Bali Express Trip:2 days and 3 nights

31/3/10

Just got back home from the lovely island of Bali last Sunday. This trip is a relatively short one and thus, I "coined" the name "Bali Express Trip". A very special trip for me, my first since I started earning last Aug, 08 and it's also my first with my dearest colleague, Ah Lu (Ms. Tay!) and friends.

Tried my very best to keep the priceless memories of the trip (by capturing the best of them in pictures Was busy clicking away on anything and anything I set my eyes on. (yes, even the air tickets). I would have taken mad amount of pictures if not for the "old age" of my digicam's battery.

The four of us stayed at Aston Inn in the Tuban area. It was not bad a place to stay in with affordable price but was quite a walking distance from the happening and shopping area of Kuta or Legian Street, to be exact.

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Our first stop was to Uluwatu, one of the oldest temple ("pura" in Balinese language), built in the 16th century by the Jawanese whi migrated to Bali , according to Mr. Wayan. We were lucky to have hired him as our driver, who told us quite a bit bout Bali.

View from Uluwatu temple- simply breath taking

After Uluwatu, we made a trip to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) cultural park near the temple. The name Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) means the transportation of God Wisnu in the form of the eagle. There were parts of statues at the site which was supposed to be pieced together into a very tall architecture, planned to be the tallest building in the world. However, Mr. Wayan told us that the plan was put on hold by the government due to the economy downfall. Nonetheless, the view from GWK was good as we were able to oversee part of Bali- Sanur, Nusa Dua and part of Kuta.

GWK entrance fee tickets

I didn't manage to meet up with my bestie, dear Angel Chong but was able to have a brief tour through her university as the journey down from GWK surpass her university, University Udayana.

Universitas Udayana, Bali

Our next stop was Legian Street and Kuta Square, situated near to the Kuta beach which was accessible by foot. It is a good place for tourists to shop and buy local hand made items as well as branded goods. After much shopping, we head over to take pictures at Kuta Beach. The clouds were cotton white fluffy clouds in the clear blue sky, which looked more like a beautifully painted art piece. Breath taking view, I would say, was lost for a moment and didn't mind the scorching Bali heat then.

Kuta beach

That evening, we drove for one hour to Tanah Lot, located in Tabanan. There were several "pura" at the place and was recommended by many travel guides to go in Bali. It is a good place to view the sunset, when the sea level rises and one of the temple by the beach gets separated from the island by the sea water. Unfortunately, there was a huge ass cloud which blocked the view of the sun setting that day.

I managed to make the trip to Tanah Lot meaningful by spending "quality time" on shopping. There were rows of stalls in Tanah Lot which sold clothes and accessories. I bought quite a few accessories and had the chance to practise my bargain or haggling skills!

That night we had our dinner in a rather romantic manner, literally by the sea and on the beach at a restaurant named, "Melatis Kedongan" in Jimbaran. Our driver, Mr. Wayan recommended us the restaurant as we were clueless of which restaurant to dine in. It was indeed a thumbs up recommendation. We had our "Super Delicious" seafood (mussels, prawns and squid) complimented with rice, soup and vegetables, while being entertained by the Balinese dance performance on stage. A group of musician continue to entertain us after the dance- strumming away on their guitars and accordion, along side with their lovely vocals.We head back to the hotel to get our rest, tired nonetheless happy and anxious bout the upcoming plans the very next day.


2/4/10

The last day of the trip was spent mostly at the Ubud district, where there were many villages in the area. Among them were Terang Bulan, the village where most of the people earns by stone carving. The day was planned out for us to head over to Goa Gajah, which took us a good 45 minutes on the road to reach from our hotel. It was yet another historical temple built in the 11th century by the late King as a place to meditate. The temple was built in the cave, as people then believed that caves possess powers.

Then, we went to Titra Empul, which was also built in the 11th century. It is a place visited most during the full moon interval where many cleanse themselves in the holy water.We continue our journey up to Kintamani which was approximately 1200m above the sea level. From there, we were able to see the magnificient view of the active volcanic mountain and a very large lake.

On the way down from the hill, we managed to stop by at a small estate which plants and markets products from mostly cocoa and coffee. The most renown Balinese coffee is of the type called Luwak coffee. Luwak is a marsupial like creature which feeds on only the best coffee berries and the excreted beans will be processed into the famous Luwak coffee. This may sound very gross but suprisingly, this type of coffee is very pricey.

Luwak: the "coffee bean maker"

Auntie happily roasting the coffee beans

After all the sight seeing, Mr. Wayan drove us back to the Ubud area to have our lunch at Babi Guling Ibu Oka restaurant. Their specialty is Babi Guling Special- roasted pork and sausage on rice.

Babi Guling Special

After lunch, we shop at Ubud Pasar and then had the famous Bebek Bengil as dinner take away before heading back to KL!

View of Bali sky on the way to the airport

Bebek Bengil ("dirty duck") dinner take away

- End-