Saturday in Bali

I woke up super lazy and didn’t want to get out of bed. After lots and lots of nagging, Eden and I went to look at the swimming pool. There were lots and lots of overweight women who like to squeeze themselves into little (thankfully) one piece bathing suits. My eyes were burning. Anyways, there were two (Russian) blonde girls who hit the pool who were quite scantily clad, but I had the last laugh when I saw three large, extremely hairy men come by and sit next to them. Lovely.

Little shelter by the pool.

Awesome chess set by Sateria.


Eden ordered chicken (very nice):

I ordered lobster for lunch at Sateria, but when the order came, a plague of flies suddenly rushed down upon my table, and I was upset enough to demand (ok, ask politely) if the restaurant could send it to my room instead. Then I ravished the lobster. La!


After lunch, we went back to Kuta. We were offered drugs (no, thank you) like Mussrooms (LSD), marijuana and cocaine. Nice. We went to look at the beach (which was devoid of surfers) and saw a nice big fat man in a tiny (yellow pokka dot bikini) speedo. “He’s a champion,” said Eden. A tattoo artist also interrupted our movie about Kuta, and then once Eden was like we’ll get back to you later, he was started cursing us about how people say that and they never actually come back. Well, duh. Then I scolded Eden for leading these tattoo artists on. He even cursed our very stay at Bali. Whoa. Harsh. I then got a lovely Bali massage for about US$8 for an hour while Eden went shopping for his girlfriend. We kept walking around checking out the cool shops:


Then, upon arrival, I ordered dinner and tiramisu. Again. :)

Sunday: Last Day :(

We meant to wake up in time for the sunrise on Sunday, but it didn’t really work out. Oh well. We went to the pool instead a few hours after waking up at 6:15 AM. But alas, it rained, so we just hung out in my room and watched MTV. Eden left for the airport. I just hung around because my flight with Lion Air wasn’t until 12:30 AM on Monday. I read three kingdoms and just sat at the bar sipping on watermelon juice and strawberry juice. I sat at the pool reading until it began to sprinkle (again). Boo. Then I ran into the library and was trapped while it poured. OH well.

I ate spaghetti bolognese for dinner all alone :(. I rate it a 2/5. Edible, but not happiness.


At last I return to Singapore at 4 AM on Monday morning and talked again to the friend who was kind enough to get me through Thursday morning’s wait for the airplane. THANK YOU KH!

And thank you to Eden for making this trip hilarious and amazing. You're one of my best friends.

Love,
Sans

Friday's Big Adventure!

Eden and I were good children (and due to a constant ringing phone and someone nagging someone else to WAKE UP) we made it in time to go to the hotel store to buy some swimming trunks for Eden. However, they asked us for about US$50 (for a PIECE OF UNDERWEAR! SERIOUSLY!) and I said that we can’t pay more than $15, so they were like….ok bye. Haha. Oh well. There were a lot of fake luxury goods (LV, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, etc.) that I was surprised to find in a nice hotel establishment.

So when we got to the lobby, we sat down and were approached by a Mr. Kantin representing Pandawa Marine Adventures. A driver drove us to (sorry, redundant) Tanjong Banoa, which is THE place to be for watersporting. We stopped by a small stall to buy Eden’s undies. LOL not really undies, but the ones you have to wear under board shorts, which are just UNDIES (haha) - for about US$8. Chi-Ching!

Then we renegotiated terms with the agent from the night before (Mr. Yeoman) and the manager of Pandawa to get two trips on the jet ski and one fly fish (because the weather was bad for parasailing – they told us that we would be landing on the rocks if something went wrong due to the wind that morning) for 400K rupiah ($40 USD). They told me that I was getting it at a steal – Mr. Kantin was like – you are so good at bargaining! – because usually it’s $80 per person.


The flyfish was cute. I didn’t want to do it initially (when I heard about it in the hotel room) because I thought it was literally fly fishing. Yes, the lovely art form of how to fly fish blah blah I know but while in Bali, what would I do with the precious fish. WRONG! Fly fishing is this huge inflatable thing that you stand in while a boat drags you. Initially you are lying down, but somehow (due to the laws of the Universe I suppose. Physics also.) there is a lift and you are raised into the AIR! All we saw was the sea because we were facing the opposite direction from the boat. I seriously thought I would fall out of the thing and gripped so tightly on to the “handrails” which were more like pieces of hose. Oh my. The whole time I was telling myself that even if I fell, at least I had a life vest :p.





Then we took the jet skis. They were legally obligated to have an instructor riding with you on the jet ski (in Singapore, you have to have a license in order to jet ski…much to Fpoo and my disappointment). At first I was a bit reluctant to go quickly, but my instructor was like ok you go fast and I will steer. So I had a great time with the throttle (even though my instructor was like slow down occasionally ^.^). I had a major wedgie when I got back though.


We waited about 10 minutes for the second trip, and Mr. Kantin was SO nice and bought us some Cokes to drink (because we had no cash left …boohoo). Eden threw a back tuck and spotted me for one. It was really difficult to set on the sand, so he had to really push me :(.


The second trip I was more confident and definitely had more fun riding on the ocean. Eden was a maniac and kept “bouncing” on all the waves. Crazy. He told me later that he was laughing a lot on the trip because there was an instructor with a very large lady in front of him who was struggling to get his arms around her in order to steer. LOL!



We decided to tell everyone that we were cousins (meaning that no one believed us) because I didn’t want anyone to know that I was a single girl. That would have just been really bad. Anyways, one of diving guys (who was totally ripped) had a big tattoo of “HUG ME” across his shoulders. We laughed about it for a while, and when he came back he was like: You guys are very beautiful! You look good together! But then another man said, I am beautiful too! And then HUG ME said “No, you’re a black stone,” and everyone laughed!

Then we returned to the hotel and had two lamb chops in El Patio (because I think I piqued Eden’s curiosity when I told him how delicious it was, regardless of the fact that they don’t ask you how you cooked you want your meat to be.

Then we went to our rooms and took naps. Eden wanted to check out the touristy place, so we went to Kuta, which is the “party place” (which I suspect started because the beach there is mainly for surfing). There were lots of shops selling touristy things (including…wooden…yeah my parents read this, so I can’t put in the word, but you know what I’m talking about). A lot of Balinese people tried to sell yelling out to us in Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Eden, being half Japanese, half Singaporean-Chinese, spoke 2) and asking if we were from Hong Kong. I just laughed and ignored them. Eden kept saying “No, thanks” over and over (so polite, eh?)

We were lame tourists and ate at Pizza Hut. Eden tried to chew on something that turned out to be a piece of a ziptie, and instead of demanding a free pizza or at the very least a free dessert, he asked for a blueberry milkshake. How clever (selfish).

We played a game of pool and Eden won. We also went to Seven Eleven, but quickly left after an irate guy (who I think was Middle Eastern, and Eden swears is Italian…who happened to LOOK MIDDLE EASTERN) who shoved the glass door open, and it fell to pieces. We went to buy our soda somewhere else!

Once we got back to the hotel, I ordered my favorite weakness: tiramisu.

Eden ordered fried banana & rum raisin ice cream:

Bali Trip: Thursday's Arrival & Adventure

Well my flight was at 6:20 in the morning, so I had to be at Changi airport by 4:20. I just packed everything over night and went a tad early to the airport, chatting away with one of my friends who was kind enough to keep me company.

So then I got an entire row to myself, and I was so pooped that I managed to fall asleep before the plane even took OFF!!! HOW AMAZING!!!! Then I woke up as we were about to land almost 9 AM.

Then I went to the taxi stand and paid 95,000 Rupiah (RP) to get to Nusa Dua – Melia Bali. Which is about S$13 for about 20-25 minutes of driving.


On the drive to the hotel.

I checked into the hotel and went to my room to sleep.

The lobby of Melia Bali!

While waiting for my rooms to be confirmed, I took random pictures of the lobby.

I went to a restaurant in Melia Bali Villas & Spa called “El Patio” and had “Australian lamb chops” with French fries. Not bad!!



I HEART MANGO JUICE!

Lamb chops! :)

Then I went back and took another nap. Sleeping was sort of a waste – I should have at least fell asleep by the pool or something, but I was pooped!!

The hotel had so many [real] orchids everywhere! I loved it!

Here is a picture of the "Library" of Melia Bali Villas & Spa

I woke up in time to go to meet Eden at his arrival, and we went back to hotel to just get settled into our rooms.

Then just before dinner, I showed him the hotel and made him walk a lot while we figured out where everything was.





We had dinner at the restaurant on the Nusa Dua Beach, called “Sateria”. It was quite an interesting experience because there was a traditional Hindu dance at the time, and Eden was a bit immature and started to sing like them.



But from then on out, “Ketcha ketcha ketcha” because the punchline to almost anything we said for the rest of the trip. LOL! We had salmon pizza, which was not bad! In fact, I am craving for pizza right now. :(


Then Eden, being the responsible boy he is (and proving how irresponsible I am), took out a bunch of pamphlets about jet skiing and awesomeness, and I made a few calls to bargain for some jet skiing time and parasailing. Ten thirty on Friday morning. Awesome!

Slept like a log!!

TRIP TO BALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just spent two hours struggling to get a ticket with Lion Air, which is an Indonesian company. My friend asked if I would be interested in going to Bali for four days in December, so I will be GOING TO BALI!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m terribly excited. I’m trying to get one of my Indonesian friends from Purdue to go as well. HOORAY!

In all seriousness, tonight I plan to do a little bit of shopping, and then afterwards I may just stay home. The husband goes to Central Europe with two girls :’( …leaving in about 10 minutes for an adventure of a life time. He has been planning the trip for a long time! He will be gone for three weeks. Hopefully by the time he returns, I will be tanner (and not BURNT!). Another one of my friends (blast from the past man…) is coming to Singapore for three weeks in December (after I return), so hopefully we will be able to hang out a few times. I work though, as you know, so I won’t be able to play that much. But I’m excited to see the Chipmunk as well . And his brother.

I need to seriously do some laundry when I go home today. And I’m really excited about Bali because I think that a duffel bag will totally be enough to go for only 3 days. I hope that it doesn’t rain when we are there. The flight is about two hours long. I will be waiting for my friend to arrive for the entire day though, but I’m not that concerned.

Is there anything else? Yeah, I’m kinda excited about shopping today, even if I’m going by myself. And then I will go home and try to do some chores, unless my friends invite me out to do something of interest.

Facebook has saved me from peril. I can keep track of my friends, and this is really important to me (being across the world will do that to you). The more that I stay in Singapore though, the less I feel like I would be comfortable back home (albeit, I miss my family & friends like the dickens). I think that when I live in Ang Moh Land (US), I will have to live close to an Asian community or otherwise risk becoming insane.

I’m really excited about Bali, and I hope that I get some SORT OF COLOR ON MY SKIN. Seriously. Gah. I leave in 12 days. Don't worry M&D, Bali is totally safe.

Somewhere in Batam

I think this was my most favorite meal in Batam, Indonesia.

Sorry, I am not quite sure of the address (it was quite ghetto, if you ask me), and I did manage to get about 44 mosquito bites on June 4, 2008 from this restaurant (being that the seating area is on a pier).

Let's have a look:


OH yes. This crab was amazing. I remember the first time I had crab in Asia, I noticed that the crabs are super small. But now, it doesn't matter. Well, it does because I don't know how to crack open the shells. This is why it's important to go eat crab with lots of friends who take pity on you (Jack).



I love variety! By the way, I have confused many a person by saying 'shrimp' instead of 'prawn'.



I CAN STILL HEAR THE SIZZLES!!!!


This is a picture of my buddy Hedwig, who likes to pop into the camera at times. This is a picture of the lantern hanging over our heads while I was eaten alive by mosquitoes (but was in such a euphoric state with the food that I failed to notice...sob).

OK This place also has the best chicken wings ever (black peppered.....goodness), but I didn't manage to take a picture because 1. it was the second time I was at the place and 2. I was still really (upset) itchy.

123people.com

123people.com scares the bejesus out of me. It is a website where you go and search for information on anyone. Baby is lucky because there are lots of clueless people out there like her. But Bunny is special, and she cannot hide as well. So bunny deletes her other accounts that she doesn't use. la.

so yeah I just heard about the German Film Festival in Singapore (www.goethe.de/singapore), and I'm really excited about some of the films that they are showing starting next week! Of COURSE, most of them stem from WWII and the Holocaust, which sadly I am history illiterate and ...not necessarily turn a blind eye at all but just that I don't like to watch depressing movies. Or, for that matter, any type of scary film.

But there are a few I am keen to see: (oh shoot, I just used the word "keen" o_o) [summaries taken from the goethe.de website]

1. The Counterfeiters (which won the 2008 Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film)

Written and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, it fictionalizes Operation Bernhard, a secret plan by the Nazis during the Second World War to destabilize the United Kingdom by flooding its economy with forged Bank of England currency. The film centers on a Jewish counterfeiter, Salomon Sorowitsch, who is coerced into assisting the Nazi operation at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The film is based on a memoir written by Adolf Burger, a Jewish Slovak typographer who was imprisoned in 1942 for forging baptismal certificates to save Jews from deportation, and later interned at Sachsenhausen to work on Operation Bernhard. It won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008.
Source: 57. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue) / www.wikipedia.com

2. The Wave ("loosely-based" on a short book that I recommend reading)

The Wave is loosely based on the real experience of an American high school class in 1967. History teacher Ron Jones (Jürgen Vogel, in a standout performance) attempted to teach his pupils the realities of fascism and how easily an ideology of superiority can take root. The movement became so popular that the life of the whole school was affected. Director Dennis Gansel fashions an energetic, gripping drama that goes straight for the veins--the human psychologies and individual behaviours that contribute to collective movements. In unpeeling the emotional layers and contradictions of his characters, Gansel offers a humanistic perspective on the terrifying irony that these students may welcome the very things they denounce.
Source: Sundance Festival

3. The Vow

The Vow was inspired by the old sentimental ballad of the same name. Stripped to its essentials, the story concerned the "forbidden" romance between a monk and a nun. Though the monk never declares himself, he writes innumerable love songs dedicated to the nun. Upon his death, the songs are discovered -- and, out of respect to the sacred vows taken by both hero and heroine, those songs are buried in the same coffin with the love struck monk. When originally presented in New York, The Vow was provided with a "live" accompaniment by baritone Raymond Ellis, violinist Adi Duam, and organist Nelson Spreckling.
Source: All Movie Guide

4. Rabbit without ears (GASP!!!!!!)

Blessed with virile bravado and unshakable self-confidence, muckraking reporter Ludo (Til Schweiger) usually gets the interviews. All goes well until he lands in big trouble in the midst of a celebrity party and is sentenced to 300 hours of social work in a pre-school nursery. Expecting it to be child's play, Ludo is in for a big surprise when he discovers that the place is run by Anna (Nora Tschirner), whom he enjoyed making malicious fun of in their primary-school days. Now Anna is ready to take revenge. Mercilessly. Resolutely. Adorably.
Source: http://thecia.com.au

So there are a total of about 30 movies (some are shown twice because they are more acclaimed).

So the fourth one is definitely a romance of sorts, I suspect. It's good to have laughs once in a while. And a good cry, but that is for another time :)

And over the weekend I got a TON of sleep ^.^ and watched Max Payne (which is just OK).

And I was sad to hear that Terrence Howard has been DROPPED!!!!!!! from Ironman 2. what the heck? OH MAN. That is sad.

I'm thinking about starting a blog specifically about the food I eat in Singapore. I'm not sure yet. And what about one where I make comments about celebrities? Haha.


Oh yes, and Friday is Halloween, which really isn't celebrated in Singapore. :( But it's all right. I was never one to dress up once I hit that certain age anyways.

I had a dream that I was back in high school. Weird. Out of the blue!

OK WHAT ELSE? I started taking gymnastics classes again, and my body has not forgiven me yet. I am going again tomorrow night, but at least I make new friends ^.^!!!!!

OK adventures.....this weekend I hope that I can get some sort of TAN because I am a pale pale girl who uses Clarisonic (which keeps your face uber pale man........UBER PALE). But since it has been especially cloudy, we'll see.

I'm thinking about going to Bali (Indonesia) around Christmas time ^.^ with some friends! YIPEE!

love,
sansies