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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Indonesia Bali-Sumba Discovery 2023
Day 1: Kuala Lumpur to Kuta to Jatiluwih -
Welcome to Bali!
Bali, Indonesia : Monday, 29th May 2023
Time : 12:00pm to 9:00pm (in Bali only)
Time Taken : 9 hrs. (including stops for lunch, dinner, visit to Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, and many photo opps).
This is page 1 of a 8-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
1. Traffic Directions!
Traffic in Indonesia, is right-hand drive, so drive/cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!
2. Getting to Bali & Sumba and Packing Light.
Bali is a favourite tourist destination and many airlines fly direct to it's international Ngurah Rai Airport. We flew Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur to Bali, buying our tickets 2-3 months earlier and paid between MYR700-800 (approx. USD200) per pax for a basic return fare, without checked in luggage and other frills.
For the flight back from Bali to Kuala Lumpur, we did buy the minimum 20kg of check-in luggage for some shopping to bring goodies back for friends.
3. Covid-19 & Customs Requirments
We applied for Covid-19 clearance through the e-forms submitted to the SatuSehat mobile app, which required uploading of vaccination details & PDF copies of vaccination certificates, and got on-line approval. Upon arrival at Bali Airport, there was a small counter for SatuSehat, but it was not manned, so perhaps this is not required for Bali.
Submission for customs e-clearance is advised for getting past the airport customs without a fuss. E-submission can be done prior to leaving for Indonesia, Click here for to access and fill up the Indonesian E-CD (Electronic Customs Declaration) forms for approval. Upon successful application, a QR Code is given, save this to your phone and show it to the customs officer upon arrival. With a quick scan, and one is cleared to enjoy one's holiday.
4. Clearing Immigration for Senior Citizens and families with infants, etc.
Prior to the pandemic, there were special counters at the Malaysian & Indonesian immigration exit points for senior citizens above 60 years old, but these are not there anymore. No worries though, if there are long queues, just asked any helpful officer for help for senior citizens, and one will be directed to a fast-track counter.
5. Route & Traffic Conditions
This past few years, Kuta, Ubud and the surrounding regions have developed tremendously and traffic along most roads can be quite busy. Drive with care and do take note that there are many motorcyclists around. As one goes further north towards Kintamani, the traffic gets lighter, but at hilly areas some stretches can be steep with winding roads.
After arriving in Bali, we hopped onto a 15-seater van and headed north towards Jatiluwih. En-route we made a visit to the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. Although I have been to Bali several times, this is the first time I am heading for Northern Bali and I found the weather up in the hills to be pleasantly cool.
6. Weather
Weather at Bali differs a lot between the lowland and highlands. In June, the average day temperature at Kuta was 28°C, while night ones averaged 24°C. Up in Kintamani, and Bedugul (where we stayed) it was 22°C, and 15°C respectively.
Useful weather forecast sites for the Indonesia is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.
7. Communicating with Each Other
When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost from the rest. Compared to the our previous trip 5-years ago, this time round it was more difficult to get the Indonesian pre-paid phone sim card. For security reasons, there is a need to register ones's passport and phone's IMEI #1 and IMEI #2. One cannot just go to any local shops to buy the sim card as they are reluctant or not equiped to provide such a service. As such, most local phone shops sells only to locals.
It is EASIEST to get the sim cards at the airport. There are booth selling these just after getting past customs and into the arrival hall of Bali (Ngurah Rai) Airport, the local staff there are at hand to help register one's passport and IMEIs. We opted for Telkomsel's as it provides the best coverage at Bali, and even at some of the remote areas of Sumba, and got their Tourist prepaid simcard with 16+8 GB of data valid for 30 days at IRD250K (MYR77 or USD17). 3G internet is available in the more populated areas but can drop to the slower GPRS or even Edge in remote areas. Failing to get a sim card at the airport one can try to get it at some of the Telkomsel's shop, click here for Bali shops locations and click here for Sumba shop locations.
It is possible to get these Tourist prepaid simcard on-line, but registration of passport & IMEIs are still required and one will have to select an official pick-up point, which are only available in the Bali and Mandalika Lombok areas.
Most hotels, motels, home-stays, restaurants, and airports have free Wifi; but do note that public free wifi may not be secure and registration could be required. But one can safe on one's mobile data by using these especially for uploading or downloading videos.
8. Communicating with Locals
As Bali, is a favorite tourist destinations, many locals speak fairly good English. At the smaller towns, locals speak some rudimentary English. The older generation speak very little English, so knowing some basic Bahasa Indonesia (or even better - Balinese language) will come in handy and also warm one up to the locals.
9. Getting Around
We were in a recce tour group and paid MYR1,700 per pax for ground arrangements that include hotels, breakfast and van transportation, other meals & tips for guides and drivers not include - all in cost came to around MYR4,000 including some minimum shopping. They were 13 of us including the two tour guides. At Bali, a large 15-seater van with driver took us around. Those interested in joining the guided tour can contact Nik at +6017-4881917. Those who are keen to have their own free and easy tour, contact Bali van driver Made at +6281-5580-02922.
If planning for one's own; Bali has a wide range of accommodations, ranging from six-stars hotels, to homestays and even back-packers' hostels. If one is not fussy, cheap accommodations can be found on Bali, for as low as at 170k Rupiahs per twin-sharing room per night in Kuta; click here for range of hotels in Bali.
8. Places & Things of Interests
There were many scenic and interesting places of interest; but one should not miss the following (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for directional map to the respective places):
- The Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue (Website Link)(GPS: -8.81042, 115.16759) at the GWK Cultural Park.
- Satria Gatotkaca Statue at the Satria Gatotkaca Park (GPS: -8.74438, 115.17886) situated at the road exit of Bali (Ngurah Rai) Airport.
- Statue of Lord Ganesha at the airport arrival waiting area of Bali (Ngurah Rai) Airport.(GPS: -8.74197, 115.16633)
- Baruna (Varuna) Statue (GPS: -8.73719, 115.16727) at south Kuta.
9. Food
Breakfast: Mixed Malaysian & Western fare at KLIA2 Premium Lounge (GPS: 2.74440, 101.68491). This lounge is opened to credit card-holders of participating banks.
Lunch: Bebek Tepi Sawah (website link) (GPS: -8.74175, 115.17927) in Tuban, Kuta - Bebek Betutu, Gurame Pangan, & Gado-gado with white rice.
Dinner: Bhuana Agung Restaurant (GPS: -8.36924, 115.13002) in Jatiluwih - Assam pedas chicken, Sweet-sour Gourami Nyat-nyat, Stir-fried mixed veggie, Buttered prawn & Fish ball soup.
After dinner Bali coffee & beer at The Gafel Okokan Jatiluwih, (GPS: -8.36987, 115.13056) (they serve dinner here too) in Jatiluwih they also serve very good dinner dishes.
10. Accommodations
Our stay for the night was at the Bhuana Agung (GPS: -8.36939, 115.12985) at Jatiluwih. Cost was included in our tour package; online booking is at MYR112 (USD24) per deluxe double-bed room per night.
11. Navigation
I used MapMyRide to track our routes and stops. Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook or Google Maps.
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PRELUDE
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| Brompton cyclists at Puri Saren Agung (Ubud Royal Palace). |
I had taken a 6-day road trip to Hat Yai - the first time out of the country for me. Although costs had gone up we had a wild and WET time celebrating Songkran in Danok & Hat Yai. And now with this Bali-Sumba tour, it will be my first time flying out of the country! Talk about a frog under the coconut shell (i.e. Malay idiom: "Katak di bawa tempurung")!
The last time I was in Bali was in late 2018 when a big group of us were invited for a 3-day Bali cycling event by BOB (Brompton Owners Bali), and now we are back on a road trip but will be heading to a different part of the island!
YAHOO!
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THE TRIP
After arriving in Bali, we hopped onto a 15-seater van and headed north towards Jatiluwih. En-route we made a visit to the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan. Although I have been to Bali several times, this is the first time I am heading for Northern Bali and I found the weather up in the hills to be pleasantly cool.
Most of us held to credit card-holders of participating banks that allowed us to use the KLIA2 Premium Lounge (GPS: 2.74440, 101.68491). They have a wide range of mixed Malaysian & Western fare, so do take advantage of this and apply for credit cards from these participating banks (subject to conditions) 😋😋😋.
Here too, at departures, we met the rest of the tour group: Yong (the trip handler), Nik (the tour assistant and planner), Goh, Bala, Eddie, Angie, PN, Fern, Anneh, Milly, & Mei. Together with my missus, BL and me we made a group of 13. More than half the group had joined YonGo Travel other tours. BL & me were virgins to this type of back-packing tour. Knowing that we are not as fit as our hiking/back-packing buddies, we're keeping fingers crossed, praying that we will not be left to far behind! (More stories on this later 😅)
But we had a secret weapon!
Our Age!
Unlike previous visits, there was no counter of senior citizens, but I asked a passing officer if there there is a priority counter for seniors above 60 and he directed us to the counters for airline crew and family with children. Phew!
Exiting Immigration and clearing Customs breezily, this cheerful Balinese lady greeted us and promised a wonderful time ahead. She is dressed in a traditional costume of a Balinese Legong Dancer.
Exiting Immigration and clearing Customs breezily, this cheerful Balinese lady greeted us and promised a wonderful time ahead. She is dressed in a traditional costume of a Balinese Legong Dancer.
Hmmmmm, seems like there're more girls than guys in the group, which just goes to show that ...... "Girls wanna have fun" too!
Our driver, Gustoz was glad to see this eager bunch of ours and was anxious to show us his lovely island ..... but first order of business ..... OUR TUMMIES!
With a quick 5-minute drive and we were at the Bebek Tepi Sawah Tuban outlet.
Bebek Betutu, Gurame Pangan, & Gado-gado with white rice. Of course, here one must not miss the bebek (duck) which was very nice with tender meat and just the right duckie aroma. For me, I always have gado-gado. Although gado-gado is available in Malaysia, I like the Indonesian version better, finding their peanut sauce having just the right sweetness and good hint of sour flavour.
The temple is opened from 7am to 7pm; entrance fee is IDR50k (USD3-50/MYR15-50) per pax.
The flowers were not the only thing that greeted us, a couple of beautiful Balinese Dancers statues were there to welcome us too. It's great, how the Balinese have ingrained their religion and culture into their daily lives.
The Balinese people follow a form of Hinduism known as Agama Hindu Dharma. Balinese culture and traditions religion impact almost every aspect of life on the island and draw people to Bali to see and experience it. An important belief of Balinese Hinduism is that elements of mother nature are influenced by spirit. To know Balinese culture and traditions intimately requires an understanding of the philosophy of Tri Hita Karana “Three Causes of Goodness”, which is the origin of the Balinese belief system. It is centered on maintaining a harmonious relationship with God, people and nature. Once aware, this becomes easily identifiable in the Balinese way of life, architecture, agriculture and tradition. It is believed that the wisdom of living true to these elements brings about prosperity and harmony.
Other than the main temple, there are other buildings with the unique Balinese architecture. I always like the roof with its straw-like thatch material. This alang-alang thatch roof is made from the leaves of the alang-alang grass (cogongrass), which grows in abundance in Bali. The grass is harvested and then woven into long strips, which are then laid over a wooden frame to create a roof. The thatch is thick and durable, able to withstand Bali's humid climate and heavy rainfall.
These foxy-like mammals, locally called musang, it eats coffee beans, their tummies "process" the beans and pass them out in their dung. The dung is then cleaned to collect the beans which are used to make the renown and expensive "Kopi Luwak". I have tried kopi luwak several times before but find them to have a bit of a sourish after-taste. After this latest tour, I found that I like Balinese coffee better.
Some nice art was seen at the hotel/restaurant, what can I say, I love Balinese art!
It was a busy first day and our adventure has just begun!
CHEERS!
and
RAHJENG WENGI .....
This is page 1 of a 8-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
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