We were up early at 4.30am but having only slept close to 3hrs, i was very very reluctant to get up. Our flight to Denpasar, Bali via Jetstar leaves at 7.25am. There was a long queue at the check in counter so we were left with only 45 mins for breakfast before boarding begins.
We took 2 fotos of the kids with their zodiac signs.
Lionel, born in the year of the rooster & Rachel in the year of the pig. Flight was delayed for an hour & so by the time we arrived in Bali & cleared customs, its was already close to 12 noon. What should have been 2.5 hours long flight, now became 3.5 hours. And to make matter worst, they announced that they have ran out of customs declaration card onboard & we can only those upon arrival. So all the passengers just sat around the grounds to fill up the neccessary.
After much sourcing about for private car rentals, we still have not find one that is suitable. A taxi driver approached us & asked if we are interested in hiring a taxi to our hotel but we told him we wanted a private driver & guide instead. He made a phone call & we settled on the rates. 400,000IDR per day ~ SGD55 or USD44. So the forum was right, approximately USD50 per day. :)The taxi driver was very friendly & his name was Wayan Susila, taxi #: 011. Did not take down his number plate though. He sent us to our hotel where our guide would meet us with no charges at all. Upon arrival at DeKuta Hotel, our room was not ready yet so we left our luggages with the conceirge & told them we wld check in later in the night. Wayan told us due to the jam we encountered earlier on, he wld drive us out to another place to meet our guide. Again no charges.
Made (pronounced ma-day) Surya was our private guide for the next 4 days. Another friendly & helpful chap. He studied in Singapore before, doing hospitality management for 6 months. Daddy & him clicked right away, talking on houses, cars, business, etc. Man!
Our lunch at Gurita Seafood. Portion was small but not that well cooked. Fish was fresh though. 3 dishes plus rice & drinks cost 319,000IDR ~ SGD$40 plus... That place cater more to tourist than walk in. Within our short time spent there, already about 5 tour coaches stopped at the entrance & tourists from China, Japan & even Malaysians walked in. Easily distinguished by their language & tone they communicated in. Haha....
The above & following pictures were all taken at Tanah Lot. A rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali; home of a pilgrimage temple - Pura Tanah. We spent abt 1.5-2hrs, walking at our own pace, stopping for a bowl of fruit ice for 15,000IDR ~ SGD$2 plus. Our guide waited patiently outside for us .
Next stop, sunset watch at Uluwatu's & Kecak Dance performance. Admission was priced @ 70,000IDR/adt & 35,000IDR/chd. ~ SGD10 or USD8
Beautiful sunset they have. A wonder to marvel at.
The Kecak Dance Performance - A combination of ancient ritual, dance, sunset & cliff settlings accompanied by a choir of chanting & singing men.
Warning: this video is abt 6 mins long as i combined the diff short clips i took of the performance.
Story: Wandering in the forest, Sita sees a beautiful golden deer & pleads with her husband, Rama to capture it for her. Rama lefts Sita in the protection of his brother Laksamana. Shortly after Rama's departure, a cry for help echos ard the forest. Sita sends Laksamana to his aid.
Rhawana appears & tried to kidnap her. Taking her to his palace, he was attacked by his enemy, Garuda-Long.
Rama mets Sigriwa, the red monkey & seeks his help to find his wife Sita. Hanoman , a white monkey with magical power was asked to help. Rama gives him a ring to be given to Sita as proof. He rescued Sita just in time to prevent her from taking her own life but was captured by giants who attempt to burn him.
Rama comes face to face with Rhawana in a fierce battle & defeats him. He is reunited with Sita.
** i summarized the story in a gist for easier reading & understanding **
The cast of Kecak Dance. Not meant to be rude but all i heard are "... cak... cak... cak... " thru out the performance. I cant make out the singing but at least i understand the story, with the help of a leaflet given out to all tourists.
The white monkey, Hanoman was a cheeky one & a hilarious one at that. He mingles with the crowd & does unexpected things like taking off the sunglasses belonging to one person & puts it on another; sits quietly beside the unsuspecting one & giving him/her a fright; he gave both Lionel & Rachel a high 5 each... Rachel was afraid he wld pull out her ponytails as he did to someone's hair.
After the end of the performance, we made our way out & headed down to Jimbaran for seafood dinner. We had ours at Ganesha Cafe & the total bill amounts to 852,840IDR ~ SGD$118...gulp. Let's just say the environment was great, with strong sea breeze blowing our way, live band that goes table to table, singing any song that you requested & romance in the air. We ate our dinner under a one & only candle-light. But i wouldnt say the same for the food. 3 thumbs down!So with this, we made our way back to the hotel in Kuta & checked in. We were in for another shock. The temperature of the air con, though set at 16 degrees was not even felt. In fact, the whole room was too stuffy. We called up the front desk & was told we had to wait for about 45mins for the whole room to be cool. 1st time i heard of such nonsense. Well, after 1.5 hrs, the room was still stuffy & we requested to change room.
The next room was slightly better but the air con was still NOT COOL ENOUGH!!!. No choice as all other rooms were taken. Daddy had in mind to ask for a refund & changed to another hotel. I told him you can choose to forfeit your room but don't expect a refund. If we have booked directly with the hotel, there might still be a slight possibility of a refund or upgrade but since we booked online, thru another agent & under promotional rates, fat hope.
Tomorrow will be a full day at Ubud's. Yawn. Lights out!
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