Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Bali 2011: Day 6 - Kuta Rocks

Today is our last day in Bali before flying back home tomorrow morning..

Asked Jony to pick us up a little bit later..
Sebab dot nak tido puas2 bgn lambat sikit.. hehehe.. Kata nye lagik holiday kan youols..

Lepas mandi and bersiap2.. turun breakfast dulu..


 Small but cosy hotel.. Ade beberapa belas jek bilik kat hotel nih..

 Breakfast with a view :)

 That's the reception..

 Dah setel check out.. Tgh tunggu Jony pick up untuk balik Kuta..

 Nih landmark yg sgt2 familiar kat Bali nih.. Byk la lagik patung2 diorang tgh2 jalan nih.. Since dah kali ke 4 datang.. dah takde la jakun asek nak amik gambar jek kan.. macam balik Ayer Tawar jek perasaan nye.. hahhaha..

 Sebelom balik Kuta.. we stop by Pasar Sukawati.. Kat sini paintings murah2 nak mampos.. Dot borong sampai 5-6 paintings.. Yg besar2 plak tuh.. Tapi sampai ke saat ini semua paintings masih berbungkus belom bawak pegi kedai pasang frame... hahahha.. paku pon belom ketuk untuk gantung..

 Some beautiful view along our way back to Kuta..

 And we've arrived back in town! I really love Kuta.. hahahha.. setengah org macam rimas sesak2.. but aku kalau travel tak suka sunyi2 sgt.. aku takut.. aku suka ramai2 orang (atau lebih tepat banyak2 kedai.. hahahha).. Tapi dah tua2 nih.. memang rimas pon kalau ramai orang tahap tengok konsert atau pegi clubbing tuh kan..

 Belakang tu is Kuta beach..kali nih memang langsung tak jejak laut.. hahahha..


 This is somehere along Legian Street.. blakang tu landmark sempena mengingati mangsa2 Bali bombing dulu..

 After literally shopping non stop dari pagi sampai ke petang.. we make a quick pit stop at this kedai urut kaki along Legian street... serius sgt best tapik dah lupa plak la ape nama kedai nih.. huhuhuu..Dia tak jauh dgn landmark kat atas tu.. 

 Lepas tu kitaorang pegi sini for dinner..

 Best gile and cantik gila restaurant nih.. Mcm suasana makan atas air gittew..

 Bale Udang Mang Engking (but pronounce as MangKeng)..

 My awesome possom air kepala.. serius the best..

 Mr Hubs and Jony

 Our dinner for the night.. Every single one of those dishes are seriously AWESOME!!

Verdict: This is the first time Dot and Leman datang MangKeng nih.. (Ayong yg rekomen sebab dia pernah dtg on her last visit).. This restaurant is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.. This time around, we gave Jimbaran a missed.. sebab setiap kali datang pon konferm pegi Jimbaran kan.. Jimbaran is for seafood,. and it can be over rated and expensive.. I'll take MangKeng anytime over Jimbaran.. But if you're first timer in Bali, you shud experience Jimbaran yourself.. :)

 Pukul 11 malam baru nak check in Tune Hotel Legian (tak best mcm Tune Hotel Double Six Kuta.. jalan nak masuk dia sempit gila.. Dot literally tahan nafas takut van kitaorg tersangkut in between dinding.. hahaha)

And those are some of our shoppings :)

 Kesian darling husband dah penat gile layan bini shopping seharian..

 And this are my shoppings for this Bali trip.. hahahaha.. Nih hanya barang2 shopping aku ngan Leman (including la sourvenirs yg nak bagik orang kan).. i bet kalau Ayong letak barang2 dia atas katil macam nih pon.. komferm penuh jugak..

But i have to admit.. this time i indeed spend more than my usual budget.. selalu pegi Bali aku bawak cash dalam RM1500 maximum.. (me only. Leman bawak lain. Hehe).. This time rase initially mmg tukar dalam RM1500.. Tapi baru 3 hari kat Bali duit dah nipis sebab asek shopping.. so telah withdraw cash daripada ATM kat sana.. So total adelah dalam RM2300 or more cash yg aku pakai.. *gulp.. demm.. banyak plak rase nye kan.. mase shopping tuh tak ingat dunia ok*.. Itu tak masuk ade some shopping yg aku hulur duit plastic.. hahahah..

 Nih dah selamat landing at Singapore for our transit flight home.. Since we have some time to spare.. terus amik cab tuju Lucky Plaza.. for SOME MORE shopping!! hahahahha...

 Singapore in December.. Kalau malam mesti cantik kan..

 Among all my shoppings, i treasure these the most.. All mine! :)

 And this is what i bought for my kesayangan.. *loveeeeee*

Tak sesia mummy beli sampai baring2 dia kat situ.. hahahah..

 Actually Hiro takut menatang nih.. Mende nih macam yoyo ade tali bole tarik2 so nanti dia gerak2 la.. Everytime aku nak ajak Hiro main, terus kembang bulu dia larik jauh2.. hahahah..kelakar gile tgk.. Bila mende nih static baru la Hiro berani datang dekat and kuis2..

In summary.. I had an awesome-serious-tak-tipu time.. hehehe.. well.. as at date.. ALL of my holidays are awesome..

This time tidak di nafikan agak over budget (than our usual low budget) sikit.. But we had a mixed of budget and style i would say (contoh..ade hari duduk hotel murah = Tune Hotel.. ade hari duduk hotel mahal = Tegal Sari and Inata).. Ade hari makan murah.. ade hari makan mahal..

So total2 semua kira masih ok la kot.. Maybe only half of what we spent in Aussie hari tuh..

If you're planning to go to Bali on a budget.. here are some tips..

1) Plan your itenerary.. cause by doing so.. ko akan tau berapa hari yg ko perlu driver.. (kalau setakat nak jalan2 pusing pekan shopping2 takyah la pakai driver pon takpe kan)

2) When going on a holiday in a group.. I always collect siap2 duit pool.. Meaning aku akan collect duit untuk makan.. untuk bayar transport.. untuk bayar airport tax.. Kutip la whatever pon kan.. and aku akan siap2 masukkan kat sarung angpow lain2 and label.. So bila time makan.. sorang jek yg akan kuar duit for payment.. and biasanye.. last day aku akan assess balik duit2 tu.. kalau terlebih aku akan bahagi kan balik.. or kadang2 duit terlebih tu aku buat bayar massage session untuk semuaorang ke.. Yang penting bila dah ketepikan duit.. senang la ko nak shopping.. Kalau tak buat macam tuh.. takut nanti ko over shopping sebab ingat duit byk lagik.. padahal duit tu la semua nak buat makan.. nak buat bayar transport etc.. (even on honeymoon i practice this ok.. so memang takkan ade masalah takut2 nak makan.. walaupon mahal mana sebab memang dah budgeted for.. like i said.. kalau tengahari ko dah makan mahal.. pandai2 la ko nak makan tak berapa mahal for dinner kan.. janji tak burst budget yg ko dah kutip tu.. hehehe)..

3) Pack light! Nih husband aku mmg terer.. bini dia fail lagik.. bawak kasut jek dah 2-3 jenis.. sampai sana beli selipar sampai 5 pasang.. beli lagik kasut converse.. tak ke total kasut jek dah macam nak buat meniaga kat pasar malam.. hahahha.. Sebab macam aku mmg suka shopping.. so hampir pasti bila sampai sana akan beli baju/skirt/sluar/dress baru.. and mula la gatal nak pakai baju baru kat sana.. penat jek bawak baju penuh satu beg..

4) Make sure timbang bag sebelom naik flight (especially AA la kan).. sebab excess baggage memag SANGAT mahal.. kalau perlu.. sila beli online sebelom check in (kan bole tambah sampai 50kg sorang kan.. but seriusly, ko beli ape weih kalau sampai 50kilo sorang? Ko seludup patung batu buddha ka? hahaha).. lately, aku dah 2-3 kali kena bag terlebih muatan.. so sampai depan kaunter tu la kitaorg terhegeh hegeh and terkial2 nak asing2 barang mana bole check in and mana nak hand carry..

5) When in Bali.. just hire a supir.. Super worth it ok.. takyah ko nak pening2 kepala.. beza amik supir ngan tak amik supir (just sewa kereta) sgt la tak banyak.. and jalan2 kat Bali tu bawah sikit daripada standard jalan kat Ayer Tawar.. hahahha..

6) Bring enough cash.. Do not underestimate yourself (i Did :)) .. Konon tanak shopping.. Ye la tu :P
Pehtu dah rugi RM15 setiap kali buat withdrawal from ATM kat sana..

7) Control you credit card spending.. even though actually suka hati ko la kan sebab ko yg bayar tetiap bulan.. hehehe.. Sebab tu aku suka hotel arrangements semua settle even before we went to Bali.. so senang.. takde pening2 nak pikir duit hotel tak bayar lagik.. But we did paid part of Tegal Sari and Inata upon check in.. So double check especially bila buat booking online.. certain online website.. macam Bookings.com.. dia mmg tak siap2 tolak duit.. dia amik credit card details buat verification jek..

8)  Bawak plug adapter.. senang sampai hotel bole terus charge kamera/ipad/hair dryer/whatever.. hehehe.. Boleh jek kalau ko nak beli kat sana pon.. or contohi Ayong.. ngan extension sekali dia bawak.. sebab dia tau dia sorang jek bawak adapter and confirm semua org sebuk nak pinjam at one go.. hahahha..

9) Be aware of your surrounding.. Be safe at all time.. Trust your instinct cause it's better to be safe than sorry kan (applicable anywhere).. But generally i always feel safe in Bali.. (walaupon sebelom sampai Bali tu dok cuak gak pikir what if earthquake ke.. Tsunami ke.. adoyaii.. mintak simpang!)

10) Have funnnnnn.. Jgn terlampau berkira right to every dollar and cent.. you are indeed on a holiday kan..

PS: On a different note, this time kitaorg travel naik Jetstar kan.. My honest opinion, i rather take a direct flight to any of my holiday destination.. Walaupon memang la best kan ko dapat merase pegi 2 tempat terus sebab transit.. but it's so tiring.. and leceh nak check in sampai 2 kali kan..

PPS: I'm no expert for Bali cause aku sendirik belom abes cover satu island tuh.. Tapi since dah pegi 4 kali since 2005.. I may be able to answer some of your questions.. So kalau ade apepe yg aku tak cover in my Bali Holiday review.. just holler ok..

Bali 2011
Sampai ketemu lagi.. :)



Sunday, January 29, 2012

Bali 2011: Day 5 - Exciting Ubud

Dah nak dekat sebulan balik from Bali holiday.. Cerita Bali tak abes update lagik.. huhu..
Since next week dah nak pegi another back to back holidays, baik la kita kasik abes cerita Bali yg dah jadik yogurt nih kan..

In day 5.. we rise early..
Had breakfast at the hotel (part of the room price)..
I'll review the Inata Hotel jap gi..

This morning we're going to our first white water rafting adventure!
Kat Bali nih ade dua tempat bole water rafting..

1) Telaga Waja (Rapid class III ad IV)
2) Sg Ayung (Rapid class II and III)

Since kitaorg semua tatau what to expect..
And semua adelah kategori 30 tahun dan keatas..
Let's start small shall we.. hehehhe..

Itu pon on the way from hotel to the starting point.. punya la cuak..
Neves.. berdebar2..

We paid Rp300,000 per person including hotel transfer and lunch..
Jony berulang2 kali trying to convince us to go for Telaga Waja instead (same price)..
Tapi kami sebulat suara mau rapid class III maximum saja.. hahahaha..

 Abang Leman all excited!

 Dan bermula la our climb down to the start point.. Jaauuuhhhhhhh kebawahhhhh.. dan lagik bawahh.. dan lagikkkk...

 Almost there! hehehehe.. Mase nih dah akak dah start cuaks dah youollss.. Dah la separa semput nak menyampaikan ke bawah tu kan..huhuuhu..

 Waiting for our turn.. Satu raft nih naik dalam 6 orang tak termasuk ketua jurumudi dia..

 Expert in no time.. hehehhe..

 Best jugak the surrounding views along the way.. The journey took more than 2 hours from start to finish point.. Along the way ade la ukiran2 macam kat background gambar kat atas tuh.. ade resort2.. ade air terjun (highlight of my water rafting adventure).. Sea Monkey (our ketua jurumudi) saja2 jek direct our raft right below a very high waterfall.. Mase tuh aku dah tak bercakap2 dah.. nak jerit pon tak leh sebab punye la terkejut (and ade sedikit panic) kena timpa ngan bergelen gelen air!! hahahahha..

We safely arrived at our finish point in one piece..

Verdict: BEST!!

Tapi tak takut LANGSUNG.. hahahahha.. we should have gone for the Telaga Waja punye la.. Takpe takpe.. we'll save that for our future trip.. ecewahh.. hehehhe.. Kat Sg. Ayung nih, highest fall is only 1 meter high.. Kat Telaga Waja ade 3 or is it 5 meter fall.. Baru la thrill.. hehehhe.. (ekshen plak.. tadik start of the trip punya la menggelabah kan..)

So ingat kan dah abes la sengsara lepas dah sampai finish point kan..

Wrong!

It's the climb back up that almost kill us.. huhuhuhu..

Aku rase higher than Batu Caves kot.. almost similar with my Lake Cave Margaret River visit dulu.. Tapi yg tu tangga semua cantik2.. nih tangga dia agak scary.. and tempat pegang ade yg takde.. Separuh mampos nak menyampai kan ke atas balik.. hahahahha..

My only motivation is this...

 Si Ayong yg lagikkkkk tak berdaya daripada aku.. hahahahha.. or maybe that's a strategy.. seeing that she's guarded by 2 abang2 Bali.. ahhahahha.. Siap pegang tangan lagik youolss.. Sea Monkey (yg kat belakang tuh) dok gelak2 cakap diorang tgh honeymoon.. hahhahaha..

 Well.. this is me upon arrival.. Mase nih nak gelakkan si Ayong pon dah takde energy hokey.. huhuhu..

 On the way back.. Sg Ayung tak jauh from Ubud.. dalam setengah jam camtuh..

 More green and beautiful view..

 The most beautiful view ever.. hahahahha.. Over tak husband saya.. Macam dia yg mengemudi raft tu tadik.. hahahha..


 Selamat sampai at Inata Hotel..This is the end of the main entrance.. The front main entrance kat tepi kedai2.. Kitaorg pusing 2 kali mula2 cari tak jumpa semalam..

I give the hotel inself 4 out of 5 star.. (not in term of hotel star. Obviously this is not a 5 star hotel kan)..
But it's even better than some of the 4 stars that i've experience..

Hotel nih baru.. just a few months old.. tak sampai setahun pon lagik.. Highly recommended if you choose to stay in Ubud..

For us orang2 pekan.. maybe this will be the first and last time stay in Ubud.. (kalau next time pon maybe takde la sampai 3 malam kat Ubud kan..)

Sebab kitaorg sekor2 penakut..

Hotel2 kat Ubud nih byk cicak.. gecko pon ade.. balik malam2 kelkatu plak banyak.. ahhahahha..
Tido malam berlagukan unggas dan cengkerik.. memang sangat tenang laa..

Tapi agak susah nak carik halal food area Ubud nih.. Especially sebab kitaorg takde transport kan.. Please note that taxi is not easily available in this area.. Fast food pon langsung tak de.. 

Kalau korang nak feeling2 "Eat Pray Love"..
Haaah.. memang dah tepat sangat la tuh.. Memang citer EPL tuh shooting kat Ubud pon..hehehe..
That was what we had in mind when we chosed Ubud this time around..  

 The blue swimming pool.. Rase rugi plak tak turun kan.. Mase kat Tegal Sari tuh pon kitaorg mandi pool jugak..

 Our rooms... We booked 2 rooms since patutnye ade Nizam sekali kan.. but he has to cut short his trip.. so Ayong lepak satu bilik sorang2.. hehhehe.. Pehtu dia takut nak tido bilik aku.. Harus kitaorg tak bagi.. hahahha..

 Mr and Mrs Mann baru lepas mandi pool..

 This is the restaurant area..Hari2 breakfast kat sini (2 hari jek pon! haha).. Breakfast adelah sangat superb.. sebab ala-carte.. so bole order apepe korang nak.. We stick with eggs, mushroom, hashbrown and bread jek la.. Tapi itu pon tersangat la heavenly nye.. 

 This is the view from our room.. Kalau kuar kat balkoni tuh ade la sawah padi jugak. tapi takde la sebesar yg dekat Tegal Sari punye..

Verdict on Inata Hotel: Highly recommended

The staffs are all very friendly and very helpful.. Walaupon customer service kat Bali nih memang high standard pon.. be it restaurant ke.. hotel ke.. memang staffs semua baik2.. Tapi Inata Hotel staffs nih memang extra baik la..enough said..

 Petang tuh lepas dah freshen up.. Our next agenda is to go to spa.. We chosed SANG SPA..

Kat Ubud nih ade 3 cawangan SANG SPA.. we chosed SANG SPA one.. Agak besar and cantik.. Gambar di atas is the walkway towards the reception..


 We chosed a package for 3 hours.. RP350,000 per person.. Foot bath, Body massage, Facial and Creambath..

 And i love this spa.. This is the view mase meniarap.. Honestly, susah sangat nak carik spa yg letak mende nih kat Malaysia.. (kalau spa2 bukan high class yg aku suka pegi la.. hehehhe.. spa high class toksah cerita la. sesuai la ngan harga kan)..

 Light refreshment.. Sorang satu pinggan ok! hehe

Enjoying our creambath.. Best gile.. Mase tgh cuci rambut tuh.. Aku nampak gecko tinggi kat atas atap.. atas kepala aku.. huhuhuhu.. Doa jek la jgn dia jatuh atas bahu ke..

Lepas abes spa session.. kitaorg mintak driver yg nak hantar kitaorg balik hotel tuh.. untuk singgah kat kedai nasik padang nearby this spa untuk tapau.. Murah betul nasik padang dia.. Akhirnyaaa.. jumpa jugak nasik ok.. Seb baik la driver tuh pon Islam, so dia dgn baik hati tunggu kitaorg tapau.. sebab from hotel agak jauh spa nih..

Verdict: Highly recommended!

Malam tu tido sambil tersenyum and berbau spa.. hehehhe..

Esok check out and tido Tune Hotel Legian (sebab Tune Hotel Double Six Kuta dah fully book.. tinggal katil single jek.. huhuhu) plak for our final night in Bali..