Blue Point Bay Bali

So below are the pictures from our resort when we were in Bali last. The Blue Point Bay sits on a cliff so from the restaurant and the pool you get some amazing views of the ocean and full view of Bali's spectacular sunsets. We spent the majority of the time by the pool as it is probably the best feature of the hotel. The breakfast buffet was so-so (Novotel in Bogor does it way better) and the staff were friendly but brief (just how I like it) so you can keep some privacy yet have service at a moment's notice. The place itself was well away from the tourist area and foreigners we saw were only surfers so it was really so handy for us to hire a motorcycle while we were in town because to get a taxi out there is quite pricey (about 150rp to get to town). I think it would be so much fun to come here with a big group or a coupley weekend because you are really away from markets and tourists and you can easily just spend all day at the villa.
The villa we had were double storey but we mainly stayed downstairs.

The only downside (I'm not sure for who) would be the wedding chapel next to the pool. When we were there there was an average of 2 weddings a day so it became a daily thing of.."hmm wonder who is getting married today?". It was rather awkward though having the married couple stand next to you to have their photos taken but the couple mostly didn't mind so I guess we didn't either.
The little house with the red roof is the spa. Every guest gets a complimentary foot or shoulder/head massage. It was rather nice inside but unfortunately they only have 5 staff and a long list of guests wanting to have treatments so the queues can be rather long. The guy who runs it is the receptionist/host/admin/reflexology guy so please be patient with him. When we went in there for a reflexology he had some really rude customers because they didn't want to wait.

Blue Point Bay Villa and Spa Hotel
Jl. Labuansait
Uluwatu, Bali

Care package

Look what came for us today! My parents don't make these packages often but when they do I'm always so over the moon about it. Besides sending over some treats and rations, it is also a great opportunity for my parents to lug over some of my stuff that's been lying around their house.

Bye bye Bali, hello macet Jakarta

Macet (traffic) is really the understatement of the century. Imagine leaving Bali (pic above) and coming back to mayhem. We didn't really want to leave Bali, it took alot for us, truly. We decided to come back to Jakarta at 6pm thinking that we would at least beat a bit of the Monday night traffic - but we were so wrong...on so many levels.

Terrible traffic to last into late evening
The Jakarta Post | Mon, 10/25/2010

Hectic traffic conditions in Jakarta, following three hours of heavy rains, will likely last well into Monday evening, a Jakarta Police Traffic Management Center officer says.

First Insp. Kasno told tempointeraktif.com that the traffic would begin to ease between 10 and 11 p.m., considering the massive queues of vehicles heading toward Depok, Bekasi and Tangerang.

The police said the worst traffic snarls were on Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, the Senayan traffic circle, Jl. Latuharhari, Palmerah junction, Jl. Rasuna Said, Jl. Senopati, Blok O and Dharmawangsa.

The heavy rains caused a number of rivers in Jakarta to flood, inundating several major streets and felling a number of trees, bringing rush hour traffic to a standstill.

So we were in the taxi for roughly a little over four hours...on a ride that would normally take 35 minutes. There was one stage where we were on the toll and not moving for a good hour. It was painful, we felt bad for our taxi driver. He just got to the airport and we were his first customer, so basically his whole shift was just us. We asked what he would do after dropping us off (as he is expected to go back to the airport and pick up more passengers) and he told us that he was going to just sleep.

Sunday Brunch

Let the weekend begin

Doesn't that look relaxing? But more on that picture later.

All was smooth sailing today. We took the earliest flight (6.30 am) and got to Bali at roughly 10 am, right in time for brunch. Our hotel is quite isolated so we decided to rent a motorbike in town which was really the best thing we could have done because;
1.) motorbikes are awesome!
2.) we are not reliant on finding and catching taxis
3.) with so much construction going on in Bali at the moment, we flew through the traffic
So we stuffed our hand luggage in between the motor and the seat and off we went whizzing around the island. The only problem we came across was getting stopped over by a group of police on the way to Uluwatu for no apparent reason. One asked for our licence (which we don't have an Indonesian motorcycle licence) and we were already groaning and moaning at the thought of forking over money to pay the police. We both answered "ada apa?" and I think they were so surprised to hear Marcel speak bahasa that they quickly changed their tune and asked "where are you going?" then sent us on our way, whew!



We got to our hotel and it was a great choice I have to say! We didn't want to leave the pool really so we spent the majority of the afternoon til sunset just hanging out.

Note: we hired the motorcycle for 50rp a day with a 100rp deposit in which we got back when we are done with it. This is the local rate because we got a friend, who is part Indonesian to ask for prices in Bahasa, I think for westerners/foreigners it would be more expensive.

Packing for Bali

So seeing as the hubby has been MIA (missing in action) with work as of late, I decided to organise a weekend trip to Bali for his birthday. It was actually meant to be a surprise, but he is quite particular with his requests so there was actually no way for me to pick the perfect time for us to fly and a hotel that he would like. In this regard we are quite polar opposites: for me, I would rather pick a hotel in which I've been before or a hotel that is right in the middle of the hustle and bustle (ok maybe it's because I've always been a city girl) but my better half prefers a hotel that is quite pleasing on the eyes with a combination and requirements which only he knows, so I made him choose hah!

Today I've been running around quite a bit, between confirming the flights, transferring money to the hotel and packing for the both of us (the hubby comes home late tonight and there is no way he will be sane enough to pack), it's all been a bit of a rush. We have literally no time (2 days) in Bali and whatever I can settle or pre-pay now will hopefully make the trip run smoothly...but ok this is Indonesia, there will always be something we have overlooked.

Rambutan season

Long queues

The husband is in Singapore for a one day trip for work and didn't get home til well after 10pm. Look at what he had to endure at Soekarno-Hatta, I do not envy that.

Paulaner Brauhaus

We did a small pit stop at Paulaner today as the husband is missing a bit of Bavaria.

Paulaner Brauhaus
Ground Level East Mall
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town,
Jl M H Thamrin No 1
Jakarta 10310
Tel: (021) 23583871 ‎

Opening hours:
Sunday to Thursday from 11:30 to 00:30
Friday to Saturday from 11:30 to 1:30
Live Music is available:
Monday to Saturday from 21:00 to 24:00

View from the top

These will send me broke

I haven't visited Linea for quite some time. Mainly because I know that whenever I visit this shop I always leave with alot of lust and a long list of shoes to buy. I spotted these Schutz heels (in particular, the red one below) and fell in lust. What I like about this Brazilian brand is that it has padded leather inserts so you feet are cushioned and the detailing on their shoes are so intricate that you know whoever designed these made sure that they looked good from every angle - from the soles to the heels and lining, every shoe has been thought through. Dangit this brand is going to send me broke.

Girl talk

I met up with a girlfriend of mine for a bit of window shopping and some girl talk today. When I found her, she was at a make up counter in Sogo trying to decide on whether or not to buy some beauty products. She reminded me that she is in her 30's and things are starting to wrinkle. I then suddenly realised that I will enter my 30's soon and suggested to her that perhaps I should also look into these beauty products. She laughed at me for a while, really. She then said "but you're married, you don't need to look good anymore, you already have the guy!". We then headed to Hacienda where she was catching me up on her dating adventures.

I've never really had any dating horrors, sure awkwardness, but horrors? It seems single life these days are not so much fun and my friend (like alot of my single friends) are concerned about never finding the right partner. I wish they believe me when I say that all those cliche sayings are really true, that it happens when you least expect it and when you relax and enjoy the journey, the right person will come along but alot of the time all I seem to get are rolling of the eyes and a big sigh.

Tas Tajur

As the husband is at his golf tournament I decided to brave it and venture out into the town of Bogor for the day. The shuttle bus dropped myself and a Malay couple off at Botanic Square mall and on the way, we all got to chatting. They were giving me directions via ankots (local mode of transport) to the touristy destinations because it seems I am looking a little like a high-maintenance spoilt chick today. They even told me to "have a little adventure in Bogor and mingle with the locals"...umm ok sure. I politely smiled and failed to tell them that I am a local.

I made my way to Jalan Tajur for some handbag shopping. There are three stores there where I knew I would walk away with something, and I was right, I wanted to walk away with 5 things. In the end, I forced myself into getting just one purchase so I settled on this. A simple black clutch.




Tajur Fashion
Jl. Raya Tajur no 20
Bogor