Categories
Events Life in Singapore

Beerfest Asia 2011

Beerfest Asia 2011

Beerfest Asia 2011

It’s that time of the year to be jolly over beers – Beerfest Asia 2011 from 16th to 19th June 2011!

Same as last year, I purchased the “1-Day OCBC Exclusive Pass” for 19th June 2011, which I paid with OCBC credit card for S$15 each. It seems that the prices went up from S$12 last year. For last year coverage, please go to “Beerfest Asia 2010“. The reason that I chose to come on the last day is because there is less crowd and lots of promotions such as 1-for-1, price slash, bulk pricing, etc. Found out that it’s better from Beerfest Asia 2010 experience.

Beerfest Asia 2011

Performance on stage: All Star Beatles Tribute! This gig got lots of people doing the boogie!

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Storm Beer – one of our favorite beer! Brewed in Bali but I didn’t managed to drink it during my trip to Bali in 2010.

Beerfest Asia 2011

Food and snacks are available too! But this time round, we didn’t eat any as we had an early dinner before going to Beerfest Asia 2011.

Beerfest Asia 2011

As each ticket comes with 2 free beers, the first one I went to exchange for Kronenbourg 1664. You can’t exchange any beers you want as there are fixed stations where free beers can be redeem. I rather Beerfest Asia give us the choice to redeem whether we want or just shave off the free beers pricing and introduce entrance tickets only.

Beerfest Asia 2011

We hang out at the open area nearer to Marina Bay most of the time as inside the tent was pretty noisy (loud music) and warm!

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You can also admire the scenery while having your beer!

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Free beer exchange – Jaz Lychee Beer. It’s a new lychee flavored beer which was recently launched only. Seems to be great for beginners or ladies!

Beerfest Asia 2011

Free beer exchange – Archipelago Summer Ale. Wanted to have Archipelago Belgium Wit but was sold out.

Beerfest Asia 2011

Scouting around to redeem for our next free drink… Magner’s

Beerfest Asia 2011

Harry’s at Beerfest Asia 2011.

Beerfest Asia 2011

Free beer exchange – Magner’s Irish Cider.

Beerfest Asia 2011

Singapore Flyer from Beerfest Asia 2011.

Beerfest Asia 2011

Another area where we hang out most of the time, it’s near to the entrance and also not so crowded. Only standing tables available!

Beerfest Asia 2011

Storm Beer Golden Ale – How can we not have this when we’re here? 😛

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Schneider Weisse – I saw that it was a wheat beer and decided to have a try. Verdict – it’s definetly one of better wheat beers!

This year, I didn’t drink as much as I was suffering from serious gastric pain since a week ago from Beerfest Asia 2011. I didn’t want any relapse so took it easy on the beers but my impression is that Beerfest Asia 2011 beer makers are not as much as Beerfest Asia 2010. The selection is much lesser (so are the eye candies :P) – I might be wrong as I wasn’t given a handbook probably due to my late arrival (7pm). Seating area in the tentage was also significantly reduced as a large part was taken up by some Singtel bar or whatever – it was sort of fenced up and seems to be just for their customers (which is not many!). There was also a noticeable stink in the tent area, think many people vomited over the last few days. Haha!

Maybe it’s my form (not good), even photos I took this year is not as good!

Anyway, let’s see forward to how Beerfest Asia 2012 will turn out. My attendance is still confirmed!

Categories
Bali

A Day in Bali 4

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Today is our last day in Bali so after breakfast, we went to take a dip in the swimming pool as there wasn’t much time to go anywhere else and also we need to check-out latest by 12.30pm. I swam around for about 2 hours (until 11am) and then went back to room to take shower and pack up our stuffs.

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Our room at Kuta Beach Club – while waiting for my partner to use the bathroom, I had a bit of time so took some more photos of the room. Haha!

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Photo of the bathroom at Kuta Beach Club (which my my partner was complaining about). For the rest of the room photos, you may also refer to “A Day in Bali 1“.

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View from the private balcony in front of our room. There is also a clothes rack provided for you to hang out to dry your towels, board shorts, swimming gear, etc.

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Still had a bit of time before check-out so I relaxed at the private balcony…with my remaining Bintang beer

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After checking-out and leaving out luggage at Kuta Beach Club, we went out to have lunch at KFC. I wanted to try the A&W at Matahari but my friend, who have tried it previously during the trip said it wasn’t nice…

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The air-conditioned lower floor was packed so we went up to the 2nd floor, which is non air-conditioned. It was pretty warm as it’s 1pm in the day!

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Next, we took a taxi to Cozy Spa at Sunset Road Blok A/3 (North Simpang Siur), tel (0361) 766762. I have called to make a booking a few days ago for 4 person for 3 hours from 2pm to 5pm as our flight back to Singapore is at 10.20pm. It was planned so that we can have a relaxing massage and yet spend the time away. Please do call and make reservations as it’s very popular!

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Cozy Spa – Best Regular Spa Award.

Our selection:

  • Foot Reflexology Aromatherapy (1.5 hours)
  • Cozy Body Sensation Massage (1.5 hours)

I can’t remember the actual prices but it was around Rp 200,000 for each person for the above selection. Both the above are good but the Foot Reflexology Aromatherapy is outstanding and I highly recommended it!

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Front counter at Cozy Spa. Cozy Spa is a non-fanciful regular spa which offers very reasonable prices for their spa packages.

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Cozy Spa – Waiting area / drinks counter. Wait here for your name to be called and then will be led to room by the masseuse. For the body massage, you can specify whether you like you masseuse to be male or female. As for the foot reflexology, I understand that it’s all male.

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After the 3hrs of theraphy at Cozy Spa, we took a taxi back to Kuta Beach. Our favorite place! Haha!

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Almost sunset time at Kuta Beach…and then I spotted a white streak in the sky…was that a shooting star?

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Went to Hard Rock Hotel Bali to walk around again…

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Swimming pool at Hard Rock Hotel Bali. Seems fabulous!

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Entrance of Hard Rock Hotel Bali. The signage here is very popular for photo taking!

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At Hard Rock Hotel Bali- guitar used by “The Rolling Stones”

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Dinner time! My friend suggested to go to the nearby Hard Rock Cafe Bali.

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We were led to the 2nd floor of Hard Rock Cafe Bali. There was already some dinners around already.

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Hard Rock Cafe Bali – Caesar Salad.

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Hard Rock Cafe Bali – Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast Rp 119, 000.

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Hard Rock Cafe Bali – Cajun Fish Rp 99, 000.

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After our dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Bali, we took a slow stroll back to Kuta Beach Club to retrieve our luggage and then took a taxi to Ngurah Rai International Airport.

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Entrance of Ngurah Rai International Airport.

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We checked-in at Ngurah Rai International Airport and then walk around the shops. A starting incident happened is that we wasn’t aware that we had to pay Rp 150,000 per pax as departure tax at Ngurah Rai International Airport as we thought all the taxes was already inclusive in the air tickets. It wasn’t mentioned that we had to pay in the air tickets itinerary too. We’re lucky that we still have some rupiah left…

Anyway, we had a fabulous 5 days in Bali and even before leaving, we were already thinking of visiting Bali again! Goodbye Bali, visit you again soon!

Categories
Bali

A Day in Bali 3

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Usual routine of having breakfast at Kuta Beach Club but today we started the day a bit later as we only have snorkeling planned at 10am. The rest of the day will be pretty OTOT (own-time-own-target) so we are going to take things slowly…

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One of the interesting decorations at Kuta Beach Club.

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Waiting for the driver to come and fetch us for snorkeling at Nusa Dua. He’s late so I took the opportunity to take some day photos of Kuta Beach Club.

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Entrance of Kuta Beach Club. We waited for around 10mins before the driver arrived.

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Journey to Nusa Dua area didn’t take very long and we were brought to a water sports provider along Nusa Dua beach. Checked our snorkeling equipments and off to sea!

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Testing in open sea on the way to snorkeling with LX3 inside the DiCAPac WP-610 Waterproof Case. Click on link “DiCAPac WP610 Waterproof Underwater Case for LX3” to read the review of the case.

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Photos of fishes taken during snorkeling. It’s pretty difficult to take a good photo as the fishes are swimming around to eat the bread thrown by tourists. Yes, I wasn’t the only group there at the snorkeling site, there was around 6 to 7 boats crowding around.

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Yeah, there was a few scuba divers as well too! The snorkeling took around 1 hour and we took a rest before leaving Nusa Beach.

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While going up the vehicle to send us back to hotel, I spotted a lonely make-shift food stall…

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Back to hotel and then we wander out again – Passing by Ramayana Hotel and Spa (as always), it looks good and location (next to Kuta Beach Club) is great too!

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Rows of shops opposite our hotel (Kuta Beach Club). Our area is really convenient and there is also a 24hr convenience store next to Ramayana Hotel and Spa.

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For lunch, we had a quick bite at McDonald’s at Kuta. It was lunch time and it was pretty crowded, mostly with tourists.

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A very nice-looking restaurant. It look even more magnificent during the night!

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With nothing much on the itinerary, we headed off to Kuta Beach to take a stroll. It’s a beach holiday after all 🙂

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Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Bali.

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As usual, it’s a very nice weather at Kuta Beach. It’s warm so we sat down to have some Bintang beer (Rp 20,000 each) as well as to chat with some of the locals.

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Taken from our seat (with shelter from large umbrella). The surfboards are used for those who are taking any surfing lessons.

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After lazing around Kuta Beach for more than 2 hours and guzzling down 5 bottles of Bintang, it’s time to move on. We went in to Mecure Kuta Bali to have a look. My, this is a nice hotel too!

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Entrance of Mecure Kuta Bali.

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A nice looking restaurant with swimming pool within.

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Strolling around to sight-see…

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More of walking around. 🙂

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Passing by a restaurant/bar which had a poster – “We serve bloody cold beer”.

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Passing-by the 2002 Kuta bombing memorial that was built on the site of the destroyed Paddy’s Pub on Legian Street.

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Sky Garden Lounge – heard rave reviews about this place and the 3 storeys offers different lounge experience.

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Ordering an Italian ice-cream to cool down from the hot weather.

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Passing by a shop selling Bali kites. Kite flying seems to be a popular and traditional form of entertainment/sport for Balineses.

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Paddy’s Club, believed to be the re-opened Paddy’s Pub.

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Uluwatu – Hand made Balinese Lace. We didn’t go in but I remembered reading that they offer high quality lace.

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Dinner time! We went around Kuta (Poppies) to look for a place to dine, after comparing a few, we settled for Un’s Restaurant!

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Un’s Restaurant – Complimentary frozen margarita. This rocks!

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Un’s Restaurant – Superb setting and ambiance! We were given seats outdoor.

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Un’s Restaurant – We were given complimentary chicken nugget before our main course. Completely surprised by this!

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Un’s Restaurant – Mango juice Rp 12,000. My partner had Banana juice Rp 12, 000.

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Un’s Restaurant – It started to drizzle slightly and we were moved indoors. It was a good move as towards the end, the rain was pouring down fiercely!

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Un’s Restaurant – Red snapper fillet Rp 89,000. Fantastic!

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Un’s Restaurant – Greek Salad Rp 39,000.

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Un’s Restaurant – Complimentary Krupuk.

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Un’s Restaurant – Rendang Beef Rp 55,000. The total for the dinner came up to Rp 241,362 (inclusive of 6% service and 10% tax). The meal at Un’s Restaurant was one of the best I had in Bali and I highly recommended that you dine here too!

The rain have started to cease and we hurriedly made our way back to hotel to meet up with our friends to try to finish up the Absolut Berri Vodka. We also did some swimming in the night and it’s cold! Tomorrow will be our last day in Bali and time seems to pass by so fast when you are having fun. Nevertheless, we still look forward to spend another fulfilling day in Bali!

Categories
Bali

A Day in Bali 2

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The next morning, after breakfast at Kuta Beach Club, we met up with Ketut

(our English-speaking driver) at 9am at our hotel lobby. Check out “A Day in Bali 1” for my review of him!

Today’s itinerary is as follows:

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After around 2 hours of winding journey (going into the hilly areas), we reached Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. It lives up to it’s name

Jatiluwih as Jati and luwih, where Jati mean really and Luwih mean beautiful. Jatiluwih is a favorite tourist destination in Bali,

famous with the beautiful rice terrace unfolding from the foot of mountain until the coastal side.

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A local passing by with his cow at Jatiluwih Rice Terrace.

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We met a local couple taking wedding photographs at Jatiluwih Rice Terrace and asked for their permission to take as well, which

they kindly obliged. 🙂

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You can take a breather here while enjoying the magnificent view of Jatiluwih Rice Terraces.

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Beautiful panorama scenery of Jatiluwih Rice Terraces.

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Time for lunch and we went to Labhagga Restaurant Pacung which offers superb views of Pacung Rice Terrace while you dine.

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Labhagga Restaurant Pacung is located at Jl. Raya Baturitim Tabananm Bali and is buffet-styled. The buffet lunch costs Rp 85,000 for each adult and we

also ordered 2 large Bintang at Rp

30,000 each as well as 1 lemon juice at Rp 12,5000. Total for 4 person adds up to Rp 495,000 (including Rp 41,250 tax and Rp 41,250 service).

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Wide variety of food selection at Labhagga Restaurant Pacung. Many more available too!

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My first serving at Labhagga Restaurant Pacung. 🙂

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The nice view of rice terraces and the mountain from our table while having lunch. There is no need for fans/air-con as Pacung is

in the highland with cooler temperature.

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A close-up view of the Pacung rice terraces.

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While leaving Labhagga Restaurant Pacung, saw a few locals playing music outside…

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Next destination is Gitgit Waterfall, which Ketut (our driver) recommended to go after lunch as we need the energy boost.

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The reason being that we need to walk for approximately 30 mins before reaching the waterfall and the terrain is relatively rough,

with uphills and downhill climbs.

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Passing by a group of children playing around…

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Gitgit Twin Waterfall.

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Gitgit Twin Waterfall (in dynamic mode). Wonder why this trip I am playing so much of the dynamic feature…hahaha!


Children Playing Tarzan at Gitgit Waterfall, Bali, Indonesia

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A shop selling various products – drinks, spices, souvenirs, etc. Well, it’s not cheap here…

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Magnificent view of Gitgit Waterfall. You can feel the energy of the water from here!

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Alright, time to leave Git Git waterfall…passing by some shops on the way out.

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Following, we went to Pura Ulun Danu (Lake Bratan).

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Magnificent architecture at Pura Ulun Danu Bratan.

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You can go for a cruise if you like and enjoy the cool weather…

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Pura Ulun Danu (Lake Bratan). What a heavenly-like

view!

Pura Ulu Danu was built in the 17th century on highland Lake Bratan. This gem-like temple is half on the mainland, half on a tiny

island. The complex is dedicated to Vishnu, the preserver, in his guise as Dewi Danu, who protects all living creatures. Small

and charming, it comments on the spirit of place without leaving a big footprint. A peaceful, shimmering vision.

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Locals fishing around Pura Ulun Danu (Lake Bratan). Wonder whether they

have caught anything?

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At another quieter area of Pura Ulun Danu (Lake Bratan)…

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For those interested to take cruises, you may do so here. There are various transport available – speed boats, atap boat, sampan,

etc.

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My friend wanted to go pick strawberries but they are not in-season yet (mentioned by our driver as well!). How are the

strawberries in Bali? Are they any good?

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On the way to Tanah Lot, we were caught up in a massive jam

and our vehicle wasn’t moving at all. Also, in Bali, most areas only have 1 lane for each way. As it’s taking too long, our driver

suggested that we walk instead so as not to miss the sunset at Tanah Lot. The jam was acutally caused by a kite competition! The

kites are huge and protruding out from the vehicle body, which made the transporting very slow!

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Some of the locals who participated in the kite competition gladly posed for us to take photos.

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Entrance fees for Tanah Lot is Rp 10,000 per pax. Think we

have walked for 30 mins and have not reached yet….hahaha!

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Finally reached and we just missed the sunset at Tanah

Lot…. so sad!

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Beautiful panorama of Tanah Lot Temple.

Excerpt from Wikipedia.org (Tanah Lot)

Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home of a pilgrimage temple, the Pura Tanah Lot

(literally “Tanah Lot temple”) and a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography and general exoticism.

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Sunset at Tanah Lot.

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This area holds the holy snake, where you can pay to have a look… 🙂

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Queuing at Tanah Lot Temple. Wonder what is that for?

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Superb sunset view at Tanah Lot.

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Sunset at Tanah Lot. Still lots of people around capturing

the moments!

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Walking out to the carpark from Tanah Lot and passing by the

many retail shops. We left before the large crowd at Tanah Lot left but was still caught in the massive jam. It’s probably due to

the the after-effect of the previous jam as well as the peak hour. It took us around 1.5 hours to reach back to Kuta Beach Club (our hotel) and after-which, we thank Ketut for his good service for the 2 days. We decided to

split up with our friends to have some romantic time on our own (they also need so!). 😛

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For dinner, we took a taxi from Kuta Center to Warung Sobat at Jl Batu Belig No. 11A kerobokan Kuta.

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Interior of Warung Sobat. Fantastic ambiance!

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Warung Sobat – Fresh Garden Salad Rp 15,000.

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Warung Sobat – Spring Roll Rp

10,000.

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Warung Sobat – Griglia Mistro Marinara Rp 32,000. It’s a seafood mixed grill consisting of tuna fish, ocean fish, calamari and prawns.

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Warung Sobat – Scampi Fritti Rp

27,000.

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Warung Sobat – complimentary dessert. What a nice gesture! it’s good too!

We also had 2 large Bintang at Rp

27,000 each and total for the dinner is Rp 138,000. Very reasonable pricing and yet superbly tasty! Hmmm…I think I prefer Warung Sobat over Made’s

Warung… 🙂

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After dinner, we went to Hard Rock Hotel Bali.

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CenterStage at Hard Rock Hotel Bali, which hosts a live band every

evening. Initially, we wanted to have a drink here before we end the night, but the place was way too smoking for us so decided to

just take a walk around Hard Rock Hotel.

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Walk around for a while and took some photos. Then, we strolled back to our hotel for an early rest as we had a long day.

Tomorrow, we will be going snorkeling at Nusa Dua. I had

initially planned to go Nusa Lembongan but then decided to go for a simple one instead. For the snorkeling package, it was arranged

by Ketut (our driver) for USD20 per person for 1 hour of snorkeling (inclusive of equipment and boat rental). There will be someone

to fetch us from our hotel the next morning at 10am. 🙂

Categories
Bali

A Day in Bali 1

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We met up with our English-speaking driver at 8.30am (after breakfast at Kuta Beach Club) at our hotel lobby. I have booked for his services via email before reaching Bali and he charged Rp 400,000 per day (around 10 hours) which includes 7 passenger vehicle with air-con, driver, gasoline and parking fees. After engaging 2 full days of his services (visiting around Bali), I found him to be honest, polite, safe (driving), punctual and willing to accommodate (change of plans, itinerary taking more the 10 hours, etc). Highly recommended! I forgot to take a photo with Ketut but I will definitely use his services again when I travel to Bali the next round! His contact details are below:

Driver: Ketut Darmayasa
Email: ketut_balidarma@yahoo.com
Hp: +62 85237151520

Today’s itinerary will be:

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First stop – Ubud market. If you are interested in cultural shopping, you may visit Tohpati Village (hand-made Balinese batik), Celuk Village (Silver craft centre), Lodtuduh Village (painting craft) and Mas Village (Wood carving) while on the way to Ubud.

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Food and drinks stall in Ubud market.

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Ubud market- Balinese bamboo wind chimes.

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An overview of Ubud market. It was slightly drizzling when we were there. 🙁

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Ubud market – wet area where many food products are sold to the locals.

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Balinese performing their morning prayers at a temple located at Ubud market.

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Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka at Jl. Tegal Sari No 2. Ubud. It was not opened yet when we arrived so we waited around for a while. It’s better to be early than late as they close once they sell out for the day. By the way, Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka was also recommended by Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations show. 🙂

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We got a table inside and made our orders – Daging Babi Guling Rp 40,000, Sprit (drink) Rp 7,000, Fanta (drink) Rp 7,000 and Krupuk (crackers) Rp 7,000.

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Daging Babi Guling Rp 40,000 at Warung Babi Guling. This is superbly tasty! Yum yum! We only ordered a small portion to share as we wanted to go on tasting other delicacies.

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Next, we ask Ketut (driver) to bring us to Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner) which was located a stones throw away at Padang Tegal, Ubud.

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The interior of Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner) – very spacious area with Indonesian-styled seating on a raised platform. Fantastic setting and ambiance!

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Famous Bebel Bengil Crispy Duck Rp 68,000 at Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner). This rocks!

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We also ordered Barbecue Pork Ribs Rp 65,000 at Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner). I still prefer the Bebel Bengil Crispy Duck! 😛

Other then the above, we also ordered 1 Avocado Juice Rp 24,000 and 1 Mango Juice Rp 26,000. Total for the meal is Rp 211,365 (including 5% service and 10% tax).

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While eating halfway, it started to rain and we got stuck in the our pavilion so we really took our time to consume our food. For every pavilion, I noted there was 2 waitresses around waiting for any call for service. When it was raining, they also quickly help to lower the blinds to shield us from the splashing rain. The rain was big but short…and we were able to continue with our journey.

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Next destination, we went to Tegallalang Rice Terrace.

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Tegallalang Rice Terrace – offering a spectacular view of rice terraces.

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Tegallalang Rice Terrace is also known for having the longest row of art shops in the whole of Bali. I had initially planned to have lunch here but we were too full after the breakfast at our hotel and snacks at Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka and Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner). Haha!

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Next, we went to Kintamani (Mount Batur), which is an active volcano and it has erupted about 24 times since year 1800 and still active up to now. On the right side is Lake Batur, the largest lake in Bali and is used as an irrigation source. With the beautiful panorama and cooling weather, it is clearly the must-visit place for tourists!

For those more who are more adventurous, you can try trekking at Mt. Batur to catch the sunrise, you start the trek around 2am and trek for 3hours before reaching the optimal point for watching the sunrise. I wanted to plan for this but had violent reactions from my travel mates. Haha!

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Following, we went to a Oka Agro Wisata Bali (Farm / Coffee plantation) at Br. Temen, Susut, Bangli (Jurusan Tampaksiring – Kintamani) Bali. Here you can see a Balinese roasting out Bali Coffee.

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Guess what? The famous coffee seeds that are digested and then dumped out by Luwak (Asian Palm Civet). From left to right, coffee seeds that are dumped out, coffee seeds that are cleaned and coffee powder (roasted and grounded). I didn’t dare to open the container which has the dumped out coffee seeds to take a whiff. Haha!

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We were given some samples for tasting. From left to right, ginger tea, lemongrass tea, chocolate, Bali coffee and ginseng coffee. I find all of them nice! By the way, they also sell the powder here so if there is anything to your liking, you can buy it. We bought 1 packet of 450g natural lemongrass tea (100% organic) at Rp 180,000.

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Free Bali tobacco for anyone who smokes! Natural as well! ^^;

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There is a kept Luwak (Asian Palm Civet) for all visitors to view. The Luwak must be sniggering that all these folks are eating my dump! Wahaha!

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Since we are here, just gotta try the Luwak Coffee at Rp 30,000 per cup. I thought it was very aromatic but too heavy for my taste but nevertheless, it’s still a very good coffee! My friend said it was not his cup of tea, of course it’s not, because it’s a cup of coffee! Wahaha! Corny joke… 😉

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Uluwatu Temple – Please take off your glasses, hats, earrings, hair pins or anything loose. Otherwise, the monkeys around will snatch it away from you!

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Fantastic view of the cliff and the ocean.

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Uluwatu Temple, built on the cliffs of Indian Ocean.

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Here comes the monkeys…there are many of them and they are very fast! If they managed to snatch anything away from the tourists, there are some locals around to help recover the item by feeding the monkeys. In return, they ask for tips from the tourist when they are returning the item. This incident was witnessed by me!

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Pura Luhur Uluwatu is one of Bali’s kayangan jagat (directional temples) and guards Bali from evil spirits from the SW, in which dwell major deities, in Uluwatu’s case; Bhatara Rudra, God of the elements and of cosmic force majeures. Visitors are not allowed into the temple’s compound.

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Look at the amount of people around to catch the sunset. The further end is a circular stage where many people are gathering around to get good seats to watch an art dance called Kecak Dance, which is held every night at Uluwatu Temple. It costs Rp 70,000 and starts at 18:00.

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Sunset at Uluwatu Temple (landscape).

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Sunset at Uluwatu Temple (portrait).

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Sunset at Uluwatu Temple (portrait & using dynamic mode).

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Sunset at Uluwatu Temple. The sun is dissappearing soon and we chose to leave before the rest of the tourists move off to avoid any jam in the carpark.

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Finally, it dinner time and we headed off to Jimbaran Bay for seafood. We took a while to locate the Lia Cafe Jimbaran (my choice as it’s reasonably priced) as our driver wasn’t too sure of the place. The other place in Jimbaran Bay, which I will try if I have more time will be Sharkey’s Seafood.

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Fresh seafood for selection at Lia Cafe Jimbaran.

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You dine at the beach area overlooking the sea. For those who are able to come earlier, you can catch the sunset from here too!

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Too dark here, so I have to use the flash to show you what’s on the table. 🙂 We ordered a large Bintang beer here for Rp 30,000.

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Here comes our side dishes – soup, salad, potatoes, rice, vegetable and 4 different types of sauce.

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Lia Cafe Jimbaran – Paket (package) B consists of fish (0.5 kg), crab (0.5 kg), prawn (7 pcs), clams (7 pcs), 2 soft drinks, soup, salad, potatoes, rice, vegetable, 4 different types of sauce and dessert (fruits) for Rp 200,000. My friends had this!

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Lia Cafe Jimbaran – Paket (package) C consists of lobster (0.5 kg), crab (0.5 kg), prawn (7 pcs), clams (7 pcs), 2 small bintang beer, soup, salad, potatoes, rice, vegetable, 4 different types of sauce and dessert (fruits) for Rp 290,000. My partner and I had this! We both love it!

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I think we had dinner for almost 1.5 hours and Ketut (driver) waited patiently at the carpark for us to finish. By the time he sent us back to hotel, it was already 9.40pm and over 13 hours since he met up with us in the morning at 8.30am. No complains from Ketut. Superb attitude!

Passing by the hotel bar area and there was a live band going on. It was a Saturday night!

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The receptionist at Kuta Beach Club told us that our room have been changed to a double bed configuration. They have previously told us to pack our luggage and they will move it to the new room once it’s ready (since we are out). So here comes the photos of the room…the table lamps are of different colour…

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Kuta Beach Club – Standard Double Bed room. Well, I got the room (at a good location) at around S$100 per room per night so it’s decent enough for me but my partner was complaining about the dirtiness of the washroom, the bedsheets, mosquitoes, etc, etc, etc…

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Kuta Beach Club – our double bed room is on the ground floor as opposed to the twin bed which was on the second floor. I believe all room types comes with their very own private balcony for relaxing but this particular location is good as it faces the swimming pool!

The next day, Ketut (driver) will be meeting us at the lobby at 9am. The itinerary is as follows:

Please do check back again!

Categories
Bali

A Day in Bali

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Hi all, how are you doing? Guess where I am? 😛

I am at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 waiting for the 1905hr Jetstar Asia flight to Bali, Indonesia. For this trip, there will be a change as it not just me and my partner; my friends (another couple) will be joining as well.

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Stop by DFS (Duty free shop) and bought 1 bottle of Cape Mentelle (red wine) S$30, 1 bottle of Larrikin Barro (white wine) S$32 and 1 bottle of Absolut Berri Vodka S$26.10 so that we can consume it while in Bali.

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The flight took around 2hours 30mins and it around 2205hr when we reached. Walking out from Ngurah Rai Airport (Denpasar, Bali).

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Then we went to queue at the Taxi Service counter (right side after you get out of the entrance) to get our voucher (Rp 50,000) to Kuta Beach Club.

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Taxi ride took around 20mins due to the traffic and we finally reached our hotel – Kuta Beach Club.

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After we checked-in, I walk around the lobby and snap the entrance view of Kuta Beach Club. I have made reservation for double bed but was given twin bed as the hotel was running full. This was rather disappointing as the reservation was made on 22nd March 2010, about 4 months from our check in date.

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Welcome drink at the lobby of Kuta Beach Club, Bali.

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First Bintang beer of the trip! Think it was the most expensive I had of the trip too (Rp 45, 000 for 1 large Bintang)!

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Had our snacks at this nice-looking restaurant where the food was anything but good. It was rather expensive (see beer price above) as well and clearly a tourist trap. Haha! After the dinner, we went back to the hotel to have some Vodka before going to bed.

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The next morning, we had breakfast buffet (inclusive) at Kuta Beach Club. Decent but nothing to shout about…

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Nice view of lobby of Kuta Beach Club in the day. We went to the reception after breakfast to request for a change of room to double bed – managed to get 1 room changed and was promised the other change the following day.

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Next, we went back to room to change and head off to the swimming pool. Yeah!

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Photo taken with DiCAPac WP610 Waterproof Underwater Case for LX3. Click on link to read the review of the case.

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Sunken pool bar where you can order drinks while swimming but it doesn’t start business till around 11am.

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Around the pool area, there is facilities for playing table tennis (free) if you like to.

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Following the swim, we showered, got changed and then went out to walk around to grab lunch as well as sightsee.

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Rip Curl shop in Kuta. My friend got a pair of slippers here.

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Passing by Hard Rock.

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Then we went to Kuta Beach to walk around. What a nice beach!

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Along Kuta Beach, there are many peddlers around selling sarongs, drinks, tempoaray tattoo, massage, surfing lessons, etc.

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Lunch at Salvador which is along Kuta Beach. They offer water pipe (Sisha) smoking too!

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Giant Beach Burger Rp 37,000. Yummy! We also had 3 large Bintang beer at Rp 29,000 each.

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Cheese Burger Rp 25,000.

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Spaghetti Marinara Rp 32,000. It was tasty though I would prefer it a bit more wet.

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My friend bought a coconut from this stall along Kuta Beach but he said it wasn’t nice…and threw it away…

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Mercure Kuta Bali – The hotel is just along the beach and it looks fantastic! I had initially considered to book this hotel but as we are not going to hang around too much in the hotel/beach, I thought it is more appropriate to go for a hotel which costs lower and of reasonable location away.

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It’s a hot day so we went to Matahari to walk around and also to enjoy the air-con. There is a supermarket in Matahari as well so please get your drinking water, snacks, beer, etc here as the prices are generally much lower than other retail shops.

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You can try the Fish Spa Therapy at Matahari at Rp 100, 000 for 20 minutes.

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Bali Hai beer at Rp 15,500, bought from the mini mart beside our hotel (Kuta Beach Club).

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Also got Bintang Beer at Rp 17,000.

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Around evening time, we stroll beach to Kuta Beach. Bali is truly nice beach holiday destination!

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It’s almost sunset and many people are already gathering around to see it. Kuta beach is known for it’s fantastic sunset view!

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Enjoying the sunset view at Kuta Beach.

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Another sunset view at Kuta Beach.

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The sun is almost gone…

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Went back to Kuta Beach Club to freshen up. Above photo shows the area where we had our breakfast in the morning.

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There is also a pool table beside the swimming pool. I know it’s chargeable but I can’t remember the rates.

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Out on the streets again.. this time for our dinner at Made’s Warung Kuta.

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Horse carriage for rental. Remember to negotiate if you like to go for a spin…ermm…horse ride.

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Dinner at the famous Made’s Warung at Kuta. There was already a long queue when we reached!

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The interior of Made’s Warung. I wanted to sit upstairs as it’s not so crowded but my friend retorted that it might be warm and I told him that there are windows/fans upstairs. Nevertheless, we still got a table downstairs (courtesy of my friend) just in front of the entrance – with the company of many waiting customers behind us and the free smell of carbon monoxide from the vehicles that whizzes by. Now this is hot (& smelly)!

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Made’s Warung – view from the 2nd storey.

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Made’s Warung – Lumpia Udang (Shrimp Spring Roll) Rp 25,000.

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Made’s Warung – Sate Chicken Rp 30,000.

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Made’s Warung – Curry Chicken (comes with rice) Rp 65,000. This is very good!

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Made’s WarungCaesar Salad Rp 40,000.

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Made’s WarungGado Gado Rp 25, 000.

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Made’s WarungNasi Campur Special Rp 55,000. Total bill came up to Rp 306, 000 for 4 persons, other then those dishes mention above, we also had 1 Aqua Rp 7,000, 2 Banana Honey Juice Rp 30,000, 1 Mango Juice Rp 15,000 and 2 Nasi Putih Rp 14,000.

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Walking back to Kuta Beach Club and passing by Hard Rock again.

Going to have an early night we have booked a driver to bring us around for the whole day tomorrow. The itinerary will be

  • Ubud
  • Tegallalang Rice Terrace
  • Kintamani Volcano
  • Coffee Plantation
  • Uluwatu Temple
  • Jimbaran Bay (Seafood)

Check back again!

Categories
Events Life in Singapore

Beerfest Asia 2010

Beerfest Asia 2010

Beerfest Asia 2010

20th June 2010 (Sunday) marks the day that I attended Beerfest Asia 2010. I wanted to get tickets for 19th June 2010 (Saturday) so that I can hang around later but it was already sold out. The event was held at Marina Promenade (F1 tracks behind Singapore Flyer).

Beerfest Asia 2010

Beerfest Asia 2010 is starting at 6pm and there was already a queue waiting to go in at around 5.50pm. This is the second year that Beerfest Asia is running and offer the opportunities to sample over 250 kinds of beers!

Beerfest Asia 2010

Collected my “1-Day OCBC Exclusive” tickets which I paid in-advance with OCBC credit card for S$12 each.

Beerfest Asia 2010

The “1-Day OCBC Exclusive” ticket comes with 2 redeemable beer. I had initially thought that we can choose the 2 beers that we wanted but at the entrance, we were given a redeemed beer each and another beer token (black) to redeem the other beer of choice in the event. The redeemed beer didn’t come with any label as it must have peeled off while in the ice bath. I had a peek at other attendees’ bottle and it’s actually “Super Bock“. My partner finds it up to her liking!

Beerfest Asia 2010

Sol beer, imported bottled beer from Mexico.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Jaz Beer and Starker from Malaysia. Starker won the gold at Asia Beer Awards for wheat beer category. Wheat beer is my top favorite and I didn’t managed to try Starker… 🙁

Wheat Beer (Source)
Gold: Starker Aromatic Wheat Beer, Starker Brewery, Napex
Silver: Brewerkz Wheat Beer, Brewerkz, Brewerkz
Bronze: Pump Room Wheat Beer, The Pump Room

Beerfest Asia 2010

Dead Frog Brewery from Cananda and Storm Brewery from Indonesia. Had a chat with the folks at Storm Brewery and he mentioned that the crowd on Saturday night was packed to the brim! Hmmm..I’m glad that I came on a Sunday… self consolation… hahaha

Beerfest Asia 2010

Sabeco from Vietnam which carries Beer 333, Saigon Export and Saigon Special. I had lots of them during my trip to Vietnam!

Beerfest Asia 2010

Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbrewery – winner of “Outstanding South East Asian Microbrewery Award”. (Source)

Beerfest Asia 2010

6 Drunk Men – featuring Fosters, Pure Blonde, Red Rock Lager, Victoria Bitter, Magners Cider, etc.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Singha beer from Thailand.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Since the event was held at the F1 tracks behind Singapore Flyer.. there is a showcase of a few F1 cars as well.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Beerlao from Laos. The banner mentioned “Asia Best Beer” (Voted by Times Magazine). Must find opportunity to try this beer!

Beerfest Asia 2010

B.I.D carries various beers – James Boags (Australia), Konig (Germany), Warsteiner (Germany), Samuel Adams (USA), etc.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Went to change for S$30 worth of Beerfest chips. Paid by OCBC card and got 5% off so I paid only S$28.50.

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Food and snacks are available at Beerfest Asia 2010!

Beerfest Asia 2010

Sausage platter at S$14.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Outdoor sitting area for dining while you watch World Cup matches at the screen.

Beerfest Asia 2010

North Taiwan Brewery have some interesting concoction – Honeydew Melon Fruit Beer and Li Chee Fruit Beer.

Beerfest Asia 2010

König Pilsener from Germany.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Storm Beer, brewed in Bali. I would love to try the rest of the range (especially Storm Brewing Iron Stout) when I am in Bali next month. 🙂

Beerfest Asia 2010

Trying our Storm Golden Ale (brewed in Bali). I love it!

Golden Ale (Source)
Gold: Archipelago Summer Ale, Archipelago Brewery, Archipelago Brewery, Singapore
Silver: Storm Golden Ale, Storm Brewing, Storm Brewing
Bronze: Brewerkz Golden Ale, Brewerkz, Brewerkz, Singapore

Beerfest Asia 2010

Sky is getting darker but the crowd is still starting to pour in.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Live entertainment at Beerfest Asia 2010. Enjoy fantastic live music while you drink beers!

Beerfest Asia 2010

Moving out to enjoy the cool breeze…

Beerfest Asia 2010

Redeemed a Brewerk Golden Ale from Singapore.

Beerfest Asia 2010

Carlton Pure Blonde, good for ladies who are more weight conscious as it’s low carbohydrate. The beer ambassador mentioned to me that 6 bottles of Pure Blonde is equivalent to a slice of bread. Wow!

Low Carbohydrate Lager (Source)
Gold: No Winner
Silver: No Winner
Bronze: Carlton Pure Blonde, Carlton & United Breweries Ltd, 6 Drunk Men

Beerfest Asia 2010

I left around 9pm to go for dinner but the event actually goes on till 12 midnight. Look at the amount of people still enjoying themselves!

Anyway, Beerfest Asia 2010 is a really great event for beer lovers to have the opportunity to sample different brew and concoction of beer under one roof. It’s also a good event to arrange for a get-together session with friends and enjoy beer! I will be sure to attend the next year’s Beerfest Asia 2010!

Categories
Vietnam

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

This is my 5th day and also the last day of my Vietnam trip. If you like to see the last 4 days of my trip, please do click here. Above photo shows the corridor of Elios Hotel (which I am staying) – I was pretty satisfied with the overall experience (clean and good location) but just that sometimes it does get rather noisy in the wee hours when other guests return after a “night out”. Some guests also smoke at the corridor and the ciggie smell can get into the room. Not good for those whose are light sleepers or have sensitive nose!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Free wireless is available to all hotel guests. Took this while going for breakfast.

We do not have much on the itinerary today as basically we just want to rest/relax and do some shopping. This is also the reason why we woke up slightly later than usual. 🙂

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

After our breakfast, we went to nearby Highlands Coffee to laze around and also have their famous Vietnamese Coffee. Photo above is showing the 2nd floor of Highlands Coffee at De Tham street (near to Pham Ngu Lao St).

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

For smokers, you may want to check out the outside seats where you can sip you coffee and see traffic buzzing by. Yeah, the Highlands Coffee is directly opposite Allez Boo (See “A Day in Ho Chi Minh City” for my visit there). Noticed that there are lots of overhanging wires around?

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Traditional Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, served with the tin dripper. VND 28,000.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Ca phe sua nong (Vietnamese: cà phê sữa nóng) — literally, “hot coffee with milk”.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

After lazing at Highlands Coffee for an hour, we took a taxi to Cho Binh Tay (Binh Tay Market) which is the main market of Cho Lon (Chinatown). Taxi ride costs VND 70, 000 from Highlands Coffee at De Tham street.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Many shops are available here! Decided to quickly head inside the market to escape from the scorching sun.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Ladies, any handbags for you?

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Rows of dried food and spices for sale!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Bags, backpacks and travel luggage can all be found here! My partner bought a “The North Face” branded backpack here at VND 180,000.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Store layout – it’s quite a large market with 2 floors selling a vast variety of products ranging from food, bags, shoes, slippers. Look at the bottom of the chart.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Hats for sale! As it was a hot day, we bought 2 hats (each at VND 30,000). Should have gotten it during our first day not the last day! Haha! But anyway it’s fine, we will use it for other upcoming trips.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Exploring the 2 floor of Binh Tay Market.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1.

Chinese pagoda/structure at the middle of Binh Tay Market.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

View of Binh Tay Market from the opening area in the middle.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Dragon statue sprouting water in a pond with fishes…

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Walking out of Binh Tay Market to grab a taxi back to Ben Thanh Market area and saw street peddlers selling their stuffs.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Public bus? We took a taxi from here and the taxi driver really took us for a ride by going round in circles thinking that we don’t know. Then, I purposely took out the map to check and then in less than 3 mins, we reached Ben Thanh Market.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Pho 2000 is the reason why we are coming to Ben Thanh Market area. The restaurant’s slogan is “Pho for the President” and this is because was honored by a visit from former United States President Bill Clinton in 2000.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

A photo in Pho 2000 showing Bill Clinton‘s visit in 2000.

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Pho 2000 – Lemon Soda VND 20,000. My partner didn’t expect that it comes separately and she have to mix it herself. Haha!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Pho 2000 – Beef Pho (large) VND 45,000 with all the condiments thrown in. The regular size goes for VND 35,000. Excellent Pho!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

After the lunch, since we are nearby to Ben Thanh Market, so decided to walk around for last minutes buys.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Food stalls at Ben Thanh Market. I forgot to try the glass dessert (che) here…heard that it was nice… 🙁

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

For coffee lovers, there is large variety of pre-mixed coffee powder for your selection.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Souvenirs and handicrafts are also available too!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Of course, how can Ben Thanh Market not have the girl’s stuffs such as handbags, purse, hair accessories, etc.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Walking back to Elios Hotel to take a break. There wasn’t much people around as it’s a Sunday and they are likely to be lazing at home.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

After the short break, we venture out to look for a manicure shop that we passed by several days ago as my partner wanted to do her nails. Passing by Crazy Buffalo Saigon again.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Another nearby restaurant and bar, Go 2 Eat.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Walking along Le Lai street. The manicure shop which my partner wanted to go is closed. Haha…

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Fruit seller along the streets.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Wet market where the locals purchase their daily groceries. We did pass by this area in the night before and it was really rowdy and gives my my partner an insecure feeling!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Pocha Korean Restaurant, seems to me that there are quite a lot of Korean restaurants around. Probably, it’s due to the influx of Koreans working in Ho Chi Minh City.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

On our way back along Pham Ngu Lao, there were several fire engines on the road which was creating quite a scene. My partner said maybe it’s our hotel that caught fire and I quickly dismissed the thought. The fire engines was blaring their sirens as if something drastic had happened but after their loitering around the area for a few minutes, they left! Maybe it was a false alarm?

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Anyway, we headed towards Sasa Cafe (242 De Tham Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) for dinner. It’s our second time here in 5days! See here for the first visit.

Having the delicious spring rolls (10 pieces) again VND 33,000.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Spaghetti Bolognese VND 48,000.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Enchiladas VND 62,000. Also had 2 x Saigon beer (VND 15,000 each) and 1 Dalat red wine (VND 22,000). Total for the dinner is VND 195,000. After dinner, we went back to hotel early to do packing up and also to have an early night as our flight back to Singapore is at 9am. We need to leave from hotel around 7.30am to cater additional time just in case we are caught in traffic jam.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Woke up, eat breakfast, checked out and then took a cab to the airport for VND 120,000 (fixed price). It was due to the hotel bellboy asking whether I need a taxi to the airport, which I replied “Yes”. I thought he was going to help us flagged down a taxi (using meter) but instead he bought us over to another taxi which promptly asked for VND 120,000. As I don’t want to be late for my flight, so I accepted without any haggling. My estimation that it will cost around VND 95,000 during 0730am.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Checked-in and waiting for our JetStar flight to arrive from Singapore (which will route back to Singapore).

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

Boarding the plane for our journey back home.

A Day in Ho Chi Minh City 1

After our 5 days trip in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), we are back at Singapore Changi Airport.

The overall trip was fun and amazing even though the weather was really hot. Next time we will be more prepared!

There are a few places or activities which I planned but didn’t visit or do respectively, namely

  • Visit “Reunification Palace“.
  • Try “Jolly Spa” at 38 Mac Dinh Chi Street, Q1, HCMC”
  • Visit “Quan An Ngon at 41/1 Pham Ngoc Thach, Q3 – a food-court layout but with various small stalls each whipping their specialties. Prices are inexpensive.
  • Eat “Bang Chang” – heard it’s nice and made primarily of vegetables, much like salad.
  • Eat “Glass dessert (che)” at Ben Thanh Market.
  • Explore more at Vung Tau (beaches, temples, statue of Jesus, seafood, etc.)

Well, it’s fine as it gives us another reason (other then the cheap and tasty beers) to return to Ho Chi Minh City. I also heard great feedback from fellow travelers about Dalat and Halong Bay! Both places will be in my next itinerary for sure! Might even add Cambodia (Phnom Penh and Siem Reap) if my partner (cannot take hot weather) is not joining!

Until next time then, Vietnam!

Categories
Vietnam

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Oh, time really flies and it’s already my fourth day in Ho Chi Minh City! No going for guided tour today and will be exploring on our own – We will be going to Vung Tau, which is a popular destination with beautiful beaches.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

After breakfast, we took a cab from Elios Hotel to Bach Dang Passenger Quay (Ton Duc Thang Str., Dist. 1). The journey took a while due to the morning traffic and cost us VND 30,000. Initially, I have planned to take a bus to Vung Tau from Mien Dong Coach Station (Bến Xe Miền Đông) as it’s cheaper at VND 40,000 but at a longer duration (2 hours). Lucky thing is that I consulted the staff at Sasa Cafe the night before and they told me that Mien Dong Coach Station is quite far away and we need to take a cab (or bus #26 from Ben Thanh station) first. Then I decided that we should opt for the quick and easy way to Vung Tau via Hydrofoil fast ferry (Tàu cánh ngầm). Above photo is Bach Dang Passenger Quay.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

There are 3 Hydrofoil operators in Bach Dang Passenger Quay and the hydrofoils depart for Vung Tau almost hourly. Above photo shows Greenlines and Petro Express.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Vina Express on the other side of the Bach Dang Passenger Quay. All three operators charge the same fare at VND180,000 per person. Although it’s a little more expensive but it’s much faster (1 hour 15 min) and comfortable than bus.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Waiting area at Bach Dang Passenger Quay.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Our tickets from Greenlines. We decided to go for Greenlines due to the timing as they are the next hydrofoil schedule to leave and we only require to stick around less than 30mins.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Just around 15mins of wait and the hydrofoil arrived. Seats are allocated so there is no need to rush! 🙂

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

As our tickets was bought rather last minute, we got seats that face the rest of the passengers. Haha!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

It was a rather pleasant ride and we reached Vung Tau in around 1 hour 15 min. Vung Tau is the capital of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and is the first tourist city in Vietnam. With beauty beach and fresh air, Vung Tau is a very popular destination for weekends.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

First thing after alighting the hydrofoil is to go get return tickets back to Ho Chi Minh City. You may choose to stay in Vung Tau but we decided to stick to just a day trip. Better get return tickets earlier, otherwise you will get stuck in Vung Tau if all the tickets are sold out. Hehe!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Went for Vina Express for our return trip back to Saigon. Fares are the same at VND180,000 per person.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Seems like a house to me… and it’s very nice! Sea view for all the rooms!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Long and lonely road. A vast difference from the traffic at Ho Chi Minh City.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Passing by a Chinese temple.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Passing by another Chinese temple. 🙂

Vietnamese temple dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, the Vietnamese military hero. (Thanks to Walter for the correction!)

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

If you are spending more time here in Vung Tau, you may want to visit “Statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms” which is on top of small mountain.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Stopping at Coffee Ocap for a breather and to hide from the extremely hot weather! It’s burning our skin!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

1 Soursop Shake and 1 Saigon at a total of VND 33,000. Ice-cold tea is provided free-of-charge and WIFI is available too!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

After the rest, we continued to walk around. Passing by “The Etta Pub”, which seems like a nice place to chill out.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Buying and selling crabs! Think crabs are a specialty seafood which is very popular in Vung Tau as everyplace have cooked crab on their menu.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Passing by Cafe Chong Chong.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

The hot weather made us stop again but this time more for lunch.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Menu at Bayview. Lots of food selection available!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Our lunch – 2 sandwich (as above), 1 Saigon beer and 1 Heineken, which totaled to VND 125,000. Gotta have the beer to cool us down in the hot weather! LOL!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

View from our seats at Bayview. It’s nice to hide away from the sun! Haha!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

The interior of Bayview. Believed that the owner is an Australian.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Time’s up – gotta board the Vinasun Express hydrofoil back to Ho Chi Minh City.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

This time round, we are given seats at the back of the hydrofoil. Personal opinion is that the Vinasun Express condition is worse off then Greenlines.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

We sat facing 2 LCD TVs but they are not on throughout the journey. In fact, it wasn’t even plug in! Check out the right LCD TV! Haha!

Anyway, beyond the door is actually the engine room so you get free diesel smell here too!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

After alighting the Hydrofoil, it was raining heavily in Ho Chi Minh City so we waited for a while for the rain to become smalller. Then, we grabbed a cab to Zen Plaza and paid VND 25,000.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Explored Zen Plaza for a while and then took cab to Parkson at VND 30,000.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

La Dolce Vita Café at Continental Hotel Saigon.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Passing by Saigon Opera House.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Walking along Dong Khoi Street.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Lucky Plaza. Well, not the Lucky Plaza in Singapore. 🙂

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

The reason why we are roaming along Dong Khoi Street – French restaurant Augustin (10 Nguyen Thiep).

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

The interior of Augustin. We reached early for dinner (7pm) so we were the only customers. 🙂

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

A bottle of house red. Think it was around VND 250,000.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Grilled Duck Confit. VND 150,000.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Grilled Chicken Breast with Cream Sauce. VND 120,000.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Lime Sorbet with Vodka. VND 110,000.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Night view of Saigon Opera House.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Passing by Hotel Continental Saigon while we are walking toward Ben Thanh Market.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Water fountain where locals as well as tourist hang around.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

A statue of Ho Chi Minh with Ho Chi Minh City Hall in the background.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City Hall. It was renamed after 1975 as Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Passing by Trung Nguyen Coffee. Didn’t really try it as we can also find Trung Nguyen Coffee back home in Singapore (in Liang Court). I remembered always going there to stock up on G7 instant coffee!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Next to Trung Nguyen Coffee is our destination – Bach Dang Ice Cream. A favourite place of young Saigonese.

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

A recommendation from the staff of Bach Dang Ice Cream – Ice cream in coconut at VND 62,000. Nice!

1 Day in Vung Tau & Ho Chi Minh City

Night market at Ben Thanh. Never really explore around as it’s likely to be a tourist trap! 😛

Leaving you with a video at Ben Thanh Market. Generally, the traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is somehow similar! 🙂

Categories
Vietnam

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Hello! It’s our 3rd day in Vietnam and we are still waking up around 6.30am (although a bit tired) to have breakfast before going for our tour to Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta. Above shows the breakfast voucher at Elios Hotel. For photos of Elios Hotel, please do refer to “A Day in Ho Chi Minh City“. Also do check out our 2nd day tour to “Cao Dai Temple & Cu Chi Tunnels“.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

My first serving – fried rice, potato wedges, ham, sausages, etc.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

My second serving is usually toast (with butter) and a repeat of the food that I find it nice in serving 1. The good thing about the breakfast at Elios Hotel is that the majority of the food (except for toast & drinks) are changed everyday so that you will not feel bored eating the same food for several days. Likely to have a fixed menu which it’s rotated around.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

We walk over to TheSinhTourist and boarded the coach. This time round the tour group is rather huge and the majority are non-Asians.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

After a while of the coach ride, we stopped at a restaurant for a break where tourists can visit restroom, smoke or just hang around.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

After another 1 hour of journey. we were told to alight and then continued by walking for a short distance to have a motorized boat ride.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

On the motorized boat ride. Captain checking the head count of the tourists before leaving.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

The kind of motorized boat we are taking. 🙂

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Mekong Delta – here we come!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Passing by a another smaller boat, it seems to me that the boat is actually their house where they lived, sleep and go on with their everyday things…

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Transport boat – passengers together with their bicycles, motorbikes and large items.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Church along Mekong Delta.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Alighted the boat, we didn’t get to see the “Cai Be Floating Market“… not sure why…thought it was in the itinerary…

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

We were then ushered to a place where we tried free samples of Royal Jelly. If you like it, then you can purchase it.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Showing us the worker bees where the Royal Jelly comes from.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Believe this should be Cai Be (as tour guide didn’t explain) and it’s a very calming area. Walking along a small path to the next destination.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Reached our next destination…what do we have here?

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Brewing alcohol? I need a drink!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Yeah, because at the opposite of the brewery, you can see this. Alcohol with snakes, scorpions and herbs… anyone game to try? Well, a couple from my tour group tried and mention that it tastes like sake but much stronger. He also asked me whether I would like to try which I politely declined. 🙂

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

At another corner, there is a stall selling crackers and also showing how Vietnamese spring roll skin is made.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Next, another area showing how they make coconut candies.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

A variety of coconut candies is available and there are free samples available to try. I overheard that there are banana, chocolate, etc flavors too!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Walking on to the next destination. Looks like pasar malam in Singapore?

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

This area sells lots of clothing.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Another section showing how they make rice crackers, the grains are thrown in the hot wok (with sand) and it pops just like popcorn!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

The backyard of the shop.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Durians for sale here too! But I personally find it way too heaty (due to hot weather) to consume any durians but Vietnamese differs as there was a party of 3 who went ahead to eat.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

More souvenirs for you to buy back. 🙂

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Continuing our journey on the boat to a village to have lunch as well as to see the life of villagers.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Another boat carrying a large pile of of sand passing by our boat.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

A house along Mekong Delta, seems to be self-built.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Petrol station for the boats!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Lunch that was packaged together with the tour. Food was quite fine but it was nothing fantastic. It comes with some fruits as well but the drinks is chargeable. I suppose this restaurant is always frequent by tourists so the drinks are slightly more expensive – 1 333 beer and 1 Coke totaled up to VND 34,000.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

The restaurant where we are having lunch with our tour group.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

After the lunch, we went to take a stroll around the village premises.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Private area to host your guests for lunch or dinner.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Crocodile farm. You can pay a small sum of money to feed them too!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Hammocks are available here and some of our tour members even had a good nap after the lunch!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

There is a short singing performance by the locals and you are welcome to part with you money in appreciation.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Continuing the journey on the boat and the reached our next destination – Vinh Long Market.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

The sun was extremely hot today and it made walking around really difficult as there wasn’t much of shelter around.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Cho Vinh Long, which is Vinh Long Market in English.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Food stalls at Vinh Long Market, the stall owners are beckoning at us to try, which we politely declined.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

My partner bought a small 50g Bioré facial wash (facial-fit expert) at VND 19,000 here. Nostalgia sight!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Vu Trung Discotheque – doesn’t seem to be in operation anymore. We went back to the coach and waited for it to leave for our next destination back to Ho Chi Minh City. A rather unfortunate thing happened halfway during the ride, the air-con in the coach broke down (despite the bus assistant effort to get it working) and we were all trapped in hot air. Opening the window helps a bit but you also get to have free carbon monoxide, dust and sand in your face!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Coach stopped at Mekong Rest Stop. It is a very nice and clean place and I think you can imagine if I tell you the above photo is actually the rest room.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Facade of Mekong Rest Stop.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

My partner bought a can of coke here at VND 16,000 and we sat at the table to the right to rest. It was a relief from the hot bus due to the air-con going nuts!

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Mandarin Duck relaxing at the pond at Mekong Rest Stop.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Private resting area for big groups.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Somehow, before we board the bus, the air-con was fixed and the rest of journey was rather pleasant. We reached Ho Chi Minh City around 630pm and walk around to find a place to have dinner. Passing by Crazy Buffalo Saigon, a restaurant and bar that is open 24 hours.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Decided to try Sasa Cafe (242 De Tam Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), which was just along TheSinhTourist office. Internet is available upstairs and you can also eat here too as there are tables looking out over the street.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Delicious spring rolls (10 pieces) at VND 33,000.

1 Day Cai Be & Vinh Long via the Mekong Delta Tour

Pizza Quattro Stagoni (large) at VND 85,000. Total dinner is at VND 211,000 which included 3 x Saigon Beer (VND 15,000 each) and 2 Heineken (VND 20,000 each). Food was extremely nice and staffs are friendly too! The ambiance is cozy and great for after-dinner drinks!

The next blog post will cover my 1 day Vung Tau Tour as well as walkabout, shopping and french dining in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). 🙂