As promised, a separate post on the birthday trip to bali with R is ready to be published.
Not just jotting down how the birthday was celebrated but also to jot down the travels in bali.
So this post might get a bit long.
Sometimes I do wonder why do I want to blog about things that are personal in this space. And I always tell myself cos one day I will look back at these memories penned down in words and have a good laugh or a good cry. It also safeguards memories that one day I might grow too old to remember. So before digressing, here it goes..
We went on a bali birthday trip because R has never been to Bali and I had a great time at Bali the last time I came with the girls. Revisiting a country you have been before but with different travel companions bring new experiences but also past experiences you shared with the others.
This trip is just like that. This time we went to Ubud - for a fairly quieter and more cultural area and to Seminyak - for the more happening touristy places and the sea!
Arriving in Ubud, the first villa we checked in was located amongst the rice plantation! The privacy and quietness was much appreciated thou the travelling out to sightsee and other activities were a bit limited. We had to get the villa driver to drive us out most of the times. And because of that we almost tried all the food from the villa's little restaurant. Best part is we can have our meals in the villa.
When in Ubud, we must definitely have their traditional local food! Thou many advised that they were nothing fantastic but we still went ahead to have Babi Guling from Ibu Oka for lunch and had our little adventure walk the whole afternoon till dinner time looking for the original Dirty Duck! The food was yummy in our opinion thou we would prefer our Chinese roast pork to babi guling. The view at the Dirty duck restaurant was fantastic and romantic. Imagine having your dinner in a pavilion next to a rice padi field. That's something you won't get in Singapore.
Lunch at Ibu Oka
Dinner at Dirty Duck - Bebek Bengil
I would say thank God that R is good at directions whereas as everyone knows I kinda suck with directions. Travelling with her makes me sure somehow that I will not be lost and
even if I am, I am not alone.
Another experience this time is cycling along the roads at the rice plantations.
Although it was cut short by quite a bit due to the heavy rain, we still get to experience the fresh air and see how life is in a place so different from home. We had to do a pit stop at one of the shop cos the rain was really getting too heavy. Even thou the cycling was short I kinda enjoyed the ride.
And the random singing by R while waiting for the rain to stop was memorably sweet. Haha.
Guess it's really important to find someone whom you can really enjoy travelling with to be travelling together. Else while waiting for the rain to stop we might kill each other. Hah.
So the 2 days in ubud passed pretty quickly and we find ourselves in Seminyak to continue on our second half of the trip. Seminyak was a totally different feel from ubud. This is less of nature and cultural but more of modern and touristy. Since we were tourists, we were definitely happy.
The best part of a holiday is getting an afternoon tan
Love the private pool in the villa in Seminyak
Things to do in Seminyak would mostly involve the sea because it has beautiful beaches.
Without making any booking in advance, we tried our luck booking surf lessons for the next day. And we were indeed lucky! We got ourselves lessons the next day early morning to Seminyak beach for beginner surf class. Such an awesome experience thou tiring. Imagine swimming or getting ourselves out into the sea and only managing to be on the board for less than half the time we took to get out.
We were pretty bummed out by end of class. But we left as 2 happy bummed out surfer babes. :)
The rest of the Seminyak days were spent eating! And exploring the shopping areas. The cafes were so pretty and food were awesome! And definitely cheaper than what we can get here.
Best of all the place is spacious! I am already missing those cafes as I write with my recollection of memory there. We also got to Potatohead the new happening place after kudeta. Definitely pretty looking at night and that is where you might think you are not in bali cos there are no locals except for service staff. Definitely not a cheap meal but it was worth and experience and tick it off the to go places in Seminyak. Luckily R knew to make a reservation for this else we would have never gotten in cos the queue is soooo long. Thankful to have someone plan and make sure we get to where we wanna go. :)
Experiencing Potato Head in Bali
And finally my 29th birthday was spent in bali with R and I am pampered like a queen. Starting with a yummy breakfast and good coffee. Things could only get better.
We then went for a body masaage at Bodyworks. Another must go when in Bali. Relatively cheaper and it feels great. A good pampering for the body. They had rooms for two to a room so R and I went into one. The room was huge! Like 2 bathtubs with 2 bed. Very zen. And I must say R was really courageous for her first time massage! *thumbs up*
After the massage we went for a lunch catered to my tastebud! Spicy tom yum soup. The coffee house was quite an adventure find but I guess adventures come hand in hand with travels. We walked under the blazing hot sun cos our driver did not know where it was after going up and down for quite a while. We decided to go by foot. And after a few re-routing and asking we finally got there. Small little cafe with pretty authentic thai cooking. Thou famous for its red velvet cake, we didn't really like it and guess what. This was the most probable reason for the later episode at night after my birthday dinner.
R planned a really beautiful place for the birthday dinner. Romantic indeed and special. That definitely came with a price. Thanks for splurging on the meal, R. And the effort. :) I was also dressed in my new dress just for this dinner too. Dinner was at Gado Gado and from trip advisor it was rated a very good place. Food was pretty yummy and not sure if it was because it was a four course meal and had to br slow, the food really took it's time to come. But it's okay, we had all the time cos we were on holiday!
So it seems everything was perfect. From a romantic dinner to the best companion for my birthday night. The nightmare kinda started the minute we stepped back into the villa. R started running to the toliet. And the next thing she was vomiting as well. Soon enough I joined her and there goes my birthday night. What a memorable night for my 29th! We were so uncomfortable we had to call the in house doctor. That was by far the most expensive doctor I have seen for food poisoning and by far the doctor who had the smelliest equipment *puke more*. Thank God the vomit and the diarrhoea kinda stopped the next day but we both felt like sick fishes. So we packed and left for the airport as it was time to leave. After thinking through we don't think it was the dinner cos it's too fast for it to happen. So we concluded it was the red velvet cake over lunch which we already felt it didn't taste right. Bleah. *We are now currently not fans of any red velvet cake at the moment.*
it was still a happy 29. counting my blessings.
Thou it was not the best way to end a holiday, we would still one day be back to bali. Just that this time, we will make sure to bring medication for vomiting as well!
I am looking forward to the next big trip already with R! To Europe we go! *wheeee*
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