Beautiful Bali

I don't know about you, but Bali is one of those places that I wish I had visited years ago - the first time I heard about it. In my case, it was when I was about 17, and I met an Australian bloke called Kerry, who I thought was incredibly cool (or I would have thought that if the word "cool" had been in my vocabulary at the time). Bear in mind, I met him in Motherwell in the early 70s, so it probably didn't take much too look cool in those circumstances, but he did have long, blond, surfer-dude hair and a beard. Kerry was the son of a friend of a friend of my parents, who was backpacking around the world, and had started his travels in Bali. The way he described it made it sound so laid back and hippy, yet glamorous at the same time, that I wanted to pack my bag there and then and set off.

The reason for this trip down memory lane is that we have just returned from a trip to Bali, and I was wondering what it would have been like all those years ago. It's a busy place nowadays, especially the stretch by Kuta beach, which is probably where Kerry would have stayed all those years ago. We had a lovely villa in Seminyak, near to Kuta, but much less busy, and close to some fantastic restaurants. I can particularly recommend Ku De Ta, mainly for the most amazing beachfront location, although the food was good too (good, rather than great).

One of the best meals we had was the mutant lobster we ate on Jimbaran beach. I say mutant because while it clearly was a lobster, it was the meatiest (if a shellfish can be said to be meaty) lobster I have ever encountered. We chose it ourselves, and on the outside it looked like a normal lobster, but there was something of the Tardis about this beastie, and it just kept on giving. It was barbecued over coconut husks and served very simply, but will remain in my memory, and has probably spoiled me for all other lobsters from now on.

Our villa was set inside a small, but perfectly formed, courtyard garden, with its own swimming pool. It was like living inside one of the exhibits at the Chelsea Flower Show, but without the cast of thousands of visitors obviously. I am always amazed at and humbled by what people with imagination and creative flair can do with a small space; this garden was full of lovely touches - a statue of Buddha set into a little alcove in the wall, the swimming pool tiled with stone so that it looked like a pond at one with the garden, clever use of concealed lighting, and no fewer than 3 fountains. It was particularly beautiful in the evening, with the lights shining in and on the water.

It would have been very tempting to stay put, but there is lots to see apart from the sea, so we hired a car and a driver a couple of times and set off armed with our Rough Guide. One of the things that Western visitors to Bali really notice is how inexpensive most things seem, especially after the traditional bargaining dance has been performed. We had some hilarious moments, especially with young kids, who develop a strong commercial instinct early on. I am now the proud possessor of several fans and bunches of brightly coloured fish-topped pencils, which I am sure will come in handy one day. The children are sometimes in pairs, and so it's really hard to buy from one and not the other, at least it was for me. Our guide was great; he told us what the "local" price was, and then looked on as we bargained down to a mere 2 or 3 times that figure.

Bali has some spectacular scenery - lush greenery, dormant volcanoes, spectacular waterfalls and terraced paddy fields of the most vivid emerald green - as well as beautiful stretches of beach. It was pretty busy when we were there, but it has taken a long time to recover from the effects of the terrorist bombing in 2002, which put many people out of business, as well as claiming, and ruining, hundreds of lives. What a terrible, pointless waste. The Balinese have a great spirit, though, and they are proud of their beautiful island. We will visit again, I am sure, and probably weave some more tales from this trip into future posts, so keep reading.