it's been heaven on earth <33

Monday, August 17, 2009

My Bali chronicles - 07 Aug-12 Aug 2009.

Witnessed the sunrise in the flight. The greatness of Allah..

And we are here!

First up, change money. But be forewarned, do not go to places that offer high rates as they may take in commissions. Always count your change before leaving the counter. Some of us got conned and only realised it much, much later. Very good modus operandi they have. It's ok, lesson learnt!

It's nice sunny weather in Bali, so always drink up to prevent dehydration. My favourite drink there - Caprisonne fruit juices.

We jetted around Bali in motorbikes - we don't wanna be spoiled tourists by being driven around, so each couple rented a bike for a mere RP40,000 (SGD$6) per day to venture our own way around Kuta.

Do you know, the accident rate here is super low, considering their heavy traffic, because drivers here have a mutual understanding with other road users. This is a far cry from our lil island despite our strict traffic rules!

A must photography spot, the highlight of Bali - surfing! Like real oni eh.

That nite, we dropped by the memorial spot commemorating the bomb blasts in 2002. Most of the victims were Aussies. We were laughing about something totally not related to the memorial, and suddenly this drunk Aussie came up to us and shouted, 'This is no joke, this is fuc**** serious!' Haha...terasa nampak.

To those of you who are afraid to visit Bali 'pasal takut bom', please get that notion off ur head coz hey, death is predestined and u can die even at home if ur tyme is up. Meluat hear ppl say that.

We headed to prolly the most happening nite spot in Kuta, the Engine Room. I was mostly the one taking pix coz I wasn't feeling too well. As you can see, the peeps had much fun! And we were probably the slackest dressed there in our shorts and tank tops, but the waiters there still served us like the rest of the better-dressed clubbers..

Then its down to Apache Reggae Bar for some rasta lovin'. I became a reggae music lover after.

Izzat was invited onstage by the resident band to belt out some rasta tunes.

The morning after, (and the next mornings after), we headed to Kuta beach for some friggin' delicious bakso and nasi volcom.

The jagung manis is yummy!

I took the plunge to braid my hair. Eventho the workplace doesn't allow the hairstyle. But wadaheck, its Bali!

These lil basket of offerings were all over entrances and doors in Bali, sometimes laden with biscuits or rice. A prayer ritual is performed before leaving the offerings. I was awed by this.

The next highlight of our trip - Jimbaran beach for the beautiful sunset and delicious seafood.

It was a nice anniversary spent witnessing sunset on a foreign land with Hubby. Even got me my favourite steamed seabass on the menu!

We checked into Hard Rock Hotel and made use of the facilities there. Suntanned, swam and had a super fun time!

The next highlight was the kechak performance at Uluwatu temple. Here again, we got to witness beautiful sunset. Sarong is a must-wear before entering the temple premises for RP3000 (SGD$0.50).

The performance is really about a princess who was kidnapped by an evil monster, and then rescued by Sang Hanuman, the white monkey. Very intriguing performance indeed!

This is nasi volcom. Doesn't it's wrapping look like the Volcom logo? ;)

Chilled by Kuta beach for some sunset, sand and sea, while the guys had a crash course surf lesson. Fuad got his head knocked by the surf board fin till it broke! Lucky it wasn't his head!

We girls shopped till we almosst dropped. And wear same stuff eventhough it wasn't planned! All of us brought probably only 2 sets of clothes change, while the rest is bought there and worn then itself. We really slacked and became 'anak pantai'.

Rest of the time was spent shopping for souvenirs for the loved ones. I recommend this shop at Poppies 2 coz their stuff are dirt cheap! Wanted to take pic with the shop owner but she was too shy.