BALI TRAVELOG 2019 DAY 1: Uluwatu Temple
10:14 PM
DAY 1
22nd September
We arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport on time around 1.30 PM.
First impression of Bali's main airport: elegant, cultural, peaceful. We were greeted by beautiful Balinese artworks on the walls along the hallway to the immigration hall with calming traditional Balinese music in our ears. The airport's washroom was also very well maintained and welcoming as it was decorated with Marigold flowers and smell of Frangipani essential oil. One thing I immediately noticed was the majority of tourists at Bali were white people, not Chinese lol. The airport was not as crowded as most international airports are.
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| Artworks along the hallway of Ngurah Rai Airport |
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| Marigold in the washroom |
My first mission was to collect our traveler SIM card that I bought from Klook online. It was easy to spot the Klook booth according to the instructions provided as Ngurah Rai Airport was not that big to begin with. The registration process was quick and easy but I was a little disappointed that the SIM card was not immediately usable. The staff told me I had to wait for 30 minutes to activate it. I was quite anxious as I expected to have a fully functional SIM card with internet access and ability to make local phone calls once I touch down in Bali. I was worried that I couldn't get in contact with the driver I pre-booked with Klook.
Nevertheless, I moved on to the pick-up area where I was supposed to find my driver. I easily found the staff with Klook sign. When I told him my name, his confused look gave me a bad feeling. Indeed, our driver hasn't arrived yet. The staff asked us to wait at the benches while he tried to contact Klook office. The 30 minutes while waiting for the staff to contact the office was torturing. All I had were negative thoughts (Joker reference lol). Why am I so unlucky? Are all the good reviews on Klook fake? What's going on now? No one is giving me any explanation? Wtf my driver is missing? Their English was worse than I expected. Sometimes they don't understand my questions. Are they going to compensate me for wasting my time? Am I able to carry on with my itinerary as planned?
Imagine when you're stranded at a place with no internet and no idea of why the heck your pre-booked driver is not here to pick you up. But I tried to stay calm and be positive. I know the Klook staff is helping me to sort things out so I wouldn't want to keep pestering him even though I was anxious as hell. Tried really hard to cheer myself up even though my mood was seriously ruin. No way I'm gonna let this small unlucky incident to ruin my whole vacation! But I have to be honest, it's not easy to be positive at this kind of situation, for me at least haha.
After around 45 minutes, the new driver that Klook arranged for me finally arrived. Her name was Mimi. I think she tried to WhatsApp me but since my stupid SIM card was not yet activated at that time and I could only rely on that weak WiFi signal from the airport, I couldn't get her message. Apparently, our original driver was missing in action and Mimi, who was on leave, took the job since she was coincidentally sending her sister to the airport. Thank you, Mimi!
Our driver's car was a new 7-seater Honda Mobilio. It's very spacious and comfortable. Our first stop was supposed to be Pak Malen's Babi Guling but Mimi said the place might be closed and it's also at a different direction from Uluwatu. So, I decided to give up going to Pak Malen's because we were short of time. We asked Mimi to bring us to a restaurant near Uluwatu Temple.
The traffic was slow probably due to the cars bringing tourists to this famous Bali icon but we managed to reach within an hour. I think the traffic would be unbearable if we visited during peak seasons. Along the way, we saw a lot of cultural and religious statues beside the roads. One of the most beautiful one that wowed me was this one below. So cool!
Mimi brought us to this restaurant serving Balinese food near Uluwatu called Warung Bejana. First impression was the price of the food will gonna be expensive because of its "atas" look lol. I suspected that the drivers get some sort of commission when they bring customers to these expensive restaurants. Moreover, I saw that the guards at the parking lot of this restaurant seemed to know Mimi already. Yeah... It's uncommon to have guards at the parking lot of restaurants in Malaysia but it's quite common in Bali. I guess their job is to help with the traffic problem?
I was still in a bad mood so I didn't really have appetite to enjoy the food but honestly the food there was meh. The food prices were indeed quite expensive considering the quality. We ordered Nasi Bali (IDR 69.000), Fried Rice (IDR 69.000), Chicken Curry (IDR 79.000) and Orange Juice (IDR 29.000). There's a 10% tax and 8% service charge. The environment and service were good though. I only took one photo with my phone as I was still very anxious with the SIM card which were still not activated!
Warung Bejana Uluwatu: https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Restaurant_Review-g8366411-d9827749-Reviews-Warung_Bejana-Uluwatu_Bali.html
After the quick dinner, we went to Uluwatu Temple. The entrance ticket per adult was IDR 50.000, which was higher than what I checked online. I've read online that they also charged a parking fee of IDR 10.000 which we were supposed to pay for it but Mimi didn't tell us about it so I'm not sure whether Mimi paid for us as a compensation for the MIA driver incident earlier or the parking fee has been abolished. We borrowed their sarongs at the entrance without any charge as everyone was required to wear a sarong before we can enter the premise.
Before we parted with Mimi, I asked Mimi about my SIM card problem and she helped me to troubleshoot the problem. It turned out that I needed to change some internet settings in my phone. My SIM card finally got activated! The signal in Uluwatu Temple was quite bad though.
As the temple was built at the edge of a cliff (hence the name Uluwatu), we could see the magnificent view of the waves crashing on the cliff and the sunset! Nothing much to do at Uluwatu Temple really except taking in the beautiful views but the highlight of the place was the Kecak Fire Dance performance! The place was crowded even though it was not peak season!
After 30 minutes of strolling around the place taking photos, we decided to head to the Kecak Dance auditorium to get the best seats as we saw from afar the auditorium was already quite packed! I've already booked our tickets from Klook online but I was a little worried that I could not find the Klook staff to get my tickets because the signal at Uluwatu Temple was really bad. A day before, I received an email from the local operator asking me to contact the Klook staff by WhatsApp before I arrive. I tried to call the staff but I couldn't connect so I had to just try to spot the Klook staff among the crowds myself which should not be hard according to the Klook reviews by other tourists. Luckily I found the Klook staff wearing orange-coloured shirt which was actually not that easy because of the crowd! He was sitting at a resting hut near the ticket counter. I showed him my Klook ticket in my phone and he brought me to collect our tickets at the counter. I got our tickets within a couple of minutes. We were also given a handout explaining the scenes in Kecak Dance. It would be a good idea to read through it before the show so that you understand the show much better.
I think the ticket price on Klook was cheaper as I bought at RM25 (around IDR 84.000) per person. If you buy on the spot the ticket price would be IDR 100.000. Moreover, if you're going during peak season, the queue for buying tickets would be long. Even on the day we visited, the organizer told us that the tickets were sold out and many visitors didn't get to secure a ticket. So yeah, I like to buy tickets online whenever possible to avoid disappointments and save time.
When we entered the auditorium, there were a few ushers in their neat traditional uniforms showing us to available seats. We were still able to secure seats around 5.30 PM. The show starts at 6PM but if you come at this time you would probably have to sit on the floor. You get to be very close to the performers but it's definitely not comfortable to sit on the hard cement floor for one hour. Although the cement seats on top were not that comfortable either but at least you get a better view of the performance.
The Kecak Dance show was unique and interesting. The music that was made up only by voices of around 70 men without any musical instruments were very exciting. On top of that, there were a few fun interactive parts where the naughty Ape character jumped (yes, literally jump from high places to the ground) among the audience and did silly tricks like playing with someone's hat. He even took selfie with the audience in the middle of the show haha. Near the end, there's also a scene where they lighted up fire in the dark which was why the show was called Kecak Fire Dance sometimes.
After the show ended, the performers stayed back for the photo sessions with audience. We left the place immediately because it was already dinner time. It took some time for us to exit the place because of the huge amount of crowd leaving at the same time. Mimi was already waiting for us near the entrance to bring us to her car. We decided to have our dinner near our hotel at Legian so we asked Mimi to recommend a restaurant. Mimi was not particularly good at recommending restaurants. So I said we would like to try Naughty Nuri's pork ribs. She then said that she preferred Iiga Warung's pork ribs. This time I did a quick Google search on the restaurant after the first experience of her bringing us to an expensive restaurant. I did find a restaurant called Iiga Warung that served pork ribs and according to the reviews by locals their prices were cheap so I accepted her recommendation. I even showed her the restaurant I found on Google to confirm with her that it's the same restaurant she's saying. However, when we reached there, it's not the same restaurant =_=
It's another expensive looking restaurant with a big parking lot with guards again haha. The guards were very welcoming and friendly so you already know it's gonna be expensive hahaha but well, we're starving already so I just got along with it. I also noticed there were a few groups of Japanese tourists in the restaurants. Anyway, the prices were not that expensive lah. It's surprisingly cheaper than Naughty Nuri's (And after tasting Naughty Nuri's on another day, my parents actually think that this was better than Naughty Nuri's). So Mimi actually made a good recommendation.
We ordered a large bottle of Bintang beer (IDR 49.000) coz me and my dad couldn't wait to try haha. We also ordered two plates of Nasi Goreng with Pork Ribs (IDR 79.000), a plate of Mi Goreng with Pork Ribs (IDR 79.000), Cah Jamur (IDR 70.000) and Honeydew Melon Juice (IDR 30.000).
The Nasi Goreng and Mi Goreng was quite tasty although quite salty but the Cah Jamur (a dish of stir-fried mixed vegatables with rice) was very salty! The pork ribs were nice though! Very tender and flavourful in the way we liked it.
The Bintang beer though... was love at first sip! I never liked alcohol. Like never. I didn't understand why people liked alcohol as they were bitter. I only drink flavoured alcohol that are sweet. But I knew I must try Bintang because it's been raved about on the Internet. And I loved it. It has very little bitterness to it, nearly negligible and it's malty taste was strong. With some quick search on Google, it actually has a similar taste to Heineken as it's actually under Heineken. Well, I don't remember drinking Heineken before, probably I will try it in the future.
Iiga Warung Sunset Road: https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Restaurant_Review-g297697-d17817599-Reviews-Iiga_Warung_Sunset_Road-Kuta_Kuta_District_Bali.html
Before we went back to our hotel for the night, we asked Mimi to bring us somewhere we could buy bread for our next morning's breakfast as we had to depart early to Tegenungan Waterfall. She brought us to Pepito Market nearby, which was a premium supermarket chain in Bali. There were also a souvenir section which sells cute stuffs but we didn't have luxury time to browse so we just bought some breads and the left.
Our hotel for the night was The Legian Sunset Residence which I booked through Agoda at RM167 per night. The 2-storey studio was actually better than expected. The place was spacious. It's a good stay for a night.
Legian Sunset Residence: https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Hotel_Review-g608487-d5279701-Reviews-The_Legian_Sunset_Residence-Legian_Kuta_District_Bali.html
The traffic was slow probably due to the cars bringing tourists to this famous Bali icon but we managed to reach within an hour. I think the traffic would be unbearable if we visited during peak seasons. Along the way, we saw a lot of cultural and religious statues beside the roads. One of the most beautiful one that wowed me was this one below. So cool!
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| Gorgeous statue |
Mimi brought us to this restaurant serving Balinese food near Uluwatu called Warung Bejana. First impression was the price of the food will gonna be expensive because of its "atas" look lol. I suspected that the drivers get some sort of commission when they bring customers to these expensive restaurants. Moreover, I saw that the guards at the parking lot of this restaurant seemed to know Mimi already. Yeah... It's uncommon to have guards at the parking lot of restaurants in Malaysia but it's quite common in Bali. I guess their job is to help with the traffic problem?
I was still in a bad mood so I didn't really have appetite to enjoy the food but honestly the food there was meh. The food prices were indeed quite expensive considering the quality. We ordered Nasi Bali (IDR 69.000), Fried Rice (IDR 69.000), Chicken Curry (IDR 79.000) and Orange Juice (IDR 29.000). There's a 10% tax and 8% service charge. The environment and service were good though. I only took one photo with my phone as I was still very anxious with the SIM card which were still not activated!
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| Nasi Bali |
Warung Bejana Uluwatu: https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Restaurant_Review-g8366411-d9827749-Reviews-Warung_Bejana-Uluwatu_Bali.html
After the quick dinner, we went to Uluwatu Temple. The entrance ticket per adult was IDR 50.000, which was higher than what I checked online. I've read online that they also charged a parking fee of IDR 10.000 which we were supposed to pay for it but Mimi didn't tell us about it so I'm not sure whether Mimi paid for us as a compensation for the MIA driver incident earlier or the parking fee has been abolished. We borrowed their sarongs at the entrance without any charge as everyone was required to wear a sarong before we can enter the premise.
Before we parted with Mimi, I asked Mimi about my SIM card problem and she helped me to troubleshoot the problem. It turned out that I needed to change some internet settings in my phone. My SIM card finally got activated! The signal in Uluwatu Temple was quite bad though.
As the temple was built at the edge of a cliff (hence the name Uluwatu), we could see the magnificent view of the waves crashing on the cliff and the sunset! Nothing much to do at Uluwatu Temple really except taking in the beautiful views but the highlight of the place was the Kecak Fire Dance performance! The place was crowded even though it was not peak season!
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| Uluwatu Temple at the edge of cliff |
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| Waves |
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| Flooded by tourists |
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| The crowded Kecak Dance auditorium |
After 30 minutes of strolling around the place taking photos, we decided to head to the Kecak Dance auditorium to get the best seats as we saw from afar the auditorium was already quite packed! I've already booked our tickets from Klook online but I was a little worried that I could not find the Klook staff to get my tickets because the signal at Uluwatu Temple was really bad. A day before, I received an email from the local operator asking me to contact the Klook staff by WhatsApp before I arrive. I tried to call the staff but I couldn't connect so I had to just try to spot the Klook staff among the crowds myself which should not be hard according to the Klook reviews by other tourists. Luckily I found the Klook staff wearing orange-coloured shirt which was actually not that easy because of the crowd! He was sitting at a resting hut near the ticket counter. I showed him my Klook ticket in my phone and he brought me to collect our tickets at the counter. I got our tickets within a couple of minutes. We were also given a handout explaining the scenes in Kecak Dance. It would be a good idea to read through it before the show so that you understand the show much better.
I think the ticket price on Klook was cheaper as I bought at RM25 (around IDR 84.000) per person. If you buy on the spot the ticket price would be IDR 100.000. Moreover, if you're going during peak season, the queue for buying tickets would be long. Even on the day we visited, the organizer told us that the tickets were sold out and many visitors didn't get to secure a ticket. So yeah, I like to buy tickets online whenever possible to avoid disappointments and save time.
When we entered the auditorium, there were a few ushers in their neat traditional uniforms showing us to available seats. We were still able to secure seats around 5.30 PM. The show starts at 6PM but if you come at this time you would probably have to sit on the floor. You get to be very close to the performers but it's definitely not comfortable to sit on the hard cement floor for one hour. Although the cement seats on top were not that comfortable either but at least you get a better view of the performance.
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| Waiting for the show to begin! |
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| Bonus point: gorgeous sunset! |
The Kecak Dance show was unique and interesting. The music that was made up only by voices of around 70 men without any musical instruments were very exciting. On top of that, there were a few fun interactive parts where the naughty Ape character jumped (yes, literally jump from high places to the ground) among the audience and did silly tricks like playing with someone's hat. He even took selfie with the audience in the middle of the show haha. Near the end, there's also a scene where they lighted up fire in the dark which was why the show was called Kecak Fire Dance sometimes.
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| Kecak Dance |
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| The White Ape running around in fire |
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| The White Ape fooling around among the audience |
After the show ended, the performers stayed back for the photo sessions with audience. We left the place immediately because it was already dinner time. It took some time for us to exit the place because of the huge amount of crowd leaving at the same time. Mimi was already waiting for us near the entrance to bring us to her car. We decided to have our dinner near our hotel at Legian so we asked Mimi to recommend a restaurant. Mimi was not particularly good at recommending restaurants. So I said we would like to try Naughty Nuri's pork ribs. She then said that she preferred Iiga Warung's pork ribs. This time I did a quick Google search on the restaurant after the first experience of her bringing us to an expensive restaurant. I did find a restaurant called Iiga Warung that served pork ribs and according to the reviews by locals their prices were cheap so I accepted her recommendation. I even showed her the restaurant I found on Google to confirm with her that it's the same restaurant she's saying. However, when we reached there, it's not the same restaurant =_=
It's another expensive looking restaurant with a big parking lot with guards again haha. The guards were very welcoming and friendly so you already know it's gonna be expensive hahaha but well, we're starving already so I just got along with it. I also noticed there were a few groups of Japanese tourists in the restaurants. Anyway, the prices were not that expensive lah. It's surprisingly cheaper than Naughty Nuri's (And after tasting Naughty Nuri's on another day, my parents actually think that this was better than Naughty Nuri's). So Mimi actually made a good recommendation.
We ordered a large bottle of Bintang beer (IDR 49.000) coz me and my dad couldn't wait to try haha. We also ordered two plates of Nasi Goreng with Pork Ribs (IDR 79.000), a plate of Mi Goreng with Pork Ribs (IDR 79.000), Cah Jamur (IDR 70.000) and Honeydew Melon Juice (IDR 30.000).
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| Bintang Beer |
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| Nasi Goreng with Pork Ribs |
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| Mi Goreng with Pork Ribs |
The Nasi Goreng and Mi Goreng was quite tasty although quite salty but the Cah Jamur (a dish of stir-fried mixed vegatables with rice) was very salty! The pork ribs were nice though! Very tender and flavourful in the way we liked it.
The Bintang beer though... was love at first sip! I never liked alcohol. Like never. I didn't understand why people liked alcohol as they were bitter. I only drink flavoured alcohol that are sweet. But I knew I must try Bintang because it's been raved about on the Internet. And I loved it. It has very little bitterness to it, nearly negligible and it's malty taste was strong. With some quick search on Google, it actually has a similar taste to Heineken as it's actually under Heineken. Well, I don't remember drinking Heineken before, probably I will try it in the future.
Iiga Warung Sunset Road: https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Restaurant_Review-g297697-d17817599-Reviews-Iiga_Warung_Sunset_Road-Kuta_Kuta_District_Bali.html
Before we went back to our hotel for the night, we asked Mimi to bring us somewhere we could buy bread for our next morning's breakfast as we had to depart early to Tegenungan Waterfall. She brought us to Pepito Market nearby, which was a premium supermarket chain in Bali. There were also a souvenir section which sells cute stuffs but we didn't have luxury time to browse so we just bought some breads and the left.
Our hotel for the night was The Legian Sunset Residence which I booked through Agoda at RM167 per night. The 2-storey studio was actually better than expected. The place was spacious. It's a good stay for a night.
Legian Sunset Residence: https://www.tripadvisor.com.my/Hotel_Review-g608487-d5279701-Reviews-The_Legian_Sunset_Residence-Legian_Kuta_District_Bali.html
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