It won’t win any awards for its decor, atmosphere, or location, but if you’re heading past Simpang Siur from the airport and onto Sunset Road and need a caffeine boost, Caswell’s is the place to make a quick stop. There’s another outlet inside Gourmet Garage in Jimbaran, but I haven’t made it there yet, and … read the full post

Babi guling, or suckling pig, is one of Bali’s most famed dishes. The pig is stuffed and infused with a spicy concoction typically involving turmeric, coriander seeds, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic, and traditionally spit-roasted. It’s also available at a range of warungs where locals flock for a quick lunch or dinner. Ibu Oka’s in … read the full post

I often complain about the lack of things to do in Bali with toddlers. Jenggala paint a pot in Jimbaran won’t really help you with a two-year-old (that’s what Jari Menari is for…) but I’ve taken a three-year-old there with great success. Added bonus: the excellent coffee and cake at the cafe, and the ceramics … read the full post

The area commonly referred to as Amed is actually a series of villages and bays running along the northeast coast of Bali. Known for black sand beaches, calm waters, fine snorkelling and impressive scenery, Amed forms a low-key counterpoint to the bustling yellow sand surf beaches of southern Bali. With over a half dozen beaches … read the full post

For those doing a quick loop of Bali, from Candi Dasa the next logical stop is Amed, a beachside series of bays about an hour and a half north of Candi Dasa. It’s known for its black sand beaches, off-the-beach snorkelling and volcano vistas — it forms one of those all round “pleasurable place to … read the full post

We’re starting our trip around Bali from Sanur just because that is where we happen to live, and we’re aiming for Candi Dasa, a somewhat aging resort town to the northeast of Sanur. It’s an easy 90-minute drive if you take the direct route, but we’re not going to do that. The most direct route … read the full post

“So it’s legal then?” I ask, as the grinning Indonesian fellow smiled across the table from me. He was going to injure himself if his smile stretched further. “Oh yes, Pak!” he assured me. I glanced down at the bottles of Swedish vodka, Scottish whiskey and American bourbon in front of me. The bottles were … read the full post

Bali is big, beautiful, round(ish) and dotted with interesting places to visit — perfect for a road trip. You can circumnavigate Bali in as little as a couple of days or as long as a couple of months, by car or by motorbike. We thought we’d zoom around the island and put together a suggested … read the full post

Sanur’s night market recently underwent a refurbishment of sorts, and the outcome is a much more spacious and even organised affair. But the same old warungs in the food section continue to plate their specialties from around the Indonesian archipelago. This is a good market to eat at as a tourist. Firstly, it’s “authentic” (freshly … read the full post

It’s a difficult pursuit, finding a flaky, fresh croissant in Bali. It makes sense: croissants are not exactly indigenous cuisine and the foreign influence in Indonesia, where there’s any at all, is Dutch, not French. Yet some of us, usually with futile results, persist in trying… And I succeeded at Cafe Moka. The island is … read the full post