After splurging on the Qantas Business Class flight to Bali we found we had developed the taste for this "more refined" style of travel. So when we discovered that Malindo Air had Business Class flights from Bali to Kuala Lumpur that regularly go for $300 or less for the 3 hour flight we were very keen to "buy the tickets and take the ride".  Malindo is a Malaysian low-cost airline owed by Lion Air, an Indonesian airline based in Jakarta and is the blending of a MALaysian and INDOnesian co-operative. As a low-cost airline, we didn't have huge expectations of their business class but eve ..read more

Our time in Tasmania was over but we still had some travel to do before starting work again so back to SE Asia was the order of the day. We managed to find a great deal on Skyscanner for a Business Class flight to Bali via Sydney with Qantas so we were off again! Not only was the chance to do a longer haul Business Class flight enticing but with the Status Credits Jo was to earn it would put her over the line to gain Gold status.  As a added bonus, flying Business Class with Qantas allowed us access to the Emirates Lounge in Sydney Airport which has a reputation as one of the best in Au ..read more

Jo was in fact a born and bred Taswegian as they are referred to in Australia or Tasmanian to the rest of the world. I had visited every mainland state in Australia by the time I was 19 years old but had never made the leap across Bass Strait to the Apple Isle. These days rather than apples it is tourism and unspoilt natural beauty that is bringing more and more people to "Tassie". We had cause to travel to Tasmania as part of out Remote Nursing accreditation and had a 3 day course to attend just adjacent to  the central highlands area in Campelltown. Apart from the course Jo had family she h ..read more

Although we are both health professionals and part of that job is to promote healthy lifestyle choices, if the truth be known we have probably not practiced what we preached. Human nature being what it is, all too easily we blame everything else but our own choices for putting on weight, loss of  fitness, declining health etc. We, being humans, blamed our remote living for less availability of fresh food and less choices for our poor diet and extreme weather for not maintaining outdoor exercise. ​Earlier this year we decided enough was enough and it was time to take extreme measures. Our ext ..read more

Been planning that early retirement like I have for some time but are worried about the cost. Recently on our trip to Bali I filled in some time by the beach adding up all the non-avoidable costs of just existing in todays society and it was quite a shock. If you add up all your costs associated with owning a house, a car, a mobile phone plan etc then divide it by 52 weeks of the year it gives you a figure that you can factor into any costs of either living or travelling overseas. OK, without going into details but things like- Car registration and insurance, house insurance, electricity, i ..read more

As our time in Bali comes to an end, for now at least, we had a few more places to tick off on our list of accomodation places to revisit. First was the Anvaya which in a previous life had been the Santika Plaza. The old Santika had been completely demolished and over the last few years we had noticed the construction going on for the new Anvaya so wanted to see what they had done. They have done very well actually, the Anvaya is right on Kuta beach so one side has beach views while along the long driveway you can immerse yourself in all that Kuta is famous for. Shops, bars, restaurants and t ..read more

We had not stayed at the Padma Resort in Legian for close on 5 years so decided it was time to renew an old friendship. The Padma is a beachside resort spread out over 17 acres of manicured gardens, lawns, pools and traditional style accomodation. If you have read the last blog about the Marriott then the Padma was just what the doctor ordered with 5 pools, each one completely separated from the next. There is the adults only pool with swim-up bar and sunlounges overlooking the beach at Legian. The Skai Beach Club has a small but sparkling infinity pool which was just wonderful to watch the B ..read more

We've always tried to be objective as possible when reviewing hotels we've stayed at even if we've been able to get some sort of deal for a review. The Courtyard Marriott at Seminyak is a very nice hotel but....not what really appeals to us OR I would suspect the more mature traveller. It is quite new, it's quite clean, the facilities are very good but the demographic would very much suit a younger age group.  I suppose the "courtyard" title is very accurate. The accomodation is 5 stories high on 3 sides surrounding the pool with reception on the fourth side which undoubtedly forms a cou ..read more

It has been a long time since we have stayed in Seminyak and were very interested to see any changes. Seminyak has developed a reputation of being slightly more upmarket than say....Kuta or Legian and this is probably true in most instances. There is any number of coffee shops and boutiques spread thickly amongst the interestingly decorated restaurants and plenty of choice from Vegetarian to Italian. The prices here also reflect the quality you receive so be prepared to dig a little deeper than some of the other Bali locations but the old adage, "you get what you pay for" applies in most cases ..read more

It is not often these days we stay at a hotel where we feel like all the staff are happy to have you stay with them and immediately feel welcome. However this was the case at the Novotel Ngurah Rai Bali airport. Now, I will be upfront here, we are Accor Plus members and I was lucky enough to win the Australian Ambassador competition for Novotel but this has not influenced our review of this hotel. Yes, it is quite a new facility being opened in 2015 which still has that "new" feel to it but it surely is the staff that make a stay there enjoyable.  Being an "airport" hotel one expects just a pl ..read more