Monday, April 25, 2011

Bali Part 2 – Babi Guling Ibu Oka, Tanah Lot and Jimbaran Bay

Oh..sunshine, where are thou when needed thou the most?

For those who missed the Part 1 of our journey, don’t feel shy. Just -->(Click here). Weather wasn’t as “friendly” as expected. Since we’re still in Ubud, we asked our driver to drop us for lunch in Ibu Oka Babi Guling. *Hehe..dying to try*

 

The entrance signboard

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Fully seated thus we opted for “under the umbrella” seats. Don’t worry. It’s very common thing to share table with strangers. Limited edition..ma..

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The hungry dear

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Teh Botol Rp5,000 (RM1.75)

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There are a few options in the menu. We ordered the separated version and another one would be special version. The separated meal consist of rice, soup and as you can see in the picture below (crispy pork skin, fried inner organs, sausage and spicy green veggie)- Rp50,000 (RM17.50)

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Special Babi Guling is actually the most basic dish. Everything mixed in one plate- Rp30,000 (RM10.50). Honestly, I loved everything about the dish. The spices of the gravy just infused the entire dish and the best part was the crispy skin. Just can’t get enough of it.

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The skins were separated to avoid sogginess. Yum yum!

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No doubt the whole meal didn’t come cheap (Rp90,000 – RM31.50) but I personally think it is worth it. The spices might not suit everyone palate. Either you will love it or hate it. Give it a try… :)

 

Ibu Oka Babi Guling
Jalan Suweta,
Tegal Sari No. 2, Ubud
Bali, Indonesia.

*****

Rain rain go away,
Come again another day,
Miss Vivian wants to play…..
*My dream never came true*

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Entrance of Tanah Lot with my sexy umbrella…

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Hmmm…..

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Batik

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Walkway to the temple (The thing that they are selling here was Mad expensive. Ok. An example to justify my accusation. I saw a dress and the seller “open” price was Rp350,000 (RM122.50) even after much negotiation, it was still expensive. I’m sorry but i rather get a better dress from shopping complexes)

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Praying but it was drizzling at the same time… poor thing

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Brave uncle who went for fishing…the wave was really scary

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No sunset :(

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Ahahahaha….dear dear’s dirty feet

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*****

Months ago during planning, I wanted to bring my dear dear fir a romantic dinner. Just picture this in your head. Sun setting, waves sound, birds chirping, soaking your feet in the sand together while a live music band singing. Perfect!

However in reality, s*** happens. Drizzling + drizzling = no sunset and everything above. I was devastated. Is this how our Bali trip ends? T__T

 

The staffs untying the table cloths cause the rain got heavier

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As we sat down in the inner corner of the restaurant, the waiter handed us the menu. We got shock of our lives!!!! The cheapest set available was Rp700,000 (RM245). Gulped! Omg..should we leave or stay? Since the tour guide brought us here, we felt a bit shy to leave so we opted for the cheapest set.

 

Part of the set. Soup with baked potato….below average..hmmm and many thing struck our head. I couldn’t imagine how the rest of the meal would taste like. Thinking to myself *”There goes our money*”.

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Garden salad…..very normal. Nothing special

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Ok..here came the rice and fried veggie

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Oh…suddenly the waiter brought out everything. The main course.

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Wow…we were really surprised on how big the portion was. Seriously, it was HUGE!
Taste wise? Unbelievable delicious! Yes, our appetizer wasn’t good but these fresh seafood changed our entire perception of this place.

1. The seafood was Fresh! It was very important. The fish was nicely grilled while retained its juiciness.

2. The entire set consist of 600gm lobster (1 whole lobster), 600gm clams (6 pieces), 6 sticks of grilled calamari, 600gm grilled prawns and 600gm crabs (1 whole crab).

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Oh…I actually missed those babies! Perfectly grilled!! However, the crab didn’t have much meat. Skinny fella.

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Finale- fruit platter

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After the rain stopped, we moved out for better view. Inside was stuffy and hot

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Oh..look! Corn..grill corn!

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Of course we couldn’t resist. Rp3,500 for 1 which means about RM1.22

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Enjoying the corn and the view

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The sky was getting dark by 6.30pm

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I would recommend this restaurant for taste wise. Overall, even though the dinner did not turn out as I planned but we really had a great time and most importantly, the food was worth it! Now come to think of it, it wasn’t really that expensive as the food portion and deliciousness lived up to our expectations.

 

Dewata Cafe,
Kedonganan Beach St,
Kuta, Bali
Phone: (0361) 704050/ 702314

 

*****

The next day, our flight was at 6.00am = arriving at airport 3.30am = waking up and do packing = 2.20am. Ohhh….why did I even book this time in the first place?

Oh ya..kindly reserve some money Rp150,000 (RM52.50) for tax purposes. Per person! Thank god we didn’t spend all…Hehe

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Creepy airport @ 4.30am

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My dear, I hope you enjoy this trip with me. No doubt it was very short, but I really had a great time with you. I love you so so much! Hope we can continue this journey till we both part from this world. Muaks!

 

♥♥♥I love you dear ♥

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Cheers! XOXO

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bali Part 1 – Kintamani, Luwak Coffee Farm and Tirta Empul Tampaksiring.

Thank you Air Asia for making this trip possible for us! I booked tickets to Bali during Air Asia "zero" fair. To be honest, the deal was too good to be true. It cost us a total of RM295 (inclusive of 2 ways tickets for 2 person and 3 night stay in Tune hotel). What a bargain! The night before, we landed in Bali around 7.35pm due to flight delay. I know those who took Air Asia knew it was more or less like a norm. “Biasa sudah la”. We were picked up by our driver from Bagus company and send us to our hotel for free (as long as it is located in Kuta). I had previously book him through this email gelo82181@yahoo.com.

Come, let me give you a snap shop of how our transport looked like. It was very spacious for two. The rate that the company charged us was Rp350,000 (RM122.50) a day inclusive of petrol, parking, driver’s meal and etc. However, it does not include entrance fees for sight-seeing. (Please bargain. I’m a bit shy as the rate will go to as low as Rp300,000 (RM105)).

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The official starts of our tour in Bali. Mr Bagus picked us up from Tune Hotel Kuta at 10am and we proceed to Kintamani (Volcano). The journey took about roughly 2 hours or so depending on the traffic.
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The Volcano (It appears blurry from a distance)
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We settled down in one of the restaurants for lunch buffet. (Tips: Please bargain. Everything is bargain-able in Bali). The waitress “open” the price with Rp100,000 + 21% tax for per person. Mad fella. That would be about RM42.35. I did research before and most of the people mentioned that the food up here is lousy. I’m not willing to pay this much money so we bargained with a deal of Rp80,000 + 10% tax = RM30.80. Not too bad la~
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Open window seating..(but the air wasn’t fresh. It was smoky as if some one burn something)
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The buffet spread…it was actually quite delicious (I’m surprised)
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On my dear dear’s right, there was actually no window at all. A tiny push to the plate and the plate will definitely landed on someone’s head below. Can i? Hehe
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*****

The next pit stop was Luwak (Civet) Coffee Farm. Kopi luwak or civet coffee, is one of the world's most expensive and low-production coffee. It is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the civets, then passed through its digestive tract (means shit). Source: Wikipedia. Ok……………………

Thank you very much but i think i will skip this. (Need to pay Rp100,000 (RM35) for ONE cup if you want to taste)
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Image source: Luxury Launches

Hehe. Don’t worry. All these drinks below are FREE! Yes, I’m a cheapo. Variety of tastes: Bali coffee, ginger tea (i love it), chocolate, chocolate ginger (love it too) and ice lemon tea (dear’s favorite). We bought some back as souvenirs.
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You can see that Bali coffee is very powdery. Hate it or love it.
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Buah Salak (In English also known as Salak). It was a kind of palm tree species native to Indonesia.
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The naked Salak
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BatMAN. Gender male-checked.
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According to the driver, the bats are tame. I hope so…….
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*****
We proceed our journey to Tirta Empul Tampaksiring. Tirta Empul Temple is a holy spring water temple and most of the Hindu society in Bali believed that this water source can heal various of diseases, hence every day this place is a lot of visited by Hindu people to do the ritual and sanctify them self.

Entrance fee: Rp15,000 per person (RM5.25)
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Nice or not my red color “sarung”? I picked myself one leh together with the black ribbon
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Dear dear’s blue “sarung”. Picked by me too....hehe
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Love love love….
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Praying (duh!)
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Ermm…pool with plants?
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The holy water
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Very dedicated photographer..
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Souvenir shops towards the exit
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and lastly a pit stop paddy field terrace before checking in into hotel. Don’t know what to write bout this place… –_-“
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Finally! Finally we can check in into the hotel that i booked months ago. The infamous Tegal Sari, Ubud   <----Yes, yes. Click there and I will show you the place. Hehe. See ya~