Nusa Ceningan, Where is the Cliff Jumping? Damn it.

I put all of the stuffs in my room and ready to go. I had a motorcycle there in the yard. We would go across the bridge to Nusa Ceningan.  Rara was so excited for cliff jumping.

From Jungut Batu, you will go through the road climbed to the upper side of the island in few minutes.  Be careful, the road is not friendly for high speed movement.

The scenery from the upper side was perfect. In the afternoon, the ocean water is bright and you can see the gradation of colors on it. The coastline goes wider, in the afternoon the water wave goes short and that's the right time for local people to get down and pick up the sea weed. They will put it on their yard or back yard or on the edge of the street to dry it. They use traditional way to process it.

I passed a graveyard too there. I couldn't imagine how dark this place at night,  in the upper side, there's no light at all along the road unless there's a resto or cafe which put the lights in front of their venue.  if you are not sure to go at night, considering the safety and motorcycle performance, better you stay nearby your room. That's why it's important for you to choose good place to stay, nearby restaurant or shop.

We passed a yellow bridge, one and only bridge to make Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan connected.

We moved and stuck, OMG there's no sign. We had map too and GPS, unlucky it didn't work, my position was stated in the middle of the sea. That's so frustrated. We moved to the very rough road and stuck. There were two boys walked there and we came closer to them.

"Do you know where the cliff jumping is?"

He desperately said, "We are looking for the same place. "

And we just left them away.

Shortly, after asked a local, we found the cliff jumping area. And... the gate was locked. What the hell!!! Rara ran to the cafe right in fornt of the area.

"Could you please tell me where is the staff, Mas? I want to do cliff jumping."

With a pocker face the mas - mas said,"It is closed."

"What?"

"Since a year a go."

...

Dududududu...

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Nusa Lembongan Nusa Ceningan, Piece of Heaven on Earth

The happiest thing in life is when your plan meet right person to make it happen.

So thank you Damara for being super fancy companion during my trip. Nusa Lembongan was actually her idea. One of her friend from France came to Bali for getting his diving license. So I came with them too for snorkeling, paid back what Gili Trawangan didn't give me when I went there.

The trip was started from Sanur Beach. Again, I met the sensation of fast boat smack. But God blessed me, it was only around 30 minutes trip. Paying for itinerary ticket, IDR 150K, we stopped in Jungut Batu Village. Then, walk along the street.

I couldn't deny that this place s so quiet and nice. And I could imagine what happened with this place when the night comes. Probably as calm as silent night moment. We stopped in a shop nearby big temple, something delicious was there, TIPAT!!!!!

It s Bali traditional food made from steamed rice covered with coconut leave. If you're Indonesian, it s actually ketupat. It s served with sprout, steamed vegetables, and peanut chili sauce. The price was super cheap, IDR 8K. Yumm!!!

Many homestays re there in the village,  you can choose one place which fits to your budget. I came there not in the peak season, so I didn't book the room, just go show. I got IDR 250K per night in a new place called Made Home Stay (if I am not mistaken). The rest, motorcycle renting for IDR 100K include fuel, since no gas station there. What I was thinking, if you really go to this island and plan for roaming around, no option, rent a motor. Even it is just an island, the distance between one to another is not kidding yaar (borrow Indian accent).

One more thing, bring enough cash! I told you my [a bit] suffering story about that.

There is no ATM in heaven, right? Dudududu...

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When Trip is About Eating! Bali Motel Mexicola & La Plancha [3]

In the morning, we woke up late. And it happened almost every day when we there. The girls were busy with hair dressing and make up rituals. The one who woke up early was Andi the advisor. He was the one who said “Good morning” to us with the poker face mode. And we never said sorry for waking up late.

As I said, we stayed in a low price hotel called Arthawan in Poppies Lane. They served breakfast, yeah at least it helps you from starving in the morning.

We moved to Discovery Mall on Kartika Plaza Street. You can walk along the coast line and you can find this building easily. What was good about this place was the back yard of it. They have Kuta Beach scenery with white stone road in the edge of the building. We just had lunch and moved to another culinary destination in Seminyak.

Guys, trust to Google Maps from now. It helped us a lot in Bali. But yeah, it delivered us to the wrong direction too, but just forgave it. Locals are kind. They will help you when you get lost. That was I got from this trip too. Always think positive, because happiness is in your mind, right? Everything will be okay when you believe it.

Anyway, that’s our next destination. Motel Mexicola. Welcome to the colorful place with the sense of Mexico city. I won’t talk too much about this place. Just look into the pictures below. This is one of the perfect place to take pictures in your vacation.

The sun went down around 5 pm, we moved to Seminyak beach. We looked for La Plancha café. It has outdoor concept, with colorful umbrellas, colorful seats, and faces right to Seminyak Beach for perfect Sunset experiences. Oh God, that’s heaven! Anyway, they have nice Potato Wedges, and nice sisha too. No, I didn’t smoke sisha [at that time] due to high price. Indeed, it was not for me. But over all, it was head and shoulders above any outdoor café there. Have fun all.

Last stop was Stadium Resto in Kartika Plaza Street. It was 5 minutes only from Discovery Plaza on foot. The price was on the average rate in Bali. They have tasty mushroom cuisine. That was what I order for dinner. The most important thing about this place was the toilet. In the toilet were the pictures of ancient Balinese outfit.

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Bali Sky Garden [2]

Honestly, nothing can change the excitement of vacation with best friends. Laugh together, eat together, crazy together. Nothing can replace these moments.

There was a café called Gong. Do you know Poppies Lane 2? Yes, you can access the road from Billabong Ground Zero and then turn left. It is only 5 minutes from Ground Zero. I definitely love this place. It was just small café with variants of food, and the price is definitely… cheap!!! Gong was the place of us to have lunch or dinner during Bali trip. Yes we ate cheap meals for lunch, but we revenged for dinner.

We started chopping money like a millionaire in the evening. Seriously, we just a bunch of people who loves to enjoy our life while young and having enough money for make it true.

First move was  Kuta Beach Walk. Nothing is good here, just a mall with roof top garden. What we looked for was Churros. Have you heard about that? Spanish doughnut style served with sugar or dark chocolate. It’s [too] sweet for me. If you have problem with diabetes, better you avoid this cuisine.

Churros

Second move was Sky Garden Premier Dining and Night Club Complex. It was a building of clubs and resto on its roof top. What is good about this place for us? It was a promo of All You Can Eat with different themes of menu every day, from 5pm to 10m (last order 8.30pm). We pay only 50K IDR for eating till die in 2 hours. At that moment, we got barbecue menu. We ate like disaster victims, really. They provided us a big plate so we can maximize our performance in eating. Anyway, if you want to continue your night by having fun in the club, just stay inside the building after dinner. Because they will charge you when you go out to the building and come back again for night club party. But if you have enough money to have good party in an exclusive place, better you throw it there. No offense, but best place offers best experience.

I give up I give up I give up

Eat everything here

The wind blew too much and the ants from the tree were perfectly landed to our table. We were done, because they started biting us.

Lesson learned: outdoor could be the best place for everything, and it will be perfect without wind and ant attack.

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Bali 2014 Surabaya to Denpasar [1]

Hello again,

Finally I have long enough time for wrapping up my Bali journey a week ago. And I tell you about the conclusion of this trip: DAEBAK!!!

I went there with four of my friends and met up with another one there. Our big achievement is about visiting popular spots in Bali as many as we can in five days. My friends did a research by utilizing blogs, iInstagram, website, and many more for searching favorite places to be visitied.

Let’s talk about how I reach Bali from Surabaya. As we know, both Surabaya and Denpasar are connected by international airports. Because we wanted to spend much money there for enjoying many places, we tried to decrease the cost for accommodation. Then, train was chosen. The most suitable one was KA Mutiara Selatan, departed from Gubeng Baru Station at 10 pm and reach Banyuwangi Baru Station around 4 am. 

The station provided the passenger the ticket price for reaching Denpasar too. Yet, the cost is a bit higher than the ticket to Banyuwangi Baru. From Banyuwangi Baru, we walked to Ketapang Port for crossing Bali Gulf by ferry. It was 5 o’clock when we departed from the port. Luckily, we got sunrise pleasure on board. We arrived Gilimanuk Port after thirty minutes journey. Then, the next step was about to find the bus to Denpasar. Anyway, for those who passed Gilimanuk Port, you have to show your ID Card to the officer before leaving the port. Never left it home or your journey will be ruined.

The Bus to Denpasar

The port officer suggested us to find the bus to (I don’t know whether Mengwi or) Ubung from the exit gate of the vessel. Yet, it is not as easy as he said. The main problem was about we didn’t know which one was the person in charge of the buses. Another factor was about we just too tired for thinking about how to find the best bus for reaching Ubung Bus Station in Denpasar. So we just moved to the port after arriving Gilimanuk Port. 

A guy of 30s with dark skin, messy hair, and Bali accent in speaking came to us and asked where we gotta go. We ended up with him. We surrendered and follow him to the bus that he told us. YES we expected big bus with airconditioner. And shit happened.

A minibus with super small seat space and no airconditioner welcomed us, and brought us to Ubung for three hours. Let’s forget about it, because the backache represented everything about our feeling during the trip. I felt like a standing banner with stiff legs. Two of my friends were busy with headbang motions during the trip. And one of them tried so hard for not falling asleep after his seat was taken by an old woman the conqueror. Thank God, the cost line along the road came as a medicine for this struggle.

Lets talk about the smart traveler. I borrow this term from my friend, Andi. According to him, it refers to those who manages every single step of the trip for getting the best plan for it (CMIIW). He is smart, in my opinion. At least he was the role model for me on this trip. For God sake, he was like the answer for all obstacles we faced during the trip. Andi, you must be blushing for this compliment. Hahaha…

First brilliant thing about him, he had initiative for finding a rent motorcycle nearby the terminal so we didn’t need to suffer for many more dramas after reaching Ubung Bus Station. Since, we need to reach Kuta, about 20 - 30 minutes from the station. The rent fare everywhere in Bali was same, 50K IDR per day. And thank you Brother for that.

The Legend of Arthawan

Kaskuser, Travel Blogger, I believe you guys know what is Arthawan. Yes, that's one of the most favorite low budget hotel in Bali. It was so famous around you guys and that’s why we stayed here during the trip. Located in Poppies Lane 2 with super cheap room fare, Arthawan becomes the legend among travelers who need low price for room rental. No reservation procedure available there. Who comes first gets first. They count the guest, not the room.

We estimated low budget for room rental, because we wanted to spend more for culinary experience. So, when you come to Bali, I hope you can make a priority for your trip. Whether you seek for pleasure, or you look for anything else. Manage your budget well, and day by day will be shiny.

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