01 July 2011 - Finale of Bali trip

Breakfast came on time at 8am at their lovely garden terrace. Birds chirping, butterflies fluttering, morning sun providing a sliver of warmth lifted spirits. Nasi Goreng for her, Mie Goreng for him. He found it too oily and sweet, did not enjoy this as much as the one whipped up at Nefatari.


Checked out and went touring at 9am. Visited Pura Taman Ayun and Tanah Lot for some sightseeing.

Statue at the entrance of Pura Taman Ayun. Entrance fee was 3,000rp per person.


Note for ladies entering Pura Taman Ayun...


The merus


Pura Tanah Lot - entrance to the temple is viable only at low tide. Entrance fee was 10,000rp per person. There was a relatively cheap market in the area., with tee shirts going for 10,000rp up.


Crash happy waves, spotting the people on the cliff will tell you how high the waves crashed.


A more violent one captured.


After all that sun, they headed to Krisna in hope of getting some souvenirs. Huge store, but couldn't find anything suitable. She bought a "love bali" tee shirt though.


Grabbed a quick lunch at the cafe just outside the store. Finally got to order sate lilit, but this was cold and not grilled on lemongrass sticks. Still nice anyway, tasted like "otak" back home. 10,000rp for 8 sticks.


Rice with self picked sides of fried shrimp, vegetables and some crispy anchovies. 20,000rp. Sounded cheap until I saw the menu on the board. See next picture.


Could have been overcharged, since that stall actually offered sets which include several sides and drinks, the most expensive being 20,000rp. Coincidentally, the lady who served him is looking at the camera from behind the glass. Also bought a chilled bottle of 1.5L mineral water at 6,000rp for the rest of the journey. Prior to that, they had finished a similar bottle had for 3,500rp from a convenience shop.


Carried on with their journey to Uluwatu's Padang Padang beach. Drove up and down many steep slopes before reaching the destination. And guess what? More steep slopes. You have to climb down many steps before reaching the beautiful beach. Saw more people on the beach than suggested online.


View of the cliff and Mount Agung (?) in the distance.


A better view of the clouds surrounding Mount Agung (?).


Enjoyed themselves so much with checking out the amazing marine life in the reefs that they overshot the allocated time. The climb back up was very taxing, got some muscle aches after that.

The driver told them they only had 20 minutes for their last stop at Pura Luhur Uluwatu, costing 15,000 per person.

Got some BBQ corn with savoury kecap manis (soy sauce?) from the motorcycle stall just outside Pura Luhur Uluwatu. Yummy stuff, especially when they were tired and hungry again. He has some corn in the fridge and is thinking of making some right now.


Some tourist bought the corn just to offer to the monkeys. This one apparently enjoyed it a lot too, taking big mouthfuls.


A monkey drinking from a bottle it uncapped. Yes, it knew how to unscrew the cap of the bottle.


If you ever visit, please be careful of the mischievous monkeys. The driver told them not to wear spectacles, shades, hats or have anything in your hands. This particular monkey snatched a Japanese tourist's shades, only to drop it onto the ground after being offered food.


This little one perched stealthily and ready to grab this Caucasian lady's hat. She got away after he warned her about the threat. However, she was quickly surrounded by more monkeys because she had food in her hands. A local walked towards the monkeys with his arms raised and they all scampered off.


And then, it was time to say goodbye. Not that smoothly though, got jammed for an hour or so before reaching the airport. Here's food on the return flight...tata, Bali.

30 June 2011 - To Tunjung Mas Bungalows and the long stroll

After a three night stay at Nefatari, it was time to move hotels. Reluctant as they were, they didn't have much of a choice, since Nefatari had been fully booked. Let's view some breakfast pictures from the final day at Nefatari.

Omelette, sausage and bacon.


Bubur Ayam, arranged slightly differently from the previous.


Mie Goreng again for him


The final morning spread at Nefatari. Their watermelon juice was good, sweet and pulpy, a regular with their meals.


Ayu processed their check-out and the bill came to USD440 for lodging package, 350,000rp for the 2 hour spa and 188,000rp for Bebek Betutu dinner with Bintang and watermelon juice. Gede ferried us and a Caucasian lady who wanted to head to Starbucks. Our destination? Tunjung Mas Bungalows, lodging for the final night of the trip.

Finally reached Tunjung Mas Bungalows.


While processing their check-in at Tunjung Mas Bungalows, they were served with fruit juice. Cool and refreshing.


Her contribution in brighter colors.


They did not engage the driver as they did not know what time they would be done with checking in. The driver did not seem keen on the half-day (2pm-7pm) job either. His worries were unfounded though, as the check-in was a breeze. After a rest, they prepared to go explore the area and visit Ubud market again. Komang kindly provided a photocopy of the area map, and it was a reassuring asset. It would prove to be a very long walk...traced in red.


Monkeyed around at the batik store just outside Tunjung Mas before turning right of the hotel, heading north on Hanoman. Lots of shops and restaurants, they also passed by Bebek Bengil, but it was too early to eat. After what seemed like hours, they finally reached Dewi Sita. By this time, they were already hungry and stopped by Warung Kacu.


Ordered Nasi Campur, Soto Ayam and Sate Babi, all for 45,000rp. Affordable, but would it be good?

6 sticks of Sate Babi for 15,000rp. The sauce is more savoury as compared to the sweet peanut sauce used back at home.


Nasi Campur for just 20,000rp. Consisted of one stick of pork sate, half an egg, some fried chicken and fried anchovies.


Soto Ayam for him, 10,000rp. More soupy than the version he knows, but contained a generous serving of shredded chicken.


Continued on the journey to Ubud market, and it was lucky that they closed at 5pm. Spared him the agony of nagivating the maze. On the return route, they took the Jalan Monkey Forest route, and encountered some screeching monkeys fighting and running across their paths in the dark. When they finally got to Jalan Raya Pengosekan, their stomachs started to complain. Browsed the restaurants for sate lilit, but couldn't find any. They ended up venturing further south and checked into the relatively empty Warung Ubud.

Got the platform seating right beside the road. The restaurant had really dim lighting and tea light candles on the table.


Beef Stroganoff for her, cost 32,000rp plus tax. Lighting was insufficient and it was difficult to focus. Sorry about the pictures.


BBQ pork ribs for him, 35,000rp plus tax.


The fulfilling meal marked the last dinner in Bali.