Bali Day 6 - 24April 2012

Departure Day

Woke up early to have breakfast at Hotel. Glad the buffet didn't cost much (180RP +++ )because I don't know how much more can people eat at buffet. We witness a lot of people wasting food at breakfast and the staff had to dump away A LOT of food. I think the hotel should make people pay for wastage. There are hungry people out on the streets and it must be heart breaking for staff to throw away food every morning.

Check out didn't take too long. The hotel front desk printed a letter explaining there will be a distance to walk from the taxi drop off point to the check in counter area due to current construction works. It also give a print out of the expenses incurred so far excluding the current day of print out.

We took a taxi to the airport and the fare shows 39KRP. however the taxi driver says there's a 5000RP ticket fee, whatever that means. so it's 45KRP for the taxi ride. We then walk from the drop off point down this lane(which looks like a bus interchange to me) till you see Starbucks, cross the road and turn right and walk some more till you see a screening area, this is where you entered into the departure hall. We were there pretty early so there wasn't any queue. After checking in (we flew with Jetstar or should I say Latestar) you then take another walk to the left of the counters to head up stairs to pay your 150KRP departure tax. The duty free area after customs aren't cheap at all. Eg 1hr foot massage 300KRP. Most people hang around outside the final screening area as the gates aren't open till 30mins before boarding time, which is meant to be at 11.45am. But Jetstar was once again late again by 1hr, so boarding time is 12.55pm instead.

Departure area-waiting to board the plane

So I am no longer a Bali virgin and can join in the numerous Bali conversation with colleagues and friends. But it's not a place I feel it's great for clothing shopping because the Bintang fashion simply doesn't appeal to me. Neither are the sarongs and sandals. It's great for food and drinks as they do taste better than Asian places back in Perth and heaps cheaper too. I think 5 days of Bali is just nice for me, any longer I will be dreading as there no other activities I would like doing.
Will definitely visit other parts of Bali in my next trip but I'm not sure if I love Bali enough to match up with people who had been to Bali for 10times or every year.

Bali Day 5 - 23April 2012 Monday

Today after breakfast we hit the town for one last time starting with the Discovery Mall and walking to Kuta Square. Craig bought another 2 more Quicksilver shirts, although much cheaper (24.50aud) than home but the material is much thinner too. The fabric is not that strong. It's made in Indonesia, to my surprise (I thought almost everything is made in China now)

We always had a large breakfast and we rarely require lunch. Book an appointment for 1hr foot massage and 1hr Shiatsu Massage. Taxi from Kuta Square to Cozy 2 is about 30KRP.

Craig really like the massage at Cozy so we are back again. The 1hr foot massage was excellent, both of us had really good therapist. It started off with a choice of oil (I've picked lemongrass) and choice of music(you are given an iPod). It's done by males and we are lead into this room on ground floor with several cushions divided by small fish tanks in the middle. I thought the fish tank was a nice relaxing touch. The male therapist came and put a small foot bath next to the cushion and wash my feet in nice warm water. Although it's an 1hr foot massage, it also included probably about 10-15mins of head and shoulder massage which is awesome. It's so relaxing that I can hear snoring in the room. After our excellent massage, we headed out back to the front reception and waited for the next therapist to come collect us for the body massage. Headed up to the 2nd floor again and this massage do not use cream or oil and you are dressed. The therapist I had was so strong that I thought she was stepping on me most of the time. It doesn't feel like they understand muscle groups very well, it's pretty much kneading and pressing and in my case, scrapping my skin with her powerful fingers and thumbs. I was wishing time will go quickly. Sad to say I do not enjoy this massage again. Craig as usual, enjoyed his very much and even got the same lady. He even gave her a big tip.

Last stop in Bali- Carrefour. Had dinner at the food court at this stall called the MM Juice. We both had Nasi Goreng SMS on our 1st day so I've decided to try it's KwayTeow Seafood Goreng. Bad move as it wasn't that great compare to the Nasi Goreng (and it cost more too! 30KRP) We did our final shopping at Carrefour and headed back to the hotel.

KwayTeow Seafood Goreng

Nasi Goreng

Bali Day 4, 22 April Sunday

This morning we had breakfast at the Taman Gita restaurant (well the only breakfast place) and I'm determined to find out if they have soya milk for coffee and I'm so happy they do! I ended up with 3 cups of coffee, they are very nice.

After our breakfast we went to check out the ducks who are happily swimming away, Craig managed to sneak 2 slices of bread and fed the duckies. They love it.

We went for a 2hr walk around the hotel along the streets (turn left from the hotel) and also up to where Four Seasons Resort is. The walk left with us with sun burnt.

It's a very hot day, yet it rained this morning during breakfast and it's cloudy in the afternoon. What an odd weather but I think it's pretty normal for Bali. Spent the bulk of the afternoon just lazing by the pool and reading. Good that it did not rain. Spent the evening just in the room with Craig watching F1(Bahrain) religiously with one eye and ordered in room dining for dinner. TIP - you get a good decent meal size for kids' meal, in fact its portion is more than enough (for me), it's not catered for bite size at all.

No photos today.....it's a lazy day.

Bali Day 3 - 21April Sat

Today we hit the Kuta town again. First stop Discovery Mall. Cab ride from Intercontinental Hotel cost 46,000RP. It's a big shopping mall and some areas are under renovation so the departmental store(Centro i think) are slightly cramped.Many branded shops and restaurants. I find the prices are still cheaper compare to back in Perth despite it being in a fancy shopping mall.

We pick a Indonesian restaurant for brunch, called Coco Bistro. I had the Coco Nasi Goreng and Detox drink and Craig had to Hawaiian Pizza and Pineapple juice. Meals are yummy. I find my drink too sweet and sour at the same time. 

http://palatereview.blogspot.com/2012/04/cocos-bistro-kuta-bali.html

 2nd Stop a clothing shop called Miss Debby in Legian. It's recommended by Craig's colleague for knock off clothings. Pretty hard to find as well, we took a taxi there and let the driver do the weaving around traffic.

We walk some more and stop in a cafe for ice coffee and milk shake. Not a bad ice coffee at Lemon Grass Restaurant (they sell Thai food). See review here http://palatereview.blogspot.com/2012/04/lemon-grass-kuta-bali.html

Next we walked along JL Legian street to our spa appointment at Smart Day Salon. Walking along JL Legian wasn't as scary as I thought it will be, there's still many touting and it's running after you kind of harassment. Went past the Bali bombing Monument on our way to the Smart Spa Salon. Started off with a quick feet bath then you are escorted to the massage area. you put your clothes and belongings into a wooden box which is lockable. The hot stone massage was soothing(considering it's my 1st hot stone massage i have nothing else to compare with) and my partner had the Balinese massage. Both for 1.5hrs. The therapist wiped off the lotion they used after the massage. I had mixed feelings about this place, I wouldn't grade it as the best and excellent (just by comparing with past experience) but there's nothing much to fault as well. At least i wasn't short changed (like in Cozy). very polite therapist too!


After our massage we just walk around the beach area, there's heaps of people on the beach surfing and just hanging around, there's also locals around so I guess this is their weekend past time as well. I wanted to go to Kuta Square to look for kebayas but there isn't any in Maharati. Shopping is actually good in Maharati, prices are reasonable(like Target/Metro) and fashion is definitely much better than street stalls.

Craig got attracted by the Fish Spa and when the guy offered a discount of 50,000RP he couldn't resist to jump in. They wipe our feet with warm towels first and you just let the little sucker fishes suck for 20mins.
My feet did feel lighter after that 20mins and it was very ticklish!!

Dinner at Little Italy (just outside Maharati, you can see its balcony). See review here.http://palatereview.blogspot.com/2012/04/little-italy-kuta-bali-indonesia.html

Taxi back from Kuta Square to Intercon about 48000RP.

Bali Day 2 - 20April Friday

The hotel had offered us 50% discount for breakfast since we didn't opt for it, which is a very great deal. So breakfast is at Taman Gita Terrace this morning. Usual rate is 180, 000RP ++ (21%tax). The variety isn't a lot considering this is a 5 star resort. There are fresh juice counter which is a plus. Fresh coffee from coffee machine(too bad they do not have soya option). Noodle counter, Egg station, a small section of Japanese (miso, rice, soba noddles, congee), fruits, cereals and pastries& bread counter (freshly made waffles and piklets, muffins, donuts), cheese, bacon and sausages. I wouldn't call it yummy but they are not horrible. For the price it's acceptable, for a 5 star resort, I think they can do better.

After breakfast we took a walk around the hotel premises and it proves to be a very large compound. It's very green everywhere. The ducks are having a ball swimming in the pond and as usual very fun to watch.

Ducks crossing the bridge

Love this duck!

Pool Bar- pool is out of order today!

We both agree we will spend a relax time today so Craig spent 4hrs sleeping and I spend most of the time blogging. I know we could have spend most of the time today doing the same thing at home but the feeling of being on holiday and still enjoying the simple things is always a pleasure.

We didn't waste the whole day doing nothing. we sat by the beach to read, had a swim at the Club Pool (which is abit tiny to me) and I watch a bit of the sunset. Spend bulk of the evening enjoying the "Happy hour" (7-8pm, 9-10pm) at the Sunset bar, limited selections of cocktails,non-alcoholic and wines but i enjoyed the atmosphere and the beautiful people (at Sunset Bar)  and the 1hr walk from hotel along the beach.. it's a great evening and I do enjoyed myself tonight (than a seafood meal in the Seafood Village).

tomorrow we will hit the town :)

Bali Day 1 - 19April 2012 Thursday

It's an early flight with Jetstar leaving at 7.30am from Perth Airport. 1min after taxi the captain announce there are issues with the plane and require technicians to investigate. Other than the 1 hour delay the flight was rather smooth. Good that it's only a 3hour flight.


Arriving in Bali
Stepping off the plane I thought we will follow the crowd since most of the people on the plane seems to be Bali regulars (You can hear them sharing tips when in the airport) but there isn't much people in front to follow. After walking for 5mins you will see many counters with "Visa On Arrival" signs. This is where you pay your USD 25 per person visa fee. Another benefit of being a Singaporean (added to my list) is that there is no visa required for entering into Bali. After receiving your visa ticket, you head straight to the customs counter and you will see the baggage area past the customs. When you approach the baggage area, there are at least 6 ATMs on the right hand side(3 local ones, Citibank, ANZ and CommonWealth, ANZ just increase their interest fee for no good reasons so stuff them). NOW- here is Jo's TIP #1. Do not speak to anyone wearing a shirt that says "porter" or hand them your luggage because this is what will happen. They will asked for your Customs paper(blue form you fill up on the plane) and you show them, they hold on to it and said they will take you through security checks. Once you got your bags they offer to carry it for you and you go "wow this is delightful", once you pass security checks they will never give you back your bags unless you pay them.How do I know? Well, I witness it all happen to the family that sat in front of me in the plane. And I told the porter off when he tried to take the Customs paper off Craig. Then I told Craig off (think he got swamped by the Bali heat too much to think straight).  I think they are meant to take your bags and bring you to their "preferred taxis".
Next as you walk to exit immigrations, you will see money changes on both left and right of you waving their rates sheets at you. We just put cash into our credit card and took cash out instead of changing money. I've heard too many stories about money changers scam to even bother with it.

Exiting from the airport you can feel the sharp stinking hot weather of Bali, we are back in Asia again indeed. I saw more taxi drivers and some kind of drivers more than any other professionals. You just have to squeeze past them. Turn right and you will find the prepaid taxi counter, since it's our 1st time and I can't be bother figuring my way out, I just head straight to the taxi counter and get one to Intercontinental at Jimbaran Bay. 60, 000IDR or RP which is about $6 (which is going to be my rough exchange rate for the whole trip)

Arriving at Intercontinental Hotel, Jimbaran Bay
The taxi pulled up at the guard post of the hotel and open his boot. A security guard walks around with a extended mirror and scan the sides of the taxi. (wow i'm impressed). We were greeted by at least 5 porters when we got out of the taxi all eager to help us but we only have one luggage we decided there's no need to engage them. Then one of the porter gong the drum indicating to reception someone has arrived for check in. Again what a great idea!! Hmm I wonder if there's 5 taxis rocking up will there be 5 gongs :) The young lady who greeted us seated us at the lobby and she was walking back and forth the check in counter to service us. I wonder why they don't seat us at the check in area instead. No wonder she's so slim. The welcome COLD towel and drinks was a bliss after being smashed by the Bali humid weather coming out of the airport. Check in process was slow but attentive. It must be a way of life here to take things slowly.

We had a kinda odd booking where i can only get the 1st 2 nights as twin beds and the rest of the 3 nights as king size bed. Initially they said all king size beds are taken and they are going to push 2 twin beds together to combine them but after I've explained to them i actually did have a king size bed booking, they magically found a king size bed for the entire stay. I don't really care the initial reason/intention they have but they gave me a solution i want to hear which is awesome! Check in ticked!

Block 2 Level 4. The resort is so big it has 4 blocks of rooms. Block 2 is the furthest away from the main building on the right hand side(looking from the beach). I do like this block as it's quiet and you can hear the sounds of birds and DUCKS!! yes, there's 9 Peking(I think they are) ducks swimming and walking around. Let's hope these ducks are not breed for eating.




Big room, Balinese setup (a lot of wood and Balinese ornaments), balcony (that's where we spotted the ducks), in room safe, big LCD TV with LOTS of channels, desk, sofa with table, walk through wardrobe(this is cool but not for my partner because he's too tall to go through HA), rain shower, bath, toilet. Great design i like it. The only negative comment is where is the clock?? there's no way of telling time without checking my watch.And the power socket is UK not EU.


I had a massage arranged at Cozy Spa at 4pm so we didn't hang around the hotel too longer. Taxi ride from hotel using meter (Blue Bird) is 45,000RP. Got dropped off at Cozy Spa 1(that's the foot one) and had to walk about another 15mins to Cozy Spa 2(that's the body one). We saw OpenPau along the way and had lunch there.

I didn't really like my massage but I was short changed. I've booked for 1.5hrs and only got 1hr 10mins. The young girl didn't have much technique and I feel sorry for her she has to use so much strength (but i'm only small.........). Craig also seems to have better luck, he said his was great and got the full 1.5hrs. She showed him the time before and after. Mine didn't.

Next and final stop Carrefour. This is heaven for me since i'm a supermarket junkie. We spent 2hrs in here (i probably could go on longer!!). I had a pretty good day and 1st day in Bali went well. Other than the airport we haven't had to dealt with haggling yet.

Contiki-Day 1 Paris

Today we start day 1 of the tour with an early departure to Dover to catch the ferry across the English Channel. The 90mins ride was rather pleasant. once the bus exit from the ferry, it was a bus ride to Paris with a stop at the service area for a bite. Pomme de Pain was where we practice our first Bonjour! I had a yummy club sandwich and a Cesear salad,which has a rather taste for the dressing.
The bus ride to Paris is quite pleasant, our tour manager has provided useful information along the way, keeping us awake and prepared for our free day in Paris tomorrow. 90% of the travelers are from Australia, even the tour manager. our driver is a funny bloke from Prague.
Dinner is included tonight at the Holiday Inn Saint Ouen, which is our accommodation in Paris. The room is tiny and would consider old style for a holiday inn standard but at least its clean and decent. The free wifi scores points too. Dinner wasn't really a french cuisine i suspect- for starter tomatoe salsa, main is pork slices with french fries and dessert is bread pudding. french fries in Paris doesn't taste nice.

we then head out for a night city tour and to make the Parisian traffic worse, there are cops everywhere, later we found out there is a protest in the city. The night was ended with a trip up to the top of the Effiel Tower, which has an excellent view of the city and a metro ride back to the hotel. Good first day but its too long for me, i was struggling to stay away after a 5am start.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 5)

25 April 2011 Monday

Today we leave the polluted Hong Kong (hardly see any blue sky during our trip)

It was a mad rush trying to pack everything and check out by 10.30am. We took a taxi from the hotel to the Kowloon Airport Express Train station. Because we used all our HKD to pay the hotel stay, we were left with just nice to take a take and buy train tickets. The taxi ride is about 38HKD (the driver wanted us to take the ride all the way to the airport but we told him we don't have enough cash).

Surprisingly the one way train ticket cost lesser than I thought, so after returning our Octopus card to purchase the train tickets, we are still left some with extra cash (woohoo!)

Hong Kong airport is huge and there's many shops to look at , so make sure you give yourself plenty of time if you want to do some last minute shopping.

Home sweet home.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 4)

24 April 2011 Easter Sunday

This morning we headed off to the History Museum. It is within walking distance from the hotel, about 15-20mins walk. There is free an English guided tour that starts at 10.30am on Sat and Sunday. I would highly recommend the tour (we had a very good guide) to anyone unless you prefer to take your own time. There is so much to see and we cover 2 floors of exhibit in 1.5hrs. The museum covers from dinosaurs years to cavemen years to the Hong Kong today. We also have free entry to the 1911 revolution exhibit. No photography allowed in most parts of the exhibits (I forgot to charge my camera batteries anyway.......)

Today is our last day in hong kong so we just want to take it really easy. Craig had his last pancake from the famous shop.

We wonder back to the hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon in the hotel, enjoying it's pool and jacuzzi pool. The pool overlooks the harbor and it's always maintained at a warm 28degrees temperature (so I was informed)

Later that evening, we are surprise to see a lovely gesture from the hotel.

Yummy Easter Eggs!

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 3)

23 April 2011 Saturday


This morning there is a slight drizzle in the air. I took advantage of the free yoga lesson provided by the hotel. It was great as I'm the only person for the class so I got personalise lesson. The lesson lasted for 1hr. Went to have a look at the pool and it look so good, overlooking the waters.I need to get Craig to move his arse to the pool.
      
We are running out of money today so we had to look for money changes. Note that the money changes in TST doesn't give good rates. If you move further away to Yau Ma Tei you will get better rates. We decided to return to one of the restaurant that didn't offered Dim Sum last night. 3Floor in Carnarvon Plaza. Once you step out of the lift, you will see the restaurant entrance.

Since it is recommended by many on the internet, I would expect it to be quite nice. We've ordered the usual and here's our verdict (http://palatereview.blogspot.com/2011/05/tao-heung-tsim-sha-tsui-hong-kong.html)

  

Next we headed for a foot massage. 50mins for $108HKD. It cost more than most of the places(like $38, $58 or $88) but at least this place you can see from the street and it's definitely a clean one. There are mostly males doing the massage. Being scared by the experience in Macau, Craig wanted me to find out if we have to give tips and the manager said it's up to us. We told her our experience in Macau and she said she didn't have a good experience in the restaurant in Macau as well. They couldn't be bothered to serve her and told her she can leave if she want. She explained there are too many tourist in Macau and losing one person's business is not a big deal to them.

 Typical Hong Kong housing

Next couple of hours are just roaming the shopping streets and markets and looking at (interesting) things.

Street Markets in Hong Kong

 We haven't been eating proper meals at proper times these few days in hong kong. Craig's dinner tonight is 2 scoops of ice-cream at Galare (I had some of cos) and his favourite waffle egg. There's always a queue here at night and you need to get a token when you ordered. The staff will yell out your number to collect. It's freshly made on the spot and it taste absolutely fantastic. I went for the fish ball noodle soup again. It is so tasty(especially after adding some white pepper to the soup/broth). Good they have take away containers and it was a yummy late meal for me again. Muffin top becoming bigger in no time.

2011 April Hong Kong (Day 2)

22 April 2011 Good Friday


There is a Taiji class today that starts at 6.30am in the hotel, which Craig will never wake up at this time for such activity. There is another class conducted by the Hong Kong tourism board by the water at 8am and Craig can't be bothered for this as well. We missed the opportunity to make it in time for the Ngong Ping 360 tour that starts at 11.30am but ticketing has to be done by 10.45am. Because today is Good Friday, the queue for the cable car is extremely long. It took us  nearly 40mins to get our cable car tickets. Those people who had purchase their tickets in advance gets the express lane to the cable car. We decided to get the standard tickets which is $115HKD return per adult. The cable car ride took about 25mins to reach Ngong Ping village.

Very long queue for the cable car ride

and the queue continues at the ticketing area

and continue again at the cable car boarding area

Ngong Ping Cable car

view of the Giant Buddha from cable car ride

Tingy enjoying his cable car ride

First and only stop to the Giant Buddha. I think this is my 3rd visit to the Giant Buddha. We didn't hang around too long as we are hungry for our vegetarian meal. We've got the general meal, which cost $60. More waiting at the restaurant but the food came out very quickly. The food is really tasty and I think they should give lesser rice unless more is requested. There's still a lot left after we both had 2 bowls of rice each. Craig thinks they reused the remaining rice. I doubt it.

 At the foot of the Giant Buddha

Tingy did the climb too!

Long queue again for a seat in the vegetarian  

Our 2 pax meals. Yummy!!

Because we left the place pretty early there isn't a long queue for the cable car ride back.

Nice view on the return cable car ride

There's still a massive queue for the cable car!!

Citygate is next to the MTR station and it's well advertised as a shopping discount outlet mall. The retail shops at Citygate isn't that cheap as everyone claims. Note that is only one money changer on the basement level 2 and his rates are very bad.


Next stop, we headed to Central and caught a ride on the tram. I always find the "Ding Ding" very interesting and there's so many sights to see while on the tram. There are many lines that go to different places and it's a flat fee of $2HKD anywhere. We just jump on the 1st one that came and it brought us to Happy Valley. We took the tram back to Central again and hop on the Bus 15 to the peak. The driver is either rushing for time or busting for a pee. He was driving like a nut case. There is a lady in the front row of us and she is terrified during the journey up to the Peak. Again, because it's public holiday, there's just crowds everywhere. The queue for the tram was really long and because it's only a single way up and down, it takes a long time. It was just about to get dark so we caught the non-lighted and lighted version of the city. Craig didn't want to queue up for the tram so we caught the bus back to Central again.

                                      View of the Financial district and harbor from the Peak

For the next hour, we are on a wild goose chase for Dim Sum to have for dinner. Note to all, we had been to 3 restaurants that was recommended in food blogs and despite the information that Dim Sum is provided till late, it is NOT. These restaurants stop serving Dim Sum after around 3pm. We end up back at TST, at Tsui Wah for dinner. Craig had the club sandwich which he said it isn't too bad and I had their famous fish ball noodles soup, which I think it's really good and cheap too ($28HKD)!! Being a glutton, I've also ordered their shrimp wanton soup, which i don't think it's very nice. I actually suspect there's MSG used in this dish.