We stayed at the Aston Bali Hotel in Benoa, It has marble tiles and walls throughout the public areas and all rooms look over the ocean or the gardens. What luxury, buffet breakfast every morning from 6.30 to 10.30. I would often be there at 6am and the coffee was ready. I would sit a while writing before I got stuck in. There was always fresh fruit, two kinds of juice, my favourite was banana. (Who would have thought that bananas would make a drink? ) plus the usual western selection of cereals. I thought it funny to see a bowl of coco pops along with cornflakes and other western breakfast cereals. Every day we had the choice of bacon, boiled eggs, omelets, hash browns, several rice dishes, noodles, vegetables,. toasts etc. etc. We always sat outside and enjoyed the warmth of the morning, knowing it would get a lot hotter.

All our other meals were eaten in local restaurants, where I discovered many things I liked. Satay, small pieces of meat on a skewer brought to the table on a ceramic dish with the hot charcoal in the bottom and with peanut sauce, gadi gadi, local veg. with rice and sauce, egg rolls, 3 for 4,000 rupia, (7,000 in a dollar Canadian) Prices varied from restaurant to restaurant. I tried lots of fruit that I had never heard of before. I would buy it in local markets. Durient comes to mind. As the strangest one. It is shaped like an egg, about 10' long and 6 - 8 ' across when you cut it open. Way bigger than any fruit that shows up in our fruit bowl. I will send a photo by email. You spoon it out and it has a light taste, not sweet at all and the consistency of brie cheese.

The Balinese people are very open and friendly. Big smiles and waves any time of day. Many of them get around on scooters and small motor bikes. It is quite hair raising to see a dad driving, one of his children in front of him, hands on the handle bars, mum behind with a young one between her and dad There is a lot of traffic but I did not see an accident and we went many miles on tours and with a local man. The roads are narrow and it was amazing to see large coaches overtaking bikes, pedestrians and scooters as if it was one way traffic. Very skilled drivers.

Many people speak English and that was a great help, as neither of us speak Balinese or Indonesian. We were the first customers of a waiter and ended up going out with him and his friend for the day. His name is Kadek and we went to his village, nearly a 3 hour drive and met his parents and small son. The family lived in a traditional house, they had power but no running water. His mother works in the rice fields, but his dad has not worked for a while due to a knee injury. They do not have medical, or insurance as we do. He was married by accident, a phrase used all the time, meaning shotgun wedding and his wife left him, so his parents bring up the child. He left his village to get a job to contribute to the family income. He visits at least once a month and is very grateful to his parents. They speak no English, but made us feel welcome..

We went up into the mountains and saw monkeys that are so tame they come down from the trees when vehicles pull in. Fruit grows al through the forest, bananas, jack fruits, durien, snakes skin and others. Farmers grow rice and coffee on a grand scale, also spices, vanilla and cloves, to name the ones I remember. We visited temples, farms, stone and wood carvers, a waterfall, dances, the beach, parks and markets. Not all in the same day. Kadek wants to be a guide and it was his first time with tourists. We do have his email address and will keep in touch.

The monsoon season starts in November, but we only saw rain on our last two days. It runs down the streets and families wash in the streams and drainage channels. It is an ancient system of irrigation used by all the villagers. In the towns the rubbish gets swept out of the ditches and the streets cleaned.

There is no Christmas in Bali as 95% of the population is Hindu.