Bali bound

For the second time in just over a year, I will spend a week in Bali for a magazine. It was supposed to be Lombok but then the devastating quakes happened last month and, not surprisingly, that media trip was pulled.

But am looking forward to returning to Bali tomorrow - just hope the quakes there this week have also abated. Wish me luck!

Today's visual is of one of the gorgy resorts I will be staying at - Alila Villa Uluwatu. Be still, my beating heart.

    

Find your bliss

Back in September, I flew to Bali to visit five luxury resorts. In six days. It was a whirlwind of five-star resorts, in the shadow of Mt Agung which threatened to blow at any minute (thankfully it didn't while I was there).

I would have loved to have stayed longer at all these resorts but even one or two nights was enough for a taste of how the other half live. Here's my story in the January issue of Kia Ora Magazine, Air NZ's inflight magazine (click here to read).

Bali Hai

The last time I went to Bali, it was at the rump end of a three-month backpacking journey. We were enroute from London, our home for five years, back to New Zealand.

By the time we reached this idyllic cluster of islands, we were tired, hot, grumpy and wearing clothes that hadn't seen the inside of a washing machine for weeks.

And although we fell in love with the peaceful people and the countryside, with its tangled jungle and lush green paddy fields, we have never been in a hurry to go back.

Tomorrow that changes when I fly to the Indonesian island for a media trip. While last time we stayed in the cheapest accommodation possible, trying to make our money last until we got home, this time around I'll be checking out five luxury resorts for a magazine story. Oh how times have changed.

See you on the other side...

  
(Pic credit: Jakarta Post)

Hello Indonesia

Today I will brave the rain to walk down to the Wonderful Indonesia Forum.There will be other travel journos and tour operators and travel agents and hopefully a yummy lunch.

And maybe the chance to visit Indonesia, where I haven't been for a very long time.