Bali, Indonesia (February, 2014)

We got a pretty good deal for our 3.5 hour flights from Perth to Bali on Jetstar.  Since there were 19 of us traveling (Cody, Eliza, Sawyer, Ryder, Nash, Zander, Toni, Scott, Kyle, Whitney, Ezra, Jovi, Ian, Loni, Mac, Eily, Teig, Emily, and Cy), it was pretty important to get a good deal on the flights.

We stayed 4 nights at the Grand Hyatt Bali in Nusa Dua.  We redeemed 72,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points total (18,000 points/night) transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards for Executive Suites in the South Village of the Hotel (1,269 square foot rooms) which normally cost ~$650/night plus taxes (~$2,600 per room for the 4 nights).  We did this across 4 rooms and had plenty of space and lots of luxury.  The hotel is right across (within walking distance) from Bali Collection, which is nice to be able to get outside of the hotel for restaurants and shopping.

 Nash and Ryder, playing around at the pool.

 Cody, getting a pedicure at the fish spa at Bali Collection while our nephew, Mac tests the waters.

Nash's onderwater photo.

Whitney, Cody's brother Kyle's wife, had less than 6 months remaining on her US passport and was not allowed to board the flight from Perth to Bali with the rest of the group.  Luckily, she got the passport sorted and joined us about 24 hours later.  Whitney had to buy a last minute airline ticket from Perth to Bali which ended up costing her about $195.

We stayed in the hotel the first day and played in the pools and on the waterside.

The next day (Thursday) we rented a bus with a driver all day (8am to 8pm) and he drove us to Ubud.  Our first stop and where we stayed most of the day was the Bali Safari and Marine Park.  At the park we were able to go to a piranha feeding, watch an animal show, watch an elephant show, go on a safari and get close to all kinds of animals, ride elephants, hold orangutans, and pet baby lions.

 Eliza and the kids, holding an orangutan at the Bali Safari Park.

 Sawyer, petting a baby lion at the Bali Safari Park.

 Eliza, with Zander, riding elephants at the Bali Safari Park.

Sawyer, riding elephants with grandpa Scott at the Bali Safari Park.

The crew, petting the elephants at the Bali Safari Park.

After we left the park, we drove to the monkey forest in Ubud and walked down to the temple.  We fed the monkeys some bananas along the way and posed for some pictures with them as they climbed all over us.  The kids loved being close to the monkeys.

 A monkey, going after Cody and Zander's banana.

 Beautiful scenery at the temple in the middle of the monkey forest.  Huge moss covered trees with vines are all around.

 Grandma Toni and Grandpa Scott at the temple in monkey forest.

 Zander didn't really like the monkey climbing on his head.

 Nash, giggling as the monkey pulls his hair.

 Ryder, enjoying the monkey on his lap.

And on his head.

We ended up getting back to the hotel pretty late after an adventurous day and we were pretty exhausted.

The next day we lounged at the hotel most of the day except for an afternoon excursion to Kuta for some massages and shopping for trinkets.

Saturday morning Emily and Cy headed back to Auckland thru Perth and the rest of us packed up and made our way to the airport to continue our journey.  Next stop: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo.