So its been a little over a week now that I have been here in Hong Kong and it has been an eventful week indeed. Filled with ups and downs and discoveries but the down is the worst.
Upon arriving to Hong Kong, the first thing that hit me is the fact that our apartment is smaller than it looked in the pictures! We had actually packed up a 550 square foot container but moved into a 500 square foot apartment- UH OH! I definitely have some figuring out/ organizing and puzzle playing to do! Googling and pinning hacks for small spaces is a full time obsession of mine now. To make matters a little more complicated, our container has yet to arrive so we will only know the full extent of damage tomorrow!
Work has been very kind to me. I am loving the new challenges that I face daily and the new things I get to try and do. Its a little different than what I am used to and definitely more hands on but I have really missed the rush of being busy and doing my own thing and watching things unfold thereafter so its a great change of pace for me.
On the downside, one of our dogs, Harley had a little accident with his eye and what could have been an eye with a recovering cornea turned into a very disastrous torn cornea. It is very painful indeed to watch your pet suffer knowing that they are so small and harmless and wishing you could help but knowing that you can't. The vet bills are sky rocketing for us but we really are trying to do what we can to try salvage the situation. Too little too late I guess.
That said, what better way to transport myself off to a little island called Bali and remember the good fun times that I had there not too long ago in June when we were there to reign in my fabulous friends' 31st birthday! This friend of mine is a really independent, ambitious and outgoing young lady and she has taken to planning and organizing her own birthday getaways and making them fabulous and memorable instead of sitting at home and moping about time gone by! This year, the destination was Bali and with her was a group of 6 of her friends.
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| The birthday girl and her posse! |
While we were all working adults, we didn't want to spend too much on the villa as we knew we were going to be out for most of the trip. Even though we searched and considered many options, we still ended up using Semua Properties. I really love the concierge service that they offer and they pretty much do all the research for you and narrow down your choices. There after you only need to do a Telegraphic Transfer via your bank and you're all set! They even provide pick up from the airport so that's one less thing you have to worry about. Your contact person will then meet you at the villa upon arrival and introduce you to the staff as well as offer the welcome drinks and cold towels after which a quick tour of the premises! Two contacts that I have immensely enjoyed liaising with are: hany@semuapropertiesbali.com and peni@semuapropertiesbali.com
This time we checked into Villa Coco Bidadari, a 4 bedroom luxury villa. All of us really enjoyed our days there, lazing by the pool and enjoying the breakfasts cooked by the lovely staff. The one things that made our stay so enjoyable- the staff! Apart from maintaining the villa, they were really accommodating during breakfast and even when we started to make nonsensical requests (green juice, extra bacon, rice AND eggs) they were happy to provide as long as we bought the stuff they needed to make us whatever we wanted. This was made super convenient as the supermarket was just a 7 minute walk from the villa. When the staff found out that we were there to celebrate a birthday, they came back with a cake for the birthday girl! As we all looked at each other questioning who put the staff up to it, we realized that they did it 100% of their own initiative! Also, on the day that we came back from white water rafting, we asked the staff to help us buy Babi Guling from Warung Pak Malen which is also 7 minutes from the villa and her timing was perfection, she arrived just as we did and so we ate "fresh" food.
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| Villa Coco Bidadari and the 3 crazies by the pool! |
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| Breakfast time at the villa...check out how professional everything looks! |
Another person that is super essential to ANY trip to Bali is a driver, especially those travelling in groups of 4-7 people, a driver is the most sensible and practical person to have around because they are super accommodating! On one of my trips over, my friends and I had checked out of the villa and wanted to go shopping, our driver was so trustworthy that we left our bags in the car and he did a shopping "pick-up" when required and when it was time, took us to the airport. One driver that I really should go out of the way to recommend is Pak Wayan Sukardia, he speaks English, is smiley and friendly AND you can tell him where you want to go and he will take you there promptly. His prices are also reasonable at Rp.500K (+/- SGD50) for 10hours. Should you ever need a driver his contacts are:
Overseas- +62813 37217017
Local (Indonesia)- 0813 37217017
Send him a text and quote: VanessaSG
Day 2 (Saturday)
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| Cocoon Beach Club |
We spent our first day at Cocoon as the birthday girl wanted to spend her day luxuriating in the sun and just relaxing! She had booked out a cabana as well as 2 deck beds, a minimum spend applies but unlike the beach clubs that you get in Singapore, the minimum spend was realistic and affordable. Towels are provided but for a small fee of Rp.150K (SGD15). The sun that you get at Cocoon is exactly what you need to get a nice tan, but beware, too much and you may WILL get burnt! Sun protection is a must! Cocktails served were nice and potent and the finger food was really tasty. Must orders are the: salt and pepper calamari, nachos and the pizza (any pizza).
For her birthday dinner, we went to Chandi which serves up Indonesian style inspired food. They are famous for the Hot Lava Stone Sate Platters and the Duck Betutu. Whats great about their menu is that they have tasting platters for every course which is perfect for larger groups and social gatherings where everyone wants a try of everything but doesn't want to finish an entire main by his/herself. The cocktails are also uniquely flavored and has an east meets west concept to it- WORTH A TRY! One thing to note is that they only take reservations by phone and groups larger than 14 are recommended to email an inquiry.
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| Dinner at Chandi |
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| Appetizer tasting platter for 2 |
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| L-R: Duck Betutu for 2, Roasted Rolled Crispy Pork Belly, Hot Lava Stone Sate Platter |
Posting these pictures really evoke memories of the tasty food. The duck betutu was cooked to perfection, retaining its moist meat while the spices used are a real reminder of the Balinese traditional cooking. I also thoroughly enjoyed the broth from the Crispy Pork Belly Dish among other things. The way a typically Chinese dish has evolved and come together in the many different textures- the soupy and the crispy, its like bursts of flavor and texture in your mouth. The Hot Lava Stone Sate Platter is somewhat a hit and miss, it is a dish that requires effort because you need to turn the sate and a moment of neglect could mean that your food may overcook on one side. Honestly, I would have much rather ordered specific sort of sates and tried them individually instead of being so over zealous with wanting to try everything!
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| Desserts @ Chandi |
We ended the night by going down the street to a place called...La Favela. It was crowded and hot and just not my cup of tea. It was definitely aptly named for the interior and concept. We didn't stay too long as we were surrounded by rather young and rowdy party goers.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Thinking that we were going to have to sleep off a hangover from the night before, we had booked ourselves for a massage at Spa Bali. I highly recommend pre-booking as they tend to get really busy, they were even turning away potential customers because they were so over booked. Even though we were on time for our appointments at 11am, we had to wait and when our rooms were assigned to us, they tried to pair people up to put in twin rooms for the treatment. If you have an odd number of male/females in the group then someone better be prepared to share. I guess that is what you can expect from a cheap and GOOD place. The masseuse were all professional and made the effort to check if you were ok during the massage yet being discreet throughout. I should also make special mention that their manicure and pedicure services are worth trying because they use top grade products like OPI and branded shellacs. You definitely will get your money's worth here. Everyone was thoroughly happy and satisfied from their treatments but we had to rush off as we had plans for the evening!
...continued in Remembering Bali, Part 2
Cocoon Beach Club
Jl. Double Six, No.66 Blue Ocean Boulevard
Seminyak, Bali
Tel: +62 361 731266
Fax: +62 361 731155
Chandi
Jl. Laksmana 72,
Seminyak, Bali
Tel: +62 361 731060
Email: info@chandibali.com
Spa Bali
Jl. Camplung Tanduk No.888,
Seminyak, Bali
Tel: +62 361 737933
