I took a peek at my watch on the bedside. Ahhh... 6am at last!! I switched off the alarm before it could even ring and hopped out of my comfy queen sized latex mattress. Hmm... time to sms him to check that he's awake!
"Rise and shine! Quick, make yourself a small breakie, shower and get yourself here!"
"Thanks. My alarm didn't ring."
Ah?! He was supposed to arrive at my place by 6.45am to leave for airport together. Miraculously, he arrived on time despite living 70km away. Perhaps he didn't even brush his teeth, let alone shower. Hmm...
The holiday began at LCCT airport itself. Flying on low cost carrier Air Asia, we have opted out meals on board as they are known to be overpriced and bland. And so, I asked.
"What do you want to have for breakfast?"
We paused and looked around. My eyes caught sight of Old Town Kopitiam and at the same time, I heard him say.
"Old Town?"
Woohoo! I flashed a big grin. We are both fans of eggs and what better way was there to start a holiday than a good meal we both like at the same moment of time :p
Eggs on Toast
Kaya Toast + Soft Boiled Eggs
Nasi Lemak
Turned out more like a brunch than a breakfast! Gluttony strikes when you're on a holiday mood.
We were so engrossed with our food that when I looked at my watch... crap! We haven't got much time left before boarding! In our haste, we nearly walked out without paying the bill but thankfully managed to get to the boarding gate on time (I was mildly amused to hear our names announced over the PA system - last call for boarding). No worries, there were at least another 10 more people who were as late as us :)
3 hours later, we arrived at Denpasar airport 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. But the queue at the immigration was atrociously slow. Clearly, the first sign of too many tourists. It took us 45 minutes to clear immigration.
It was a good thing that we had a heavy breakfast as there wasn't anything interesting to eat at the airport. We decided to take the airport taksi straight to our destination towards the North, a good 3-3.5 hours away. It costs us IDR500,000 (about RM200) for the journey. Ouch! (This is only the start of our cash dwindling towards transportation. We have come to realise that a good portion of our cash will be towards transportation!)
Weather was not exactly tourist friendly. It had been sunny throughout the past few weeks, only to rain on the day we arrived.
"Pak bawa hujan lah". Our taksi driver commented.
"Best time to stay indoors. People come Bali make babies." He chuckled.
Oh no, Mr Taksi driver! It ain't ethically legal for us and besides, we are here to explore Bali! But I don't blame the taksi driver to come up with such a statement. This year alone I know of 3 newly wed couples who spent their honeymoon in Bali.
(Hmm.. I wonder whether Jellybean is made in Bali :p) Bali is a beautiful place which didn't take us long to realise.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant which overlooked Lake Beratan. Located in the high land with hill and rainforest surrounding it, there was a perpetual fog as it kept raining the entire time. Sigh.. otherwise it would have been a pretty sight. Since we were already there, we visited Pura Ulun Danu.
Yes, it was raining.
The overcast mood called for monochromaticity.
It was cold under the rain and wind.. *shudders*... Whatever happened to friends who came back with tan and sunburnt? Was it really Bali they went to? I wrapped the shawl tighter around me (Yes! Ironically I brought a shawl to Bali which turned out a blessing in disguise:p) whilst waiting for Norm to finish taking his shots. I was done with mine after 5 minutes. Too uncomfortable to be in the mood for photography.
We were out of there in 20 minutes.
An hour later, we finally arrived at Rambutan Cottages, a nice little budget accommodation located only 5 minutes walk away from the beachfront. Thankfully, it has stopped raining here. Based on wooden construction, rustic appearance softened by fresh flowers as decoration, I smiled satisfactorily at the room that will shelter us for the next 2 nights.
Oh, and they have a resident dog that seemed to have claim ownership to a part of the swimming pool.
Leaving our luggages behind, we both headed to the beach eagerly with hopes to catch a nice sunset. We weren't disappointed.
Despite having big breakfast and a late buffet lunch (oh yeah, did I forget to mention that it was a buffet we had? ;)), we still had room for dinner. Somewhere at a distance, we hear music that seemed to be calling out to us. As though in a trance, we moved towards the direction and voila! we found ourselves seated in a little unpretentious cafe along the beach with a local band serenading throughout the evening.
Grilled seafood with Balinese sauce with a side serve of salad and wedges. Balinese sauce was excellent!
Bintang beer (local beer) and a cocktail
We continued to stay glued to our seats although dinner was long finished; simply to enjoy the cool breeze, the fresh clean air and the comforting sounds of the rustling of leaves.
Allowing myself to immerse completely in the pleasant atmosphere I was in, I appreciated the silence we had at that time. Only music from the local band filled the air occasionally punctured by the sounds from nature around us. I stole a glance and found his eyes closed and his lips slightly turned upwards to almost a smile.
Relaxing back to my seat, I smiled to myself knowing that he was enjoying the night as much as I did.
Truly a wonderful first night at Bali.
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