Went with Keju, Ching, Cin and Jac. Best travel buddies ever. Keju sent a damn pro itinerary to us. We just had to pack,  grab our passports and fly.  It was the most detailed and fun itinerary i have ever seen. Everyone i forwarded this mail to was convinced to go to Bali some time soon. All of us were super touched to see the effort he put in (like writing an advertorial liddat!!), and i suggested we all pay him ten thousand each as compensation.

In Rupiah, of course.

Everyone printed a copy of this itinerary out and hold on to it like bible. Cin even studied it like she’s going for exam and highlighten the important points what turf. Why you so cute one.

Nah. Super long post. Also, we didn’t do everything according to plan. Text in italicized purple color is my Post-Travel commentary.

With permission, here you are, Keju’s complete travel guide to one week escapade in Bali.

Bali Travel Itinerary

Electrical Information

Outlets in Indonesia accept 2 types of plug:

Bring an adapter just in case.

Packing List

• Passport
• Currencies, about RM1,000 worth for food, spa and shopping is more than enough. I have already paid for all the hotels, so those you guys can pay me back in ringgits. No need to bring US dollars.
• Beach wear
• Swim wear
• Sleep wear
• Light cool clothing
• Good walking shoes
• Slippers for chilling by the beach or pool
• Sunglasses or hat
• Sunscreen (very important!)
• Wetsuits or snorkeling gear if you have it, else you could rent.
• Towel (else you can use the ones from hotel)
• Camera
• Medication (if you have any)
• Music! Bring your own iPod. (I’m bringing portable speakers)
• Extra bag to pack your shopping

Places we will go to in Bali

Kuta – Nusa Dua – Jimbaran – Ubud – Kintamani – Sukawati – Padangbai – Canggu

It’ll be a pretty relaxing trip with not a lot of rushing to do, and plenty of time to do your own stuff.

The hotels we will be staying, although slightly expensive, are some of the most luxurious ones in Bali. There are of course, cheap RM50 a night hotels. But we wouldn’t want our holidays to be ruined with bed bugs, stained sheets and dirty toilets right? 😉

The hotels we stay will be affordable, clean and most importantly, all of them have wireless internet access! (Cheat one!!! ALL CHEAT ONE!!! No such thing in ALL the hotels we stayed in!!)

ITINERARY

Day One – Thursday, 28 May

Kuta

Upon arriving Bali Airport at 10pm, proceed to our hotel in Kuta just minutes away. Checkout process will take about an hour.

Since it’s fairly late, no fixed plans for the rest of the night except to explore the nightlife and shopping around the Kuta area. Some shops are opens till midnight.

Clubs here are on the cheap side, but worth a look just to people watch. Paddy’s Irish Bar and The Bounty are two clubs that get good reviews. Paddy’s is a new club built from the ground-up after the original one was bombed in the 2002 Bali bombing.

Ching will probably be more interested in this.

Our hotel is Febri’s Resort and Spa, Jl. Kartika Plaza. USD$100 per night including breakfast. (Decent hotel but their internet rosak so coincidentally on the day we checked in! CHEAT ONE!!!)

Day Two – Friday, 29 May

Kuta – Pantai Geger – Jimbaran Bay – Ubud

Morning, we check out first and leave our luggage at the hotel. Here, we can split into two groups.

Those who want to learn how to surf can follow Ching to Kuta Beach. Surf lessons are around US$30 for 3 hours, equipment provided.

Those who don’t want to learn to surf, can spend more time walking the streets shopping. Price-wise, Kuta is not the place to shop in Bali, but it is the busiest and has the most selection, selling surf gear and sunglasses. Pirated discs are very cheap here too at RM2 per piece.

For girls, the one shop worth visiting here is Body & Soul.

Cheesie was here last year and bought plenty of good quality sundresses at affordable prices. (But seriously lo, this year their designs sucked so much i didn’t even buy a single piece.)

Lunch will be at a restaurant called Kopi Pot on the main shopping street, Jl Legian. (Didn’t get to go to this place. Ran outta time.)

By about 2:30pm, we hire a taxi and go to a place called Pantai Geger, a romantic beach 20 minutes away in Nusa Dua.

Essentially, we’ll be using the same beach as those rich Europeans paying USD$700 a night in the nearby resort hotels are using.

The main reason we come here is because it has the whitest sand and bluest water in the whole of Bali. The second reason we come here is because a lot of European tourists err… sunbathe topless here.

Anyway, the most important reason is still the first reason.

So we swim and relax in Pantai Geger a bit until 4:45pm. After washing up, hop on a taxi again and head towards Lia’s Café in Jimbaran Bay for grilled seafood dinner on the beach while watching the sun set. (DO NOT order lobster. I repeat: DO NOT ORDER LOBSTER. We paid like RM100 for some empty prawn shell, seriously. CHEAT ONE!!! What turf.)

After dinner, return to Febri’s Hotel, pick up our luggage and wait for the driver from our Ubud hotel to pick us up. Drive time to Ubud is 90 minutes.

We will be staying at Nefatari Exclusive Villas. USD$190 per night including breakfast. Make booking for restaurants and spa the next day. (Super nice villa, but CHEAT ONE!!! Don’t have wifi. Must go to their office to use their bloody slow PC that takes forever to load that’s why i didn’t get to blog ok!!!)

Day Three – Saturday, 30 May

Ubud

Late wake up. Today’s focus is on health and relaxing. Time to do some yoga.

Two choices:

(a) 7am – 8:30am Yoga at Ubud Sari Health Spa, or more likely
(b) 8:30 – 10:15am, or 10.30am-12pm: Yoga at Yoga Barn, Jl Pengoseken

Lunch will be a healthy one at Restaurant Indus, Jl Raya Sanggingnan.

Afterwards, just stroll around Ubud Market and surrounding areas for shopping. Free and easy.

If for some reason we get really bored (unlikely), we can always either (a) hire a bicycle to go to a nearby village to mix with the locals, (b) get a taxi to drive us 10 minutes away to the nearby Reptile Park and arts market of Sukawati (we can leave this option for tomorrow although it’ll be kinda rushed).

By 5:30pm, head over to Murni’s Warung for their famous Bebek Betutu to watch the sunset over the rice terraces.

By 7:30pm, head over to SANG SPA to soothe those aching bones. (Best massage ever!!! Must go ok!!)

Return to Nefatari Exclusive Villas and have an early rest.

Day Four – Sunday, 31 May

Ubud – Tegallalang – Kintamani – Tampaksiring – Mas – Sukawati – Padangbai

Today is road trip day!

Morning, breakfast in villa.

If we can find a good deal for a car hire, we’ll hire a car ourselves. Otherwise, we hire a driver. Price is about Rp 200k without driver, or Rp 300K for 8 hours with driver. (Do it. Save so much hassle and it’s bloody cheap, after splitting 5 ways.)

We’ll be going see volcanoes. Along the way, we’ll stop for photo ops at rice fields like these.

We’ll stop at Puncak Sari Restaurant where the views over Mount Batur is gorgeous.

On the way back, stop by Jl Titra to have Kopi Luwak. A coffee made from shit, which also happens to be the most expensive coffee in the world. (You can still go, but i didn’t find it any nice. Cheat one.)

Even Oprah drinks this shit.

Stop by Tirta Empul temple at Tampak Siring, to wash away our bad luck.

After doing something so healthy yesterday, we are gonna ruin it completely by going for an unhealthy fatty lunch at Babi Guling Ibu Oka, Ubud’s most famous spit roast pig in a village called Mas.

Cheesie, this will be at a different branch than the one we went to last year. More airy and more comfortable. (We went back to the same Babli Guling place next to Ubud market because we wanted to meet up with Wendy and Mike. Cin and Ching and Jac didn’t think the food was nice. And the skin was way too hard it will break your teeth.)

(If it’s getting late, we can skip this part and do it tomorrow afternoon instead)

Continue our road trip to Sukawati, pop by Rimba Reptil Park (USD$8) to see different types of lizards, crocs, pythons and the largest lizard in the world. KOMODO DRAGONS!

(Don’t bother. We drove all the way there to find out that it costs USD22 to get in. CHEAT ONE!!!!)

If you haven’t yet have enough of Ubud Market, drop by Sukawati Market. Apparently, all the locals buy their souvenirs here and re-sell is elsewhere.

I plan to pick up some art paintings here (about RM100 for a huge one) to decorate my room. You may even want to pick up some masks or clothes for the Nuffnang Tiger Standout Party here.

After shopping, we head over to the coastal town of Padangbai. Dinner at Ozone Café. Tonight, we staying at the Bloolagoon Village. US$120 per nite including breakfast for 4. (Bloody unlucky. On the night we arrived, the whole bloody village was having a black-out, and we had to drive out to find a restaurant with lights so we don’t have to eat in the dark. This hotel got wifi but that day so ngam no electricity. Blardy hiao. And also must go to office to use. And Skype is not allowed because it slows other people down. CHEAT ONE!!!)

Day Five – Monday, 1 June

Padangbai – Canggu

The place where we’re staying is in walking distance to The Blue Lagoon, one of the best snorkeling and diving destinations in Bali.

I plan to do some diving here because I did not get to do it last time round. You can come with me if you want and do an introductory dive even if you have no experience.

Otherwise, try snorkeling. The beaches here are too good to go to waste. (Yea, whatever, kena stung by some bloody jelly fish, damn pain can die. I swear the next time i go to a Japanese restaurant, i will order 10 plates of that shit for revenge.)

Don’t worry. The sharks “are for illustration purposes only.”

But if you really, really do not want to get wet, then just laze on the beach or hit the spa again. The spa in our villa is cheap (essential oil massage, Rp 150k for 90 mins), located on a hill top and has good views over the ocean.

I’m not sure what time I finish, but it should be slightly after lunch. By 3pm, we reunite, and make our way towards Canggu – one hour drive.

(We can stop by Sukawati Art Market or the Reptile Park if we missed out on them the day before. But as much as possible, we try not to leave later than 4pm to avoid the horrible Denpasar traffic.)

By about 5pm, we should be checking into Teman Desa Villas, US$220 per night. (Damn turfing awesome. Best villa ever. With free butler and in-house chef and free DVDs and stuff, but have to pay for internet one. CHEAT ONE!!!)

Then head out to watch sunset at the most stylish beachfront restaurant in Bali – Ku De Ta, described by newspapers as one of the best places in the world to do a marriage proposal.

So which one of you four girls want to propose to me? Hehe. Dinner at Ku De Ta will be a bit expensive because it’s an expat haunt. No activities for the night other than mingling, chilling and lounging. (OMG. Must go. Especially with your boyfriend/girlfriend. Sure will melt until die. Best!!! But very expensive so we didn’t eat there and also tables all full. So, remember to make reservation!)

Return to our swanky villa and enjoy its luxurious facilities. (Yea right. Where’s my internet?)

Day Six – Tuesday, 2 June

Canggu

Final day in Bali.

From experience, when staying in a villa as nice as this, most of us enjoy it so much that we don’t even feel like heading out. (True la. I didn’t feel like getting up from bed at all, despite the fact that the villa is wireless-less. But, what turf. Sod it.) So, here are some options depending on how we feel.

• Lunch at The Beach House, nearby, for good views over the beach.
• Tanah Lot temple, 20 minutes away. This can be done in the morning or during sunset. (We did this.)

• Mengwi temple is also nearby, worth a look but not all that spectacular. (Didn’t go. Chill at hotel. Good choice.)
• If we have time, head up to see the floating temple in Bedugul, 90 minutes away. Hands down the most picturesque temple in Bali, but quite a waste spending 3 hours in a car there and back. (Didn’t go. Chill at hotel. Good choice.)

• Shopping in Seminyak. Sophisticated, expensive, but Ralph Lauren is cheaper than in Malaysia. (Cin and i bought damn awesome bikinis!!!)

• Try surfing again, if you missed out.
• More spa, though it’ll be hard to find anyone cheaper than in Ubud.
• Dinner will be at Gado-Gado restaurant, also nearby. Drinks at Galaxy, where there will be fire-twirlers performing on Tuesday nights.

• Swim, chill, drink in our Teman Desa Villas to round up the night.

Day Seven – Wednesday, 3 June

Canggu

Wake up 5:30am to go to the airport. Bye bye Bali.

Unless we want to “fong fei gei” and extend the trip? hehe.

(We didn’t FFK la, but we did change our flight time to chill longer. 🙂 )

END

More detailed updates and pictures soon. Stay cheesed.