Mr & Missy in Bali Day 1

We were so very excited to be visiting this famed paradise - Bali!  Our flight departure time was 1020 am and we were done with check-in by 9 am.  It helped that we didn't have any check-in luggage. Since it was just a 3D2N trip, we were just going with our cabin luggage.  Besides, the focus is not on shopping, its more on sightseeing and relaxing.

Off we go!

Landed in Bali right on time around 1 pm!

But that was the end of us sticking to our plan!  I figured we should have cleared immigration and would be able to leave by 1:30 pm. Oh boy, I was in for a shock!  First, we had to queue in different lines as Mister needed a visa-on-arrival and I did not need a visa. But both queues were very long, like extremely long! We spent about 90 min in that immigration queue. The only other time I had to queue this long at immigration was at Batam, Indonesia.  I was trying to be understanding about Batam since its a small town so there might not be enough manpower to handle massive inflow of tourists from Singapore during the weekend.  But Bali???! That's a major tourist attraction which welcomes millions of tourists a year! Is it unreasonable to expect a faster processing time of under 45 min? 

In addition, I knew we would have no way of contacting each other since we would be in two different queues, in a packed room.  So I told Mister I would meet him at the area right behind immigration. Did he listen? Noooooo! I was waiting for him behind the counters for about 15 min before I started walking back and forth from immigration counters to luggage belts to customs x-ray stations. After about 30 min, I decided to get out and called for him through a PA system. As soon as I came out of the airport, guess whom I saw? Yes, Mister! I was furious and annoyed! Was the agreement too hard to understand? To meet behind the immigration counters? Just because of this idiocy and misunderstanding, we wasted another 30 min on top of 90 min wasted waiting in line.  That's 2 hours spent at the airport and we finally met our driver from the Khayangan Dreams Villa at 3 pm. As soon as we stepped out, we saw how packed the entire airport compound is! Cars cars cars everywhere!  After a 20-min drive, we reached our villa and checked-in quickly since I could not wait to rest. I was exhausted from heat, queues and frustration. Definitely not a good start to a vacation... 

When I saw our beautiful villa with a private pool and a pavilion, I felt much better!

We decided to freshen up and cool down by soaking our feet in the pool (of course we cleaned our legs in the bathroom first)  before heading into Seminyak town area.  

Our hotel provided free tea-time snacks and complimentary shuttle service to Seminyak town area. However, we have to request for them about 1 hour in advance. Since we reached our villa at 3:30 pm, we could have our tea around 4:30 pm and leave villa around 5 pm.  

However, we had a spa appointment at 4 pm so we had to quickly call Melasti Resort & Spa to postpone the appointment to 6 pm.  Our hotel sent us to the Seminyak area and the driver was nice enough to stop at a money changer for us. The exchange rate was 7845 Rp for 1 SGD. It was better than exchanging money in Singapore.  Anyway, as with the majority of roads in Bali, there were only 2 lanes - 1 for each direction and traffic jam was terrible around 6 pm.  The area was filled with beautiful quaint boutique shops so we decided to walk to Melasti Resort & Spa. Traffic jam coupled with our unfamiliarity with the place meant we reached there just before 6:30 pm. Oops we were still late even after postponing the appointment. But the staff was so nice, they didn't give us black faces for being late and we didn't have to wait long for our turn.

Us at the reception area, during our less-than-10-min wait!

I think the prices are pretty reasonable and it's located in the main shopping area of Seminyak. You can find their services here -  http://www.legianmelastispa.com/service-1-massage.html. We made our appointment online and they sent us a confirmation email within 24 hours.  At first, we wanted to book for a 90-min Balinese Massage but changed our mind to a 90-min Melasti A Massage which includes a mini facial.  But please don't choose that option if you are going there! Massage was great but facial was not! They just washed our faces and put a mask on it for 15 min! They didn't even remove my make-up properly! It was such a waste of money since it was even more expensive than the 90-min Balinese Massage.  Oh by the way, you have to add 21% tax & service charge to the total bill so it was about 41,200 Rp for us (17,000*2*1.21). 

Our session ended around 8 pm and we left after a quick shower to remove all the oil. We were worried about getting caught up in another traffic jam. Plus, we wanted to see all the shops so we chose to walk to Naughty Nuri for our dinner.   I love the relaxing atmosphere of these restaurants and shops! I saw places with similar concepts only in the movies before haha Let these pictures do the talking!

After walking for about 1 hour, we were tired and hungry.  Several shops were closed and only restaurants and bars were left open. Plus, there was no more jam on the road.  So we flagged a cab to take us to Naughty Nuri which is famous for their pork ribs! The cab driver quoted us 50,000 Rp but we had to bargain of course! Our hotel driver told us that cab fare from Melasti Spa all the way back to our hotel should cost us about 30,000 Rp and we have already walked for about 2 km.  Plus, Naughty Nuri was located before our hotel.  So 50,000 Rp was a bit over-priced and we agreed on 30,000 Rp. Phew!

It was already 9+pm and yet, the place was still packed! There was no small table, instead you can only find big tables meant for about 10 people or more. I guess the purpose is to make you mingle with other patrons so that you can meet new people.  

I ordered strawberry milkshake while Mister ordered the restaurant's signature martini.

The girls would sing and dance around you while shaking your martini in the mixing container.  They were so lively haha :D

Pork Ribs

Grilled Chicken

OMG we loved both our mains!  That was the best pork ribs and grill chicken I have ever had in my life! You have to try it when you are in Bali!!!  The meat is not overdone yet tender and juicy. Plus, it was not bland yet, the seasoning was not overwhelming. It was just nice! However, I think the shop's target consumer group is tourists since it can be considered a bit pricey in terms of other food available in Bali.  Our dinner of strawberry milkshake, martini, pork ribs and grilled chicken cost us 305,000 Rp (around 40 SGD).

My only issue with this place is its location. It was located among the residential area (I think), far from the main road.  When we wanted to leave after dinner around 10+ pm, the whole area was dark and quiet except Naughty Nuri. Taxi driver quoted us 100,000 Rp to send us back to the hotel which was located less than 3 km away. That's 3 times more expensive than what I would pay in Singapore.  If its in the US or Europe or Australia where living expenses cost more than Singapore, then I would pay. But in Bali? Its more than twice the price of our 90 min Massage for 2 in a private room! Since we couldn't agree, the driver stopped the car and dropped us off on the street - dark & quiet street except for the barking noise from the stray dogs!!!!! Luckily, there was a small eatery with lights on so we stopped in front of that shop and flagged another cab.  I was scared, I just wanted to get out of that place and I couldn't stand the attitude of the first driver either. We settled on 50,000 Rp cab fare and finally reached back at our hotel.  

It was just before 11 pm and I swam for a bit in our private pool before calling it a day... I was really scared!! Of being chased (or worse bitten) by stray dogs in dark quiet areas! Lucky for me, a few minutes in the pool calmed me down enough...

In summary,

Day 1

Departure from Changi Airport at 1020am

Arrival at Ngurah Rai Intl Airport at 1255pm

Check in at hotel

Seminyak Square

90-min Balinese Massage & Facial at Melasti Beach Resort

Dinner at Naughty Nuri

*** We had to cancel our stroll along Seminyak Beach as getting through immigration at Bali airport took us about 90 min.

Adios!
xoxo  
Miss N

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Itinerary
http://musingsofmissn.blogspot.sg/2014/01/mr-missy-in-bali.html