Why? That's because I'm going to be a mum!!!! Yeah!!!!
Maybe next year can go travelling with my baby or the year after...
Pawnshop
10 years ago
Bali~~难忘的旅程!
0 commentsMy colleagues and other friends had this trip planned for months. It was the hot topic before the holidays start. But unfortunately things happened. So, I was left alone with nobody to go with...sigh....
And then things at work place were piling up and had to be settled by end of December. Again, stress.....So I did the unthinkable....I just went to a tour company and booked a trip. Luckily for me, the date was just perfect. (That was after Dad's birthday and my duty day! Yeah!)
The tour is about RM 2088 per pax which includes accommodation, food and transport. The exchange rate is RM1 = Rp 2825. I have to say that this tour company is just fantastic! I guess it is the only tour company that has Bali trip in their package when no one else does. (I did do my survey before I book any trip). And so here's the start of my Eat-Pray-Love road trip:
The tour is about RM 2088 per pax which includes accommodation, food and transport. The exchange rate is RM1 = Rp 2825. I have to say that this tour company is just fantastic! I guess it is the only tour company that has Bali trip in their package when no one else does. (I did do my survey before I book any trip). And so here's the start of my Eat-Pray-Love road trip:
9 December 2010
After reaching Ngurah Rai International Airport at 3.30pm, our tour leader Mr. Ng and the local tour leader Mdm Ketut took us to Uluwatu Temple. Well, if you are entering a sacred place, it is best to follow the culture there. We were asked to wear a sarong before entering the temple and the place is just full of monkeys!!! So you have to be careful of your belongings because these monkeys are well-trained to snatch your things. After they have snatched your stuff and if you want it back, you just have to pay the local people for their service (around Rph 5000). The locals will give some fruits or eggs to the monkey in exchange of your belongings. So beware of the monkeys!! 
After looking at the statues in the temple and the cliff, we were ushered to the theatre to watch Kecak Dance show. The tune of 'kecak kecak' still plays in my mind until now. It's about a story of a couple where the hero went for hunting and the wife was kidnapped by a monster. And then, the hunter somehow turned into a bird(Garuda) or something (perhaps a monkey?!). I didn't actually quite understand the show but it was entertaining especially when they sang 'kecak kecak'. Sound like 'siew keong' to me in hokkien. Dinner was fabulous. It was at GWK resort and the place was quite nice. With a beautiful water feature in entry way and two statues to greet you, it really made you feel peaceful. After dinner, it was time to head back to the hotel. (Ha, we were not staying in this resort coz' the tour guide said it is way to expensive! Hmmm....She got me wondering where are we going to stay...). And ta-da! Our hotel:
It's called Best Western and it is quite beautiful. Actually most of the hotels that I surfed from the internet look exactly like this. The best part of the hotel, it is quite near to Legion street and Kuta Beach. The friendly staffs were really very nice. If you want to go somewhere, all you need to do is to ask the staffs. They are more willing to help you out by helping you to call a cab or they themselves take you there with their very own van. Well, we were greeted with a welcome drink~~Guava juice, my favourite! And the room was just so Balinese...My most memorable time was sleeping on the soft fluffy bed. (I only wish I can 'curi' that mattress home!) The comfortable bed let you spent the night in restful state and the next day you were fully energised.
10 December 2010
Well, today's itinery: Watch Barong Dance@ Sanur, Batik Craft Centre, Silver & Gold Shop, 
Souvenir shop near Kintamani and Mount Kintamani (a volcano, dunno dead or alive...). Mdm Ketut had actually prepared a lunch buffet at a restaurant at Mount Kintamani. So our lunch came with a volcano view. I was thinking how about eating at the mouth of the volcano?The restaurant was quite nice but the food had similar elements to every buffet we had. Outside the restaurant, there were many people selling batiks, souvenirs and T-shirts. The price was so cheap but our tour guide advised us not to buy from them. Maybe she was afraid we spent all the money on them and not in the souvenir shop she brought us to and she wouldn't get her commission. After lunch, we went to another temple. 
Well, to me all the temples are alike. Very Balinese! And if you come to Bali without having Balinese massage is like not coming to Bali at all! So we made a deal with the tour guide and she took us to a five-stars hotel for massage. It costs us about USD35 per pax. It was quite relaxing as they gave you a body scrub, then body mask and a floral bath after the massage!
Souvenir shop near Kintamani and Mount Kintamani (a volcano, dunno dead or alive...). Mdm Ketut had actually prepared a lunch buffet at a restaurant at Mount Kintamani. So our lunch came with a volcano view. I was thinking how about eating at the mouth of the volcano?The restaurant was quite nice but the food had similar elements to every buffet we had. Outside the restaurant, there were many people selling batiks, souvenirs and T-shirts. The price was so cheap but our tour guide advised us not to buy from them. Maybe she was afraid we spent all the money on them and not in the souvenir shop she brought us to and she wouldn't get her commission. After lunch, we went to another temple. 
Well, to me all the temples are alike. Very Balinese! And if you come to Bali without having Balinese massage is like not coming to Bali at all! So we made a deal with the tour guide and she took us to a five-stars hotel for massage. It costs us about USD35 per pax. It was quite relaxing as they gave you a body scrub, then body mask and a floral bath after the massage!The dinner was at Jimbaran Beach. I don't eat seafood, thus I had nothing to eat there. But luckily for me, they served boiled kangkung. So that night, I ate only plain white rice with boiled kangkung. Me~the poor thing. At night it was shopping time!! We walked to Central Shopping Complex coz' the hotel staffs said it was quite near and only 10 mins walk. (WTH, it was around half an hour only we found the shopping complex coz' we went to the wrong direction...hehe...)
11 December 2010
Pulau Penyu was our first destination and there was nothing to see except for Penyus. We took a boat trip and it was the fun part, I guess. Mdm Ketut kept persuading us to go for a dive but she didn't tell us to bring extra clothes. So how to dive? We all didn't want to get wet and most of the tourists in our tour group were silver-aged people. Asking them to dive is like killing them!
Finally Mdm Ketut gave in and brought us to Bedegul for lunch. It was a two hours drive and along the way, I fell asleep. The view along the way mostly looked the same. So practically, there is nothing else to see. After lunch at Beratan Tasik, she took us to Tanah Lot
Well, I made a quick trip to the temple on the sea to take some pictures and quickly headed back to the market. Ha! It was a shopping paradise at Tanah Lot! On the way to the temple, you can see many stalls selling bags, paintings, souvenirs, T-shirts. The best part: you can bargain till you're satisfied! But the weather was not that good coz' it started to drizzle when we were looking around the shops for some souvenirs. The tour guide came to gather us coz' it was about time to have dinner. Many of the tour
members complaint about the food. Every buffet was the same. So this time, she took us for a local food instead! I had forgotten the name of the restaurant but the food was just as plain as water. Nothing to talk about. (And yes, we didn't get to eat Babi guling or Dirty Duck as recommended by many bloggers. Sigh....). At night, we went to Hard Rock Hotel (this time we were clever to ask the hotel staff to take us without paying a single cent).
Although there was nothing much in the hotel except for having a drink or dance, it was a pleasure to look at the guitars on display. Some of our tour members said that the place looked exactly like Penang's Hard Rock. Well, I have never been to Penang's Hard Rock, so to me, it was quite a refreshing moment to be there.
Well, I made a quick trip to the temple on the sea to take some pictures and quickly headed back to the market. Ha! It was a shopping paradise at Tanah Lot! On the way to the temple, you can see many stalls selling bags, paintings, souvenirs, T-shirts. The best part: you can bargain till you're satisfied! But the weather was not that good coz' it started to drizzle when we were looking around the shops for some souvenirs. The tour guide came to gather us coz' it was about time to have dinner. Many of the tour
members complaint about the food. Every buffet was the same. So this time, she took us for a local food instead! I had forgotten the name of the restaurant but the food was just as plain as water. Nothing to talk about. (And yes, we didn't get to eat Babi guling or Dirty Duck as recommended by many bloggers. Sigh....). At night, we went to Hard Rock Hotel (this time we were clever to ask the hotel staff to take us without paying a single cent).
Although there was nothing much in the hotel except for having a drink or dance, it was a pleasure to look at the guitars on display. Some of our tour members said that the place looked exactly like Penang's Hard Rock. Well, I have never been to Penang's Hard Rock, so to me, it was quite a refreshing moment to be there.12 December 2010
It was time to go home. After finished packing, we asked the tour guide to take us to Sukawati market, but she said no. Instead, she brought us to another souvenir shop~Ole-ole Bali....sigh....
So, we all spent our last cents here and she promised us to bring us to 'makan' local Indonesian KFC ~ Ayam Lunak Maliboro! The chicken was really really yummy!!! I love the honey sesame chicken so much that I would definitely go there again. The curry chicken was not bad at all too! After having chicken lunch, it was time to check-in. It's time to say goodbye.
ps: Bali, I will be back!!!
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