How glorious, a week in Bali! No work, no research, no teaching and no tomorrow to think of. It's just me and my family on holiday. I had really good time, with family. But keeping them enjoyed, even in sunny Bali, can be hard work. What can you do to strike a balance so that everyone goes home happy? Especially when I have to veer between him and my family. To add thing worst, my septuagenarian grandmother who has mobility difficulty.
I arrived Bali in the night time. First night in Bali was just alright, much less of the anticipated excitement. Partly due to the tedious work before the trip and the long hour flight from Sydney. Maxi restaurant was the first rendezvous for us. Lumpia, nasi goreng maxi, red snapper curry, my first meal Bali island. I met my brother whom I have not seen for 1.5 year. First impression of Bali, to be more specified, Kuta area is nothing but noisy, cheesy and totally hazard. I bask in the glorious sunshine throughout the trip with my tailored-to-the-knee pant, polo shirt and slipper.
Tuesday 9 june 2009
Second day in Bali. Wake up in the horrible Dewi Sri hotel and had the one-off breakfast together with them. Kicked off the day by renting a motorbike and hang around Kuta street. Lunch in a Chinese restaurant. Curry chicken rice, I can vividly remember the taste. I guess I just evolved pretty well to be a curry fans after years in Australia. Tour first started at 5pm.
Pura Luhur Uluwatu
First temple visit. It was about an hour’s journey from Kuta to Pura Luhur Uluwatu, literary translated as ‘Divine Water Rock Temple’. This is the temple with the most spectacular view as it is perched on the edge of a cliff which looks down onto the great surfing beach. I think the best part is when a cheeky macaque scratched my mom hair.
Dinner 7pm+
Jimbaran Bay
We then proceed to the Jimbaran Bay Restaurants. The bay is basically a row of barbeque seafood stalls with all the table setups at the beach. It is very beautiful to see a long stretch of candlelit beachside. When the food arrived, the first to do is not to eat, neither to take picture.. the food is not presentable, not tasty.. they claim it as seafood platter.
After a ‘scrumptious’ dinner, we headed back to Kuta.
Supper at kopi pot restaurant later, a tasty bakmi goreng I ever tasted. Some sessions of wifi. At least the dainty bakmi goreng compensated the disappointment of the day.
Wednesday 10 june 2009
Early tour at 8.30am. Have breakfast together as yesterday, toast, omelette, bacon. Barong dance - first event of the day
This is a little bit boring (I mean the show), but at least it's worth mentioning compare to the visit to the amateur painting gallery and handicraft village.
I would say Barong dance does worth a watch in spite of its lengthiness.
Balinese, which are mostly consisted of Hindus, believe in Gods of good and evil. The Barong Dance basically describes the fight between good and evil. Barong is a character in Balinese mythology representing the good spirit that protects the people. The Barong is somewhat like Chinese Lion Dance, just that the pace is very very slow compared to the Lion Dance.
Luckily they added some humour to the show to avoid the tourists from falling asleep. My brother did fall asleep though, and my grandmother comment on the show, ‘this is so called zhor hi (a show)?”
Highlight would be the emo guys who keep on stabbing their own self with fake knives and make that annoying moan to show their immortality. Maybe they're undergoing the same situation that Geek is undergoing.
After Barong dance, we proceeded to Ubud, where there is an active volcano.
Ubud
It takes about an hour’s ride to Ubud, the artistic centre of Balinese. Along the way, we get to see many small stalls/shops selling art pieces. It is very sad to see small little kids wandering on the street, do all they can to sell those small little things by begging, pleading. Perhaps this is how Bali survives; getting the sympathy from tourists. Things come to my mind at that point of time, perhaps they can be trained and put into direct sales, or we call it multi-level marketing.
Third day in Bali, 11 June 2009
Lunch in a restaurant amid the impossibly green rice terraces of Ubud
While eating, I was visualizing, how great it could be if there is some traditional music played in such atmosphere, imagine the haunting melody of a gamelan echoing on row and row of quintessentially green rice terraces, it must be pure, unadulterated magic.
I did google a bit and check for the information on the next two tourist spots. Here we go, along with the snapshots with NIKON DSLR D90.
Pura Tanah Lot
Pura Tanah Lot is a temple which sits on an offshore rock formation. It has a mythological background in which the temple was build to worship the Bali Sea God. At its base, it is the home of poisonous sea snakes, the holy guardians of the temple.
Pura Taman Ayun
Pura Taman Ayun (Garden Water Temple) is one of six royal temples in Bali. It was the royal temple for the Mengwi Dynasty in the 17th Century. According to our tour guide, this temple was always packed with worshipers in its high time.
That’s my 8days 7nights tour to Bali. It is unusual for people to plan for a trip for such long time, considering such small island. We managed to cover kuta, Uluwatu, Tanah Lot, Jimbaran, Ubud, Nusa Dua, etc).
That’s the way I like for trip, long, relax and easy. Now I am eagerly looking forwards Bangkok, Chiangmai and Chiangrai trip at the end of November 2009.
Denpasar, Ngurai rah airport.
Waiting in the boarding gate, flight to Sydney was delayed. I was sipping glass of pineapple juice in Prada lounge, and that last for nearly two hours. He left me at 745pm after secured an entry for me into the lounge using his priority pass card. The moment he left me, I experienced mixed feeling. I could have taken the world with him at the time. He always gives me the best he could, regardless of any price he can pay beyond. Tears was rolling in my eye the moment he took the escalator up. Upon his departure, I just spent time relaxing in the lounge. Have some noodle, pumpkin soup, some hot snacks, drinks.... Followed by hour long of internet facebooking and chatting.
