#EATSLEEPBEACHREPEAT

9-DAY BALI TRIP (March 4-12)

I know right, super long haha

I love it when my getaways are random and spontaneous. It feels like there would be more surprises in store when it's unplanned and unexpected. What's even more random was the people I went with: to be honest, we weren't close; we've only known each other for a few weeks/max a month. Never thought I'd travel with this bunch of cuties but I did anyway and it turned out great! Whoosh whoosh!

Took an early evening flight from Singapore and landed in Bali at night. It was lovely to be able to catch the sunset on plane. Gwen introduced me to a film, Upside Down, and the sky in the movie looked exactly like Bali's night scape from the plane. If you've watched the movie, I'm sure you'd agree with what I'm saying. 

Had our very first Balinese meal shortly after arriving at the airport. Honestly throughout my entire holiday in Bali, I had only one satisfying Balinese meal. How disappointing is that! The rest was just so-so and this was.... heap this was as well just so-so. And surprisingly, sometimes their Western cuisine turned nicer than their local ones. Weird.

So before I start flooding you guys with the photos, here's the plan:

Irina Fun Fact: She doesn't like staying in just one area during her long travel. 

I looooooove to explore so I suggested for my mates to move around Bali. Lodging at the same place could be a tad boring and very limiting to cultural-discovery. To spice things up, covering a few different places would be ideal. Not only it increases the possibility of knowledge expansion but also make room for more interesting experiences hehehe.

DAY 1 - 3: SEMINYAK

Day view from hotel room

Super fanciful breakfast by the hotel the very next day

Looking at this shades makes me super upset cause I lost it to the sea. The waves in Bali were so rough, everything got swept away.... including Gwen's Lespecs shades as well haha. I wanted to dive this trip but because of the strong current, we could only do minimal water sports meh meh. Oh well, at least it didn't rain for the past 9 days.

So first destination: Karma Beach Club

I know right...... WHAT A VIEW. Trust me, it's definitely not the filter. The filter can't give you different gradient of blue but this beach can. I was....... outta words, simply in awe for a good few minutes. I was so----- I had never, in my entirely life seen anything this beautiful. Now I'd believe images I see online about those amazing amazing beaches in the world because it's possible.

Then, we left for Finn's Beach Club. To enter these beach clubs, you would have to pay a certain amount of entrance fee to get yourself a daybed, towel, drinks, food and any other kind of perks. Karma's fee was pretty steep and unnecessary hence we decided to go with the driver's recommendation.

Finn is relatively near to Karma so logically they share the same beach. You get what you pay, in terms of ambience, Karma definitely wins but for affordability and value-for-money, Finn's the champ.

Third destination: Potato Head Beach Club

Potato Head is a super known beach club amongst Singaporeans. The drinks there are said to be relatively cheap. I can't confirm that since I don't drink. I would drink if coerced by friends, other than that, it's almost impossible to get me buying myself drinks. 

There's no entrance fee for this beach club. Just clock up to an estimated amount of SGD50 and you'll be able to get huge daybed and towels for yourself and yourself which is much worthier!!! Other beach clubs' average entrance fee was about SGD25 just to get individual towel and whatnots. 

I like my photos in b&w but friends said, "Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

Yes, I am one of those who can't escape from Asian flush whenever I drink. Even if.... it's just a mouthful. And the blazing sun wasn't helping much. After rounds of teasing from the dudes, I was told Zantac works wonders in getting rid of the redness during drinking session and guess what? IT WORKS. I tried it a few days back and I realised my alcohol tolerance not only increased but I didn't get red that fast. How awesome, Zantac. Awesome. 

For those of you with similar problems, just go get it in the pharmacy! It's brilliant!

After Potato Head, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and proceeded to airport to pick another friend up. From there, we took on a 2-hour plus journey, reaching Ubud another destination another part of Bali safely past midnight. Why the word safely is necessary in this case because the roads were so dark!!! It's so dark I couldn't even see my own stretched-out hand right in front of me. Car's front light? No. There was this point of time when the driver had to switch off the front lights just to increase the car engine's capability to go up a super steep slope. It wasn't even funny. 

DAY 3 - 6: UBUD

From this kettle, you probably could get a feel of how old school the villa was. 

And I didn't mind that, it's cute!

Day view from our villa

First activity: Explore Ubud on bike

I love exploring a foreign land through my own means. Being sheltered in a car and to be driven around feels.... different than to roam on your own. Be it on foot or on wheels, trust me, the experience is different. Don't be afraid to get lost. That's when you learn to find your way and to be back on track. You learn to use the pockets of courage you haven't had the chance and be stronger, independent and more self-trusting. 

Ubud was filled with so much greens. My eyes instantly felt healthier just from looking at them.

The entire bike experience was pretty thrilling and scary at the same time. Joanne (my rider) and I almost fell but thank God my leg was long enough to garner enough support from the ground and Joanne was strong enough to hold the bike from crashing onto the ground. Dangerousssssssss. The corner turn was too steep and the roads were bumpy. The ride wasn't easy, man. I was so proud of Joanne, conquering her fear and also taking care of my safety.

Gwen's fave: Row of ducks suntanning

And that was Vivian and I falling asleep on Jo hahaha. So much love in this picture :')

Meet Mango and Papaya, our villa's resident kitties

OOoooooooooooo~ Just look at dat faiiiiiiiiise------ I cannot even

FYI that hoodie he's slothing sooooo comfortably on is mine haha! I left it there while having breakfast and he conveniently sat on it like, "hmmmm, this is a great spot to lounge"

In the evening, we would sit outside and watch the fireflies play around in the fields. This is what makes the beauty of certain things so unbelievable. No matter how we try, the beauty can't be translated on screen. One can only to witness this with eyes. If everything can be caught so easily on camera, where's the element of surprise anyway. 

Next activity: White Water Rafting

Our villa had nice helpers who made us breakfast each morning :')

The fifth friend who we fetched from airport, Zul

If you're ever going to raft in Bali, do not be ripped off by the tour organisers. We were charged at approx. SGD35 per pax and we met a German couple who got charged at approx. SGD70. It's insane how Balinese don't show mercy in things like that. And this is also why humans have trust issues.

And yeaaaaaaaaap. All in all, it's definitely worth going at SGD35. Anymore more than that is..... madness. The entire rafting journey lasted for 2 hours. It was definitely longer than expected. 

This gif is too funny. Our expressions? Priceless haha.

FINALLY. THIS. THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY THING I MISS ABOUT BALI..... maybe the beaches too (but not the sun). This was the best meal I had in Bali and it was so so cheap. All this and a lot more plus drinks for just less than SGD50. It's aaaaaamazing. It was located very off town, somewhere near our villa (told ya our villa was secluded) hence it's less commercialised and they didn't set apart tourist price and local price. Most places did that and it's so annoying cause the difference was HUGE.

DAY 6 - 9: KUTA

Welcome to our villa, the last destination for the rest of the holiday!!!!

And this was voted the best one among all the other stays by the mates.

Enough of greens now back to the blues

Next Destination: Karma Beach Club

Why we decided to head back to the same place was 'cause Zul didn't get to see Karma or Finn. And I think it's worth going again just for an experience else there's nothing fantastic for Zul to remember about Bali. Instead of Finn, we went to Karma for a change (though yes.... more expensive)

This random doggy came and sat by me. I gave him a little head scratch and he loved it and wanted moreeeeee. He's so cute. Just look at his face hehehehehehe so adorbs.

And.... we managed to catch the sunset at Karma :')

Next activity: Water Sports at Nusa Dua

"Make sure this shit is safe ok"

And they say Bali's seafood is one of the best. What we had was...... ultimate MEH.

This place was recommendation by the driver, a local which was supposed to be up to standard.

We each had a crab to ourselves and poor Zul's was spoiled. Yuck.

Next activity: Yoga + Clubbing

To save cost, we cook our breakfast each day in the villa. It's so lovely cause it's fun cooking together, and eating together. Simple meals but happy tummies hehehehe.

Vivian just got her license as a yoga teacher. I went for yoga lessons here and there at True Yoga or wherever else but they were nothing like the session I had with Vivian. She's thorough and patient. It's nice having a private tutor and someone who explains why you do the things you do else it becomes doing for the sake of doing. There, the difference between commercialised and passion.

We dressed up to go Sky Garden for some fun that night and I had a blast!!!!!!!!! The club there was surprisingly not bad! I've gotta give it credit, really. It was a Monday and it was still hella funnnnn!!!! The only thing I don't like about Bali is the Balinese being, not only opportunists (in a bad way) but also very sleazy. It's disgusting how they would grope asses in the club. I mean in SG, guys would briefly brush across our ass but in Bali, no.... G R O P E. 

LAST DAY IN BALI

If y'all intending to go Bali, be prepared for surprises. We were so surprised that we had to pay a separate and additional airport tax charges. It's ridiculous. It felt like they were tryna rip us off everywhere every single minute. It's a major turn-off. Be ruthless when you bargain because they're too.

And look at how these two were sleeping on the plane (below). Really one of a kind hahahahaha.

OK THAT'S ALL FOR NOW. I HAVE YET TO DEVELOP THE ROLLS OF FILM I TOOK IN BALI BECAUSE I HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME. I've been working almost every single day for the past few weeks. On the days I'm free, I catch up with friends and get some life. Just thought I should get this going so that I don't have so much on my plate. 

Nonetheless, I'd rate Bali an overall.......... 6.5/10? 

It wasn't fantastic for me. It's all too pricey. Some people loveeeeee Bali more than Phuket. And it's possible. Maybe in 3 years time when I'm financially stable and ready to splurge, I'll love it as much as the rest but as of now.... Phuket will do just fine hehe.