The mere mention of Bali evokes thoughts of a paradise. It's more than a place; it's a mood, an aspiration, a tropical state of mind. Most importantly, it was our first international trip together after a grueling year professionally. We were both looking forward to a short and sweet vacation in this paradise.
After months of planning and reservation (hotels, car rentals, safaris, currency exchange and sim cards), we finally embarked on our journey on October 25th by Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 199 at 00:55 AM IST. A point to mention here is that as we were almost nearing the airport, I suddenly remembered that I left my camera bag back at home and the thought was completely heart breaking. Our first international trip and I forgot my trusted camera... How would I capture all the good memories? Hubby convinced me stating that we have smartphones and probably this would be the opportunity to soak in the place through my eyes and not through my camera lens. While I was still sad, I kind of convinced myself that I can't turn back and hence there is only one option - to move forward and enjoy what comes next. The economy class was really cramped, however, since both of us are not really tall, we managed. We were served dinner with biriyani and dal (surprisingly, this is the first place where I saw dal being served with biriyani). We slept through most part of the flight, considering the time of the night. Reached Kuala Lampur airport around 8 AM local time and immediately ran for transfer. Malaysian Airlines flight MH715 for Dempesar left around 8.50 Am local time. The flight reached Dempesar Ngurah Rai International Airport at 11.50 AM local time.
My first glimpse of the paradise was from the flight window and all you can see clear blue water of the beaches. The airport was nice and there is visa exemption for stay within 30 days. So, we crossed immigration quickly and then got $50 exchanged at the airport for the taxi fare.
Our cab driver stood at the waiting area with our name board and we were
easily able to locate him. We boarded our cab, Datsun Go Plus, with the driver
Sudan starting our first leg of the journey to Bali Safari and Marine Park. Hubby was super excited to see all the known car brands on the roads - Honda, Toyota and Suzuki.
We stopped for lunch at Warong Legong, a local Balinese restaurant near Gianyar where they cook food on wood fire. I had Ikan Bakar (grilled fish in homemade barbeque sauce) while Ari had Iga Bakar (pork ribs in homemade barbeque sauce). The dishes were amazing and we thanked Panji (our tour organizer) for the suggestion. The restaurant owner also gave us a local dessert (crepes with coconut and honey) on the house as a compliment. The dessert was sweet for my taste but unique in flavor. We loved Balinese cuisine and decided that we will taste as many dishes as we can during the stay.
Post lunch, we headed our hotel for the day, Mara River Lodge. Our cab dropped us at the Bali Safari and Marine Park reception and from
there a safari vehicle took us to the lodge. The lodge was everything we saw in
the photos – unique theme and African décor. On the way to the lodge, we got to see
crocodiles, owl and dear. We were upgraded to the Twiga room in the first floor
and from the balcony. We could see zebras, rhinoceros, nilgai and ostrich
roaming in the compound. It was exciting and we both loved it.
We freshened up
in the room and then went back to the safari entrance around 5.30 pm for our
night safari tour. We were taken for a short walk around the park looking at
macau, porcupine, comodo dragons, crocodiles and iguana. There was also a huge statue of Ganesha in the park and we also got a quick glimpse of the cock fight at the Bali Theatre.
After that we had Barbeque dinner with chicken wings, beef, pork ribs, grilled fish and vegetables. We also watched an African themed dance.
This is where things started going south as due to some electrical problem, the entire park lost power and the entire area was in total darkness with only lights from candles illuminating the entire area. Eventually the cage safari which results in tourists having a close encounter feeding big cats also got cancelled. Trust our luck for losing such an opportunity and we were both extremely disappointed. We were eventually taken to a different hotel (Ruman Lewih) which is a beachfront hotel housed in a big colonial building for the night where we crashed for the night, being tired and exhausted after a long day.
After months of planning and reservation (hotels, car rentals, safaris, currency exchange and sim cards), we finally embarked on our journey on October 25th by Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 199 at 00:55 AM IST. A point to mention here is that as we were almost nearing the airport, I suddenly remembered that I left my camera bag back at home and the thought was completely heart breaking. Our first international trip and I forgot my trusted camera... How would I capture all the good memories? Hubby convinced me stating that we have smartphones and probably this would be the opportunity to soak in the place through my eyes and not through my camera lens. While I was still sad, I kind of convinced myself that I can't turn back and hence there is only one option - to move forward and enjoy what comes next. The economy class was really cramped, however, since both of us are not really tall, we managed. We were served dinner with biriyani and dal (surprisingly, this is the first place where I saw dal being served with biriyani). We slept through most part of the flight, considering the time of the night. Reached Kuala Lampur airport around 8 AM local time and immediately ran for transfer. Malaysian Airlines flight MH715 for Dempesar left around 8.50 Am local time. The flight reached Dempesar Ngurah Rai International Airport at 11.50 AM local time.
My first glimpse of the paradise was from the flight window and all you can see clear blue water of the beaches. The airport was nice and there is visa exemption for stay within 30 days. So, we crossed immigration quickly and then got $50 exchanged at the airport for the taxi fare.
 |
| Bali from the flight |
 |
| Ngurah Rai International Airport Exit Gate |
We stopped for lunch at Warong Legong, a local Balinese restaurant near Gianyar where they cook food on wood fire. I had Ikan Bakar (grilled fish in homemade barbeque sauce) while Ari had Iga Bakar (pork ribs in homemade barbeque sauce). The dishes were amazing and we thanked Panji (our tour organizer) for the suggestion. The restaurant owner also gave us a local dessert (crepes with coconut and honey) on the house as a compliment. The dessert was sweet for my taste but unique in flavor. We loved Balinese cuisine and decided that we will taste as many dishes as we can during the stay.
 |
| Ikan Bakar |
 |
| Iga Bakar |
 |
| Mara River Lodge Reception |
 |
| Twiga Room 202 |
 |
| Zebras in the compound as seen from the room balcony |
After that we had Barbeque dinner with chicken wings, beef, pork ribs, grilled fish and vegetables. We also watched an African themed dance.
This is where things started going south as due to some electrical problem, the entire park lost power and the entire area was in total darkness with only lights from candles illuminating the entire area. Eventually the cage safari which results in tourists having a close encounter feeding big cats also got cancelled. Trust our luck for losing such an opportunity and we were both extremely disappointed. We were eventually taken to a different hotel (Ruman Lewih) which is a beachfront hotel housed in a big colonial building for the night where we crashed for the night, being tired and exhausted after a long day.
No comments:
Post a Comment