Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Bali Family Trip - Day 2

Last night at Ida Hotel, we had a great relaxing time at the small Jacuzzi pool. We started our brand new day by checking out from Ida Hotel. At 9:30 am, we started our journey to Tanah Lot. From Kuta to Tanah Lot, it took us around 1 hour and 30 minutes. So, plan your time wisely. 

Photography Copyright @Kai Yik Yeu & Kai Zhe Yeu 
Day 2- Temple Day  

#1 Tanah Lot 

Tanah Lot is one of the top attraction of Bali, a must visit place. We visited early in the morning to avoid the crowd. However, we did not manage to walk closer to it due to high tide. Tanah Lot has a bigger area, so take your time to stroll around and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I enjoy the wave hitting on the rocks, where the temple is located at. 



Prayer items look cute in a small folded banana leave. 



#2 Taman Ayun 

It took another 1 hour to arrive at Taman Ayun. As comparison with Tanah Lot, I like Taman Ayun more. There are less tourists here. The place is tranquil and has beautiful architecture. There is also a small art painting exhibition gallery on the side of it. 




Walk till the end of the temple to get this view. 


Lunch @ Small Warung: Mee Soto & White Rice

To save budget, we had our lunch at a small warung near by Taman Ayun. The stall is clean and prepared by 2 Malay Ladies. The mee soto tasted good, it has clear chicken soup with some special noodles. I like it along with the spicy sambal. Bali sambal is YUM YUM! Not to forget about Tea Botol, which is something local and similar to teh 'o'. A drink that quench your thirst. 




#3 Pura Ulun Danu Bratan 

The temple that I look forward the most. It is a water temple located at Lake Bratan. First of all, the weather was cool and windy!!! Next, the dreamy view of the mountains and clouds is awesome. I love this place. You can then take out your IRP 50, 000 to compare this beautiful place. 





** SUPER HIGHLY RECOMMEND **
The best place to stay at UBUD with the SUPERB CHEAP price. 
I would say the only bad side of  Desak Putu Putra Hidden is there are a lot of mosquitoes. BUT, the staffs are super friendly and helpful and they provide us electric mosquitoes mat. 

PROS: 

1. 6 rooms only, private balcony for every room, quiet & relaxing place 
2. Modern design, spacious, bath tub 
3. Lovely garden, water flow fountain, swimming pool 
4. Delicious breakfast served to your room (feel royalty, LOL) 
5. 10 minutes walk to Ubud central
6. No extra charge for extra person in the room 
7. Electric kettle provided upon request 
8. New place, open at January 2014
9. Last but not least, SUPER helpful staffs !!!

I <3 Desak Putu Putra Hidden. 


Walking through a long walk into the hidden place !



In the evening, before the sun goes down, we walked to Ubud Central to have our dinner. There are restaurants and bakery shop along the road. Restaurant has 10% service charge. We had our dinner which I think was westernized but it was not that bad. 

Bread life has delicious bread.  

As we walked around Ubud Central, there was a procession going on.
A great chance to have a look at Bali culture and their beautiful traditional clothes. 

Stay tune for Day 3&4. 
Tataz. 



Saturday, June 14, 2014

Bali Family Trip

Since my family didn't travel to the States, we had a family trip to Bali. We bought Air Asia tickets when they were on Sale. I think that basically Air Asia is always on sale, do check out their website. My two ways flight tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar(Bali) was around RM 430.

Travel tips: Bali 4 days 4 nights
1. Total spending per person (including hotel/ transport/ food): ~RM 700- 800

2. Place to stay at Kuta (15 minutes drive from airport): Ida Hotel Bali

3. Place to stay at Ubud (1 hour & 30 mins drive to airport): Desak Putu Putra Hidden 

4. Currency: If you like to change Indonesian Rupiah at Bali, prepare USD to have higher rate.
* Conversion in mind : IRP 250000, move 4 digits forward= $USD 25 *3 = ~RM 75

5. Tour guide/ driver fee: (10 hours/ day): IRP 400,000= RM 120
* Contact through email before your trip to save some trouble on spot, negotiate about the price.

6. Each attraction/ temple entrance fee (foreigner): around IRP 15,000 - IRP 30,000 per person.
    The temple provides sarong without any extra charges. Don't buy sarong at the road stalls unless you              really like it.

7. Entering Bali, ASEAN countries visitors have separate customs counters, line up in the correct lane.

8. Leaving Bali Airport, MUST pay passenger service charge of IRP 200, 000
*  Better to have some IRP left in your wallet, and eat before you enter the custom, a few restaurant at the departure gates.

Hope these tips will help you as you plan your trip to Bali. I will share more of the details in each day post.

Photography Copyright @Kai Yik Yeu & Kai Zhe Yeu 

Day 1- Beach Day
*Highly recommended *
Ida Hotel Bali 
Deluxe Family Bungalow ( 2 queen size beds)

Pros:

  • Balinese local feel
  • Open air bathroom 
  • Delicious buffet breakfast- from western to local fried rice
  • Jacuzzi and swimming pool 
  • 10 minutes walk to Kuta Beach
Cons: 
  • Extra charge for the 5th person 
  • No hot water, kettle provided

Deluxe Family Bungalow with balcony outside. 

#1 Kuta Beach
A surfer's paradise. If you like to learn to surf, there are a lot of sales person on the beach. However, I prefer to go for a morning walk when there is no crowd and get to listen to the ocean waves.





#2 Tour guide start from 10:30 am :Nusa Dua Beach

Our tour guide,  Mr. Satrya was a good guy as he followed us to every locations and gave us brief explanation. He is punctual and a quiet guy. He didn't talk that much. So depends on your preference, you might find a better one. You can contact Mr. Satrya or anyone from Dody & Team through dody_balitour@yahoo.com

I would not recommend Nusa Dua Beach unless you like to have some water sport activities.



Lunch @ Dobiel Warung Babi Guling Nusa Dua 

First try of babi guling and it doesn't turn me down. Spiciness and pork sate were good. But be aware that it has smaller portion and over- priced. The warung was hot and not a comfortable environment. Still worth a try if you are around Nusa Dua.



#3 Padang- Padang beach
A beach full with angmo. If I got a chance, I would like to sun bath here. Nice little place.





#4 Uluwatu Temple
This is the top favorite temple of my family members. We walked along the sea from the lower ground to the upper temple by using the staircase. You can see the great ocean without an end. It's a really awesome view and has the feeling of Twelve Apostles. 


Too hot.... Sweat like crazy and I am tanned.


#5 Jimbaran Beach
A popular tourist attraction, I bet you had heard about the expensive price of seafood. Yes. It is expensive with the food being served. In my opinion, the seafood was not good at all, some of the prawns were even raw. So be careful of Legong @Jimbaran. However, Legong is situated at the far end of the Jimbaran beach and has the perfect sunset view. We pay for the environment of the beautiful sunset.




A beautiful sunset to end the day. Stay tune for Day 2. Tataz. :)

Day 2 post : http://yvonneyeu.blogspot.com/2014/06/bali-family-trip-day-2.html

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

OSU Graduate !

Thank you so much Yen Suan and Gorden who helped to bring my stuffs back to Malaysia. Finally, I have all my things back. Compared to what I brought to US in the year 2011, now I have double the amount of things. Haha. I even bought a shampoo back home. I know it sounds crazy but Nexxus promend shampoo is THE shampoo that saves my dry, frizzy hair!! I am glad that I have it again. LOL

It's the season of graduation. I still can't believe that I have graduated but looking at the official graduation photo, I remembered the day when I was extremely tired at the commencement.  Take a look, I looked so pale~ 


The commencement ceremony at the Ohio State University was a bit different, we actually didn't have a chance to walk up the stage upon name calling. The undergraduate students just lined up and shake hands with each respective College's Dean to get the diploma certificate. I love the environment and atmosphere of our commencement. The high Buckeyes spirit as we all sing "Carmen Ohio". 



The day after commencement, I took some time with dar to walk around campus. I am grateful that he can be here to feel our school spirit which can't be described in words, and to accompany me to walk through all the pathways that I usually walk alone.

My graduation cap decoration! 


At the Long Walk 

It's not an end but a beginning. A beginning of my career life. A beginning of my future. I am hoping for the best in everything. Hope you are doing well too. Tataz.