- Oct 21 -

*warning - damn kao long post ahead*

since we did not do the touristy thing in 2005 with the gang, we decided to book a one whole day tour for day 2. we called up this guy, Made (pronounced as Madir) who was recommended by Susan (mr tay's colleague) who went to Bali recently. Made was also recommended to Susan by another fella from Maxis. seems like the whole of maxis is using this particular tour guide. hehe!

Made picked us up at 9am after our scrumptious breakfast in the hotel. no, not club med. we only checked into club med on day 4. accompanying Made was sweet Little Mita, his 10 yr old daughter. he showed us the map and the highlighted places that we will be visiting: (will insert the names of places here when i get hold of the map at home later)

ok pics.

from a simple block of limestone

 

it metamorphs into these precious figurines

 

some of my favorites

 

i'm drawn to this, i dunno why

 

 

 

 

i love this one!!!

 

and this, is the infamous Ramayana and Sita figurine

 

Made told us that the King used to take his baths in this.
a bit the keras right?

 

hehe, i couldn't help it
them C-cup boobies are just too nice

 

temple visits were next.

i usually dread temple visits as i'm not really a fan of such stuff. hence, the not-so-enjoyable holiday to Cambodia last year. trust me, visit Angkor Wat and that's it. it's enough! don't go crazy over the 1 million temples there! you will only end up with a pair of sore feet and blisters at the end of the day. the rest of the temples were really nothing to shout about as all of them looked the same! ok, except for the one in Ta Phrom where they shot Tomb Raider. i didn't regret that one coz Angelina Jolie wuz 'ere, woohooo!

ANYWAYS

 

balinese prays a lot. A LOT.
Made explained that they will line up on the grass spots above in a single file and pray

 

before entering the temple area, you will need to donate and wear this sarong irregardless whether you're a female or male.
the sarong is provided free. many many colors!

 

mr tay in red sarong and that's Made in purple sarong

 

 

shy little mita

 

 

next temple visit pics after this. from this temple, we were off to an art centre. usually, if you are being brought by a tour guide to such places - art centres, places selling sculptures like the above pics, or even woodcraft centres - you really shouldn't buy because prices are usually more expensive and your tour guide actually gets a cut from it. not saying that i don't encourage helping your tour guide earn some moolah but seriously, the prices were wayyy off our budget.

and being the mr tay he usually is - he must always SECURE THE PARAMETER first. so how could he've bought anything from these first few spots when he had not secured the whole bali parameter? don't emo at me baby, you know it's true :D

ok, back to art centre.

 

 

this piece has been worked on for FIVE MONTHS by the artist above
i stood there for like 20 min just staring at him paint

 

i took a pic of this art and later realised that this piece of painting is currently very happening in the whole of bali, particularly in Ubud.
almost every art shop is selling this

 

and i also did a spot on for this one too! 
as it was featured in club med as i later found out on day 4. there's a pic which i took of it being hung on the walls of club med, will show on day 4's post
i had liked this for its vibrant colors

hehe, quirky!

 

ooo, i like this one

 

boy and girl
or
girl and girl?

 

tummyache? pregnant? muahahaha

 

next stop, wood-carving centre. wait, no pics of me ah? wait la, let me vomit back all the pics that i took first can or not? heh!

 

 

 

i lke this one

 

 

mommy and baby

 

 

so funny right!!! this was the first mask he picked and put on.
omg, i nearly didn't want him to take it off and spend the rest of the hols wearing that. hahahahaahaha

 

this one not cun la
the next one is...

 

PRESENTING...
FORBES TOP 50 MOST GORGEOUS

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so cantik sial

 

:)

 

:) :)

 

eww. can you spot his kuku?

 

up next, we went to visit the rice paddy fields grown on terrace hills. the view there was absolutely beautiful.

 

 

 

 

next, all the way up Kintamani. loved the air up there, as cool as Genting's. tour to Kintamani was an impressive experience where the Kintamani area has very beautiful panoramic view, encircled by mountain atmosphere with the windblast from Mount Batur. Mount Batur according to Made is dead as the gov has announced there will be no more eruptions.

you see the black area at the foot of the mountain? those are ashes

 

the restaurant Made brought us to for lunch
buffet style

 

the view from the table we were seated

 

i can't believe for my entire 26 years of existence, i have not tasted this fruit!
I LOVE IT!!!
didn't know what it was but took it anyway
i smuggled some out to give to Made and Little Mita
Made said, these are Passion Fruit.
i thought it was like some weird indonesian fruit which has a name like Buah Ganjil but no, it was all along a Passion Fruit. wtf!

 

Passion Fruit!

 

satay babi. mmm sedap!

 

poser

 

 

 

proof #12345 that mr tay takes better pic than me

 

 

pointy tointy

 

 

 

more temples... yawn.

 

 

balinese bathing in the water they believe to be holy water

 

 

mr tay in different sarong

 

me hiding my fugly sarong

 

next up, shopping!
mission: to purchase paintings

this is ubud. ubud is HUGE. can literally walk until you die. this is Ubud Art Market, though we didn't see much paintings sold over here.

 

 

 

mutated Nemo

 

got out of Art Market empty-handed and came out with a bottle of a much-needed Bintang. ahhhh...

 

more walkings!

ubud has many little shops all over the town and it takes quite awhile to cover the whole area. mr tay had to secure the parameter, remember? so make sure you put on a good pair of shoes.

spotted on display in one of the shops
SO CUTE! I LIKE!

 

by now, we were seriously looking for paintings to purchase. so we went in to practically EVERY art shop there was there in ubud. it was important for me that we both agree on the paintings. no point buying the one i like, hang it in the house and each day mr tay goes emo at the painting right?

 

we both liked this one very much. I SPOTTED IT FIRST!

but it had some stains on it and the shop owner said it was the only piece he has. so after asking for permission, i snapped a photo of it and showed to the other shops that we went to. this lady told us, there was none here in ubud other than the one we saw in the previous shop and the nearest place which has this was REALLY far away. aiya, why can't i fancy easier to find paintings? hehe.

by now, my legs were on the brink of snapping into two. took a rest at this cutesy stairway. I LOVE!!!

 

so cute ya!

we seriously walked for like 2+ hours, i think. so did we find our paintings at ubud, you ask? hehehe, not telling till day 3 post.

then just down the road, we had dinner at the famous Bebek Bengil aka Dirty Duck Diner.

 

 

lotus ponds and paddy fields surrounds this restaurant

 

 

 

we chose this spot over the tatami-style ones because my legs were killing me!
after walking for 2 hours straight, i couldn't be arsed to have to cross my legs just to have dinner!

not showing you the pics of my Bebek Bengil dish and mr tay's pork ribs (it was fantastic, the ribs!) because you really have to try them.

instead, showing you this Russian Pie.
content: kahlua, vodka and the rest of the cake ingredients

***

finito of day 2!
i have just posted over 90+ pictures, i hope your laptop did not crash :P

Made sent us back to our hotel and we spent the night watching Gremlins 2 on tv.
it was the ONLY show available at that time! Made was an excellant tour guide, he explains very thoroughly and lengibly, so if you want his contact when you're down at bali the next time, do let me know! already recommended him to Hooi Siang & Angeline since they might be going to Bali during this coming deepavali hols.

day 2 was extremely tiring! however, it rained while we were sleeping, so it was really nice :)