Great day out at sea

On Sunday, the 3rd full day in Bali, we went out for fun in the sea.

Hubs bought the packages on Friday evening after dinner at a discounted rate of USD75 from USD95 per person. Don't you just respect his bargaining skill? He learned there were many operators of the same kind and what this operator has that the others do not have are..

1. the platform we were going to spend a few hours in, is newer and better.

2. the platform has covered decks while the rest has none.

3. this platform has 2 decks while the rest only one.

4. the corals where this platform is based on, are alive while the rest are dead corals.

Actually, these are just hearsay also laa, dunno how true also...

We woke up very early that morning to stuff ourselves full at the hotel breakfast buffet first and then await the arrival of the van to pick us up to go to the pier.

Everything went well. We got the things we need, we applied layers of sunblock lotion whilst on the van and yes, the sun that day was very kind to us.

 The big boat which has 3-4 decks, was comfortable with aircond and comfy seats. Unfortunately, we were almost the lasts to board the boat and as there wasn't allocated seats, we were all scattered around. But then again, towards the later half of the ride, some of us went up to the open air deck to enjoy the sea wind blowing our hair like celebrities.

 The destination was this platform where we would spend about 3 hours before we were to hop back in to the big boat to return to Bali island.

There were around 200+ people on the boat, heard the day before was even more, about 300+!

 We quickly find our camping spot and after dumping all our bags there, hubs was the first to go into the sea, followed by the kids. I, of course, stayed to observe longer and take pictures first. The platform was rather impressive, it has a jacuzzi area as in the picture above.

 There's this slide where you go straight into the sea, how fun! The kids had uncountable times having fun on this slide.

 Life jackets of 3 sizes available for everyone.

 There's even this designated area for kids who are too afraid to go into the open sea. How cute!

 Ample showers to rid the salty seawater. No shampoo or soaps are allowed to be used.

 Changing rooms (which smelled terrible though)

 And even an underwater deck for people who doesn't want to get wet but like to see what's down beneath. Though I would say, the view wasn't enchanting from those windows.

 Snorkeling gear free to be used. The snorkeling experience wasn't quite a big deal though, mainly because the current was really strong. All of us couldn't swim far at all and I was very worried of the kids being swept away by the strong current too. I myself tried swimming and then figured the current sweep me back to the same spot, like I never moved away before. I got so exhausted making sure I was not drifted away far by the current, more so worried sick for the kids. So, we didn't spend much time enjoying the snorkeling experience, like what we did before in previous vacations.

 A buffet spread ready by 11am. Tasted so so, but well, as I've said, I'm no fussy eater. As long as it's swallow-able and I don't need to starve, I'm always good to go.

 They have this smaller semi-submersible boat which goes around in a small circle where we could see lots of fish and coral undersea. It was quite a good idea, but I would say, after sometime, it looked pretty much boring and the same. I won't go for a second time, let's put it that way.

We were then taken to a small island nearby after this semi-submersible boat, but there wasn't much to do. We were told there was cock fighting, some young people were playing volleyball and there was a beach but it wasn't much appealing. After using the toilet and hanging around for less than 10 mins or so, we wanted to go back to the platform instead of staying there any longer.

We went for banana boating for several rounds. I just went once and uh-uh, I don't fancy it very much. The kids were, of course, thrilled. I was praying hard that they come back safe and sound and not fall into the sea. Worry worry worry.. I'm indeed a worry fart. Watudo, just read this piece of news of a little 2yo toddler died after purposefully thrown into the sea at a banana boat ride. OK la, I know she was just 2yo, but still???

Anyway, we had a great day out at sea and everyone was happy. Even my FIL eventually got himself wet and tried the banana boat ride.

Uluwatu temple - temple by the cliff

Lots of reviews can be found on this top tourist spot. As usual, I have no idea what to expect... haha.

 The guide told us to be careful of our glasses, that the monkeys would come snatch it from us. In my mind, I thought, yau moe gum sai lai ah?? The monkeys must be daring to be upclose to snatch the glasses away right under our noses! I mean, on top, in this case. I brushed the warning aside thinking it's just ridiculous.

Didi meanwhile, took note of that warning VERY seriously.. haha. He took it off and told me to keep that for him in my bag. wokay....

 I was mesmerized by the view I saw as we climbed up to the spot overlooking the sea, slowly absorbing all the glory of nature and taking pictures of everything I saw. Eventually I caught up with the rest of the gang and there was a small commotion at the little rest area. Wtf! Hubs' glasses was REALLY snatched by a notorious monkey and I saw a local exchanging items with the monkey to get his glasses back for him. After several attempts, finally he got it back, but with some minor scratches and dents and saliva (yucks!) on it. Another local seller told us to pay the woman 50k rupiah for her help. We thought the monkeys were all well trained to snatch things from tourists. You can clearly see the monkeys were all well fed and so overweight.

Anyhow, after that experience, we had no mood to stay on longer. Even one of my SIL's phone was almost snatched from a monkey. They were SOOO notorious indeed. I saw it in action and fortunately she held her phone tight and the monkey failed in his mission.

I must say, that tourist attraction has its spectacular view indeed but not very well kept, unlike Tanah Lot. Rubbish were thrown around and monkeys, oh, did I already tell what about them? We didn't linger much here. I know the sunset would be breathtaking but the sky was overcast so I doubted if we stayed we would be able to catch the beautiful sunset.

What could it be?

The day before we traveled to Bali, meimei felt a bit sickly and not her normal bubbly self. Then she developed a slight fever, After 2 bouts of feverish symptoms which went away after popping in a tablet of panadol, no other symptoms occurred and she was back to her normal self.

However about a day or two later when we were in Bali, she had tiny red dots all over her body and some on her face. We were all worried and concerned what it was. It didn't seem like chicken pox as the red dots had no blisters. Measles? Or what? The surgeon in our group said it's chicken pox laa, but as the time went by, no new red dots appeared and it just didn't look like it.

Funnily enough, after the day we went out to sea and had a whole few hours soaking in the salty seawater, the red dots on the face was like almost disappeared. 

I was worried sick if it was chicken pox and it started to come out in full bloom, what do we do? what?? We can't fly and do we stay for the whole 2 weeks? and can't go out of the room, wherever we may be? 

Fortunately, God bless, I need not worry anymore as by the last day of our holiday, the dots still appeared to be the same as the first day when they were seen. We came home safe and sound and after a few more days passed, the symptoms slowly faded away. There were still some tiny scars on the top side of her lips and it went away too after putting some chinese meds for a night. Whew~ 

Now, what could those red dots are? I am guessing it could be bed bites from the first motel we stayed in. My MIL said it's the water in Bali. Meimei said it's just mosquito bites laaa....

Cropped out snippets from another lens

It's usually me holding the camera most of the time and I seldom see myself in the pictures. My BIL (hub's sis' hubby) likes to take pictures too and we shared our pictures after the trip was over. And I sometimes feel amused or surprised on how I look by the side or the back. 

These are some of the snippets taken from his lens. One of the pictures shows me in curves. I never saw those before! Then of course there are also mostly me in bloated form or my torso with a wide waistline, especially the one in my swimsuit, no don't bother to scroll down, of course I'm not showing THAT!! It was SO DAMN FUGLY!

Enchanting Tanah Lot

This must be the best place we had been to in Bali. Love love love the amazing scenery there.

Unfortunately for us, it was raining when we arrived but good news bit, there was a vendor renting out big umbrellas for tourist makers like us. We had no choice but to pay about 60k rupiah for 6 umbrellas. 

Though the experience would be so much more awesome without the rain,undoubtedly it was also fun cuddling together and maneuvering around the patches of water. Without expecting anything spectacular, my jaws dropped as we walked with our heads down, looked up and saw an amazing view right with my own eyes. 

I had such wonderful memories of being there, absorbing in nature's wonderful creation.

Food we had in Bali

As I had mentioned in my earlier post, my SIL and her hubby had really done a lot of research and homework in sourcing for good food to eat long before departing to Bali. I should learn from them. Yes, I feel ashamed and I think I really should do it next time before we go for any family holidays.

Other than a couple of times at the nearby food court which wasn't anything to shout about, here are the few places we went to which they had studied reviews from various people on various websites.

 Restoran Made (read as MA-DEH), the place is tastefully decorated. We walked about 10-15 mins from Hard Rock hotel in drizzling rain and passed by a couple of eateries without many customers. When we reached this place, it was filled to the brim with patrons. Lucky one of us had called in advance to book 2 tables. Food wise...ok for me. I'm not a very good food critic. Anything which is not too hard to swallow and can settle the hunger pangs, I'm good to go.

Suckling pig, was something to die for. So I heard. It was supposed to be so good that before noontime all the suckling pigs for the day would be gone. So I heard. But our driver/ guide told us nothing of that sort. IN fact there are lots of places selling this dish and we certainly need not worry about going in before 12 noon.

The interior design of the place is again, wonderful. We went upstairs to get seated on the floor. Felt very homely. But we all felt rather warm. And then we saw the place lacked some ceiling fans. It's a minus point for an otherwise comfortable dining place. 

My BIL ordered 4 avocado drinks and 8 coconuts for all of us, apart of too much food on the table! I had a tummy full of coconut drink and flesh as the kids just can't finish one coconut each! The siblings joked about the style of ordering from hubs and the BIL. BIL would be ordering too much food for us and if it's hubs who were to tasked the ordering job, we would all need to share drinks and perhaps just get to drink plain water. Haha. All agreed in unison.

As for the suckling pig, it was not what my inlaws expected as they were expecting yummy crispy skin to savor, just like what we have here in Malaysia. The style is just different. I again, don't think it's too bad or too great either. Chinchai laaa...

Seafood dinner at Jimbaran. Food was lousy. Ambience was superb! Bill was hefty. Enough said.

On our last evening in Bali, dinner was grilled pork ribs. I love the decor and yes, the food that time was AWESOME! Really finger licking good. My BIL was so proud to find out about this place as we all had nothing but praises for its food. Btw, this BIL in this post I refer to, is my hubs' sis' hubby. Very generous splurging in good food.

Surfing for the first time!

One of the best time we had at Bali was going for surfing. 

First it were only korkor, hubs with his bro and wife going for it. Then as the rest of us saw how fun it seemed to be, meimei and didi pestered to go into the sea as well, but time was too short then so we went for it the next morning.

I went in together as well, although I felt a bit reluctant. Old liao, not very adventurous somehow. But it was no regrets going for it as it was truly fun. Although a bit dangerous too, if one is not careful. I just realized only when I was back in KL that I have my two arms bruised from the surfing board hitting me real hard. 

The hardest part of it all would be going against the oncoming waves as we walked out to the shore. The proper way is to paddle out of course, but as beginners, we walked out to the teacher waiting along the start of the waves and then only climb up onboard. 

Meimei and didi succeeded to stand and balance pretty fast. I suppose they were younger and the centre of gravity is lower so it's easier to balance. After one hour of tasting good salty seawater I truly had enough but they were so not ready to call it quits. Now they are all bugging us to go somewhere where they can surf when we go for our next holiday. :)

Our travelling day to Bali

Holy moly, the flight to Bali was at 11.30pm!

My inlaws arrived via train from Ipoh at around 7pm. After hurrying with dinner which I cooked, we decided to just drive over to KLIA and park our car for the whole duration of our stay in Bali. It was a wise decision, as we found out there's an even special rate for long duration parking for a minimum 4days in KLIA airport. We paid RM160 for 5 nights there. And it was a wonderful feeling to come back home to a ready in waiting car, lug in all our baggage in to go straight home.

Everything went smooth sailing. But came the time on the plane, it was way over midnight and I was about to doze off when didi who was feeling very cold came snuggling up to me and woke me up, I couldn't sleep for the rest of the flight making sure both of the younger ones were alright.

We reached Bali at 2.35 am (oh man!) and hubs didn't want to pay 250k rupiah for 2 taxis to the airport hotel which is about less than 5 mins drive away. I was thinking in my mind.. "wtf, what do you want to do???"

Fortunately, the taxi drivers offered 150k rupiah and eventually hubs relented. I was like wiping sweat over my forehead.

We checked into the airport hotel which was booked by hubs at KLIA before the boarding the flight, and it was like about 4am as we all packed into 2 rooms, 7 of us! Each room costs RM40 a night, so I heard. Kor went to share bed with grandparents while the 4 of us bunk in together. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep a wink until dawn.

I felt so tired I didn't want to get up to have breakfast even. Eventually we did so and checking into Hard Rock Hotel at 10+, it was like being at home again! Such a wonderful feeling!

Bali holiday

 This time it wasn't just about us. It's the whole freaking family with my inlaws!

My sis in law and her husband had done a wonderful job doing research and homework on where to go and what to eat. Even the ones who decide to stay at Hard Rock were my hubs and herself. I did nothing, absolutely nothing at all except to agree with everything they suggested and go with the flow. And enjoy myself.. hehe.

We had a jolly good time. The whole 4 FULL days were filled to the brim with activities and we weren't left much time to enjoy the nice environment at the hotel with a book and relax ourselves or go shopping to see the authentic Bali souvenirs.