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Urban Vibes Goes to Bali
“We Work Hard – We Play Hard ”

 

Who says that we are just a bunch of techno geeks and codes are our only friends? Being average adolescents our souls need to be charged − freshen up with adventures while we are still young and restless… Besides, we deserve to take a break before being buried in upcoming big projects.
This post contains our 5-day itinerary during our visit to the mystic island of the Gods, also known as Bali – a bountiful  paradise in eastern part of Indonesia. So off we go, packing along our laptops and taking some of the work with us  to start our first ever paid vacation.

 

Day 1 – Tuesday, May 18, 2010

 

After a gruesome 13.5-hour journey by shuttle bus, mercilessly shaken and shocked by our driver’s recklessness of risking his life – and ours – by his crazy driving style, we arrived at our hotel around 10.00 WITA. Thank God we made it safe and sound! We thought that after the constant breaking and tire screeching for the whole night, we wouldn’t see the ray of sun ever again.

We had our lunch at Warung Ayam Betutu. It is supposed to be the most sought after dish in Bali since our tour guide brought us there, but it turned out to be not as good as expected. Probably part of blame should go to the absence of the famous Lawar, the specialty there, which we were too late to get.

 

GWK Cultural Park

 

We continued our journey to GWK Cultural Park which is 25 minutes drive away from Kuta in the southern part of Bali. GWK’s name derives from Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) statue there which supports a 150-foot high with wings span of 64 meters building. Made of more than 4000 tons of copper and brass, the statue depicts the god Vishnu, the source of wisdom, riding on his mythical bird Garuda as the manifestation of consciousness toward the Amrita. The pedestal of the statue is surrounded by more than 240 acres of cultural park developed from what was formerly an abandoned limestone quarry.

 

Dreamland Beach Bali

 

Our second destination was Dreamland Beach Bali − a picturesque, coral reef rich beach which is also a famous surfing spot. Beyond the narrow, jagged rocky road, hid the breathtaking scenery of a beautiful beach. It was also surprising that many overseas tourists visited this place, as we assumed that they swarm around Kuta Beach.

 

Pura Luhur Uluwatu

We reached our final goal of the day, Uluwatu, at 4 pm. The admittance ticket cost only three thousand Rupiahs, but special provisions are to be taken upon entering the temple. Visitors who wear shorts should girdle their waists with scarves, while those who wear trousers should drape themselves with sarongs. It is not advisable to wear necklaces and other shiny dangling objects, as there are many monkeys and they just loooove to loot tourists’ stuffs. If you wish to retrieve the items stolen by the monkeys, there will be an additional 25000 Rupiah charge for the monkey keeper’s service! Climbing the hill where plenty of monkeys were taking nap, we enjoyed the scenery of the sea from above. What a beautiful place! We are lucky to have Bli Santoso drive us to Uluwatu. The afternoon scenery and the landscape was a well rewarded gift after sweating all the way up.

We concluded our first day tour by having Padang Cuisine for dinner and going back to the hotel − exhausted but sated to the brim. What excitement would be waiting for us the next day?

 

Day 2 – Wednesday, May 19, 2010

After finishing our breakfast at the hotel, it was time to take a stroll on the surrounding area. It was a good thing that our hotel is strategically located in central Kuta, close to the monument erected in commemoration of the Bali Bomb. We then moved to Tune Hotel at Kahyangan Suci Street (off Pantai Kuta Street). While waiting for our rooms to be readied, we dropped by at Kuta Beach (around 30 minutes walk). There were more overseas tourists than domestic ones. We had our lunch in KFC and get back to hotel. Afterwards, we enjoyed the free time individually.

 

Day 3 – Thursday, May 20, 2010

 

Sukowati Market

Our first visit of the day ended up as a heavenly shopping bliss; Sukowati Market is truly girls’ heaven and their boyfriends’ nightmare. We had a one-hour of spree for shopping, in which our skills in haggling were tested. Even though we felt that this was not enough, the sun, sea, and fishes had already been waiting for us in Benoa.

 

Tanjung Benoa

We had much to do in Tanjung Benoa. There, everything is relatively expensive for locals since they are priced in US dollars. We rode a Banana Boat and the boys experienced scuba diving. Then, we returned to the hotel to take a rest. Who knew that diving could be so tiring? The night was a free time, so we went to Kresna for another shopping, where there were lots and lots of awesome products at friendly price.

 

Day 4 – Friday, May 21, 2010

 

Our last sightseeing spots in Bali comprise of 4 tourist attractions:

 

Taman Ayun

Located in Mengwi Village, Badung Sub-District, 18 km north to Denpasar City, Taman Ayun is the temple precinct for Mengwi Empire. It is strategically located next to the main road between Denpasar to Singaraja. Set on land surrounded by a humongous fishpond, it looked as though floating on the water. It has exotic pura or Hindi temples in Classic Balinese architecture with tiered roofing. Its magnificent landscape garden welcomes the temple visitors. What an intriguingly lovely place to visit!

 

Beratan Lake, Bedugul

Beratan Lake is a shallow caldera lake with a 1231-metre altitude above sea level and is located in Bedugul, one of the most renowned tourist destinations in Bali. This lake covers 3.8 km2 in width and up to 22 meters in depth. The water volume in this lake is about 0.049 km3, therefore Beratan is a secluded lake. Tourists can access Lake Beratan through the provided docks or through the vicinity Ulun Danu Beratan Temple. So wonderful was the scenery that it’d make anyone’s visit memorable.

 

Bali Coffee & Spices Tegal Sari Tabanan

This place provides the purest authentic Balinese coffee, the illustrious Luak coffee, original chocolate, lemon tea, and ginger tea. All drinks − coffee, cocoa or tea – are free of charge except for Luak coffee which is 30 thousand Rupiahs for one small cup. There is also a small shop that sells a large variety of tea, coffee and cocoa ranging from 50 thousand to 250 thousand.

 

Tanah Lot Temple

Tanah Lot is located on the coastal side of Beraban Village, Kediri Sub-District, Tabanan Regency. It is situated 30 km west of Denpasar and about 11 km south of Tabanan town. The temple is built on a three-acre rock and is reachable within a few minute walk, because it is only 20 meters from the shore. This temple, with its spectacular view of sunset, is very celebrated among the major tourist attractions in Bali. In a few cracks of the coral reefs in the vicinity of Tanah Lot, live sacred black and white snakes, which according to the local belief, are the divine guardians of the temple who ward off evil. Tanah Lot has a splendid view especially at sunset when the sun slowly descends into the earth’s womb. Every visitor is fascinated by the panoramic beauty of Tanah Lot.

 

Day 5 – Saturday, May 22, 2010

 

Our holiday in Bali ended on Saturday. Before returning to Surabaya, we dropped by at Discovery Bali, a posh shopping mall that lies directly opposite Waterbom Bali. While waiting for our transport, we promenaded along the Kuta Beach. At 15:00 Bali time, our travel car picked us up to return to Surabaya. We arrived at 02:30 AM on May 23, 2010. Bali is fabulous island; we yearn to revisit Bali someday soon. Hahaha