It’s amazing what you can see if you just look beyond what’s in front of you. I’ve been to Bali several times now, and love the beaches as well as the art colony around Ubud, but I also knew there was more to this island than what most tourists see. So, I found a guide with an old land rover for rent, and I asked him to show me the ‘real’ Bali.

We left Kuta behind in the early morning. Despite the fact it’s low season, there is still traffic and a lot of surfers on the beach at Legian. Soon, all that is behind us as we quickly leave the developed area of south Bali behind us and head north-west into the countryside. Along the way, we pass through villages where we have to navigate around rice drying on mats in the road. We stop at a typical village temple, with it’s tall multi-tiered meru and huge meeting hall.

Eventually, we turn off the narrow ‘main’ road onto a dirt track through a forest. Although it looks wild, the area is in fact still cultivated. In the shade of the big trees and palms, cocoa and coffee are grown. Most of the palms are coconut, which seems to be grown mostly for the fibrous shells, which are used to fire big kilns we see along the way, making roof tiles as well as ceramics.

Deep into this forest, we stop and walk down to a small stream winding its way among the big volcanic rocks that form the island. The day is hot and humid, but it’s cool down by the well shaded stream, where the rocks are covered with moss. Back up by the car, the driver has set out a little picnic coffee break. We sit on mats next to an old stone pillar with a typically Balinese chair carved as its crown. The thick mat of growth on the chair makes this shrine appear abandoned, but there are offerings of young coconuts at it’s base, so someone is still appeasing the gods in this part of the wood.

Back in the Land Rover, we head out of the forest and head back downhill towards the sea. We pass many more rice terraces. Some are being planted, some are being tilled with the help of a buffalo, and some are left alone to grow. We eventually turn off the paved road onto another dirt track. We take a rather circuitous route through another rice filed, just being harvested, to a small wooden pavilion where lunch has been arranged.

We eat the Indonesian meal in the shade of the pavilion, in sight of a beautiful - and deserted - black sand beach. After lunch, we talk a short walk on the beach. The sand is very fine, and black. It shimmers in the sunlight. Near the surf, which comes in quite high waves (but breaks right on shore - sorry surfers!), the beach is littered with small stones and pebbles, but higher up it is quite smooth. The sand is baked hard by the hot sun, but breaks easily and is quite fine underneath the surface. The beach was totally deserted. We didn’t see another person while we were there, and only one or two buildings could be seen.

We then headed back for the modern world of Kuta, although there were a few more stops along the way. In all, we were well away from the crowds and touts all day. Now, that’s the way to relax!

You can see more photos of the Bali countryside in the online gallery.

Outside of Thailand, Bali is one of my favorite places. I love the fact that business takes me there three or four times a year. However, Bali is not the nicest place to be all the time. From December to February it can rain heavily every day (although not all day). I suppose I should consider myself lucky that it didn’t rain the entire five days I was there last week, but to be honest, a bit of rain might have actually been welcome, because it was hot, horribly hot, the entire time. So, note to self: don’t visit Bali in March.

Other than that, it was a good time to be in Bali. It’s low season, made lower by the bombings back in October, so there aren’t that many tourists around, especially on weekdays. On weekends, places still fill up with weekenders from other parts of Indonesia, but the rest of the time, hotels and restaurants are pretty quiet as well as cheap. Sometimes and some places, things are a bit too quiet. Rumor has it they’re practically giving away hotel rooms in the Nusa Dua area. Things are so desperate that you can get five star properties for under US$50 a night.

Security has definitely been stepped up. All of the shopping centers, and even some restaurants, have security checks as you enter. It’s nothing intrusive or time consuming. They usually just ask to look in your bag, if you’re carrying one. People working on the island are obviously aware and conscientious about the dangers.
Given the uncomfortable weather, my choice of hotels was quite fortuitous, as was the upgrade I received on checking in.  For this trip, I chose to stay at the Santika Beach Hotel, located at the south end of Kuta Beach.  The hotel is a short walk from the Discovery Plaza shopping center, and all its air conditioned comfort.  Further on up is the Kuta Square area, where one of the October bombs was set off.  While the restaurant where the bombing occurred is still closed (and may well be forever) the rest of the shops along the street were open and ready to do business.

Although I only reserved a deluxe room at the Santika, they upgraded me to a “Garden Bungalow” when I arrived.  The bungalows are the closest rooms to the beach, and are indeed small thatched roofed cottages.  The room was quite spacious, with a king size bed, couch, easy chair, coffee table, desk and vanity.  The room might have been a bit dark for some, but it wasn’t too bad for me.  The bathroom was quite large, with a sunken bathtub providing a view to your own private, high-walled garden.  The garden needed high walls because the shower was in fact located outdoors, in the garden.  I know it sounds strange, but it actually was rather nice!

Like most people, I prefer a direct flight to where I’m going. I hate ‘wasting’ time on stop-overs and changing planes. But, today I’m on my way to Bali from my home in Bangkok, and I ended up taking a Singapore Airlines flight, since it was cheaper that Thai’s direct flight. So, last night, I found myself pondering whether or not my layover in Singapore was long enough.

Changi Airport in Singapore has to be my favorite airport. Heck, it’s way up there on my list of favorite places. Why? Well, for one thing, I’m writing this entry on one of the dozens of free internet terminals scattered around the terminal. Yes, you’re supposed to limit your time to 15 minutes, but there are so many terminals you can walk away from one when your time is up and have little or no trouble finding another one that’s available. If you are traveling with your own notebook or other wi-fi enabled device, then you don’t even have to bother finding a terminal. Is this cool or what??

I’m moving to Changi

Remember that Tom Hanks movie ‘based on a true story’ about a guy who gets stranded in an airport? He can’t leave because his passport is invalid, and he can’t go back for some other reason.

Well, I’m thinking that wouldn’t be so bad if the airport was Changi. In addition to the free internet, there’s a gym, an airside hotel, lots of fast food, and even a massage place. Why would anyone want to leave? I could just stay in the airport between trips, update my web site, get some workouts in. Rent a room when I want to sleep on a real bed.

Unlike Hanks’ character, I could leave any time I wanted to, like to change clothes — a one-hour cleaners is about the only thing this airport doesn’t have. I suppose immigration might get a little suspiscious, but then again maybe they won’t notice.

Look for my next post from my new home in Changi Airport!

I recently got a chance to visit the nearly complete new Bangkok International Airport. It’s a project that has been more than 30 years in the making, but now it’s nearly complete and will open sometime in the later half of 2006, once all the testing is complete.

First impression: It’s big! I mean, it’s really big. The main terminal building is a glass box with a column-free interior that could hold seven football fields, no matter what brand of football you play.
Even though the airport isn’t open yet, and there aren’t any passengers, there was still a lot of luggage stacked at the check-in counters when I visited.  This, it was explained, is for testing the outbound baggage handling.  Every belt and pathway has to be checked, fine-tuned and re-checked to make sure the bags end up where they’re supposed to before the airport can open.

Although the airport is a very modern building of steel and glass, there are still some details to make sure you know you’re in Thailand.  At the intersections of the glass and fabric-roofed concourses are traditionally styled wooden Thai pavillions, and Thai “angels” (apsaras) are etched into the glass doors of the jetways, as well as many of the entrances.  Arriving passengers are greeted at immigration by giant “laksa” statues, like those found in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  Walls, what few there are, also have murals reminiscent of temple paintings as well, although most of these were covered with protective plastic when I visited.

The new airport has a very bright and airy feel to it.  It’s completely unlike the old Don Muang airport in almost every way.  Where the old airport was somewhat gloomy in spots, and even brutal in it’s architecture, the new airport is full of light and hope.

For those who don’t yet know the details, the new airport is east of Bangkok.  It is actually better served by roads than the old airport, with two major highways linking it to downtown Bangkok, as well as the east coast, with resorts such as Pattaya only about an hour away.  The travel time from the new airport to the city center should be around 45 minutes.  There is also a rail link under construction, which should be completed in 2007.  The official name of the new airport is “Suwannabum” (spelling varies), which means “the golden land” and was an old name for the area that is now Thailand.

If you’d like to see more pictures, have a look at my online photo gallery.

Seems like there's another entry on the long list of interesting Bangkok restaurants to try. I attended a function at Ishq (Sanskrit for 'love' they claim) last night, and it was impressive.

The restaurant is in a 105 year old house, originally built by an official of King Mongkut for use when welcoming foreign dignitaries. It has been fully restored with original teak floors, crystal chandeliers, etc. The building is two stories, and there are three private rooms upstairs.

The food is a pan-Asian selection. I didn't get a chance to sample main courses, but the appetizers served at the function were great. There were fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, satay, grilled beef and several others, which were all quickly gobbled up by the guests.

Ishq bills itself as a wine bar and restaurant. The wine list has more than 40 wines from various countries, priced from 1,200 to 6,000 Baht (US$30 to $150). The wine bar also stocks cigars for those that want to smoke.

The restaurant is on Sathorn Road right at the Surasak Skytrain station, accross the street from Blue Elephant. Telephone 029 356 801 for reservations or more information.