变天...

当大家公认的世界各所顶尖大学不惜派发奖学金，拨出名额，广招天下英才以期能够持续进步的同时，有所高傲大学，被呼吁开放十巴仙名额予不同种族血统的学生以加强竞争力，却校长学生齐齐大呼小叫，上街游行示威。

当世界各国极力招揽各界人才以期发展各行各业，加强在地球村竞争能力，美国正准备迎接史上第一位黑人总统的同时，有些人还在为你到底是不是寄居者而争得面红耳赤。

当韩国总统李明博就政府的宗教偏向行为向国内佛教人士道歉，要求所有公务人员必须遵守宗教平等原则时，有兴都庙宇被拆除。

当大家都在大力鼓吹公开文明对话的同时，某政党青年团领袖却说公开辩论政纲是脱裤让外人看屁股。

当大家都想多学些语言以便走出世界的同时，有人认为我们应该只有单一源流的学校。

中国的嫦娥奔月计划成功了，国家购买军事配备，交换条件，一个太空人得以乘搭他人的火箭升天，大家引以为荣。

当世界提倡人权，法律面前人人平等的同时，有人未经审讯而享牢狱之灾，有人在皇家调查报告出炉了却还逍遥法外。

当大家面对万物通膨生活压力剧增的同时，有人正担心会不会变天...

Bali (Day 5)

It was our last day in Bali and we have a flight to catch at 2 something in the afternoon. After checking out from the hotel, Putu brought us to the Surf Factory Outlet at Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai before sending us to the airport. It was a pleasant experience flying with AirAsia this trip as all the flights were on time.



Bye bye Bali and now... back to my hectic working schedule anticipating another enjoyable trip ;)

Bali (Day 4)

Bedugul Fruit Market

It took us more than an hour to reach the market but the ride was an enjoyable one with nice scenery along the road.

Scenery along the road

Batman

Herbs and Spices

Bought some strawberries and Markisah (Passion Fruit)

Pura Ulun Danu, Bedugul

I have seen lots of computer screens displaying a scene taken from Bali as desktop and this place is the one! The pura locates against a serene lake as backdrop, with the cool breeze brushing our cheeks and breathing the air of tranquility, this place is simply fabulous!

Bakso for Lunch

Pura Taman Ayun, Mengwi

According to the Balinese culture, family ancestors are worshipped in their house temple, the clan ancestors in the clan temple, and the ancestors of a royal dynasty were collectively worshipped by a kingdom in the state temple. Built in the 17th century by the Mengwi dynasty, whose kingdom survived until the late 1800s, Pura Taman Ayun served as the state temple for the royal dynasty.

One of the paraphernalia Merus (pagoda-like shrines)

On our way back to Ubud, we came across a celebration held at one of the village.

Spa at Zen Spa

Sze Theen had a one and a half hour spa session at Zen Spa. I preferred not to as i am afraid of the "geli"ness... haha! I make use of the time to explore the areas around.

Dinner

Nasi Goreng

Gado-gado

Bali (Day 3)

Barong Dance

The Barong Dance is a story telling dance, relating the fight between good and evil spirit. Barong (a mythological animal) represents a good spirit and Rangda (a mythological monster) represents and evil one.

We started our journey early at about 8.30am to catch the Barong and Kris dance at CV. Catur Eka Budhi, Jalan Waribang, Kesiman, Denpasar. I think it's quite an interesting play and if you asked me should you watch this or the Kecak Dance, I think the Barong dance is a better choice due to its variety compared to the Kecak. Price : IDR 50 000 per person.

The Gamelan accompanying the act

The dance started with the appearance of the tiger. The paper explaining the dance mentioned it was a tiger but it looked more like a lion to me.

The Rangda

The show ended with warriors piercing themselves with the Kris (Malay sword)

The Barong - there are similarities between the Barong and the Lion Dance

Silver Workshop
Bali is famous for its silver craft. We took the opportunity to visit one of the silver workshop on our way to Ubud.

Nice piece of work... nice price too!

Wood Carving Workshop
Its amazing that the carvers were able to carve out their masterpiece without any drafting. All the blueprints were already in their minds. Fantastic!


Kintamani Volcano & Batur Lake
We had our buffet lunch at a restaurant facing the majestic panorama of Mount Batur Volcano and the crater lake.

Sumptuous buffet lunch

Bali Coffee Plantation

We were told by Putu that the owner of this coffee plantation is one of the richest man in Bali. No entrance fee was collected for us to visit the plantation and tourists were treated with different types of coffee (original, ginseng, lemon grass, ginger etc.) free of charge.

The famous product of this plantation was the Luwak Coffee. Luwak was an animal called Asian Palm Civet. Luwak use their keen sense of smell to select the very best ripe coffee beans. A Luwak will visit a plantation and eat only a fraction of the available beans, leaving any that are inferior or not quite ready on the tree. This means that the beans are individually selected by an animal that is specially adapted for this purpose and is far superior to humans at doing this.
Also, as the beans pass through the digestive tract of the Luwak, the acids in the stomach of the Luwak permeate the bean and leach out some of the proteins in the bean responsible for its bitterness resulting in a sweeter coffee bean. Price of the coffee - a small box for USD 50.

Coffee berry

The Luwak

Fresh Luwak droppings

Dried Luwak droppings

Experiencing coffee frying

Rice Terrace, Tegal Lalang

Ubud Palace

We crossed path with a parade of worshippers during our way out from the Ubud Palace

Ubud Market
The Ubud Market is just opposite the Ubud Palace. We spent almost two hours doing our round of shopping around and found that not enough. We came back on the next day to continue our hunt for souvenirs :)

Dinner at Bebek Bengil
The Bebek Bengil or Dirty Duck was highly recommended by many tourists and we decided to give it a try. The restaurant was strategically situated by the roadside with another side of it facing the paddy field so you got to enjoy your dinner amidst the green surroundings before the sun set. ST ordered the Bebek Bengil and I ordered the BBQ Pork Ribs. Like other restaurants, the serving is real big! The food was good and what makes them great was actually the sauce!





Where we stayed - Nick's Hidden Cottages
We were really tired after the dinner - well we woke up real early today! The place we were supposed to stay (Nick's Pension which we booked through AsiaRooms) was full when we reached there and was sent to Nick's Hidden Cottages. The owner of the hotel actually owns three hotels - Nick's Homestay (back packers lodge), Nick's Pension and Nick's Hidden Cottages.

We were a bit dissapointed when we were first sent to Nick's Hidden Cottages. The night has set in and the surrounding was dark. The hotel seemed deserted and we need to trailed a long road before reaching the hotel.

However, our perception changed 180 degree in the morning. The photos below tell all...

Our room for the first night

We were upgraded to a suite for the second night