Second Bali Trip - Day 2

On our second and last day in Bali, we did not miss the breakfast buffet offered by our hotel. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and considering that we have quite a full day and flight in the evening, we fueled ourselves.

It was a Sunday and the roads were not full but then again the distance to our destination was quite far. After an hour's drive, we arrived at Kerta Gosa, a beautiful historical site situated 40 km east side of Denpasar. From the Sanskrit word Kerta meaning serene and Gosa which is derived from the word Gosita that means established or announced.

This is the Taman Gili, a building floating or seems like floating because it is intentionally founded in the middle of a fish pond. The ceiling of this building is notable as it is painted with the only surviving example of classical wayang art in the whole of Bali.

The view from the top and overlooking the pond.

Our next destination was another hour's drive. It is called the Ujung Water Palace.

Now it is called Ujung Park. The complex consists of various large pools and historic structures set against a backdrop of Mount Agung and the eastern shoreline.

It survived the mountain's eruption and an earthquake and was restored to its current splendour. The area was so big and because the sun was so hot, we barely were able to roam all of the area.

Our final stop is the sister water temple of the previous one. The place is called Tirta Gangga which literally means water for the Ganges and it is a site of some reverence for the Hindu Balinese.

The one hectare complex was built in 1946 but was also destroyed by the nearby volcano's eruption in 1963. It has been re built and restored and tourists are able to enjoy its loveliness.

This is the centerpiece of the palace - an eleven tiered fountain. I had fun walking along the steps in the pool fronting it.

Our tour ended and we arrived back at our hotel in Kuta at around 4 pm. We had time to hike and see the beach in Kuta which was not really far from the hotel. We found out there was a lot of people on the beach enjoying the scene of surfers on the waters.

On the way to the airport, Jero suggested a place for take away. It was a famous place for chicken with edible tender bones. I didn't believe it until I tasted it :P. Great dinner and also what a thoughtful friend!

This ends my second visit to Bali! I still want to visit it for the third time! Maybe in the future :)

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Second Bali Trip - Day 1

I did not expect to come and visit Bali again after 5 months. It was a sweet surprise and it seemed as the universe was approving it because I was able to fix my schedule in such a short notice. The preparation was so short but it was ok because the holiday was only 2 days only anyway. I'm glad that Jero, my friend and trusted tour guide was able to accommodate us in such a short notice.

We took a night flight from Phuket, had a layover in Singapore and arrived in Bali at around 8am the following day. First on our plan was to visit the villa of a friend who has relocated in Bali and drop a few things. The villa they had was so nice and Bali has a lot of other lovely villas like this. This is the pool of the place and the view is already very relaxing.

After freshening up, we headed towards Tanah Lot temple. This was my friend, Wincee's, first time while it was my second time to visit. It was an hour's drive so we were able to get a shut eye. 

Tanah Lot Temple: 

Entrance Fee; 35,000 Indonesian Rupiah (2.70 USD)

The sun was shining high and even so, there was a crowd in the area, admiring the scenery and calmness of the place.

Jatiluwih 

Entrance Fee;  22,500 Indonesian Rupiah (1.71 USD)

Our next stop was at the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. This is another place added to my list of UNESCO world heritage sites visited. It has been appointed because it has maintained the local culture heritage in the form of water irrigation managed traditionally called as SUBAK. Jati means really and Luwih means special, good, beautiful or the equivalent. 

We also headed for lunch at a nearby restaurant. 

The rice served here was of course taken from the nearby ricefield. Healthy brown rice for my lunch.

This was our view and while eating, Jero told us that our next destination is on the other side of the mountain. 

After another hour's drive, we arrived at our next stop which was Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, a major Shivaite and water temple in Bali. The temple complex is located on the shores of Lake Bratan in the mountains near Bedugul. 

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan

Entrance Fee: 30,000 Indonesian Rupiah (2.30 USD)

The place is located 1200 meters above sea level and it has a cold tropical climate. This explains why I am now wearing my jacket and the pine trees lining the vicinity. 

Taman Ayun Temple is our third destination. This is also called Mengwi Royal Temple and located about 18 km north side of Denpasar Town. A big fish pond or lake greets the  visitors  at the entrance. In fact, the word Ahyun comes from the word Hyun meaning a temple is founded in the park (pool with a beautiful garden). 

I know Jero explained well about the multi roofed structures but I cannot remember anymore :P Still they were an amazing site. In fact, this is another UNESCO world heritage site as it goes all the way back from the 18th century during the Mengwi Kingdom, a historic royal dynasty in Bali. It is symbolic as a site of Bali's aristocratic history and even as a historical site now, it embodies an air of elegant demeanor.

We capped the day by having dinner with Kyle, our friend who now resides in Bali. We planned a second day tour and I will also write about it next.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Thailand in Mourning

Yesterday, 13 October, grief and sadness swept the land of smiles, Thailand. The well loved king Bhumibol Adulyadej has passed away. He was 88 years old and was the world's longest reigning monarch. 

Numerous military coups happened during his reign and he has been a stabilizing influence of the country. He also traveled extensively around the country to reach out to ordinary citizens and hear about their concerns which resulted into numerous projects. All for the peoples welfare.

To my Thai friends and to all Thai people, I am deeply saddened with the loss of the country's Father. In this trying time, I am mourning with all of you. I know his royal legacies will love on and he will forever be remembered.

Silom Thai Cooking School

I've never been really into cooking. It was only eating that I was interested in. Until I had to cook for myself so that I can replicate the Filipino dishes from home and save some money. 

My colleagues encouraged and helped me get the recipe right. I enjoyed cooking the same dishes until I came to think that I can also learn to cook Thai while in Thailand. Inspired by a friend who took a cooking class whilst in Chiang Mai, I set out to the goal. However, Chiang Mai is far from me and Phuket has expensive classes. I grabbed the chance to attend one when I went to Bangkok for an official business.

I chose Silom Thai Cooking School because of the great reviews and their afternoon class. I booked online and noted the meet up point of which is Silom Soi 11. I arrived 5 minutes ahead of time and found there were a lot waiting with me.

The staff appeared on time and asked to get our voucher. We were then grouped and introduced to our teacher. She led us right away into the market to start our afternoon session.

It was fun because they gave us wooden baskets each and she explained the ingredients that we needed. She then placed some ingredients to each of our baskets and so we carried it to the school with pride :)

Arriving at the school, she made sure that our things were locked in a secure cabinet and that we wore an apron and our hands washed clean before beginning the lesson. First thing was a discussion and activity wherein we extracted coconut cream and coconut milk.

Then we had to transfer to another room wherein the ingredients were placed and we were instructed on how to cut them.

When we were ready, we brought our trays to the real cooking area where the gas stoves were.

I was eager to listen on when to turn on the stove and to mix the ingredients. Our teacher was very helpful in taking our photos as well as giving clear instructions and encouraging everyone that all we're doing good.

There are different menus for each day of the week and because I attended the class on a Tuesday, we cooked:

Tom Yum Goong

Pad Thai 

Curry Rice

Fish Cake

and she taught us how Mango with sticky rice was prepared. 

We had to eat every after cooking. At the end of the class, I was so full! The teacher was kind enough to let me pack my Mango with Sticky Rice for take away. 

All of us we're given a recipe booklet to take home for instruction and souvenir!

I was so happy to have attended the class and make one of my goals come true. A really good and memorable experience I had while in Bangkok.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

When in Bali

I know its overly late but I still would like to share the opportunity I had when I went to Bali last December 2015 with some friends. As it is long overdue, I will try and remember what awesome things we did. These can also be suggestions in case some of you, dear readers, would like to set foot in Bali, Indonesia for your future getaways. 

1. Stay in a nice / comfortable hotel

There are numerous beautiful and relaxing hotels in Bali to choose from. This just depends on the budget and of course on what part of Bali you intend to stay. There are a lot of areas to choose from such as Kuta, Seminyak and Legian among others. It's truly rewarding to research which area fits best for your kind of holiday. 

We chose to stay at a hotel in Seminyak. It was quite far from the beach and the happenings but it was nice and quiet. When we were there, our room was upgraded to pool access which was a sweet surprise.

2. Chill and Dine

There were numerous drinks that I only have seen in Bali. These were just some that I saw at a 7-11 store. I am not into drinking alcohol but still these were interesting.

A lot of bars and restaurants dot the area so there are a lot of options to choose from. On the first night, we went to this cool place in Kuta where we had dinner via candle light and a live band to keep us entertained.

On other nights, we went to explore other bars. One of the bars we went to was near the beach. They had a promotion of a buy one take one for their cocktails. The view, the music, the ambience and the place was amazing.

We also went to Potato Beach Club to see the sunset. Again, the view and the ambience was simply fantastic!

The best Nasi Goreng with Pork Ribs that I've tasted all my life :) 

3. Water Sports

Bali is famous for its offered water sports. I had a great time having my first Banana Boat Ride, Jet Ski, Flying Fish and Parasailing. I especially loved the Parasailing because we were taught how to steer it while up in the air. My arms were sore because I had to pull the strings according to their instructions thru the flags on the shore.

4. White Water Rafting

I was afraid of trying this one out because I felt it was dangerous but my friends were all going so I went as well. We had a fun time even while waiting for the start of the program.

The great river with rafts and the people who were with us to experience this rafting thing.

Our guide was patient to all of us and he was very quick to instruct us to either paddle or stop.

It was not all paddling. We were able to stop for a few photos along the way as well as take a dip in the cool river.

5. Temple Tour

A visit to Bali is not complete without a temple tour. We hired a driver and his car to take us around for a temple tour. This is Jero, our very kind and patient driver. You can search for him in Facebook or on his website www.laksmibalitour.com

He kept us safe from the monkeys who would often grabbed things from unsuspecting tourists.

How many monkeys do you see? There are a lot of them and sometimes you can barely see them and can just suddenly come up to grab cameras or water bottles or food. 

The temples were situated quite far from each other and as it was so hot during the day, we ended up only going to a few of them.

6. Shopping

There are a lot of stores selling souvenirs and Indonesian delicacies. Our driver, Jero, was kind to bring us to one of the affordable stores that sold things that we can bring back to our friends and families. It also had a restaurant to refresh their shoppers.

I had such a great time during my first trip to Bali. I went back again after 5 months and I'm excited to write about it soon. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog! :)