What a delight!!!

we got back fr our yummy seafood dinner at Jimbaran Bay
to a surprise!!!!
*will blog bout this seafood place - Jimbaran soon...soon....soon*

the bedroom was lighted beautifully in tealight candles

3 huge scented candles were set inside the room
wow I can see some efforts were needed to carry the 3 giant

petals of roses and frangipanis were everywhere on the floor
and we were trying hard not to step on any

awwwww Berr was used as one of the "prop" too on the bed
oh dear Berr....

"Wat the....did u arrange for this?"
JS who was so eager to hop onto his pool was blur...."errrr wat?"

it was our Sweet Butler Adi who decorated the whole room :)))))))))))
so very sweet of him :)))))
he was the one whom arranged our Jimbaran dinner as well
we got picked up, and had a very personal service at the restaurant
and mind u it's a very simple casual restaurant by the beach
and was sent home by the restaurant after our yummy meal :D

"How r we gonna sleep now?"
JS just pushed all the frangipanis aside
"voila!!! there!!!! now your majesty u can retire....and sleep well"
-_-"
ish ppl used so much of efforts to do this ok!!!!
anyway thank u so much Adi
u have been so accommodating throughout our stay
hope to see you again when we are in Bali
:D

chak-a-chak-a-chak *by JS*

The real monkey, Eve, Andrew and Mark.......note the cannister of potato crisp......indeed they have learnt well from the Barong dance!!

The origins of the Kecak dance lies deeply rooted in local tradtion and Indian mythology, Ramayana and Mahabratha., an epic poem written in sanskrit. It is sometimes known as the Ramayana monkey chant(So monkey strikes once again!!).

before the dance starts, the high priest bless the arena so there will be no accidents.

The show started with a group of 70 to 100 man sitting in concentric circle formation and cloak in black and white checked cloth waist downwards. These men also happens to be the orchestra that will provide the "music" throughout the show........in the form of chak-a-chak-a-chak chant.......hence the name of the dance, the Kecak dance. Yes, throughout the show there is no musical instrument used! Even the sound effect of wind and the sea was mimicked by these fellas.

The kecak dance origins started as a trance ritual accompanied by an all male chorus. Infact it was a german painter in the 1930's who got so fascinated with this ritual that he recreated it into a drama which is today's kecak dance. Hence you can say that unlike the Barong dance, the kecak dance is not as old and definitely designed more for the consumption of the western tourist. This does add on to the mystique that surrounds Bali in the eyes of a westerner. Looking at this dance objectively, i would consider it an application of modern contemporary art and culture adapted to traditional cultural values fit for the consumption of the general audience.....otherwise we will never be able to understand Ramayana and Mahabratha let alone view a play!

The story line, like the Barong dance is none other than good versus evil. The dance brings together to life the tale of King Rama, his wife Dewi Sita and his brother Laksamana who were exiled to the forest for 14 years following a power struggle. In the forest, they are persecuted by Rawana, the evil Lankan king who then abducts Dewi Sita and makes her a prisoner in his palace on the Island of Lanka(Sri Lanka actually). Rama negotiated an alliance with the monkey people whose army defeats Rawana’s troops, making it possible for King Rama to rescue his wife. That's the long and short of the story in general and like the Barong dance, it is accompanied with carefully choreographed dancing and colorful costumes.

Sita asked Rama to capture the deer. Note the antlers.....that must be the golden deer.

King Rama

another scene of King Rama trying to capture the golden deer in Ayodya Pura forest.

Laksamana and King Rama.

Dewi Sita and Laksamana

Laksamana.

The evil Rawana

when Rawana could not catch Dewi Sita, he disguised himself as this old frail man Bagawan and trapped Sita into believing him that he was really old and frail.......and suddenly grabbed Sita and brought her to Alengka Pura.

Hanoman the white monkey who helped King Rama locate Dewi Sita and eventually defeated Rawana.

The last act i would call "revenge of the monkey" as Hanoman was caught by giants and was about to be roasted and because of his supernatural powers, he broke free and took revenge on his captors.

the site of the kecak dance was at Pura Uluwatu and it starts at 6pm during sunset........and it was a beautiful setting for an unforgettable evening.

when the play finally ended, you can see that we did spent quite a bit of time there......and believe you me.....definitely need more than peanuts or potato crisp as an accompaniment for this show :)

Definitely worth every rupiah to watch this epic play. There seem to be various versions and locations for the kecak dance. We would however recommend this one at Pura Uluwatu as you can see, it provides the perfect setting!

Away.......Sing-a-pore

Monkey is away........

I've been receiving "complaints"
that I'm alwiz AWAY
on holiday or on work trips etc

errrr yes in fact my life is that hectic
not a single weekend spent doing nothing

*oh dear I really missed those type of weekends, haven't been doing that for years*

am so busy that I dun have time to move into my new home :P
company didn't allow me to take 1 mth sabbatical leave
to facilitate this move

eh come on...it's SABBATICAL meaning I'm on unpaid leave
u get the save $$$$$!!!!!
T_T

wat have u bcome dear Monkey
corporate slave?

time to slow down
*shake my head*
there's no time to slow down...
a lot of things in your life waiting to be achieved
many ppl out there to meet
more deals to secure than u could ever imagine
so many friends to catch up with
and most of all, remember to ENJOY it all along the way
:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

I lurve my life :)))))))))))))))))))))))))

Happy Monday folks!!!!
u only live once...
so choose to live it with excitement and the WAY u wanted it
:D

nobody can chart your own destiny
remember u r the CAPTAIN of your own boat :))))))))
*hey eeee heey yoooo..... steer the boat down south to Singapore now*

Tired.......

GAWD~~~~

I can't feel my feet
and took so much efforts to get out of bed this morning

trained 60 staffs yesterday
hosted a Press Cocktail in the evening till midnite
so I was on my toes in 5 inches heel for 16 hours
this is wat I called FANTASTIC
and vanity :D:D:D

Thank u so much dearie team for making the 2 events a GREAT success
*so worth all the pain*

Today I m limping in my 4 inches spring/summer clogs :P
vain vain vain vain vain

another busy Friday
looking fwd to my Overseas Restaurant char siew + fish lips soup lunch
*ohhhh heaven~~~~~*

and yummy coffee with a certain someone later :D
that will wrap up my day before leaving to Singapore
for work that is....:P

haaaaaa......................

Babi Guling Ibu Oka, Ubud

this is the best and no.1 in the whole of Bali

believe me, u dun wanna go anywhere else for Babi Guling

Ibu Oka was featured countless time on TV Programs

food review, magazines, newspapers, all sorts of media from blogs to online forums

and personalities like Anthony Bourdain visited it as well

Monkey and JS were here :P

believe me this place was thronged with TOURISTS

so pls do come by early for lunch to grab a place

most of the locals go to Ibu Oka's house, she operates and cooks fr home

this one here at Ubud is a short distance fr her home

and more convenient for tourists like us

so many japanese and whites

we sat "inside" the lil balinese house

so we had to remove our shoes and climb up

sat like a balinese on the cushion floor mat with a cute table

Balinese alwiz serve coconuts with a squeeze of lime

to give it some tanginess

this pickled spicy hot can die chili was AWESOME

totally kick ass

we invited our driver to join us
and Monkey kept on "PEDAS PEDAS PEDAS"
apparently it's called "PANAS" here :P

Monkey: "SEDAP SEDAP SEDAP!!!"
Komang our Driver: "Enak.....kita kata enak di sini."
ohhhh sorry I felt so uncivilised and un-cultured....coz my language was so "rough"
in my sweetest voice and my outmost politeness
Monkey: "Enak sekali babi guling ini kan Komang?"

Yes I had to admit we Malaysians punya Bahasa Malaysia
memang kenot make it :P
coz we'll definitely say:"Wei very sedap hor?" :P

suddenly we heard a roar of happiness fr the patrons/diners

and everyone stood up

I thought Michael Jackson has arise!!!!

ooooooOoooooo

the WHOLE PIG has ARRIVE!!!!!

carried by a man on his head on a motorbike fr Ibu Oka's home just some distance away

coz there's no space here to grill this bugger!!!

and cameras were flashing non stop

for a moment that particular Babi Guling was a PORK STAR

they worked very fast here

by the time JS got down to snap a pic of the whole pig

its head were off

somebody bought it already T_T

Babi Guling was marinated using a lot of yummy spices

tapioca leaves some coconut thingy *I think*

everything stuffed into its stomach, stitched up

tied on and grill for 4 hours

the hole at its rear was where it held the "stick"

that grill the whole pig

*it's not wat u think it is....a pig @ssh013 can't be that HUGE ok*

go for the special one

and if u r early u can oso order its SKIN only

it comes with a piece of DEEP FRIED dunno which part of the pig

a piece of pig liver sausage

some yummy vege salsa

hot balinese steamed rice

generous helping of sliced moist pork

and splash of its stuffings

and a piece of its most PRIZED skin

OMG the meat was so moist

the amount of spices was just right.....

I was contemplating for a 2nd helping

and I think our Driver Komang watched in aghast how this Monkey can really eat :P

by the time we left...the pig....

was just a carcass left.....

I'm amazed at the volume of this shop

it was a weekday

this tiny hut can only seat a maximum of 40 people....

the queue was AMAZING :P

Many ppl can't understand wat's the fuss about

it's the spices here

somehow it's different coz we tried a few other babi guling in Bali

I think it's definitely worth it :)

Babi Guling Ibu Oka

Jalan Suweta, Ubud,

Bali, Indonesia

The Villa, Ayana Resort

ok ok ok so many of u already asking for pics of the room
we stayed in the villa so u'll have all the pics around the villa kay?

Ayana Resort is kinda big so u'll need your butler to drive u around
the above pic was the entrance to our villa

the living room with a spectacular view of the garden and ocean

don't think we spent errr more than 5 minutes at this living room :P

bedroom with 4 posts

I felt a sense of "cocoon-ness" sleeping on this bed :P

it's ok but not a fan

from the bed this was the view

the infinity pool faces the Indian Ocean as well

one side of the walk-in-wardrobe

the otherside belongs to JS and there's nothing hanging there

so no point taking pics

the washroom the bath the powder and the toilets

with amazing view all around

there's windows everywhere so u'll enjoy the view of your private garden

but a lil bit insecure at nite coz I have this lil thing running in my mind

nope not ghost *think ghosts are more afraid of me*

more like if anyone fr outside can see me when I'm having my bath

kekekekkekekekek

the bath and the vanity area

don't u think the bath area is kinda a lil too HUGE?

it's like having a shower in the living room :P

separate stand shower and toilet

*sorry our things were kinda messy hanging here n there*

lurve the fountain on the outside

so zen and calm :)

perspective fr the tub to the washroom to the walk in wardrobe to the bedroom

I dun understand why the toilet is so big T_T

it sure feels so cold when I was in the tub :P

at the garden there's 2 comfy lounge chair for u to laze around all day

under the beautiful frangipani tree

and a cozy cabana which u can hold your very own party

yes Ayana do cater if u want a romantic dinner at your very own garden :)

with musicians and performers :P

early morning at 6.30am when the sun is rising

Monkey spent her quiet morning here enjoying all the vitamin D fr the sunshine and a plunger of tea

while JS was sumwhere else nearby in the resort snapping Sun rise pics :P

ermmmm Sir...this side of the cliff doesn't face sunrise...only sunset :D

anyway he was so sweet coz all the pics all for u GUYS!!! U READERS!!!

Berr was enjoying the sun as well

to kill bacteria on his fur :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

*he's so adorable...hugs Berr*

Off topic:

A reader asked why is Berr alwiz with that green lil cloth thingy?

Answer: that's his lil pouch...he sits on it and travel inside it. :)

me looking at him and him looking at me

*yaaawwwwnnnnn*

there's an outdoor shower as well

but we didn't get to use it :D

JS enjoyed his dipping session everynite

coz it's so humid

so when we were home....he dropped his camera

ran outside and jumped in

created such a huge splash

lucky Berr & Monkey were a distance away T_T

and he'll work out in the pool

swam off all the calories we ate wor -_-" x 100000

anyway he's a very discipline man

and Monkey gained 2 kg fr the trip

thanks to all the Babi Guling oh yummm

will blog bout it tmrw ok...I PROMISE!!!!!

JS took a few panoramic pics of our villa fr the garden

and stitched it up using Photoshop

dunno how he did it

once upon a time, it was Monkey who was well versed with photoshop

it was also once upon a time that Monkey introduced JS to photoshop

and then once upon a time...Monkey downloaded the software and taught JS the basics of photoshop

and today JS handles all his photos and graphics with professionalism using photoshop

T_T and Monkey was so out-dated

"how did u do that? wat is this? show me SHOW ME!!!!!!"

I know not many pics of our villa coz we were too busy enjoying it

:P forgot to snap as detailed as possible for u folks

We are definitely returning so there will be more of it

After showing the pics to Prince C

he immediately asked me to book Ayana Resort for him

plus golf and all and we MUST join him

errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr brother, I have to work lar....I have a JOB and I m a slave

:P

Log on more for more details of Ayana Resort here

www.ayanaresort.com