A Balinese Retreat~

In case some of you have not known, I went to Bali over the weekend (4 days) for a short getaway & to celebrate my birthday. This is the first year I spent my birthday overseas. I just thought I need a break & was glad that my friend, Hamsa, asked me if I wanna go on a trip with him. I was chatting with Suliana earlier this month & told her how much I wanted to go to Bali. Hamsa's birthday is in January as well so we decided that this trip shall be our birthday treats to ourselves! Haha...Kinda chic~ Quite a last minute holiday but a enjoyable one indeed. We took 180 over pics & I had to choose the better ones for the blog. Sit back & relax. Allow me to indulge you on my trip to...BALI. :)

DAY 1

We flew to Denpasar on Garuda Indonesia & landed at about 8.20 pm. Our driver (Pak Kutu) met us at the Ngurah Rai Airport & brought us to the resort we gonna stay, which is called Ramayana Resort & Spa. Such a convenient location, the resort is just 10 mins away from the airport. Our room is on the 2nd floor & has a balcony that faces the lush gardens. Nice nice... :)

So Balinese...Must see who chose the resort. *winks winks*

This Hamsa got so hungry (he said that the dinner served inflight wasn't enough!) that we had to have another meal after we arrived. Too lazy to go out so we just head to the Gabah Restaurant in the resort itself.

His Nasi Goreng & Bailey's Coffee

Ramayana's. Mixture of apple juice, mint leaves & whatnots. Shiok!

My seafood satay actually uses lemongrass as the usual sticks we have here...

DAY 2

It's the 26th January! We woke up close to 12 noon, just in time for lunch. :)
Weather's looking good & I'm feeling great. Hehe~

Chose the easiest way out for lunch lar...MacDonald's. If only we can have juicy burgers with a view of the beautiful ocean like this EVERYDAY.

Hard Rock Cafe! We're thinking of having dinner at the cafe on our last night. Hehe~

The resort is so near to everywhere! The beach, the makan places & shopping.

The shopping street of Kuta.

We met our tour guide, Yana at about 4pm as he'll be taking us for a sunset tour at Uluwatu. After driving for about 25 mins (up & down the hills), we finally reached....

A visit to Bali's dramatic Pura Luhur Uluwatu. Believed to date from the 16th century, this temple is perched on a limestone point suspended some 825 feet over the roaring Indian Ocean. What a long way up the steps...this is like Batu Caves already! Anyhow, visitors have to wear long pants or at least cover 3/4 of the leg area. If not, have to don that purple sarong with a yellow ribbon. That explains why Hamsa & I are walking around in them! Also, visitors are asked to remove their necklaces, spectacles & sunglasses. Loads of monkeys guarding the area & they are ready to snatch these items!

The water is sparkling blue! Aahh... I thought I was in South Africa for awhile. :)

I got scared by the monkeys lar...so I was glad Yana walked with me on my left & Hamsa on the right. Haha!

So nice! I bought a painting of this shot for Naz.

Hamsa is quite good in photography, I happily trust him with my digi cam to do some snapping. The time is almost 6 pm & we are waiting for sunset & kecak dance to start....

For curious or kaypoh people: I know what's going through your heads. NO. We are NOT a couple. :)

The most famous of the Balinese dances, the Kecak originated from the Sanghyang dance choirs, who chant a distinctive "kechak-kechak" accompaniment. Quite spiritual worr....

I wanna soak up the sun!

After the tour, it's finally dinner time! We were starving already. Yana drove us (with 2 other tourists) to somewhere near Nusa Dua for grilled seafood. The place is like a warung & we are seated right on the beach! It was a clear night & there loads of stars in the sky. Nice! Each of us have a plate full of ikan bakar, clams, sotong & prawns. Unfortunately, one of the tourists is a vegetarian so she offered Hamsa her share. Geez...see how much that chap gobbles down his food?! Then kena mini diarrhoea at night! Hamsa...I told you to eat in moderation horr.... Hehe~

There's a group of guys who play musical instruments & sang too. They came to our table & guess what....they sang "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. It's a great day for a birthday, watched beautiful sunset & dinner under the stars to top it all. Too bad, there's no special someone with me. I never really like that song but..I admit that my emotions got the better of me &I teared a bit. Sighs...

DAY 3

This is called... VAINITY. Hahaha!

At the balcony where we had our Nescafe. I name this balcony "My Space" (coz I can just sit & daydream most of the time) & I bet Hamsa will call it "My Smoking Bay" (he's not allowed to smoke IN the room!).

The day is bright & sunny again! Walked to Discovery Shopping Mall. Bought some souvenirs for my colleagues & Hamsa had A & W for lunch. I'm facing the beach from where I'm standing in the pic. Suliana will LOVE this mall!

And of course, no matter where I travel to, I'll always look out for...Starbucks. It's essential to gulp down Iced Caramel Machiatto on a hot day...

After all that shopping, I dragged Hamsa to watch sunset at Kuta Beach! It's like one of the many things MUST DO in Bali lar...

We sat from 6pm to 8pm. Talked about things in life whilst admiring the beautiful view of Kuta Beach. He even had the time to do a fake tattoo on his arm! Haha!

Aaawww~

So dinner at Hard Rock Cafe tonight! Hamsa had New York Strip Steak...

While mine is Tenderloin Steak...Yummy! Not forgetting the Cecil Orange Clove Tea.

I love this pic! It's like my crazy moment in Bali!

And my friend had his too!



Bought a couple of shirts from the Hard Rock Mega Store.

We agreed to spend our last night in Bali merrily. Went to get some drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe & watch the live band too. I drank just 2 (BIG!) glasses of cocktail : Reggae Breeze & Twist & Shout. They contain merely vodka with other juices but I was already super high. Haha... Hamsa drank 5 tequila shots & didn't feel anything at all! Damn... It's my FIRST time drinking so much & the FIRST time getting high. Quite happening you know! I remember feeling very very happy that I giggled non stop & I told Hamsa he looks like he's from Muis (An Islamic body in S'pore). I didn't dare to go to the dance floor coz I was afraid I may not make it back to our table. I realised...when a person is high on alcohol, his or her true emotions will show. I laughed & told Hamsa that I haven't feel this happy for awhile & the next moment, I cried. Like I said...the past month was a hard one for me. Anyhow, Hamsa won't tell me what I was crying about that night (he just commented I said a lot about myself...& I figured...ARIFF). I thanked him for taking care of me & brought me back safely. I hope he kept other info strictly confidential! Hahaha!

DAY 4

Sheesh...we are going back home! Bali is such a nice place that I don't wanna leave. Work is waiting for me some more... Tsk. My stomach didn't feel good after the alcohol session the night before. I vomitted a bit & managed to sleep off my mabuk-ness. So..no hangover lar. Anyway, it's just vodka. :)

He's sad to leave too but...at least, a special someone is waiting for him to come home. :)

Waiting to board the flight to gloomy S'pore. (My dad told me it rained everyday I was in Bali). Still got excess Rupiahs & USD but nothing much to buy at the Ngurah Rai Airport ley....
Take pics better!

I did some thinking on what to do, what I want... after I came back from my trip. I promise to love myself more than others (who claim to love me!). I enjoyed Bali & hope to go again someday. Not enough lar! In the meantime, I'm already looking forward to my next holiday destination: Australia. Insyallah~