gee13

Heres a couple of old gfs of mine... with the cosiest small car ever for erm...three ... did I mention they drive ok on Australian roads? :wubclub:

What a lovely report PQ. Glad you and family had a great time. We were in California in the early 80s. Nearly settled nearby in Kissimee, Florida..Had great memories of Knots Berry farm et al before it became a massive tourist spot. Ah the good old days and American Macdonald burgers were actually very tasty back then.. and Dr Pepper..

And yet still the Americans got beaten in that nasty guerilla war fare.. but now there is unfortunately the last laugh where once the war against communism was inherently to advance capitalism across the world and now sadly American companies now have their merchandise mass produced in Vietnam and Cambodia.. perhaps there another level of racism at play, perhaps economic. Certain classifications of first to third worlds come to mind.. but that is for another thread ..

I still wonder what folks classify as racism. Is it racism if one person stands looks and thinks a bad thought about someone elses culture? This is certainly passive racism and mostly evident in Australia. I havent yet heard of (recently) say Aussie of European descent having plans to round up a group of non European Aussies and trying to exterminate them en masse. Or is it racism if some European Aussie kid chucks a sandwich at you because you are of non European appearance? Or calls you derogatory names. Is it the boss that advances one person and denies another because of their appearance. What really is the kind of racism in Australia. From what I have seen its mostly passive.. its borne of ignorant insecure people. I dont think most ignorant people in Australia are going to abduct you and commit a hate crime because of your race or appearance. So a question to the OP.. are you just worried that someone is going to call you names, are you worried about your job prospects or are you worried that someone is going to commit a crime against you because you are Indian?

Lifes simple pleasures and a ton of nature .. great stuff.. very envious @Bobj..

Awesome pics.. wideangle heaven.. picture postcards

Ahhhh the true ironies in life..the rich get richer..wealth accumulation is directly correlated with un-happiness.... capitalism makes you want to think things like 'If only I had one wish Id love to win 10 $ million in lottery' ... I bet you when this happens youd be wishing that you hadnt..

This has been happening in asia for yonks.. no different to pizza delivered to your door..whats the fuss

I think as an introduction trip perhaps nusa dua is a safe bet. You are likely to get cleaner food overall. But its not a place you would crave to return to if you want more exposure to the character of bali. Its as tourist focussed as you can get...without the kuta culture bogan aussies of course....More Europeans and poms about...That said you can always do day trips and have that 'safe and sanitised place' to return to. Its more expensive than most other places of same standard though.. Id go further to suggest that Tanjung Benoa, the beach area just north of Nusa Dua has 4 to 5 star resorts for 3 star rates. And you get a better bang for your buck. Melia Benoa is one that comes to mind.

Better than St Kilda beach for sure..The first Bali trip we did was set right here... in front of our beach bungalow..

Funny enough in Indo domestic garuda is the premiere airline and I always fly with them interconnecting, the service is great though Jakarta airport is not the finest piece of work. Less time there the better.. International garudas reputation has only been climbing. Would fly them again.

yeah...its why Ive never stayed in kuta or seminyak.. I must admit early on I did bring the family to Nusa dua to avoid the aussie 'typicals' and there were more Russians about.. nowadays we like to go further into more remote places, still accessible, the more of the old charm Bali to see ..

not everything bad, just a few right ?... :wink:

Im sorry that you didnt really experience the real side of Bali. Perhaps if you went to Munduk falls, or even Lovina and spent a week there you may have a slightly different perception..

Didnt say Balinese didnt, but theres no doubt of majority foreign negative influence. Bali was once a different place before mass migrations to cash in on tourism. Dont know what you mean by being scammed by this knowledge..Ive travelled all round Indonesia, from Irian Jaya to Sumatra, speak the language and have seen a lot first hand. Probably more than you have. .. so lets not make this descend again into a bali bashing thread which is not what the OP intended ...

Just came back this week..weather was great. Cool and not that humid.. This was our 10th trip and we keep finding better and better places to go.. Just last night we had serenity in the valleys outside Ubud with fireflies zipping around the evening. Balinese hindu folk are great, and spiritual..its just the foreigner Javanese that cash in on tourist industry and run scams and many think they are locals unfortunately...and get a bad rep for it..Our host got the village to put on a pig roast and it was lovely..QSS pm me I can assist. Theres something good for everybody...then again something not for everybody if you play the naive tourist card. Doing the research is essential to a good trip there. I agree to avoid Nusa Dua unless you just want a tourist sanitised and culturally plastic experience.. one of the best things is when you get to know and trust a few drivers to take you around. $30 for 5 hours or $50 for all day... to go anywhere...

Dont forget the Vikings, Jutes, Fresians, Normans... I find it ironic of those that talk about being Anglo Saxon as being more Briitish...are blind to the real truth .. its not much different to claiming if you are Anglo Saxon Australian .. you are more Australian than others ..

Damn... missed it... go Nick! Just dont turn out like the Pu... the Sampras slayer..but too hot and cold ...

Slightly offtrack but...Something interesting that I found out in my studies was that Brittany, a province in France was settled by Bretons...who were originally tribes from south 'Briton' at the time who migrated to escape the invader Saxons, Angles and Vikings. They live a quiet life to today and speak the original gaulish tongue.

Just simply calling it British values in this day in is hard to define in a nutshell., just like traditionalists harking to good old days stuff...which had more of its fair share of racial and social problems than a cold cuppa with too much milk or sugar really .. not much different to the old British Australia ...but with the modern age of affordable travel the ignorant generation is more learned.. and multiculturalism has injected new values into the mix.. just like a fresh vision, paella, pad thai, laksa, kebabs... mingle with lamb chops, boiled carrot, potato, peas or....curried pie? Like it or not ...diversity breeds strength.. similarity breds contempt.. I know which type of values Id rather hold onto... despite the beat up fiction the media portrays of the now, peddling untruths to those that unfortunately believe the hype... well simply put UK is one of the more progressive societies around in Europe now. There has to be some value in that

:sad:

oh...the wonders of google... :smile: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/23855072996990070/

Not me but a friend of mine from Japan once went into the desert here in WA to take spectacular Astro Photography at a certain time of year.. I have to see if theres a website or something.. Ive camped out in the bush here and seen some amazing clear skies... like a real portal out to space ..closeby.... sure the ancients here felt close to the Rainbow Serpent..

Walyunga Park is nice too.. if you are north of river HH, are you NOR or SOR?

THis is my favourite spot...fits all your requirements.,. nature walks, playground, brook, falls, forest, free bbqs,,, might seeya there! https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=kalamunda&hl=en-AU&gbv=2&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=4GmtU5aYDYOVkwXz24HYCg&ved=0CAkQ_AU