Sister Trip | Bali

Okay, I'm getting worst at this blogging thing. This draft has been sitting in my blog for a 4 months before I finally sit down and reminiscing my sister trip to Bali. But I have a very good reason for procrastinating.

I'M GETTING MARRIED IN LESS THAN A WEEK. 
NOW I ALREADY BEEN MARRIED FOR MORE THAN A MONTH.
The  procrastination bug in me is real guys! But I have a good reason for it. I'm living my life out of social media now mostly and I kinda like it.


Now let's get back to my sister trip back in March. We arrived at night and freshen up in our hotel, Sense Hotel in Seminyak. After that we marched over to Motel Mexicola which is right next to our hotel.

Initially we wanted a light dinner but ended up with just Bintang Beer. The atmosphere at Motel Mexicola was great and the place was filled with tourist. Everyone were having fun, drinking away and dancing. We did danced a while before called it a night.

Out exploring Seminyak the next day. 

Black dress in Bali weather is not a good idea guys.

Dress and sandals from Zalora

First time trying Teh Botol and it was okay for me.

Next day on Kura-Kura Bus en route to Kuta because someone wanted to go to Sephora.

We went to Mozaic Beach Club on the third day.

Actually we wanted to go to Potato Head but our hotel granted us discount for Mozaic Beach Club and assured us that it is equally awesome too.

We even signed up for cycling tour in Ubud because I have never been to Ubud and cycling seems like a perfect way to explore Ubud. But the day before the cycling tour, we went to Kuta beach and signed up for surfing lesson. I went before and encouraged my sister to try out. She's only been in the water for less than half a hour before calling it quit. 

Surfing was so much fun for me and I tried to make full use of my 2 hours but my energy limited me. Plus I got knocked by my surf board on the head a few times and scratches my knees on the sands too. We woke up feeling like just beaten up and decided to just bailed on our cycling tour. Lame but it is the best decision ever because we spent the day doing girly stuff like massages, mani and padi and went for high tea.

Brunch was at Eat Well which is famous for its crispy pork.

High tea at Souq because we were avoiding the pouring rain outside.

This is where I had the best brownie and iced chocolate ever.

Dinner was The Junction where I finally satisfied my craving for Bakso Ayam.

The Bakso Ayam is delicious and totally what I imagined a perfect Bakso taste like. 

Brunch the next day before we head to airport was at Grocer & Grind which is highly recommended but it did not live up to my expectation. The food was average and the waiting time was too long. 

I really had lots of fun on this trip and tried out lots of cafes and had massages everyday till my body was bruised wtf. I'm really looking forward to another sister trip hopefully next year.

Tanah Lot | Bali

I promise this will be the last installment for my Bali trip back in April. I was so lazy to finish the blog post for Bali but I thought every part of Bali deserves a post on its own. Plus it is my first ever solo trip. Every adventures need to be jot down here for my own future reference.

I spent my last full evening in Bali with another tour from Pak Putu. This time I went for Tanah Lot tour. The sky was bright and beautiful in the morning but came afternoon, it was overcast and drizzling during my tour.

First place to visit on the tour is Taman Ayun Temple. This is inside of the garden. Sorry for the low light photo, told you it was overcast.

Entrance of Taman Ayun Temple. It was really impossible to get a photo without having others photobombing you. The flock of tourists were everywhere. 

I would love to know more about the history of the temple but Pak Putu was not well versed with the story of the temple. I asked some questions but he couldn't answer me. :(

The garden itself is not too large and most part of it are still under maintenance. Some workers were working hard restoring the ruined statues under the rain. Our visit there finished in just half an hour. It was raining and I was cold. Plus Pak Putu himself did not know the history of the temple. So, it was quite boring for me.

Spotted lots of Ogoh-ogoh sold in Bali. Ogoh-ogoh is the statue which have forms of mythological beings especially demons and is used during Nyepi Day. If you're planning your trip to Bali at the early of the year, make sure you take note of when is Nyepi Day because on that day, no activity are allowed and everything is closed. Nyepi Day basically means Silence Day which follows by New Year in the Hindu Calendar.

Next we moved on to Tanah Lot which took about one hour ='=

I was getting dizzy from the moving vehicle and the cold from the rain. Thankfully I brought shawls to wrap myself in. Very useful to bring along shawl because some temples have strict dress code and lady should covers their leg.

The famous Tanah Lot which is a cursed place for couple according to the history. This is where the Bali Curse started. Legend has it that the couple that visit Tanah Lot together will break up afterward. Not sure how true the story is but I'm not taking chances. But I did read that lots of couple, even the steady one broke up after visiting Tanah Lot.

It been raining the whole afternoon, so the tide was high and the current was strong. We couldn't walk over to the temple but being there watching it from afar was awesome. The strong wave crashing against the rocks made it even more wonderful.

I kept walking to edge of the rock to get close view of the wave but Pak Putu kept stopping me. It was dangerous but I couldn't help it. I love the water and kept imagine how does it feel to swim there wtf morbid much.

I spent close to one hour in Tanah Lot just taking in all the view and the experience. I even saw a surfer surfing on the strong wave. He made it look so easy. 

After Tanah Lot, I asked Pak Putu to drive me to the famous Warung Nuri in Seminyak. Everyone keep bragging that the pork rib is a must try in Warung Nuri. Honestly during my whole trip there, I did not had any meal that satisfy me.Probably because I didn't venture out much. The only time I walked around Kuta was before my flight back. 

I wandering around Kuta in my effort to search for bakso because I was craving one. Found a place that serves one but it is a rather high end place and sadly the bakso suck. I was reluctant to walk further because a tout keep following me to promote his motorbike wtf.

I was really mad at him. When he first approached me, I ignored him. He kept walking beside me asking me gazillion questions. I tried to lost him by entering a craft shop but the damn bastard was waiting for me outside. He literally been following me the whole street for 20 minutes. 

In the end, I got so mad at him and snapped at him to leave me alone. It worked. Sigh, I should have just yell at him at the first place. 

Anyway, back to Warung Nuri. It changed its name to Wild Hog. So, next time you're in Bali, look for Wild Hog instead.

The interior is very quirky and the patrons were 80% foreigners. 

I had the famous pork rib and Bintang beer. My verdict, it wasn't up to the hype. Sorry everyone but the pork rib was just so so to me. I didn't try anything else because I was alone and had nobody to share with.

Well, this is the downside of solo travel. You have nobody to split the food and the transport fare. But it is still enjoyable for me. A friend asked when I will do my solo travel again, right now I'm not so sure when. With the weak Ringgit, I have no mood to plan my travel for next year but so far I have some trips that I already confirmed.

If I were to do another solo travel, I think I will head over to the country Down Under. Hehehe

Kuta Beach, Bali

When I chose to go to Bali, the beach is not the first thing that attracts me. I was more intrigued by the culture and temples and of course the fact that I'm going to explore Bali solo. I stayed at Kuta but only went to Kuta beach on the second day. 

Well, I did tried to go to the beach on my first day but I got lost. 

I tried again the next day and wished that I went a little further down on my first day because that's where the beach is. And it is so beautiful.

No kidding, it was blue sky white puffy cloud kinda of day. Match it with blue water and sandy beach, it is perfection in my dictionary.

I went in the mid morning and it is less crowded. 

I have read lots of negative reviews about Kuta Beach on Trip Advisor, so I came with no expectation. But I was blown away by the beauty of the nature. One of the review online stated that Kuta Beach is littered with human trash but I didn't notice it. Or maybe the area that I went to is less happening, therefore less trash.

The beach was filled with people sun bathing and relaxing. I rented an umbrella and lying there people watching and trying to soak in the beauty of the beach.

Unfortunately, my relaxing time was cut short by a group of touts. I just lied down less than 5 minutes and a group of middle aged women came to my umbrella offering me services and souvenirs.

I rejected them but oh God, they were so annoying. One lady offered me massage and went straight to touch my leg without my permission. Another lady offered me pedicure and started to clean my toe nails without my permission.

I kept saying "No" but nobody listened to me. The other two ladies were pushing their bracelets and t-shirts to my face and literally forcing me to buy them.

I felt sorry for them but the way they did their business really annoyed me. They are pushy and not taking no for an answer. I should have be stern and maybe scolded them but I was alone and there were 4 of them. 

In the end, I just gave in and negotiated a lower price with them.

The service that let me down the most is the massage. She said it was 30 minutes. But the most that she massaged me was 15 to 20 minutes. It was not even massage, she literally just touching my legs all over and kept telling me how fair I am. -______-

The pedicure was good because she really did a good job albeit overpriced. The Balinese flowers on my toes stayed for almost 4 months. No kidding, my toe thumbs still have it now.

Notice how I suddenly have an anklet on my leg? Yeah, I succumbed to the bracelet seller too. She sold this overpriced anklet to me for a freaking RM28!!

But at least they left me alone afterward and I had a short 10 minutes of peace before I need to rush back to my hotel for my tour.

Before I left the beach, the guy that rented me the umbrella asked if I wanted a surfing lesson. He offered me a reasonable price, it was less than RM60 for 2 hours. 

So, the next day I went to Kuta Beach early in the morning for my surfing lesson. I was debating whether to take up the offer or not the night before but I'm glad that I did because it was the most amazing experience ever.

Learning to surf is the highlight of my trip. 

First, my instructor gave me theory lesson on the dry land. Everything sound so easy on land. When we went into the water, it was a different story.

My first few tries were all failed. I stood up too soon, failed to catch the wave, lost my balance and got knocked by my surfboard a few times.

But the instructor was really patience (I forgot his name). We tried again and I managed to catch some good waves. That awesome feeling was so good. I felt like a pro surfer balancing myself on board and surfing along with the wave.

I wanted to surf for a bit longer but I was really tired and kinda worried about my belongings that I left with the instructor's friend. 

Achievement unlocked! I will definitely come back again just to surf because it is really worth it.

My instructor and I

Since I was alone, I really had my guard held high. Honestly, I had lots of worst case scenarios running in my mind when I took the surfing lesson. I doubted my instructor, thought that maybe he will take advantage of me. 

But he did not at all. We even had a good chat. He and his brother run their surfing business. Their business is small but an honest and good business.

So, if you happens to go to Kuta beach and want to try surfing, maybe you can give them a chance. They have no business signboard or even name but errr try to look for someone that looks like the picture above and be stern to other touts that try to sell you services and souvenir.

Uluwatu Temple | Bali

The last itinerary on my Day 1 in Bali was the visit to Uluwatu Temple. The rain stopped after we left Luwak coffee plantation but I got a little headache due to the drizzle and the long drive to Uluwatu Temple made it even worse. By the time I reached Uluwatu Temple, I lost my enthusiasm. 

But the flock of excited tourists revived my spirit. Everyone was lining up to get sarong or sash, every visitors are required to wear either one on them. I picked a yellow sash since I was already in my maxi dress and kimono cardigan. 

Upon entering, Pak Putu warned me about the wild monkeys wandering around the area. So, I had no choice but to leave my hat and sunglass in the car. I'm not a fan of monkeys, so I'll do my best to stay clear from their way.

One of the cheeky monkey having its camera-shy moment. On the right are Canang Sari which translated into prayer offering. It is made from colorful flowers placed on palm leaf. I believe there are many types of prayer offering and each has its own meaning. It is normally place on shrine, the side of roads, houses or shops as a form of thanking the peace that given to the world. I saw it everywhere in Bali and please be respectful and don't go and step on the offering.

More monkeys along the way. Obviously, I stayed close to Pak Putu just in case if one of the monkey decided to jump on me or snatch my camera. Thankfully, none of it happened, phew.

I have zero expectation of Pura Uluwatu (Pura means temple) and I'm glad I did because I was so blown away by the view on the cliff of Uluwatu. 

Just look at the water. the blue gradient, it is so beautiful. Somehow I feel so calm when standing on the cliff looking down at the water accompanied by the sound of waves crushing against the shore. I did wondered how does it feel to just jump into the water right there. Crazy much eh?

But the endless vast sea did look a bit scary to me. 

Sorry dude but I bet the photo will look amazing.

Behind the scenes.

I never knew so much hard work it takes to take a wedding photo. And how dangerous it is too! One wrong step could send them down the cliff or one disturbance from the monkey there enough for me to jump off the cliff hahahha.

Pak Putu encouraged me to stay till sunset and watch the kechak dance performance. I was reluctant because I have a dinner reservation at 6pm at the beach. But kechak dance is significant to the local and I might regret it if I pass on the opportunity.

So, I said yes to the dance and we walked to the other side of the cliff where the temple is located.

View from the other side.

If you look closely, you can still see the couple and the crew doing the pre-wedding photo shoot on the edge.

Should put this photo before the temple one because this is the view of the temple from the side where the couple did their photo shoot. Look at the amount of the tourist! 

Getting ready for kechak dance. This show is not included on your entrance fee. IDR125,000 or less than that is charged for pax for the show. 

The show lasted for an hour and the sun set was wonderful but the dance itself was slightly boring for me. There was no music and the men were chanting chak chak chak during the entire show. The story line was good but the chanting can easily made me lost focus on it.

At Bawang Merah for my seafood dinner. Unfortunately I reached late around 8pm, the sun was completely set and there were not much patrons left. A group of family, a couple and me.

My seafood platter. It was very disappointing because it was not freshly made on the spot. The dish was already cold and they only reheat it. Plus, I spotted a huge rat running across the restaurant. Lost my appetite and didn't finished my meal.

It is common for a group of performers come to your table and serenade you. They came to mine and ask nicely whether I want or not. I refused and confused on how much to tip, so I decline. They politely walked away unlike some of the touts that I met on Kuta Beach. These touts deserved a post of its own because I am still mad at them.