Tag: bali

Oasis Lagoon Sanur – our 2014 Bali babymoon hotel

Just got back from Bali!

After our not so great Bali trip last year, the hubs decided to give Bali another go and boy, were we surprised. It’s clearer than ever that the reasons why we didn’t enjoy our previous trip so much were due to poor planning, bad traffic, unusually hot weather and trying to cram too much in too few days.

This time, we took our time. The weather was just wonderfully mild, we skipped all the driving, sight-seeing and concentrated on relaxation and eating nice food – the best way to spend a babymoon :)

Before I talk more about the places we ate at (which were sooo good), let me just blog about the hotel – Oasis Lagoon in Sanur. Sanur is quieter and less chaotic compared to Kuta.

# – The lobby.

The hotel is beautiful, a wonderful juxtaposition of modern and traditional. Kudos to hubs for picking a good accomodation.

# – View of pool from lobby.

He treated me to a lagoon access room, meaning our room opens out to the swimming pool. It was fabulous!

# – Lagoon access.

We were pretty much living at the pool. This was our routine: wake up > tea/coffee by the pool > dip in the pool > lunch > back in the pool > dinner > sleep. Repeat.

And because the hotel is not that large, there weren’t many people using the pool too, which was a huge plus.

# – Happy hubs.

# – The pool view from our room.

The room was very comfortable. Large bed, okay-sized tele, mini fridge, hair-dryer and a safe – as good as 4-star goes. I do wish there was a flexible shower arm and also a flexible bidet by the toilet.

# – Shower area, which only has a rain shower.

Rain shower is a nice concept but it’s just so hard to get to the important bits, you know what I mean? LOL

# – Obligatory bathroom selfie.

Our room was always tidied up as soon as we’re back from an excursion. Of course we did hang “Please Make Up Room” on our door knob when we went out.

Complimentary breakfast at the hotel was nothing to shout about. Basics like toasts, cereals, pancakes and some greasy local dishes were offered. I tried it out for one day and decided to skip the rest of the mornings.

Service was prompt and polite – a great thing. When we were checking out, the concierge took care to ask if we needed airport transfer and got us a legit taxi…no hanky panky.

We really enjoyed our stay there. The truth is, I think having direct access to the pool made all the difference. If you’re not taking the pool access room though, it’s still a very enjoyable hotel to stay in as it’s in a good location within walking distance to a few good restaurants (which I will be blogging soon).

# – With hubs :)

Thanks hubs for arranging such a nice holiday for us before our impending journey into parenthood!

The Oasis Lagoon
Jl. Danau Tamblingan No. 136 A
Sanur 80228
Bali – Indonesia
T. +62 361 282264
F. +62 361 282214

Bali 2013: Day 2

Phew, finally I found some time to blog about this trip. Read the 1st day here.

On our 2nd day in Bali, we decided to check out Kuta Beach.

After taking two pictures of the beach, we left. Even then I felt like we had stayed far too long.

Firstly, it was hellishly hot! I felt like I was going to melt. My feet were burning, it was like walking on burning glass. Secondly, there were so many touts! I don’t like touts, leave me alone!

# – Kuta Beach picture 1.

# – Kuta Beach picture 2.

After spending less than 5 minutes there, we left Kuta Beach in our rental van to go to Tanah Lot. As usual, we were stuck in a traffic jam. Almost an hour before we managed to leave Kuta alone!

# – Traffic jam. Yawns.

While stuck in the jam, I tried this coconut juice in a packet. I was a bit skeptical cause packeted coconut juice sold in Malaysia are nasty. This one was very nice though.

# – Hydro Coco.

Finally we reached Tanah Lot! I was mistaken as a local and got my ticket dirt cheap. Too bad G will never pass of as local anywhere in Asia :P

# – My ticket only 10,000 rupiah, whereas G’s was 30,000 rupiah. Score!

There were so many people at Tanah Lot! I thought to myself, Tanah Lot would be such an amazing place if it was quieter. Too bad it’s never going to be that way.

# – Tanah Lot entrance.

# – Tanah Lot.

We joined the trail of people queuing up to be blessed with holy water.

# – Holy water.

# – Q-ing up.

I think we donated like 5000 rupiah each for some rice to be stuck to our foreheads and frangipanis behind our ears. We also got to wash our hands and face with the holy water.

# – Getting blessed.

Then we went up the side of the temple, but we were not allowed to go all the way up. So we hung around the stone staircase for a bit and camwhored.

# – Trying to be artistic.

After mucking around for a bit, we decided we had enough so we started exploring the nearby shops.

# – Saw phallic carvings.

# – Saw coffee beans pooped out by civet cats.

Then we went to sit down at one of the restaurants overlooking Tanah Lot. We decided to wait for the sunset.

# – Camwhored again.

By now, I must had taken over 200 shots of Tanah Lot from various angles permissible by how much I could twist and turn my arms. But I ain’t posting any of them.

Then, the sun set.

# – Pretty.

On the way back, we stopped by a pretty famous Babi Guling restaurant called “Babi Guling Chandra” in Denpasar, found by my white husband.

During this trip, we went to two babi guling places and while both were good I prefer Chandra more.

# – Babi Guling Chandra.

# – Babi guling special. Delicious!

The meat was really moist, the urap (some kinda salad) was juicy, crunchy and flavourful, the sambal packed a punch, the satay was meaty & juicy, the crackling O M G!! They ran out of the crispy skin but I didn’t miss it.

And then, I absent-mindedly bought two bags of cracklings called “Krupuk Babi Rejeki”.

# – Yeap, I forgot to take pictures of them so these I nicked from somebody else. Krupuk Babi Rejeki

I wish had bought more cause ladies & gentlemen those are the best gawddamn cracklings I have ever tasted in my life. It was crunchy but not jaw breakingly so. It was so well-seasoned, once you popped you can’t stop. It cost 40,000 rupiah a bag and it’s so worth it. Amazing stuff.

Apparently you can only get them in Babi Guling Chandra, so don’t miss it.

Babi Guling Chandra
Jl. Teuku Umar 140
Denpasar – Bali
Tel: +62361 221278

Till the next post!

Bali 2013: Day 1

We went to Bali for hubs’s 35th birthday. Can you believe it, neither of us have been there despite wanting to for the longest time. I think in some silly ways we were a little spooked by the so-called Bali curse…apparently unmarried couples who have been to Bali together will break-up.

Of course I think it’s all bollocks since about 50% of couples whether married or unmarried will break up eventually (don’t ask where I derived the figure, just look around you, man). So if you’re going to split, leave Bali out of the equation.

That said, you never know.

Because it’s for the hubs birthday, I decided to eschew the budget carrier and paid full price for comfort and emergency exit row seats. It was a 3 hour flight after all, not long but not too short either.

# – On our way to airport.

Then, I was sandwiched between my 6’5″ tall husband (nice) and a dude with spillover back flesh who kept camhoring in the plane (not nice).

We stayed at Rama Beach & Villas in our own private garden villa. It’s in Kuta, 10 minutes from airport (with some traffic) and 10 minute walk to Kuta beach.

# – Nice king sized bed.

# – Our garden.

Got the place from TravelZoo, which is my favourite website for holiday deals. The deal I bought included free massages, airport transfers, daily breakfast and etc.

Before leaving, I mailed the resort to check if they could leave a note in our room on the day we check-in wishing my husband happy birthday. Instead, they surprised us with a delicious moist chocolate birthday cake. I was really pleased! Wonderful, wonderful service.

# – Cake!

# – Happy birthday to hubs.

We lazed around for a bit before collecting our car key from Best Bali Car Rental. I recommend their service because it’s very stress free, everything was done via the website and emails. Most importantly, very reasonably priced. I also rented a GPS device from them. Full payment upon picking up of the vehicle.

They will drop off and pick up the car at airport or your hotel, so very convenient. Full payment upon picking up of the vehicle. I chose the self-drive package for more freedom.

We initially wanted to rent a Suzuki Jimny for novelty as well as cheap, alas they proved too popular. Our Jimny was replaced with an Avanza for the same price. It was a comfortable ride until something happened…will talk about this in subsequent post :P

Petrol was quite cheap, about RM50 for a full tank but only Ron92. If you saw the word “Solar” at the fuel pumps, becareful cause it’s actually diesel. One of the attendants were literally running towards us screaming Nooo in slow motion when the hubs reached out to use the “Solar” pump.

# – Token camho picture. My comfy holiday garb…flowy loose top, harem pants and sandals.

For our first dinner in Bali, we headed to Ubud for Naughty Nuri’s Warung & Grill pork ribs.

# – In our ride for the next few days.

It was a little over an hour’s drive thanks to the narrow roads and heavy traffic. We were okay though because we took it as an opportunity to check out Bali.

# – Naughty Nuri.

The environment was really cozy with paintings, vintage & humourous posters. The ribs? They were to DIE FOR!

# – My favourite painting at Naughty Nuri’s.

# – Pork ribs…yummy yum yum.

# – Clean bones.

We also ate other dishes like grilled pork sausage, fried potato wedges, salads and chicken satay. We added another portion of ribs later on.

# – The chicken satay.

Our bill came up to 409,400 rupiah, about RM130 with beers. Quite reasonable.

# – The bill.

Naughty Nuri’s Warung & Grill
Jl. Raya Sanggingan
Ubud, Bali
GPS: S8.49243 E115.25328
Phone: (361)977547
8am-10pm daily

Another hour drive back to hotel later…we crashed, but not after popping by a convenience store opposite the resort for local beers and snacks.

Till next post!