Island destination: Bali Holiday Adventure

It's been a while since the last time I've opened my blog account and started penning again my thoughts down. Apparently, the past couple of months have been an awesome ride for me, not to mention an exhausting one at that. While all these memories and thoughts are still vivid on my mind, I'll try to remember each detail with all clarity and share them here in my little online journal.

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I admit. I've committed some mortal sin during Holy Week this year. While everybody back home seems to have been spending a quiet, holy time contemplating on Christ's death, here I was flying to a new town, enjoying the beach, and pigging out on Bali's various local cuisines. Well. It's not everyday we experience long weekends in Singapore, so it's good to just make the most out of these holidays. Lame excuses, I know.

Flying via Air Asia always has its pros and cons. The only benefit I can think of now is the fact that they offer really good airfare deals. However on the downside, expect to experience some delayed flights, flight stewardess who eat their words while speaking English on the speaker radios in-flight, and bumpy air rides especially during landing. So if you can find an alternative airline, that'll be great.

Prior to our Bali holiday, Jaypee and I tried our very best to look for the most outstanding hotel in Seminyak, which we believe is the most happening area in the island. Given our limited budget and strict requirement (i.e. the hotel should be beach-front or at least walking distance from the beach), we ended up in Umadasa Seminyak.

Nothing fanciful about the place. It is hidden from the main road and fronted by a seemingly residential area at the facade. We had to knock at the wooden door made from Teak many times before the care-taker of this Bed & Breakast place was able to hear us. And when the lady opened it, we were surprised how quaint and cozy this inn was. I forgot her name, but I do remember the care-taker quite well. Although she was alone managing the whole inn, she was very attentive to our needs and spoke in a very calm, reserved manner.

You can't expect full service in this small hotel, but what's great is that all the basics are there: wi-fi, breakfast, towels, shampoo and soap.

With the help of their other inn managers, they were also able to help us with our day tour and customizing our out-of-town road trip.

Would I recommend this place? Only if you don't need a 5-star resort and has a low budget during your Bali trip. But overall, it wasn't really that bad.

Our first day was spent well chilling out in Seminyak. With so many options to choose from, it's a pain in the ass to select the specific dish you wish to eat.

Walking by the beach side of Seminyak was of course a pre-requisite, while taking photos on the side. Good thing it was sunny the whole time we were in Bali. They say, it's usually good to visit in April, the official start of summer if I'm not mistaken.

We've managed to walk from the end point of Legian/starting point of Seminyak all the way to Potato Head Beach Club. It was a long walk indeed, but you will find a lot of interesting things along the way such as locals playing football by the sand, some other tourists swimming despite the high waves, and some exclusive beach-front resorts which we wished we have chosen in the first place.

We thought it was a good choice for us to watch the Bali sunset in Potato Head. All my colleagues were raving about this chill-out place. And so we tried it out.

It was the perfect place for us to end our first night in the island. Although the prices of the food here are a bit expensive, the taste of the dishes were all awesome. Good lounge music, orange-turning-to-velvet skies, amazing food, breezy night... it was surreal to imagine.

Since we haven't dipped into the beach yet all afternoon, we took advantage of our time here. Right after dinner, we quickly plunged into the pool and sipped my favorite mojito while watching the waves crash into the rocks.

The next day, we spent our time exploring the cultural side of Bali. I must say, I was impressed with our driver. He spoke really good English and attended to all of our needs without exploiting us, his tourists.

He brought us first to Ketut Iyer, the now famous old man who appeared in Julia Roberts' film, "Eat, Pray, Love." It was a plain visit and nothing more. We didn't even bother to queue up to get our palms read. Otherwise, we'll waste the rest of our morning in the place.

We took some photos and videos nonetheless for memories' sake.

Afterwards, we decided to go to Monkey Forest. This was quite fun as you will be greeted by a gazillion of monkeys along the way.

I was laughing and was scared the whole time as I don't want to get jumped at by any of the monkeys. Good thing I didn't even purchase any of the bananas at the entrance gate. Imagine being feasted by these hungry monkeys.

Wearing shorts is forbidden inside the temples. You will be required to wear this piece of sarong clothing if you happen to be in one.

Thereafter, we straight away headed to a shopping street where I bought some pasalubongs for my titas.

Our day ended by visiting the trendier side of Bali, Nusa Dua. As compared to beaches and sand of Seminyak, Legian, and Kuta, both Jaypee and I prefer Nusa Dua. It's cleaner and the waves are smaller.

To cap off of our night, we pampered our achy body by searching for a unique spa in town. Most of them don't accept walk-in customers any more as they were already fully booked.

We walked further near Kuta and found this beach-front hotel, Mercure, which offer spa massages inside these glass-covered rooms facing the beach. The idea easily sold us in trying it out. What a beautiful scene it was...

The room itself was was nice looking but I think the hotel didn't really maintain their standards of service after a long time. Now, the towels were awfully smelling and had stains on it. The bath tub were we showered in were a bit shabby. The curtains also had yellow stains on it.

The massage was good, but the overall ambiance was mediocre as some of the things I've experienced there gave me an horrible feeling.

Come to think about it, we only spent two short nights in Bali. As most people would say, we'd like to keep it short and sweet. But good thing we were still able to do a quick shopping at Krisna Oleh Oleh before heading home. I bought a few souvenir items at s cheap price.

I wonder when will be my next Bali trip?


Signing off,
Super Pao