BALI

In the movie "Eat, Pray, Love", actress Julia Roberts gets bored with her very predictable life and chooses to travel to three different countries to rediscover herself. One of the countries she picked was Bali and I can clearly see why! The land has a lot to offer- rich culture, fun, party, amazing food, scenery, beaches, lots of smiles and adventure.

Our 7 day trip began at Kuta, which is always busy with activity. Wina Holiday Villa was our home for 3 nights. The villa is tucked away in a quiet street; a 5-7 minute walk away from Kuta beach and the busy Kuta streets. It is extremely affordable and comfortable (request for the room on the ground floor, facing the pool!). 

I've always loved doing sea activities. This time, we tried out something new, besides banana boat and jet skiing- we tried the flying fish. It was interesting, not as thrilling as it looks and lasted for a very short while (not worth the amount we paid). That evening, we decided to catch the Balinese sunset from Uluwatu Temple, which is set on a clifftop overlooking the Indian Ocean. The gorgeous sight of the sun slowly setting over the endless ocean, left us in awe.

View from Uluwatu Temple (Indian Ocean)

When a dragonfly chose to get in the photo too (Sunset from Uluwatu Temple)

Potato Head Beach Club

Most tourists who visit Bali, would never miss out on the Balinese nightlife. The famous Potato Head Beach Club was the destination for our second night in Bali. We returned again on our last night, this time with our swimsuits, to take a dip in the club's pool, overlooking the beach. If you want to chill with a few delicious cocktails while treating your eyes to pretty amazing views, this club's for you! We also made it a point to visit Skygarden, a club which was recommended by a friend. If you like to socialize and meet people from all around the world while doing goofy dance moves to catchy tunes, this is the place to be at. We had an amazing time there!

The bedroom (Ubud Raya Villas)

Our outdoor toilet (Ubud Raya Villas)

Our private pool at Ubud Raya Villas

The highlight of our trip has got to be the 2 nights we spent at Ubud, the cultural hub of Bali. I loved it so much. It is a vast contrast to the crowded and noisy Kuta. Ubud Raya Villas was our accommodation for the next 2 nights. The Villa is gorgeous (I'll let the pictures above speak for themselves), although it's in a secluded area, 10 minutes away from the city.  It is convenient and cheap to rent bikes in the area. The roads are not as congested as the ones in Kuta so it is safer to ride around in Ubud.

With many gorgeous Balinese sunsets witnessed, we decided we need to catch an amazing Balinese sunrise too! We heard many good reviews about the Mount Batur sunrise trek so we decided to give it a shot (best decision!). We set out from our villa at 3 in the morning. After a 2 hour drive, we reached the base of Mount Batur (the active volcano which is 1717m above sea level). Trekking up the mountain in pitch dark was definitely not an easy feat. Although we took only an hour to reach the summit, the journey up was arduous because of the rocky paths (it's easy to slip so it's advisable to have proper trekking shoes on). I regretted wearing my curved based sports shoes because I could feel the rocks through the sole of my shoes and my ankle would twist each time I stepped on a huge rock. Thanks to the experienced guide who stayed with us throughout, we reached the peak successfully.

Any exhaustion we felt disappeared upon reaching the summit and witnessing the amazing views. It left us both speechless! I'll let the photos below convince you. (Caution: There are many monkeys at the summit so keep your food and bags safe unless you want to share a meal with them too. They are generally cute and harmless. The descend to the base was more challenging than the ascend as it is easy to slip on the small rocks and volcanic sand...so be cautious.) A visit to Bali would definitely be incomplete without a visit to this place.

Cloud nine! (Mount Batur)

The food and massages in Ubud were really good and considerably cheaper than the ones in Kuta/Seminyak. We spent most of our time in the town area. Other activities you can consider are cycling through paddy fields, attending free cooking lessons in the villa and visiting small villages in Ubud. Due to time constraint, I was not able to do them. But I'm definitely going back to try them all! Bali was definitely one of my best trips and 7 days was just not enough. 

Xin Chao!

Xin Chao! After a two year hiatus, I'm back! I'm going to dive straight into my next post! 

"Xin Chao" means "hello" in Vietnamese and I was using that term quite a bit this June holidays, when I visited the buzzing Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City. When my cousins and I made the decision to travel to HCM (thanks to the discounted airfare), we were unsure of what to expect. We just packed our bags, got on a flight, practiced saying "xin chao" A LOT and crossed our fingers, hoping it'd be an enjoyable trip. 

Upon reaching the busy HCM city airport, we were greeted by crooks a.k.a taxi drivers trying to cheat us of our money. They claimed a taxi ride to the apartment we booked (which was just 15 minutes away from the airport) would cost us an absolutely ridiculous amount. We decided to check the pricing with a car rental company. They quoted us half the price! (LESSON 1: DO NOT trust private taxi drivers. Always look for taxis that calculate costs based on a visible metre!)

The apartment we stayed in, was away from the main city centre/touristy area, and was filled with locals with very little knowledge of English. Hence, we had trouble trying to communicate with them (I wish I had learnt more words besides "Xin Chao"!) We decided to explore the nightlife in HCM the first night and ended up in a club called "Apocalypse". It turned out to be an amazing find! The music's awesome (they have a wide range of songs), ladies get to enter free, they provide affordable drinks and it's filled with extremely fun people. The DJ even played a few hindi songs! We loved it SO much, we returned on our last night too. 

Over the next few days, we visited the Ben Thanh market, the night markets, Cu Chi Tunnel, Cao Dai temple, Mekong River, Saigon Notre Dame Basillica (Replica of the one in Paris!) and Central Post Office. The Ben Thanh market is huge! Our finds include various decorative items for the house (coasters , a vase, serving tray and a wine holder, all in a similar design and colour). We managed to get all the items at a steal (thanks to the bargaining skills we picked up from our other travels!). I was told a set of 6 coasters were actually 15 USD (refer to picture below; we bought goldish/beige coloured ones). After 5 minutes of bargaining, the shopkeeper ended up reducing it to 4 USD! Stay awhile longer for the night markets along the roads too! You can find pretty nice rompers and sandals at reasonable prices. (LESSON 2: When at Ben Thanh, always BARGAIN!)

HCM night markets

AT the entrance of Ben Thanh market

Coasters decorated with egg shells

The highlight of our trip was definitely the visit to the much talked about, Cu Chi tunnel. We were amused by the extremely creative and intelligent defense and attack tactics utilized by the Viet Congs (Vietnamese army that fought the Americans during the Vietnam war). We even had the opportunity to walk....errr...crawl through the tunnels to gain an idea of how narrow the pathways in the tunnels were (if you are claustrophobic, you might want to skip this!). I was impressed by the many traps that the Viet Congs had set up to stun the the American soldiers. The Americans had difficulty trying to infiltrate the tunnels due to the various traps and complex systems within the tunnel itself. This resulted in the eventual withdrawal of the American troops. The Cu Chi tunnels is definitely a must-visit site, at least during your first trip to HCM!

Cu Chi Tunnels

Mekong River Boat Ride

When in Vietnam, eat pho and drink coffee! I tried pho noodles once. It has a soft silky texture and was really appetizing. Unfortunately, most of the shops only served beef pho and I'm not a fan of beef. HCM has a rich coffee/cafe culture. The first thing we noticed when we were finding a place to have lunch,was that there was an overwhelming number of cafes which served nothing but beverages, mainly coffee. During lunch time, we noticed how the Vietnamese population would gather at these cafes to have their dose of caffeine. We decided to blend in and give the famous Vietnamese coffee a try. If you're a fan of espresso, you'd love it!

When in great company, you'd always have fun. I'm glad I got to witness what HCM has to offer with this fun bunch! Till next time, Tam Biet (goodbye)! (: