Escape to Bali #3

Yana had a family emergency so we had a new tour guide, Ayu.

We went glass-bottom boating all the way to Turtle Island.

The water was very clear but it was too dark. Can't really capture visible photos of corals and fishes.

They breed turtles there, kononnya to preserve wildlife and all.

But I don't buy that. If they're trying to protect turtles, then why did they sell accessories made out of turtle shells and skin? Hypocrites.

It's so cruel to manhandle a turtle. Look at it struggling. Seriously, I dislike it. I mean, you can touch it, but carrying it up and laugh about it?

How would you like another person to suddenly carry you up without your permission, pose a photo with you and laugh about it?

I do that to Maxie but hey, he knows me; the turtle has only seen you once in its entire lifetime.

And here are my photos of mom acting like a budak kecil.

She behaved like my elder sister instead of a mother when we were there. It's weird. I know she enjoyed it. Because she doesn't look her age, she looks so much younger than her actual age.

And she'll kill me if I tell you how old she really is.

Balinese eat pork because they're 99% Hindus. This is the famous guling babi.

Unlike the Chinese suckling pig, they roast the whole mature pig, not the baby pig. So you get to eat the skin, the fats, the lean meat, as well as the innards. They use turmeric and other herbs to hide the 'pig' smell.

I'm not one who likes pork dishes, but this... me likey =D

Had lunch in Ubud, the new tourism capital of Bali.

We were told that the new thing for Bali is farm stay as the angmohs gradually got tired of the beach and the sea.

I vote for the beach and the sea.

Chalets with the traditional 'atap' roof overlooking the rice fields. The harvest season was just over when we visited. It's a quiet little town, more family oriented. Kuta is more of a Bintang Walk, whereby this is like Fraser's Hill.

Our lunch -- crispy roasted duck with the usual side dishes. Honestly, I prefer the roasted ducks sold near Leisure Mall. Different palette.

Visited the ancient palace, also built around the 16th century, of Ubud.

The locals believe in karma. They're very friendly and almost sinless. They don't steal because they believe that if they do, someone else will steal a possession of their 7 times more valuable than the one they stole.

Hence, it's safe for the authorities to lay their gold antiques under the sun. They'll be there. They've been there since the last century, I think.

After some shopping, we proceeded to Tanah Lot to check out the famous Pura Tanah Lot, one of the 7 sea temples of Bali.

Now, the queer thing here is that these 7 temples were built by the sea, in eyesight of the other temples. This means that when you're at the Pura Tanah Lot, you can see the Pura Luhur Uluwatu far at the horizon, as well as Pura Rambut Siwi (if I'm not mistaken, that's the name) at the other end.

Plus, the temple was built from rocks. It's like it was carved out of the rock formation itself.

Another shrine. If only I have a DSLR and know how to use it.

We had Chinese food for dinner, much to my chagrin. I came all the way to Bali not to eat Chinese food: I came to Bali to eat Balinese cuisine. Yes, we've been eating Balinese cuisine for the past 2 days but I eat Chinese food almost everyday of my life.

Anyway, mom's choice. The tom yam soup was nice though.

P/S: Lian asked me to be her roommate in Sun-U Residence. No. I wanna come home to see my doggie and sleep in my own bed. I wanna continue earning extra pocket money from Minda Ceria 2.

Going to BookFest on Monday. Wee~