We left Tasmania on Tuesday & flew to Brisbane where some of the family including my sister - happily much better - met us at the hotel, where we were staying overnight, for a farewell dinner.
We left Brisbane at the crack of early and flew to Bali via Singapore. A very long day. We arrived in Bali in tropical stifling heat in the dark and were whisked through the streets crowded with cars and countless small motorbikes to The Alam Kulkul boutique Hotel - our home for the next week. This turned out to be a charming place with linked suites set amongst walkways fringed with tropical plants & trees. We have a fab room with separate dressing room & bathroom with sunken bath off.
We showered & dropped into bed under the mosquito nets & slept until dawn, around 5am! (Damn this New Zealand time we seem to have trouble shaking off).
After a leisurely breakfast we finished exploring our immediate vicinity and then went for a walk along the beach which is just across the street from our hotel. It was so nice walking in the sea at paddling depth, like a warm bath, aaahh, watching surfers and feeling the warm wind on our skin. We thought of all our family & friends in the northern hemisphere gritting their teeth against the cold of approaching winter & laughed!!
We spent the afternoon in & around the hotel pool generally having a lazy time and deciding what to do the rest of our seven days here.