Hello people!
I guess an update is long overdue. Not that people still read this blog anyway, but im just putting up these random blogposts to sort of send the message to cyberworld that i am still alive.
So yeah, if there's nothing amazing going on in my life do not expect any updates. That being said, the reason for this post today is to share about my recent solo trip to Bali for my end of posting leave. Yes, you read that right. A.FREAKING.SOLO.TRIP.
Unlike my last supposed-to-be-solo trip to Langkawi,in which i shamelessly flew in my mom on my second night there, this time around i actually spent 4 days 3 nights in a foreign country (albeit a really near foreign country) alone.
Can officially cross off solo trippin from my bucket list. Was thinking of bringing my younger siblings along with me, but given the fact that they are unemployed, and i probably have to cover 100% of their expenses i decided to be smart and ditched the idea altogether.
Due to the stressful and hostile working environment in a department that should remain unnamed for profesional reasons, i was so desperately in need of a vacation. Not just a simple low cost vacation, i need a 5 star full on tai tai style lavish vacation after going through 4 months of hell. Without even confirming my leave dates, i impulsively booked the entire thing on Expedia. Sometimes you just got to have faith and wing it. Too much planning always end up with disappointment.
So there i was,touched down in Ngurah Rai airport, alone and had no fucking idea what people do in Bali.
First thing first, jom check in hotel. The hotel that i chose was Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali. Its located near Tanah Lot which is 1hour car ride away from the airport. Its a wonderful hotel away from the bisingness of Kuta/ Seminyak town, but the downside is you have to spend more on transportation.
Good thing is they provide free shuttle service from the hotel to Kuta/ Seminyak everyday but they have specific pick up time. So do check on that as well before you decide to stay here. The fact that this hotel is located miles away from town is exactly the reason why i chose to stay there. Sebab indonesia ni sama je ko pegi mana pun. Bali, walaupun tempat pelancongan ke-dodgy-an town nya masih terserlah. It's dirty and tend to be a little too loud for my liking. Bila ko dah puas ditorture mental dan fizikal selama 4 bulan tanpa henti you just need a zen place to unwind and destress.
This hotel is sooo close to the famous Tanah Lot temple,in fact boleh jalan je pi Tanah Lot tu. It is built on a 100++ acre land, ada golf course + their own paddy field dan mengadap Lautan Hindi. So the view was mindblowingly amazing.
-Tanah Lot temple from the hotel compound
And the sunset view is even more ahmayzinggg, worth every ringgit spent.
Dekat tepi-tepi cliff tu ada banyak gazebo with comfy mattress tempat lepak untuk buat maksiat menikmati pemandangan
The room is pretty standard, a king size bed..bathroom with bath tub and whatnot.
But its definitely an upgrade from my usual single sized mattress (2 years of working and i still cant afford a bed) i have back home.
-Golf course view from the room.
The best thing about this hotel is its freakin huge and heavenly you dont feel like leaving your room/ hotel compound. Siap ada sawah padi dalam compound hotel. There's free yoga class, cooking class, you can rent golf equipments and also a proper Balinese massage - without the dodgy happy endings for those of you who are not into prostitution.
Setiap pagi after a good night sleep on my super comfy bed, i woke up at 6.30am sebab kat Bali pukul 6 dah cerah. Went for breakfast sambil menikmati pemandangan Tanah Lot diiringi live music gamelan. Lepas light breakfast (light sebab ada babi kat situ woi harus makan cereal,telur rebus dan buah je), pergi gym 30 menet pastu bermalasan di tepi pool.
The thing about lepaking by a swimming pool is it automatically gives you a sense of chillex-ness, like you have got nothing to worry about and for that short period of time you feel like you have made it in life. With your shades on, a good book by your side and a glass of mocktail in one hand, fuh..rasa macam orang kayo. Tapi harus sedut mocktail sikit2 je bagi lambat habis. Dasarrr...
And this hotel have 4 tingkat swimming pool with water slides.
And if you left your favourite books at home; fret not. Just download this app on your ipad and walaaa all the latest magazines and newspaper can be downloaded for free on your ipad- complementary dari hotel.
Now moving on to the more touristy part..
Actually nothing new pun di Bali since almost everyone in Malaysia dah pernah pi Bali. Ko bukak je blog-blog yang wujud kat Malaysia ni pastu kau baca semua haaa kira macam virtually dah melancong ke Bali. That's the good part about it sebab for people like me yang last menet poorly planned trip ni senang je google nombor supir Bali and what to do in Bali , setel.
Tapi kalau peak season dalam bulan Disember and musim cuti sekolah jangan buat kerja gila begini sebab most supirs will be fully booked. Jadi jalan kaki lah kau menerokai Bali.
Monkey Forest in Ubud
As the name suggests, its a forest. With monkeys. Thats about it.
For mat saleh, this can be quite fascinating, but for me who has been terrorized by monkeys while jogging in Penang botanical garden on a daily basis, this tourist spot takpayah pergi pun takpe. Bukan monyet eksotik pun weh, ni monyet yang biasa yang ganas pastu kalau kokak kepala kau komfem at least 2 minggu dok wad tak pun mati disebabkan rabies.
Tegalalang paddy terrace
Padi bukit ni kira cam unik sikit la sebab takda kat malaysia. So macam teruja sikit nak ambik gambor. Lokasi dia kat tepi jalan je, tapi kalau nak turun ke sawah padi tu pun boleh but kena bayar entrance fee. Gila masuk sawah pun nak bayor kosser aku. Kat sini boleh tengok camane memproses padi supaya boleh memupuk semangat cintai sawah kerana bak kata Raja Farah sebutir beras tu ibarat setitik peluh petani.
Gunung Batur, Kintamani
If you travel further up north you will arrive at this gunung berapi place, and the view up there adalah sungguh cun. Selalunya di sinilah tempat you olls akan singgah untuk lunch sebab banyak restaurant keliling area gunung yang menyajikan pemandangan indah.
Pemandangan je la indah, makanan dia sendu di tasik madu. Tak sedap hoih.
Pura Tirtha Empul
Pura ni temple dalam bahasa diorang. Balinese are so culturually oriented so there are lots of pura around. The most lawa one would be the one in Tanah Lot, near Tasik Bratan and this one. Kat sini keistimewaan temple dia ialah dia ada natural spring, so kolam air di temple ni menjadi tumpuan untuk mandi junub menyucikan diri dari noda dan dosa ewah.
You need to keep an open mind tho, if you are the kind of person who gets offended just by looking at a salib you might skip this place altogether.
Coffee plantation / Kopi Luwak
Bali is also famous for kopi luwak, a special type of coffee available here. Kopi luwak ialah kopi berkualiti tinggi sebab ianya diperolehi dari taik musang luwak. Musang luwak cuma akan makan buah kopi berkualiti tinggi dan bijinya akan dinyahtinjakan. Jadi biji kopi tu kita proses dan grind dan bancuh dengan air. Ermmm dap.
Banyak coffee plantation di area tanah tinggi Bali ni dan modus operandi nya sama. Dia bagi kau free tasting all these coffee pelbagai flavour pastu persuade suruh beli. Dan like any other tourist trap their coffee is ridiculously priced. Memang luwak ah duit kau nak membayor.
-musang luwak
Beaches
There are few beaches in Bali. Kalau nak yang hip happening boleh ke Pantai Kuta. Tapi di sini pantainya adalah setaraf Port Dickson saja. Cumanya dia best untuk melepak sebab happening dan banyak hotel/ bar di pesisir pantai. Boleh enjoy sunset juga di sini. Kemaksiatan begitu berleluasa, if tsunami hits this is the place that you dont want to be at.
-Kuta town
Nicer beaches are located down south of Bali. Pantai Padawan, Dreamland, Uluwatu beaches semua dekat area belah bawah. Pantainya lebih bersih dengan air biru jernih. I only went to Pantai Padang-Padang, the beach that was featured in Julia Roberts snoozefest film; Eat Pray Love.
The beach is a bit secluded, kena turun tangga curam usang baru jumpa beach. Ala-ala jalan nak ke Lubuk Tupah; pusat maksiat muda-mudi Melayu liberal.
Uluwatu- Kecak / Fire dance
Visit to Bali is not complete without seeing their tradisional dance. Ada Barong and Kecak dance. Tapi like any other cultural performances these dances tend to be draggy and boring. Jadi to maximise the enjoyment factor i advice for you olls to go watch Kecak dance in Uluwatu.
Tempat lain ada kecak dance juga tapi di Uluwatu ni yang paling awesome without any back up vocal track; pure accapella awesomeness and the performance dibuat time sunset. The sunset view in Uluwatu is as awesome as Tanah Lot punya view.
Kecak dance ni ada unsur-unsur trance sikit so disebabkan joget time maghrib waktu setan berkeliaran jadi effect dia lebih ummph.
-a bunch of men gyrating their manboobs in perfect harmony
Cerita di sebalik performance ini ialah based on the story of Rama and Sita. You can get the leaflet when you pay for the entrance ticket.
Food
Indonesian food is amazing. For someone who is raised by a Jawa mother, indo food is right up my alley. I dont fancy nasi padang so much. Sundanese food is better in my opinion sebab sambal pedas meletop. I tried a few local dishes like bebek panggang, gurame bakar and ayam bumbu jawa.
-bebek bakar at Bebek Tepi Sawah Restaurant
I even had dinner at a Jawa roadside stall once, konon-konon for a true indonesian experience and alhamdulillah did not get any AGE. Their sambal is sooo pedas trust me you dont want to get AGE here, diarrhea and spicy food is not a good combo. That would be like a grade 3 haemorrhoid kind of suffering.
Disebabkan Bali majoritas penduduk beragama Hindu, so jangan makan sembarangan dong. A lot of restaurant specialitynya babi guling (suckling pig), tapi restoren halal still berlambak di sini.
All in all it was a great experience. Do not ask me about budget sebab yang ni percutian tanpa bajet swipe credit card ngalahkan Rosmah. Once in a blue moon je allow diri untuk bermewah begini sebab sejak start housemanship plan nak gi obersi selalu cancel akibat tanggungjawab kepada masyarakat mendahului segalanya. *muntah hijau*
To those of you who wanted to go for solo trip, i say go for it! Its refreshing to be able to do things on your own pace and do whatever the hell you want without having to take others opinions into consideration. If money is not an issue i will definitely do it again in the future.
Toodles, next update tahun 2016!
