The thing about Pasar Badung, Denpasar‘s main market, is that you’ve got to get up early to make the most of it. Early. I arrived shortly after 07:00 on my last visit, all bleary-eyed and self-congratulatory, but still felt like I was late to the party, even though the market’s open, in theory at least, … read the full post

There’s a new kid on the Bali mall block, and, for a mall, it’s rather pretty. We’ll put aside arguments about what our beachside Bali dream might be for now and look at the curvy new Beachwalk, across from Kuta beach, for what it aims to be. In summary, if we absolutely had to have … read the full post

You’re thinking jewellery, ka-ching, can’t afford to buy jewellery in Bali, bananas, are you crazy? But this isn’t really about buying, necessarily. John Hardy jewellery is probably Bali’s most famous jewellery export, which isn’t a bad achievement considering how many silversmiths the island plays host to. You won’t however actually find John Hardy jewellery retailing … read the full post

UPDATE: Rainbow Road listed below has now closed. If you’ve travelled too light to Bali and you need a few more toys or books to keep your kids entertained while you’re here, a few excellent little toy and book shops have sprung up close to each other on Jalan Raya Kerobokan in recent years. You … read the full post

Jalan Sulawesi in Bali’s capital Denpasar is a stretch of road full of getting-dilapidated shophouses packed with all kinds of imaginable fabrics — as well as things like, um, cupboards, carved wooden chairs, plastic buckets and jewellery boxes.

We had the good fortune to hear Bill Dalton speak in Ubud last week. Bill is the founder of Moon Publications and the author of what started as the first proper guidebook to Indonesia, eventually becoming the Indonesia Handbook. For years it was the guidebook to the archipelago. During the talk, the question was asked … read the full post

In my experience as a six-foot-tall woman, shopping in the enticing-looking boutiques along Jalan Laksmana in Seminyak can be rather disappointing, with not too much available in my size. Shopping for kids, however, is another question entirely. Quite a few lovely shops selling children’s clothes have sprung up in this area over the past few … read the full post

This uber-groovy spot at the intersection of Drupadi and Laksmana in Seminyak is a great little spot to have breakfast if you have kids in tow as they offer a couple of high chairs, something of a rarity in this area. The coffee here is great, the service breezy and you can browse the snappy … read the full post