We went to Bali and Singapore for our honeymoon, leaving the UK on 06 June, and flying on to Singapore on 18 June before returning home on 21 June. I hope the following will prove a useful trip report for others considering visiting these two very different places.

A holiday in Bali is a fantastic experience of sensory overload, from the moment you arrive you are assailed by unfamiliarity, it is a fascinating place to visit. The scenery encompasses everything from beaches to mountains to rice terraces, and it is incredibly varied. There are many, many motorbikes, often accommodating a family of four! - in fact, some bikes were so laden with goods and/or people it was a wonder they could remain upright. The road rules are scary - ie, non existent I would not recommend attempting to drive yourself anywhere.

We stayed at the Puri Santrian in Sanur, which was a very well run and comfortable hotel (perhaps made more so by the fact we were upgraded to a suite, which was very spacious"¦). The hotel pool area was excellent and we preferred it to the beach; at Sanur there is a coral reef about ¼ mile offshore which prevents tide activity at the water's edge and we were not convinced it would be terribly clean for swimming, although it was pleasant to walk along the beach in the early evening.

As soon as you leave the confines of your hotel in Bali, expect to be accosted by various hawkers with cries of "Taxi?" "Want transport/come in my shop/massage?" - this is the Bali way, and although it is irritating, it is very good natured, and a repeated "No thank you" usually does the trick. We noticed that the hawking lessened in direct proportion to the increase in our suntan, in other words, you are pounced on most as a new arrival.

There are plenty of places to eat along the Sanur strip; and it is incredibly cheap by Western standards; we never paid more than £10 for two dinners with drinks. We particularly liked 'Donald's cafe', this is situated on the beach to the right of the Puri Santrian and was our invariable breakfast destination, as well as a good place for dinner. We also liked the Tia Garden, next to the Cat and Fiddle (arrgh, an Irish theme pub - But fine if that is your sort of thing).

For getting around within Sanur, the little green Bemo minibuses are a common sight, expect to pay no more than 4,000 rupiah for a trip from A to B within Sanur. We did this on a couple of evenings and it was novel to say the least, as the locals also cram into the Bemos and you are never quite sure who you will be sitting next to!

After a couple of days acclimatising ourselves to the heat, we met with our driver Dean. We booked his service for four days following recommendations on this site, and we had already established an email rapport with him; when we met it was like greeting a friend. Dean is an excellent driver and guide; he is unfailingly cheerful, honest and hardworking. He is immensely proud of his family and his business and he was always punctual - in fact he was invariably waiting for us when we met in the mornings. He was most flexible, too - one day it was exceptionally hot and we just wanted to get back to the hotel and flop in the pool in the afternoon. Dean was quite happy to return to the hotel at 1930 to drop us off at a restaurant for dinner, patiently waiting until we had eaten to ferry us back again.

Some Bali taxi drivers pocket commissions for taking tourists to certain places, but this is not Dean's way, and in fact he steered us away from many of the most popular tourist haunts, preferring to take us to quieter, more out of the way places where we were unlikely to be hassled by hawkers (although a certain amount is inevitable). During our time with Dean we saw a traditional Balinese Barong dance, visited a wonderfully remote beach at Padang Bay (quite a scramble to get to, but worth it - and also had a massage on the beach, the best part of an hour for just over a £1!) and went to a temple at Kung Klung. Dean drove off the beaten track high up into the hills and the glimpes of rural life were fascinating. We were lucky enough to catch the tail end of a children's ceremony near to Kuta. We also visited the local market at Denpasar, and the Water Gardens at Tirtangangann . We also went to Celuk where silver jewellery is produced, having had a recommendation for a particular shop there, Dean went to a great deal of trouble to find the correct place.

We were privileged to be invited into Dean's home to meet his wife and young children and we would unhesitatingly recommend him as your driver and guide in Bali.
His website is at http://home.comcast.net/~bestbalidriver/ or contact him direct by email at bali-dean@dps.centrin.net.id.

Following our lovely restful time in Bali, it was on to Singapore. We stayed at the Furama City hotel, which was more geared to business than tourism, but perfectly comfortable, and we had an excellent view of the Singapore skyline from our 18th floor room. The humidity in Singapore is uncomfortable and we were only just getting used to it by the time we left! Clarke Quay was our nearest 'tourist' area and this was a very pleasant place in the evenings with a multitude of restaurants. The highlights of our visit were a trip to the Botanic Gardens and the National Orchid garden within them, and a 2 ½ hour harbour cruise on our last day. Orchard Road is an experience best left to the true shopaholics - we went on a Sunday and it is obvious that shopping is THE national pastime of the Singaporeans

The Furama is planted in the middle of Chinatown - not a sanitised tourist version but the real thing, and it seemed we were the only Westerners wandering around the amazing 'People's Place' shopping centre full of items we could only guess at! The Handicraft centre opposite the Furama stocked some excellent souvenirs and interesting art.

We took many photographs during our holiday, once I have processed all the images I will post them to pbase and put in a link here.

If anyone has any questions about Bali or Singapore, I may not be able to answer them, but please don't hesitate to ask!