Ocean Blue Hotel Nusa Dua

... men.<br><br>Oh, and right, the spa. So, John's not a huge fan of massages. They feel nice enough, but it always seemed a little weird to have someone kneading your backfat. Laura loves it though, which is why he wound up in Ubud in a river-side spa getting yogurt smeared all over him by a little Indonesian guy. On the plus side, he wound up smelling like a healthy breakfast for the rest of the day.<br>

... much smaller scale. We checked out a few of the local watering holes and found them to be filled with, not only backpackers a plenty (even at 12.30 in the afternoon) but also a lot of amazing artwork, something which I didn't even know that Bali had. By this point in the day the sun was scorching so we went back to the hotel for a dip in our pool and to get to know some of the neighbours. We ended up chatting to a large group of guys and gals from pretty much all over the ...

... guns everywhere. It then dawned on us that Bali was the location of the 2002 and 2005 bomb attacks by Muslim fundamentalists. On the beach, we were interviewed by some schoolkids who were learning English, just as we had been in Thailand. The teacher inside of me quickly came out and I was correcting the way they asked their questions, showing them how to write the questions and answers correctly in English and practicing with the young boys. After a great ...

... truly goes out to all those affected by the attacks in Mumbai last night/this morning. As I watched the BBC coverage over pineapple pancakes this morning I was overcome with sadness and goosebumps. India remains one of my very favourite places in the world and I am truly saddened to hear that something that terrible happened there. It seems very surreal and my thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy. Till next time, Shaunta

... was a tropical party atmosphere - lots of street dancing, offerings to the gods and gambling, which is apparently what they do in the afternoon - very traditional! Then down to the bukit peninsula where some of he best waves are to be had - missed the rip curl search posse by a day or 2, but no great shakes as there are some absolutely ripping locals surfing on tea trays and hub caps who love nothing better than to laugh manically, snake in front of you and then perform repeated 360 ...

Dr. Sanjni Thadhani of The Thandhani Foundation who was born in India and now lives in New York and was a delegate to the Asian Pacific Microcredit Summit had arranged for a car and driver and was kind enough to invite Dr. Kulkarni and I to go along with her on an all day tour of Bali. We ...

... of flowers, incense and rice) which they place in doorways, on statues, even on the pavement - you have to watch your step when you walk around and make sure you don't tread on any! They offer gifts to bad spirits to keep them away by putting offerings on the ground, any offerings placed up high are gifts for the good spirits. It was amazing to see this as part of their everyday lives. The next morning we got up early and headed to Bumi Bali, a local restaurant where we ...

... over to her shop and sat right down, she came out and after I mimed/described my ailment she set her assistants to task. One came over and ground some fresh turmeric on a palm leaf at our table, and combined it with some brown powder, a wedge of lime and some hot water and slid it over for me to drink. Another took a crazy-hot lime (they are really little here, like the size of a walnut) and rolled/massaged all over the side of my ...

... and bustle of the main road that runs through Nusa Dua. Breakfast at Ellie's is pretty good, and their fruit drinks are a must have. Rooms are a bit on the small side, but at this price point you can't really complain. TV is tiny, maybe 13 inches, with a DVD player. No phones in the rooms, but the bathrooms are decent. Great view on the top floor of the building overlooking the bay.

... hours. Ben's days are however numbered as being a cock he has the unfortunate habit of cock-a-doodle-do-ing at ungodly hours, given his perch is immediately outside Kish's bedroom window this leads to frequent pillows/slaps round the head... Once the arrival of chicks is assured Ben is to be banished to the maid's village to the north. Given his mollycoddled existence he will probably get duffed up by the local cocks upon arrival. Newsflash: Kish is now the proud father of ...