Bali

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Welcome to paradise. Mel and I found a place on the internet which seemed very reasonably priced and turned out to be fantastic. Our Hotel was situated in a quiet part of Kuta in the midst of some beautiful gardens and was called Novus Bali Villa. Our room was more of a suite with bedroom, dressing room, varanda, outdoor dining area and, my favourite, an outdoor bathroom　（trust me, going to the loo under the canopy while it's pouring with rain just in front of you is not to be missed, seriously!). As you would expect from this part of the world the service was impecable and on the last night we had a special Bali feast which consisted of 5 courses and about 15 different dishes!

The first couple of days we lounged by the pool, which we had to ourselves as a result of it being the low season and the recent bombings. On day 3 we decided to venture into the town centre which was full of shops so Mel was in her element.

The next day we hired a car and driver and took a trip to Ubud (arts centre of the island) which was nice. The highlight however was a trip to the zoo where we opted for the horse back tour...more like a donkey trek. Mel could almost touch the floor with her feet and my horse kept making wheezing sounds even though, according to Mel, it carried me around with a permanent erection (The horse not me you fools). After Mel almost got eaten by a hungry crocodile and squashed by a giant python we headed home.

The following day we took a day trip mountain biking around the near by countryside and saw some stunning views of the volcanoes that dominate the area, and beautiful lush green paddy fields. After another rest day and a well earned massage we reluctantly packed up and headed to the airport bound for Hong Kong!

Before going we just wanted to say a quick thankyou to everyone at Novus Bali Villa who made our stay so special. Definitely a place we recommend!

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