The Observer Bali: The only danger is we’ll become just far too lazy

Will Buckley decided a family trip to Bali would be no more risky than a day out with them in London. He found a magical island desperate to welcome back tourists.

Late winter is a bleak time. The faux-optimism of Christmas has been well and truly dissipated. Routines have never felt more routine. Children have to be ferried and fed, credit card bills confronted, drains unblocked. All you want to do is escape and do nothing; to rid your mind of the clutter that is proliferating within it; to leave your cares behind and enjoy a right good pampering. If those are your dreams a villa in Bali provides a perfect haven.Yet, at present, the Foreign Office considers this peaceful refuge, known as the Island of the Gods, too dangerous to visit. Its warning (last updated 27 February) states: ‘We advise against all non-essential travel to Indonesia. There is a high general threat from terrorism in Indonesia. We continue to receive information that indicates terrorists are planning further attacks against Westerners, throughout the country. If you are already in Indonesia you should consider leaving if your presence is not essential. If you choose to remain in Indonesia, you should exercise extreme caution in public places, such as (but not limited to) hotels, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, shopping malls, outdoor recreational areas, public and commercial buildings, transport terminals and places of worship.’Perhaps and maybe. Even though the annual family holiday was much needed it probably fails to creep into the essential travel category. ‘High general threat’ sounds alarming but having been in America regularly since 9/11 and finally comprehended their colour-coded system ‘high general’ struck me as being in the mid-range of the scale. As for the list of places where we are advised to ‘exercise extreme caution’ that did appear daunting. Short of parachuting the family in to a remote spot on the island and camping out in a cave there seemed no way of avoiding them. But, on the other hand, what precautions can you take against a suicide bomber? It is up to each family to decide what constitutes an acceptable level of risk. The Foreign Office is duty-bound to cover its arse. The rest of us have to come to our own conclusions and Grainne and I thought that we were no more or less safe visiting Bali than we would be taking a trip to London to visit the Natural History Museum.Whether this was or is wise no one knows, not even the experts. A point illustrated by the fact that on 11 February iJET Travel Risk Management, considered to be the industry leader in delivering real-time travel risk management services to multinational corporations and the travel industry, announced its list of the 10 countries most at risk of terrorism. Spain was removed from the list this year. A month to the day there were the bombs in Madrid.What is certain is that Foreign Office warnings and a culture of fear have had a deleterious effect on the tourist industry in Bali on which many locals depend. Tourism was and, even in its dam aged state, is their biggest industry. After the bomb in October 2002 and Sars (no longer a threat says the FO) the number of visitors dropped by half. The continuing warning continues to depress tourism. Why us and not the Americans? was a familiar complaint. There was an underlying suspicion that Indonesia was a convenient fall-guy.Yet the industry is resilient and is now back up to two thirds of its peak figures. Russians like to visit in December and January and the island remains popular with the Japanese and Asian-based expats. But it has to be said that during our fortnight there we saw no British, American, or Australian families. It has become, if not a no-go zone, a very-few-go zone.Whatever the risks, the rewards, for us, outweighed them. It is hard to think of a more charming, peaceful and benign destination than Bali. It is hard to believe we could have had a more enjoyable or relaxing time anywhere else. Sitting with a Bintang beer, watching the sun drop into the Indian Ocean, while the children – twins Fred and Daisy, eight, and Mo, five – enjoy their last swim in the pool before family dinner is served is as slippered as life can be.We flew with Singapore Airlines which boasts an in-flight entertainment system so exhaustive that even the most fickle child will struggle to run out of options during the course of the 12-hour flight to Singapore and two-hour connection to Bali. There is a menu offering either a Far Eastern dish or one designed by Mr Gordon Ramsay, although were he to serve it up in one of his restaurants he would lose Michelin stars.Thanks to Elite Havens, a property company on the island, we moved between a quartet of spectacular villas, one of the few types of building not to make it onto the Foreign Office extreme caution list.The Umah Duri was a charming three-bedroom bungalow, including detached master bedroom, overlooking a pool which was perfect for children. From the moment we arrived and were greeted with drinks to the moment the children kissed goodbye to the baby in the pregnant chef’s tummy we were treated as friends. Nothing was too much effort and everything appeared not to be an effort. It was a standard of service which was to be maintained throughout our stay.The second villa was the Bali Bali which was more modern in design and slightly more spacious. Both villas were located on the outskirts of Seminyak which, despite the recent travails, is thriving. There are an abundance of restaurants ranging from the incredibly good and cheap (Made’s Warung or The Trattoria) to those (La Lucciola or Kafe Warisan) which offer the highest quality French cuisine at gastro-pub prices. There are also endless shopping opportunities with yet-to-be-released DVDs for less than a pound and cigarettes at 40p a packet particular favourites.Staffed-villa living is particularly suitable for families. There is nothing likely to soothe a harassed parent quicker than suddenly not having to do the cooking and clearing up, washing clothes and cleaning floors. It is possible for both of you to enjoy a lie-in. Often we would stumble into the dining room to see Fred, Daisy and Mo sitting round the breakfast table having finished their meals and chatting to Bo Bo or Henry. Dinner couldn’t be simpler. A menu is produced in the morning, selections are made, the shopping is done at local markets at cost price, the ingredients are expertly cooked. All you have to do is eat.Furthermore, every villa we stayed in would comfortably house two or more families and therefore mean your stay would be considerably cheaper than if you booked into a comparable hotel. Finally, because there are no chores there can be no snide comments about people, who shall remain nameless, not pulling their weight around the house. Everyone can unwind.Of course, if you go on holiday to meet other people, to prop up the hotel bar and regale them with anecdotes about the job back home, then such a set-up is not ideal. But there is nothing to stop you using your villa as a base from which you can visit different bars and attack a new, and initially compliant, audience every night.The third villa we stayed in was perhaps the most magnificent, and large enough to house a multitude of families. The Gajah Putih has a 500 square metred marbled ground floor complete with dining room, two seating areas, and pool table. There are no walls here, merely pillars, so the wind gusts off the sea and through the property. Dotted upstairs and downstairs there are five bedrooms including a sunset and sunrise master bedroom. There are orchids in every room. There is a home cinema set-up. The grounds are expansive enough to hold a society wedding. The swimming pool takes some swimming. There is a tennis court. And at the end of the garden is the beach. There can be no more idyllic place to stay. When your fears have been reduced to occasionally fretting that a coconut might fall on your head you are in pretty good shape. Hearing the sea crashing in morning and night is a balm to the soul And yet there would be those that argue that our fourth villa, The Istana, might have the edge over The Gaja Putih. This is built on a cliff in Uluwatu on the southern tip of the island. Its outstanding feature is an infinity pool which gives the impression that you are swimming out into the Indian Ocean. Your personal chef has been lured away from the Bali Hilton. When you go for a short dip in the pool you return to find your novel has been bookmarked. And yet you didn’t see anyone move. It is like being attended to by a team of Jeeveses with Mr Gordon Ramsay beavering away in the kitchen. All the while you have a spectacular view of the Bali Straits and Indian Ocean. As night falls the fishing boats make their uneasy way out over the choppy waters which are ideal for surfing. All night their lights illuminate the horizon as if an impromptu town has been constructed in the middle of the sea. The sunsets are sunsets but the storms are stunning. The black clouds rolling in, lightning across the water, torrential rain and high winds, followed by calm.We were in Bali during the rainy season which is not as discomforting as it might sound. Grainne had feared we might have travelled half-way across the world from south Norfolk to watch more rain. But aside from a brief moment of thunder every other day the sun shone and there was none of that perennial drizzle that so dampens the spirit.Being off-season it was obviously cheaper. And one bonus of Western reticence about travelling to the island is that bargains are available. The bomb cut off the tourist industry at its peak. It is now in the process of being rediscovered. All the infrastructure is there – it just needs people to fill it.At all the villas there is space for the children to play and modern technology to distract them when they are all played out. An on-site massage is a phone call away. Not known for making the right call I fortunately did when timidly opting for a medium rather than a hard massage. As it was my brittle frame was nearly thumbed in two. Yet after the kneading all kinks and strains accumulated back home miraculously vamoosed.Away from the villas there is an island to explore. Particularly recommended is the Bird and Reptile Park where little Mo nearly had her head bitten off by a pelican and Fred and I watched as his sisters held iguanas. It also houses Komodo dragons which are somewhat different from the Disney version but provided another natural history tick for the children. The park is conveniently near the beguiling town of Ubud and the Cahaya Dewata restaurant with a breathtaking view of Golden Valley.A Bali Hai cruise to the island of Nusa Lembongan is also a grand day out. Diving classes are offered to the adventurous, we spent the day at the beach resort amused by an over-pampered Mo’s perplexion at seeing people other than her immediate family using what she blithely considered must be our swimming pool.On the catamaran we met John and Andy who had both moved from south Norfolk to live and work in Bali. A sentence which includes two place names likely to form a Googlewhack. After we had got over the B-road littered conversation that is essential for determining where they once lived, they were phlegmatic about the bombing and optimistic the tourist trade would pick up. Both waxed lyrical about the Balinese way of life: the serenity, the peacefulness, the beauty. Bali is 90 per cent Hindu and the temples and offerings to the gods everywhere create an atmosphere of tranquillity. The mopeds may buzz around during rush-hour but the prevailing mood is one of stillness. The Balinese are as friendly as the Serbians are unaccommodating. It has none of the sleaze associated with Thailand.During the stay, despite exercising no caution, we experienced only one alarm when a lazy dog stirred itself to scratch Daisy as she ran along the beach. The Foreign Office states that ‘the standard of local medical care is poor’ but we found it excellent. The only threat had come not from the continuing war on terror but a momentarily terrified dog.After one of her rabies injections we went for a drink at sea-side bar Gado Gado as a treat, as much for me as her. Sitting there, chatting with my suddenly about to be growing-up daughter, chewing on breadsticks with pesto, and drinking, respectively, beer and orange juice, was an epiphanic moment which will remain with me long after the warnings have gone.FactfileWhere to stay: Elite Havens (00 62 361 731074; email: info@elitehavens.com) offers a wide choice of high-end serviced villas, many of which are ideal for families. The villas Will Buckley stayed in are priced as follows: Umah Duri (three bedrooms) – £152 per night; Bali Bali (three bedrooms) – £252; Gaja Putih (five bedrooms) – £461; Istana (five bedrooms) – £542. Substantial discounts are available for late bookings.Getting there: Singapore Airlines (0870 608 8886) has three flights a day from London Heathrow and a daily flight from Manchester to Singapore, with three daily onward connections to Bali. UK-Bali return flights start at £560, excluding taxes.Best time to travel: The monsoon season begins in mid-October and lasts until mid-March, the wettest months corresponding with our winter, arriving in December and January. Sunny days during monsoon tend to be hot and humid, with temperatures averaging 27/28C. The weather from May to September is the most pleasant, dry and cooler, averaging 25C, with only occasional showers.Recommended reading: Lonely Planet Bali; The Rough Guide to Bali & Lombok; Bali & Lombok (Eyewitness Travel Guides); Bali, Java, in my Dreams (Christine Jordis; The Harvill Press).Health: There are no health entry requirements for Indonesia, but cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio inoculations are recommended. People who’ve travelled to Africa or South America in the previous six days may need a vaccination for yellow fever.