Bali – you gotta love it!

The plan was this. Upon arrival in Bali, some guy called Made (pronounced ‘Maa day’ - Balinese name for son number two) was going to pick us up from the airport and take us to his gloriously cheap bungalow in Ubud (food lover’s haven, 20km north of Kuta). Now, we’d communicated with Made by phone a week earlier and had a few giggles over the confusing conversation that had taken place. By the end of the call, we weren’t entirely sure that what we’d asked for was what we’d get, but we went with the flow and trusted that Made would come through for us. As it turned out, we were left high and dry at Denpasar airport (10pm Sunday night) with no Made and no accommodation. Never fair! This was simply a gentle reminder that things don’t always go to plan… especially in Asia!

We ended up grabbing a room for one night in Kuta without any hassle and we are now happily buzzing around Ubud on our wee scooter, eating up a storm! I even managed to drop by Warung Ibu Oka’s (Balinese food stall) on day one and have my all time favourite meal, Babi Guling – Balinese style roast suckling pig, basted with honey goodness and cooked so slowly that the meat melts in your mouth. Served with a delicious green bean chilli concoction and the most heavenly crackling.




We're staying at Kajeng Bungalows, surrounded by lush greenery and right next to the river. How could anyone resist this jungle setting, complete with very romantic room - including Strawberry Shortcake bed linen!

I’m still finding it hard to believe that this is where we are and what we’re doing. Un-winding is the emphasis. After all, it takes a while to really get into the swing of things. We’ll stay here for the next week and then maybe head off to the coast to dive!