JUST TO SHARE (Lau Tai Onn): A Pictorial Travelogue of My Recent Indonesia Bali Island 3D2N Tour

The Blogger’s Note:

My wife Soh Ai and I went on a 3D2N package tour to Bali Island, Indonesia from Monday, May 9 to Wednesday, May 11, 2016. The tour was actually a lucky draw prize sponsored by Trip4Asia worth RM 5,000 won by our second son Wai Jen and given to us. In company with us in this group tour were Mr. Tiew Kim Tuan (aged 60), his wife Mdm. Ng Chew Eng (aged 56) and their daughter Miss Tiew Wei Kie (aged 24). Wei Kie won the grand prize worth RM 7,500 for the Bali Tour for 3 pax.

As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, the following photos should be able to relate our travel experiences with minimum words.

DAY 1 (May 9)

Departure at KLIA taking Malindo Air’s Boeing 737.

Malindo Air flight from KLIA (09:20) – Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar, Bali (12:20)

Luggages being loaded into our plane

In-flight meal - Nasi Lemak

Arrived in Bali

Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar, Bali

The International Airport in Denpasar, Bali is named after Lieutenant Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai (1917 – 1946) who was an Indonesian National Hero. He commanded the Indonesian forces in Bali against the Dutch during the Indonesian War of Independence and was killed in the Battle of Margarana. Ngurah Rai also appears on IDR Rp50,000 note.

Welcoming group photo

Lunch at Pawan Pasundan Restaurant

Our first lunch in Bali

Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home to the pilgrimage temple Pura Tanah Lot (literally "Tanah Lot temple"), a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography and general exoticism.

The temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 16th-century Dang Hyang Nirartha who convinced the fishermen on the south-western coast to build a shrine on the rock, for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods. The main deity of the temple is Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, who is the sea god or sea power.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. In addition to Balinese mythology, the temple was significantly influenced by Hinduism.

Our driver-cum-guide voluntarily offered to take group photos of us at all places visited, something I didn't encounter in package tours to China and other countries thus far.

Dinner at Melasti Restaurant

Beautiful sunset against the backdrop of Indian Ocean

Our first dinner in Bali by the beach of Tanah Lot

After dinner, we checked into VOUK Hotel & Suites (pic below) in the Nusa Dua area. It is a 4-star hotel equipped with gymnasium, beach club, restaurant, wedding venues, mice facilities, bar and lounge, Chakra Spa, resort style pool, and 24 hour reception. The rooms are facilitated with individually-controlled air conditioning, wi-fi, private balcony with day bed, personal safe, bar-refrigerator, cable TV with international channels, lounge, tea & coffee making facilities, rain shower and etc

DAY 2 (May 10)

A view of Vouk Hotel ground floor restaurant

Sumptuous buffet breakfast provided by Vouk Hotel

Art Village / Factory Visits

Batik Village

Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Outlet

Yan Yan Silver Smith

Batuan Temple

The Batuan temple is considered as the oldest temple in Bali Island, built in the year of 1020 AD, almost 1000 years old. This temple was designed with Balinese ornaments and the roof was made from the fiber of the coconut tree with black color. The temple location is strategic, on the side of the main road connecting Denpasar to Ubud. For over than a thousand of year, Batuan has transformed into the artist and craftsmen village, old legend, and also mysterious stories.

The name "Batuan" or "Baturan" mentioned here prompts villagers to joke about being "tough as stone" or "eating rocks" as batu means "stone" in Balinese. But it likely refers to an ancient megalithic tradition in which the standing stones serve as the meeting places and ceremonial sites for the worship of ancestral spirits. Because Batuan became a center from which Buddhist priests and Brahmans spread to the main court centers of South Bali, the village has an unusual preponderance of Brahman.

Before we entered the temple we had to borrow (with donation) and wear ‘Kamben Bali’ (a Bali’s traditional costume) to show respect and honor of the sacredness of the temple.

A group photo enthusiastically taken by our driver-cum-guide Putu Timur.
Pic from left: Vikie, Chew Eng, Kim Tuan, the blogger, Soh Ai

Babi Guling for Lunch

Babi guling, or Balinese style roast suckling pig, is one of Bali’s most famed dishes. "Ibu Oka" Restaurant is arguably the most famous place to order Babi Guling. Babi guling might sound like an unusual dish to find in Indonesia which has the largest Muslim majority population in the world (and pork is forbidden in Muslim countries), but the predominant religion (80%) on the island of Bali is Hinduism. In Bali, Babi Guling is a celebration meal, served at rites-of-passage ceremonies like weddings. But it is also available in warungs (traditional roadside eateries) all over Bali. Babi Guling is prepared by stuffing suckling pigs with basa gede (a fresh spice paste made of things like shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, fresh turmeric, bird’s eye chilli, black peppercorn, salt and shrimp paste), rubbing the skin with turmeric, then hand turning them on a spit over an open fire, basting them with coconut water throughout the 6 hour roasting process.

Babi Guling

Goa Gajah (or Elephant Cave)

Goa Gajah is actually an archaeological site of significant historical value. There are relic-filled courtyard, rock-wall carvings, a central meditation cave, bathing pools and fountains.

Goa Gajah dates back to the 11th century, built as a spiritual place for meditation. The main grounds are down a flight of steps from the roadside and parking area, which is lined with various art and souvenir shops and refreshment kiosks. Upon reaching the base we came across a large ‘wantilan’ meeting hall and an assortment of large old stone carvings. The pool, excavated in 1954, features 5 out of supposedly 7 statues depicting Hindu angels holding vases that act as waterspouts.

Various structures reveal Hindu influences dating back to the 10th century, and some relics feature elements of Buddhism dating even earlier to the 8th century. The cave is shallow; inside are three stone idols each wrapped in red, yellow and black cloths. Black soot lines the cave’s walls as result from the current-day incense burning.

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 19, 1995, in the Cultural category.

Luwak Coffee Plantation

Kopi Luwak or civet coffee, refers to the coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus).

Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs if the civets choose to eat cherries. Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavor profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the cherries for the fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet's protease enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the cherries are then defecated with other fecal matter and collected.

Luwak coffee is widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world. A cup of it costs Rp 50,000 (or RM16).

Luwak Coffee beans

Luwak Coffee powder

Taste of many different flavoured coffee and tea

The most expensive coffee in the world

Souvenir shop at the Luwak Coffee Plantation

Monkey Forest

The Ubud Monkey Forest is a nature reserve and Hindu temple complex in Ubud, Bali. Its official name is the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary (Balinese Mandala Suci Wenara Wana). It is a popular tourist attraction and is said to be often visited by over 10,000 tourists a month.

This cool and dense swathe of jungle houses 3 holy temples. The sanctuary is inhabited by a band of grey-haired and greedy long-tailed Balinese macaques which are nothing like the innocent-looking doe-eyed monkeys.

Ubud Art Market

The Ubud Art Market is centred among the art producing villages, and being just opposite the royal palace which is a centre point to Ubud itself, makes it a strategic shopping place for Balinese handicrafts and souvenirs.

Ubud Village is formerly a traditional village as a center of economy for local community and a center of government in the era of kingdom. There is a traditional market available in this village selling the daily local community needs which mostly crowded in the morning. The existence of this traditional market is still preserved in spite of the modern of life and tourism development that make Ubud Village as tourist destination in Bali.

Bebek Tepi Sawah for Dinner

The crispy duck by the side of a padi field is a signature dish in Bali. It is said to be boiled with spices such as turmeric and lemongrass for two hours, before being deep-fried.

Even the current Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia had patronized this restaurant before!

Bebek (Indonesian word for duck) Tepi Sawah

DAY 3 (May 11)

Set breakfast in the hotel. No buffet because of fewer guests.

Vouk Hotel & Suites

Enjoyed 120-minute Balinese Massage & Spa at MSpa (owned by Vouk Hotel)

Balinese massage is an approach to massage developed in Bali and the techniques include acupressure, skin rolling and flicking, firm and gentle stroking, percussion, and application of essential oils.

Last Day Lunch at ULAM Balinese Seafood Restaurant

Last Day Lunch in Bali

Uluwatu Temple

Uluwatu Temple is a Hindu temple situated on the coral reef sordid to sea about 80 meters above the sea level. It is featured by a small dry forest mostly called by “Alas Kekeran” (interdict forest) and inhabited by monkeys which are notorious for snatching visitors' belongings. The name of Uluwatu comes from the word “Ulu” meaning the head and “Watu” meaning stone.

Jimbaran Beach

Jimbaran is just south of the airport and Kuta. This was formerly a real backwater of south Bali, just a tiny fishing village with a daily market. That all started to change in the 1980s and Jimbaran is now home to several world class 5 star beach resorts, plus a few more moderate mid-market hotels.

The pleasant white sand beach and the bay of Jimbaran offer small secluded areas, where tranquility and peace is the perfect antidote to a stressful world. The three clusters of grilled seafood restaurants on the beach are a major tourist draw in the evenings, as is the truly stunning sunset.