Weekend in Melbourne

Buying new furniture for the apartment has been a bit of a gong show. Over the past few months, we've looked at hundreds of couches, cabinets, and tables.  Sometime before our trip to Singapore/Bali, we finally decided on the coffee table and end table we wanted for our living area. However, we decided to wait until after our trip to purchase it -- bad idea. When we got home from our vacation we discovered that the table had been discontinued! Most sane people would just try to find another coffee and end table set that would do, but we were so tired of looking at furniture, that we just couldn't imagine starting over. After a few calls we finally managed to find another store which had one in stock... in Melbourne! So, we figured it was just meant to be...it was an excuse to see the city we've been dying to see for quite some time now.

Many of our co-workers rave about Melbourne and claim it to be the best city in Australia. Apparently they're quite justified in saying so. Having only visited a few other major cities in Australia, we were both pretty excited to see what Melbourne had to offer.

We took Friday off from work and started the long car ride (~7 hrs) down to Melbourne early in the morning. Note that, back in Canada, such a car ride could easily be shortened to 6 hours or less...but in Australia, it is absolutely impossible to speed without getting ticketed (we intend to do a separate post about this little fact in a month or two...so stay tuned). Anyways, we begrudgingly set our cruise control and started the trip down to Victoria. We didn't get too far from Canberra before taking a pit-stop in Snake Gully to see the "Dog on a Tucker Box" and grabbing some lunch. One of Blair's colleagues told us we needed to stop and see this thing. Aussies and their statues...we really don't get their fascination. ;-)

Dog on a Tucker Box!

The drive between Canberra and Melbourne is quite peaceful and is filled with endless green fields, mountains, cattle, and sheep, giving you a good appreciation for the Australian countryside. However, it's not a drive that you'd want to make too frequently as it could quickly get boring.

We arrived into Melbourne around supper time and immediately went to the furniture store to pick up our tables before heading into the city. We stayed at the Intercontinental Rialto which is located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. We were both pretty bushed from the trip, so we grabbed some dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant, then went back to the hotel and spent an hour down at the pool/hot tub/sauna, before retiring to our room for the night to watch a movie.

The next day we woke up to pouring rain which looked to deter us from any sight seeing. So we headed out for some breakfast with every intention of just shopping for the day. Around lunch time the skies cleared up so we decided try out the free Melbourne tour bus. It was a pretty easy way to get around and see different areas of the city. After a quick stop at the War Memorial (which was recommended for its great view overlooking the city), we eventually made our way to the Eureka Sky-deck. The sky-deck is the highest public viewpoint in the southern hemisphere and 9th tallest building in the world. This offered some fantastic views of Melbourne and was well worth the price of admission.

A tiny part of the Melbourne CBD 

The famous MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds) and Telstra Dome

On our way back to the hotel for the night, we spotted a place selling "Canadian poutine".. so we had to give it a go. Despite not using cheese curds (and hence.. not being 'real' poutine) it was pretty damn tasty :).

Canadian Flag and Poutine... you got our attention!

Not true poutine .. but still tasty! :)

The next day, we got up early and headed back to Canberra. On the way back, we decided to stop at Holbrook to see what all the submarine fuss was about. Long story short, Holbrook has 1/2 a submarine on display - the full length of the submarine is there, but only the top half of it - as a monument to honour Lt. Holbrook (the town's namesake). It was not nearly as exciting as we hoped because you can't go inside to get a tour (since it has no bottom). So, to save everyone else from having to stop at Holbrook, here is what there is to see:

Top 1/2 of HMAS Otway

All in all, we really enjoyed Melbourne and discovered lots of other sights that we want to go see the next time we're there.

Bali Take #2

The last 4 days of our Singapore / Bali trip was spent at the Laguna Luxury Resort in Nusa Dua. Nusa Dua is basically a collection of 5-star resorts (inside a gated community) about 40 km south of Denpasar. It is a total contrast to the hectic tourist resorts/hotels found in Kuta where we had our first stay in Bali.

The Laguna Luxury Resort is a fantastic place and quickly reminded us of one of those resorts you would see featured inside a travel magazine. It had stunning grounds, too many pools to count, and a gorgeous beach! These pictures don't really do the resort justice.

Two of the many pools at the resort

Water fall over the spa

Beach at the resort

We were fortunate enough to book one of only two pool suites at the whole hotel.  These suites consisted of 4 large rooms inside, but it was outside the room that was most impressive: our own private swim-up pool and lounging area. The room came with butler service and a few other amenities such as free lattes/cappuccinos, water, and fruit whenever we wanted it.

Our private pool and lounge area!

Before leaving Australia, we had pre-booked a dive at Tulamben during our stay at Nusa Dua. Needless to say, when the day for diving finally came, we were both a bit reluctant to leave the peacefulness of the resort (it's a 3hr drive to Tulamben!). However, the diving was already booked and paid for so we decided to go through with it, and we were so glad we did.  We ended up diving the USAT Liberty wreck and it turned out to be some of the best diving we've ever done. There was an abundance of bright colourful coral and an overwhelming amount of marine life!

After our day of diving, we spent 2 more days relaxing at the Laguna resort before taking the long flight back to Sydney. All in all our entire trip to Singapore, Bali and Gili T. was pretty amazing. Sorry for taking so long to finish all these posts, but hopefully you've enjoyed reading about our trip and enjoyed some of our photos!

Up next, a post about the last minute trip to Melbourne we took this past weekend.

Gili Trawangan

The morning after our tour of Bali, we woke up early to begin our journey to Gili Trawangan. Gili Trawangan is the largest of the Gili Islands which are located just off the north western coast of Lombok (the 3 little islands on the map).



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There are several ways to get from Bali to the Gili Islands, but the most efficient way is by fast boat. The fast boats transfer people to and from the islands each morning, and typically hold about 20 people. We knew the boats went fast, but we were still surprised to find racing-style seats upon boarding. We both immediately realized that it really was going to be a fast and bumpy ride. And indeed it was. After 2hrs skipping over large waves at top speed and watching another passenger repeatedly spew her breakfast into a bag, we finally arrived at Gili Trawangan.

Blair on our fast boat

 

Boats at the GiliT port

Locals unloading supplies for the island

There are no motorized vehicles allowed on the Gili Islands. The three modes of transportation are feet, bikes, and cidomos (horse carts). Our resort, Scallywags, was at the bottom end of the island, so rather than dragging our suitcases for 20 minutes through dirt, we figured we'd give the cidomo a try...

Horse cart

..and it was the most uncomfortable 20 minutes of our lives. Thankfully, once we arrived at Scallywags, the horse cart was quickly forgotten as we sat down to drink our welcome drink and embrace the view from our resort.

Restaurant view at our resort

Most of the resorts on Gili Trawangan, including Scallywags, offer outdoor bathrooms. While the bathroom was very private, it was a bit interesting taking a shower with the sun shining down on you.

Outdoor bathroom and shower

Pool at resort

The pool at the resort was very inviting, so we decided to spend the rest of our first day on GiliT lounging by the pool sipping pina coladas. ;-) That evening we enjoyed a traditional Gili T dinner - a beach BBQ. It was fantastic, so we indulged a bit every night we were there!

BBQ!

So much selection for the BBQ!

The next morning, we got up early to head out for a day of diving with Manta Dive. The diving was decent in terms of fish, but didn't offer much in terms of coral. It turns out that fishing with dynamite used to be very popular around the Gili Islands and it has pretty much destroyed most of the coral. We did, however, manage to see lots of tropical fish, turtles, and a shark.

Our dive boat

Sea turtle - this guy was massive despite how it looks in this pic!

Tiny little clown fish in a sea anemone

Our next day on the island was a dedicated beach day! We spent most of the day on the beach relaxing and swimming. As we wandered down the beach, we found a bar in the middle nowhere, so we stopped for some drinks and to enjoy the view.

Bar on the south end of Gili T.

Fantastic private beaches everywhere!

The next day, we took a fast boat back to Bali for our last few days of vacation. Though our time on GiliT was short lived, it was a very relaxing few days that we really needed after all the site-seeing in Singapore and Bali.

Next up - our final days back in Bali. :-)

Bali

After our whirlwind tour of Singapore, we flew to Denpasar, Bali for the second leg of our vacation.  We arrived in Bali on the evening of July 17th and, after a minor delay navigating ourselves through the chaos of the airport in order to acquire a taxi, we finally made our way to our hotel in Kuta. We had booked a private day tour for the 18th, so once we arrived we had a late dinner and headed back to our room to get some rest.

Our private day tour got off to a slow start when our driver showed up to the hotel with a SUV that had difficulty starting (see notes about the rain below!). A few phone calls and an hour later, and we were finally off on our day tour with a brand new - and much more comfortable - SUV.

The start of our tour was a bit miserable weather-wise as there was a very strong (but luckily short-lived) rain storm. The infrastructure in both Kuta and Denpasar was clearly not able to withstand this amount of rain, and as a result, the streets quickly became flooded.

Flooding in the streets!

So much water!

The first stop for our day tour was the Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud. The sanctuary is home to hundreds of Macaque monkeys - as well as a temple - and is a popular place to visit in Ubud. The monkeys certainly aren't afraid of strangers and will follow you around looking for any food you might have for them.

Macaque monkey looking for food

Family cleaning the baby

Dragon statues at the temple entrance

After hanging out with the monkeys, we made our way to the market in Ubud. There wasn't really much to see at the market; some handmade crafts, typical souvenirs, and some trinkets with 'Bali' written on them. Just across the street from the market, however, was the Ubud Palace. The palace was built in the early 18th century and is set in the centre of Ubud.  The courtyard of the palace offers views of some impressive façades and statues.

Inside the palace courtyard

Interesting statue piece

After tourism, agriculture (namely, rice cultivation) is the largest employment sector in Bali. Given that we'd never seen a rice paddy before, we decided to stop by the rice terraces in Tegallalang (north of Ubud). Even though it had started raining quite heavily again, it was still an interesting sight to see for the first time.

Rice Terraces in Tagallalang

After getting drenched at the rice terraces, we headed for Gungung Kawi temple. Built in the 11th century, Gunung Kawi temple rests in a small valley and consists of several open courtyard areas which are home to shrines that have been carved out of the rock face. Thankfully the rain let up because it took us about 15 minutes to walk down to the bottom of the valley (while stopping to take in the views). The trek, however, was absolutely worth it! The shrines are absolutely huge (20ft+) and are in very good condition given that they are nearly a century old!

Massive shrines carved into the rock face

More shrines on the opposite side of the valley

The next site we visited was Goa Gajah - also known as the elephant cave temple. The entrance to the cave features a facade of creatures and demons. The cave originally got its name from the elephant-like shape of the rock face, though it's difficult to see now due to erosion. Next to the cave are two holy bathing pools. Many local people come here to clean themselves and wash away evil spirits.

Cave entrance - see the elephant shape?

Bathing pool

The last stop on our day trip was at the Oka coffee plantation. We were given an overview the coffee agriculture in Bali as well as a few samplings of some locally grown & roasted coffee and tea.

Coffee & Tea samples - tasty!

More importantly, however, is that Blair got to finally try some of the famous Kopi Luwak coffee, as well as meet the 'coffee machine' that helps produce it - the Asian Palm Civet.

Asian Palm Civet  -aka- Coffee Machine

While there were a few more sights we would have liked to have seen, we feel as though we managed to see quite a lot in a single day. A private tour with your own driver is definitely the way to go when visiting Bali as it allows you to move at your own pace and focus on the things you really want to see. But most importantly, it allows you to avoid the motorcycles.  Oh my, the motorcycles!! :S

On the left of us..

...and on the right of us!

All in all, we had a fantastic tour of Bali. It was a great cultural experience, and one we'll never forget. Something that stuck with us from our first impressions until our very last day there - the Balinese people are extremely friendly and very, very kind. They certainly helped to make this visit as great as it was.

Coming soon - some diving and beach stories from the Gili Islands!

Singapore

Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently as we've been away on vacation and decided we'd post about our travels upon our return to Canberra. So here's our first post of ~3 for this trip.

We started our vacation by traveling to Sydney and spending Friday night at a hotel near the Sydney International airport (we had an early departure the next morning). Without a doubt, this was the worst hotel we've ever stayed at.  Let's just say that the day (Friday, July 13th) was quite fitting, as this hotel felt like something out of a Friday the 13th movie. (Note that this was the one time Stacy allowed Blair to choose the hotel. Lesson learned? She thinks so!).  ;-)

On Saturday morning, we escaped left our 10'x10' prison hotel room and departed for the airport, where we caught our flight to Singapore (via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) on Air Asia. We were a bit skeptical of Air Asia due to what some friends had told us (after booking our flights), however, the flight and connection all went smoothly and 11hrs later we landed in Singapore. Even though our flight arrived in the evening, we still had time to snap a few photos and head out for supper after checking in to our (upgraded to a fantastic view!) hotel room at Clarke Quay.

View of Clarke Quay from our hotel room balcony

We had 3 nights/2 days in Singapore (which was sufficient only to get a quick overview of the city), so we decided to try and cram in as much sightseeing as we could in our first day. Saturday morning we got up early and headed to Chinatown after breakfast. Singapore has a large population of Chinese immigrants, which has lead to significant Chinese influence in its food and culture. While in Chinatown, we stopped by the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a well-known landmark in Singapore due to its colorful façade.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Next we we made a visit to the famous Maxwell's Food Center (hawker center) which is home to dozens of food stands serving lots of authentic Asian food. We sampled some freshly 'squeezed' sugar cane juice - which, oddly enough, looked and tasted a lot like kiwi juice.

Maxwell's Food Center

Sugar cane juicer and raw sugar cane

After our tour of a few temples in Chinatown, we headed back to Clarke Quay where we had a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant called Mad for Garlic. Let us just say, the name is very fitting as everything on the menu is loaded with garlic! Just so you properly understand just how much garlic is in their dishes, have a look at this photo while keeping in mind that there are truly only four food items on the plate - mushroom, onion, beef and garlic:

Garlic (4 ways!) with a side of steak! Soooo good!

With a healthy dose of garlic in our system, we decided to take a water taxi down the Singapore River to the Marina Bay area. Marina Bay is home to the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel and was the site of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. We decided to head to the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel for some great views of the city.

Water Taxi and Marina Bay Sands hotel

Floating Stadium and city skyline

Twice a night, the Marina Bay Sands hotel performs a light show so we decided to stick around to check it out. We're very glad we did as it was pretty spectacular! The hotel uses a combination of light, water, fire, and sound to show a series of images showcasing how wonderful the world is.

Start of the Light show

A flower projected onto the water mist

A harpist projected onto the water mist

Lights which moved likes waves of water in the bay

Only a few hundred meters away from the Marina Bay area, we came across the Singapore Food Festival (by complete accident)! The festival had dozens of food stands from restaurants all around Singapore. So we stopped by to grab a late night snack. Before heading back to the hotel to crash for the night, we snapped this cool picture of the hotel again.

Marina Bay Sands hotel at night

The next morning we decided to head to Little India to see the area, some temples, and grab some Indian food for lunch.

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

Streets of Little India

We spent the rest of the day on a hop-on hop-off bus tour of Singapore. It was a good way to see the renaming sights such as the botanical gardens, the famous Raffles Hotel, and other interesting monuments and buildings. We ended the day back at Clarke Quay where we enjoyed a Singapore Sling

Raffles Hotel - home of the Singapore Sling

Singapore Sling night cap!

On Tuesday we slept in a bit before heading to the airport for our afternoon flight to Bali. All-in-all we really enjoyed Singapore. The city is very clean, the people are very friendly, and the food was fantastic!

One final thing that deserves mention is Singapore's International airport (Changi). This place really knows how to cater to travelers.  Have a few hours before your flight? Why not soak up the sun and take a dip in their rooftop swimming pool? Would you rather watch a movie?  Head to their free movie theatre. Need some sleep?  Head to their napping facility. Other free services include: foot massages, showers, internet, a walk through their themed gardens, or a tour into Singapore (if you have more than 5 hours). What a place!

Coming up next.. our adventures in Bali! :)