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Bintan Lagoon Resort (Day 2)

Veron Ang — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:51:48 +0000

Rise and shine! We started our second day at Bintan Lagoon Resort with buffet breakfast at kopi-o restaurant. When I’m having a buffet breakfast it’s almost always when I’m on vacation. That’s why buffet breakfasts make me happy :)

Anyways, the spread here consists of both Asian and Western food. We wasted no time in filling our plates.

East meets West when you have fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli), sambal belachan (fermented shrimp paste) and Turkey bacon all on the same plate. Colourful huh?

Those with a sweet tooth would probably prefer the pastries and snacks. The kueh lapis (layer cake) here is pretty in pink, similar in taste and texture to our colourful 9-layered version. As a huge fan of waffles, I was ecstatic to have them here too. Unfortunately they were pretty thin and lacked flavour.

Following a sumptuous breakfast, it’s tee off time! We headed to the golf clubhouse (in our buggy of course) with its glorious 18-hole golf courses. There were a few early birds who beat us there in the morning.

Nothing beats having a nice hot cuppa coffee in the cold morning, don’t you think? It’s great that there’s haskell’s, a decent café at the golf club that overlooks the undulating green lands. There’s an old wives’ tale that claims looking at grass in the morning is very good for the eyes. I wonder if there’s any truth in that?

We noticed that out of the 12 eateries at the resort, at least a few of them share a common drinks menu with the same prices and all. We had hot chocolate at miyako Japanese restaurant the previous day, and had the exact same hot chocolate over here too. And by hot chocolate, it’s actually hot Milo at $6 a cup!

Next, we drove our buggy to the resort’s private beach. The buggy sure was a joy to drive around :)

Photo by Nobodyin

At the beach, outdoor massage services are provided at elevated pavilions (in addition to the indoor day spa)! Very rustic and exotic. That’s bound to be a memorable experience.

As there was a slight drizzle, we lounged around the swimming pool instead. The pool features a café, ripples by the pool, that has its own swim-up bar. This concept has gained popularity in many resorts.

Orange Juice
S$6+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

Imagine swimming right up to a bar and be served a luscious piña colada or a freshly squeezed fruit juice!

Vanilla Coco
S$7+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

Here’s another drink that we had tried and loved — the vanilla coco, a glorious blend of banana, vanilla ice cream and coconut milk. I’m so getting a blender to make my own vanilla coco! Let’s hope I perfect the recipe :)

People literally spend half the day at the pool. We were there near noon. By the time we returned for a second round of drinks in the late evening, the same group of people was still frolicking in the pool!

Honey Chicken Wing
S$15+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

Other than the drinks, the pool bar also served surprisingly good food! The honey chicken wings were a delightful snack, with perfectly grilled wings coated in a honey-sweet hoi sin sauce. Yummy! The spicy dip that came with the crinkle-cut fries was very tasty too.

Chicken Quesadillas
S$17+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

The chicken quesadillas gave a sense of déjà vu of my trip to Texas almost two years ago. I so miss the colourful Tex-Mex food and it was a nice surprise to be able to have it at ripples.

The quesadillas were great, with the flavoursome combination of spring onion, sweet pepper and cheese, coupled with the awesome salsa dips.

Aside: if anyone could point me to a good Mexican restaurant in Singapore, I would be so grateful. Although the last time I met a Mexican, he lamented that there’s no decent Mexican restaurant here.

Thai Green Curry
S$17+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

The skilful rendition of foreign cuisines ended when we got to the Thai green curry. It was overly salty and sour. And because it was very watered down, it was akin to drinking Chinese soup rather than a thick curry gravy. At least the chicken meat was soft and tender.

After a very satisfying lunch, we decided it’s time to get out of the resort. A shuttle service that brings guests on a 1.5 hour shopping trip at pasar oleh oleh leaves the resort twice a day. It’s $6 per person for the two-way trip. Too bad we couldn’t drive our buggy there!

The mini shuttle bus picked us up at the main lobby. The ride took about 20 minutes. I was dismayed to see the familiar colourful “bintan resorts” logo at the entrance. It meant that the shops cater specially to resort guests, not locals. Red warning lights immediately flashed in my mind. Tourist trap!

Photo by Almixnuts

Once again, all prices here are in terms of Singapore dollars. Most of the wares sold were those we had already seen at our resort’s shopping galleria. The usual wooden figurines, oil paintings and beachwear. Even while shopping, we had to fend off several locals trying to bring us to other places in Bintan, for a fee of course.

Of course, there are also a few polo ralph lauren shops for good measure.

Photo by createyu

So are these the authentic polo ralph lauren? The prices are in the same range, although the stores seem to have a perpetual 20 to 50 percent storewide discount. After some googling, I learned that the polo ralph lauren stores in Bintan are a special franchise licensed by the label, but with inferior quality and cutting.

Photo by Apricot Cafe

This whole place is laid out like a kampung (traditional Malay village), with the shops housed in small houses. It’s actually a pretty unique place. But the things sold need to be more interesting. You would find almost the same items in shop after shop.

Our transport back to the resort would arrive only after 1.5 hours, and we had an hour left to kill. So we went to kampoeng lagoi on the opposite side of the road.

Photo by Nobodyin

This is a smaller and quieter area with massage parlours, cafés (including a haagen dazs) and — you guessed it — yet another polo ralph lauren store. We also noticed that the shops didn’t have air-conditioning, perhaps to save on electricity due to the low traffic?

Photo by Apricot Cafe

This beautiful building houses a spa salon. Doesn’t it look zen?

Eventually we got back to the resort, feeling like we had been stiffed of $12 visiting a tourist trap. Sweet relief followed at horizons café in the main lobby.

Photo by Bintan Lagoon Resort

You can sit on bright orange bar stools and enjoy a slice of cake. We had ourselves some slices of creamy goodness. See?

Tiramisu! I love that the name of the cake is ON the cake. Cute!

Mango smoothie! Nice transparent stirrer, eh? I brought home a couple of these as small memory keepsakes!

Well, that’s it for our 2D1N trip in Bintan. Most good things come to an end, and it ended way too soon! I’d like to thank all the people who made this trip possible. It was a much needed break that we really needed.

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Bintan Lagoon Resort (Day 1)

Veron Ang — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:25:01 +0000

Over the past weekend my friend and I were invited to enjoy a 2D1N stay at Bintan Lagoon Resort. Our task was simple: review the resort and check out its facilities and restaurants. See, this 12 year old resort (highly popular among Singaporeans) has just renovated some of its rooms. We had the luxury of staying in one of these newly refurbished deluxe rooms!

Following a 60-minute ferry ride from tanah merah, we arrived at Bintan ferry terminal and met nasir, a guide from the resort who would drive us there. He even held up a white placard with my name “veron” written in block letters! It’s the first time I had been identified this way at airports, or ferry terminals for that matter. It made me feel all important!

The car ride was a short 15 minutes along roads that seemed well-maintained, flanked by greenery on both sides. In some ways it looked like Singapore! Upon arriving at Bintan lagoon resort, we were greeted by a group of dancers performing their traditional dance. There were even music performers banging their drums and playing festive/celebratory music, the whole shebang! Boy, did we feel invited! That’s a really nice way to welcome guests :)

Welcome to tropical paradise!

Checking in was a breeze. Yet another welcome gesture came in the form of wet towels and fruit punch. Do all resorts offer these? I enjoyed the same welcome treatment at Contiki Resort Bali too! Very nice!

Public relations manager sari then gave us a quick briefing and assured us that all meals were on the house and we should just enjoy our stay! Woohoo!

We were allocated a sea-facing room on the fifth level. Yay!

Ta-da! That’s our deluxe room! My first thought was: wow, this room is huge! It even had a large traditional day bed which was unexpected! It’s like having two big beds in one room!

Photo by Bintan Lagoon Resort

One thing that I judge a hotel room by is the cleanliness of its bathroom, especially since I have a phobia of dirty bathrooms. Ours was clean enough, and even came with a large full-length mirror on one side of the wall! I liked the shower too. Too bad the ceiling vent was really dusty and, at one point, dropped a furry ball of dust into the bathtub.

Basic toiletries were adequate, with toothbrush sets and a hairdryer provided.

Yay for the flat-screen television too! To our surprise, it had all the Singapore channels… Channel 5, 8, u, suria, you name it. Boy, does this resort cater to Singaporeans! Of course, we stuck to espn and hbo most of the time.

Our balcony had a sea view (and these rattan chairs). Unfortunately, the sea view was a tiny one as it was blocked by all the tall trees. As a matter of fact, the whole resort is shrouded in greenery, with the beach just a couple of minutes’ walk away. Pretty nice don’t you think? But it’s also due to this very fact that you’re surrounded by nature, you would notice many creepy crawlies around, though we didn’t get any within our room.

After finishing our oohing and ahhing at our nice deluxe room, we met sari again for a tour of the resort. She drove us around in a golf buggy (we got one for ourselves later too!) to check out all the facilities.

Besides hotel rooms, bigger (or perhaps richer) groups can opt to stay in villas. This one above is an angsoka villa, the biggest range of villas you would find at the resort. It’s double-storey, with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a mini pool at the back, a barbeque pit and comes with a cute golf buggy for convenient transportation!

Speaking of that golf buggy, we reviewers got one too! Haha! Otherwise, it’s $20 to loan it by the hour. Certainly not a cheap form of transportation!

I might as well mention it now. The currency in use here is Singapore dollars. We were a little shocked when we learned this for the first time. Last I checked, Bintan was still part of Indonesia. And now all the rupiah we had exchanged for this trip had been effectively rendered useless. Can anyone verify if Singapore currency is used throughout Bintan, or just at the resort?

Beware! Raptors inside! Doesn’t that remind you of jurassic park? This is the entrance to the laser quest arena, a fun activity for bigger groups. There’s paintball too!

Various facilities include golf courses, spa, sea sports such as banana boat and jet ski, and even activities catered to kids (face painting). So there’s really something for everybody! One catch is that most of these things come at a price. A good rule of thumb to follow is that as long as it’s something you can play with or use, you’d probably have to fork out money for it.

By the time we finished our tour, it’s 2:30pm in Bintan, or 3:30pm Singapore time as our bodies were accustomed to. To cut the long story short: we were famished! So lunch was at miyako Japanese restaurant.

An aquarium of lobsters welcomed us as we walked through the door, so that’s what we had.

Our $180 jo course consisted of a half lobster, sashimi and wagyu beef, served with appetiser, salad, steamed rice, miso soup and dessert. When you bring a food blogger to a nice fancy restaurant, she’s obviously gonna review the food right?

Salad and Appetiser
Part of $180 Jo Course+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

The salad and appetisers were fine, especially since my friend’s a fan of seasoned baby octopus. I’m not so sure what the yellow thing was. It tasted like agar agar.

Sashimi
Part of $180 Jo Course+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

The sashimi was swimmingly good! These thick slices of fresh fish were so tender, they seemed to melt in the mouth. oishi desu (yummy)!

Wagyu Beef
Part of $180 Jo Course+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

Another melt-in-your-mouth sensation came when we tasted the wagyu beef. Now, beef is one thing I never thought could be described as such. But what we had was the tenderest beef we’ve ever had in our entire lives! Excellent stuff!

Half Lobster
Part of $180 Jo Course+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

The half lobster was a generous portion. Unfortunately, it was served with so much fried egg (???) that its natural seafood taste was masked. But it’s been such a long time since I had oodles of lobster meat. too long! So no further complaints there! I also loved that it came with three different sauces to add flavour.

Ebi (Prawn) Tempura
S$25+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

In the mood for something deep fried, we ordered soft-shell crab. But unfortunately it wasn’t available then so we had the ebi (prawn) tempura instead. It was a good choice, as the prawns were plump and juicy, and the batter light and non-oily. I thought the origami crane was cute too. I can just imagine the kitchen staff sitting at one table folding origami! Haha!

Unagi Kabayaki (Grilled eel)
S$30+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

I have a weakness for unagi kabayaki (grilled eel) and it’s one of my staples at any Japanese restaurant. The one here is perfectly grilled and doused in a nice sauce.

Chicken Teriyaki
Rating:

The chicken teriyaki on the other hand was quite average. The meat was a tad tougher than I would have liked too.

Matcha (Green Tea) Ice Cream
Part of $180 Jo Course+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

We ended our extravagant Japanese meal with matcha (green tea) ice cream. Overall, the food was fresh and service was great. Prices were very steep though, and would probably not appeal to the average Singaporean.

After the hearty meal, we relaxed at the main lobby. The lobby is characterised by the high ceiling of intersecting wood beams. Here you can rest on the sofas and day beds and read the day’s papers (local papers and the Straits Times from Singapore!).

Photo by Bintan Lagoon Resort

You would also find a few lounge areas with these comfy rattan furniture.

A row of shops beside the lobby offers some relief to the shopaholics. There’s a snack shop as well as a big store selling beachwear, sundresses, souvenirs and crafts.

Photo by tan.jenna

Ralph lauren seemed to have found his way here too. The polo ralph lauren shop at the resort is but one of the many on the island. Is this the real thing, you ask? Well, I have the answer which I’ll post in my day 2 entry. Stay tuned!

And for now, more foodie goodies! Okay, I’m well aware that there is a ton of food pictures here when a resort vacation should be more about the sun, the sand and the sea. But honestly, it was raining throughout our entire trip. (damn the monsoon season!) what else could we do but eat right? Indulge me please!

Dinner was settled at orzo, a European/mediterranean restaurant.

From the looks of it, this was a fine-dining restaurant. How do I tell? Why, by the amount of cutlery on the table of course. Immediately I got self-conscious about the fact that I was wearing a spaghetti-strap top and shorts amidst a few tables of well-dressed caucasians and locals! Eventually, it was my countrymen that saved me when a group of equally sloppily dressed Singaporeans clad in bermudas and flip-flops came in for a meal. Phew!

Crab and Mozzarella
S$16+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

We ordered the crab and mozzarella appetiser. I’m not as big a fan of cheese as I am of crab. So this dish doesn’t get many drumsticks from me given the ample portions of mozzarella and minute amounts of crabmeat. Full marks though, for the artful presentation, especially with the surrounding saffron mayonnaise as a finishing touch. (this being a dark restaurant, my camera failed me as it always does in dark places. But rest assured, the food did look good.)

On the other hand, the lobster bisque tasted divine and boasted a rich seafood taste. Yum!

Chicken Kebab
S$35+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

The main course of lobster ravioli was a disappointment. The pasta wrapping around the ingredients was way too thick while the filling was way too little. We weren’t exactly expecting full-on lobster flesh (although that would have been nice) but there was no way we could tell there’s lobster in this; it could have easily passed off as chicken!

Chicken Kebab
S$28+ + 10% Government Tax
Rating:

Speaking of chicken, my chicken kebab definitely made an entrance. It turned heads as the waiter brought it out, skewer and meat rack and all. The skewer had chicken chunks alternating with onion, tomato and pepper, served with baked potato and robust dips. Our waiter obligingly waited for me to take a picture before helpfully getting all the edibles off the skewer and onto my plate. The meat was good, with that slight burnt taste.

To close the night, we were invited for a few rounds of drinks at silk, the resort’s club. Sari said that this is the most happening nightspot in Bintan. They have a deejay, a live band performing English songs, and a dance floor too.

And that’s it for our first day at Bintan lagoon resort! We felt extremely relaxed, pampered and well taken care of by all the friendly people working at the resort :)

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Bali (Day 3)

Veron Ang — Mon, 29 May 2006 05:44:19 +0000

last day in Bali. I have never felt sadder! This is one trip that I have thoroughly enjoyed. It has turned out way better than I anticipated. Over here at Contiki Resort Bali, the people couldn’t be nicer. I met some great people and had some great company over the brief period I was here. But it’s time to go home.

during check-out at the resort, I got most of my money refunded. The bungy jump was free, and so were the spa treatments I had paid for earlier. All of a sudden, I found myself a hundred bucks richer. So I went to the gift shop and got myself a couple of these Contiki t-shirts.

then it was finally time to go. Bala didn’t come in until much later in the afternoon, so I didn’t get to say goodbye to him. I felt terrible during the entire way to denpasar Bali airport. I couldn’t bear to leave Bali! There is still so much more to see, so many more things to do! But well, good things never last long.

at the airport, people needed to have a valid boarding pass to even enter the departure hall. I wonder if this means people can’t send their loved ones off since non ticket holders aren’t allowed entry? We went through metal detectors to enter the departure hall. Security here was pretty tight. The metal bangles I was wearing made the metal detector go off. Once again, the policeman asked inappropriate questions like “are you single?”. What is up with Balinese policemen and all their unnecessary questions?

denpasar Bali airport is one of the dreariest airports around. Everything here just looks so gloomy. It obviously didn’t make me feel better. After checking in, I went around looking for a place to eat at and spend my remaining rupiah notes. Even the restaurants looked dark and drab.

lunch was at the Prada restaurant right outside my boarding gate. I had ayam goreng kecap which was deep fried chicken served with steamed rice and soy sauce. It was the first (and last) good meal I had in Bali!

had one last cocktail before I left. I lost count of the number of cocktails, shots and beers I had over the past two days. For my final cocktail it was moonstruck, a refreshing frozen blend of Bali moon coconut liqueur, vodka, blue curacao and soursop juice.

a tiramisu, and I’m good to go. By the way things in Bali always seem cheap on paper, until they charge a 21% tax in addition to the listed price.

onboard the plane, we were served with orange juice once again. I fell asleep pretty soon after that. When the food came, I had a choice between rice and pasta and I chose the latter. This time the food fared better than what I had on the previous flight.

the dessert looked nice. It was some sort of pudding.

compared to the previous flight, this was a far more pleasant one. The air stewardesses were more helpful. When the plane touched down in Singapore Changi Airport, I realised I had come back here exactly the way I left it. It was raining.

i spent some time around the duty free zone, sampling cosmetics and perfume. After trying out like a hundred of them, I opted for britney spears’ fantasy.

the sweet fragrance includes jasmine, white chocolate orchid, lychee, kiwi, etc. I never really like those strong floral fragrances so the light refreshing scent from fantasy is perfect. The packaging just looks so pretty!

the bottle itself is gorgeous too!

what a pretty and sweet ending to a beautiful vacation! Once again I would like to thank stefan, editor of funkygrad.com for trusting me enough to send me on this trip. Great thanks go to Contiki obviously, for sponsoring the trip. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s been one dream ride! Now all that’s left to do is hold the memories close to my heart, and write an ass kickin’ review article on Contiki Resort Bali.

so here endeth the Bali trip.

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Bali (Day 2)

Veron Ang — Sun, 28 May 2006 16:31:32 +0000

Day 2 starts off with breakfast by the pool.

The buffet spread wasn’t good as the food variety was rather limited. There was the usual bacon, omelette, sausages, bread, etc.

Had myself an omelette with onion and tomato.

For the first time, I had a good view of the resort in daylight. My room is the first one from the left, on the ground level.

After breakfast, I went to the CAPs central to register for a bungy jump in the evening. Then I decided to try out the Aussie lifestyle. Well you know what they say about Aussies — they drink all the time! They drink in the morning, in the afternoon and at night.

The pool bar is really cool. People can simply swim up and get themselves a cocktail without ever getting out of the water! I had a lychee martini which was blue and tasted quite bad! Natalie, the assistant manager of the resort came over and said hello. She is also Australian! It seems everyone at the resort was Australian.

There was nothing left to do early in the morning so I came back to my room to plan my itinerary for the day. Relaxed by the pool at my patio. Life is good!

Then I managed to call up the spa and booked a spa and facial treatment. Fantastic! The spa at Contiki Resort Bali is reputed to be one of the best on the island.

For my spa treatment, I decided to indulge in a two-hour-long chocolate obsession. Everything used in the spa was chocolate! Chocolate butter, chocolate scrub, chocolate shower gel, chocolate moisturiser, etc.

I changed into a Balinese bathrobe in the locker room, before going for the sinful treatment.

The spa treatment started off with my feet being massaged and washed gently in scented water. Then, the real chocolate obsession began! I took off my bathrobe, and was given a traditional lomi lomi Balinese full body massage with chocolate butter. Every part of my body was massaged, from my head, to my fingers, right down to my toes. I’m not someone who is used to being touched, so at some point I felt real ticklish and had to hold my laughter in.

After that, a chocolate almond scrub was used to exfoliate my skin. My whole body was then spread with real thick chocolate, ginger and cinnamon. It got a little cold at that moment because I was basically all naked in an air-conditioned room, and covered in wet chocolate. Luckily, I was soon wrapped in a thick and comforting cocoon of blanket. The masseuse then left me alone for a while. I fell asleep. When she came back, it was time for the most enjoyable shower of my life.

I washed myself with chocolate shower gel and tried to make it last as long as possible; it simply smelled so good! I also felt a little bad because the whole shower floor was now filled with brown thick chocolate and I wondered if it would drain away by itself eventually. When I finally finished my shower, I moisturised my skin with a delicious chocolate lotion. I liked the lotion so much I bought three bottles of it right there and then.

That wasn’t the end of my heavenly treatment. After the spa treatment, I went to another room, a brighter room this time, for a facial.

I’m not too sure what went on this time because I basically fell asleep during the entire hour-long treatment. It was 3pm by the time I left the spa. I realised my treatments had actually been prolonged by an hour! On paper they were only supposed to have lasted three hours, but I had spent a total of four hours in there! The best part? It was all free. Free, free, free, free free!

There was some time left before the bungy jump crew came to pick me up at 4:30pm, so I went for some lunch. Actually I couldn’t decide whether or not to have lunch, since there was the possibility I might puke everything out during the jump.

I had a hard time finding a place to eat. I didn’t want to go back to the pool side restaurant where I had breakfast, so I checked out the one outside and opposite the resort. There was completely no customer around. In the end I came back to the sports bar for lunch, which was a real mistake.

I ordered the chicken cashew, which was supposed to come with cashew nuts obviously, vegetables, lemongrass, coriander and rice. The order was made at 3:45, but the food didn’t arrive until 4:25! Ridiculous! The bungy van was supposed to pick me up at 4:30! Even more ridiculous was when gus served me the chicken cashew and said “enjoy your chicken cashew!” when there was just chicken and rice and vegetables — no cashews! At least the sunsplash cocktail was good. It was a mix of vodka, cranberry, orange and lime juice. I reckoned I needed some alcohol before my big once-in-a-lifetime jump.

the bungy van picked me up at the resort. After a bumpy ride, we arrived at the aj hackett bungy site at the double six club. It was right by the beach at sunset.

The first thing I did before the jump was to sign a disclaimer form. It basically frees aj hackett of any responsibility should my death result from the jump.

Next, my weight was taken to decide the bungy cord I would use. When I got onto the weighing machine, I was alarmed to see that my weight was over 60 kilograms! I immediately knew that the machine wasn’t working correctly; it looked pretty old and all. The guys asked me to get onto it again, and it still showed 60 kilograms! Finally on my third attempt, it showed my true weight. One of the guys probably had his foot on the machine!

I put on the harness and emptied my pockets of everything. Took a photograph that might well be my last! Finally, I went up to the top of the tower along with four of the crew. The elevator ride was a long one, during which I got an incredibly beautiful view of Bali at sunset.

Up there, everything in the surrounding looks so tiny. The 45-metre tower definitely seems taller when you get up there. I sat on top of a platform while one of the guys wrapped my legs in a towel. Yeah, a towel! It looks exactly like the one I have at home. I had some serious douBTS about this whole thing when I saw the towel. A leather cord was tied around the towel. A metal contraption then linked this leather cord and my harness to the real bungy cord that would plunge me down to earth. Should the towel or the leather cord come free, I would die an instant death!

By then I was seriously freaked and almost chickened out. But the guys were egging me on to jump when two of them hadn’t even bungy jumped before!

I had to stand right on the edge of the ledge. Right beneath my toes I could feel cold air.

Everything looked so small! My heart was pumping real fast. I said a silent prayer, took a giant leap, and left it all to fate.

During the first few seconds of the jump I was in total free fall. It felt ten times more freakish than any thrill ride I had been on at any amusement park! Total free fall! Totally free! When the bungy cord finally extended to its full length, I felt a series of rapid violent tugs which I feared would break the cord free. Thank god nothing of that sort happened.

I don’t know how long I was in the air for, but up there, I managed to get a good dizzy view of everything around. I was spinned in circles so many times! Up there in the air, all I had was a sense of exhilaration I had never felt before. It was a mixture of incredible adrenalin rush, total freedom, and outright fear.

Eventually I was slowly lowered to the ground. I had survived the first bungy jump in my life! Back on the ground, they asked me if I was ready for my second jump. Second jump? Did I even sign up for that? I then realised that the bungy package included two jumps, one forward, one backward.

The first jump really freaked me and I thought I would never do it again! But it also gave me more confidence. I deliberated for quite a while before deciding that yeah, I was game for my second jump!

The backward jump was even freakier than the first! You have to stand with your back facing outwards, and lean backward with the guy holding on to your harness. On the count 5-4-3-2-1, the guy lets go and you are on your way down! This time I very nearly chickened out. It is a lot harder and scarier jumping off backward, because your eyes don’t see where you are jumping off to.

I did it anyway!

Many people would be curious how they get you down after the jump. You are lowered down far enough where there would be a guy on the ground holding on to a long pole. You try your best to reach the pole and the guy pulls you onto the ground.

There. I have survived two bungy jumps, and lived to talk about it!

For my bravery, I received a certificate. I have joined the worldwide bungy fellowship and confronted the natural fear of heights!

I also paid for some photos taken of my bungy jumps, burnt onto a disc.

T-shirts to remember my first bungy experience!

After the jump, I had the luxury to see Bali’s sunset on the beach. Beach sunsets are always beautiful and magnificent.

On the wet sand, there were so many crab holes. And for the first time, I could actually see a couple of crabs scurrying into their holes.

I had wanted to get back to the resort for the theme dinner. But along the way I saw so many nice-looking beach restaurants that I decided to have our dinner there instead. Dinner was at café the sand. Competition seemed stiff as they let me in even though I wasn’t dressed very appropriately.

I had a blue lagoon cocktail and grilled seafood platter.

The seafood platter was not good. The squid, the prawns, even the fish fillet was so stiff I had trouble chewing. What’s up with Balinese food? I haven’t had any decent food so far!

The dinner setting was pretty nice. I had creamed mushroom soup, grilled fish and finished off with a chocolate brownie dessert.

Later on, I spotted a couple of Singaporeans at the CAPs central. Finally, the first non-indonesian, non-australian, non-german, and non-korean people in Contiki! I then came back to my room, wondering what to do for my last night. We decided to go to the hard rock hotel at kuta beach.

So yeah we went on our way — without helmets on! We stopped by ground zero, the site of the 2002 Bali bombing. There is now a memorial erected in place with the names of all the victims from 22 countries.

Went into a surf shop that had brands like roxy and billabong, but prices weren’t necessarily cheaper than in Singapore. Then later on we got pulled over by the corrupt traffic policeman who demanded money for us for not wearing helmets, even though many others were doing the same thing.

Well so that was my last night in Bali, but at least it was an exciting one. I did the things I wanted to do — spa and bungy jump, and I had just witnessed police corruption at its best!

I felt quite sad as it was too short a trip. I had enjoyed it immensely, and I had to leave the following morning.

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Bali (Day 1)

Veron Ang — Sun, 28 May 2006 09:56:48 +0000

early in the morning, I went down to the Contiki office at Suntec to collect my air tickets and hotel voucher. The office is located on the 41st level, with an excellent view through the full length glass windows. Geraldine and nicholas gave me a briefing on what to expect over at Contiki Resort Bali, and the assurance that I would be well taken care of over there.

after going through the brochures, I kinda knew there wouldn’t be sufficient time to do all the things I would like to do. I did hope to go for a spa treatment and a tour at the very least. So I got home, packed, and was checking in at the Changi Airport within the next few hours.

over at the airport, chup gave me a surprise send-off. We had coffee and kaya toast at Changi kopitiam before I left. As per every solo overseas trip, I would bring along a teddy bear as a “bodyguard”. But in my haste to pack I had forgotten to bring one along! Luckily, chup didn’t forget and sent me off with a teddy bear. It would be my beary own body guard during the plane rides and nights spent at the resort.

before boarding the plane, I went on a shopping rampage at the duty-free origins store. I stocked up enough face and eye masks for half a year at least. The best part of the deal was that with a purchase of over $120, I got a free toiletries bag, bath loofah and brightening face wash!

finally, it was time to board the plane.

it was my first time on the garuda Indonesia airline. They start off the flight by offering orange juice.

and we were on our way!

the in-flight dinner was not good at all. There was a choice between fish or chicken and I picked chicken.

i had half the mind to let my beary bodyguard finish it for me!

i wish it wasn’t an evening flight because that meant I would be arriving in Bali at night. But at the very least I got to see a rather nice sunset onboard.

after two and a half hours, the plane touched down at denpasar Bali airport.

the passengers had to take a bus to reach the arrival hall.

i didn’t have any trouble locating the Contiki crew. They were holding up a colourfully worded Contiki sign which was the first thing I saw. Bala the Contiki action planner (CAP) and suria the driver sent me to the resort in their mini-van. Even before this trip, I had already heard of bala from the positive reviews left by Contiki guests on the Contiki web forums. I was given mineral water and wet towels for the 20-minute journey, during which bala was very helpful, friendly and chatty.

the Contiki Resorts all over the world are essentially targeted at people aged between 18 and 35. They are designed to be hip party pads for young people. Upon arrival at Contiki Resort Bali, I was given a nice welcome cocktail (the first of many to come) and my room keycard. The resort uses a cashless payment system where the keycard also doubles as a smartcard to pay for food, drinks, facilities, etc.

after the swift check-in, bala escorted me to my room. It was a pool terrace room, one of the only four within the resort! I was indeed well taken care of!

the room opens out directly onto the beach pool. It was freaking awesome.

my king size bed.

snacks, coffee, tea, and water heater.

toiletries found in the marble bathroom.

my principle purpose in the trip was to review the resort. I knew I didn’t have much time so I scurried around checking out their facilities. There are a few bars, swimming pools, a gym and other sports facilities, a spa (woohoo!) and a mini movie theatre, where daily movie screenings are lined up for guests.

over at the CAPs central, there are computers where guests could use the internet for a fee.

the CAPs are always stationed at the CAPs central. Over here, you could get all the information you need regarding the resort, and sign up for tours around Bali. I would have loved to go on a half-day tour around Bali, but there just wasn’t enough time!

the most happening part of the resort was the sports bar, so called because the giant screen shows two matches at the same time that include European soccer, Australian football and rugby. I had my second cocktail of the night. Over the next couple of days and nights, I was downing cocktails and beer like water. I don’t think I touched a single non-alcoholic beverage!

the sports bar is where resort guests mingle and a live band performs every night. Gus the bartender is extremely friendly and chatty.

supper was nasi goreng that came with satay, chicken, egg, crackers and pickles. It was terrible by the way. The satay was the stiffest I had ever eaten in my entire life. The cocktail I had was called the oreo glamour, a sweet blend of arak (an Indonesian rice wine), creme de cacao brown, coconut liqueur, coconut cream, milk and the best part — oreo cookies!

here at the sports bar, I realised that almost every guest staying at the resort was Australian! I met damien, an Australian dude who gave me some money and his address and number so that I could mail him my finished article later on.

we left the sports bar when it closed at 1am. Back in my room, I took a shower and watched some tv. A couple of Aussie guys who were swimming at the pool right outside my room started waving and calling out to me. Like I said, my room opens out to the pool directly, so swimmers and my next-door neighbours could pretty much walk onto my patio anytime and into my room if I forgot to lock the patio door. Luke and heath, their names were, they swam up and invited me to go along with them to kuta. I was surprised because it was already 2am! But they were like “oh that’s when the action starts over here”.

so we took a cab to kuta. The club scene here was buzzing with activity and every club and bar was teeming with people, both foreigners and locals alike. We went to the bounty discotheque which was huge and had different levels with a common marine theme. The staff were all dressed in sailor costumes. Over at the dancefloor was a giant screen that showed surfers. This place was pretty crazy.

luke was arm wrestling with a local and somehow lost to the man half his size! It was hilarious. I think he was pretty drunk already and it kinda scared me a little. Fortunately heath was there as well. We had some drinks and I had a few tequila shots. Eventually, we came back to our resort without luke!

didn’t do much for the first night. But I’m glad I got a taste of the night life in Bali.

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