Bali (Day 1)

ST and I made a trip to Bali from 27 - 31 July 2008. This is our first vacation after three years and i think the trip was an enjoyable one. We kind of planned and organized the trip ourselves but to be frank, it depends a lot on our tour guide cum driver, Putu.

ST and I have been searching the web for a reliable and reasonably priced driver for some time. After few emails exchange and based on recommendation from other customers, we decided to engage Putu as our driver for this trip. I am glad we made the correct choice. Putu has been a driver for more than 10 years and certainly is a capable one. If you plan to visit Bali one day, you can contact him at sudiana_goazonk@yahoo.com or visit his websites below:

1. http://yourbalidriver.com/

2. http://balidriver4u.com/

Putu and I in front of his Toyota Kijang (equivalent to Toyota Unser in Malaysia)

We touched down at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali at about 2.30pm on 27th July 2008 (Sunday). Bali falls on the same time zone as Malaysia. Straight forward, no time adjustment for us. Putu was already waiting at the arrival hall. After some brief introduction, we head straight to the hotel.

Bakung Beach Cottages, Tuban

Our plan is to stay 2 nights in Kuta and 2 nights in Ubud to experience the differences in atmosphere - town and village. Putu adviced us not to stay right in the centre of Kuta to avoid the heavy traffic that is normal during peak season like July. We picked Bakung Beach Cottages (http://www.bakungbeach.com/) due to its reasonable rate and location (located at Tuban, outskirt of Kuta but still within walking distance from Kuta town centre) The hotel is about 15 minutes drive from the airport. We checked in, took a bath and jumped back to Putu's car (they called it mobil in Indonesian language)

Entrance to the hotel

Our Room

Room Entrance

Swimming Pool

There was a temple beside the hotel and a religious ceremony took place the morning before we left the hotel. This is one of the decorations used during the event

Majority of the Balinese are Hindus but their religious practices were kind of different compared to the Hindus in Malaysia. The nicely decorated offerings as shown in the two photos above were everywhere to be seen across Bali. Along roadside, in front of shops, on top of altars, everywhere. The offering was supposed to be done every morning before starting work and every night before sleep.

Comments:

The hotel wasn't great but with a rate of USD 33 per night (booked through AsiaRooms) with air-conditioned room, hot water shower, TV and American breakfast served every morning, we have nothing much to complaint. The main dissastisfaction was the bathroom which was quite old and not very well maintained. The location was quite strategic with stalls located along the road leading to the hotel where you can get drinking water and other neccesities quite easily and with reasonable price.

Dreamland Beach

Our first taste of Bali is the Dreamland Beach. One of the popular destination for surfers. Sze Theen and I are no surfers but a quick search from the net, Dreamland has a sandy bottom and the surf coming in rather flat. So, this wasn’t a top notch surf break, but okay for beginners / intermediates, depending on the day. Anyway, what caught our attention is the clear blue sky, beautiful sea and the crowd sun-bathing along the beach.

Pura Luhur Uluwatu

Our next destination was Pura Luhur Uluwatu. Pura is the local language for Temple. Before entering the Pura, Sze Theen has been warned to remove her ear rings, pendants etc. as the monkeys here fancied them.

Kecak Fire Dance

Right at the Pura Luhur Uluwatu, visitors can watch the famous Kechak Fire Dance performance with a fee of IDR 50,000 per person while enjoying the magnificent sunset at Uluwatu. Accompanied by a choir of chanting and singing men, the Kecak dance got its name from the "kecak... kecak..." chanting by the performers which form the only music for the performance. The show commenced at 6pm and lasted for about an hour.

Taken from the Hindu epic Ramayana, the dance tells the story of Prince Rama and his rescue of Princess Sita, who has been kidnapped by the evil King of Lanka, Rhawana. The show also features Hanoman, a white Monkey with magical powers and the Garuda (a big bird - where Indonesian Airline get its name) who helped in the rescue of Sita from Rhawana.

Tourists anticipating the start of the show

Troupe of dancers served as the chorus while swaying their bodies and waving their hands

The Garuda protecting Sita from Rhawana

Hanoman - the white monkey

Rhawana - the bad guy who was kind enough to let me have his photo taken while preparing to come on stage

Hanoman braving the fire

Magnificent Uluwatu Sunset

Dinner at Jimbaran Bay

28th July was actually ST's birthday and the seafood dinner at Jimbaran Bay was the early celebration for her. We were seated by the beach and the sea breeze was cold - especially with our light clothing and starving stomachs. We ordered the seafood set dinner for two which consist of a lobster, prawns, fish and squid. The set comes with rice, french fries, fried kangkung and beers but we opted for fruit juice instead.

We were simply too hungry to remember taking a shot of the food before walloping the food. This was a shot after we were done. Well, the serving was actually quite big and we can't possibly finish all the food.

I know i looked funny in the picture, more so with the flower on my ear :p

The meal cost us about IDR 475,000. Chin Lee told me that we might be able to get a discount if we were to tell the restaurant owner that we were from Malaysia. Unfortunately, the lady said we were supposed to negotiate the price upfront before we ordered our food. They will not be able to change the price after we have taken our meal. Well, it's ok as we enjoyed the food and i hope ST has a memorable birthday celebration.

With a full and satisfied stomach, we headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep.