"Island of Gods" Bali by dragontml

13/3
Depart from KLIA at 9:45am on MH 714. It was a 3 hour flight. Arrived safely at Bandar Udara Ngurah Rai. Went through the usual process, immigration and collection of luggages. We were then greeted by young ladies who then gave us flowers to be put around the neck. Suddenly, I felt that I was back in Hawaii, cause I was greeted that way too when I arrived. From the airport, we then proceed to the hotel. Hotel we stayed in was just across the famed Kuta Beach. Sahid Raya Bali. Withing walking distance to HRC and shopping areas. In the evening we left for Uluwatu to watch sunset. The view was just amazing, a beautiful sight ! We were looking at the Indian ocean. Pls. note that the monkeys here are ' business minded '. We were told that the monkeys are aggressive and so to remove all caps, sunglasses, earings as the monkey can just snatch it away. In return you will have to buy peanuts / fruits from the local ppl and hoping that the monkey would drop whatever its holding and take the peanut / fruits. Visitor who wears shorts have to put on a ' sarong ' and the other have to tie a yellow string. We had dinner that night at a local restaurant, Jali Jali, as everyone was hungry, food was good. On the way back, some colleagues did not want to waste time and so they started on their shopping ! I and some colleagues headed to HRC and the live band performance was quite good.

14/3
After breakfast, went for a stroll along Kuta beach. What a sight ! At 11am, we met and went for an early lunch - can't recall the name of the restaurant, but I liked the way that they present the food. Each one of us had our own basket. Visited an ancient Mengwi Royal Family Taman Ayun Temple and also Bertam Lake Temple. Next stop was to the monkey forest. We were in time to watch the sunset at Tanah Lot, located at the west coast, another beautiful sight ! Dinner was Padang style of cooking, dishes was served on small plates with many variety. At night, a short stroll at the beach to see the stars and hear the waves of the ocean.

15/3
After breakfast, we left to watch the Barong & Kris Dance. It was an hour's performance. It was somewhat unique. We then head on to Village of Celuk, famous for gold & silver, Village of MAS, a wood carving center. Lunch was at a local restaurant, Padi Prada where we had a buffet lunch. Ubud, visited a sacred holly spring at Tampaksirin. Finally to Kintamani Village, perched on the rim of the Batur Volcanic Basin. One of the volcano is still a live one ! Dinner was at Angsa Putih, it was a seafood dinner. There was a dance performance.

16/3
Leisure day, spent the morning lazing at the beach. Pls. note to be extra carefull, local women who are there to sell you things, massage, manicure, pedicure and etc...pls. negiotiate price as to not be con at the end.
Rest of the afternoon was spent shopping for souveniers. Dinner was at a local restaurant Natrabu, we had Minang food. Food was served on small plates and had many variety of dishes. It was not spicy but a little bit salty. The rest of the evening was spent at HRC, lots of ppl from Jawa as it was the weekend...it was the same live band performing but different songs.

17/3
Last day here in Bali. Last minute shopping and then left for the airport. Flight home was at 1:30pm on MH715 and it was a rather fast flight. Somehow, coming back home seem to be much faster then going to the destination. Overall, it was a fun and enjoyable holiday. Back home with a tan, memories of Bali and considering of making another trip back !

tickets

Year end vacation and 2nd visit to the island. After four years and Kuta is still busy busy. Waves @ kuta still strong and a sight to watch.

Had one dinner @ Jimbaran Bay, the taksi man took us to one restaurant and did not have a choice to make our choice. Dinner was late and so most seafood was finished ! The waves @Jimbaran was an interesting watch...

New Year eve @ Kuta, loads of people around, locals and tourist and traffic was controlled. Thankfully, it was not a rainy evening...fireworks was minimal...

One nite @ sanur was more relaxed as the place was quiet. Our last dinner, was the best of all meals that we had and I forgot the camera [think it was the rain which got to me], the meal was fantastic, local cuisine, satay lilit & rendang together with a welcome drink of the local ' Arak madu '

Memories of Bali to keep !

• Pros:great weather, food & people...
• Cons:avoid monsoon season ~ december
• In a nutshell:will be back again !