On one of our evenings in Bali a few weeks ago, we thought it was time to treat ourselves to something truly special (okay, every night felt special), and after reading many reviews about the über famous Ku De Ta restaurant in Seminyak, we went for the crown jewel. Only seconds after opening the menu, the prices were a bit of a shock, coming from a place where you can eat delicious fresh fish for only a few dollars; seeing a $35 entree was hard to stomach, but the service, atmosphere and overall experience made up for it in spades. Tables were set around the outside of an enormous reflecting pool with a DJ set right at the edge. Soft red umbrellas were scattered along the catwalk above the beach — an incredible and idyllic place to share a drink at sunset. The scene was littered with the rich and pretty looking tourists (or rich locals, which there are very few) from Asia and Australia. The eclectic mix of local Indonesian food infused with French and Italian elements were elegantly presented and deliciously cooked by New Zealander, Chef Philip Davenport — who at this point is a local celebrity (and not to mention, probably very rich man). All said, Ku De Ta is definitely worth it for a special occasion — but not a deal you should be hunting for in Bali by any stretch of the imagination. If I could have done it any differently, I would have just gone for the environment, the drinks, and the view.

One of the first spots I stayed at on my recent trip to Bali was a boutique resort called The Elysian, a set of 26 private villas — a treat to myself that turned out to be a great start to the trip. In all honesty, I hadn’t ever spoken to anyone who stayed there as it is quite new, but saw it show up on Tablet Hotels and figured, how bad could 26 private villas on the beach really be? It’s located in Seminyak, far enough away from Kuta to avoid the nonsense of commercialized island living, but close enough to civilization to find some great shops, incredible restaurants and feel like I was “in” the mix so to speak.

Each villa is decorated very comfortably, clean lines, lots of light stones and local woods; all feature very comfortable beds and ample space to spread out. My brothers and I had no problem “squeezing” in, as traveling in threes is always interesting. The best aspect of the villa was really the private pool that ran along one side the structure. Awesome for early morning, mid-day and midnight dunks. The restaurant offers a mix of local food and fresh fish dishes and was also set on a 25-meter pool, an amazing sight each day in its own right. The hotel was a little farther from the beach than I would have anticipated, a 8 minute walk, but still quite easy and not worth complaining about. If you’re looking for luxury, but won’t spring for an Aman resort and want to keep things interesting, this is a solid spot certainly worth checking out.

I’m not dead. Actually, if this is what dying feels like– consider me a goner. This place is like heaven on earth! While I apologize for the radio silence (the internet is terrible on this side of the world), this has been an incredibly rejuvenating time away from the blogosphere. It’s so great to see the site in such great shape– kudos to the whole team for working overtime in my absence. When I arrived, I spent a few days in Bali, both in Kuta on the beach and then traveled into Ubud where I was exploring villages and artist communities on an eco-cyling tour, as well as the sacred monkey forest (it makes a zoo look pitiful, pictures coming soon). I just arrived a hop, skip and a jump away from Bali in Java– the place where my Father setup relief camps literally this time last year, after the massive earthquakes rocked this otherwise incredibly peaceful region. Tomorrow we rise at dawn to visit Borobudur, and then go for a long drive into the middle of the jungle to Bantul, near the epicenter of the recent earthquakes, to play games with the children and check the progress of my father’s past relief work. My brothers and I are spending our two nights here at Amanjiwo– easily the nicest home away from home I have ever seen. Zagat gave it the highest honors with second in the world for an overall ‘extraordinary to perfection’ rating– this place makes The Four Seasons look like a Marriot– full review and pictures to come when I get to solid-internet ground. I’ve got lots to report on, great gems I’ve discovered and more when I’m back stateside!

Just fresh back from London where it looks like my new agency will be opening an office, (more on the agency a bit soon), and with only a week at home here in Boulder, I’ve decided to make a major and life-changing move — I’ve packed my apartment up, shipped and stored what matters most to me, sold what matters least and I am officially a nomad (read: Jetsetter). I’m feeling both terrified and a sense of freedom I’ve never really experienced before now. I’m off early tomorrow morning to Taiwan (didn’t get enough of Taipei those night markets last time around), followed by some downtime and exploring in Bali and Java with my brothers. After a few weeks in Indonesia, I hop back into NYC for a couple of speaking engagements, into London for a handful of meetings and from there the adventure continues — I’ll be living and planning my next stop (or not planning) on the go. I will live in hotels, friends couches, and hopefully, the guest bedrooms of rich and famous. My mission is to explore, meet new people, find new dynamic content for this site and aggressively build all of my businesses around the globe. Maybe I’ll even put up a poll and let you all decide where I should go next. I know I don’t often use this blog for personal reflection anymore but thought many of my readers would actually like to know what I’m up to as this site grows and widens the lens with a great set of new writers from around the world. As always, if you have any tips, contacts, etcetera in any of the places I’m going or want to engage me for some consulting/speaking in any of the places mentioned above, please feel free to drop me a line.

Right now in Java there is still an enormous lack of awareness about the tragic earthquake that struck the region more than two weeks ago, leaving 600,000 people without homes or any supplies. I’d like to interrupt our normal posting schedule to ask for your support. While most of us have the luxury of choosing which restaurant to eat at, and which gift to buy our father this holiday, thousands of people are suffering in a remote region of central Indonesia in the shadow of Mt. Merapi, one of the worlds most active and therefore dangerous volcanoes. While many of us cannot leave our daily routine to help families and children rebuild their lives, I know of one group very close to me that is preparing to go there and will make a big difference as they did in Sri Lanka following the Tsunami last year. The group has organized a team of children’s trauma care specialists (my father is one of them) but they are still severely underfunded.

Please take a moment to read their journals from Sri Lanka or the current situation in Java. Even if you don’t have time to read them, if each of my readers donated half of what they would spend on a new pair of sneakers each week it would be an enormous help. Thanks in advance for your support!

I’m aiming to raise $10,000 for them. You can donate via paypal, please send money to java [at] fortunateblessings.org, to the address listed on their website, or by clicking below.