When I arrived there with Luba we decided focus on photography and put the politics of fanaticism out of our minds. We stayed at the fabulous Royal Pita Maha Hotel, a trace of lost paradise owned by the Royal Family of Ubud. Of course, no one knew that travel for me is work and my work is to find and photograph the most beautiful girls in the world.

What first struck both Luba and I was the spirituality of Bali. Most Balinese are Hindu and have profound respect for nature; everything they do, painting, fishing, working in the fields, is an act of worship. In their faces the people have a look of complete peace which comes, I'm sure, from the depths of their belief and by forgiving the fanatics bent on changing their lives.

We couldn't help but feel relaxed among such people and in our own special way that first day we explored the resort, taking a few sneaky shots whenever we could and knowing that they weren't the sort of photographs that the administration would choose for their catalogues.

The Royal Pita Maha with its tropical gardens and shady groves is a former palace and inside its walls Bali for us was still paradise. We were aware that the changes in the law in Indonesia made nude photography a criminal offence and, unlike our resort hotel, Bali prisons are not recommended. This was a real undercover shoot – exciting, but dangerous.