As I mentioned on my previous post, we got sick (most likely food poisoning) during our 2nd day in one of the restaurants at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua. I felt bad not only because we were sick but also because I had the trip planned months ahead and part of it was a full day tour on our 3rd day. My husband already asked me to cancel the tour but despite being sick and weak, I refuse. I told him I know we will get better the next day (half believing and half doubting myself). The next day, we're still not in our best shape but we manage to eat which gave us extra energy. We decided to do a half day, 5-hours tour instead of full day as we also don't want to force ourselves and regret it in the end. I booked the tour with Bali Made couple of months ahead after reading good reviews about them from Tripadvisor. On the day of the tour, I called and inform them about the change. They were very understanding and made the necessary change on our pick up time. I paid for the full day trip but ended having half day instead. As expected, we didn't get refunded since none of it was their fault. This is an exclusive tour so we got a private, brand new and spacious Toyota High ace van for ourselves. The driver also speaks good English and was very accommodating. Since we don't have time to go to all places in our itinerary, he asked us which among them we really want to see, describing it as much as he can, while informing us of the travel time on each of them. In the end, we decided to have this improvise itinerary:
Fullday trip up to 10hours IDR 650.000/van (S$65.00)
*Half day trip cost IDR 500,000/van (S$50.00) - all prices are up to date The tour was inclusive of English speaking driver, Parking and Toll fees. The rest, like the entrance fees and meals are not included.
After driving for more than an hour, we reached Bali Zoo. I forgot that the entrance fees were not included so I was surprised when the driver told me that he will wait for us outside while we enjoy the zoo then pointed me to the counter where I can buy the tickets. I was initially surprise and to be honest I bit apprehensive to pay because it's so expensive. The entrance fees cost around S$32 for adults and S$27 for kids. That's a whooping S$91 and the looks of the Zoo from the outside is not even enticing. But then again, we didn't travel all the way here just to say no, right? So on we went and suffice to say, it wasn't that bad. It still could have been cheaper (it's even more expensive that Singapore Zoo!) but it's okay. What I like best is that its not crowded. You can actually queue multiple times to have your pictures taken while you're holding various animals. My kid was both curious and afraid but I can see in his eyes that he is enjoying it.
If you've watched the Bucket list, you would have already heard of Kopi Luwak. It's currently one of the most expensive coffee in the world and it's for a reason. It undergoes some weird process which make it taste unique. Basically, they feed the coffee beans or cherries to a special cat called wild civets, the cherries are then defecated with other fecal matter then collected and cleaned which later on becomes the Kopi Luwak. Sounds interesting, right? It is! Of course we don't want to missed it and see how it works in real life. The photos below are arranged in sequence so you can picture out the process.
eeew?! Yummy?! I don't know!
Our next stop, Tegalalang Rice Field Terrace is not as amusing as I've expected it to be. I expected too much because we have our very own Rice terraces in the Philippines which is majestic if compared to this. It was also crowded and there was very little space to move around. We decided to climb a bit to have some snacks on a small shop on the side of the Rice Terraces. It was better because there weren't much people and we're able to sit and relax while enjoying the view.
Our very nice English speaking driver
The temple was a nice addition. For me, if there was one thing I would remember about Bali is its temples. During the entire road trip, we saw numerous temples of varied shapes and sizes. All beautiful in their own way. I also learned from our tour guide/driver that each Hindu household have their own temples, depending on how much you can afford, some have slightly bigger ones while some may only have Altars to represent. It's really interesting and it opened our eyes on this side of Indonesia as majority of this country's population are Muslims. I guess one thing that I didn't know was that girls are not supposed to be wearing shorts on the temples (for obvious reason that I should have known). Luckily, they have a Sarong you can borrow so you're dressed appropriately.
Needless to say, we were very happy we did the the tour! The experience would have been different if we didn't. In all the countries we go, even if we're there for a specific reason, like enjoying their famous beach, we always try to find time to learn more about the place. By doing tours, we are able to to understand the regions's history, culture and tradition. But most importantly, we get to mingle with the locals and get to know them more. And Bali did not disappoint! This part of Indonesia has a very rich culture and have one of the nicest people! This is on top of the beautiful landscape they have been bless with! Definitely one of the nicest places I've been! We also stayed at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua while we were in Bali. We got upgraded from a normal Deluxe room to a Villa! It was an exciting experience in itself! However, I cannot really say our stay there was perfect (not only because of the food poisoning) but it was definitely memorable! Check it out here to find out more!
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Veronica, also known as Gene is a passionate mother, wife, career woman, event planner, artist, adventurer, fashionista, and many more. |
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