Ole Ole Bali!
Narrow winding roads, crazy relaxed vibe topped with extremely friendly hospitable people. These were my 3 'take home messages' from my recent escapade in Bali, Indonesia. Another unforgettable observation in my personal opinion was the ubiquitous offerings we would stumble upon every step of the way. Indeed, a unique feature in their fascinating culture and tropical paradise.
I thoroughly enjoyed my very short stint of 4D3N on the beautiful island, and definitely hope to get back there in the near future. The weather was not to mention, fantastic. Cool breezes coupled with beautiful sunshine. The best combination ever! We were in Ubud for a night, where I got to enjoy a traditional Balinese massage, but not before I giggled myself to death in secret. Ubud boasts beautiful rice terraces stretching as far as the eye can see. One of the main arteries through the area - Monkey Forest Road - has several hotels and quaint cafes dotting the entire stretch of road. Neighbouring towns specialise in different trades - silver, paintings or carvings. A nearby Pasar Ubud was a great place to score cheap Batik clothing and Balinese gems. Word of advice though: always slash prices by at least 50%!!
The next 2 days were spent in the infamous Kuta area where the vibe is totally different from Ubud. Quiet and serenity is replaced by severe traffic congestion, glitzy nightclubs and sandy beaches. Shopping is aplenty, and so is alcohol. We were fortunate to have a sweet driver who was willing to wait for us while we shopped, ate, drank and did everything possibly touristy. The cute guy even told us he felt nervous as he has never had an all girls travel group before! Temples like Tanah Lot and Uluwatu were also part of the itinerary. The only cringe worthy factor to me throughout this trip was the travelling time. Bali aint that big, however, their small roads and ridiculous traffic make travelling from one point to another extremely time consuming. Hence all in all I did not feel like I did much, as the time simply was not sufficient.
As we wanted to immerse ourselves as much as possible in the local way of eating, we told our driver to introduce us to places where the local actually dine. We were tired of hotel food or those restaurants simply packed to the brim with tourists. One interesting Warung we stumbled upon was actually one of the first in Kuta and recommended in the Lonely Planet Guidebook - Made's Warung. Food wise was mediocre though, but place was rather packed. After 2 days of Nasi Campur, we were pretty over it and head to McDonald's for dinner instead. Oh, what pampered children we are!
While having our meal one of the afternoons, a man approached us with a beautifully carved Harley Davidson motorcycle. It was perfect for any table top deco. However when his opening price was RM2, we were pretty shocked not stoked. We politely refused and he brought the price down to RM1! I was very taken aback and even felt abit sad - was he desperate to get rid of the thing or did he just need the money? Am still thinking of that till today.
Bali is effortlessly a tropical paradise. The small details like how petrol is sold in bottles along the streets, the many deities we see in front of every establishment and how the locals dress in sarongs going about their daily chores fascinates me even more.
I'm definitely coming back!
I thoroughly enjoyed my very short stint of 4D3N on the beautiful island, and definitely hope to get back there in the near future. The weather was not to mention, fantastic. Cool breezes coupled with beautiful sunshine. The best combination ever! We were in Ubud for a night, where I got to enjoy a traditional Balinese massage, but not before I giggled myself to death in secret. Ubud boasts beautiful rice terraces stretching as far as the eye can see. One of the main arteries through the area - Monkey Forest Road - has several hotels and quaint cafes dotting the entire stretch of road. Neighbouring towns specialise in different trades - silver, paintings or carvings. A nearby Pasar Ubud was a great place to score cheap Batik clothing and Balinese gems. Word of advice though: always slash prices by at least 50%!!
The next 2 days were spent in the infamous Kuta area where the vibe is totally different from Ubud. Quiet and serenity is replaced by severe traffic congestion, glitzy nightclubs and sandy beaches. Shopping is aplenty, and so is alcohol. We were fortunate to have a sweet driver who was willing to wait for us while we shopped, ate, drank and did everything possibly touristy. The cute guy even told us he felt nervous as he has never had an all girls travel group before! Temples like Tanah Lot and Uluwatu were also part of the itinerary. The only cringe worthy factor to me throughout this trip was the travelling time. Bali aint that big, however, their small roads and ridiculous traffic make travelling from one point to another extremely time consuming. Hence all in all I did not feel like I did much, as the time simply was not sufficient.
As we wanted to immerse ourselves as much as possible in the local way of eating, we told our driver to introduce us to places where the local actually dine. We were tired of hotel food or those restaurants simply packed to the brim with tourists. One interesting Warung we stumbled upon was actually one of the first in Kuta and recommended in the Lonely Planet Guidebook - Made's Warung. Food wise was mediocre though, but place was rather packed. After 2 days of Nasi Campur, we were pretty over it and head to McDonald's for dinner instead. Oh, what pampered children we are!
While having our meal one of the afternoons, a man approached us with a beautifully carved Harley Davidson motorcycle. It was perfect for any table top deco. However when his opening price was RM2, we were pretty shocked not stoked. We politely refused and he brought the price down to RM1! I was very taken aback and even felt abit sad - was he desperate to get rid of the thing or did he just need the money? Am still thinking of that till today.
Bali is effortlessly a tropical paradise. The small details like how petrol is sold in bottles along the streets, the many deities we see in front of every establishment and how the locals dress in sarongs going about their daily chores fascinates me even more.
I'm definitely coming back!
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