WHY UBUD?
There are several areas in Bali including Kuta, Seminyak and Ubud. Kuta and Seminyak are the “hip” part of Bali but they can be too touristy, have too many bars and rowdy packbackers. Ubud is “real” Bali, in the sense that it is more lush and slower than the “hip” parts.
BUDGET & MONEY MATTERS
Estimate about S$75-S$100 (550K-700K Rp) a day to be comfortable. This amount of money covers for restaurants, transport and admission fees for museums, etc.It’s relatively safe in Ubud to carry a wad of cash. Just be vigilant.
A fair note of warning: Like any developing countries and cities, the people will try to rip you off. Check your restaurant receipts and check you give the correct note. A 10K note and a 100K note are similar; they are both red.
Easy Mental Conversion from SGP to Rupiah: S$1 = 7300 Rp but take it as 7000 for convenience. Do NOT take the three Zeros into account. For example, if it is 25K rp, just use 25/7 ≈ S$3.5. Another example: if it’s 350K Rp, just use 350/7 ≈ S$50.
ACCOMMODATION & TRANSPORTATION
Petanu River Villa is about a 1.5-hour drive from the airport. Contact Petanu River Villa to arrange for airport transfer. Petanu River Villa is about a 10-minute drive to the center of Ubud. Each trip costs about S$10 (75K Rp). You can arrange with the housekeeper.
There are 8 villagers taking care of Petanu River Villa, including Santi the estate manager (bottom right). They are very friendly, all smiles all the time. There is a person stationed in the kitchen from 8am-5pm if you need anything. After that, there is a security guard for the night.
This is our driver, Wayan, arranged by Petanu River Villa. If you want to see his village or do any sightseeing, you can ask him. Ask him for recommendations on where to eat or club or what to do. He speaks English very well. His phone is +62-81-237-220-358, his email: yandog88@yahoo.com, website.
Now let’s talk about Petanu River Villa. The car suddenly turns into a single-lane dirt road, a steep slope like a roller-coaster ride, and then you reach the back alleys of houses. There is a old decrepit metal gate and when it opens…
Taken from the other end of the pebble path:
WOW. It’s a completely different world from the dirt road. It’s like one of those movies in which you follow the motion of the camera. The door opens and you are wow-ed by the interior.
And when you reach the villa itself, you think to yourself, you pay USD$330 a night (including breakfast and airport transport) to get half a villa?!
Do you see what I mean by “half a villa”? NO WALLS! Open concept. The villa, perched on a hill, opens out to the wilderness. OMG. SO GORGEOUS. The world is your playground.
Dining area at the terrace:
Infinity pool overlooking the foliage!!!!
Reading by the pool:
Since we are at the pool, let me just say that Hookerlily and I adore it so much!! We took every opportunity we had to soak in it and had heart-to-heart chats. When we were in the pool, the feeling was sublime! It felt like nothing in the world mattered. No stress, no worries, nothing. Pure Zen. It was like we were existing as our essence of our beings.
I don’t fall asleep easily because I am not a very trusting person. But under this dappled shade, on the deck chair, a slight breeze, I fell asleep and woke up, feeling very rejuvenated and at peace. The feeling was just incredible. I was troubled before the trip but after this sleep, my mind cleared and instantly, when I woke, I knew what I should do with my (love) life.
Talking about reading by the pool, there are books in a bookcase in the hall so you don’t have to bring your own reading material. I went through the books and was very impressed by the selection of titles: Ian McEwan (amazing writer); Robert Yeo’s Singapore Trilogy; and other Booker Prize winners. You can tell a person’s taste by the books s/he reads and the owner of the villa obviously has great taste!
Beside the main villa, there is a shack that acts as a massage room. You can book a masseuse/masseur for 250K (S$35).
There are 3 bedrooms, all with gorgeous view, accommodating up to 6 people at the villa. Seriously, US$330 for 6 people? That’s a steal. Although only the master bedroom has an attached bathroom, each bedroom has its own bathroom by the side.
Exhibitionists, you’re in luck. The bedroom on the ground floor has an outdoor shower!
For more info on Petanu River Villa, please visit the website.
The next entry gives a 4D3N Ubud itinerary, including a day trip to Seminyak and Kuta.
PS: Thank you, Sera, for the invited stay at Petanu River Villa.
Although this itinerary is based on an 17-day tour, you can cut out whatever you don’t like to do or see and shorten it. (Actually, we only went for 14 days.) For instance, if you don’t want to see Eastern Taiwan (which is less developed), then you can take a domestic flight from Hualien to, say, Tainan.
Map Modified from 
Taroko Gorge in Hualien Province is both sublime and terrifying in its stillness.
One of the must-eats in Taiwan is its fruits. Just beside 鹅肉先生 Mr Goose is a shop called 西瓜大王 King Watermelon. The watermelon milk shake gave me a feeling of bliss.
Taroko Gorge is all about walking: wear proper shoes. Ask your driver where some of the good spots are and make a decision where to go. It is impossible to finish everything in a day. We stopped at 清水断崖 Qing Shui Duan Ya (very first photo in this entry), Taroko Visitor Centre, 禅光寺 Chan Guang Temple, 布洛湾燕子口步道 Bu Luo Wan-Swallow Grotto, 天祥 Tian Xiang, and our last stop 白杨步道 Bai Yang Trail. For the last stop, you’ve a choice of Bai Yang Trail or 莲花池步道 Lotus Pond Trail but the hotspring at the end of the Lotus Trail has dried up. So we chose the more scenic Bai Yang.
A third item we had was the very delicious 春卷 chun juan or known to Singaporeans as popiah. The differences lie in the skin (Taiwanese version is thick) and the fillings. Singapore’s version has a base of turnip while Taiwanese has no base and throw many ingredients, including braised tofu, vegetables, thinly sliced meat. There is a variety of sauces to choose from: seaweed, wasabi, etc. This stall’s chun juan had a queue and was very delicious. I liked it so much I finished an entire big fat roll on my own, leaving very little to Mr NGFL.
Welcome to the boondocks. Dulan, as a town, is more like a lane that takes 15 minutes to stroll from one end to the other. A strange, eclectic town: a forgotten kampong meets hipster Dempsey Hill.
With heavy hearts, we left the delicious city of Hualien. You may either have a scenic drive down along the coast, taking Highway 11, or 
For accommodations, we heard that major hotel chains are interested in Dulan but for now, you have to rough it out, no hotels, all homestay (民宿). We stayed at 
If not, just go for a shop called 越南咖啡 Yue Nan Coffee, across the road from Marino’s. The shopkeeper and cook is Vietnamese and married to a Taiwanese man. The pho and Vietnamese cold noodles are equally delicious, heavy with lime, which give the dishes a tangy, appetizing touch. Still expensive, but half of Marino’s price.
The ambience was electrifying. People were dancing and chatting and chugging down–not beer–red wine like there was no tomorrow.
Beside Tie Hua Chun is a wonderful, hipster cafe called 万福商号 Wonderful (台东市博爱路405号, 405 Bo Ai Road, T: +886-8-934-6502 Sun-Th: 11am-9.30pm F-Sat: 11am-11pm Closed on Tue). The decor has lots of wood and is quirky. It serves food that are freshly prepared, often made from scratch, although truth to be told, the banana cake, their specialty, we had was so-so.
林家臭豆腐 Lin Smelly Tofu (正气路130号, 130 Zheng Qi Road, 11am-11pm) is a must-eat. If you come here at night, the queue snakes around the street! Having eaten smelly tofu before, the smelly tofu here is completely different from my previous experiences. It tastes like blue cheese and the texture is perforated throughout, making it a crunchy, tangy titbit. Very delicious.
Besides the mee tai mak, we also ordered a few dishes including pig’s skin. The food here is homely and very Taiwanese, but nothing unique. Don’t really have to eat here.
Quail eggs: although it seems to be a sunny-side up, the venders, deft with their hands, stick the egg around a skewer, turning the eggs into hard-boiled. You may add seasoning such as wasabi, seaweed, salt, etc. 
七里香 Qi Li Xiang, or chicken backside. If you see this, you must eat it. The chicken backside is cooked in a large furnace of charcoal. As a result, very juicy and tender. This stall also sells chicken wings, sweetly marinated.
So many people crowding around a food truck! It is self-service 甜不辣 tian bu la or sweet not spicy. Similar to Singapore’s yong tofu, the items are on a skewer. Here, you pick the items, get soup and add condiments yourself. When you’re done, show the number of skewers to the vender. Each stick for only $5NT! Quality is quite bad actually, but very cheap.
The man who nearly caused a stampede also sells 大肠包小肠 (big intestine wraps small intestines). Strictly speaking, it’s like a hot dog. It’s Taiwanese sausage wrapped with a rice bun. Not very nice.
You can take 
Opposite Confucius Temple is aptly the most awesome bookshop I’ve seen in my life. 
After Fen Qi Hu, ask your driver to send you to 鹿林神木 Lu Lin Shen Mu to see a 2, 700 year-old tree and a great view of Alishan. Soak in the quietude and grandeur of an old spirit. Then go buy some tealeaves at 达明茶库 Da Ming (pictured right, address and telephone number included). That’s right, the guy in the photo is the teahouse boss’s husband! Da Ming wins awards for best Alishan tea yearly for the past 10 years and the boss was very friendly and chatty. She kept feeding us tidbits till we nearly missed our bus. Her award-winning tea doesn’t come cheap: a small packet (about 150g) costs $450NT. 
After dinner, the owner would start a fire on the veranda, boiling tea that aids sleep. We sat around to chat with other travelers. Very toasty.
By the time you reach your homestay, if there is still light, you can ask your host to see if there is any fun activities. Our aboriginal host taught us archery!
Lake on Alishan
The history of Penang, known as Pearl of the Orient, is very similar to the history of Singapore, but how did Penangites get so political that even a driver eats bread to show his anti-government sentiments and Singaporeans so apathetic? In late 1700s, Captain Francis Light of British East India Company landed in Penang and the Sultan signed the land over to him. Light re-named it Prince of Wales island, because the acquisition date fell on the prince’s birthday. It is said that he fired silver dollars from his ship’s cannons to encourage sepoys to clear the undergrowth.
1. Novel: Man Asian prize-winner 
After breakfast, walk north two streets to 
We ordered a few drinks with the name “Farquhar” in them. Do you know the correct pronunciation for “Farquhar” is “f*cker”? Go ask a Scot. So Huccalily ordered, “Can I have a F*cker’s Street?” The waitress didn’t even flinch. It was hilarious.
Unlike New York which is a good place to visit but a hard place to live, Jakarta is a bad place to visit but you can live like a king. The people are wonderful, friendly and not as mercenary as Balinese and the food is fantastic but the city is one of the most unloveable in the world. The traffic is impossible and impassable; there is no concept of personal space (claustrophobics, be warned); the smog hangs heavy (bring your inhalers); and the worst part is there isn’t any attraction worth visiting. Even the locals don’t know where the attractions are! It was days of frustration asking the locals where a place was.
After Fatahillah Square, take a bajaj to Mall Mangga Dua, the biggest wholesale complex in Jakarta (the ride should cost about 10,000-15,000rp, bargain before the trip). It was insane. The mall was so huge, electronics in one wing, and clothes in another. And each stall is tiny, like those shops at People Complex in Singapore, so there are easily hundreds of shops. (You can get A&W rootbeer float here! More a symbol of a Singaporean’s nostalgia than taste.)
But don’t eat too much at Dapur Babah because just two doors away is Ragusa Es Italia (Jl. Veteran 1 No. 10; 4-11pm), an ice cream establishment since 1930, a landmark of Jakarta. Outside the ice cream shop, you can buy the famous chicken sate (or satay), very tender but the dip could be more peanuty and spicy.
Construction began in 1961 and was only completed in 1975. Known as “Sukarno’s erection,” it is 137m high with a 14m flame in 33kg of gold. You pay 5000 rp to enter base of the shaft to visit an awful National History Museum, the worst museum I’ve seen, showing a whitewashed version of Indonesia’s struggle to independence. To travel up the shaft to the top, you’ve to pay another 7500 rp. The queue to the lift was terrible. Jakarta has the slowest lifts I’ve ever taken, even in its malls. There is only one lift up Monas, and the lift takes 5-10 minutes each time. Everyone tried to squeeze, so be prepared to queue. Wear thick underwear. The view at the top was equally boring. My advice is skip the Monas completely. It is enough to view it from afar.
This was the 2nd I flew with Scoot and it was another bad experience. The first time, they 
1. Subway / Metro: The 
In conclusion, the strong point is its location, near to major tourist attractions and shopping areas, but the rooms may be too rundown for some people and the service was uneven.
4. Baekje Samyetang KOREAN GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP The chefs use only young chicken and you can choose between normal or black chicken, normal or superior ginseng. They gave a shot of insamju (ginseng wine) before the soup. I didn’t quite like the place – I thought there were too many tourists and few locals. The soup was so-so. Could be boiled longer.
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