Where have I been hiding these past few weeks??? Well, no where else but in Bali! Yup, I went for a 5d 4n holiday trip to this so called Island of Gods. I really cant believe that I finally reached to the shores of this mystical island, famed for its rich Hindu culture & heritage. Every sights are filled with Hindu architecture with statues, puras (temples) & also Balinese drapped in traditional costume. We were lucky enough that we managed to witness several rituals except the cremation ceremony..*sighs*. Balinese folks are so nice & they treated us like kings & queens.
We eagerly booked Air Asia 4 months prior to our lustful holiday. We counted every single minute, day by day, week by week till 7th Sept came. My mind was so full of preparation for this trip coz I wanted to make it the most memorable holiday ever.
There was a bit misunderstanding at KLIA b4 our flight where Ila & Gya were detained due to Air Asia online ticketing error (human error? database error?). The other 6 of us were told to board the flight without them...pity Ila & Gya. However they managed to get the next flight plus RM50 for penalty after a concerned & understanding manager intervened the matter.
So, 6 of us flown over to Bali & arrived at Ngurah Rai Int Airport after a short 3 hrs flight. We were greeted by our van driver,Wayan at the airport (I knew Wayan from my cousin, Ejan who frequently fly to Bali). Dont be surprised if 10 Balinese said their name are Wayan. Actually, Balineses are called by their surnames. If they r 1st born child, they r called Wayan. 2nd child r called Made, 3rd child r called Komang /Nyoman & the 4th child r called Ketut. If there r ever 5th, 6th & so on children in the family, they will carry the same name in repetition as their elderlies. Thats mean, if there r 9 children in a family, there should b 3 Wayans, 2 Mades & 2 Komangs & 2 Ketuts...get it?
Our 1st day in Bali was just a short sight seeing along Denpasar town. Wayan acted as our tourist guide & he drove us to a Restoran Sederhana, a halal Padang food. We were mad hungry & ate like never had it before. The uniqueness of Padang food is that, all dishes r served on the table till there's no space left. So many varieties & we can choose any dish that we want to. Around 8pm, Ila & Gya arrived & we hurriedly headed to Kintamani.
Below r my Bali trip journal throughout 5d 4n stay:-
7/9/05 (Wed)
10.55-Flight take off from KLIA
13.55 -Arrival at Ngurah Rai Int Airport
14.30-Checked out from airport. Met Wayan & headed for lunch & sight seeing in Denpasar
18.00-Get Ila & Gya at airport. Stopped at several supermarket. Then straigt to Kintamani.
20.45-Arrived at Kintamani, a mountaineous village famed for the sleeping volcanic Mt Batur.
8/9/05 (Thurs)
00.30-Zzzzzz(cant sleep at all coz too cold!)
03.00-Wake up! Ready for mount climbing. (Too drowsy but I forced myself to wake up)
04.00-Started to climb Mt Batur wit the help from Mt Batur hikers association.
06.00-Arrived at the 2nd highest peak of Mt Batur (the best we could do). Watched the beautiful sunrise emerging. Snapped pics & recorded the panaromic sunrise.
09.30-Began to descend from Mt Batur. Less challenging path.
11.45-Arrived Lakeview hotel. Showered & packed clothing.
13.30-Checked out from hotel. Dropped by at Tirta Empul pura. Scenic temple with souveneir stalls around. Then headed to Tegalalang, a cascading paddy field.
18.00-Arrived at Ubud town. Checked in at Dewi Ayu hotel. Took a walk around the hotel area as there are many shops, spas & restaurants.
23.30- Lights off..............
9/9/05 (Fri)
07.00 -Woke up & get ready for white water rafting at Telaga Waja. Had delicious banana pancake for breakfast.
10.30-Splash! Me, Gya, Izah & Ila had a great time rafting in the rapid river. The local guides were sporting lot.
16.45-Went back to hotel. Rested for a while. Gya & I went for a walk around Monkey Forest street. Bought souveniers & stuffs. Izah & Ila went cycling. Beyzu, Lin, Pin & Mashy went for rafting.
23.00-Zzzz..physically & mentally exhausted.
10/9/05 (Sat)
07.00- Getting ready for cycling around Pasar Ubud area wit Gya. Separated wit other girls as they had other plans. (We shopped till we dropped!)
11.30-Packed clothing, getting ready for Uluwatu. Checked in our last hotel in Kuta.
14.30-Arrived at Uluwatu, famous for temples & restless monkeys. Very spectacular view from the top of the cliff. Watch out for ur belongings as the monkeys are trained to snatch anything from u..Pity Ila, her glasses were twice snatched by a monkey.
18.00- The moment finally came, Kecak dance performance during sunset. Very an eye opener & fun.
20.00-Show ended & we headed to our hotel.
23.00- Lights off.
11/9/05 (Sun)
07.00- *sigh* last day in Bali. Getting ready for beach activities.
09.30-Went for snorkeling (I was a nervous wreck,,stayed underwater for barely 10 mins then I freaked out!). Boat cruising to Pulau Penyu, a mini animal sanctuary. Then went back to the beach for parasailing (cool!)
14.45-Arrived at hotel. Showered & packed everything. By 16.00 we were out of Surfaris Inn. Headed to our last destination, Kuta town! Last minute shopping.
16.45- Arrived at Ngurah Rai. Bid farewell to Wayan. So sad!
20.10- Bye bye Bali! (total emotional as the plane took off)
23.00-Arrived at KL 10 min earlier...welcome back to the reality!
So..that was it..the next day, I went to work a bit late. But my mind was still in Bali. I had post holiday depression on Monday. Dunno why but holidaying in Bali had left a big impact in my life. I fell in love with Bali (perhaps a Balinese?) . Not to mention the idyllic & picturesque places of interest. I just cant wait to go back next year, with this time more adventures & shopping revenge! To Izah, Ila, Gya, Pin, Beyzu & Lin..hope we could get together for another episode of holidaying in Bali next yr!
p/s: picture taken at Uluwatu
