Our holidays so far had been restricted to Greece. Don’t get me wrong, we love Greece, but we needed a change, an adventure. My last visit to South East Asia was 20 years ago. My 16 and 13 year old boys had never been out of Europe. Whilst browsing through Skyscanner, one of my favourite hobbies, I stumbled upon some very cheap flights to Bali via Singapore. On a whim I booked them. Yay, we were spending 2 weeks of the summer of 2017 in South East Asia
This is what I discovered about travelling with teenage boys:
I was dreading the flight. The thought of 15 hours couped up in a narrow seat with no sleep and two whining boys was not my idea of fun. I know they weren’t that young, but teenagers are notorious for short attention spans and wanting constant entertainment. I was wrong and they surprised me. As they had never travelled long haul before they were fascinated with everything it had to offer. They spent hours comprehensively raking through the in-flight entertainment. They were amazed by the number of meals that kept arriving throughout the day (and night!). They snoozed a bit, but didn’t mind staying awake – it was like one major sleepover, after all. Hour after hour I was waiting for complaints of discomfort or boredom, but they never came. I thought that maybe it was the novelty of flying for the first time, but subsequent long flights have confirmed that they actually don’t mind. Quite the contrary, they are excited by it.
I had booked most of the accommodation ahead through the usual accommodation websites. Bearing in mind I had been a budget traveller in the early 90s, when bagging a room for £1 a night was a badge of honour, I could sleep almost anywhere, then. I decided to splash out and go a little more upmarket and wanted to avoid the hassle of looking for a room with 2 tired teenagers in tow. Most met their standards, except one. This was nicknamed ‘The Grotty Room’. It stank of urine, the walls were peeling, the sheets were stained and the owners were unfriendly. I would have stuck it out on my previous travels, as I had stayed in much worse places in the past. However, the boys couldn’t hack it, so we only stayed one night, and managed to find another, cheaper room with beautiful views, so I was glad I went with their wishes. ‘The Grotty Room’ was an eye opener and is still a favourite conversation of ours years later. So, if you’re travelling with teenagers, maybe throw a sub-standard place in the mix, knowing you’ll leave, but to teach them a bit about comfort, standards and how lucky they are!
I’m not much of a shopper at home. I get bored quickly. But I love shopping abroad, as they have local crafts, fabrics, bargains that you can’t get anywhere else. I knew I’d be traipsing around the shops and stalls in both Kuta, Bali and Singapore. However, I didn’t expect my two teenage boys to want to join me. They actually loved the shopping. Singapore was a paradise for them, especially my eldest, who is a computer and electronics geek. The gender stereotypes were completely reversed in the Sim Lim Square shopping centre. I left them to wander around the 5 floors of electronic shops whilst I read a book and sipped a coffee in the food hall beneath.
My eldest son was obsessed with WiFi speeds during this holiday. On arrival at each new destination, the first thing he would do was test the WiFi speed. He had an app that measured the speed and if the accommodation’s speed wasn’t up to scratch, he would be out and about searching for the fastest speed in town. In Ubud it was a swanky coffee shop, so I ended up smashing the budget on expensive iced coffee and cakes, whilst they checked their social media or watched videos.
Right from the moment we exited the airport and our taxi was surrounded by hundreds of mopeds, Leo had his heart set on renting one. He had just turned 16 and so legally could do so. I was completely against the idea, of course. This was one of the dilemmas I had to deal with – let him have a go or be a mean killjoy mum. I used to take all sorts of risks when I was young and travelling alone, so I understood the drive for him to do it. As a mother it was completely different. The compromise was to let them ride with experienced Balinese riders. Look no helmets!
We hired a driver for the day in Ubud, as we wanted to visit a wood carvers and walk in the rice paddies. I was aware that drivers would have agreements with certain wood carvers and take commission on any sales the gullible tourists made during their visit. My son fell in love with a mahogany sculpture of a monkey. It was beautifully carved and varnished so we took it to the counter to be wrapped and paid for. This carving stayed in the car all day and in Leo’s suitcase for the remainder of the holiday. It wasn’t until we got home and he unwrapped it that he found out that the shop assistant had wrapped up a different, inferior, ugly carving made from low quality wood. It was such a disappointment, as the one he thought he had bought was beautiful. He was really upset, but again a lesson to learn in trust and watching out for scams.
One of the things the boys couldn’t believe was how cheap certain items were. We started a game which was the search for the cheapest nasi goreng, the tastiest nasi goreng and the nasi goreng with the best view. The cheapest was around the equivalent of £1, the best view was over a rice paddy out in the country about 30 minutes outside Ubud.
Bear in mind that at this time I was working part time as a teacher and therefore my disposable income was not high. All of our holidays were on a tight budget. Greece had been our favoured summer holiday destination for a few years. However, flights to Greece, even with low cost airlines were around £300 each at peak times. We always ventured off the beaten track to less popular resorts to find accommodation that was a bit cheaper. The three of us always had to share a room. On top of that, Euros disappeared quickly whilst feeding two hungry boys in Greek tavernas, and splashing out on much needed activities.
Fast forward to Bali – flights were around £450 each, so not that much more really. As for accommodation the boys shared and I had a separate room. That suited us all so much better all round. The cost of this for 2 weeks in Bali and Singapore was less that 1 week in Greece. And of course if you explore a bit you can find incredibly cheap and delicious food in Asia for very little. Singapore is more expensive, but that is included in my calculations.
To summarise, a 1 week holiday in Greece all in on my budget was around £3000. My final calculation for my trip to Bali and Singapore was £2783.
One of the most surprising things for me was that I had time to myself. As we were able to book separate rooms I always had a space of my own to escape to. We tended to spend the days together, but after our evening meal we had separate places to go. The boys liked the freedom of being away from me and left to watch YouTube videos long into the night. I enjoyed that time alone in my room to read, relax, write and to get a much better night’s sleep.
Two years after this trip, I travelled with my sons to Malaysia, which is full of similar memories. We intended to go away again this year, but the pandemic put a stop to that. They are now 20 and 18 year old adults but I think they will still travel with me if I go to an exotic location. Maybe next year? Watch this space.
