Hi ccbennett!
You certainly picked the right time to get out of Winnipeg and go to bali! -41???? I hate the stuff - LOL.
Its about 30C and partly cloudy today. The northeast monsoon has set and for us
Singapore sailors that means a steady 10-20 knots of
wind from the northeast. It's absolutely our best sailing time - Woo hooo!
Bali is great. You may have read about terrorism there and it is still a concern. There are three main areas. The southern part of Bali is the action oriented, happening place. Surfers,
kids, night clubs and so on predominate. There are also a couple of huge "self contained" resorts here. You won't experience much of Bali if you lock yourself away in a Hyatt ;-(
The second part is the central highlands. Beautiful scenery, cooler mountain air (I'm not talking 41 below cooler - LOL), beautiful rice terraces, jungle and so on.
The third part is my favorite. The north shore is quiet and collected. Off the beaten path and very serene. For many it's not their bag and they like the hustle and bustle of Kuta Beach.
Whatever your bag is you will have fun in Bali.
Oh - back to the terrorism thing. Really the best
advice is avoid the western oriented bars and night clubs, particularly at night. Pass through the "public" areas of hotels and so forth without loitering. Keep a generally lower profile. The good news is Bali loves tourists, hates bombers and everyone seems to love canadians.
Enjoy!