Uluwatu Temple - The Sea Temple on the Cliff @ Bali [Indonesia]

Just like Bangkok, a first-time visitor to Bali would likely want to visit the numerous signature temples on the Indonesian island; i was no exception despite knowing nothing about them.

Today, i am going to touch on one of Bali's six key temples; Uluwatu Temple. Although not as famous as Tanah Lot, the scenery there was breathtaking! Shall show you more pictures shortly.

Do remember to buy your tickets from the counter; 30,000 rupiahs for each adult and 20,000 rupiahs for each child. Notice that blue signboard at the side? I didn't read then as i thought it wasn't in English! Turned out point 2 was in English and was a reminder for visitors to remove glasses, earrings, hats and caps. Why? 

To guard them against the troop of thieving monkeys in the temple! There was another reminder right at the counter about the monkeys and other do's and dont's; to my face some more! That's the reason why i don't agree on too many notices and signages; people like me would just disregard them. 

See, yet another one! 

Entering the temple compound, which was huge by the way. Those wearing shorts, even the men, would be requested to hide their hairy legs using the sarongs that were available for free usage at the ticketing counter.

Weather wasn't hot and it's quite relaxing to walk along the wide, stone path that's flanked by trees. p.s. i am venturing in alone as my tour mates had an urgent need to use the washrooms. 

At the end of the path was a large open-air courtyard with option to go either left or right. 

Since i can see a lot more visitors on my left and there was that beautiful walkway bordering the cliff, i thought turning left would be a better choice. Nevertheless, i can check it out first and explore the right upon the arrival of my tour mates.

Pretty right?

The "strictly prohibited" sign. Knowing how adventurous some people can be (especially with the allure of attracting more likes on instagram), i can bet with you that the second rule would be constantly flouted.  

Well, i presume the temple would be way higher as it would have made better sense; whether visually and religiously. However, i didn't seem to see any Balinese temple architecture on top...

Once i walked further, i can finally catch a peek of what appeared to be a fragment of the Balinese temple architecture; the three-tier roof of a structure that's right at the top of the cliff. 

A closer look of the structure that's perched on top of the approximately 70-meter cliff! 

Met up with my travel maters again and we decided to go to the right side of the courtyard. As weather was pretty good, the agreement was to explore the left side later on. 

Climbing up the long flight of stairs! 

Right at the end of the stairs was a gated compound with bold words loudly declaring that entry would be limited to worshipers only! That's really quite a bummer since there's an admission fee that we had paid for.

However, i can understand the frustration if i am the local and have to face the cameras-touting, noisy tourists when all i want is to pray in peacefulness. 

So, i did to the best of my ability; a shot of the temple compound through the gates. Just a basic information on the temple - it was estimated to be built more than a thousand years ago with expansion throughout the years! 

Those wanting a close-up shot can do so with the above that's near to the temple and open to the public. I am wondering; the material used for the roof was coconut husk? Can't be animal hair right?

Decided to take another route to descend from the cliff and got into a single-storey building that opened up to the amazing view to the side of the cliff. That guy relaxing by the "window" had taken a great spot to check his phone! 

So many people were taking their own sweet time to capture the view behind them! Can't blame them for being so inconsiderate as i might have done the same thing.

Here's Alex with the landscape behind him!

Wasn't it stunning!? A thought ran through my mind; should anyone survive a fall down the cliff, how would he be able to get back up? The waves were so strong and there wasn't a path / stair going down to the bottom of the cliff.

Putting my foot here would be my limit as i have a fear for height and i doubt i can survive the fall. As you get older, you tend to get apprehensive about doing things with a likelihood to threaten your life; not because i am afraid of death. I am just fearful of the situation that i don't die and have to suffer for a prolonged period of time. 

Not sure what the sign means; guess it's related to rubbish?

Knowing myself, i would definitely want to trek all the way to the end of the path but i am not just travelling with Alex (whom i can bully into accompanying me). I had to consider the rest of my travel mates too.

Surprisingly, they were enthusiastic and to be totally honest, much more motivating than Alex whose main aim at overseas destination was to sleep in the hotel. =_=

Temple structure at the edge of the cliff; i took like dozens of similar photographs and would select a few to be published in this post. 

The undulating terrain. 

It had already started drizzling at this point and this had resulted in raindrops on my lens that i didn't realize until later! Hence, do excuse me for the quality of the photographs which, to be honest, wasn't too bad as it added a different layer of beauty to the place.

A few jutting-out platforms provided opportunities for more photo-taking for your narcissistic selves. Selfie sticks were not banned, unlike drones! 

Strong, strong waves! 

Ocean in front of us, with nothing in the horizon! Quite a relaxing view, especially when the wind was blowing into our faces. If i were the king, i would likely build a palace here. 

Since i am no king, i shall be satisfied with just the sheltered pavilion ahead of us. In actual fact, we needed a roof over our head as the rain drops appeared bigger at this point! 

Way we had walked so far.

Reaching the end of the path - we reached at about 3.00 pm but i would have recommended visitors to visit the place at around sunset as the entire stretch of the cliff faces the west. Pity the period we went Bali was plagued with rather rainy weather and sunset wasn't available through the three nights we were there. 

The end. Nope, not yet the end of this post though! Anyway, did you spot the numerous creatures in the picture? It's the same animal that i wrote of earlier in this post.

Monkeys although their real official office would be long-tailed macaques! Common even in Singapore, the ones here were of a different nature. Check out this post for more information on my encounter with them. 

Photographs showing the entire stretch of cliff leading to the temple and the temple itself. Wondering why i don't have many panoramas? Have a feel and would append them towards the end of this post.

On our way back as the rain showed no sign of stopping and we wanted to prevent a situation of getting stuck there for an indefinite period of time!

Not to mention as well that we didn't have raincoat and only one travel mate remembered to carry an umbrella! Tsk tsk, i should drill into my 37-year old brain that i must remember to have one small brolly in my bag whenever i travel. 

Imagine your back lying on the metal fence and it gave way! 

A scary thought for an over-imaginative mind. 

Last photograph of the iconic temple structure.

Took another side route and chanced upon the above. For a moment, i thought monkeys were highly regarded to have a monument built for them. 

Upon a closer look did i realize that the statue on top appeared to be fighting the monkeys. Looked like a person who had his stuff stolen by the thieving monkeys of Uluwatu! 

Heavy rain started pelting halfway through and i ran all the way to the ticketing counter where i returned my purple sarong! You know what's the funny thing? In my haste for shelter, I slipped and fell on the tiled flooring! So embarrassing! 

Panoramas, as promised, taken by my iPhone.

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Location

Jl. Raya Uluwatu, Southern part of Bali,

Pecatu 80361, Indonesia 

Admission Fees

Adult - 30,000 rupiahs

Child - 20,000 rupiahs

For a summary on what i did in Bali for that four days, three nights, click here! 

My First Hokkaido Ice Cream @ Shikisai-no-oka (四季彩の丘) in Where Else But Hokkaido [Japan]

Almost every friend who returned from Hokkaido told me that the most impressionable food is the ice cream and they have reminded me numerous times that i must try it when i am there.

I didn't forget the advice (not with the constant reminders) and got my hands on one at the flower field; Shikisai-no-oka (四季彩の丘).

In my excitement, i didn't even bother checking out the available varieties and immediately pointed towards the picture (above) at the cashier counter since it comprised of both ice cream and Hokkaido's famous rock melon! 

At 500 yen (about S$6), there was no regret as the Hokkaido ice cream was insanely creamy with an intense milkiness that was to die-for! The cantaloupe was sweet, unlike some cases in Singapore where you need the sweetness of the ice cream to cover the blandness of the fruit. 

Alex was so impressed; he got a vanilla soft serve at 300 yen! Obviously, we didn't regret the choice and happily indulged in the ice cream as we explored the farm. Almost got another one before we left but the machine had already closed for cleaning! 

Menu as appended above should you drop by Shikisai-no-oka (四季彩の丘). Because of this first taste of Hokkaido ice cream, i had one almost every day when i was there! 

Do check out my summarized 8 days, 7 nights itinerary to Hokkaido in summer (including a few days of self-drive); click here!

Beware of the Thieving Monkeys @ Uluwatu Temple [Bali]

There's an infamous monkey forest in Ubud, Bali and although i didn't get to visit it, i bet visitors can still get a preview by checking out Uluwatu temple, specifically the end of the long trail in the above photograph.

Honestly, i didn't feel that there were a lot of long-tailed macaques and thought the number was much higher along devil's bend in Singapore. However, unlike the peace-loving monkeys we get in Singapore, the ones in Bali have a different attitude. 

Despite their supposed bored, nonchalant expression, they have the tendency to snatch / steal whatever they fancy; to the extent that a local actually forewarned me before my arrival. Why me? 

Because the monkeys there love spectacles! That's not my glasses, by the way. They were not afraid of strangers; likely the result of humans giving food freely to them. That's why in Singapore, there's a hefty fine if you were found to feed the monkeys in the nature reserve.

In mere seconds, a bag of food appeared from nowhere and the naughty monkey appeared to deliberate if he should forgo one for the other; or to keep both! Being opportunistic, taking both would be the preferred option. 

I don't understand their wide-eyed fascination for glasses! Not as if they were attempting to put them on their nose! I was just thankful it wasn't mine as i couldn't do without my spectacles!

Breathtaking view of the Uluwatu temple in the background.

The gentleman who lost his glasses to the monkey was lucky for two reasons; (1) someone threw the macaque a piece of fruit and it released the spectacles in its haste to catch it. (2) the pair of glasses almost fell down the cliff! 

So rule of thumb - be careful of your belongings when you visit Uluwatu Temple and guard yourself against the thieving long tailed macaques! 

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To know what i did on my 4-day, 3-night Bali trip, click here.

Store Your Bulky Baggage While Transiting at Suvarnabhumi Airport for Over 12 Hours @ Bangkok [Thailand]

I got an extremely good deal for my air plane ticket to Hokkaido but there's a catch; i had to transit at Bangkok which wasn't that bad of an idea since i utterly missed the unassuming omelette rice at Pier 21!

Hence, i intentionally scheduled the departing flight to Singapore roughly 18 hours after our arrival in Bangkok so that we can stay a night for food indulgence with a session of traditional Thai massage at Urban Retreat!

The key consideration for the above plan to materialize was our luggage which was expected to be massive, considering it's our first trip to Japan and there were likely tons to buy! As you can see from the photograph, i didn't exaggerate. 

There's no way i would lug the luggage over to our hotel in downtown Bangkok and that's when the baggage service at Suvarnabhumi Airport came into play!

It's not free but i am more than happy to pay a token sum to store the larger pieces of luggage so that my hands would be free to take the crowded airport rail link! As you can see, the rates were based on the size of the luggage and if i recall correctly, we paid 360 baht (about S$15) for two medium and one small.

Of course, there were terms and conditions with regard to the storage and as any seasoned traveller would tell you, don't keep your valuables in those storage; just to play safe. Procedures for storing and retrieval were pretty straightforward and for more information on the baggage service in the airport, click here! 

My First Airbnb Experience @ Furano [Hokkaido, Japan]

I was contemplating the tone i should set to talk about my virgin experience staying in an airbnb at Hokkaido and thought it's better to start with the conclusion: "I hate it!"

Now that it's out of my mouth, let me clarify that the problem might be myself as our two seasoned travel mates didn't see a problem whereas pampered me appeared to have been too accustomed to hotel accommodations all this while.

As you are probably aware, airbnb is homestay for travellers and would do well for people looking for a place with kitchen and feels like, well, home. Before my trip, i was already notified that i have to bring my own towel which honestly wasn't too much of a problem; i could take an old towel and then discard it the next day.

However, it was more than just the towel and i could easily blame my inexperience with airbnb. For one, check-in was at 4 pm and check-out was at 10 am. No friendly receptionist to answer your millions of questions and in my case, no lift to bring you to the second floor where the rooms were and the staircase was narrow and steep. 

Official floor plan for the second floor with four bedrooms; in total housing more than ten guests. Not exactly a conducive environment if all the bedrooms were to be taken. Why did i say so? To be continued in the next paragraph.

There's only one bathroom! Yes, only one bathroom and coming from a hot and humid country, we tend to have baths / showers twice a day and it didn't help that summer in Hokkaido can be pretty hot in the daytime. To minimize conflicts, the arrangement was to write down our preferred timings for showers / baths on a clipboard and every guest had to adhere to the self-imposed schedule. 

I am so grateful that it wasn't full house for that one night stay at the airbnb and it's not the same situation for the toilets and the wash-up areas; there were a total of two toilet bowls and three vanity sinks. 

Two vanity sinks and one toilet bowl was on the second floor (yes, technically to be shared among the more than ten of us in full airbnb capacity should anyone be too chicken to go down to the ground floor at night). 

Next issue - there was supposed to be a heater mechanism for the water and we couldn't get it to run warm / hot water! Unlike a hotel where you can dial 0 for receptionist, there's no such option in an airbnb. However, we have the contact number of the host and it's still just a phone call away.

Turned out we just need to punch the knob shown in the photograph before the above and the gas would heat up the fire to warm your water! Interesting yet frightening at the same time.

My mouth and face can do without heated water to brush my teeth and wash my face but my body can't survive with showering in cold water, especially when Hokkaido's nights can still be chilly in summer! A phone call this time to the host didn't help and we had no choice but to wait for him to return from his work before we lined up to shower. 

Have you slept in a Japanese futon before? It's my first time and i frankly didn't know what to make of the folded mattress with blanket and pillow. 

I am accustomed to sleeping on a seahorse folded mattress back at my parents' place and it didn't take me long to unfurl the items for a badly needed sleep. Pillow was too soft for my liking too and i woke up the next morning with a bad neck-ache. 

Unlike a hotel, you have to make your own bed in an air-bnb; so go ahead and fold up that futon nicely! According to our travel mates, the host can review the guests as well and most guests would do their best to tidy up the house before they leave! To be truthful, i will gladly pay the differential for a hotel so that i can leave the tidying to the housekeepers and give myself more time to explore the country. 

Having ranted about the bad things, let's now talk about the advantages in staying at this airbnb; it's a typical Japanese dwelling with tatami mats and sliding wooden doors. No locks by the way.

You can squeeze in a number of guests with futons and you can't fight the price advantage that airbnb often have over hotels; i heard it's typically the fact in Japan where hotels can be insanely expensive in areas like Furano. 

Don't you just love the Japanese style ceiling light with a hanging power cord? 

The common living cum kitchen area (where the sole bathroom was located) was decently sized with seats available for more than ten persons to TV together! p.s. no provision of television in the room, which wasn't an issue for me. 

Samurai swords on display! 

You can basically cook your own meal if you want (and dare in case it's as difficult to operate the stove as it was with the water heater) and this kind of reminded me of my accommodation in Jeju; Galeum Guesthouse where my sister made french toast for breakfast! 

Bowls, plates, mugs and cutlery were placed in this wooden cabinet. 

Do remember to separate your rubbish according to what's labelled; it can be confusing at first but after a while, we got the hang of the classifications and it became a breeze in the next few days in Hokkaido.

Yes, WiFi was provided and you do have the option to wash your dirty laundry and make use of the dryer, for free!  

Didn't quite matter for some of us as it was our first day in Hokkaido and the long hours spent on the plane and driving meant we were totally shagged out by the time we arrived at the airbnb. p.s. i still remain convinced that i would choose a hotel over an airbnb in the future.  

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You may check out my summarized 8-day, 7-night itinerary to Hokkaido in summer (including a few days of self-drive); click here for the information!