A Blast of Bali

Lots of walking, eating, shopping, of security checks, of currency notes to carry and lots of zeroes in my head. That sums up my Bali experience this time around. Along the way we discovered that civet cats can make coffee. Yes, its in their genes!


Luwak Coffee comes from the faeces of civets. Yuccks! Civets pick the choicest coffee berries, eat them whole and, combined with their natural enzymes in the digestion process, excrete them intact. The end product is collected from the faeces, cleaned, cooked, processed and marketed. Apparently this product is the most expensive coffee in the world, as supplies are limited. None of us had ventured to try it at the Coffee Gallery...

When the twin Jakarta bombings of Marriot and Ritz Carlton happened, we were just 2 days away from embarking on our flight to Bali. At the same time there was huge concern about swine flu, so we did what we could do - bring our Vit C tablets, hand gels and face masks for the just-in-case. And hearts full of thankfulness to Providence for a holiday, trusting that protection which comes from Providence will also cover us all too.

"Bali is more serious about terrorism than about swine flu" Jac's revealing comments, on our 2nd day in Bali, couldn't be more accurate here. As the trip progressed we saw more evidence of Bali's serious attitude towards the more evil of the two. Our vehicle was checked inside and out when we approached places like hotels, the beaches, some food eateries. And when we walked into shopping malls, we were frisked by the men in uniform. It sure made us feel more secure knowing that there was some measure of control. Of course some caution - like staying out of crowded places and avoiding American and American-affiliated establishments (ouch!) helps. One thing for sure there were less people out there this visit than my previous. Less crowd and good weather = memorable holiday for us. However, for all it seems: People - Bali is safer than it looks from the outside - at least 2 days fresh from these latest attacks it is!

It's been 12 years since my last visit to this little paradise renowned for honeymoons, spas, its beaches and waves, and lately, for destination weddings. Bali remains clean, uncluttered and unharried by worldy cares. Thanks to Viv and family we had a cool, elegant suite hotel at Seminyak where we could share some beers and stories, lay our tired heads and legs in the comfortable beds and spacious rooms. Where we dealt with the shared expenditure to be settled - we decided it was better to deal with them at each day end. Thanks too to Viv for sparing me the humongous tasks of doing the calculations...

Money was a phenomenal issue, at least for me. Juggling with the price, mentally converting, bargaining and then matching of the notes to the figures to be paid was quite a chore. Roughly, Indonesian Rupiah100,000 = RM35. Mental torture for little brains like mine.

I also found that we had to bargain to one third at places like the bazaars, where goods are well marked up. It's a process that usually ends with us walking away, and being pulled back at our last asking price. A little game that gets better each time...


It was to our amusement that Chinese edition newspapers are way out expensive (they are imported). Stuck in a long queue of traffic, LPH's attention was caught by newspaper vendors walking the divider (much like the 4D results vendors in KL). He did not ask how much it was, suddenly he was digging for the currency to fit the payment. And how much was it? Rp45,000/-! (RM16.20) I guess advancing age plays a humorous trick on us more often these days, opening the plastic wrap, the date of the newspaper was 13 July- one week old! We did not spare him from this embarrassment either - each time we saw another vendor, it was a merciless chorus of "Paypar Lama! Oowld Newspaper..."


We also had our fair share of the local delicacies like Babi Guling, Dirty Duck, Nasi Padang, Bakso. As for Babi Guling we were told that Ibu Oka's at Ubud has the best around - to our delight it truly was good. Tender meat with a crispy skin served with spicy chilli sauce, it was just yummy. However we were also disappointed to not try the "Alpocat", avocado juice which Viv wanted so much - it was off season. Funny how avocados are available in Malaysia but not in Bali despite it being nearer to Australia.

There were the usual visits to places of interest eg Uluwatu temple, Mt Batur, Palace temple, Jimbaran beach, Tanah Lot, Ubud arts and crafts. 4 days just whizzed past! Even so, we managed to have a Balinese spa one late evening at a place called Alur Spa which our guide took us. For Rp225,000 we had a foot bath, Balinese massage and the "mandi lulur" (exfoliating process which has a herbal scrub, milk soak and a flower bath). I thought we were overcharged, nevertheless we were glad that we had so much with so little time. Given more time, I would have tried more of the beauty treatment spas, which Indonesia/Bali are famous for. For would-be travellers, do check out beforehand - competition for the spa business is thriving in Bali :-)

Shopping was fun with Viv the home decorator and Jac the eloquent shopper - out there were stone handicrafts, silver accessories, paintings and wooden decorations, beaded sandals and more. It felt good to bring home a bit of Bali and Viv, Jac sure had quite a bit of it!

Bali will serve to remind me of the splendour of Mother Nature. How a volcanic country can produce such beautiful landscape, is beauty from ashes. Even with the second visit, I cannot fail to be inspired by its beautiful sunsets, rugged coasts, and awesome waves which are visible even within an urban area like Kuta, like how some parts of Auckland are. The raw energetic waves at Uluwatu remind me so much of Muriwai and Huka Falls combined. Of course they each have their own beauty - got to see to believe. Which is why we need to see more of the world and its wonders . All credit to the God who is Lord of all Creation! Ole Bali!

Pics with courtesy of Jac