Bali 2019 - Day 1

          A long waited trip, finally. It has been 2 years since I last travelled overseas. Hong Kong 2017 being the last destination i went. 2018 was filled with many events so travelling was out of the list

          We decided to go to Bali, as it was cheap and is deemed to be nice place for honeymoon.

          Indonesia is not strange to us as we went to Bandung in 2016. Bali is known for its scenic beaches, lush mountains/ rice terraces and for its volcanos. We planned the trip a month ahead and had everything booked before hand. And in no time, we are in Bali!

Check in is only allowed 48 hours before the flight

          We took Malindo airlines to Bali as the flight duration from KL is 3 hours and 5 minutes. Definitely not wanting to squeeze myself into the confines of the cramped air asia seat.  The plane landed at Denpasar, which is the city of Bali. The airport , Ngurah Rai Airport, is named after their national hero who fought against the Dutch.

          We touched down at 930pm local time, which is similar to Malaysian time. Took at Grab car which cost 79k IDR. Apparently Grab drivers are not very welcomed in Bali. So we headed to the pick up spot that the driver suggested through the Grab chat. Hotel Rhadana was our choice, amongst the thousands (The Grab driver said 15,000!) of hotels in Bali. We chose it due to its relatively cheap price, location, and reviews from Agoda.com

Hotel Rhadana, Jalan Raya Kuta

RM100 per night which is relatively cheap for such a nice hotel. 

      Each hotel room had a different theme. And we were greeted by the lush greens of the rice terraces of Tengalalang. It was already 1030pm when we checked in so there was literally no more energy left to explore the surroundings

Sockets in Bali are 2 pinned, so you might want to prepare your own universal adapter. Otherwise you can rent it from the Hotel for 50k IDR deposit, to be refunded upon check out

Some quick facts before you step foot in Bali

• Bali has the same climate as Malaysia does, but it is much cooler. The breeze is cool even under the scorching midday sun
• Bahasa Indonesia had some similarities as Bahasa Malaysia does. Malaysians can usually understand their language but not vice versa. Some Indonesian words that i find intriguing: Dorong (tolak), Jendela (tingkap), Kamar (bilik), Bisa (boleh), Sore (petang)
• RM1 = 3424 IDR (June 2019)
• Staying in Bali, you can choose from Kuta, Legian, Semiyak (beach, night club)/ Ubud (rice terraces, western shops) , Nusa Dua area (beach). These are the most popular ones.
• Food in Bali is, not that great, compared to Malaysian standards XD
• Neither is the food cheap. Be prepared to spend the same amount of money for food, if not more, compared to Malaysian prices
• Tourism if the major income for most of the Bali folks. It is not difficult to hire a driver.
• You definitely do not want to get around on your own in Bali. Each location is pretty far, that can take up to 2 hours drive. Get the driver to do it for you
• Crime rate is extremely low
• Although a cultural melting pot, the main religion is Hinduism. Traces of the religion can be seen over the architecture especially.