i'm back!

many apologies for the hiatus... bro and kat came back for a 2-week holiday and all my available time is spent with them :)

i never used to appreciate going home to a family... once upon a time i used to think bro was such an annoying pig (althou' he still is today!) and that he's constantly hogging my computer, tv, etc... but now i kinda miss that feeling. i guess i never realised how close we were when we fought all the time while growing up... i remember him kicking my arse and giving me black eyes when we were young... all the memories!


bro and kat at sentosa

went to bali with dad, bro and kat during their stay here. think bali is a great place... the beaches are beautiful... many cultural/historical sites to visit and we had lots of fun haggling over prices =) yes, auntie behavior. the not-so-fun parts were the constant complaints of bro who was suffering from knee pain... and so we were constantly stopping and having a cuppa along the streets... its sometimes fun to people watch... most imptly, we know where the good cafes are now.. hehehe... the bad side thou, was that we stopped and snacked so much that we never really had a stomach for good meals. i was told by many that bali had several pretty good restaurants (eg. ku-de-ta), but sadly i didnt get to try them! will try them the next time i visit!

a brief overview of my itinery there: arrived on thursday midnight and checked into a splendid serviced-villa @ Seri Suites...


private pool!

day 1: Ubud hired a cab to take us to ubud, the art centre of bali which was a 45-min drive from our villa... settled for a reasonable price with the driver and he agreed to take us there and back and be our tour-guide for the day as well... he brought us to a batik factory, which sold extremely expensive batik... and eye opener thou!


women working on batik...

then he took us to an art gallery... on the way there we saw many many (& many!) shops with paintings hung all-over but he advised against buying from there as most of the paintings did not have certificates and may be "copies"... he took us to this gallery that was HUGE and showcased artwork of many different genres, contemporary, abstract, traditional, nature and many more which i dont know how to describe :P


artists working hard at the gallery

in the end bro and kat bought 2 paintings and i bought one...


my "million" dollar painting... serenity...

then the driver took us to some place that sold very yummy fried duck... apparently a bali delicacy (for tourists of cos... i dont think i ever saw balinese in any restaurants...) up next was shopping in ubud district itself! lots of sundresses and little ornaments... branded clothes were available too... although i really doubt their authencity :P

day 2: sight see-ing! hired a day-driver i found from the internet.. very pleased with their services cos they give good introductions to the place and walk with you through the attraction!

first item on list: batubalan dance - barong & keris dance. basically it talks about the good fighting the evil and of cos, good triumphing over evil... good to watch this cultural dance although i thought it was a little pricey...


cultural dance!

next was goa gajah (aka elephant cave) according to the guide, its a cave where royalty will go to meditate (in the past of cos, bali is now ruled by government)...


view from the top of the area ard the cave


Menstruating women are not allowed to enter... hmmm...


entrance to the elephant cave

then kintamani village, a village built around a dormant volcano... its pretty high up so its a little chilly, good escape from the heat! had a buffet meal in a restaurant overlooking the volcano... pretty!


volcano view from the restaurant

last stop was tirta empul (holy spring temple), according to the guide the spring water can do wonders (wasn't paying attention to what he's saying! :P)


kat and i in front of some shrine

day 3: shopping! walked all day today... from seminyak to legian to kuta... i think we walked for at least 10km... but it was good... experiencing all of bali city on foot!


memories of the bali bombing...

took a night flight back and met a jap guy at the airport... he thought i was japanese and spoke to me in a string of japanese, heh... obviously i wouldnt understand!


the "huang" family as kat described...

and eversince i came back from bali... its been good meals all the way until bro and kat left... i think i put on alot of weight during their stay here!


so artistic!