Arrived after a 3 hour flight delay from Melbourne. We were hot, tired and needing revival. Our villa was beautiful and tranquil, just the ticket to wind down ….and let the holiday commence.

We wandered up to the local beach for dinner on the first night….World class hotels line the beach, and what a beach it is – wide and sandy.

The Breeze restaurant at the lovely Samaya resort, has a beach and ocean vista. Go before sunset around 5 pm, sit back with a cocktail, wine or beer and enjoy the splendid view. The light breeze off the water, cools you after a humid and hot afternoon. The menu is varied and a delight to sample, international with some Asian influence. At night, fluorescent helicopters sail into the sky at night and distant fireworks explode, marking a wedding celebration.

While you can find a few laneways to walk down sans traffic to get to Seminyak Square and retail therapy options, you inevitably need to wander along some concrete building, polluted, traffic chaotic streets, without footpaths….great to be able to slip away for an asian fusion lunch @ Mamasan, sampling a delicious array of tempting spicy delights and wonderful martinis (vanilla/passionfruit; vanilla!).        Followed by a relaxing mani/pedi!

We planned a cultural day in the beautiful Ubud – firstly Semar Kuning Artist Cooperative to sample a wide range of paintings from local artists, both unknown and famous, in a variety of styles from traditional to contemporary. I loved the colour vibrancy of a painting of frangipani and bought it for $1m rupiah! ($100)

 

Next to the Puri Lukisan Museum, originally founded in 1936 to preserve and develop Balinese art, by Tjokorda Sukawati, the King of Ubud, and his brother along with two western artists working in Bali at the time: Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet. It is now the oldest art museum in Bali, specialising in modern traditional Balinese paintings and wood carvings, spanning from 1930 to the present. The collection includes important examples of all of the artistic styles in Bali including the Sanur, Batuan, Ubud, Young Artist and Keliki schools. Beautifully situated in resplendent gardens. Followed by a sumptuous lunch at Bridges Bali.

Anika Guest House in Kuta offered a Balinese cooking class – just the relaxing but different activity a few of us from the villa needed! Bonus… we got to eat the lunch we had prepared! So well organised, we really enjoyed the experience and now a have a cookbook with recipes from the occasion – beef satay; grilled fish in banana leaves; chicken curry; spinach with tomato sambal; nasi goreng; carrot and cucumber salad; sambal matah….YUMMY!