One Day, One Lifetime

2 October 2016, a day eleven months in the making.

First, let’s do a quick recap and review of the vendors:

1. Gowns – Blessed Brides
   • 
   • 
   • Rather pricey but a good selection of gowns with varied designs.
2. Suits – Fashion Tailors Menswear
   • J tailored his suit and rented 2 tuxedos, pretty affordable and friendly (but fashionable) bunch of uncles who look like they’ve worked there their entire lives. Jimmy has worked with Mr Goh Chok Tong and a handful of other Cabinet people, so you can trust the quality of their suits!
3. Flowers (Car deco, corsages) – Sweet as Cosmos (from Carousell)
   • Decided to go with her instead of One Olive (tie in with Blessed Brides) because it was much more affordable
4. Bridal bouquet – JM Flowers
   • 
   • JM is at Thomson, not the main stretch but the road behind.
   • They do bridal bouquets too, just show them pictures of what you’re looking for and they can quote you a price. Seasonal flowers like peonies will cost much more.
5. Posies for bridesmaids – Fresh cut flowers from JM Flowers, hand wrapped by us!
   • Wide selection of fresh cut flowers at a reasonable price
   • If you’re attempting to wrap your own bouquets, make sure you have all the necessary tools, tape and ribbons. Will make your life so much easier.
6. Bridal make up – Makeup by K.Lin
   • 
   • Very friendly MUA who specialises in natural make up looks by enhancing your own features so you’ll still look like yourself!
7. Actual day photography – Daniel Beh
   • Award winning photographer, need I say more? Can’t wait to get the photos!
8. Actual day videographer – Ichiro Films
   • The videographer we got was Lance, funny guy who has lots of ideas. We really loved the express highlights video! Can’t wait to see the rest!
9. Photo Booth – CHIO Photobooth
   • 
   • Reasonably priced (also my secondary school senior) photo booth with live projection of the images to the ballroom screen. I think the guests got a laugh seeing their comic photos projected on a 3-storey screen.
10. Pre-wedding photoshoot – 太郎花子
    • Awesome, awesome studio. Loved all the photos and best of all, they’re cheap, compared to Singapore’s bridal studios. Like dirt cheap. Our photoshoot (including shipping fees for the albums and framed pictures) probably cost us less than S$1,700.
11. Bridesmaids’ dresses – Her Velvet Vase
    • I wanted something wearable – no garish flowers or in neon colours that they’d just chuck the dresses at the back of their closets after that day.
    • So I picked a lace dress in jade green, mid-length and with sleeves. I think they all looked fab in the dresses!
12. Venue – South Beach
    • Beautiful, beautiful ballroom. I think our guests will remember the ballroom for a long time to come!
13. Rings – Tiffany & Co.
    • His: Tiffany Notes ‘I Love You’ in Platinum
    • Hers: Shared Setting Band, 3mm

To be honest, the whole day was a blur and I seriously cannot remember much of what happened that day and night.

What I do remember is that I forgot to take solo shots with my parents and several other people. 😦

Other than that, I think the day went pretty well, I don’t recall any glitches (at least none that were unplanned) and I *think* everyone enjoyed themselves. Except of course, my bridesmaids who worked so hard that day and two of them who stayed over the night before to help out. FTL, LOL.

I’m actually glad that I gave up the idea of DIY-ing my bridal bouquet the night before because I was so tired??

After going through all that, my take-away lessons are: 1. manage your expectations 2. your guests won’t know 3. this is just one day of a lifetime with your husband.

When you put all that into perspective then you’ll realise what is really important.

Of course, I must thank my husband (gawd, I need to get used to using that term) for letting me have free reins over the event, which basically means that I had the honour of taking care of all the little details while he took care of the bigger ones. Like footing the bill. LOL. Oh, and alcohol.

We’re just really, really glad we got that out of the way!

No, really. I was so stressed I had nightmares every other night and was so irritable that I took it out on J. I mean, the tiniest things could set me off and I’ll be brooding for the whole day.

I felt so miserable and kept thinking why did I even bother having this dinner, I started having abandonment thoughts. Like, screw this dinner, let’s just elope.

So brides, please don’t put too much (unnecessary) stress on yourself and your future husband and really, just enjoy the process. Easy for me to say now that it’s over.

I’m looking forward to the photos and will update when I have them!

Till then, tata!

 

 

 

Review: Rent A Dress

So the concept is simple, you go on to their website, select a dress you like that’s in your size and you check out to rent it.

It’s quite a brilliant concept really, why pay a couple of hundred dollars or thousands of dollars for a dress that you’re probably going to just wear once and then let it sit in the abyss of your wardrobe?

I’ve been eyeing this two piece for the longest time, since I saw it while hunting for bridesmaids and mother-of-the-bride dresses but I didn’t have any excuses to rent it!

The excuse opportunity (to spend money) presented itself when my husband (omg, still getting used to this term) told me that we had to attend a dinner this weekend (tonight, actually).

*HAPPY FACE*

This two piece appealed to me because 1. I am a sucker for high waisted anything, 2. it is not too revealing and 3. it doesn’t make me look old!

I’m digressing – I logged in here (after many years of neglect) for a reason!

Ok, so it was a UK6 and I wasn’t too sure if I could fit, so naturally I opted for the Try On option! $10 try on fee and $10 courier fee, so that’s $20 right?

I would like to highlight that the lady who was liaising with me was very nice and patient, so this is really not a ranting about bad service post. There was some confusion during the enquiries, first they said the dress was available then they said it wasn’t then they said they’ll call me but they didn’t, then they eventually did.

Long story short, the two piece was delivered to me at 11am this morning, way ahead of the scheduled time of 2pm. Bonus points for that.

I tried it on excitedly and IT FITS! YAY! I texted the lady and told her that ok, I’ll take it!

So this is where I say what I came here to say.

I realised that I had to pay the full rental of $80 + $10 courier fee on top of the $10 try on fee + $10 courier fee, total outlay = $110! What? After some quick calculations, it became clear to me that this rental thingy is not as cheap as I thought! Dang.

I texted the lady again and (very shamelessly) asked if there were any promo codes for first timers (nope, don’t have) and if the $10 try on fee can be offset from the rental (nope, cannot). Which I must say is not too unreasonable right? I mean, I paid $10 to try it on and it fits, I want to rent it, but wait, I have to pay the full rental price?

Doesn’t make sense at all!

I told her what I thought and I asked a friend who has tried their services before – she got the offset and a first timer discount! No fair!

I must say though the lady was still very nice and patient, and after discussing with her colleague, we came to an agreeable arrangement.

My beef with this whole episode was:

1. Why do I have to pay for the $10 courier fee again if the dress is already with me (for the try on option)? This is borderline shady business, man. If I hadn’t shamelessly asked about it, I’d have stupidly paid for it, which I’m sure some people have.
2. Personally, I feel that offsetting the $10 try on fee from the rental is a small price to pay to encourage your customers (especially those sitting on the fence) to actually rent the dress! It builds goodwill since people will be more willing to try dresses and therefore higher chances of renting something!
3. WHY NO FIRST TIMER DISCOUNT! Most e-commerce shops offer some kind of first timer discount to encourage sales, unless of course Rent A Dress is so confident of its business model or has a large customer base/regulars, IDK, that it doesn’t see the need to do this sort of marketing?

This business model is slowly gaining traction and we’re seeing more and more of such rental dress companies popping up, like Stylelease and Covetella.

So who knows, more competition = more promotions for us consumers?

Disclaimer: This is not a complaint post – I’m happy with the dress I booked and the lady I was liaising with was very nice and accommodating towards my shameless attempts at getting a reduction in the rental fee. She offered me an inch and I accepted it, so no hard feelings. Just some honest opinions that’s all.

 

RAGE!

On the verge of exploding over a chain of emails between Pet*pia and me.

So I had this MISFORTUNE of purchasing a deal for dog grooming with free oxygen spa and some microbubble shit that is supposed to be good for their skin. Jenny had previously strongly recommended me to them because apparently the spa really works – they’d itch lesser and smell good for a longer period of time.

Then I had this issue with their Facebook sharing thing which you had to share the deal before you could actually purchase the deal. As I was doing it on the phone, since my office PC blocked Facebook, I had some problems with the sharing and then subsequently the registering.

I managed to register for JJ but couldn’t do it for Jojo. I thought it was a glitch!

So I got Jenny to help me do it from home and yay, it was done. Both doggies would get to go for a spa! Ok, I felt guilty because I haven’t been spending a lot of time with them and so wanted to make it up to them by sending them to a spa.

Little did I know this was the start of a horrible customer service experience.

First of all the appointment booking was a nightmare which I totally can understand because obviously I know many people would want to take advantage of their deal so securing an appointment was already a problem.

Secondly they sent numerous emails asking for this and that, contact nos., payment, dogs’ DOBs, gender, blah blah.

Y U NO ask in one email?!

Jenny told them to liase with me directly since they were asking for so much info over so many emails, it’d be better to just contact me.

THEN SUDDENLY.

This ARROGANT person sent a reply and said that since Jojo is my dog, I’d have to top up $185 (full rate) for him to get the grooming and the spa.

IT CAME AS A BIG SHOCK TO ME because I totally did not expect this.

And they had to add this sentence, “Just for info, there are other customers who also snatched more than one slot per household but are understanding enough to pay full price for the second companion.”

Which made me even madder.

Apparently that was in the terms and conditions which I did not bother to read after trying SO MANY times to share the bloody deal on FB.

I. Was. Speechless.

Why did you have to add this sentence in the first place? You could have just said, unfortunately, the promotion is only applicable to dog per household, so perhaps you want to buy the deal again the next time we run this promotion?

OR.

Alternatively, you could top up $185 for Jojo to enjoy the full session of grooming and spa.

Totally DID NOT have to add “other customers are understanding enough to pay the full amount”.

You are insinuating that I am not understanding enough? And you have to tell me other people are paying and I should pay to so that I can be deemed as understanding as them?

WHAT THE FUCK.

So I requested for a full refund for both the appointments because I am honestly not comfortable with them handling my doggies.

To which Mr Conceited replied and said I was hurling baseless accusations that they would mistreat my dogs (seeing as to how they handle the human customers, what more customers who can’t talk or defend themselves?) and that I have misconstrued their statements and taken his email negatively.

WORST OF ALL, insinuate that Jenny and I PLANNED to circumvent their T&Cs by booking separately and then becoming defensive because they found out.

DAFUQ.

We were honest about it because we didn’t read your T&Cs, bro! If we had, we wouldn’t have told you that Jojo was mine and to liase with me directly.

Dumbass. We’d have just continued on with this and not tell you la, right or not!?

SUPER ANGRY. You question my integrity, say I misconstrue your statements and hurl baseless accusations and still want to ACT YI GE TRANSPARENT AND FORTHCOMING.

FUCK THIS SHIT. I don’t deserve to be treated like that and I will NOT trust my doggies with you ever.

Below, my email reply to them in its entirety.

 

Kizuki + LIM

So, since my previous post on my hunt for a hair salon, I’ve found Kizuki + LIM at Raffles Hotel, Level 3. Someone left a comment on that blogpost which linked to a website that had loads of reviews from forums all around.

And Kizuki + LIM was one of the top few salons on the website. Coincidentally, my friend also IG-ed about Kizuki + LIM shortly after I saw it on that website so I was really excited after seeing all the good reviews.

The most awesome thing, at this point of time, was that there was nearly ZERO sponsored reviews. Wheyyyy. Definitely must try.

Booked an appointment with Akiyo-san, most junior stylist there and cheapest. Hahaha. Ok, I’m a cheapo. Oh, it’s really hard to get an appointment there, they are fully booked almost everyday!

Very arty-farty interior design but not very friendly because I nearly fell down while walking back from the hairwash corner. >.<

Cute table display at the waiting area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is my hairstylist! Akiyo Fujikawa! Her English was actually quite good! As in, we could still have a sort-of conversation and we both understood each other.

She offered me Doraemon comics to read to pass time. Hahaha, she said those were her favorite. I didn’t know what I wanted to do to my hair, so she gave me a Japanese magazine that had all the Jap lookin hairstyles and asked me which one I liked. I picked one and she said, Ok!

Wow. Haha, it was like picking a dish off a menu. I never had that at any other hair salons.

I was going to cut it short, and tadah, this is not the final result but I like it already. Hahaha.

Then it was the dyeing part.. And the hairwash was.. Heavenly. I love it!

And time for the curling!

Look like ah-soh here. Hahaha. Lots of Japanese customers in there. So means, they are good right, if not their own people won’t patronise.

This was the day after! I cut, dyed and permed my hair! Looks a bit koyak already here, because I wore a helmet. Haha! But I like it! Makes me look so different and I like how it makes me look more dressed up instead of having straight flat blah hair. LOL.

Total damage was $317 including GST after a first timers 10% discount.

Worth every penny because Akiyo san was there throughout the process. So she cut, washed, blow-dried, dyed, washed, permed, washed and blow-dried for me every step of the way. Unlike many other salons who have assistants to do the colouring, the washing, the blow-drying, everything else but the cutting.

So I really love the 100% attention that the stylist gives to you at Kizuki+LIM.

I’ll be back soon for a hair treatment again!

One of those days.

That I get sponsored a trip to Perth (to attend a long-time family friend’s wedding) but I feel so damn shitty about it because it clashes with my good pal’s hen’s night.

WTF right, I know.

And then everyone has to change their schedules and plans because of me. I hate it.

Argh. 😦

But the good thing about these ladies, they are all very, very, very accommodating.

Don’t know what I’d do without them.

So here’s a big shout out to those three ladies! THANKS FOR BEING SO UNDERSTANDING I LOVE ALL OF YOU! MUAK!

Watched two AWESOME SO AWESOME movies over the past week.

Skyfall was MEGA AWESOME I LOVE IT. And I feel sad that it appears that Ah Boys to Men seems to be performing better than Skyfall. I mean, buncha unknowns in a silly movie that makes National Service look like a joke VS. MY NAME IS BOND, JAMES BOND.

SERIOUSLY!? I can’t even.

I didn’t really like Daniel Craig from the last two Bond movies, I just thought he lacked something. But Skyfall. I think he did something right. Super good.

And I can’t even verbalize how good Pitch Perfect is. The singing, the songs, the acting. Everything! Except maybe the storyline, or the lack thereof.

Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson, she’s also in Bridesmaids and What to Expect When You’re Expecting) is so damn funny! She’s hilarious! And I’m still wondering if the actors were the ones singing. If they were, then they are DAMN GOOD! Especially Anna Kendricks (also from Twilight, she was Jessica, Bella’s classmate, so 不起眼 right, I know then suddenly she’s the lead in this movie)! She can really sing!

The acapella! Gosh. Makes me miss choir. We didn’t do acapella, but still, the harmonising. All the trainings.. All the hours we spent in the choir room.

SIGH.

Anyway, these two movies, totally worth my money and my time. And I would gladly watch them again!

As compared to Ah Boys to Men. T_T

I have nothing against local productions but……………. Gah.

Ok, shan’t say more. Gotta run, ciao!

 

On the search!

I was in Bangkok sometime back in July and I came across a very pretty necklace at Platinum Mall. It was right at the end of ground floor where all the accessories store were at.

It caught my eye.. And I pondered and pondered if I should get it. I asked the shopkeeper for the price, quite pricey, about $16 (approx. 400baht). Which I was not prepared to pay! Ok, maybe because I had this mentality that things will be very cheap, like below $10, at Platinum. But times have changed.

Anyhow, I didn’t buy it straightaway. I walked away and went around shopping. None of the other shops had this necklace. And I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Meh.

So I finally decided, f**k it, I’m going to buy it! $16 or not. I walked back to the shop and, THE HORRORS, the necklace was GONE. *sad face*

I forgot all about it until the other day when I was shopping around Plaza Singapura, I walked into this shop called Talisman’s. It’s a shop selling all sorts of accessories – necklaces, bracelets, rings, belts, scarves, bags, you get it.

Then, JENG JENG JENG, I found myself staring right at the necklace I saw at Platinum. I grabbed one and rushed over to the cashier to pay. I was so HAPPY. LOL.

The cashier said, TWO FOR $15.

WHAT?! OHMAIGOD. OKAY!!!

And that’s how I ended up with two same design but different colour necklaces. Wheyyyy~ I love them!

The multi-coloured.

The black.

TAKE THAT PLATINUM MALL! YOU CAN KEEP YOUR $16 NECKLACE! Mine only costs $7.50 each!

On a side note, shopping in Bangkok is no longer cheap. Granted, the quality of the merchandise has improved, generally (some!), but the prices are now on par and sometimes even more expensive compared to Singapore’s prices.

Must be all the AMRs tourists spoiling market there. Bah.

Also! I am in desperate need to do something to my hair! Colour it, cut it, perm it, I don’t know?! I’ve been researching. By that I mean, trawling in various forums and typing “xxxx salon reviews” in Google.

From a not-so-good past experience, I have decided to boycott skip blogger-endorsed salons, i.e., Essensuals, Salon Vim, Salon De Choix, salons that sponsor a big group of bloggers. I’ve personally tried Essensuals but the experience was less than amazing (based on what the bloggers were saying, I expected nothing less) and only average, to be really honest.

I’ve had better hairwashes at an auntie hairsalon and they only charged me $14 for it. Much, much better massages than the one at Essensuals.

The thing about these sponsored blogger reviews.. They are so SKEWED. They get super good service (usually the boss / senior / director will attend to them, so likely they will get good cuts / dyes, right?) plus it is free, for a reason, so that you will write good stuff about them, no?

That’s just my idea, so I’m not saying they are all bad (you might get lucky), but just discount the good stuff before you go so that you don’t get disappointed by the lacklustre service.

Ok, I must stop before I sound like a broken record. So. After much reading, I’ve shortlisted three! And these four are shortlisted based on:

1. Service standards for non-bloggers, i.e. general public (LOL)
2. Skills of stylists
3. Price (obviously I’m not going to pay $500 for Mr Gan to cut my hair even though I’m sure he’s very, very good at his job)

These are the shortlisted three:

1. La Coco (specialises in Korean styles, affordable and pretty good reviews)
2. HaarAttic (unheard of, but I’ve seen photos of people with haircuts by them, not bad)
3. Headspace (new kid on the block, ok, not THAT new, and extremely good reviews online)

I have one last choice, Salon De Choix, BUT. I have my reservations going there because all the reviews are SPONSORED BLOGGER REVIEWS. Hmm. We’ll see. Have to find out more before I decide.

The only reason why I even considered Salon De Choix was because one of the bloggers had a very nice short haircut. And I really like it.

So I might try it.

Gah.

Decisions, decisions.

Tinkerbelle at FEP

Ever since my first Gelish done at PINC at Bugis, I’ve been hooked on Gelish.

Zero waiting time for it to dry and it lasts at least 3 weeks, until the ends start peeling off or my fingers itchy go and scratch.

My last Gelish was done at this manicure place at Far East Plaza, called Tinkerbelle. They have three outlets all within the same building but different shop names. Weird, right? Anyhow, the first time I went was after getting a deal of Groupon for a $28 manicure and pedicure.

BUT I was served by a Vietnamese lady with heavily accented English and Chinese so I could barely understand what she was talking about. She tried to hardsell me to sign up for a package $150 for 5 x manicure and 5 x pedicure, which I relented and bought because it was honestly a good deal. 

I swore never to let her touch my nails again because she was not very good, to be honest. Or it could be that I’m really anal about my french manicures. The manicure did not last. I cleaned it off in three days.

The second time I went back, another Vietnamese lady did my nails but she applied the Gelish really thickly and while the colour was nice (lilac tinted glitter), it was too just too thick. I think it added at least 2mm to my nails, I kid you not.

For each Gelish you do, they deduct two manicures from your package. It is still dirt cheap, I guess, if you divide it out. Each mani + pedi is only $30, so each mani is probably $15 so with the extra deduction, each Gelish manicure costs you $30.

All fine by me.

The third time I went back, I deliberately booked an appointment with a Chinese lady. I was desperate to avoid the Vietnamese! But as luck would have it. I ended up with one anyway. Probably due to my odds not being very high. There were too many of them in all the outlets. Five between two outlets I’ve been to.

I was given yet another sales talk to sign on another package because their “boss” is going to increase the package prices and I won’t be able to get anymore $150 deals. And if I signed the package with her, she’d give me free nail art, free French tips, etc.

This lady even had the audacity to charge me for cuticle cleaning on my hands because she said Gelish does not include cuticle cleaning.

FML.

Well, I paid up anyway and told her nicely but forcefully that I will think about the package and if I was interested, I’d come back and sign up.

HELL NO.

You can keep your French tips and nail art yo, I ain’t coming back.

Now my only problem is, I have one more pedicure with them (I think I should have more left, it doesn’t work out, but I don’t really care) but everytime I think about having to face these hardsellers and having to think of reasons / excuses to FEND them off, I get stressed. =__=”

I think I’m better off doing manis and pedis at Bugis Village where they don’t offer packages since they are not exactly an establishment, they’re less likely to ask people to sign on packages, right?

Sigh.

 

 

 

 

Post Bali – Tips and Tricks

Not. Just a summary of where I stayed, ate, played, massaged.

Accomodation

Dejabu Villas

Email them for a quote or you can book at Bali Villas which is a compilation of hundreds of villas in Seminyak.

I was liasing with a Ms Putu, and she’s really nice, gave me some advice about the distance, cab fares and all.

Spa

Murano Spa

Jl. Dewi Saraswati (kunti II), Seminyak
Bali – Indonesia
Tel : +62 361 738 140 or +62 361 738 139 or +62 361 806 0736

Free pick up within Kuta area for minimum 2 pax. The website also has a booking form and a list of packages and treatments that they offer.

It’s best to book in advance, at least the first one. If you like it, you can book another appointment with the counter staff at the spa when you’re there.

You can also email muranospa@gmail.com. I think the guy’s name is Kadek.

Played

Sadly, only had time for Waterbom and didn’t go for horseriding!

But still Waterbom was a blast!

Jl. Kartika PO BOX 1055 Tuban
Kuta – Bali 80361 
Indonesia  
+62 361 755 676  
+62 361 753 517 

Don’t bother to email them, they take ages to reply. Haha, and most of the information are already available on the website.

They have towels, lockers, gazebos for rent at a small fee.

There’s also shower facilities within Waterbom, very clean.

Admission tickets cost US$26, which you can pay in USD or IDR, the latter is dependent on the current day exchange rate.

Ate

Rumours and Ultimo and The Junction (just a few doors down from each other)

Jalan Laksmana, Seminyak
Seminyak, Indonesia
(0)36 173 8720 (for Rumours)

Rumours for hearty western-style cuisine, wagyu steak, fish & chips, chocolate icecream.

Ultimo for Italian fare, think pizza, pasta, veal, tiramisu.

The Junction for crepes, drinks, they also have main courses which I didn’t look out for.

We spent an average of S$35 for two person, with 2 main course, starters, drinks at Rumours and Ultimo.

Sakanaya by Ryoshi

Jl Sunset Road., 77X, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia.
Tel: 0361-8475950

Sakanaya, basically, fish shop (if my Japanese didn’t fail me), sells seafood fresh from the many tanks in the shop, sashimi, ramen and other Japanese fare.

Affordable food, about S$5 for a bowl of ramen.

Shop

Shop at those roadside stalls and remember to BARGAIN, BARGAIN, BARGAIN.

Start with at least 50% off the price. Unless you think it’s already very cheap and you accept the price, then please go ahead.

Don’t buy, don’t touch, don’t ask.

Boutiques are super expensive, go to Pasar Oleh Oleh, it’s near Sakanaya by Ryoshi, which is the Sunset Road.

Cheap and well-ventilated with proper fitting rooms. Sells a wide assortment of handicrafts, clothes, teeshirts, food.

Other tips and tricks

Remember to keep 150,000IDR for the departure tax payable at the airport.

Don’t touch the stray dogs. Beware of RABIES.

Bring your own mats to Kuta beach.

Buy your own drinking water and drink lots of it. Weather is scorching hot in Bali.

Keep a low profile and try not to carry too much cash / valuables around.

Look carefully at your money when you’re paying. Don’t mistake 100,000IDR for 10,000IDR. This is very important! Just take your time, don’t have to worry, they’ll understand.

Bali 2010 – Part IV

Finally finished all the posts, and left with the last day!

Damn sad that we were leaving Bali that evening, our private pool, Kuta beach, Ultimo and Rumours. 😦

But I’ll be back!!!!

1 October

We decided on Indonesian style breakfast for our last breakfast in Bali.

I quite like it, better than the American breakfast I think, but what I didn’t like was all the vege bits in it. T___T.

Can get the noodles at all! Kept biting into carrots, veges, onions, random bits of chicken. Argh. Too messy!

Although I think if we were actually awake when they were preparing the breakfasts, we could tell them how we want our eggs done, what to add, what not add, that kind of stuff.

But all 4 mornings, Karen and I were still sleeping by the time they were done preparing. See the shrink-wrap? Wahahaha.

Then we rotted about a bit more, soaking in the last bit of villa goodness before our check out time, 12 noon.

Tried to read my book, but the bed was too comfy, I fell asleep. :X

Ms Han also fell asleep, outside in the living room on the couch. LOL.

Woke up again at 11am and started to pack hurriedly. We had to deflate our floats, the ball, the armbands, keep our bikinis which we left out to dry and the villa was so big we had to make sure we packed in EVERYTHING back.

These pictures are from the Dejabu Villas website. I think it’s 90% accurate and true-to-life.

Of course, it’s not a COMPLTELY NEW building, so you can expect a bit of mouldy walls, dusty ceiling beams (high ceiling in the living room) and some mildew in the toilet.

Bedsheets, floors, swimming pool CONFIRM CLEAN. But I wouldn’t sleep on the couch in the living room. I sat on it with a towel covering the couch ‘cos I have very sensitive skin. I get very bad reactions to dust. Bah.

Other than that, the villa, generally, is in a good condition and I would go back to the same villa if I going to Bali again. Hopefully stay in the 5 bedroom one! 😀

I wonder if they’ll let me book it as a 3-bedroom. 😛

This is our bedroom, we stayed at Villa 2. The toilet is really OPEN CONCEPT. The shower is like those at club swimming pools, a shower head, in the OPEN for you to clean yourself before you jump into the pool.

Meh. I didn’t bathe in the villa at all in those 4 days. I showered at the spa place, brought my own toiletries. Wahahaha. :X

You can see the bedroom opens out to the pool, so you wake up in the morning to the view of sparkling blue waters!

Some last minute photo-taking in the villa, that’s the “corridor” we have to walk everyday to go out and walk back.

Please ignore the blue patch, that’s the Tiger Balm mosquito repellant sticker which didn’t work! I still got bitten by mosquitoes. TMD.

Maybe I should have used two instead, since it’s for kids. Heh heh.

That villa at the back (top right hand corner pic) has 5 rooms and a HUGE POOL. Much bigger than ours.

It also has a separate dining area (damn big), a separate living area and many deck chairs.

I WANT TO STAY THERE NEXT TIME!

We sneaked in the day before because there wasn’t anyone staying inside and the door was wide open. Heehee.

Really very nice! I like that it had separate “wings” for the different rooms: bedrooms, dining room, living area.

This is outside our villa. Blue, blue skies and green, green, grass. Well, technically, these are not grass.

It’s PADI FIELDS! Can you believe it!? Rice is grown, right outside the villa. Amazing.

Oh and that’s Karen standing in front of the guardhouse. The front desk is at the back, where the car is.

Since it was our last day and since we didn’t manage to get the late check-out (some bugger checking in at my villa at 2pm!), we decided to go explore! Walked out to the main street, which we pass by everyday, going out.

I love their shops! There’s a shop selling dollhouses just by the junction turning into the villa. SO CUTE!

Do kids still play with dollhouses?!

I love the dollhouse! But buy back for what ah? No space for it anyway. Haha. Adorable, ain’t it?

And some dilapidated buildings with no front walls. Heh. It’s like, nobody did anything to it, just left it to rot by the roadside.

Saw this show selling a MASSIVE BUST of Buddha. When I say “massive”, I mean really MASSIVE. It’s taller than me. That’s how GINORMOUS it is. Super kuazhang. I like those little tiered baskets! Swell idea, can use it to keep accessories and belts and scarves, no?

Well, alternatively, you can use it to keep ONIONS, GARLIC AND POTATOES OK.

I shall buy one of them when I go to Bali again. Teehee.

That’s another MASSIVE sculpture of the terracotta soldiers (Karen don’t know what’s terracotta soldiers, historyfail). It is TALLER than me, and it is kneeling, yar. So can you imagine how tall it would be if it was standing up???!?!?!?

Damn scary and intimidating. Good for rich people with big houses. Can put at your front door.

Just visualise the Buddha head as tall as this which is just next to this.

They also have PETRIFIED WOOD. Don’t know why, but I was extremely amused with petrified wood. It’s like the trees looked the Basilisk in the eyes and got petrified. So their wood, naturally, petrified!

Hahahahaha, I’m so funny. :X

Ooh, if you run out of IDR and want to change it, please don’t go to those make-shift money-changers along the streets. Go to a proper money changer like the one with the US 100-dollar bill outside its office.

I don’t know the address, I just know it’s near my villa. Erm.

Whatever it is, DON’T GO to make-shifts huts made of planks to change money. You don’t know if they’re giving you counterfeit notes.

Cafe Wahaha looks like a nice cafe to eat in. LOL.

We walked for really long, like 1 hour plus, all the way from our villa, towards this huge (running out of adjectives) warehouse-y shop called “Pasar Oleh Oleh” which sells REALLY cheap clothes. I bought a dress for $4, batik PJs for Mummy, also $6. Cheap or not!

And it’s cotton, so very comfortable.

I changed into the dress immediately. Ha, the salesgirls were very amused by it.

Finally reached the japanese restaurant which I spotted during our countless car rides to the spa and Waterbom.

To my surprise, it was actually the japanese restaurant that Jenny had introduced to me from her research. Hahaha.

It’s called Sakanaya by Ryoshi! They have Ramen, sashimi (fresh from the fish tanks in the shop), bento sets and fresh seafood.

We saw some AMRs eating crabs and all, but all we wanted was POKKA JASMINE GREEN TEA ICE-COLD PLEASE.

The weather was effin’ burning!!!!! I can feel all the moisture in my body evaporating as we walked. -___-”

Ramen wasn’t fantastic, I think they put too much Miso paste. The noodles were nice, but the overwhelming Miso taste was, uh, not so ok.

Salmon sashimi was rather expensive, I think $8 for 6 slices, but fresh and fat and juicy. They had many fish tanks in the fish market side of the restaurant, VERY SMELLY LIKE WET MARKET KIND OF SMELLY, which explains why the seafood is famed for being fresh.

I don’t think they have live salmon, tuna, swordfish, right? So those are still frozen and airflown from wherever lah.

And then it was time for our airport transfer to pick us up to go to the airport.

SO SAD! 😦

Saw the kittens in the villa when we got back to pick up our luggages and tried to take a photo with it.

FAIL OBVIOUSLY, it’s like it forgot who I was.

Well either that or it was angry that I carried it out of our villa last night. Meh. :X

Please go ahead and laugh at the horrendous photo on the top right hand corner.

Stupid photographer took that photo while the kitten was struggling and scratching to get away. 😡

Oh that’s my new $4 dress, by the way. And my new bracelet, the brown one, not the blue one.

I love! Special ma, got wooden clasp one leh. Handcrafted too. 😀

And that’s all for my Bali trip. My shoulder is still peeling, only the right one. Don’t know why.

My right shoulder nearer to the sun?

While I am no expert for Bali (only stayed in Kuta/Seminyak), I am most willing to answer any questions you may have about planning for your trip, where to go, where to eat and where to find good tips for Bali.

Just want to share my fabulous trip, so ask away!

I WANNA GO AGAIN!!!! I WANNA GO AGAIN!!!! I WANNA GO AGAIN!!!!

Read Bali 2010 – Part I, Part II and Part III

Bali 2010 – Part III

BEWARNED. IMAGE HEAVY POST AHEAD!

In collages, of course. 😛

30 September

Decided against horse-riding to have more nua-ing time in the villa, we woke up early at 10am to have breakfast!

The villa provided in-villa breakfast which means every morning, someone comes to your villa to cook your breakfast. You have a choice of American breakfast (as shown below) or Indonesian style, Mie Goreng or Nasi Goreng.

We opted for American for 2 days and Indonesian for the last day. The Indonesian breakfast wins hands down.

Those who have been following me on Twitter (@selsel) would have already known that we bought FLOATS to Bali. Hahaha, there’s Ms Han pumping her float. They’re so unbelieveably cheap, those floats. ONLY $3.99 ea FROM GIANT. And comes with those armband floats and a beach ball. Wahahaha.

I couldn’t believe it, kept scanning it to check the price. Even until we paid for it, I couldn’t believe the good deal. I was thinking that it’s gonna leak or explode when we sat on it.

But it didn’t! *beams*

Proof below.

It’s a bit of a hassle getting into the float because we didn’t dare to submerge ourselves in the pool. It’s freaking deep at the end can? I think it’s at least 1.8m. Scary. We walked halfway into the pool and the water level was already up to my chest. T__T”

And we raced from one end of the pool to the other on our floats, like they were canoes. So damn funny.

We also discovered that it was almost impossible to take self-timer pics of us in our floats because we couldn’t get into our floats within 10 seconds. HA HA HA HA.

See pics of our EPIC FAIL in taking self-timer pics. The first one at the top left hand corner is of me STRUGGLING to get into the float. BUT I ALWAYS HAVE PROBLEMS. Even those huge ones at Waterbom.

Freakin’ funny, come to think of it. Hilarious, really.

I don’t know lah. Maybe long legs have their disadvantages too. -___-”

And when we finally managed to be in our floats within the 10 seconds, the “tidal waves” caused by Ms Han getting into her float so quickly made us float right out of the frame. *face palm*

Like so:

o_O!!!

Rotted around a bit, admiring the blue skies and clouds, while trying to tan my legs. Oh, watched P.S. I love you from the pool too. Hahaha! So fun!

Ms Han fell asleep. I don’t know how she manages it. She seems to be able to fall asleep anywhere.

During Transformers and some other shows, lying in the float in the pool also can sleep, play mahjong also can sleep.

AMAZING.

And then it was time for SPA! 3 days in a row, no joke! But this time round we opted for the 1 hour massage only, because it was our last day in Bali and we wanted to go see Kuta beach.

So this is Murano Spa! Love the Balinese-style decó and the open concept of the bath / shower area. The first day I was there, my room was next to the garden! Very nice!

Oops, duplicated photo in this collage. Haha, got mixed up. The room has barely any decoration, just a massage bed and a bedside table for you to keep your belongings. The tub and the shower area are over at the end, which opens out to a lane filled with greenery! I like natural sunlight in rooms. Makes the room feel cozy and bright!

They also provide free transfer to and from your villa if you have a minimum of 2 pax within the whole Kuta area! *thumbs up!*

And it was off to Kuta beach after a good massage! The spa was overbooked that day, so they couldn’t give us a transfer to Kuta beach, but they gave us discounts off the massages to compensate us having to cab to the beach. Heh.

Yello! Ku De Ta! Very, very, very nice place. Looks very, very, very, expensive too. It’s really beach front dining lah. The beach is literally its front yard.

We didn’t eat there, as usual it was FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH AMRs, because we took a peek at the menu and the prices were JAW-DROPPING.

We were going to sit at the gazebo-ish thingys outside, when I saw a notice that said, “minimum spending 300,00IDR (approx S$45)”. Wah lao, faster run. If I were with a group of friends, maybe 4, 5 of us, I wouldn’t mind, but just 2 of us! Madness.

So we walked down the beach and saw deck chairs! Lucky us!

Barely set our bags on the chairs when a woman wearing a uniform and big sun hat started walking towards us with a notepad in hand. -____-”

And promptly told us that the deck chairs are available for rent at 70,000IDR (approx S$10) for 2, from 4.30pm to sunset (about 7pm).

OKAYYYYYY.

Karen and I were too stunned to reject her offer and guai guai paid up.

BAH!

Only to be blocked by a group of INDONESIAN CHINESE WHOSE FACES PISSED ME OFF THE MINUTE THEY STOOD IN FRONT OF MY SUNSET.

Plus they were making a hell lot of noise. Annoying, ttm. Argh.

My view before it got blocked by said group of Indonesian Chinese. Got a bit scared everytime I saw dogs on the streets because of the report of rabies I read just before the trip. Meh.

So paranoid, I even got extra travel insurance, in case I got bitten and hospitalised and die in Bali.

Anyway, you can totally save the 70,000IDR by bringing your own damn picnic mat / beach towel / sarong / any random big piece of cloth to sit down on. Saw all the AMRs doing that. SMART huh.

I guess we were just not prepared for the beach so boh bian, paid up the money.

Kuta beach was dotted with red Airasia umbrellas, hahaha, sponsor! Adds some colour to the otherwise bleak-ish landscape. The sand is black brownish, not white. A bit disappointing, but still very beautiful. No rubbish!

BEE-YOO-TEE-FOOOOOOL SUNSET. O.M.G. THE COLOURS ARE GORGEOUS!

Wait till you see the rest..

Btw, shorts are from Gmarket too! Very pleased with them, only S$16 with postage from Korea. Ahhh! Good buy. Top is from the local market opposite Waterbom theme park. Love it!

We just sat around, looking at the sunset, it was literally inching into the sea/ocean, I couldn’t believe my eyes. And busying myself taking photos of the ever changing landscape.

Looking at the colours in the sky, they kept changing. From gold, blue, pink, orange, purple to violet.. Makes you forget all your worldly troubles.

And also the golden glow the sun was giving to everyone and everything its rays land on.

Just pure beauty from Mother Nature.

Attempted jump shots (again!) on the beach, but jumped warily because I didn’t want to wet my shorts! Haha. More importantly, I didn’t want to get sand everywhere lah. Very leh-cheh (troublesome) to wash off you know. We didn’t bring towels and all.

But I had the PERFECT JUMP SHOT AHHHH SO HAPPY!!!!!!! My favouritest photograph EVAHHHHH! It’s on my Mac wallpaper now. In all its 21.5″ glory.

Must give credit to photographer, Ms Han. But more credit to me because I had to jump like 23416247 times before she managed to get a decent shot. Two actually, see bottom right hand corner.

HEE.

The colours just keep changing! I was very fascinated by all the colours in one sunset. We just kept snapping and snapping, non-stop.

Ms Han looks like she has only one leg. Hahaha, she was actually moving when I snapped this, so her left leg haven’t reach the front.

And took a momento pic of our 70,000IDR deck chairs. And of course, a self-timer pic complete with the side table. Hahaha.

And then the sun just went completely under. SAD. No more beautiful colours. But artificial light is just as pretty.

It was Ku De Ta’s 10th anniversary, and the theme was “Love” so they had these heart-shaped lantern-y things hanging from the tree at the front entrance. Very nice!

Everyone wanted a pic with it. I had to wait tmd-long before it was my turn, unobstructed.

Bottom right hand picture is Ku De Ta’s front entrance, there’s a drop off point.

Security is TIGHT there, I think ‘cos too many rich, loaded AMRs there, so they checked everybody’s bags! Not all vehicles can enter too.

I love this tree! So pretty at night! 😀 It’s a really popular place, Ku De Ta, so if you have plans to dine there, do email them to make a reservation. Or if you just want to admire the sunset but at the same time have some finger food, you can go early to get the free seating pavilions with a minimum spending of 300,000IDR.

No more sunset, so it was off to dinner at a place where steak is only S$9, Rumours! This restaurant is love for meat lovers like me. Teehee.

Top left hand corner: Wagyu 300g steak. 95,000IDR (approx S$14). I know, I couldn’t believe it either. Comes with a side of fries.

It smelt so damn good the other day we were there, this young AM guy ordered it. And I am such a sucker for food on hotplates.

I have this delusion that food on hotplates ALWAYS taste nicer. They smell nicer too!

Ok, review on my steak, it smelt really good but it was a tad dry in some parts ‘cos I ordered medium well (not so into bloody meat) so for those who like medium rare, this is for you. Fatty and succulent. Fries never fail! Crispy and fat with all the potato goodness.

Obligatory shot with the restaurant signboard and love the architecture in Bali, so quaint! Like little cottages. They use a lot of glass too.

And most restaurants have a person outside directing traffic, they help to get cabs too or just helping with the directions if you get lost.

It was also at Rumours that Ms Han got picked up by a Japanese guy! I’m so happy for her I just have to tell EVERYONE! Hahaha.

Oh, there’s also a pool table in Rumours, you can play for free while waiting for your food or after you’re done with it. Ha. We played 3 games since we’re just sitting next to it. Don’t play, so wasted right?? 😀

Although we were stuffed full at Rumours, we couldn’t help but go for desserts! Who can resist desserts! And what’s more in such a adorable-looking cafe! It looked like a house built by The Three Little Pigs, by the 2nd brother who built a house out of wooden planks. Wahaha.

Right, right, right?? It’s made up of wooden planks! Really! Inside, outside, the walls, stairs, partitions, bar counter, tables. VERY NICE LAH!

This is The Station Junction! Same side of the road as Ultimo and Rumours and just opposite Seminyak Square (with Periplus bookstore, gourmet supermarket, cafes) with it’s unique architecture, you can’t miss it.

If you do, I can only say, you’re BLIND.

We’re too full to have anything heavy so we shared between us a chocolate and banana crepe (that loooong plate) plus a strawberry sorbet. And we still couldn’t finish! I left one bite of the crepe. Just couldn’t eat anymore, really.

And of course, how can we not camwhore in the restaurant with its couches and plank staircase! I love my denim shorts! Wahahaha.

Only in Bali, you can wear a blody flower in your hair, tie your top into a midriff with cut-off denim shorts and slippers and you actually look NORMAL. People don’t think you’re siao (aka CRAZY) ‘cos you’re on HOLIDAY and everyone is dressed the same way! Wheee!

Ok, I have to admit I took the whole island-resort-holiday look too seriously with the flower. Heh heh. BUT I LIKE IT, IT’S MY HAIR.

要你管！*mumble mumble*



Got back to the villa and found two kittens! Apparently Mama Cat abandoned them earlier in the evening and they wandered into the villa! They’re SO CUTE! Very tame too!

Played with them for a while and THEY FOLLOWED ME INTO OUR VILLA.

T______T”

Karen, of course, freaked out and banned them from going into our room. She also got a big shock when one of them jumped up on the sofa.

Hello, kitten lah, not tiger, scared what??

And when I closed the bedroom door, they looked at me from outside the glass panel. One of them did something so STUNNING, I nearly teared.

It rammed its head on the glass panel, like it wants to come in! ARGHHHH!

Very ke lian leh! I was so close to tears already, then it did it again!

You can hear the loud knocking sound on the glass panel. *cry*

Damn sad. Cannot take it anymore, so I went out and brought the two kitties back to the lobby.

Basket, make me so sad. 😦

OHAY AND THAT’S ALL FOR DAY 3. TOOK ME 3 EFFIN’ DAYS TO DO THIS. *roar!*

I hope y’all like it!

Leaving you with this. (click to enlarge)

TA DAH!

Read Bali 2010 – Part I, Part II and Part IV