Monday, January 03, 2005
Superstalker goes to Bali :)
Surfing @ Kuta Beach, Bali
Our first stop - Kuta Beach @ Hard Rock Hotel. And what a sight for my sore eyes :)
We took surf lessons from Odyssey Surf School at Mercure Hotel, next to Hard Rock Hotel. 3 days lesson costs USD80 but we got it at USD75. Jadi le tu. :)
I remember asking the guys, how long is a lesson for. When they said 2 hours I was like, "Just 2 hours? What about other schools? Is it just for 2 hours as well?"
After the first session, we learnt the hard way that 2 hours is more than enough! ;) It looks easy but there's a lot of work involved! My hands were so tired! Paddling against the strong waves, pushing up your upper body against a board moving fast under the wave, hoisting your legs up... After 2 days of surfing my hands were like jello!
The staff of the surf school were really nice we ended up knowing everyone. From the owner Michael (who's a Chinese from Kalimantan), his wife Arniza, the transport guy Jasten (cool dude who looks a lot like Ferhad. Only more buff and sporting an earring), the admin/accts guy Ocha (comel) and the 4 surf instructors : Wayan Sunset (cool name), Gede Jendri, Victor (real name Idar Pamungkas) n Brazil (real name.. err.. Brazil!!). Brazil's siblings names are.. get a load of this: Amazon, New Zealand & Perancis!! :)
Btw, I asked Wayan Sunset if they wear sunblock and to my amusement, he answered. "Nanti diketawakan. Kerbau ada pakai sunblock?" :)
Jendri taught both me and Jules for the 1st lesson but the following lessons, Brazil joined Jendri so we had an instructor each. Surfing is so much fun, it's addictive! I actually found myself going to Quiksilver KLCC to buy a rash guard and calling up Sunway Lagoon to ask about their surf pool schedule! I was never into surf merchandise and sigh...menyesal tak sudah tak beli more surfwear at Bali!! They had so much choice - Surfer Girl, Roxy, Billabong, Rip Curl, Volcom... And cheaper than Malaysia obviously. Dang!
Me & Jules riding the waves
With our surf instructor Brazil & Jendri
My very own 'Kuta Cowboy' :)
During our lessons we would have a quick break, Victor, one of the other surf instructors would sit with us during his break time from teaching other students. Punyalah lawyer buruk, pastu suka cubit2 org pulak tu!! But he was very talkative and rajin bawak2 we all jalan-jalan. Tak sangka, he'd end up being my 'Kuta Cowboy'!
My friends were out touring as it was their first Bali trip, the hotel's shuttle bus was only till 5.30pm and it's quite a distance to Kuta town so I didn't mind going out berdua. Sekali dua, a few hours tu, ok le, but lama2 tu, aiya... Rimasss!! Naik speda motor lak tu. Too close for comfort! Plus, I didn't like the idea of being apart from my girlfriends. Dah tak jumpa satu hari, rindu nak catch up :)
Poor Victor, I buat dek je to his sms for Xmas plans. A nice guy though and he did bring me to lotsa places. He showed me how to eat cheap at Jimbaran. Just pick your fish at the fish market, then go and get it grilled at a local shop. We won't be eating on a table by the sand but the price is waaay cheaper! I always thought Jimbaran was expensive and indah khabar dari rupa. I mean, seafood in Thai or even Klang is cheaper and tastier. Aduss.. teringat lak makan Dungeness crab at Pier 49, San Francisco and I love how they cook squid at Barcelona.
Victor also brought me to Wayan Sunset's house. Oh my God, Wayan has a wife and a kid, with another child on the way and his house is basically just a room, and it's even smaller than mine. I guess only those originally from Kuta have proper houses with courtyards and temples. There's about 5 rooms in a row (just one floor) and they share toilet/kitchen.
After that Victor asked if I wanted to drop by his house and of course I was suddenly tired that night :)
Bali Bombing Memorial
Bali Bombing Memorial
What was once Sari Club
The bombing happened 5 moths after I visited Bali and I was totally disgusted by it. What did the Balinese do to deserve this? They are such peaceful people! And I always thought of Bali as like some sort of fantasy island that's cut off from the real world...
Rocking at Hard Rock Hotel's Centrestage
There is no cover charge at Centerstage. Solidaz Band was performing there and they were awesome! They are from New Zealand but has been touring Asian countries - Jakarta, Surabaya, Shanghai, Dubai, Singapore - even Penang! One of the vocalist, LT, told us he sang Belaian Jiwa! :)
With LT of Solidaz Band
Btw, if you don't stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, you can check out their pool. You have to pay though. Saw it from Mercure Hotel's swimming pool (5th floor) while learning basic surf appreciation stuff. The Hard Rock Hotel pool has a small section of artificial beach. Looks very nice but can't beat Mandalay Bay Las Vegas of course. Massive artificial beach!!
Spa at Bali
I am not much of a spa person but after two days of surfing my body was aching all over. I went to Secret Garden Spa (www.secretgarden-bali.com) as it is one of the few spas in Bali quoted on Indonesian Rupiah. Balinese massage, scrub, herbal bath, manicure & pedicure for less than RM120. Not bad, huh?
On my last day at Bali, tried another spa (Giri Loka Spa) near Jayakarta. This time I did the Hair Cream Bath as my hair needed it after 3 days at the beach. It was okey, but their hairdryer was pathetic. The power was probably not even 500 Watts,hehe. Dah le rambut aku ni lebat! Crappy blowdry but I was more depressed about leaving Bali to bother about my hair, hehe.
p/s: Everyone there keep mentioning Siti when we say we are from Malaysia!! The place we borong-ed DVD said Siti was at the shop to buy CDs (original ler) and the Slingshot guy said that Siti did the Slingshot.
p/p/s: I love how they have a lot of tempe at Bali but when I ate their 'cay kangkung'(kangkung goreng) I miss our sambal belacan! :)
p/p/p/s: Pics up at Photo Links.
Our first stop - Kuta Beach @ Hard Rock Hotel. And what a sight for my sore eyes :)
We took surf lessons from Odyssey Surf School at Mercure Hotel, next to Hard Rock Hotel. 3 days lesson costs USD80 but we got it at USD75. Jadi le tu. :)
I remember asking the guys, how long is a lesson for. When they said 2 hours I was like, "Just 2 hours? What about other schools? Is it just for 2 hours as well?"
After the first session, we learnt the hard way that 2 hours is more than enough! ;) It looks easy but there's a lot of work involved! My hands were so tired! Paddling against the strong waves, pushing up your upper body against a board moving fast under the wave, hoisting your legs up... After 2 days of surfing my hands were like jello!
The staff of the surf school were really nice we ended up knowing everyone. From the owner Michael (who's a Chinese from Kalimantan), his wife Arniza, the transport guy Jasten (cool dude who looks a lot like Ferhad. Only more buff and sporting an earring), the admin/accts guy Ocha (comel) and the 4 surf instructors : Wayan Sunset (cool name), Gede Jendri, Victor (real name Idar Pamungkas) n Brazil (real name.. err.. Brazil!!). Brazil's siblings names are.. get a load of this: Amazon, New Zealand & Perancis!! :)
Btw, I asked Wayan Sunset if they wear sunblock and to my amusement, he answered. "Nanti diketawakan. Kerbau ada pakai sunblock?" :)
Jendri taught both me and Jules for the 1st lesson but the following lessons, Brazil joined Jendri so we had an instructor each. Surfing is so much fun, it's addictive! I actually found myself going to Quiksilver KLCC to buy a rash guard and calling up Sunway Lagoon to ask about their surf pool schedule! I was never into surf merchandise and sigh...menyesal tak sudah tak beli more surfwear at Bali!! They had so much choice - Surfer Girl, Roxy, Billabong, Rip Curl, Volcom... And cheaper than Malaysia obviously. Dang!
Me & Jules riding the waves
With our surf instructor Brazil & Jendri
My very own 'Kuta Cowboy' :)
During our lessons we would have a quick break, Victor, one of the other surf instructors would sit with us during his break time from teaching other students. Punyalah lawyer buruk, pastu suka cubit2 org pulak tu!! But he was very talkative and rajin bawak2 we all jalan-jalan. Tak sangka, he'd end up being my 'Kuta Cowboy'!
My friends were out touring as it was their first Bali trip, the hotel's shuttle bus was only till 5.30pm and it's quite a distance to Kuta town so I didn't mind going out berdua. Sekali dua, a few hours tu, ok le, but lama2 tu, aiya... Rimasss!! Naik speda motor lak tu. Too close for comfort! Plus, I didn't like the idea of being apart from my girlfriends. Dah tak jumpa satu hari, rindu nak catch up :)
Poor Victor, I buat dek je to his sms for Xmas plans. A nice guy though and he did bring me to lotsa places. He showed me how to eat cheap at Jimbaran. Just pick your fish at the fish market, then go and get it grilled at a local shop. We won't be eating on a table by the sand but the price is waaay cheaper! I always thought Jimbaran was expensive and indah khabar dari rupa. I mean, seafood in Thai or even Klang is cheaper and tastier. Aduss.. teringat lak makan Dungeness crab at Pier 49, San Francisco and I love how they cook squid at Barcelona.
Victor also brought me to Wayan Sunset's house. Oh my God, Wayan has a wife and a kid, with another child on the way and his house is basically just a room, and it's even smaller than mine. I guess only those originally from Kuta have proper houses with courtyards and temples. There's about 5 rooms in a row (just one floor) and they share toilet/kitchen.
After that Victor asked if I wanted to drop by his house and of course I was suddenly tired that night :)
Bali Bombing Memorial
Bali Bombing Memorial
What was once Sari Club
The bombing happened 5 moths after I visited Bali and I was totally disgusted by it. What did the Balinese do to deserve this? They are such peaceful people! And I always thought of Bali as like some sort of fantasy island that's cut off from the real world...
Rocking at Hard Rock Hotel's Centrestage
There is no cover charge at Centerstage. Solidaz Band was performing there and they were awesome! They are from New Zealand but has been touring Asian countries - Jakarta, Surabaya, Shanghai, Dubai, Singapore - even Penang! One of the vocalist, LT, told us he sang Belaian Jiwa! :)
With LT of Solidaz Band
Btw, if you don't stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, you can check out their pool. You have to pay though. Saw it from Mercure Hotel's swimming pool (5th floor) while learning basic surf appreciation stuff. The Hard Rock Hotel pool has a small section of artificial beach. Looks very nice but can't beat Mandalay Bay Las Vegas of course. Massive artificial beach!!
Spa at Bali
I am not much of a spa person but after two days of surfing my body was aching all over. I went to Secret Garden Spa (www.secretgarden-bali.com) as it is one of the few spas in Bali quoted on Indonesian Rupiah. Balinese massage, scrub, herbal bath, manicure & pedicure for less than RM120. Not bad, huh?
On my last day at Bali, tried another spa (Giri Loka Spa) near Jayakarta. This time I did the Hair Cream Bath as my hair needed it after 3 days at the beach. It was okey, but their hairdryer was pathetic. The power was probably not even 500 Watts,hehe. Dah le rambut aku ni lebat! Crappy blowdry but I was more depressed about leaving Bali to bother about my hair, hehe.
p/s: Everyone there keep mentioning Siti when we say we are from Malaysia!! The place we borong-ed DVD said Siti was at the shop to buy CDs (original ler) and the Slingshot guy said that Siti did the Slingshot.
p/p/s: I love how they have a lot of tempe at Bali but when I ate their 'cay kangkung'(kangkung goreng) I miss our sambal belacan! :)
p/p/p/s: Pics up at Photo Links.
