Bali Day 3: Pura Luhur Tanah Lot, Pura Taman Ayu & Pura Ulun Danu Bratan

Date of Visit: 13 August 2012

After left the disappointing turtle farm of Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua, we moved on for our next adventures - the temples visit. Throughout the four days trip, I can honestly say that these three temples visit were my favourite and I personally would recommend these to those who never been to Bali before not to miss these temples - Pura Luhur Tanah Lot, Pura Taman Ayu and & Pura Ulun Danu.

Pura Luhur Tanah Lot

Beautifully perched on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide, Tanah Lot Temple is an extremely popular tourist and cultural icon for photography. It was built in 15th century by the Javanese priest for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.

#1: Before reaching the temple, we walked across a row of colourful shops selling plenty of souvenirs, foods and drinks.

Bali Day 3: Turtle Farm of Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua

Day of Visit: 13th August 2012

Comes to the third day, we have two optional tours; either to Lovina Beach for dolphin watching or to Nusa Dua for turtle island trip. Well of course, we're more interested for the first one but it was located 3 hours away from Kuta/Legian and we need to wake up as early as 2 am in the morning. Plus the chances of seeing the dolphin might be low. As we didn't book early this tour, hence we're opted for the latter option.

#1: Nusa Dua beach

Bali Day 2: (Part 2) Mount Batur in Kintamani, Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka & Ubud Market

*Non-Halal Post*

Date of Visited: 12th August 2012

Continue from Bali Day 2: (Part 1) Batuan Village, Tegalalang Rice Terrace, Tirta Empul at Tampak Siring Presidential Palace & Luwak Coffee

Mount Batur in Kintamani

Without realised, it's time for lunch break and Pak Bagus stopped exactly at Kintamani district where there are abundance of restaurants offering buffet lunches set up by the hill side. One of the main reason why Kintamani district is the most popular destinations in Bali is mainly because of Mount Batur Volcano, an active volcano located at the center of two concentric calderas north west of Bali, Indonesia.  

#1: Clear view of Mount Batur and Lake Batur in Kintamani District

Bali Day 2: (Part 1) Batuan Village, Tegalalang Rice Terrace, Tirta Empul at Tampak Siring Presidential Palace & Luwak Coffee

Date of Visit: 12th August 2012

On the second day of our Bali trip, Pak Bagus picked us up at 9am of the local time. For your information, not all cities and places in Indonesia has the same time zone. For Jakarta and Bandung, the time differences would be 1 hour later than Malaysia whereas for Bali, there is no time difference between the two these two cities currently. 

Batuan Village

For our first pitstop, Pak Bagus dropped us a village which known as Batuan Village. This village is noted for its artwork and style of painting and has since emerged into a major Balinese artistic style. It is a major painting center and contains a number of art galleries and cooperative art societies which have played a key role in promoting the art of Batuan.

The most notable landmark is the village temple, known as Pura Puseh. This temple is not really that huge and big in size but it was a perfect place for photoshooting as it was filled with blue sky as the background photo.

#1: The split gate which is the famous type of gate where you can seen in almost all the Balinese temple

Another Adventurous Autumn Japan Trip 2013 (Sneak Peek)

There's once I posted #throwback photo of my Japan trip and I told my friend that I wish to go back again someday, I never thought after three years later, here I am again going back to the "Land of the Rising Sun".

I found out there is direct flight from Kota Kinabalu to Osaka via Malaysia Airlines. Hassle-free from transit to Kuala Lumpur and the airfare is really affordable, so I bought for my mommy as her this year birthday present. 

My initial plan was to do the same route like I did for my maiden trip; Osaka, Kyoto & Tokyo but at the end, I changed the plan which was just solely focus on Kansai area as it was one of my travel wishlist.

#1: Long haul flight with Malaysia Airlines to Kansai-Osaka

#2: After 3 years, I never thought I will seeing this signboard again.

#3: Dotonbori for second time just to take photo of this huge & colourful Glico running man in Osaka.

#4: Deer - the messengers of the gods in Nara Park. One of my travel wishlist accomplished.

#5: Whenever I travel, I always love to visit theme park. No exemption for this one as well - Universal Studio Japan.

#6: Himeji Castle - Although it is currently undergoing renovation, but this castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture.

#7: I never seen a real cherry blossom aka sakura in my life but it's hard for me to believe that I able to see it eventhough it is autumn in Japan now.(It's so beautiful I'm gonna die)

#8: Another wishlist accomplished but Kobe seems like nothing for me.

#9: Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, one of the biggest aquariums in the world. Again, another wishlist accomplished. 

#10: Once I reach my most favourite city in Japan which is Kyoto, immediately I went Fushimi Inari Shine.

Although I went Japan twice but I still love to come back again and again. This beautiful and amazing country never fail to impress and amaze me in every single little thing - the local was so friendly and helpful, and when come to the foods, my goodness, my saliva almost dripped eventhough but just looking at the display model.

#11: Even Japanese manhole covers are individual masterpieces of the street art. Seriously so beautiful & decorative.

#12: What we had throughout our trip in Japan - ramen, sushi (inari & maki, my favourite), donburi and bento. Oishii!

#13: Even Japanese desserts were so detailed in each and every design - so refreshing kawaii!

If compare between Southeast Asia and East Asia countries, somehow I still prefer to travel the latter one - to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. I would love to return back to Japan again and this time, my next aim would be Tokyo (for second visit) and Hokkaido! Sayonara!

Stay in Bali: Jocs Boutique Hotel & Spa

Choosing the right accommodation is the most crucial part when planning for a trip, especially if you are very particular about certain aspects - like location, price, convenient, cleanliness and so on. Sames goes for our Bali trip where we need to pick the accommodation that suits our needs and preferences.

As usual, I will always volunteer myself to browse through and list down all the accommodations and let my friends to pick where they wanna stay and at the end, their favourite pick was this hotel - Jocs Boutique Hotel & Spa.

#1: This boutique hotel located ideally in the heart of Kuta

Bali Day 1: Arrived Bali, Warung Mak Jo, Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Uluwatu Temple & Seafood Dinner at Jimbaran Beach

Date of Visit: 11th August 2012

Initially, this Bali trip of mine was supposed to be a reunion trip with my collegemates but at the end, I went with my university's housemate and my friend's sister instead. This is because my collegemates didn't manage to purchase the great deal during AirAsia's promotion whereas I managed to book it.  Despite only 3 of us going to Bali, I still continue with my flashpacking trip around this "Island of the Gods" together with my new toy - lil Santorini, my newly bought Sony Nex 5N at that moment.

#1: Arrived Denpasar International Airport, which commonly known as Ngurah Rai International Airport at 11:45 am local time.