Clovers & Roses

I AM BACKKK!

This is my long overdue update on my life. Well, parts of it anyway. In this post, I will be sharing pictures and some info about my December holiday at the island of Bali, Indonesia. I have been pretty caught up with other things that I never had enough time to work on this post. The editing or watermarking of this trip's pictures made me curse from here to Jupiter. I had to do them in many, many batches because there were just TOO many pictures. Which brings me to my next point, I will not be uploading all of them. Probably just the ones that are really nice. Also, I will have 4 separate posts for the 4 days I was there. Seems less confusing that way and I get to have more updates without needing to think of what to write and figure out my material. Heh win-win for this lazy bum! :P


So let's begin!


Part I: Pre-departure

Flight was scheduled to be on the 20th of December at 1800. As per all international flights, we had to be at the airport at least 2 to 3 hours ahead. However, my dearest mum made this tiny error of booking her own flight ticket under the wrong name. Instead of the name in her passport, she added in her first name. Because of that, we had to make our way to the airport 5 hours ahead just so amendments could be made on time for the flight.


 I left from TTDI with my relatives at noon and reached the airport at around 1 something in the afternoon. We were flying AirAsia so that naturally meant that we have to be in LCCT. I completely forgot how ridiculously crowded and hot that place is. The congestion there was basically insanity! My outfit for the flight were a spaghetti strap top paired with skinny jeans and flats. I brought along a jumper just in case it was cold but obviously it was not needed at all. I was so tempted to change into shorts when I arrived at LCCT but the queue for the toilet was bananas what with the insane amount of people so skinnies stayed put.


While my mum and relatives went to sort out the ticket issues and check in their luggage, I proceeded to find a place for us to sit and kill time before the flight. The sister wanted Starbucks so we went there and unsurprisingly the place was crowded and only a small table in a tight corner was available. We had a crowd of 9 people so that wouldn't do. Next stop was Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. We managed to get a table and (stole) three chairs from other tables which were not in use. After ordering drinks for myself and my brother, we took a sit and waited. Eventually we secured two tables and 8 chairs for everyone. The AC there was busted but at least we had coffee/tea and chairs to sit while waiting for our flight.

Me with the cuzzie, Christianne.

Selfies ftw!

SIDETRACK: Gosh I miss my hair color. I had highlights done a week before my trip which was either a dumb move or smart one. I requested for a reddish-brown and my initial selection was turned down by my colorist because apparently the color does not suit my skin tone. But I was pretty persistent on having some red in my hair so my colorist came up with this gorgeous auburn-plum-brownish-coppery (colorist actually DID mix plum and browns to specially make this shade for me!) color. It was not what I wanted but man, this color is just so me. At the moment, most of the red is washed out so it's not as vibrant as per the above picture but under sunlight I still have a gorgeous shade of reddish brown hair. Best part, it looks so natural and not chunky like how most highlights would look. Freaking love my colorist's job and mad skills.

The family bunch! [Left to right: Mummy, Aunt Cindy and her daughter, Christianne, Grandma, Aunt Moi Choi, myself, the brother, Aunt Mooi Yoke]

Another shot. It seems not all are prepared so this is a semi-candid shot?

With the sister! We were confused as twinsies at the customs counter ;)

The cliched passport and boarding pass shot.

Our flight was actually delayed for 40 minutes to an hour because of the rain. When we actually did take off it was almost 7 already and we still had another 3 hours on the plane before arriving at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali.

Spent 3 hours in the airplane listening to music on my iPod and wondering what would Bali be like. Upon arrival the captain announced that the weather there was wet and rainy as well. Gah rotten luck. But I have to admit this, Bali's airport in Denpasar is way, way, way better than LCCT. It's fully air conditioned with carpeted floors and high ceilings and a cross between modern architecture on the inside and traditional Balinese culture on the outside. I regretted not taking a full shot of the airport's entrance. 

Just over an hour setting foot on Bali ground, there were issues already. Apparently my mum had arranged with the hotel for airport pick up under her name. So the hotel driver came with their mode of transport and waited for us at the arrival hall. When we walked out, we started searching for our driver and couldn't find him. His colleague who was there to pick up another entourage said he had left. After making some calls, both of them brought their transports. One was an Advanza and another was a van. In the van there was a family of 4 so we had to split up. I ended up in the van with the other 4 people and we left for the hotel. 

Along the way, I overheard the father of the family of 4 asking the driver if his hotel named A is the same as ours. Upon hearing that, I realized that this family had apparently hijacked our transport with this ridiculous understanding that his hotel, Hotel A, is the same hotel as ours. It is a really stupid understanding because the names of both the hotels weren't even similar to begin with so how can you an educated adult think both hotels are the same or affiliated with each other? The driver told him that they weren't affiliated with Hotel A but was nice enough to drop the family off at Hotel A. This family (from Penang btw) did not even bother to pay the charges of dropping them off. How much more cheapskate can you be? First you faked confusion with regards to the hotel name and now you are thick faced enough to not pay for a ride which coincidentally you hijacked? I have never met a more disgraceful bunch of Malaysians. 

Anyway, we reached the hotel and immediately got our room keys. We were split into three rooms and I had a room with my sister. I actually like their hotel room. It was not a fancy hotel but it was comfortable. 

Cute wallpaper eh? Oh the hotel we stayed in was called Kuta Central Park which is nearby Kuta town area. The hotel on the outside looks pretty rundown because it's actually situated in an old shopping area which has shut down but the interior of the hotel is really quite pretty. 

Part II: Day 1 of touring Bali

First morning in Bali and already my mum had us wake up at the crack of dawn. She arranged a full day tour for us and we had to be ready to leave by 9 AM. It wasn't much of an issue for me to be awake at dawn since I was having insomnia for the past few months. The issue was STAYING awake for the rest of the day after not having any sleep at night. Thank God for the hotel's amazing breakfast buffet and also their freshly brewed cup of coffee. 

First stop for the tour was a batik making place called Sari Amerta Batik Collection. There we watched ladies work their magic with the cloths. How thread was spun using traditional machinery to make batiks and also how the patterns were traced with melted wax. 

Next stop was a jewelry store called Yan Yan Gold & Silver Gallery. Apparently in Bali it is really popular to have silversmiths and occasionally goldsmiths too. I guess they sell it at relatively cheap prices compared to here in Malaysia? I didn't pay much attention there because A: I am allergic to silver and B: the designs weren't exactly my taste. They do however have awesome skills at designing silver decor pieces. 

While traveling from one location to the next I had plenty of time to observe Bali life. The place is similar to our country except there are less signs of development in certain areas whereas some other places modern development is rather obvious. Another thing I liked about the surroundings is that at almost every traffic light, they have a flowing water feature which I think is really pretty. 

I drank their Roselle instead and also tried out their Balinese coffee. Their Balinese coffee is REALLY REALLY bitter and strong. My grandma who ran a coffee shop for the past 60 years of her life couldn't take it because it was too bitter for her. I am pretty sure that after finishing that one small cup of Balinese coffee palpitations and hyperventilation will happen. 

They also sold cocoa beans and vanilla pods there which was really cool. I wanted to buy the vanilla pods back so badly but my mum said it would be a waste because I rarely bake at home :( 

Next stop was a temple. This was the first temple we visited in Bali. The weather at this point was still okay with occasional showers now and then but they were scattered so that was pretty good news for us. When we arrived at the temple the rain just stopped and there was a weak but still there ray of sunshine. The temple is called Pura Tirta Empul. Translation: Tirta Empul Temple :) 

Here's a fun fact: Majority of Bali's population is actually Hindu and not Muslim. 

Although the people there tend to look more like our typical Malays but they are actually Hindus. Which is also why most of their temples have statues that are similar to what you would find in a Hindu temple. Even the architecture there has lots of Hindu influences. 

Like most temples, visitors need to wrap a sarong before they can enter the temple. Especially females wearing shorts and short skirts. In some case, if the pants or skirt is long enough then they will ask you to tie a sash at the hips/waist without needing a sarong. 

For females there are more rules compared to males. Those with long hair have to tie their hair up before entering the temple. Also, those who have your "monthly visits" may not enter the temple. 

While we were visiting the temple, it happened to be a holy day so many of the local people came to the temple for some rites and prayers I think. Both male and female queued up to enter this pool and stand in front of that jet of water. I assume this should be like holy water to them. I am not sure where the water comes from but it is really clean. 

Another section of the temple had a large koi pond and visitors had the option of feeding them. It was pretty zen and peaceful to be in the area of the temple. There was also another section that had electric eels or maybe they were just regular eels. But this section was surrounded by rather high stone fencing so we could only peer in from the top. It was basically a mossy and murkier pond and if you looked carefully enough you'll see the eel swimming in there because of the ripples they make.

The next few places I did not bother to take pictures because I was dead tired. The next stop was Iwayan Mardiana Painter which was basically a sculptor's gallery. My relatives went down to see the statues but I decided to stay in the van because it was pouring buckets by then and I was so sleepy. 

Dinner was at this Thai restaurant called Asian Tamarind and it was the most disappointing dinner ever. The food was average, the portions were so small and the price was sky high. Totally not worth the money. 

Last stop before heading back to the hotel was some souvenir shopping at this huge outlet called Oleh-Oleh Bali. Here I bought some small souvenirs for them girlfriends and also a simple dress for myself. It was actually really cheap the things sold here. The conversion rate at time was approximately 3000 rupiah per ringgit so basically everything there is divided three times. 

With that, it is the end of my first day touring Bali. I will find time to write about the next 3 days there. I totally did not expect this post to end up so long but apparently I did visit many places in just one day. Lol

Day 2: Coming soon

Time for shower now