Posted by Gopi on Sunday, 14. February 1999 at 22:24 Bali Time:
In Reply to: What's it like in Bali for kids? posted by amber, 8years old on Sunday, 14. February 1999 at 08:14 Bali Time:
I took my son, Chaitanya, to Bali last month to celebrate his 2nd birthday. He had a wonderful time, and so did we. Here are some reasons why:
1. The people of Bali have a special affection and respect for children. It comes from their belief that a child is actually God in human form. When the last of the milk teeth fall out, that's when the child has become completely human, according to them.
2. We took care not to stay in Kuta or Sanur or any of those places that have become too touristy. Tourists may be fun, and many Balinese people make a good living from tourists, but unfortunately Kuta and Sanur are not anything real Bali is. We went straight from the airport to a place called Ubud, nearly 45 minutes away. Here, there are no beaches, but the people are much nicer, you don't see beggar children, or people selling drugs on the street.
3. Whenever we went to a restaurant, the waiters and waitresses would whisk my son away to show him birds and fishes and things like that. I think a Balinese person would gladly stop working in order to play with a kid.
4. Though my son is only 2, he actually made tons of friends in villages, despite the languages being different. Here's a small tip: if you travel into Bali, away from Kuta and Sanur, try playing with children in villages. They are usually very poor, and may not be dressed as well as you, but I found them to be very fussy about personal cleanliness. But their hearts are in the right place, and they have lots of love.
And that is the reason why a child will always have a wonderful time in the 'real' Bali --- not the Kuta/Sanur Bali.
Hope you have a great holiday. And try to get your parents to take you to Tora village, where you can give an elephant a bath if you go around 9 am.
Gopi