Bali Virgin
contributor: surfer boy chan       
occupation: marketing
I.M.…a wannabe surfer and beach bum



BALI WAS NEVER A PLACE I YEARNED TO VISIT. I ALWAYS HAD THE IMPRESSION THAT BALI IS AN OVER-COMMERCIALISED HOLIDAY DESTINATION, RAMPANT WITH MAT SALLEH (A LA PLACES LIKE PHUKET)! HOW WRONG I WAS – AND I WAS SO GLAD TO HAVE MADE MY VIRGIN TRIP TO BALI, FOR THE ORIGINAL INTENTION OF ATTENDING A FRIEND’S WEDDING.

WE STAYED IN KUTA IN BALI, AT THE ADHI DHARMA COTTAGES HOTEL. THIS TIME AROUND, MY GIRLFRIEND AND I FOUND AN AFFORDABLE PACKAGE DEAL (TRAVEL PLUS ACCOMMODATION) VIA MAS’ WEBSITE! SO THIS WAS QUITE A NICE CHANGE FROM ALL THAT TRAVELLING ON AIR ASIA, AS THEY AREN’T ALWAYS THE CHEAPEST AIRLINE AVAILABLE.

KUTA BEACH IS AT THE HEART OF THE “HAPPENING” AREA OF BALI – WHERE THE BARS AND SHOPS ARE. BEING MY FIRST TIME THERE, WE WANTED TO STAY AT THE HEART OF BALI. NOT TO MENTION TO BE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM THE BEACH TO CATCH SOME SURF. AMIDST THIS TRIP, I MANAGED TO DO SOME BODY BOARDING AND SURFING TOO, AS BALI OFFERS GREAT WAVES WHICH YOU DO NOT FIND IN MALAYSIA.


Temple of Tanah Lot
For the ignorant (like myself), I always thought Indonesia to be full of Muslims. That is entirely true, with over 90% of the population being so, but the minority of the population practice Hinduism, and they mostly reside in Bali! That’s why Bali has so many temples, statues and customs that link back to Hinduism.

Bali has a lot of sights to offer, and you seriously have to be selective if you’re on just a few days’ holiday. Looking at the tourist brochures, with all the intriguing pictures, we chose to visit Tanah Lot temple, a temple that stands on a rock facing the Indian Ocean. Travelling via taxi(which is the primary means of travel in Bali), a 40 minute ride took us to our destination. Aside from the Tanah Lot temple itself, there were numerous shrines around the area and statues of Hindu gods. The view of the ocean was terrific, not to mention the sunny weather!


Mad tourists braving the waves just to get the perfect photo


Ubud for shopping, Gua Gajah and Kecak dance
One of the ‘must-eat’ locations was in Ubud, we visited Ibu Oka restaurant for their famous Bali delicacy  - ‘Babi Guling’, or suckling pig. Basically pig filled with herbs and spit roasted for 5 hours, this dish is a must for pork lovers. With local spices, blood sausages, Balinese vegetables and pork tender enough to die for, this dish was well worth the trip. It must be said that for us Malaysians, it was rather odd to find Indonesians tucking into pork, as we generalise them to be Muslims. Even the owners of Ibu Oka look like Malays! Following our hearty meal, we visited the central market to ‘look-see’ for goodies to buy. The markets mostly had jewelry, wood carvings, and of course the touristy ‘Bintang’ beer t-shirts! We grabbed a few souvenirs and were on our way to the next destination.We visited another ancient site named Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave) in Bedulu. Set near the Petanu river, this place was a sanctuary for Hindus and Buddhists to take refuge and learn the teachings. With a bathing /wash pool, huge surrounding trees, a Hindu temple and more, Goa Gajah is a serene location, and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The landmark is of course the Goa Gajah itself, which is a cave engraved with menacing creatures and demons, which was thought to ward off evil.

Our final stop in Ubud was the Ramayana Kecak Dance. A traditional dance that plays out the story from the Ramayana - it was quite an enchanting hour. To note was the “kecak” sound made by the performers – which probably contributed to the dance’s name.



Famed 'Babi Guling'


Shopping in the local markets


Gua Gajah


Kechak Dance


Jimbaran for drinks + seafood
The following evening we visited Jimbaran for some nightlife entertainment. For pre-dinner drinks, we visited The Rock Bar in Ayana Resort. The Rock Bar is set in a breathtaking location, just off a cliff where the hotel is situated, but the bar itself sits on a rock at the foot of the cliff! Unfortunately, we arrived there pretty late in the evening and couldn’t catch the sunset view – darn! But from the pictures, you can see that there was even a queue to get DOWN to the bar, via a small cable car. Following which was another queue to get IN to the bar!  Drinks were decent, as was the spectacular view. We moved on to dinner on the beach in Jimbaran, famous for good seafood. Food was excellent, cooked in the Indonesian style and lots of nice chilli sauces! One of the highlights of dinner was the musicians – whose voices were phenomenal and they were able to belt out most songs we requested of them to sing!


Rock Bar


musicians by the beach


My original objective !!!
Last but not least worth mentioning, was the original objective of my trip to Bali – my friend’s wedding! My friend held his wedding in The Conrad in Nusa Dua, which cost him a bomb. 
But it was beautiful – a chapel wedding facing the sea, and an open air dinner with close friends and family. A perfect wedding!

Bali was really memorable. We only managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing in Bali this round.
But I’m sure to return in future as, for me, Bali is an enchanting place. Not to mention that you feel totally at home amongst the Indonesians, as we all speak a common language.


Wedding dinner