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| The breakfast.... |
It’s our last day in Bali and we all woke up early to make it a memorable day for all of us. We decided that our driver, Kartika should come at 10.30am as we wanted to enjoy our last day and breakfast together. Yunno, the hardest thing about the last day of your holidays is that it sucks big time when the time is up. Nevertheless, in saying so, my family has decided to have the best time every before we get off Bali island. We started off our morning with breakfast of pancake ( the brand name is Pondan pancake – I kid you not! Richard turned out okay. So, it is safe according to Richard! ), eggs ( mashed, hard boiled, scrambled and sunny side up ), toasted bread and coffee/MILO. We laughed, joked and had fun. Everyone was relaxed and in a good mood. We told each other that we are going to “sai lang” ( finish the cash! ) all our pool money by having good meals.
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| The pancake with maple syrup.....yummy |
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| Richard ,the man, on the breads..... |
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| The pancake fella....ME |
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| Kuta Beach..... |
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| Cordinator, Hwe Shean....... |
That morning, we went to Kuta Beach to get a feel of the beach. We then bargained for some souvenirs at Kuta Art Centre while watching the surfers do their stuff at Kuta beach. I realized that there ain’t many tourists at Kuta Beach. I guess, there were far more tourist at Legian beach which was a surfer’s paradise nowadays. A quick check with our driver, Kartika revealed that most of the tourists have now settled in Canggu which is the new happening place to be while Kuta, Seminyak and Legian had been saturated with touts, souvenir sellers and mushrooming local surf shops.
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| Three beauties on the beach..... |
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| Look beyond the three standing persons....hahahahhahahahaaaa |
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| Legian Beach entrance |
Look, this is what I believe personally, rising prices have scared off the tourist to other less expensive places like Canggu. Kuta was the hub-centre at one time for surfers and surfer community but nowadays, Legian Beach has the better crowd and the paradise feel. I guess, if you are like me, I am there for the bikinis show, people and there ain’t a lot happening these days! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa……I was just joking. The sand in Kuta and Legian are fine and very soothing to the feet. The waves are awesome and I could understand why surfers would still pick these beaches to show off their figures and buff bodies. That’s the beauty of Bali beaches. The food service and shades were also awesome.
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| Legian Beach reclining rest ..... |
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| Photo of the year, baby! |
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| Legian beach.....note the smooth sands.. |
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| At Naughty Nuri, Seminyak... |
After feasting our eyes on the beaches, it was time for makan! This time we were off to Naughty Nuri, Jalan Mertanadi No. 62 Kerobokan Seminyak, Kerobokan Kelod, Kec. Kuta Utara, Kabupaten Badung, Bali. Yes!Yes!Yes! The queue is damn long but SLing managed to register ourselves early so that we can get seats to fill up our stomachs. It was like a 30 minutes wait and we were called to our tables. We wasted no time in ordering the BBQ ribs, pork sliders, nasi goreng, pork satay and mashed potato. Though it was quite a wait for the food but it tasted real good. Goodest of good,man! The ribs were fantastic especially with the BBQ sauce.
The juiciness of the ribs were just breathtaking. They did not fall off the bones but the firmness was a good signature of the pork. Mama mia! They were so good. The pork sliders were also nice together with the pork satay. Yup, we broke the bank for this one but it was well worth it. Everything tasted good and succulent.
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| The entrance to heaven;y delight....BBQ ribs... |
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| Yup, we ate these for sure.... |
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| No wonder they taste sooooooo goooooooooood...... |
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| IBC -Pondok Tempo Doeloe |
Rather than wait or a heart attack to happen, we decided to leave this place and headed out to some craft centre ( Bali Agung ) for some much needed walking and some souvenir hunting. I must say we almost had an instant heart attack of a different sort when we saw the prices of the souvenirs!!!! I don’t know about the rest but I was already hyperventilating and almost request for a CPR, when I saw the prices. Luckily, the snap call from SLing helped revived me to my normal state. I still managed to get some fridge magnet souvenirs as they were the cheapest items around. Then it’s off to Legian Craft Center where we walked around the souvenir stands to pass our time and get a sample of what life is like.
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| Our table...for the feast... |
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| The restaurant......no WIFI.....too distracting.... |
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| The feast - lamb fried rice, grille gourami fish, grilled chicken, telor tauhu goreng, Ballinese fried rice, vegetables etc.etc |
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| Alas Harum ......brings out courage, boldness, a sense of achievement and adventurous spirit. |
Yeah, we bargained hard for the things we want to buy and it was all good. Afterall, the locals are in to make a profit and a living too, right? I believe in all fairness that one should have fair prices and make some profit at the same time. The only problem in most places is simply overpricing, over–profiteering and exorbitant prices. If the prices are fair, I believe, people will tend to see what I am talking about. It is not a matter of being cheap or any of that sort but simply do not want to be suckered punched or a sucker for such schemes. Generally , it is alright to make a profit for what you are doing but if it is meant to lead to greed then that’s wrong. But sometimes, in a very touristic place like Bali, you tend to get the other end of the stick when it comes to prices.
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| Bebek Joni....for the love of ducks |
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| Hog Wild....evolution of great piglets |
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| Alas Harum....great coffee; greater fun... |
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| Hungry Bird Coffee Roasters.....coffee and nature entwined together in perfect harmony |
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| Pura Tanah Lot ....brings out the deep love and great gentleness |
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| Pura Tirta Empul...brings out faithfiulness, blessing and goodness of the heart |
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| Pura Ulun Danu Beratan...brings great joy, togetherness and fun... |
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| Guardians of Pura Taman Ayun....binds friendship, build bonds and cement friendship |
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| Tegenungan Waterfalls ..... birthed joy, happiness and fun |
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| Ubud Virgin Villa....housed love, care, fellowship, laughter and cheers to the heart... |
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| Kintamani overview ......high hopes, explosive blessings, extension of wellness |
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| Kintamani......cool life, gentle heart and live to travel & love more..... |
We then headed out to Ikan Bakar Cianjur (IBC) for our Indonesian food fare before leaving for the airport. This was a huge and posh restaurant and they serve Indonesian dishes. This time, we ordered an array of food fare ranging from grilled gourami fish, grilled chicken, Balinese fried rice, egg tauhu goreng, soto ayam, two types of vegetables ( kangkung and chai seem ), fried noodles and some special rice in a pot. The food was surprisingly good. We definitely ended our trip with good Indonesian/Balinese food at the end of our trip. Nothing can be more satisfying than knowing that you get good authentic food at the end of your trip. To me, it was a befitting farewell in a gastronomical sense.
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| Innocence and smiles of the Balinese future..... |
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| The grace, the pure at heart and the faithful of the Balinese future.... |
As I peeled back the events and places we had been through, I would say that the places of attractions in Bali were simply breathtaking, delightful and a feast to the eye while the weather was also heavenly. There weren’t any accidents nor any injuries to any of us and I am so thankful for that. I have spent 5 beautiful days and moments with my wonderful family and friends. I feel very much alive and in awe of my friends who are caring, loving, great sense of humour and very sporting indeed. I really enjoyed their company and I realized just how blessed each and every one of us are, actually. So, thank you, Hwe Shean for lighting up our days each day with your planning, humorous sarcasm and meticulous great ways. Thank you, Richard and Teresa for your wonderful smiles, care, humour and great gentleness. I have learnt a lot from the three of you. Thank you too to SYuen for showing me your bravery and great adventure spirit during the extreme swing activity and SLing for going to another adventure with me and provided me with that happiness and joy as a family.
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| Bali......We CAME, we SAW and we WILL BE BACK |
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| Till we meet again, sweet & memorable , BALI..... |
I love Bali for its uniqueness and the wondrous natural beauty in its landscape and natural surroundings. The fantastic culture and the arts certainly brought a fresh perspective in the artisan world. The mystique and stoic facial expressions can sometimes play tricks on you and yet the heavens smiles and pour out its goodness to the people and the land of Bali. I am blessed knowing I’ve come to this land and tasted its goodness while sampling a great slice of its hospitality and its own graciousness.
Bali is known as the “Island of The Gods”. But I personally preferred the other one which is Bali is also known as “The Paradise Island.“ It is indeed a paradise for the earthly body, mind and soul. There is so much to see , do and taste in Bali. Guess, I found my earthly paradise in Bali island. Cheers! Au revoir, BALI!~
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