Ayam back!

Ah, back from Bali. It was a wonderful 3 days there, and with each visit, you leave Bali wanting to return again the next time. There is just so much left to explore. In short, we didn't stray far from the spots we're already familiar with.

Thanks to Lai, Nezz and Waterman for their well wishes. I certainly had a great time.


Bali in brief, and some photos

Arrived at LCCT around 3pm. Long queue. Apparently the computer system was down, and it took us more than 1 hour to check-in. The flight was supposed to be at 440pm but due to the delay (there was still a massive queue behind us), we finally took off at 530pm.

The flight took approximately 3 hours. I tried the nasi lemak on the plane, which, frankly, tasted like airline food.

Touched down at Bali around 820pm. The baggage handlers were super efficient and we got our luggage almost immediately (cue to KLIA and LCCT baggage-handlers to work faster). Our friends (who had arrived on an earlier flight) picked us up around 845pm and we were whisked straight for dinner. We were told that we were having seafood for dinner. I thought- ok, so we're heading to a stall of some sort to have cheap but nice seafood.

When we arrived, the appearance of the place did little to change my mind. There was a row of single storey open lots, each with separated tanks filled with live fish, prawns, squid etc and an extremely large barbecue pit. It was already dark and there was a lot smoke billowing out from the barbecue-ing of seafood. It seems that these whole row of shops were filled with seafood stalls.

After choosing the seafood we wanted, we then walked towards the beach to be greeted by this sight:-



I was pleasantly surprised to say the least! Venue- Menega Cafe, Jimbaran Beach. Food- Seafood. Quality- excellent stuff. Name-forgetting experience.

Apparently we had to enter the Cafe via the rear. It was necessary for us as we had to choose the seafood we wanted to eat. It was a very romantic setting- tables by the beach, with the cooling sea-breeze, and excellent seafood. We had red snapper, squid skewers (like satay), king prawns, mussels, vegetables, drinks. All came up to approximately 75,000 rupiah per person, which is about a mere RM32. There were 6 of us. When you factor in the ambience and setting, this is really reasonable.

After dinner, we headed to the villa. The name of the villa is called Karma Jimbaran, and is located next to the Four Seasons hotel. The villa is best described by the photos below:-

This looks almost like the villa I stayed at during my honeymoon in 2005, at Ubud. Each villa comes with your own private pool.

Poolside, by the restaurant. Approximately 40 meters in length. Swam for 30 minutes at a hard enough pace for me, my breathing and heart rate was equivalent to a 15k race pace.

Next day, we headed to Uluwatu- a surfer's haven. We had to park our car some 800 meters from the beach, and walk the windy steps towards the main area, which was situated on a cliff. The beach was some 60 meters below, so you had to take another set of steps to head to the beach. Anyone who watched The Amazing Race Asia would know what I'm talking about. Lunch was at a little cafe there. Photos:-

Uluwatu cafes/surf shops,. If walk beyond that point, you'll get the view, shown below:-

Uluwatu cliff

Dreamland beach

Swam a little, we then headed to Dreamland beach (not too far off Uluwatu) and headed back to the villa for a short rest, before heading to an Italian restaurant for dinner, by the name of Trattoria at Seminyak. It is described as a "...simple open-air restaurant... serving excellent home-cooking at very reasonable prices. Choose from the daily changing antipasti, salads, home-made pasta, tasty main courses and sweets, all priced between 15,000 Rupiah and 59,000 Rupiah. A limited wine list with still acceptable prices, friendly service and the relaxed atmosphere...[makes]...the TRATTORIA very popular with the international and Italian crowd who often bring the whole family."

Next up, we headed to Ku De Ta for drinks. Photos below:-






After Ku De Ta, we headed to Hu'u Bar. Happening place and we partied till 2am.

Next morning, with a massive hangover ( I had a baaaad headache), we headed to Ubud. Ubud's a nice little town about an hour from Denpasar, filled with arts, craft, culture and the like. Photos below:-

Main street and market

Had lunch, followed by a massage, designed to detoxify your body. Felt much better after that, and my hangover was cured. We were at Ubud for some 3 hours. We then drove back and headed to Kuta (for the 1st time). Kuta is the most commercial area of Bali, filled with tourists, and we wanted to stay out of the place unless absolutely necessary. After hearing our friends raving about Krispy Kreme donuts (not available here in KL), we headed to a shopping mall and bought a dozen. I walloped a couple, and it was fantastic- better tasting than Dunkin Donuts, for sure. In the mall, we bought tonnes of CDs and DVDs- much cheaper in Bali than in KL, that's for sure, including the latest episodes of Prison Break, Entourage, and also The Departed, and An Inconvenient Truth. We then headed back to Cafe Menega for round 2 of dinner.

Final day- we headed to Kuta again, because that is where all the CDs/DVDs are sold. Bought more titles, including Justin Timberlake and P Diddy's new albums. Lunch at Warung Made (pronounced "Mah-Day"). Hung around, bought another dozen Krispy Kremes and checked out Kuta Beach for the 1st time since arriving. Then, we headed back to the Villa, and were driven to the airport.

We were delayed for a good 30 minutes after checking in, but that is another story. Flight was supposed to leave at 810pm. We touched down at LCCT around 1115pm, and I arrived back at the apartment around 1am.

So, back to KL. I had a very good trip, and certainly plan to return. Next time, instead of hanging out in the usual places, I want to check out the other sites, like Tanah Lot for example, the Lakes, etc.

Plan today- to run at least 1.5 hours. Haven't done much in the last 4 days!