Hello!!! It has been a long long time since I last update this blog. Caught up with work and money constraint and hence lesser time to travel. XD Finally, I have time to update on my Bali Trip last month -- a random, 4 days 4 nights trip in November 2016 with my hostel mates.
As one of us has pretty tight schedule, we have only 4 full days to travel. Thus, we booked a night flight on friday night and reached Bali at midnight. Trying to spare more time to travel on Saturday. Flight ticket was bought pretty last minute and it costs me RM616 for return ticket. Could be cheaper if buy during zero fare. Air Asia has sales every week anyway.
So let's start with my journey to Bali!
Day 1: KL-Bali (Check-in hotel and sleep!)
As I'm traveling alone from Kuala Lumpur, I've decided to park my car at Bandar Tasik Selatan station and catch the KLIA Express to KLIA2 (RM38.40 one way)
Our flight got delayed for 30 minutes... The friend who flew from Singapore had to wait for an hour in Bali airport to meet us. Poor thing... We booked a driver -- Mr Bagus and he waited to pick us up from airport to hotel. Was a little sad with the delay as he had to stay up to pick us up and the next day we have a full day tour. No extra charge! Very kind of him.
Our hotel for first 3 nights -- The Kana Kuta Hotel.
Pool view from breakfast place. I love the coffee served during breakfast. Best coffee I have tried in Bali. Too bad I didn't manage to get the brand.
Day 2: Tanjung Benoa (water sports) - Lunch (Babi Guling) - Pandawa Beach - Uluwatu Temple (for sunset) - Adi Spa - Dinner @ Jimbaran Bay
We had breakfast in hotel and then proceeded with our first stop of the day with water sports activities at Tanjung Benoa. To be honest, I think that this is the spot that I don't really enjoy throughout my Bali trip. Expensive and nothing special (maybe because there's no crystal clear water, which makes me feel disappointed). We spent a lot of time waiting for our turn under the hot sun, and our parasailing was forced to cancelled due to the weather. In the end, we spent about RM260 per person for Jetski, Banana Boat and Rolling Donut.
Tanjung Benoa
We ended our water sports activities around 2pm and we were all starving. So, we asked the driver to bring us to try Babi Guling. As we were rushing time, he suggested a shop nearby instead of going to those famous Babi Guling restaurants. We ordered nasi babi guling special to try... Was really excited to try it since it is so famous.
While waiting for our food to be served.....
Ta-daa! My plate of nasi babi guling special (~RM10).
It comes with pork satay, minced pork, crispy skin, etc... I don't really like the skin. Only enjoyed the satay and meat. It was served with chilies and hence quite spicy. Overall, I don't really fancy but it is a good experience trying out. Just wondering if the famous stall's would taste better or not. Ahh....
Then, we went to Pandawa Beach for a walk. Pandawa Beach is more of my kind of beach, with greenish blue sea and white sands. It was once known as secret beach due to its location, which lies behind the two cliffs with poor access. There are a lot of tourists visiting Pandawa Beach now... You may need to pick low season for a more peaceful beach. =)
I enjoyed walking on the white, soft sands. ^_^
Overview of Pandawa Beach from the cliff area (near the Pandawa statues)
After that we were supposed to go to Water Blow at Nusa Dua but our driver suggested us to skip that and go to Uluwatu Temple right away in case we missed out the sunset. Hence, to choose between Water Blow and Uluwatu Temple, of course we choose the latter.
Uluwatu Temple, also known as Pura Luhur Uluwatu in Balinese, is a Balinese sea temple. It is one of the six key temples believed to be Bali's spiritual pillars. It is known for its magnificent location, perched on top of a steep cliff approximately 70 metres above sea level. Uluwatu Temple is one of the top places on the island for sunset delights, with direct views overlooking the beautiful Indian Ocean, and you can watch Kecak dance performances over here too!
With such amazing view, I can't stop myself from "WOW" "WOW "WOW" while walking along the cliff walkway. The entrance fee for uluwatu temple is IDR40,000 but it is really worthy! Spamming photos taken at Uluwatu Temple as the place is too beautiful!
Look at this view! Heartmelts...
Aww... I can stay here all the long just to listen to the sound of the sea slamming on the cliff.
Group Photo while waiting for sunset.
Bare in mind... You have to be very be careful with your belongings here. Monkeys will just come attack anytime, anywhere. Our driver kept reminding us and we managed to escape in one piece =)
Not a perfect sunset but it is worth waiting after all.
Heart this place very much
After that, the driver brought us to a spa place - Adi Spa. The price is really expensive and we bargained so hard to get IDR300,000 per person for an hour of Balinese massage. It is actually very over-priced but we were like stucked there with the driver (who looks pretty keen for us to try) and the workers. We looked at other spa's places for pricing and realized that we paid almost twice more than the actual price. =.= conned...
The environment is quite peaceful actually.
After an hour of spa, we finally can go for dinner @ Jimbaran Bay. I was actually quite sad that we couldn't make it for sunset at Rock Bar. Choosing between Rock Bar and Uluwatu Temple, I decided to go for Uluwatu Temple, which is the must-see. Typical tourist thought. =)
The driver brought us to a seafood place to dine at the beach @ Jimbaran Bay. We were quite exhausted after one whole day of tour, both mentally and economically. Hence, we just ordered some simple dishes like fried rice and grilled chicken to fill up our tummy. Food here isn't cheap either. Maybe of the location I guess. However, I do enjoy the environment here. The sound of the ocean is so soothing.
The restaurant that we dined in.
The open air seating. Too bad it was drizzling when we arrived. So we got our indoor seats instead of this romantic one. XD
Day 3: Barong & Keris Dance - Batik Shop - Kintamani (where we had lunch) - Coffee Plantation (Luwak Coffee) - Tirta Empul Temple - Tegalalang Rice Terrace - Naughty's Nuri (Dinner)
Early morning of our day 3, we heaeed out around 9am (was supposed to be 8.30am =P) to watch Barong & Keris Dance. It is a traditional dance, and they have written storyline in different languages available for your reference while watching. It really helps! Easier for me to understand the content of the show.. I wouldn't disclose any of the show content... You are suppose to come here to explore if you're planning one. haha... Entrance fee is IDR100,000 per pax.
Our group photo with the Barong.
Colouring of the cloth
After that, we proceed to Kintamani for lunch at Pulu Mujung Warung. Usually, drivers or tour will opt for buffet at Kintamani.. We are trying to find something more special and hence we ended up here. I kinda like this place as they serve organic Indonesian dishes, which is nice. However, my other 2 friends who prefer heavy taste find them very tasteless. Haha... But, there's one thing that all of us like - the Mount Batur view with breezy cold wind.
Lunch with such a view - best in life!
