Bali 2.0 day 8

My last full day in Bali before i fly off tomorrow. I thought I should talk a bit about my bargained accommodation.

Like I mentioned earlier, it cost only RP180,000 per night and it comes with breakfast. The room is not very posh but it comes with an ensuite bathroom. It doesn’t comes with water heater but in Bali, you don’t really need one. The B&B also comes with a swimming pool. Seriosly, what’s more to ask, right!

This B&B being situated in Poppy Lane 2, is close to the happenings at night, and yet near to the very accommodating surf at Kuta Beach.

The only draw back about this place is that it could be very noisy at night. One will hear the noises from the entertainment clubs and pub nearby and the tendency of the drunken backpackers playing around the pool in the middle of the night. But then again, for a price of RP180,000, this is not something to complain about.

I spent the rest of the day buying last minute gifts for friends, and another surf session in the late afternoon.

The night was spent at the ever favorite Sky Garden Club along Legian Street. Being a saturday night, the crowd was crazy and the show was entertaining…… party the night away as I know the next time I visit Bali again will be another long time to go.

Bali 2.0 day 7

Nothing much happening today, other than watching some pro surfing and finding a nice spot to chill and relax for the rest of the day. This is what vacation is all about!

Bali 2.0 day 6

When you’re at the same place for more than 5 days, everything just started to settle down like a norm. I woke up earlier to go for a surf. Surf wasn’t as good as the other day. The waves were just closing up as soon as they started to break.

The rest of the day was just spent walking around Kuta, dropped in to a local warung, had Bakso and local balinese coffee, then started to talk with some local Balinese. It’s funny how although Malay and Indonesian share similar language, there’re many terms and slang that are unique to each of these languages. I had fun using Malay to speak with the locals and learn up some Indonesian.

Kuta beach during sunset can get really crowded. I’m amazed at how groups and groups of tourist from different part of the world gather at the beach to hang out and to catch the sunset.

On the other end of Kuta beach, there’s this “save the turtle” campaign that were giving the general public to adopt a small sea turtle by releasing them into the sea.  This is also their fundraising activities so that they can have enough fund to continue their sea turtle conservation program.

The crowd at the beach just continue to grow at dust. I continued to stay on for awhile until I felt that I have enough of it. Tomorrow, I’ll need to unwind at a more quiet beach. Canggu will definitely be the place to be for tomorrow.

Bali 2.0 day 5

Woke up extremely early in the morning and head out to Canggu beach for some early chill-lax time.

I have planned out to do a long ride out from Kuta to Tanah Lot today. So Canggu is my pit stop before I continue on my journey.

The scenery just got nicer as I was moving further away from the party town of Kuta. There’re many local balinese houses scattered around at between the many paddies field. What a sight!

Then, after the long but interesting ride, I was encountering a sight that have been very much featured in travel brochures and magazines, the Tanah Lot temple!

It’s so beautiful that one must be there to witness the charm of Tanah Lot. Apparently the temple was built back in 15th century. The structure of the temple does look solid to me and will probably be there until the next century.

I was truly marvelled by the temple site! The temple and the background really makes up a good photo shot subject. Of course, one needs to snap a pic with the iconic temple as background to prove that one has been to this part of Bali.

There’s a Kecak Dance happening at the site at 6.30pm every evening. But a ticket of 20,000 rupiah is needed to witness the traditional dance. So I just though it wasn’t worth that money and time to wait on till the dance.

After that, it was time to head back to the party town, Kuta. Whatever’s happening tomorrow, I’m not sure. But I’ll keep it as relaxing as possible!

Bali 2.0 day 4

Woke up kinda late today, at almost 10am. Well, I’m on holiday, so not pressing for time at all. That’s the luxury of a true breakaway. And as planned, getting myself ready to go surfing. But first, the board needed a good coat of wax. Then it was a long walk through the Poppies Lane to the beach with my surfboard.

The waves were very forgiving this round and good for me to get back into surfing again. I realised that I’m not as good as before, maybe because my body is more tuned towards a runner rather than a surfer now.

It was a good 1 hour plus of surfing session before I head back to my room. I thought that was enough for the first day and maybe come back again the day after.

The rest of the afternoon was just checking out the rest of Kuta until evening.

Next day’s plan is to check out Tanah Lot at further north from Seminyak. So it’s another early night for a good rest.

Bali 2.0 day 3

Ever seen how a quiet early morning Poppies Lane II looks like in Kuta?

A typical backpackers and party goers town with many souls are either still asleep or having hang over from the night before. However, the beach is already abuzz with many people who don’t go out party at night, including many joggers.

The jog on the beach was refreshing. Felt very different from my usual run on the tarmac back at home.  Here, I didn’t even need a running shoes and i felt really work my legs out by running on the sand.

Noticed the waves were not too big and perfect for beginners and amateur surfers like me. There are a number of surfers already starting to catch some waves when i finished my run. I stayed on to observe the wave and plan to come back the next morning for a surf.

A beautiful day today only led me to further my exploration to the north and to find what other surprises I may come across.

Found an even quieter beach at Canggu and was great to just enjoy the crushing waves, do some reading, and get a bit of sun on my skin.

As I was leaving the beach, I went explore the surrounding and came across a cafe that sells Teh Tarik and Roti. I thought that it would be nice to finish my day with a sip of teh tarik, so why not! This little cafe also have a nive view over looking the paddy field. I sort of gave my Malaysian identity out easily when I went in and only ask for a glass of teh tarik and nothing else. The owners started to chat up with me and revealed to me that they were  Malaysian, too, and came here to open the cafe just as little back as 2 months ago. How nice to meet a fellow Malaysian in such a county site setting of Bali.

I also found out that they own a bungalow here at Canggu and provide home-stay type of accommodation for visitors to Bali. They’re also willing to help me sort out a cheap accommodation in Canggu like what I’m enjoying now in Kuta. I thanked them in advance and told them I would definitely need them for such help as i really prefer a quieter place for peaceful getaway.

Next up, plan to start surfing tomorrow morning. I could hear my board is calling out to the waves already!

Bali 2.0 day 2

It’s a beautiful morning at Kuta. Well…. waking up at a place away from home is always refreshing. Because it’s been working non-stop since December, I didn’t want to stay around Kuta and decided to head north towards Seminyak area, hoping to look for a quieter beach and town.

It was a wise choice as the beaches there are definitely less crowded and not many hustler who try to sell massages or handicrafts.

The township at Seminyak is also surrounded by many paddies field, making it such a beautiful settings for photo shootings.

Didn’t really do much else other than discovering my survival’s essentials for the next 1 week at Bali. Those being getting to know where’s the cheapest mini-market, the cheapest Warung or eating places nearby.

The night was concluded with the walk down the beach front of Kuta beach and just watching what’s going on and happening at this Bali’s capital of tourist (the actual capital of Bali is Denpasar).

Going for a jog down the beach tomorrow morning. That would be fun!