Ski season has just about departed us already. Winter has not been as cold as anticipated although we had a few cold dips. Currently we are seeing of the remainder of quite an severe cold spell. We had another ski at Ganchon. Mid February was Chinese New Year, a bit of a long weekend. I had enough Singapore Air miles accumulated to earn meself a free business class ticket to Bali so I treated myself to a Chinese New Year on the the island of the 'Dawning of the World'. The main idea was to catch up on some scuba diving as the last time was in Manado in the beginning of 2006. I stayed a night in Singpapore too, flown through there many times but never ventured out of the airport. It's a nice place to live and work but not really a big holiday destination, nice is the operative word. It was always a haven of civilization and a bit of Westernization after a stint in Indonesia or Korea on my way home.

I never realised how much I missed South East Asia, it does just have an air of relaxation and the bit of a familiar feel of Africa's aging infrastructure and mellow decay. I stayed in the Legian Beach Hotel in Kuta, having avoided Kuta before due to it's propensity for attracting angry bombers. This time I thought I would brave the threats. I was not disappointed. Balinese people are so friendly and inviting, the culture is also so steeped in Hindu and ancient traditions that it makes a fascinating change from our mundane modern existence. The hotel is in lovely green grounds on the wide, sandy Kuta beach, which is renowned for surfing as it has nice surfy waves.

Diving was at Tulamben and Padangbai. I have been to these places before but it was just nice to get back into the warm water. Tulamben never disappoints with its fish life. There was a Napoloen Wrasse gliding around that I had not seen before. I have always like Padangbai's quaint harbour.  The pubs and eateries around the Kuta blast site have just been rebuilt and life goes on. Bali is a women's place, myriads of shops and stalls, I missed not having Done` there as on the last trip we stayed near diving places a bit away from all the shops.

Next week I am going home and we are having our big five oh birthday bash, me being Done`s senior by twenty days.
 I have not been home since October last year so looking forward to it immensely. We have a lot of family and friends coming to visit too. It's hot summer back home still so back to warmer climates. I will miss the Korean winter, it's cold but not too severe, I am a bit of a winter baby, me thinks.