Life’s a collection of memories don’t you think? Looking back in 2007, I can’t deny that I’ve had some of the best of times with my friends and my ex-boyfriend (now hubby of course). We’ve gone through so many ups and downs, many laughters and sorrow and not to mention, sooo many parties which explains why some of us look slosh in the pictures.
Here are some of the pics with the people I adore that always bring back the best of memories and puts a smile on my face.
If I could pretty much sum up my life in the past year, these pics would be it.
In no particular order:
Celebrating His Birthday together as a couple
CNY Eve in Zeta Bar
Partying it up in Maison
Mena’s Birthday @ Sanctuary. Froze our butts off at the Ice Bar for this woman.
A very happy affair
Baby of the Group’s Birthday @ Ciao Cafe. You’ll always be our baby no matter how old you get.
Studio Shot with Wylane & Nicole
My Suprise Winnie The Pooh Birthday Party
I know – PDA should be banned!
Savanh
TGIF @ Laundry
That’s Jay Sean Baby!
Ushering the New Year @ Rupee Room
Taboo Night @ Hush. This was SO much fun!
Who says married folks don’t know how to party eh?
Rupee Room
Hubby’s 30th Suprised Birthday Party
House Party
Cousin’s cousin’s wedding – that’s always the case.
Madhu’s secret Crush in Hatyai
Jasman and his actress ‘friend’ @ Mansion
Madhu’s Birthday @ Flam’s Fine Dining
A Farewell @ Souled Out
Remember the ’swingers’ Dheeraj?
And I just realized that it’s NEVER easy to get a whole group picture whenever we go out. There are more pictures but I’ll post them up next week.
You won’t believe the amount of pictures I have stored away in my folder. They are afterall my collection of sweet memories and I’m looking forward to collecting more.
Ps: Now you guys know why I bring my camera along whenever we go out??
Another Middle Eastern restaurant? Ok it’s Lebanese this time!
Sometimes it does feel like I’m on quest to discover the most scrumptious Middle Eastern restaurant in KL. Decided to catch up with some friends on Saturday at Al-Rawsha in Jalan Damai, Ampang.
Settings in Al-Rawsha is minimal with a very laid back environment. I love the compartments inside the restaurant where you can draw the curtains for your own privacy. Compartments in most authentic Middle Eastern restaurants are usually catered for burkha clad women so they can take it off to eat their meals.
Appetizer: Falafil and Hummus.
Found the hummus rather flat in taste but enjoyed the falafel which is their version of vegan cutlet.
Shish Tawook (grilled chicken breast)
The rest had Lamb Mandy and Khabsa which they claim was excellent.
The bill came up to about RM112 (approx RM28 a person). Cheap considering the HUGE portions which usually isn’t quite expected in the middle eastern restaurants here. So inevitably we had a lot of food wastage and yes, I REALLY didn’t think the portions were going to be huge guys so we’ll share the next time around!
The full but very happy customers:
And if you must, order the Red Mint Tea and Turkish Coffee. I don’t know what they put in there but we were laughing our heads off for 4 hours straight!! Or maybe it was just the excellent company
Stupid has no boundaries. According to Ibrahim Ali, there should be a programme for women to accept the concept of polygamy.
It takes someone who lacks respect for women (regardless of religion)to even say such a ludicrous thing. Men don’t take two or three or even four wives coz of love, they do it out of of lust. The cheap thrill of being with a different woman everyday. Love can’t be shared and is solely exclusive to that one person. No woman would consent to sharing their husbands no matter what the circumstances are.
Most often, women (be it rich or poor) in a polygamous marriage consent to it because they feel it’s fated or that they’ll loose out on something if they walk out of the marriage. So they agree to it hoping it would somehow work but quite evidently, most of the time it doesn’t coz no one can stand sharing the ones they love. Will he be in favour of a polyandry instead, just to even things out?
I honestly wonder what Ibrahim Ali’s mother or wife (probably wives in this case) would have to to say about his statement. I suggest he accepts the idea of think before you speak programme before making a complete fool of himself in front of all Malaysians.
As our tour guide puts it: Nusa Dua, dubbed the Beverly Hills of Bali attracts the middle to upper segment and it’s strongly recommended for those who want want a relaxing environment or a romantic trip in Bali.
Shopping in Bali Collection in Nusa Dua
Can you believe this is actually a restaurant?? USD25 for 15 minutes up in the air!
See how blue the sky is?
Seminyak, Ubud, Sanur and Denpasar offers a much more quiet enviroment and suited for those who seek nature.
Kuta on the other hand, caters to a different crowd all together ranging from middle to those who are on a budget. Some hotel are as low as USD10 per night.
A run down of the places we visited
A quick note – do not be put off by the brochures you find in the airport upon arriving. It is mostly quoted in Dollars ranging from USD 25-30 per tour catered to the European and Japanese tourist. 67% of the Balinese are in the tourism industry, therefore, every person on the street who comes and chat you up is most likely a tour agent who will offer you affordable tours. The key is to bargain!
We had a 12 hour tour in our own private car with guide/driver cost us approx RP300k (RM105).
Barong dance in Jimabaran – approx 30 minutes drive from Nusa Dua
Bali Batik
Unknown to alot, Bali is also known for it’s Batik. We made a quick stop at Bali Bidadari in Denpasar to witness batik in the making.
Wood Carving in Ubud
The town of Ubud (north of Denpasar), with its art market, museums and galleries, is arguably the cultural centre of Bali.The most intricate designs in the world probably come from the talented village of Ubud in Bali. Balinese kids learn to carve at such a young age and it’s evident with the long rows of beautiful wood carving shops in Ubud.
Silver and Gold Jewerly
These are very cheap in Bali. Hubby picked out a silver ring that only cost RP100, approx RM35. How cheap is that!
Check out me bling yo
Bali Coffee @ Tapak Siring
Free drinks sampling:
The famous Gunung Batur in Kintamani
The best restaurant to dine in that overlooks Gunung Batur is Restaurant Batur Sari. Terrible tourist-trap buffet, but has the most amazing views of the Volcano.
And I’ve decided, if heaven looks anyting like this, I’m going to start being a better person from now on.
On the way down from Gunung Batur, our guide also made a quick stop at Ubud Market. Try to avoid shopping in Kuta as prices are catered for westerners. For a more affordable shopping experience head to Sukawati or to Ubud Market.
Ulawatu Hindu Temple
Uluwatu’s famous Pura Luhur temple dates back to the 10th century and is perched high on the cliff top over looking the Bali south west tip. It’s a wonderful romantic spot to view the sunset followed by an hour of Kecak dance performance.
And incase you didn’t already know, 93.18% of Bali’s population adheres to Balinese Hinduism.
Tanah Lot
Tanah Lot Hindu temple is a spectacular sea temple built on the top huge bard rock and attacts alot of tourist due to its uniqueness. Some say Tanah Lot offers the best sunset view while some say Uluwatu does, choice is yours!
KUTA = PARTY
Kuta is perhaps the only town in Bali that offers the hustle and bustle of city life. There are rows of shops, malls (eg: Centro, Discovery and Matahari), spas and just like any city – it is noisy, crowded and dirty. Here you’ll get mostly teenagers from all over the world looking to spend time on the beach during the day and get sloshed during the night, surfer dudes and budget travellers.
I didn’t quite fancy Kuta much but one thing I’ll assure you that’s fun in Kuta – the clubbing.
Unlike Nusa Dua that does not have a single club/pub in sight, Kuta offers exciting entertainment outlets with the most popular one being Bounty Club and Paddys.
We were there on Friday and Saturday and holy shit, alcohol is cheap @ RP30,000 (Buy 1 Free 1 – Happy Hour at Bounty) which is approx. RM10 for two freaking drinks! I really loved Bounty Club mainly because they have a few sections where clubbers can move around. Screw that, I like it for its cheap alcohol!
I call the musicians ‘let’s smoke weed and make music’ and guess who’s playing? (minus the weed that is)
Friday Night Foam Party:
The scene when everyone’s tipsy and majorly friendly. Check out the friendly gweilo in green:
Can you believe we both got sloshed at only RM40 per night!! Absolute heaven.
What to Order in Bounty
Red Illusion and Local Beer
ALL MINE for only RM17!
Don’t be fooled by the kiddie Wendy Bear tumbler. This was the most popular drink in Bounty! 4 of these babies will get you to where you want to be It’s a combination of arak Bali and some other stuff I don’t remember…but it tastes like yummy orange juice! AND it got us dancing on stage.
A point to note:
Do becareful of drug pushers. While we boarded a cab after clubbing, a drug pusher got into the cab with us and asked if we wanted some weed. After a firm no, he got down and our taxi driver told us that alot of japs and aussie kids come to bali to do drugs. And if you get caught by the cops, bail is set at USD60k.
Bali Bombing Memorial Site
Just 2 minutes walk from Bounty lies a permanent memorial which was built on the site of the destroyed Paddy’s Pub on Legian Street during the Bali Bombing in 2002 that claimed many lifes. Paddys has since moved next to Bounty. We quickly offered our prayers to those who lost their lives here. May their souls rest in peace.
Food
We love experiencing the flavours of different food but I got to say that Balinese / Indonesian food are somewhat limited in choices. Dining in Bali in general is inexpensive. You can expect a bill between RM20-30 for two in a fancy restaurant.
A must Balinese authentic dish
Ayam Betutu
Sate Lilit
This is absolutely delish and is made of fish. You’ll hardly find this on the menus so you have to ask!
For the best sate lilit in town try Coco Bistro in Nusa Dua and R.aja’s at Seminyak.
Nasi Goreng
Mi Indonesia
Sate Ayam
A restaurant worth checking out in Kuta is Warung Made (pronounced warung ma-deeh) Thank you zoakies for that recommendation. Place was crowded with foreigners and food was good!
And if you’re into pork, Babi Guling is a Balinese speciality and most of the time requires a day advance order. Didn’t have that since I’m not a fan of porkie dishes.
Shopping:
Bali is renowned for its extremely affordable paintings, sculpture and their Balinese furniture. Besides that, some of the items worth to buy are Balinese Coffee, silver, gold, batik and beads – which are very cheap.
But certainly one of the most well kept secret that not many people know, including our driver is Geneva Handicraft in Kerobokon. Here you can find 4 floors of massive amounts of handicrafts at the cheapest possible price.
And I can’t believe I”m sharing it with you guys.
Polo By Ralph Lauren
Widely found here at every corners and is extremely affordable, at least 50% cheaper than KL.
For the women: Body & Soul, probably the only shop around that offers very pretty clothes.
Spa
Now what’s a vacation without a good massage to keep you relaxed after a long day of walking. Avoid heading to spa in hotels or the fancy ones as they charge in US dollars. A foot massage in a simple spa will only cost you RP60,000, (approx RM21) for 1 hour. How cheap is that?? And you bet we had a foot massage every single day. Body massages on the other hand only cost RM25-30 and a hair creme bath is a must try for the ladies.
Language
Balinese are an impressive lot. They mostly speak 3 languages, mainly Bahasa Bali, Bahasa Indonesia and English.
Getting around Bali is fairly easy if you speak in Bahasa as both languages are some what similiar. Although certain words do differ as such:
Liburan – Holiday
Enggak – No
Apotex – Pharmacy
Bisa – Can Eg: Bisa tengok menu
Permissi – Excuse me/Can I?
Sore- Night
And please, drop the malaysian slang when you’re there. They do not understand our stupid slang damnit!! Noticed alot of Malaysians in Kuta were using their usual laas, aiyaaa and horrr when speaking with the locals.
Oh and pleaseeee put aside RP150,000 (approx RM52) for service charge in the airport on the way home. I don’t know what the ’service’ charge is for!! I never knew such a thing existed and I didn’t see this information on any of the forums. We went to the airport broke so we had no choice but to pay in Ringgit and were charged RM70 for it instead!
Overall it was probably the most romantic trip I’ve been on so far with my husband. Bali definitely brought out the romantic side in him so Bali gets a huge thumbs up for couples or honeymooners who want to spend quality time with each other.
As the Gule (Bali slang for whites) says – Bali is a paradise on earth.
We’ve decided that we’ll be back again to explore more on Bali some time soon!
Total Damage: RM2k (for flight and hotel) + RM 2.1k spending money for two.
Bali trip done and over.
Next Destination: Australia in August – now that’s a lot to save up in the next 3 months! Really hoping for a decent bonus, sigh.
I’m back from Bali but I’ll post the pics up soon.
In about 24 hours from now, barely recuperating from the amazing Bali trip, my husband will be off to Singapore for 4 days on a business trip. I wish I could so go with him but I’m running short on bloody annual leave. Arrgh!
And yes, I’ve contemplated pulling a sickie but 4 days of faking sick will just look so bad and well fake, wouldn’t it?
I told him 4 days apart means another 4 days of holiday for me
But not really…..
I’m going to miss him. Terribly.
I don’t think we’ve been apart from each other except when he went to Spain last year.
Ah well, guess I’ll be spending extra long hours at the office then. Now that’s going to be the first!
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