Final day.......what we have learnt

Today we fly home.  I am still pinching myself that this holiday has gone so well.  Every-time we challenge Liam he meets the grade.  I have come to realize we are not only challenging him but ourselves as well.  We challenge our secure day to day life, if we don't rock the boat everything just coasts along day to day.  But if we do something outside of the square we can achieve not only growth for Liam but ourselves as well.

The morning ran smoothly, we had breakfast delivered, rooms packed up, kitchen packed up, final checks that we have everything and that Liam definitely has everything!  There is no way we can come back for the tiniest thing he has forgotten, which has happened in our lives before today!!

Driver waiting for us, we thanked the staff and set off on our way.  Very happy with our schedule, we made it to the airport much earlier than we expected.  But that's fine, we are a little unsure of the procedure here to check in etc.  No problems, signage was good, found our line and checked our baggage in no time at all.  Followed the crowd paid our departure tax IDR 150,000 each, easy peasy so far.  Immigration easy, the staff are very good when I have Liam with me, we have had no problems today.  Then we wander around the airport waiting for our flight details.  The details stay blank for a long time on the board, Liam is getting a bit edgy but we manage quite well.

Finally we are called, on flight bags checked and we are waiting in a rather small room with a lot of other people.  Liam has handled all these different situations with ease.  Garmy and I both surprised that he has not reacted to any of our demands when we have asked him to be quiet, stand still, take your hat off, scanned, patted down, open your bag, people touching his stuff, the list could go on.....but he has done it, and done it with style ♦ 

Our flight is effortless, and before we know it we have landed back home in Perth.  As Liam steps down onto the tarmac he fist pumps the air as if to congratulate himself for an awesome effort, and while walking away from the aeroplane he thanked Mr. Jetstar.

Well, well, what have we learnt?

• Always challenge our loved ones, especially those who don't know how to challenge themselves.
• Respect each other for who we are, not for what we are.
  
• Don't take too many items just in case you need them.  You won't need them and if you did you can make do with something else.
• We did not get ill, we only felt a bit off on one day.  We used Travel Bug each day and we started 5 days before our holiday.  We did take our tablets each morning with red cordial.  We also took Vit B (to deter mozzies) every day and started them 5 days before our holiday.  One of these things, or all of these things, got us through our holiday, so we will do the same again next time.
• I took a pack of anti-bacterial wipes and used the lot.  Wipe glasses, cutlery etc.  We also used the anti-bacterial for our hands before eating.
• Garmy and I drank bottled water, used their ice and cleaned our teeth in bottle water.  We are hoping Liam did the same........we tried our best, but we don't really know what went on in his room!  We gave him a lot of instructions, we included it in his 'Social Story' before we left and I also placed signs up.  Not sure what else we could have done, but the main thing is he survived.
• Grateful we took our own tea bags, a pack of tim tams and some cheds biscuits.  Next time we need to take some coffee as well.  

Thank you for reading my blog, I hope I have inspired some families that have special people in their lives that it is okay to change routines, the world won't stop spinning, we just need to tackle things head on and decide which battles are worth the energy.

To the families that read with interest about what it is like to walk a day in our shoes, thank you for taking the time.  Also, if you see us, or anyone like us out and about, give us a nod or a smile, we can do with it sometimes to know the wider community are on our side ☺

p.s. We have booked again for 2014!

Day 6.

Oh my goodness, we go home tomorrow!

We so don't want our holiday to end, we have just loved our little piece of paradise. 

We are in no hurry, we eat our breakfast and make our plans for the day.  Garmy and Liam don't really care much on where to go, so I said I wanted to go back to Hardy's and pick up a couple of things I had been thinking about.  They could come if they wanted to.  So the three of us set of again in the shuttle, delivered to Hardy's front door.

This shopping trip was going to be easier, because I had a plan.  More thongs for Garmy and Liam, while up on the second floor I chose 2 handbags.  I bought 2 more tops in different colours the same as I got yesterday.  I chose a purple one for Liam's favourite carer, she will be chuffed.
Liam got some more sunglasses, downstairs he bought 2 bottles of imitation aftershave.  He was right pleased with himself!

Our afternoon was spent leisurely around the pool, enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather.  After awhile I decided that I would like to go for a walk and explore the street that we are on.  Again, boys don't want to come, so I go alone.  I head out of the Kamuela and turn right.  There are plenty of little stalls and shops along the way.  I have found a pancake house and another nice looking restaurant.  They will be useful next time we come back.  I then come across some lovely displays of art.  There was a young mother blissfully painting while her little toddler played at her feet.  I liked her paintings, may have a better look next time I am here.

I was after some more singlets for Garmy so when I was approached by a lady I did go into her stall.  She did have the singlets I wanted, but only two, I wanted four.  She was determined to have my sale, she literally ran to other stalls to get what I wanted.  When it came to paying, I didn't worry in the least that I paid a dollar or two more than we had the day before.  This lady did all the work for me, I was grateful for her effort.  I carried on up the street and eventually crossed over and started walking back the other side.  I went in and out of several stores and another art gallery.  Read a menu for Ari Puri which is a stone throw from where we are staying, had a laugh with a guy who was using a feather duster to dust the motor of his car!  All good, very pleasant stroll.

Dinner tonight we have chosen a restaurant that we have walked past everyday. Paon.  Everyday our mouths watered looking at the seafood.  Big seafood splash out tonight for our final dinner, to toast our very successful holiday adventure.

Very, very good choice of restaurant.  The lobster was delicious and so was that desert.We will definitely be coming back to this one.  Next time Liam and I might come over here for afternoon tea and have a desert and coffee.  Yum yum.  We didn't stay out too late, I needed to do a bit of organizing regarding suitcases.  On our way past reception we confirmed our car to the airport was going to be ready.  All good.  

Because we had kept things to a minimum, pack up was fairly easy, so bed time wasn't too late.  Still had time for a very long hot shower.  Mmmmm.

Sixth day in Bali a complete success.

Day 5.

Sunday, beautiful Sunday.  We are usually always early risers, but we a getting lazier as each day goes by.  At this point we don't seem to care.  We are so happy with our accommodation, so happy that Liam is loving this holiday, so happy Garmy is finally relaxing, so happy we are happy  ♦♦

Today is relaxing day, do whatever each one wants to do.  So we start off with breakfast, we have eaten breakfast each day at the Kamuela (it was free with our villa) so it's Sunday lets venture out.  We cruise out the front, maybe the Cat & Fiddle, we saw a yummy breakfast menu board there, but as we walked and talked I said I read a review on the The Trophy, that it wasn't fancy but good value for money.  So we crossed the road and sat down, ordered, ate and left.  It was okay, definitely not fancy but okay.  What we did enjoy was some little shops there.  Especially a lady with the usual items to sell right at the front near the street.  She thoroughly enjoyed our Aussie humor, Garmy stripping off his shirt and trying on bintang singlets in the shop.  We had fun with her and made sure we bought a few things.  She was also very interested in Liam.  He didn't come into the shop, he just hovered around the door.  At first she didn't understand the reason why he doesn't talk much, but she was genuinely interested and actually cared about our story.  Nice lady.

Back to villa.  Liam has his shopping from the last few days put in special places in his room.  I chuckled when I saw the 2 tigers from the Marine & Safari Park up on his pillow.

Boys have there first swim for the day.  A bit of sunbathing and relaxing.  Not for me thanks guys, I want to go shopping.  There faces were priceless, there is no way they want to go anywhere near a shop.  So I decide to go on my own.  I feel very comfortable with Sanur and I don't hesitate to head off on my own.  Kamuela shuttle to Hardy's will do me just fine.

I enjoyed just looking around, I didn't really have much to get, but of course found a nice top for myself and some thongs for Liam.  Left Hardy's and walked along both sides of the street.  I loved coming across places that I have read about on Trip Advisor. Found the DVD shop not far from Hardy's.  I did quite well in there, and had a chat with a couple of ladies that were on holidays.  I wasn't sure where Tootsies was and asked them.  Now I know, I will probably have to go there next time we are in Bali.  I decide to return home, I give the Kamuela a ring and their shuttle is there in no time to collect me.  When I arrive the boys are having another swim.

Order Nasi Goreng from room service, make a booking for Garmy to have massage this afternoon.  I chose a DVD to watch, and I can remember it starting and that is all until I woke up at the end!  Oh well. 

Garmy had his massage, he said it was good, but I don't think he really enjoyed it as much as I had.  Tonight we are going back to Caramel Restaurant near the pool for dinner.

Dinner was beautiful, the weather has been fantastic, so sitting out in the evening is very pleasant.  We haven't really had many mozzie sightings, but we also use Bushmans, so all good there.

It's now time to finish the day with a delightful hot shower ♣
Climb into our lovely comfy bed.  Air-con on low, ceiling fan gently moving the air.........zzzzzzzzzz

Fifth day in Bali a complete success.

Day 4.

We were all looking forward to today.  We had decided to go to the Marine & Safari Park.  Yesterday I quickly went on Trip Advisor and checked recommendations for drivers and emailed dewa@balicarservice.com
This proved to be so easy it was ridiculous.  A couple of emails and we were sorted.  Ketut would take us there, wait, and then bring us home for Rp. 350,000 (5 hours).

We were picked up right on time and set off for the day.  The drive was very easy and Ketut chatted freely and gave us local information on the way.  Liam is such a good traveler,  he was taking everything in and enjoying the ride.

The Marine & Safari Park was lovely.  Actually better than what I was expecting.  We had a lovely day, we checked out a live show, then went on a Safari Journey, this was Liam's highlight.  He loves Tigers, and enjoyed being so close to them.  We took lots of animal photos and really enjoyed the ride.

  After some more walking, looking and photos we made our way to the Tsavo Lion Restaurant.  This was well worth the effort.  There were huge windows so you could see everything going on outside, including some sleepy Lions, the food was delicious, a very good menu choice, good service, plus it was very clean and cool.  We really enjoyed our lunch.

 We looked in the shops and Liam bought himself 2 small tigers.  Everything at the park is very organized and well worth the visit.  We didn't really leave enough time to look at the aquarium, we would have like to have seen the piranhas feed, but we missed it.  There is always next time.  We found Ketut and headed back to Sanur.

We all had a swim, the boys watched a DVD, and I headed to the Day Spa for a full 1 hour massage and a free bonus foot massage.  My oh my was that well worth it!  Loved it♥

We had decided earlier in the day we would have Surf & Turf BBQ cooked in our villa.  We didn't really ask many questions just thought it sounded like a good idea.  Well to our great surprise it was a fantastic evening.  BBQ's at home are very laid back and not much fuss.  Wrong, not here.  Our table was beautifully set, candles lining the path, our own personal chef cooking the BBQ, another waiter serving our drinks which of course included Liam's mocktails!  We started with a lovely salad, then soup, surf & turf and finished with a fruit platter.  This all happened in "Bali time" so it took awhile, which gave us a lot of Bintang time!! Ha ha, we had a very funny night and would recommend for anyone to do the same.  Good times.

There was a lot of food, and the staff took a lot of pride in preparing it and serving us.  Thank you Kamuela.

Even tho' we walked a lot today, I found the day very easy because we didn't have any road issues or any issues actually.  Next time we come to Bali, I think a day out sightseeing with a driver will be the way to go.

Finally my favorite - shower time, yay.  We are sleeping very well here, the bed is super comfy and we are all very relaxed.

Fourth day in Bali a complete success.

Day 3

Well, here we are waking up in paradise again.  I think we are actually catching up on some long lost zzzzz's.   At home Liam usually gets up around 4 a.m. every day, we don't have to get up with him, but we are definitely conscious of him being awake and moving around, and turning on every electrical appliance known to man!  With our two separate villa rooms here in the Kamuela, we are sleeping through the early morning rituals.  No complaints from us.

A few months back we found out some long time friends were going to be in Bali the same time as us.  So with a few Face Book messages we decided to meet them before they flew home.  We asked them if we could meet for lunch, as it would be more sensible for us, so that being our choice, we let them choose where this rendezvous was going to be.  They chose to meet at The Discovery Mall in Kuta on the beach side.  

Inside my head I was thinking this was going to be so good to see these guys after a such a long time, but Kuta!  This was the one place I wanted to avoid.  Garmy and I had been there many years ago, and I really was concerned about Liam being in such a busy area and the road situation scares me.  But, our holiday was going so well it was time to challenge ourselves once more.  Decision made, driver booked.  Kamuela driver would take us over for Rp. 150,000.

So we had some time before we left at 11 a.m.  Off for another walk and have a look around the small shops and stalls at the front of the Kamuela.  In no time at all we were buying things we really needed!!!  But we did enjoy Liam choosing his own cap and wearing it out of the shop.  We walked a bit further to check out the restaurants close by, tonight we will go to The Cat & Fiddle.

 The Kamuela staff are getting to know our family and they are very patient with us.  We made it over to Kuta in good time, and our driver was very nice.  Again we are delivered right to the door.  We didn't even have to cross the road.  I was feeling quite a bit of relief at this point, as it was obvious how much busier it was here compared to our quiet little street in Sanur.  But never-the-less we are here now, and walking through the Discovery Mall heading for the other side to where the beach is.  I had my eyes wide open looking in the shops, just in case I am allowed a bit of time to come in for some retail therapy after lunch.  Pic of Garmy and Liam waiting for Frank and Rose.

We found our friends easily and after much laughter and chatter they told us they had chosen The Bamboo Bar & Grill.  Yep you guessed it, it was over the road from where we had just entered the mall.  My heart sank and trying to get Garmy's attention to please pay attention when we get outside was a bit difficult as he and his mate had hardly taken a breath yet!  So as we get ourselves down to the road there were many men offering us transport etc etc  but there was this one man who instantly took charge when he saw Liam and walked out and stopped the traffic, on the other side of the road was a security guard for The Bamboo Bar & Grill he did the same.  It was like the parting of the sea......we casually walked over and entered the restaurant.  Phew.

We had a great time there, it is so good when friends can just pick up where you left off years ago.  Good times.  After lunch I asked Liam to take our photo.  You never know what you are going to get when I do this, but Liam can take all the credit for this shot.  Garmy and I at the front, Frank and Rose standing at the back.

We caught a Blue Bird taxi back to Sanur for Rp.100,000.  We got home definitely ready for a swim and relax for the afternoon.  Watched another DVD and reminded ourselves what a great day we had.  I squeezed in a pedicure in the afternoon at the Kamuela Day Spa.

We are now really adapting to Bali time and eventually set off for dinner at The Cat & Fiddle.  We had a very nice meal, and a lovely stroll back to our villa.  This holiday business of shopping, eating and resting is exhausting!  I am very ready for my beautiful shower tonight and my very comfy bed.

Third day in Bali a complete success.

Day 2.

After a great sleep and breakfast delivered to our Villa, it felt like we were in heaven.  It was so quiet and very relaxing.  We even had a resident squirrel to entertain us.  We decided to go for a walk.
We crossed over the road to the Kodak money changer.  Very nice people and we will stay with them for our IDR.  Now how do we get to the beach?  Lets walk down this road and go down a lane way.  Yep great idea!  We started of in single file, Garmy first, Liam second and me at the back.  Well not the best for me, because I could see everything going on in front of me.  Liam is very poor in traffic of any sort.  So a lane way in Bali was not a good idea.  He couldn't seem to stay to the edge and kept wandering into the middle, then I would tell him to move back, then he would react.  Okay, new rule.  Dad to take over road detail.  Mum to shut-up.  Liam to listen.  Right, now the rules are set we are much better.

We walk along a good path.  Beach to our right and the back of Puri Santrian and our Kamuela Villa to our left.  We didn't get very far along and a guy wants to sell some sunglasses. There wasn't another person around, so this was a great opportunity for Liam to make his first purchase without much hassle.  The guy was very nice and a deal was done.  Liam was super chuffed.  We finally decided to turn around and make our way back.  No way were we going anywhere near that lane way - next best thing just walk through Puri Santrian.  Easy peasy.  We won't make that mistake again.

Back to our villa, have a drink  and next stop Hardy's.  We asked front desk for a shuttle to Hardy's, and no problem at all we were taken right to the front door.  The very minute we walked through the door we were given tickets to scratch and I bet you have guessed already - it was our lucky day.  We won US$1000.  We just needed to go in a taxi to some place to collect.  Yeh right, back off mate, I have shopping to do!  I cruised around, plenty to look at.  Made a couple of purchases and then we took Liam to the DVD shop.  The picture says it all!

Our first shopping outing had been successful, so we kept it fairly short and made our way back by taxi to Kamuela.  First taxi ride, first lesson learnt.  Next time only use Blue Bird taxi's.  This guy didn't totally rip us off, but I know we could have done better.  But we weren't fussed, we were back safely and bottom line we are only talking a couple of dollars.  Our great shopping trip was worth far more than money ♥

We are all in need of a swim, ordered some Nasi Goreng and banana fritters to be delivered to our villa, ahhhhh this is the life.  Watched a DVD purchased this morning, we all had a nap, another swim, yep this is why we came.

Liam and I decided to try out the complimentary afternoon tea.  Not really our thing, but worth a try.
Seafood for tea tonight at Caramel Restaurant. Good food, good service and good company.  What more do you need?

Liam has also discovered mocktails ♥

We "waddled" back to our villa after a fabulous meal.  We are eating far too much food.  No wonder everyone ends up with upset tummies.

 Can't wait to have my shower tonight, I love it in there.  Bed is calling me.  

Second day in Bali a complete success.

Day 1

Well this was it, our first trip overseas taking Liam.
Garmy (my husband and Liam's dad), me- Colleen and our 25 year old son Liam, who has autism.

Garmy and I have been overseas many times and have always organized care for Liam back home in Australia.  Liam's first trip in a plane was to Queensland for his 21st.  We felt safe with this as we were still in Australia.  So going to Bali was a biggy for us all!  Very much the unknown - how he would handle it? People hassling him, the water issue, upset tummy issue, smells etc etc

Going back a couple of months, we started preparing him.  Firstly we had to arrange his passport.  Oh my, this turned out to be an absolute treat for us.  He loved his passport.  It was his new prized possession.  He kept it in his room, he knew it was important.  Then he started saving money for Bali.  We would give him $10 each week to put away.  He loved receiving his cash, and would secretly stash it away with his passport.  He was understanding and making the connection about the holiday.  Finally the day arrived:

Day 1:
As Liam gets up at 4 am every day, it was not a problem to get the ball rolling to head off to the airport.  He had packed his most precious possessions in his carry on luggage, and he was not letting go of this.  We got to the airport in good time, parked, caught the shuttle bus and checked in.  So far so good.  Time seemed to speed up all of a sudden, we purchased Garmy's duty free drinks for the week and then a quick bite to eat for breakfast.  Before we knew it we were on the plane. Liam's behavior was excellent.  Beautiful take off and funny enough Liam loves the speed and the feel of gravity forcing him back into his seat.  

Easy flight and time to land.  Here we go - we are in another country with our beautiful special boy.  He listened very carefully every-time we told him he had to stand still and wait.  Visas, immigration etc.  This is a tall ask for him, so with great relief we were out of the airport looking for our driver.  Spotted him quickly and set off.

It was a little humid, but not too bad.  We did enjoy the cool towel and cold bottle of water our driver from Kamuela Villas gave us.  Liam was very quiet, but I could tell he was very pleased with himself.  The drive to Sanur was calm.  Before we knew it we had arrived.  Into reception right at midday, we had made very good time today.  We were then told our room wouldn't be ready until 2pm.  Mmmmmm lets do lunch.  We chose to eat at the Kamuela's restaurant Caramel.  We were given complimentary welcome drinks while we waited for lunch.  The boys had cheese burgers and I had a club sandwich.  It was very pleasant sitting next to the main resort pool in the shade.  In no time our room was ready - first things first, a swim to cool down in our own private pool.
  

Our villa was better than we expected.  Liam loved his own room, it was like a small house for him.  He especially loved the free wi-fi.  First afternoon past effortlessly.  Swim, walk, change some money, set up our little villa.  We ordered room service from  Caramel restaurant.  Delivered with style into our open air dining room.  It was delicious.

In the evening we had big discussions with Liam regarding "water".  Not to drink the tap water, clean your teeth from the cup with bottled water mmmmmmm this could prove interesting.........

Finally the day ends and then its time for showers and bed. My oh my, the shower.  It is open air, no ceiling above the shower, high walls and beautiful hot water from a very large shower rose.  It was divine.

 Then to bed, so comfy.  Sleep came easy.  First day in Bali a complete success.