STOP AND REWIND: BALI TRAVEL DIARY

"And then I realised, adventures are the best way to learn."

 

 

BALI DIARY

- April 2014 -

This is my 2nd year anniversary with Yi Fei. This whole two years together has been great! We seldom quarrel but we debate a lot, even the simplest things. I guess that’s what keeps our relationship smooth sailing. We celebrated our 2nd anniversary by going to Bali. I think I have already mentioned many, many times that I love island vacations! So we both stayed at Grand Mega Resort & Spa Bali @Jalan Ngurah Rai. Just a small travel tip at the airport: Do not allow the bell boys at the airport offer you help with your luggage. You will have to tip them if they do. And if they do, please have small change of money to spare because they do not give back change for big money. That happened to me. SIGH. Anyway, so for my first meal in Bali I went to Poppies Restaurant @Poppies Lane 1. The outlook of the restaurant was very traditional and had a back to nature vibe. Yi Fei and I tried their authentic Indonesian dishes Nasi Campur and Nasi Goreng. These are rice dishes. The food for me was not bad. Some of the side dishes were a bit weird. For example, stewed nangka. I’m not a big fan of nangka at all. So it depends on what sort of daily selections you get for your side dishes in the Nasi Campur.

 

Travel tip on taxis: We ensured that the taxi charges us by the meter and we keep small change of money to use for the taxis as they do not give back change of money. The taxi’s we often use are Bluebird Taxi as I researched, they have the best reputation. Do try to recognise the Bluebird Taxis as there are other taxi companies who try to imitate the Blubird taxi logo. So moving on, we went to Kuta Beach by taxi. The beach was really packed with lots of tourists and the sea water was not so clear blue as I expected. I guess to see those kind of beaches has to be a not so famous tourist attraction area. We walked over to the Hard Rock Café to check out their Rock Shop. We also went to the Beach Walk Mall @Kuta area. I did not shop much in Bali as they have a lot of boutiques and their clothes are pricey. I wanted to eat at Cold Stone Creamery @Beach Walk Mall for dessert, but it was closed! I loved the one in Singapore so I wanted to eat it in Bali too! Sigh, bad luck. We ended our first day by eating dinner at a random restaurant somewhere along the streets of Poppies Lane 2 with a live band.

 

We already had a whole day planned out for our second day in Bali. We took the Uluwatu Tour by Detir Bali Tour (http://www.detirbalitour.com/uluwatu-tour.html), contact no: +62 813 377 87741. This package is actually just hiring a driver for the day (IDR 400.000) to take us around anywhere we want to go. So we mainly went to four good beaches (Nusa Dua Beach, Dreamland Beach, Padang-Padang Beach, and Blue Point Beach),Turtle Farm, Coffee Plantation, and the Uluwatu Temple. First we went to Nusa Dua Beach. You can play water sports at this beach. We did not play the water sports as in Malaysian beaches, we have the same. So instead we went to the Turtle Farm. We both paid for the boat transportation from Nusa Dua beach to the Turtle Farm. Do bargain for the price as they tend to rip tourists off. I got to see, touch and feed the turtles! The next location we went was Dreamland Beach. I LOVE this beach! It was so serene and breath-taking. The sea was so clean and clear blue! I could not stop staring at it. Swimming is prohibited in that beach, that’s why it is so clean. What we, tourists can do there is relax by the beach and sunbathe. We visited the Coffee Plantation to try the Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee). Civet Coffee is made from coffee berries that have been eaten by the Civet Cat , excreted and processed. In the Coffee Plantation, we got a tour to look at the coffee trees, spices, traditional methods of making Kopi Luwak and other Balinese coffee. There we got to see the civet cat. We got to have free tasting of different types of local coffee, natural flavoured tea like ginger tea, red ginger tea, and berry tea. They do not offer the expensive Luwak Coffee for free tasting, so Yi Fei and I ordered a cup each. It costs IDR 50,000 per cup. I bought the ginger tea and Luwak Coffee back for my parents to try. So expensive. A packet of Luwak Coffee can cost up to RM100 plus.

For our third and final beach was Padang-Padang Beach and Blue Point Beach. These two beaches are suitable for surfers. To get to these two beaches, there are plenty of steps to go through. you can still sit on the sand and enjoy the scenery at Padang-Padang Beach but at Blue Point Beach, you will arrive from the top cliff. So you will need to walk down lots of staircases to reach the bottom. If you want to enjoy the scenery there are many cafes and pubs there for you to choose from while half way down to the beach. The beach spot is much hidden as it is below the cliffs. In my opinion, the beach is actually mainly for surfers as the beach spot seems like a small entrance way for the surfers to start out to the sea. I even tried to take a dip at the shore of the beach and it is quite hard to maintain your balance as the wave currents are quite strong. All in all, I still love the sea views no matter from the top of the cliff or the beach view. So when we were done with the beaches, we went to visit the Uluwatu Temple. Our driver gave us the tour and we got to feed the monkeys there. The Uluwatu Temple is on a long stretch of cliffs from one end to the another so we got to see more sea views from the top of the cliffs. We had to wear sarongs (long cloth wrapped around our hips like a skirt) as we were wearing shorts. For respect of the temple, everyone has to be dressed until the knees are covered. At the end of the day, we both looked like red lobsters. Hahaha. It was quite tiring from the whole beach hopping to the Uluwatu tour, so we ended our day early by resting at the hotel and ordered in dinner to our room. That's how tired we are.

We started our third day by having lunch at Sea Circus @ Seminyak. They have such pretty colours in this café and their staff are friendly. I ordered Avo Eggs: Poached eggs & squashed avocado on toast. Yi Fei ordered Standard Eggs: Eggs on toast with bacon, mushroom & tomatoes. I like the food so far. I would definitely come back again for more. We didn't do much shopping except for souvenirs at Seminyak Square. There are other shops along Seminyak, but majority are all boutiques opened by expats, so the prices are too pricey for me. For dinner, we went to Naughty Nuri's II @Jalan Batubelig. Recommended by a friend and also researched online, they have the best pork ribs which I agree to it. Their food portions are big and I would definitely come back here if I go to Bali again. We left for the airport the next day and had to pay airport tax. In Bali, everyone has to pay airport tax when leaving the country. We paid IDR 200,000 each.

 

Time flies by so fast when you're having fun.Overall, it was an awesome trip with my love. This place was new to us and I love that we got to explore it together. It was a great and adventurous anniversary trip! Here's to more fun and adventures for us!

That's us, red lobsters with all the three days of being out in the sun. GO LOBSTERS!!

♥deborahk.

STOP AND REWIND: GERMANY TRAVEL DIARY

 

"It's not about seeing beautiful places. It's about seeing the beauty in every place..."

 

 

GERMANY DIARY

- June 2013 -

After my trip to the Netherlands, I visited my Aunt for the next four days. Its short, but that is the maximum days I can take my leave off work at that time. I took a flight via KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Bremen, where my Aunt and family welcomed me with warm hugs and drove me to their humble home in the Suburbs. It was my first time to experience the European Suburbs (Checked this out from my wish list!). Had a welcoming dinner cooked by my Aunt: Home cooked pasta and a glass of sparkling wine called Prosecco. The next morning I had fruits and cereal for breakfast. Almost every morning there I have been eating fruits. Yes, I was going to eat all the fresh fruits I can get as I have been blessed with this Golden opportunity to Europe! Anyway, my Aunt and cousin Charlotte spent the day with me in Bremen. I walked to the town streets of Bremen and loved the whole atmosphere of it. It had a historical look of a town and it feels like you are just right there in the olden times. I got to see the Bremen Town Hall, St. Peter’s Cathedral, and the Parliament. They are just right next to each other. I got to see the famous statue of the Grimm’s famous fairy tale: The Bremen Town Musicians (about a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster which wanted to become street musicians in Bremen). The statue was right in center of Bremen. I visited candy shops and ate German Sausages. The real German sausages. Haha. My Aunt took me to her favourite dessert shop called Café Knigge @Sögestrasse, Bremen. Their cakes and hot chocolate so darn yummy!!

 

I had dinner at a nice cosy restaurant (Sorry, I can’t remember the name of the restaurant), nearby Aunt’s house and tried Bremen’s local beer Haake Beck Krausen. Their restaurant is really very country style as they have horse in their backyards. Oh and I forgot to mention, in Europe there is no such thing is plain water in restaurants. They only serve sparkling water as their water needs to have taste. I ordered White Asparagus with Breadcrumbs Battered Fish. Came back home and took a stroll down the neighbourhood. I went to Hamburg the following day with the Aunt and family. It was really chilly that day so I wore a thick sweater, scarf, and a trench coat. Ever since I came to Europe, my nose was giving me problems due to the cold weather. Due to the cold, my nose mucus will tend to be more compared to normal. And since it is cold, the loosen mucus will start to harden and pokes inside my nose until it is slightly bleeding. As an Asian, my Aunt also has that even though she has been in Germany for many, many years. So she introduced me MAR plus Nasal Spray, it contains sea water and dexpanthenol to help moisturize and treat dry nasal mucus. This cold remedy can help you breathe better.

 

I was brought to this really cool concept of a restaurant called Achterbahn Restaurant @Hamburg, Germany also known as Rollercoaster Restaurant Hamburg. Yes, a ROLLERCOASTER RESTAURANT! You get seated at a large round table together with other people. And here is how you order: 1. Select your choice of food and drinks on a touchscreen monitor  /2. Your food and cold bottled drinks will be delivered by riding down the rollercoaster track in a secure carrier /3. Once it reaches the bottom to you, it will land on a table spinner and you spin it to your direction. And, Bon Appetit! It was a fun experience!

Walked around Hamburg and did some shopping at Hollister. I like their paper bags. Hahaha. I got to see the beautiful Town Hall and also the Speicherstadt, located at the port of Hamburg. It is the largest warehouse district in the world. I managed to catch a glimpse of the Clock Tower @St. Michaelis Church Hamburg. I did not managed to go to the top of the clock tower as it was closed. Darn it. I tried Hamburg’s local specialty brewed beer Kolsch. They start serving at a small glass and they will keep on refilling it whenever it gets empty (you have to pay extra, of course). It’s a rule here, keep on refilling until you cover the top of your beer glass with a coaster to let them know you don’t want any more refill. There was some kind of beer and wine festival directly outside the restaurant I ate. So I tried a few cocktails there. That ended my second day!

I started out earlier the next day to Wattenmeer (Wadden Sea) to experience MUDFLATS HIKING. It actually means hiking on muddy flat ground. To hike there, you need to reach early in the morning as that is when the tide goes down and mudflats are a great place to walk out over the land that was just covered by the sea. To be safe, please understand the tide schedule or ask a guide as you don’t want to get caught out there when the tide comes back. It is really dangerous. I wore a thick sweater, scarf, a windbreaker, and boots. Preferably high boots as the mud will start flying around when you walk and get your jeans dirty. It was an awesome experience out there. It was really chilly and windy that I can’t control my hair from flipping all over my face. Hahaha. At the beach they have beach chairs for rental. Cute yellow beach chairs. I had lunch there at a fisherman’s restaurant. I spend the rest of the evening exploring the neighbourhood with cousin Charlotte who was skateboarding. I was in awe when I saw a wheat field! I haven’t seen one real life before. Had dinner at home and went over to the neighbour’s house as they were having a birthday party for their children. Great neighbours, everyone is so friendly! And they say, “Finally we meet Deborah!” Looks like they were counting down the days to finally meet one of their closest friend’s niece! It was a pleasure to meet them! I tried their famous homemade cocktail Erdbeer-Bowle that they insisted I should try, a strawberry summer punch where the strawberries were soaked in pure liquor. I have to admit, it was GOOD. That ended my third day!

On the next day, I had lunch at Gut-Altona Restaurant @Wilderhausen before visiting cousin Charlotte’s school. Gut-Altona is also a Hotel. I had pasta and white wine. I love the cheese in the pasta. The few things I missed about Europe will be the cheese, cheap wine and fresh fruits. Charlotte’s private school is really huge. They even have horses for horse riding and ponies for the younger kids. Wow. The entire schooling ground was in the woods, it reminds me of children’s camp. Because I love the Erdbeer-Bowle so much the previous day, my Aunt wanted to make it for me as my farewell dinner. Yes, it was my last day. So sad. So I went to the Farmer’s Market for fresh strawberries. Everything there was fresh. They pluck their own raspberries and strawberries. Visitors were allowed to pluck their own strawberries, YAY! So I plucked my own strawberries! It was fun! I came back home and went out for a stroll again with Charlotte, this time it was deeper into the woods. My German Uncle made his famous homemade Kaesespaetzle aka Cheese Spaetzle Noodle Casserole. It was really yummy!

 

Here is a video on how Uncle Markus makes his Kaesespaetzle:

 

It was a great farewell home cooked meal: Cheese Spaetzle Noodle Casserole, Dumpling & Meatball Soup, and Strawberry Summer Punch. This whole Europe experience was great. From Netherlands to Germany, I can’t wait for more future travels! I want to thank my Aunt, Uncle Markus, and cousin Charlotte for the hospitality they have given me. I miss them already!

Oh yea, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines lost my luggage when I flew back to Amsterdam for transit. It was so troublesome. Not only that, when they found my luggage and unlocked the bag to check my belongings... They did NOT lock it back. Since it was not locked when it arrived to Malaysia, the Malaysian custom decided to "confiscate" all of my food.  Who does that?? Typical Malaysians. They just took it for themselves. So DISAPPOINTED.

♥deborahk.