Monday, October 8, 2007

Bali 2007 Day 5: Kintamani to Ubud

A continuation of Bali day 1, day 2. day 3 and day 4
________________________________________________

This morning, a few of us woke up earlier than usual to catch the majestic sunrise.






















Nice is an understatement.


































































































it was a supremely chilled morning, the girls couldn't resist to slip for an hour or two more.






















<Main Ski? for full description, maybe you could  ask Rehot>
...A few hours later, woke-up for the second time























due to the meteoric scenery, i couldn't resist to take a short clip of the morning:
(scene: the surrounding+Sedi awaken from slumber+Joker drying his towel; while LA ska/raggae/dub band The Aggrolites was hitting in the background via the W610)













































































































whats the story morning glory















There is nothing more magnificient than indulging your appetite for morning breakfast under the whole setting

...and to make matters worse, we are so damn hungry





















predictably, another short clip:
(caution: watchout for jos' sparkling teeth)








































































































breakfast scene





















after those 6 stomachs were satisfied; Scott, Jos and me decided to go for a morning walkabout while Sedi, Kechique and Joker taunt us from the room balcony















































































Morning politix 03Morning politix 04Morning politix 05






















in our previous life, all three of us are fishermen.  We are so glad that we found a small sampan near the danau... seems like old times




























































































this pic shows jos and me badmouthing the guys in the balcony


















after all the politix ended peacefully, we packed our things. Time to go

























































































today we shall checkout the KIntamani Town, the 'Mother Temple' of Besakih and overnite at Ubud, the arts and culture center of Bali

























































































but first, we have a quick stopover nearby. Apparently there was a change of supir (driver)























































































Continue the journey but pause for a moment at Kintamani's Town.



































































Kintamani03Kintamani04Kintamani05
















Then, all of a sudden,  we  were approched by an army of locals trying  to force us to buy all sorts of goods. They became increasingly nasty and we had no choice but to take refuge and blast-off






































































Drove for another half an hour before we stopped at Besakih Temple,
the largest of the island's 11,000 or so  temples. Sits in a series of
slopes, it is made up of courtyards consisting of altars and shrines












































































Apparently, any flesh exposure is deemed disrespectful to the 'gods'. So the sexy ones had to cover themselves  with sarong.
In addition, the place is superhuge..we were coaxed by the temple guardians to hire a tourguide..."so that we wont get lost". yea, rite









































but no fear, out-of-the-blue, a beauty suddenly appear















































































looks like the world paused for a moment...hahaha















































Besakih03Besakih04Besakih05


Spent almost a full hour back and forth among the 7 tiered terraces of over 50  structures.

Balinese people often visit Besakih Temple to receive blessings and lay
offerings at certain shrines. Special calendar dates are more
auspicious than others and during ceremonies it can be an
impressive sight.











on the way out i stumbled upon this writing on a shopfront near the temple entrance







































without a doubt, Balinese certainly has a knack for some nice tasty food!

Continue the ride and arrived at Ubud, our penultimate  destination  for the day  almost 2 hours later.  Anyone who has a soft spot on anything artsy, this is a must-go for you.
The only place on this trip where we spent 2 nights in succession.

We reached there when it was almost dark..and a mild shower was hitting the town.
 
As usual, we had to find a place to crash first. Joker and me activate our surveillance-mode and find one cozy, nice and cheap place called 'shana bungalow' along central Ubud.























the total of asses is 6, so we went to rent two rooms





the girls looked tired, resting on the front porch. As usual, one in particular  was IT-savvy.

Nite

went for dinner at a nearby Nasi Padang and chilled-out at a restaurant called 'Nomad' for drinks after that.

Impressive setting and I-D. Certainly a great place to have a chat on anything from the longlasting  influence of Samy Vellu to the intimacy of Barry Prima and Ziela Jalil inside the jungle.




Later that nite, we walked to Ubud Jazz Cafe to watch some musical performance.  The cafe' has flourished through word of mouth, a must-go for Ubud visitors for their blend of stylish and intimate atmosphere,  where talented musicians (such as siti misai and haslina kamsan) could get together and jam.

Unfortunately, we  only managed to enjoy only a hatful of songs (3 songs if i'm not mistaken).  Apparently, there is a 'unique' ruling in Ubud that any live performance should not exceed beyond 10.30pm, as 'not to disrupt the public order'.  Damn...

...which  bring us  to the closure of a long, tiring but intimidating day 5.




Monday, October 1, 2007

QotD: Music Festivals

Out of all the music festivals this year, which were the coolest?  Did you travel to attend any of them?

Maybe the just concluded Van Warped Tour,
now in its 13th year. The festival is regarded as the annual punkrock
summer-camp, and this year's edition took place in 45 days between July to August, touring more than
20 cities from Philadelphia to California.



Bands on the bill this year include Bad Religion, Alkaline
Trio
, Big D and The Kids Table, MXPX, Pennywise, The Vandals, Tiger Army, Buck-O-Nine, The
Used
, Fishbone, Mustard Plug, Gallows, Killswitch Engage etc. 

a typical day of the tour sees almost 50 bands play for up to 30 minutes over approximately 6 different
stages, although the biggest bands generally play the two 'main' stages.

some pix of this year's edition:

Warped 2007-crowd1Warped 2007-Band LineupWarped 2007-BadReligion3Warped 2007-BadReligionWarped 2007-MattSkiba-AlkalineTrioWarped 2007-Authority ZeroWarped 2007-BaysideWarped 2007-Big D and the Kids tableWarped 2007-crowd3Warped 2007-Gallows1Warped 2007-Gallows2Warped 2007-Big D and the Kids table2Warped 2007-Big D and the Kids table3Warped 2007-crowd4Warped 2007-Meg & DiaWarped 2007-ParamoreWarped 2007-FishboneWarped 2007-Poison The WellWarped 2007-The UnseenWarped 2007-The Unseen2Warped 2007-Fishbone2Warped 2007-TheAutomaticWarped 2007-TheFabolousRudiesWarped 2007-tigerarmy2Warped 2007-Big D and the Kids table1Warped 2007-crowdWarped 2007-Mustard PlugWarped 2007-PennywiseWarped 2007-sum41
and maybe someday i'll get to attend one






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