Life, Travel, GRACE

We had a family trip last two weeks. This time we went to Bali. We chose Bali because we like Ubud so much. This time we went with SY's parents and her brother's family. So it was kinda bigger family trip. We took Airasia flight. The flight from KL to Bali was served by Airasia Indonesia. My only complain was the crew did not distribute the disembarkation form to the passengers. So we ended up had to queue and fill up the form before the immigration clearance (at the arrival hall). The immigration clearance could have been a smooth process should we have the formed filled beforehand. Overall, there was no extraordinary experience during the trip since we've been there few years ago, except for some high priced meals. Will share the trip in the next few posts.

Bombing in Kuta in year 2002 left a deep impact to Bali. Tourism was affected. Tighter security measure has been taken. 202 people were killed; most were foreigners. Later, a permanent monument was built to honor the victims. It was built on the site of the destroyed pub on Legian Street.

There are a few sport activities available in Bali. From para-sailing at beach front, cycling at the countryside to water rafting in rapids. By far, water rafting is the highlight of the trip. I guess I am addicted to water rafting. Had it another round in Sabah recently. There are two popular rivers catered for water rafting in Bali - Sungai Ayung and Telagawaja. The rapids in Telagawaja is classified as class 3 and rapid. There are 2 points with almost 90 degree down slope (see the side photo; unfortunately I don't have my photo). This is the scariest part. The raft in Telagawaja starts from the upstream river, near Besakih area. From the narrow stream, one needs to go through several villages, marked by low rise bamboo bridges. Of course you need to bend yourself so that you won't hit the bridge. Along the way, one will see magnificient view of rice field and vertical hill wall. We banged to the wall few times though. Our raft members (2 from Russia) weren't good in navi...

There are aplenty paddy fields in Bali. We did a stopover at Tegallalang for the view. Nevertheless, on the way to Danau Bratan, you will enjoy more for the rice field view. Of course it's a different view compared to Vietnam.

Bali has many good beaches. The beach along the Kuta bay is the most frequent visited by people. On the southern part of Bali, up class hotels dominated the beach, as in Nusa Dua. Some of the beaches received good review for surfing spot. For those who prefer quiet and tranquility, Lovina in the northern Bali is a good place. You can get a view of dolphins too. Some will prefer a little adventure across the sea, Gili Islands.

When it comes to nature, Bali offers a spectacular volcano mountain view as well as calm and pristine lake. Among the famous volcano mountains in Bali are Gunung Agung (highest point in Bali ) and Gunung Batur. Gunung Batur is located at the center of two concentric calderas, north west of Gunung Agung. It is a caldera within a caldera due to its multiple explosions in the past years. From the outer rim, one can view the spectacular Gunung Batur from Kintamani, a touristy place with row of restaurants and cafes. We attempted to ascend the Gunung Batur in the early morning, while it was still dark. Such an early climb reminiscence the climb of the Kinabalu peak ten years ago. The sky was clear that morning with multitude of stars above. It was cooling too. The climb began with easy walk through the flat plain land. Then slowly we have to struggle to ascend the steep slope of the volcano ash all the way to the top. This should serve as training ground for Kinabalu climb. We reach...

It is no doubt that every corner of Bali has temples ( pura in local dialect). I’m not quite sure if it is the same in western Bali as it was noted with high percentage of Christians. Nevertheless, each temple bears almost similar design and structure – multi-tier roof, wide compound and parallel gate column. Of course the temples are not as marvelous as those in Angkor Wat and Borobudur . SY and I had visited few famous temples in the island. There are some temples which you can give them a miss as they're nothing special (in terms of attraction and architecture). Places like Alas Kedaton and Taman Ayun might not be a great itinerary for the trip. Alas Kedaton is just a sanctuary for monkeys (we have aplenty in Malaysia though) while Taman Ayun is no more than recreation park. Tanah Lot promises a worthy visit as the temple is on the sea. Well, it’s not actually in the middle of the sea. It is just situated a distance from the mainland. Sadly, visitors are not allowe...

People say every visitor to Bali should at least see one Balinese dance. There are few notable dances performed in Bali. Among them are Kecak dance and Barong dance. SY and I took the opportunity to see Kecak and Fire dance in Uluwatu. The setting was on the cliff with sunset (as the venue was facing west). Kecak and Fire dance is a tale dance of the story of Ramayana and Sita. Throughout the performance, the performers will chant and sing in rhythmic. This was very interesting and it could be the best dances of the island. Note that all the performers are men except the few dancers. The story started with Sita encountering a golden deer. She pleaded Rama to catch the deer for her. Rama then left her with his brother, Laksamana. Shortly after Rama’s departure, there was a loud scream. Fearful to his husband safety, Sita sent Laksamana to investigate. Rhawana appeared before Sita and attempted to seize her. However, Sita was protected by a magic cycle. Rhawana disappeared and came back ...

Bali island is located in east Java, Indonesia. As Indonesia has thousand of islands, Bali offers one of the best. Despite the bombing tragedy in previous years, tourists still choose Bali as one of their destination. Bali offers good sandy beach, world class surfing (you can't find this in Malaysia), Hindu culture, temples, rain forest, volcanoes and Bintang beer. As I have not much prepared for the trip, I looked for recommended itinerary from Lonely Planet show. As the show is not available for showing in my local TV channels, I've downloaded it instead. The rough guide was excursion around Kuta, stopped at Ubud, scaled the volcano mountain of Gunung Batur, chilled out in less touristic beach and temples visiting (see map for road traveled as indicated by red line). SY and I started the trip from Kuta. Then proceeded to Ubud - a place full of arts and crafts. After that, we traveled north to Lovina and finally came back to Kuta. Stay tune for more stories..... BTW, the word...

Have been traveling to Bali for the past one week. Had a great vacation though. However, it would be better if more preparation has been made earlier. Nevertheless, had experienced the Balinese culture and its mother nature. More stories in coming weeks....

While every Chinese is going back to their home town to celebrate Chinese New Year, I opt for vacation. This time is Bali, Indonesia. This is the least prepared trip I've even made. No itinerary planned (due to lazinesss?). Not sure how's the trip will be. Hope will be a good one. Leaving for Bali in few hours. Happy Chinese New Year.