Final Day in Bali

Date: Tuesday August 4

Travel: Taxi;

Lodging: Conrad Bali

Photos: 20090804 Bali Kechak Jimbaran

As the final day of the Bali trip was ending, we had to make an effort at least to see the sunrise from Nusa Dua. I don't know why we thought this would be a good idea, since we never really woke up early. It was worth the wake up though, as we had our own cabana, and got to enjoy a breakfast at during sunrise. The staff did tell us that it had rained earlier, so the sunrise would not be so spectacular, but it's not many times I get to see the sunrise, so to me it is as good as any.
Having a late flight, we didn't want to just waste our day around the hotel. We went back to Uluwatu, and got to see the Kecak dance, a traditional dance in Bali. The performance occurs around sunset, to create a dramatic experience. After the performance, we stopped by Jimbaran for dinner by the sea. There are more then a couple dozen restaurants, with tables on the sandy beach, where you can stroll out a bit to get your feet wet. Lucky for us, we also came in time for some free performance. One of the things you will notice is that there are also a lot of Japanese tourist, as well as Australians. Some of the entertainers can fluently speak 3 languages, Indonesian, English and Japanese. This is probably why this island is comparable to Hawaii, from the surfs of North Shore and Uluwatu, to the friendly smiles of the locals. Although it cost more to fly to Bali, then Hawaii, there is a lot of value here if you take advantage of it.

Soaking in Lembongan

Date: Monday August 3

Travel: Taxi;

Lodging: Conrad Bali
Photos: 20090803 LembonganIsland

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It was time to go out and play in the water. We didn't get to do the seawalker like we wanted to, but we did go on a play cruise to Lembongan island. Taking the Bali Hai package, we take a ship for a 1 hour ride over the sea. It was a bit windy and cloudy, and the water was a bit rough. However, the staff members must be really used to the conditions, as they were able to operate normally, be it if they were playing music in the band, making drinks, or waiting and serving people. One waiter did a very good job balancing the drink while walking up the steps to the upper deck and walking across the ship. This was a brilliant feat as the boat was just rocking up and down, not something for people who get motion sick. Nevertheless, as soon as the waiter successfully carried a glass full of margarita without spilling anything, the consumer couldn't immediately handle it and spilled it all over himself.
The ship at the end of the journey would dock with a pontoon, where all the fun water activities began. We started out by taking an underwater viewing boat, then did a little snorkeling. What was nice is that the pontoon had a ton of coral growing on it, and it was close to the surface, so we can see all the vibrant colors. It was a nice opportunity to test out the new underwater case for the SD900. There was a chance to scuba dive, but you needed some time to do a little training. There was a giant slide off the pontoon lodging you into the water, and that provided plenty of amusement. We also got a chance to take a boat to the island of Lebongan and take an island tour. Besides some photo opportunities, I probably could have done without this and just stayed on the slide or jump off the pontoon. Nevertheless it was a great experience.

Dreamland (thats what it's really called) & Conrad Bali

Date: Saturday & Sunday, August 1-2

Travel: Taxi;

Lodging:Conrad Bali
Photos: 20090801 Dreamland , 20090802 Conrad Bali
This day would have no agenda but rest and relaxation. Besides sleeping in, taking a long dip in the infinite edge pool, and getting a massage, we make it down to Dreamland beach. Apparantly there were changes occurring to the area, and it was still under development. That didn't stop us from bargaining for umbrellas, chairs, massages, and boogie boards; consequently enjoying the beach. After soaking in the sun all day, Kim and Dan make their way home to the states, while Linda and I make our way to the other side of the island, at the Conrad in Nusa Dua. Again, I had used my Hilton points, like I had for Tokyo, to cover for the Conrad. It was a nice use of points. We did not do much but relax. Each morning, we got a choice of multiple breakfast locations and buffets. One was in front of the pool, another on a balcony overlooking a cabana with a yoga session. In the evenings, there were cocktailsand snacks, all thanks to my status with Hilton.

We visited another beach area in Kuta, did some shopping, wined, dined, and relaxed. I ended up getting a great deal on T-shirts due to some nice bargaining skills from Linda. We would walk away from one vendor, get the deal at another vendor, and get a better deal at the original vendor. The area around kuta was a little more crowded, and is a bit more happening then the more couple/family friendly area of Nusa Dua.

The Blue Point & More Ubud

Date: Friday July 31, Bali
Travel: Rental Van
Party: Vu, Linda, Dan, Kim
Lodging: The Blue Point
Photos: 20090731BedugalTanahLot; 20090731BluePoint





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We stayed the night at the Blue Point resort in Uluwatu. It was gorgeous, and we were upgraded to a the presidential villa. This was already on top of the fact that we received a Indonesian discount which Linda was able to persuade in getting. There was a personal pool, and gazebo in the back, but the resort hosted its own infinite edge pool, with a view of the pacific. The resort was on top of the hill, above a popular surfing spot. It was beautiful. The stay also came with a 30 minute foot massage, so our feet were ready to go.
We were reluctant to leave the Blue Point, but we spent the day with our rental van, going back up the center of the island. We started with some shopping buying some local crafts and arts. If we had more time, I would have been out there bargaining for more stuff. We stopped at the sky restaurant of Pacung, with more wonderful views and another buffet lunch. We then made our way to Bedugul, which was serene and just take in the views.
Running late already, we did not want to miss a 2nd chance for an ocean sunset and drove on to Pura Tanah Lot. It was just beautiful. The area seemed to also have dark sand, but I don't know if it was necessarily black sand. I mentioned to Linda that I wanted to see that, and she just couldn't understand why. I don't think she understands that we live in a desert. The Bali trip had been nothing more then just enjoyment and relaxation.

Bali: From Kintamani to Uluwatu

Date: Thursday July 30, 2009
Travel: Rental Van
Party: Vu, Linda, Dan, Kim
Lodging: Pertiwi Resort
Photos: 20090730UbudKintamaniUluwatu
On our 2nd day, we hired a van and driver to take us around. Staying in Ubud, we visit a couple of temples, namely the Goa Gajah and Gunung Kawi. We get to trek some of the rice fields and get a nice peek of some of the rice terraces. The girls bought some sarongs, since at each of the holy sites, you were supposed to cover yourself in one. The site would give you one, but it made a nice souvenir anyway. One thing you will notice around here are the balinese hindu offerings, especially in front of any businesses. We visited the holy baths of Tirtha Empul, but notbody really wanted to take a dip in the water. We then drove up to Kintamani, where we enjoy a late buffet lunch overlooking the lake and Mt. Batur. The air was refreshing and the views were spectacular. Making our way back down, we make a brief visit at a larger rice terrace, one of the many rice terraces in the area. This was just one of the more intricate ones.

As it was approaching sunset, our driver tried to rush us to our destination before it was too late, which is at the southern tip of the island, at Uluwatu. It was nice that Linda was able to communicate with the driver, so that we really had no worries at all. We made it on time, and was able to enjoy a beautiful sunset. Although while admiring one, one of the monkeys took Linda's sunglasses right from her head. The little critter made it pretty far, but a little child ran the monkey down, and recovered the shades. Too bad those LV frames had bite marks all over onse side, but at least it was saved. While I was standing and taking a picture, one of the monkeys almost grabbed my glasses, but Linda caught it in time. I made sure I told the monkey who's boss (see video). Although we made the sunset, we were not able to catch the kechak dance this night. Kim and Dan had already seen one a few days before, but I had not seen it yet. Another day...

Bali Adventure Tour

Date: Wednesday July 29, 2009

Travel: Rental Van
Party: Vu, Linda, Dan, Kim
Lodging: Pertiwi Resort
Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/vutang50/20090729UbudRaftingElephantMonkeyForest#

After a few days in Jakarta, I rejoined Kim in Dan on the island of Bali, accompanied with Linda. Kim and Dan were fully recharged from their stay at the grand hyatt, as I was from chillaxing in Jakarta. On the first day, we decide to do a little adventure and go rafting down the Ayung river. We had a raft guide who was really strong and probably did all the work, but he was really fun, and always smiling. It was a beautiful day out, and the area around the river was so lush. It was a lot of fun, and no one fell over board, but I almost did since I was focused with my camera. The guide allowed us to jump into the river, and Linda was the first one in without hesitation.


All the people on the island were very nice, and always smiling. The service was always a great experience. After a buffet lunch, we visited the elephant safari park, and get to ride one through the jungle (actually its just a path inside the park, but you can use your imagination). The ride was a little slow, but it was just bumpy, up and down. The rafting and elephant safari were a part of Bali Adventure Tours company. Later in the evening we visited the sacred monkey forest, which was just a short walk from our hotel, Pertiwi resort. The monkeys were all over the place, and you could buy mini bananas and feed them. Some of these monkeys are very smart, and they don't really care for just the one banana that you give them, they want the whole bunch. You would be standing there trying to hand 1 monkey a banana, while another monkey tries to steal the stash of bananas in your other hand.

Hanging out in Jakarta

Date: July 24-28, Aug 5-8 2009

Travel: Taxi; Car
Party: Vu, Linda, Indonesian Friends
Lodging: Linda's Apartment
Photos: 20090726Jakarta ; 20090807Jakarta

Late friday evening, I arrive at Jakarta. My intentions were to stay at Linda's place, even though she was gone on a business trip until Sunday. Her sister's boyfriend actually picked me up at the airport, and took me out for Gado Gado for dinner. The next day, I hung out with some of my friends I met in my visit earlier that year. We hung out at a mall (surprise, surprise). This particular one had an ice skating rink. We were with some girls who wanted to learn how to dance, and so they invited us to a dance class. The studio was horrendous looking, I had flashbacks of my once pink home. There are a lot of fancy restaurants around, although driving to some and parking is not fun. When Linda returned back from her trip on sunday, we hung out around town. There is a lot of nice asian and asian fusion restaurants around, but something noteworthy was the Pizza Hut where it is quite fancy and considered fine dining. The pizza's are completely different, with different crust variations, mayo dipping sauces, and different type of toppings. The more memorable dish though was the martabak, which was a 20k calorie infestation of batter, butter, condensed milk, chocolate, cheese, and more butter. There are a couple different variations with a salty version and a thick or thin sweet version. At least too sweet is easier to swallow then too spicy. Linda and her sister's boyfriend took me out for lunch one time, where I suggested to eat something local. They have a high tolerance for spice, but this place was ridiculous. My mom makes this chili sauce, which I only need 1/2 of a teaspoon at most to satisfy my spice needs for a meal. Well these dishes were completely smothered in chili. I scraped some of mine off, but Linda's sister bf, ate it all. His face was compeletely red, and sweating all over. He used 4 or 5 napkins at a time to wipe the sweat off, but the napkins kept breaking apart because it was so wet. We actually got a quality facial (my 1st ever) that morning, and it was a full high quality facial at a clinic, with a deep cleanse. I'm sure that meal cleansed out all his pores better than the facial. Or maybe the meal made everything worse by excreting salt back into the cleansed pores. I definitely tried to avoid all that, because my face never felt so clean before.

The movie theaters there offer a variety of ways to watch a movie, the standard seats, sofa, or a bed (not bath!). Plenty of cafes to keep me busy, especially when I was by myself at times. I even got to take a ride on the "world's longest dry slide" at FX, which is another mall. There are plenty of night clubs to spend the night away. However there is a big discrepancy between the rich and the poor, and the middle class is not so big. Some of the clubs have cover charge which would rival to any US large city market, however there are street vendors which you could feed families at a tenth the cost of cover. The retail stores at the malls probably cost the same if not more of American retailers, however, I find more favor in the discount local markets like Manga Dua. Jakarta is just like any big city with the amenities, but it is in desperate need of mass transit. The roads are small, and the traffic is horrible. I remember 1 friday night, we headed out to Kemang food place, and google maps said it was only a 10 minute drive (only like 3 or 4 km), but it took 2 hours to get there. Even though if you own a car, you likely have a driver to take you around, which makes it nice, because parking a car, or looking for your parked car is not so easy. Also a driver is probably not likely to fall asleep in the middle of then night and get me or the dozen of motorcyclist in the road killed. At least I can cross the following off my bucket list: "Grab the steering wheel, and manuever a moving vehicle on a highway from the passenger seat."