goodbye bali

am already home for 2 days now. just couldn't find the energy to sit down to write since the flu which started on the last day in bali followed me home and i am having fits of sneezes now and have been blowing my nose non-stop.

anyway, the last 2 days in bali was spent just sitting in the villa, reading and watching movie. aaaahh...my kind of relaxation.

remember what i wrote about our dolphin chasing trip in lovina in the previous post? we returned from the trip all exhausted and dizzy and decided to cancel the driver for the day.

we went looking for brunch instead and found a cafe, similar to those one can find in melbourne in terms of interior and menu, in a place called 'revolver'.

just a look at this place and makes you think you are in melbourne right?

that's a latte for you.

poached egg which was not runny and making me kinda pissed since that cup of coffee only looked good but did not taste like how it should be. sigh. let down. the coffee had no aroma and was quite tasteless. in fact, it was slightly bitter and left a sour after taste.

afternoon...wohoo...the whole day on the sofa, drowning in the humid and heat, finishing a book i had brought along. bliss.

that pool did not attract me as water had already got into the nostril the day before and my nose was already uncomfortable. there was still water stuck in it. haiz....

anyway, dinner was just a walk away from our villa. too lazy to go searching high and low. just walked a bit and saw one we were ok with, and went in.

no surprise for the drink ordered.....the draught is waaaay better than bottled one. go for this if you are given the choice ok. it is stronger in taste and has more kick.

local dish...nasi campur with grilled prawns.

tom yam soup. bad choice....

chicken tikka masala with naan....also another bad choice.....and all the bad choices were mine. since i was feeling slightly groggy because of my nose, i decided to choose things i was familiar with instead. my taste bud was not interested at being adventurous to try other stuff. hence the two dishes. whatever, i still finished them.

desserts....not mine lah. had no mood to eat anymore.

i didn't know what they call this in indonesian, but malaysian will be familiar with this.

banana fritter and vanilla ice-cream. the banana was not ripe enough.

all in all it was a good dinner lah regardless of my bad choices because the rest loved their nasi campurs.

summary of bali trip:

i did not like it. sorry that i had a pre-conceived idea of what bali should be from my trip 10 years ago. the bali now is totally a traffic maze.

yes, the temples by the sea were all amazing,  but that was it once you get there. there was nothing scenic along the way as you would be choking through narrowly crowded roads just to get there. and when you got there, there would be hundreds of tourists there as well.

ubud was slightly better but the cars and people were still many. all i wished for was peace and quiet, and unfortunately, i could only get it when i was in my resort and villa. i was thankful to an indonesian friend who suggested some wonderful places for me to go in ubud, that way, i did manage to see a little bit more of ubud that was not mentioned by many. maybe staying in a guest lodge for a week in just one place would be a better choice. then my idea of exploration will be just to places within walking distance?

sadly, everything in bali was over-commercialized already. it has lost its rustic charm. the time spent on the road, i did not enjoy that a bit. being transferred from one place to another just to make sure that you don't miss the famous attractions was no fun. haiz.....maybe i should just stay put in one hotel and enjoy the hotel amenities. no exploration? no way!

but i discovered pan pacific nirwana bali resort to be quite a perfect escape and place to stay and one will get to see temples without going far too. it is near tanah lot and i am sure one could walk to the temples from the hotel. the hotel has an amazing golf course.....i saw it from tanah lot temple myself....yes, it was that near. miss world 2013 was held there. the rooms are not that expensive. room with breakfast with a view of the golf course is going for usd$132 at its website. not bad right?
they also have shuttle buses going to seminyak and kuta.  but of course, that would mean meals at the hotel. i wonder if there are any local warungs near the hotel area.....i saw some small villages. but would you dare to eat at these places?

well, lower your expectation when you go to  bali ya.  then you won't be disappointed. if i were to go to bali again, i don't think i will be temple hopping. i will just enjoy the sea and tranquility the resort has to offer.