back from Bali

  I'm not one to take many pictures... So I don't have many to show. And I'm not a photographer, so even if I do try to take pictures (of a landscape, a sunset, a moment in time), they often don't capture the breathtaking beauty that I'm trying to keep... I do take pictures of the people I spend time with in order to remember the memories I make... And I highly recommend you do that, too, even if you don't like taking pictures of yourself. Because with time, our brains forget, people enter and leave our lives. And these photos you take will be the only few physical things you have left of your past experiences. 

  I did, however, keep a visual diary of what I did during my trip. And it turned out quite well. Even if it was very simple. 

  I stayed in Bali for nine days, as a well deserved break, and also as a traditional "your-honeymoon-has-to-be-spent-overseas", even if The Hubby and I spent a couple of days at The Warehouse Hotel immediately after we got married.

  Was nine days a long time to spend in Bali? Yes. Yes, it was.

  What we did in nine days could have been done in four/five days. But it was nice to have one day of activity and one day of rest. It was a very relaxed and chill holiday.

  We stayed in Airbnbs so that cost was kept low. We stayed in South Denpasar, which is really near the airport. And then on day five, we travelled to Ubud to stay till' the end of our stay.

  And here are the highlights of our holiday...

  On Day Three, we went to Kuta Beach and had cold beers. I picked up seashells, and The Hubby and I enjoyed a very pretty sunset together.

  On Day Six, we decided to make pit-stops before we went to our next home in Ubud. We visited Kenungan waterfall. 165 steps to see this view:

  Our driver explained that there used to be nothing at Kenungan waterfall, but a village moved in and banked in on tourists visiting the area. Now, there's a SGD $2 entrance fee to the waterfall, and plenty of people sell drinks and snacks, too. I'd say if you'd prefer a more quiet waterfall, skip this and visit some place else. The 165 steps back up was also no joke...

  After that, we visited Pod Origin. It was a wonderful experience. To start, we were given a shot of chocolate. Then we paid for a tour of the factory and the chance to make our own chocolates. A guide showed us how chocolate was harvested and processed... We were allowed to sample all of the flavours of chocolates that they sold... And we got to make our own chocolates. 

Waiting for the chocolates to cool? Let's take a selfie.

  You could also go for an elephant riding experience, but I questioned the ethics of it. I don't even go to Singapore's Aquarium because they keep dolphins.... The place also had a water rafting experience, but The Hubby doesn't know how to swim and has had a bad experience in the past with water rafting, so we skipped that, too.


  On Day Eight, we woke up a little earlier so that we could go for a hike along the Campuhan Ridge Walk. It's a lovely trail that is connected to Ubud's main street. The trail is paved, and the scenery is lovely.


  We then needed to eat, and The Hubby wanted to go to this grill place, but when we reached it, the staff said that they didn't open till' after 5pm. However, just across the road, we found a wonderful Greek restaurant called "Nostimo". We had our best meal for the whole trip at this restaurant. And they were so competitively priced.

Look at how nice the meal looks...

  On Day Nine, we visited the Water Palace in Ubud. On the left side of the Water Palace is a large warung, and on the right is a.... Starbucks. Who'd have though, eh? And on the outside of the Starbucks, there is a sitting area. It's not clearly marked so most people don't sit there (they'll sit inside the store). The outside doesn't have air-conditioning but it's so peaceful, and no one will bother you... We spent almost two hours just sitting there. It gave me some time to draw in my sketchbook and reflect back on the past nine days before we headed to the airport to take our flight back to Singapore.

  So now I'm back in Singapore and trying to collect my bearings. It's difficult to get back to work life after you've been on a long holiday, isn't it?

  But I'm glad to be back home in Singapore. And to be teaching classes, and doing art-sy things again. I'll be back to regular posting soon. :)