Bali Day 6 & 7 -27 & 28 Mar

We decided to spend the remaining 2 days at Bali at a slower pace.

On Day 6, after the satisfying in-room breakfast at our villa, we headed to Seminyak town. We missed the shortcut advised by our villa reception and ended up walking an extra 15-20mins under the scorching sun.

Here you can find lots of small unique boutique shops selling Bali-based designer items as well as local handicraft items especially accessories. Prices at Seminyak is said to be slightly more expensive than Kuta as more foreign designers' shops are based here. Many shops were closed today due to Nyepi Day celebrations. On the streets, we can still see DIY mascots made for the celebrations.

We decided to head down to Kuta beach to take a look as one cannot really say that he's been to Bali without visiting Kuta. We hailed a "Blue Bird" taxi as it's a reputable taxi company that goes on metre. A ride from Seminyak to Kuta town is around Rp30,000 on the metre.

The beach of Kuta was lined up with vendors selling mostly Bintang singlets and "Billabong" berms as well as other beach wear. Like Seminyak, many shops were closed still and will only reopen on tomorrow (Day 7) noon time.

We decided to rest and headed down to an Italian restaurant (cant' remember its name) along the street at Kuta beach. It's tastefully decorated and has a pool at the outdoor area and seems to be connected to a hotel. We ordered a pasta and burger for lunch and they were very tasty. Prices is around Singapore cafe prices with pasta at around S$15 and above.

By the time we polished off our food, it's near 3pm and we decided to head back to our villa for a dip in the pool before heading to the Jimbaran beach.


We'd made arrangement with Dewa for his cousin to fetch us to Jimbaran beach at around 5pm for a seafood dinner at the beach. My sister had went to Jimbaran earlier and spent almost Rp900,000 for a seafood meal. Dewa's offer for a set dinner and return transfer at around RP500,000 sounds like a steal for u.


Along Jimbaran beach are many seafood restaurants with their tables and chairs lined up on the beach. Many tourists had also like us came slightly earlier to view the sunset while waiting for dinner. From there, you can also see planes taking off from the airport.

Our set dinner consist of 1 fish, prawns, calamaris ,mussels, rice, mineral water and fruits. As we had a late lunch and early dinner, we had some trouble finishing the food. If you order ala-carte,the portion will be much bigger and of course more expensive. So it really depends on how hungry you think you will be for you to choose which set meal to take.

After the sunset, tea lights were placed on the tables. Some buskers strumming the guitar and singing will walk along the beach. Few tables away from us, it was somebody's birthday and hence, they dedicated a few songs and danced along with the music. Free music and entertainment for us =)


Day 7 is our check out date. We headed back to Kuta beach to do some quick shopping as most of the small shops are open today. Remember to bargain hard. We slashed the prices more than 50% they quoted. For example a Bintang singlet was quoted to be Rp50,000 but we ended up paying around Rp15,000.


Upon check out, we wanted to do another round of massage before we head to the airport. Initially wanted to try the Dancing Fingers at Seminyak but they were fully booked. Ended up heading to Prana Spa (who provide to-fro free transport). Each 60 mins massage is around USD59. We were surprised when we reached the place as the place was decorated as if we were in an Arabian place. I took several pics and the staff seemed to be all too familiar with tourists taking pics of their quirky designs and decorations.





The massage was good and really released my knots. After the massage, they even gave us a coupon to have a drink at their hotel's restaurant, which is something we didn't expect.


After that, we were brought back to Cicada who sent us to the airport.

We thoroughly enjoyed this Bali trip. A pity was that I didn't really get to explore Ubud town as most of the time we were out touring Bali when we were at Ubud and the shops closed by evening time.


I'm already contemplating whether to redeem my KFmiles for another Bali trip next year. Will update again if I really do =)

Bali Day 5 - 26 Mar (Nyepi Day)

We woke up realising it's the special day - Nyepi Day.
I guess you'd noticed that I mentioned about this several times in my prevoius postings.

So what exactly is Nyepi Day?
It is a day also known as the Silence Day, that falls on the Bali's Lunar New Year. It is a day "celebrated" by fasting, meditation and silence and is observed from 6am to 6pm. It is a day for self reflection and basically there shouldnt be lighting of fires, no working, no travelling, etc. Effectively, on this day, no one is allowed to step out of their own premise, and the roads of Bali are all desserted.
For tourists, most of us are not allowed to leave the hotel premise, but we can still have our meals (of course).

We knew about this day when we were planning for our trip and had hence booked Cicada for its 25m lap pool and free WIFI for us to utilize during this day. We spent the whole morning lazing around the pool, having in room services as well as watching the cable HBO and Star Movies.

When evening arrives, we were told to draw all our curtains to ensure that no lights can be seen. Being curious, I took a peep at around 8pm at night and the whole premise was indeed pitch dark.


It was indeed an experience for us. It slowed down the pace of our trip and made us enjoyed quality time together. I wonder whether this can be implemented in Singapore as well?

Bali Day 4 - 25th Mar

Today is the last day that my sis (& family) in Bali. My sister is simply addicted to the massage in Bali and decided to join us when she heard we're heading to spa.

We opt for Spa Hati, after reading rave reviews online and on the guidebooks. The massage is a bit more expensive compared to normal Ubud rates. But I'm those who'd rather pay a bit more for a satisfying massage. We'd earlier called to make reservations and got the spa to send a van down to pick us up.

We each opt for a 90 mins massage and I must say the strokes are firm and smooth. Not too harsh on my "delicate" skin. Haha.

After the massage, we were free to use its steam room and jacuzzi. What's nice about the steam room is that they'd added eucalyptus's into it and hence, the steam was sort of rejuvenating.

After the session, we headed back to the hotel for check-out and then lunch at Indus.

The view of Indus is spectacular and the food is a good switch from standard Indonesian food. I'd the seafood paella and ended it with passion fruit icecream. The dessert indeed ended my meal on a sweet note.

After lunch, we then dropped my sis at the airport before we head off to Ulu Watu.

BEWARE of the monkeys here as they're specially trained to snitch off tourists' glasses/caps/camera, etc. The locals at the temple will then help to retrieve the monekys' loot and they expect you to pay them in return. It's really a pity to see how commercialised this place had become though it does holds breathe taking views of the coastlines and temples.

Next, we were brought to our next accommodation at Seminyak - The Cicada. Frankly speaking, before I booked this hotel, I was a bit worried as reviews on this premise was limited. But when I reached this place, my worries are totally unfounded.

It's a small establishment with 6 "villas". Ours is the 1 bedroom villa, which is HUGE with a plunge pool. The place also house a 25m pool and free WIFI for all guests. We'd initially planned to view Nyepi Day rituals but was told that most of them are at Kuta and there will be road closure from 5pm. Not wanting to be stranded at Kuta then (cabs will be difficult to get as Balinese will head back home for Nyepi Day), we decided to take a stroll along Seminyak Beach which is around 5 mins walk.

It's a very clean and beautiful beach. Nice huge waves for surfers and it's not lined with hawkers/vendors. We viewed the sunset at the beach and decided to dine at our hotel for dinner (as we're too lazy to go out and I felt a bit unwell). We ordered a burger and fish & chips. The pricing is equivalent to Singapore cafe prices. I must say it's one of the decent room service I've had.

Come tomorrow, is the Nyepi Day..........

Bali Day 3 - 24th Mar

The 3rd day of our trip covers the Western part of Bali.
I'd specifically told Dewa that I wish to visit Tanah Lot for sunset, which is at the far west end of Bali island
Dewa was not free and hence, his cousin was our guide instead.

We kicked off the day with a visit to the Royal Garden Temple and saw quite a number of devotees leaving the premise after their prayers. I finally mustered the courage to ask the Balinese ladies whether it's ok for me to take a picture of them and they gladly obliged (just as per the friendly nature of the Bali people).

For this temple, we're not allowed to enter the praying premises but was able to view it by standing at wall "fencing" up the premise. When we were there, there was some ongoing procession and looks similar to the Chinese Taoist procession.
As we've a kid with us, we decided not to look view the procession for too long and left the temple.

Decided to have an early lunch. We'd told Dewa earlier we wish to try the Babi Guling but was not able to try the famous shop in Ubud as it's only opened in day time (when we're sightseeing) and closed tomorrow for the Nyepi Day.

His cousin thus brought us to a shop (which seems very popular with the locals as well) to try this famous dish. What's so special about this shop is its usage of unpolished rice, which is healthy and yummy. Most of all, it's really cheap. Seeing many locals drinking the Tehbotol (tea in a bottle), we ordered it as well. I must say you need an acquired taste to enjoy this.

After lunch, we headed uphill to see Bali from the top. On our way up, we stopped to see this huge (and disgusting) bat. Finally after the long journey, we reach the top at this little stop to have the "Twin Lakes View". I felt like I was in heaven with the mist and clouds all around you. We'd a short tea break here where we enjoyed Bali coffee and tea.

Heading down, we stopped by the "Floating temple" where we witness huge rituals and procession. Many people had came here for the pre-Nyepi day rituals. We can see that religion plays an important part of the Balinese as they usually visit the temples with their whole family (infant to grannies).

Our last stop is then the Tanah Lot temple, which is 100% a hot tourist spot. When we reached there, tons of coaches and vans are already parked there. Many stalls operate here as well ranging from sale of food to souvenirs. The temple is built and we saw many devotees queueing up to get into the temple before the tide rises.
There's also "holy snake" but you've to pay a token sum to see/touch it (which we didn't)

We found a spot to sit and waited for the sunset. It was a really nice and peaceful scene. Looking at this sunset really makes u marvel at the wonders of Mother Nature.




By the time we watched the sunset (around 630pm), it took us near 9pm to reach our Ubud hotel due to the long distance. By then, our stomachs are growling. But as my sister had booked a massage the night before, she decided to stay in her room for dinner while my partner and I ventured out.

We decided on a restaurant near our hotel (Puri Puri - if I didnt get the name wrong). It seems to be popular among the tourists but food wise, I'd still prefer Nomad. I ordered a plate of Mee Goreng and its totally different from what we've in Singapore:-

Don't think I'll try this restaurant again.
On our stroll back to hotel, we picked up some snacks to build up our food inventory for the Nyepi Day.....