snorkeling trip- we went on a water tour of the area!!

I loved the shore with all of the palm trees and thatched roofs.

After spending a couple of hours in the water- we got back to shore in time to watch ketut's family make some amazing balinese dishes for lunch!

I have never tasted food like this.  Bali has such original spices- and for the most part wasn't too spicy!!

fried little breads- I think! they were bright yellow!

this one- a sweet and nutty- chicken was my very favorite!

we ate until we were stuffed!!!

I'd never even heard of most of the vegetables we were eating!!!  it was crazy for my tastebuds!!

coconut chicken and rice was cooked in the banana leaves!!

here's ketut's wife teaching us all about the dishes!

this is snake skin fruit and the only place in the world it grows is the west coast of bali!  there's something about soil content and water percentages that suit it perfectly!

 it's kind of like an apple inside- but a lot softer.  They try to grow it in other spots on bali- but it never tastes as sweet or flourishes.

Zeb and Ike bought a balinese chess set and played every free moment we had! I still don't know how to play chess!!

After dinner- we learned how to create large offerings made of leaves and fruits for the Gods.

It was insane to watch these girls create masterpieces out of banana leaves!!  their cutting and weaving was so speedy- yet so intricate!!

this little girl was just a couple of years older than zeb!

The great thing about these offerings is that they make them- take them to offer- and then take them back to eat so they don't waste the food!! 

this carrier of flowers was pretty cool.  they tried to teach me how to make one- but I was NOT a good learner.

look at the bottom!  they threw this thing together in five minutes!!

we absolutely loved being a part of Ketut's family for the day.  They were so hospitable and the day was perfect!!

villa griya and goodbye!

Our airbnb in central Ubud was located in Penenstan- a small village on the outskirts of Ubud (the bigger town).  It was a two house villa on the property of a lovely Balinese family who took very good care of us!

these pictures are from their site- but here is the family!  we saw them every morning and evening when we left and came home!  they were so lovely!

This is the view from the front gate down towards the main road.

and- this is the main road :)

every morning the family brought us fresh breakfast of fruit, smoothies, toast, and the most amazing banana coconut pancakes EVER.  I still think about them!!

I took these pictures on another early morning run around the village where we stayed!  there were more temples in bali than anywhere we've been.  Literally every corner has one.

 and these small offerings are left on the front step of every home in bali!  they family members make them every day.

 I'd never seen a flower like this before- but I loved it!

this is the path right out our front door!  

and this is the entryway to our villa!  the grounds were so lush and vibrant. there were papayas and bananas growing on the trees!! 

there was also a little cafe called 'cafe vespa' on the corner of our little village.  I had the best salmon, beet, feta, walnut, and avocado sandwich!!  it was SO tasty.  Balinese food was definitely the tastiest and most flavorful of all of our vacations!!

I don't know what I'm going to do after living in asia if we move somewhere dry and brown all of the time!  these tropical locations are so beautiful!!

Saying goodby to our place was so sad!  for our last day in Bali- we drove back down to southern Bali near the airport for some final shopping and one last stop at the beach!

we spent some time at Kuta beach- one of the most touristy- and were not impressed!  too many people and rough water!  luckily- it had a great market :)

and, of course, fabulous popsicles!!

we dropped my parents off at the airport late afternoon- and made one last stop at Jimbaran beach for seafood and an ocean sunset send off!  we should have just gone to the airport!!

The beach was beautiful and the boys loved running around-

but Mack was OVER our vacation.  So tired and ready to go home :)  Ahh, the joys of traveling with children!!

he's crying in this picture, too!!

kadek- our pal and driver- dropped us off at the airport and we said our goodbyes!  he was the best guy ever!!  we loved having him take us around and we really hope to go back one day and visit him again!!  Bali was the best.  I am so glad we had my parents with us, too.  such a wonderful vacation!!