Bali

Ahhh...what luxury it is to wake up to breakfast served in your own private pavilion  beside the swimming pool, and not to meet a neighbour throughout the stay. I can get used to villa living.

All memorable moments seem centred around meal times. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the volcano, and I innocently asked our driver 'so can we walk to the volcano after lunch'. er, the answer is no, of course. Volcanos are only to be enjoyed at a respectful distance.

Then, there was a seafood dinner on the beach, where fireworks were going off before our eyes. We had steamed crab, calamari, grilled prawns and mussels, then the man said he liked the everyday corn on cob best. What a waste of decadent food!

Bali is beautiful of course, and there were plenty of attractions to entertain the tourists, though I would have enjoyed the trip even more if we hadn't felt like we were constantly being shaken down for every penny. A 40min cruise costs U$40 each! And at the airport, we were sold a tiny bag of potato chips for more than $2.50, and finally, at the airport, some random booths were set up between us and the plane, and we each had to pay U$19 in departure taxes. We tourists of course should expect to spend money, but we should have been made to feel that the money is well spent. At least, give us value for money, don't take us for fools.

Lastly, a curious observation about the world/US economy. The American currency seems to have less mileage nowadays. The hotel insisted that we paid them in new notes, printed after 2006! huh? People are more hesitant to accept payment in US dollars. Oh dear...if ever there was an ominous sign