I can’t admit to being a huge fan of Indonesia’s premier holiday destination despite the fact that I head to Bali on a fairly regular basis – the irony is not lost on me. Still, what I like about Bali is the close proximity to Perth, I like to head over to just hang at a nice hotel, the smaller the better for me, I like to be out of the major areas and just be right up in north of the island.

What was once a cheap holiday is now overpriced, you still get sick easily and there are all the hassles, crime, corruption and pollution. There is dog meat being sold as beef, rabies if you get bitten, motorbikes and scooters to fall off. Even if you don’t ride one, you are not much safer on the footpath as they ride down that and knock you over. I am not riding around on a scooter, I would rather walk or get a paid ride on the back of a scooter, supporting the local taxi industry I believe is the best option.

Don’t even think about drinking the spirits, even the imported spirits as they distill it up in the mountains and top up name brands with it, the results are alcohol poisoning, blindness and death. The pollution is a disgrace, Indonesia is second after China for dumping plastics in the ocean. It is a simple transaction to a poor and uneducated villager, dump all your rubbish in the river and the problem is gone. Let’s not even think for a moment that whilst it is gone from your village that it has to end up somewhere – it’s just gone.

Where Bali works for me is a long weekend, I can take an extra Friday off work, jump on a cheap flight on Thursday night after finishing work and in three and a half hours am there. Then I can take a Sunday evening flight and be back for work on Monday morning. Want a four day weekend? Take Monday off as well and return to work reasonably fresh again. That will be my plan now, a Thursday night flight, Friday to Monday in Bali and return on Monday night ready for work on Tuesday morning.

Even better, the rainy miserable Perth winter is the dry season in Indonesia so you can escape winter for a few days, sit around the pool, eat out and stay out of trouble. I take a decent book and sit around the resort for a couple of days in either Legian or Seminyak heading out to a restaurant in the evening. Yes, it is getting expensive, but that is ok, as long as the quality is good.

Likewise, I take some dive equipment with me and spend the time up island away from everything getting a couple of dives in. It really depends on my mood and how exhausted I feel. Since I only ever book a couple of weeks ahead so the decision is made at the time. That’s what Bali is good for, a long weekend at short notice and that’s just about it.