Getaway in Bali, Part Quatre

Our last day in Bali was mostly last minute food-hunting in the town of Kuta. Because our flight was at 2:00 p.m., we couldn't really do much in the morning. So this is a very short post!

We went to try out a pancake house called Flapjacks, which is located near the Mata Hari shopping mall. You just have to walk further down the street for about 5 minutes and you could see the pancakes shop at Kartika Plaza Street.

We discovered this shop on the night before and we were pretty amazed with what we saw.

He's probably preparing our order!

Flapjacks not only offers a wide selection of pancakes; but they also served crepes, sandwiches,waffles, raviolis, smoothies and ice-creams! I seriously had a hard time deciding which one to order...

In the end, we made our choice........

It's the Chocolate Gelato with Waffles & Coco Crunch!!!!!

Lousybro and I shared the gelato because it's supperrr huggeee!!! And I mean really HUGGEEE!!

If you looked close enough, you can spot the sun burn on my shoulders

Taste-wise; it was pretty ordinary. The gelato's a tad too sweet for my taste. But kudos to the amount of coco crunch that were given. We couldn't finish them. The portion is probably more suitable for 3 pax. Costs Rp 89,000 (RM27.90) excluding service charge.

So, that's the highlight of our final day in Bali.

I would definitely visit Bali again because I've yet to try out the water activities there, especially surfing!!! Oh ya, and also hiking up the volcano to watch the sunrise.. I'm sure that'd be an exciting experience :) And of cos, I wish my friends would be able to join me the next time :)

p.s. Have a nice week ahead!!!

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!

Getaway in Bali, Part Deux

Day 2 was lazing-around day. We started off our day with breakfast at the hotel. The buffet breakfast was pretty good. Wide range of selection they've got there and the menu changes daily ;)

Our hotel - from the outside

After breakfast, we toured our hotel for a bit before roaming the streets of Kuta.

Super-gigantic guitar!

Being the hotel for rockers and celebrities, one would've guessed how the hotel is being decorated. Yeah, if you guessed guitars.. then you're absolutely right! They have so many guitars in different shapes and sizes!

Guitars with different shapes and patterns

Lousybro with Human Nature's guitar

We spent our afternoons exploring Kuta streets, namely Jalan Legian. We practically walked 2km under the hot blazing sun! Well, basically, Kuta is surrounded by lotsa retail stores and spas. Because Kuta is next to the beach, there are many shops like Quicksilver and Billabong; you know, the whole nine yards.

Though there are many retail shops there, things in Bali weren't exactly dirt cheap. The prices were pretty much the same as those in Malaysia (Haha,Bangkok's still my fav shopping destination!)

After much walking, we indulged ourselves in a 3-hour hot stone body massage and facial at a spa in Jalan Legian. It only costs Rp 230,000 (RM 73) per person after negotiating with them (Yeah, you can negotiate with them cuz the competition is stiff there). I've gotta say I had the most bizarre spa experience here. We had to strip down to our undies for this massage!! (Easy ok, no need to get all too excited, people ;-p)

Of cos, it was pretty awkward to me at first, especially when I had to switch to lie on my back (with my boobs hanging out for a second before she covers it with a towel) while she massage my stomach. All in all, the massage and facial were pretty amazing and rejuvenating :)

After the spa, we walked to the beach, which is just in front of our hotel. I think that day I had the longest walk of my life. As a result, both of us got sunburns on our bodies :(

Kuta beach - the place for surfing!

We took a few shots at the beach and before we even realized, it started raining like cats and dogs. So, we practically ran back to our hotel!

Spotted this awesome man who carried durians on his head!

After cleaning ourselves up, we grabbed dinner at the same stall from the day before :)


This time around, we had......

Nasi Goreng Sate Ayam (Fried Rice with Chicken Satay)

Taste wise, it was pretty good. The satay was succulent. Definitely worth a try if you're in Bali.

Sup Buntut (Oxtail Soup)

Although the name Sup buntut may sound a little obscene, but the soup was quite tasty. I would have love it if it weren't too salty.

Udang Pete (Stir-fried petai with shrimp)

For those of you who knew me, one of my favourite dish is petai. Now, we've got petai and prawns! What more could a girl asks for?? Hahaha.. I LURVVEEE this dish!

Coconut drink

I had this huge coconut drink while Lousybro had the carrot juice (which is the real deal--only carrot, without the milk). Although the coconut's huge, but I prefer the smaller and young coconuts that we had in Malaysia.


After dinner, we checked out the one and only shopping mall in Kuta; i.e. Mata Hari. The shopping is rather small and old. The concept is kindda like Parkson Sg.Wang-cum-Fajar.

The shops along the streets in Kuta

At about 11 p.m., we head to the Hard Rock's Centerstage for the hotel's complimentary welcome drink before calling it a night. The live-band there was pretty amazing.

Lousybro with Ronan Keating's guitar

Me and the Rolling Stones!

Spotted a very cool electric guitar that belongs to Howard Leese. If I were a rocker, this is the guitar I'd be using ;-p

Getaway in Bali, Part Un

Ahh.. What a hectic week it has been!

For the past week, I was sick for four days (luckily I recovered before my Bali trip) and then I jetted off to Bali for another four days and finally I had the chance to settle down before work starts on Mac 16!

So the Bali trip was kindda fun, given that it was totally impromptu! Lousybro made the reservations only like a week before. I was real shocked and excited at the same time because of Lousybro's spontaneity. This trip only consists of me and HIM (Yeah,we're the coolest siblings ;-p) as his friends were kindda hesitant to go, so we decided to just go for one last trip before work commences.

A few clicks on Airasia website and off we went to Bali! Only RM 591 per person, inclusive of return air tickets and 3 nights stay in Hard Rock Hotel in Kuta! I'd said it was steal! Don't ya think???

Since our flight to Bali were at 1700 hrs, we reached Ngurah Rai airport at 2030 hrs. The international airport was surprisingly small and kindda old. Reminded me of Subang airport.

The journey from the airport to our hotel was rather short. About 30 minutes or so. The most shocking thing is actually the road to the hotel. The roads in Bali are quite narrow and kindda rural. For a split second, I thought the driver was sending us to somewhere else instead!

Luckily, we reached our hotel safely :)

Hotel card with lanyard (Yay, no more lost hotel cards!). We could use this card to cut queues at Hard Rock Cafe ;)

I've gotta say Hard Rock Hotel is pretty cool. Each level has names on it. The names are actually different music genres. For instance, our level were called Alternative, which is Level 3. Also, there are other levels which were known as Pop and Psychedelic .

The hotel guests were also referred as "rock stars". And the hotel bar is known as the Centerstage, where there's a live band performing every night.

Upon reaching our rooms, I was a little shocked because they gave us a King-sized bed. Of course, we could request for a change of room with two single beds, but we don't want to make a fuss about it. After all, the bed is big enough for 3 persons. So, Lousybro and I won't crossed paths when we get our beauty sleep :-p

The room itself is pretty spacious. I love the bathroom the most because the interior is pretty special. Definitely not your average hotel bathroom :) Also, two bottles of water were supplied to us daily - for FREE! How cool is that,huh?!

Another commendable thing about Hard Rock is that they are doing something to save the environment. In the bathroom, there's a sign saying that if you would like to help save the environment, you could reuse the towel and hang them on the rack after you have used them. If you wish to have a change of fresh towels, you just chuck them in the bathtub and they would replaced them.We did the former, of cos :)

After we've freshen up we went for dinner at some sort of food court nearby our hotel. The stalls there were somewhat like the warungs in Malaysia. Each staff from the stalls was pretty aggressive in attracting customers. They were practically yelling to attract your attention while flipping their colourful menus. I was a little terrified actually. And spoilt for choice :)

In the end, we made a choice. Here are what we had.

Nasi Goreng Udang (Shrimp fried rice)

I had the Nasi Goreng Udang (Rp 21,000) and I've gotta say that this dish is as good as it looked. Love the texture of the rice. Not too wet or dry. Best eaten with their sambal. Scrumptious! Oh, I also washed this down with a very thick Mango juice (Rp12,000). Love love love the juice!

Nasi Goreng Pete (Petai Fried Rice)

Lousybro had the Nasi Goreng Pete (Petai is spelled as pete in Bahasa Indon), which also tasted delicious. The portion is definitely insufficient for his big appetite. Costs about Rp 17,000. He washed down the rice with their local beer; Bintang, which costs about Rp 10,000. The Bintang beer actually tasted like Heineken beer.

So, that's basically what happened on the first night. Stay tuned for the next post!

Hong Kong Revisited, Part Cinq

Finally, the last post on my HK-Macau graduation trip.

We did nothing much on the last day, except for some last-minute shopping and last-minute hunting for HK delicacies. So, this post is mainly about food (Get your napkins ready ;-p)

Along Tsing Ma Bridge, on the way to Chek Lap Kok airport. I kindda like this shot cuz the sun sparkled like diamonds.

Without any delay, below are what we had for the day:

1. Dim sum at Maxim's Palace, Tsuen Wan

Being our last day, we definitely could not missed out the ONE thing that every visitors must do when they visit Hong Kong, i.e. have dim sum. If you didn't try HK's dim sum, then you can't say you have been to HK.

Since Maxim is famous for their dim sum, we decided to head over to the Maxim in Luk Yeung Galleria; which is 5 minutes away from our hotel.

Having dim sum in HK is slightly different from Malaysia because in HK, you will be given numbers at the reception, and then you'll have to wait to get a table especially during lunch hour. Unlike in Malaysia, we could just walked in and look for the tables ourselves. Since it was only two of us, we secured a table quickly that Sunday morning. Lucky us!

Another dissimilarity is the dim sum menu. Obviously, there are dual languages on the menus in Malaysia (English and Chinese). Unfortunately in Hong Kong, there's only Chinese menu.

The dim sum menu

Of cos, if you could converse in Cantonese, you would have no problem ordering the basic dim sum dishes. I,of cos need translation for the items in the menu as I want to know what are the special dim sum dishes that aren't available in Malaysia.

Yum cha!

Our food arrived after about 10-15 minutes. Here're what we had :

Mini egg tarts

I kindda like the egg tarts because the crust is fluffy and the egg filling is just right, not too sweet or bland. If only the size were bigger!

Haar Gaau(Prawn dumpling)

The must-have dim sum dish. The taste is pretty good. You could never go wrong with haar gaau, right??

Siew Mai (Pork dumpling with topped with fish roe)

Another must-have dim sum dish. Tasted normal. I always thought all the siew mais tasted the same. Hahaha.. Think Lousybro would love it because he's the King of Siew Mais; he could have 3-4 baskets on his own.

Char Siew Pau (Steamed BBQ Pork buns)

This one tasted different from the char siu paus in Malaysia. Macho and I preferred the ones in Malaysia ! I think there were some spring onions sprinkled in the pork fillings, so we didn't liked the taste.

Cheung Fun (Rice-sheet rolls with Prawns and Scallops)

I love both the prawns and scallops cheung fun, whilst Macho preferred the ones with prawns. The taste is nothing much to shout about though.

Siew Mai with Quail's Eggs

The waiter took the wrong order for us when we told him we wanted siew mai. Instead, he ordered this for us. But we managed to change it to the normal siew mai and snap a pic before they took it away :) Sorry guys, I couldn't comment on the taste.

Beef balls with mushroom

This looks much nicer than it tasted. There were some vegetables in the beef balls, so the taste were pretty awful. We couldn't stand the taste.

Coconut Milk Jelly with Bird's Nest

I didn't get to taste this as I was too full already! Only Macho tasted it. But the presentation looked pretty pathetic to me. I think they tasted okay.

I would say that this dim sum is pretty expensive for only 2 persons. If I recalled correctly, the total bill came up to HKD 140.

2. Afternoon snacks at Ireland Potato, Tsuen Wan

I had a light snack from Ireland Potato around 3 p.m. that day, after shopping in Mongkok.

The shop is located in Fou Wah Centre, just opposite the Tsuen Wan MTR station. I saw a crowd in front of the shop, so I decided to give it a try.

Spoilt for choice. If you're daring enough, try the fruit and potato combo.

In the end, I opted for the Fries with Ireland Meat Sauce, which cost me HKD 25.

Taste wise, it's pretty okay. Would tasted better if they gave more meat sauce. I love the 'big-fat' fries though.

3. Dinner at Cafe de Coral, Chek Lap Kok Airport

After checking in at the airport, we had dinner at the airport. I chose the roasted duck and BBQ pork rice set, that comes with a bowl of watercress soup (my fav!) and a cup of hot Chinese tea.

I would say that I enjoyed the soup the most. The rest just tasted pretty ordinary. Well, you can't expect much from fast-food rite?

4. Desserts at Hui Lau Shan, Chek Lap Kok Airport

Since our flight were delayed that night, we rested for a while after dinner , before having Hui Lau Shan for one last time :)

I guess Lady Luck weren't on our side that night because Hui Lau Shan were out of Mango ice-cream that night. So, after much thought, we opted for the Mango Pudding with Mixed Fruits and Coconut Ice-cream.



Although we couldn't taste the mango ice-cream , this wasn't a bad alternative! We really wished that we could packed some of these mango desserts home so that our family and friends could taste them! I think Hui Lau Shan is definitely the highlight of our trip because we had it for 3 consecutive days!! The desserts were really something special. We hoped someone would open up a franchise in Malaysia soon~

I would say that I really enjoyed this HK trip. I had fun discovering HK and Macau by ourselves, navigating with my HK map that I got from my trip a few years back ;-p The feeling of travelling overseas without our parents is really exciting!

HK is definitely a fun place to visit, especially with their delicious food and some affordable shopping in Causeway Bay (try Jardine's Crescent). Of cos, I won't forget some of the unfriendly treatment that we got along the way.. However, there are some memorable moments too. Like when we asked a couple for directions to get to another Hui Lau Shan in Causeway Bay, they were really helpful and nice, to the extent that they came and looked for us to tell us the correct direction amidst the busy crowd! Macho and I were quite touched with the kind gesture :)

The only regret is that I didn't get to eat more of their tasty and crispy egg tarts! But no worries, I'll definitely be back :-p

Macho, thank you for being a smelly nice and fun travel buddy!!