Is it really Autumn already? As they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and speaking of flying, I recently joined the inaugural flight from Perth to Bali with TransNusa. My full review will be published shortly, but in the meantime, I will share how much I appreciated the convenient flight times. Leaving Perth at 13.55, I had a cocktail in my hand at The Laguna, in Nusa Dua, by the time the sun set.

While in Bali, I was fortunate to also stay at the InterContinental Bali Resort in Jimbaran and the Holiday Inn Canggu, before heading to Ubud and a brief jaunt to North Bali. My time in Ubud coincided with Nyepi, the day of silence on 29^th March. In the lead-up to Nyepi, cleansing ceremonies and parades happened all over the island, with the entire community getting involved, including the Ogoh Ogoh parade, where demon statues were paraded through the streets over the entire island and then burned, as pictured on the cover of this issue. This noisy and chaotic tradition completely contrasted with the following day, when everyone spent 24 hours reflecting, adhering to the rules of no entertainment, lights, cooking, work, or travel – no one was even allowed to go outside. I’ve never known Bali to be so quiet, and I wish we had this time of reflection in Perth. There aren’t many places where a festival has the ability to shut down the airport, and if you would like to hear more about my experience, please listen to this segment on Travel Writers Radio.

In February, I headed to Sydney for the annual IMM (International Media Marketplace) and spent an entire day speed networking with back-to-back meetings with tourism operators and boards. As intense as the experience was, I’m already looking forward to IMM 2026, as it’s an invaluable resource for travel writers, especially those living on the West Coast, far removed from a lot of the action.

I’ve also shared some of my published articles from Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Broome in this newsletter issue. Even if a trip isn’t on the cards, who doesn’t love a bit of inspiration and armchair travel?

Happy Fluffy Travels.

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