Sunday, May 20, 2007

Bali Bagus Part II: Southern Bali - Nusa Dua, Kuta, Seminyak, Tanah Lot & Bukit Peninsula

Day Three

Nusa Dua Beach from Space

We left Ubud and headed to The Westin Resort at Nusa Dua, where we will be spending our final two nights in Bali, courtesy of Mr. Kix-kix! I am so lucky to be your friend! (Kembang tak? :P)

Nusa Dua is a planned beach-front tourist enclave built in 1980s and with the help of World Bank, and designed to minimize the impact of international tourism to the Balinese cultures and way of life. There are lots of big 5-star hotels in Nusa Dua, like Grand Hyatt, Club Med, Conrad, St Regis, Amanusa, Sheraton's The Luxury Collection, Melia, and of course The Westin Resort!

One obvious thing that we noticed in Nusa Dua was the security was really really tight. At the main gate of Nusa Dua complex, all cars have to drive through a security post that have cameras installed on the road facing the bottom of vehicles, so that they can detect if anyone carries a bomb device or something! Later we had to go through another security post at the main entrance of The Westin Resort, with cameras facing the bottom of vehicles too. And finally before we could enter the hotel lobby, we need to go through a metal detector (similar like the one in airports)! I guess they have to beef up the security to prevent another bombing from happening in Bali, which will be very very bad for the tourism industry there.

Anyway, we checked-in without having to stand or queue at the reception desk, but at the comforts of sitting on comfortable couches, and a glass of cranberry juice to quench our thirsts. Really good service eh? The frontdesk-lady later ushered us to our home for the next 3 days, the Family Studio! :) Our studio was located on the Ground Level, overlooking the swimming pools (Yes, there were more than one pools!) and the beautifully manicured gardens. The studio comprises of two rooms separate rooms with the following features:
i. Master Bedroom - Westin's trademark King-sized Heavenly Bed, a sitting area, balcony, plasma TV, DVD player, bathroom with shower and the usual hotel room stuffs
ii. Second Bedroom - 3 Westin's trademark Super-single-sized Heavenly Beds, balcony, plasma TV, Playstation2, Boardgames, bathroom with bathtub and the usual hotel room stuffs.

The TV in the rooms had more than 30 channels I think, not only with the usual channels (HBO, CNN, StarWorld, Channel V, etc.), but with separate Australian, Russian, Japanese and French channels! A really good indicator of where the majority of tourists in Bali came from!

The Westin Resort Nusa Dua

The resort's clam-loungers

Back in Malaysia, I already arranged for a Daihatsu Xenia for 2 days rental from Bali Car Rentals (BCR), to be sent to our hotel. I met up with Mr Dino, the representative from BCR at the hotel lobby, and he escorted me to the car at the parking lot. While chatting and walking towards the car, I noticed a guy signaling and waving his hands at us. He ran and approached us, but both Mr Dino and me does not know who he was. Later, we got to know that two different companies had received bookings from me! Damn I was so anxious!! How can that be?! I went to only ONE website and made only ONE booking! Mr Dino talked to that guy and upon further discussion, it was proven that I only made one booking. But the problem was, recently one of BCR employee left the company, and the ex-employee stole a few of BCR's customers! Mr Dino settled the problem and later handed me the keys for the car. Damn I was so relieved as it wasn't my fault at all! :)

Our rented Daihatsu Xenia

We got ready and head for a late lunch at KFC on the outskirts of Nusa Dua. The typical meal at KFC here is a bit different compared to Malaysia, as they does not serve mashed potatoes and coleslaw, but replaced those two with some rice! And they also serves vegetable soups (the clear ones, not the creamy ones), and begedel! Tasted some of the begedel, and very yummy indeed!

And now is one of the highlights of our Bali trip. We went to The Bvlgari Bali Resort!! It is the only Bvlgari hotel in the world, with the other one in Milan! This super-exclusive-very-chic resort is perched on a cliff, 130meters above the ocean, with an almost 90Deg vertical drop! The view is to die for, and this all-villa resort is the most expensive resort in Bali. The cheapest accommodation in Four Seasons is around USD400 per night, but in Bvlgari the cheapest is USD1000 per night!!! Damn! Anyway, we had our drinks there and hanged out at the Bar while enjoying the dramatic view that was simply breathtaking!

The Bvlgari Bali Resort, Pecatu

130 meters above the ocean

Amazing view at Bvlgari Bali

Views of Indian Ocean

Stunning Bvlgari

Later we went to Pura Luhur Uluwatu, one of the most sacred temples in Bali and very famous for its dramatic cliff top location and stunning sunsets. It is also the location for the Kecak Dance, the Balinese dance that does not use any musical instruments, but only the sound made by at least 70 people chanting "Kecak-chak-chak-chak" through out the dance. Quite an experience, especially with the stunning sunset as the backdrop of the dance!

Kecak Dance at Pura Luhur Uluwatu

After the show, we headed back to our hotel for shower and freshen up, before headed to Kuta. Kuta is the place where mass tourism started in Bali in the 1960s. The star attraction of Kuta is of course Kuta Beach, surfing central for Bali. The surfing wave here is considered average by Bali standards, but definitely big by Malaysian standards! Hahah! Once a sleepy village, Kuta now comprises of several areas namely Tuban, Kuta, Legian and Seminyak that stretches for at least 5 kilometers, filled with hotels, restaurants, boutiques, and malls.

Busy Kuta Beach from Space

We had dinner at McDonald's (yeap today is our fast food day), fronting the busy Jln Pantai Kuta along Kuta Beach. One very interesting fact about this McD is at the entrance, there is a place to put your surfboards, as oppose to umbrellas or bicycles in Malaysia. Very surfer-culture oriented!

Filled with energy, we headed to Seminyak, known for it's lively and up-market nightlife, as compared to Kuta. We went to two clubs that were located on Jln Dhyana Pura, which was very lively and fun!

After all the fun, we headed back to our hotel, so that we could be well rested for the following day. :)


Day Four

We woke up a bit late and got ready for a trip to Dreamland Beach! It is one of the most beautiful beach in Bali, located in a secluded area between the western cliffs of Bukit Peninsula. The surf here is a lot bigger compared to Kuta, and we had so much fun playing in the very shallow part of the water. The surf was as high 6 feet, and causes quite strong undertow currents which can be quite dangerous. But I have to say that the feeling of big waves rushing towards you can be very thrilling, and soothing at the same time! I can just hang out at the beach doing nothing but this! Unfortunately since we have other things to do for today's, we had to leave Dreamland. Huhu :(

Beautiful Dreamland Beach

We headed up to Kuta for some shopping. I bought a few stuffs that really made me happy, and headed for a drink at Krispy Kreme! Damn the donuts were so soft and heavenly, it simply feels like it melted in my mouth! Ahh I'm drooling now just thinking bout it... :P~~~

Kuta & its beach

Later we headed to Pura Luhur Tanah Lot, a temple located on a rock formation island, which can be reached from the shore during low tide. It is one of the most famous landmarks in Bali, and famous for its stunning sunset as well. (Yeah there are so many places in Bali that are famous for sunsets!) We reached there a few minutes before sunset, and at that time the tide was quite high. The waves were quite big and coupled with the sunset, provided me with quite a dramatic shot!

Sunset at Pura Luhur Tanah Lot

We went back to our hotel to freshen up, before headed out again to Hard Rock Cafe & Hotel in Kuta for some souvenirs. Satisfied with our purchases, we later went to Pizza Hut for dinner. The Pizza Hut here is a bit different from Malaysia, as they doesn't have Packaged Meals, but totally Ala Carte in their menu. Like my last Bali trip, I had the Mushroom Teaser, which is such a very-delicious-and-hot starter. Even though it was very hot, it was really worth it! I think everyone should not miss it whenever you are in Pizza Hut Indonesia!

For our final nightlife in Bali, we headed up to Ku De Ta, a beach front restaurant, bar and lounge in fashionable Seminyak. Ku De Ta is the place to be for nightlife in Bali, geniusly designed with an open concept in mind. The is a small pool of water in the middle of the courtyard, with many loungers facing the Indian Ocean, and Electronic-Chill music playing in the background. The twinkling stars, waves crashing and the music at Ku De Ta surprisingly binds together very very well. All of us had such a good time at Ku De Ta, and loves it so so much! :)

Friends of Ku De Ta

Beach front loungers in Ku De Ta


Ku De Ta's Courtyard

Day Five

Fun at Westin

It was our final day in Bali, so we just stayed in the hotel area and enjoyed the facilities. We went to the beach and killed our time by lying and swimming in the sea. The waves in Nusa Dua beach is not big at all and perfect for swimming, as it is protected by coral reefs hundreds of meters away offshore. We also played beach volleyball and tried the water slides at the swimming pool area! The water slides at the resort were not meant for kids only, but were also for adults! Hahah had such a wonderful time!

Westin's Farewell Shot

At 12pm, we checked out from the hotel and headed to the Ngurah Rai International Airport for our 2.25pm. The rental car was returned to Mr Dino from Bali Car Rental at the airport, and all the remaining payments were settled.

All of us were a bit sad as the vacation was almost over, and we had to go back to the working world reality! Damn if only the vacation could last forever! Anyway, we experienced a lot of things that if I wanna describe it here, this post will be too long!

But overall, we had a really fantastic time in Bali, and I think all of us will definitely come again to Bali in the future, since we all have been enchanted by the indescribable Bali magic. :)



5 comments:

V|vac|ous said...

Bosh ! you certainly did an excellent job with your writting and pictures summore you did it just for me UK 2045 Msia 0345! Thats the determination shown by Bosh for us to get an insight of his lovely trip to Bali !
Thank you Bosh ! I will try yo get all my holiday pics up back date them from 4 yrs ago ! erkssss I think i will hire you to do it.

xoxox ME !

Anonymous said...

and i will definitely go to Bali someday!! someday I will...sebab baca ur stories saja sangat2 menggiurkan and sangat teruja skrg nih...hehehe. Thanks...its nice, really nice.

Anonymous said...

kasut putih ko tuh bosh yg ko cakap ko suka so ko beli tuh kan? tapi kasut sports yg takkan melakukan ape2 sports tuh ye tak?

kan kan? mmg nampak lawa walaupun hanya tapak je aku nampak. ekekeke...

shobshob said...

v|vac|ous: thx for patiently waiting for my final bali post! :)

rough: yes bali mmg best! haha mmg tu la kasut putih tu, tapi walaupun rupa mcm tu, tapi bukan kasut sports ye! i have one post specially for the shoe, bole la tengok in detail..

Anonymous said...

hmmm now i know what you've been up to in bali, hehehe

anyways, good review on bali, make me feel like saving every cents I earned to go to bali laa pulak, damn...