Following a hectic few months of work, family and friends from overseas visiting (which culminated in our fantastic wedding day in the Yarra Valley), Melinda and I decided to opt for a relaxing holiday in Bali for our honeymoon. Normally we favour travelling around a new country, sightseeing, photographing, climbing and generally immersing ourselves in the local culture. Instead we chose to stay at a private villa in the cooler mountain region of Ubud for 5 nights, and then head down to the beach and spend 9 nights in another private villa in Seminyak.

Looking for privacy coupled with a little luxury, we decided on the Kayumanis Private Villa and Spa in Ubud to recharge our batteries at the start of our trip. Naturally as an architectural photographer I could not resist the temptation to capture the beauty of our surroundings, both at the villa and the local area, particularly the famous rice paddies which surround the town…

The villa itself was indeed comfortable and incredibly relaxing in a quite area about 10 minutes drive from the town; fortunately Kayumanis also offered a very good, reliable complimentary taxi service. The overall service we received was quite spot on in fact, attentive and professional without being intrusive. I personally would definitely return to Ubud, and to Kayumanis Villas, albeit for a shorter break which I would then combine with more activities…I don’t do sitting around too well, and although it was nice for both of us to catch up on our reading, by the end of the holiday we were both looking forward to our next adventure trip!

Throughout our time in Bali, we found the food to be of a consistently high standard and coupled with the relative inactivity (by my standards) I am sure I came back to Australia a good few Kg’s heavier..!