The End of the Trip

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Arriving back at Suji Bungalow in Bali was bittersweet. Bitter because, on one hand, it was the end of the trip. The end of all three of us hanging out together all day every day, the end of lazy days aboard a dive boat, the end of an adventure. On the other hand, sweet because it was a relief that we had pulled off a backpacking trip with our 10-month old baby without incident. We just had one more day left and then the dreaded 30 hour flight back home.

We spent our final day escaping the humidity and craziness of Kuta by taking a private car and driver up to the rice terraces of Ubud. We headed out to see some of the steepest terraces first, just a short way north of Ubud just in time before it started to rain. We then retraced some of our steps from our wedding trip in 2005 by eating lunch at the Lotus restaurant, which is set in a temple grounds. It was perfect for Kyla as we got a table on the wooden terrace over the water. It had low tables and cushions to sit on and thus perfect for a crawling baby, as long as she didn't crawl off the edge of course!

The next morning we started out on the long journey home. I started feeling a little "off" at the airport. On the first lef of the journey to Taipei I had the air hostesses take my temperature and, sure enough, I had a fever. However, by the time we made it back to Los Angeles, I was fine again. Must have been a 24 hour virus! Kyla had once again been a little gem on the flights, hardly fussing at all. The final 90 minutes of the journey, the airport bus back home, was a different story. She screamed at the top of her lungs for about 50% of it! When we pulled off the freeway and stopped beside our condo complex, it couldn't have come sooner. We walked into our house and it was a strange feeling to be back. It was interesting to watch Kyla take it all in - her old toys (which had now become new toys), her old crib (which was now a lonely place compared to sleeping in between mommy and daddy) and just being back in a normal house complete with soft carpet to walk on. I think she was generally happy to be home, but I knew the next few weeks would be tough on the sleep adjustment. It was!

So, after completing our first backpacking trip with a baby, the question is would we do it again? The answer: a resounding, YES, we'd do it all again in a heartbeat!

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Photos

The Ubud rice terraces

"Mommy, it's raining!"

Time for a coffee shop with a view!

Kyla was excited to see rain and feel cool for once!

Rice paddy worker

View of the terraces and the tourist trinket stores hanging off the edge

The Lotus Restaurant

Don't fall out, Kyla!

Lighting the lanterns for the night

Yeah, rain day!!!

Fun lunch!

Kyla was quite interested in the statues lining the walkway to the temple.

STILL raining but we don't care!

Meeting a local statue

Making friends at Bali airport

Thank you!

Making friends on the plane