a big-up bravo to my lovely turkish friend emel kurhan (sister of yazbukey) who has brilliantly published a travel guide on her two favorite cities: paris and istanbul, respectively. to experience the city of light (istanbul will be posted next week) via emel’s ultra-cool interpretation, go here.

i was fortunate enough to have met a great lady last night: margaret fink aka the renegade producer of the famed aussie film ‘my brilliant career’ (1979). her wit was razor sharp, her eyes luminescent, and as we dined at coda (our fave restaurant in melbourne) she waxed lyrical of her love for sonia rykiel, polka dots and cashmere leg warmers. nice one. then she whipped out this card – a testament to her days of smoking and her commitment to kicking the habit way back in 1978…

this past week goes down in history as one of the best holidays ever for a certain somebody (that would be me). if you have not yet experienced bali then i absolutely beg you to do so: the balinese are people of another epoque and display such grace, kindness and humility, its a relative wake-up call in so many ways. for part one of the getaway – seminyak – i stayed at the fantastic W hotel with my brother (bortie) and didn’t we just live it up residing in one of those plush villas listening to the W signature CD on repeat (think phoenix, gossip, the xx etc). in true holiday mode we literally spent hours discussing the meaning of life – and men – at our private pool. and yes, there were breaks in between photographing the stray, ultra-majestic dogs on the nearby beach. for part two – ubud – we wholeheartedly experienced paradise at the como shambhala retreat. i can honestly say this is personally the best place i’ve ever stayed in all my days of travel writing: not simply for the macrobiotic food, the pristine jungle setting or the a-grade yoga classes on offer but for the memories of waking at 5.30am to balinese prayer chanting and encounters with the most exotic flora, fauna and wildlife imaginable. bali is the new black folks: go forth and seek, you won’t regret it. the happiness is in the photo below: healthy, happy smiling eyes. that’s what bali is all about.