Getaway in Bali, Part Trois

On Day 3, we toured around Bali. On the day before, we actually had made bookings for the tour (Well, there are lotsa stalls in Kuta that offer tours and water activities). The tour costs us Rp 350,000, which exclude lunch and any entrance fees. So basically, it's the fees for transportation and the tour guide's services.

Our Balinese tour guide, Mahtir who speaks decent English

Our first stop of the day was a batik factory in Batubulan (actually, the first stop was supposed to be some Balinese Barong dance, but we're not interested). I've got to say the batik factory was nothing to shout about. They just showed us briefly on how to make batiks (which is similar with what we have learnt in high school during arts class). The batiks sold here were also pretty ordinary and expensive (saw a normal batik shirt selling for 30USD!)

Then, we went to a factory that makes silver and gold jewelries. Again, they explained the manufacturing techniques and then we were brought to a showroom which houses the products. We bought a silver and gold frangipani brooch for Mom, which made us Rp 400,000 poorer.

Next, Mahtir brought us to an art gallery in Batuan . I'm pretty impressed with the arts in the gallery but we ended up buying nothing because I reckon they're a bit pricey. Besides that, it's pretty difficult for me to bring them back to Malaysia.

On the way to the Kintamani Volcano (which is the main purpose of the tour), Mahtir took us to see some Balinese temples.

Yeah, we had to wear sarongs into the temple as a sign of respect.

Hindu is actually the major influence in Balinese cultures. Majority of the Balinese population are Hindus instead of Muslims. And all along I thought they were Muslims.

Balinese temple

After visiting the temple, we head over to Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave) . I would say this place is a total rip-off! It's basically just a small dark cave with some shrines inside. We had to pay Rp 6,000 each to enter the place. Thanked God we didn't hire any guides inside. Or else, it would've costs us more. And they said it's one of the tourist attractions in Bali (-.-")

Kindda reminded me of some scenes in Tomb Raider

Trying to holified (is there such a word?) myself with the "holy" water... Muahahaha

Spotted this huge & eerie spider on our way out

Next stop on our itinerary was an agriculture factory that produces coffee beans; among other things.

A man cooking the coffee beans the old school way

Balinese coffee beans

At this factory, we were given a free cup of coffee, cocoa or ginger tea to try. They also offered the uber-famous Kopi Luwak (the coffee beans were actually produced from the faeces of an animal called Luwak) for the price of Rp 30,000. A small box of Kopi Luwak was selling for 50USD in that factory!!!

Our next stop was Kintamani Volcano, where we had our lunch there as well. The journey was took about 45 minutes from the factory. We passed by a traditional village on our way and we spotted this.....

The recession has caused the villagers to car pool... Haha jk..It's how they usually move around here

If you have noticed, the roads in Bali are pretty narrow. The largest road they have are two lanes, which can be seen in Kuta areas. If you're trying to get a free detailed map of Bali at the airport, I'd say; forget it. It's because Bali is pretty huge, so it's hard to get a detailed map. But thanks to my mom's friend who lend us her guide book, we could managed ourselves at Kuta area.

Also, most of the road outside Kuta are pretty much like the picture above-- narrow and quiet. I'd totally had a hard time navigating if we were stranded there. But I'm pretty impressed with the ang mohs who have the guts to rent a 4WD or a motorbike and explore Bali themselves. Probably they have stayed there for quite some time.

Finally , we reached the place where we had lunch. Prior to that, we have to pay Rp 10,000 (if I recalled correctly) before we could go up the hill.

Kintamani Volcano, which is still active.

The place we had lunch was the perfect spot to snap some pictures of the volcano. At this restaurant, patrons could choose to.......

Dine in a gazebo

Or............

Dine Al-fresco, facing the volcano

We chose the former as it was pretty sunny :-p . We would say that the buffet lunch was a rip-off too. The food was soooo run-of-the-mill and they charged us Rp 65,000 each (excluding drinks and tax) . But then again, we actually paid for the view as well..

Mahtir said we could hike up the volcano to watch the sunrise. He said the hike up the volcano took about 3 hours in total (to and fro), and we have to start our journey around 2 a.m. in the morning. I think I would do that on my next trip to Bali!

One last shot before we leave ;)

Then, the next destination is Ubud ; which is about 45 minutes from the volcano.Along the way, we stopped by at another tourist attraction; i.e. Bali's terraced paddy fields by a very narrow roadside.

I don't think we see this much in Malaysia, except maybe in Cameron Highlands

On our way to Ubud, we spotted many shops that sells wood carvings, wall decos, paintings and furnitures. According to Mahtir, these shops have many orders from overseas. So, if you're interested to get any Balinese arts and crafts at wholesale price, I think this is the place. I don't know the name of the place, but I think you could just mention the place between Kintamani Volcano and Ubud, you would probably get there.

Our last stop of the day was Ubud --- the capital of Balinese arts. Ubud is much more rural compared to Kuta. The accomodation here is definitely cheaper because the locals actually rent out rooms to tourists and you could learn the local culture (like Balinese cooking) from them too. Definitely a way to get to know the Balinese culture! But there're also some high-end hotels in Ubud like the Four Seasons Hotel.

Ubud market

We did some shopping in the Ubud market and we actually bought some modern art pieces and decos here. If you have good negotiation skills, you could score some pretty good deals here.

Miniature cool guitar and drums decos. Costs about Rp 45,000 each. Of cos, prices are negotiable if you purchased more.

Balinese wood carvings..Could you tell what's that in the middle? Muahahha..Go figure!

Modern and traditional paintings in abundance

After an hour at the market, we went food hunting for the renowned dish in Ubud.It's none other than.....

Yes! It's Ibu Oka's Babi Guling (Suckling Piglet)

Since the journey back to Kuta was an-hour ride away, we tapau'ed the babi guling back to our hotel.

Crispy and succulent!!

The suckling piglet tasted somewhat like siu-yoke (roasted pork). It's so full of flavor and best eaten with the sambal. The skin was very crispy (in fact, it's too crispy that we had a hard time biting it). Costs Rp 35,000.

After the light snack, we went to watch the sunset at Kuta beach.

Four different sunsets in Kuta. I know, it's gorgeous right??

Okay, I was just pulling your leg. Lousybro actually played with different features on his camerephone and hence the beautiful effects. The real sunset is pretty ordinary..

The real sunset taken with my phone. My camera's cell failed on me and I forgot to bring my extra cell from our room at that time :(

Our "beautiful" silhouette :-p

Does this looked like an A & F ad ?? Hahahahahha

Control macho, bro, control....

I think Balinese people are quite resourceful. Any opportunity is business opportunity to them. During our short stint at the beach, we were approached by many people selling all sorts of things. Ice-creams, temporary tattoos , mats-for-rents or umbrellas-for-rent, kites, surfboards rentals, hair-braiding services and even massages on the beach were offered!

Come night time, we hit the clubs in Jalan Legian as it was our last night in Bali. We went to a club called Engine Room, which I.M.O was pretty cool and happening come midnight. The music played by the DJ were nice and catchy too.The bartenders and dancers were dressed as if they were working in a construction sites-- with safety helmets and overalls!

Clubbing in Bali is so darn cheap!!!! No cover charges at all! You only paid for your drink, which is pretty cheap too. I ordered a cocktail drink for Rp15,000 and it comes with a complimentary cocktail drink too. So, it's like buy one free one! Lousybro had the Bintang beer (which is also buy one free one) for Rp 10,000.

Not to mention you get to see a lot of ang moh eyecandies here as well :-p I think I would come here every night...Hahahaha!

So, that's about it on Day 3. Stay tuned for the last episode!