Short trip to Bali for relaxation

10th-13th Jan 2012 - Bali, Island of the Gods

It happened that Qiann's holiday coincide with my one short week of block leave so we decided to head out to Bali to take a break from all the stress and happening in Singapore and just relax our body and soul for the new year ahead. Things didnt went very well in the beginning where my interview clashed with our departure dates so i had to rearrange for another flight instead and shorten our trip by almost 12hours. Nevertheless, we still manage to have a smooth trip where things aint too cramped up to not feel the relaxation we are suppose to have.

Due to limited flights of Jetstar, we had to venture new airline and decided to give AirAsia a go. The plane was as small yet comfy as a Jetstar's, just that they tend to slack a little on the rules, such as not needing to put all our bags on the floors, unlike the Jetstar that just insist on not letting us put it on our laps. Either way, both flights have proven to be safe, for afterall, im blogging now aint i?

Touchdowned late in the evening and was greeted by an interesting airport which does not look like one. It felt like we going to walk into a museum or temple when we alighted from the airport shuttle bus and headed towards the arrival hall. Didnt capture any photos as it was rather late and we were rushing quickly so that we could still explore their town after checking in. Had an airport transfer (which isnt worth it, but its better than finding where to flag a cab in that messy airport) and arrived at our hotel after a 30min drive.

The suite looks fantastically good, although its considered to be small for a suite but its large enough for the two of us. A side note is that the tap water is yellowish and unsafe for drinking (and brushing of teeth, according to one of the forum i researched on) so we played safe and bought alot of 1.5L mineral water (which is really cheap like 50c each) and brushed our teeth with them. :/

Once we are in the room, we dropped all the barangs we had and quickly head out to Kuta Square for some late night shopping and dinner. Bali doesnt really have much things to shop, especially clothes because everywhere sells almost identical products! Otherwise it will be those branded ones which is almost similar price to Singapore. I will still recommend bangkok to be the best place for shopping and boy do i miss the tuk tuk rides! *ok back to bali* We managed to buy some accessories which Qiann has a thing for before searching for Made Warung Restaurant because i forgot to bring my map out =.="

The restaurant look very vintage and has a nice atmosphere while we dine on their mehh-nothing-special food. Here we noted that they actually have a lot of staffs, so much that most of them were just doing nothing and chitchatting. There were about 10! floor personnels and there were at most 20 tables in the whole restaurant, so i dun know why but this just look like overstaffed to me.

Ventured around to the clubs area in search of this Bali Bombing Memorial as its one of the highlights to see when in Bali. Was wondering whether the people there are just unfriendly or doesnt seems to know the surrounding around them or just doesnt want to talk about it or doesnt understand me but no one appears to know the location of this memorial when i asked around for directions. The funniest was when at the end i asked a store cashier (whom again told me she doesnt know where) and i gave up and walked on and there right in front, not more than 50m away from the shop, lies the memorial. =.=" Took a photo there for memory sake and quickly left the scene as it just doesnt feel safe. =/

That concludes Day 1 and we went back to have some early good night rest as we have to wake up at 6.30am the next day.

Woke up really early and set off towards the white water rafting destination. It was quite a long journey but we had a friendly driver whom chatted with us and made the trip less boring, and at least keep me awake because im a little paranoid with foreign land and will try my best to stay awake to make sure they do not bring us to anywhere else. We passed by alot of stone statues and art cravings shops along the way, as well as rice padi fields which could be found at almost any spare lands beside the road and they are HUGE.

Arrived at the main entrance and got ready by changing to our going-to-get-wet clothes and safekeeping our bags with the staffs, whom will bring them to the bottom of the river where we will end the rafting at. We had to wait for a while because a raft need at least 4 passengers so in the meanwhile we just wait at their waiting area and had a phototaking spam. Didnt take long before a large group of caucasian arrive and we continued on.

In Bali, you will find alot of caucasian tourists because here is the Paris to them. They probably been to their Paris and Italy or neighbouring countries just as much as how we been to our Msia and Thailand. Most of the caucasians

Once everyone is ready, we changed into our lifejackets, grabbed our paddles and made our way down a loooooooong flight of stairs. At midway we were able to hear the river and thought that we are reaching the bottom, but there are more steps that doesnt seem to end. Eventually we all reached the bottom and got onto the raft and off we go for our wet adventures.

Went down a series of rapids and ripples and the song Bouncy Ride will start to ring in your mind. It was exciting yet not extreme, though we have a few rough bumps against the rocks or the sides. There are also calm portions of the river, where they allow you to get off the raft and have a swim, or rather just remain afloat while the river carries you downstream. At scenic shallow spots, they will stop and let us disembark to take photos to bring back the memories to share.

There was a small waterfall behind us so we decided to approach it for our photoshoot but the ground suddenly became too deep and we were dragged off by the currents. Luckily and skillfully, our guide managed to capture a nice shot of us (picture 2) before we struggled downstream as we get further and further away. (picture 3 and 4) However the ground starts to get shallow once again and we walked up with some difficulties (picture 5) before we reach the knee deep area once more.

There were also pit stops where the locals will sell you drinks and fruits like coconuts which you can refresh yourselves with after the hard work of paddling while the others will take a soak or take more photos around the area. The water does get colder as you travel downstream so its always better to take a dip the very first time you met calm waters and is given permission to. Afterwards it got too chilly that we just shaked our heads when offered the chance to swim again.

Thats our guide, whom was really friendly and could speak french rather fluently. The one on the right is a young french chap that rafted with us and his mom, that is just too cute to resist a photo taken with. There were many moments we just sailed down the river while sharing stories of our adventures and lifestyle, and there were no boring moments throughout the 2hours of waterrafting. Washing up, changing rooms and buffet lunch are also provided so we quickly dry up and slipped into our dry clothes before having sumptuous foods to fill our stomach. Once done, we had a transfer ride which brought us back to our 100 sunset hotel.

Did a little photoshoot session outside our suite even though it was super windy at that moment. The skies were also slightly cloudy, but we managed to come up with severals nice shots. Did it for about 15min before we quickly wrapped up and head back inside, for fear of catching a cold to spoil the mood for the rest of the trip.

Did more shoppings afterward along Seminyak Road while trying to search for a certain shop and that basically took the entire late afternoon to evening. We bought several souvenirs, including the huge dream catcher for Qiann herself, and head to Rumours for our dinner. The restaurant is like a pub restaurant so we had a little drink and food and ended with their speciality dessert the CheeseCake, which tasted heavenly. It was so great we bought another one back to the hotel to enjoy it as our supper.

The next day we venture to the Kuta Beach after a sumptuous breakfast and it was more empty than i expected. The waves were also not as huge as i imagined but they were enough for the beginner surfers where you see them gliding thru the waves for about 10sec max before it becomes too small for surfing. There are alot of locals there trying to sell you surf tuitions or boards which get annoying after staying there for about 15min. A great tactic to avoid them will be to walk nearer to the waters and they tend to not approach and bug you as there is a larger distance between us.

More photoshoot and camwhores photos at the beach. There isnt much scenic areas around the beach so i would avoid coming to this beach next time round. Instead we will explore a beach further down called the "Dream Beach" where the water is much clearer and the sands whiter and nicer. But anyway, there is a nice market beside the beach which sells tourist products like bags and clothes and accessories at quite an affordable rate.

Point to remember is to keep bargaining especially when you go there in the morning, because they will attempt to secure their first customer at all cost to ensure good luck and sales for the rest of the day. We bought alot of souvenirs back from there but had to leave quickly because it started pouring heavily.

Went further down to Kuta Discovery Mall and had our lunch there while waiting for the rain to subside. We finally decided to settle for Black Canyon Coffee restaurant to have their ramen for lunch. Their signature coffee for 2 is also really tasty and is quite a hit with all the customers there because everyone around us is drinking it too! While waiting for our food to be served, Qiann decided to help out with the impromptu itinerary for the rest of the day, for the bad weather had spoilt quite a bit of our original plan.

We had macarons after lunch and it was the first time im putting such a thing into my mouth! Had never taken a craving for them although it was often mentioned as a super-delicious-dessert. Finally gave it a shot but it didnt really came up to my liking. I probably will go back to having ice creams or cakes as the aftermeal.

As it was still raining, we went back to the hotel and had our Balinese massage in the room. I think im pretty much soften up for i always crack my back and neck whenever i feel that they are stiffening up, so i didnt really felt the awesome relax feeling after the whole thing. Or rather, i found it rather ticklish at certain parts such as the soles of my feet and the upper thighs but it was enjoyable throughout the process. Afterwards we waited a while for the oil to penetrate our skin and make it smoother or something before we washed it off and went off to our next location.

Took a cab to Krisna where we did souvenirs shopping again for almost 2 hours. I would suggest you to have this as your first destination because it has one of the cheapest prices and its where the locals shop themselves too. There is a wide variety of clothes and toys and shoes and spa products and bags and anything and should you not find the patterns or design to your liking, at least you have the idea of how much they should cost and aim towards it when you bargain at the markets outside.

The entire day was quite spoilt due to the rain so after the shopping, we went for an early dinner at Balcony. The design within the restaurant is just amazingly good and we decide to splurge a little on our last meal there so it is a little more expensive as compared to an average bali meal. We even had to count our remaining money so that we have enough for the return cab fares. =/

With that dinner, it conclude the day, as well as the trip because we have an early morning flight the next day so the night was spent packing up and enjoying the last few moments of the room and clearing of the tibits we bought in case we were hungry. The next day was just a mere check out and we are off to the airport, and back to Singapore, our home.

Day 1 of Japan

5th July 2011 - Day 1 of Japan

The journey to the land of the rising sun begins at our sophisticated Terminal 3. Most of the stores inside were high end goods and its 101% better looking than our Terminal 1 and 2. Everything just feels so grand inside and its always of much joy to fly off from here as compared to the other terminals.

This is the first time im riding on the A380, which is also a double deck plane. I used to think that the fares were alot more expensive than the single deck planes but realised that its still the same price, as least for the Economy Class. Most of the things look similar, except for the extra storage space for the window seaters and the back of the seats where my much-welcomed screen awaits me. Another difference will be during the take offs, where it is alot more quieter as compared to the single deck planes, which is much to my dismay because i like the roaring sound of the engine.

SIA also will provide you with a warm towel to freshen up yourselves before the flight which i like alot, but you have to be quick because they turn cold real fast. Onboard there is also a WIDE RANGE of movies and tv shows to watch, so you can easily guess, but i made full use of my time onboard watching movies. Watched 3 movies and took a little nap in between so as to rest my precious eyes. They also serve unlimited cups of drinks, be it juice, cocktail or wine. Tried the Singapore Sling but didnt like it at all. I still prefer my apple juice which i drank at least 3 cups back there.

Ding ding! Lunch time is here. Pardon the flat hair i got there but its much to blame of the air pressure in the cabins. Anyway, another great thing about SIA is their free meal onboard. The standard of the food is usually very appetizing and i have always look forward to them, but was quite disappointed this time round. However when the lunch was presented before my eyes, it wasnt the food that caught my attention but the METAL cutleries provided. I aint sure whether they changed it recently but when i used to ride on the SIA, they only provide business and first class with metal cutleries. The economy class were given plastic ones which were quite a pain especially with the cutting of the meat. Of course i am not going to complain why the plastic ones were not given instead and so i digged in while enjoying my movies.

Perhaps it is just me not riding on a SIA plane for quite some time but i was beaming with joy when they served us Magnum Ice Cream. Yummy. The tap onboard also has to look so complex that it made me wonder for a moment on what i am supposed to do to get my hands washed. And lastly, something you will not find on a single deck plane is the spiral stairway. Just out of curiousity and for fun, i walked down and up before going back to my seats.

Finally, we arrived at Japan but we still need to take a 2hour train ride because reaching our hotel. Most of the day 1 were just travelling especially with the 7hour flight and 2hour train. By the time we reach the hotel it was already 9pm and most of the shops were already closed. One thing to note about in Japan is to know exactly where and how you are going because you will be buying single ticket to the destination and the train system there is far more complicated than our 4 color lines.

I was quite surprised by the emptiness of the train, especially after seeing many of those photos where the trains are packed like sardines and the train operators have to help to squeeze the commuters in. Perhaps it is not this line that is congested i guess but im glad it isnt because it would be terrible to squeeze with all the luggages. Anyway, in Japan, there are the JR lines and Subway lines which is like 2 different things, express and every-stops train, and also like 10 different color lines heading to different part of Japan. Luckily we were mostly in the central area, so we did not have to change that much throughout the stay in Japan.

This is the first picture i took when i stepped out onto the Japan land but it was totally not like how i imagined it to be. I guess i watched too much tv shows and animes that shows another part of Japan but this just remind me of Hong Kong instead. Eitherway, welcome to Tokyo Japan.

Reached our hotel which is about 4 star. There is a huge lobby with many seating place around. However there is no wireless internet in the hotel and I had to use LAN cable to connect my laptop to the internet. This restricted me a bit especially when my smart BB was unable to surf twitter or anything online.

The room was small but cosy and does not give you the cramped up feeling. The toilet was well furnished and there was bottles of soap provided for the guests too. I didnt use them though because i came well equipped with my own.

Our stomach were growling for food so we went out of the hotel and searched along the streets to find a restaurant to settle down for dinner. Had Curry Udon which tasted similar to what i had in Singapore. Fun fact: In Japan, it is not considered rude to slurp on the noodles loudly. I purposely slurpped loudly on my first few mouths before choking on my own breath and went back to eating normally. It was not that filling as we ordered the small bowl so we went down to their family mart and bought some YongTauFu and it was amazingly good. Their noodles were super Q and i simply love their white raddish as it is soft but not too soft when chewing onto them.

With that, i conclude day 1 by going back to the hotel, chatted a little with my gf before getting some sleep, so that i can wake up to a fantastic Day 2.

Day 4 of Hong Kong

14th April 2011 - Hong Kong Day 4

Last day of our Hong Kong trip but since the flight was an evening one, we still have plenty of time to go for a few more attractions. Woke up early to train down to visit the Peak..

The Peak is located at the peak of a mountain (duh!) so we have to take their tram upwards. Best of all is that the tram doesnt have the motor to drive itself up, but instead is a very thick cable that pull it up the track. Was a very long cable too because the journey up to the peak took quite a while.

Half the journey we were lying backwards because it was a steep mountain. The bottom left photo probably give you a good impression of the steepness as compared to the buildings outside which should be standing upright. There are only 2 tram which share 1 track except for the middle where it split into 2 for each to take one side before going back to the same track. They really know how to save on space huh.

Reach the peak eventually and was greeted with a colorful decoration of gears which sadly doesnt work because it would have been real cool if those were the gears that pulled us up. Nevertheless, we finally reach our place, but our stomach was calling for another pit stop first. Afterall, we have not had breakfast.

Tried their famous wonton noodles there which many stars have visit too and have their photos pasted all over the walls there. The portion was really small and not like the picture which is taken up close to make it look better. Didnt leave much of an impression of it but worth a try when you are up there.

Full of energy, we head on to a downwards trail where we reach an area where there were many carvings on the "wall" so we found a spot and left an indication for us to look for it again when we return some years later.

More photos taking around there. Things to note is probably the Teh Penguin pose which seems to have a thing for.

Went up to the Sky Terrace which was quite a bad idea especially when it was noon time and we have the sun staring down at us. But anyway it does offer a bird eye view of the whole hong kong.

As it get too hot, the umbrella came out thanks to Michh.. and it became a prop for photo taking most of the time instead of shielding from the sun.

You know i am too lazy when i put all the pictures together. Went to the wax museum to photo take with some of the famous stars around the world. The whole of today was mostly for photo takings so i just cut down on the caption then. One word. Enjoy.

Did a bit of last minute shopping, as well as visit the longest escalator which is almost 800m long. Although it consist of many parts and not exactly one whole 800m stretch, but it is in the world record book. One of the attraction there was this MTR Card discount machine which if you tapped it, you will be entitled to $2 discount the next ride. That motivated us to go for the escalator too anyway.

And that conclude our trip of Hong Kong aka First FG Oversea Trip.. it was mostly a shopping trip so pardon the lack of photos. Perhaps the next trip to Aus will have alot more scenery photos when we go and pay a visit to Cybil. =)

Day 3 of Hong Kong

13th April 2011 - Hong Kong Day 3

Woke up early in the morning hoping to go to a famous restaurant for breakfast but it was not opened yet so we went to another great place to dine at. Although it was still as early as 9am, the restaurant is already packed fully that we thought we would have to go elsewhere, until miraculously found 2 tables to fit the 7 of us. They have the normal western breakfast consisting of ham and egg but also awesome stuffs like abalone and ham macaroni.

The past two days we have only took the train around so we decided to try another public transport; The minibus! We took a while to figure out where the bus stop is because there is no obvious sign around, and with no idea where the bus is going to bring us to, we board it. Although we were very excited, the other passengers was like dozing off already. Made a few turns and soon we were back at our mrt station. Somehow it made it seems as if the mrt station was just a few blocks away that is of walking distance.

Arrive at the ferry terminal to get our tickets and we are on our way out of Hong Kong! Nope we are not going home yet but to Macau instead! There is so many operators at the terminal that there is bound to have a ferry that leave every 15min. Most of them will be yelling for you to quickly purchase as its leaving, but you can just ignore them and slowly pick because it wouldnt be long because you will be on deck too.

From there, we randomly picked a shuttle bus and found ourselves in The Venetian, one of the largest hotel in Macau. No doubt it lives up to its reputation with the beautifully decorated interior landscape and the river inside with the venetian boat floating pass. In such wonderland, its time to take out all our cameras and snap away.

There were many restaurants and shops inside too but they are mainly overpriced so we gave them a skip and proceed on to look for our Casino. We went to the Sands to gamble a little but as expected we lost all of our chips to the Casino. Ohwell, we shall take it as some contribution to the electricity and utilities bills there. There were also performances and dances every 30min on their higher end level, so we went up to have a look before departing back to the Venetian for more photos.

The exterior of the Venetian also has some good spots for photo taking. There were many wedding couples having their wedding photos taken around here too.

This is probably some iconic spot within the Venetian because there were many tourists taking photos here too. We joined in the fun and took some photos, including a group shot together.

Having enough fun of the Venetian, we went to look around and we found a bridge. Our couple quickly got into position for their wedding photo which was taken professionally by at least 4 cameras. While they were posing, we moved a dustbin too. Why?

Well, without a tripod, we have to improvise with things around us so we placed our cameras on top of the dustbin while we all pose random poses on the stairs.

More jump shots! We seems to have so much fun that when some passer-bys came by, they decide to take their own jump shots on the same spot too! Just this bridge itself, we transform it into a destination as we spent almost an hour just to take photos there.

Having jumped enough, we proceed on to the famous Egg Tarts which someone proclaimed that we must not give it a miss. Took a cab all the way into the ulu part of Macau and purchased it, only to find out that getting out the place is far more complicated than expected. We waited for forever before a bus came to fetch us back to the main side of Macau with all the hotels.

Back there we realised something; Macau is VERY DESERTED. No ones walk on the street with all the shuttle buses around. The whole land is like a dead man zone where you wouldnt see a trace of life until you get near or in a hotel or casino and you will be transformed into the most crowded place, very much the opposite.

As time tick by, we board our ferry back to Mainland Hong Kong and continue with some shopping and road side food before we head back to our hotel to start packing up as the next day will also sadly be our last day.