Oh dear. Uluwatu is a temple at the southern end of Bali, famous for three things: an idyllic temple built on a rock outcrop surrounded by sheer cliffs on all sides, a regular showing of a traditional dance called Kacek, and a large colony of monkeys. The more alert reader may have wondered why I started with an 'oh dear'. Now, obviously, I've not plunged down cliffs to my death, nor was I trampled on in the traditional dance. So it is fair to assume I go...

Surfing, day iii. Well today I improved more than any other, but for a thoroughly weird reason. I had a completely different instructor, Anthony, who spoke with a strong American accent. He was quiet a bs composed compared to his predecessors, Agun (call me Gun) and Jonathan (Jo-Jo). His gentle solidity and patience worked like a charm, so 8 complimented him on it as we left the water. His reply? He laughed and then looked serious. "Don't tell anyone. I'm a ...

Last night and today I completely indulged myself, and hired a driver. I had been struggling to get on some obvious tours; a single guy is not the tour operators' idea of a good punter, so they charge 50 to 100% extra (!). So when I discovered there's a well developed circuit of ex-tour drivers available to respond to every whim for about 50% above the cost of a tour, it seemed an (expensive) no-brainer. What delight. Remind me to become personally wealthy; h...

Many things to cover today, which has been incredible, so I'll just pick out a highlight. Anyone who has seen the film, The Bucket List" will have heard of the world's most exclusive coffee, Kopi Luwak, or Luwak Coffee. It is produced by allowing a massive rodent, the Luwak or Paradoxurus, to eat the coffee beans from the trees, waiting for them to digest them, and then harvesting the poo. The poo is washes off, and the shell removed, before the usual roastin...

No blog on Bali would be complete without a comment on driving here. 7 years ago the Indonesian finance minister and the minister for transport tried to encourage travel on foot. They announced two innovative reforms for road users. Penal taxes for avoiding games of chicken and subsidies for stopping without reason or warning. Might be true, probably not. The point is that you can't tell. Being here has drawn out an unspoken but interesting comparison betw...