Bali Trip Nov 2013 - DAY 3

Hey hey heyyy! Welcomeee! This is my Day 3 in Bali...

Ok so since the Bali Plus Priority shuttle (refer Bali Day 1 ) that we had been using did not go to some of the places that we want to such as shopping in Pasar Sukawati (this is a must!!!), we had to look for a driver + van for 1 day to cover all that other places. We were lucky to have found a "supir" (driver + van) that still charges the normal rates as per 3,4 years ago. Nowadays most "supir" will charge a minimum of RP500,000 / USD50 but we got for only RP400,000 / USD40 for 12 hours of usage of the van + driver including parking charges and petrol. Without even negotiating mind you. He just put that price... I didn't even have the heart to try to lower down the price anymore... Feel obliged to help Bali's economy (Awww so kind of me hahaha!). So below is the contact for our "supir" if you guys are interested. The "supir's" name is Andi.

2 Nov 2013 - DAY 3 (Tanah Lot, Krisna, Pasar Sukawati, Painting Gallery, Klapa New Kuta Beach, Jimbaran)

We started our time with the "supir" at 9am. Went to Tanah Lot as our first stop. Tanah Lot is actually one of the attractions that the Bali Plus Priority shuttle go so since in my initial itinerary is to go to Tanah Lot using the shuttle on Day 3, we decided to include also Tanah Lot using the "supir" so we would not miss out on this very beautiful and picturesque temple located by the sea lined by cliffs overlooking the mesmerizing view of sunset (if you're there at 6pm)... If you can, try to organize your itinerary and discuss with your "supir" so that you arrive at Tanah Lot for the sunset. You will not regret it.

The view towards the temple from the viewing point. During high tide, the path to the temple will be totally submerged underwater and the temple will be an island for a few hours. :)

Please be cautious when trying to take pictures on the rocks right in front of the temple. It's very slippery and please be wary of the oncoming waves. When I was there some tourists got wet when huge waves came crashing at them. A little entertaining actually to be on the viewpoint watching those tourists scurrying away from the waves every now and then. Hahaha!

 

A closer look at the temple...and uhmm me! :P

The view towards the other side of the viewpoint...

There is actually another small temple at the edge of that protruding (seriously? protruding? haha) cliff.

The entrance that you will pass through going to Tanah Lot temple.

Right after Tanah Lot we were supposed to go straight to Pasar Sukawati, the must go market for great bargain for souvenirs and paintings. But our "supir" suggested us to stop by another indoor market first. Krisna. It seems to be the new must go places for shopping Bali souvenirs. Things are said to be really cheap and attract lots of people. And yeah it truly was from the buses of tourists flooding the place at just 11.30am. Items sold are truly cheap. You can get a t-shirt for only USD 2 and other souvenir items are also sold here although choices are a little limited. I think I still prefer the more traditional Pasar Sukawati or Pasar Ubud where you have more choices and can really bargain for your chosen items. By the way, Krisna is open for 24 hours and is just 15 minutes by car from Kuta.

Yeah guess this can be the must go to place in Bali for souvenir shopping if you have extra time.

So next stop was Pasar Sukawati. BUT IT WAS CLOSED! For their Kuningan celebration! Arghhhhhhhhh! The actual reason why we got a "supir" was to go shop till we drop in Pasar Sukawatiiiii! Pity us. Huhuhu. So the "supir" suggested us to go to this one nearby painting or art gallery that he highly recommends (which of course actually means he is highly commissioned! :P) Since we were just given a slap to the face, so why not take another on the other side... Haha. 

NOTE TO ALL : Please try to avoid going to Bali during their Kuningan celebration since some shops will be closed. But not all though so still acceptable. Most importantly, do not go to Bali during Nyepi celebration since ALL establishments will be closed! 

So these are some of the paintings at the Wayan Art Gallery...

Simple...

Actually the paintings are of high quality but also highly priced...

Nice paintings...

Most of the paintings are no less than RP 1mil...

Some of the cheaper ones coz it's easier to paint the mountain. :) Forgot how much though... Huhu sorry.

I really loved this one! Close to RP 2mil if I remember correctly....

After visiting the art gallery we went to Natrabu Minang Restaurant which serves halal Padang delicacies. We asked the "supir" to bring us to any Muslim food and here is where we ended up. From our first impression of the restaurant, we imagined that it would cost us much but the price was actually very reasonable indeed. Really recommend all to drop by here for their Nasi Padang. Sorry I totally forgot to take the pictures of the food but don't worry they are all yummy! Price per dish is RP30.000 on average.

Very nice deco...

Only 1 other group also from Malaysia hidden on the left side of this picture... Place is clean and air conditioned.

Next stop on our itinerary is to Klapa New Kuta Beach... Klapa is actually a beach club situated on a cliff side just above a beach where the locals know as Dreamland Beach ( just mention Dreamland Beach to the taxi driver if he doesn't know Klapa and there will be signs to Klapa once you are about to arrive at the beach). It is very near Uluwatu too....it's around 1 hour from Kuta Beach...I was highly recommended by a friend who just went there a few weeks before my trip stressing that the views are truly amazing and the facilities posh. Well yes I absolutely agree. So the entrance to this Klapa beach club is Rp100.000 or USD10 and you will get a voucher of the same amount to be used for the food that you wish to consume in any of the restaurant or cafes in the club. If you wish to order more than the voucher amount then you can just add your cash to it. The use of the swimming pool is Rp30.000 and you can also deduct it from the voucher. Access to the beach is free of charge. Here's their official website for more detailed information ---> Klapa Official Website

The entrance to the beach club...

The view that awaits you once you step outside from the indoor area of Klapa beach club...

Gorgeous views towards Uluwatu cliffs...

Closer to the edge where there are stairs going down to the beach...

Multi levels of chill out areas...

Just rest and relax and enjoy....

Sun starts to set... Notice all the surfers waiting for their ride?

Nice...

Just before sunset we left for Jimbaran... I've read about the seafood in Jimbaran tirelessly and this time I came prepared! :) The last visit to Jimbaran left me and my friends feeling cheated. Hehe. It were our first time in Bali and without referring to any online material, we just went with what the driver had recommended (not knowing that they will only bring to the seafood outlets that they can get commissions to bring ill-fated tourists like us!). So we ended up paying Rp300.000 per person for exactly 1 piece of tiger prawn, 2 pieces of calamari rings, some slices of fish and some veggies... Boy were we all in silence when the bill finally came. All thinking what souvenirs we could've bought with the same amount of money I guess. That seriously soured our night for a few moments. But this time...not anymore! This trip, even after the driver talked highly of some Ganesha Restaurant, I still insisted to go to Made Bagus Cafe at Muaya Beach. Although not yet many reviews on the net, the ones that do, have only great things to say about this cafe. Jimbaran has 3 separate areas where there are a lot seafood restaurants built side by side. One of the area is Muaya Beach. If you want cheap but still tasty seafood, then you can try this Made Bagus Cafe. It's at the end of the row of Muaya Beach seafood restaurants on the right side when facing the ocean.

Take note of the number if you need it... Spot the lizard! :)

The view once you enter the beach side of the restaurant...

Some of the packages....Worth it!

Waiting for our food... :)

Actually the 2nd last restaurant at Muaya Beach... hehe.

We're full! Everything tasted great! We got enough prawns, squids, clams, fish and veggies to fill our tummies! All for only Rp500.000 in total for 6 of us instead of Rp300.000 per person during my last visit a few years back for less food!

Well... that would be all for Day 3 in Bali. Will continue with Day 4 soon! :D Take care all!

Bali Trip Nov 2013 - DAY 2

A few more friends from Malaysia arrived in Bali after midnight of our Day 1 in Bali. So there were more of us on Day 2 yay! Plus the one who just renewed his passport and had to buy another ticket going to Bali since he was not allowed on the earlier flight with me coz his passport was less than 6 months the validity period. Hehehe. So again... Please make sure your passport has the minimum 6 month validity before traveling okay! :)

1 Nov 2013 - DAY 2 (Sanur Beach, Hard Rock Hotel, Beachwalk Mall)

Sticking to our planned itinerary (well actually my planned itinerary as the self proclaimed leader of this Bali trip haha!), we headed for Sanur Beach using the Bali Plus Priority free shuttle service as I've mentioned in Bali Day 1 . Do check that link for more info on the shuttle service.

In the shuttle going to Sanur Beach 30mins from Kuta...

So although this trip is the 3rd or 2nd trip to some of us (except for 2 where this trip is their first), we all never thought of going to Sanur Beach before...until we decided to use the shuttle service...since one of its destinantion is Sanur, then why not... Well it really was a good choice to have decided to experience Sanur. I really loved Sanur Beach and its many cozy beach cafes right on the sand. Something you will not really find in Kuta. The line of trees shading the beach really helps in cozying up (is there such word? haha) the cafes! And almost all cafes offer free wifi. Something that some of us really need when deciding to choose a place to chill right? :) I really do recommend you to take some time to go to Sanur Beach during your trip to Bali... If you love to chill and relax and just let time go by then it is a must!

The first cafe at  Sanur that you will see when you walk to the right at the beach via Jl. Segara Ayu...

Great place to unwind...

All along Sanur Beach is this walkway and trees to provide shade. This was at 12pm! Thank you trees! :)

Loving it... :)

More beach cafes... I'm sure towards late afternoon these places will be packed!

Our 1st choice... :)

Our 2nd choice....

Love the traditional umbrellas...

Really cool tree shade!

Tan yourself away...

Finally we chose to stop at our 1st choice... :)

Not that expensive right?

Hmmmm the Milk Berry sounds nice!

So after our 3 hours in Sanur, we shuttled our way back to Kuta for time to check in our next hotel in Bali. Hard Rock Hotel Kuta for another 2 nights.

Room for 2 can actually fit up tp 4 adults with this 2 queen sized beds. :)

Very very comfortable beds!

View outside our room balcony...

Going to the very huge pool area. They have normal pool, kids pool, and their own man made beach.

This is just 1/3 of the pool area....

Very cool gazebo complete with you own dressing table...

Must look & act very excited in front of camera! :P

 After check-in we headed to Kuta Beach to watch the sunset.

Beautiful! :)

After the sunset show we went to Beachwalk Mall... the latest shopping center in Kuta. Quite large with many upmarket restaurants and cafes and famous clothing brands. The food court on the top level looks cool where their stall design and the whole setting makes you think that you are outdoor with rows of food shop you can choose from.

Nice outdoor ambiance of Beachwalk Mall...

Outdoor setting of Bubba Gump....

We did not find anything to eat here in Beachwalk Mall. The foodcourt only has 1 halal restaurant which serves Indian food which is not really to our liking. So we went to the seafood joints just between Mc Donald's Kuta and Hard Rock Hotel. All of the seafood stalls has the Halal logo so we decided to try our luck there. Well....perhaps we chose the wrong stall coz food was not that great (the reason I totally forgot to take the pictures hehehe). Also perhaps it's my fault for wanting to order chicken chop at a seafood restaurant haha.

Anyways that's all for Day 2 in Bali... see you in Day 3! :)