Beautiful Bali: Tour Day 1

First of all, I must write this testimonial for our driver, Made. I got his contact through Yen Ting who highly recommended him. He has his own websites where you can choose which tour you want; but for us, we just listed down the places we wanted to go to and then he arranged an appropriate schedule for us. The first seven who went also went to Lovina with him on the day before. I've read some horror stories about drivers who talk too much and some trying to convert ppl to hinduism, but Made is so not like that. He was pretty flexible with the schedule as well; like in the last day where we suddenly wanted to go to the glass chapel and he brought us there. We wanted to eat at 2 different famous places for dinner and was preparing to choose one for convenience sake, but he's the one who suggested that we go to both places. We took up extra hours and yet he didn't charge us. Really got close to him to the point of him showing us pics of his wife and kid. haha. So yeah, of course we gave him a big tip for all his niceness.

Interested? His site is Bali Private Tours and email is wijaya7@gmail.com.

Now, on the morning of the 1st day, we went to Kuta Beach to jalan jalan before our tour began.

Made then picked us up from our hotel at 8.30 and then we headed to Batu Bulan to watch the Barong dance. The entrance fee for this dance is 80,000 rupiahs which is about RM20+. Quite expensive actually and to most, not really worth watching cos erm, well, it was boring. haha. I, on the other hand was busy squatting at the front row waiting non-stop taking pics. It's basically a sketch on a famous Hindu story.

After that we headed to Spring Temple. Everyone is required to cover up below the knees. Sarongs were given at the entrance.

There was a ceremony going on. And I noticed that Balinese are really pious Hindus. There are so many temples everywhere, and most of the time there will be some procession or some ceremony and there will be a lot of ppl in the temple.

This is the place to cleanse oneself, I think.

Next stop was Kitamani, which is on a hill. The view was absolutely beautiful. There we had buffet lunch for 80,000 rupiah++, which is very cheap for buffet. Enjoyed the food while enjoying the beautiful view :)

After a sumptuous meal, we went to Tegalalang Rice Terrace. According to Made, the paddy has been harvested just few weeks back, hence, we weren't able to see the field in full "bloom". Just stop a while for a fast photo taking session and then headed to Pasar Umum Sukawati for SHOPPING!

As can be seen, no photos whatsoever on Pasar Umum Sukawati, since the moment we reached there we immediately began looking at shops. Such a shame that we arrived there about 4.30pm, and the market usually closes by 6pm. So it was such a rush for us. The most important thing there- BARGAIN! Most of the time, the opening price can be reduced by 50-70%. So, things that I learnt on successful bargaining:

1. NEVER look interested, even though you absolutely love the dress

2. Speak in BM

3. Be persistent!!! Some use the tactic of gaining sympathy, etc

4. And if all fail- do the walkaway tactic. Walk away and just wait for them to call you back. I dare not say the percentage of success, but for me it was pretty high. :)

After hurried shopping, we went for dinner at Ubud area. There were 2 famous places that are a must-try- Dirty Duck and Naughty Nuri's. And we were very happy that Made was willing to take us to both places. The Dirty Duck place was famous for its Bebek Bengil or Crispy Duck. The restaurant was nearby a paddy field, so it would be a picturesque place for lunch as well. At night, the whole restaurant is lighted up with candles- a romantic feel indeed.

We shared Crispy Duck, since we were going to have second dinner and also since it was quite expensive. The duck was so crispy that you could chew up to the bones, Yummy....

Our second dinner was then at Naughty Nuri's where 10 ppl shared 2 plates of pork ribs. haha. But there pork ribs were really good! Juicy and tender, and the sauce that comes with it really complements it. Yummy!!!