My 4D3N Holiday in Bali - Day 2 Part 1

Please note that I wasn't able to take pictures for some of the events during my Bali trip so some of these were sourced via Google.

Day 2 started out quite pleasant enough as I had enough time to sleep, but not enough to recuperate from my aching muscles. Taking a shower was already a feat but breakfast was nice. We checked out of Rani Hotel at around 9:00am to continue with the tour to Kintamani, Besakith and Lovina.

But of course if you have been to a tour organised by a reputable company, each tour will take you to some shop where you can look at unique things distributed from that home nation (except Hong Kong where I remembered the guide took us to a sweatshop - boy, was I mad. A real waste of time). Sika asked us for our preferred choice of handicrafts and we told him we didn't mind seeing silver/gold and wood handicrafts.

So we went to UC Silver jewellery (quite popular in Malaysia) where we got to see how they created their masterpieces. The trip there reminded me of Japanese animes where the houses are located on narrow road like the one below.

This is where I started noticing that every traditional household or businesses seem to have a rock altar located at the front of their premises.

We were led inside the main hall, passing through this narrow corridor until we reached the first workshop where they worked on silver ornaments and jewelleries.

This is their Quality Control Room where they inspect every single finished pieces.

Then we were led to the adjoining room where these people worked on silver, gold, jade and pearl jewelleries. As a scale modeler, the first thing I noticed were their tools. They were using simple hand made tools made of wood with wires attached to develop some of the most magnificent looking jewelleries I have ever seen (and here I am using advanced tools for my hobby .. blush)

After witnessing the manufacturing processes and stringent control of quality jewelleries (which I thought was amusing cause some of these "sculptors" were working with one leg balanced on their chair, and they were churning out masterpieces), we were taken to the shop area. Yup, this is where the Tour Guides get a commission for every sale made, and there's no obligation to buy.

I managed to snap away two pictures in the shop area when I was told camera was not allowed in there (for fear a rival company may "emulate" their designs), but I did manage to get permission to take pictures of the non-jewellery sculptures in there.

Instead of a banister, they used these which to me was a good idea. And they're so life like.

Upstairs they had these wooden carving representing a traditional Bali annual festival that had been passed on for generations. The proprietor did explain to me what each sculpture represent but for the life of me, I can't remember them now.

Next its off to the Wood Handicraft. But before we proceed there, I have to put up a NSFW Warning (Not Safe For Work) as some of the wooden sculpts there are ... erm .. quite interesting.

My 4D3N Holiday in Bali - Day 1 part 2

Please note that I wasn't able to take pictures for some of the events during my Bali trip so some of these were sourced via Google.

Next on the itinerary was the Uluwatu Temple, a mysterious holy temple built with solid rocks,  perched precariously along the limestone peninsula of Bali on top of precarious cliffs with a mesmerizing seashore below overlooking the Lombok Straights. The structure was significantly expanded by a Javanese sage, Empu Kuturan in the 11th Century. Another sage from East Java, Dang Hyang Nirartha is credited for constructing the padmasana shrines and is claimed to have attained Moksha here. Even more remarkable than the temple itself is its location, perched on a steep cliff 70 metres above the roaring Indian ocean waves. There are more steep headlands on either side and sunsets over Uluwatu are a sight to behold

Along the way, we made a quick stopover at a hillside Villa for tea, and I didn't realise this quick stopover would leave such a lasting impression on me. The view there was simply captivating, beautiful, serene. I felt like I was in a love movie or something.

Of course I didn't expect to see the cliff side ocean when we reached the villa. The entrance looked more like a gateway to some beautifully maintained park.

We followed the pathway toward the rest house, and along the right side were the luxurious villas that were still under renovation. A mixture of ancient and modern architecture, it was a pity were couldn't have a look inside.

As we approached the rest house, the first thing I noticed was the sound of ocean waves, and the sound was a little loud, so I expected a beach nearby.

I didn't expect this. We were literally on top of a cliff overlooking one of the best looking seaside views ever. There were no ledges to cling on as you literally step close the edge of the cliff looking down. Did I mention I was terrified of heights? The winds there were strong and cooling, and the view did manage to calm my nerves .. a little.

My 4D3N Holiday in Bali - Day 1 part 1

Please note that I wasn't able to take pictures for some of the events during my Bali trip so some of these were sourced via Google.

It was 27 April 2011, and I was dreading this day. Yeah, my trip to Bali was all planned up by my wife (she's really meticulous there) and despite my reluctance, I decided why not. The trip means so much to her. And here's the best part - we only managed to pack the night before, so I was a little concerned about leaving something important behind. Of course I was also reluctant to go cause there was always that question if I could access the net from over there.

Guess I'll worry about all that when I'm there. The trip to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) airport was smooth and I was still really sleepy as I had slept in late.

We boarded our plane, an Airasia.com's Boeing 737-300 (image below is of a similar model) at around 11:30am and the first thing I noticed was that the flight steward and stewardess spoke fluent Indonesian (a Malay language variant) so I guessed they were Indonesians. The plane was only half full so we had our row of seats to ourselves, which was pretty neat seeing how compact the seats already were.

And I really enjoyed the flight as we were seated just ahead of the wing, literally next to the engine. I could feel the power of the Rolls Royce engine and even sense when the Captain powers up or throttles down. The only thing I didn't enjoy were the air turbulence. Yeah, nearly spilled my hot coffee.

The flight lasted almost three hours but it didn't feel like 3 hours ... OK, I fell asleep midway only to be awaken by a rough nudge when we were almost there (didn't help I was snoring too). Touchdown was fun. I was looking out the window when the plane was descending and the first thing I noticed was .... there's no land. I didn't see any ground on the left or right side of the plane. It was still the ocean.

The plane got lower and lower and lower ... and just as I was about to hit the panic button, I saw land, then within a few milliseconds the plane's wheels touched the ground. Figures, exotic land equals exotic airport landscape. The runaway literally extends out toward the sea. Neat idea if you really think about it.

We disembarked via a ramp from the plane through the terminal so I didn't really noticed the view until we were on the long corridor leading toward customs when I saw the seaside, and the waves. I was instantly captivated. Them waves are HUGE!

My 4D3N Holiday at Bali - Introduction

This is definitely not Sci Fi related but even as scale modelers, we too need our holidays now and then, especially if you have been stuck with your daily monotonous routines. Unfortunately I am one of those that hate going to faraway places, since an overseas tour vacation package would only mean three things:

1) I need to wake up at un-Godly hours for the tours 
2) Most of these places don't have Internet access, and
3) Dreading the thought there's going to be a lot of walking.

Well, I am overweight, smokes, and feel totally unfit for such endeavours ... that was my excuse anyway. So when my wife INSISTED we go to Bali, I told her 50,000 Wild Banthas couldn't drag me there. Its amazing how a mere cold stare from the wife can make you change your mind in an instance.

So off I went to Bali on 27th April 2011 for a 4 days and 3 nights excursion, and before I left, all I knew was that Bali was a beautiful Indonesian Island somewhere in Indonesia, but now that I am going, just where the heck is that island? A quick search via google maps revealed ....

Ooooo, there she is. Its basically directly under Sarawak/Borneo and the first thought I had was ... OK, I'm heading toward Earthquake alley. Of course I've never been to Bali, so I had a lot of assumptions what Bali was going to be like, beautiful beaches with primitive facilities etc etc .... Now that I've been to Bali, boy, was I right and wrong.

Bali simply put, is BEAUTIFUL. Its amazing how so many things can be packed inside one tiny little Island. I love the culture, the scenery's, the people, and its like there are so many things to see and do there. 4D3N was simply not enough. And whatever stress I had literally vanished the moment I step down from the plane.

And I have to share this with all of you. If you're planning to take a vacation and you want to go to a far away exotic land, give Bali a chance. Its really a happening place. When I was there, I was also surrounded by Australians, Britains, Americans, Swedes, Germans, Japanese, Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, Koreans, Singaporeans, Malaysians, and more. I mean WOW, this place seems to have more tourists than locals. Its no wonder Bali depends heavily on Tourism to survive, and they have some of the best vacation spots in the world. I've always seen pictures of these places, but its totally different when you are there.

So in tribute to what I have experienced there, I want to share my trip detailing my 4 days and I plan to use lots of images (since a picture can say a thousand words, and seeing is believing). But before I do that, here are some interesting facts about Bali in case you were curious.