Day 49. Ubud, Bali.

Today we move inland to Ubud, the cultural and creative heart of Bali.

We're staying in a village called Nyunkhining separated from the centre of Ubud by the sacred Monkey Forest. The Balinese believe the monkeys protect them and there's a temple dedicated to them in the middle of the forest. The cheeky chappies therefore have the run of the place and will think nothing of picking your pockets for the odd banana, toffee or indeed make off with your wallet. (They're a bit like The Boy in that respect Matty and Selina.)

The other thing to mention is that we're staying in the most beautiful place we've ever been to. It's a series of traditional Balinese villas and rooms all hidden from each other by lush gardens and trees. The paths and steps through the gardens have lots of traditional Balinese statues covered in moss and offerings to the gods, and at night lanterns light all the walkways - it's just like being on the set of Tomb Raider.

It overlooks the forest and rice terraces and is so tranquil. We have a huge room with a day bed for hanging out on our verandah and a bathroom which is open to the outside, all furnished to the highest Balinese standards. At bedtime we have the windows open and the noise of the forest is almost deafening - the frogs shouting louder than anything else. It really can be described as paradise and at 35 quid a night unbelievable value.

We did make a brief sorjourn into town, coming face to face with the monkeys along the way, and after a delicious lunch treated ourselves to a pedicure, Dave deciding not to go for the nail polish option.