I Love Bali Day 5

Dear Diary,

Today's our last day in Bali. We had a motorbike with us so we were going around town on this little vehicle. We were at Kuta Beach again. This time we went in the waters for a swim. The waves were higher than the ones we have in Langkawi Beach, Malaysia. I wasn't familiar with swimming in the sea with such waves. They freaked me out every single time they came gushing to shore. Each time I felt like being pulled in deeper into the sea by the waves. He was beside me before the waves came in but every time I'd turn around to find him missing. He was rolled back to the beach with the 'help' of the waves. Lol. We didn't stay long in the waters. I was too tired trying to swim against the waves.

We went back to the hotel for a shower before checking out. After that, we went to a artcraft market near Sorgawi hotel. We bought some more things for ourselves. Last minute shopping before we headed for a short ride around the rest of Kuta and Seminyak.

Time for us to say goodbye to Bali. Our very first vacation overseas on our 4th year anniversary. I love you.

♥ Jin & Jo ♥

I Love Bali Day 4

Dear Diary,

This was beach day.

Beach 1 : Nusa Dua Beach
It was a beach famous for its watersports and other activities. They did not come cheap so we decided to take a short stroll by the beach instead. And guess what we'd found while strolling, a giant chess set.

We visited Uluwatu Temple, a temple located on a cliff. From the top, we saw the waves of the vast blue ocean formed white linings alongside the bottom of the cliff. As we walked about the temple, there were a troop of monkeys following us closely. We thought they were the innocent adorable creatures they should be. How wrong we were about them. We were warned about getting too close with these monkeys. They were famous for snatching bags and accessories from tourists. Yes, and you'd guess it. I was feeding one of the monkeys when woops... one monkey took my camera cover. It was super fast and it ran to a tree nearby. Luckily the fruit seller immediately throw some fruits to the monkey and grabbed the cover from the monkey back for me. Sadly I had to pay for the packet of extra fruits for a higher price. Seems to me those monkeys were very 'well-trained'. They'd be fed if they stole some things from people. Oh well. Lesson learn. Don't be fooled by innocent looking monkeys.

We had one of our best lunch in Restoran ayam tulang lunak. We ordered ayam tulang lunak (their specialty), crispy duck and kangkung masak sambal. I didn't quite understand why they called it ayam tulang lunak, not until I tried it. The bones of the chicken was extremely crunchy and edible. You can have the chicken with the bones. All of them. It was really expensive but was worth every single rupiah.

Beach 2 : Padang Padang Beach
Mostly rocky by the seaside. It was not a suitable beach for a dip in the waters. The waves were constantly pushing us towards the rocks. There were lots of tourists just sunbathing by the sandy beach though. On our way to Jimbaran Beach, we saw a surfer badly injured from surfing in Padang Padang Beach. That's how dangerous it was. But it was a nice spot to visit nonetheless.

Beach 3 : Jimbaran Beach
This beach was facing the international airport. This was the most romantic spot for a candlelight seafood dinner for two. Occasionally we saw planes heading towards the airport.

The music band who entertained us with a balinese song at dinner

Beach 4 : Kuta Beach
This beach was the nearest beach to our hotel. It was a walking distance away (about 15-20 mins walk). It was almost pitch dark by the beach at night. There were some fireworks breaking the silence of the night every once in awhile.

We rented a motorcycle from our hotel on this fourth night. We were riding the bike around town, having to stop to ask for directions several times. It reminded me of the moments we shared during our university days when we were riding on his motorbike and got lost.

♥ Jin & Jo ♥

I Love Bali Day 3

Dear Diary,

It was day three and still no souveniers bought. We needed souveniers, lots of them. Utara took us to Krishna souveniers center for a short leisure shopping. They had a variety of food, clothes, keychains, scarves, keychains.... you named it, they had it. Yay it was what we really needed. Everything in one single place.

Pura Taman Ayun was next on the to-visit-in-Bali list. It was a praying ground for the royalty. A very well kept garden surrounded the temple. Stupas with different heights are seen from outside the temple walls. These stupas each represented the kings and princes. The king would sit on one of the high stage during ceremonial prayers. After prayers, the king would be entertained with different performances by his people. However, this grand tradition seemed to have died out. They only have one last king in the reign. Sad to see how time can kill the tradition / cultures of most civilization.

It was lunch time again by the time we finish going around Taman Ayun. Another moment I anticipated. Time for some Babi Guling. The stall was by the roadside. The babi was served with rice, very much like the char sao (bbq pork) rice we have here in Malaysia. But it tasted very much different, it was simply delicious. Basically, the dish consisted of one port satay, one deep fried pork skin (with some hair still attached to the skin), some pork meat, green dark chopped vegetable and a bowl of soup. All for 18000 rupiah per pax. I liked all except for the skin.. was imagining the hair brushing my tongue. Ok that's enough details. I'd better not spoil your desire to try this delicacy in Bali.

We then headed to Bedugul temple, floating temple on a hill lake. According to Utara, Balinese people pray to lakes, rivers, mountains, seas... hence why they have all these temples located by these locations. When we were at Bedugul, the weather started to change. It rained for the first time during our Bali trip. You can see all of us (including other tourists) ran for the nearest shelter. The rain did not stop us from exploring the place though. Lucky thing i had my trustworthy umbrella with me. By the time the rain was gone, the whole place was filled with mist. Very much like the weather we would get in Genting. It was cooling, refreshing and somehow with the mist, the whole place seemed to have a mysterious feel to it. Really enchanting.

We were in Tanah Lot for sunset watching by 3 pm. There were so much to see before the sun set. The tide was low enough for us to walk up to the front of the temple. We did a lil walk around the rocky part of the seaside. The were small deep holes between the rocks. Fishes and snails were trapped in these holes. They amused me. I was like a lil 7 year old girl yelling out with excitement every time i spotted sea creatures in these holes. It worked all the time. We found hundreds of bats clinging on the walls near a cliff here. I don't think many would have noticed it. The path to the cliff was slippery and dangerous. I didn't know how Be managed to talk me into walking there with him.

The tide came in really fast. There was this one time we were almost pulled in by the waves. I panicked and screamed my lungs out. My legs froze on the spot I was standing. I was afraid with one wrong step i might fall in one of the deep holes between the rocks. Fortunately, the wave rolled back to the sea as fast as it came in. We ran to safety asap. *phew*

We chose a beautiful spot to wait for the sunset. It was so romantic.

We had dinner in Warung Wahaha. They served really good pork ribs. Highly recommended. The settings were very romantic too. Near the restaurant was a spa centre. A good body massage and spa was what we really needed after a long tiring day. It was a two hour long session.

♥ Jin & Jo ♥

I Love Bali Day 2

Dear Diary

Day 2

*Good Morning Bali* We had breakfast in the hotel. Utara was waiting for us at the hotel lobby by the time we finished our food. First stop, Barong dance. It was a performance that narrated the fight of good against evil. The good was represented by Barong while the evil was represented by Rangdha. The story was confusing at first but we managed to grab the contents of the whole show bits by bits. *Look Be, the ang mos seem so lost. Hehe. At least we are not the only confused ones*

Then we went to Gunung Sari for buffet lunch. That's where the restaurant overlooked a young volcanic mountain is located. The last eruption of the volcano was in 1999 if I remembered correctly hearing from Utara. *Some FUN facts about Bali during our trip from Utara* I never thought I'd be this close to a volcano. Where to run if the volcano erupts again? *oh pls oh pls don't blow out any lavas. Not now. Not while we were eating our lunch*

Our next stop was to have coffee in a small hidden hut. It was something out of the ordinary. The coffee served was known to be one of the most expensive coffee in the world. The best coffee seeds (from natural selection) were collected from the stool of the wild Musang.They called it Luwak coffee. *Musang poo poo?? (hesitate) Sip... Yumm Thumbs up*

Feeling very refreshed after the coffee tasting session, we headed to Pura Tirta Empul. It was a temple where the holy spring water was located. People of all ages... children, adults, young, old, pregnant women... all came together for a dip in the water in the hot afternoon sun. The water has healing powers as so it was told by the legend of the Indra God.

Then we were taken to a paddy hill. The sproutlings were just planted, so there wasn't anything spectacular about the place. Standing there, looking out at the outskirts, you will realise how Indonesia is not much different from Malaysia itself; where the staple food is rice. The people led a simple life, mostly living as full time farmers. During their pastime while waiting for the harvesting season, they would do art crafting to earn some side income.

Sukawati was a haven for shopaholics like ME. Cheap clothes, accessories, souveniers, wood carvings, flowers, all were found there. That's the place to go for the best bargains. Too bad we were late. Most of the shops were closing. We managed to take a short stroll around their marketplace. Many people were swarming to buy flowers for their daily prayers. The sweet fragrances of the colourful flowers were everywhere.

Are those for me Bebe?

♥ Jin & Jo ♥

I Love Bali Day 1

Dear Diary,

Day 1

How can one be nervous about something and anticipate it at the same time? I was looking forward to the Bali trip, it has been booked for over a year now. Yet I was still nervous to venture to a new place abroad, with him. It was our first real vacation. Bali island, a lover's paradise in Indonesia. 3 hours flight away from Kuala Lumpur. The Ngurah Rai international airport is located by the shore down south of Bali. We reached there at night. We couldn't see anything much from the plane. But there was this girl who was yelling out to her relatives aboard the same plane. ' Auntie Uncle can you see that we are above the sea?' Be and I was trying hard to visualize the plane flying close to the sea as it was too dark to see anything in the first place.

When we reached the airport, our driver from Indonesia, Utara was waiting for us at the entrance with a board tagged 'Mr Chin'. We hopped into the van with our heavy luggages and our first destination was to our reserved hotel, Bali Surgawi. Its exterior was exactly the same as the photos on its website. But one thing we didn't realize was, it was not facing the main street. That night the hotel was full and our room was located on the third floor. Third floor with no lift. WHAT?!?! It was like climbing up the stairs to my dormitory room during freshman year. We were huffing and puffing by the time we reached our room, climbing the stairs with our heavy luggage wasn't easy.

The next thing on our mind was DINNER. We were hungry as we had one super late dinner. Thanks to Airasia for the delayed flight, as usual. Day one ended.

♥ Jin & Jo ♥