Archive for Asia
10 places to visit in Bali
Bali is a wonderful place, and makes for an even greater place to go visit on holiday. There are many Bali holiday packages which you can look into, but which are the best places to go? There are a number of beaches to visit, but to help you know the best Bali holiday packages to choose from, you need to have some factual information about Bali.
As mentioned, beaches are something of a specialty in Bali, and Pantai Tanjung Benoa is no different. Encapsulating some of the finer beauty within Bali, its white sands are truly something to behold and experience for yourself.
Secondly we have Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park, a place which really highlights some of the natural beauty of Bali, while giving you a glimpse into its culture as a whole.
Uluwatu is the next place on the list, a holy temple that once again gives you a great insight into the overall culture and ways within Bali, something that should not be missed.
Alas Kedaton, a jungle with a temple at its center, is another great place to go and look for interesting places to see. It really is a great tourist location, giving a number of different and interesting things to experience.
Tanah Lot is fifth, again with a temple but also beautiful views of the ocean, allowing you to form fond memories of the aesthetic beauty of the land, while giving a sense of peace and enjoyment to your holiday – something you must experience.
Tohpati is another cultural place to go. These areas are great because they are off the beaten track, and as far away from commercial as you can get. As a village that serves to show the culture of Bali, you cannot beat it if you want to understand their culture as a whole.
Number seven there is Celuk, another famous village which again lets you get an inside look into the culture of Bali, letting you see truly ancient traditions which are still around today, making for a great experience for the whole family, as something educational as well.
Batuan is another village fairly close to Celuk, with a number of paintings to again let you see the overall art style and traditions of the Bali indigenous people, giving a great feel for the place as a whole rather than branding you as a tourist.
Kemenuh is another village, but one which has its own wooden sculpture making it easily identifiable from others. With the ability to really understand local culture it is a wonderful place to take your children to educate them in different cultures, while allowing you to learn a great many things as well about the area.
Ubud is a village with a difference, as it is fairly international. This is a huge difference from the other villages, as there are many restaurants, hotels and other tourist attractions for those who want to get back to normality. Overall these make great locations to visit, as they really have something for everyone.
Memories of Crab
Isn’t it amazing how a certain food can evoke a place you have visited every bit as powerfully as a photo? The smell of lemongrass always reminds me of the food stalls at Chiang Mai night market with their scrumptious green curries whilst fish and chips cooking transports me to the little fishing village of Anstruther in Fife. The smell of tomatoes simmering away, meanwhile, takes me straight back to my favourite spaghetti bolognese dish from a trip to Florence as a child.
I first tasted crab in Sri Lanka in the early 80s, a time when Sri Lanka had not become a package destination and before the civil war had taken hold. We spent the most wonderful month travelling around the country on a shoe string and tasted some marvellous food en route. We may have been budget travellers but in a country where you could eat like a king for under a pound we did not go hungry.
The crab dish was the tastiest thing I had ever eaten. Don’t ask me how it was cooked, although these days companies like Schwartz make cooking adventurous dishes much easier, but it had been steamed in a sublime infusion of ginger, garlic, chillies and no doubt a lot of other ingredients. The “restaurant” was a straw roofed shelter on the little road leading to the beach. Sadly it was in the area hit by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 and I often wonder whether the family survived.
Fast forward ten years and we had two children who loved a traditional bucket and spade holiday in Devon. One May half term we had rented a cottage near Salcombe, the skies were blue, the sun was shining and we had spent the morning on the beach, trying to train our Jack Russell not to cover us in sand every time he tried to bury his tennis ball. Sitting on the quay at Salcombe eating freshly caught crab made me realise that it’s one of these things that taste equally good whether in the UK or in a more exotic location.