Bali
I first went to Bali in Indonesia with Lu, in 1992. Bali is very green and tropical, and full of artworks and religious statues - many of which they drape with cloths and provide offererings every day. We drove to the town of Ubud in central Bali, where there is a twice-weekly farmers market, and a monkey forest. You can buy nuts for the monkeys, but they are not polite and will not leave you alone until they have grabbed the whole bag!
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Near Ubud we went for lunch to a restaurant in the country called The Dirty Duck. The waitress spilled a full tray of drinks, all over me. The manageress came over gracefully and said, "So sorry, in training!"
We stayed at a hotel near the beach, but we had heard of a hotel called Amandari, in Ubud. So we drove again to Ubud, and after some detective work, found Amandari overlooking a river gorge outside of town. The hotel is built around a rice paddy, and each room is like a little Balinese house. Nowadays there are other hotels like that, but this was a first. We liked it so much, we drove back to our hotel, packed up and moved to Amandari. Lu had a room with ducks and a cow in the back garden! I have been back to Bali with Sidney twice since then.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
- While in Bali, you have to dress appropriately in Indonesian dress to visit a temple!
- Te best way to get to Bali is to go to Hong Kong or Singapore, and fly direct on Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines.