The Hotel Puri Bambu in Jimbaran south of the capital Denpasar served as the base of our travels. Unlike the heavily touristed beach suburbs of Kuta and Seminyak west of the city center, Jimbaran still retained the character of a real neighborhood. I awoke to the sounds of the schoolyard next door on our first morning. It's concessions to tourism were the fish restaurants that set up their tables on the sand each evening to accomodate the hoards of tourists, usually Chinese, that were bused in. The small fishing port and fish market up the beach remained the most authentic places of interest found during the trip.