Longchamp in Bali

In Kuta

 No trip would be complete without looking around for Longchamp bargains abroad. On our third night in Bali, we managed ( at last) to go to Kuta, and we got to walk the streets which appeares very much like Hongkong. Tiny shop fronts with interesting composition of things showcased.

I came across this Lonchamp bag at the window front. Two Longchamp bags displayed like so. As I walked towards our transport to take us back to the hotel, I kept wondering....was it the real thing.

At the airport

The only other place I saw Longchamps being sold was at the airport.  Ngurah Rai Denpasar airport is very new. And it reminded me a little of the Budapest airport. Just look at the delicious colours shown in the shelf above. *swoon* Price wise...it was only 40 ringgit cheaper than at KLIA airport.

The entrance to the shop at the airport

Nasi Padang

So many bowls

On day 1 in Bali, we were left to our own devices. "Free and easy" that's what we were told. Very nice if you're in a place near town ie Kuta to browse and spend money. ( Yay) Not so nice when you're landed in a secluded area called Nusa Dua. After many whassap messages, we took two taxis and got here. A place near enough to have Nasi Padang.

There was steam rice ( not shown in this picture) and many bowls of precooked dishes to choose from. You get all these sent to your table regardless. You then choose which one you want. And you are only charged the ones you eat from. We were famished by that time, so many bowls were messed with and we paid accordingly.

If you squint hard, you can make out the green "sambal hijau"( Daun Ubi Tumbuk ....). THAT was yummy. The aubergine  sambal dish ( Terong Balado )was another favorite. Someone ate some brains in sambal. (Gulai Otak....ewe!)

I believe Nasi Padang originates from Padang, which lies in West Sumatra Indonesia. From my reading, a restaurant selling Nasi Padang has a typical facade. ( Missed that because it was dark when we arrived).

Sunday Mass in Bali

The crowd after morning mass

 I attended Sunday mass at the catholic church in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia last Sunday. The name of the church is Gereja Katolik Bunda Segala Bangsa. The morning mass on Sunday in Bahasa Indonesia starts at 0800. And not at 0830am. Most websites gave me a link to a forum which has this time. ( Incorrect!)

Inside the church

 The church is lovely. And guess what? It is air-conditioned. Imagine that. I still can't get use t the idea of a Catholic church being air conditioned. Makes me feel like it's too comfortable and posh.

Interesting how it sounds nicer in Bahasa Indonesia

Let me tell you, the singing by the choir was glorious. Absolutely amazing. And the mass stretched to 1.5 hours as a result of all the singing( which was lovely) and a rather prolonged homily by a visiting priest. ( Whose parish was chosen to animate mass that Sunday). The taxi I took from the hotel chose to stay and wait for me. It cost me rm45 in total. Would have been cheaper for him not to have waited but he did.

Bahasa Indonesia and our local language while at a glance may be similar, are also in many ways very different. the accent and the formation of simple sentences are different enough to make me not understand bits of the homily. The order of the mass is the same anywhere in the world. ( Thankful for that as I've heard mass in Latin, Thai, Vietnamese and German and Tamil and Mandarin and Cantonese)

Krishna

Krishna is the equivalent of Mydin in Malaysia. A cheap store where you are assured you can afford most things in it. My only gripe, we had ( again) very little time to browse. We were given 45 minutes and i spend a lot of time just browsing and taking pictures leaving the actual shopping to the last 15 minutes. Only to realise, there was a long line to pay.

Empty shop

There was a deja vu feeling when I entered the shop and only at the end did I realise that I had been here before a few years ago. *duh* Felt a bit silly. Such a difference from the last time, which coincided with the Indonesian holiday and what we had was bus loads of locals doing their shopping here as well. It was packed like sardines. And this time I am no exaggerating.

And this time. Almost zero strangers apart from our little bus group of people. It felt weird. He he. I think the shopping spirit wasn't all there.

I did pick up some souvenirs for friends. And a pair of slippers for the little niece. Which cost a mere RM4. ( Woo!!) And I got three t shirts which are locally made with some cute indonesian words on them.

Jimbaran

Our table

We had dinner organized for us at Jimbaran beach. This is THE place to be when the sun sets. It is apparently beyond this world and worth waiting. But the evening we were there, the clouds were out. The sunset was muted. Not really disappointed. But the organizer was. Dinner was still good. With the obvious boisterous company, it was destined to be good with or without the glorious sunset.  Just a note, chairs tend to sink when you sit on them. And we were all a bit lopsided throughout dinner. Plus it got darker and darker and the atmosphere changed to a darker cosier one,

The many tables on the beach

The tables you see in the picture above, were packed with people by the time we finished dinner. So this really is the place to hang out in Bali. Sadly, we were only too eager to leave this for Kuta and Hard Rock Cafe. Yes I'm shallow that way. But hey hey, shopping is always a good thing. By this evening, my rupiahs were down to a measely RM50. And so any shopping had to be in a "posh" place which accepts credit cards. ( HRC was just such a place)

APSR Bali 2014

At the congress

Last weekend I was in Bali for the 19th Congress of Asia Pacific Society of Respirology 2014. It was held at the Bali Convention Center Nusa Dua, which is a gated area housing in addition to the congress venue, 4 other hotels. We stayed at the Laguna. ( The taxi-man told us the President of Indonesia would also stay at this hotel when he comes to Bali. Fancy that!) The other hotels are The Westin, Melia, and the Hyatt. All within walking distance to the convention centre but let me just tell you Bali is hot hot hot. And even just standing at the hotel foyer ( open concept, no aircon) you will have sweat pouring down your forehead and back and you'll be stickily unhappy within 10 minutes. So no, I wouldn't recommend walking at all.

We did however walk one afternoon. The bus service was non-existent and we didnt want to miss the afternoon lectures. It was a downhill walk and we were in a group so I must confess it wasn't such an ordeal as expected. But I wouldn't do it again anytime soon.

Nusa Dua is a lovely place ...secluded and quite a distance from town ie Kuta and any remotely decent priced shopping areas. As a result of this, I did minimal shopping during this trip.

We did go to Pasar Seniwati. And I got 4 paintings there. ( Which was what I wanted anyway !!) Batik in Bali isn't so nice. Their prints are almost all the same, and the nicer ones are rather expensive rm300++. I think if you're interested in actually shopping for Batik, your best bet is Jakarta. (nod)

Somewhere near Pasar Seni Seniwati

Just look at the selection of paintings. What I wanted was a really really huge painting. But I changed my mind at the very last minute, and settled for a significantly smaller one. Still no regrets. I wouldn't have found a nice to hang it had I bought the huge painting.