PROLOGUE

Just arrived home 9:00 p.m. last night. My mind is still pre-occupied with the memories of places I've been to in my 7-day trip. The amazing sight, the incredible sound, the wonderful feeling. Thanks to all Forum contributors for the invaluable information, so here's to you, my just back report. 

It's my 11th trip to Bali. I went with my husband and 23 other people from his office. It's his company's outing and only lasted for 2 nights. I myself extended my trip for another 4 nights exploring Bali with a friend.

DAY 1 

10:30 - Arrived Ngurah Rai airport. Bali here I come!

11:30 - The whole group had lunch at the old Jimbaran seafood, I couldn't remember the name. The food was good, however I think the service at the newer seafood strip (closer to FSJB) is better. The waiters there are friendlier too.

14:00 - Checked in at Nikko Bali at South Nusa Dua where the company had booked the accommodation for the entire group. We passed by the new Bali Aga hotel on the way to Nikko Bali. It looked nice from outside. Next to it are Bali Golf & Country Club and Amanusa hotel. Nikko Bali is located further in. There is nothing around the hotel; I mean no restaurants, cafes whatsoever. I looked into my driver list. So many good drivers has been recommended by the Forumites I had a difficulty to choose one! I decided to call whomever on the 1st on the list and bingo! Magnum was the lucky one. I gave him a call on his hand phone, he's available and we're set for a day out on the next day.

15:30 - Went swimming at the hotel's pool with some of the office staffs. 

19:00 - We took blue taxi from the hotel to Kuta to drop 2 of the girls wanted to go shopping. Kuta was crowded. It's good to see how busy Bali is at the moment. When we were there in March this year Kuta was like a dead town. We continued our journey to Kafe Warisan at Seminyak for dinner. I called for reservation earlier, requesting the best table, and we were given the table on 2nd floor right on the balcony overlooking the paddy fields. Very romantic. Great food too. 

20:30 - Called the 2 girls to meet us at Made's Warung, Seminyak. It was full! The girls hadn't have dinner yet so they had nasi campur, the fastest served food because we were only given 1/2 hour on someone else's table before they arrived. Hubby & I had banana pancakes. Met my friend Nicky there, whom later would be my company after my husband left, and chat a little bit about our itinerary. 

22:30 - Back to the hotel & had drinks at the hotel's fun pub, O-loo-loos. Great live music performance. The band called Platinum. They used to perform at Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua and Hard Rock Café. 

01:30 Didn't leave the pub until the pub was closed & finally back to room to sleep.

DAY 2

09:00 Had a buffet breakfast at the hotel as a part of the room package. 

10:00 Magnum was prompt. Met him at the lobby. He was wearing an oversize t-shirt, massive short, and baseball cap with his email address, magnuminbali@yahoo.com embroidered on the back of his cap. Cute! There were 5 of us, my husband and I, and some of hubby's staffs, 3 girls. His car is a clean, comfortable minivan. He's cheerful, not too serious but very polite. He's just our kind of guy. We're heading to Ubud.

11:30 I know mostly driver takes tourist to silver or woodcarving factory so they can gain extra money from the factory if the tourist bought something, but Magnum didn't do that. It was us who wanted to go. One of the girls would like to buy some silver ring, so when we arrived Celuk I asked Magnum to stop at one of the silver factory. 

12:00 Arrived at Bebek Bengil, our favourite restaurant. It was jammed on the way to Ubud since Galungan celebration was approaching; the villages were preparing the celebration. We asked Magnum to join us for lunch. All of us ordered crispy duck, which is served with "urap" (Balinese vegetable salad) as a side. Magnum likes the urap so much that all of us passed our 5 plates urap to him, and he ate all of it! Each of us exchanged stories and had a good laugh with him. He has a huge interest in cars & my hubby is a devoted car lover, both of them seemed so clicked talking about cars. 

14:00 Knowing my fascination on rice terraces, Magnum took us to the rice terrace spot at Tegalalang. Tiny compared to the one in Tirtagangga, nevertheless it's lovely too.

15:00 Went to Ubud market, the girls wanted to buy some souvenirs. Hubby and I had a drink at Bumbu Bali restaurant across the street.

16:00 Visited Four Seasons Sayan to show the girls one of the most beautiful hotel in the world. Had a look into the duplex suite also, the bedroom is rather small. The villa is more suitable for honeymooners, I guess.

17:00 Went to Sukowati market & bought 5 kilos of salak (snakeskin fruit) & headed back to hotel. 

19:30 Group dinner at Made's Warung. Magnum had waited whilst we freshened up at Nikko & sent us back to Made's Warung Seminyak. He just dropped us off as he had a client to be picked up at the airport later that evening. Hubby was very touched when he got a hug from Magnum. We asked for his name card and I got about half a dozen. You might want to know he didn't even ask me to promote him on the Forum. 

20:30 Damn, the seafood platter at Made is very delicious! Too full from dinner, we decided to walk around Legian before heading back to the hotel and closed the night by 23:30.

DAY 3 

10:00 Had breakfast at hotel's coffee shop & spent lazy morning around the hotel. Also had lunch at poolside restaurant and said goodbye to hubby and the girls who would be leaving Bali in the afternoon.

14:00 Took a blue taxi from the hotel & went to the airport to meet my friend Nicky. She was in Denpasar in the morning so we thought airport would be the best meeting spot. We drove to Sayan to pick up another friend, Renee who'll be joining us for the trip to Pemuteran.

16:00 Arrived Sayan and waited for Renee at her work place for a while before we sent her home to collect her stuff. Renee's place is in Tegalalang, amazingly secluded, surrounded by banana plantation. Is this the real Bali people are talking about, I wonder? Had a look at Renee's hubby's work in his studio. What a beautiful paintings! Left after a continuously bye..bye...bye...with Renee's hubby. He jokingly warned us about the beach boys in Pemuteran where we were heading.

18:00 It was a long way to Pemuteran so we had a quick, early dinner at kafe Batan Waru. Had a tasty nasi campur. Renee had nasi goreng & it was delicious too!

18:30 Nicky drove us to Pemuteran via Payangan & Kintamani. Stopped by at one of petrol kiosk to fill up the tank & bought some snacks & drinks.

20:00 It was a lovely journey. Too bad it's too dark outside to see any view. However there were million of stars on the dark sky, it was so beautiful, I felt like I was inside a planetarium! 

21:00 Nature called & we stopped by at a mini market in Seririt to buy snacks & went to the ladies.

23:00 After a journey that seems has no end, passing bumpy roads, crazy drivers, tired & sleepy, need I say more, we finally arrived Pemuteran. Recommended by Renee's boss, we went straight to Taman Selini. No front desk staff & only one security guard around who seemed knows nothing but has a key to one of the room. We managed to see it though. It is a stand-alone bungalow with a big couch and 2 chairs & table at its verandah, very clean and pleasant bedroom with mosquito net, lovely outdoor shower & bathroom. However we didn't see the hotel's ground & it was late and dark. The room we saw is just next to the lobby.

24:00 Out of curiosity we went to Matahari Beach Resort, gosh...it's so beautiful, the lobby, the pool, the room, the ground. it was dark but we can see it's definitely a 5 star resort. Those of you who has visited its web site - glad to let you know what you see it what you get. After 7 hours journey (at least for Nicky & I) we feel like to pamper ourselves, so we checked in at Matahari instead of Taman Selini, which would be my favorite place to stay in Pemuteran on a different circumstances, say if we arrived much earlier. IMO the front desk at Matahari should be more efficient, they are too slow; they let us waited for almost 1 hour just to prepare the extra bed, whilst it was freezing in the open-air lobby where we sat down. 

DAY 4 

08:00 Woke up & felt fresh. We walked around Matahari's ground and checked out the spa. The hotel's garden is beautifully manicured with lush plantation, very contrast with the bougainvilleas in purple & fuchsia colors. Such a lovely sight. The pool is located in the middle of the ground, has simple rectangular shape with mountain in the background. The library, gym, and spa are located in one compound. The main restaurant is half indoor half outdoors; we didn't check the one on the beach though. The beach has black sand with a lovely 180-degree (I think) ocean view. We loved the place! The staff told us they have driving range & putting green but golfing was not what I need right now!

09:00 We attended yoga class at bale overlooking the beach. Nicky has been actively attending yoga class, Renee might attend a few times, but it was my first time, and I was curious what is it about. The class was held by a rather young guy for the 1st part i.e. Tao yoga, and by a yoga guru for the 2nd part i.e. Asanas yoga. They are very nice people & the guru is full of philosophy. Very soothing just to hear his voice. Later I found out it is very similar to stretching, combined with focusing and relaxing your mind. The exercise was very good; the sight of the beautiful ocean helped us to relax. 

10:40 Had breakfast buffet at hotel. Very, very good quality of food and presentation. We had muesli, toasts, and tuna. Even the mie goreng is very nice! 

12:00 Went swimming, sunbathing, relax by the pool. Oh well, we deserved it. It's good catching up with my old friend Renee as we haven't seen each other ever since she moved to Bali a few years a go. Did I tell you I just met Nicky for the 1st time at Mades Warung 2 days before? My Balinese friend who's supposed to be my company was not in town so she introduced me to Nicky who has been living here for 4 years. She is extremely accommodative and it turned out we had the similar interests in hotels, food, and scenery, so we get along well without much effort! 

15:00 I wish I could stay one more day in Matahari so that we could go across to Menjangan Island. However Renee had to return to work on the next day that she had to be home tonight. Again it took forever at the front desk to check out. They gave us natural ingredient soaps as a gift. Each guest got one. We took a quick look at Taman Sari, which seems to be the darling of the Forumites. I had traveled a long way and I will be kicking myself if I didn't see it! The room is also a stand-alone bungalow, outdoor shower etc. We saw the ocean view deluxe room. I personally like Taman Selini's room better. To me the room at Taman Sari is dark & has a bit damp smell like those old hotels in Ubud. Anyway, different strokes for different folks. Who knows I got the wrong room? Besides we didn't stay overnight on both properties, so for those of you who has booked Taman Sari please don't get discouraged. If this can make you feel any better, the front desk at Taman Sari is sooooo much friendly and accommodative rather than the one at Matahari. At Taman Selini - I had no comment. We only met the security guard!

17:00 Arrived Damai Lovina after a pleasant journey along the coast. Just before turning right at jalan Damai (Damai street), an alley next to Khi Khi seafood restaurant, we have seen some of beautiful paddy fields & coconut trees with mountains in the background. What a lovely sight. As we entered jalan Damai, the road went up hill & we passed a few village temples along the way until we arrived at Damai Lovina Villas. The area reminds me on the arid area of South Jimbaran or South Nusa Dua, but this one is greener with more plantations. We felt in love with the place at once! Further inside passing the lobby is an incredible sight of the swimming pool with infinity edge, mountains and sea on the background. Nicky and I couldn't resist to say, Bagus ya...bagus ya...bagus ya...to each other like a parrot. That means very nice...very nice...very nice...The front desk staff was very nice too, he took us to one of the rooms, and we fell for it even more. It's a stand-alone villa, and the ground & room design have a Balinese, Thai, and Japanese influence. It's rather small but we thought it's so cute, cozy, and warm. We could feel the place was welcoming us. He showed us the other villa with a Jacuzzi too. The room is the same except the bathroom has a Jacuzzi on the backyard. All the villas have unobstructed view of the sea and mountain. I kept saying to Nicky it looked like Ubud by the sea. I always thought Lovina is nothing but black sand, my least favorite, how wrong I was!

I decided to stay overnight in Damai but we have to figure out how to send Renee back to Ubud. We went to Spice Dive and looked for the owner, Nicky's friend, to ask for his favor to lend us a driver & took Nicky's car to send Renee. Unfortunately but he was out of the country. Talked to the beach boys there (I wonder which one is Gundul Butu...) It is 2 hours one way from Lovina to Ubud, that means they guy has to spend 4 hours driving back and forth. There was one guy willing to be volunteer, but Renee & I weren't comfortable with his looks. The phrase of 'don't judge the book by its cover' wasn't work here. I finally remember on my list there is one driver who lives in Lovina, Ketut Juari, it would be perfect if he can send Renee. We immediately went to wartel (none of our handphone had any network in Lovina & Pemuteran) and called him. Ketut's father picked up the phone & told me he's on the beach. I called his handphone but it was answered by voice mail. We decided to drive Renee home first, if it's too late upon arriving Ubud, I probably would stay overnight somewhere there. 

18:00 Arrived Singaraja & Nicky took us to a small alley at Jalan Imam Bonjol somewhere in a shop no. 60, turned left, and there was this home restaurant place selling nasi campur Madura, something like Javanese nasi campur. One of the local favorites! I wouldn't recommend you to dine in though; the place is like my parent's house in Jakarta back in the 70's, kitchen and toilets are located in the same area. The nasi campur tasted good though! 

18:30 Continued our way down via Bedugul. What a great view! Saw lights of the nearby city from a distance. It should be Singaraja I think. The stars were amazing too, as if it blended into the city lights.

20:00 Arrived Ubud, dropped Renee at Tutmak, where her hubby hang out with his friends. Earlier we asked him to buy Nicky and I cinnamon roll from the nearby café Batan Waru to go. Nicky & Renee told me the cinnamon roll there is to die for. Afterwards Nicky my hero left the decision up to me but she mentioned I could go to Ubud anytime myself in the future. That hit me at once, and I am sure you can guess by now - Damai Lovina Villas was too pretty to be missed. We drove back to Lovina immediately! 

22:30 Finally arrived Damai & checked in. The front desk guy was still there. We were like kids, very pleased with all the amenities, checking here checking there. Went showered & went to sleep early. I'll tell you more about Damai & Lovina shortly.

DAY 5 

07:00 Had a peaceful sleep last night. The bed is a four-poster bed with mosquito net, very comfortable and I can tell the sheet and pillow case is made of the highest cotton thread count. They provide hairdryer, mosquito spray, batik robe, great amount of shampoo and conditioner, etc. Not that you need it all, but it's nice to think that they thought of every single details to make your stay comfy. Woke up & thoroughly enjoyed the view from the glassed window. Fantastic! Oh, by the way Damai has 8 villas only. They are planning to build additional villas with plunge pool.

08:00 Went swimming whilst Nicky did yoga. It's so relaxing just to lay down by the pool watching many birds out of nowhere jumped into pool, dipped their feet, and flew again...apparently they were having fun too! 

11:00 Went down to the beach for brunch at Sea Breeze as this place is recommended by Ringo and Shar^kie. It is right on the beach, located next to the Dolphin statue. Great place to spend the lazy morning. Albeit it's a great spot to watch sunset too. We had calamari, stirred fried kangkung, and pepes ikan. Yummy! Especially the kangkung. I love the Lovina's laid-back attitude; even the seawater is so calm, almost still! What a contrast with Kuta's strong current & party mood. Many local kids were having fun playing in the water, could hear them giggling. Komang the owner approached us and we had a little chat. Friendly guy, but a bit show-off, we thought. He said he built Damai & Gubuk Kita aka Santai Bali in Amed. He has Harley bikes too. Wow.

12:30 Out of curiosity we went to check Sol Lovina hotel. Horrible place, the rooms are big but recklessly designed. Went to Puri Bagus a few km down the main road, turned left on the hotel sign board and drove further in - passing incredible paddy fields with mountain in the background. There are one or two cafes by the road. Puri Bagus is beautiful, it has about 40 rooms only, and all are in a stand-alone bungalow concept. The staff was very friendly & she showed us one of the ocean view bungalow. I like it! It was bright, big, simple, tastefully designed, the bathroom is huge too, they even had a city-hotel type glassed door shower which doesn't really go together with the bungalow concept, anyway it's nice overall. I can picture myself sipping tea watching sunset on the verandah. They also have a row of bales on the beachfront where you can lay down and take a nap. I would highly recommend Puri Bagus for those who like to stay at hotel by the beach, but of course Damai is my first choice. (To Ans - you can confirm your booking at Puri Bagus now LOL but try to get the ocean view, because according to the girl the one facing paddy fields might not have any view at all).

 Afterwards we drove back to the hotel. Dropped by at one of the warungs to buy films, snacks & drinks.

14:00 We arrived Damai but out of curiosity I suggested Nicky to drive further. We followed the road and turned right when the road split into two. To the left is Panti, and to the right is where we were heading (I forgot the name but you can't go wrong) Further down the road we found a small open-air restaurant called Pojok Indah Bar & Restaurant which has a magnificent 180-degree view of Kayu Putih hills met the ocean. Apparently the resto is owned by a German lived across the resto where he run a fruity drink & wine factory. The resto mainly serves steaks. We sat down & had a drink for a while and decided to go back to Pojok Indah to watch sunset later in the evening. 

15:00 Back to hotel, showered & took a nap.

17:00 Went to Pojok Indah to see the sunset. Met the German owner & said hello. Unfortunately the sunset is more to the West that is out of sight from the resto. The waiter offered to lead us to the sunset view spot in jalan Damai. So he rode on his motorbike & we followed him. It was actually an empty small land on the way to our hotel (if you are coming from Lovina main road, it would be before Damai). Across the land is a small canyon where the locals believe is full of snakes and that place is known for its black magic, the waiter explained to us. Hmmmm. Anyway, we became a Bagus parrot again. Bagus ya..bagus ya...that's all we said to each other. Gosh, the sky is like blending into the sea; this is what I call a view to die for. The sun was almost set & you can see the shadow of yellow, orange, blue, pink, blend into one like a gradation on a painting. We took unused newspaper from the car, covered the land with it, and sat there like two stupid-lovers. Yet there was a naughty cloud covering the sun as if they were teasing us. Incredible view, bad sunset. Maybe we'll be luckier next time.

18:30 Back to the hotel to find another incredible view of the swimming pool and beyond. The sky has turned darker but of course the colors was just magical. The hotel put aside its pool chairs and replaced them with a folded table, had giant cushions spread around, just like in harems. They also put on fires. Bagus parrot time again....What a romantic place to spend the evening! Jazzy tunes played on the small bar behind completed the whole ambiance. We sat on the cushion and thoroughly enjoyed the evening by the pool.

19:30 Just before we're going for a dinner at Khi Khi seafood, we met John Flood the GM in the lobby. Chatted here and there & found the owner of the place is Danish. John himself is an Irish. He's a very nice, funny guy, in his mid 30s I guessed. We felt at ease talking to him. Apparently Damai has a cooking class & they even had a cooking book but it's still in Danish & they will publish the English version soon. You can imagine such a beautiful tiny place but with complete 5 star diamond facilities. They do have a chef aka the director of the place but he was overseas at that time. Looking into his picture in the cooking book that he dipped his whole body into the pool while he's biting and carrying a huge fish, he's even crazier than John I think. We asked John to join us for dinner and we had a very nice chat and goss over dinner. Nicky and I had a laugh over and over hearing John's story. He happened to know the GM at Nusa Lembongan Resort I love, and please beware, according to John the cook has resigned there, so the food quality might be changed a bit. By the way girls, the chef at The Serai in Manggis is good looking, so check it out! Khi Khi itself is not a fancy place, set in plastic chairs but the food is very nice and tasty if seafood is what you are looking for.

21:30 Back to hotel & we lounged by the pool having tea & coffee. The cookies and sweet came with it were so good! There was a honeymooner from German too, so 5 of us had a very nice chat, especially John has never run out of topics. The German couple mentioned they had their trip arranged by someone named Peter Huber (sp). He must be good agent & had a good taste I thought, because he sent them to The Legian, Nusa lembongan Resort, Damai, and Komaneka. Those place have said it all. So to all of you in Germany looking for an agent to arrange your honeymoon trip, you should look for Peter! It was a great evening. Nicky and I could just lie there all night to watch millions of stars.

23:00 The German couple excused themselves (they were in their honeymoon anyway) so we also returned to our room & went to bed.

DAY 6

08:00 Had continental breakfast at hotel as a complimentary. Very nice, good food quality, yummy Danish, well trained staff. Met the German couples in the restaurant again, they just returned from a visit to traditional market together with hotel's cook earlier (one of the hotel's complimentary activities).

09:00 I had massage in the room. Nicky went swimming. The in-house masseuse Tini was absents for a Galungan holiday, so a Christian, Javanese lady named Mega did the massage for me. It was good but not fabulous compared to the massage you normally have in the spa. After showered I went to one of the village temple located a few step down from the front villas, and found a Balinese guy placed offering for the day. He told me he works in the hotel as a gardener. He brought his 2 daughters; they were very cute wearing Balinese traditional costume. Had a little chat with him about Galungan. Loved the smiles and giggles of his two children!

12:00 Checked out, said goodbye to John and the German couple. Nicky wrote down some of Ubud's "must do and see" for them. Continued our journey to Singaraja. Saw wonderful view all the way. 

12:30 Arrived Singaraja, had lunch, the nasi campur Madura at jalan Imam Bonjol again, as Nicky wanted to buy her friends some packets to go. She was supposed to attend the gift shop opening at Begawan Giri hotel later in the evening. Determined to let me try local food, Nicky pulled over at a small restaurant in jalan Suropati, it has no name but it is next to Cokot babi guling restaurant. The food she asked me to try is called siobak. It is basically pork goodies topped with thick gravy. Interesting. We continued driving to Munduk. Saw one of the most breathtaking views on the way down. We turned off the air-cond several times, opened the window to feel the fresh mountain breeze. The scenery is getting more and more fantastic by the time we reached Lake Buyan. I've passed this route before, but this time it really captured me in astonishment. Awesome! 

14:30 At Asahpanji we found Kalaspa Health Resort. Intrigued, we stopped by to check it out. Kalaspa aka Bukit Jegeg Cottages is a boutique health resort. It has 8 bungalows only. They had just finished building the spa facility and will change the name into Kalaspa Health Resort soon. The room is furnished with wooden materials. It is not fancy but looks new, very clean, has comfortable bed, big bathroom, plus a balcony with a lovely view. The honeymoon suite is double story and the only difference is - that it has 2 privates massage tables on the 1st level.
The spa has big round shape Jacuzzi, sauna, huge bathtub, and 2 massage tables. The weather is perfect, about 25 degree C - no air-cond needed! I really like the place but we continued driving to Munduk to see Puri Lumbung first. The incredible view of lake Buyan & Tamblingan became faded but soon after that we became Bagus parrot again! Bagus ya... bagus ya...bagus ya.... The next view should be comparable to the Alps in Europe. On the way to Munduk, across the coffee plantation/ restaurant (I don't know what exactly that place is) there is a spot where you can park your car to take pictures. We did. Also, take note of this. Further down, just a few hundred before reaching Puri Lumbung, there is a restaurant with a million dollar view. Great spot to watch sunset! We finally arrived Puri Lumbung, checked the room, didn't like it, as the available room has no view. The view outside the hotel is very nice though! I decided to return to Kalaspa Health Resort to stay overnight.

15:30 Back to Kalaspa. We pulled over a few hundred meters before reaching the hotel to take pictures of lake Tamblingan & Buyan. Gorgeous. It was the 3rd day of Galungan celebration & over there we could see many Balinese youngsters were having their day out. Nicky dropped me to check in & left immediately to arrive on time at Begawan Giri. As much as I wanted to see Begawan Giri, my bum is flat from sitting in the car too long and the thought of having a real massage was such a temptation. Besides the scenery & weather around Kalaspa is unbelievable. Nicky promised me she would be back to Kalaspa later tonight! Crazy girl. It's about 2 hours one way from Asahpanji to Payangan. Anyway, I went to my room shortly after that, thoroughly enjoyed the view from my balcony whilst sipping the complimentary ginger tea & snacks.

18:00 I have witnessed one of the most amazing sunset view right from my balcony! 

18:30 Went to the spa for treatment. I had foot massage, body massage, dipped into the Jacuzzi, had sauna, flower bath, and herbal tea. Felt totally rejuvenated. The massage was really good that I slept unconsciously.

20:30 Dinner at the restaurant. Had tomato soup & tenderloin steak. Not bad. Met the Residence Manager, a nice Indonesian guy, and chatted for an hour. 

22:30 Back to room, saw amazing view, million of stars & lights from places on the bottom of lake Buyan! It was freezing outside though! Thank God I brought a cardigan.

01:00 I heard Nicky came back. Opened the door for her, but straight back to sleep in just 2 minutes.

DAY 7 (LAST DAY)

06:00 Woke up. Peeping through the window, I could see the beautiful sunrise. Wanted to go outside but it was just too cold! Today would be my last day in Bali. It was such a pain just to think about it! 

07:30 Had breakfast at the balcony. Thoroughly enjoyed the morning fresh air. The wind chimes sound completed the picture.

10:00 Checked out & continued to Denpasar via Bedugul. Passed many paddy fields. Strawberry Stop is still in business!

11:00 Stopped at Candi Kuning market, next to the road to the botanical garden, and bought some vegetables. They were so fresh and cheap! We bought carrot, paprika, tomato, etc. Saw a few tourists there too. The market also sells souvenirs and Balinese spice such as ginger, basil, dried paprika, and so on. It's perfect for those of you wanted to buy them back as they are conveniently packaged in a small plastic bag. Nicky also bought lemon tree & basil tree. She said she wanted to plant them. 

12:30 Arrived Denpasar. The traffic was so bad! As we wanted to go to the ladies, we made a quick stop at Nicky's office in jalan Thamrin where I had a chance to post a short message on BTF. Afterwards we went to visit my Balinese's friend's mom, the one introduced me to Nicky, catching up a bit, as I haven't seen her mom since 1995. We handed her the veggies too.

13:30 Had lunch at the famous La Lucciola in Seminyak. Have heard so much about it. It's a spacious, pleasant, open-air seaside bistro. What a great place to sit and relax! Definitely the place to see and to be seen. We saw some of the most beautiful people in Bali wearing cool, funky sunglasses. From wraparound until the big, chunky 80's model - you named it. They also have a bunch of pool chairs on the beach where you can lay down. It seemed to me topless sunbathing is not a big deal here - this info is only for those who interested to do so - so for those against it, pleazzzzee ignore and don't flame me for it. Back to the lunch, I read about how inconsistence the food quality at La Lucciola, so it might be our lucky day, I don't know, but the all of them was very delicious! I had a grilled butterfish steak & chocolate cake with almond and espresso ice cream, whilst Nicky had Chicken fuccocia & tiramisu. 

15:00 I still had some time to see the places around, so we drove further to see the Villas & Puri Sienna. The Villas is a good value for money with its private swimming pool. Puri Sienna is nice too, it is smaller compared to the pictures on its website though. Afterwards we passed Legian and Kuta, it was so crowded there. After staying 4 days in the North I felt an unbearable dizziness seeing the maddening crowd in Kuta! Nicky dropped me in the airport, both of us had a mixed emotional feeling. I saw tears in her eyes; it surprised me because I thought she's so tough! We gave a hug to each other. I'm sure I would miss her too! It's funny don't you think, how Bali can create a bond between people.

17:20 The plane took off. Bye bye Bali. Until next time.....

The end.