As Time magazine pointed out in April, and people living and travelling in Bali over the past few years know only too well, the island is a ticking environmental time bomb. Want to travel to Bali but not be part of the problem? We've written elsewhere about how to travel green in Southeast Asia, but here's how to make your impact lighter in Bali.

Slow down enough to enjoy dawn at Pemuteran.

Travel less, see more. You've likely already burned a load of fuel in getting to Bali, so chill out once you are here. Settle into one spot and savour it. Walk. Cycle. Chat. There really can be a lot happening in what may seem like quiet places at first. You can easily while away a few weeks just relaxing around Ubud, Pemuteran or Nusa Lembongan, for example.

Travel to off-the-beaten path places (and then linger -- see above). Don't add to the congestion that already exists in places like Kuta and Seminyak. Plan in advance and check out some of the quieter locations that don't see much traffic: a beach on the Bukit, a quiet spot in the mountains or somewhere riverside with a view.

May have the wrong light bulbs, but not a private pool villa in site here in Munduk.

There's not really any effective environmental certification system in Bali (or elsewhere in Southeast Asia) so use your own noggin instead when it comes to choosing a green place to stay. It's really only some higher end places that have deliberate green philosophies, such as Desa Seni or Fivelements. Budget places may not be deliberately green and may engage in some non-green practices, but often their overall impact may be lower than your average larger, pricier hotel.

Enjoy low impact activities. Forget about parasailing or banana boat riding in Nusa Dua. Go for a herb walk, do a spot of bird-watching, a cycling trip, or yoga. Swing in a hammock and read a book. Come to Bali for a meditation retreat, or the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.

Don't eat seafood, unless you educate yourself about what fish are still swimming around in sustainable numbers: over-fishing in Bali is a major issue -- a lot of fish at Jimbaran fish markets has actually come from Java and driven in by pickup. This site can help, though the names of the fish may be different locally.

Eschew imported items. Forget about eating Australian imported steak and wine -- go for the local organic chicken with rice and a glass of Hatten or Bintang instead (if you can afford it...).

They grow it, you eat it. Sideman.

You may not be allowed to have a say in how Indonesia is governed and policy-making, but you can choose where to spend your money. Spend on businesses that make an effort to stay green. Eat at organic restaurants, such as Kafe or Manik Organik, and get your washing done at organic laundries, which are starting to pop up (so far we've seen them in Ubud and Sanur).

Don't be horrified at the thought of staying in a cold-water, fan-cooled room -- if you're staying beachside during parts of the year, you may not even need the fan.

Use as little water as possible. A lot of Bali's water supply is ground water, and it's diminishing quickly. Have short showers, not baths. Water run off may go directly into the ocean or waterways in Bali, so don't add to the problem of problem by using non-biodegradable products -- use organic soaps, shampoos and conditioners. And of course, as goes for anywhere, don't get your bed linen and towel changed daily.

It's obvious that you shouldn't litter, but go the extra yards and make a small effort to pick up litter. You'll clean up a little, and hopefully guilt others -- both travellers and locals -- into doing the same.

Don't accept plastic bags when you're shopping and don't buy plastic bottles. Go for a snorkel somewhere like Pemuteran or Menjangan island and you'll see why (it follows that these are good spots to do a mini-cleanup). Bring a few reusable bags and a reusable drinking bottle instead -- you can refill at a lot of cafes.

Tags: environmentally-friendly, green, litter, organic

As someone who usually avoids zoos in Southeast Asia, my expectations of Bali Zoo were not high. But the verdict: it makes for a good half-day out with 3- and 4-year-old kids in tow. For the most part, conditions for the animals seemed decent by (non-Singaporean) regional standards, and the experience was quite hands on.

Those birds are not actually plastic.

We got to the zoo right at the 09:00 opening time and were glad we did, as when we left at around lunchtime it was getting quite crowded -- and the carpark was packed. But for those first few hours, we almost had the the animals to ourselves.

Hello!

The condition of the enclosures or the cages for the animals ranged from this for the agile gibbons:

Arthur just spent the morning hanging out.

Through to this for the tigers:

Here's lookin' at you.

So the agile gibbons enjoyed a large green area with tall trees and play equipment, while the tigers' cage was only just big enough for some pacing. A sign alleged that the tigers were in a temporary cage, but well, temporary for how long? Just for the day? A year?

The gibbons are actually a highlight, and were quite active while we were there. Their loud screeching would begin intermittently, crescendo into a loud chorus that echoed around the park, and then drop off to silence again.

The binturong (or Asian bearcat): Like rats, only furrier.

Opportunities for petting the animals began at the entrance, where a few parrots were allowed to sit on the kids' shoulders and several bats hung about (just to look at). Then Ms 4 handled a few snakes, before both the kids petted some binturongs.

Snake's alive! Yes, the snake's alive!

A bird show at 11:00 didn't have quite the same level of snazziness as the Bird Park, but afterwards kids were invited to hold an owl, eagle or snake. Ms 4 wasn't shy and had a blast.

The collection of animals at the private zoo was quite heavy on birds and various monkeys, with a few large animals thrown in to keep those awed by size happy as well -- lions, crocodiles, camels, deers.

Mr 3 shown for comparative purposes.

A petting zoo seemed to be closed while we were there -- we may have just been too early -- and a termite-ridden tree that had fallen near the show area several months ago had still not been cleared away, staff said, though it wasn't clear why not. It was a bit sad to see one rather unhappy looking orangutan just sitting around; he's apparently known for flinging his food at the passing crowd and perhaps we got him on a particularly cranky day as he was flinging faeces out of his enclosure as well.

The park is quite well shaded, but do pack sunblock though as some spots are definitely not, such as the audience area for the various scheduled shows.

We didn't stop for lunch at the restaurant, but did spy some very good looking Indonesian and Western meals being whisked out of the kitchen.

Make my nasi goreng veggie, please.

A few decent looking ponies were giving rides for 20,000 rupiah a pop near the restaurant's entrance You can also have a look at the photos of your kids with animals snapped by the park's photographers -- they sell them on CD or as prints at the end, though they weren't cheap.

Admission if US$24 for adults and $12 for children aged two and up. Unusually for a venue in Bali, there is full disabled access -- this is also of course handy if you have a pram. Open daily, 09:00 till 18:00.

Bali Zoo
Jalan Raya Singapadu, Sukawati, Gianyar, Bali
T: (0361) 294 357
www.bali-zoo.com
info@bali-zoo.com

Yes, there is puh-lenty of beach for kids to play on in Bali, but sometimes when you're sick of the sand or the sun, or you'd like some beach bar time away from the kids, you'd like them to play on their own for a bit.

Several lots of doors keep the kids safely away, ahem, inside.

If you're not staying somewhere with a kids' club, this can be a tough call in Bali. Enter a solution: Cubby House Kids Club, attached to the Semara hotel on Jalan Petitenget near the entrance to Potato Head.

The pristine indoor play area has a fantastic range of toys and equipment, from a separate toddler area boasting beautiful wooden toys, through to Lego tables, plenty of cars (our Mr 2 gravitated towards these immediately, evaporating all fears he wouldn't want to stay), arts and crafts (Ms 4 adored the beading), easels for painting masterpieces and PlayStations.

I confess I'm not so keen on paying to have my kids use up their screen-time allotment for the day, but at 2 and 4 they're too young for that particular bit just now, so the selection of diversions on offer is perfect. (And I'm told they do limit the amount of screen time for older kids.) My kids could have happily stayed for hours.

Lego tables awaiting mini-masterpieces.

The price? It's 100,000++ rupiah for the first 90 minutes, then 1,000++ rupiah per minute afterwards, with a 50,000 rupiah voucher for having a coffee or to put towards a meal at the downstairs Atrium restaurant (disclosure: the man responsible for the delicious food down there is a Travelfish.org friend).

My general feeling has been when I've dropped one child off for a play and eaten at Atrium with friends, it's worth every last rupiah. With two kids, it starts to sting a tad if they stay longer than the initial period -- or it's something you do regularly. Alas, you'll be here on holiday, right?

You could hire a nanny (via your hotel or guesthouse) to care for your kids while you're here, but the high quality activities on offer in a safe, clean environment do make this a good deal -- and aside from in-hotel kids' clubs (which tend to have nowhere near the extent of what you'll find here) there's pretty much no competition in Bali for this sort of thing at the moment -- Fun World over in Gianyar is probably the only thing coming close, but the concept is completely different and you need to be there with your kids.

Beads to the left, painting to the right, computers to the far right.

You can order snacks or meals for your children to be served at the time of your choosing -- from wholewheat pancakes for brekky (30,000++) through to fried breaded schnitzel for dinner (58,000++). Recommended age for kids is 2 to 12. The warm staff seemed happy at my request to help Mr 2 use the toilet if he needed it.

Cubby House Kids' Club
Semara Resort & Spa, Jalan Petitenget, next to Potato Head
(The signage may have you trying to turn into the car park before you really should if coming from the Batu Belig end -- when you think you should turn, go slowly to look for security guards to wave you in at the proper spot.)
T: (0361) 847 6661
Open daily, 07:00-22:00
http://www.cubbyhousekidsclub.com

Reading through the newly-published Kids in Bali book which I reviewed here, I stumbled across The Organic Farm Bali and thought it would make a good spot to take the kids.

Here come the Bedugal clouds

We initially tried to stay overnight last Saturday, but a ceremony at Munduk Lumbang, the village the farm calls home, meant no one would be available to host us, so we instead drove up for the day on Sunday -- with four other cars of parents and kids. I nervously but successfully headed the convoy.

Turns out we six adults and um, I think about 10 kids aged 4 and under, were the largest group that gracious Marjan and Wayan and their team have so far welcomed to their pretty, two-year-old farm (with last Christmas day trailing behind us).

We gathered around the tables, staff whisking babies out of tired mothers' arms, and looked out onto the narrow edge of the farm, as staff served us local plunger coffee with delectable fresh coconut palm sugar, mint tea, water infused with mint and lime and Bedugal cookies.

It had been a long trip: following the clear directions on their website, we drove from Sanur along Subroto to get to the main Bedugal road. We took the longer, straighter way, and it ended up taking just over 2.5 hours. (Coming back took an hour and 45 minutes.)

Then we were off for a tour of the farm, a sprawling three-hectare affair, where so far a half-dozen chefs from top restaurants in Bali have rented plots to grow their own produce, among them Sardine.

Real Farmville!

Marjan jokes that she isn't a farmer, and doesn't like to cook, but she likes to eat, so the set-up is attractive for all involved: chefs get complete control over what they grow and how they do it (organically, of course) while Marjan and Wayan get to eat at least some of the harvest. Read more about the background of the farm here.

In fact it was the chefs wanting somewhere to stay that led to two "pondoks" or bungalows being built on the farm, where visitors can now also sleep for the night. The bamboo and tile affairs are basic but perfectly adequate -- there are no showers, but nearby hot springs are where you head instead. We found the hike to the more secluded pondok enough of a walk with the kids so didn't see the springs this time -- but we shall be back.

That day bed beckons you and a book (The Bale).

The farm is at an altitude of about 700 metres, meaning it gets chilly at night. The more secluded pondok, The Bale, has a double deckchair that looks out onto hills patchworked with pumpkins, zucchinis, herbs, lettuce, spinach and an array of other produce. When night falls, staff will help build a roaring bonfire and you can toast marshmellows. If you're coming with kids, they'll pitch a tent for them to sleep in.

After playing spot the guava, pineapple, papaya and banana (which our city slicker kids pretty much miserably failed -- another reason to head back) -- we returned to the restaurant, where a steaming sweet pumpkin and celery soup awaited us, with fresh bread from Bedugal. This was followed by a plate of honest garden-fresh greens with a tasty spinach omelette and chunks of organic chicken. And yes, you can taste the difference.

A sight for city slicking eyes: A pineapple!

Dessert was bananas simmered in an absolutely delectable palm sugar and citrus syrup with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, followed by more coffee to get us through the ride home.

A large coop on the farm is home to several guinea fowls, turkeys, ducks and rabbits, which the kids fed before having a poke at the tadpoles in the fish pond. We also popped over to the local neighbour's house to see a real charcoal kitchen, complete with blackened smoked corn on the cob hanging overhead, as well as nesting hens and their chicks, before feeding the farm animals and having a poke at the tadpoles in the fishpond.

Perhaps dinner for your visit?

This was a lot of driving for a day trip, but the truly scrumptious food, cool weather and hospitality made it worthwhile. If you're up for a day trip from the south (Seminyak is a bit closer as a departure point) I'd suggest tying a visit in with a drive through the World Heritage-listed Jati Luwih rice paddies.

Actually, I'd suggest staying over, splurging on The Bale (though the second offering, The Pondok, is adequate, it doesn't come close to the seclusion and views of the former), trying out the bonfire and marshmellows, taking a dip in those hot springs (which we can't yet vouch for ourselves), and also trying to stop to pick up some of the local coffee and sugar (which we can) to bring back with you as a souvenir. I'm not exaggerating when I say this was the best local coffee I've had in Bali during three years on the island, and the best coconut palm sugar.

This is a trip totally off the tourist trail, but catering for Western visitors. Highly recommended. Our lunch and tour was 100,000 rupiah per adult and 50,000 per child.

The Organic Farm Bali
Munduk Lumbang village
Wayan Sukerta: (0813) 3894 3030
Marjan van Ravenzwaaij: (0813) 5337 6905
Marjanbali@gmail.com
theorganicfarmbali.com

* These photos were taken on a camera that is about to be retired. Apologies for their crappiness.

Tags: farms, organic food