WARNING: this JBR will not evoke the magic of Bali, nor provide a vicarious thrill for those of you missing your favourite destination. (Sadly, my functional writing skills and dour disposition do not lend themselves to flowery or humorous prose.) This JBR also mentions nannies, so tune out now if you are offended by the notion of leaving small children with strangers.
By way of background, I am a shameless hedonist. I used to be a proper ‘traveller' - culturally curious and anthropologically minded - but since having kids, one of whom is severely disabled, I go to Bali for the sun, shopping food, drink and massage. The affordable childcare is a real boon for us because we don't have anyone at home who can look after both our children, whereas in Bali we can hire two nannies and have a few hours off each day. Fortunately, we have found some wonderful nannies over the years, and we trust them completely. I also find them a great source of information about the ‘real' Bali.
In Seminyak(ish) we stayed at the Vila Lumbung, which was lovely. There were a few of the usual trifling annoyances but these were more than compensated for by the pretty grounds, great pool and convenient location (Petitenget). I'll stay there again as it's within staggering distance of some great restaurants including Sarong (best meal of the trip) and Biku. For massage, I went to Chill (with embarrassing frequency) and BodyWorks, where the very talented Neni gave me the best massage of the trip.
In Sanur we stayed at the Villa Puri Ayu in a spacious Emerald Suite. This would have been near perfect if they'd put block-out curtains in the bedrooms. (My four year old woke at 6 every morning.) After five stays in Sanur I'm a bit over it, partly because I haven't found a single truly great restaurant in the entire town (and believe me I'm greedy enough to have devoted a scary amount of time to finding one!)
Highlights of the trip included: suspected gigolo sightings in Sanur (Fabio eat your heart out), high tea at Biku with my five year old, the look on my nannies' faces when I presented them with a huge suitcase of bras to choose from (the rest went to charity), and my niece's poolside birthday party at the Jayakarta (about 16 members of my family were in Bali at the same time as us. Apologies to anyone who was trying to relax by the pool when we descended!)
Overall it was a terrific trip, and as usual I've come straight home and started planning my next one.