Bali!

I can't believe that the Bali trip is over. I remember when I first booked the tickets back in January. It felt like it was a million years away. That it would take a looooooong time before August 31 dawned. But the day did arrive. And the inevitable end has come. Now I wish I could turn back back the clock and go back to, say August 1, to that I could relive this trip, to feel and experience it all over again.

If I could turn back time, I probably wouldn't do anything differently. Except maybe take an earlier flight so that Kasturi and I would reach Bali earlier. Who knew the queue to get our passports stamped would take so long? We had lunch at 4pm that day, slightly overwhelmed by the amount of Indonesian currency we had in our hands. A Nasi Goreng is 23,000 Rupiah? How much is that? It sure sounds expensive! Kasturi brought out her 02, trying to calculate the Malaysian equivalent. Needless to say, we made full use of the calculator over the next four days.

After experimenting with our first Indonesian meal...mine looked like this by the way...Not bad...that Ikan Pepes...

We headed for the beach, to be bombarded by the traders. Selling bags lah, wanting to braid our hair lah, tattoo lah. One of them though, stood out of the crowd. He wore a a faded t-shirt and shorts, and a cap. He asked me if I wanted a tattoo. I said no (immediate reaction you see). He asked me where I am from and didn't believe I was from Malaysia. After a little chit chat, I decided, what the hell, I'd get a tattoo done, after all, it was temporary. And Adi (that's his name) did this paisley tattoo for me...

Not bad eh? And this is a pic of Adi and I on the beach, on the last day...an interesting character I just wanted a momento of...




Saturday was a very busy for Kas and I. We hired a driver who took us to a few 'must see' places. Our first stop was to watch the traditional Balinese dance, Barong And Rangda. The performers did a funny scene though, don't think I shall ever forget about that, involving the evil Rangda's 'banana'. After being stabbed, it was on the ground. However a long object symbolising the male anatomy was quite visible. One of the characters than asked -"What is that?" Another replied "that is the banana!" Haha!



Next up on the list was to visit Gunung Kintamani. It was a long windy road up to the Gunung, but once we were there, the view was totally worth it! The air was cool and crisp and the view spectacular!




After that we went to a tea/coffee farm and tried various types of tea - chai, ginger,cardamom,coffee-coco and balinese strong coffee.



The highlight of the trip for me, was the seafood dinner by the sea, in a place called Jimbaran. We had good food and drinks and a fantastic view! What else could I ask for? Romantic to the core, I'd say! For a moment I wished I was there with someone special...just for a moment. Then I got caught up with the visual images and
forgot all about that.

And the shopping experience? One of its kind. As we looked around, many traders asked us, where we were from. India? Malaysia? All was demystified when we started speaking in Malay. It's safe to say that Kas and I helped the Balinese economy step up a notch with our purchasing of bags, t-shirts, tea, unneccesary souviners etc.

I had the best sate I've ever had at Ricky's @ Legian - Bar & Restaurant. Best, I tell u, BEST! If u do decide to go to Bali and Legian in particular, u gotta go there!



All in all it was a fantastic visit. Next time I will make it a longer one. The people were friendly and the beer was cheap. ;) Go to Bali, go!

Anu