Bali ...

A journal book is essential for each trip, along with tape and glue stick for pasting in business cards and the cards I collect from local shops and cafes that I want to remember and recommend.

This is a dried blossom and leaf I pasted in my journal. It was the turn-down gift The Oberoi gave and was on my pillow, fresh, each evening instead of chocolates

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Over due blog

Saturday, May 3, 2008, 01:20 PM

I apologize to all my website visitors for the lapse in blogging, and hope you still find this website intriguing.

I will be updating my site over the next couple of weeks, but come to me any time for your custom Bali and Southeast Asia trips.

How to say something fresh about a magical place like Bali, where you've been a hundred times?

Last week, I sent a proposal to one of my very good, repeat travel agent clients . She emailed me back and said, "Can't you beef up the itinerary to make the rooms we want to put them in sound fabulous....?" I took her comment to heart, and worked on her clients' itinerary the whole day. I stole words from the hotels' individual websites on the internet. I went through some of my earliest proposals, awed by my inspiration, my enthusiasm and sheer delight in the newness of my Bali experience. In my quest for the inspired turn of phrase, I looked through some of the journals I had kept from 1987 to the present.

I'd like to share some of my entries with you in my next couple of blogs.

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about perfect spot tours

Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 08:22 PM

Fifteen years ago I was in the mystical island of Bali with friend and colleague, Beverley Auerbach. We were in the hide-away of Candidasa in less-visited East Bali, swimming in the too warm swimming pool of the Serai Hotel (one of our favorites, now called the Alila) when I decided to form a Bali tour company and name it Perfect Spot Tours.

This was a momentous occasion. It took several more years, but I did form my company and since 1998, have been creating personal, customized tours to Bali, timed and tuned for the individual or group, and I have branched out to include other parts of exotic Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma, as well as India and China.Though perfection is hard to come by, and at times I have felt like changing my company name to “Good Enough Tours,” I truly believe that the world is full of perfect spots and perfect moments, some planned for - most wondrous and surprising, and that it is possible, with love, determination, and special first hand knowledge to create near perfect tours.

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Why Bali?

Monday, March 12, 2007, 09:42 AM

Why is Bali so special? Why is this little jewel of an island my favorite place? I fell in love with Bali on my first trip in 1987. Like India, on arrival the tarmac smelled of spice and vegetation, thickened by the humidity. Once again, I was in the exotic East, a place both sensual and soulful. After a good night sleep, I let Bali put me under her spell, and for the next week there was no shortage of magic.
I was enchanted with Bali's exquisite landscapes - vistas of stone or bamboo carved shrines in the rice fields with graceful vines and trees sprouting from the roof of the shrine. I loved the colorful temple rocessions and variety of offerings – some simple, just a bit of rice and a flower on a banana leaf - some intricate and splendid. I was intrigued by roadside stalls brimming with treasures, with masks, puppets, textiles, ikats and batiks – whimsical wood and stone carvings, silver jewelry, antiques and, better yet, authentic “antique yesterdays.”

The Balinese people were delightful, and were natural hosts. Tolerant, generous, sincere, amused and forgiving, if I could apply one word to the Balinese, it would be grace – a quality that is naturally possessed. This is the quality that makes something beautiful inside as well as out, the element that combines comfort and style naturally – that brightens rather than darkens…that turns a house into a home and makes a hotel more than the latest experiment in minimalistic decor.

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My grandson, Lucas

Sunday, July 30, 2006, 03:53 PM

My grandson is a jewel. Like the Balinese, his little feet never touch the ground, though he is 10 months old now. He is always being passed to someone, who cuddles him, kisses him, smooshes him, lets him eat their cell phone and squeals with him.

A smile from Lucas is a treasured gift. "DAH!!" he smiles endearingly. "DAH!!"
All the relatives and friends in the room go DAH!! This encourages him ("Hey, they speak my language, even when I'm saying any old thing. They think DAH!! is getting close to saying DA, DA. But really I'm just saying "DAH!!"

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A Trip is a Trip is a Trip....

Saturday, May 27, 2006, 09:12 AM

The Desert - Part I

All trips are magical, whether two weeks long, three nights or one delicious night. Whatever the length, a trip allows us to get away from the usual, celebrate the new and literally recreate ourselves.

The desert is one of my favorite short stay vacations, and a tour to either Joshua Tree or Anza Borrego Desert is just as exotic in its own way as a tour to Bali.

There’s the look and shape of the desert - its weird and beautiful rock formations shaped like dinosaurs or crocodiles, a king’s throne or a woman’s buttocks; the variety of exotic twisty, feathery and prickly plants; the fabulous muted colors - gray green, straw and sand color, mauves, colors you want tubes of. There’s the twittery sounds of uncommon birds, the sagey smells, the still air, and the desert creatures.

Part 2 - The perfect spot

I admit I have been obsessed with finding and being in the most perfect of spots – anywhere, everywhere – hence the name, Perfect Spot Tours. Often I am successful - not because it pays to be obsessive (I prefer to use the word "passionate") - but because there are so many beautiful things in the world to see, touch, taste and find perfect. And if, for example, the moment, or the hotel lobby, or the beach front isn't perfect (and I can't change it), I am learning to accept what is, and say, “Hey, this is good enough.”

In Joshua Tree, our high desert haunt, we have the perfection thing down, and are rarely disappointed. We stay at the Circle C, a charming motel with 11 vine-covered rooms built around a near perfect pool. Each room has a full kitchen and a different view of the garden. To add perfect to perfection, we bring granola, tortillas and cheese, humus and Persian cucumbers, our stovetop Italian espresso maker, and some good dark coffee. Every morning we sit in the garden and have a perfect breakfast with perfect coffee. Then I get out my paints and Roger opens his laptop.

In Anza Borrego, our low desert getaway, we also have it down. We stay at the Borrego Valley Inn, another charming hotel, built like an Indian adobe each room decorated with Mexican antiques and Indian artifacts.

Each morning we sip our perfect coffee slowly and plan our day.
We swim, we eat, we walk, we make tea, we read. After three days of desert delight, Roger is relaxed enough to begin his vacation and stay put in the desert, and I am ready to get on a plane and go to Africa, or Turkey, Italy or Bali. Anywhere but home. But alas, we drive home to Culver City – mapping out a different route for the ride home. Some where in between, we stop in an obscure little town that has an antique shop or two (for me), and a diner (for him) where he will have the perfect tuna melt and coleslaw while reading the L.A. Times. And I will have a salad.

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A trip is a trip - Highway 101 to Shell Beach and On to SFO

Monday, May 22, 2006, 12:45 PM

Below are a few pictures of Guadalupe, CA., a perfectly obscure and photogenic town near Nipomo and San Luis Abispo.

We stopped here for breakfast on the way back home and ate in one of the town's Mexican cafes that could have been the setting for another "Petrified Forest." We took a walk through the town, up and down both sides of the main street, and I took pictures of intriguing window displays which are a delight any where.

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Visits with My Grandson - Lucas Fox

Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 09:56 PM

A blog wouldn't be a blog without pictures of the cutest, sweetest dark haired baby in the world - my grandson. Surely he will be a manager of a renowned hotel - or a leader of tours to exotic destinations. Or maybe he'll follow in his Mom and Dad's footsteps and be in the movie business.

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A trip is a trip is a trip - Anza Borrego Desert

Monday, May 8, 2006, 11:30 AM

The Desert – Part One

All trips are magical, whether 2 weeks (we wish), 3 nights or one delicious night. Whatever the length, a trip allows us to get away from the usual, celebrate the new and recreate ourselves.

A tour to either Joshua Tree or Anza Borrego Desert is just as exotic in its own way as a tour to Bali.

There’s the look and shape of the desert - its weird and beautiful rock formations shaped like dinosaurs, or crocodiles, a king’s throne or a woman’s buttocks; the variety of twisty, feathery and prickly plants; the fabulous muted colors - gray green, straw and sand color, mauves, colors you want tubes of. There’s the twittery sounds of uncommon birds, the sagey smells, the still air, and the desert creatures.

Looking for the Perfect
Spot – Part 2

I admit I have been obsessed with finding and being in the most perfect of spots – anywhere, everywhere – hence the name, Perfect Spot Tours. Often I am successful – not because it pays to be obsessive, but because there are so many beautiful things in the world to see, taste, smell and find perfect. And, if, for example, a hotel lobby, or ocean view, or anything I am in search of is not sublime (and I can’t change it), I am learning to accept what is, and say, “Hey, this is good enough.” In this light, it’s amazing to find how many “good enough” things become, in fact, perfect for the time being

In Joshua Tree, our high desert haunt, Roger and I have it down. We stay at the Circle C, a charming hotel with 11 vine-covered rooms built around a near perfect pool. Each room has a full kitchen and a different view of the garden. To add perfect to perfection, we bring granola, tortillas and cheese, humus and Persian cucumbers, our stovetop Italian espresso maker, and some good dark coffee. Every morning we sit in the garden and have a perfect breakfast with perfect coffee. Then I get out my paints and Roger opens his laptop.

In Anza Borrego, our high desert spot, we also have it down. For We stay at the Borrego Valley Inn, another charming hotel, built like an Indian adobe each room decorated with different Mexican antiques and Indian artifacts. Each morning we sip our perfect coffee slowly and plan our day. We swim we eat we walk, we make tea. We read. After three days of desert delight, Roger is relaxed enough to begin his vacation and stay put in the desert, and I am ready to go to Africa, or Turkey, Italy or Bali. I am ready to wind my way around the world. But alas, we drive home to Culver City – mapping out a different route for the return. As usual we look for an obscure little town where we will stop for lunch. The town must have an antique shop or two to browse in (for me), and a diner for Roger where he can have the perfect tuna melt and coleslaw while reading the L.A. Times.

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A Night in Kalaw, Burma

Tuesday, March 14, 2006, 06:03 PM

On Lake Inle

After visiting the incredible Pindaya Caves, with their hundreds of Buddha images, we spent the night in the British hill town of Kalaw before continuing to Lake Inle. Kalaw was a one-nighter in our itinerary because of its 5 day Market scheduled for the following morning, AND to have dinner in the restaurant of Lulu Sing and her Seven Sisters, an amazing little haunt recommended by a friend and colleague in Bali. The restaurant’s name was intriguing enough to stop in Kalaw.

It was unexpectedly cold in this little town, and we dressed in whatever layers we could dig out of our suitcases. My outfit in Kalaw and the 2 nights on the lake in Inle was a T-shirt followed by a sweatshirt followed by my pajama top. Around my neck I folded and tied the beautiful shawl size silk scarf that I bought from the batik designer, Nia Fliam, in Yogyakarta on our last trip. I would like to mention, now, that I always lose a favorite thing on every trip. On this trip I lost the thin long sleeve striped T-shirt that I loved and always packed for warmth, and Nia Fliam’s scarf. Oh, agony.

Looking like three little robots from all the layers, we walked in to Lulu Sing’s restaurant and were immediately struck by its charm and atmosphere. It was like a house inside with many rooms and nooks and crannies where one could dine. All the windows had lace curtains, and the rooms were lit with candle light only. We ate one fabulous Indian and Burmese dish after the other, the last being some kind of exquisite flaming desert, and were waited on by Lulu, herself, and her gorgeous 7 sisters – each with a long, thick dark braid down her back.

The experience at Lulu's was so wonderful, we almost spent another night in cold Kalaw.

Recommend this restaurant, and you will be considered wise and well traveled.

By the way, on this particular tour of Burma we stayed at the cottage style Pine Hill Lodge in Kalaw, which was a perfect spot!

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