The Sylvan Dutch Landscape: A Lovely Childhood Memory
We stayed up later than we had expected last night, sharing a nightcap and talking with our hosts Stephane and Michael, so we all sleep in a bit. After breakfast, we have time only to walk into town and turn back around before we...
Bali: Exploring the Island’s Luxury Side
A followsummer collaborative article Taking a trip to Indonesia wouldn’t be complete without heading to the breathtaking island of Bali. The crystal clear waters of the Bali Sea teamed with the mountainous ranges all at...
Revealing Your Inner Self: 5 Destinations That Will Change Your Life
Going on a vacation is no longer just about sightseeing and taking a bunch of photos – now it’s more a matter of learning, experiencing, and after a long day of hiking and discovery, uncovering more about your...
An Athenian Sunday Wander on The Acropolis
Sunday in Athens. Today is the day, it seems when all Athenians take to the street to shop, walk, chat, gossip or sit in a café and drink coffee. Everyone is out doing something. We sleep in a little after our late night...
An Entire Year of Following Summer.
A day of travel and time for contemplation. The beginning of a year of living in the moment, following an intense period of planning, when it often seemed that we spent all our time living in the future as we laid the groundwork...
Up the Balinese Mountainside to Ubud
The street today is full of people – dramatically different to anything we’ve seen since we arrived. Nyepi is definitely over. We walk along and find an internet café to do web and email. We know what happens...
As Usual, Billy Crystal Saved the Oscars.
Everyone keeps talking about fall and indeed the temperature has dropped a few degrees. The high today is only 23 degrees and going down to a low of 15 tonight. The shops have all their fall and winter clothes out on display and...
Walking Balmain and Birchgrove in Sydney, Australia
Another beautiful day – although most days you don’t know that it will be a beautiful day until mid-morning because you wake to a dark sky. By 10, the clouds have disappeared, and the weather is perfect....
Checking Into Our Balinese Oasis
Getting to Denpasar was very easy. A cheap cab ride to the airport, easy check in (thanks to Raffles Class on Singapore Airlines), some quick duty-free shopping for Absolut and Clinique and we’re away. I haven’t even...
Pulling Open Our Balinese Doors and Stepping Out.
Heat and humidity greet us this morning as we pull open our wooden Balinese doors and step out. We head up to the main pavilion for breakfast and see staff preparing for the start of the Balinese holiday. Small hand woven reed...
The Day of Silence – Happy Nyepi!
We were warned via email from Steve (a friend of Eric’s, who recommended the hotel that we are staying at) who lives in Jakarta, that we would be here for Nyepi. So we sort of knew what we were in for. But we don’t...
The Day After Nyepi: A Time for Family
The hotel is deserted this morning – everyone is out early after the enforced stay-at-home of the day before. We are also of a mind to get out and do more exploring and head out as soon as we finish breakfast. Although...
A Day of Dance in Ubud, Indonesia
We awake to a simple but beautifully presented breakfast of fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange and papaya juice and eggs, toast and banana pancakes. We eat alfresco, with views of the morning rice field stretching out in front...
Over Morning Breakfast:
Over morning breakfast: The hotel is building two new bungalows next door to us and the buildings are erected but the finishing and terracing are all to be done. This is not a typical construction site with jack-hammers or...
Managing a Difficult Balinese Macaques Relationship
Ubud has a monkey (specifically Balinese Macaques) forest. We had gotten different opinions on whether it was worth a visit. Eric, in Sydney, was of the view that there were no point: “dirty, nasty, vile creatures”;...
Today Begins with Dinner Last Night
Today starts early – it starts at dinner last night, to be precise. The mise-en-scene: We returned yesterday to Seminyak, to the hotel we stayed in last weekend when we arrived in Bali. Our hotel is just off Jalan Dhyana...
Wreck Dive on the USS Liberty: Tulamben, Bali
We are picked up at 7:00 this morning at our hotel by Sophie, a charming young Frenchwoman, who owns a dive shop, just up the street call Skubaskool. We are off to Tulamben, on the northeast coast, to dive. But more importantly,...
Swimming with Sharks in Padang Bai, Bali
This will be remembered as one of the best dives we have had so far and one of those special, easy-going days that make Bali what it is. We are up again at the crack of dawn to be picked up at 7:00 am by the dive bus. It is a...
#BloggersLife: Dealing with Slow Internet in Bali, Indonesia
A day for sleeping in! Hooray! We have a late start, and a wonderful breakfast compared to the rolls we’ve been grabbing as we head out for the long drives to dive sites. We spend most of the morning choosing pictures...
Our Last Day in Bali: Mixed Emotions
Our last day in Bali is one of mixed emotion. We are sorry to be leaving but also happy to move on. The last 24 hours have been clouded with bad “taksi” rides and average restaurant service (see John’s...