Magical Bali

I spent the last week in Bali, kinda like my present to myself for completing the 10km run. It's my first time there and I wasn't really expecting much. But after 5 days, I must say that I quite like Bali and it might just become a reasonably cheap short holiday destination for me in the near future.

This trip had many 'firsts'. The 1st First was that this was the first flight to Bali for KLM after more than 10 years! So there was a mini-reception of sorts when we arrived at Bali airport. So here's a pic of a 'chee-ko' me with the 3 beautifully dressed ladies who welcomed the passengers from the flight.

This time, I decided to stay at Tanjung Benoa beach because I'd read that it was one of the better beaches and not as overcrowded as Kuta beach. The good thing is that the beach was certainly better than Kuta's and I could just relax away from the crowds. When I visited Kuta, the beach was filled with people and definitely not a place to just chill. However, the bad thing about staying in Tanjung Benoa was that it was kinda far away from the city centre where the shopping and 'excitement' is. It took about 30min by the hotel shuttle or about S$12 for a one-way taxi ride. I guess the next time, I might decide to stay in Kuta for the food and shopping and then move to a beach resort for a day or two to chill. Here's a pic of the beach just next to Aston Bali, the hotel where I stayed. Not bad, but the water was certainly not crystal clear and the sand was still kinda rough.

I took a day-trip to Lembongan Island, about 1hr away by fast-ferry or 2hr away by Sailboat. I of course chose the sail boat for the experience. Lembongan's beach and water was really wonderful. Clear blue waters and soft white sand beaches. This is definitely one place I'll consider staying at purely for the beach and activities.

At Lembongan Island, I attempted my 2nd and 3rd 'Firsts' of the trip. The 2nd First was I decided to try parasailing! It cost about US$20 and well.. this was one activity I never considered trying due to previous weight considerations. This time round, I threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a try. It was really exhilarating to be released into the sky with a parachute, being flown like a kite from the speedboat.

The 3rd First came about because I was still recovering from the high of the parasailing experience. When I returned to the pontoon where most of the activities were based, I saw a diving lesson being conducted. So I thought.. what-the-heck... I've already tried parasailing, so why not diving! So I paid my US$50, went through a quick 45min orientation and then went for my first ever diving experience. It was really quite unbelievable. The corals and fish were really beautiful and I've never had such an experience before. The diving instructor had bread hidden up his sleeve and he periodically sprinkled the bread in the water, attracting the fish to swim around us. Simply magical. I must say that I am tempted to pick up diving as a hobby but I know it's a pretty expensive past-time. Will think about that a little more. Here's a pic of me and my cheery instructor.

The last First isn't really a first coz I vaguely trying something like this maybe 15 to 20 years ago. But I certainly don't remember it being so fun. Heh. I decided to try Whitewater rafting. There were a few rapids to choose from so being a bit of a wimp, I decided to try the class 2/3 one first instead of the class 4 rapids. I shared the raft with a young couple from Shanghai and we had a great time rafting through about 10km of the river. My only regret after the experience was that I didn't choose the class 4 rapid for more excitement! Well, the good thing is that this leaves me with something new to try the next time round. :) Along the river there were many small water falls and here's one where the rafting guide let us off to take some pics.

The 5 days in Bali went by pretty fast. But it was most definitely a very memorable experience for me. The magic of Bali lies in the fact that the people are really very friendly and that there are really so many different things to do whether you want to just laze or go on some active experiences. The cost, while not cheap, is not prohibitively expensive and well, in comparison to places like Bintan, I think it's more value for money.

I think I left enough activities undone to warrant at least another one or two trips to Bali. :) Next time round, I'll want to try the tougher rafting, do the trek up to the volcano peak (Mt Batur) as well as maybe learn kiteboarding... :P

Well, it's back to work tomorrow. Surprisingly not dreading it. Maybe that's the mark of a good holiday.