JeffieShannie: Bali

Friday, 23 May 2014

6 Days in Bali sempana Lene's Wedding

Wedding bells are ringing~

And this time we got an invitation from Hendra & Lene for their wedding in Lovina, Bali.

Invitation card from Mr. & Mrs Hendra

Since Jeff have not been to Bali, let's do a short trip then!
6 days. NOT SHORT AT ALL.

Pack @#$%*&^ and go!~

And we sail along with the warmth of sunset

Newly renovated Ngurah Rai International Airport, brand new face!

Cab to hotel.
Please take Blue Bird Taxi to avoid ridiculous taxi fare. They have good reputation of using certified meter.

Blue bird taxi. Easily recognizable. Light blue in color.

Check in to Kana Kuta Hotel. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Hotel is modern, newly built. The room is clean and nice. Breakfast spread is fantastic too!

The first thing he did once enter the room.

A little balcony overseeing the pool.

After a refreshing good night sleep, off we go for the 2-day guided tour.
For our 2-day guided tour, please read my blog post on 2-day Guided Tour with Wayan

We are glad that we engaged Wayan for the guided tour. He is extremely helpful and well verse in English. His excellent photography skill is an added bonus!

Two happy days with Wayan.

Our guide for 2 days - Mr. Wayan *Happy face*

Yea... they are here in Bali!! Ready to go for Lene's wedding at Lovina, North Bali.

Hall 11 mates

It took us 4 hours bus ride to reach Lovina from Bali Airport. Bumpy ride. I need a massage treatment for my buttocks!!!

Some selfie taken while awaiting for the arrival of the newly wed.

Jeff met his colleague during the wedding banquet. What a small world.

It is interesting to witness a Indonesian wedding. Wedding traditions speak volumes about a culture. Unlike Chinese weddings in Malaysia and Singapore, please do not expect alcohol to be served at the wedding reception. In Indonesia, weddings are not an appropriate venue to get drunk.

The wedding banquet ends at 9pm. We have some time to wonder around Lovina beach.

It was a beautiful starry night surrounded by black sands.

Beautiful sky. And this is what we did. Human telescope.

Starry starry night.

But ended up looking like this.

Sorry, we don't mean it...

After a yummylicious breakfast the next morning at Suma Hotel Lovina, we headed to Amana Villa, Seminyak. Looking forward, looking forward!

We are welcome by a modern and minimalist design of the entrance...

A small surprise for us upon entering our villa. Banana chocolate cake and lemongrass-ginger tea. Dah... very refreshing~

The staff are friendly and the services are amazing including a free transfer car around the Seminyak area. They provide Ipad, sim card and most importantly the private butler services.

See... Our names...

A peep to the bathrom

Bath tub filled up with fresh rose petals

Fall in love with the aromatic sea salt

A small personal touch... Love it~

The weather is so hot... how can we resist the pool?!

soak soak soak

What is Bali without some spa and massage?!

Murano spa (located at Seminyak) looks kinda dubious on the outside but you will be amazed by the rooms. Price is good and therapists is well-trained too!

Jeff enjoyed the massage so much that he fall asleep!

After the massage, we headed to Kudeta, one of the trendiest spots in Bali for sunset.

A beer on the beach front watching the sun setting is spectacular.

Colourful, warm atmosphere of the beach front.

Dinner time!

There is a long stretch of nice cafes and warungs lined up along the Seminyak main road. We chosen Bali Cafe as the decor appealed to us, reasonable price too. Chill and cozy environment, food is not so fantastic tho.

Balinese mee goreng

Beef lasagna

Pumpkin soup

We are delighted to received a small little surprise when we are back to Amana Villa. Our names in Balinese are written on these stones! We are told that few people today know how to write the language, as children are now schooled in the Indonesian language.

Our name in Balinese language

Good night Bali. We had a good sleep.

~ "The best thing about waking up, is knowing...

you have another cup of coffee to enjoy" ~

Good bye Bali, we will be back again!

Click here to read my post on 2-day Guided Tour in Bali. Fantastic guided tour!

Thursday, 22 May 2014

2-Day Guided Tour in Bali

This is my virgin post on blogspot!!! Feeling excited~ : D

Well... I am going to share about my recent trip to Bali! Hubby and I decided to go on a relaxing trip since we have traveling quite a lot recently. And yea, we engaged a driver come photographer for our trip to Bali.

The sexxxy back of our awesome driver come photographer - Mr. Wayan Suyadnya.

Please don't try to shout "Wayan" on a street in Bali because there will be 1 million of them answering you "huh?". Here is the interesting fact: All Balinese people are named one of just 4 names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman or Ketut. Both men and women. Wayan being the eldest.

And here we go!

Day 1

Head off to Taman Ayun royal temple of Mengwi

Beautiful temple building with multistory roof and Balinese architecture. Different layering of roof represent different blessings.

Next, Lake Side Temple - Ulun Danu Beratan. The weather is cooling.

I think we can spend the whole day "nua-ing" over here if we are not following a schedule...

love this shot!

More shots taken at the lakeside

Practicing some kungfu *Opps* pity Jeff

Nope, don't worry. He is a yoga master. Great endurance.

Stop by the fruit and vegetable market (Candikuning) on the way to Jatiluwih rice terrace

Hurray! We got to tried many kind of different fruits for free!! Salak taste weird tho... Jeff said that they look like Pangolin


We bought some strawberries. When we happily opened them up in the hotel, half of them are rotten. angry		.

What to do... Not easy to earn a living.

Stomach grumbling... It is already 2pm?! We decided to lunch at Jatiluwih rice terrace. Food selection is quite limited as we are late. But, ya... having lunch with a stunning view of paddy field is really an experience!

We love the authentic Balinese satay. It is different from what we have in Singapore & Malaysia. They are cooked over charcoal made from dried coconut shells, which gives them a delicious smoky flavour. Yummy.

Paddy field nature walk after lunch! Love the bamboo hat~

Nice weather. A walk to remember.

Sunset at Tanah Lot to end our day. It was crowded here... Guess everybody loves sunset.

Beautiful sunset

Feeling *windy* hehe

While he is doing this... he hurt his arm...

Opps... nah. Small cut, he said.

Another shot of the iconic tanah lot. OR us?

A picture of us with the reflection of the water.

Day 2

We wake up early the next morning to catch the traditional Barong dance at 9.30am at Batubulan. Traditional story, nice costume. But boring plot and little entertainment value.

With the female dancer

Next up, the Ubud Monkey Forest. Well... I am not afraid of monkeys after experiencing a group monkey attack in Kedah, Malaysia during a mountain climbing.

Monkeys in Ubud are clever. It was amazing to see them opening water bottles, snatching hats and even handphones! **Beware of monkeys**

Enjoying grooming each other

What are you doing?!

Monkey see monkey do. *Groom groom groom*

We stop-by the Tegalalang Rice Terrence. Great photo spot!

Heavy leh??

you jump I jump

Lunch at Kintamani with the view of the volcano. The meal is pretty satisfying. Wide spread of food and dessert. There are plenty of seats here but it is not easy to grab a seat outdoor overviewing the volcano. We are lucky *wink wink*

Dormant volcano

A short note: you might want to get your tour guide to pay for the meal first, to avoid 21% of tax charges.

Luwak coffee plantation. Being a coffee addict, this is a must visit place in Bali.

The staff explaining the process of coffee production. She looks like Rainy Yang!

Cute little girl at the plantation

Cheers

The colors of the coffee

Jeff ordered a cup of luwak coffee and yea... too strong for us.

Last stop to end our 2-day tour with Wayan - Tirta Empul Holy Spring Temple. No shorts are allowed in the temple, a form of respect. All visitors are requested to put on a sarong if they are wearing shorts.