@travellingwiththeateam

Andy was back to his pre-breakfast treadmill 10k runs and had hit the hotel gym early.

After recuperating with the help of a healthy breakfast, we departed out into a wet Tuesday morning and a visit to Shanghai Museum. We had tried to book a reservation the night before, but without success and hoped that by getting there early this would get us through the door.

The museum is located in People’s Square and is one of the most prestigious museums in China, holding amongst other things an extensive collection of Egyptian artefacts. Unfortunately we weren’t the only people with a similar idea about arriving early, and despite the inclement weather we discovered that the museum was booked up for today.

We then implemented Plan B and caught a cab to Jade Buddha temple, a couple of miles away. It proved to be peaceful oasis in the city, with its famous white jade Buddha statues.

The temple was founded in 1882 with two Jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Myanmar. These were a sitting Buddha, 2m tall and weighing in at 3 tons and a smaller reclining Buddha representing the Buddha’s death. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Buddha made of marble, donated from Singapore.

The first temple we visited was The Chamber of Foir Heavenly Kings which contained the statues of Maitreya and Shanda and the Four Heavenly Kings, who represent favorable circumstance.

Due to the wet weather, the temple was relatively quiet and we were able to stroll around from one temple building to the next without queuing.

The rain even stopped for a while and there was a glimmer of sunshine for a brief period before the light rain returned and we had to put our rain macs on again.

The colours throughout the temple were so vivid and brought about a feeling of calm and contemplation.

A large golden statue of Guanyin stands at the northern entrance to the Great Hall, with Sudhana at Guanyin’s side and sculptures representing the 53 teachers of his life above.

The Statue of Cintamanicakrain above sits in the Hall of Great Compassion of the Temple.

We moved on to the Great Hall, which contains many of the key statues. The Three Golden Buddhas comprises the central sculpture of the Buddha, the left Amitabha, and to the right Bhaisajyaguru.

Next to them were the Twenty Devas statues, covered in gold and lining the eastern and western sides of the Grand Hall.

18 unique golden arhats stand in two groups of nine.

Red lanterns adorned the exterior and interior of the temple grounds.

Sadly it was only as we were about to leave that we discovered that the Jade Buddha Chamber was in the northern section of the temple, on the second floor and required a separate fee to ascend to it, but there was no one to help!

After an enjoyable couple of hours touring around the temple grounds we decided to head down to Wusong (Suzhou) River and walk to its end where it meets Huangpujiang River at the Garden Bridge of Shanghai.

Our walk took us from the Jinggongyuan district and meandered for 6k along a beautiful and peaceful part of Shanghai. We witnessed examples of the ever changing landscape of the city, with some old but mostly new building being constructed.

The path along the river was well kept and we walked past a great deal of greenery interspersed with statues and street sculptures that created an atmospheric environment.

One of the few older buildings we saw was an old French colonial block that had been carefully restored into a cool bar and restaurant. Next door to this was one of our favourite named bars, Beer Lady. As it was still pre midday, we decided not to stop and instead had a coffee break.

A much needed coffee and sandwich within a renovated building with a bias towards clothes fashion studios.

As we walked we passed one bridge after the next, some dating back to the late 19th century when the city was a major trading town and had a Victorian influence in its architecture.

After returning to The Bund, we decided to cross the river over to Pudong. We picked up one of the local ferries and paid the meagre 2 yen to cross. The best and cheapest way to find your way to Dongchang Lu DuKou ferry station.

Once over on the North Bund we took the walking paths to Pudong Art Gallery.

Sadly like the Shanghai Museum we found out that to gain entry to the gallery you needed to have a pre paid ticket. With the rain getting heavier we made a move to the Super Brand Mall and the IfC Mall opposite. Each have incredible designed stores with unique designs and features that set them apart from retail stores in the UK.

On returning to the Bund, with the weather no better, we made the decision to go back to our hotel to dry off and grab a drink and relax.

Early evening we headed out for dinner and a drink at one of the small bars in Huangpu District. The buildings here are older, mostly colonial and have some great independent restaurants. We went back to a place we’d been recommended called Dahuchun, where we filled up on fried meat buns, Wontons and stuffed Spring Rolls.

Tomorrow we return to walking tour duties and a visit to the French Concession district.

Round 2/ day 2 of the Shanghai experience and today we are off on a 4hr mega walking tour with a local Chinese guide, Dinna who proved to be a fruit of knowledge when it came to the city and places to see and things to do.

We started the walk opposite the Shanghai Museum in People’s Square, which was rebuilt in 1996 and is famous for its large collection of rare cultural pieces. We intend to visit tomorrow assuming we can secure a reservation which can be hard to obtain such is the demand.

People’s Square is the site of Shanghai’s municipal government headquarters building, including the mayors office which sits opposite the museum.

Prior to 1949 and the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, what is now People’s Square was a course for horse racing owned by the British Shanghai Race Club.

Around People’s Square are a deluge of modern high rise buildings which were all designed and built within the last 30yrs.

The scale and magnitude of the city is immense and to achieve all of this in such a short period of time demonstrates the ultimate power and focus of the Chinese government and their thriving economy.

As we walked through the lush city park, it was noticeable that the majority of the visitors were older Chinese with their grandkids, the reason being that they retire early often between 50-55yrs and then have little to do other than help with child care!

After leaving the calm of Peoples Square we moved to the main walking street called Nanjing Road, the eastern part of which is the main shopping district of Shanghai.

It is one of the world’s busiest shopping streets, along with Fifth Avenue, Oxford Street, Orchard Road and the Champs-Elysees. The street is named after Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province and the former capital of the China.

It’s definitely one of the busiest streets we’ve walked along in SE Asia and as Europeans we were regularly approached about whether we’d like to buy any fake bags, watches and accessories!

Leaving the shopping area we went in search of some Shanghai street food. We tried Steam bun and a Soup bun, as meat Wonton soup, each being for less than £1. Great value and so very tasty.

Next we moved to The Bund, the waterfront area and a protected historical district in the centre. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement.

The Bund refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. This region has a significant European influence, with the style of many structures most comparable to that of European cities, particularly Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical, Art Deco and Renaissance architecture.

The Shanghai Bull, the Bund Financial Bull or the Bund Bull are monikers associated with Arturo Di Monica’s Charging Bull installed in 2010. Although the 6,000kg work of art is said to have the same height, length and weight as the New York City version, actually it is 17foot long and 10foot tall. The bull is reddish, as a tribute to the country that commissioned the work. It leans to right instead of the left like Charging Bull and has a more menacing tail. The Bull’s popularity has been a problem for local authorities.

We ended our tour around 2.30pm in Yu Garden, the entry point to the mock China town, that’s been created to help sell crafts, souvenirs and local street foods to tourists.

We enjoyed the tour and met some lovely people from across the world. We plan to meet our guide again on Wednesday to do another tour of the French Concession area of the city, know for its European style architecture and leafy streets with cafes and bars.

We then jumped in a cab and headed a couple of miles south to Tianzifang, an arts and crafts enclave close to the French Concession.

The area was beautiful with its narrow alleyways filled with boutiques, galleries and cafes.

We loved this part of old Shanghai and quickly found ourselves looking at the beautiful stores.

The district comprises a neighbourhood of labyrinthine alleyways off Taikang Road, a short street which is today mostly known only for Tianzi Fang.

Tianzi Fang is known for small craft stores, coffee shops, trendy art studios and narrow alleys. It has become a popular tourist destination in Shanghai, and an example of preservation of local Shikumen architecture.

We found ourselves wandering around for a couple of hours with Michelle buying a beautiful dress ring and Andy a T-shirt with a Shanghai designed figure on the front.

We could easily have spent the whole afternoon in the area and plan to return for a walking tour of the French Concession before we leave.

So many amazing designs and images inspired by young designers in Shanghai.

We then decided to walk up to Fuxing Park and found ourselves in a wonderful part of the city full of tree lined streets & gardens with preserved low rise colonial architecture all around us.

We eventually arrived in the calm of Fuxing Park, where there are a few things you shouldn’t do. Helpfully these were listed at the entrance – quite a lengthy number!

The park was a beacon of calm with young families playing and older people dancing and keeping fit.

As we made our way back north we entered into the Xintiandi, a trendy pedestrianised area with upscale restaurants, cafes and boutiques. There is a real blend of modern and historical architecture and it had a welcoming feel.

We headed into one of the newly opened shopping malls where the stores were all high end and aimed at the fashionable and wealthy young.

On every block there were flagship stores for companies including Hermes, Cartier, Yves San Laurent and Chanel. This is a wealthy city that loves its brands and likes to flaunt its success.

At the other end of the spectrum there are still images from the communist days of the 1980/1990’s noticeably the one child policy, with statues showing a mother and one child. It’s more subtle, but there are dozens of these images across the streets of the downtown area.

As we neared our hotel we decided to try a local restaurant with its own Michelin star, called Dahuchun. The menu is simple and keeps to local dishes including pan-fried bun stuffed with pork, Chinese steamed buns, Pot stickers and Spring Rolls. So very good and again very reasonably priced.

As it went dark we headed back to the Bund for the light display from the buildings within the financial district in Lujiazui, Pudong.

This view in our opinion surpasses any other we have seen elsewhere in China, even Hong Kong. It’s stunning and so great to witness it with the locals watching from The Bund walkway.

Leaving The Bund we walked down Nanjing Road which was over flowing with people. It felt like NYE, but is like this in Shanghai every night!

What a day, so pleased we got to see as much as we did. Tomorrow we head to Shanghai Museum, Jade Buddha Temple, we have a recommended river walk, a trip to Pudong Art Gallery and a visit to the famous IFC Mall and all the amazing stores and restaurants.

First day in Shanghai and we decided to start off exploration of the city down at the Bund (Wai Tan), a waterfront area which showcases colonial architecture and views of the cities skyline.

Down on the Bund with the bull that represents the cities credentials as the financial hub for China.

Our first stop after the Bund was Yuyuan Garden, a beautiful classical Chinese garden dating back to 1559 and the reign of Ming Emperor Jiajing.

The gardens cover an area of 2 hectares and are famous for a number of architectural marvels including the Big Rockery.

Within the private grounds we came across a wishing wall where you could leave inscriptions for loved ones so we decided to write one for our daughter Amelia to wish her well in her second year studies at University.

We then went on to explore the rest of the Yu Garden grounds. Whilst the grounds are modest in size, its full to the brim with temples, walk ways, ponds, miniature gardens, statues and artefacts.

After leaving the Yu garden we visited the Old City God Temple bazaar, where we found traditional Chinese arts and crafts and street food in abundance.

Within the bazaar we came across a Chocolate Museum, one of the more surreal aspects of Shanghai. All the large life like animals have been crafted out of chocolate resulting in a strong smell of cocoa.

Keeping with the odd and unusual, we left the world of chocolate to go next door to a cat petting store. Loads of cats relaxing in a shop window with toys to play with and grooming attendants. You couldn’t make this up!

Moving on we passed a sports store, Anta, the Chinese Olympic main sponsors.

It was getting close to lunchtime and we started our search for steamed buns, and the a recommended restaurant called Nanxiang, a local favourite and Michelin starred.

Street food is everywhere and next up was Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings) and Sheng Jian Bao, literally dumplings (bao) born (sheng) of being shallow-fried (jian).

The centre piece in Yu garden bazaar is the Exquisite Jade Rock a porous 3.3-m, 5-ton boulder. Rumours about its origin include the story that it was meant for the Huizong Emperor and the imperial garden in Bianjing, but was salvaged from the Huangpu River after the boat carrying it had sunk.

After a hour of exploring the bazaar we returned to the Bund waterfront to get a ferry across the river to visit the Shanghai Tower in the financial district of Lujiazui, Pudong.

The tower is the tallest in China and has the world’s fastest elevator at a top speed of 20.5 metres per second, equivalent to 46 mph.

Staying on the East Bund we walked through the financial district and the high end residential complexes, with private security in one of the most exclusive and expensive places to live in Shanghai and China.

Our next stop was the Oriental Pearl Radio & Television Tower. It’s located on the banks of the Huangpu River in Lujiazui, opposite of the Bund. Since its opening in 1995, the tower has become a major tourist attraction and a cultural icon of Shanghai.

From there we stopped at Mingzhu roundabout where an elevated walkway allows you to circumvent the roads below and gives a great view of the towers in the financial district.

From this point we could see the main three towers, from left to right, the Shanghai World Financial Centre (coined the bottle opener due to the whole at the top), Jin Mao Tower and lastly the Shanghai Tower. These three created the world’s first trio of adjacent supertall skyscrapers.

After all the towers we visited the nearby Super Brand Mall, a shopping centre set over 13 floors, with a total gross floor area of 2,700,000 sq ft.

In order to get back across the river, we purchased tickets for The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel.

The tunnel provides a light and sound show, although oddly it does not display Shanghai sights. 

We boarded the passenger-carrying train, a fully automatic rail vehicle towed by a cable and off we went into a light show to end all light shows!

A truly amazing experience, odd we have to acknowledge but one we felt we had to do whilst in Shanghai.

Returning to our hotel for a quick change and freshen up we headed out to the walking street called Nanjing Street where all the big store names, like Apple and Nike are located.

We were in search of some local Shanghai culinary offerings and got a tip to visit Old Folks restaurant. We are not sure if it was a joke or not!

On the way Andy made a new friend…

Instead we found a busy restaurant in one of the shopping centres that was busy and well priced called Dongfang Suyan. The chicken and pork were both good and were soon polished off with the help of a local beer called Blue Girl.

After a long and busy day back on the tourist trail, we walked back to our hotel along the walking street which despite it being close to 10pm on a Sunday night was packed.

Our hotel, The Grand Central is excellently situated close to the main shopping street and the Bund. Added to this it does a mean breakfast and the rooms are huge by comparison to what we’ve experienced elsewhere in China.

Tomorrow we are Koupang the momentum with a 4hr walking tour of the city, taking in People’s Park, the French Concession, Fuxing Park and much much more. It’s going to be busy.

So it’s goodbye to Canggu. Another early morning start, with a 5.15am alarm call and a Grab to Denpasar airport. Given the hour, the roads are thankfully quiet and we were able to take in our final views of the island.

We are flying with Singapore Airlines, with an initial 3hr ‘hop’ to Singapore before a lay over of a few hours, then a 5hr flight north to Shanghai.

Our flight into Singapore arrived around 1.30pm and we then had 3hrs or so to wander around. We grabbed one of the skytrains and headed to Terminal 3 where there is an abundance of high end shops and restaurants.

Once at Terminal 3 we had time to explore and visited one of the gardens before moving on to the shops for a gander.

Our next flight to Shanghai was just over 5hrs and like the first was with Singapore Airways. The service is always great and we had a pleasant meal and a couple of glasses of wine before settling into movie time. We both watched Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, not a classic but funny, as well as The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway, a better than expected watch.

Arriving into Shanghai Airport was quicker and smoother a transition back into China than we’d imagined. Perhaps due to the lateness, it was after 11.15pm, we went through security & customs and picked up our luggage within 30mins. After a little bit of negotiation we managed to secure a cab into downtown Shanghai for 200yen (£20 give or take) for what was a 40min drive of 25 miles, travelling at warp speed in a Tesla driven by a multi-phoned cabbie!

Our hotel, The Grand Central is ideally located in Huangpu, close to the Bund and the Old City. For reasons unknown our Alipay didn’t work when we tried to pay for our cab fare and thankfully the bell boy was able to step in and pay on our behalf. So kind and helpful, not sure if that would happen in the UK.

By the time we checked in and got to our room and unpacked it was around 1.15am and we were exhausted and soon off to bed.

Tomorrow we plan to explore Yuyuan Garden, God Temple Bazaar, The Bund area and take a night cruise on the Huangpu River. It’s going to be a busy day back on the tourist trail!!

So this is it, our last day in Bali after a very enjoyable return visit that’s lasted 17 days.

First thing first, we were up at 5.15am waving off Amelia and Meg who are flying back to the UK today. They have an epic travel day, flying via Doha back to London for 10pm tonight (UK time, 5am here) – the wonders of time zones!

It’s been such a pleasure to share this time with Amelia & Meg. We have been incredibly lucky to share this holiday together and see the girls have lots of fun.

It’s always so incredibly hard to wave goodbye, knowing that we won’t see Amelia for some time. Our next rendezvous will be Sydney on the 17 Dec, just 3 months away. Added to this we have Meg joining us again in Oz, which will be fab.

After the girls departed we returned to bed for a hour or two, before Andy’s body clock had him up and about and walking along the beach for our final morning.

The waves were looking good and we managed to catch a couple of the surfers getting up and doing their thing.

After an hours walk, Andy returned and we had an Aussie breakfast consisting of a flat white and a savoury pie from our local bakery.

With a few hours to kill, it was back to the grindstone of sunbathing intermingled with making some early travel bookings for our stay in South Korea. Trip highlights to come in Seoul include DMZ tour, a cruise on the Han River, and a walking tour of Gangnam. Looking forward to getting back into full city tourist mode!

Late morning we made our way to a brunch restaurant for some healthy smoothies and fruit muesli.

When the food arrives you can’t help reaching first for your phone rather than the cutlery, such is the presentation and colours of the food on offer. Wish we could eat this every morning.

After a few more hours of light snoozing for Michelle, early afternoon, and a 7k run for Andy (what do they say about Englishmen in the midday sun…!), we changed and made our way to the beach for one final sunset and dinner in Canggu.

Once at the beach we found a great vantage point to watch the sun go down, helped by a comfy seat and a cool bottle of beer.

As we neared 6.15pm and sunset we caught the most spectacular orange skies on what has been another hot sunny day.

When the sun did eventually disappear we still had the after glow and a twilight that looked amazing. Getting close to nature and watching the sun set is such a primeval activity and one we both look forward to and enjoy.

By 7.00pm we were on the hunt for a good restaurant to toast our final night in Canggu & Bali. Fortunately we found ourselves back at Sari, a place we visited early on in our stay with Amelia and Meg.

Being Friday night there was live music playing a host of classic R&B tunes, Stevie Wonder and Luther Van Dross being two stand out songs that got us singing along as we ate.

After a lovely dinner we walked back to the beach and past a couple of clubs which were waiting the arrival of the throng which doesn’t descend until closer to 11pm.

So that’s it. Our stay in Bali has come to an end. Tomorrow we are heading back to China and a 5 day visit to Shanghai, flying via Singapore on to the great city. It’s going to be long day, so we plan to get an early nights sleep.

As today is our last day with Amelia and Meg we gave them the option of what they wanted to do.

Lying on the sun loungers next to the pool won hands down!

With just two beds and three bodies vying for a spot, it was a case of pushing the beds together and getting comfortable. Thankfully it all worked out and we had a fun morning dipping in and out of the plunge pool.

As Andy and the girls tanned and generally lazed around, Michelle took on the photographer role catching the last days ‘action’.

The morning proved to be the best outcome a chilled affair with everyone happy doing their thing.

It’s been such a lovely 10 days in the Airbnb with the girls and we were keen to capture the day with a few family photos.

After a morning by the pool, the girls were keen for one final shopping trip and a few last minute presents.

We chose the beach instead, and secured a great spot in one of the beach bars and an unspoilt view of the ocean.

After an hour or two, the girls had completed their final shopping extravaganza and met us down at the beach for cocktails and to watch the sunset.

Before it went truly dark, the girls decided to go for a dip in the sea and to enjoy a final plunge in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

It was then time for our final dinner and a visit to Brick Lane, another Tik Tok recommendation that the girls had found. The place proved to be very new and funky with a DJ playing and a great selection of seafood & pasta and the obligatory pizza.

We ended up having one of our best tasting dinners out of our whole stay according to the girls, who were very pleased that we finished on a culinary high.

With the evening coming to a close it was just time for us to return to the Airbnb and for the girls to start their packing!

They leave by cab at 6am tomorrow so we made the best of our last few hours playing card games with laughter and a few tears thrown in for good measure.

It’s been a pleasure to share our time in Bali Part II with Amelia and Meg. Very happy times and lots of fond memories.

We had originally planned to travel down to Uluwatu today, to check out their famed beautiful beaches, however given the traffic and the predicted journey time of 2hrs+, we opted for a more leisurely day in Canggu.

Getting around Bali on the narrow roads, along with the mass of mopeds coming in all directions makes a journey an adventure with its fair share of close calls and endless peeping of car horns.

With the day predicted to be hot again, the lure of the sun lounger and beach more than outweighed the thought of sitting in a hot taxi for close on 5hrs there and back to Uluwatu. We will just have to revisit sometime in the future!

So instead of an early start, there was the opportunity for the girls to lie in and then hit the tanning before going for brunch and then afternoon shopping.

The girls took us to a brunch place in Canggu called Crate, which they discovered via Tik Tok and had visited a couple of days before.

The menu offered up some great smoothies, juices and brunch offerings all at very reasonable prices. All in we paid around £10 for two large egg, bacon, tomatoes and avocado sourdough toasties, two very large strawberry and banana smoothies and an apple, lime and strawberry juice. Quite a feast and one that could keep you going all day, and the possibly the next day too!!

By the end of the meal, we all felt full to the brim and ready to walk it off with some light jewellery and bikini shopping…!!

We then went off to look at jewellery for Amelia (and Meg), with an early Xmas present identified and purchased, before we moved on to a bikini sale store where Michelle was keen to find a replacement for her well worn pairs.

We then left the girls to continue with their shopping and decided to head down to Echo beach to enjoy a few hours relaxing in the late afternoon sunshine.

Our walk down to the beach through central Canggu took us past a range of new villas, restaurants, bars and clubs which are being built at a rapid rate. It all feels a little disjointed and given the state of the roads, traffic is only going to become busier and more challenging. Be interested to come back in a couple of years to see how things turn out.

Once we traversed the mile or so to the beach, we found ourselves next to La Brisa, a cool restaurant and beach club with great views across Echo beach. In the evening the place is all lit up as people congregate to watch the sunset with a beer or wine in their hands!

With this being Amelia and Meg’s last but one night before they return to their universities in the UK, we agreed to meet up back in central Canggu at a restaurant called Penny Lane. We’d heard about this instagram friendly venue from our Grab driver when we first arrived, so we’re pleased to finally get the chance to visit.

The venue was stunning and felt like a summer palace with trees and planting growing up all around us and soft trees top lighting which made a magical atmosphere.

Amelia and Meg were keen to have one last Indonesian dinner so ordered one seafood and one chicken Nasi Goreng.

We had an enjoyable evening with the girls chatting over their plans for the forthcoming year at their universities and our ‘reunion’ in Sydney this coming Xmas.

After dinner we had a little tour of this spectacular venue and can see why it’s such a favourite with travellers visiting Canggu. Definitely recommend visiting if you’re ever in the beach town for a few days, as the brunch menu looked equally good.

Following dinner we headed back to the Airbnb and the girls got changed ready for one last night of partying at Old Man’s and Hotel Mexicola. With the time almost 10pm, we took a more sedate approach and watched the latest episode of Slow Horses on Apple TV, before waving the girls off as they headed back into Canggu.

Tomorrow is Amelia and Meg’s last day so we intend to go down to a beach club in the afternoon for drinks and watch the sunset from one of the day beds with a cocktail in hand. Seems a fitting way to finish their holiday!

At the second time of asking we made it back at our favourite beach club, Potato Head in Seminyak.

It’s a return to a place we visited back in April, when last on the island and fell in love with the wonderful atmosphere, scenery, music, food and cocktails.

Since we last visited they’ve created a bamboo inspired entrance hall that goes on for a couple of hundred feet and highlights their desire to be green, recycling all plastic and waste wherever they can.

On entering into the beach club you enter into a serene world, where everything has its place. It’s a welcome break from the more chaotic world out on the street.

As you enter we noticed parts of the buildings exteriors are covered with recycled flip flop’s and coloured glass. Part of their green credentials.

The main seating area is oddly reminiscent of a Wimbledon tennis court, lots of dark green ‘grass’, white beach umbrellas and dark blue towels adorning the low lined up beds. With all facing out to the pool and to the sea beyond.

Quite quickly we are all relaxed and were ready for a day of indulgence. Whilst the beach bar comes at a cost, for a setting such as this, and the level of service on offer, it’s not bad and certainly significantly less than you would pay anywhere in Europe.

The pool, the view and the music are truly captivating and every one of us was soon in their happy place.

Amelia and Meg took in a spot in the eternity pool and watched the waves rolling in, with an extra eye on the cocktail choices for later in the day!!

Having secured a beach bed on the lawn for the day, we got comfortable and ordered up some light refreshments.

With the intention of remaining healthy, we went for a kale, yoghurt & banana muesli. So tasty and delicious and just right for a late morning snack.

As mid-afternoon set in, we decided to order up some pizza to keep us going for a few hours. The margarita sourdough was close to perfect.

With the hunger pains addressed, it was time to revert to sunbathing with a regular 30min dip into the pool to cool off and re-energise.

Before we knew it, the sun started to lower and we began to wave goodbye to the last of the rays.

As the music got louder, so the lights got lower and the darkness of the early evening brought about a more clubby feel to the place.

As is this is likely to be our last visit, we went for a wander around and took in the open kitchen where all the lite refreshments are cooked in a large pizza oven.

The service today has been excellent. The staff really make you feel special and appreciated. Our waiter was kindnenough to let us stay on the beds until 7.30pm, enabling Andy and the girls to head into town for some retail therapy.

On their return there were two new pairs of Adidas limited edition trainers (copies naturally) for Andy & Meg, that will need boxing up and taken back to England to wait our return.

We did manage to get a group photo, taken by our waiter, to provide us with a lasting memory of this lovely day.

So ends another fantastic trip to Potato Head beach club, we loved it. Hope to be back someday.

Tomorrow we plan to stay local, make the most of the sunshine and head into Canggu for brunch, along with more shopping for some!

For the first time since arriving in Bali we woke to rain and cloudy skies. This was the aftermath from a heavy storm that had brought torrential downpours throughout the night.

As a result our plans to visit the nearby Potato Head beach club in Seminyak have been put off until tomorrow.

Sadly the day didn’t get much better, after discovering that our credit card had been scammed over a mysterious few hundred pound purchase.

The next few hours were then spent acquiring phone credits to ring the UK to report the fraud, get the account stopped, then get a new card (and number) up and running.

Not the easiest thing to do, but thankfully with modern technology we are back using Apple Pay and hope to get a new card hand delivered when we see friends from the UK in three weeks time in Tokyo.

In truth we have been lucky to travel for 9 months without hitting some banking/ credit card issues.

Whilst we conversed with our bank in the UK, the girls made a plan to go for lunch in Canggu and then go shopping.

Having spent a day at the Airbnb dealing with the credit card issue, we decided to stay local for dinner in the evening.

We returned to a nearby jazz bar and restaurant and spent the next couple of hours having a light bite and enjoying a three piece band playing some classic jazz tunes.

After a day of calls to-ing and fro-ing with our bank, the first beer of the day never tasted so good!

Being in the mood to just chill, we enjoyed the jazz grooves for an hour or so.

The trio of players, proved to be mum on keyboards and vocals, dad on the drums and their son on double bass. Oh to be so talented. Note to self must learn an instrument!!

The girls popped into the restaurant to show us their purchases and wow they’d enjoyed themselves. Jewellery, bikinis and lots more. A proper blow out. Great that they found so many bargains and had fun doing it together.

The restaurant along with live jazz, also has something of an art gallery theme too, with art and statue pieces dotted around the place. If you’re ever in Canggu it’s worth popping into Arte. The atmosphere, music, staff and not forgetting the food are all excellent.

After the indifferent start to the day with the credit card fraud and the hassle of sorting this out, it was lovely to finish the day out and about with the girls at a great live venue. Another night to add to the list of fab evenings together overseas as a family.

Tomorrow we are beach club bound and our second attempt to return to Potato Head. Looking forward to an indulging day of great food, fun and lots of R&R!!

Another day, another sunny morning in beautiful Canggu. Andy was up early as usual and managed his 10k run around the padi fields and along the beach.

Being a Sunday, there were a fair number of people up and about, some in the water, others relaxing on bean bags at bars close to Echo beach.

Returning to the Airbnb, the girls were soon up and about and keen to try out a nearby Brunch Club.

The restaurant was suitably busy and had an inviting atmosphere along with a great menu. First up were smoothies for Andy and Meg, who picked out a strawberry and banana supreme and a pineapple granola mix, whilst Michelle and Amelia stuck to coffees, one hot and one iced.

The food when it arrived was off the chart and could have fed a family of 8, with a huge brekkie burger, an avocado & salad sourdough, eggs benedict and corn fritters. All were delicious and required sharing so we could experience a little of each.

After a meal like that, it was important to try and work it off with a walk down to the beach. We are getting to know the area more and more, and are really appreciating our time in what is such a beautiful part of Indonesia.

The sunsets are amazing as is the people watching, and not forgetting the surfers too.

Without doubt this is the best part of Bali we have seen, and certainly one that attracts people who enjoy the outdoor life and like to keep fit.

Amelia took on the challenge to find a suitable place to eat out tonight. Amusingly she found a place called The Barn, styled on a traditional English pub that did proper Sunday roasts. That was it for Michelle, she was sold, and we booked a table for 7pm, which also meant we caught the group that perform on the weekend.

As we ambled down the beach on our way to dinner, we passed a throng of people ensconced on the beach watching the sunset glow.

It’s a great place to be around 6.30-6.45pm, catching the orange glows for the last few moments. It’s a view that will remain with us and help to bring back fond memories.

Leaving the beach and heading into central Canggu, we walked passed the girls favourite bar, amusingly named Old Man’s, where the drinking continues most nights well into the early hours.

After a short walk and a detour down a side street, we came across the impressive Barn signage, drawing us in for our first Sunday roast in a very long time.

And without further a do, here is the feast that Amelia ordered – a proper lamb shank with all the trimmings.

Michelle opted for the chicken roast and like Amelia was taken aback by the size of the portions. It’s fair to say they were generous.

The girls wasted no time in getting stuck in and we all were soon reminiscing about our favourite Sunday lunch venues back in Oxford!

Despite the girls best efforts, they struggled to finish and by the end we were having to ask for a doggy bag to avoid embarrassment!

As the eating slowed, our focus moved to the singers on stage just in front of our table. They happily took requests and played some of our favourite songs from the likes of Adele & Stevie Wonder, as well as a host of American rock band tracks sought by an Australian family on the next table.

Such good fun and great to share this with Amelia and Meg.

Leaving the pub the girls wanted to carry on with the merriment and more drinking at Motel Mexicola.

We took a more relaxed tone, heading down to the beach for a walk back to the Airbnb.

Tomorrow depending on the weather, we plan to visit either Uluwatu down in the south of the island, or Potato Head beach club for some hedonism, depending on how the girls feel.