I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my blog readers for the love and support during this year, I know I’m not as productive as I used to be, but I’m hoping to write more about the beauty of Bali in the year of 2012. There are just too many places and spots that still haven’t been revealed and told! Please stay with me as I’m revealing Bali best kept secrets…

One of Bali’s most favorite culinary spot in Jimbaran area is the by the sea side seafood restaurants, either in Muaya Beach, near Four Seasons Resorts, or the other spot in Kedonganan. For some people, seafood dining is not a very cheap option, the price for one kg of shrimp could reach Rp 170,000 and you don’t just order rice + shrimp when you eat seafood. And because most of the restaurants lining up at these spots have the kitchen located near the sitting area, it is not surprised your hair, your cloth will smell like a grilled fish  when you get back to the hotel.

We are glad to find this one and only cafe called Wali Beach Cafe, located at the end of Kelan Beach, with a spectacular view of fishermen boats, white sand beach, children playing on the sand, so tranquil and far from the busy streets with big buses of tourists and most importantly..it’s grilled fish smell and smoke free! Giving it’s very special location, Wali Beach Cafe is an ideal place to hold a special event, ie. wedding, party, group dinner, as they are ready to set up the place and make it your celebration spot, like..our wedding that took place here a while ago. It has a very romantic background setting with spectacular sunset to enjoy after our wedding ceremony.The sky was magical that day…

Sunset

Table Setting preparation

Table Setting

Fire dance

Price is relatively lower than those cafes in Muaya and Kedonganan Beach, plus WBC has some set menu options to choose should you wish to book the place for your event with limited budget per person. I would strongly suggest to make a booking at least one day before if you are going to enjoy seafood at WBC. This is not a touristy seafood resto, and not too popular either, so you want to make sure when you call to book, that they provide only fresh and catch of the day fish or shrimp. Sometimes it’s a bit tricky in Bali, they always say the fish is fresh, but you know they’re not – only by looking at them before they grill them.

Bali and its culinary spots are growing…By the time I write this post, Bart just told me there are now two new restaurants, adding more competitors to WBC.

Surfing

WALI BEACH CAFE
Go straight down to Jl Uluwatu II,
Pass Bali Intercontinental Hotel, Kasih Ibu Hospital,
Look for blue sign board of WBC on the left side of the road.
Jl Segara Madu
Kelan Beach
Tel : (0361) 743 5460

Bali recently hosted a big event of ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua (Obama came, caused traffic jam and long delayed flights and chaos at the airport), several related activities and festivals were being held, and at the ASEAN Fair attended by President SBY, the Indonesia Air Force Aerobatic Team called JUPITER marked the Opening Day with incredible air show, a team of 6 Flight instructors fly the Korean KT-1B Woong Bee painted in national flag colors : red and white! Jupiter AT was founded in 1996 from their Yogya Air Force base airport-Adisutjipto, with several times change of team member, airplane, the current team of six is now a solid one showcasing their ability to wow people on the ground with often-scary maneuvers!

Bart was lucky enough to be allowed taking photograph before the team took off Bali airport, hang out with the pilots and even experience the cockpit on the ground..

Previously maneuvering on British Hawk Mk.53, trained by “The Australian Roulettes”, and now flying on Korean KT 1 – Woong Bee

Smoke-trail, in action! The Jupiter Aerobatic Team maneuvers..

Until the next roll and spin!…

Photo courtesy of Jupiter Aerobatic Team

Find Jupiter Aerobatic Team on :
Twitter : http://twitter.com/#!/JupiterAT
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/JupiterAerobaticTeam
Blogspot : http://jupiteraerobaticteam.blogspot.com/

Living in Jimbaran area means you have a very easy access to the beautiful beaches in Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, Uluwatu. Just to name a few : Muaya Beach, Dreamland (that has a new baptized name : ‘new Kuta Beach‘), Padang padang, Bingin, Suluban…and most of the spots are reachable by my speedy motorbike in 10-15 minutes max of time. But to be able to walk to the beach from my house? Interesting!

So here I am holding tight to the dog lash as Nero, the naughty black dog tried to drag me along the bumpy road on this particular street inside the residential complex of mine that leads me to the entrance gate of the luxurious Ayana Resort on Jalan Karang Mas Sejahtera, then you continue the walk to the countryside road to the right. What I thought would be a nice peaceful beach walk with a pair of cute dogs turned out to be a 5K (not so Fun) Run with four barking dogs as Jeff’s friend, Gunawan joined us bringing more tails to the team…The four dogs (specially teckel-rottweiler brown Bimbo!) stopped every 10 min for pee-stop, give them water as they’re drooling and dehydrated and rest under the tree break…This must be the hardest day in their lazy Bali dog’s life.

Just when I thought I would also need a pee-stop and rest under the tree break, the ocean breeze greeted us and right below the large parking space in front of Pura Segara, from this hill you will see this blue water with curling waves hitting the beach..Wowww!!!!Awesome!!! How do we get down there??…Hike down the off-beaten path, my friends..Make sure you wear non-slippery shoes or sandals. It is not a beach finding path as usual. Tegal Wangi is not really a secluded beach, but it is much less popular than other ones along the Uluwatu coastal lines. There were litterally me, Jeff, Nyoman and the 4 tail boyz playing with joy in the water, when you see dogs barking and run happily and shaking splashing their tails,on the beach, you know, it’s a good day…A good sunny day in Bali, just right on my Jimbaran backyard!

The view from the top is amazing!…and local fishermen were there just to catch some small fishes for family brunch

Not only that! This backyard gem has two ‘ocean jacuzzi’ you could only see it when it’s not a high tide. God must have thought I need an affordable luxury leisure time in Bali when He created Tegal Wangi beach! When I came back with my Bart for another jacuzzi time at Tegal Wangi Beach, we made sure we bring a root loofah and coral stone to scrub each other’s back and rough foots..It’s love bird time on the beach! Unfortunately, when the high tide is on, you will not be able to see these two beach basins, it is actually dangerous to stay inside the cave where we usually throw our stuffs and lay down on our sarongs, as the big waves will soon hit the cave and suck everything back to the ocean in seconds!

And so the backyard hidden gem search continues…

All photos by : http://www.risanto.com/photography/

Related posts :
- Bali Lover – Jeff Kristianto
- Balangan beach – hand basin beach
- Impossible beach ever
- A me time at Geger Beach, Nusa Dua
- Reasons why I dislike Dreamland Beach
- My 5 favorite Beaches in Bali

Jalan Uluwatu 1 is now very fast filling up with new cafes, restaurants and warungs. Soon we probably refer the eat street to this particular area of Jimbaran. Tamarind Kitchen is relatively a new face on this street, the restaurant is actually situated on the second floor, with wooden pillars and cozy table settings.

Cuisine : Tasteful Indonesian, Western & Asian Food – homestyle cooking
Signature dishes : Grilled beef ribs topped with Indonesian Sambal, Tempe & Veggie Spring Roll, Homemade style Apple pie
Opening hours : 11am – 11pm (Come for an icy cold beer enjoying the hill breeze and green lush view on sunset time!)

It's a Family Feast! That Balinese style stir fry green bean is my fav!

I would suggest to boost up the visitor numbers to this great location they have by putting more promotion & ad on social media, and other medias. Tweet it, Post it!

This place will forever be remembered for me & Bart, as we tied the knot on this above sea level spot of our neighborhood,Jimbaran. Thank you to Pak Fogi, Pak Erwien and Pak Tude for the beautiful place, great food, and unforgettable moment at Tamarind Kitchen on a bright smiley sunny day in March 2011…When Mountain loves Beach story continues…

Flowers & purple mood table settings by my multi-talented amazing mom..

Above sea level nuptial – When Mountain guy loves Beach girl..

TAMARIND KITCHEN
Jl. Raya Uluwatu 1, Br. Tegeh Sari, Jimbaran – Bali 80361
Telephone : +62 3617903118
Home Delivery available for Jimbaran area

Bart was on a photo assignment one day, and was given this specific place in Bali called Serangan Island or popularly known as Turtle Island to do this photo hunting. The instruction was clear : Journalism Photography, NOT merely an artistic photo of a nature beauty. It was the sunrise time, and the sky slowly begins to lighten, Bart can not help but stunned with the amazing typical orange color that forms a sunlight’s path through the atmosphere giving golden reflection on Serangan Island mangrove swamp. The photo assignment was probably not successfully delivered, but he was stupified with this reclamed island beauty has to offer, he went back on the the same day, to take more beautiful pictures on Sunset!

Back then, Serangan Island was popular with local snorkeling tours, and the site of an important temple, Pura Sakenan. This used to be a separate island from Bali was once reclamed by a huge hotel resort and casino project but was stopped at the time of the downfall of the ‘you know who‘..The failed development project left not only a significant change and destruction of the environment, ie. mangrove forest but also to the local community’s life there. A restoration project is continuously being conducted on this island that is now not an island but can be reached just a few hundred meters off southern Sanur’s coastline when you notice the long causeway opposite Lotte Hypermart on By Pass Sanur.

Related post :
- Sanur Village Festival 2009

Top 5 Foods to eat in Indonesia

5 Terrific Indonesian desserts for the sweet-toothed!

Ogoh Ogoh is a giant beast creature made of bamboos,papers, styrofoam, with sometimes metal frame for the huge and robust shape ones. It’s a work of art done by youth villagers community called Sekaa Taruna (you will therefore notice each group of parade carrying the sign of respective Sekaa Taruna/ST), and making Ogoh ogoh does also mean a togetherness among the Balinese youth community, a competition among Banjars – village community, and a business!

I’ve been experiencing Nyepi and its Ogoh Ogoh Parade for 10 times now, due to some circumstances Bart & I decided to cancel our Gili Meno trip and just stay and book a nice clean minimalist hotel room just in the heart of Denpasar city change our Jimbaran air a little bit and relax, and do nothing!

From the classic Ramayana and other Hindu epic heroes, to demon faces, even the funkiest and cartoonic ones, people is always enthusiast waiting patiently for Ogoh Ogoh parade. Like I said before, for the Banjar community this means a competition. For the locals watching it, it’s a free street entertainment! For the tourists this is one cultural event not to be missed. For the street vendors this is business..Moi? I keep telling myself I needed to get out of the island on Nyepi Day, had enough of these beasts, but here I am with @bartcatapult still amazed with the creativity young balinese do mixing traditional culture with current colorful crazy designs..

Here are more shots from Bart from the 1933..errr..I mean 2011 Ogoh Ogoh Festival on Jalan Teuku Umar, Simpang  Enam, Denpasar a while ago.

Related Posts :
- Bali lost its project for Nyepi
- Nyepi Day – Like & Dislike

On the way to Munduk Waterfall, once you’ve passed the village entrance gate, on the left side of the road, stop by for a breathtaking view of two lakes sisters who are peacefully located side by side (where else you can see two lakes at the same time right in front of you – please tell me if you found one somewhere in the world!). The stop over point is located across a coffee shop serving original Bali coffee planted in the area!

It’s an outdoor sitting are with wooden benches and parasol to be used during the day, but when I got there with Bart, it was (not surprisingly) raining with often fog blanketing the lakes view, the benches were all wet, it was a bit disappointing, but not so long, before a van full of Indian tourists came invading the place, the sunshine decided to warm up this beautiful place again at Munduk Village with a beautiful bird eye view overlooking green tropical rain forest and…The Sister Lakes : Danau Tamblingan and Danau Buyan. ‘Danau’ in indonesian means Lake. And I can see clearly this beauty of Singaraja Regency from the hill land.

WHAT TO DO :
Just sit down, enjoy the spectacular view, take a snap shots with your loved one(s), sip a hot Bali Coffee or tea, enjoy the banana frites covered with honey drops..

HOW TO GET TO THIS STOP POINT :
From Bedugul main road, heading towards Singaraja, turn sharp left to Munduk Village direction, follow the mountain roads, you will reach at this wooden deck with chairs and umbrella on the side road. No entrance fee nor obligation to order any drinks, but across this place, is a restaurant where you could just order your food and drinks. Try the Bali Coffee!

Note : Munduk Village is located on a hill land and has mountain weather, most chances are : Rain. Bring your rain coat or umbrella…ella…e.e..!

It’s been a TOO hot sunny day in the south of Bali lately,38-39 C, who can survive the day! That makes me want to go to north of Bali again, as the weather is much cooler here. Love the mountain roads, love the serenity staring down at these two magnificent lakes..It’s another privilege moment for me living in Bali..

An ideal and strongly suggest itinerary for a day trip to Bedugul & Singaraja area would be :
- Bedugul (Visit Ulun Danu Temple, Botanical Garden)
- Munduk Waterfall
- Munduk Village, to stop by an open air sitting area overlooking 2 magnificent lakes of Tamblingan and Buyan, next to each other, side by side
- On the way back to Bedugul, a MUST visit to : Bedugul Market and watch an array of ‘warung’/stall displaying fresh colorful fruits and vegetable, harvested from Bedugul land (will share this on my bi-lingual culinary blog www.wisatakulinerbali.com soon!)

Related post :
- A day trip to North of Bali (Part 1) – MUNDUK WATERFALL
- A day trip to North of Bali (Part 2) – BEDUGUL

]]> http://www.beeamazing.com/a-day-trip-to-north-of-bali-lake-tamblingan-lake-buyan-the-sister-lakes/feed/ 2 http://www.beeamazing.com/a-day-trip-to-north-of-bali-part-2-bedugul/ http://www.beeamazing.com/a-day-trip-to-north-of-bali-part-2-bedugul/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:11:23 +0000 Bee http://www.beeamazing.com/?p=995 - There are still many places in Bali I have not yet discovered and explored despite the fact that I’ve been living here for about 9,5 years.This is a serial of 3 blog posts of A Day trip to North of Bali (trilogy!). Written NOT in an order of where to visit first, although for your easy guide, I will give an itinerary that most people usually does. Enjoy! -

Three places to visit when you go to Bedugul : Ulun Danu Temple on Lake Beratan – Bedugul Botanical Garden - Bedugul Fruit & Vegetable Market. The last one will be featured on my Bali culinary blog soon! Stay tune! Most people will visit Bedugul first before they explore other area on the north of Bali. But as I pointed out on my previous blog post of Munduk Waterfall, be free on deciding your itinerary. I visited Munduk Village on one rainy day without going to Bedugul first.

ULUN DANU TEMPLE – BEDUGUL
Bedugul is a mountain lake resort area in Bali, located in the centre-north region of the island near Lake Bratan on the road between Singaraja and Denpasar. Bedugul is located at 48 kilometres north of the city of Denpasar, about 2,5 hours driving from Ngurah Rai International Airport (I could make it faster with Bart as the speedy gonzales driver:p). Other nearby lakes are Lake Buyan, and Lake Tamblingan. Bedugul enjoys a mild mountain weather due to its location at an altitude of about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above the sea level.

Major sites in Bedugul are the Pura Ulun Danu water temple and the Bedugul Botanical Gardens. (source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedugul). Ulun Danu Temple is a Balinese Hindu Temple set in the lakeside of Beratan and as an icon of the tourist destination in Bali. But for me it is like a floating temple on a lake – Beratan Lake! There is this constant fog layering the atmosphere when you enter the lake area..so mysterious. To get to the temple you really have to watch for the park announcement updating the situation in allowing you to go ahead crossing the lake or not.

I found this cool wooden deck and just had to stop for a quick pose before continuing exploring the temple and the lake area then move to Botanical Garden which is located only 10 minutes from Bedugul mountain lake resort.

EKA KARYA BALI BOTANIC GARDEN - BEDUGUL
The Botanical Garden, opened in 1959 under the name Eka Karya. With a total area of 157.5 Ha and is the largest in Indonesia. Some of the specialist collections include: orchids, ceremonial plants, medicinal plants, cactus, ferns, aquatic plants and trees. It is a place for recreation as well as for scientific, cultural and technical activities purposes. You will be amazed with  the tropical rainforest plants and birdlife here and more than 2000 species of plants preserved at Bali Botanic Garden, represent plants from the eastern  part of Indonesia: Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua.

The Garden opened for whole year seven days a week, except on Nyepi Day Most of area will open from 08.00 AM – 06.00 PM, however some glasshouses such as orchids, cactus and Begonia may be closed earlier at 04.00 PM  (source : http://kebunrayabali.com ).

Park Admission
Individual :IDR 7,000
Motorbike parking : IDR 3,000
Car parking : IDR 6,000
Bus parking : IDR 12,000
Car is allowed to drive around the garden with additional fee : IDR 12,000

Other fun activity for children & adults :
- Get your picnic gears and food! The Lake side is the most favorite spot.
- Bali Tree Top Adventure – 5 Adventure Circuits from one tree to another with height range between 2-20 meters.65 challenges for all level and ages : Suspended bridges, Spider Nets, Tarzan Jumps, Flying-Fox, Flying Swings, and many more  fun challenges. Visit : http://balitreetop.com
- Visit Orchid & Cactus houses

This place is also used for Group retreat activity and even fashion photo shoots! I remember back in the days of my office job working for Bali’s finest event company, Balistarz who also doing a photo production service, we organised a photoshoot with Western model from Singapore and Italian photographer , shooting a new collection of Bali based brilliant dream dresses fashion brand : Dinda Rella. Bedugul is stunning!

An ideal and strongly suggest itinerary for a day trip to Bedugul & Singaraja area would be :
- Bedugul (Visit Ulun Danu Temple, Botanical Garden)
- Munduk Waterfall
- Munduk Village, to stop by an open air sitting area overlooking 2 magnificent lakes of Tamblingan and Buyan, next to each other, side by side.
- On the way back to Bedugul, a MUST visit to : Bedugul Market and watch an array of ‘warung’/stall displaying fresh colorful fruits and vegetable, harvested from Bedugul land.

Related post :
- A day trip to North of Bali – MUNDUK WATERFALL
- NYEPI DAY – Like & Dislike