Hello we are back in SG

me carrying baby jade

 

hi there,

we have just returned from our family vacation in Bali. It's the first time that baby Jade has traveled with us. It was no easy feat but we enjoyed it tremendously because it has been so hard to find time to just spend time together with hubs who is always working through weekdays with contractors, endless hours on the phone (even in the toilets, he answers his phone!), weekends with clients and nights doing his design and drawings. We practically didn't have much time with him the whole year.

We will try to answer all emails and your inquiries as soon as possible and I will try my best to update our butterpaperstudio blog too when baby Jade is taking her forty winks like now.

Please be patient with us and have a great week ahead!

xoxo
velle

Bali Day 4 - Off to Ubud!

series of crazy faces.

this is just what we do when we are free.

Day 4

YAY to UBUD!
Although it was a really long journey from Tulamben to Seminyak then to Ubud on the bus. Took our driver 3 hours to get there. Again we met with another hiccup. we were supposed to have lunch at the famous Potato Head but we didn't know that we had to make a reservation. So we were turned down at the gates, they didn't even allow us to make a drive in just to see the architecture. So atas right!!!!

sigh.

so we had lunch at the famous Iku Oka Babi Guling in Ubud. It has 3 franchises now.
We all had the special set (60,000 rupiah!!! price has risen!) and I ordered the avocado juice which is more like a milkshake sweetened with chocolate syrup.

after lunch, we continued our drive down to our resort in Ubud - Greenfields Resort which overlooks the rich paddy fields with ducks waddling up and down.

Check in and it's shopping time!!!

my buys

1. Uluwatu balinese lace top
2. rattan clutch bag
3. incense holder - 3 nos
4. loose dress in dark blue
5. 2 tier cake stand
6. 3 tier pastry stand
7. 4 bamboo bowls for salads
8. salt and pepper holders - really cute and neat stuff!
9. 2 hats - straw and crochet

we stopped at a cafe for a quick pick me up iced cafe latte before we trotted on to Pasar Ubud. Some of the stalls were starting to close. SHUCKS. wanted to buy a painting but the fella quoted us 800,000 rupiah for a 1mx1m painting. Hmm. we didn't know what's its worth and didn't dare to bargain.

Had dinner at the famous Dirty Duck Diner (bebek bengil) and again another disappointment, no more crispy duck!!!

>_<

So after my delicious plate of pork ribs which literally slipped off the bones, much like those made in Tony Romas and Chillies, I walked off my calories with yet another round of ubud's shopping street in the dark. Ubud shops closes really early like 7pm. Since I can't shop no more, I went down to Circle K to buy snacks for the night.

and tmw is back to sg.

so much for my easter break. so fast. so fast.

Hope you had a good break too.

xoxo
velle

Bali Day 3 - Lempuyang Temple (Temple of 1000 steps)

It's always nice to start a post with a really nice picture. Don't you think so? Here's a picture of my yummy lunch!

Day 3 started really dark and early as we were going trekking up the hills and visiting 4 temples. Our breakfast was packed the night before by the hotel staff and once we reached the foot of the hill, we ate our breakfast in the rain. The climb was slow and steady. The weather was cool and drizzling. Not the kind that I would have liked because I'm quite paranoid with having rain soaking my head and end up having quite a migraine. But that wasn't the worst that we met that morning. It was the alpha male monkey!!! It bit our guide and drove him worried to bits as 2 locals who were bitten by the monkey had dead from rabies. So it was only 5 mins climb before we reached the top and we had no choice but to turn back down because the monkey kept on following our group. sigh. It took us really long to climb up to where we were...there were a total of thousands of steps. It was quite a grueling trek. Nevertheless, safety is our utmost priority and we head back down to the foot and send our guide to the hospital. We all went back to the resort for lunch and R&R the entire afternoon away while the rest went for their 3rd dive. Had an one hour massage by the pool, which cost me $150,000 rupiah.  

it's a 2 hour climb to Lempuyang Temple rising from 1700 steps against gravity. And I must warn you that there are ferocious monkeys who are very territorial about their homes along the way. The steps are of different risers, making some difficult to climb. There are pitstops along the climb for unfit people like me who needs a rest every now and then.

If you start the climb really early like 430am, good to wear long sleeves and pants to keep warm as early morning up the mountains can be quite cold. If you are starting late, then you can forget about keeping warm cos the climb will definitely cause you lots of perspiration.

xoxo
velle

Bali Day 2 - Dive & Snorkel

Bali Day 2 Itinerary:

Continental Breakfast

• juice or fruit platter
• coffee or tea
• sausages or bacon
• your choice of eggs 
• basket of 3 types of bread 
• honey, jam and butter

Diving & Snorkeling 

Lunch

Day trip out
Pitstop for durians
Paddy Fields Photo taking
Water Garden
Water Palace

Celebratory Fish dinner for birthday girl - Fish soup, Fish Otak, BBQ Fish and vegetables on the side with rice.

Here are the photos!

Tulamben is a small fishing village on the north-east coast of Bali and it is among the most popular dive sites on Bali since the wreck of the Liberty, a US Army Transport ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942. 

The beach is covered with black sand, just like the ones in Lovina.

The Wreak lies in shallow water and the ship rests in 30 metres of water. The highest point of the wreck tops out about 5m from the surface!! So actually it's perfect for snorkelers like me too because everything is lifted off the seabed. The waters were crystal clear in the early morning and I could see many fishes swimming beside me and I even caught sight of a sea turtle who was so huge!!!

amazing.

Stay tune for Bali Day 3!

Bali Day 1

Hi there!

We just got back from our Easter break and here are some pretty pictures of Bali to share with all of you.

Here are my details:
Flight: Jetstar approx $280 return ticket from SG to Denpasar, includes 20kg of check in luggage and choice of seats.
Stay: Tulamben (Northern east of Bali)
Resort: Scuba Seraya Resort
Duration: 4 days includes breakfast. The staff there are very nice and attentive. Food from the menu is generally acceptable, quite a wide variety consisting of indonesian fare and western counterparts.

hubs totally loved their nasi camphur which he ate everyday. ha!
one of our friend totally digged their sambal mata until he suffered from a diarrhoea. I think he had a little too much fiery in his tummy.
As for me, I totally loved their fried tempes!!!

Day 1 > Reach Bali > Seafood Lunch at Ganesha Cafe > Continue journey to Resort > Check in > Dinner at Resort.

Good night!