As we fast approach the weekend we’re dreaming of our next house swap. Last year we signed up with Luxe Home Swap (now Love Home Swap) and did our first ever swap in Candidasa, Bali, which I wrote about for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald Traveller. It was a wonderful experience, living in a beautiful two-bedroom villa, Villa Sasoon, in a small village in rural Bali. Some of the highlights included having coffee in the courtyard of Vincent’s, visiting a school set up by a Dutch expat for disabled children and seeing the FSF play with the local kids. We enjoyed a memorable meal at Seasalt restaurant in the Alila Manggis resort, a short drive from Candidasa – tucking into the signature dish, the megibung, a shared meal on a platter unique to east Bali, with pickles, fish skewers, a mountain of fragrant yellow rice, snapper wrapped in leaves, chicken satay, young jackfruit salad and duck soup. By the time we finished our coconut ice-cream, the FSF who was being taught to make a kite by one of the patient Alila staff members, got it airborne. We also visited Amankila, a striking resort with the best cliff-top location in the area overlooking Lombok Strait. We visited just before sunset and took a swim in the three-tiered infinity pools before dining in the candlelit restaurant, with New Zealand chef Guy Stanaway in the kitchen.
Other highlights are more everyday but no less memorable: the sweet smell of incense; the sound of a baby crying, a rooster crowing; and the garden outside the kitchen window. I wonder where our next swap will take us?
Happy weekend everyone.
