Breakfast of omelette and toast @ Narada House
Lots of shredded cabbage in the omelette ... I kind of like their crunchy texture and the sweetness they brought to the eggs...
Lots of shredded cabbage in the omelette ... I kind of like their crunchy texture and the sweetness they brought to the eggs...
Banana juice and fresh fruits
I believe this was the first time I've had banana juice and I quite liked it! Fresh fruits served together with my toast and eggs ....
I believe this was the first time I've had banana juice and I quite liked it! Fresh fruits served together with my toast and eggs ....
We walked along Jalan Raya Ubud to go to Pura Taman Saraswathi ...
Pura Taman Saraswathi, a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess of knowledge and arts, Saraswathi.
This is a temple in central Ubud is known for its lotus ponds ...
But there was only a single lotus blooming that morming ...
After lingering for a while, we went to Starbucks just in front of the temple ...
A drink with a view of a classical Balinese temple ....
Then it's back to Ubud Market ...
Beautiful flower petals used for religious offering ...
Carved wooden items
Lots of phallic ornaments on sale everywhere! This is lingam, a representation of the Hindu deity, Shiva
Lots of phallic ornaments on sale everywhere! This is lingam, a representation of the Hindu deity, Shiva
Bubur bali with condiments ....
Looked interesting .... it was thick porridge, spreaded out on a piece of banana leaf and served with various condiments .... I didn't dare try this though.
Looked interesting .... it was thick porridge, spreaded out on a piece of banana leaf and served with various condiments .... I didn't dare try this though.
At 10.00 a.m., we checked out of Narada House, and left cultural Ubud for the more modern and upmarket Nusa Dua. We wanted to go to the Water Blow ...
But when we reached there ...
As far as my eyes could see past the warning sign ....
There was an incident in mid-July, when 5 foreigners fell off the rocks and got injured ... news was here.
We were disappointed. We then headed to Bali Collection, the premium outlet.
Huge and beautifully landscaped compound ....
I treated myself to a gelato here ....
Strawberry and lemon gelato, IDR25,000
We did go to the Sogo Departmental store here .... but did not buy anything. We left promptly as we did not want to waste more time here ....
I was not leaving Bali till I ate babi guling - Bali's signature dish. Essentially, it's a baby pig stuffed with a blend of spices and spit-roasted. And so, Wayan Astika brought us to Babi Guling Pak Dobil. He said it was the best babi guling in Bali. But there were so many people there! And so we decided to eat our babi guling elsewhere .....
We went to Dwi's ...
The vendor
Yayy! Introduction to Babi Guling .... Loved everything on the plate! Made me regret not eating this sooner!
The rice was as usual, well-cooked - fluffy and firm. The rice was doused in a spice mix - it tasted quite unique ... not sure of the ingredients but I was sure there was lemongrass for it had a tang to it. There were 2 types of vegetables, a skewer of satay, a pork rind crackling, a piece of sausage, pork skin cracker, and of course tender pork meat.
Served with pork bone broth ....
J wanted to go paragliding ... and after lunch we headed to a cliff side near Pandawa Beach to do that. 15 minutes of flight for USD110. A video recording of her flight would cost an additional IDR300,000.
View of the water from the cliff side ....
J paid and was soon off for a flight with her pilot. While waiting for J, we observed many paragliders preparing for flight. It was my first time being near such a sport, and I was amazed that people actually owned their own equipment. I spoke to an Australian gent, who said he glided 4 times a week in summer back in Australia ...
I'd seen all the gliders carrying a large backpack on their backs .... so I asked him why they had to carry the backpacks. He said that it was an airbag which was attached to the harness, which offers support in both the standing and sitting positions ... so in case there was a rough landing, it would protect the back and spine. Duh. How dumb of me. I never thought about safety at all!
My friend J, about to land ....
Once J was done, we drove to Pandawa Beach. We paid IDR10,000 each for the entrance - that's the rate for locals. Heh.
The beach ....
The sea
There were many locals that day, it being Aidiladha. Pandawa means 5, I think. And there were 5 huge statues of the characters from the Mahabhrata epic carved in the hills ....
We had to give up going to GWK because we did not have enough time. We needed at least half a day to visit this cultural centre.
We opted to go to Krisna or Agung Bali to shop instead. Wayan Astika brought us to Krisna as it was nearer. This time, I bought stuff to bring home - coffee, snacks, soaps, key chains, t-shirts. I bought a grey Barong shirt for myself.
Source: http://www.lazada.co.id/kampung-souvenir-baju-barong-bali-abu-abu-1586963.html
I hadn't intend to buy the shirt at all, until I saw a Caucasian woman wearing it last night at Ubud. She paired it with blue denim shorts, and I thought she looked good in it. Krisna sold the shirt for IDR31,500 - and that's less than RM10.00.
After shopping, we checked into Eden Hotel Kuta, located along Jalan Kartika.
The bath
Our hotel location was good. We could walk to Lippo Mall or Discovery Mall .. and on both sides of the road were small stalls to browse ....
Kecak Dance outside Lippo Mall
Inside the mall weren't many shops though; we browsed for a while and came back out. We had dinner at Bebek Tepi Sawah ...
It's somewhat like our Ayam Percik back home ... the sauce coating the grilled chicken was sweet, salty and creamy with coconut milk.
My friends had .....
After this meal, my stomach was unwell for 2 days .... thankfully by that time, I was at home already and I could recuperate in the comfort of my own home and in my own bed. :P
Remember to drink milk to neutralise the heat of chilies should it happen to you next time. Love to go to Bali. Would like to attend the writers festival next year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! :))
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