"just follow the kites..."

So it's been 3 weeks since we're back from our anniversary trip.

Almost 2 years since our last beach holiday (Phuket - mini honeymoon) so we thought some sun will be great! We've always love beach holidays.. the sun, the sea, that relaxing feel. So this time, we chose Bali over Vietnam. I'm now not sure if Vietnam is in the pipeline cos something bigger came up! Though i'll love to visit Vietnam someday.


When you go to Bali, you must never passed over SURFING! The waves.. oh those waves!!! They scare me a little to be honest.. haha. I surfed on the smaller boogie board while Zack rode on those big surfboards. Next time.. i shall upgrade to those! Fun! But by the time i got the hang of it, the waves subsided :S

Took a day trip out from Kuta!
We visited a Volcano!
i told Zack we just HAVE to go to a volcano. I've been to a valley in Aussie, next will be a mountain. I wonder where has glaciers....

KINTAMANI - MOUNT BATUR

the view was spectacular!
misty and cool...



the view of the lake.... gorgeous!


Dining by the Volcano!


:)

we visited this HOLY WATER TEMPLE.



people actually bathed in it or take a short dip.
Said to bring good luck.


Zack feeding the fishes..

RICE PADDY FIELDS



Meet Mr Farmer and his wifey

MONKEY FOREST...

and did some monkeying around....


i've never seen anyone as excited as Zack at seeing monkeys.. hahahhaa!

he wants to buy one!

we learnt how batik is processed...


batik painting..


weaving..

we visited an ART GALLERY...


this place is HUGE! housing 2000+ paintings.
and we bought 5 paintings for our home!
Zack couldnt resist.. haha
US300 for 5 abstract art and it's medium sized pieces.. cheap!
we left the gallery and exclaimed: "We just spent 2mil on paintings!"

we were millionaires for those few days :P

and also to this SILVER FACTORY where they processed 925 Silver.
labour-intensive. A small bell requires so many stages and intricate detailing. Zack bought 2 silver bells for the dogs!

We ended off our tour with a SPA!
US50 for 2 of us: Aromatic footbath/Body wash/Balinese massage/Body scrub/Tropical fruit body polish/Aromatic flower bath.
This is dirt cheap! and i must say the spa was great! But the atmosphere leaves alot to be desired. Think bright hotpink walls, curtains, red spa beds.. and the music they played! oh my goodness.. it was like those funeral music! I was so glad Zack was just beside, i was feeling a tad uncomfy (THAT kinda discomfort). But everything else was thumbs up!

We then both soaked in this warm flower petals bath in a couple jacuzzi. Shioks! We were wondering what if we are just friends cos they seem to have couple rooms only... it'll be so awkward.. hahahaha.

In all, it was a very memorable spa experience for us both :)

Oh one thing about the bodyscub in Bali... its way different from the ones in Thai or even back home. They basically slather this warm lotiony paste all over you, placed a cloth over for it to dry up (it's blardee cold!), after 5mins once it's dry, they will scrub it off. Imagine the first spa parlour we went to, the lady slathered fridge-cold lotion on me and i was left there for 10mins with the blardee aircon blowing at me! I was literally shivering! Needless to say, we never went back there. Zack didnt enjoy his massage as well.

RAMAYANA RESORT & SPA
Couldnt have chosen a better hotel... thanks to yours truly :P On the left: Waterbom and the big Discovery Shopping Mall. On the right: Hard rock cafe and streets of shopping. All within walking distance. And a short 5 mins walk to the beach. Not to mention it has lovely landscaping.

And we got a complimentary upgrade to the deluxe room! PTL!! The deluxe rooms are housed in the new building, constructed from volcano rocks.


breakfasting by the pool..


Koi pond.
Yes my darling really love his fishes :)

AT NIGHT......

we strolled the streets of Kuta....


pretty frangipanis..
you see them everywhere.
even the guys placed them under their ears! :S

did some shopping..

my best buy: i bought this black ripcurl bag for $30!

also did a temp tattoo.. haha.

OUR LAST DAY... Morning was spent sunbathing by the pool. I love sunbathing with angmos cos you always look slimmer in comparison! hahahaha! Checked out at 1pm. Transfer isnt due until 8pm so we got a whole day to kill. And the funniest thing happened...


Statue at the road intersaction towards: Kuta, Legian, Nusa Dua, Sanur

Took a cab to Legian to check out the bomb memorial.
had a cold starbucks then decided to just stroll along (towards Kuta) until we get tired then hail a cab back.

Before long, we were too engrossed in chatting away and found ourselves walking along the main road. I asked Zack, "Do you know where we are?"

Z: yups.
J: you sure?
Z: *pause...* more or less. Just follow the kites... they will lead us to the beach.

then as the road stretches far beyond where our eyes could reach.. and the kites still looked as minuscule as 30mins ago.. we thought hailing a cab might be a good idea. But.... there were no cabs when we needed one!!


as we walk, walk, walk....

we seeked refuge at this wholesaler furniture gallery and the lady very kindly called a cab for us. Jeez, they got some pretty good stuff! and i was eyeing on this painting.. S$45! If the cab came 10mins later, i would have snapped it up. And Zack's business head starting turning *grins* I think he got pretty good business acumen.. he always has business ideas.

i asked the lady where were we walking towards.. she said SANUR. "WHAT?!!!" *faints*
(see where Sanur is from Kuta on the map!)

It was such a hilarious episode! I was teasing Zack mercilessly.. "follow the kites uh!" HAHAHHAHA! Definitely the joke of our trip. I told him that will be the caption of the trip report.. hahaha! See what a good-natured wife u got! If its other wives, they would probably have blown their top at being made to trek at least 5km under the sweltering sun! :P But i'm not gonna mention how i bumped my head against a glass..... and he laughed right back at me!

OUR LAST NIGHT IN BALI....
.....we sat on rocks, arm in arm as we watched the sun sets.. :)


the sunset is gorgeous... the colors are brilliant!

ALL IN ALL.. it was a lovely holiday. Supposed to go during our anniversary period but Zack was on couse so had to postpone it to a week later. It's okay.. we still had a fantastic time :) Bali has always been on our list so finally one down. This is my first trip to Indo and i must say i'm impressed with the balinese. Outgoing, friendly and HONEST! i hate to say this but i almost lost my hp at the airport *sheepish* I dropped it when i was rushing to the loo. I was frantic when i found out 5mins later and also to face the wrath of Zack.. OMG! I rather die! Second time!! I ran back to the area where i might have dropped it and a guy (cleaner) called me. Asked if i dropped something. He then took my hp out of his pocket and asked if that was mine! He could have kept it and sold/used it but he didnt! Honesty.. i salute him. Zack was telling me of this survey done and only 50% of Singaporeans will return a lost item. 50%!! tsk tsk....

However, Bali as Bali is... it's too commercialised. Too many caucasians, products/services overpriced. No dirty roadside stalls, not many cheap local fare. Too many hasslers: braiding, mani/pedicure, tattoo.. damn they are good! They hover around u like vultures and attack when one got hold of you! It's scary! i saw a gal sitting on a mat doing a manicure, there were at least 5,6 hasslers with their wares surrounding her! There were horse carriages too and Zack asked me if i wanna take one. I couldnt. Not with the horses looking so sad and tired and thin *heartaches* The ones in Europe looked healthier and well-fed so i didnt mind taking it. I love horses. They are meant to roam free.. *sigh*

If you ask me.. Thailand will always have my heart. Especially Krabi *beams* Koh Samui was a lovely place as well :) Yes i'm a tad biased.. haha.

Next in the pipeline?
Our next trip is gonna be A GOOD ONE!!! 2 in the pipeline. Long ones so i gotta save my leave. I need spreadsheets for it and i've started my research already. Its NOT easy. Sy said for someone who had done Europe this is chicken feet. I beg to differ! The other trip is still in the works and might/might not happen. Oh well, still in the works and nothing to get excited about yet. Meanwhile i'll just work on the trip that's firmed up. 2 long trips? We need to start saving!!!

Sheesh.. this post took me forever to complete! Not that anyone will be interested in our holidays.. haha. Too many things came up after we came back.. got sick, recuperate, a new job etc.. that this post got put on the backburner. It's also meant to be short yet look how long it has grown! I'm actually not quite satisfied with it but it'll do. It's something i can come back to months/years later and reminisce.... and we've plenty to reminisce about and sometimes we cant even keep track! We gotta slow down a little but jeez... now is the time to be living life to the fullest! So many things to do, so little time!