Tips: Campervanning in New Zealand

Choose Your Campervan

There are many types of campervans out there in the market. There's really elaborate ones which are huge, comes with a spacious shower, kitchenette and sitting area. There's also really simple ones, very much like the one we rented, which is basically just a simple car with a bed at the back.

Types of Camervans

It really depends on your budget, driving skills and need for luxury. For us, we choose Spaceships which is basically a seven-seater car with all the back seats removed. A bed and a mini fridge are placed in instead.

Despite having a license and driven a car with manual transmission, we were not experienced driving a manual car on steep mountainous slopes. We live in a city where everything is almost flat and we drive an Automatic car. We wanted something which will be easy to drive while navigating foreign land.

Camper with side awning.

Also, we've heard stories on how windy (and now experienced) New Zealand can be. We didn't want to drive a vehicle which is too high (and catches the win) and difficult for us to handle, on top of the mountain pass no less.

Besides, there were only two of us, and we felt Spaceship has sufficient space for us!

This being said, we were unable to freedom camp because we do not have a toilet attached to our camper.


Electricity

If you decide to get the luxurious camper, you will not have a problem charging your electronics. There are multiple electrical outlets for you to plug in and use! However, if like us, you decide on getting a simpler camper, there will be no electrical outlet.

Electrical outlets

You possibly could get those phone charges where you can plug into your cigarette lighter compartment, however, I had a camera to charge almost every night and no car mart had anything of that sort.

We rented an external power cord (240 volt mains plug) for NZ$60 for the duration of our trip. Park  in a powered campsite and you're good to go! As we had quite a few electronics, we stopped at the nearest DIY store and bought an extension cord so we could charge four electronics at once.

I didn't take a photo of our electrical cord so I grabbed this from online. *Sorry* As you can see, the power cord is the orange wire.

Cooking

The Spaceship rental comes with a portable stove, gas canister, pots and a kettle. As we had to park in a Camper Park every night, we had the luxury of a proper and clean toilet as well as well equipped kitchens to cook breakfasts and dinners. G insisted on getting an extra gas canisters as he was afraid that we'd run out of gas to cook our food eventually. We never used the second gas canister and barely finished the first one.

Cooking our dinner

If like us, you plan on staying in a Camper Park, forget about the second canister! You have proper kitchen facilities to use and wash up! We only used the gas canister and portable stove at the Camper Park at Lake Wanaka and Franz Josef because the kitchen was quite a distance to our camp lot (and also because we wanted to use the stove).

Also, we saved a lot on cooking our breakfasts and dinners! We grocery shopped about every two days, or if we felt like we were pigs and finished all the food the night before. We bought meat, fish, vegetables, lots of perishables! Don't be afraid that you can't find a supermarket. There are at least a well stocked one in every city!

Travel time

Because we basically lived in our car, our travel time is flexible. We could take a break anytime we were tired. We also didn't go through the hassle of packing a small bag every night, if we were to rent a normal car and stay in motels. The car was our home and it was so fun!

Looking for Campsites

If you get a camper without a toilet, you're not allowed to freedom camp. Obviously, there will be no place for you to shower and do your business. Such acts in public are highly frowned upon by locals and even the police!

Campers of all shapes and sized

You’ll also see signs stating ‘No overnight camping’. Some of these are situated in places that only very disrespectful people would attempt to park up for the night (and sadly have attempted), such as outside someone’s beachfront house on a private road.

Also, at the rental office, you will be able to pick up a guide book on the various campsites around the country where you can park for the night. It will include the location, address, phone numbers and prices. On occasions, we were undecided on which campsite to choose from, we just drove right up to the campsite, checked it out and just choose our favourite!

Manila: Pearl of the Orient

Salamat Po!

War Memorial

Dates of Travel: 4th - 8th February 2015

I jumped at the opportunity when G had to travel to Manila, Philippines, for work. I've wanted to visit Manila for quite some time as some of my colleagues are Filipinos and the talk of their home just got me really curious. Also took this opportunity to visit some of my ex-colleagues!

I really have to apologize for the bad quality photos. I actually packed my camera chargers, accessories, etc etc, and I forgot to bring the camera itself. I only realized I left my camera on the dining table at home when I was on the plane to Manila. All the photos were taken using my iPhone 5. *insert sad face*

(Note: I'm just gonna start clearing my backlog of posts that I'm supposed to write, but got too lazy..)

Manila American Cemetery & Memorial

Address: Taguig City, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines 

Website: http://www.abmc.gov/

The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines occupies 152 acres on a prominent plateau, visible at a distance from the east, south and west. It contains the largest number of graves of our military dead of World War II, a total of 17,201, most of whom lost their lives in operations in New Guinea and the Philippines. The headstones are aligned in 11 plots forming a generally circular pattern, set among masses of a wide variety of tropical trees and shrubbery.

War Memorial

It is sincerely one of the most beautiful cemetery/memorial I've ever visited (not that I've been to a lot, but I've been to my fair share of cemeteries and memorial parks). It was a bright and beautiful day when we arrived. Bus loads of students were lined up at the bus bay and throngs of Filipinos were unloading their cars with snacks and children. 

students roaming the grounds

Despite the sun shining brightly, the wind was cool and we just wandered around aimlessly. Reading all the poems and messages engraved on the marble walls made me quite emotional. It brought back memories of movies like Pearl Harbour, Saving Private Ryan and other war movies. So many sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers lost due to the war.

There were marble pillars and columns after columns of which perished soldiers names were engraved on. It was such a shock to the system as there were SO MANY names, and I knew this was only just a handful, a small picture to what war is like.

Rizal Park

Rizal Monument 

Rizal Park (Filipino: Liwasang Rizal) also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located along Roxas Boulevard, City of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, Being one of the largest urban park in Asia, It has been a favourite leisure spot, and is frequented on Sundays and national holidays. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the City of Manila.  

Situated by Manila Bay, Luneta is also an important site in Philippine history. The execution of national hero José Rizal on December 30, 1896, fanned the flames of the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Kingdom of Spain. The area was officially renamed Rizal Park in his honor, and the monument enshrining his remains serves as the park's symbolic focal point. The Declaration of Philippine Independence from the American Occupation was held here on July 4, 1946 as were later political rallies including those of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino in 1986 that culminated in the EDSA Revolution.

It is basically just an open air park with benches and a monument. If you visit without the history knowledge of the park, you'd just dismiss it as just another park to have a picnic. As you can see in the blurry picture above, the flags on the right are Philippines and on the left is Indonesia. We asked a guide on why Indonesia's flag was up and they said that foreign ministers who visit Manila are usually brought to Rizal Park to pay their respects and the respective country's flag will be flown for that few days together with the Filipino flag.

Intramuros

Intramuros

Intramuros (Latin, "within the walls") is the oldest district and historic core of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Also called the Walled City, it was the original city of Manila and was the seat of government when the Philippines was a component realm of the Spanish Empire. Districts beyond the walls were referred as the extramuros of Manila, meaning "outside the walls".

Construction of the defensive walls was started by Spanish colonial government in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions. The 0.67-square-kilometre (0.26 sq mi) walled city was originally located along the shores of the Manila Bay, south of the entrance to Pasig River. Guarding the old city is Fort Santiago, its citadel located at the mouth of the river. Land reclamations during the early 20th-century subsequently obscured the walls and fort from the bay.  

Intramuros was heavily damaged during the battle to recapture the city from the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. Reconstruction of the walls was started in 1951 when Intramuros was declared a National Historical Monument, which is continued to this day by the Intramuros Administration (IA).  The Global Heritage Fund identified Intramuros as one of the 12 worldwide sites "on the verge" of irreparable loss and destruction on its 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, citing its insufficient management and development pressures.

What stark difference it was once you stepped past the thick stone walls into Intramuros. I felt like I time traveled into the past! Intramuros is so huge that there are a few schools and universities located inside Intramuros. There used to be seven churches, but five were destroyed during the Japanese Occupation.

snacking on dried mangoes

Despite it being the same day as when we visited the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, the heat was unbearable! It would have been lovely to just wander around the grounds and a really incredible place for photos, but my skin was burning from the sun rays and we were sweating buckets. I think the closed up stone walls played a part in scorching us. We were basically dodging from museum to museum to art galleries. We saw some Filipino families having picnics on the grass and I really have utmost respect for them. Unless the weather is like San Francisco's (office workers come out and play frisbee in office wear during their lunch), there's no way you'd see me sitting in the sun enjoying a picnic.

Manila Cathedral 

inside the cathedral

 The Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica (Filipino: Metropolitanong Katedral Basílika ng Maynilà; Spanish: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Manila), informally known as Manila Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic basilica located in Manila, Philippines, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Principal Patroness of the Philippines. The cathedral serves as the see of the Archbishop of Manila, the de facto Primate of the Philippines.  

Located at Plaza de Roma in the Intramuros district of the City of Manila, the cathedral was originally a parish church owned and governed by the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1571, until it became a separate diocese on 6 February 1579 upon the issuance of the papal bull, Illius Fulti Praesido by Pope Gregory XIII. The cathedral was damaged and destroyed several times since the original structure was built in 1581 while the eighth and current incarnation of the cathedral was finally completed in 1958.

beautiful stained glass

We wandered into the cathedral as the shade looked so inviting. Having studied in a Catholic school for 11 years, I could appreciate all the beautiful statues of Mother Mary & Jesus. The stained glass is a work of art. Not only does it provide shade from the glaring heat and rays outside, it adds a nice touch to the whole ambiance. I spent a good twenty minutes just walking around and looking at all the stained glass windows.

stained glass windows

Each window depicts a different story in the Bible. One window would be about Mother Mary spreading the gospel, another is about the Holy Spirit.

Fort Bonifacio High Street

gah, so grainy

 Bonifacio High Street is a shopping mall in Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, Philippines located just near Serendra, Market! Market! and SM Aura. It is owned by Ayala Malls, a real-estate subsidiary of Ayala Land, which is an affiliate of Ayala Corporation. It opened in the 2007 and it is one of Ayala Corporation's flagship projects. The mall offers a mix of high-end retail shops, restaurants, amenities, leisure and entertainment in the Philippines. Currently, the mall has four sections, the first and second blocks are an open-air shopping, while the third block is a mixture of open-air and indoor commercial buildings dubbed as the Bonifacio High Street Central and the fourth block which was named Bonifacio High Street South or simply High Street South in which is a mixture of open-air and indoor commercial-residential buildings.

Thanks Ritzelle!

Many international brands are located at High Street. However, those brands there are what we could find in Singapore, we didn't shop much. We did visit lots of cupcake and dessert shops though! The whole area of Fort Bonifacio felt very safe (as compared to other parts of Manila) as there are a lot of police officers patrolling the area with police dogs, riffles or just patrolling in their cars. You could actually see people jogging or walking their dogs along the streets at night which is a very uncommon sight in Manila.

Abe Restaurant

Address: Mcarthur Avenue, Bonifacio Global, Taguig, 1630 Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone: +63 2 856 0526
Website: http://ljcrestaurants.com.ph/abe/

Klassik Kare Kare 

Klassik Kare Kare - Traditional tender oxtail stew cooked with tripe and vegetables in a creamy, rich peanut-base sauce

Chicharong bulaklak

Chicharong bulaklak - Deep fried pork intestines with special garlic sauce.

Abe's Knockout Knuckles 

Abe's Knockout Knuckles - Need I say more? Crispy pork knuckles!

Binukadkad na Crispy Pla-Pla

Binukadkad na Crispy Pla-Pla - Large tilapia, butterflied and fried to crispy tenderness.

Banchetto at A Venue Makati

street BBQ Food

 I'm sorry I had to use other people's photos. I was too engrossed in eating and ordering food and gawking at a whole piglet roasting over charcoals before my very eyes that I forgot to take photos. And when I remembered, it was so dark my photos turned out like crap.

Thanks Rose!

 So, Banchetto is like a huge Pasar Malam of sorts selling a lot of local street food. They had stuff like sisig, chicken intestines (still prefer pork though), pork knuckles, adobo, BBQ seafood skewers, you name it. The whole atmosphere was so lively and.. oily. I LOVE IT! There's even a live band playing.

sausages and roasted pork 

chicken intestines

What to eat in Malacca, Malaysia

Eat, Sleep, Repeat.

Dates of visit: 25 - 27 December 2014

This was a totally random and impromptu visit to Malacca over the Christmas holidays. I had the luxury of getting my Annual Leave approved last minute and off we went! We only booked the bus and hostel within the week we were supposed to go.

Being Christmas holidays, we wanted to get out of the country, but didn't want to spend too much (have you seen how crazy expensive the airfares and hotels are!??). Decided on Malacca, just a 3-4 hour bus ride from Singapore, has really good food and decent places to stay and keep us entertained.

We ate so excessively on this trip that I couldn't button my skirt when I got back to work! So, this is what we ate!

(Note: I'm just gonna start clearing my backlog of posts that I'm supposed to write, but got too lazy..)

Street Food

Lively Jonker Street

Along Jonker street during the weekends, the Pasar Malam (Night Market) comes to life. The street usually closes around late afternoon and vendors set up stalls selling all sorts of things. From toys, to clothes, to street snacks!

Kueh Kuehs

Kueh Kueh

We chanced upon this stall selling all sorts of Nonya Kuehs. Of course I had to buy my all time favourite Lapis Sagu! My family affectionally calls it 'Colourful Kueh', due to it's many colours! It's my childhood favourite, with Bangawan Solo selling the best Lapis Sagu and Pandan Cake ever!

Quail's Eggs

Quail's Eggs

As we walked along the street, we bought this skewer of quail eggs (cholesterol alert!!). Vendors crack the eggs into small pastry iron caste things and it's just fried like that. Once cooked, vendors season the eggs with pepper, salt and BBQ sauce! Super yummy, but I think our heart and arteries could only manage a skewer each.

Lok Lok

Lok Lok

Lok lok-Malaysian style is the best! Lok lok in Singapore are usually cooked in a broth or gravy, which I don't really like. Food items like fishball or vegetables are fine cooked in broth or gravy, but Pork Intestines tastes nicer when grilled or deep fried. This lok lok van/stall may not look like the most hygienic place to have a meal, but if you cook your food thoroughly, you shouldn't have any issues.  We came back twice! This can be located near the end(or start, depending on which direction you're coming from) of Jonker Street!

Cendol

Cendol

Traditional Nonya dessert made from coconut milk, green starched jellies/noodles flavoured with pandan, gula melaka (brown sugar syrup) and topped with crushed ice. Depending from stall to stall, grass jelly, sweet corn and red beans might also be added into the bowl for a sweet dessert!

Coconut

On the streets of Melaka, you're able to purchase an entirely shaven coconut. What you get is just the sweet soft flesh with sweet sweet coconut water. Best thing is, you can eat the entire thing without scraping the sides for the flesh! #melakaboleh #coconut #lazypeople

A photo posted by Natasha Lim (@natatatasha) on Dec 26, 2014 at 6:40am PST

Nonya Food - Nancy's Kitchen

Nancy's Kitchen

Address: 7 Jalan Hang Lekir, Off Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, 75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Tel: +60 6-283 6099

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancys-kitchen-Jonker-St/161933007198411

Malacca is known for their rich Peranakan culture, architecture and of course, the Peranakan food. Nonya women pride themselves in cooking the best dishes for their families, and such savoury and flavourful dishes needs to be shared with the world!

Happy Me!

So we scouted TripAdvisor and food blogs for the best Nonya restaurant that serves pork. We had two options but Nancy's Kitchen was the only one still opened at the hour that we went. Do expect looooong queues as everyone who flock to Malacca wants to have a taste of traditional Peranakan cuisine. Happy me just waited patiently in line for our turn.Since the restaurant was packed, the wait staff asked us if we mind sharing tables. Of course not! I was famished and wanted food!

Seriously, who doesn't like crunchy Kueh Pie Tee!

Kueh Pie Tee

I'm not a fan of laksa or spicy foods, but G is an avid Laksa lover. It's very different from Singapore's laksa as it's more sour, but not as sour as Asam Laksa.

Nonya Laksa

How can I even NOT order Babi Buah Keluak! It's traditionally cooked with Chicken (Ayam) but I was craving for Pork (Babi). The Keluak nut has a hard exterior shell. The insides are dug out, pounded with spices, stuffed back in and boiled with the meat and spices till the gravy thickens. At Nancy's Kitchen, they will ask you how many nuts you would like to order (at an additional cost of course). I wanted to order like two or three, but dearest G quickly replied, "ONE!". *inserts exasperated emoticon* The gravy is so flavourful, I wanted to drink it all up!

babi buah keluak

My Grandmother is half Peranakan and very often she'll cook Chap Cai for the whole family to eat. Honestly, even though Nancy's Kitchen's food and Buah Keluah is fantastic and so delicious, my Grandma's Chap Cai is still the best.

chap cai

Bah Kee - Restoran Kok Keong
(板底街芋饭肉羹汤 - Bottom street yam rice pork meat soup)

Restaurant Kok Keong

Address: 11 Jalan Kampung Pantai, 75200 Malacca, Malaysia
Opening hours: 730am-2pm and 6pm until the bak kee runs out (usually by 9pm). Closed Wednesdays.

We were walking past this coffee shop the day before and the smell of the herbal soup just whiffed through the air and made my stomach rumble. This is located just next to our hostel so on the second day we went for some Bah Kee! Bah Kee is similar to Bah Kut Teh, just that there's offals, tofu and other pork innards in the soup.

Even at 9am, the coffee shop is almost full. You have the option of choosing what you want in your soup, or you can just ask the very nice Uncle to just do a random mix for you. I opted not to have pork lard or skin and to have more intestines (my favourite).

Bah Kee

My bowl consisted of intestines, shio bah, offals, tofu, and slices of meat. You can also have the option of having plain steamed rice or yam rice. Of course we got the yam rice. The rice itself is so flavourful and you can just eat it on its own! If you're there, please order a cup of coffee too! It's just divine.

Famosa Chicken Rice Balls

Location:

• Jonker Street - Tel : 06-2860121, Business Hours : 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (Mon-Sun)    
• Mahkota Parade (1st Floor) - Tel : 06-2883354, Business Hours : 10:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. (Mon-Sun)
• Tesco Hypermart (Food Court) - Business Hours : 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. (Mon-Sun)     
• Jalan Bendahara - Tel : 06-2860122, Business Hours : 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. (Mon-Sun)  
• Cheras (K.L.) - Business Hours : 9:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. (Mon-Sun)    

Website: http://www.melaka.net/famosa/

This is one of Malacca's iconic dishes, but, not the best. Famosa's chicken rice balls' popularity have traveled far and wide across the region. Although it may be unique, it's not the best chicken rice I've had.

The rice is flavourful enough, but the texture is sticky and dry. You can order a portion just to try, but save your stomach for better food (like Peranakan food) out there!

What we did in Bali, Indonesia

Jimbaran Beach

Dinner by the Sea

Seafood dinner by Jimbaran Beach!

Jimbaran Beach - Lia Cafe

One of the most iconic things to do in Bali is to have a tranquil seafood dinner on the beach while watching the sunset. Yes, literally on the sand, facing the sea and sunset. We arranged a car to take all seven of us for Rp300,000, both ways and including waiting time for us while we have dinner.

We knew we wanted to head to Jimbaran for dinner, but there were SOOO many choices to choose from. After researching, we heeded TripAdvisor's recommendation and headed to Lia Cafe.

Address: Jalan Pemelisan Agung Kuta Sel. Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 709002
Check out the menu here.

Lia Cafe!

There are about 3 different sections of Jimbaran Beach with different restaurants. Lia Cafe is located in the middle section. This small establishment boosts about 20 odd tables, so do go early to secure your table with a good view!

Table facing the sea and sunset

Sunset is about 6pm, so we got our car to pick us up at 4.45pm (from Potato Head) and we arrived at about 5.30pm with sufficient daylight to take more photos and wonder around the beach. Of course, traffic is also rather bad around that timing, so do give yourself ample time to get lost or even to find a suitable restaurant that you like.

Many restaurants line the Jimbaran shore

Lia Cafe has several menu packages, most of which caters to two persons only. Thus, the guys went to select and choose our own seafood and style of cooking.

Group photo with setting sun!

We had a total of four Sri Lankan crabs, 15 big prawns, one fish, one (according to the guys - hugeass) squid and a plate of kangkong vegetables. Later on, we also ordered grilled chicken (just a chicken leg) and satay. To be honest, the seafood was much better than the meat dishes.Also, I've had better crabs in Singapore, but for that amount we're paying I can't really complain much. At least the seafood was fresh and juicy!

Seafood feast!

We spent about Rp1,300,000+ for the seven of us in total for all the food.

Lounge at Beach Clubs

Lounging by the sea

There's a plethora of beach clubs dotting the shores of Bali. During our trip, we visited two of the most popular beach clubs in the Seminyak/Kuta area. It's a perfect place to just lounge and laze the day away, drinking Mojitos and eating pizzas, while working on your tans.

Check out the full list of the best 10 beach clubs in Bali!

Ku De Ta

Address: Jl. Kayu Aya No. 9, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia
Phone:+62 361 736969
Opening Hours: 8:00 am – 2:00 am
Website: http://www.kudeta.net/

Ku De Ta

We visited Ku De Ta on the whim late at night after returning back to the Villa after our scrumptious dinner at Jimbaran. We were tired, but we've heard so much about Ku De Ta that we just had to check it out. I initially refused to go as I was tired and oh-so-smelly. I didn't want to walk alllllll the way there in the middle of the night. I was just looking forward to soak in the tub and scrubbing all the salt and grim away. The guys persuaded me by saying that we will just take a taxi over.. I was on board! The taxi fare was about Rp30,000.

Lounging on the grass

I sincerely apologize for the sucky quality of the photographs as I was so lazy to adjust the settings and just used Auto mode all the way.

Arriving at KDT, everyone was granted access.. All except G, because he was in singlet. It was almost midnight and we only had two options. To go back to the villa to get a t-shirt or to just go outside and purchase one. We choose the latter. He bought a Bob Marley t-shirt for Rp100,000 (which was rather steep, but we were desperate). The guy initially quote us Rp300,000. Madness or what! But G being the uncle he is... Well, you know the rest..

Full crowd

There's both a restaurant (which looked really posh) & a bar lounge area. Surprisingly at 12 midnight, the lounge area was full! When my friends requested for a table outside, they said "free seating". Hmmm~ My friends found a table indoors by the bar and about 10mins later, G said there's an area on the grass patch with two small tables and beanbags. Quite a nice place to lounge, so we shifted! It was a good idea as KDT installed flood lights facing the sea, so you're able to look at the waves crashing against the shore.

Pulled pork pizza

We all ordered cocktails each, pulled pork pizza and a bowl of fries. The red stuff on the pizza is actually red cabbage! The pork is so heavenly, I swear! As the clock ticks on, people started to leave, and the wait staff shifted us to the day beds where we stayed till about 2am.

Potato Head Beach Club

Address: Jalan Petitenget, Seminyak, Bali 83061, Indonesia 

Tel: +62 361 4737979 

Opening Hours: 11:00 am – 2:00 am

Website: http://www.ptthead.com/

Hordes of people lounging on Easter Sunday!

After walking for nearly 1.5 hours from our Villa to Potato Head, we just wanted to relax and soak up some Vitamin Ds. We honestly did not expect throngs of people that flooded Potato Head Beach Club! My big mistake then was not making a reservation for a day bed! We couldn't lounge by the pool or even near the sand. The only place available was on the second floor terrace. Although it's away from the crowd and pretty peaceful, there was no shade at all. I didn't mind though, as the day wore on, the sun grew lower and we found some solace in the shadows of the surrounding palm trees.

Check out all those people on beach towels on the grass! It was crowded to the point where people just laid down on the grass and soaked up the Easter Sunday atmosphere! By the way, I had no idea how those people did it. I was just walking through the grass patch as I was returning from the beach and I got bitten by a red ant on my foot! Although, it wasn't very serious, it did hurt and itched like crazy over the course of the next few days. I might had an allergic reaction or perhaps it's because I scratched it in my sleep, but the ant bite became an ugly, angry, 1-inch wide, red patch of inflamed ugliness. You could still see the small, teeny-tiny dot in the middle where the ant bit and the surrounding area was just massively red and inflamed. Thus, morale of the story: DON'T SCRATCH! Damn, my itchy fingers!

Check out G's grumpy face

We had a fantastic view of the beach and could see gigantic waves crashing onto shore. People were being tossed around (including us when we went down) in the sea and having so much fun! Potato Head is more casual as compared to Ku De Ta, and surprisingly, the hostesses attending to the front of the club were all Caucasians, some could even speak fluent Berhasa, whereas, Ku De Ta's staff were mainly Indonesians. It was quite a pleasure because for once, I could communicate efficiently to the staff and get myself understood.

We ordered some sparkling water to cool ourselves down, fries and calamari with squid ink sauce. The squid ink sauce is absolutely divine. I suspect it was finished in 10 mins! Clean towels were draped over the day beds so it was not too hot to lie on.

It is a fantastic place to just chill and soak up the atmosphere. The staff were friendly, though they were a little overwhelmed with the large crowd that gathered over Easter Sunday. I don't blamed them though, I totally understood what they were going!

Try the Local Food

Warung Babi Guling Pak Malen

Babi Guling

Address: Jalan Sunset Road No. 5, Kuta Utara, Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 7452968
Opening Hours: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Pak Malen

We've been meaning to try this Babi Guling (pork rolls) since the first day we arrive in Bali. We just didn't get round to it with all the activities. Now, this place is like an ordinary coffee shop, just like the shop name states "Warung" (food stall/street stall), so don't expect much for an ambiance or service.

Long long queues

Do expect long queues and sweltering heat though! The service is pretty fast so you're able to find a table soon enough. I was surprised that with such a big group, we were able to find two tables for ourselves within about 10mins of waiting. Besides, with the heat in the shop, most people will just eat and go. Hardly anyone lingered around chatting. Wear comfortable clothing (singlet and shorts will be best), bring a hair tie and lots of tissue! You're bound to perspire like you just took a shower!

Yummy Babi Guling

The mixed plate consists of the pork skin cracker, pork skin, spicy minced pork, fried pork cutlets, seasoned meat, a satay stick and some pork roll. The minced meat is really good and flavourful, but be warned! It is spicy as hell!

Have a Spa Day

 Spa Bali Seminyak

Bali Spa Seminyak!

Address: Seminyak Bali, Indonesia
Tel: (0361)-737-932/(0361)-737-933
Website: http://www.spabali.biz/
Opening Hours: 10am to 11pm
Outlets: Drupadi, Seminyak & Kuta

Spa Bali has a professional spa ambiance throughout the vicinity. There's professional hair salon facilities as well as big comfy chairs for your meni-pedi! We got the hot-stone massage as I needed the heat to ease the tension in my muscles after climbing the two volcanoes. It cost me about Rp200,000++ (Rp235,000nett) for an hour's massage.

This is considered expensive in Balinese standard as we we went to a more casual/street massage place the next day and had an hour's worth of Balinese Massage for Rp60,000. I guess you're paying for the ambiance, cleanliness and the service as the massage techniques and styles were about the same for both Spa Bali & the street one we went the next day.

We were shown to a locker room where we could keep our belongings safely and then we were ushered into a couple's room. It's a wide, beautiful room with two bathtubs which we wished we could use. We were asked for our names and the therapists used it frequently when she asked about the strength and hotness of the stones during the massage.

Usually, after the massage, we're used to having something hot, like hot lemongrass teas served in Thailand spas (even dodgy street ones), or even warm water if they're really budget ones.. But Spa Bali gave us cold water in those disposable plastic cups. Quite a funny end to our wonderful treatment I must say!

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Check out our beautiful villa where we stayed for 3 days!

Or our experiences climbing Mount Bromo & Kawah Ijen!