Bali, is part of Indonesia that is a Muslim country. Surprisingly, in Bali, there are more Hindus than other religion and that includes Muslim. Unlike back home, the word BABI (pig) is seen openly on the street in the form of Babi guling, a famous delicacy in Indonesia(though I am not a big fan of the dish). Better still, even their signboard is written BABI GULING! That's definitely a no no back home. Something might even happen to the stall if they put that in! haha.. For those whom don't already know, babi guling is barbecued pig. They make use of the whole pig! They even make use of the skin which is deep fried until it's crispy like what we do in M'sia for a famous local delicacy, keropok lekor (made from Mackerel fish). But I didn't dare eat it because of my hereditary high cholesterol problem. haha..
Oh ya.. before I go on, let me put in a word or two about our guide, a Dr Made Widana. He's a very honest and hardworking guy. He must've been very tired after driving us around all day long! He brought us to places that charges reasonable price as compared to one Taiwanese guy that I met along the way whom complained that his guide brought him to places that only do business in USD. haha.. Look him up in Facebook with his name. He's on facebook and has a lot of good comments from his previous customers!
Well, after lunch, Made brought us a place called Krishna. It's sort of a supermarket or some sort with a lot of souvenirs and some local food. I must say the nuts there are pretty good! After Krishna, we were off to Kuta beach. The beach was full of people! There were even a group which I think was from Malaysia having a teambuilding over there! (Ehhem.. To my company... can we have a teambuilding over in Bali too?! *hint *hint?! hahaha..) The place was great! And it's full of arts stuffs albeit a bit overpriced! The wooden art in Bali was captivating! There were many foreigners sunbathing and enjoying their life there.. It's so serene and peaceful! I love it there! (Note to myself: next time I'm there in Bali, I'm gonna spend half a day there on the beach and relax!)
After Kuta, we went to a temple called Uluwatu. It's quite a drive from Kuta to Uluwatu. The journey took nearly 30 - 45 minutes drive! It was so "Ulu" (which means remote in English) that we thought we were going nowhere! Uluwatu is a beautiful place with great scenery! Loved it loads! It's actually a temple that's situated on the cliff. When we got there, it was drizzling a little but it didn't deter us from going in. I had to put on a "sarong" because I was wearing short pants and by putting on the sarong, I was supposedly respecting the temple which, doesn't hurt as I had received comment that I look kinda good in the sarong.. haha.. There were huge monkeys there.. We had to walk a bit into the temple and when we reached the end of the path, we saw a monkey that looked like the king.. sitting there alone while the rest of the monkeys didn't dare go near this fella.. And this fella is huge compared to the ones we had back in M'sia.. I reckon it must be the food that the tourists had been giving them though they were advised to not give the monkeys any food.. Anyway, Uluwatu is a very very beautiful place and the sound of the sea was quite relaxing.. How I miss island trips now.. We took some photos around and near Uluwatu and it turns out to be quite a good exercise for me having to walk from one end to the other to take a look at the scenery there! We were supposed to watch the kachak dance show there but just as we were going to the area where the kachak dance were supposed to be held, it started to rain cats and dogs. So, we decided against getting wet as it was only the first day and we don't want to get sick! So, off we went back to Kuta. On the way back towards the vehicle, we managed to catch a glimpse of the monkeys giving the tourists a show of see no evil, hear no evil and speak evil. So cute. Too bad, when I wanted to to take photos, they moved.. Dang..
We were all hungry after a long day and after the babi guling lunch which we didn't really finish. The travel back toward Kuta took us about 45 minutes because of the jam! Made drove like a F1 driver and got us to Kuta quickly as we were tired and hungry. We went to a Chinese restaurant. The food there was quite nice. Although food back in Malaysia is very much better, but anyone whom eats here, would say that the food was quite on par with some of the restaurants back home. Do pardon the photos.. tried uploading the correct way but it kept on turning upside down.. The gang loved the fried rice (which I didn't take photo of..). So much so, we ordered another plate of it!
After dinner, we went on our way back to the resort that we were supposed to be staying in. Waka Gangga. I found Waka Gangga online. Waka Gangga is situated in Tanah Lot, about 45 minutes drive from Kuta (but it took us about 1.5 hours as Made wasn't sure on how to go to Waka Gangga. Waka Gangga resort is situated by the seaside and surrounded with paddy fields. The sea breeze was magnificent and lovely and as it's situated away from everything else, the environment were peaceful and relaxing. When we arrive in Waka Gangga, it was nearly 10+pm. We were greeted by the staff whom were on duty (and he was a MU fan!). We were given some drinks though we did not receive the cake. Come to think of it, ya! We were not given any cakes as stated in the itinerary! Arrgghh.. But yeah.. We arrived late. So we didn't had too much time on our hands to venture around the area. We booked a villa and a lanai (a "bungalow"). The villa comprises of a master room and a smaller room. The good thing about the villa is that it comes with a private pool! We had fun in that pool that night. I didn't manage to take photos of the interior of Lanai but I was told it was quite nice too! All of these rooms comes with an outdoor shower and bathroom except for the master bedroom that comes with a bathtub on the inside. To be able to shower outside under the sky would be heavenly! But I didn't do that.. haha.. Shy la.. Anyway, The bedroom was fantastic and lovely! The master bedroom was situated right across the beach and sea. So, imagine when you wake up in the morning... The sight and sound of the sea is there greeting you when you wake up.. Absolutely heavenly! There was even a wedding that went on before we arrived! Dang.. Missed the wedding! We had a good deal from Waka Gangga in getting 30 minutes massage for each of the gang. Personally, I felt that the massage was so so. I would prefer thai massage for the robustness and strength involved in the massage. But it was nice while the massage lasted. We had breakfast provided by Waka Gangga and I must say, it was not as expected! The breakfast was great and delicious. Waka Gangga were generous with the portion of food given to us. I would love to go back and stay in Waka Gangga again in my next trip to Bali!
Again, do pardon the photos.. I think I've uploaded too many photos maybe?! Hmm.. Anyway, part 2 to come up soon!
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