Kuta is one of the de-facto touristy areas that most who goes to the island of Bali will visit. It is a sort of a bigger version of Batu Feringghi in Penang, with more tourists, more stalls, more activities, and bigger waves.
Not coincidentally, this was also the ground zero of Bali bombing that happened in 2002, though there seems to be no lingering effects from that tragic incident 9 years ago so far as the tourism industry goes.
surfing lessons are offered at every 10 meter on the beach
Other than sun bathing and looking good in your bikini, one of the more popular activities on Kuta beach is surfing and wake boarding. You can easily get a surfing lesson from eager locals who almost looked Hawaiian, minus the accent.
We did not bother doing it, the wave wasn’t particularly big that day, and even if I managed to master the trade, then what? Your mileage may vary.
Pendawa Hotel, quite strategically located
We stayed at Pendawa Hotel for a night at Kuta. It’s a 2 star place that is not too hard on the wallet at USD $46.75 via Agoda.
The room is air conditioned, uncarpeted, clean, and has a balcony facing the tastefully shaped swimming pool. The toilet, however, came with a bath tub that is already slightly stained. Not exactly awesome, but hey, it was less than USD $50.
street arts, not sure if those three are admirers
The hotel is located inside an alley directly opposite Discovery Mall, which is situated right by the beach. The mall has your typical KFC, Pizza Hut, and even Roti Boy. Yes, Roti Boy!
The alley is only as wide as a car, and wears plenty of rather tasteful graffitis (no huge cock or ahlong stickers, thankfully)
obligatory picture of myself by Kuta beach
Before heading to the beach, we actually spent a few hours at Waterbom Park. It was loads of fun actually, but there will be another post complete with GoPro videos dedicated just for it. As soon as Haze gets the video done, that is.
cremation process right on the beach, hmm….
I snapped the photos above without knowing what actually happened. It looked like some sort of religious rituals at the time, with groups of people gathering, and some open burning going on.
Only later I found out (from a local) that these were actually cremation process, strangely, there seems to be no one crying. If this was a Chinese thing, there’d be plenty of drama (even if we have to fake it)
chicken satay by Kuta beach
Our first meal at Bali was from this satey stall by Kuta Beach, hotel breakfast notwithstanding. We had to wait for a good 15-20 minutes before it was our turn, business was brisk at this little stall operated by a pair of old couple.
yes, it was yummy
The chicken satay comes with quite a bit of ketupat, but instead of peanut sauce that we’re familiar with, there is a type of pretty spicy sambal as condiment instead. It was plenty tasty, and cost us 10,000 Rupiah if I remember correctly.
At time of travel, 10,000 Rupiah was RM 3.60.
A can of chilled Coca-Cola goes for 8,000-10,000 IDR. Yes, everyone is a millionaire in Indonesia.
hair braiding and temporary tattoos services are offered everywhere
There were plenty of hair braiding, padi-manicure, and temporary tattoo services along the beach. Haze did hers for 50k IDR. Initial asking price was 100k IDR, but in Bali you have to bargain for everything, and we probably could have gotten it even cheaper if patience is one of my traits.
The lady worked expertly on her hair, and the whole thing only took some 15-20 minutes.
we don’t take lotsa picture together, but when we do, it’s with pink sunnies
Now with the camera and her braided hair, we looked properly touristy. This is a recipe to get slaughtered, but you only travel so often, so what the heck.
bakso, tastes only as “good” as it looked
Near the art market by Kuta Beach, we found a stall operated by a guy with lousy hairstyle selling bakso – one of the so called must-eat street foods in Bali.
As we looked plenty touristy now, the bowl of bakso cost us 20k IDR, though you shouldn’t really pay more than 10k IDR or a bowl of meatballs, meat paste, crackers, and vermicelli noodle in soup. It didn’t taste as good as I thought it would be. I’d prefer it to be a bit less starchy and with more meat in those paste/ball.
this is how you transport 3 dogs on a motorcycle
On the way back to the hotel, we also saw this pretty impressive feat – just a guy going on a motorcycle ride with his 3 sausage dogs, the puppies were basically just holding on to dear life while the guy trolls around on his Suzuki.
Yes, these are things you see at Kuta.
A little while ago Haze and I took a little weekend getaway to Fraser’s hill, the less glamorous of the highlands in Pahang after Genting, Cameron, and Bukit Tinggi.
For the lack of flashiness and modern entertainment, Fraser’s Hill has that rustic charm that if not for the cars parked on the side of the road, the place would look almost exactly alike as it was 20-30 years back.
the famous clock tower at Fraser’s hill
The hill is situated at some 1,500 meter up, with a perfect temperature of 17-25C, and the void of noise except for some bird chipping sound. It is a perfect place to recharge the soul.
It’s only a couple hours drive from KL, and a scenic one at that. Our hotel room at Puncak Inn costs around RM 120 with clean sheets, warm shower, and great location.
So now, here’s 5 things you can do at Fraser’s hill, and the great thing is, they won’t stress your wallet.
jungle trekking is a great exercise!
1. Jungle Trekking
There are a number of trails on Fraser’s hill, they are reasonably well traveled with little rest stations within the jungle too. Most trails are not more than 1-2 kilometers in length and they usually have rest stops in the trail too.
Click on map above for higher resolution
We trekked some 6.7 km in the jungle over 1.5 hours or so. It was refreshing, and of course, very tiring too. One advise though, wear anti-leech socks or bring salt, I ended up having to use a knife to peel off a couple leech on my foot at the end.
Cost - RM 0.
dining at Scott’s, Fraser’s Hill
2. Dinner at Scott
After a good shower, we walked over to Scott’s just right next door to the hotel. A Western + local food restaurant that was probably previously a house owned by some English dude who missed home too much he built a house that is completely out of place in this country.
There are a couple tables at the garden, more indoor, a bar, and sofa in front of the fireplace too. It was charming.
The food wasn’t too shabby either, but don’t expect something spectacular though. My lamb chop tasted just fine if not a little fatty, the fish and chips was decent, and we do like the orange cake they had for the night.
Cost - RM 50 or so, including drinks.
archery for only RM 8 for 10 arrows
3. Archery
After dinner we went straight to bed even though it was only 8 or 9pm, the jungle trekking, dinner, and the perfect temperature was too conducive to sleeping I guess.
The next morning we took a short drive up to the paddock. Our first activity of the day was archery. RM 8 for 10 arrows, and the idea is to not miss the target completely. I got 10 out of 10 on target, yey!
Cost - RM 16 for two.
horse back riding for only RM 5
4. Horse back riding
And since I had not ridden a horse since I was 5 (with my parents in Medan, I think), it was a perfect chance to do so again. It was slightly anti climatic to be honest, you sit on the saddle, and the dude guide the horse making a round, and that’s it.
The good part is, my balls didn’t have to suffer, and you can’t be the price of only RM 5!
Cost - RM 10 for 2 pax.
boating at Allan’s water for.. RM 6
1. Boating at Allan’s Water
Believe it or not, there is actually a lake of sort (I think a dam) at Fraser’s hill by the name of Allan’s water. You can rent one of those paddle boats for a good 10-20 minutes of pleasure boating on the water. It’s kinda like taipeng lake but minus the mosquitoes and hot sun, a semi-romantic thing to do too.
Cost - RM 6 for a boat
So there you go, a wonderful weekend getaway that costs less than RM 200 including hotel, food, and activities. Add in perhaps another RM 50-80 for transportation, it is still a bargain.
I think I want to go back to that place for a longer stay next. 
Just checked into Disneyland Hotel, HK isn’t a place with many wifi spots but luckily the lobby of the hotel has free wifi service.
Spotted Snow White having photo sessions with kids, lovely place.
Having lunch at Crystal Lotus restaurant at the hotel now, with suckling pig + bun, yum max. Will be back to KL tomorrow night but first, whole day and a half’s Disney tour!
Just got back from a 3 day 2 night trip from Redang last night. It was my 4th diving trip for the year and my first time to Redang since September 2005. Original cast from the previous trip – Terence, Kerol, and Kim were on this trip, but we’ve also added FA, Haze, Joe (who went to Tenggol with us), and of course, Horng who got himself certified with PADI Open Water.
It looks like we’ll be going on more island trips soon, Kerol and Kim both did discovery diving and loved it, and the gang now already has 4 certified divers.
Will blog more about Redang very soon, about the place, the crowd, the food, diving, and more. But in the mean time, here’s a lovely picture of nemo and friends that I shot on the 4th dive of the trip with superb visibility.
nemo and friends at Redang Island
Sipadan, Tenggol twice, now Redang, where’s next! I’m already missing it.
Many of us have a preconceived mindset when it comes traveling. It usually involves places that appear in travel brochures, postcards, or even TV programs; then there’s the airport code, bus/taxi rides, and most likely resorts or hotels.
You then visit places of interests, the museums, monuments, art galleries, several shopping places, and perhaps even a famous eatery or two.
from various trips to Krabi, Melbourne, Mabul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Redang
There’s nothing wrong with a typical traveling experience like this, I’ve done plenty myself, and will continue to do more. But there’s a bit of a downside, unless you’re heading to somewhere you have a friend (like when I went to Melbourne and Tokyo, you’re most likely going to behave and get treated like a tourist.
Then there’s Homestay.
Homestay is inherently different from your normal traveling experience, instead of following a tour guide, you stay with a host family and truly experience life as it lived day to day in the particular place. This includes participating in the local activities, culture, and of course, tasting traditional food.
To participate in a homestay right here in Malaysia, there’s our very own go2homestay portal. The portal offers contacts to homestay programs at every state in this country.
homestay activities at Kampung Sungai Haji Dorani, Selangor
Take homestay of the month, Kampung Sungai Haji Dorani. Located a mere 1.5 hours away but a totally different world from Kuala Lumpur. Instead of the concrete jungle with shopping malls and fast food chains, it is a place with lush green paddy fields full of natural and cultural treasures to be discovered.
Instead of visiting museums and tugu negara, you get to experience the life as a paddy field farmer, try your luck in hand fishing, learn to make kite, batik, and get a taste of the local delicacy – nasi ambeng Haji Dorani (this would probably be my favorite)
To participate in homestay at Haji Dorani (or any location listed) is fairly simple. Get the contact via this list of homestay venues that have been registered with Ministry of Tourism Malaysia and just contact the person in charge. Each homestay has their individual rates and packages.
This is actually a pretty interesting concept, and something quite new to me personally, I should give it a go hopefully soon. Check out go2homestay.com for more information.
