The month of July has been my busiest month ever. It was packed with birthday celebrations, promotion celebrations, farewells, relatives' hospital stay, mother's visit, GMAT, and lastly an increasing amount of workload, which I'm struggling to handle. I am really sorry that I have to cancel and miss many outings.

I did not even have time to go for my exercise for the whole of July!!! Imagine all the scrumptious food that had filled up my stomach and the minimal calorie-burning, haiz...

By the way, when someone acknowledges your presence by just raising his hand and asking you to talk to his hand, without even looking at you, what will you feel? It's damn irritating! May as well don't wave at me! Don't even talk to me! So freaking arrogant! Ok, this's random!

I'll blog more about my GMAT next time! hehe...

26th Birthday Wishes

I find these two contradicting wishes very interesting. Let me quote my parents:

Mom: "Semoga cepat dapat jodoh, cepat kawin..." (May you find the one soon, may you get married faster...)

Dad: "Maju terus pantang mundur. Semoga jadi CEO..." (Keep going, don't give up...may you become CEO...) My dad has always been very proud of my work achievements!

I think I should be born a guy, and life won't be as complicated :)

When I saw an email on the testing, which I'm supposed to inspect, my heart sank. It's scheduled on 1st July, at 23:59pm.

There are 31 days in July, which they can choose from, and how unlucky I am to get to inspect the one that falls on my birthday! And it's a Friday night!

Well, despite many responses asking me to either pretend to be sick, ask someone to replace, or tell them it's ur birthday, I replied to that email: "1st July is my birthday! Haha, but it's ok...I'll be there :)"

This morning, I was so touched when the staff replied this: "Oh really...what a coincidence! This does not feel right. I will propose an alternative date for your inspection because all human beings alike, nobody wants to be doing LSC05 Testing on their birthday!"

That email just made my day. Luckily, I don't need to feel guilty, as last minute, there is another testing, that has to be scheduled on that day, so the one that I need to inspect on can be postponed!!! :)

The moment the bonus appeared on my payslip, the amount of workload suddenly shot up exponentially. Damn!

The amount of things to be settled that I always write down at the beginning of each day just grow longer and longer since I came back. Spending at least half a day out of office daily is making things worse :(

I miss HOME!

Two days after coming back to Singapore, I booked the next flight home: 24 Dec - 28 Dec (total 2 days leave).

How can I not miss home?

My super comfortable bed

Super high-tech shower box (complete with remote control and choices of water coming out from 3 different sources: normal shower, rain shower, and wall shower!) with very beautiful roses background


KTV at any time of the day

And most important of all, my parents and my brother, whom I can always see everyday.

The more I think about my future and the more I observe what is happening around me, the more I am convinced that I can be richer back home, and not here.

I want to go home :(

I'm going HOME...back to the place where I belong!

I will be off to Jakarta on Saturday morning, attend my cousin's engagement on Sunday night, and be off to my hometown on Monday 5 am! My dad and I already plan not to sleep after the Sunday party, as we need to get to the airport at 3 am. That's how urgent I need to get to my hometown to enjoy undisturbed sleep on my new bed and karaoke-ing at any time I want! Damn shiok!!!

A friend of mine who just got married message me today, "We are going to Singapore for honeymoon tomorrow, let's meet up!"

My immediate reaction was, "Another one!" This is not the first couple that I had to entertain during their honeymoon in Singapore. And I have another couple coming in June as well. I took the bumboat along Singapore river with one couple during their honeymoon and I was there all the time to take photos and to observe their lovey-doveyness (is there such a word? haha). I even met them again when they came back to Singapore for their 1st year anniversary. Why must they always haunt me??? May all my good deeds bring good karma into my life!

With my cousin getting married in less than a month time, the conversation in the family always revolves around her wedding, especially she's the first one to get married among all my cousins from my mom's side. The only time they turn to you is to ask you, "So when is your turn?"
Standard reaction: *fake smile* full stop.

I am looking forward to go home to enjoy my new room and not really for the wedding. I could predict what is going to happen during such a grand wedding. The whole town will be there. Most likely i'll meet my primary and secondary school mates and they will be with their husband and kid/s. All my mom's friends who know me, will be there too. They will be saying these, "Wah, Lydia is so big already! Long time no see...So pretty! So when is your turn? Faster...don't wait anymore." Then they will turn to my mom, "Faster arrange for her..."
Standard reaction: *fake smile* full stop, with a strong wish that they stop talking. Oh did i tell you that all the sentences above come only from one aunty or one group of aunties? I will be listening to at least 10 sets of those sentences during the wedding night. Imagine how sucky the feeling is, you want to scream at them but you can't, you want to throw wine glasses at them but you also can't. Luckily I have mastered the skill of faking my smile such that it looks very innocent and genuine, even though my heart is crying! Isn't it cool? haha...

I promise myself that if I ever get married one day, I will always be sensitive on this issue!

I had the most productive Saturday and the least productive Sunday.

Saturday, 21 May 2011
6 am: Woke up
6.30 am: Took cab to Changi Airport to send my brother home
7.15 am: Had breakfast with my brother @ Toast Box, Terminal 2
8 am: Took the train back
8.45 am: Reached YMCA
845 am to 11 am: Waited for my Indo friend who was supposed to land at 8 am in the morning and reached YMCA by 9 am, but did not appear till 11 am. Finished reading about 70 pages of Zig Ziglar's See You at the Top while waiting.
11 am: Left YMCA, gave up on waiting for her
11.45 am: Had 1-hour body massage at Spa Infinity with Gracia
12.45 pm: Had lunch at Spa Infinity Cafe
1.15 pm: Jacuzzi and girls talk
2.15 pm to 4.30 pm: Manicure and Pedicure at Nail Palace
4.30 pm to 6.30 pm: Shopping
6.45 pm - 9 pm: Watched Pirates with TF
9 pm: Late dinner
11 pm: Concussed

What an impressive Saturday!


Sunday, 22 May 2011
9 am: Woke up
9.30 am: Read newspaper
10.15 am: Uncle and cousin reached home - from Jakarta
10.30 am: Peeled mangoes
11 am: Tried to plan my script for the briefing of the new batch of potential MTs on Monday
12.30 pm: Lunch, only 2 sentences crafted for the script. Luckily the bulk of the script came from the script, which I prepared last year
1.30 pm: Continue thinking on what to say
3 pm: Fell asleep
5.30 pm: Woke up, panicked!
6 pm: Dinner
6.30 pm: Glued to the computer screen. This time round, the brain was working perfectly. Sentences after sentences came out of my mind.
7 pm: Revised on what to say
8 pm: Cousin came to my room to talk
10.40 pm: Shit, I am not ready to talk tomorrow!

Look at how wasted my Sunday was. Zero GMAT question was even completed. The GMAT book was indeed left untouched! The minutes of meeting which I planned to write at home were also untouched! I took the draft papers out on Friday night and now I'm putting them back into my bag to bring back to office to do. I didn't even go for my YOGA class!

Arrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhh.............................................................................................

As much as I want to get married, being in that room next to her made me realize that deep inside my heart, I aspire to be as powerful as her :)

I am amazed at how mothers can be excited over the possible future relationship between their children when the children themselves can't be bothered of what their mothers have in mind.

Imagine a stage on a wedding when only the parents were there, but no bride and groom! haha...simply because the families are in love with each other, but sadly not their children. Of course, everyone wishes that things will go as expected, so that the gossip that has been going around town can finally be confirmed. Only time will tell...what lies ahead of this uncertain journey of life!

Ooops...I just found out that the SMRT Silver Tribute Charity Show has been postponed to 5 June 2011, 7 pm and I won't be able to watch it as that's my cousin's engagement day in Jakarta!!! Arrrgggh.....

The Silver Tribute Charity Night

Tune in to Channel 8 at 7 pm this Sunday, 8 May 2011!
And you may see me "scooping soon kueh" or doing any other random stuff! haha...

For the first time in my life, I attended political rally. I have never even attended any rally in my own country. Last Saturday, my friends and I attended Singapore People's Party Rally at Potong Pasir, out of convenience, after our dinner. It was interesting to see how the crowd cheered for the opposition every time the candidate highlighted what the ruling party had failed to do. I even clapped several times, for their courage to speak up! That's how Singaporean-ized I have become, haha...

Here's a proof that I was there (some of them were not captured inside the photo, as they were too engrossed with the speech).


By the way, it was one of my best friend's 1st wedding anniversary yesterday, and another best friend's wedding day too! Another JC friend got engaged yesterday too! I sincerely wish them: Congratulations :)

I'm so looking forward to this weekend's trip to Jakarta with my best friends. Finally, a break after weeks of packed work schedule. This trip is specially arranged for dress-fitting. I'll be doing 3 dress fittings for this trip - final fitting of two dresses for my cousin's engagement and wedding and first measurement of one dress for Isadora's wedding in New Zealand! ***excited mode on***

The next trip to look forward to is the 9-days trip back home in June for my cousin's engagement & wedding! I bet I won't feel like coming back to Singapore after this trip, as I'll get to experience my new bedroom in my new house, with my first-ever walk-in wardrobe!!! My dad has been telling me how great it looks, after the interior designer finished up the final touch...oh my...this's really the best trick to attract me back home!

The New Zealand trip in November will be my final trip out of the country this year...another long trip with the girls to look forward to! And with that trip, all my leave this year would have been consumed.

I'm so not looking forward to the rest of the months - busier schedule, turning 26, sitting for GMAT, contemplating about uncertain future, preparing for MBA application, and many more not-so-fun events!

Passing-it-on Project

I had a meaningful Saturday, volunteering in the Passing-it-on bazaar by Trans Family Service Centre, supported by SMRT. It was a bazaar of old clothes/toys/books/bags/shoes, and many more for the needy family.

Look at the young girls' clothes arranged nicely by me...Most of the clothes were still in good quality! and there were many dresses that were so cuteeee....

Under the children section, there were many more sub-sections.

Young Boys Section


Toys Section

The moment the families came down to grab those items, the neatly-piled clothes and toys turned into a big MESS! I shouldn't have arranged it so nicely, I thought...

It really touched me when I saw many mothers ravaging through piles of old clothes, hoping to grab decent piece of clothes for their daughter/son. The younger ones stood still next to their mother, waiting for their mother to put their selected clothes against them for rough measurement. The elder ones would select the clothes that they want themselves. It made me realize that there are so many lucky kids out there (I was one of them), who have the luxury of shopping for clothes in the mall or even branded stores. Look at these kids...this bazaar really made their day! And they were extremely happy to grab so many clothes in a day...just enough to let them have a complete makeover to their wardrobe. And these clothes were not even new...yet they were so happy!

At the end of the bazaar, when all the families have left, we were left with some unwanted items. Look at the unwanted soft toys below..If i were the toy, i would be extremely SAD for not being picked up by any of the kids,haha...It reminded me of the Toy Story!

What can I learn from these families? Life can be tough but be happy with what you have...there are so many people out there who are even at the worse state of their life...yet life still has to go on. Don't complain...be thankful! This is what I always love from doing community service...It made me forget about all the problems that I have and made me realize how fortunate I am!

It was 4pm. I was really tired, my back ached...I had lots of things to settle at work...Staring at my schedule didn't help at all, my calendar's packed till end of this month!

I whatsapp-ed my best friend...

Lyd: "Let's hang out this Friday after work!"
Tes: "What's up? Are you alright? In need of company?"
Lyd: "I'm freaking tired of work!"
Tes: "Me too!!! I feel like running away from here and marry someone! (or 'kawin lari' in Indo)"
Lyd: "Haha, marry a monkey, you mean?"
Tes: "Haaa, i'm more suitable with a 'dragon' than a 'monkey'. Why don't you marry a 'monkey'?"

She was referring to the compatibility, based on Chinese zodiac. I wasn't even thinking of that when I said 'monkey', haha...

The conversation continued...

Lyd: "I have to marry a 'rooster', not 'monkey'! Btw, my younger brother is a 'dragon'. Hahaha..."
Tes: "Haha..out of bound! Eh...my younger brother is a 'rooster'! Born in 1993"
Lyd: "Seriously?!?!?! What a coincidence! Well, maybe that shall be our last resort, haha..."
Tes: "Darling, by the time we resort to our last resort, these young men won't be available anymore!"
Lyd: "Hmmm...that's true! My brother may still be available though,haha..."

That conversation made me smile! We have been friends for 11 years and just from some random conversation, we found out about our brothers' chinese zodiac!

The Best Tau Huay

I have found the best tau huay in the world at Old Airport Road. I first heard about this shop from Channel 8 (I think) quite some time back and totally forgot the shop's name till I saw the longest queue formed right in front of this stall.

Since I was already at Old Airport Road, I die die had to eat this. So we queued and we even planned how many tau huay we should tapao home. After all the planning, queuing for 20 minutes, and building the excitement over this tau huay, the tau huay uncle's daughter raised a sign, which read, "SOLD OUT! Please come back at 8.30pm." :(

I was cursing all the greedy people, who ta pao more than 10 bowls home. I just couldn't believe that it's sold out, as the fridge was still full with bowls of tau huay, and she only managed to clear 1/3 of the queue and all the bowls are sold out???? So impossible!

I was so determined to eat this that I went back to the stall at 8pm after my dinner. Guess what, I had to leave my name, contact number, and number of bowls I would like to order!!!!!! She was holding on to a paper, on which an Excel table was drawn to record this information. She asked us to come back at 8.30 pm. We waited for another 30 minutes for this legendary tau huay!

Before 8.30 pm, a queue started to form in front of this stall. It gets longer and longer...and by the time we made our way there, we saw a sign recently pasted on the fridge, "SOLD OUT! Except for those, who have ordered."

WOW!!! Lucky we ordered man!!!!! The tau huay uncle kept on saying sorry for making us wait for so long...I wanted to tell him, " Not your fault, man!!!...or maybe it's ur Fault for making such a delicious tau huay!" At that time, I didn't know how it tasted. We didn't eat the tau huay there, as the uncle's daughter told us to put in the fridge first, since it's not that cold yet.

$1.50 for a bowl!

When I reached home, I was so impatient. I put it in the Freezer! haha...for a while...and when it's cold enough, I immediately gave it a try. OMG!!! It's the smoothest tau huay I have ever eaten in my entire life...the tau huay literally MELTS in your mouth, that the moment your tongue touches it, it feels like having thick soya bean milk in your mouth instantly!

Well, my description is not so great...but this is TF's reaction, after eating it:
"I'm truly impressed that such simple fare can have a profound impact on my soul. I'm truly humbled by the experience. The taste is equivalent to a taste between clouds and heaven...almost made by deity."

He even said he wanted to buy the whole stall as it's really a money tree! And once you own it, you can get to eat this tau huay for FREE everyday!!!

I totally agree with him and his unusual way of describing it! haha...

I think i'll go back there again to ta pao 20 bowls! I don't care if other people curse me... I'm a Singaporean at heart, remember?

The future of Niners

When the girls meet up, the topic of our conversation will always revolve around what lies ahead of us, how unstable life is, who else in the group is getting engaged or married, who just gave birth, work life, etc.

Tonight, we talked again. I found out that one of us is getting engaged this year and married next year, and that means we'll lose her as she will be going back to Indonesia. Our gang is getting smaller and smaller as time passes by, as many realize that going back to Indonesia is the way to go and not be stuck in this country. It made us think that maybe we should also go back one day. It's really sad that the Singapore chapter, which 40 of us started 11 years ago, has to finally be closed one day.

Those who are still stuck here, with no clear direction, are always in dilemma. We always talk about this dilemma, every time we meet, but there is always no solution. We spent our youths here, we are comfortable with Singapore lifestyle, we feel safe here, many of our friends are here, but this is not our hometown...this is not where we belong...this is not where our family is...this is not where our family wishes us to be in. You wouldn't want to be in our shoes. It sucks not knowing what's next. Sometimes it made us think whether the decision to come to Singapore is the wisest decision ever.

For those who finally decided to close the Singapore chapter, they left mostly because they found someone to marry in Indonesia. Everything's clear...go back home, get married, and settle down there. It's a happy ending for both the family and the newly-wed. For those of us who are still stuck here, we have been wishing to find the right partner, who will decide where our future will be and whether we can still give ourselves another 2-3 years here.

Tonight, I promise the girls that I will still organize gatherings, even though one day all of us may be separated by islands. It's really really sad...we 'grew up' together in this country, away from our family, supporting each other since we were 14/15 years old. Some of us were separated by schools since secondary school, some of us shared same hostels, some were united in the JCs and universities, and yet the bond between us still grows stronger as time passes by. I can't imagine the day I have to leave this country, leaving behind my best friends, and the memories we have crafted together! Maybe Singapore is the perfect reunion spot for all of us. I just wish that one day, we will still be able to meet up to laugh and cry together, even though each one of us already has our own married life to take care of.

On my first job, I witnessed how low the morale was among the executives, as many left the companies, one after another, after a short period of working in the company. The rate of executives leaving the company is on average 1 person per month. I joined them in the end...there were so many of us that we even set up an Alumni Club for ex-employees of SM!

Now, on my second job, I am witnessing another high turnover rate of staff. This time round, it's among the senior management. Eight senior management (VPs, SVP, EVP, COO, CFO) left within a year! Isn't it crazy?

Why can't i work for a company, where I won't witness such a high turnover rate among all staff?

*back to studying GMAT...I just realized that it's tough!*

GMAT

I did it! I just registered for GMAT session on 18 July 2011!!!!!!
That means I have about 3 solid months (minus the trip back home) to STUDY! Yay, I can finally start studying AGAIN!!!

I have decided that I shall not waste anymore time just hoping and wishing for my own wedding to happen soon. Using my theory that planning for wedding takes at least 1 year, I can certainly confirm that by March 2012, I won't be married yet, haha...So, i shall start taking one step at a time towards my MBA. How I wish finding someone to marry is as easy as signing up for GMAT. Register, study, and ace it!

Memorable BALI Trip

12 facts about my recent Bali trip with the ladies:

1. Many locals and ang mohs thought that I'm a SINGAPOREAN!!! This is so unbelievable...I had to tell the locals that they are my country men!!! "Merah putih mas...Garuda di dadaku!" Tes and her sister were mistaken to be from Malaysia!

2. The room in Tune Hotel is the smallest single room that I have ever stayed in. Measuring roughly 2m x 3m, it's just enough to sleep and bathe. However, I LOVE the King Koil Mattress and the rain shower! It's really enough to wrap up a tiring day. I'm amazed at the control system, which limits the usage of AC, based on how many hours of credit that you bought. It's a very safe hotel indeed, with card access system and electronic safe box at each room.

3. Tessie and I went to Bali on a mission...this was what we captured at Kuta Beach on our first day in Bali!

We left Bali after 3 days with an unaccomplished mission, haha...we are not as lucky as Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat Pray Love!

4. Bali beaches are not the best beaches I have ever seen. We went to Kuta Beach, Tanjung Benoa Beach, Padang-padang Beach, and Dreamland Beach. The weather probably made it worse. Bali was pretty gloomy when we were there. It was either raining or the sun was completely covered by the cloud. The beaches are dirty and I couldn't stand the locals who did force-selling of souvenirs or services. I did not even dare to wear my swimsuit, not to mention bikini...you can sense the eyes of the locals (beach boys and uncles) all over your body. Even with just T-shirts and shorts, the 3 of us were already ogled at and approached with small talks. The most common remark thrown at us, "Aduh cantiknya...", "Mbak atau ibu ya?", "Honey, I love you!", "Darling, duduk sini..." The only way we could shut them off was by saying that WE ARE MARRIED!

Kuta Beach - We were standing at the spot where swimming is prohibited during high tide!

Kuta Beach - Random Yoga pose, I love the background!


Kuta Beach - Freedom!


Tanjung Benoa Beach - 3 of us posing after doing water sports

Padang-padang Beach - View from above

Dreamland Beach - my most favourite beach!

5. 2-hours full body massage at Cozy Spa was damn shiok! By the way, the package was called "Take me to the moon." Indeed, it successfully took me to the moon, that I had to be tapped twice by the masseuse to bring my soul back to my body on earth, when she needed me to turn over.

6. Rafting at Ayung River (the longest and largest river in Bali) is the best outdoor experience ever. We shared the same rafting provider as another 3 British guyz. As the 6 of us alighted from the car that fetched us at our hotels, the locals at the rafting place threw this question to the angmohs, "Which one is your girlfriend?" The angmohs were polite enough to say that they just met us and we are nice girls!
The river is located further down the cliff, and we had to precariously make our way down the steep and slippery nature stairs. The moment we were pushed off from the river bank, there was no turning point. The rapid, accompanied by occasional paddling, carried us through the next 2 hours. We hit the rocks couple of times, and when our 'boat' was stuck there, we had to sit on top of each other and shake the 'boat' away from the rock in a very funny manner, that just looked WRONG. There were many waterfalls along the way and we had the chance to paddle our 'boat' towards them. Water splashing was so common everytime we met other rafts along the way. The 3 angmohs were so energetic, that the 3 of us could take a break from paddling sometimes. We even called one of them "BAGONG" due to his body size and enthusiasm!

Getting ready...

Resting at the mid-point

posing with the genit Mas Sakata

the river water's very refreshing!

We really posed in front of the cameraman!

Whenever we reach the part of the river, which was very still and safe, we were allowed to jump out of our boat and float along the flow, in a sleeping position facing the sky. I was so worried that I could hit some rocks or tree branches that grew very low, but besides that it was so peaceful to be floating away with the clear blue sky right above me.

7. We did water sports at Tanjung Benoa. The package that we booked for covered 3 games: Parasailing, banana boat, and flying fish. Unfortunately, when we reached there, we were informed that Parasailing had been canceled for the past 2 months, due to bad weather condition. As a result, it would be replaced by some lame game, called Rolling Donut. We were quite pissed that the agent that we bought the ticket from did not inform us about this when we bought our package.

It had been very gloomy lately in Bali, and true enough, when we were about to start our game, it poured!!! I was prepared to fall sick, but luckily the rain stopped when we were on board the banana boat. The experience on banana boat was like riding a motorcycle if you are sitting at the back. If you are sitting in front, right behind the 'driver', you could be jumping up and down on your seat as he tried to create humps and bumps along the way. I hated it when he turned over the banana, and we had to release our grip and fall into the sea. Three of us were so prepared for this that we wore goggles throughout. We were the only one there who wore goggles there though,haha...By the way, beware that the 'drivers' may ask you whether you want to continue for another 10 minutes for a sum of money. This is their illegal way of getting money, without their company's knowledge.

Next game was rolling donut! It was lame but exciting though...each donut can carry 5 people. Unlike banana boat, each one of us occupied one hole (just enough for our butt) and as the speed boat sped up, my butt was misplaced up to 15 cm i guess!

The most fun game among all is flying fish! I was in a sleeping position on my back and the speed boat dragged me to the middle of the sea. Then, the fish that i was sleeping on suddenly flew over the water, just like a kite. That's the best moment, but it lasted for 3 minutes at most.

As we were sitting by the beach waiting for our turn to do each water sport, as usual we were approached by the beach boys, with the usual flirting. Then came a group of young Japanese girls. Suddenly, all of them turned to Japanese girls instead, and the 3 of us were so thankful for that few minutes of 'freedom'. The moment the Japanese girls left on banana boat, they turned back to us! Haiz...I really can't stand them!!!

That was flying fish at the background with the very flirty Mas Bali

8. A trip to Kintamani was supposed to be an enjoyable one, as you enjoy a peaceful afternoon overlooking the beautiful Lake Batur, just next to Mount Batur. Mine was a total opposite. The moment I stepped down from the car, i was drowned in the sea of local sellers, who were enthusiastically selling anything on their hands, from key chain, T-shirt, wooden craft, earrings, necklaces, etc. As i made my way down to the spot where many took their photos from, i was followed from behind, countered from the sides and front as well. One lady, who was selling key chain, kept on following us and pushing the key chains against our arms, forcing us to buy. She didn't relent amidst our repeated statements telling her that we are not interested to buy. The key chain was very cheap, about 15 cents each. We could easily buy it, but the way she sold those key chains made us even more unwilling to buy from her.

Mount Batur


Lake Batur

We sat down for a while to enjoy the scenery, but we couldn't enjoy it fully. The moment we sat down, a girl approached us to sell tattoos. She stood just next to us, holding a folder with different tattoo design and kept on asking us to get her draw tattoos on us for only Rp 5000 ( 70 Singapore cents) per tattoo. I told her thousands times that I wasn't interested. But she persistently stood there and mumbling the same sentence again and again. Then her friend joined her, trying to sell flower hair clip. I wanted to scream at them, "GIVE ME A BREAK!" and at the same time I pitied them. I was so pissed at the whole idea of force selling, that even with the begging of these 2 girls, I couldn't be moved! When Tessie's sister, told them again firmly that we were not interested at all, they stomped their feet and walked off in anger!

9. A visit to Bali will not be complete without a visit to the temple. We went to Pura Besakih,the biggest Hindu temple in Bali. At the junction where we entered the village, where the temple is located, we were stopped by a group of locals. They stopped every car who is entering the village to ask for a 'fee'. Whenever they see angmohs in the car, they will charge an extremely high fee. I was so disgusted by them, simply because they just sat there playing dominos and stopping every car throughout the day to ask people for money.

When we reached Pura Besakih, there was another fee that we had to pay. Another group of locals were standing at the entrance. They offer personalized tour to the temple. One of them, told us, that there is a standard fee for foreigners, but for locals, it's up to us how much we want to pay them. We were handed a book to put our name in and the amount that we would like to give. I saw the angmohs paying between Rp 400,000- Rp 500,000 ($57-$71). I was so tempted to just pay Rp 50,000 ($7), but was reminded by Tessie's sister, that if the locals saw the amount we paid, they may not be happy and they have the power to do anything to us inside the temple later on. She was so right! We can be mystically cursed, or even raped, deep inside the temple, where there's nobody! I relented...we paid Rp 150,000 ($21) in total.

Peek-a-boo!

The temple is very magical and mystical! Too bad we were there when the sky's covered with fog, and we couldn't see the wide nature panorama from the temple. Our guide claimed that you can see the ocean from the temple. Luckily, the guide that accompanied us throughout, is a very nice Balinese, who explained to us many things about the temple and the tradition that the locals usually practice. We gave him tips, on top of the 'entrance fee' that we paid earlier, as we know at least this money goes directly to his family, and not shared with his other friends.

10. The locals say that once in Bali, we have to visit Garuda Wisnu Kencana. Without taking a photo there is like without taking a photo with Eiffel Tower when you are in Paris. So we decided to drop by, just to take photos.

Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a massive, unfinished statue in Bali that currently exists in pieces. The statue (if completed) would depict the Hindu god Vishnu (or Dewa Wisnu, as he is known by the Balinese) riding aloft on his winged mount Garuda.When we were there, we were informed that there is an on-going effort to complete the statue. That's where our entrance fees go to!!!

By the way, I need to complain here as well. Pardon me for so many complaints, I really wanted to highlight how shameful I am to find out that my countrymen are doing all sorts of things to squeeze the tourists. I already paid for the entrance fee, so when I had to use the toilet INSIDE the GWK park, I assumed it to be FREE. Ok, actually I expected that I had to pay. A man was manning the toilet from outside. The price to use the toilet was posted on the table in front of him. There were initially 2 different charges, Rp 1,000 (15 cents) to pee and Rp 2,ooo (30 cents) to shit. But on the table, what you could see is the Rp 1,000 sign being covered by the real Rp 2,000 note. So this man was charging the same price for pee-ing and shit-ing!!! I queried him and he insisted me paying Rp 2,000! WTH!

11. Watching Kecak dance and sunset at Pura Uluwatu is a must-to-do in Bali. We followed what most Bali visitors have claimed. Being Kiasu, we booked our Kecak performance ticket from an agent, way before we reached Bali, only to find out from our driver that we had been cheated. We were so used to being 'cheated' in Bali, that we couldn't be bothered anymore. Everytime our driver rolled down the car's window, we expected some payment to be made! Anyway, we were greeted by aggressive monkeys. Being warned earlier, we have kept everything that can be snatched. Initially i thought the monkeys will just snatch any items and return it upon you feeding them with fruits. I was wrong! I saw one monkey snatching someone's spectacles, and he started MUNCHING the spectacles!!! OMG!!! The victim could only stare at the monkey helplessly.

The leftmost monkey was the one, who munched on the spectacles!

Pura Uluwatu, perched majestically on the edge of a steep cliff

Our driver, who is only very familiar with Pura Uluwatu, was finally of use throughout our trip. He brought us through a very slippery and muddy walkway towards this place where the view was so magnificent!

It's so pretty, yet scary when you look down!

The kecak dance was very entertaining! You have to be there early to chop the best place, as you will be drowned by this amount of tourists!

This's just one-third of the stage!

While we were lucky that it did not pour when we were up here, we couldn't see the best sunset in Bali as the sun was hidden behind the thick clouds! While waiting for the kecak dance, we talked about what to expect if the same setting is set up in Singapore. If it's raining, in Singapore, there would be a button that you can press, and the shelter will come in automatically, so you can still enjoy the performance, RAIN or SHINE!

That's Hanoman in white!

I was amazed by these bare-chested men, who served as the chorus throughout the performance, making a wondrous cacophony of synchronized "Chak-achak-achak" clicking sounds, while swaying their bodies and waving their hands. The Balinese girls can really dance VERY WELL too! They can stand in a very sexy posture, with their butts protruding out and their fingers were so long and agile!


12. The last thing to talk about is the yummy FOOD, that we ate throughout our trip!

Babi Guling @ Warung Ibu Oka, Ubud



A wide variety of free coffee & tea sampler at Grand Bas Agrowisata


Kopi Luwak for Rp 30,000


Bebek Bengil "Dirty Duck" - Ubud





Warung Nasi Campur near our Hotel - Rp 10,000 for a plate of Nasi Campur (Mixed Rice)


Another Nasi Campur from some Warung...


Seafood @ Jimbaran


One last round of Nasi Campur @ Ngurah Rai Airport before we left Bali