Warning: Many pictures ar. If your computer is slow.....too bad?
Bali was great.
The Balinese people were friendly, the weather was great, the food was spectacular and my hotel was fabulous. How not to be happy? Sucks that all holidays have to end sometimes. I LUB BALI!!!! Ok, more Ubud than Bali!!
I stayed at Legian Beach upon arrival (first night) and my hotel was along a nice street filled with way too many foreigners. The pubs and bars were brimming with them and the noise didn't die down until 2am. I don't know about you but I don't like alot of noise when I am holidaying...(especially amidst people who drink beer for breakfast too. Yep, you know those people) But it is near a lovely beach so I understand...beaches attract tourists.
The beach was really nice lah. The sand was soft and fine and the sea was sparkling under the sun. The Japanese has a word to describe such a feeling, 'kimochi'. Damn lovely lah! Loverboy and I walked along the shore playing with our footprints in the sand while hydrating ourselves with Pocari Sweat. I wish I am there now as I am typing this. The skies were so blue and the breezes so perfect.
At noon, we packed and transported ourselves to the heaven we had been daydreaming about, our hotel in Ubud! Happiness~ Ubud is located in central Bali and the religious and cultural center. I love the place so much. It's charming with its age and religiousness. The driver told us that there are major temple ceremonies every fortnight. In Bali, offerings and religion are very important to keep the 'balance' in everyday life.
The above is a typical offering found along the roadside and outside every household, shop, gallery or hotel. I don't know where the Balinese men go but everywhere I go, I only see Balinese women preparing the offerings. I read somewhere that Balinese women are busybees. They are either preparing for a ceremony, already in a ceremony or cleaning up after a ceremony. Guess men all over the world are THE SAME. :P
Ubud town was just a 10 minutes' ride from our hotel and a lovely place to spend an afternoon (besides tanning by the pool). There are tons of handicrafts workshops (Balinese specialty: Penis bottle openers and keychains), art galleries, little cafes and batik shops. I totally recommend Ubud to anyone thinking of visiting Bali. I like that most activities end by 11pm-12am so the town becomes very quiet.
My hotel was situated on a cliff overlooking a river and rice terraces (read: ULU) so I thought it was a perfect little getaway. It was so ulu, I hear chickens, lizards and frogs croaking half the time. There was a little dance school near the main swimming pool so while u are drinking your pina colada and toasting under the sun, you hear the sound of schoolgirls giggling and laughing along traditional Bali music. Boleh!! Bagus!! (I totally did not pick up any Bahasa Indonesia...except "Mas!!" or "Waiter!")
Our room! It smells of flower all the time. I love the privacy this hotel affords.
The lily pond and courtyard leading to our little house.
The main swimming pool. It overlooks a cliff so when you swim to the edge, you get a FANTASTIC view of the valley below.
Our private pool. I share this with a group of sparrows every morning. I look so hot in a bikini even sparrows want to see. HAHAHAHAHA!! Not shy sia.
On the contrary, I was in such bliss I ballooned lah. I had enough Nasi Goreng and Nasi Campur to last a lifetime. I was so sad when Loverboy took a pic and my face was a perfect circle. See:
Only my 3rd day in Bali!!! So chubby already. Nevermind, holiday mah. U are also witnessing an unfortunate case of old powder not matching new tan. Horror!!
On our last day, we decided to go on a morning trek since both of us were feeling rather 'heavy'. The hotel assigned us lovely 'Japa-san' who was incidentally our driver throughout the trip! He's a true blue jungle boy. He could identify all types of plants and insects and he knew his way around the jungle, village backalleys and paddy fields so well. I love him.
A tiger statue covered with moss, an ancient Banyan tree. Doesn't it remind you of Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke?
The Beatles crossing Abbey Road Hehehehehe
Standing in the middle of a rice field makes one feel really magical. I don't know how to describe it but I randomly felt touched because it takes too damn much effort to grow rice (and wow! RICE!), all the greenery, the blue skies... I felt free. You feel like shouting at the top of your lungs like Leo DiCaprio, "I'm the King of the WORLDDDDDDDDD!!!" I think Japa san had a great job. He takes frequent walks amongst all these beauty.
After the 3 hours' trek. Guess who is the 46 year old? Damn tired lah!
I had such a lovely time during the trip. It was great. I had good food, I was pampered, I slept well, I lazed by the pool, I had a good book, Loverboy paid for just about everything (Banzai!), the beds were always made when I'm not looking and everyone smiled at me. Heaven~ This is what I call a holiday.
Last but least, thank you to Loverboy who made all these happen. Lub!!! :P
(That's him still checking emails on holiday. Poor thing. *runs off to suntan beside pool*)
1 comment:
what a lovely holiday!!! i want a holiday too! Does loverboy comes with any tour packages?? :D
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