Bali Perspective

Yes it is beautiful. And no I did not get "Bali Belly" What I got was sun every day, blue water poolside and beachfront

Offerings everywhere, often consumed by the local street dogs and cats. (I stepped on one by mistake - any idea if this brings me bad fortune?)

Beautiful scenery including Batur volcano, last active in 1972

Batur Hot Springs

Rice terraces on the approach to Ubud, the "pray" of "Eat, Pray, Love". Most yoga centric place (or yoga-tastic according to my friend Alison) I have ever visited.

and this very modern incredibly beautiful hotel, the Karma Kandara is perfect for cocktails at sunset.

Consistently good food, including fresh seafood, once with our toes in the sand, waves in front and Balinese dancers behind
Jimbaran Bay Seafood Restaurants

Funny combinations,
including this
Italian/Indonesian restaurant

When the exchange rate is 1 Euro to 15, 500 Rupiah
do not be qlremed when you see the bill!

and also, our local hangout for the week, a Greek/Indonesian bar/restaurant called Panterei with great appetizers and drinks.


Amazing cocktails, the best of all at Karma Kandara called Vanilla Passion, with vanilla vodka, passion fruit juice, caramel and fresh vanilla beans. The passion fruit kept it from being too sweet.

Two beautiful beach clubs:

Ku De Ta a rather swanky joint with a view of the surf for cocktails and a poolside table for dinner

 Potato Head, a cool place,
 perfect for pool or beach 
during the day and drinks 
and dinner at night

Ancient temples, including Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th-century priest Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.^[3]

This little blog would not be complete without mentioning the journey there of 21 hours, or back of 22 hours, stopping at Singapore and Doha. My friend usually has access to the various airport lounges, but my very economy ticket prevented my entry. In her words "I have never been kicked out of so many places in one day!" Oh well, it allowed us to stretch our legs between very long flights.

What do I know today that I didn't know before?
I was in desperate need of a break full of sunshine, water and sand to get some perspective on life.
Bali gave me that and more.
I have never met so may people who smile with their eyes so often.
If you sit still long enough in Bali, someone will apologize for doing something nice.
If you sit still too long, well you will get run over by a motorcycle.