Day 4: Turtle Island off Nusa Dua

Day 4
18th November 2012

Today was originally a lepak day, not doing much except pool, beach or shops.  But the day earlier, we were enticed with a visit to an island, aptly named the Turtle Island somewhere off Nusa Dua.

Our driver, Charlie picked us up punctually from our hotel at 930am, or was it 9am, and we headed off towards the higher end of Bali - Nusa Dua, which according to Charlie, is more suited for honeymooners and Europeans who prefer the quiet beaches and less crowded streets.

We rented a private boat (those that come with a portion of glass flooring so we can see underneath the boat) that took us to Turtle Island.

Our tour guide immediately placed a mid sized turtle on Daddy's hands, and hubby sportingly posed pictures.  Just as all the other animals that William have touched courageously, he was enthusiastic about the turtle too.  Vic needed some coaxing, and mummy... well, let's just say mummy rather took pictures.  ; )

The boatman stopped enroute to the island for us to feed the fishes.  There were a few other boats also doing the same.  The fishes were therefore quite well fed and satisfied.

We praise God for wonderful sun shiny weather again

Mummy loves boat rides. 

Boats similar to ours all parked near the beach

Kids were afraid of these holes - they think the sand is infested with crabs

Turtle centre

William's first time touching a turtle.  He wanted to carry it too, obviously we didn't allow.  Ain't gonna pay for an injured turtle ; )

These bigger turtles are apparently around 70 years old, and over 100kg each.  I counted around 20 odd of them in the sanctuary.  We warned William not to go too close.  He even splashed water at the turtle's face. 

Vic wore sneakers and socks.  Partially my fault as it did not cross my mind that it was not suitable for island visit.  So Daddy had to carry her here, in order for her to touch the turtle shell.

Up close with a "what's this bird called?"

We saw a cock fight too

Hubby did not hesitate to do this.  I told him he didn't have to prove anything, because I am already married to him.  Of course this is a joke, but really, I'm not keen of snakes, going near or touching or even seeing one alive.

Why does my hair look so disheavelled?  Must be the windy boat ride.  Anyway, this is a white eagle.

The boatman volunteered to carry Vic to and from the boat.  We gave him a tip for this, because the girl is easily nearly 30kg

On our way back, we saw many parasailing

Many beach side activities

We had lunch at a simple warung (Charlie's recommendation because we told him we didn't want the tourist buffet areas).  William broke into a sudden Gangnam Style dance when he heard the background music and this made the waiter laughed.

Krishna Departmental Store (near Ngurah Rai Airport)

On the way back, we asked Charlie to drop me off at Krishna departmental store, where locals shop at local prices.  After dropping me, he sent hubby and the kids back to Kuta (later I found out he dropped them at the beach and not the hotel).  When I was done shopping an hour plus later, Charlie was already waiting outside for me.

I didn't get exactly what I wanted, but I got many other things.  In total, I spent IDR483,000 here for clothes, bags, food and souvenirs - very reasonable.  Since it will take 1.5hours to Sukawati, I decided to ditch this plan and just stick to Kuta Art Market.

This time, I got a little result here unlike Day 1.  Bought some decorative plates that I regretted not buying at Ubud, however the designs offered in Kuta is less attractive than Ubud's.

I reached the hotel around 4pm, and hubby just managed to put William to sleep, and Vic was about to snooze off too.  My dear hubby suggested I go get my massage done since the kids were sleeping.  So obediently, I went.  : )

Body Massage

Found the first spa centre along Kuta Road and went in.  I paid IDR80,000 (equivalent to RM30) for 1hr Balinese body massage.  Later as I walked further along the road, I found a couple more nice centres with a little cheaper rates.  Oh well.  Can't win all the time, I guess.  This is considered cheap, compared to the first massage I had on Day 1 at the Food Court, and that was only for a 1hr foot-shoulder massage for IDR65,000.

Dinner and Pub

At night, we went back to the Food Court near our hotel, as I liked their fresh seafood and cooking on Day 1.  The kids wanted the same sweet and sour red snapper again.  But food and service this was less impressive than the first visit.  Ma ma dei only, you can say... 

So so only sotong

Spicy nestum fried prawns

Was contemplating if I should put this picture up or not.  Oh well..  look at those jokers up there...

Kids first time in a pub.  Really.  It was a weekday night, so no crowd and too early I guess.  Vic is posing here with our "welcome drink" on our last night of our stay.  Hahaha...

After a short while at the hotel pub, we retired to our room... and I always love being to return to cleaned-up, tidied-up room after their turn down service.  The chamberman (not ladies) have twice surprised us with a playful display of William's blue donkey soft toy on the bed.  Here you see William even has his little pillow courtesy of the hotel.

 Good night... tomorrow, it's home!  

Day 3: Shopping, shopping and more shopping!

Day 3
17th November 2012

Today is when my version of fun begins... shopping!

After hearing so much on how low prices can get and the varied offerings that Bali has to offer (especially from house deco, clothing and souvenir aspect) plus reading up on Bargaining Skills for Idiots 101, not to mentioned all the past stories from friends who came back with such interesting loot, I was gamed and excited.  Of course, the best part was I know I had nothing to lose as I was going with my "si fu" - the man who bargains even better than most women whether aboard or locally.

Just a short background that I have never, ever stepped foot in Bali before, nor tested out my haggling skills in the Mother Land of Haggling aka China.  But hubby... he has been to China and back a couple of times and brought back stuff for everyone of us, at such irresistible prices that we burst out laughing, and this was his 2nd time to Bali.

I have a weakness when I see something I really like, my face is a giveaway.  I try my best to contain my smile, or the glitter in my eyes, but sometimes I can't.  Our strategy this time is this - if I see something I like, I'd haggle a couple of rounds before passing the deal to hubby who will go for the kill.  Worked a few times, but at a few places like Sukawati Market and Ubud Market where we had to split to maximize our shopping, I managed to pull of a few great deals myself.  : )

OK, enough said.  Here is a summarized itinerary for the day with the time (estimate):

 930am - Our private tour driver, Charlie picked us up from the Hotel lobby at the agreed time.

1100am - First stop, Sukawati Market.  It was enroute to Ubud which was originally our first destination.  Charlie was gracious enough to slot in Sukawati without any complains.

12:30pm - We left Sukawati to Mt Batur for a scenic lunch overseeing the famous volcanic mountain.

1:30pm - Tegallalang rice terrace.  Bought two decorative porcelain plates for less than RM15 in a less-than-5 minutes bargain.  Totally proud of myself and regretted not buying more. 

3:00pm - Ubud Art Market

5:00pm - Departed Ubud (shops closed at this time too)

6:30pm - Jimbaran Seafood

8:00pm - Headed back to Hotel, arrived about an hour later.

We planned this day tour before our trip, and intentionally cancelled out visits to the gold & silver works, wood carving and cultural dances. 

Sukawati

If your intention is to shop in Bali - this is a MUST VISIT.  You will find many clothings, souvenirs, paintings and decorative items here at opening prices that are much lower than the other markets.  That means, you can press their prices even lower, unless you feel obliged to pay more to the locals.  Otherwise, have fun buying and buying, and then laughing your socks off!

Budget at least 2-3 hours here.  Best to go in the mornings, in fact, this applies to any market because the locals are very superstitious (just like the Thais) that they need a sale - ANY SALE - to start the day for good luck.  So take advantage of that and "help" them to start the day.  Very likely, they will be willing to go dirt low on the price that you can never get elsewhere or anytime later - provided you are a good haggler.  ; )

Think 70% discount for everything.

Ubud Market

Loads of artsy decorative items here, besides clothings and souvenirs.  Opening retail price can be rather high, but then again... go ahead and have fun.

Bought clothings and souvenirs here.  One of them was a mirror which I haggled 70% off down to IDR50,000 but I was surprised the seller gave in after only a few attempts to push the price back up.  So my first thought was that I didn't got a good deal although it was already a very good price for me.  We can never get anywhere near this price for this beautiful, hand decorated mirror in Malaysia.

As I did a quality check on the "sold" item, I found a small mark for which hubby did some talking to the seller and finally we got the mirror for IDR30,000 equivalent to RM10!!!  Perceived value is definitely 5 times more!!

Tegallalang Rice Terrace

A lovely stop along the way back from the highlands in Kintamani.  As William was sleeping, I was the only one who went down to snap a few pictures and bought two pieces of lovely porcelain plates for only IDR40,000.

Snapped a picture of this old farmer who was posing for some "gwai los"

Kuta Market (on other days)

Prices here are rather high.  Our first day shopping here didn't reel in much except for a handmade Elvis Presley guitar-cum-casing souvenir, a dolphin with a surfboard souvenir and some other stuff.  Like I said, the afternoon attempts were disappointing as the seller seemed non motivated, but I made it up on Day 4 and 5.  Advice is best to get your stuffs from Sukawati and Ubud.

In Kuta, you have also the option of a departmental store at "local" prices, not tourist prices, called Krishna.  Some of the stuff we bought earlier were cheaper than what Krishna offered, so you can imagine what bargains we had.


Mt Batur at Kintamani 

We were brought to this buffet lunch place - tourist place and paid IDR80,000 per adult, and IDR40,000 per child.  You get local food, but variety and quality not quite there.   However, the lunch was enjoyable because of the welcoming cool weather (I did not expect this, probably missed out in my readings) with the volcanic mountain in the background. 

Buffet lunch with local balinese food up in Mt Batur, with nice cooling weather ... 

Enjoying her food.  It is good that Victoria can endure and even enjoy eating spicy food. 

The scenery during lunch time.

My bad... forgotten the name of this mountain.

This was Hubby's lunch Part 1

Jimbaran Seafood Dinner

The place is rather romantic.  Rather, I say, because there are many people there.  If you can just blank them out, and imagine it's just the two of you, yes, than that will be indeed, a very very romantic place to be.  But the food is crap.

The prawns were overcooked and served cold.  We also ordered a red snapper, a minimum of 1 kg was also slaughter on our wallets because they didn't have smaller fishes, so they claimed.   The fish was grilled, and tasted tough and dry.  I think I can cook better fish than this!  The vegetables were pre-cooked and cold.  Only the grilled chicken tasted fairly good, and that was ordered for the kids.  Portions were way too small.  Only the rice was served warm and free-flowing.  You get "free" peanuts too. 

The dinner was pricey and not worth it.  There was a live band going round serenading the patrons and expecting receiving tips thereafter.  We hoped they never come to our table, and they never did.

We got home past 9pm, which was 12 hours of Charlie's service and in our deal earlier, he had adviced us not to exceed 11 hours for the price he asked for.  However, he did not grumble, nor did he even hinted at the time. 

Day 2: Swimming, Kuta town and Balinese Dinner

Day 2
Friday, 16th November 2012

We had the usual buffet breakfast at the hotel.  Holidaying here is great because kids below 12 eat for free, unlike some other hotels that charge even for 4 year olds.

So we ate to our fullest.  This is what I started with.

Today and for the next 3 days, hubby diligently stood by the egg station and ordered me my omelette with extra cheese.  That alone can fill up the whole of my tummy, but since I'm on holiday I'm pushing my stomach muscles to its limits!

 
After a hearty breakfast, we headed to the pool again, because the weather gets very hot by 10am.  I can't recall what time we went in, but it was hot enough.  Here are some more happy pool pictures:

Doing it his way

Let's try two together.  We did this even 3 person at a time - no picture because I was the 3rd person, and Daddy was standing by at the bottom of the slide to catch us

Just look how wonderful the weather is...

After freshening up, we walked out to Kuta town to check out the shops. We went to Kuta Square (where the branded shops were - no bargaining allowed) and Kuta Art Market (where you can practice your bargaining skills there)  We didn't have much "luck" at the Market probably because we went there after lunch and the sellers were all non motivated. 

This was how William looked when we walked out.  He used Daddy's Oakley's.  Good that we have this trusty ol' stroller along in all our holidays as we can load in a tired child or our shopping loot

At night, we had pre-booked local Balinese dinner at the Hotel.  By booking early, we get IDR25,000 discount for each adult.  The kids eat for free.  So in total, this dinner cost us IDR250,000 equivalent to around RM80.  Very very reasonable!

Victoria cherish her freedom to pick and scoop her own food. 

William in deep thought. 

Throughout dinner, William won the heart of a waitress and a waiter.  The latter made a speed boat origami for him.  The waitress, whose name is Ary was very friendly, and always coming by to ensure we are fine.  She knows William's name and calls him by his name the next time we met at breakfast.

Cheers!

At night, we watch a movie together as a family.  The four of us huddled together on one bed, with the laptop hooked up to the TV.  This movie-night is something the kids really enjoy! 

Tomorrow... a whole day out for a tour to Sukawati, Ubud, Mt Batur... etc ending at Jimbaran. 

Day 1: 5D/4N Bali Holiday

We just came back from our holiday in Bali, Indonesia, as some of you may be aware from my periodic postings in Facebook.  For security reasons, I wanted to keep hushed about this trip until our return, but could not resist to share my excitement over the internet.

Anyway, without further ado (blimey, this sounds like a wedding speech!) here's my reminiscence of our holiday.   As a note, this is my first time in the land of Indonesia and surprisingly it feels nice to speak so much Bahasa in this short span of time.

Day 1
Thursday, 15th November 2012

Our taxi arrived a little past 9am as he had trouble looking for our street.  We woke a little over an hour ago, all excited for the impending holiday.  We had 2 boxes of fresh milk in the fridge left, so each of us took a glass whilst hubs and I finished off some leftover food.

Two trolleys (as usual, each child have one of their own to pull), one hardcase check in luggage and a backpack, plus our hardy old stroller (for any tired child and to keep shopping bags).

After we have checked in at KLIA, we took the train to the satellite terminal to the premier lounge where we had our brunch while waiting for our flight at 12:30pm. Nearing departure time, we checked that our gate was changed so we had to take the train ride back to the main terminal to board our flight.

The weather forecast for the duration of our holiday was supposed to be rainy and gloomy, but God is great because he answered our prayers for sun shiny weather (so much so we all got a tan now) with only a couple of short spurts of rain.

This boy have this fancy of studying the safety card everytime he boards an aeroplane.  Good habit, William.  You'll make one fine pilot one day. 

Beautiful weather awaits us at Bali - PTL

Our driver, Charlie was supposed to be waiting for us at the airport for pick up to the hotel, but he had something on so he got his friend to pick us up.  He even called his friend during our ride to the hotel, to ensure that we were safely on the way, and also spoke to hubby to ensure everything was alright.

We checked into Hard Rock Hotel around 4:40pm

This is our room for the next 5 days.

We picked a deluxe premium room that comes with two double bed - very suitable for a family with small children

Quickly after settling into our room, the kids changed into their swimming clothes to take advantage of the good weather.  A good dip and many splashes in the pool is a great way to start off our holiday!

Part of the offerings at Hard Rock Hotel swimming pool.  The kids went up and down these slides at least 50 times during our stay. 

The opening hours for the slides and kids play lasted until 6pm so it was timely also because we were getting hungry.  The sun sets an hour earlier down here in Bali too.  After showering, hubby led us to the nearby foodcourt.  There were about 10 stalls in the court and at least 20-25 waiters and waitresses were standing outside their respective stalls, each trying to catch our attention to order from them.  The moment you look at their menu, it's considered "deal done." 

To placate the kids' hunger, we ordered a chicken fried rice with special request for the fried egg to be separated.  They accommodated our request, and even the fried egg was fresh and warm. 

This is a snapper cooked with asam manis (sweet and sour style).  They fillet off the flesh and fried 'em crunchy.  We all loved this especially girl who is not always fond of eating fish.

Stirfry kangkung and beef on a steaming hot plate. 

And this is my favourite... prawns so fresh, almost every one of 'em comes with the gooey yellow "har gou" fried to perfection. 

We had another dish - the fried calamari which was nothing to shout about, so it doesn't deserve picture space here.  All in, together with a glass of sour sop drink and 3 white rice - IDR255 000 (equivalent to RM90)

We strolled back to the hotel to recharge after this. 

William's Chicken Spider Dance

Enjoy!!

I am another man's "wife"

On one occasion, my then 4 year 4 month old son saw Daddy hugging Mommy in the morning.  He was doing his little business in the bathroom when he turned around, gave us "the look" and then came almost charging in between us, giving Daddy a little push and reiterating, "My wife!!" 

And that is my little son, who doesn't really understand the meaning of "wife" except that it is a woman that a man loves very much.  It's quite cute to think that his wife, his REAL wife, though not legally and actually his wife yet, is somewhere out there, probably still in diapers if she's younger than him. 

Right now, there are days when he reminds Daddy again that Mommy is his wife, and then poor Daddy have to "bug off." 

I did explain to him that I'm his mother, and I can not be his wife, because I'm already his mother, and I'm so much older than him.  But little boys at this age... we let him be, because there will be one day that he may be even embarrassed to be seen with me (God forbid that that day will never come!)

Once, I asked him when he has a wife next time, who will he love more - me or her.  Hahaha... yes, I can be the jealous mother.  And he gives some thought before answering me, "Both.  Both the same." 

Haiyaaa... what can I say?  So diplomatic, so fair.  Although I'd like him to choose me over her, but I'm happy he answered what he did. 

That's ma boy!

Vic's Final Semester Exam Results

This round, I think many students in Vic's school have "woken up" and bucked up for the final exams... as I was told that names unknown and never a "threat" have somehow emerged in the Top 3 places for her class and another next to hers. 

However, the school does have a system to average out the students' performance and thus, you could say, "saved by the bell."

Revision revision revision

Vic says a few times during her revision period that her head is "going to crack."

Compared to the first semester, Vic put in a lot more effort here, especially in her Chinese and Science paper.  Her two dedicated grandmas helped with her revision whenever they can - Mama during her random visits and Popo over 3 weekends, sometimes taking the train up just to log in 6 hours of revision each visit with Vic.  Truly, hubby and I are very appreciative.

I managed the other subjects with Vic that are not in Mandarin.  Bahasa Malaysia was partially "sporting" questions based on guidelines given (on what to read) and the other part based on one's own comprehension and composition.  English was a breeze as the standard taught in Chinese-medium schools are somewhat pre-school level.  Can you believe that they are learning spelling on simple words like "run, hat, noodle, cook... etc"?

As for Science, it was a revision for her and a new lesson for me.  Maths was also an easy paper to revise as she had to cover two topics only - time and money.  Whenever we have the chance, I let her count out the money and pay at the cashier.

On top of all these, she have her usual tuition - thank God for a good tutor too.

For the first semester, Vic's revision was nothing more than a week and that was also a quick glance through.  I didn't want to push her too hard too, since it was her first official exam.  I guess the other parents thought the same, therefore Vic breezed through with 3rd place in her class.

2nd Semester

But this round, we were surprised at some results.  For example, a boy who was never in the top nor had Vic and her Top Student friend ever mentioned him before, clinched the No.1 spot in her class for this semester.  Her Top Student friend was obviously relegated to the second placing, whereas another friend leaped more than 5 spots to clinched the 3rd place.  Vic dropped from 3rd to no.15 in class.

Her marks were mainly in the 80s and 90s region.

Overall

On average and overall - her Top Student friend maintained 1st spot and Vic took the 10th place.  Phew... still Top Ten.  In the whole school, Vic is still in the top one-third percentile, with an average score that dropped 5 points from the first semester.  However, that 5 points meant 33 places away.  So, why all these analysis?  Just trying to understand how the Standard One students fare in her school.  Obviously there are many, many smart kids there.

I asked Vic if she was happy with her results, and she said no.  I think that was the answer I was looking for too.  She needed to feel the disappointment in order to motivate herself to improve next year.  I was afraid that she may be too lackadaisical as she can be with her school work.  This time, I don't say much - probably a good thing as I didn't want her to feel bad neither do I want to let her think this is acceptable.

There is still room for improvement - but for this round, it's still a "Well Done, Vic."

Honest to the bone, I wouldn't be able to score as well as she did if I put myself in her position. 

So with the exam over and results out, the kids in her class have been relaxed everyday, with no homework, hardly any teaching and occasional games and dances.  Speaking of which, Vic's class have once danced to the latest hit song, PSY's Gangnam Style and another time as a whole school in the assembly hall during Children's Day.  I almost shake my head as this never happened during my time, except that it's rather funny to imagine this.

Even my shy girl and her friend sang this song in the car on the way back, complete with the chorus of "Ooohhhh... sexyyy laddyyy" So, what do you think - a bad influence to primary students or just mere fun?