Exotic Bali (26 Aug - 30 Aug 2013 - Tour Details)

Places Visited:

Day 1 (26-Aug-2013, Mon) - Kuala Lumpur -> Bali:

- Departed from Kuala Lumpur LCCT airport (Air Asia Flight) at 10:50 am

- Total flight hours: 3 hours

Afternoon - 

• Reached Ngurah Rai Bali Airport, Denpasar at 2 pm (same time zone as KL). The flight was delayed about 15 minutes...
• Met Bali driver - Mr Komang Sunaya (Cousin of Mr Kadek Adipa), he can speak good English and Malay
• Lunch at Malioboro Ayam Tulang Lunak Restaurant -  Ordered Ayam Presto Goreng Crispy (Pressurized Fried Crispy Chicken), Ayam Presto Telur Asin (Pressurized Fried Chicken with Salted Egg) and Strawberry juice

Evening -

• Passed by Padang Padang beach
• Tea time at Blue Point Bay Villas & Spa -  Took the opportunity to photoshoot the beautiful swimming pool and chapel
• Pura Uluwatu - A lot of monkeys there... To see the beautiful sunset and Kecak Dance performance at 6 pm

Night -

• Dinner at New Matahari Cafe at Jimbaran Beach - Romantic candlelight dinner on the beach. Ordered the set which offered fish, cuttlefish, clamshells, prawns, crabs and lobster with beer and fruit juice and soup
• Checked-in Best Western Kuta Beach hotel - Welcome drink provided

Refer to My Posts:

(a) Exotic Bali - Ngurah Rai Bali Airport and Malioboro Ayam Tulang Lunak Restaurant (Day 1, 26 Aug 2013)
(b) Exotic Bali - Padang Padang Beach and Blue Point Villas & Spa (Day 1, 26 Aug 2013)
(c) Exotic Bali - Pura Uluwatu and Kecak Dance (Day 1, 26 Aug 2013)
(d) Exotic Bali - New Matahari Cafe at Jimbaran Beach and Best Western Kuta Beach hotel (Day 1, 26 Aug 2013)

Day 2 (27-Aug-2013, Tue) - Bali:

Morning - 

• Buffet breakfast at Best Western Kuta Beach hotel - Delicious breakfast especially those buns and croissants 
• Walked to Kuta Beach from the hotel - 5 minutes walk
• Checked-out Best Western Kuta Beach hotel
• Tegallalang Rice Terrace - Breathtaking scenery
• Pura Tirta Empul - Holy spring temple

Afternoon -

• Satria Coffee Plantation - Tasted various kinds of coffee drinks (free samples) and ordered the most special coffee - Luwak Coffee (IDR 50,000 per cup)
• Mount and Lake Batur at Kintamani - Nice volcano and lake view. Windy and cold around 16 degrees of Celcius
• Lunch at Sari Restaurant, Kintamani - Buffet lunch with a nice volcano and lake view

Evening -

• Lovina - Took about 2 hours drive from Kintamani. During the journey, our driver had stomach pain, I gave him some Chinese medicine to eat. Luckily he felt better after that and can continue with our journey...
• Checked in to Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay - Recommended by our driver's boss - Mr Kadek Adipa. No TV and WIFI provided but very cheap rate.
• Lovina beach - Located just behind Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay, a 1-minute walk from our rooms. Beautiful sunset view at the beach at 6:10 pm.

Night -

• Dinner at Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay - Tried to walk outside and find some restaurants but failed. So we went back to the bungalow. I ordered pork fried rice, banana juice and banana pancake.
• Enjoyed the starry sky view at night at the restaurant of Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay

Refer to My Posts:

(a) Exotic Bali - Kuta Beach and Tegallalang Rice Terrace (Day 2, 27 Aug 2013)
(b) Exotic Bali - Pura Tirta Empul (Day 2, 27 Aug 2013)
(c) Exotic Bali - Satria Coffee Plantation (Day 2, 27 Aug 2013)
(d) Exotic Bali - Mount Batur at Kintamani (Day 2, 27 Aug 2013)
(e) Exotic Bali - Sunset at Lovina Beach (Day 2, 27 Aug 2013)

Day 3 (28-Aug-2013, Wed) - Bali:

Morning - 

• Sunrise dolphin viewing tour at Lovina - Woke up at 5:00 am. Morning call by the staff of the homestay at 5:30 am. At 6 am the tour started...
• Breakfast at Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay - Ordered toast with strawberry jam and butter and a hot chocolate drink
• Meet driver (Mr Komang) at 9:30 am and checked out from Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay.
• Banjar hot spring - Reached there at 10:10 am. Not many people but later on a lot of Caucasian tourists arrived there too. The hot spring is always maintained at 38 degrees of Celcius, not too hot and very refreshing to soak in the spring water.
• Danau Buyan and Danau Tamblingan - Twin lakes between the mountains

Afternoon -

• Tea time at Strawberry Stop - A lot of flowers and strawberries are planted there. Fresh strawberries are sold quite cheap there too. I ordered a strawberry pancake with ice cream and a strawberry milkshake.
• Pura Ulun Danu Bratan - A floating temple on the lake. Spotted a local praying ceremony there.
• Jatiluwih Rice Terrace - One of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Bali. We just took some photos from the car.
• Lunch at Depot Betty 2 - Recommended by our driver. We ordered the special Babi Guling (roasted suckling pig) meal set and ice lemon tea. Treated our driver for lunch too...

Evening -

• Pura Luhur Tanah Lot - Planned to view sunset there but we reached there around 4 pm, we didn't want to wait until sunset which was around 6 pm. So we left earlier...
• Dinner at Bebek Bengil Dirty Duck Restaurant - I ordered the famous crispy duck dinner set and watermelon juice.
• Checked in to Bhanuswari Resort & Spa - Welcome drink was provided. 20 minutes drive to Ubud city center, free shuttle service to Ubud center is provided but we didn't use the service.

Refer to My Posts:

(a) Exotic Bali - Sunrise dolphin viewing tour at Lovina (Day 3, 28 Aug 2013)
(b) Exotic Bali - Banjar Hot Spring and Danau Tamblingan & Danau Buyan (Day 3, 28 Aug 2013)
(c) Exotic Bali - Tea time at Strawberry Stop (Day 3, 28 Aug 2013)
(d) Exotic Bali - Pura Ulun Danu Bratan (Day 3, 28 Aug 2013)
(e) Exotic Bali - Jatiluwih Rice Terrace and Babi Guling Lunch (Day 3, 28 Aug 2013)
(f) Exotic Bali - Pura Luhur Tanah Lot and Bebek Bengil Dirty Duck Restaurant (Day 3, 28 Aug 2013)

Day 4 (29-Aug-2013, Thu) - Bali:

Morning - 

• Breakfast at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa - I ordered a banana pancake with banana juice
• Relax time at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa - Took some photos around the resort. There are nice paddy fields beside the resort and beautiful villas and a swimming pool.
• Meet our driver at 11:00 am
• Sukawati Art market - Many shops sell souvenirs, wood carvings and oil paintings. Can bargain from 50% and onwards. I bought some cheap souvenirs here too :)

Afternoon -

• Puri Saren Agung - Ubud Palace with free entrance
• Tea time at Cafe Wayan - A lot of Caucasian tourists had their lunch here too. I ordered Hawaiian pizza, 'Death by Chocolate' cake and papaya juice. (Planned to eat lunch at Satri's Warung, but we forgot to book earlier for the special banana chicken set. So the owner of the restaurant asked us to come back at 4 pm, it needs 3 hours to prepare the banana chicken. So we had our tea time first...)
• Shopping around Jalan Monkey Forest and Ubud market - I bought some handmade soaps from KOU handmade soap shop which is owned by a Japanese. Found the information from a forummer who recommended buying it because the soap is good for skin and it can be used to wash face too...

Evening -

• Dinner at Satri's Warung - Not easy to find this restaurant, as it is hidden inside the Jalan Monkey Forest street. Luckily our driver showed us the place when he drove by. We ate the special banana chicken set which can serve 4 people.
• Spa at Sedona Spa - I tried the Milk Bath body spa. Recommended to reach there before 7 pm, as the spa room is near to the rice field. And after sunset, the room will be cold as it is located outdoor and a lot of mosquitoes.
• Rest at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa - Requested the staff in the resort to help me to post my postcard

Refer to My Posts:

(a) Exotic Bali - Relax time at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa (Day 4, 29 Aug 2013)

(b) Exotic Bali - Sukawati Art Market (Day 4, 29 Aug 2013)
(c) Exotic Bali - Puri Saren Agung, Cafe Wayan and KOU handmade soap shop (Day 4, 29 Aug 2013)
(d) Exotic Bali - Satri's Warung and Sedona Spa (Day 4, 29 Aug 2013)

Day 5 (30-Aug-2013, Fri) - Bali -> Kuala Lumpur:

Morning - 

• Breakfast at Bhanuswari Resort & Spa - I ordered an American breakfast set (2 fried eggs, bacon, chicken sausage and ham), pineapple juice and hot tea
• Checked out from Bhanuswari Resort & Spa
• Meet our driver at 9 am
• Goa Gajah - Elephant Cave temple. The area is quite big, can see small waterfalls too.
• Karya Mas Wood Carving Center - Since we still had some time, our driver recommended we visit and can see the process of wood craving. I bought a small wood craft statue here. A bit expensive.
• Sari Amerta Batik Collection - Recommended by our driver. Can see the process to make batik. The products in the shop are quite expensive.
• Bali Cake Shop - Before we went to lunch, we passed by this shop and our driver recommended we buy some Kuih Lapis (layer cake). The layer cake was a bit expensive so we didn't buy it, but we bought some other snacks there.

Afternoon -

• Lunch at Dewi Sri Seafood Chinese restaurant - Recommended by our driver. Initially, I planned to have lunch at Pizza Bagus, Ubud. But my mum wanted to try Chinese food.
• Krisna Oleh Oleh Khas Bali souvenir shop - Can find many cheap souvenirs here at a fixed price. The quality of the products is just OK. I bought 2 cheap sarongs, a T-shirt and other souvenirs.
• Discovery Shopping Mall - Last stop of our Bali trip. A lot of souvenirs shop in this mall, but the price is quite expensive. The back of the mall is facing a beautiful beach... 

Evening -

• Ngurah Rai Bali Airport, Denpasar - We reached the airport very early around 4:30 pm. Need to pay IDR 150,000 for the departure tax after we checked in our baggage. A lot of souvenir shops in the airport too...
• The flight departed at 7:30 pm (delayed 20 minutes) to Kuala Lumpur

Night -

• Reached LCCT airport at 11 pm. Unable to get the first round of the Aerobus to KL Sentral, the bus seats were full. So we waited for a while to get the next round of buses...
• Reached KL Sentral at 1:30 am
• Home sweet home at 2 am

Refer to My Posts:

(a) Exotic Bali - Goa Gajah (Day 5, 30 Aug 2013)
(b) Exotic Bali - Karya Mas Wood Carving Centre, Sari Merta Batik Collection and Bali Cake Shop (Day 5, 30 Aug 2013)
(c) Exotic Bali - Dewi Sri Seafood Restaurant, Krisna Oleh Oleh Souvenirs Shop and Discovery Shopping Mall (Day 5, 30 Aug 2013)

Tour Expenses:

• Transportations:
• Flight tickets (by Air Asia) + Baggage + Insurance - RM 302  /pax
• Taxi transfer to LCCT airport - RM 12.50 /pax
• Bali driver (includes with driver's meals, parking, petrol and mineral water is given):
• Day 1 - IDR 62,500 /pax
• Day 2 - IDR 112,500 /pax
• Day 3 - IDR 112,500 /pax
• Day 4 - IDR 87,500 /pax
• Day 5 - IDR 75,000 /pax
• Tipping for Bali driver (optional) - IDR 30,000 /pax
• Departure airport tax - IDR 150,000 /pax
• Aerobus from LCCT airport to KL Sentral - RM 8 /pax
• Accommodations:
• Best Western Kuta Beach hotel (breakfast + free WIFI) (1N) - RM 93 /pax
• Mandhara Chico Bungalow homestay (breakfast) (1N) - IDR 100,000 /pax
• Bhanuswari Resort & Spa (breakfast + free WIFI) (2N) - RM 214.60 /pax
• Entrance Fees:
• (1) Pura Uluwatu - IDR 20,000 /pax
• (2) Kecak Dance at Uluwatu - IDR 70,000 /pax
• (3) Tegallalang Rice Terrace - IDR 5,000 /pax
• (4) Pura Tirta Empul - IDR 15,000 /pax
• (5) Sunrise dolphin viewing tour at Lovina  - IDR 80,000 /pax
• (6) Banjar Hotspring - IDR 5,000 /pax
• (7) Pura Ulun Danu Bratan - IDR 30,000 /pax
• (8) Pura Tanah Lot - IDR 30,000 /pax
• (9) Goa Gajah - IDR 15,000 /pax
• Food and Meals - IDR 718,475 + RM 1.50
• Sedona Spa (Milk Bath) - IDR 160,000
• Shopping:
• (1) Souvenirs and others - IDR 106,000
• (2) Sarongs - IDR 213,000
• (3) Wood craft statues - IDR 179,500
• (4) KOU handmade soaps - IDR 154,000
• (5) Snacks - IDR 14,300
• TOTAL = IDR 2,545,275  (* rate: 0.000315) + RM 631.60
• = RM 1,433.40