Far East Texans: Bali Edition

Thankfully it was a short flight from KL to Bali.  The airport is located near the town of Jimbaran, a 2 hour drive from our hotel. Ram prepared me in advance that it would be a drive so I couldn't complain, haha. As we were approaching immigration, I noticed that the lines kept growing and growing. The wait was about 2-3 hours. But instead of stopping there, Ram kept walking. Apparently he hired a government employee to take care of our visa so we wouldn't have to wait in the line with the rest of those fools people (surprise no. 3). Within 15 minutes we were out. I was SO thankful. If I had to wait in that line for 3 hours and then drive another 2 to get to our hotel, I would be one cranky mama.

Our driver met us outside and it took a few minutes for me to register that we were staying at the Four Seasons Resort in Sayan (surprise no. 4), a 10 minute drive from Ubud. Four Seasons? FOUR SEASONS?! I couldn't believe it. It was red carpet service all the way. We even had free wi-fi in our car:) But Ram assured me the best part was yet to come. In my head I was thinking how could it get better than this? After check in we were escorted to our villa. A private villa in the jungle. A private villa, in the jungle, with our own pool, overlooking Bali's longest river (surprise no. 5). It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe this was our home for the next 4 days.

Entrance to Four Seasons Sayan

Our own lily pond

Oh and for all you Eat, Pray, Love movie fans. Julia Roberts stayed at this same location in Villa No. 12 (a few villas down from us) while filming the movie. The staff let us look at the 3 bedroom, 2 story villa. I was thrilled! I need to see that movie again asap...

That night we had dinner at the hotel restaurant which was terraced in the jungle. Our first full day Ram booked a driver to take us around. Like KL, Bali is very spread out, and so are the sights. So we had to pick and choose. We went to visit some of the famous temples that were about an hour away from our hotel. We also saw some beautiful rice paddies. We didn't get a chance to the see the volcano or the temple that's in the middle of the ocean because of time and distance, but we hope to be able to go back one day. After a strenuous day of sight seeing, we had an evening massage scheduled (surprise no. 5).

He had to wear a sarong because he was wearing shorts. Tsk Tsk.

People come here to cleanse themselves on the New Year. But it's popular year round.

Rice paddies. Felt like a scene from Tropic Thunder:)

The next day Ram scheduled a cooking class with the hotel's sou chef (surprise no. 6).  In the morning we went to the market in Ubud. The market opens at 4:30am everyday. People go to the market before they go to work to purchase what they need for the day. In Bali, people eat the same dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Locals don't have refrigerators, microwaves, or electric stoves (they use fire to cook). After the market we headed back to the hotel to get started. I can't wait to attempt these dishes again!

Cock fighting very much alive in Bali:( 

This paste is used for many Balinese dishes, so glad we know the ingredients!

Making beef satay

We were rewarded with lunch in a private hut overlooking a rice paddy

Ta Da! 

The resort offered many different things aside from the cooking class. They had yoga, cycling, batik painting, garden tour, and karma cleansing to name a few. It was too hot to do yoga, so I really wanted to do karma cleansing. Turned out the priest was unavailable:( So we decided on the garden tour. We figured it would be easy enough, but it turned out to be a mini-hike! We walked through rice paddies and ended up in a local neighborhood. It was really cool to see how the locals live. Traditionally, the son and his wife stay with his family in a compound. A compound typically has two to three houses. Every compound has their own temple. When there is a wedding, they decorate the house and temple and the newlyweds are required to sleep on an outdoor bed (no privacy on their wedding night!).

Entrance to a compound

Their temple

House 1 (left); House 2 (right)

Outdoor wedding bed

On our final day, we decided to get out of the jungle and see the beach.  So we drove 2 hours to the other Four Seasons resort in Jimbaran. Even though the beach views were gorgeous I'm glad we did something different and stayed in the jungle. On the way back we stopped off at a famous art gallery and snagged a nice oil painting. Can't wait to get it framed and on display in our living room!

Overall I really liked the vibe in Bali. The look and feel of the city reminded me of India, except you don't get slapped in the face with poverty. Again Indonesia is mainly Muslim, but Bali was definitely Hindu. I loved seeing temples sprinkled all over town and encountering people that were genuinely happy and spiritual. We loved seeing greenery again. Definitely something you miss when you live in the desert. And I became a fan of mangosteens, their local fruit. My one and only complaint would be the lack of air conditioning in public areas. I would say 90% of all the places were open air with fans as coolants. All the restaurants, shops, etc. we visited were out in the open. Even the airport had no air conditioning, which was very uncomfortable in the 90 degree weather. I don't know how the locals survive but I guess that's how they acclimate to the heat.

To see our full album, click here. Next stop, Singapore!

Far East Texans: Kuala Lumpur Edition

I can't believe it's been a month since my last blog. The last few weeks leading up to our baby moon were my worst. I was constantly nauseous and all I wanted to do was sleep. I was beginning to worry about the timing of the baby moon. But I was determined to enjoy every bit of the trip no matter what.   Ram had been very good about keeping everything a secret, so I was ready to discover all the surprises!

On May 15 we took off and arrived in Kuala Lumpur 7 hours later. We were greeted by a driver from the Shangri-La Hotel (surprise no. 1). The minute we arrived and the car door opened, a mob of people came towards us welcoming us by name and congratulating us with a bouquet of roses. I felt like a celebrity! They automatically upgraded our room to a suite upon arrival because I was pregnant. Talk about service! ••WARNING: I'm about to start my 5th month so I definitely look pregnant since the last time you saw my food belly. Can't believe we're almost half-way through!••

Welcome Wagon!

Our hotel was located in the city centre, so there was plenty to see within walking distance. Unfortunately the forecast was hot and rainy for our entire stay (a common theme for all the cities we visited), but that wasn't going to stop us. Later that afternoon we were scheduled for a massage (surprise no. 2) but it was in a different hotel. So we walked in that general area and came across a mall, so we popped in for a bit. Then massage time came and Ram led me to the exit and right across the street was the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. That's where he booked me with a certified prenatal massage therapist (hard to find one on this side of the world). I was in heaven.

After the massage, we walked back to our hotel.  Just in time for happy hour. The hotel has a club lounge that offers complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, and happy hour daily. It was perfect timing since I was in need of a snack, and Ram a drink:)

My happy hour...

...Ram's happy hour

That evening we walked to a nearby thai restaurant and had our first taste of yummy asian food. In the surrounding area there were plenty of fun bars that were in huts but it seemed too hectic for us, so we passed. I don't mind going to a bar, but I won't go if it's too crowded, too much potential for accidents. These days I'm like mama bear, don't get too close to my stomach or else!!!  

The next day Ram arranged for a private tour with a driver. It was raining heavily in the morning, but luckily by the time we arrived at our first destination, the rain stopped. Unfortunately for us, the rain didn't cool the city down. It was as hot and humid as ever. We drove about an hour to reach the Batu Caves. The Batu Caves is a limestone hill that houses a series of temples. Though Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, KL was definitely Hindu.  I was hesitant at first to take the 272 steep climb up, but Ram assured me he would walk with me slowly and we could take as many breaks as needed. As we got closer to the steps we started to see the monkeys. Ram assured me that as long as we didn't mess with them, they won't mess with us. After a few false starts, I decided to keep my head down and focus on the climb. And I'm glad I did:

Monkeys were all over the railings and steps

Entrance to Batu Caves

Next we went to Monkey Hill. A place specifically to feed and watch the silver leaf monkeys common to the region. I kept my distance but Ram dove right in and fed the cuties.

Afterwards, we drove another 45 minutes to another part of town where we could take a boat ride to see the fireflies. Since you can only see the fireflies in the dark, we had some time to kill. Our driver took us to a chinese restaurant on the harbour. We had some of the best chinese food ever here. Then off we went on the boat to see the fireflies. It took 20 minutes to get out there and what a sight! It looked like Christmas all over! The fireflies shone bright white (weird, I thought they would be yellow) and lit up all the trees. It was impossible to capture, as you can see. It was a very cool experience despite the fact that people kept trying to catch and "play" with them, which was not cool.

Attempt to capture fireflies. FAIL.

On our third and final day in KL we decided to check out Little India and China town. It was cool to see the markets there. I loved how both areas blasted music like it was a block party:) We spent our final night at Sky Bar where we could view the Twin Towers. The towers are twin sky scrapers and were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998-2004.

Little India

China Town

Twin Towers view from Sky Bar

KL was a great initiation into the far east. The city is huge and widespread like Houston, which made sight seeing a little time consuming, but it was worth it. Here's the link to the entire album if you want to take a look: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZN2rNo3bt2FA

Next stop, Bali!