A Modern Wayfarer

Unique Travel

Hotel Indigo Bali Review: Celebrating The Old and New

When it comes to new hotels on the Island, Hotel Indigo Bali is up there with the best of them! Many large-scale five-star resorts in Bali fail to highlight the island’s ever-evolving culture. Maybe they’ve included a Nasi Goreng on the menu, maybe they’ve placed some batik woven baskets in each room (because they’re cool now, duh!) … but Bali is so much more than Bintangs, beaches and basket bags. Its unique way-of-life is what makes the island magical, soulfully seeping like quicksand into ... Read More

One Eleven Villas Bali: Sleep Simplicity

One Eleven Villas is a Bali Hotel I’ve had my eye on for a while. From the first time I scooted past the minimalist timber façade of the reception I was intrigued. With it’s sleek design and unpretentious vibe, One Eleven looked like something special. A quick Google search of the interior further proved my inkling: this ultra-luxury private hideaway set among the hustle and bustle of Petitinget, was indeed somewhere I wanted to stay! Fast-forward three years, and I got my chance! I was lucky ... Read More

Best of Bingin Beach Bali

Bingin Beach Bali is one of my favourite places in the world. Apart from its breathtaking beauty, relaxed surfer vibe and rustic accomodation, there's a certain sense of calm you feel when descending the sea-facing steps which seem to go on forever. You weave through cute little warungs built into cliffs and once those waves touch your toes you really know you've arrived in paradise. Some of the best times I've had in Bali were spent watching the sun go down on Bingin Beach, eating fresh ... Read More

Villa Masaya Bali: Bringing the Outside In

Villa Masaya in Bali's up-and-coming Kerobokan is bliss in every possible way. But then many a villa in Seminyak and Canggu are. Bali villas are generally designed with a one-plus-one-equals-two style. Set-up as stunning reprieves from the outside world, they adopt a mostly heavenly cocktail of high walls providing privacy from the hustle and bustle beyond, an endless array of palms and an open-air living space practically falling into the pool. Villa Masaya has all of those things, but ... Read More

The Balè Bali: A Striking Seduction

Bali's Lifestyle Retreats always manage to make me feel like a queen. The striking, architectural design of each hotel's facade and the sheer brilliance of their personalised service never ceases to seduce me every single stay. The Balè is no different. Just as The Amala and The Santai before it, The Balè Bali proves that space, privacy and modern luxury are paramount to the hotel group's ethos as a whole. Walking up the enormously vast steps from reception to the 29 individual pavilions and ... Read More

My Favourite Bali Outdoor Bathrooms

It wouldn’t be at all far fetched to say that one of the reasons I venture to Bali is to bask in the unique and luscious outdoor bathrooms found in many lodgings on the island. As such, I fancy myself as a bit of a Bali bathroom connoisseur, and I’ve stayed in more than my fair share of places to know there’s a massive difference between the uber-luxe, design-driven bathrooms you can find in just about every 5-star hotel on the island and the charming, natural beauty of the bathrooms inside ... Read More

Bali Creative Homes for under $80 AUD per night

Sometimes all we need is a little change of scenery to get the creative juices flowing! If, like me,  you're a freelancer working on a project and you're close to pulling your hair out with frustration (I'm sure I'm not alone here people), why not take advantage of the super cheap flights to Bali and book a couple of weeks in paradise at a place entirely your own? Thanks to the exchange rate and AirBnB, hosts are offering budget, boho homes for the imaginative traveler craving inspiration ... Read More

Where To Eat In Bali On The Cheap (but oh so good)

So you want to find your culinary bliss in Bali on the cheap? The good news is you won’t have to binge with the bogans in Kuta to keep your bank account (and tummy) happy. The small, yet culturally diverse island off the coast of Indonesia is a mecca for frugal foodies and let’s be honest, those who like the odd cocktail or two! Here are some of the best and most affordable eats and drinks in three of Bali’s coolest suburbs. Where to Eat in Bali on The Cheap (but oh so good) Ubud Café ... Read More

The Ungasan Clifftop Resort: Sunkissed Sunsets

I'd just like to put it out there that if, by some serendipitous universal occurrence, Prince Charming swept me off my feet and proposed to me tomorrow, I'd seriously consider having the ceremony, reception (and probably the honeymoon too) inside one of the seven exquisitely lush clifftop villas at The Ungasan Clifftop Resort. But you see I've identified a bit of a problem. Apart from the near 100% impossibility of receiving a marriage proposal tomorrow, calling the lodgings "villas" is a a ... Read More

Ungasan Beach Bali and Finns Beach Club: Paradise Found

Getting to Finns Beach Club is half the adventure, you must take a steep inclinator from the Semara Villa Resort perched high atop a sheer cliff-face staring at the breathtaking turquoise water of Ungasan Beach below. This ruggedly handsome patch of the world is also one of the most deserted beaches you’ll find on Bali’s main island. Just make sure you stray away from the sometimes crowded deck-chairs and funky DJ beats of Finns Beach Club in the late afternoon so you can mosey along the beach ... Read More

The Anantara Uluwatu Bali: Putting the P in Panoramic

The Anantara Uluwatu in Bali... you know which hotel I’m talking about,  chances are you’ve seen the architecturally designed glass-fronted chapel featured in countless Bali #inspo posts on Instagram. The resort, hugging south Bali’s rugged limestone cliffs and providing uninterrupted views of the awe-inspiring surf and sunsets across the Indian Ocean, is inspirational indeed. But what makes the luxurious Anantara Uluwatu stand out from the other five-star resorts of this ilk that dot the ... Read More

A Secret Garden: The Santai Villas Bali Review

I must admit I hadn’t really done my homework prior to pulling up to the enormous stone columns marking the entrance of The Santai Villas in the laid-back suburb of Umalas, Bali. The Amala Villas, The Santai’s sister retreat and the place I’d just arrived from, was the hotel I was dying to experience after hearing some fantastic reviews from fellow travellers. The Amala was the escape I had been looking forward to and The Santai was an afterthought, a small blimp on my Bali-adventure radar. But ... Read More

The Amala Hotel Bali: A Fine Romance

The Amala Hotel Bali is the perfect setting for an intoxicating Balinese romance. Hidden at the end of a lush vine-fringed driveway peeling-off one of Bali's chicest shopping and dining streets in Seminyak, these intimate one and two-bedroom villas are like beautifully designed hugs for your senses. The bali boutique hotel takes the concept of holistic living to a whole new level, thatched wood and concrete structures fused with meticulously manicured grounds, water features and feng shui ... Read More

Jungle Book Luxe: Natura Resort and Spa Hotel Bali

Natura Resort and Spa Hotel Bali Praise the lord; it is possible to stay in the lap of luxury without dropping one month’s pay on a one-night stay! There are plenty of smaller 4 and 5-star resorts in Bali that are just as breathtaking, just as accommodating and just as unique (maybe even more so) than your normal run-of-the-mill big name brand hotels. One of these places is Natura Resort and Spa in Ubud. Set high on a mountain-top overlooking the lush and vibrant jungle of Petanu River below, ... Read More

Bali Surf Yoga Retreat at The Temple Lodge

bali surf yoga retreat bali

Bali Surf Yoga Retreats have become a real mainstay for the experiential and imaginative traveler wanting the best of both worlds - fun and fitness. And a bali surf yoga retreat at The Temple Lodge has got to be one of the top spots to lay low and hang-ten!  The Temple Lodge offers sparse yet unique Balinese-style accommodation perched smack-bang on top of the white cliffs of laid-back surfer mecca Bingin Beach. Uninterrupted 360-degree sea views span from Uluwatu to Kuta and the majestic ... Read More

Beyond Bintangs & Bogans: Bali Travel Highlights

It’s surprising just how many Aussies still view Bali as our tabloids portray: a red-hot global no-go zone filled with drug-smugglers and “jungle juice”. But the small island off the Indonesian coast is not the boganville it’s made out to be. Beyond the headlines, clichés and warnings lies a melting pot of cultural travel highlights offering the imaginative traveler utter sophistication, beauty and charm. However I do feel the need to put a disclaimer on this article because - let’s face it - ... Read More

Casa Luna Cooking School in Ubud

The gourmet restaurant Casa Luna, founded by Australian-born Janet de Neefe (who coincidentally also founded The Ubud Writers Festival), is a veritable institution. So it’s not surprising, then, that her gourmet food tours and Casa Luna Cooking School in Ubud is renowned the island-over. Aimed at putting the sensuality and romance back into cuisine, the Casa Luna Cooking School classes provide insight into the Balinese way of life, love and belief system. They promote active participation while ... Read More

Dining Perfection: Metis Restaurant Bali

I have no idea why it took me almost three full laps of the street to find Metis Restaurant Bali on my scooter, particularly because the building is a picture of modern architecturally designed perfection.  Aside from my questionable map-reading skills, dinner at Metis is perfection in every way, and is an absolute must if you’re in the Seminyak area. It’s fine dining at it’s most seductive. You can arrive early, grab a designer martini and watch the sun set over a quintessential Balinese ... Read More