CINTA TERTINGGAL DI INDONESIA: PART 3

It’s been long due (and stale perhaps?) but I still wish to jot down every bits of my recent trip in here – now only got the time to write! OK, where did I stopped last time?..

Day 5 (18 May 09) ~ Last night we took the speda motor (motorcycle) around Ubud area and wander around Jalan Monkey Forest which we were told a must go. Tapi turned out takde apa sangat and the shops closed tad early (9pm macamtu).

Today the plan is heading north, to the highland area. The journey ate up almost 2 hours, and the weather gets colder as the altitude gets higher. First stop - Ulun Danu Lake which is heavily covered by mist. Kat sini ada few stalls jual sovenirs but we didn’t buy any. Dok sibuk snapped pictures at the lakeside. And coincidentally ada funeral being held at the lakeside so we took the opportunity to learn a thing or two about their funeral custom. Today we have an extra company - Ibu Ayu decided to join us since she got nothing much to do around the house and we highly insisted!

Next stop – Strawberry Stop where they serve the fresh strawberry from the farm - waffles, pancakes, and all sort of strawberry drinks [strawberry shake sedap sangat!].

Kejap je dah dekat petang, then we stopped at a Muslim restaurant – azZahra Restaurant along the road. Their nasi ayam penyet memang sedap sangat! The soups pun sedap and we finished the foods in a jiffy!

Then singgah Sukawati market beli kain batik and sovenirs.

At night, Shahnaz decided to dress up Balinese style and we went to Ibu Ayu’s relative’s salon/spa – Ibu Yung and we let her dressed Shahnaz up in real Balinese customes and make-ups. She looked so pretty sebab this is the first time we ever saw her in total make-over (not to say that you weren’t prettier before..)

We killed the time by taking turns pampering ourselves with the massages, hairdo and lulur at Ibu Yung’s place. After few hours, we went home and snapped Shahnaz’s pictures around the yard, together with Ibu Ayu and Pak Ketut who were so sporting putting on their traditional customes as well. Siap Ibu Ayu bagi Arda pinjam one of her beautiful kebaya to wear lagi!

We slept the night so peacefully sebab penat sangat went out the whole day!

• Transportation : IDR 600,000 for 5 person
• Makan2 : IDR200,000 for 7 people
• Strawberry Stop : +/- IDR150,000
• Salon/massage/hairwash : =/- IDR200,000

Day 6 (19 May 09) ~ High on agenda today : SHOPPING! We stuffed ourselves with traditional Balinese kuih (it was me yang cakap nak try kuih2 traditional Bali and Ibu went early in the morning to pasar to buy some). Kuih dia sama je, macam kuih buah melaka and kuih lopes.

We started our journey today to Pasar Umum Gianyar. Ibu Ayu tagged along-senang nak bargain-tapi at times she tak masuk campur and just let us practice our bargaining skills. We bought a lot of Kebaya sulam here, very22 cheap.

Then patah balik ke Ubud, and went to Ubud Market. Price here is a rip-off compared to Sukawati and Gianyar (this is the best place for bargain!) but we decided to jalan2 jugak. Bapak dropped us there and balik we all jalan kaki je since it’s so near. Tapi at times rasa macam sesat jugak coz all houses seemed…sama! (with the Balinese design etc)

Lunch at a very clean nasi padang restaurant at Ubud Road and lepas tu petang lepak2 jap sementara nak tunggu time pergi Sanur - Beaching!

Packed our swimsuits (hehe, as if?) and commenced journey to Sanur. We spent the whole evening suntanning, learn swimming from our very own swimming teachers; Mon and Arda. When the sun set, terus masuk kereta and balik dengan basah2 tu. The journey took about 45mins.

Malam, went to Warung Mina - a very nice restaurant about 10mins from the house. Since this is the last night we gonna spend here, we decided to spend all our money (we already set aside the airport tax) on the foods! Memang order banyak sangat but the foods sangat2 sedap, big portion and the service was superb! Oh forgot to mention, we went there with two motorbikes (naik 3 and 2 orang each without helmets on!) hehe..

That night – packed our stuffs and slept heavenly..

Day 7 (20 May 09) ~ Our very last day. Pagi2 after breakfast wander around the yard and spend time chatting with Ibu and Bapak. We went out sekejap to Bebek Bengil and snapped pictures at the ricefield behind it.

We had an early lunch – Ayam Betutu which was cooked one whole night bawah tanah (slow cook) which was extra delicious! We said goodbyes to Ibu Ayu and Ketut and Wayan with tears streaming down our cheeks. Serious sebak coz we already feel like we are at our home and rasa homesick masa nak balik.Then checkout around 11, singgah Ubud Market coz they wanna do final shopping spree, then sped of to airport.

Bali, I promise I’m gonna go visit you again. I fell in love with you at first sight, for seven consecutive days

CINTA TERTINGGAL DI INDONESIA: PART 2

OK, let’s get back to the trip. I hope this notes and tips will be useful to future Bali travelers

Day 3 ~ 16/05/09 (Saturday): We asked Pak Ketut the day before how we go about doing water rafting. He recommended Ibu Ayu’s relative who manages the facilities at Karangasem (about 1 hour and a half ride from Ubud). I was told by my other friends to try the water rafting at Ayung River, but Pak Ketut ensured us that Telaga Waja River is much more enticing. The driver picked us up around 9am and we stopped along the way to enjoy the view of the terrace paddy (oh, forget the name of the place coz everybody was so excited to experience the rafting!)

Each raft would only be able to carry 4 passengers (minus the navigator). We got the best and friendliest navigator; Wayan, who is very energetic and helped us a lot during the rafting. We even overtook 10 other rafts (Mon usually takes part in the dragon boat race, so I’m saving my energy a little bit!) and we had the best time of our lives! Pitstopped at a very nice waterfall where we were allowed to snap pictures. The ride ate up almost 2 hours - we however enjoyed the scenery of the countryside where the villagers always waving at us along the riverbanks.

We have to step down very steep hundreds of stairs to go down to the river (and I even dropped Shahnaz camera along the way- sorry dear!). When the ride finished, we feasted on the lunch which was included in our rafting fees. We left that place around 2pm and upon reaching our home (hehe perasan home!), straight away laid down at the balcony and dozed off.. Penat woo..One of the ‘touching’ thing I observed here, the villagers took up the job of bringing the deflated rafts up the hundreds of stairs (they put in nicely ontop of their heads) for just a few cents per raft. It was a very dangerous occupation since they can’t really see the stairs when carrying the raft, the stairs were kinda slippery and the raft is heavy! Huhu..so sad..

That night, we watched Kecak Dance at Ubud Palace. Menarik sangat!

• Rafting (1/2 day) : IDR350,000 per person
• Dinner : IDR20,000
• Kecak Dance : IDR 70,000 per person

Day 4 ~ 17/05/09 (Sunday) : The tentative plan for today is to wander around town, get the taste of beaches (tapi tak mandi lagi), temples and send Luqman to airport after that (he has to go back earlier than us – job calling). We commenced our journey with a hearty breakfast made by the ever so-obedient Ketut and Wayan.

Our first stop today was Kuta Beach Road where all the stuffs (sovenirs, t-shirts) were sold. We were not so much into ‘that kind’ of shopping, so we just told Pak Ketut not to stop there. We then made our way to Hard Rock Cafe which is situated just opposite Kuta Beach. The sun was scorching hot! (Nasib tak dok kat Kuta lama2). After some shopping made by (only) Shahnaz and a series of photoshoots taken, we made our way to the Bombing Memorial, the exact spot where the bombing in 2002 took place (so strategic! coz in the middle of a V junction).

Then we dropped at Jimbaran Beach to enjoy the view. It was soooo hot that we decided to just spent a short while there. Jimbaran is famous for its seafood (quite expensive though), which usually served during sunset (where people can feast on the food while enjoying the sunset).

We then moved on to Mandala GWK (Garuda Wisnu Kencana) [pronounced Ge-We-Ka). It is a very huge complex, a private cultural park which is anticipated to complete in 2013. When it’s completed, it will be a 146 meter gold plated Vishnu riding Garuda on top of an 11 storey entertainment complex. Besar giler! The religious authorities on the island complained that its massive size might disrupt the spiritual balance of the island, and that its commercial nature was inappropriate.

Then, our primary agenda for today, Uluwatu (temple by the cliffs) yang sangat2 cantik. This is personally my favourite place to visit throughout the whole trip. The view is just..ohh..blowed my mind. But you have to be extra careful when standing by the cliff. When seeing the waves crushing the rocks, all problems since to vanish

Then after a short time spent here, we made our journey to Tanjong Benoa. This place is meant for water-sport activity (parasailing, banana boat, jetski etc). We then took a boat to Turtle Island where they placed turtles and exotic animals. After that, a short drive to Nusa Dua, with Pak Ketut’s son who tagged along and enjoyed the view of the beach.

After that, we stopped at airport to drop Luqman off. Too bad his flight got delayed for two hours and Liza decided to accompanied him. Pak Ketut sent us home at that night and we grabbed the chance to wander around Ubud village with motorbikes! Hehe best sangat but most of the shops closed really early. We stopped at cyber cafe to check some emails and ate Nasi Padang at Hanoman Road. We called it a night around 12am..Fuhh..what a tiring2 day..

• Entrance to GWK : IDR30,000 per person (slightly expensive)
• Entrance to Uluwatu : IDR3,000 per person
• Lunch : IDR120,000 for 6 people
• Boat to Turtle Island : IDR75,000 per person
• Dinner : IDR10,000 per person

Till next entry! Nice weekend gang!

CINTA TERTINGGAL DI INDONESIA: PART 1

Hah! Sounded funny kan? But I’m speaking straight from my heart. I fell in love for Bali at first sight, and this longing feeling is really kicking me at the back. I wish I’m right there right now..

I really don’t know where to start. It took me few days upon arrival in KL to write this, I think I still miss that place so badly that I couldn’t get my fingers tapping on the keyboard. If this is what first love feels like, I think I’ve been missing a lot in life.

Day 1 ~ 140509: We commenced our journey on 14th May 09, around 7pm..Few days prior to date I’ve booked our accomodation; it would be 3 days in the village of Ubud and another 3 days in the hectic Kuta. And so I was told that Kuta was a must go..Even before departure I already fell in love coz Agus (the son’s owner) has been attending my emails patiently. And boy, haven’t I always been a girl with zil of queries!

Upon arrival, Pak Ketut already waited for us along with other taxi driver, holding a signage with my (full!) name on it. Upon seeing us walking in a flock, he straight away greeted us. We apologized for being late (delay due to filling up the swine flu disease forms and also luggage pickup. He said that’s okay and he was more than happy to see us landed safely. I thought it was just a figure of speech, that Balinese are just smoothtalkers and very service oriented. No, it was good enough for us, but I thought wrong. We got more that what we bargained for.

Pak Ketut drove us home (about one hour from the airport) to Teba House safely. He is a very warmth and friendly person. We asked all sorts of questions (even silly ones count!) but he answered us patiently and always try to explain even when he can’t put those words in a language we understood. We stopped for a while to buy nasi padang (damn hungry!) and decided to eat at home since we all were too tired already. It was around 11pm, and Ubud seemed like a haunted place! There were no people in sights/roads and at times we wondered if we got onto the wrong cab. Who knew that a road to heaven is rough..

And yes indeed, we arrived at Teba House. We fell in love at first sight. The housekeepers/butlers/waiters; Wayan and Ketut already waited for us (with their eyes half opened) and offered to carry our (FYI, 5 girls and 1 guy) bags. I already booked 2 deluxe rooms and 1 superior room (just in case- since I really have no idea how big the rooms were) and Pak Ketut said that we’re free to choose whichever one we favor.

And so we settled in 2 deluxe rooms (spacious, newly built, power showery, huge balcony). The honeymooner (Liza, Luqman) took the room upstairs and we (Mon, Shahnaz, Arda and myself) decided to choose the lower one, with a queen size extra bed. We sleep like we never had a good one before..

Flight tickets: RM98 (including luggage check-in) return.

Transportation from airport : IDR200,000

Rooms : IDR300,ooo per room (extra bed IDR50,ooo)

Dinner : IDR90,000

Day 2 ~ 150509 : I was woken up (dawn was so early, around 6am) to the sound of burung tiung, barking of Brownie; the obedient puppy and the chirps of the hens and cocks around the yards. But it sounded like lullaby to me. Breakfast was prepared, we had toasted bread, omelette and fresh fruits. This morning, we get to meet Ibu Ayu, Pak Ketut’s wife who is so beautiful at her age. She was the one who manages the garden surrounding (wait till you see the pictures) the guesthouse, with the help of the housekeepers. I was fascinated to the idea of having few small houses in a confined area yet it still look so lovely and didn’t look too cramped.

We decided to go on the Kintamani Tour today. We started our journey to the Goa Gajah Temple. We are made known that upon entering temple you are required to wear sarong (for those with shorts) and some kind of scarf around your waist. After that we went to Gunung Kawi temple which was way down under (oh yes, I have some kind of phobic with stairs nowadays). I was short-breathed when climbing up the hundreds of stairs.

We moved on to TampakSiring Village where we visited the Tirtha Empul Temple (the Holly Spring). The water was so fresh and cold! There are people bathing there as well and I believed that the water is used by local for consumption. We walked along the souvenir centres and we learnt our first lesson; the art of bargaining. Don’t bargain if you don’t intend to buy, it will only create anger to the seller. If you’re the first customer for that day, try to bargain as low as you can (but within reasonable limit!) coz you will be their ‘pelaris’ for that day and they will ‘kibas’ the money they get for you, for luck for the rest of the day. Or something like that

After that Pak Ketut took us to the Coffee Processing, Herbs and Spices Plantation where we tried our first most expensive kopi luwak ever! Go google yourself. The view was breathtaking. We hanged around until it started to rain. I can sensed that Pak Ketut is already comfortable with all of us and we were joking and ‘bercanda’ along the way with him..

Then, the primary agenda for today, Batur Lake and Mountain. The volcano is surprisingly is still active to this very day. The air were so fresh and crisp! However, we were always been haggled by the locals that selling souvenirs. You just have to be very polite in turning them down (or may get cursed later!).

We stopped for the view of natty rice field at Tegalalang Rice Terrace. It looked kinda we photographed with a painting behind us kan?

Last destination for today: a must go during sunset Tanah Lot. We were taken away by the beauty of waves that hit the rocks. During the high tide, the temple will be seen as an Island. But too bad, it was raining a bit earlier so we can’t really enjoy the view of sunset. We made our way home and have our dinner at Bebek Bengil (Crisp Duck) which was situated 5 minutes away from our house. The restaurant was quite expensive, and the ducks (which were captured earlier running around at the ricefield behind) is deepfried until crispy. The taste wasn’t half bad! We called it a day around 12am in the morning

Entrance tickets : IDR3,000 per entrance

Sovenirs shopping: IDR10,000

Bebek Bengil : IDR60,000 per plate

Transportation : IDR700,000

Tips : IDR10,000

Kopi Luwak : USD10 per cup

AIR TERJUN CHAMANG, BENTONG

Had to go to some boring class almost all day long on saturday.
Spending my time from 8am to 7.30pm on saturday in some class on saturday is really not my idea of a great weekend.
I guess it must be done sooner or later.
Anyways the fun start after that!

Had a great time with my PLK buddies (man, amin and pejal) at Chamang Waterfalls!
Departed that night without knowing the way there.
None of us had ever been there before.


Reached the camp site approximately 2 hours after we departed from serdang.
We explored the site and set up camp that night.



Started enjoying the water the next morning.
The water was great!
Just a bit concern about kids playing in the water because the water's quite rapid.


More and more people started arriving on that sunday afternoon so we decided to call it a day.

I must drag KKS here!