Bravo@Taipei

My apology as this blog has been hibernated since March/April.
Thank you for your support and keep revisiting my blog for the past few months.

I'm now in Taipei city....was excited at the air flight landing moment.
The weather is as hot as in malaysia, but it is more heaty.
I didin't sleep well for the 1st night in dormitory....merely sleep with 100% naked.
It's gonna be hotter and dry sooner or later.
Gosh...can't simply switch on air-cond as usual as i always do at home, here gotta buy prepaid card for using the air-cond in dorm.

People here pay for plastic bag during shopping. Msia should conduct this practice too. Msian ask for plastic bag even buying a small AA battery, 1 ice-cream cone... damn low awareness in protecting environment.

Stay tuned, and i shall regularly update my study life in Taipei.

"Oh~~Taipei~What a "wonder~full" world~!"

p/s: Can the heat helps to burn my accumulated body fat....make the flab becomes flat....@@ daydreaming...haha... ...(Read More)

巴厘之旅--梯田 Trip to Bali -- Rice Terraces in Jatiluwih & Tegallalang

* Click on photos to enlarge the stitched photos. *

The terraced ricefields in Bali are unique landscapes that show combination of the nature and human beings. Terracing on steep slopes is aimed to maximize the land usage for rice planting, and to protect the land from erosion. Water from the river gorges (below rice terraces) is used for irrigating the ricefields.


Jatiluwih
Rice terraces in Jatiluwih are some of the oldest on the Bali island and stretching down to the sea in the far distance. You will see fabulous panorama scene of rice terraces here.

Entrance fees was charged by the local people since recent years.

















Tegallalang
Another nice place for seeing rice terraces. No charges here, but beware of those local hawkers who peddling their goods to tourists. They tried to get your attention by offering prices as low as 1dollar. Don't be tricked.





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巴厘之旅--廟宇篇 Trip to Bali -- Temples (Pura Taman Ayun/Pura Ulun Danu Bratan/Pura Tanah Lot)

Pura Taman Ayun, Mengwi
The Pura Taman Ayun was an ancient Mengwi royal family's temple with an inner and an outer moat. It originally established in 1740, and restored in 1937. There are ancestral shrines of the former ruling Mengwi family and their dependants in the temple. There are also shrines that dedicated to particular mountains, to the sea and to agricultural deities.

Entrance Fees: IDR 3,000/pax.

The candi bentar (split gate) separatesthe first courtyard from the grassy areas outside.

Kori Agung is the main gate to the temple. The doors are open only during ceremonies.

On the lintel of the kori agung, carved a Sai (guardian) figure,with gods and godly seers to each side.

Several bales (wooden pavilions) are built in the courtyard.

Eleven-tiered Meru tower, the tallest meru symbolizes the mountain Gunung Batukau.

Some of the meru towers are shrines to the deities of Bali’s mountains: Gunung Batur, Gunung Agung and Gunung Batukau.

Kulkul tower at Pura Taman Ayun.

























Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Lake Bratan, Bedugul
The temple was built on a small island on the Bratan Lake. This 17th century temple is dedicated to the lake goddess, Dewi Danu.

Nice scenery surrounds this lake. You may spend longer time here for photo session.

Entrance Fee: IDR 10,000/pax





















Pura Tanah Lot
This temple set on a rocky outcrop about 100m off the coast but visitors can walk to temple complex when tides ebbed. As its name suggests, the temple is situated at the meeting-point of land (tanah)and sea (lot). It is dedicated to the Balinese goddess of the sea, Betara Tengah Segara, and the gods from Gunung Batukau.

It is a superb nice landmark for sunset seeing. It is best to arrive this place well before sunset. It can get very crowded during sunset. But sadly, I didn't see the beautiful sunset scenery here during my visit. It was so cloudy and the rain almost poured. (T_T)

Many handicraft,souvenir and refreshment stalls are found at the entrance to Pura Tanah Lot.

Entrance Fee: IDR 10,000/pax.

Visitors can walk to temple complex when the tides ebbed.

Pura Tanah Lot is set on a rocky outcrop.

Another temple found nearby Tanah Lot temple.

The sky was cloudy and about to rain. Strong winds.

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巴厘之旅--行程與資訊分享篇 Trip to Bali -- Itinerary and Info Sharing

This was my 2nd family trip 2009 after 14 years time.
I merely remember the 1st trip was to Pangkor Island (Perak) in the year of 1995.

My 4D3N itinerary as follow:
Day1: Arrival in Ngurah Rai Airport--> Check in hotel-->Sleep (Due to heavy rain, nowhere for hang out).

Day2: Barong Dance-->Pura Taman Ayun, Mengwi--> Pura (Temple) Ulun Danu, LakeBratan,Bedugul-->lunch at strawberry farm-->Jatiluwih-->Pura Tanah Lot

Day3: Kintamani-->Tegallalang-->lunch at Ubud-->Sanur-->Dreamsland-->Pura Luhur Uluwatu

Day4: Sukawati(shopping)-->Kuta town-->Home sweet home


Some Info for Sharing only:
Visa: Malaysian can stay in Bali for 30days without applying VISA.

Drinking water: Tap water in the hotel is not consumable, you should get bottled water from the grocery stores nearby, such as "Mini" or "Circle-K" (similar to 7-11). Oh ya, I noticed that the prices of goods in "Circle-K" are commonly cheaper than "Mini".

Taxi: Some taxi drivers will try to negotiate a flat fee but it is better get to taxi using meter, such as BlueBird. As if you need to take taxi from the airport, get those available in the airport compound, not outside the airport.

Money matters: It is advisable that you change enough Indonesia Rupiah notes before departing to Bali. The exchange rate in Bali is pretty low, and always go for authorized money exchangers. You may use your (major international) credit card too (1% fee is chargable per overseas transaction by your credit card service provider, haha!). Cash is most welcomed in most places (^_^).

Homework before travelling: You may do some homeworks before getting there. You may find many logs in Malaysia Chinese Cari Forum. Plenty bloggers shared their experiences in Bali too. I personally found that most logs in the forum are more suitable for our references, they're either budgeted trip or moderate $$ trip. If you are looking for luxury trip (in terms of hotel/food and beverage, etc), you may refer to logs posted by taiwanese bloggers (no offense ya!).

Shopping: You may do shopping in department stores (such as Matahari & Discovery Kartika in Kuta) or art markets (such as Ubud market, Kuta Square Art Market, Sukawati Art Market), or Gevana Handicraft Centre (with GST tax).

Bargaining during shopping: Except for department stores and upmarket shops, most shops and hawkers do not have fixed prices and usually offer you over-rated price. So, you must bargain and cut off 40%~50% to get a good price. Learn the prices of goods (such as souvenirs)elsewhere (such as Matahari Store, Kuta) before making a purchase.


Some photos for sneak preview, haha :p




















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