To Bali and Back (Part One).

First, please do take note that the Bali trip is most possibly my longest post ever in all these years spent blogging. I’ve counted and it contains around 200 plus photos, many fillers in between elaborating them and also I’ve added alot of whatever information I remember with regards to Bali. Set aside probably 30 minutes? Hahaha!

I’ve split the trip into two parts, as it got too bloody long lah! Hahaha.. Hope you enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed having the trip, editing the pictures and blogging. Don’t forget to leave a comment at the end, it would make the hours very worthwhile :)

It was my first time aboard a plane and yessiree was I excited or what? I fought for the window seat and was pretty much feeling very hyper, fiddling with every small lil thing around me, much to the amusement of Nassy.

Sadly though by the time the plane was on the runway getting ready for take off, the sun had set and darkness enveloped us. I was hoping to catch pretty pictures of clouds and the sunset, but due to some inconsiderate passengers, the flight was delayed for 30 minutes. Pfft.

Around 2 hours and many compliments for a certain stewardess named Nora later, we finally touched down on Bali ground at around 930pm. Uber late hor? Sadly it was the only flight available for that day so we had no choice.

As for Valuair’s service, I have to say that it was great as the staff onboard was friendly and very helpful. The food aboard however, can be very much improved. The epok2 we had tasted plasticky! Although I did finish it all up cuz I was damn hungry :P

From the crowded airport at Denpasar, we boarded a blue taxi (which you can just get easily, no prebooking whatsoever needed and max waiting time is around 5 minutes) and the friendly taxi driver named Wayan drove us to our hotel, Seminyak Suites, which is located at Seminyak, South of Bali.

A 4 night stay at that hotel cost my aunt around USD$200 i think, but she said it was only available for Asian Travel Club members. Don’t bother googling for any other information on the place, I tried and was unsuccessful.

I was pretty much impressed with the rooms and everything, they’re all so pretty! The place is small though, they probably had only around 16 rooms, a small pool, a massage hut and a bar cum restaurant with only 2 tables. Hahaha. The food served was really great though, and the staff are very, very friendly and helpful.

However, it is quite troublesome to get to the place as it is located in some small corner of Seminyak, accessible only through a series of small 3 metre wide roads which are unlit at night. Wayan the taxi driver had a hell of a time trying to locate the place I tell you. This inaccessibility itself is a major turnoff!

Oh and have I mentioned about the dogs?

For your understanding, the star would be our hotel, the blue grids are numerous other villas and hotels, the 3m wide roads are the black lines and Kudeta is the restaurant we’re trying to head to for breakfast the next day. A rough estimate of the distance between the two buildings is around 200m – 300 m, definitely walking distance.

So anyway, the first morning, Cik Ya, Nassy and I woke up bright and early, famished and dying for a proper meal. From Cik Ya’s friends, my Bali Guidebook and also the hotel manager, we only had but raving good reviews about Kudeta. Thus, we happily walked out into the street, only to be greeted by a big black dog half my height.

After much hesistant steps, shouting for help from the security guards from other hotels and Cik Ya running in circles as the dog chased her, we finally managed to break free as one of the nice guys helped restrained the dog. Thus, we successfully managed to enter the straight road heading to Kudeta.

Happily skipping along whilst taking furtive glances back to check whether the black dog was tailing us, we went along the small road peeking into other villas, camwhoring and whatnot. Suddenly, as a rumbling of a lorry broke the peaceful silence,

Another 5 dogs suddenly appeared in front of us, and in a split second, we turned a full 180 degrees, sprinted back to the safety of our hotel and called for a taxi. HAHA. The man behind the counter was damn amused I tell you, and the security guards outside were practically laughing at us. Cannot make it!

Dogs, both strays and pets, pretty much litter every street of Bali, from the urban areas of Kuta or Seminyak and even the rural village areas. Usually those at the streets just mind their own business, strolling along roadsides, brushing against tourists etcetra. For most people, these dogs wouldn’t pose much of a problem but for myself and my two travel kakis, it is a big problem :P

From what I read through my guidebooks, there seem to be two viewpoints as to why so many dogs are left to roam about and noone seems to do anything about it. The first reason is that dogs are deemed to be evil spirits, so people try not to aggravate them. Secondly, some think of them as reincarnations of humans so they just let these dogs be.

Either way, the huge number of dogs around our hotel pretty much made it compulsory for my aunt to rent a car for the next 4 days.

From the moment we entered the huge gates of Kudeta, I was blown away by the restaurant. It is a building by itself, faced the beach and pretty much had Cafe Del Mar-like influences, from the day beds lined upfront, to the chillout music playing.

The food was great and I really loved my salmon. Price range is actually on the high end, and as assured by guidebooks, Kudeta is worth visiting for breakfast as the prices for the food served during that time allocation are more value for money as compared to later on in the evening then at night.

The service though, was debatable. At first, the waiter serving us talked to us rather nonchantly and without a smile on his face, getting our orders only when we called him like twice. Halfway whilst taking our orders, he suddenly asked

“Kamu Malaysian nggak?” (”You guys Malaysian?”)

And when we responded we’re actually Singaporeans, his eyes suddenly lit up and he started smiling widely, helping us whenever we look like we needed any help and whatnot. Kid you not, even Nassy noticed it! I don’t quite understand the reason for the double standards, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thankful for his change of behaviour.

At 9am, we exited the restaurant and was greeted by Pak Jem (pronounced Jim), our chauffer and guide for the next few days. He came recommended by the hotel, and was priced at 300 000rp per day, which is equals to around S$50. Pretty cheap, if you asked me. A recent similar service at Malaysia set my family back RM$200 per day.

Anyway, Pak Jem’s car gave us our first exposure to the many Balinese rituals. Seeing many decorations tied to his bonnet, side mirrors and also placed on his dashboard, I couldn’t help but enquire.

Pak Jem explained that it was actually a day the Balinese had to “commemorate” and be thankful for anything that is made from metal. Thus, they decorated their vehicles with the offerings. Throughout the rest of our trip, it was obvious that the Balinese take their rituals seriously, as 99% of the vehicles I saw had similar decorations and offerings on them.

He too told us that we just missed a very big ‘ritual’ which happened in March, one which is called Nyepi. On this day, every single person on the island stays at home and the island practically halts to a standstill. Even tourists are made to stay in their hotel rooms, only getting room service at specific times of the day. Guards are allocated to make sure everyone on the island adheres to this rule.

Apparently, the Balinese believe that on Nyepi, some kind of demons descend on the island. Therefore, everyone has to stay indoors to give the demons the impression that the island is empty thus it is not worthwhile to stay there. It is only after Nyepi that everyone goes back to their lives, as they are now safely out of harm’s way until the next Nyepi. Cool ey?

The first stop of the day was to one of the many cultural centres at Bali to watch a Barong dance. Reading about the exciting dance beforehand which involved the dancers being in a trance, I was very much looking forward to the event, even not minding the high fee of 50 000 rp.

Boy, was I in for a letdown. In my opinion, the performers were very much rather slipshod, western influences were injected, with crude humor referencing to penises thrown around in a bid to make people laugh, the sound system sucked, and the slip of brochure explaining the whole performance didn’t make any sense.

Needless to say, I was bored like hell and Nassy even managed to sleep! Haha. I think what we watched was a ‘tourist version’ of the dance, not the real deal :/ Nyeah, so wasted. Me thinks on me next trip to Bali, I’d have to source out the real deal. Give me trances of men stabbing themselves with swords, man!

Up next was a series of trips to the ‘mini factories’ churning out souveniour goods – Batik, wood carvings, stone carvings, paintings etcetra. It was bearable lah, although I have to admit I wished I was somewhere out there swimming or something hahaha. I bought a black and white painting, but bloody indonesia customs, whilst scanning my luggage, broke the glass frame -.-|||

We stopped for a brief lunch at a Halal Buffet Restaurant at the top of a mountain facing a dormant volcano. We’re so high up that even though the sun was shining like nobody’s business, it was still pretty much chilly. The wind really whipped up an appetite I tell you! The food spread didn’t really match up the 80 000rp paid per person, but the view pretty much made up for it :)

With filled stomachs, Pak Jem who was waiting for us outside continued driving us to other ‘tourist attractions’, like the vegetable farm (where he laughed when we didn’t know so many different kinds of plants) and rice terraces.

Such rice terraces are in abundance all over the island. Everytime we crossed countrysides trying to reach other locations, we’d always see at least one padifield. And you know what they call scarecrows? Helloweens. Hahahaha cute or what?!

The famous Pasar Ubud was our next stop, where Pak Jem left us for around an hour or so just to roam about. Stray dogs were practically everywhere, and the 3 of us had to always keep a lookout for them. As for the shopping, it is really, really important that you bargain alot. And I mean, alot!

Offer 1/3 of the price they quote. For example, if a batik costs 150k, offer them 50k. Then slowly bring the price up to what you’re willing to pay, or stop at 1/2 the price quoted. Also, it would be useful if you can get different quotes from different stalls, and let them compete with one another.

Nassy and I learnt it the hard way. We paid 40k each for a dress initially quoted at 60k. Next thing we know, the lady at the stall next door said “Why did you buy there? I would have given you 30k!“. Walaoeh, don’t know how to say earlier isit?! Hahaha.

I’m quite impressed by the fact that even though Bali was booming with tourist attractions and that the number of AngMohs could very well match up to the locals, the culture they had was still very much preserved. Everywhere I keep seeing many different rituals taking place, and alot of their youngsters still don the traditional costumes. In Singapore, only during festive occasions would you see things like that :/

On the second day, Pak Jem drove us around the Kuta beachside area so that we can look for another hotel to stay in for one night, since the Seminyak Suite is pretty much too tucked away. Finally, we settled for the Aneka Beach Hotel which is a few metres away from the Hard Rock Hotel. Cost was USD$100 for 1 night.

I love LOVE the location of the hotel, as it was just in front of the Kuta Beach, and only a few minutes walk from Kuta Square, the shopper’s dream :P After bidding farewell to Pak Jem, we spent the entire day on our own just exploring Kuta with our own feet.

[ Pictures and words removed by author ]

[ Pictures and words removed by author ]

The waves at East Coast Park can go and commit suicide after seeing the waves at Kuta Beach man! Whilst I was just standing up to my waist before the wave came, 5 seconds later I would suddenly be totally submerged in water. Yeah! That high! Hahaha. Currents were damn strong too, many a times I stumbled and fell while trying to walk back to shore.

For the non swimmers, there are still plenty of things to do at the beach, the top of which is boy watching wakakaka. There was a deadly combination of hot Bali guys and hot AngMohs man with chiselled abs carrying surfboards man! Kekekeke… More about hot Bali men later lah hor :P

By around 530pm we decided to head back out to the beach to catch the sunset. The empty beach in the morning had suddenly been filled to the brim with both locals and tourists alike, doing all sorts of things. There were people swimming, surfing, offering prayers, dancing to raggaeton, playing volleyball etcetra. You name it, they’re doing it!

There was even a hot bodied Bali man who picked me up in front of my aunt -.- Hahaha I can’t say I wasn’t flattered. Later on he invited me to join him and his friends in a game of volleyball but I turned them down as erm I suck at that wakakkaa. Buat malu je if I screw up!

The real reason we went back to the beach was because we had earlier on in the morning promised Yenni the Braiding Lady that we’ll use her services later on in the evening. She looked so poor thing la, we just cannot break a promise like that I guess.

Her face when she saw us returning was priceless, she even hugged Nassy when we came! hahaha. I guess she wasn’t expecting us to return at all. Cost of braiding was $80k, and took roughly around 30 minutes. Not bad hor? Dear Nassy so Rastafari now! Hahaha. I wanted to do it too, but thought better as it would definitely ruin my rebonded hair. Wasted~

We spent the rest of the night loitering around, peeping into pubs and by 1130pm headed back to the hotel to have a good night’s rest :) Thus concludes 2 days of my Bali adventure. Watch out for Part two!

Related posts:

1. To Bali and Back (Part Two).
2. To Bali and Beyond!
3. Want a trip to Bali?
4. Bali Pictures (Vertical).
5. Faddy from Bali.