Rundown Day 2
Breakfast was scheduled till 8 and at 9 we're supposed to be heading to Dreamland for a photo session.
But with most of the member partying hard right towards morning, you'll guess that most of them didn't showed up on time.
We didn't get to Dreamland till 11 as the journey there took about 45 minutes.
Dreamland beach is just out of this world.
I called it "The Video Clip Beach"
It has pepper beach with minuscule beads of sand with greenish blue water.
Waves after waves crash along the rock cliff that fall dramatically from up the hill to the bottom of the shore.
We had to descend steep stone steps to get there and the hike up was enough to give an obese man a heart attack.
We took many pictures: the whole company, board of directors, each business unit.
I joined Octobrand group AS WELL AS Octozio's team (I'm supposed to move to Octozio on November, but well, gw kan banci foto, jadi mau nampang dimana-mana)
07.00 - 13.00 :And even then, when we're already several hours behind the schedule, some people were just taking time and kept others waiting.
Consequently, we hadn't much time to spend at GWK and I didn't even get uphill to see the famous sculpture.
14.00 - 15.30Lunch at Atmosphere - Discovery Mall.
There were severeal lounging table on the second floor facing the sea.
Our buffet lunch menu were:
Vegetable soup with slices of oxtail meat
Steamed plain rice
Fried Rice
Fried Noodle
Black pepper beef
Teriyaki chicken
Fried breaded fish with sweet sour sauce
Vegetable curry
Fruit platter
Agar-agar (jello)
It was here that some commotion happened.
We were supposed to be competing to win prize money for several competitions which were conducted during the trip, namely : Passion Race, Passion Performance and Passion Jackass.
Some of us somehow agreed to disrupt all the plan and made a Bali Coalition.
The plan was to have all the groups to get equal chunks of the prize money and cancel the competition.
Luckily, one of the committee was clear-headed enough to refuse this obscure idea (wack, I was feeling highly competitive, a race is a race, and if I didn't win it because I'm not good enough then so be it, but at least I tried my best!)
Finally, it was decided that the money will be distributed to all groups but NOT equally, and we still had to do the competition
(I'm happy that we got to compete but not happy with the money distribution stuff)
This absurd argument ended with us sporting our group t-shirt and spread along to do the next challenge : Passion Jackass.
16.30 - 18.00 :Passion Jackass time!!!
The idea was doing something crazy and tape it on a video.
The clip was then uploaded on Youtube.
The group with the highest rating get 2.5 millions IDR and the group with the most hit will get another 5 millions IDR.
Other than having fun by making fool of ourselves, the challenge was designed to tickle our creativity nerves and promote our company's passion.
Expectedly, we came up with crazy stuff:
- having a foot massage by the pedestrian walk
- selling fresh and fried chicken (buy 1 get 10, and the security were furious)
- adulterating a huge poster of sexy girls
- swallowing mentos with a bottle of shaken foamy
coca cola choke- errrr, i dunno what the other one is doing
As for my groups, we came up with a storyline that has something to do with passion and licking. (sounds corny huh?!!)
So, I am the lead actor, I happened to be a person who has a passionate quirk for licking stuff.
I licked ice cream,my own fingers and chocolate paste smeared around my cheek.
That's all???
No!
I went as far as asking a bule to have his nipples topped with whipped cream and then licked it.
We almost picked the wrong bule, he tried to take advantage and thought he could take me home.
But then I met a handsome Matt Chubb from England that was willing enough to be the object of our ridicule.
So, in the end, Yes!!! I licked that yummy salty bule and then collapsed rite on the sand from shame (but it was my idea anyway..., I picked the fruit of my own cheeky mind).
But it was liberating as well and I get to keep my reputation as the most daring and unstraight-minded person in the company (errr, i realized later that this is not something should be proud of.. but ... oh what the hell, see if I care (chuckle).
We finished early and got back to hotel, and I spend the afternoon soaking in the pool.
20.00 - 23.00:Dinner and Passion performance at Nyoman's Cafe - Jimbaran.
Dinner was seafood platter again, only this time it's fingerlickin' good:
Chargrilled Fish, Squid on skewers, Shrimps, Crab and Clams.
Passion performance was crazy.
My group acapellaed an odd mixture of gospel-dangdut score. One of the craziest performance was the sensational ROK BAND.
The most memorable moment was when each of us received a gift picked personally by Ben and Lisa.
My advertised image of a person with an all-things-sex-related-crave proved to effective as I received a set of teasy-tickly-tempty-seductive toy,while I'd be quite thrilled to receive a simple novel/cookbook/dictionary (smirk).
23.00 - onwards:Free time!!!
Finally I allow myself to get crazy and drunk and I danced the night away in Double Six.
After getting Yan drunk (revenge is sweet), we went to the beach and I jackpotted there after two sips of plain milk (blaaarrrrrrgggh, even when I'm drunk, I'm sober enough not to like plain milk!)
I went to bed at 2 even without taking shower, just washing my sand-clad legs.
Bali Run Down 101107
04.00 - 05.30:
Jejen texted me and I just woke up.
I realized that I had fallen asleep while packing for my trip.
Some of my clothes were still lying in bed and my suitcase were opened and expecting.
Lucky I had all the essentials prepared. I finished packing in a jiffy and took shower with half-closed eyes.
Excited as I was, it was four in the morning, and I had quite a rough nite!
Another text from Jejen, taxi's waiting.
We had to pick up two other people : Sumardy and Ami, then off we went.
05.30 - 06.25:
Arrived at the airport and waiting for other teams departing from my office.
Tickets were checked in by Amazing Tour and I had early Coney Dog breakfast at A&W
The plane departed on schedule and I got the window seat!
Next to me was Indra and a foreign man.
The flight was quite packed and I hadn't got much leg room.
Breakfast was good: chicken franks and perfect silky smooth omelette with poached tomato.
The omelette was so perfect I was wondering how could they produce such a smooth surface.
Is there an omelette making machine?? Must find out about that!
The plane shook a bit when entering Bali but we landed safely.
Up from the air, I was fascinated by the white coastline surrounding the eastern bay of Java.
It was magical.
And I just found out that Ngurah Rai airport was actually located along the shore... (keciaaaan deh baru tau sekarang.. hehehe)
10.00 - 15.00:
Arrived at Bali, we headed rightaway to Harris Resort right by Kuta beach on our tour bus.
It took only 15 minutes from airport to Harris, but when we got there the rooms weren't ready till 14.00.
We were then given a chance to spend the remaining time riding motorbikes around while waiting for the other groups to arrive.
At 11.00 we headed back to hotel only to be told to get on the bike once again and headed to Ketumbar to have lunch.
There was a little chaos in bike distribution as there were more than 30 pairs of us and some bikes had empty tanks.
(Must note that when organizing bike tours next time)
Our lunch was an impressive three-course-meal set menus.
There were 2 kinds of menus:
Set A :
Cream of Pumpkin Soup
Grilled Seafood Platter (Mai-mai, tuna, shrimps and squids)
Apple Crumble Cake
Set B :
Lentil Soup
Grilled Aussie Tenderloin Steak with mushroom sauce
Fruit Slices
I chose the latter cos I just looooooove mushroom sauce.
And my choice was right.
The meat was just tender and juicy, and the serving was generous.
Seafood platter was huge! Good I didn't choose them cos I thought I'd have plenty opportunity for it.
15.00 - 19.00 :
Passion race!
We were divided into 6 groups: Pink Thong, Red Booty, Yellow Boobs, Green Viagra,
Blue Stripper and Orange Dildo (yes i know, we sounded like a bunch of fetishists!)
Each group are given different clues to find what they tasks are.
When we were finished doing our task, our passports were stamped.
Our groups tasks were:
- Get a sexy temporarry tattoo from STAR TATTOO at Gang Puspa Ayu on the sexiest body part of our sexiest member
(in this case, I have the word "SEKSI" tattooed just below my collarbone, but then its wet ink were readily covered with my t-shirt and ruining it too, the final outcome was an obscure blotch that my friend took to be a black birthmark!)
- Went to find Mykonos Cafe at Oberoi and bought menu number 36 (Mouzaka Beef Sandwich).
- To Legian Kaja and find an accessories stall called MONAS. We fashioned our group icon and accesorize him (yes him, in this case its poor unknowing Fence) from head to toe.
We bought a beaded headband (supposed to be a choker), matching bangles and anklets, beaded belt and purse, a necklace with huge shell pendant and matching blue sandal and a blue ring.
- Got back to hotel beach front and reported to comitttee. Additional task: find stickers buried on the sand to get extra points.
When I was back to Kuta, I was feeling like revisiting my chilhood memories.
In my hometown, I lived only 3 miles from our beach, but coast is dissappearing fast due to abbrasion.
No matter how common people say Kuta is, its still fascinating beach cause it's black powdery sand is just like in my hometown beach.
After years of having malls and mand-made pools for weekends, even a beach as common as Kuta is something to relish our senses with.
20.00 - morning!:
Dinner at famous Warung Made.
Turned out it wasn't just a warung after all.
It's a part indoor-part alfresco dining site with open stage in the middle and surrounded with little shops selling clothes, accessories and aromatherapy.
Our dinner were:
Appetizer : Fried potato dough balls with shredded lettuce salad
Main course : Balinese Rice Dishes
Dessert : Brownies with vanilla ice cream.
After dinner we went to Ku De Ta, one of the most happening place in Bali.
A romantic site with candle lit lounging chairs facing the sea.
It's a place where you can drink and listen to good music while sharing a nice cozy little chat with your loved one.
It really sets your mood.
I stayed away from our group which were drinking and going crazy cos I want to stay sober, considering we'd have a lot to do the next day.
I came back at midnite but the others were partying the nite away.
Passion Trip - Bali 07
Fiyuh...
It's been a long time since I've written my last post.
Lately I've been quite busy or just too lazy to write and too fucked up with the daily routine.
So I guess it's just about time I have a vacation.
And this time I must consider myself lucky cos my office provided just what I need.
Commemorating its second anniversary, we were all transported to Bali for a fun trip together.
Quite a big leap, considering last year we only went to Anyer (tempatnya emang bapuk, tapi acaranya sih seru banget karena kebersamaannya asik!)
Flights (By Garuda, mind you), accommodation (Harris Resort, 4 star rite by the beachfront) and full meals were all paid for (bless Octovate).
I was so excited, cos it's my first visit (again) to Bali after all these years.
I first went there when I was 10 or so, and my last visit there was in 94.
I was on the way to Perth for a student exchange program then.
So basically I've little knowledge of what Bali's like recently, except for my vivid memories of its varied beach.
Black powdery sand and an ever crowded Kuta, Tanah Lot with its mighty cliff, and Sanur with its pepper sand and deep tourquois water, these were images of Bali etched in my mind.
When I arrived there I was so full of excitement. I was like a child going out for the first time.
I was readying all my senses to take in all the sensation.
Even the fact that I was being there brought an air of exhilaration.
I was a little dissapointed by the fact that we couldn't follow all the rundown. Some of the participants were quite ignorant to the fact that for some people going there was a rare occasion.
Lack of discipline was always the matter.
But, setting it aside, it was fun.
Bali beats to its own pulse. Being there was like being thrown to another realm. Like being in an utopia.
Fashion and attitude are different there. Bali dares you to do what you wouldn't dream of doing in your everyday routine.
I myself had an unexplained bravado to bare my chest a little more than I usually allow and thus discover a new side of my femininity.
Learning that I actually looked good because I was feeling good.
I revisited my memory of peppery sand granules in serene Dreamland and I had the chance to satisfy my curiosity of the world famous Ibu Oka's babi guling.
Too bad I hadn't had the chance to visit its traditional market. Taking Discovery Travel and Living earnestly, traditional market is the place where you learn about the true culture and culinary heritage of a place.
Strangely though, even when I felt I was missing out quite a lot of things, I had a strong feeling that I will be back soon.
And when I do, I'll be back with a vengeance.
I will stroll along the endless beach, sneaking thorugh the narrow street and plunge my self to the very heart of it.
But for now, its back to the realm of reality for me.
