Liburan ke Pulau Dewata

(translation: Holiday in 'Pulau Dewata' or Bali)

Sorry for the delay... but due to some technical difficulties as I have mentioned in the previous post (you wont believe how difficult it is!!) this is the earliest I can post some stories and photos from my holiday in Bali...

Day 1 (Mon 25 Dec 06)
Christmas Day, Jolene, Tia and I arrived in Bali around noon... boy, the weather is the worst so far... so hot and humid... today is the first time that I have to change my top in the middle of the day because it gets wet!!! I think this is very unusual... while I hardly sweat in Melbourne (I even have to join Bikram Yoga in heated room to sweat)... here I have to change top because I cant take that sticky feeling...

Trying to avoid the harsh weather, Jolene and I just stay at my aunt's place the whole afternoon in air-conditioned room... and then later in the afternoon my aunt and I went to church for Christmas Mass while Jo wandering around at nearby shopping mall in Kuta...

Finished mass, we went dinner at Made's Warung... warung in Bahasa Indonesia means some small common eatery place... definitely nice place to visit... when we got there, some kids were performing balinese traditional dance...

Day 2 (Tue 26 Dec 06)
Today is not very hectic… we went to Legian for window shopping in the afternoon and dinner at Sunda Kelapa (again some warung) at Teuku Umar area…


Day 3 (Wed 27 Dec 06)
The day started early… Jolene and I went white water rafting at Ayung River… sorry, having been warned that we’d get wet, none of us brought camera to take photos =(… it was nice… nice experience and nice view along the river…

For dinner, we went to Menega restaurant in Jimbaran… really really good seafood… Jolene, Tia, Adja (Tia’s friend) and I ate so much that I felt like my stomach almost explode… as usual hahaha...



Definitely a long day…

Day 4 (Thu 28 Dec 06)
Contrary to the day before, the day started a bit later… then went straight to Villa Karma near Four Seasons, Jimbaran for lunch with Nasi Wardhani (traditional Balinese rice with some dishes)… invitation from one of the girls we knew from the party the night before…

My comments? Definitely delicious lunch… interesting group of people, interesting stories and conversations… After this gathering, I cant help thinking… oh dear, little did I know about interactions among girls my age in my own country!!

Day 5 (Fri 29 Dec 06)
Today’s activities: water sport!! My aunt took Jolene, Tia and myself to Benoa for some water sport… I did parasailing and flying fish… sorry, again due to some technical difficulties no photos was taken during parasailing (I was too small up there that my aunt cant be sure which one I was =p)...


On the way back, we had lunch at this restaurant called ‘Ulam’ in Nusa Dua…


In the evening, we went to Kudeta (apparently the ‘must go’ place in Bali) and the view was indeed worth going... and dinner at Trattoria (Italian restaurant nearby… the food is comparable to Melbourne…)

Day 6 (Sat 30 Dec 06)
We had lunch at Warung Nikmat in Kuta (remember Warung? Well, nikmat means delicious…) The food is cheap and delicious!!! Even Jolene thinks this is her favourite…


In the afternoon we went to Uluwatu and Dreamland… I know… it sounds like some theme park… but it is not… it is a beach… in an area owned by Suharto’s son (Suharto is our second President, who is infamous for corruption during his time)… this new area is popular… but pity, nice view isn’t looked after… the beach was not clean… not sure if it was like that every time or just because when we were there it had just been hit by a storm…


On the way home, we stopped by at ‘Nasi Pecel Bu Tinuk’… nasi pecel is one of Indonesia’s traditional rice with dishes like fried tempe and tofu, steamed vegetables with peanut sauce … Bu Tinuk means Mrs. Tinuk… so together it means nasi pecel, recipe from Mrs. Tinuk…

Day 7 (Sun 31 Dec 06)
Today’s agenda? Another food tasting… this time we went to Ubud to taste the famous dirty duck (Bebek Bengil)… I know, I know... a funny name, right? But the food is very very nice… it is actually crispy fried duck accompanied by chili sauce and onion pickled... nice food and nice setting as well… lay out of the restaurant is surrounded by paddy field…



For new years eve party, we had dinner at The Village in Sanur… and continued with quiet gathering with some of the girls we knew earlier, at some villa in Gianyar… beautiful villa beautiful view… beach on the backyard!!


Day 8 (Mon 1 Jan 07)
Another adventure in food tasting… Ayam Betutu (Betutu Chicken)… one type of Balinese traditional chicken…

Another visit to Made’s Warung… its banana pancakes? Hhmm… yumm…

Another shopping at Legian… and another dinner at Sunda Kelapa… hahaha…

Day 9 (Tue 2 Jan 07)
After a quick breakfast at Sunda Kelapa, we went to Tanah Lot… a temple on top of a cliff… very popular…


In the afternoon? Back enjoying sunset view at Kudeta… continued with Italian dinner at Trattoria…


Day 10 (Wed 3 Jan 07)
Last day for Jolene… but before she took off, we went to Ayam Taliwang (Taliwang Chicken)… another traditional chicken from Lombok, nearby island from Bali…famous for being very very spicy…

After lunch and dropping Jolene to the airport, we had another dinner at Menega restaurant Jimbaran… one last visit before going home tomorrow…

Day 11 (Thu 4 Jan 07)
Bye bye Bali… and welcome back in Jakarta… my home town…

PS. check out my photo album... for more photos!!!