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I recently was in Bali for the second time. This time, it was with just a few friends of mine and we chose to stay away from all the buzz of Kuta town and decided to stay in Ubud which is further north up in the hills of Bali. We rented a private villa all to ourselves equipped with a swimming pool, driver and personal caretakers to make you food as you wish. All these of comes with a price of course. You can rent the villa for about USD $250 per night which I think it’s not bad considering we had 4 of us and we stayed for 5 nights.

DAY 1: UBUD (Murni’s Villa)
Arrived at Bali slightly after lunch, tired from the 1 half hour journey from the airport after a 2 hour flight from KL. Before we reached our villa, we stopped by for some Nasi Ayam Campur which was recommended by our driver. Something quite different from the normal Nasi Ayam you get back in KL, as this consist of chicken liver and other chicken parts mixed with spices. It’s not too bad actually, but a word of caution as it is a bit spicy for those who cannot really take it.

Nasi Ayam Campur

After lunch, we checked in to our villa, to which we were greeted with welcome drinks and snacks. Here is a tour of our villa..

some crackers and ice blended lime juice to welcome us

our infinity swimming pool =)

the bedrooms and living room

After settling down, we decided to head to Ubud town for dinner and a nice night of Jazz. We went to Murni’s Warung, a multi-story restaurant which serves authentic Balinese dishes in Ubud town. I like the ambiance in this place as each level of the restaurant has a slightly different theme which caters for different occasion. After dinner, we then headed to Jazz Cafe for some live Jazz performances.

Us at Murni’s Warung

DAY 2: SEMINYAK
It was a day at the beach and shopping. The girls booked massages at this place called Jari Menari in Seminyak even before we arrived in Bali. They apparently require you to do booking weeks in advance and to confirm your booking upon your arrival in Bali as it is very well known and mostly fully booked. They are very famous for their “4 Palm Massage” which you will get a massage from 2 masseurs simultaneously. Prior to the massage appointment, we went for some shopping and also to the beach.

Oli and Jo posing while they went shopping

Along the way, stopped by this place called Fashion Point for lunch. This place looks like it’s an artist’s haven despite it being called Fashion Point. Furniture at this place are decorated with art pieces combined with Balinese statues to make it look authentic.

Insert bulb into wine bottle and add a few ornaments and wahlahh! a nice art piece..

Oh, this is my lunch btw – Fried rice w/chicken sate

Beautiful Seminyak beach…need I say more?

Oli, Jo & I @ Seminyak Beach

After the massages, we went for dinner at Ku De Ta, a place I would recommend to someone who wants to have do a marriage proposal or an unforgettable party. The place is a club/restaurant facing the beach where deck chairs and candles make up the lounge area during the night. Accordingly, the place is renovated every year with a new theme to attract customers. The food there is categorized as “Australian Fine Dining” (whatever that means), and it’s a bit on the pricey side. The 4 of us did had dinner there and the bill came up to 1.8million…Rupiah that is, but still its about RM 600+ after conversion. Seriously, it’s really nice and I would definitely want to go back there again. I wouldn’t go back there for the food, but the drinks there however are reasonably priced.

Jo, Oli & Mike fine dining at Ku De Ta

Our infamous bill…I suddenly feel like a millionaire!

DAY 3: UBUD TOWN
It’s a whole day of shopping for souvenirs and also eating famous Babi Guling or Balinese Suckling Pig. Now, our driver took us to the famous Ibu Oka Babi Guling, which has won an award for one of the top restaurants in Bali. I got to say, Babi Guling is simply out of this world. I would recommend it to all serious pork lovers out there.

Babi Guling with rice

I think these are deep fried pork innards and it’s damn tasty 

After lunch, we proceeded to the Ubud market, where we spent most of our time (and money) there shopping. I bought a few unique items as well as some paintings for my home. Most of us used up most of the cash we brought for that day.

I bought this steel hot air balloon lantern which I thought is cool

In the evening, it started to rain, and we slightly soaked, hungry and tired. We stopped by to have dinner at a nearby restaurant and then decided to head back to the villa and call it a night.

DAY 4: KUTA & SEMINYAK
We decided to head to Kuta beach today. After experiencing the beach in Seminyak, my friends thought Kuta will be just as nice. Boy were we wrong! I’ve been to Kuta beach a couple of years back, and I know how packed it can be and how irritating the street peddlers are. I hate it when I’m are being constantly pushed to purchase something when I already made it clear that I’m are not interested. Now imagine walking every 5 steps and these peddlers selling you the same thing again. It’s bloody annoying! Plus, the beach is hot and packed, you don’t even get to have a decent spot to put your things down to get into the water without being constantly bugged by these peddlers.

We were all annoyed, so we decided to just have lunch head back to the beach in Seminyak. But before leaving Kuta, the ladies (as usual) decided to go shopping again.

Shops in Kuta Square

This shop is called “The White Shop” where everything sold is…WHITE

I like this sign. It makes customers stop to take a look

Oli and Jo, happy shopping at Kuta

After swimming in the beach at Seminyak, we had dinner by the beach where we also managed to watch the sunset.

Sunset @ Seminyak beach

My dinner – Grilled fish with herbs and seafood

After the delicious dinner, we went to this place called Hu’u which is situated just off Seminyak beach. The place is an old colonial mansion, converted into a club/restaurant/bar. There are garden furniture, together with dimly lit lights and chilled out music to create a very relaxing environment. There is also a swimming pool in the middle upon entering the garden that doubles up as a centerpiece with an ice sculpture at night. Inside, they play more hard house music compared to the garden area. We didn’t try the food, but the drinks here are also quite reasonably priced. Another nice place I would definitely come back to try the food.

Jo and Oli chilling out @ Hu’u

DAY 5: KINTAMANI
Mike and Oli felt that they wanted to be spending more time in the villa “vegetating” since we’ve been out most of the time over the past few days. Jo and I however, wanted to go to the coffee plantation that serves Kopi Luwak, or Civet coffee – which is the world’s most expensive coffee. We wanted to simply get a taste of it to see what all the hype is about. Apparently, this coffee cost around USD$60 per cup in some places. We headed up to Kintamani, which is about an hour journey from our villa to have buffet lunch on the hill side facing the volcano. The place is nice, especially the scenery and the buffet spread was not too bad either. To me it’s a bit over rated, but then again it’s something to experience.

Simple buffet spread

The view from our table

Jo & I

After lunch, we headed to the coffee plantation where we were shown how the coffee was made, and the creature that made it famous.

“We are here!”

The Civet Cat that eats the coffee beans

Coffee beans before…

…and after being digested by the Civet Cat

It’s then dried..

then roasted..

then pounded into coffee powder..

Mix with hot water and you get a cup of Kopi Luwak

Overall, the coffee is nothing to shout about really. Despite it being smooth and you don’t need to add sugar to enjoy it, for me it’s just taste like another cup of coffee. Don’t know what the fuss is all about.

We then went back to the villa to rest. We didn’t want to go out that night, so we ordered dinner in to be served to us. It’s like our last night in Bali, so we wanted to be pampered with people serving us in the comfort of our villa I guess.

Us eating in on the last night.

DAY 6: BYE BYE BALI =(
It’s time to say goodbye to our villa and our vacation. It’s really been great and a relaxing one. We woke up, with breakfast served to us one last time and then begin to pack to catch our flight back in the evening.

Will miss this the most – breakfast being served to us every morning!

taken with our villa caretakers, guards and driver – awesome bunch

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P.S: If you’re in Bali and you need a personal driver, I seriously recommend you to call Mr. Made (pronounced Mah Day) at 081 64741286. He is reliable, honest and humble. You can let him know that Nick from Kuala Lumpur who stayed at Murni’s Villa recommended you and he should remember. =)

Last week and the week before, I have friends who have asked me if I wanted to go to Rootz and Zouk for a nice night out. I am glad they asked me, but I had to decline because I made a vow to myself to stay off clubbing indefinitely. I think I’ve kinda outgrown the clubbing life. Majority of the people in there are younger than I am they all look and behave like kids….seriously! Well that’s because THEY ARE! Most of them barely out of college or just graduated with a job and have some cash to blow.

I admit I was like that once, and I was thinking back, sharing with a few friends the other day. The best clubbing days were during my college days. It amazes me how we use to go clubbing and raves every Friday and Saturday night without fail. It also amazes me how we even find all that cash to do it while only living on allowances from our parents. No matter how far the raves were; from Malacca to Genting to Port Dickson, you’ll see us there. I was reminiscing the days where we were underage and went in anyways. I remember we use to go as early as 9PM before the crowd came and before they start the cover charges just because we college students wanted to save a few bucks. Also having only 1 drink for the whole night was enough for us to have fun. We even parked the car at the cheapest car park possible even though if it meant a longer walk to the clubs. I guess that’s how we manage to save and go clubbing twice a week eh?

There was one incident in this club called “Hot Java” (circa 1998-1999 I think)  which is now more known as Benard’s in Centrepoint in Bandar Utama. Imagine this scenario: We were in college; we went in with some underage girls; police came for a raid; my friends and I hid in a walk-in cold room in the premise to avoid the cops…well the owner of the club asked us to hide there as they didn’t want to get fined for letting in underage patrons either. Scary right? But that’s all the fun bits!

I remember the number of kill-buzz raids that ruined the night. The numerous drunk stories. The numerous of substances (shhh..you didn’t hear it from me). The supper/breakfast before we head for home..

Now I can no longer stand extremely crowded places that you have to push your way through just to get to the toilet and worst of all, you have to shout or write a message on paper just to communicate. Yea, it looks really stupid when you see 2 people writing text messages on their phones and showing the other person the message to let them know what they want to say because the music is too loud to even talk!

These days, I will rather spend my time in bars/pubs with the company of a few good friends where we can sit, drink and chat. The only way you will ever see me in a club now is if there is a client event or a friend’s birthday. Other than that, I will most likely decline.. SORREH! Call me an old uncle but it’s true…I AM too old for this shit!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!! It’s a brand spanking new year and 2010 in my view will be (I hope) an awesome year! Yes, for several reasons, I’m really optimistic about this year. 2010 will be themed “Rebuilding” for me. Rebuilding – career, friendships and relationships. I have several new year’s resolution which I shall not mentioned because I feel the moment you tell someone or let anyone know what it is, you’re under pressure to fulfill it. I do not want that! As we speak, I have already received some awesome news which already fulfilled one of my new year’s resolution. I’ll tell everyone about it when things are more certain.

Now for some updates. First up, I want to wish my sis Zara “Happy Birthday!” Her birthday falls on New Year’s Eve every year, therefore most people are usually too busy to celebrate it with her. This year, being her big 3-0, her best friend Rozell, schemed a surprise for her on the eve of her birthday in Mezze in Medan Damansara…and boy was she surprised! You should see the expression on her face when she came in the restaurant hoping to have a quiet dinner with just her boyfriend Harng, who just came from Aussie, and her best friend, when we all jump out of our hiding spots to surprise her. It really was an unforgettable moment.

“Hello…my name is Zara the birthday girl..”

Zara, Tina & Joanne

Suzanne & May Lynn

Zara & Harng

Group pic @ Mezze

I also have here a video of the birthday girl giving her thank you speech and blowing out her birthday cake.

Up next, NYE. Now then, it’s almost an annual affair that I celebrate New Year’s Eve with a party. This year (well, last year to be more exact) we rented a hotel suite in Ritz-Carlton Residences, Kuala Lumpur. All I got to say is the place was FREAKIN’ HUGE! It has 3 bedrooms with walking wardrobe in the master bedroom, a dining, kitchen, living room and study/library. According to the website, its about 2,362 square feet.  The place can accommodate 30-40 people easily!

Ok, to cut the long story short, I have some pictures taken from that night.

(click on photos for larger view)

The return of the sheesha!

“bottoms-up!”

Alcohol for the night..not all shown in this pic though

Counting down…

Fireworks view from our place…nice leh??!

“0-0-7-Bang! Ahhhh!”

“Big Cow, Small Cow”

“Say Cheezzee!”

“Cheezzee!”

“Damn…have to drink again!”

If you’re wondering, NYE this time round was a very “civilized” affair. There were surprisingly no casualties but some of us including myself stayed over till the next morning. What a great party it has been, and what a way to usher in the new year. Looking forward ahead for more better things to come! :)

NYE Photos by: Chen Yih Wen

Last Friday, I went for a launch of a new place called Craft Brews in Mutiara Damasara. The place is owned and run by a client of mine, so I was there to support him…and also to check out the place (and free-flow beers of course). This place is has a “micro brewery” concept. Meaning, it looks like a mini brewery, but since brewing is not allowed (unless you’re a big international brewer), most of their beers are imported from US and possibly Singapore too.

these 3 glasses are mine…believe it or not.. :P

Some of their imported range of beers includes Rogue beers from the US, Hoegaarden, and also a whole range of award winning lagers and ales. Notice the green coloured drink above?….no that’s not apple juice! That’s called the “Monster Green Lager”, which is apparently a blend of beer and spirulina. I think this drink was the most interesting of all…and it was finished before the free-flow ended. I guess everyone was curious to try “green beer” for a change instead. In fact, the “green beer” was the “weakest” drink in the range of beers. I feel it’s more of a novelty drink. The best that I tasted that night was their English Ale, which is a dark beer, and quite strong. There were 5 drinks up during the free-flow period which started from 6PM to 8PM: Hoegaarden, Monster Green Lager, Weizen (wheat beer), The Czech Pilsner and of course the English Ale.

Being “kiasu” Malaysians, there was a long line at the place for the beers and food. Oh yes, they also serve barbequed pork ribs that is quite yummy as well. So as I was saying, there was a long line…

look at the long line for beers!

When free-flow ended, the crowd obviously dispersed and got less. Overall, I think the whole “micro brewery” concept is something different. The “green beer” is definitely something worth trying if you’re curious, although I wouldn’t recommend it if you like stronger beers. The place and ambiance is good too if you want to chill out. My only gripe is the price of their beers…it’s a bit over priced if you ask me (RM25 for a pint of Carlsberg on non happy hours is expensive!).

Craft Brews

Location: G3 Podium, Ground Floor, Menara Batu Kawan, 1 Jalan PJU7/6, Mutiara Damansara Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, 47810

Phone: 03-7722-3000

Probably the best Halloween I’ve had so far. Whilst there were a lot of sponsored parties everywhere else around town, my friends and I opted for something with less hype and crowd, so we went to TwentyOne Kitchen + Bar along Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Our original plan was to go pub hopping along the street, but we had so much fun that we decided to stay on. No regrets really! We find ourselves partying with strangers from the next table and made new friends in the process. Gemaine and Samantha both were sort of in costumes. Gem was either Blair Waldorf or The Devil..either way, both personalities suited her…haha. Samantha came dressed as err…Lil’ Bo Peep…or so she claims.

We met up with people who were in costumes, and I got to say, some of the costumes were brilliant. The best costume was definitely Mr. Incredible and the most original was a “Suicide Bomber”….really..he had a fake bomb strapped to his body and was wearing a hooded jacket!

Gemaine, Samantha and I

Siew Yen and Eng Keat

An angel gave us the lollipops…serious!

Siew Yen, Regina and I

Michelle and I

Oooh..this cute lady cop can arrest me anytime!

Suicide Bomber!!!

Some people we met from the next table

more people we met..

look it’s Mr. Incredible!….and errr..his sidekick?

After finishing a bottle of whiskey, we went over to Envee Club which is just a walk down the street, where there was still Vodka waiting to be finished! I get this feeling that strangers seemed more friendly and open during Halloween for some reason. Maybe because they can hide behind costumes. If only events like this happen every weekend instead of once a year, every weekend would be such a blast don’t you think? It was a really good night out, and I think all of us had a great time and went back smiling.

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All photos by: Ruhani Rabin