21 June - Seminyak, Kuta, Bali

Our last full day here in Bali, tomorrow evening we fly home. Once again, though the sky was cloudy we had another balmy day. After experiencing the second of our complementary massages at the hotel spa we decided to return to Kuta to visit the Beachwalk Shopping Plaza which is considered to be the best shopping centre in Bali. This is certainly true if you're looking for all the classic brand names such as H&M. We were delighted to find a Johnny Rockets restaurant. I have fond memories of JR from the brief time in the early '90's when Melbourne featured a couple of restaurants but they disappeared many years ago. So we had a mid afternoon lunch/dinner at the Bali version of Johnny Rockets.

Found this young boy feeding the gold fish in one of the many ornamental ponds at Beachwalk. He could literally put his hand in the water and lift a fish out. There is even a Lego shop and saw this sight outside.

Walking around shops is pretty tiring and after an ice coffee in one of the cafes we were ready to go back to the hotel. Seminyak is a bit too far for a horse and buggy so we hailed a cab and battled our

way back through the evening traffic. After our Johnny Rockets experience we were too full to have dinner so we cleaned up the last of our gin and tonics and Baileys before settling in for our last night. Tomorrow we check out by noon, but won't leave to go to the airport till about 7pm for an 11:15 flight home.

20 June - Kuta and Seminyak, Bali

We woke to rain this morning but our experience has taught us that after a couple of hours the sun breaks through and the weather is fine for the rest of the day. We decided to return to Kuta for some more shopping today and after a 40 minute taxi ride we were in the middle of what must be one of the busiest places on earth. Left the girls to explore the shops for themselves  and John and I took to some of the back streets to deal with the more entrepreneurial types who would like to flog you anything from full body massages ($8) to new release DVD's (7 for $5). After an hour of this we retired to a shady bar for Bintangs and to watch and photograph the passers by.

After a while the girls joined us for a light lunch and as usual I opted for chicken satays which are superb here.

It was very pleasant sitting in a shady bar, enjoying food and drink and watching the world go by. A bit more shopping after lunch and then a taxi back to Seminyak. 

One of the sights that amazes me here in Bali is the sheer number of scooters on the road. There are literally thousands of them transporting anything from individuals, to couples. to whole families (Mum and Dad and three kids) in what seems like total chaos, but what is actually a very orderly traffic system which seems to only have on rule, don't run into anyone else!

We arrived back at Alila at around 4 for a bit of a snooze before meeting for pre-dinner drinks and then dinner at what is quickly becoming our favourite restaurant in Seminyak which is Tiigo.

Our holiday is quickly coming to a close. Tomorrow we plan to do a bit of sight seeing and shopping in Legian, and then on Thursday we fly home.

19 June - Taman Ayun and Tanah Lot, Balid

Woke this morning to the sound of pouring rain, which continued till well after breakfast. We had booked a car and driver for this afternoon and we were just considering postponing our outing when the sun broke through and a brilliant day emerged. At two o'clock our car and driver arrived to takes us to two sites which interested us. The first was Taman Ayun which is the family temple of the last royal family of Bali. This historic site set in beautiful gardens is an absolutely magnificent example of Hindu religious architecture and we really enjoyed our 45 minute visit here.

After that is was back in the car and a drive through the Bali countryside and rice paddies to the Temple of Tanah Lot. Located on Bali's west coast this is probably one of the island's most spectacular sites. Once again it consists of a number of Hindu temples and shrines which date back to antiquity and are located on rocky outcrops off shore. At low tide they are accessible by foot but the most spectacular view is actually from on-shore.

This site draws an incredible number of visitors late in the afternoon because if you're lucky enough to witness the sun setting behind the temples it is an awesome sight.

We arrived at about 5 pm, just in time to have a good look around before choosing a good photo location for the sunset. I managed to find a good spot and waited for 30 minutes to take lots of photos of the setting sun. 

What a great afternoon driving through Bali's countryside and ending in a magnificent sunset over the temple of Tanah Lot. From here it was another hour's drive back to our hotel. At this stage we were too tired to think about going out for dinner and we had gin and tonics and room service club sandwiches to finish the day.

18 June - Another perfect day in Bali

Short entry today basically we did almost nothing. Spent most of the day laying around snoozing and reading and a little bit of swimming in the pool. I'm always looking forward to see what the sunsets will bring but there was a lot of cloud around tonight so I had to be satisfied with this.

It was still a wonderful evening though because the pool/beach bar had live entertainment going on which was very good.

What a setting - a beautiful balmy evening, the sun going down and live chill music - the perfect holiday atmosphere and there were plenty of guests to enjoy it. After our evening drinks in our room we wandered into town and had dinner at a restaurant called Tiigo which we had visited once before. Great meals and the end to a nice evening. Tomorrow we are going out on a tour.

17 June - Seminyak, Bali

Woke to another great morning here in Seminyak. First thing in the morning we usually have huge waves breaking on the beach. As we open the front door of our hotel we look out on one of many pools here at All and beyond that the beach. After our usual breakfast we spent some time deciding on day trips we may want to do and ended up booking a car for Monday afternoon to take us to a couple of places we want to visit. Most trips in Bali take a lot of time because of the the traffic congestion and we really didn't want to spend more than a half day sitting in traffic jams. This afternoon we had the hotel shuttle drive us to Seminyak Village Shopping Centre for a bit of window shopping.

On of the shops here is a Fish Foot Spa. The idea here is that you place your feet in a tank full of tiny fish which then nibble away at your feet and remove all the dead skin.

Didn't fancy it myself but lots of other people seem to enjoy it. We also decided to walk to a local flea market selling the usual tourist stuff, and unlike the markets in Kuta the people here are quite content to let you have a quiet look without the hard sell experienced elsewhere.

This evening we had another brilliant sunset and it seems to bring everyone out on to the beach and the beach bars to watch the sun go down and enjoy a quiet drink and tonight was no exception.

Then at 7pm we were booked in for a 6 course complementary dinner which was really special. We had an outside table, it was nice and warm with a gentle breeze, and the food was terrific. All this was accompanied by the sound of surf pounding away just a short distance from our table. A wonderful evening.

16 June - Seminyak and Kuta, Bali

Another glorious day in Bali. After another leisurely breakfast on the beach we decided to spend the day in Kuta, which is the tourist hub of Bali. Although it is not far in distance the taxi ride took about 45 minutes because of the traffic. I can't imagine that when we first visited Bali in the early 1970's Rosa and I hired a motorbike for transport - there is no way I would venture into this traffic in or on any vehicle.

In Kuta we visited the Bali Gardens Hotel which is a beautiful hotel set in traditional Balinese gardens right on Kuta Beach - John and Sandra stayed here 25 years ago. Then it was time to visit the Discovery Centre a modern air conditioned shopping centre in the middle of Kuta. It was actually quite hot today and before too long it was time to find a bar in the shade and drinks. After a final visit to the Mata Hari shopping centre it was time to get a taxi ride back to Seminyak.

The trip back took a bit less time and it was great to get back to our air conditioned hotel rooms at the Alila Resort to relax and to have a duty free Pernod and coke. Tonight's sunset was worth watching and lots of people were doing just that in the pool bar right on the beach. It really was a wonderful sight.

15 June - Seminyak, Bali

Woke to another pleasant day, and breakfast by the beach. Today we were booked in for one of our complementary Spa treatments and at 11:00 we reported to the hotel's Spa facility. From the services available we had all chosen massages and what a treat that was. Relaxing on a comfortable couch in a softly lit room with 'mood' music playing we were all treated to a 1 hour foot and leg, and arm and shoulder massage delivered by beautiful Balinese girls. Who could have guessed that such delicate young women would have such strong hands. Unfortunately the hour passed all too quickly but we are booked in for the same again the day before we fly home. In the early afternoon we walked into Seminyak to change some of our Aussie dollars into Indonesian rupiah. A$100 gives you approximately a million IR. Took the opportunity while walking around to take some photos of the local like and buildings.

The streets are very narrow here and quite busy and the most common form of transport is the motor scooter. These can transport whole families, Mum, Dad and two kids in some cases. Initially the traffic looks quite chaotic but after a while you realise that it is actually very orderly. Everyone seems to treat everyone else on the road with respect and when as foreigners we want to cross a busy street someone will quickly stop the traffic and direct us across.

There are lots of Aussies here of course, but lots of people from all around the world.

The local people here are very friendly and so far we have encountered nothing but friendly smiles and hellos, with very little of the hard selling we've encountered in lots of other places.

The architecture is a real mixture, with luxury resorts and shops sitting alongside traditional homes, modern apartment buildings and local markets - lots to see and do.

The Balinese are predominantly Hindu, unlike the rest of Indonesia which is almost totally Muslim. Everywhere you look there are little Hindu shrines and statues.

This evening we had dinner in a place called Mrs Sippy, which is a beach club located next door to our hotel. It has a large swimming pool and all day long people lounge by the pool, drinking and eating with a DJ supplying non-stop music. We opted for wood fired pizza's and Bintangs.

14 June - 73d Birthday in Seminyak, Bali

Woke this morning to find lots of emails and SMS containing birthday wishes. Yes another year has unbelievably rolled around and thanks everybody for the best wishes. Had a couple of nice surprises this morning - as we were leaving the restaurant after breakfast one of the staff came up to me and said "Happy Birthday Mr. Theo" and when we got to the room, there was a little birthday cake waiting for me.

Very nice touch, they must have got my date of birth from the passport. We decided today to relax by the pool and it was fantastic.

Relaxing is very tiring and we spent a couple of hours this afternoon taking naps. 

Late in the afternoon I managed to get a couple of photos as the sun was setting. It's a great sight to see all the people taking advantage of the lovely evening for a walk on the beach.

Then it was time for gin and tonics after which we walked into Seminyak and found a nice restaurant to have dinner and some more drinks - a lovely relaxing day. We walked home in the balmy evening for coffee at John and Sandra's place. Not a bad way to spend my 73d birthday!

13 June - Seminyak - Bali - Indonesia

After an overnight stay in Melbourne, we arrived at Tullamarine airport at 6:30 this morning to a spectacular sunrise. Our 09:00 Garuda flight to Bali boarded right on schedule and we had a very pleasant 6 hour flight to Denpassar.

On arrival we greeted by dozens of drivers from all the hotels looking to take all the passengers to various hotels and eventually we found our ride to the Alila Resort, our home for the next 10 days. We soon found ourselves in some of the most congested traffic we've ever encountered. I'm sure our hotel is only 20km from the airport but it took the best part of an hour to get there. Once we got to the resort we found that there was a discrepancy related to our bookings but we got that sorted out and we are now comfortably settled into the nicest rooms we've ever been in.

The Alila Resort is located right on the beach in Seminyak which is North of Kuta. We are right on the beach and have access to several magnificent swimming pools. 

We woke this morning to a rainy but nice and warm day. After a magnificent breakfast we decided to take the complementary shuttle into the Seminyak Village shopping centre, where we spent a few hours bargain hunting and trying to avoid the rain. Fortunately the rain stopped just after noon and we spent the afternoon enjoying a few drinks on our balcony. The temperature never seems to vary, day or night, and tee shirts, shorts and thongs is the standard dress everywhere - very relaxed and just what we need.