Finally!!! After five months of longg.... waiting... I am going to Bali.....Vomitted several times on the morning of depature though... As our flights to Bali was an evening one, Dear and I worked in the morning before leaving for the airport that day. Not a very good start for a trip huh... Having some spare time at the airport, we decided to take the oppurtunity to explore the newly opened Terminal 3 instead. Was rather disappointed though when we searched the terminal high and low and couldnt find the widely publicised open air aviary.. with a butterfly walk-through passage... The terminal 3 was not as spectacular as we had thought either.. Rather sparse and empty.. full of space with nothing really really worth picture taking... Grab some Burger King and off to bali we went...
The flight to Bali was a surprisingly short one. Only about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Compared to other international airports, the Bali airport was rather old and lacks renovation. We were rather tired by the time we arrived and were so glad that the hotel had arranged a one way transfer to transport us to our hotel. Our hotel is located in the Seyminak district and it is about 20 minutes ride there from the airport.
The hotel's entrance does not appear to be very inviting. However, you will be surprised as you make your way into the rooms passageway. Its a totally different world from the hotel facade. You get rows and rows of little balinese villas in a garden setting. Each villa had its own private garden, porch and outdoor bathroom. It was beautiful. Let me leave it to the pictures to do the talking....
The Front Porch
Too excited to sleep the night before, I woke up pretty early that day. Had intended to wake up and start the day at 7am but was already up by 6.00am. In Singapore, at 6.00am.. the sky would probably still be rather dark.. However, the sun in Bali rises and sets early... By 6.00am, the sun was already bright and shining.. Lazed a little longer in bed before we prep ourselves for the power breakfast of the day...
Today was scheduled to be shopping day. There are so many shopping areas I wished to explore. One of which was this wholesale store named Geneva. Read online that it is one of the cheapest source for shopping and with the largest range of variety. Some even commented that even the locals find it cheap. According to the map, it was only a road away from our hotel. We wanted to walk there initially. However, the hotel staff encouraged us to take a cab there instead. True enough, the distance on the map and the actual distance itself can be rather decieving....
Geneva is totally packed with 3 levels of Balinese handicrafts and had shelves after shelves on products on display. There are thousands of varieties here that we simply didnt know what to buy... Pricewise, I would say its not the cheapest as acclaimed... Places such as Krisna, Tegallalang and Sukiawati could fetch you better rates if you bargain well.. Still.. its much cheaper than those you find on the streets of Kuta or Ubud market where you need to bargain real hard to get close to what Geneva is offering. Of course, if you are a good bargainer, you might get better rates. By the way, the prices shown is not the final price. There is an additional 10% tax imposed on the items. We didnt know about it till after payment. If you are still keen in visting this place for shopping, you can log on to http://www.genevahandicraft.com/ for its address. Its located in Seminyak, Jalan Raya Kerobokan.
Due to the Ramadan holiday, most of the shops along Jalan Raya Kerobokan are closed. Hence, we decided to head for the infamous tourist area.. Kuta instead. Kuta is famed for being a tourist packed shopping paradise and its beach. I went there full of hopes that I could probably grab some shopping steals here... Only to find myself ending up disappointed... Kuta does not have huge shopping malls except for the Matahari and the DFS Galleria. The rest of its shopping are either small little shops by the streets or the Art market which is also filled with stalls all selling the same stuff. One thing about Bali is that irregardless of where you go... You will see the same range of handicrafts, clothes, etc on sale. Even the designs are similar. Perhaps because I have expensive taste or something, I don't seem to take a liking for the street stuff. I ended up buying my clothes mainly from boutiques. By the way, its not a joy shopping on the streets of Kuta under the hot sun...
After some shopping and lunch, we managed to find the infamous Kuta beach which I had read so much about. The beach was indeed beautiful.. No wonder the Australians enjoy coming to Bali for surfing... The sand was pristine white and the waves was strong and clear. Its a far cry from the East Coast Park beach we had in Singapore. We were there at around 2.00+pm in the afternoon but the sun was still sorching hot... Due to the hot sun and our improper attire.. we scooted ourselves out of the beach after about 10 to 15 minutes.. No choice... City gal not suitable for sun tan activities...=p..........
Besides being packed with tourists, the beach also had several peddlars selling their wares and services dotting the shaded areas of the beach. There were peddlars selling sarongs, food, braclets, beach wear, massage services, manicure and pedicure services, hair braiding and temporary tattoo services. With a little bargaining, one could get the product or service at a pretty cheap and reasonable rate. Well.. Dear and I are not quite in the mood for a massage by the beach though... Hence we moved on from here. Tried doing a little shopping at Poppies lane near Kuta beach.. Again.. same old stuff..
FYI, this is where the second bombing in Bali had taken place. It used to be a famous bar in Kuta area. Today, the bar is gone. In place of it was a memorial stand of all who had died during the bombing session. Majority of them are Australians.
To avoid being barbequed by the sun any further, we got ourselves a cab and went to Denpensar instead. Read in the forum that there is a shop here that sells very cheap stuff. Wana check it out. Its call Krisna (Puri Nusa Indah Hotel). True to its name, the stuff sold here are indeed very reasonably price. Prices start from less than S$1. You can easily purchase several souveneirs here without hard bargaining or even hard thinking to make purchases. Definitely worth a visit.
As it is the only shop in the vincinity, we move on to another destination from here. We decided to give the local night market at Kereneng Bemo Terminal, Denpensar a visit. Rightfully, prices here are local based. However, it could be due to our inability to speak Malay and their inability Upon seeing your reaction, they immediately reduce the price by 50%. This tells you how honest they can be with prices.... Nothing much worth buying or seeing here.. Very local products.. similar to Singapore's pasar malam.. As no cabs come into this area, the cab driver who brought us here promised to return at a designated time. We waited for a while to no avail.. That's when I start to get worried.. We are stranded in a foreign place where no-one understands us, no tourists and no transport out. Lucky for us, a bemo offered to send us to our next destination... The Kumbasari market.
This is a 3 storey building by the river.. I read that it operates on a 24 hour basis. Thinking that we could do a little shopping here, I decided to pay this place a visit. Was disappointed to find the shops in the 3 storey building all closed. Only the traditional market is open. Well.. still a rather interesting sight as you realised that the locals have the habit of placing their groceries purchases in the basket on their head. Our day's journey finally ends here....
Day 3, 2nd Oct
Today, we hired driver, Nengah Polos to drive us around Bali for the next 3 days. Its going to be a long and ardous journey today as we will be travelling for hours from one place to another. Nengah had been rather patient with us and had given us much insight of Bali over the next few days. His rates are also very reasonable and he speaks English pretty well. If going to Bali, you can consider hiring him as your driver. Login to http://www.bali-day-trip.com/. You can email him for further discussion at info@bali-day-trip.com.
Our first stop is the Fruit Bats and Monkey Forest. This place has a few hundred monkeys and bats. Due to the fierce shopping competition of 200 over shops in this place, each shopkeeper will take turns to bring the tourists around and afterwhich to their shop. Tourists will most likely be obligated to purchase something from them eventually. Besides monkey running around and an old temple in the area, there is nothing much worth seeing here though... In Bali, monkeys can be seen anywhere, at Uluwatu, Tanah Lot, Ubud, etc... hence, not quite worth the 10,000 rupiah (S$1.50) entrance fee and the obligated item purchase at that place. As for the bats, most are hanging upside down high up on the trees... If you ask me, you can skip this place as well as the one in Ubud. But if you are a die hard fan of monkeys... go ahead....
Here's some monkey business pictures....
Next stop.. we make our way to a very beautiful lake that is up on the mountain. Its known as the Buyan and Tamblingan lake.. On our way there, we make a pit stop at a very scenic rice field terraces at Pacung mountain area.. The weather here is similar to what you would experience in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.
The journey continues as we make our way up to the mountain to capture the spectacular view of Buyan lake and Tamblingan lake. The lake was indeed beautiful. Interestingly, we came across a balinese couple who were on their way to celebrate their wedding celebration stopping by the lake for a short rest. Being a new sight to tourists like us, we got Polo's help to speak to the couple on having a picture taken with them.
Done with the Buyan lake, we move on to visit the Bratan lake, also known as temple in the lake. The temple by the Buyan lake is known as Uludanu temple. "Ulu" means "heart" and "Danu" means lake. This temple is being dedicated to the Danu Goddess (God of lake or water). This temple is being found in the 17th century by Mengwi. It has 3 courts. The outside, middle and inner. The inner court is restricted to only certain group of worshippers who would want to have a close contact of worship with their Gods.
We break for lunch here. Instead of patronising the touristy restaurants, we highlighted to Polos that we would like to try the local food the same way as the locals do. Hence, for only 5000 rupiah (S$0.75) per bowl, we got ourselves a bowl of Bakso (noodles with meatballs). Cheap it may be but Dear commented that the meatballs taste funny. Its like eating plastic.. In addition, the quantity is not quite sufficient.. So much for cheap huh....
According to our itinerary for the day, we were supposed to stop by Taman Ayun temple before moving onto Uluwatu for its sunset dance. Having seen several temples in a day, we are getting rather sick of it and requested for a change of place instead. Polos suggested that we visit the dreamland beach in Jimbaran area. As it is a private beach, each person are being charged 5000 rupiah (S$0.75) for entrance fee. Worth paying that nominal fee though.. The beach here is even nicer than what we see in Kuta. In addition, they had cliffs and corals as part of the beach backdrop.
At around 5pm, we leave Jimabaran beach for Uluwatu. Uluwatu is at the far end of Bali. Despite having travelling several hours from Buyan lake to Jimbaran, its still another 1 hour journey to Uluwatu temple... We need to be at Uluwatu by around 6.00pm to be in time for the Sunset Kecak dance at 6.30pm. The Kecak dance is a dance performance by 50 half naked man continuously chanting the words: Cak- ke cak- Cak-ke Cak in rhythm. This is a performance with no music accompaniment. The story is based on a Ramayna epic. Ticket fee costs 100,000 rupiah (S$15) per person. As the chant "chak" sounds like the hokkien word "Chiak" = eat.. Dear had been performing the Kecak dance for me before dinner everytime.. haha...
We were so tired at the end of the day from the various sightseeing that we requested Polos send us to the nearest Macdonald's to take away our dinner for that evening. We had dinner in the hotel that night. We were sooo... drained out and tired.. we just simply couldnt move another inch.....
Today, we checked out of Putu Bali Villa and proceed onto the other side of Bali..Ubud.. Read sooo.. much about this place. Most people commented that it is better here at Ubud than Kuta due to its tranquility and cool weather.. Wasn't really sure about that.. but we are definitely very keen to see this place for ourselves..
On our way to Ubud, Polos brought us to his hometown area.. Batubulan to get some stone carvings ornaments first. This place is where most stone carvers produce their wares at. It was a long stretch of streets with homes behind the shop front probably selling different types of stone carvings. In Singapore, a huge piece of wall carving display could easily cost S$500. In Batubalan, you will be surprised at the opening price.. A wall carving display of approx the same size cost less than S$100 per piece (That is the non negiotiated price somemore..) Prices could be further reduced with a little bargaining... If not for my luggage allowance and our concerns on shipping costs, I would really love to lug back a few pieces of the beautiful stone carvings home.. And there we have Dear nagging away on weight and stuff.. so we only managed to buy a stone carved lamp at only $12 and 2 x 3-panel stone carvings frame at $6 each...
With some time to stash.. Polos suggested that we do a short stop over at Sukawati market to have a rough idea of the prices sold here. He mentioned that compared to other parts of Bali, this market sell stuff at rather low prices that are catered to the locals as it is like a wholesale area... Still... bargaining is required.
After lunch, we went onto Gunung Kawi.. This is a temple with very beautiful stone sculptures... Problem is there are more than 200 steps to climb. Furthermore, the weather is not very friendly.. With my previously acquired sun burnt, the trip here only come to worsen my skin condition... Entrance fees and sarong required. You can rent the sarongs for a nominal donation.
After the "skin barbequeing" session... we moved on to a cooler attraction, Kintamani town where an active volcano, Mount Batur lies. This volcano had erupted several times over the past few centuries. The largest eruption occured in 1926 which had the entire Batur village destroyed. The village had to be relocated as a result of it. Another black lava eruption took place in 1974 and till today, black smoke could be seen emitting from the mouth of the volcano at times. For a clearer look of the volcano, one could take part in the sunrise tour which starts from as early as 2.00am in the morning (depending on which part of Bali you stay in). The cost of transport and a tour guide hire starts from 350,000 rupiah per person.
View of Mount Batur and the Lake
If you are not already sick of rice fields... here's another picturesque ricefield view at the Tegallalang village.
After a full day of touring.. its time we retreat back to our new hotel to refresh and recharge ourselves. This is the number 1 rated hotel in Ubud (or even Bali) by the Virtual Tourists reviewers.. To book your choice room, one had to book about 5 to 6 months in advance. If you are lucky, a few days could get you your choice room too. In my case, I was unable to get my 1st choice (the duplex - a 2 storey room) nor the wooden room despite 5 months of advance booking. Still.. I managed to get one of the popular, new rooms in that area.. Speak about Kiasuism... 
This wonderful hotel is known as Tegal Sari, Ubud. More info can be obtained from http://www.tegalsari-ubud.com/. My room cost approx S$80 per room per night. Its room number 24. If you would like to book a room in Tegal, its reccommended that you research on the different room numbers and specify the room that you would want to book. As it is highly recommended online, many people had posted their room pictures and its number online. You can view the different rooms design before you check with the hotel on its availability.. Super hot hotel....
The balcony and its view
The living room area
As we were honeymooners, a special set up was made at the bed and the bathroom.. So sweet... We were so happy when we saw the lovely swans set up...
After a long soak in our lovely bathtub.. we took the hotel's shuttle service to the central of Ubud for some exploration. Ubud is like a small town. You can easily cover it within a day or less. As it was already late, we went for dinner first. Dinner was one of the longest we had in Bali... 15 to 20 minutes to have our order taken. 45 minutes of food waiting and 20 minutes to complete our food. The food taste was pretty good but the long waiting time is enough to kill. Did a little shopping at the shops that were still opened and had the hotel shuttle us back for yet another day's rest.
Day 4, 4th Oct
At Tegal, breakfast could be served in the room as you sit in the balcony and enjoy the view of the rice fields. Compared to Putu Bali, the breakfast choice offered is rather limited. However, you can choose to order additional side orders at a rather nominal fee. We had additional bacons for only around S$1. As we had a lot of nasi goreng at Putu Bali previously, we avoided ordering that.. My recommendations would be the Tegal Sari banana pancake and the breakfast set that comes with eggs of your choice, bacon and toast.
The Swimming Pool
Outdoor Massage and Gym
Today's plan was to explore Ubud in the morning and later depart for our luxurious spa at Semana Villa. It would be a day of relaxation. As the hotel provide free shuttle services within Ubud area, we arranged for it to bring us to Ubud market for some shopping. Read that the Ubud market is a great place for shopping if you can bargain hard. Dear and I seem to think likewise though.. We find the things similar to other areas and not accustomed to our taste. In addition, prices are quoted rather high. Even after deducting the quoted price by 50%, you still can't claim it as reasonable. After some pestering from shop owners, we decided to give the place a miss. Instead, we heeded the Polos advice and tried walking our way to Tegallalang for some cheap finds.According to Polos, its only about a 10 minute to 20 minute walk from Ubud Central to Tegallalang. I beg to differ. It was a long route there. Dear and I walked for about 30 to 45 minutes before we even reach the end of the Tegallalang street. We continued walking for another 1 hour or so under the hot sun without much stuff worth seeing as you keep seeing the same old stuff over and over again.. and to make matters worst... no cafes or restaurants around.. We gave up after some time and tried to hitch a taxi back.. One thing about Ubud was you cant tell which is a taxi. There are no clear cut taxis here. Most people drives a private car and would offer you rides at a price. If you are interested, the deal is close. If not, try again. And most of the time, they will ask if you need a ride or not. You faced this all the time when walking in Bali, especially Ubud.
To cut the long story short, we finally got back to Ubud and settled for lunch at this nice little restaurant besides the Ubud Palace. Cant quite remember the name now.. But what you see in the picture below is a dish that offers 9 different Balinese specialities. It allows us to try 9 different dishes at one time. And its delicious. Not very costly either. The meal cost less than S$20 for 2 with drinks included.P.S: Dont be fooled by the serving size.. Its actually very filling...
After lunch, we still had some time to kill before our spa session starts. Dear and I tried exploring Ubud town from where we left off the day before. It wasnt very long before we decided to stop walking and just grab some drinks whilst we wait for the spa session to come. There is just nothing really worth seeing especially under the extreme heat and sun. Managed to capture a picture or two at the Lotus Pond in the Ubud Palace though....
Finally.. its time for our spa session. A vehicle had been arranged to drive us there. Due to a computer glitch, our spa session had to be delayed till 6.00pm instead of the previous 3.00pm slot... Sighz.. we are going to miss out on the scenary as a result of it... Even though our spa session was at 6.00pm, we wanted to enjoy the hotel's facilities first before indulging in the session.
The swimming pool overlooking the Ayung river....
In trance, as we relax in the bale bengong by the riverside........
Pure relaxation and meditation........
As hi tea was also provided, we enjoyed our tea by the poolside as well.. Soon, it was time for our spa treatment. Due to my "new" condition, there were quite a number of restrictions for me. The only spa treatment suitable for me was the "Summer Rain" spa treatment which comprises of a foot soak, body scrub, flower bath and a massage to end it all.. Its US$65 and subject to 21% taxes. The hotel had been very generous in offering us a 15% discount. Our spa treatment adds up to about S$100 per person after all taxes and discounts. More info can be obtained from http://www.villasemana.com/Needless to say, we enjoyed our spa session throughly.. Every section of the treatment was heavenly.. As I had some sunburnt on my shoulders, certain areas could be better if not for the slight abrasion... To further enhance our spa experience, we were also served some chicken drumsticks, popiah and fruit juice during the flower bath.. Hmmm.. yummilicious.... In fact, we enjoyed the spa session sooo.. much, we both felt that it had been one of the best part of the trip and wouldn't mind going for it again.
Open air area for body scrub
To top off our wonderful evening, we made reservations at Lamak, a slightly higher class restaurant to end our babymoon holiday on a sweet note. Had wanted to go for Bebek Bengil initially (dirty duck restaurant) but was strongly discouraged by the spa owner. He mentioned that the restaurant is very dirty in its food handling procedures and suggested we try other restaurants instead. This was one of the most expensive meal we had so far, the total bill came up to almost S$45. 
Day 5, 5th Oct
Today marked the last day of our trip. Not knowing where else to go to in Ubud.. we decided to give Tegallalang another shot. This time round, we hired a bemo for 2 hours to ferry us through the various shops and stopping only at places where we find stuff interesting to us. After much bargaining and search for a driver, we found a badly maintained car at 75,000 rupiah.. Its not that bad though.. except that it has no doors nor cushy seats.. Well.. price is more important to us in this case... We were probably there too early... as most of the shops are still not open when we arrived. We were there at 9.00am.. Sighz... should have gone there later.... Managed to buy more stuff this time round.. the most fruitful trip of the 3 times in which we had been there...
Back to Ubud.. okay.. lets search for lunch then... we are no longer in the mood of shopping in Ubud...for a very simple reason... You can get the same stuff at a much lower price from Tegallalang or Sukiawati market. As we will be spending the rest of the day at Sukiawati market, we decided to take it slow here. Lunch was rather interesting... Dear had his green curry served in a coconut husk... It was delicious.. Mine was more simple.. Pork... I think.. but forgot what sauce was in served in now...
Polos came to pick us from the hotel later in the afternoon. We proceed to Sukiawati market for our last minute shopping purchases till around 6.00+pm before we leave for the airport. From there we bade Bali goodbye.....
Personal Bali ThoughtsIt could be because I am too accustomed to being a city girl... I find the weather in Bali very atrocious.. Not being a person who enjoyed being tanned... I dont quite enjoy myself basking in the sun most of the time.
Its a great place for a short 3 days getaway just to relax, enjoy the nature and spa.. but shopping is highly not reccommened. I wonder why the "Ang Mohs" enjoy shopping so much here.. To me.. there is really nothing much to buy.. We do have some regrets to not making certain purchases though.... Great place for honeymooners...
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