Bali - but different.

[gallery] So, Bali is boganville. Right? Well, if you go to Kuta area, yes. But go just thirty minutes north to Canggu, and it's completely different. Sitting at Echo Beach, watching the sun set, we see one hawker, a handful of locals, a few handfuls of surfers, a bunch of expats and some more tourists. All calm, all chilled, all getting on with the relaxed life. No smutty stickers, no drunk obnoxious grots. I find myself saying many times that I can see why people fall in love with the place, and live here. Expats sit at beachside cafes, tapping away at their laptop while swigging a beer. Everyone(well, nearly) rides a motorbike down, except for me and hubby, on our bicycles. Everyone knows them though too, branded with The Chillhouse, an accommodation in the area. It's like one big, happy family. Even further north is The Menjangan. It's the quietest part of Bali I've set foot on. Well, that is, until , we, and particularly, my kids, get there. The squeals of excitement that echo through the forest as we bump along the dirt rocky tracks in a double decker open minivan surely scare the monkeys back a step or two. The deer grazing at the beach don't seem to mind the curious kids sneaking up on them either. And the calm bay, bordered with white sand beach, framed by mangroves, is perfect to burn energy. After coming back from a canoe exploration, we wander the boardwalks through the mangrove, chancing upon a Monitor Lizard. The huge lizard watches us as we scuttle past, then slowly moves on.

So, for somewhere different, but still easy and cheap - Bali can deliver. Think outside the square - or from the stretch of  hectic tourism that is Kuta, Legian and Seminyak - and head up. Canggu, Medewi, and Menjangan. Treat yourself. We met a few travellers from Australia, travelling up around the North West of Bali, and all of them were very impressed, and so glad they made the effort. Even the girl that wobbled around like a walking bandage after coming of her motorbike on the way up.

www.themenjangan.com

www.thechillhouse.com

A weekend away at Seawall Apartments Glenelg

After hanging out with the good folk at Seawall so much over the last year, updating their gallery of pics, I finally manage to stay. Purely my fault for taking so long.

A weekend of working ON the business, coffees and a wine or two. What an awesome place to hang and create. The beachfront room, with private balcony just adds to the awe factor. With The Glenelg precinct just minutes away (by foot) it would be easy to spend all day out, but I am so comfy watching the world go by, rugged up with glass of wine in hand on the balcony or comfy sofas inside. Oh, it's a hard life. Thanks to my cousin Shaya from The Family Law Project for laying the hard q's on me, and getting a different train of thought started.

Www.thefamilylawproject.com.au And of course, www.seawallapartments.com.au

Travel destination choice can mean confusion.

I'm always looking at holidays. Even when I'm on holiday. Even when I've had enough of the kids, driving us crazy while away, I'm thinking 'where can we go next?'And now I'm planning two holidays, one for hubby's 40th in December, and then one for our 10th anniversary in February. I'm pretty much settled on going to the Gold Coast for the 40th, as we have both never been there and know the kids will be entertained. But. And it's a big but. We want to go somewhere, no kids, in February.

My first plan was a surf holiday, but anywhere close to Australia is off season in February (or not good for advanced beginners). Then I thought Hawaii, but didn't know if it's worth it for five or six days.

Then there's...

Maldives South Pacific (anywhere but Fiji) Philippines Vietnam Byron Bay (hmm, why don't I have more Oz places?) Lombok

All places we haven't seen yet.

I'm confused! I've not been this confused before. This is what happens when I get freedom from kids... The world truly is my oyster of ease.

I'll let you know how I go. Feel free to comment if you have ideas or suggestions. Fun, freedom and adventure is the go.

Who else gets confused?

52A The Esplanade, Middleton SA

A while back a group of girls went down to Middleton for a weekend away. A weekend of wine, food, surf, massages and walks along the beach. Whales were spotted, muscles soothed, stories told, and plenty of cheese devoured. Surf was, well, tragic. But we had a go.

Booking through SA Beachhouse, we stayed at 52A The Esplanade. The stay wasn't without any hiccups - not being able to work out appliances or downstairs heating the main ones - but nothing was to detract from this fabulous holiday home and i'ts location. Or our weekend away from the kids. I loved crawling out of bed in the morning, making an (unfortunately instant) coffee and costing up on the sofa watching the waves roll in. Being winter, we were also spoilt with whales frolicking just behind the break.

It's a great house, in a fabulous location. Nothing but a stobie pole to block our view of the beach. Perfect for winter or summer. Great for families, and even better for a bunch of friends (split the cost!)

www.sabeachhouse.com.au

Late night flights with little ones...

A snap on my iPhone while queueing for check-in at Denpasar Airport. Poor little guy didn't wake up from the transfer from hotel. At least I didn't have to cradle him.

Breakfast… breaking the fast with something yummy.

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A girly weekend out... with just the iPhone.

'I love it here. I just love it here.' I hear myself repeating my words, as the warm night breeze blows my hair. I could be on a beach, in a little ranty shack in Brazil. Or anywhere that oozes eclectic, eccentric, ramshackle. But no, I'm in Adelaide. Grenfell Street, Adelaide. Little Miss Mexico.

I'd heard about it for ages, and have never been. Mainly because I haven't been out in town for ages. Having two small children does that. And it wasn't til I asked a mate about where to go, and he says 'come here, no age bias, chilled tunes and great atmosphere' I get there. The description is not wrong. There's turtles in a tank. Fairy light tangled crates as lighting. Rickety makeshift bars. Old lounges. Uneven concrete. Galvanised island. Painted murals.

Having walked the breadth of Adelaide CBD from Benjamin on Franklin, I feel worlds apart. I've come from old world charm - muskiness stained in the sagging leather seating of the Library dining room, slick coffee cocktails and mirrored walls, to having margaritas in recycled jars and sangria by the bottle in an alley.

I feel like I'm on holiday. Gingers Cafe on Goodwood Road for lunch, surrounded by all the cool people. Checking into a two bedroom apartment at Mantra on Frome Road. Swirling wine in Benjamin on Franklin charm, and now chilling out with good vibes and relaxed crowd at Little Miss Mexico.

Do I have to go home tomorrow? Not before breakky at Colins and Co on King William Road.

Holiday at home in Adelaide CBD

I wanted to stay away a night, for our date night. I wanted to stay at Clarion Soho or Crowne Plaza so I could photograph their rooms. But a Hilton deal popped up on my screen which included breakky, valet parking, late checkout, and a bottle of sparkling. Too good to resist. Deep down I knew I'd be disappointed though. No fantastic photos to be taken.

We had a great weekend though. Hiked at Mount Lofty, coffee in Stirling, yum cha on Gouger Street, a spot of shopping, room service and buffet breakfast. And the best bit of all, not woken by kids through the night, or at 6am on Sunday.

The Hilton is no glamour queen, and I'd recommend other hotels before this hotel, but it does do food well. Room service chick pea curry and grilled vegetables with hummus was very yummy. And the buffet breakfast was decent too. Most hotels in Australia can't do buffets like our international counterparts, but Hilton really tried. Hubby was impressed.

What is your favourite hotel in Adelaide? Have you ever stayed overnight in your home city?

Souvenirs for family and friends - or not?

Aussies apparently complain about the crummy gifts people bring back for them from their holidays. A recent Skyscanner survey reported that 18 per cent re-gift the items and 12 per cent throw the gift away. 50 per cent of Aussies keep the gift to avoid hurting the giver's feelings.

So think about that next time you feel the pressure to give someone a gift. Save yourself the time of shopping for every aunt, uncle, cousin, parent and sibling, go enjoy your holiday. They probably won't want the gift anyway. Just because the Bintang singlets are popular in Phuket, it doesn't mean that they are wanted, or even liked, back home. And those colourful bead necklaces, they will probably be lost at the bottom of the drawer with cracked wood features. And really, does anyone wear destination t-shirts anymore? No matter how cool the place is.

I've given some gifts that were probably not quite right. T-shirts that shrink when they are washed, cheap jewellery, cultural homewares, tacky girls bikinis - the list could go on. I do it to myself. I get engrossed in the culture and fashion of the place I am in, and try to bring it home. Normally, a few months goes by, and the hot bargain is forgotten about. The dress I'd wear forever is crumpled at the bottom of the wardrobe, and soon enough, in the Vinnies bag.

One souvenir we have seemed to get right though, is the more expensive, one of a kind sort. My husband started this. And now we have memories of our travel scattered around our house. Paintings from Cuzco, wooden carvings from Sabah and Bali, textiles from Fiji... we just couldn't find anything in Phuket so have a bright pink tuk-tuk sitting on our fridge. It's been there for a year, I wonder how long it will last?

What is the worst souvenir you have bought home?

Melbourne - the city of laneways and a shot of coffee.

Laneways. The back end of town.

Not normally the most elegant or tourist worthy part of town. But there are exceptions. Take Melbourne for example. Cafe lanes, bar lanes and artworked lanes litter the city. Litter that is shutterworthy for the International tourist. A photographer looks at it different though. Although we love to sit and have coffee we also see character, life and intrigue in the empty or littered lanes that everyone scurries past.

While most people are looking that way, we look this way. Look up and look down.

TIP * When going for a walk with your camera, don't forget to take a look behind you. Things can look different from another angle. Light, shape, form. Even people continuing with their lives, thinking you have passed. Click. Moment captured.