Postcard From Kuta - Bali

I have arrived in Seminyak - Bali after a stopover at Singapore airport. It was actually a pleasant flight with acceptable food from Vietnam Airlines. The second sector of the flight with Singapore Airlines was real contrast and clearly Vietnam Airlines have a lot to learn. The level of service, the range of in-flight entertainment and the smiling faces of the crew are all lessons for my countries national airline.

The last few days on the coast in Bali have reminded me of my hometown, Nha Trang as there are many restaurants along the beach. The only difference is that the beach is not as beautiful. The people in Bali are gradually becoming more friendly to me. I sometimes think Asians treat each other differently than the way they treat western tourists. I'm not sure why - probably someone could write a research paper on that topic! I'm not worried about that as this is my holiday and I am going to enjoy it as much as possible.

We're staying at the Kusnardi Hotel where the hotel room is ok and the garden and pool are very beautiful. I have realized that most hotels on the coast and maybe in the whole of Bali have lovely design aspects with beautiful gardens and swimming pools. My other friends are staying at the Jayakarta, a very expensive hotel but they are very disappointed with the experience. We are lucky!

Indonesian food is great and we have tried many different dishes and most of them have been very tasty. Some places serve very slowly (in Bali time) such as the Tekor cafe on the beach and Be Tunu cafe on the main shopping road. I would recommend Tunu due to the great food; huge serves at a very reasonable price. This afternoon during my walk along the beach I tried noodles from a seller on a motorbike. The noodle he served was very nice included noodle, tofu, dried shallot, few different balls, mint and celery on the top just only 10,000.

Just few thing for the first post about Kuta Bali, a very interesting small town 20 minutes away from the airport with mostly Australian tourists. I think this is the second Australia as more than 90% tourists are from Australia. Most sellers and restaurant staff speak English with Aussie accent and sellers here are everywhere and it seems to balance to Aussie tourists. Most restaurants here have Australian flat around the place and in the middle of the restaurant, but NO Indonesian flag. Weird!!!!!