I was pretty excited when this much awaited trip to Bali was finally happening. 18 of us embarked on Air Asia (for the cheap tickets, of course), arrived at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar around 9.30 pm, and headed for our first and most ridiculously expensive dinner in a restaurant called Furama, which I don't find any specialty or anyhow delicious the food might be. That really caused one big hole in our pockets!! Anyway, we checked into Ida Duta Hotel, which is situated hidden from the main roads, and required a walking distance across some streets and down an alley just to get to it as the bus was too big to enter. By the time we reached the hotel, most of us were pretty much exhausted and tired after a long and weary journey.
The next day, I woke up with much enthusiasm, eager to know the itinerary of the day. After breakfast, the first stop was the Batubulan village where the Barong and Keris Dance took place. Eventually, that was the most horrible cultural act I've ever seen in my entire life!! Boring and meaningless, I was rather disgusted by some of the insulting and offensive scenes which were not worth the tickets at all. I can't help myself but to leave the place in next to no time. After that, we were brought to see some so-called gold and silver works at Celuk and wood carvings at Mas, which in fact was a gimmick to actually entice tourists into buying its products. Again, disappointment bestowed upon us because there's really nothing interesting and the prices of the goods were extremely cut-throat. Then, we had our buffet lunch at Kintamani hill at a local restaurant overlooking the locally infamous Batur volcano and its lake. I can't deny that the panoramic view was quite nice. The journey continued with a visit to a flea market. Bargains on and after haggling for almost one and half hour, most of us got a handful of souvenirs back. It was pretty early when we headed back to our hotel, and later had our dinner at McD in a nearby Matahari Mall.
The second day kicked off in the wee hours of the morning. With heavy heads and sleepy eyes, we pulled ourselves up from the bed, and endured a 3-hour ride North-West to a place called Lovina, in order to catch a glimpse of dolphins. Surely, we did, and it was merely a glimpse on a school of dolphins. I can barely see the dolphins as on and off they rose only partially to the surface of the water. A huge amount was paid to that, another hole in our pockets. Ouch!! That's not all. The bus that took us to this beach suffered some damages on its braking system and we were all stranded on the beach for at least 4 to 5 hours!! We loitered, strolled, lingered, waited, chatted and even took the most snapshots in that area. In the end, the whole morning, our precious time was squandered away. Feeling hungry and lethargic, we were brought down to Bedugul for a buffet lunch. Within a walking distance, we arrived at Ulun Danu temple, a temple on the Beratan lake. Finally, a place that's really worth going!! The landscape surrounding the area was spectacular and wonderful. We really had a great time there. After that, we set off to another temple. This time it was a temple on the sea, Tanah Lot as it's called. Standing on a huge rock the view was totally breathtaking. I stood in awe of the amazing construction of the temple and also the environment, back dropped by the inspiring and magnificent sunset. Having forked a lump sum of money, we decided to take our dinner in a little food court, which was the cheapest meal we ever had in Bali.
Final day has eventually surfaced. We walked ourselves to Kuta beach, where some of the guys have decided to go surfing, while the rest of us had a walk down the beach. After checking out from the hotel, we moved on to the Ulu Watu temple also a sanctuary for monkeys located in Ubud. The monkeys were agile and quick. Under unforeseen circumstances, they will snatch things like spectacles and caps from tourists caught off-guard. Coincidentally, workers there will help to get back the stolen objects, but they demanded money in return. How pretentious they can be - dressing up like pilgrims, looked pious on the outside but greedy from the inside!! Our last and final destination was a cultural park to see the biggest statue called Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK). It covers quite a large area, but it was still under construction, so the statue was only halfway done.
Bali – the treasure trove of natural beauty
That's just about it. What a “wavy” trip!! Phew!!
