I arrived at the Alila late in the day, tired from a long journey and not feeling very well. Earlier that morning, I’d caught the ferry from Java, and the car ride from the western tip of Bali took longer than expected. It was the traffic. In this part of Bali, it’s often the traffic. If you’re coming here, you’ll likely be arriving from the opposite direction as I did, but you’ll deal with the same traffic.

On the backside of the lobby of the Apurva Kempinski are a couple of balconies affording one heck of a view, down the front of the resort’s main building and out over the two adjacent wings extending towards the shore. The resort’s lush tropical landscaping creates a unique vista down the length of the resort, over the center pools, past the brilliantly shining beach and out into the Indian Ocean. Maybe one day you’ll find yourself standing on one of these balconies, nursing a welcome drink and waiting for your room to be ready. When that day comes, you’ll likely be thinking to yourself, “I’ve done something right.”

'A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see.' -Samuel Johnson

Hong Kong is an easy city to navigate, including the trip into the city center from the airport. The public transport system is clean, efficient and cheap, one of the best in the world. Taxis are reasonably priced and always on meter. Plus, there’s an extensive ferry system servicing Hong Kong’s numerous outlying islands.