(18 – 31 March) London
Feels great to be back to this familiar old city since my last visit here 3 years ago. This city hasn’t changed much at all after so long. Even the all-day travel card still looks exactly the same. Nevertheless this is definitely a memory down the lane trip for me although not necessarily liking the nomadic way of traveling for these 2 weeks.
more about the trip later.
We stayed at Mutiara Bali Boutique Villa situated at the beautiful area of Seminyak.
I’ll let pictures to take you through the post.
Every villa is nicely segregated to ensure ample privacy for guests.
We stayed at Villa 6
greeted by a swimming pool upon entrance
the common area
the pool where we “dip” in every morning and night
the staffs will come to your villa to prepare breakfast every morning
The biggest perk for staying at Mutiara is its super duper strategic location, as it’s just 5 mins walk from Seminyak main street and 2 mins walk from El Timur (best Italian restaurant in Bali). Overall a very pleasant stay and i would recommend it to anyone. Price range around USD350 – 400/ night.
Tegalalang – a famous rice paddy terrace village in nothern Ubud.
It’s a very tranquil area and the weather there can be slightly more chilly than southern Bali.
It’s quite a long drive and winding though.
Great place for avid photographers.
On the way back to central Ubud, we stopped by Naughty Nuri for lunch. This was my second visit and standard hasn’t dropped a single bit, they serve the bestest pork ribs and signature salad in the world. Do note this is coming from a non-porky lover so that makes it extra good! :D
The place is always packed with tourists and locals alike. It has earned lots of PR coverage worldwide.
succulent, zesty pork ribs
This was by far the bestest meal I had in Bali!
Bali as an island is bigger than most people would imagine. It takes about 30 mins by car to get from one place to another, be it to beaches, volcano mountains, towns or villages. Having a hired driver made logistic a lot easier for us and we got to 2 spend days in this wonderful place called Ubud.
“Ubud is a hot spot for literati, glitterati, art collectors and connoisseurs alike. In fact, it’s arguably the best place to use as a base if you're visiting Bali; if you're looking for culture, comfort, nature and inspiration. Ubud is surrounded by most of the things that bring people to Bali -- scenic rice fields, small villages, art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces, rivers, cheap accommodation and unique luxury hotels. And it's central location makes it easy to get from Ubud to the mountains, beaches, and major towns.” quoted from here.
Ubud Market is the best place to shop for clothes and bags, souvenirs, art crafts you name it, they have it. Don’t forget to bargain for a good price too!
This local food stall is a must visit for pork lovers when they set foot in Ubud. Ibu Oka is renown for their suckling pig, a place frequent even by many local chefs there.
Everyone on this table could testify the yummilicious succulent babi guling except for one, me. I’m not a huge fan for pork hence didn’t find the dish memorable. I would much prefer Naughty Nuri anytime, which I will write about it later.
After a hearty lunch feast at Ibu Oka, the group adjourned to a spa centre nearby for more indulgence: balinese massage, scalp treatment , manicure and pedicure. Talk about pampering now, aren’t we? lol
Some decided to go back to their hotels while some like us, proceed to the next destination: Tanah Lot.
Tanah Lot, simple in its construction, is dramatic in its ocean-front location and is one of the main temples in the worship of Balinese gods. The temple itself is built on a small promontory which is only accessible at low tide. During high water the rock takes on the appearance of a large boat at sea, such is its shape. Sunset is the best time to visit Tanah lot, when the golden red skies frame the temple and waves crash into the rocks. Quoted from here
Truth be told, despite the long drive and all, this place really took my breath away at sunset.
There was a myth about this temple though. There is a superstition that this temple have a phenomenal power to end relationships that weren’t meant to be as well as securing true loves, applying to the couples who visit the temple.
Don’t take my words for it but so far it has been quite true relating to the people in my life!
Amazing sunset
Souvenir shops at Tanah Lot
This definitely marks the highlight of the trip. :)
How time flies, can you believe that we are almost approaching the end of quarter one already? What have we achieved though?! Checkpoint, checkpoint. Anyway I am actually on my way to London while writing this post. Will be plugging in a few more from my travel trips late last year (Bali + The States) which i never got round writing it, for your reading pleasure while I’m away for the next 2 – 3 weeks. Enjoy!
This was my second visit to the beautiful island of Bali but this time, I made a slight change to the itinerary. I flew there 2 days earlier to enjoy some “me” time before meeting up with the group of friends. The beauty of this island is you will never run out of things to do in Bali. From shopping and water sports to clubbing and spa or simply lazing at the beach, the list is pretty endless.
Day One. I arrived Bali in the morning. After checking into the beautiful boutique 100 Sunset Hotel, got upgraded to a suite, enjoyed a complimentary massage, did lots of swimming and sunbathing in between.
In the evening, I took the hotel shuttle service to Kuta Beach hoping to catch the sunset. One caveat though, I was approached and interrupted by tons of unwanted sellers; the first seller came by I politely said no and returned with a smile, but I started running away when I sensed the 9th seller walking towards me. lol Well, guess that’s the annoying part when you are on your own.
beautiful sunset, don’t you think?
Nasi Campur – a local Balinese dish that one shouldn’t miss.
Sometimes things may not happen as planned, while at times some things may go awfully wrong. We often complain life is hard on us... but when you look at the apocalypse of Japan’s tsunami on Friday, won’t you agree how lucky we actually are?
Imagine your house disappears, your car floats away like a toy, your family members missing... and everything you've worked for for the past 30 years of your life is swept away in just minutes. When I watched the CNN clip on repeat, it was surreal. I just couldn’t imagine myself being able to cope with the fear and lost of such a scale…
Despite the awful weekend which I hope will never happen again in my lifetime, I feel really so lucky that I’m safe in the comfort of home and still have a chance to argue with loved ones. Life isn’t so bad afterall is it.
My heart achingly goes to Japan.
