Wow!
It has been 3 months since my last entry. I've been tied up with school which
started great and slowly progresses to my death. I had to plan for a trip
during my study period and at a great timing too, it falls on my birthday week.
Due to leave shortage (all thanks to my trip to Beijing and a planned winter
trip), I had to keep it short.
Initially
planned for a destination for summer retreat, a friend can't make firm
confirmation hence I had to proceed without him to Bali. I wasn't fond of Bali
because it was quite mainstream (people hated me for that) but since I planned
my ritual solo birthday trip, I swallowed my pride and just went. Apparently,
my buddy who wasn't fond of Bali too decided to crash. There were tons of
argument between us about crashing my "Ignorance Trip" but great
buddies still agreed to share.
From
an initial plan of luxurious trip flying by SIA and a villa stay, I had to
scrap all luxurious plans to flying by Jetstar and staying in a 4 Star hotel
just to save some cash for the 2 of us. It wasn't a waste as it was sufficient,
so I had to admit having my buddy is cheaper.
Grand
Mega Resort and Spa is 10 mins away from the airport and 5 mins away from Kuta
beach but the massive traffic jam delays up to an hour and 30 mins journey
respectively. The hotel is inexpensive with great facilities such as a
sufficient sized pool for laps, gym and most importantly spa. The deluxe room
is spacious with an open bathroom and a tub with a television. The spa retreat
was quite inexpensive too but the masseuse was fantastic. An advise, don't do
your spa with a friend in the same room as the masseuse tend to chat with each
other which is quite distracting for your moment of tranquillity.
Grand
Mega is situated across the DFS Galleria and adjacent to several outlet stores.
Since there wasn't any itinerary planned for day 1, we wandered around the
hotel vicinity and ended shopping for some beach wear.
We
have a friend who established a warong (food stall) in Bali and decides to look
for her. We got lost searching her warong on day one, all thanks to the
direction provided by the map app but we managed to get to her shop the day
after. It was a simple establishment and we were happy for her venture.
We
decides to check the much boast about Kuta beach. It was a long stretch of
coastline with huge waves and surfers waiting for the right waves. Well, that's
practically all there is. I don't really understand the rave about it. Nearby,
are the hotels, shops, bars and diners that I still can't rave about? There
isn't much to shop except for beach/surf wears and the diners are mostly the
common one you'll see back home.
Since
I planned a solo retreat, I requested an alone time for my birthday. I've been
labelled the most boring person who actually planned to do nothing but read
overseas. To me, a holiday wouldn't be great if we do not plan sometime of
peace (besides our spa time). I did managed to complete my book at Starbucks
overlooking Kuta.
Hakimbo
made reservations for a tour around Bali the following day, recommended by our
dear friends to approach Dewa. His services is to be commended for cheap
offering even if they don't cover entrance charges. Dewa picks us up from our
hotel and drove us for some water activities. Totally forgotten about the water
activity part, we weren't dressed proper so we decides for a dry activity,
para-sailing which we went twice.
As
the package itineraries were mostly situated at the southern side of Bali,
there were some itineraries that didn't interest us. Dewa however was pleased
to change for us and we had to trouble him to bring us to Tanah Lot instead,
which is further north. He had to bring us there first as the kecak dance
started later in the day. We had to battle through traffic back and forth but
the view at Tanah Lot was spectacular.
Again
bashing through the traffic, we made our way back south-side to catch the Kecak
dance. It is something interesting, vaguely familiar to dikir barat but consist
of a folklore character impersonation. At times, the performance was eerie, at
times hilarious but overall interesting (can't think of a word to best describe
it). Besides the performance, the view from of Uluwatu is gorgeous and serene.
Since I told Hakimbo to promise no surprises on my birthday, he did it the day after by bringing me to Bubba Gump where he gotten the staffs to celebrate my birthday. I was about to go to the toilet when they came in to perform their very own kecak performance. Apparently, that wasn't the only surprise. As I had to go to the toilet badly to take a dump, I heard banging and drumming outside the toilet. I thought that another person was celebrating their birthday too and lucky mine wasn't that rowdy. To my surprise, they were actually waiting for me while I'm in the toilet. Typical diners celebration where they got you up and sing some lame songs. I blared at Hakimbo for the second surprise but he too had no idea they would do it.
As much as I wanted to have a solo getaway, I did had a great time with my best bud as my company. We managed to conquer another place together. I may not have enjoyed Bali that much but with a great company, the trip may always be something to be remembered for. Thanks Hakimbo. Till our next adventure (but not this winter trip. I really need a solo trip for 2013).