Bali, Indonesia 1.0 - Our first night spent in Kuta, Bali

On the 4th December 2013, Kuok Sing (KS) and I travelled to Bali with 2 other couples. This trip initially came up because Jackie wanted to get away from work and just spend some time to relax with his close friends in another country. We thought it would be a great idea since Jackie comes back once in a blue moon and it would be a great getaway for us to just chill, relax and spend some time with each other. Hotels weren't cheap especially in well-known and tourists spots. What more it being overseas! Ivy came across an offer for a villa via Groupon and we thought it was very worth it, so we bought it the next day. However, due to some of us who were working, we couldn't leave earlier so we left the afternoon before the confirmed dates of the villa and arrived at night. It was a 3 hour flight to Bali from LCCT.

Skybus! Our most preferred way of travelling to the airport.

Like an excited lil' boy.

We arrived pretty early at the airport (around 1pm) to check in our luggage. Since we had time to spare, we decided to just head into the departure hall and just wait there. Since we wanted to get some alcohol from the duty free shop as well. Even after taking a stroll in the duty free shop, we still had time! And since, all are quite big eaters, they couldn't wait for their in-flight meals. So we had some "appetizer" first before boarding the plane. The food at this shop just beside the T13-14 gates is not bad actually! And being located in an airport, for the price you pay for what you get, it is considered good. Not too long later, it was boarding time!

Since we were to arrive at night, we decided to stay in a budget hotel just for the night. Luckily, I managed to get a good deal from Agoda. It costed around RM65 per pax for two rooms + two extra mattresses which came with breakfast. The location of the hotel was very strategic! It being 3 minute drive from the airport, a quiet surrounding, and it being surrounded by convenient stores and food outlets.

Taman Tirta Ayu Pool & Mansion

So upon the confirmation of the hotel booking, I also requested for airport transfer. However, because this is a "special request" so it is "subject to availability". I was already expecting the worse, but looking a the location of our hotel to the airport, it is very near (approximately 10-15 minutes walk). So I thought should there be no pick-up, we could just walk there. Well true enough, there was no pick-up by the hotel. :( Since some of us had a bigger luggage, we decided taking a cab would be a better choice.

Upon arriving the hotel, I think some or all of us were quite very sceptical about the hotel. The lobby of the hotel was practically only in one building and in a tight and small space where even when two of us stood inside, at the front desk, it felt crowded already. We thought that the hotel was really all that it is right there. But after we got our keys, the bell-boy took our luggage and escorted us to the back part of the hotel, which revealed to be like a resort actually. Don't expect a 4-5 star resort, but it was clean, comfortable beds, well-kept and decent despite reviews that the hotel rooms were dirty and that the floors were sticky.

Go through this threshold and you'll get a different perspective.

Beyond the threshold.

Eating area

A very inviting pool!

The receptionist at the hotel asked if we saw the taxi that was arranged for us but we told him no one was there to pick us up. Even he himself looked confused. Haha. Despite that, the staffs at the hotel were friendly. They were kind enough to arrange our rooms next to each other and had already prepared the mattresses that was requested.

One for the night. The boys were trying to replicate our positions, our poses and smiles. Not bad at all.

After we checked in and settled down, we were famished! We headed out on foot to look for some good Indonesian food. The place that we wanted to go was Kunyit Bali Restaurant on Jalan Kartika Plaza. Sadly it got closed down in October 2013. Too bad for us because I read the reviews that the food there serves really good authentic Balinese food. We didn't know at that time that the place was closed down, so after walking for about 20 minutes along Jalan Kartika Plaza and not being able to find Kunyit Bali, we decided to back track and along the way just drop by any of the eateries. We decided to have our dinner at a roadside eatery - Surya Jaya, something like economical rice stalls you see in Malaysia.

Mainly serving Indonesian Malay food.

14,000 IDR which is about RM3.70 for my selection of food.

Knowing that whatever that we had wasn't enough, we came across this roadside stall which sells Martabak and Terang Bulan. Martabak is like Murtabak but they do it a lil' bit different in Indonesia. Whereas Terang Bulan is Apam Balik ("Turnover Pancake" which is basically closed pancake with filling). It smelt really fragrant and as you are approaching the stall, you could already smell it! We decided that each couple should order 1 martabak and 1 Terang Bulan of their own.

Jackie and Ivy ordered Terang Bulan with Susu, Banana & Chocolate. If you think that they overdosed on the chocolate, think again. The end product was delicious! 

In Malaysia, they don't cover it up with a separate piece, instead they just flip it in half and cut it to form a quarter. But the one in Bali, they actually gave us two pancakes!

Look at the "swimming" Martabak. Again, a slight difference from the ones in Malaysia, this is bathed in oil, deep fried till the skin is crispy. The meat was juicy and flavourful enough that you'd just forget about the amount of oil that it was "swimming" in.

Together with these, they gave us a few raw, uncut cili padi and sauce. But it was already good as it is.

The Terang Bulan was so thick and fluffy a little gooey on the inside but it wasn't till the point that you will get sick of it. Best eaten when it's warm.

The glutton in me couldn't contain itself anymore

And then we had Baileys Ice Cream. The Baileys accompanied us throughout the whole trip as we would occasionally mix it with ice cream.

The next day at the same hotel, we woke up about 9am to have our breakfast. Breakfast was quite miserable actually. What you see on this plate, that was it. But the taste wise, not too shabby. That round potato thingy in the middle there was nice and I kinda like the noodles although it was dry and there wasn't any sauces.

After breakfast, seeing that we still had time, we decided to chill by the pool area. Playing cards, phones and cameras.

Our check out time was at 1pm. We spent rest of the time there packing and chillin' in our room. After we were done packing, we headed out to the supermarket just outside our hotel to grab some food for our 1 hour car-ride to our villa. There are actually food stalls just outside our hotels as well and a very big supermarket. The supermarket has all the basic necessities that you need and also food, even fruits!

Alfa Mart: similar to 7-Eleven just across the street

We were expecting the driver from our villa to arrive around 1pm or slightly after 1pm but he was early! About 15 minutes early. I got a very good first impression from the villa already and I knew that our stay there would be a blissful one.

So that was one night in Kuta, we were looking forward for the coming days in our villa since it had a pool in it, we foreseen that we will be spending alot of time in the pool. Haha.

My tips for you based on my 1 night stay in Kuta:

• Jalan Kartika Plaza is like the Bukit Bintang of Malaysia. A few luxury hotels, Western food outlets, bars & bistros  (some with live band) available. There is also a shopping mall on the same road.
• Wear sensible shoes if you're walking. Roads and pathways are quite uneven and there are puddles.
• You can ignore the cabs that will be honking at you as they drive pass you. It is to get your attention, for if you need a cab.
• If you get lost, you can ask the guards that are standing outside of a hotel or restaurant's pathway or even the locals. They speak simple English.
• Try something new! Go for local food better yet, roadside food, to get a taste of the local delicacy.
• It is dark at night and there are not many street lamps. There are locals who will hangout/chill by the roadside on their bikes, on the pavements etc. They do stare/look at you but I don't think they'll do you any harm. However, if you're worried, go out with a partner or in a group.
• Do not drink from the pipe water! Buy yourself bottles of drinking water form the nearby convenient store. Don't worry if you missed one along the way as they have a lot of convenient stores just couple of blocks away.
• Keep yourself hydrated from the start of your trip not when you think you're about to fall sick! With all the food that you are going to be enjoying, plus with the humid weather, you will need sufficient water in your body too. We didn't drank enough of water, in the end 4 of us fell sick. Haha.

A lil' sneak peek of what's to come in my next blogpost! ;)