Visit Indonesia: Bali 2015 Trip (PART 1)

I believe some of you know Bali. Yup! The island of gods located in Indonesia. This island is known for its’ natural scenery, temples, sunset, culture, food,and peacefulness, even their night-life. It gains more popularity from international tourist after the movie “Eat, Pray, and Love”, premiered. Bali has ever been a difficult time after the bomb attack in 2006. After the restoration, Bali became more popular than the capital city of Indonesia. If anyone knows about Indonesia, they only knew about Bali and nasi goreng.

Last October I visited Bali for the 3^rd time. This time, I travel from Lombok to Bali by plane. It took only 30 minutes if you took Lion Air. My purpose to Bali was to meet my friends and eat! I’ve been very bored with the food in Lombok, so I intended to eat lots of food in Bali. 

I’ve created a video of my culinary trip to Bali and posted on my Youtube channel. You can see the video directly to my Youtube (I can't attached the video here, idk why. It's my third time uploading the video on the blog) channel here. I really appreciate if you give me a thumb’s up. This is my first ever travel video, so your likes really means a lot to make another videos. In this post I’ll tell you more information about the restaurant or stalls that I visited. 

Day 1

I arrived in Bali around 7 PM so it was time for dinner. From the airport, my friends and I went to Bale Udang Mang Engking. This is an Indonesian food restaurant, but there are lots of international tourists. The concept of their interior is very traditional with modern touch. If you went there in the afternoon, it was great for your instagram feed. Their speciality is seafood, especially prawn. They have limited seats if you want to have your meal in the Bale (gazebo), so better make reservation. You can make your reservation from Qraved application or directly call the restaurant. (I’ll put the phone number and address at the end of this post).

This is what "Bale" (Gazebo) looks like.

Day View

Next stop, Yogurt Republic in Legian Street. The yogurt is very bery nice! Especially the strawberry one, I really liked it! If they didn’t weight down the yogurt, I might take 2 or 3 cups. The price depends on the weight of the yogurt plus topping. It is a little bit
pricey, but I do enjoy every scoop of this yummy yogurt. (because in Lombok there is no yogurt house like this).

Just An Overview

Before heading back to my friend’s place, we went to Sanur, which is very far from Kuta, to try KFC’s Grilled Chicken. The menu is only available in KFC Sanur branch. KFC has the best chicken from all of his contenders, in my opinion. And now, they have a brilliant menu, which I have to try! It was interesting. The grilled chicken is really worth the travel. But unfortunately, they only have 9 pcs left at the time we came. We bought 8 pcs for 6 girls. (yea, I know it kinda crazy. We really a heavy-eater :p )

Day 2

My friends woke up pretty late than what we have planned the night before. But, Menya, Jessica, and I have been awake since 7 am because we want to go to church. That day is my first time riding Grab Car. Basically, Grab Car is an app that functioned that pretty much the same like Uber Taxi. After church, I got my first Starbucks after 4 months completely separated with her. Lol.

Our breakfast on Sunday mid-morning is Pork Satay!!! It’s one of my favorite ways to enjoy pork. Just FYI, I don’t eat Chinese food pork, only Balinese and Korean one. We went to Sate Babi Bawah Pohon (I don't really know their official name) to enjoy the famous pork satay. If you come to Bali you must try that! (But, I don’t recommend for muslim friends and people who can’t eat spicy food).

Next stop is Petitenget. I have a funny story with this name. Petitenget is actually a Balinese name, it is read like this pe-ti-teng-et. At first I read it as a French language (even though I don’t know French that well). My friend laugh at it since it is Balinese! Petitenget is an area name in Bali, but there is a restaurant with the same name. I went there to have lunch, but when we arrived it is still brunch time. We have to wait for 30 minutes if we want to order the lunch menu. Since we can’t wait (we are a little bit impatient), we ordered from the brunch menu, which is yummzy cheese and ham toast and smoked salmon omelet with extra mushroom. We also ordered healthy juices that colored red, yellow, and green. It looks like a traffic light. So cute. :3 The overall food and drink are nice, so I bet the lunch and dinner menu are nice also. I should come back there when it is lunch or dinner time some day.

The Inside Ambiance

The Outside Ambiance

After our second brunch, we went to eat (AGAIN) at Babi Guling Pak Dobiel. Babi Guling is one of the most famous culinary of Bali. It is a pork dish. Very yummy, but pay attention with the chili. Babi Guling Pak Dobiel is located in Nusa Dua. After our small snack (we share 2 portion for 6), we went straight to Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua. Tanjung Benoa is popular for water sport activities. There are lots of places which provide it, so you can choose one of them. We went to play banana boat, donuts, flying fish, and paragliding. I recommend you to bargain the price, even if you are international tourist. They can be very expensive if you don’t bargain. We got
some good deals since it was noon already (around 2PM) and it’s low season. It was a fun sunny Sunday. 

We ate KFC Grilled chicken again for our dinner. After dinner we went back to our guest house to send off some of my friends because tomorrow they have to go for work. After sending my friends, the remaining one went to Seminyak. We went to eat ice cream at Gelato Factory in Seminyak. The ice cream was okay and pretty affordable. After ice cream, we went to La Favela. La Favela is a vintage style nightclub. The interior is very fancy and I kinda like it. But, I was trapped that it is a nightclub. I really hate nightclub. I don’t belong and feel comfortable there. As soon as my friends wanted to go to the dance floor, I was into stiff-mode. I don’t wanna clap, move, or sing. I was like a statue. HEHE. On the bright side, the nightclub didn’t require the guest to buy drinks. So, you can enter freely. One thing I like about this place is the interior and
the bathroom. The bathroom is very spacious! And they have a sofa inside. It would be nice if I went there in the afternoon. 

Front View of Gelato Factory. Just in case if it doesn't shown clearly in my video

Mini Rio de Jainero in La Favela

Comparing Night View with Afternoon View

Well guys, I'm going to split the post because I think it will be a very long post and you might bored with it. See you on the next post! :) 

DISCLAIMER: All photos were taken from their official website, except La Favela's. But, in my video, all footage is mine. 

Restaurants' Details:

Bale Udang Mang Engking

Address:

Kuta: Jln. Nakula no. 88, Sunset Road, Kuta 80361, Bali- Indonesia

Ubud: Jln. Raya Goa Gajah, Banjar Teges Kanginan, Desa Peliatan, Ubud, Bali- Indonesia

Phone:

+62 361 894 7119 or +62 361 894 7120 (Kuta Branch)

+62 361 978 754 (Ubud Branch)
Website: www.baleudang.com (you can reserve online!)


Yogurt Republic:

Address: Jln. Legian no. 119, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia

Website: www.yogurtrepublic.asia


Sate Babi Bawah Pohon

Address: Jln. Patih Jelantik no. 57, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia


Petitenget

Address: Jln. Petitenget Raya No. 40X, Seminyak, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia

Phone: +62 361 4733054 

Website: www.petitenget.net  
Babi Guling Pak Dobiel

Address: Jl. Srikandi No.9, Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: +62 361 771633
 

Gelato Factory

Address: Jln. Kayu Aya no. 32, Kabupaten Badung, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: +62 361 739 124

Website: www.gelatofactorybali.com


La Favela

Address: Jln. Kayu Aya no. 177X, Kabupaten Badung, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: +62 361 730 603

Website: www.lafavela.com (they have a 3D animation of their restaurant. Cool!) 

xoxo, 

BEAUTY: A to Z Facial Cleanser Review!

Cleanser is one of the basic thing in world of beauty. Our body and face is susceptible with dirt everyday. For face especially, we, girls like to put make-up on. Makeup(s) are made with many kind of chemicals, which if we don't cleanse our face, it could give us break outs. It is very important to clean your face and body. 

So, this is my experience for the past few years. I've tried several brands for my facial cleanser and I tried it according to brands' name from A to Z. I will make a review for every 5 alphabets. In this post, I'm going to review the brand beginning with A to E. 

FYI, I just came up the idea of this entry few days ago, so the pictures of the cleanser WAS not my own image (thanks google!). But for the next reviews, I'll definitely use my own picts! 

So, let's jump into the main topic!

A is for Acnes

This is my first specially made cleanser for acne. I tried the Acnes Creamy Wash.  I was afraid at first to tried this cleanser, but it does not makes me breakout. But, it does not make my acne gone away immediately. It does not have any strong scent or medicine-like smell, so it was quite okay. But I prefer nice smell for my cleanser. In terms of price, it is quite affordable because it could be found in every pharmacy in Indonesia. Overall, it is a good product, but I don't think I'm going to repurchase this again.

B is for Banila Co

This is my second Korean Brand facial wash. I was so in love with this facial wash, which is Banila Co Tea Party Facial Foam. I tried the Relaxing and Purifying Peppermint one. The smell is excellent, the price is okay, and the result is so great! I've reviewed this facial wash on my instagram before. In my review I've stated that this product was super great! I really recommend this one (if they still produce it) for people with acne prone skin who looking for soft yet creamy texture facial cleanser. The label itself has told the magic inside the bottle, it does purifying and also relaxing at the same time. Because it contain peppermint, it soothes your skin as well your mind. This is my holy grail product ever! 
 

C is for Clean&Clear

Another drugstore brand that I tried is Clean and Clear Fairness Cleanser. This cleanser has a great result even though it is a drugstore product. For your information, the formula of this brand might be different from the one you have in your country. Some lines in this brand also different from one country to another. Before this product, I've tried the one for reducing blackhead, it was okay but not really effective. For you who look for just okay cleanser, this one might an option for you. It gives you a clean face and some refreshing sensation. It is oil-free and it can be found anywhere! It contains gentle white beads, so it can help you to exfoliate your dead skin and dirt from daily activities.
 

D is for Dr. Jart

Do you catogorize Dr. Jart as a high end product? If yes, this one is my first even high-end brand cleanser. Dr. Jart is a Korean high-end product, which you can only find it on their shopping website or department store. I've never knew about this brand before I search for a brand beginning with D and my friend wanted to buy their BB Cream. I tried the Dr. Jart V7 Cleansing Foam instead their famous line the Ctrl-A (But I do bought some products of this line, you can see my Korean Haul here). This product is very gentle and it works really awesome! I really liked it. They have a lot of product for such a quite pricey price. A tiny amount of this cleanser could cleanse your face entirely. It was amazing! I wouldn't mind to repurchase this again someday. What is more great inside this product is it contain 7 important vitamins. Everything written on the packaging is somewhat true. Definitely worth to try. Remember, buy something according with your skin type. 

E is for Estee Lauder

My mom is a loyal customer for Estee Lauder, especially for their cleanser, foundation, and powder. They are having some promo and my mom suggest me to buy a cleanser here. The one she usually use is the Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean, but I tried the Estee Lauder Nutritious Radiant Vitality 2-in-1 Foam Cleanser. I've been using my mom's for several times but I didn't like it because of the perfume. It is too strong. She asked the saleswoman to give me the cleanser for a young lady and she gave me this one. I was kinda afraid because it is quite expensive and might breaks me out. After I used it for several times, it was okay with my skin. Now, I used it everyday and it does not gives a break out. But, it didn't give me a smooth skin like the other cleanser did. Oh! I just realize that this is 2-in-1 product, which act as a regular cleanser and wash-off mask. I haven't try it as a wash-off mask yet, I'll try it as soon as I get back to Jakarta at the end of this month. I didn't know how to explain the texture, so I'll put the picture below. It cleanse your face but does not make it smoother. So, I will not repurchase this product in the future. I might try the other line from Estee Lauder.   

Well, that's it the A to E Facial Cleanser I've tried so far. Have you ever tried any of the mentioned brands above? If yes, let me know in the comments below about your thoughts. Or will you try one of the mentioned products above? Anyways, thank you for reading through this post! I'll see you soon on my next post. 

xoxo, 

Jennifer

VISIT INDONESIA: Manado Trip 2015

Traveling has been taking part of my life this day. And I was so grateful that I lived in this archipelago. Indonesia has so many things to offer despite our politic and economy problems seem never end. 

So, last June I got a chance to visit another island/province in Indonesia which is quite popular for underwater adventure seekers. It is Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi. The key to the popularity of this province is Bunaken Island. It is a small island with wonderful underwater view. The heaven for divers all over the world. This trip was executed as my last trip for our school field study program :( The main purpose of this trip was to try something new, which is diving. Our main lesson on the 6th semester is about adventure tourism, and we learn by doing from this trip. I'm going to write what I did on each day, to make it more structural and clear. So, if anyone interested, keep on reading! :)

Day 1

To reach Manado, we have to take airplane. It's been a long time since I flew. I think the last one was when I went to Bali. Actually, I do enjoy flying, but I didn't get a chance to travel by plane a lot these day. Any way, we took Lion Air to take us from Jakarta to Manado. We took the first flight that day which mean we have to gather at the airport quite early, around 5 AM I guess. The flight lasts for about 3 hours. I have severe flu that day, so I really had a bad flight. My ears hurt so bad, it feels like your ear drums stung by a bee. 

When we arrived Sam Ratulangi Airport, we headed to Tomohon, a city near Manado around 30 minutes. Before we start the trip, we stopped by for having our brunch. Because we took Lion Air, we did not get any food on the plane, so we were starving at that time. We ate sorts of traditional Mandonese food, such as Mie Goreng Cakalng (Fried Noodles with Cakalang fish), Bubur Tinutuan (Manadonese style porridge), Bakwan Jagung (Corn fritters), and fried fish. I expect to be a nice food, but it wasn't. :( Then we took one hour ride to Tomohon. Then, we went to visit the famous monument there, which looks almost the same with the famous monument in Rio de Jainero. Can you guess what monument it is? It is the Jesus The Redeemer Monument's sister site, Jesus Blessing Monument. It was still under some construction (or repairment), but it is worth the visit! You should come here and take a lot of good photos or selfies like I did. After that, we stopped by at a village that made wood-houses and traditional coffee shop. 

Jesus Blessing Monument, Tomohon

Doesn't it feel like we use green screen?

At the authentic traditional coffee shop, we ate a lots of eggs! from fried to boiled eggs we tried. Also we tried the toasted bread and bakpao (buns). The coffee is very special there, but I don't really like black coffee, so we tried the milk coffee instead. It was pretty okay. After our afternoon snack, we went to our accommodation. We stayed at a great homestay, named ... It was clean and neat, there are a lots of room also! and the best part is they have the best food (dinner and breakfast) and hospitality. 

Day 2

We have Tomohon City Tour on our second day. What makes it special, we did not use the bus we rode yesterday, but we use ANGKOT/BEMO, which is a public transportation. We were divided by several groups because the car could only carry 7 people. After breakfast, we started our visit to a traditional market. This market is not a regular traditional market you could visit all over Indonesia. (Before you continue reading, I would like to remind you beforehand that after this paragraph you might see something disgusting, inhumane, dirty, etc. If you don't want to see that, you may skip to the next paragraph by closing your eyes). 
This market sells variety of meat, from fish, pork, chicken, m***, s****, d***, and b***. The answer of the censored words could be found in the picture below.

D**'s Meat

B**'s

                                                                                                                                   


I won't tell you much about it, since I don't want to remember this 'scenery' anymore. After the market, we went to visit Linow Lake. The most famous lake in Manado is actually Tondano Lake, but Linow has a better view and facility. RECOMMENDED! :D Linow Lake is a special lake because it contain sulfur which in result it can change the water colour. Despite a little bit smell, but the view is majestic! And instagramable too! In this site, there is a cafe that serve various of food and beverage. It was very comfortable too. Here's some picture of me and my friends. 

The Cafe

Linow Lake

 

Sulfur Hills (?)

We have a Manadonese typical lunch after visiting the lake. It serve chicken, pork satay (my fave!), vegies, and many others. The lunch was okay for me, even though I don't really enjoy the lunch. If you come here, you should be aware with what you eat, because some restaurant might sell RW (dog meat) and Paniki (bat meat). 

The gorgeous satay

Manadonese style lunch

After lunch we went to Bukit Doa Tomohon or literally translated into Tomohon Prayers Hill. This place is wonderful!! Very calm and the nature is still preserved. So nice. This place was built for Catholics to do the Stations of the Cross, church, wedding, and relaxing. The air here is very clean and refreshing, so it is good for relaxing. The little church here was also majestic. You can see a beautiful scenery behind the Cross statue inside. 

Starting Point

Stations of Cross

Inside of the Beautiful small Chapel

The Small Chapel

Outdoor Theater

Overall View

After we walk around the Tomohon Prayers Hill, we went to visit Buddhist Pagoda. We went there at the Vesakh Day, so the Pagoda is closed for visitor. They only open for people who wants to pray. That's why, we could not take picture inside the Pagoda and we have to keep our voice low. We could not enter and see the inside of the Pagoda unless we want to pray inside.

Our city tour has come to ended when we were dropped off at a horse cart station. After a long day riding bemo (Angkot is generally use in Indonesia, but Manadonese called angkot as bemo), we tried the traditional transportation which is a horse cart, called Bendi in Manado. We were packed into one horse cart consist of 4 BIG PEOPLE. It was the most painful ride ever in my life. We got cramps also. But, it was nice to ride on horse cart again after a long time. 

We had a blissful night after we ended our city tour. We had fantastic dinner, karaoke, dancing all night (especially salsa), heart to heart session, and we got some educational games from our lecturer. She gave us that games to help us studying for exam after we came back to Jakarta after this trip. That is our last night in Tomohon before heading to Bunaken Island tomorrow.   

Day 3

We went to cross the sea to Bunaken Island. Bunaken is a heaven for divers, and we will try to dive for the first time for the few days ahead. It took 30 minutes to reach Bunaken. We stayed at ... Resort. The owner is an Australian married with a Manadonese woman. They have run this business for quite sometime. They have a great acommodation in a small island like Bunaken. Even though, I have some trouble with the electricity and bathroom. Also, it was really hot and there are rarely cold water to drink. :(

Starting Our Island Hoping

Manado City View From The Boat

Hello, Ocean!

On the day we arrived, we just have a short briefing and they hand out some form about our personal data and health condition. It is a necessary procedure if you want to dive. Unfortunately, at that moment, I missed the moment to dive for the first time because I have sinusitis. :( I could not breath underwater for too long and I'm afraid if my ears hurt. I've hurt my ears when I took the plane earlier. So, I just get to see the beautiful underwater by snorkeling. At the afternoon, around 3PM, we took a glass-bottom boat tour. We got to see beautiful corals and school of fishes from the boat. It was amazing and it kinda help me too see how beautiful the underwater life without diving.

Glass Bottom Boat Tour- The Beautiful Corals Of Bunaken

We experienced black out in the evening and it made us harder to sleep at night. The wind was also not our side that day, so it is freakin' hot at night. 

Day 4 - 5

It's the day for our main activities on the island, DIVING! (and snorkeling). We will be on the sea/ocean for all day long. Unfortunately, I couldn't try diving because of the sinus. But, I'm not alone! There were 7 people who didn't dive. Even though I didn't dive, still I could see the beautiful underwater scenery. By the way, there were a lot of jellyfish, so be careful! I didn't have any picture of the underwater, but if you are curious you can google it. Sorry! (At that time I didn't have GoPro or other camera for underwater).

My Kind Of View For 3 Days

On The Way

Just For Documentation (Did you notice my skin color difference??)

My Little Squad, After Snorkeling

Even The Dead Shells Were Still Pretty :)

Do You See The Starfish???

Day 6

We woke up at around 5 AM to see a beautiful sunrise and dolphins! We were supposed to have a dolphin tour on on our second day in the island, but it was canceled due bad weather and waves. It was our last day in the island before we headed to the city and back to Jakarta. 

Wakey Wakey, Bunaken!

Praise The Lord!

My Favorite!

We rode a boat to a certain point to see the dolphins. Usually, they showed up early morning. But, luck is not with us that day. We have already woke up early, but the dolphins were nowhere to be found. We've been searching the dolphins for 1 hour, though. But on the way we had a little rain and we could see a rainbow! It was so pretty and it's been a long time since I saw a rainbow. oh! On the way back to the resort, I was fell asleep. When I woke up, I saw red spots all over my hands. I was very shock, I didn't know how it showed up. Many speculations were made due my red spots, it is either food allergy or I got cold since I was outside the boat in the morning and it was very breezy or drastic temperature. :( Not only got red spots, I also got sunburn plus color difference on my skin. It was one of the bad effect using a wrong type of swimwear and too much sun. 
 

Hello Rainbow!

No Filter

We arrived at the resort at around 7 AM. We had to packed our bags and prepared to go back to the city. After we had our breakfast, we were ready to go back to the harbor by boat. We flied back to Jakarta using Batik Air. It was my first time, and I had a quite good experience with it. Recommended!

It was such a quite nice trip and it was our last trip together. Even though we had a little bit trouble in the beginning, but in the end it was such a memorable trip.

TIPS: 

- Use travel agent service to help you get to Bunaken Island or find a resort that provide transfer in/out to Bunaken Island - Manado. 
- Bring extra battery for your phone or other electronic devices since you will experience a lot of black out in the Island.
- Bring A LOTS OF BOTTLED WATER!
- Wear a shoes for walking on the sea (outdoor specialty shoes) since in the afternoon the water is in low tide situation so you can walk on it and there were a lots of small fishes, corals, starfish, seaweed, and other things that can't be seen by our eyes. It is better to use that kind of shoes than your regular flip flops. 
- You will experience skin color differentiation even you wear sufficient sunblock, so be wise with your swimwear type.
- You have to save water in the island because it was hard to get the clean waterean eha, so be a wise and friendly traveler.
- Don't litter, follow the instruction from your diving/snorkeling guide, don't touch or step on the corals. 
- JUST HAVE FUN AND ENJOY!

Alright readers, thank you for reading through this long post. I hope you find this helpful and give you enough information about Manado, Bunaken, and Indonesia. I'm sorry for the late posting. See you on my next post!

xoxo,