People in Bali

The locals here are just as interesting as the island itself. Besides being tour guides, they have other jobs as well. And they do take time of to enjoy their own island.

Some sell food and snacks for a living, while some others cheat tourists into paying them money by forcing them to buy something, e.g. placing a flower bud on your ears, saying that this would please the Gods and ask you to pay for that flower bud. They may be so poor to the stage that they are using different tactics to survive here at the outskirts of Bali. Still, there are lots of good people around. Just remember to keep small changes in your wallet, so that you can give exact amount to them. Most of them do not have small changes in their pockets.

The Jimbaran beach sunset is quite a stunning one, and therefore lots of wedding photographers like to bring their clients to these areas for wedding shoots.

This local fisherman heads out to the sea during high tide to affix the fishing nets. He collects the harvest the next morning.

Some others would spend their time preparing for their religious celebrations.

Some lazy ones would just hang out and wait for time to pass.

The kite seller sure have a pretty and nice kite for sale.

Monkeys at the temples may look harmless, but they are in fact notorious. So don’t follow suit of the lady in the dark clothing. Her sunglasses were snatched by the monkey moments later.

Lots to see and do in Bali, with the people there, it’s even more interesting. So get to know a few locals around, but remember to be not too friendly, else they would rip you off when you dine or purchase something!

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Religious Balinese

To say “Balinese are religious” is quite an understatement. They spent really a lot of their time in temples (locals called it pura), be it temples built by the others or temples in their own homes. And because of the temples they’ve built, it’s enough to attract visitors for a visit.

The temples may be situated by the sea, on the cliff or up in the mountains. And their decorations are very elaborate, with lots and lots of greens and plants growing around the temples. The structures looked black-grey as they built it using the black sands of the beach.

This is an example where their house was transformed into a religious stage for ceremonial procession and just outside this lotus pond, is a restaurant they’ve built for attracting tourists.

They really pray a lot and they spend most of their time preparing for a religious festival, like the Royal Cremation Ceremony to be held soon. At the end of the ceremony, the beautifully made statues would be burnt.

Basically you’ll see lots and lots of temples while you’re staying here. Select a few famous ones to visit. I missed the floating temple during my stay here. Anyways, here are some tips while you’re visiting the temple:

1. Wear a sarong while visiting the temples, bring one if you have one. No shorts and sleeveless shirts.

2. Some temples are rip-offs, so be careful. Some charges extra, while some others would try to force you got hire a tour guide, saying that “there are some restrictions around the temple and you need a guide to lead you, so that you don’t interfere with the ceremonial procession”. Remember that you don’t need to pay for a tour guide if you don’t want to. Bargain with them if you have no choice, at least a 75% off.

3. Sunsets at Tanah Lot and Uluwatu may be enticing, but you may not necessarily see a good sunset. So be aware of that, look at the weather.

4. Monkeys may be around the area. Beware of that in case they snatch your items, especially your spectacles.

If you’ve got the time, you should stay here for a week or two as there are lots to see and enjoy.

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Bali

Bali is a special island of Indonesia. It is a unique island on it’s own. You’ll notice its difference when you’re there. Bali, here are what to expect:

Tourists, Temples and Unique Cultures

Beaches and sunsets like no other

 

Interesting locals

 

Mountains and nature

 

Love

 

Dine and Enjoy

 

Another beautiful island to fall in love with. More to come.

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Kota Kinabalu

Sabah is indeed a beautiful piece of land. Friendly people, closer to nature, a slow going town. If you would follow their living pace while staying here, you’ll notice that this place is a wonderful place to relax and unwind. 

The villagers here lead a carefree life too, slow going and enjoyable. The kids enjoyed themself in a ditch of rain water when their parents head out to work in the city.

Even kids like them know about Facebook. They’d asked me to put their photos up on the social network to share it worldwide. Interesting.

The beaches are sandy and clean. But everyone has to play their part to keep it clean. A great place to snorkel and dive. I went to two islands for the cost of less than MYR 60. You can visit more islands too if you've got the time. Students with ID would get some discounts over the entrance tickets.

Waves may be a little rough and there are some surprises in the sea. So be caution during your dive and swim here.

As the sea is rich with living creatures, you may find much to explore on the beach and in the sea. Most of the corals are dead, but you can still see an occasional patch of anemone with clown fishes.

I’m not sure what this sea creature is, but it seemed to me like a transparent sea cucumber. They were washed ashore and were scattered around the beach.

If you like nature and wish to head for a slow-going vacation, Sabah would be an ideal vacation spot in Malaysia. The beautiful sea, sky and water makes it unforgettable.

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Islands of Sabah

Beautiful Mamutik and Sapi Islands, which are located some 30 minutes boat ride away from Kota Kinabalu town.

Now that I’m back in KL, I’m heading out to another island tomorrow – Bali.

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Land Below the Wind

A beautiful sunset at Tanjung Aru beach of Kota Kinabalu. Second time here and it still hasn’t disappoint. Hope to head out to the islands tomorrow.

Wish everyone a happy week ahead!

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Water

I was reminded that Water, the ever changing, is certainly a humble subject for our self-improvement.

It always flow from higher grounds to lower grounds, showing how one should keep moving on, being humble along the way.

It bends and twists and turns with every obstacles along the way, showing how one should change the way of thinking, or find other methods to solve obstacles.

It cleans everything along the way, showing how one should clean our mind and soul as we grow in life, to keep our mind clear and pure.

It may seem harmless, but it can penetrate rocks after dripping on it for thousands of years, showing us that we need to be patient, and gentle doesn’t mean you are weak.

It can hold a lot of heat, as it is resistant to temperature rise or drop, showing us that we should have a big heart, accept others’ faults and tolerant towards these people.

It changes form as heat increases or drops, showing us that we should be flexible by changing form and not stay the same when people treat you differently.

And most important of all, it is vital for the living, just like you and I, having a purpose in life. So be like the water, learn the wisdom from it.

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Tea Plantation at SanYee (三義)

This is where Tzu Chi tea was grown and cultivated. It’s about 40 minutes walk away from SanYee train station, with the last 20 minutes hiking up the hills. As this place quite high up, the tea plantation field can be quite cooling in the morning.

As this is the summer harvest, the tea leaves would be made into red tea or known as 紅茶. The harvest must be during the sunny days and before noon. The harvest can be in either mechanical harvesting or handpicked harvesting.

During the handpick harvesting, hundreds of Tzu Chi volunteers from around ZhangHua (彰化) county would come here to pick the tea leaves. It would yield nearly a tonne of fresh picks in one morning of harvesting.

As the harvest is seasonal, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get the tea you want all year round. Since the harvest is limited to this small field, stock is very much limited. Plus, no insecticides were used for this plantation.

So the next time you drink JingSi tea, remember to appreciate your cup of tea as your last.

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Vineyard at Da Chun (大村)

I guess you could really plant grapes in Taiwan, and they're actually quite sweet. I dropped by Da Chun (大村) village of Zhang Hua (彰化) county last Friday for a visit, and was surprised by the fact that grapes can grow quite well in hot weather of Taiwan. They can produce fruits twice a year, during the summer and winter. A quick search on Google and I found that you can actually grow them in Malaysia’s hot weather too!

While it is nice to harvest them, growing grapes demand a lot of hard work and patience, a bit of luck too. Too much rain or sun, and it affects the produce.

 

 

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Closer to Nature

A decision to wake up at 5 in the morning was never a mistake. The bicycle ride to FeiCui Valley (翡翠谷) at Mugumuyu (慕古慕魚) was only about an hour away. But the sun was already burning by the time I depart at 5:45am. Nonetheless, the view along the bicycle path was breath-taking. No wonder Hualien County is the must see place in Taiwan.

You have to hike up FeiCui Valley to enjoy the waterfall, and the water is extremely clear. A dip in the pool of water was certainly refreshing. 

I suspect that the water is slightly alkaline as the torrent rushes through limestone. If you intend to visit this place, remember to bring the brightest torchlight you can get as you’ll have to pass through a dark tunnel before you can actually hike up the valley.

On my way back, stopped by a field for some photographs.

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