i finally made it. here i am at the lcct (low cost carrier terminal) klia, waiting for my flight to bali, alone.
if i were to put things into positive perspective, there r some benefits i gained from the break-up. shed some pounds during the downfall, and goin to experience travelling alone. all these years planning and waiting for trips for 2 but didnt make most of it eventually, i find it's quite a breeze when planning a trip jus for myself. minus the part tht i hav to pay more in everything becos no one is sharing with me, i'm having 100% freedom and pressure-free in exchange.
if there's one thing to complain, i only wish i hav more money to afford at least a business class flight. the lcct is like a better version of pudu raya bus terminal now, ppl talking at the top of their lungs n kids running n rolling on the floor... my mind started counting down to getting on board.
(i hate to fly. feel suffocated and insecure in such a tiny space. in another 3 hrs, i'll be a foreigner to bali...)
getting there
on the way to the hotel, i looked out of the window from the cab, i saw plenty of beautiful wood carvings and stone statues tht would make my house looks stunning. for once in my life, i wish tht i'm married to a millionaire, or even don mind having an old sugar daddy who allows me to shop, shop and shop all the stuffs i want and ship back home in few containers... without negotiating the price. wonderful.
the cab took a big turn to reach the hotel, becos of the one-way traffic here. dewi sri hotel is actually a small cottage, the staffs are friendly and helpful. it has a little garden with few table settings in between lushes of greens, few white men were sun bathing nearby the swimming pool area, everything is humble and down-to-earth here.
if i were to put things into positive perspective, there r some benefits i gained from the break-up. shed some pounds during the downfall, and goin to experience travelling alone. all these years planning and waiting for trips for 2 but didnt make most of it eventually, i find it's quite a breeze when planning a trip jus for myself. minus the part tht i hav to pay more in everything becos no one is sharing with me, i'm having 100% freedom and pressure-free in exchange.
if there's one thing to complain, i only wish i hav more money to afford at least a business class flight. the lcct is like a better version of pudu raya bus terminal now, ppl talking at the top of their lungs n kids running n rolling on the floor... my mind started counting down to getting on board.(i hate to fly. feel suffocated and insecure in such a tiny space. in another 3 hrs, i'll be a foreigner to bali...)
getting there
on the way to the hotel, i looked out of the window from the cab, i saw plenty of beautiful wood carvings and stone statues tht would make my house looks stunning. for once in my life, i wish tht i'm married to a millionaire, or even don mind having an old sugar daddy who allows me to shop, shop and shop all the stuffs i want and ship back home in few containers... without negotiating the price. wonderful.
the cab took a big turn to reach the hotel, becos of the one-way traffic here. dewi sri hotel is actually a small cottage, the staffs are friendly and helpful. it has a little garden with few table settings in between lushes of greens, few white men were sun bathing nearby the swimming pool area, everything is humble and down-to-earth here.
click on the image for larger previewi stayed in room 444. the room is aged and a bit dark, but well furnished with all necessities for my stay. plus, for the price i paid, i shud not be complaining.
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i needed no time to warm up, i grabbed the free magazine i picked from the airport, with some guides and maps in it, i started my shopping walk from jalan legian, all the way up to kuta beach. most of the stalls along the streets offer 
similar items - large amount of imitations of fashion brands and watches, and lots of souvenir shops with ethnic balinese-designed items. everyone says u must bargain when u shop in bali, i didnt even bother to step into most of the shops in kuta area, not becos my bargaining skill sucks, simply becos these shops didnt arouse my interest. plus at this high tourist area, the prices are really big turn-off. but i must say few high-end shops here do hav nice attires and accessories, i didnt wanna rush myself into buying something i'll regret later, i d
ecided to check out these shops later.i was back to the hotel at around 7pm. the sky turns dark pretty early here, at 6pm something, it's oredi look like 8pm back home malaysia. i fell asleep soon after taking a hot bath, woke up at around 11pm, i suddenly missed kl very much. i walked to the nearby area, finally found something to sooth my home sick feeling - dining at a japanese restaurant. HAHAHA... i know, am pretty sickening at times.
click on the image for larger preview8th may, monday
2nd day in bali, i woke up with a super duper puffy eyes (!??!?) after breakfast at hotel, i met dean, the driver of cab charter service i contacted earlier. at around 9.45am, i began my full day out to the destinations i planned last night. we headed to bypass (local refers 'bypass' as our 'highway'), the 3-lane roads are considered as the widest road in bali. i thought of goin to denpasar, the capital of bali but seems nothing much there according to dean, we skipped this place.
2nd day in bali, i woke up with a super duper puffy eyes (!??!?) after breakfast at hotel, i met dean, the driver of cab charter service i contacted earlier. at around 9.45am, i began my full day out to the destinations i planned last night. we headed to bypass (local refers 'bypass' as our 'highway'), the 3-lane roads are considered as the widest road in bali. i thought of goin to denpasar, the capital of bali but seems nothing much there according to dean, we skipped this place.the 1st stop was at celuk, the home of silver and gold smiths. the salesperson didnt do it too hardsell, at least they roughly brought me through some silverware making process, showed me their workmanship and crafting, before goin into the bargaining war. eventually i bought two rings and nailed the price at 45% discounted, being not really a expertise in silverware, am stil not very sure if i've got them in good deal...?
click on the image for larger previewmy biggest shop in this trip was at the next destination - sukawati. sukawati is so called the art centre selling mixture of stuffs ranging from fake branded apparels from kuta, stone carvings from batubulan, wood carvings from mas, paintings from ubub, gold/silverware from celuk...etc. u might not get these items in the best quality as promised in the original places they come from, but if you hava short visit like me, and you wud like to hit not jus two but few birds with one stone, sukawati is the place for you.
click on the image for larger previewi skipped ubub as i didnt plan to buy any paintings, we went straight up to the mountain area, bedugul. dean was telling me if i wanna try tanah lot, for its sunset but i insist goin to bedugul. i must admit am fascinated by the postcards pictures of the temple and the lake, oso i heard the great scenery and cool weather up there is something you must experience in bali where other places are generally in hot climate.
it's raining cats and dogs thru out the long hours drive. i was hoping the weather wud not be too rough up there, but i guess it's just wasnt my day, d rain got heavier after i paid 10,000rp for the entrance fee, and my jaw dropped when i saw the temple was not as magnificient as it seemed in the postcard. i was expecting a huge temple standing in the middle of the lake, leaving mistery on how it was built there tht kind of stuffs... i must say the postcards con me into this. with the rain plus am not really a nature person, we left after snapping few pics. how i wish at least i hav a blue sky in the background as shown in the postcards...
we went to a local restaurant nearby for lunch. we had some simple local dishes, i like the stir fried mixed veggie. the restaurant is called strawberry stop, there's strawberry farm at the backyard. later some other customers came in from the rain and ordered strawberry ice-cream, it's jus a scoop of vanilla ice cream laid on a bed of freshly sliced strawberries. they came all the way jus for the ice cream, in a cold weather like this, i bet it must be good. too bad my stomach was too full or else i wud definately try some.
after the lunch we headed back to kuta again. we stopped by somewhere i cud not recall the name, i bought 2 woven baskets at REALLY low price. tht's the difference between the local markets and the shops at tourist
areas. i wasnt too tired, but the weather and the traffic jam omos doze me off. luckily dean is a quite nice chap to chat with. there's saying tht there r 2 things we shud not talk when 1st meeting someone, which r: politics and religion. but along the long drive, we chatted it all, of cos, we did it at the most civilised way. claiming himself as the best driver in bali, dean, is really a reliable one to bring u around the island, and show you the best places to shop at the most valuable price.
by the time i reached hotel, it was around 6pm something. i dove into the bed without second thought. woke up at 8pm, i was hopping at kuta area again after a hot bath. one thing i've never experienced back home - most of the people here mistaken me as japanese (haha, friends i know wat u guys r thinking... but there r some ugly japanese so i guess i must hav fallen into tht category ok?) mayb it's the super duper puffy eyes i woke up with, and my newly straighten hair, along the street i walked, peddlers and taxi drivers started to greet me in japanese: "kombawa. nihonjin desuka?" i answered to one of them: "iie. nihonjin arimasen." he looked puzzled. he must be thinking: "how the hell wud i know to answer in japanese if am not one??" dude, with all the japanese drame vcds, it not hard to learn a line or two...
it's raining cats and dogs thru out the long hours drive. i was hoping the weather wud not be too rough up there, but i guess it's just wasnt my day, d rain got heavier after i paid 10,000rp for the entrance fee, and my jaw dropped when i saw the temple was not as magnificient as it seemed in the postcard. i was expecting a huge temple standing in the middle of the lake, leaving mistery on how it was built there tht kind of stuffs... i must say the postcards con me into this. with the rain plus am not really a nature person, we left after snapping few pics. how i wish at least i hav a blue sky in the background as shown in the postcards...we went to a local restaurant nearby for lunch. we had some simple local dishes, i like the stir fried mixed veggie. the restaurant is called strawberry stop, there's strawberry farm at the backyard. later some other customers came in from the rain and ordered strawberry ice-cream, it's jus a scoop of vanilla ice cream laid on a bed of freshly sliced strawberries. they came all the way jus for the ice cream, in a cold weather like this, i bet it must be good. too bad my stomach was too full or else i wud definately try some.
after the lunch we headed back to kuta again. we stopped by somewhere i cud not recall the name, i bought 2 woven baskets at REALLY low price. tht's the difference between the local markets and the shops at tourist
areas. i wasnt too tired, but the weather and the traffic jam omos doze me off. luckily dean is a quite nice chap to chat with. there's saying tht there r 2 things we shud not talk when 1st meeting someone, which r: politics and religion. but along the long drive, we chatted it all, of cos, we did it at the most civilised way. claiming himself as the best driver in bali, dean, is really a reliable one to bring u around the island, and show you the best places to shop at the most valuable price.by the time i reached hotel, it was around 6pm something. i dove into the bed without second thought. woke up at 8pm, i was hopping at kuta area again after a hot bath. one thing i've never experienced back home - most of the people here mistaken me as japanese (haha, friends i know wat u guys r thinking... but there r some ugly japanese so i guess i must hav fallen into tht category ok?) mayb it's the super duper puffy eyes i woke up with, and my newly straighten hair, along the street i walked, peddlers and taxi drivers started to greet me in japanese: "kombawa. nihonjin desuka?" i answered to one of them: "iie. nihonjin arimasen." he looked puzzled. he must be thinking: "how the hell wud i know to answer in japanese if am not one??" dude, with all the japanese drame vcds, it not hard to learn a line or two...
there r lots of branded apparel (or so they claim) boutiques in kuta area, especially the brand polo, u can find 2 - 3 polo boutiques in a same row of shops. i saw some d&g jeans selling at 85,000rp (around rm35.8), i touched the denim, gee, it doesnt spell d.&.g to me, d.o.o.p.e.d maybe. some souvenirs selling at the matahari departmental store are cheaper than i shopped at sukawati open markets, so if you miss out anything especially little souvenirs to shut your relatives' mouths, you can always drop by here for last minute shopping.
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i walked back to the hotel around 9.30, ordered room service. thought of sleeping early since nothing fancy in tv programme, suddenly i tuned into a channel... wow, hav u seen wong fei hong speaking indon?wong fei hong: ayah, awak tak apa-apa?
wong's father: saya baik. hhahahahha.....
wong fei hong: ayah, jangan ketawa, nanti batuk lagi pula...
this wud keep me entertained for some time...
9th may, tuesday
my last day in bali. i left the luggage at the hotel reception after checking out. then am off to kuta gallery, located at the north in kuta area. it's further than i imagine, took me omos 45mins walking there (including few wrong turns i took). the place is a big, modern architecture with traditional balinese touch, blocks of shops in between some nice balinese garden landscape. it's quite similar to plaza damas at sri hartamas back home, quite a place for hanging out with a bunch of friends. i guess becos it's located a bit far from the beach, not many tourists visit here. the shops r not fully occupied, only 5-10% of the shops r opened for business.
i rested my omos paralyzed feet at a nice setting cafe nemed gekko, run by an australian. according to ikomang mangku, the waiter who works there, the whole kuta gallery is owned by an indon chinese and has oredi been opened for 2 yrs. i was surprised! i wonder how they can maintain the expenses with such a low tenancy. once proven, d indon chinese here r so wealthy...
click on the image for larger previewi had my lunch here at gekko cafe. even being the country with the largest muslim nation in the world, they hav no taboo to the pork. they even use the word babi (means pig) in the menu. in malaysia, babi is a very sensative word. i ordered babi kecap ala chinese (deep fried pork fillet, sauteed in sweet soy-sauce with onion n capsicums). it tasted good, jus tht the soy sauce here is very sweet. so whether u hav nasi goreng, mee goreng, stir fried mix veggie or even the japanese food here is a bit too sweet for me... after the meal i chatted with the chef for awhile, since nothing much to be seen here, i walked back to kuta.
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at around 3.30pm, am at starbacks cafe again. it's heaven when i took a sip of the iced rasberry fracpuccino, in a air-con room and listening to the soul soothing jazz music... i actually fell asleep there for about 30mins.i reached airport at 6.30pm, went for a shoulder and foot massage, costed me 100,000rp for jus 25mins. u know wat? for 75,000rp, i can actually hav a traditional balinese full body massage for one and a half hour!!!!!!! but tht serves me right. human, always hesitate when there's a better deal in front of us, and feel sorry for ourself when we lose it.
i'll be back in another three hours, til then, goodbye, bali."
bali aftermath
despite being not a nature person who enjoys outdoor activities and totally forbia of water sports, i find bali is quite a great hang out place. it wud be better if you travel with few buddies or with family. being alone here, my focus is only on shopping, when i see something interesting, i find it lonely when i hav no one to share my excitement. i guess tht's the part i need to get used to if i wud like to continue travelling alone. let me experience more and i believe i wil hav no problem to conquer tht.
some other pics
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