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Epic Bali Trip

Writer: Esther Leong
Esther Leong
Dec 30, 2016
6 min read

I decided to start the first post of the blog about our epic bali trip because...

life is just so unpredictable and it takes you on a joyride when you least expect it.

And it turned out to be one of the best trips of our lives.

This goes back to the year July 2015... yes has it been that long?

We booked a normal room but somehow got lucky and were upgraded to the Suite Room! Which was super awesome!

So much love for the toilet, and we each had our own 'space' without having to fight.

The poolside faces the sea, which is the best view you can get. The only downside was probably the crowd (due to peak season) and it was difficult to get a sunbed, bummer.

Ps: that body is long gone.

Okay FOOD, my dear friend totally converted me on this one. The babi guling is a must try when in Bali! I think we went to this stall: Babi Guling Pak Malen

I can't remember how many bikinis we bought.. like 3? for 1 body. Massage - Bodyworks (it was alright, not worth the hype in my opinion)

This is one place i really regretted not visiting. Its a Mediterranean Restaurant by day and a cool bar/club at night. We had some friends over and could have gone if not for the fatigue.

Potato Head and Naughty Nuri's for dinner! Potato head was conveniently located next to our hotel and Naughty Nuri's is an absolute must go in Bali. We were so busy with our hands full, there was no photo opportunity. The corn is the best corn i've tried in MY LIFE. I'm not a huge meat fan but the ribs also blew me away. Do book in advance if you intend to go.

So i haven't gone to the gist of our story. Just 1-2 weeks before our trip, a volcano erupted in the Sumatra. Normally, that would set alarm bells ringing right? But no, we were 2 excited little girls yearning to go on our yearly trip and the thought about insuring ourselves totally slipped our minds.

Our flight to Bali went smoothly and we were having a damn good time. Until the news broke one morning during breakfast that the ash clouds were not allowing planes to fly in.... or out.

Oli : "eh my friends couldn't come into bali, luckily we weren't affected"

Me: "Agrreed!"

Oli: "Our flight out is tomorrow. If they can't come in today... actually! If we can't fly out, then i dont mind staying here longer hehehe"

Me: "CHOYYYYY, what if it comes true? you're to blame" (me and my superstitions)

*NEXT MOMENT... Waitress walks right over to our table and announces:

"Sorry ladies... we would like to inform you that all flights today and tomorrow have been cancelled until further notice"

*STARES at Oli..... "you just jinxed it!" (confirms my superstition haha)

The first thing we had to do was to reduce cost. Obviously, we had no budget for (god knows how many) days in a suite so we had to downgrade to a smaller room..

Not too shabby eh?

We were feeling real miserable at first.... calling our parents, boyfriends about our plight. There's nothing more upsetting than knowing you're stuck in a foreign country without knowing exactly how many days you're going to be there, especially

WITHOUT INSURANCE.

They always say some things have to be learnt the hard way and this trip will always serve as a reminder that buying insurance on your travel is priority. Don't assume that it won't happen to you because it just might.

We sat down and thought.. are we going to be this miserable for the rest of the time we're here?

Since we're already stuck, we might as well make full use of it! And that's when the exploration of Bali continued..

First stop, we headed to the Bali Zoo . Fed some birds, took an elephant ride and got to feed them afterwards. There's nothing much to do there, so its not a must visit.

We had alot of fun with elephant feeding! The trunk goes all over the place, and mind you, they were muddy.

At this point, elephant one decided to kiss my dear friend, which explains her terrified expression caught on camera!

After that, we went to visit the legendary Tanah Lot!

You can walk around, visit the temple (ignore the vast amount of tourists) and its also the perfect place to have dinner and catch the sunset!

We caught an interesting sight of a bat, whose hand is eerily similar to that of a human!

The next day, we went to visit the amazing Uluwatu! Okay compared to Tanah Lot, Uluwatu is more worth a visit. The views are amazing from a higher altitude and we were just blown away.

Lots of camworthy shots. Okay now, i have to mention the random dude who just popped out in these pictures haha.

He's the mastermind behind most of our touristy shots AND our guardian angel of a tour guide, suggesting all these places for our visit and driving us around! Without him, we would have been lost and bored during our period in Bali.

Our next stop was Karma Kandara .

The weather had changed by the time we reached so pictures didn't turn out as it should. You should google it on a sunny day and it looks awesome. To get access to the private beach below, you have a take a gondola down a steep cliff. The resort rooms here look amazing and we definitely want to try it some day! Entry price to the beach is quite pricey though but it includes a drink and a meal.

The next day, we went to Jet Ski! Can you tell how excited we were? (yes still no flights out)

I had a cheekopek (perverted) moment here. Looking back, i now wonder why he had to help with the life vest.

I mean... i know how to wear one.. *shivers

Taking a jet ski is one of the best feelings in the world. Feeling like you're cruising through the sea alone brings a sense of stress relief and enjoyment.

We passed by this random stop that only the locals would know of.

Exploration at its best on foot.

Would you like to shop at 'Dumpshit' ?? lol.

We arrived at this beautiful park in Nusa Dua, that leads to the Water Blow.

The best time to go is during high tide, where the water really "blows" out of the rocks, offering you one of nature's best display, or a mini shower if you stand close enough. Wind is endless here, a great relaxing place.

We saw a seagull gliding nearby, but 15 mins later, he was still at the same position because the wind was simply too strong haha.

We arrived at another private area that only the locals would know of.

So what else could we do in this deserted place?

yes we went to FLY A KITE and play group games. Our tour guide had brought some of his school mates along.

PLUS FILM THIS WANNBE MUSIC VIDEO BELOW:

And Here's the final edit :

We may look silly but at the end of the day,its all for the fun of it and making full use of the time we had here!

On our final day, we woke up at 3am, for a trip up to Mount Batur to catch the sunrise. YES 3AM.

I still can't believe we agreed. When he picked us up, halfway through, he realised that he had forgotten to top up petrol and no station was open at that hour.

So we were driving in darkness from town to town searching for petrol and had to make it in time for the sunrise at the same time.

God knows what would have happened if the petrol ran out , it would have sucked for the last day in bali. Thank god we managed to find petrol from a home provision shop, life saver!

When we reached, it felt like a great achievement having overcoming the obstacle of depleting petrol and a 3 hours drive, just in time for the sunrise!

And a final rendition of Twerk it like Miley:

Final yummy meal in Ubud before heading home. Thank you Dede (our wonderful tour guide) for the memories!

Looking back at the pictures, i think we were actually 'happily' stuck. haha.

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© 2020 by Esther Leong

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