What did we play?

* Turtle Island
Turtle Island is a small island with turtle observation located in Tanjung Benoa, south part of Bali. We had ridden on a charted boat that took us from Nusa Dua Beach to turtle island to visit turtle farm. This place of interest would attract children for sure. Family with children should not miss it.

At the farm, we were given a guided tour which had lasted about 30 minutes. There are a few exotic animals besides a 70 year old turtle in the farm, such as the iguana, bat, snake, eagle and some kind of a toucan-looking thingy! 









 

 * Nusa Dua Beach

The moment we had arrived at the beach, we were given a menu to select our choice of water sports at various prices and an instructor is provided for certain water sports. They have great selections, such as snorkeling, parasailing, ski jet, fishing, banana boat and scuba diving etc. We had decided on snorkeling and parasailing for the boys.

What did we see?

*Batubulan Village
- see how Balinese Batik is manufactured via traditional methods.

 

- watch cultural performance, which is the famous Barong Dance.

 

*Celuk Village

- visit Gold & Silversmith
- ideal shopping area for handmade craft and jewelry.


*Mas Village
- wood carving centre

 

 *Lod Tunduh Village

This village is located at the south of Ubud. Small village with many shops and galleries. You can find beautiful Balinese painting here.

 

*Tegallalang Village

Tegallalang is one of the most famous tourism plaes in Ubud that one "must visit. It is famous for its rice terrace cultivation on the island.

 

*Kintamani

Kintamani, Batur and Penelokan villages sit on the rim of the huge Batur caldera about 1,500m above sea level, and offer dramatic views of the active volcano Mount Batur and serene Lake Batur.

 

* Garuda Wisnu Kencara (GWK) Cultural Park

 

In this place of interest, all we saw was 2 giant statues sitting at different locations in the park. Apparently, we were shocked to learn that these 2 pieces of giant statues are actually supposed to be put together with other parts that are still being built to complete one hell of a gigantic statue. It took about 15 years to build these 2 statues and it was only in 2007 that Wisnu's hand was added to the park. If they are going to continue at that speed,  we think we might not live to see the completed statue. LOL.



 

What did we do?

 *Luwak Coffee

 

 

It is also known as civet coffee, it is made out of coffee cherries which had been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian palm civet cat. After the coffee beans had been collected, they are hygienically processed and perfectly roasted for keeping the complex, distintive flavours.

 

 

We had visited a coffee plantation for a session of free coffee and tea tasting. There were Bali coffee, cocoa coffee, ginseng coffee, coconut coffee, vanilla coffee, strawberry coffee, lemon tea, lemon grass tea, ginger tea, yellow ginger tea. However, to taste the world most expensive and unique coffee processing, Luwak coffee, we had paid Rp 50,000 per coffee pot.

*Lovina Beach

 

On the 3rd day of our trip, we had to get up at 3am, so that we could reach Lovina beach before sunrise. We thought we were early but there were already many boats filled with excited tourists. Everyone was there for the same reason, dolphin watching.



We were lucky to have a few dolphins swimming so close to our boat.

After an hour or two, the game of chasing after dolphins was over because the water surface got too hot for them. Then the boatman had suggested to take us to an area in the sea where we could see marine fishes and corals such as Sergeant Major, Damsel, Trigger fish, Butterfly, Yellow Tank, Brain Coral, Devil Fingers, etc. We paid Rp 100, 000.00 for this extra event.

 

*Banjar Village

Banjar Hot Water is a natural hot spring from the ground and it was believed to heal skin disease. Water was collected at two small stagger pools and you could swim in them. So, remember to bring your bathing suits. The temperature of the water was just lukewarm, very suitable for children.











*Gitgit Water Fall

Gitgit waterfall is located in the plateau area with the height about 35 meters and it is surrounded by tropical trees.

To view the waterfall at this angle, we had hiked 500m down a trail. It was lesser effort walking down compared to climbing back up after viewing the fall. We strongly suggest to those visitors who have knee problems should not take the challenge because the trail condition was really bad, especially after rain. Young children or older persons might be an issue as well.

Honestly, the most eye-catching scenic view of this place was the waterfall and nothing else. Was it worth climbing up and down the trail, totally depends on individual?








*Spa

 This tour package included a 2 hour spa for adults. The first hour was a full body massage using a choice of Jasmine, Lavender or Frangipani oil. Then followed by a body scrub, rinsed with coconut milk and culminating in a relaxing flower bath.

 We thought it was a great idea to have Spa program on the last day of the tour package, especially after water sport activities because there was no fresh water to wash up at the beach. A good massage had relaxed our muscles and a bath before a romantic dinner at Jimbaran Bay was a bonus.

Where did we shop?

*Ubud Art Market

 

This market place was listed on Day 2 in our itinerary, but we did not make it on time because it closed at 18:00 everyday. We were there, watching the merchants busy closing their stores for the day and we thought it was a pity that we had missed it. I lied. I was the only one feeling miserable, why would the boys miss shopping? 

 

In this market, you can find traditional and contemporary crafting which are priced relatively cheap. Items sold in this place are mostly souvenirs like slippers, wooden statues, bags, clothes, paintings and a lot more. So please plan your timing well at every stop because your chauffeur will not rush you at all. You do not want to miss this opportunity to shop, do you?

 

Since we had missed out the fun at Ubud Art Market, we actually found out on the last night of our stay, that about 150m away from our hotel, there was this lane filled with shops of goodies. Obviously, you would not have believe our luck. Well again, I lied. I was the only who felt lucky to discover this "treasure trove". Suddenly, just as things reached its fever pitch, a distinct and persistant growl issued from my poor stomach; it seemed like days of over-indulgences has taken its toils on my tummy. I am not ashamed to admit letting out an almighty scream and making a desperate rush to find the nearest washroom. Fortunately, our hotel was only 150m away, wheww... Sadly though, after my bowels had finally calmed themselves, my children were all dead tired (and screaming for respite) and my mood for shopping had already exhausted itself in wave of agony...

 

Frankly, there was nothing in particular that I would like to buy. So, I was happy with my fridge magnet and a few little souvenirs. Those items were easily found at shops, which are at most places of interest.

 

Which temple did we go?

*Tirta Empul Temple

 

 

It is famous for its holy water for purification. There was a religious ceremony going on at the temple the day that we visited because it was the last day of Deepavali celebration which lasted for one month. It had attracted a lot of Hindu Bali people who came for purification at the bath.

 

 

 

 

*Ulun Danu Temple

It is a Balinese Hindu Temple located at Candi Kuning countryside in Bedugul. It was built by the kingdom of Mengwi as the symbol of kingdom superiority in Bali.

 



This was where we had suggested you to have lunch overlooking Lake Beratan instead of the one that we had at Pacung Village. Since we knew the lunch at Pacung was quite disappointing, we hope you have a better one here.

 

*Taman Ayun Temple

 

Taman Ayun literally translates as "beautiful garden'. It is a royal temple of the Mengwi Empire located in Mengwi. We did not spend much time at this temple because it was raining and we had found it less interesting than the other temples that we had visited.













* Tanah Lot Temple

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast.

This place of interest is worth visiting especially for its sunset view. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so no such luck for us. However, rain or shine, we would still recommand that you should not miss it.

 

* Uluwatu Temple

 

This cliff-hanging temple at Uluwatu, a number of Bali's very best beaches including Balangan, and the top surfing spots on the island. If you wonder why, then check out the wave...

What did we eat?

For tour package selected with hotel:

4D3N includes 3 breakfast, 3 lunches and 2 dinners.
5D4N includes 4 breakfast, 4 lunches and 3 dinners.

For tour package selected without hotel:

4D3N includes 3 lunches and 2 dinners.
5D4N includes 4 lunches and 3 dinners.

Meals:
BREAKFAST

 American breakfast at Paradiso Beach Inn

On our first morning, we were given just 2 slices of toast and eggs. On the 2nd morning, a slice of cheese was added. On the 3rd morning, a slice of beacon or ham was added. Finally, on the last morning, we had our complete American breakfast...LOL!

 

LUNCHES

 

1. Buffet at Lake Batur - overlooking the volcano and the lake.

You have to pay for the mineral water but coffee and tea are free. It has quite a huge variety of food, dessert and fruits as compare to the buffet at Pacung Village. My children had voted this meal as their most memorable and scrumptious meal in Bali.

 



2. Buffet at Pacung Village

The buffet selection was very limited. All in all, there were less than 15 dishes, which included dessert. Although, we had specially requested for this restaurant particularly for its rice paddy field view, but we would suggest that you try the lunch at Lake Bratan because we had a peep at the restaurant while we were touring the place, it looked promising.

 

3. Babi Guling

 

Babi Guling means roasted pork. However, it was nothing like the Hong Kong style roasted pork. The soup was quite spicy and the meat was in strips with a piece of roasted pork skin covering the top of the meat when it was served. Overall, the taste was pretty delicious but we prefer the Chinese style roasted pork that we had tried a couple of years ago in Hong Kong.

 



4. Ayam Betutu

We love hot spicy food, eating chilli padi is no "biggy" but this Ayam Betutu (spicy chicken) was way...too hot for all of us. If one chilli sign means hot, I would rate it a 5! There was only one person who ate it and still proclaimed it was yummy, it wasn't me!
Anyhow, it was worth trying or else we would never know how spicy it was. However, if you can not take spicy food, you can order fried chicken or Soto Ayam (chicken soup) from the same restaurant.

DINNERS

1. Ayam Bakar

This restaurant had split levels. We sat on the ground level initially but moved up to level 2 because of a group of smokers, smoking up the place. For that reason, we found out that on level 2, we had to sit on hardwood ground like the Japanese rather than on a chair. Neat.

Ayam Bakar is barbecued chicken marinated with lots of spices, but not spicy hot. The chicken tasted juicy and the spices worked wonder on the tender chicken meat. Besides the Ayam Bakar, we also love the taste of the stir-fry vegetable, "kangKong". 

 

2. Chinese Cuisine - Golden Palace

 

So much of local spicy food, this Chinese cuisine had given our taste buds a good twist. There were five dishes plus a big bowl of soup for four of us. It was the perfect amount of food for our energy replenishment, which had been drained totally during the day.

 

3. Barbecued seafood

 

The Barbecued seafood dinner consisted of a fish that had been split into 2, 2 pieces of shrimps, 2 clams and 2 sticks of satay squid on the plate. It was not enough for us, so we had ordered another plate of Barbecued Chicken to share. It cost Rp 85,000.

 

Although, the food was not appealing but the ambient of this romantic dinner by the beach, watching beautiful sunset had made it up. My older boy said that he would choose this place to propose to his girlfriend. We all thought it was a great idea only if we are invited! LOL.

 

 

Where did we stay?

 

Our hotel, Paradiso Beach Inn was located at Legian, Kuta. It was extremely close to most amendities.

Facing the entrance of the hotel, to the right are restaurants, clubs, shops, snacks bars etc. So when we had gone out drinking at night, we did not worry about getting transport back to hotel because we had simply walked 5 to 10 minutes to return safely. To the left, about 150m away, we did our shopping for clothes, bags, crafts and souvenirs. Then we walked another 150m further, we found local food stalls selling various local dishes such as Mee Goreng, Nasi Goreng and Ayam Soto, etc. They are cheap and delicious. Especially, the fruit juice stall, it was no ordinary fruit juice, it had condensed milk and chocolate syrup added. I had tried the Vietnamese style, that was only condensed milk was added to the juice but now with additional chocolate syrup. Mmm...yummy! We had tried watermelon, honeydew and mango, the watermelon juice tasted the best.

There are no family rooms available in this hotel. The maximum capacity is 2+1 extra bed and the extra person will be not entitled to free breakfast. The hotel rooms are air-conditioned, just ensure the door was closed at all times to prevent mosquitoes from entering. The rooms are non-smoking rooms and the only toiletries provided were 2 bath towels, a hand towel and 2 bars of soap.

The hotel staff were very friendly to us but spoke very little English. Our sons' room air-conditioner was not working on the first night but after we had voiced our complaint, they fixed it.

 

The tour package that we had, included an American breakfast. It was served every morning from 7:30am to 10:30am at the hotel breakfast place but we were always the first few to show up even the hotel was almost fully occupied. Reason being, too many hung over from the night before.

As we remembered on the 3rd day of our local tour, the pick-up time was at 3:30am. The hotel was so kind to arranged a take-out breakfast for us to go. That was a thoughtful act!