I just came back from a week long holiday in Bali. Bali surely lives up to its reputation - mystical and magical. 'The land of gods' as they say it, Bali has more statues than people. Temples are everywhere. Our driver/tour guide told us it is compulsory to have one in every house, every kampong, every district. The locals are friendly, religious, very proud and protective of their Balinese tradition. They love tourists (tourism is the only major income). The land is a gardener's heaven. Everything and anything grows. Their papayas were like something from 'Honey I blew up the kids' movie. Stray dogs were everywhere but amazingly no droppings were at sight! (putting Paris or even my neighborhood to shame). I was told that the Balinese conduct 'gotong royong' every week in their kampongs. They hold annual competitions for 'most beautiful, cleanest, kampong'. Those traditional spirit which Malaysia has already lost.
We stayed in Jayakarta Club Bali in Legian - service apartment fronting the Legian Beach. Except for rowdy Aussie youngsters, the place was otherwise comfy and beautiful. We did some touristy things, spent 2 days in the hotel catching up with some sleep and movies and lazed around the pool and the beach.
Our memories of Bali...
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| Balinese garden at the hotel |
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| Legian Beach |
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| Aisya doing the 'mudskipper' |
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| Agent 0007 |
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| Stunning sunset |
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| The photographer only managed to get her feet photographed |
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Ubud rice field
Too bad it was raining and the paddy was already harvested. |
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| Holy Water Temple |
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| Hindus waiting for their holy dips |
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| Lots and lots of beautiful alleys like this |
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| Ubud Water Palace |
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| Kiddos with their farmer hats |
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| Lots of whatever this thing is... |
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| Petrol for motorbikes |
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| Kuta Beach |
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| Acres acres of rice fields along the way |
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| The must-see Tanah Lot - too touristy to our liking though.. |
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| Tanah Lot |
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| Snorkeling in Nusa Dua. Aisya jumped out of the water just after 5 minutes (gave Imran a chance to score points and annoyed her for the rest of the day). |
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| Pecatu Beach. Freaking beautiful - clear blue water, white sandy beach. |
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| Strong current though - wished I was a surfing babe. |
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| The beach won't be a 'virgin' for long. The area is being heavily developed by Suharto's children (we were told) for the rich and famous. |
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| Garlands of emerald-coloured seaweed... |
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| Can't get enough of it.. |
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| Uluwatu |
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| Our only family portrait |
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| Watching the famous Kecak Dance at Uluwatu Temple |
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| while witnessing the setting sun... |
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| then ended the day with supposedly romantic candle-light seafood dinner at Jimbaran beach (we followed the Lonely Planet). If only I could see what I was eating... |
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Fisherman Snorkeling village in Blue Lagoon |
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| View from Blue Lagoon |
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| Rice fields |
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| More rice fields.. |
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| View from the top of some mountain - near Mount Agung |
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| Delish lunch at Lebih Beach |
After one week of seeing too many temples and eating too much instant noodles (acceptable food is hard to find), we are glad to be home. So long Bali, till we meet again....
