Itinerary for this trip are entirely planned by AJ. The trip is confirmed just 2.5 weeks before departure and we begin bookings for air tickets and accommodations. The trip coincides with the Singapore Presidential Election off day on the 29th August (Monday) and the Hari Raya public holiday on the 30th August (Tuesday). We took an additional day leave on the 31st August (Wednesday).
Let's get started on the adventure.
28th August (Sunday)
We rendezvous at the airport at 7.30am and check-in to Air Asia. We bought 20kg luggage check-in as well as in-flight meals for both journeys. The flight departs at 9.25am and arrived at Bali airport at 12.05pm (the 10min delay was caused by Changi airport congestion).
Once at the airport, we proceed to a counter which provide taxi service. The first stop of the day is the Elephant Safari Park in Taro (45mins north of Ubud). It cost 300,000 Indonesian rupiah for the journey. The prices are fixed and standard. And off we go.
While AJ is purchasing the taxi ride, I went to check out any SIM card which I can purchase. I shall share more on it below. The SIM card has been very useful in the next 4 days.
Once we depart from the airport, the traditional Bali architecture and style immediately comes alive around us. There are large prominent statues of heroes/gods at traffic junctions. One of them is below.
This post will continue with the Bali Elephant Safari.
29th August (Monday)
On Monday, we hired a driver/car for 10 hours for USD45. He picked us up from the Elephant Safari Park at 11am and the first stop of the day is the rice terrace view. These are carefully structured and cultivated rice terrace which we studied in geography books during secondary schools.
The vehicle is parked by the side of the road and there are plenty of shops around this area. There are also pavilions where visitors can sit back and appreciate the view.
After a short 20mins stop, we are on the way to Ubud. We have made reservation for a 1.5 hr spa with Verona Spa at 12pm. The Spa in Ubud is half the price at Seminyak. We arrived 15mins past our reservation time and we selected the Spa package accordingly.
I chose the traditional Balinese massage which cost 150,000 rupiah for 1.5 hours.
The room has a great view.
At 2pm, we proceed for lunch at Dewa Warung (recommended by Lonely Planet guide). They serves good Balinese Village Food, Indonesian Food and Chinese Food at an average price of 10,000 rupiah. The ambiance is fabulous.
We ordered Soto Ayam soup and it's great. The menu says no MSG is added to any of the dishes.
After lunch at 2.45pm, we proceed next to the Ubud market. We spent the next 45mins here. AJ has a list of the recommended prices of the items so we know how much we are supposed to bargain with the storekeepers.
We bought several paintings.
We also visited the Sukawati market. There are actually 2 markets in Sukawati. The driver suggested us to go to the less famous one and it is a good recommendation. Many of the stuffs being sold are significantly cheaper than Ubud market. If you would like to buy anything in Bali, we recommend visiting this market. Items sold in Kuta-Seminyak area are more expensive comparatively.
Next we proceed on to Tanah Lot to catch the sunset. Below is the scene at the temple with the human crowd.
To go up to Tanah Lot, you will have to cleanse yourself with the holy water. There is a long queue, so we decide to give it a skip.
We sat at one of the rocks and look at the beach.
For the evening, we will be spending a night at Amadea Resort at Seminyak. We checked in at 8pm and have to check out at 7am the next morning.
Here is how our room looks like. It's a normal hotel which cost $140 per night. They allow us to packet our breakfast the night before since we won't be able to have breakfast the next day.
31st August (Wednesday)
It is our last day in Bali and after we checked out at 11.30am, we took a cab to the Legian beach. And just laze at one of the beach benches.
It is popular with surfers.
And we took a walk along the beach.
Thereafter we did some shopping and walk around Discovery Mall. The Mall has A&W which we had for lunch (root beer float). We left at 2.50pm to collect our luggage and off we go to the airport.
Just to share on the SIM card which I have purchased. It cost 125,000 rupiah which includes the SIM card plus a 50,000 top up. It gives you many minutes of talk time and the data is more than sufficient for email, facebook and google maps. I used the mobile for contacting the hired driver and cycling coordinator. Most importantly, google maps are used several times to gauge the time needed to travel from one place to another as well as to provide guidance to drivers on the route to take.
We board the 5.40pm flight and off we go back to Singapore. I sat next to the window to take beautiful sunset shots below. We arrived back in Singapore at 8.20pm.
