Initially, our honeymoon was planned on the 3rd of July. But our tour was delayed because the hotel we were supposedly staying in was fully booked. The tour agency regretfully informed us that we had to reschedule our honeymoon to the 6th. It was ok....just another 3 days of anxious waiting. It was Rach's 1st time flying, and it was the 1st for me to go overseas. You should have seen us....it was like two little children scurrying here and there packing our stuff. "Dear, you think we should bring this or not? How about this? And this? And this?". "How about packing the whole stuff???" "Good idea".....and so we jammed in a heck of a lot of stuff that we eventually didn't even use.
*
We drove to KL and met up with lovely Ruth and headed to TGIF, One U for dinner. If you want to have a look at what we had, do look up Ruth's perutbesi blog (http://perutbesi.blogspot.com/). Enuff said, enjoy the pictures...
Dinner with Ruth at TGI Friday, One Utama.
Our tour pass and passports.
1st dinner in Bali
The menu, stir fried "Flying" garoupa, steamed rice in banana leaf and local soup and vege.
Our hotel...White Rose Hotel. A prayer plague for the Bali bomb blast. Many of their guests, Australians to be exact, were the victims...sigh.
The memorial site for the Bali bomb blast in 2002. The site was only 20m from where we were staying.....gave me the chills. Can't remember exactly how many victims, but a majority are Australians (88 to be exact...)
Day 1...travelled 45 minutes in an APV to watch the Barong dance. Accompanied by their hideous tiger, monkey, as Evil god, a goddess, a prince, the evil cronies and a bunch of ugly fellows...lol
Next stop...an active volcano. Our lunch site was facing directly at the volcano. Our tour guide informed that the volcano last erupted in 1939. Notice the black patch on soil on the volcano. Farmers and developers used the soil for plantation and building their houses.
We stopped over at a local farm. Various plants from coffee beans, cocoa, vanilla, bettle leaves, ginseng etc...We tasted their coffee, cocoa and ginger tea. Being a coffee freak that I am, bought 2 large packets of coffee powder and a box of ginger tea...(so that can kentut more...lol) from left Vee (fm thailand), Zurah (orang Penang noh...), Rach & I.
It took us IDR350K for a glass boat ride to Turtle Island. My model pose with a young turtle. Funny how every turtle reminds me of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.....one of my fav cartoons when I was little...actually still is...:)
Rach and her turtle.....look how happy she is. "Turtle, turtle, come to me, I'm with my honey here in Bali....."
Rach was brave enuff to handle the python. Me on the other hand, trying to be act as macho as I can (almost pissed in my pants......:P)
Our 2nd day lunch at Pacung Restaurant....buffet only. Wanted to try their local babi guling but no chance. A muslim lady was touring with us.....shucks !!! The view at the back was gorgeous. The restaurant was built on the cliffs overlooking a landscape of padi fields. A beautiful sight. Not forgetting the chilly wind.
Standing between the doors of good and evil. It was said that the centre opening is to balance the two elements on earth.
A windy affair at Tanah Lot temple. Too bad the cameraman took the photo with us completely blocking the temple.
A view of the Tanah Lot temple.
Our 2nd day dinner at the beach front, Jimbaran to be exact. Kinda romantic. But we were shocked to know that the site was actually the site of the 2nd bomb blast in 2005. Gave me and Rach the creeps later that nite.....
Kuta beach....a must go for surfers and surfers wannabe..like me. Notice...I have no neck (wth!!)
Last day in Bali, cost of a 1 small Bintang beer, apple juice and french fries IDR35,000 = RM12. The beer is tasteless but you can't complain, it's very cheap. You'll have to pay a hell lot more for a Heineken or Guinness. 
View of the Monkey God temple. Our tour guide warned us to be careful with our belongings here. I even had to take off my glasses. Why? Just so you know, the place is filled with wild monkeys. It was said that the locals trained the monkeys to steal your belongings esp glasses. The locals would then "try" to get it back and charge you about IDR500K for the return...a real cut throat. Guess, it's part of their income.
The "Kechak" dance...consists of 70 male voices for the entire 1 hour (6.30pm to 7.30pm). No musical instruments, just the men saying "check check check". It was funny at first, but I realised that it is not easy to arrange the music as all of them has different timing and tone.
The beautiful sunset view from the Monkey Temple (Indian Ocean). This site is also one of the fav spots for surfers as the waves comes in heights of 5m to 7m. Notice the horizon. The sun is not setting at the horizon.....funny eh?*
*
*
Overall, the trip was good. Learned a lot from the tour guide that Bali to this day still practices hirarchy. The royalties, the brahmins, the middle class and the lowest class (kulis). 90% of their income comes from tourism, 5% on padi and the rest on fisheries. The road is very narrow throughout the town and they only inport Japanese cars. Suprisingly, not a Proton is in sight even though we export Proton to Indonesia. 90% of their population are Hindus and the rest are Muslims, Christians and Bhuddists. All in all, the food in Bali was scrumptious and very much cheaper than in Malaysia. We didn't have the chance to try out other local delicacies as we were dead tired when we reached the hotel.
*
Rach & I spent almost RM1K = IDR2.9m, buying their local stuff and such. Negotiating with their local people was a breeze, I even bought a pair of handmade slippers at IDR15K from IDR65K = RM5. For the 1st time, I met Europeans from almost every country, not to mentioned beautiful Japanese babes wearing bikinis. It could be because of my "kiasuness", I did not even blink but drool just watching them, with my wife beside me of course....:)
*
On the last nite, I had a chance to try out their Bali massage. I was sceptical at first as I did not like the fact being touched by a stanger. Rach managed to convince me and I obliged, reluctantly at first. We headed to Shinkei Spa after receiving a brochure from their doorstep a few days before. The cost for each person is IDR95K for their local Bali aroma therapy massage. That's about RM30 for a full body massage. Unlike many traditional spa centres in Malaysia, just a back massage would cost you about RM60 min. Suprisingly, the massage was excellent and I was not touched by a lady. A rather gayish Balinese young man took me instead. Thank goodness he's not gay cause he mentioned that he is married with 2 kids. Rach & I was very satisfied with the service and would recommend you readers to drop by the centre should you plan to go there. Last but not least, the way Bali says thank you for dropping by.....pay IDR150K in taxes.
*
The bottom line was, Rach was happy, and so was I....."I'M HAPPILY MARRIED".
1 comment:
You write very well.
Post a Comment