Bali still offers great value

A free night in Sanur. 

A laneway warung recommended by travel writing colleague Christine Retschlag. 

An eclectic menu of Balinese dishes and western favourites. Including a couple of dishes I have not ordered for decades. 

Fast service. A couple of ice cold Bintangs.

So shrimp cocktail with avo. Delivered exactly what it promised. 

A tasty unspecified whole fish steamed with ginger and vegetables. Lovely but needed a chilli hit. Which was quickly delivered. 

And I finished with a classic banana split. A rare unhealthy treat.

The place to look out for; Warung Lilla, just a block off the main drag in Sanur. And there are plenty of others just like it - including many much cheaper.

The bill:  Rp 244,760. Which is around $25 Australian dollars.

One of the reasons why Bali is packed with tourists from around the globe. Folks who would pay five or six times as much for a similar meal in Australia.

New look for Melbourne CBD property

The Melbourne hotel space is one of the most competitive anywhere, with guests demanding both location and up-to-date facilities.

Oaks Melbourne on Collins Suites, a premier property in the heart of Melbourne, has just finished a complete refurbishment of its CBD location.

The hotel has updated the interiors of its 230 guest rooms, giving each room a fresh and contemporary feel.

Each guest room has a new look, including a refreshed colour palette, new flooring and enhanced amenities, and all hotel furnishings received an upgrade.

"We are thrilled to unveil the results of our hotel’s refurbishment," said GM Ivan Sunsanj.

"We always strive to exceed our guests’ expectations, whether [they are] visiting for business, leisure, or to celebrate a special occasion, we believe our renewed, stylish guest rooms will make Oaks Melbourne on Collins Suites the preferred choice for all types of travellers.”

Situated at 480 Collins Street, the hotel is well situated for exploring the city's attractions, dining options, and cultural experiences.

Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands and utilises GHA DISCOVERY, the world’s largest loyalty programme for independent hotel brands.

See www.Oakshotels.com 

Walk, wine and dine with two famous Barossa families

Want to get up close and personal with two of Australia's most famous farming families?

As a one-off on Sunday, May 5, as part of Tasting Australia, you can walk with two prominent Barossa families - Henschke and Angas - on a stroll through Hutton Vale Farm in the Barossa’s Eden Valley.

Local Barossa chef Sam Smith of Otherness and formerly Fino at Seppeltsfield, will provide ‎appetisers paired to Hutton Vale and Henschke wines at intervals along the 5km trail, and then serve a Barossa-style lunch at Hutton Vale Farm.

The day begins at Henschke’s historic cellar door in Keyneton.

Meet the family at the heart of one of Australti'as leading family wine companies and then travel to Gnadenberg Church, alongside the world-famous Hill of Grace vineyard.

The Angas family will then guide you over the hill to Hutton Vale Farm’s classified Barossa Old Vine riesling vineyard; where a tasting of the region’s best white wines awaits.

Next stop; shiraz vines planted in 1912 by Ronald Angas - which produce the fruit for Henschke's Mount Edelstone and the starting point beginning of the two families becoming entwined as neighbours, collaborators and friends.

The next tasting awaits at the peak of Mount Edelstone with a trio of shirazes; Hill of Grace, Hutton Vale Farm and Mount Edelstone - along with 360-degree views of northern Eden Valley.

The it is a wander back to Hutton Vale Farm’s courtyard for lunch with a special selection of family wines.

The walk is called the Vino Camino and there is also an accommodation deal on offer.

The event can cater to vegetarian, vegan and coeliac dietary requirements.

For details see https://tastingaustralia.com.au/products/events/2024/vino-camino-2024  

Praise cheeses: the festival that will make you melt

It is Australia's biggest cheese festival and Mould is back in 2024 across five Australian state capitals.

Showcasing over 100 varieties of cheeses across the tour - tasters will be able to enjoy styles right across the taste spectrum: soft, semi, hard and stinky, with raw milk varieties and everything in between.

Dairy delights will be on offers kicking off in Brisbane in May before Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. 

And for wine lovers the Mould team is heading to Perth in partnership with sister event PinotPalooza.

Bad news for Tasmanians, however, as Hobart misses out this time around.

For the rest of the country, Dan Sims and his Revel team promise a "bigger, smellier, and more mature" event than ever!

The puns just keep coming with promo material saying the news is brie-lliant news for Australian fromage freaks. There will also be olives, crackers, pastes, smallgoods and more for purchase.

Tickets will be $49 + booking fee, which includes festival entry, all cheese tastings and a complimentary cooler bag for getting your cheese home at the right temperature.

See https://www.mouldcheesefestival.com/pages/festival

Here are the dates:

BRISBANE: May 24-26, John Reid Pavillion, RNA Showgrounds

ADELAIDE: June 7-8 Queens Theatre

MELBOURNE: June 28-29, Royal Exhibition Buildings

SYDNEY: July 26-28 Carriageworks

PERTH: August 9-11 Centenary Pavilion, Claremont Showgrounds

Air NZ and Singapore Airlines to continue successful partnership

Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines have reached agreement to continue what has been a hugely successful joint venture.

The two national flag carriers will work together until at least March 2029, Travelmole reported.

The agreement allows the airlines to continue offering more flight options and access to their combined networks.

Over the course of a 10-year partnership, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines have grown the seat capacity between New Zealand and Singapore by nearly 50%.

This includes the addition of up to three daily flights between Auckland and Singapore, and a daily service between Christchurch and Singapore.

Air NZ Chief Transformation and Alliances Officer Mike Williams said: “The partnership gives New Zealanders access to the world beyond the Singapore gateway into destinations in Europe, India and south-east Asia.”

The airline joint venture partners will operate a total of four daily seasonal services between Auckland and Singapore from October 27, 2024, to March 29, 2025.

With a fourth daily seasonal service between Auckland and Singapore, the carriers will jointly operate 38 return flights weekly between New Zealand and Singapore during peak months.

This translates to more than 893,000 seats available every year.

MSC ensures cruise guests stay connected

One of the biggest downsides of cruising can be slow and super-expensive wifi connections. 

One cruise line addressing the issue is MSC Cruises, with two-thirds of its ships now equipped with SpaceX’s Starlink onboard connectivity. 

MSC, the world's third-largest cruise line, says the fleet roll out program will be completed in three months. 

The low earth orbit solution is providing faster internet speeds, improved wifi in cabins and public spaces, reduced latency levels and lower operational costs for 15 of the cruise line’s fleet of 22 ships, MSC Cruises says. 

The first of MSC Cruises’ vessels to be equipped with Starlink was MSC Magnifica in December 2022.

MSC Cruises has seen on board bandwidth consumption continue to rise, driven by both the increase in the number of connected devices and the number of apps that guests like to use.

Starlink will provide MSC Cruises with enough capacity to keep up with the future requirements of its guests, crew and also the technical requirements of its fleet of vessels.

MSC Cruises’ ships currently equipped with Starlink are MSC Divina, MSC Euribia, MSC Fantasia, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Lirica, MSC Magnifica, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Poesia, MSC Preziosa, MSC Seascape, MSC Seashore, MSC Seaside, MSC Seaview and MSC Virtuosa.

MSC Opera and MSC World Europa will be added in March and the line’s other five ships set for enhanced connectivity ahead of the northern summer 2024 season are MSC Armonia, MSC Bellissima, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia and MSC Splendida.

EXPLORA I, the first of six luxury ships of MSC Cruises’ sister company Explora Journeys, is also equipped with Starlink and EXPLORA II will be fitted with the enhanced connectivity when she sets sail in August.

MSC Cruises offers a ‘Browse Internet Cruise Package’ and a ‘Browse & Stream Cruise Package’ onboard its fleet that are tailored for its guests to cover the connection and number of devices needed during a sailing.