I
boarded the all-familiar Boeing 777, the Christmas decorations
were still hanging by the side. It was afterall my overseas
second trip in 3 weeks. First to Shenzhen,
now to Bali. I was flipping through the in-flight entertainment
magazine and realised I could have watched most of the movies
on my last trip. Action flicks like Trainspotter and The
Myth wasn't really my cup of tea. I settled for Eric Khoo's
"Stay With Me" and a Tiger. It was really ok after
3 cans, though the movie was pretty demoralizing.
The
recent bombings (Oct 05) in Bali started mass paranoia again.
Tourists were avoiding the island like Cartman was avoiding
an alien anal probe. Many colleagues asked me why I am not
worried or afraid of the prospects of another bomb, others
provided sound advice (get out if you see someone running
into a restaurant with a backpack). To quote an American
guy whom I spoke in Ubud, "I don't like to see myself
or the others get blown up, but if it is really so that
I get blown up by a bomb, it must be God that decided it.
Not that terrorists, definitely.
Welcome
to my Bali blog.
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Bb
"caught" (it was my hand actually) playing with
a can of Tiger beer while enjoying the inflight entertainment.
The french movies onboard were pretty interesting, especially
when there's loads of free beer as and when you need it.
I had 3. *Burp* |
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My reunion with Bir
Bintang, Best Served With Friends. Found it at a 24-hour
convenient store along Jalan Lebak Bene, 5 minutes walk
away from my guesthouse (Taman Ayu Guesthouse). It was good
and cold at Rp11,500/big bottle and I also had a Pop Mie
for supper (Rp2,500). S$1 = Rp5,700 |
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As denoted
in the Lonely Planet guide, our room in Taman Ayu guesthouse
has an open-air bathroom! The room was big and was a good
bargain at Rp65,000 a night. |
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The first
moments of my feet (under the protective covers of grey
slippers) interacting with the sand on Kuta surf land. Oh
god! |
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It was
really a surprise that I thought the picture came out so
well. A man was fishing on the shores of Kuta while the
grey clouds watched on the early saturday morning. The peace
and serenity that I experienced was so unlike what many
people have in mind of their own Kuta. |
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Bb and
her first Farang-style banana pancake and carrot juice.
Nothing beats a Farang style to start the day with. I had
a nice Nasi Goreng with a sunny side up. Warung Brasil Bali,
Jalan Benesari. Total meal cost Rp17,000. |
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Drink
it while it is still cold. Half-drank Bintang along a Gang
while a motorcycle speeds past while Bb was doing her shopping
at Jalan Lebak Bene. |
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Me and
Bb at Taman Ayu Guesthouse, just before checking out and
leaving for Ubud (Central Bali). Kinda like the bathroom.
Open-air, nice plants and bull cravings on wall. |
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Traces
of Hinduism and local beliefs merged into one. There were
small sets of offerings (flowers, biscuits) placed outside
of all shops we see so far in Kuta. These were for the spirits
and unlike Sillypore, it is perfectly ok to step on it (will
be explained later) after a couple of hours once it had
been offered. |
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Bb and
"our" Suzuki. Transport to Ubud (much to our surprise)
was a personal Suzuki jeep. It wasn't dirt cheap (Rp50,000/person).
Our driver told us that recent fuel prices has increased
by double, from Rp2,700 to Rp5,400 a litre. |
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