My rude arrival in this city started, from sleep coma 0 to 60 in 1.2 seconds at 5am. Thrown out of the bus as the sole departee, my bag dumped somewhere behind me, I was swarmed by a mob of baying taxi drivers I attemped to negotiate while struggling to make my eyes open properly. The sun was just rising as we sped into the city centre, me perched precariously on the back of a moped. Two hours and countless hostels later, I found one with a room. It had been a ve...

Imagine a tiny island, flanked by sandy beaches and clear blue water teeming with fish and coral. Imagine a thatched hut with an outside shower and pet cockroaches scuttling over the walls, with gekkos calling in the background. This paradise, perhaps except sharing my room with certain invertebrates, is where I spent a week of heavenly sun-drenched relaxation. The mewling kittens who lived next door have never been so spoilt as my new Austrian friends and I fed ...

Home of the Monkey Forest, with real live creepy macaques that bear their teeth and steal the clothes off your back, numerous fancy clothes shops and cafes and the hustle bustle of tourists and local alike, Ubud at first glance appears to be a tourist honey pot. And it is. But amid this Bali for the cultured, I had the most profound spiritual, and indeed human, experience. I happened to be there for one of their three major religious festival, and the family owne...