Thursday, May 13, 2010
Trip to Bali (day 1 & 2)
This blog deserves more update than what its getting now.I've been holding out this blog for months. Its not that I've outgrown my blogging habit. Its just that I've been simply too busy to update anything that is of significance. This blog goes way back in 2006 for me to want to delete it off. Some memories are just too precious to throw away.
So if you are reading this blog, I thank you. :)
Now on with the Bali trip.
The trip wasn't really planned. Just happens so that my friend and I had the same idea so we book for flight tickets less than a month before departure. The booking was "sui" as both of us were able to book for May (cheaper airtix, away from peak period and out of our busy work schedule so we are able to take leave). We book for 4 nights and I book a couple of tours for the 3rd and 4th day. In this entry I'm gonna talk about day 1 & 2.
Initially we got a room which was facing to a construction site which was building a new hotel to the right of Mercure Kuta. The hotel has a nice ambience and indoor architecture to it and everything was nearby. The K Mart and the food centre next to it was nearby, along with a couple of bars and McDonalds at the end. Starbucks, Hard Rock cafe, KFC, Matahari shopping complex with its A&W was to the left and the Kuta beach was in front.
The only problems we had was there were a handful of mosquitoes within our hotel room, but somehow it didn't want to bite us, and the initial room the hotel gave us, which we requested for a transfer the next day. Get a mozzie spray from the K mart just in case if u decide to stay here.
The people here were warm and friendly and they always greet you when they bump into you. It feels like back in school but somehow I miss the hotel more. Not everyday that you get ladies greet you with a smile. I'm not being a sleazeball here but that was an instant connection I made when I was there that totally differentiated it from anyplace else. Their unmatched hospitality! And it wasn't just the hotel. Taxi drivers, information counters, shop vendors, instructors. It seems that people were generally friendly here and you could easily just about make friends with them as they speak two of my already well verse languages, basic English and Bahasa. With english I can fire away questions upon local strangers like a dumb redneck tourist, and with Bahasa I don't have to speak malay like an arrogant "matrep". Another instant connection with Bali. :D
The first night on our arrival day we head out to the left side of Kuta and explore the streets. Lines and lines of shops with some famous international brands and local handmade crafts. The first thing that will struck you is that how close the shops are to the road and unlike the shops with international brand most other shop items do not have a price tag. Once I caught on idea that things there were up for bargaining, I ask myself how much should I push to get a good deal here. As of the first day, you don't know what are the standard prices are for the price of things. You just had to make an educated guess. But within days there just about ANYBODY can be an EXPERT for bargaining. The shopvendors motivation for success is to be able to make a SALE and your motivation for success is to RIP OFF as much as you can from the shop vendor.
Went to Matahari mall, ate at A&W and discovered she didn't like strawberry waffles, went to look for a pair of shorts for her but didn't had her size :p. Got myself a reebok tshirt. The first night's weather were terribly warm. So after a moderate walk around Kuta we decided to head back and call it a day.
The next day we had breakfast at the roof of our hotel. The view was beautiful as we chose a seat by the window. The food didn't taste too bad either. The seafood noodle was easily enjoyable as we filled our plates with other steamed and fried stuffs. My favourite was the banana pancakes which were served hot. :)
They had wifi at the breakfast area so we took some time to play around with Facebook and taking photos. After which we toured ard the outside of the roof of the hotel which had a breathtaking seaview.
So they have their hotel spa by the roof as seen on the pictures here. You can imagine how nice this place looks at night.
After breakfast I went to one of the nearby tourist information counter which was near to the food centre. I didn't plan to do anything yet for the day so I asked if we could get a last minute driver to take us to Nusa Dua beach in the afternoon. The guy at the information counter told me it was possible but he didn't want me to be disappointed in case if it rains and we didn't get to try out the watersports. He converesed with me with slow stalling Bahasa which I pretended to understood some and some I pick up from his body lang. I went along with it assuring him this is the only day we got and I need a transport who could pick us up ard 12 noon. So he signed me up for parasailing, jetskiing and banana boating at a rather good price, as compared to the brochure package prices that we gathered from the airport the day before. Everything went to plan! At 12 the driver called us from the lobby as we head down for our first adventure.
The journey to Nusa Dua took about an hour plus but my friend quickly fell asleep within the first 10 mins. She's an owl who only stays awake at night. A lot of sights to see during the ride on the way. Particularly how 10 year old girls are able to ride a bike with one hand on a rainy day, smiling in the rain while the other hand shielding their face, with no helmets on. Bikes are like bicycles there. But they don't usually go beyond 40-50km/h. Helmets are only found within paddy fields on their thing that passes for a scarecrow. :p
The infamous Vi Ai Pi club that got bombed in 2002.
Finally arrive at Nusa Dua beach. Skies are clear and what looks like to be a beautiful afternoon.
So the driver introduced us to the instructor there who gave us an overview of things while we deposited the remaining $$$$$ to him. Asked him if we could record a video recording and photo taking of the event as an extra and he said yes. After we put our belongings into the locker area and my friend changed into her swimwear, the instructor introduce to a much younger "usher" who would take us further into the beach where we started off with parasailing. There were other tourists, an australian group, an older japanese couple, a younger chinese indonesian couple, a singaporean group and a group of local beachbums playing soccer in a nearby area.
I'm just citing everything that I could recall as we go along so bear with me.
We had to wear red and blue gloves as an indicator for left and right pull when we would land at the end of the the parasailing. Here is a facebook link to the Nusa Dua' and Penyu Island's photos.
Nusa Dua Water Sports & Penyu Island
To sum it up Parasailing was breathtakingly fun, stress free but a little short. Could see the entire beach from the top view and even further beyond to the back. Being up there was calm, and its been a LONG time since my feet got off the ground.
Jetskiing was the one that I enjoyed the most. But it gets a little tiring after 15 minutes on the hand that holds the accelerator. The jetski would tilt sidewards if you don't pick up speed. And when you pick up speed you have to steady the steering to the center which takes some effort or you'll go sideways or in circles. And don't pick up too much speed too suddenly if you don't wish get dragged. Accelerate gradually. At one point if you go too fast you might glide up a wave and land hard, and if you land hard you will have a tendency to let go of the accelerator, which will cause you to brake hard. So u have to hold the accelerator halfway most of the time and anticipate the oncoming waves that might cause you to bounce. Overall, great fun!
The banana boat was suppose to be the most predictable ride of all the 3. We just had to sit on it and let the speedboat take us. At one point a big WAVE hit us and toppled our banana, along with our instructor whose name was Charlie. (Charlie with the blonde hair and chocolate skin) I don't know if it was an accident or intended, but I'm glad it happened. Kept my hand on that boat when we were dragged underneath the water for a good 8 seconds before it went to a stop. Our banana was capsized! So our instructor told us to get our hands off that boat, somehow turned the boat upright, picked up my lady friend and then told me to reach for the ropes. I can't swim! I just pedalled for the ropes where I see them. Had some difficulty picking myself up on that boat initially but with the instructor's help I managed.
After the banana boat, one of them recommended for us to see the Penyu Island. The kind people there help us out and got for us our very own boat at a good price. Just for the two of us and the camera guy. Another plus for Bali people and their friendly good service!
Did a video recording on the way to Penyu Island on that glass boat. We made a short stop halfway to "feed the fishes" with their crumbly whitebread but we didn't get to see any fishes. By then it was already raining
By the time we got to Pulau Penyu (Penyu Island), we wanted to touch all the animals we could see. It was a first time for us to touch so many animals in an hour! We became totally desensitize after trying a couple of new things in that day that the fear of touching animals eluded us. Snakes, turtles, hawks, bats, iguanas.
Another friendly guy greeted us on that other beach. I didn't catch his name but he told us he was recently married.
After being in contact with the animals, we had some coconut drink for refreshments. The seating area was by a souvenir shop. It felt like we were rushing and the rain didn't help. We heard 2 screams coming from the snake area during our R&R. It was a guy! -_-
After coconuts and guy screams, Ellyannie wanted to take some more photos of the turtles and the snake. Before we left she dropped some $$$$$ for the poor animals' food and then made our way home the same way we came from. Another video recording of the boat ride. To view the video click on this link.
Penyu Island Boat Ride
Went back to the hotel, decided to eat out at the nearby food house. Had chilli cockles, sweet and sour fish, tom yam soup, beef stuff with rice. Went to the K-Mart to get some stuff then took some pictures at the hotel lobby. We didn't try the complimentary drink at the bar. Neither of us drinks or smokes!
Charlie told me that drinking a gallon of seawater a day makes you strong. I think there is some truth to that. Better head to Sentosa this weekends!
Day 3 and 4 coming soon...
Labels: bali kuta trip day 1 and 2
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