Bali

CK tulis

Sebagai penulis jemputan yang dipaksa, this is me again.  This time I'll write about Bali.  I bet ramai giler dah orang yang pergi Bali ni, but I'll write my own experience anyway.

I went to Bali on December 2011.  Practically the first trip (apart from business trips) that I went without PK.  The ticket was bought during AirAsia's sale earlier that year.  It was a trip planned with a friend A, but towards end of the year, A's friend B wanted to join us.  So there were three of us.  Being skeptic as I am, honestly I don't really think that I'd enjoy the trip, even thought of cancelling it.  I was worried I won't get along well with both of them, B especially since we've never met before.  But, it turned out well.  I worried too much.  B saved the mood most of the time, I can't quite imagine if there were only A and me during the trip. Lesson learnt : choose your travel companion. Don't underestimate ;)


General

Imagine Sabah-Sarawak border, further south is where Bali is located.  Flight will be around 3 hours and according to google map, kalau drive will take you 85 hours - that will be a 3 and a half day drive.. haha.  Google can be really funny sometimes.

What I really like about Bali is the culture, arts, architectures.. I'm always into arts and cultures.  If your idea of holiday is to shop, I wouldn't suggest Bali.  I've friends who doesn't enjoy their trip to Bali.  They got bored of visiting pura or temples.  I know, visiting temples one after another memang boleh buat kita boring.  But, I look at it this way, they are not the same temple, the architecure is different, different history, different design.  I can never get bored looking at the intricate carvings on the split gates.  I even imagined painting my walls orange.  I still listen to Balinese songs.  I just love that place.

Transportation

I found a muslim driver from a forum.  The charge was around IDR300k - 350k.  He took care of the itinerary, the charge was also inclusive of petrol & our airport transfers.  There were no extra charges although we stayed at different hotels & different flight schedule.  I don't know if driving yourself is a good idea since the roads are not highway standards & quite confusing if you are driving outside Kuta.  


I guess the easiest mode of transportation to get around the town is by motorbike.  Sewa sangat murah, can't remember the price though. It's available at the hotel and almost everywhere.  

...this is not our transport ;)

Food

Majority population in Bali practices Hinduism.  It is quite challenging to identify them from muslim.  The reason why I opt for a muslim driver is mostly because of food, and places we can stop for solat.  We had nasi padang a couple of times, the others are the usual nasi ayam penyet, nasi goreng etc.  Kata Pak Supir, kalau nasi padang memang confirm muslim. There's one place where we had buffet facing Mt Batur, if I'm not mistaken the location is Kintamani.

Coffee facing Mt Batur

There are small warungs along the road within walking distance from the hotel, tapi I memang tak try pun.  Not sure halal ke tak and not sure if the stomach is tough enough. If you are staying at Kuta, kalau nak fast food, walk towards the beach & you'll find a mall.  Like any other things, food is also cheap.  Kalau was2 sangat nak makan, megi kan ada :)


Accomodation

Kuta and Legian are the famous ones.  You can also opt for villas outside Kuta where the beaches are more quiet.  I stayed at Tunes Kuta.  Bilik memang sangat kecik, tapi bersih.  Nak sembahyang pun muat2 je.  My room has a small window, but facing the corridor.  So, kalau nak bukak tingkap & langsir tu kena agak2 la jugak.  The location of the hotel is within walking distance to the beach.  No breakfast though, but they have a small convenience shop. Kalau nak buat air panas memang tak boleh sebab takde air panas.. one thing to consider if you are travelling with baby.  For breakfast, I walked towards the beach, ada kfc yang bukak awal pagi.

Single room at Tune Kuta

Attractions

Barong

Just like our wayang kulit and Makyong, Barong too has a storyline.  Honestly, I don't quite understand what the story is all about.  You'll get a handout which summarizes the story.  I baca sekali lalu, paham sikit2 and was too busy trying to understand the dialog.  Sampai habis performance tu I tetap tak faham sangat but I did enjoy the show.  Ada part2 tak sedar diri towards the end. Ada few places yang buat performance Barong ni.  We just went with the driver's suggestion.  Rasanya semua pun sama je kot.



Ubud

Ubud is known for the arts.  Kalau nak cari paintings, di sini lah tempatnya.  There are also shops around Kuta yang jual paintings but the choices are not as much as Ubud.  Kalau nak senang bawak balik, they can dismantle the paintings from the frame and roll them.  Balik rumah nanti hantar la frame balik.  

Not only paintings, Ubud has a lot to offer.  They have lots of wood carvings.  Berbagai rupa, berbagai saiz.  Souvenirs and home deco items are abundant.  Dari hiasan dinding, pemegang, pengetuk, loceng pintu... segala benda la ada jual.




Sawah Padi

Besides the usual sawah padi like we have here in Malaysia, they also have padi bukit or padi huma.  Sangat cantik bertingkat2.  This is just beside the road.

Kopi


Indonesia is also known for their coffee.  Kopi luwak pun ada jugak kat Bali ni.  We stop for some coffee testing at one of their shops.  Macam2 jenis kopi ada.  Lepas coffee testing tu boleh la order kopi kalau nak minum.  Kalau nak beli bawak balik pun boleh sebab ada kedai souvenir kat situ.  If you don't enjoy coffee, don't worry... they have tea too.

Pura Tirta Empul

Mana2 pura yang kita pergi, they'll supply us with a piece of cloth to tie at the waist for females, and a bigger one macam kain sarong for men yang pakai seluar pendek.  These are provided when you purchase the tickets.  Tak payah la nak argue kenapa, pakai je.  Keluar nanti pulangkan balik kat kaunter.

Kebetulan ada upacara sembahyang masa pergi tu.  Can't remember what it was.  Ada tempat ramai2 orang mandi.  That photo was snapped over a concrete fence.  I yang pendek ni cuma boleh ambik setakat itu je la.

Outside there's an open space where they sat for prayers.  Tourists are allowed to go in, cuma jangan la berdiri depan orang tu.  Kita kena la hormat kepercayaan orang lain kan.  

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan

Pura ni kat tepi tasik.  Boleh tahan jugak jauhnya nak sampai sini.  The weather was nice, lebih sejuk dari Kuta since the location is at a higher ground.  For my trip, I guess this is the most northern part of Bali that we went.  Further north pun ada attractions, ada tempat yang boleh tengok dolphin.  Sorry, more info kena google le nampaknya.

Again, we were lucky. Ada upacara apa ntah.  A group of them were seen carrying some offerings.  Notice that the women wears kebaya.  Dari yang muda remaja sampai la yang tua, semua pakai kebaya.  Warna kulit, rupa semua lebih kurang.. kalau kat Malaysia we would just assumed  that they are muslim kan.

Pasar buah

This market is located not far from Pura Ulun Danu.  Bukan lah menjual buah-buahan je.  They too have everything that's being sold everywhere else in Bali. Cuma maybe disebabkan cuaca yang lebih sesuai maka they produce lebih banyak buah-buahan kot.

Pura Taman Ayun 


Mungkin disebabkan dah banyak sangat tengok temple, mungkin jugak sebab kat tempat ni we didn't get to see any special occasion going on maka I find this one a bit dull.   I didn't see many people at that time, and we were only surrounding the whole area around a gate.  Not so sure if we weren't allowed to go in or it was just us being tired ;)

Tanah Lot

Mana-mana gambar Bali mesti ada gambar ni.  This one is taken from a higher ground before we walked towards the pura.  Kalau air tengah pasang, you won't be able to walk near to the pura.  I walked to the place where you see some people in a queue at the left side of the photo. Ingatkan beratur nak naik atas, rupa-rupanya they were there to get some blessings from the ketua or whatever they call him.  Tak boleh naik atas rupanya.  if you wish to go close to the pura, check with your driver the suitable time to go.  Kalau air pasang, boleh tengok dari jauh je la.

Kecak

Oh my... the next time I go to Bali, this is the place that I will revisit.  I just love the performance.  This one is at Uluwatu, facing the sea during sunset.  I had to pause for a while during writing this to watch the dance at youtube.. haha.  I just love it, the dance and the settings.  After a while watching the show, the 'cak...cak...cak'  rhythm will definitely play continuously in your head.

Sebelum sampai ke tempat ni bersiap sedialah nak menghadapi a group of monyet.  It's worth it.. trust me.

Others

There are places that we went but I've forgotten the name of the place.  Contohnya macam bangunan dalam next gambar ni.  Puas google tapi I don't even know what keyword should I type in...hehe.

We also went to few beaches.  Kalau suka surfing, you would enjoy this place.  The driver brought us to Padang Padang beach where Julia Roberts berlakon cerita Eat,Pray,Love.  Kalau belum tengok cerita tu, tengok la... the Bali parts memang sangat cantik.  Kalau boleh nak ambik cuti sebulan duduk kat rumah dia tu.  I might watch this movie again after finishing this entry :)

I love it when we came across unexpected ceremony along the way.  Just like this one below.  We were walking across the street when suddenly we saw a group of people right in the middle of the road.  I tak tau pun apa yang diorang tengah buat, but we saw a lady yang tengah tak sedar diri.  

Sebenarnya ada banyak lagi tempat nak explore.  Depends on how many days you plan to stay, and your interest.  If you don't like pura, do other things.  If you like beaches, there are a lot of activities to do.  Kalau cuma nak duduk diam2 taknak buat apa pun boleh.

The main important thing to do before you book your flight ticket, cek dulu bila hari Nyepi for that year.  Kalau terkena hari nyepi ni tak boleh keluar ke mana2, memang kena stay kat hotel je diam2.  Rugi pulak kan.. nak jalan kat pantai pun tak boleh.

Anyway, whatever your interests are, I'm very sure that you'll enjoy Bali.  Sapa yang tak suka Bali tu... I rasa orang tu sangat rugi.  Sangat..sangat ... rugi :)