Day 3 - Bedugul, Tanah Lot, Jimbaran

After an early breakfast on Day 3 (Wed), we strolled around the hotel's compound and took some random shots.

(The fountain at the main lobby of the hotel. It has 5 men carved out of rock sitting in a circle as if they were doing some magic to the water like that.)

(The front porch of the hotel)

(Hey... a silverbabe owned by the hotelier... Silver Toyota MRS)

(The back garden of the hotel)

As usual, our car arrived right on time. We hopped into it and off we went to Bedugul which is about 1 hour 30 minutes drive away. There were lots of things to see along the way. School children on their way home after school, women in pretty kebaya with striking sash tied around their waist, balancing a basketful of offering on their head, on their way to the pura (temple). Of course my fun & interesting hubby slept thru all of it... lols

Bedugul has a very pleasant climate and its scenery is splendid. A beautiful sight to behold is the "Ulun Danu" temple which seems to rise out of the lake. According to Dana (our guide), this temple was erected not too long ago. 14 years ago if not mistaken. So there are not much of history significant to it.

(Other achitecture within the temple's compound. A little like those in Holland huh?)

(A Buddhist monument)

(The moss formed from the humid environment and the peeling paint, classic.)

(An Indonesian Chinese couple having their pre-wedding photography done at Bedugul. Wishing them happily ever after. To think of it arr... before kahwin, you want it all. After kahwin arr, what's the point of it all?)

(Note the hill in the background partly covered by the low cloud)

(Bound to come upon an artist everywhere you go in Bali. Inevitable. They are all artistic to a certain degree. This artist is sketching the portrait of the man.)

After "Ulu Danun" temple, Dana brought us to this restaurant called "Pacung" for lunch. I would say he got the table with the best view reserved for us. It offered a very beautiful scenery of paddy terraces with challets by its side and a huge hill as the background. Nice.

(Our lunch. You hungry yet?)

(The view in front of us. Didnt managed to capture the faraway hill)

After lunch, we headed for Tanah Lot next. By time we arrived, it was already pretty hot. Nevertheless, it didnt stopped us from admiring its beauty. Tanah Lot means "Land in the Middle of the sea". The temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

(Saw the temple in the background? On top of the big rock.)

(I know it sound weird to say this, but erosion has finally done some good. This place is beautiful)

(strong waves hitting & washing up the cliff)


(Pretended to be scared, but really got scared.)

Surprisingly, underneath the temple (there is a cave beneath the huge rock), admist the sea, there was a spring water trickling down the rock. Underneath the temple, there is a spring water source. Harrison finds it very strange to have a spring water source out of no where near the sea. I told him this... "aiyah.... they must have connected a pipe underneath to con stupid tourist like us la"... he looked at me for a second, and walked away with dissappointment splattered all over his face... hahahahaha...

(Getting blessed at the miracle spring water cave by a 'bali sifu' with rice at the forehead and later rinse our face with the spring water.)

(We get flower by our ear after the blessing ceremony. See how adorable he looked...lols)

(Decorated my hat with the blessed frangipani. Drying my wet face *there goes my ICI, shit* )

(Harrison posing with the temple behind him. Somehow, this photo of him reminds me of a photo of my grandpa taken in some holidays too. Note to self: go ransack old photos)

(Wah.... nice hor?)

Having been under the sun for the past hour, we decided to lepak at a coffee shop nearby, ordered for ourselves some fresh cool coconuts and just sat there watch people going about their stuff. Mostly were of bargaining tourists. Oh yeah, if you really need to shop, shop here. The price is reasonable and most importantly, bargainable. You can find anything you want from Bali here (except for furnitures la)...

There is another thing that we learned about Tanah Lot from another guide later part of our trip, that, the Balinese believes engaged couple (or paktor-paktor couple) shouldnt visit Tanah Lot or they will break-up. That's something new. Luckily we kahwin already, otherwise arr.. sia sui... lols

That night, we had a nice barbeque dinner at Jimbaran. Jimbaran is a beautiful white sandy beach that is cluttered with seafood restaurants and some of the finest luxury hotels in the world. The settings were really nice. Easy, comfortable & romantic. We had barbeque seafood, beer and witness one of the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. It was so beautiful.

(Romantic right? Even my 'most' unromantic hubby finds it romantic lor... lols)

(So nice..)

In Bali, there are two brand of local beer. One is 'Bintang' and the other is 'Bali Hai'. 'Bintang' is a better beer compared to 'Bali Hai'. Stronger & sweeter. 'Bali Hai' taste like carbonated water - very bland.

The only downside of our experience in Jimbaran is the overpriced & overcooked lobster. 1.6kg lobster for R800,000+ (RM240+); kena slaughtered until all bloody... lols. If it is yummy, nevermind la... some more not yummy. This one lobster is even more expensive than our whole dinner at 'Kudeta' - the most happening & expensive place in Bali which we went on Day 5. Next time, we'll know la... won't be 'tai len ngong' already... :)