Bali (Day 2)

Pura Tanah Lot

Putu fetched us at 9.30 in the morning and head straight to Pura Tanah Lot. Same as Uluwatu, Tanah Lot is a famous place for sunset. However, we chose to come in the morning as to better utilize our time for the rest of the day visiting shops around Kuta.

The road leading to the Pura was lined up with stalls selling clothes, ornaments, paintings, wood carvings etc. We were told by friends who have visited Bali before that we could possibly get better deals at other places like Kuta Square, Ubud Market and Sukawati. So we didn't really pay too much attention to the price of the items sold but just kill some time doing window shopping. However, we ended up buying a dress for Rachel at one of the stalls.

Like the other Puras, what greeted us was a split gateway entrance which was called the Candi Bentar guarded on both sides by statues of temple guards.

I managed to capture the photo of a nice water lily planted just beside the Candi Bentar

Praying area that can only be accessed by the devotees

The Pura built by the sea side. Nice view!

We were asked to cleanse ourselves with the running water from the pura and blessed with rice stuck on our forehead and the Japanese flower on our ears. With a fee, of course. IDR 20,000 for two person if i am not mistaken

Lunch (Babi Guling)
We had Babi Guling for lunch, not at the famous Babi Guling Ibu Oka restaurant but we have it at a stall beside the paddy field on our way to Denpasar. Bali Guling or the Balinese Roast Suckling Pig is made of a whole suckling pig stuffed with various spices and roll roasted. The serving consists of the dry and crispy skins, diced pork and the spices with vegetables. Besides that, it was served with a bowl of soup cooked from banana stem. Simply delicious!

Babi Guling... Yummy

Teh Botol - famous drink at all stalls

Bali War Monument

After lunch, we visited the Bali War Monument at Denpasar. We had a bumper to bumper crawl as school was just over and the whole road was full of cars, bikes and bicycles.

Students chit-chatting while waiting for their transport back home after school

Kuta Town
We headed back to Kuta after visiting the monument and reached Kuta at about 2.30pm. Kuta has been well known internationally for its long sandy beach, varied accommodation, restaurants, bars, and substantial Australian population. However, we were told that after the Bali bombing incident, Australian tourists start to shed the place and American was supposed to be the biggest population of tourists on the island.

Putu dropped us off somewhere near Hard Rock Hotel. We started our exploration around Kuta by having a stroll along the beach. It was a long stretch with surfers, sun-bathers, and petty traders populating the beach. There were also tourists enjoying their massage along the beach. From the info we read from the web, the white sand stretch of Kuta is around 5km long... but we just explored a very small part of it before starting our shopping trip along the road, going from shop to shop!

We had our dinner and to recharge at one of the restaurant at the vicinity of the new Discovery Shopping Mall - Batan Waru.

Nice ambientST ordered the Soto Ayam

I ordered the Nasi Campur

A new record was created! Except for the short dinner break, oblivious of time, we have actually gone round the area non-stop for a straight 8 hours before reaching the hotel and went flat! Amazing huh?!