ULUWATU

Tour guides would label the Hindu Temple at Uluwatu, located at the southern most point of the island of Bali, as a 'must'. We are to see the unique sunset, the mystery of the age old temple, the ceremonial dances and of course the colony of not quite wild but certainly not domesticated monkeys ... the indigenous inhabitants. It took a while to get to as everyone wanted a picture against the legendary sunset and traffic was worse than a rainy day in Central. Not surprisingly, there was almost zero interest in the temple which was singularly unimpressive by temple standards, so were the dances. Literally hundreds were there just for the sunset, and to be hazed by the damn monkeys. These cheeky animals took great pleasure in stealing hats, bags and spectacles from everyone. I had my cap taken, Dora had both her hat & shades taken and chewed on, which infuriated her.

Granted it is a glorious sunset but it is also an extremely risky move as there is a 500+ feet cliff right behind the spot where most want pictures taken. The surging crowd, the frolicking monkeys, the scared kids running away from the primates ... are only a few feet away from those posing, and the perilous drop behind them. I can close my eyes and imagine that disastrous scene of tourists falling off as in the Pied Piper.  There are no guard rails, not even solid footpaths, just lose pebbles on dirt.

I caught one of these demigods on top of a pillar, with the last glimpse of the sun ... it was good enough for me.

Back at home I took Dora's name brand shades to the spectacle shop and the young man asked nonchalantly ; 'Were you in Bali?' 'How did you know?' 'The monkeys did this, right, you are the third customer here after Xmas ...'

Lonely Planet can sing Uluwatu's praises all they want but let me tell you, it is not worth it. If you insist, do not bother with buying entrance tickets because you only need them for the dances, which not everyone goes. The sunset pictures and harassment by the monkeys are free, so is the hilarity of watching hats, glasses and bags come off fellow tourists ... until your turn, as no one is spared. SPCA should send inspectors here, to protect the homo sapiens. Try somewhere else, trust me.

AQUATONIC POOL

This is a very popular past time at the Ayana. The Thalasso & Spa is 'distinquished by a 650m Aquatonic Seawater Therapy Pool overlooking the Indian Ocean'. It says in the brochure that in addition to being the largest of such facilities worldwide, the venue has been 'voted' ... did not say by who ... #1 Spa in the World. I kid you not, #1, Numero Uno! For HK$500 one gets 2-hour of sheer pleasure in going through an intense circuit of cutting edge Aqua-Body Treatments, in heated sea water. It was fun, and very relaxing. The 4 of us had a wonderful time of sharing, which seldom happens at home as we are all so hopelessly consumed by our day-to-day routine and commitments.

It is pathetic when one stops to think, isn't is, that it takes a therapy pool in Bali to gel us as a family. Well, it is what it is, and I will take it in whichever way I can, and count my blessing. I am just the Father, nothing more, and nothing less!

DIVER'S LUNCH

No tablecloth, no linens, no wines, no heavy duty cutleries, no glasses to drink from .... but man, that lunch on the beach at Matahari @ Tulamben was an experience I must blog. The 'kitchen' was the size of a large desk, with a simple grill and a small cutting board where the fish fillet, pickled salsa, shredded veggie salad, steamed rice all came from. No ceremonies, no attitudes either, but plenty of ear-to-ear smiles from everyone on the staff.

WOW! The dish completely bowled me over. I was expecting nothing more than a bite to fill my stomach but was I wrong. It just goes to prove, over and again, that as long as one cooks with one's heart, and with love, the end result will always be top quality ... Michelin stars notwithstanding!

DIVING IN TULAMBEN

Dora was sick at the hotel, I am clastrophobic under water but loved being in the sea so I accompanied Andrea & Jess for a 3-hour drive to Tulamben, a renown spot for open water diving in South Bali. It was memorable. The USS Liberty, a merchant navy supply ship, was torpedoed by the Japanese in 1942 and towed to these waters where it sat until 1963, when Volcano Agung erupted and sank it near the beach. Amazingly the hull was pretty much intact and became a beautiful artificial reef, what is now known as the Liberty Wreck Coral Garden Drop. The dive site starts at 5m and reaches 28m with a visibility of 25m-50m.

All our girls, and son-in-law, are open water divers certified by PADI so this is a must. The best I could manage was snorkeling & watching from the surface ... good enough for me. We used the Matahari Resort as base and spent a glorius day in the blue sea, under blue skies, it could not have been better. Compared to diving in the Maldives it was a steal. The girls booked a very professional tour run by Scuba Duba Doo in Kuta. We spent HK$1000 per person for 3 dives, round trip private van transport, 2 excellent diving instructors cum tour guides, a simple but delicious lunch and above all, an extremely friendly, trusted, and enjoyable company which was priceless!

Scuba Duba Doo Dive Center @ Kuta Bali
(62) 361 761798
Email : info@divecenterbali.com
Website : www.divecenterbali.com

SEMINYAK STREET FOOD

One major regret is we did not do the 'street food scene' at all on this trip, something I would have done a lot more should I be lone-rangering. Rightfully so, Dora has become quite cautious with what she eats these days, and street food is off her agenda. Andrea, being vegetarian, has limitations and Jess is more into American comfort foods like a good burger. Well, that does not give me too many options as their F&B servant. I proposed lunch at the Makasan Padang on Main Street Seminyak, a 3-items with rice for HK$10 sort of heaven-on-earth eatery, and received zero support. Worse yet, shopping took over (what else is new) and we ended up skipping lunch! I had to apologize to the old couple, who must be the owners, having told them earlier I will bring my family and introduce them to classic Indonesian Padang. It was a big loss of face, not to mention a complete waste of a unique eating opportunity as the selection was a mouth-watering gold mine.

OCEAN BEACH POOL

Another spot at Ayana we loved was the Ocean Beach Pool, a sea water, free form pool built over the same cliff. The horizon is 270-degrees wide, and the only other place we have seen this was at Algarve, the eastern most point of Portugal from where one looks at the Atlantic. We watched everyone go through the same routine on the first visit ie stand at the edge of the pool, submerged to shoulder level, and stare into the emptiness of that huge stretch of blue water, and reflect .... it is one of those scenes that make everyone feel small, as a mere mortal. What about us? Dora, who cannot spell 'relax' actually did laps, quite determined too, while the girls and I perfected 'the art of doing nothing' and just vegetate ... I meant, meditate.

ANDREA & DREADS

This artist adult-child of ours has had dread-locks for 7 years .... they are covering her entire back, her bottom and about to reach her legs. The most common question from the street is "are they real" and the proud answer is "of course, you want to touch it?" The next question is "how do you wash them ..." which commands a much more technical response. Here she is, in full glory, at The Rock Bar with the beautiful Bali sunset as back drop. When Andrea decides to start a new page and move on, and I have no idea when that is, she might need to shave her head!

AYANA RESORT BALI

A bit of a catch up game on my blog. We were in Bali for our annual post-Xmas sojourn, this time without Terri & Fergus who were caught up playing parents to the twins, who were not quite ready to travel.

Ayana has been around in different incarnations so it is not a modern, glitzy resort which we do not like anyway as the guests tend to be a tad too 'beautiful' for our tastes. Located near Jimbaran Bay it is close to the airport, to Kuta, to Seminyak where young people prefer but for serenity it has to be the Ayana. Without question The Rock Bar, perching on the longest stretch of a cliff that forms the base of the resort, is an absolute must. Apparently it draws lots of visitors from around the island but hotel guests can bypass the queue, which can be long during the pre-sunset hours. We stopped by as soon as we arrived. It was idyllic, and mesmerizing, when the searing sun is replaced by cool sea breeze and innovative libation. Want to rediscover romance, try this one!

FAST DONOVAN FOOD

I was watching the re-run of MasterChef Australia 2009 when the finalists were in Hong Kong, one of them competed with Chef Pak Tam, a star pupil of Chef Donovan at the Derby.  Pak is a good friend and a respected teacher. The dish was classic Donovan ie multi-ingredients, multi-tasked, complicated, uncompromising and unforgiving ... Pigeon 2-Ways with Black Truffles & Ravioli. It was mind boggling that from start to plating it took only an hour.

From all the 1-on-1 coaching I was fortunate to receive from Donovan over the years, and especially the 2-weeks I spent at The Atlantic kitchen, I am trying to create a menu of what I call 'Fast Donovan Food' ie recipes that will capture the Chef's spirit, approach, creativity but above all his unyielding discipline to prepare quality dishes. It is home cooking after all, but with enough flair to make it presentable at dinner parties. I owe Donovan this much!

My fingers were itching after the show and, in the Chef's honour, made this the next day.

* breast & leg of a quail, quickly sauteed, then roasted to medium rare
* bed of grilled baby leeks, fava beans, lardon
* a quail egg, perferrably runny, halved
* port & red wine reduction using carcass of quail & mire poix
* truffle paste is more accessible & affordable, to add flavor and as garnish

My version of 'Fast Donovan Food' ... yes, it can be done within the hour. I shared this with Donovan, and he approved!

WHITNEY IS NO LONGER WITH US!

I woke up to the extremely sad news of Whitney Houston's passing, at 48, the result of substance abuse and career failures but behind it all, probably from the demon of bad company. How unfortunate! It is a huge loss to the industry that such a talented woman should die so young. I am very old school, as in many other aspects of my existence, but especially in pop music. To me there are only 5 names in the small circle of accomplished female black divas; Ella Fitzgerald, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and last but certainly not the least Whitney Houston. Other songsters come and go ... Madonna, Mariah, Celine, J Lo and of course Lady Gaga but they can all eat the dust of my all time favorites.

Dora & I were at her concert some years ago, probably her only appearance in Hong Kong but I might be wrong. She was at the height of her career, and her arrogance, which often comes hand-in-hand with success in the music world. She was condescending to the audience, to the extent of being unprofessional, like walking off stage half way through a song, imagine that! That said, when she returned to being serious she delivered her magic, with all her might, like the first waves from a tsunami. I can still hear her, right now as I write, the power of that convincing and unmistaken Whitney crescendo which one immediately recognizes after the first few notes.

Sales of 'The Best of Whiney' will hit the charts in the ensuing weeks, I am sure, and why not?

I will miss you, will say a prayer for you, and  ... "I Will Always Love You".

Rest in Peace, Whitney!