07 Sep Bali: Beautiful Shades of Nature (Day 4)

On the second last day of the trip, The couple, E & A returned home and we were left to spent a day on our own. Buddy J was once again kind enough to visit the batik making and silver workshop in Ubud which she has already done before. During the batik making, she was majiam¹ my tour guide explaining the process and steps.

We arrived at some kind of a pavilion looking place which acted as a showroom for visitors to have a glimpse of the process. So much work for a piece of batik, layering color by color. Similar idea to silkscreen but so much more work.

At the same time, some of them were prepping for apparently some on-going prayers.

While the women did all the fabric work, the men (taxi & van drivers) sat around waiting for their customers to finish their tour around the vicinity.

Working on those tiny beads of silver, no wonder need to wear draping glasses already.

The picture below, totally random. After the visit of the silver making, our driver told us that the cement carving was all freehand by a famous artist. The project went on for the longest time because if it was raining, the artist wouldn’t be able to work. The owner must be some filthy rich big shot.

Another stop before lunch, the wood “factory”.

Before the trip, I did a little research and found blogs that mentioned it is a MUST to have the suckling pig. So the driver brought us to this place called “Ibu Oka” a 2-story restaurant with alot of tourist. If you look it up on Google, tripadvisory will rave about it. I think we were down on our luck that day. What is the deal about eating suckling pig? The crispy skin right? We didn’t get that so we asked about it. The server said they ran out of the skin (like wtf never tell us earlier).. I need those mutharforking skin! The portion was to my surprise, small. Pretty much overrated if you ask me.

As usual, my curiosity prompted me to ask our driver if he would eat here if it wasn’t for us tourist. He said no. Because it was considered expensive for a small portion and he confessed that he actually has a frequent roadside stall for suckling pig. I’m like *smacks forehead*… “you should have taken us there”. But we forgive him because he was such a nice guide. I would highly recommend him mainly because he explained a number of things that we were curious about and spoke good English.

But if you must,

Ibu Oka
 Jl. Suweta/Tegal Sari no. 2, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
 visit site

Took these pictures from his Facebook. He has like more friends in his fb account than I do. So well connected in the social media world haha. If you need a guide, hook him up!

Right near the doorstep of the restaurant, there were some bunnies and puppies for sale. In poor cage conditions but unfortunately, I can’t be the heroine and save them all.

The flea market was almost quiet. There were more sellers than visitors. Tough business.

I’ve seen some really awesome photos of Bali beaches and I couldn’t decide on which beach to go to. There were just too many. So I left the decision to the driver. But there was one beach I absolutely had to visit. You will see why I had to in the later part of this post.

The first stop, Pandawa beach was already an amazing beach. But it was quite crowded. We witnessed the amazeballs shades of blue and white washes of waves lining up towards the shoreline from the top of the driveway.

Because the water so clear and nice, cheesy poses appears.

I only had one picture of Padang-Padang beach that didn’t do much justice to. Because the sun was setting, I had no time to waste so we stopped for only a couple of minutes on an overhead bridge for this.

Finally, we got to the beach I’ve been wanting to get to. If you’re planning to visit Suluban beach, note that there are flights of stairs to climb. Also, there’s no lamp post along the way if you’re staying late to catch the sunset. Get a touch or better still, use your mobile phone flash lights.

J had to give it a miss because of her knees so I ventured down myself. Some steps were narrow and steep. Don’t shy just use your hands if you must.

Behind these wall of mountains was the gem man. Presenting to you, Suluban beach! Ta-dah!

The rocks and boulders that trapped small ponds of seawater provided a great place to home the tiny sea animals. Spot the crab.

So clear I could take a reflection of myself. #worldpeacealready.

The combination of sunset and low tide was too breathtaking. So rich in color and depth I couldn’t even stop clicking my index finger.

Just check out the color and textures in the following pictures. Officially, my favorite beach in Bali! Or rather one of my top amongst my travels. Watch the color change as you scroll further.

So much ♡ I had to get a stranger to help me take a picture of myself in it. Do not care even if it was a silhouette. It was really a pity J didn’t get to witness this.

The next time I visit Suluban, I’ll force all my friends to join me and romance while we watch the sun set in the nearby bar with a glass of cocktail.

Despite going home with many lumps of mosquito bites from our hotel stay, the trip was definitely one that was memorable. I will be back. #baliloving.

1. Majiam – Like, Similar to or Resemble (originated from Malay language)