The Sun, The Waves, The Beach

*23rd September 2009*

Yesterday was just a teaser to what was in store for us today. We woke up bright and early, out ready to catch the first ferry out from Sanur to our next destination - Nusa Lembongan Island.

We arrived in good time, with 10minutes to spare before the ferry leaves for Nusa Lembongan at 8am. Yet to have breakfast, we bought biscuits and nasi bungkus ayam at a dodgy-looking stall at the port. And on board we went!

We found ourselves sandwiched between the locals and backpackers from around the globe. Joining our convoy were also live chickens (and also dead ones when I glanced at the family beside me having KFC), and scooters. To add to the experience, my senses were confused with the occasional faint whiffs of ikan masin (preserved salted fish) from the cargo, the KFC fried chicken from the boys next to me and the smell of salty sea water carried by the crisp wind that morning. It was hard to decide whether it was a pleasant or a non-pleasant ride. But it definitely was an interesting one. (Regretfully no photos here :s)

2.5 hours later, we landed at Nusa Lembongan Island. Thankfully, we (the tourists) were let to alight first before the rest. That was as long as my butt allowed me to stay seated on one plank, hardly 20cm wide.

"Pak... Pak! Where do you want to go?" one of the locals called out.

We weren't exactly sure. We've only decided to come here after recommendations from good ol' trusty Lonely Planet and the brochures we picked up along our way. After a few minutes of further discussion with the locals, he decided that we will head to Dream Beach at south coast of Lembongan Island, said to have the best white sandy beach, never over populated - a dream come true for those who appreciate quietness in a pristine beautiful beach.

"60000 rupiah return on a scooter?!?!" he jumped.

"Cheap.. cheap, Pak. Tak bisa jalan kaki. Up, down, up down... scooter takes only 15 minutes."

$$ we can't save. So it was IDR120,000 for both of us on a ride from the port to Dream Beach

Dream Beach did not disappoint.



I still can't get over the sheer magnitude of the imploding waves.





Sunnies and Smiles



We are sooo blluee!

We were ready to jump straight into the sea.. but not without energy source.



Banana Jaffle - toasted banana + cheese sandwich



Mee Goreng - fried local noodle with bullseye egg drizzled with yummy kicap manis!



Brewed Balinese Coffee



Banana + Lime Juice

Lovely experience dining with a sight to behold.



We made our way down...



Found ourselves a nice little spot..





Took a few random shots..



Front



Back



Front



Back



Rubbery find



Intermittent rest before running into the sea again.



And so that was how we spent our afternoon - in and out of the cold waters. The current was strong! I was literally swept off my feet a couple of times but once deeper (away from the shore), it was gloriously exciting to swim with the waves, oaccasionally fighting hard against the current - careful not to be carried away. I love the feeling.

My joy did not rest just there. I was tickled to watch him struggle to keep his footing. Being near the shore, he ended up crashing together with the waves most of the time. It was comical to see him clumsily being tossed around. And it wasn't just me. I could see that the waves were having the same joy playing with him too! ;)

If we had stayed on this island, these will be our huts.





Rustic little looking ones.

2 hours out, and it was time for us to catch the last boat home. Whilst waiting for it, we rested at a little cafe, absorbing the local feel around us.



Salt water left him hygroscopically thirsty.



Say hi to the dog he made friends with.



A Balinese woman walked passed.. I believe this would be shortly after an upacara.



A shot of a happy child & her obliging mother.. possibly the cafe owner's wife and daughter.



There is always a Pura (temple), regardless how small the place is.





Boats bobbing gently, just a couple more hours before sun sets.

The journey back to Bali Island was a lot shorter - only 45minutes via speed boat.

With just enough time to have a good warm shower, we headed out again to grab dinner.

"Jimbaran?", he suggested.

I gave a smug smile. Oh yes! We are going back to the beach again, although we were exactly there just last night! This time, he opted to try a different restaurant. With so many options to choose from, we decided to follow the taxi driver's recommendation.

Ikan bakar, grilled mussels & stirfry kangkung.

But it was a total disappointment! :( The sambal was a far outcry from last night's and that brought the whole meal down. Note to self: Don't listen to taxi drivers in future.

We will not let the night end this way. Hence, we went for the corns... again!



Yum! No sharing this time, Mr Sweet Tooth had TWO all to himself; I was contented with one :p

What a DAY! :D

Wet WEt WET

*22nd September 2009*

It was back to the road again; 3 grueling hours from Lovina back to North Seminyak, where we'll be spending the remaining of our stay in Bali. But this time, we managed to strike a deal - IDR350,000 (~RM135) for a car ride back there (versus IDR500,000 when we got here). Ahh.. we were finally on the role when it came to bargaining skill! ;)

But it rained.. it rained almost the entire journey. As we approached North Seminyak, there was still no sign of the rain stopping. Although it did lighten to a considerable drizzle. BUT, it was still wet. WET! Sigh..

Determined to not let this dampened the holiday mood, we psyched ourselves to make the very best of the situation. It wasn't difficult. We found ourselves upgraded into a Deluxe room upon arrival at Bali Ayu Hotel :)





Fresh Orchids welcoming us in the room - pretty!



We even have our own lil' patio..



..and a small kitchen (which we never found the time to use).


Ah.. another nice little roof to our heads for the next 2 nights.

*Hunger pang strikes*. By golly, it was already past 2pm!

"Eh, let's go for lunch! We can't be sitting here all day.."

"Okay. Wanna try the shop across the street?"

Sure! Anywhere nearby was good.

We found ourselves at the infamous Bebek Bali Restaurant. The name itself means 'Balinese Duck' and in case that doesn't tip you off as to their specialty, everything from napkins to beer coasters inside the lush, ornamented restaurant is duck-shaped. Duck is served in 7 different ways, and given the number of people, we only managed to try 2 ways - both ways, simply excellent!





Ducky menu, paper weight & placemat.



Succulent, juicy & tender duck infused in local herbs & flavours.



Local choice of condiments (sambal) which paired very well with the duck.



Not duck juice! An ordinary pineapple + papaya juice BUT with ducky stirrer.

Utterly satisfying. We vouched to return here before the end of the trip (but we eventually failed to do so:()

It was still wet.

What else can we do in this wet condition?

"Let's grab a taksi and head towards Kuta. We can stop anywhere along the way and do some shopping since the weather doesn't look like it's going to change anytime soon". He suggested.

Might as well, I guess. Both of us aren't big shoppers but a holiday is not complete without minimal shopping (at least the family members/friends are expecting souvenirs!). 40 minutes on the road, and we have hardly moved 8km.

"Oii.. macat, macaT! Sungguh macat!!" Mr Taksi man said.

Ah.. easy for you to say, Mr Taksi Man. And here we were, bored to death, watching the taxi meter running. We decided to get down and walk along the streets heading towards Kuta. At least there were shops along the road. We dodged in and out of these shops, and bought our first and only item - an umbrella. Great.

Before we knew it, we were already approaching Kuta town.
Wow.. we actually walked 5km! It didn't felt like it. Tired of the shops, we made our way to the beach. I looked at the sky, and breathed a sigh of relief. The rain has finally stopped for good.

As Kuta Beach came to full view, I couldn't help but felt a rush of excitement running down my spine. The sight that laid before me was... indescribable. The sheer strength and magnitude of the crashing waves with accompanying sound it resonated was magnificent. As how he puts it simply, 'It isn't the crashing of the waves. It is the *explosion* of the waves.' I couldn't have agreed more.

People from all walks of life somehow found a way to enjoy the nature that was before them. Our shutters kept clicking endlessly.





Scanning around to find our own way of composing the photos.



With a foot planted firmly to the ground...





We started shooting!





There were surfers



Compulsory Lifeguard



Families



Children Playing



Dog & Owner





Footprints



Reflection



A memory definitely worth keeping

We stayed till the sun has set entirely.

Because we had a late lunch, we weren't really hungry, hence we decided to take a walk a little longer to a less crowded area and get a taxi from there. A wise decision indeed! We didn't have to sit put in one spot and watch ridiculously at the meter going and at the same time we were able to work up an appetite with the considerable walking done.

However, getting a taxi to take us to Jimbaran turned out to be rather difficult; something we didn't expect at all. No Pak Taksi was willing to take us there as the roads leading to Jimbaran were jam packed with vehicles!!
"Dammit. I'm not travelling anywhere during festive season again. Ever." I silently grumbled beneath my breath.
Eventually, we managed to flag one to take us there. Phew...

Jimbaran seafood market is located along a long stretch of white, sandy beach where many seafood restaurants offering the widest selection of seafood has attracted both locals and tourists to the area. A perfect romantic evening can be created by dining on Jimbaran beach during sunset, where one watched the horizon of red, gold and amber melting away to reveal a starry evening sky while enjoying the freshly flame grilled seafood, serenaded by a group of acoustic muscians occasionally punctured by the crashing of the waves.

I have been here slightly less than a decade ago, and knew one day, that I will return again. Here I was.



Loving the seafood!!



Flame grilled fish. It tasted a lot better than it looked! The sambal was to-die-for (kicap manis + kicap asin + bawang hiris + cili padi).



Say hi to the group of musicians that performed a local happy folksong specially for us!



On the beach, there were coRn-man selling corns (pun intended :p).

We had the option of having either sweet or savoury. "Manis please, Mr. Corn Man!", sweet tooth boy replied with no hesitation. How sweet :) Yummy corn coated with sugar and grilled over charcoal. When the sugar has caramelized giving rise to brownish 'burnt' corn, it was then buttered and served piping hot.



We shared one :) And he simply loved it.

After a grilled fish, fried squid, grilled mussels and one corn, we *rolled* home tired but happily satisfied.

"Shall we come back here again tomorrow?"

We'll see... ;)