CULTURE AND THRILLS IN BALI
Travel tips for kids extracted from kidsGo! Bali
By Mio Debnam, illustrated by Tania Willis
Ahhh, beautiful Bali…
About three million people visit Bali each year, and no wonder! There’s such a variety of things you can do there – for example, there are beautiful white sand beaches to laze on, crystal clear water to snorkel, surf or swim in, towering volcanoes to climb, foaming rivers to raft on and forests full of naughty monkeys to explore.
There are also lots of fun man-made attractions too. If you’re a thrill seeker, you’ll find details about the best zip-lining destination in kidsGo! Bali, but we think that everyone’s favourite destination is the Waterbom waterparkwhere you can cool off by swooshing down slides, or by having a relaxing ride on the Lazy River.
There’s a lot for culture vultures in Bali, too – see shows of traditional dance, or visit a shadow puppet theatre. If you get inspired, you can also learn a traditional dance, or another craft such as batik or kite making. There are interesting historic sites and temples to visit too. For example, there’s one temple – the Pura Goa Lawah which is really interesting for the thousands of bats that have made their home there. The shrines are small, but the holy cave in the cliff face is amazing.
Legend says that a tunnel from the cave leads to another temple miles away, but as soon as you get a whiff of the bat poo, you’ll change your mind about investigating this claim!
If you have time, we’d recommend a trip inland to Ubud. One must do there, is to take a walk through the monkey forest. The long-tailed macaques are fun to watch, but don’t get too close because they are used to tourists and can be very cheeky – snatching things they fancy like hats, cameras and sunglasses. There are bananas for sale, but we recommend you do NOT buy any or you might get mobbed!
There are plenty of other places close by for animal lovers to visit too – including a wild animal park where you can stay overnight, if you fancy waking up to the sound of lions roaring!
But what if it’s too hot or too rainy? Don’t worry, spend a few hours indoors, learning to cook, or painting a pot. You can also learn how to skateboard, eat some yummy food or pick up some funky souvenirs. You’ll find details of all these and more in kidsGo! Bali.
Happy holidays!
Mio Debnam
Mio Debnam is currently working as a writer/editor, having ‘retired’ from the world of journalism, where she worked as the Editor in Chief of two daily children’s newspapers for several years. Over the years, she has had stories and articles for both adults and children published, as well as a middle-grade fantasy novel, four picture books and several educational readers. She’s also the author of a new series of travel guidebooks for curious children: kidsGo! New York, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Bali and Phuket in 2011 by Haven Books.
Text © copyright of Mio Debnam and kidsGo! Travel Series (an imprint of Haven Books)
Illustrations © copyright of Tania Willis and kidsGo! Travel Series (an imprint of Haven Books)
Reproduced here by Yummy Mummy with the permission of Haven Books Limited