Bali : Day 3

Bismillah,


After breakfast, we waited at the hotel lobby since the receptionist said that we could get a mini van from here. But if you want to rent out a car and drive on your own, balirentcar.net surely is what you are looking for. Okay, this time the driver's name is I Putu Wenten. We called him Pak Putu. Actually, the letter "I" at the beginning of his name is referring to the gender of male. If it is a "Ni", then it is a female. And I could not help myself from asking him what is the meaning of Putu. He answered that Putu is actually means the eldest in siblings.


First child      : Putu or Wayan
Second child  : Made (sometimes Nengah which means the middle)
Third child     : Nyoman or Komang
Fourth child   : Ketut (which means the unplanned or unwanted.)


If you are curious to know why the fourth child is known as the unwanted, click here and you will know why. Interesting, though. :)

In the mini van, studying the map

Okay, emak wanted to see the Indonesian Batik in Bali. Without further delay, Pak Putu droves us to the Sari Amerta Batik Collection in Gianyar.

Ladies drawing batik

 


 The batik gallery is quiet big. Besides batik shirt, they also have batik clutch, batik dress, batik slippers, batik table cloth, batik umbrella and so much more. I can say that they are really serious into developing and promoting batik to the tourist. A thumb up to them. 


Next, to Celuk, a village famous with its silver and gold smith. We went to Sari Dewi, which offers 50% discount. Wow. You see, if you are being nice with the salesperson, you might get more than 50% off. HAHA. Talking from experience huh. ^_^

In front of the gold and silver gallery

The last shop that we went is another batik gallery. Erm, I'm sorry that I can't recall the name of the store. But I'm sure, your driver will bring you there if you have the chance to go to Bali. :)

paper box made from batik print

Then, we went back to hotel and pray. As for dinner, we took a cab to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). I discovered that KFC in Bali, they served the fried chicken with soup! Yes. You heard me. It's either with a clear chicken soup or a creamy chicken soup (which is similar with mushroom soup). ;)


That is all for today.  Till then. Can't wait for tomorrow. weheee.

Bali : Day 2

Bismillah,

Activities started at 12noon. After having a 'brunch', we took a taxi at the hotel lobby and headed to Kuta, the nearest city to our hotel. Oh, forgot to mention. Today's activity is SHOPPING! So, yeah. We went to couple of souvenir shop or "Oleh oleh". :) heee. with an "H" ya. So, lucky number one shop is, Krisna. Woohoaa. I remember I had to widen my eyes since the shop is huge and there are so many things to see. There are t-shirts, handmade crafts, bags, snacks, paintings, etc. According to the taxi driver, Krisna is a place where most Balinese would go and shop since the price is cheaper. The place is quite crowded. So, it's hot in there. I found myself sweating while looking for goods. I guess we have to stand that if we want to get ourself something cheap.
 

Do you spot someone climbing up the rack? =P

Next 'victim' is Kampung Bali. Eh, less people here. Owh, no wonder lah.The price is a little bit expensive. Looking around. I thought I would not buy anything here but I was wrong. Owh, I saw "pisang sale" which is also known as pisang salai (smoked banana fritters) in Malaysia. Alamak! @_@  Tingg! One packet of pisang sale is already in the shopping basket. Not my fault. heee.

We left the shop and droved to a money changer since Emak's rupiah is running out. The person in-charge told my mother that she could have more rupiah if she changed it in the morning instead of evening. Lesson learned! Change your money in the morning :)


It's almost sundown. We hurried to Jimbaran, a famous seashore in Bali. There are quite number of seafood grilled restaurant there. The unique thing about those restaurant is that they use coconut fibrous shell (sabut kelapa) to grill instead of charcoal. Emak told us that the meat will be tender and juicier. :) Uhuk! uhuk! Well, the grilling also explains the smoke that fills the air. Seriously, there were too much smoke that my parents can barely open their eyes when they have to picked fish and other seafood at the counter which is just a step to the grilling area. They had tears in their eyes too. Pedih mata! =_='

BUT. There is a but. Eventhough the restaurant is freaking smoky, the view of the seashore is great. All those dining tables that spread over the shore with only candle lights that shine the night. Plus watching airplanes landing since the airport is just on the left side of the beach. Beautiful!

See those candle lights behind us =)

 The food was really good too. It is proven, Emak! ^_^ So, I strongly suggest that you come to Menega Cafe, Jimbaran. (regardless of the smoke) In fact, it was also recommended by the hotel. * wink! wink!*

                                                                        Menega Cafe

Bali : Day 1

Bismillah, 


This is the second time I went to Indonesia after Bandung which is like two years back. Actually, Ayah was attending a conference there, so he invited us to come along with him. Alhamdulillah, not long after Eidul Fitri, (fifth of Syawal) on 14th of September, we flew to Denpasar, Bali from LCC Terminal, Sepang. Our flight was at 10 in the morning. Usually it takes 3 hours but surprisingly we arrived 30 minutes earlier at Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali at 12.30 noon. Magix! hehe. Seriously, I'm still wondering how did that happened.   

For you information, about 90% of the population is Hindu, while another 10% is a mix of Christian and Muslim. I can say that Balinese people are very religious and they still bound tightly to their culture. You will witness like a small temple or a handmade tray made from pandan leaves fills with petals in front every houses and stores. That also explains the Bali architecture and interior design which is very known to most of us.

The airport's toll gate

Straight away to Conrad Hotel, which is amazingly beautiful plus it's a five-star hotel. Unfortunately, I did not stay at that hotel. Well, it was sponsored by Ayah's company and it is the company's procedure that each participants will be given one room for each. No sharing for the sake of privacy. One single room is way spacious for a person. So, yeah, with pleasure, emak and my little sister joined Ayah. 
Then, we moved to my place which is just next door. Benoa Beach and Spa Resort. Not bad. Nice landscape. Take a look.

Entrance of my room. Hinduism architecture is everywhere!

The bathroom. That statue really spooked us. (Perlu ke ada di situ?)

  

There was not much that we did on the first day. After checking hotel, we walked to the beach. People says that Bali sand beach is white, but I saw light brown sand. Heeee. But the sea is really blue. Dark blue. Took pictures a little bit and went back to hotel.

Watching people riding jetski

Local kids 

Waaaaaargghhh! =D

That night, we had dinner at the local restaurant that serves Nasi Padang. Just a walking distance from the hotel. Erm, nasi padang that I had during my holiday in Bandung was much yummier that this one. =S Next time, do ask the hotel reception for suggestion place to eat. Lesson learned!