Bingin

We spent a couple of days this week out at Bingin, one of Charlie's favorite places on earth. The team that Susie came with was staying here (pictured above). In all there are 118 of them, and they basically took over the beach.
This is the "warung" we stayed in. Warungs are often just small shops where you can buy food, but at Bingin they have expanded them to provide lodging as well. The top floor (with the gabled rooftops) is where the rooms are, and the bottom floor (with the fencing) is where people can eat or hang out during the day to get out of the sun. It's very basic, the rooms are separated by a kind of rattan mat, and everyone shares a bathroom, so it's kind of like camping!

It was really fun getting to hang out with the group, and especially Aunt Susie. Thomas ate up the attention he got from the girls, and both boys seemed to really enjoy being around so many people.

We got to see a kecak dance on the beach in the night and the boys loved watching all of the dancers and the costumes. (See video below for a short description of the dance). They also loved playing on the beach at 10:30 at night. Even though we didn't get to bed until 11:00 that night, Charles was sitting up in the morning at his usual time of 6am. "The sun's comin' up, Mama." he whispered. That usually means he can get up. I asked him to lie back down and he cuddled up next to me, "I can hear the waves." he whispered, big-eyed. So fun to be soooo close to the ocean.



Thomas and Komang playing in the warung. Komang's family runs the warung we were staying at. He is only 4 months younger than Thomas.
If you look really hard, you can see Charles and Aunt Susie climbing down the steps to the beach. This is the warung Susie was staying in.
Charlie and Thomas, out for an afternoon "surf". Almost directly above Charlie's head you can see the legendary wave, Bingin. It can get a lot bigger, and it's a very popular wave. You can even see some surfers out there, if you strain your eyes. Don't worry, Charlie just took Thomas swimming around in the non-wave areas.
Charles really loved our room. Here he is sitting on the balcony after waking up from his nap. Later that afternoon we were playing on the beach and he came up to me; "Mama, I just want to go up to our room and watch the waves." What a peaceful spot.