Bali Tour Guide

Warning: you may feel nausea after reading this post. Mr Lim was very interested to try the kopi luwak or the animal coffee which was available in Seribatu village. He was sitting with his wife (Fang), his sister, and his brother in law (Chiat Hau) on a bench in a plantation while trying different coffees available in Bali. I thought he became interested after I explained how the coffee was made. If you want to know, I will tell you briefly. The animal; the civet, or locally known called Luwak or Lubak, eat the coffee. But the coffee beans eaten is not broken or harm at all when they go the Luwak esophagus. It is said that the coffee remains in the stomach for 12 hours and mixed with enzymes from the Luwak body. Then, here is the most dramatic moment: the Luwak go to toilet! The coffee farmers collect the droppings of the luwak with joy filled their heart knowing that they will be able to produce one of the tastiest coffee in the globe. The dropp...

Wondering how to cook those delicioius spicy food you had in Bali? No, problem. There are many cooking lesson you can attend in Bali. So, next time you come to Bali again, you can plan one day for cooking lesson. Not just cooking, you will be taken to the local market in the morning before the lesson begins. You can take a stroll around the vegatables and fish to look for the ingredient for cooking. Your chef will accompany you, and explain to you what kind of spices are for sale in Bali market. While I am not really good at cooking, (I fry eggs, if you insist to know) I enjoy our local food, except the lawar barak . By the way, here is an adventure of my client, Mr. Ching while doing his cooking in Bali. You can follow him, and who knows you might be interested as well. Our guide from the other day, Putu, arranged for my mom, dad and me to take a cooking class this morning in Kuta. We took a van from the hotel into Kuta and were dropped off at the local marketplace. Our instructor for...

I was a little bit surprised by my clients request. They wanted to get a temporary tattoo. I never thought that my clients would do such thing, getting a temporary tattoo. It last only for two weeks, but okay, the clients request is very important so I will tell you also where to get a temporary tattoo. You can get temporary tattoo almost everywhere in Kuta and other tourists area such as Tanah Lot temple. They advertise their service by the street. Usually one can read their services written on a board or something. It says " Temporary tattoo, last for two weeks. No needle, no pain, no scream." They use a kind of chemical substances to make the tattoo on your body. For some skin, it may feel itchy. It takes about  fifteen minutes for them to paint tattoo to your body. You can have many selections of pictures for your tattoo, from birds, butterfly, abstract figures, or naked woman. You can choose.

I was standing in front of Wayan's house somewhere in Ubud with Richard and Vicky (from US) thinking. Waiting. A lady descended from the upper floor through a stairs in the house in front of us and looked straight to Vicky. "That's Madam Wayan." one of the staff said. Hmm, it's show time now! Now, why was I here? Vicky read a supposedly a best seller book in US (unknown here) called "Eat, Pray, Love" written by a lady Elizabeth Gilbert, telling her own journey from Italy, India, and Indonesia (including Bali) in this case Ubud. Ibu Wayan was mentioned there, in one page. "Give me twenty minutes, I can read your body and tell you what your body needs, and what your body need less, and what your body don't need." I heard Wayan saying this. So, Vicky decided give it a try. As Vicky and Richard sat on the chairs, and Wayan did her spiritual healing, I looked around. The place was small, maybe 4x4 meters, but it had two floors. There were two ta...

Tanah Lot Temple is the most popular place for tourists in Bali. Maybe this is an exageration, but you will know it's true when you come to this place yourself especially in the afternoon just before sun set. Image by h a n g i n g p i x e l s Tanah Lot Temple is an ancient temple built on a small rocky island separated from the main land. On the high tide, you need to get wet if you want to cross to the small island since the water will reach your waist. On ebb, you can walk easily to reach the island. Tanah Lot Temple is popularly known for its beauty and its sun set. But to see sun set in there is like winning a lotery. If you see it, considered yourself lucky. If you don't get your self a post card with the sun set. But don't worry, it is a beautiful place though you can not see the sun set. Go around the proximity, you will see more temples perched on cliffs. These will also great place to spend time and worth snapping with your camera. You will also see many shops, ju...

Working as a Bali tour guide, I also get a chance to get people to Lake Tamblingan to start their natural trekking journey. It is a great way to see Bali closer by doing trekking in Lake Tamblingan. (not in the middle of the lake, but by the lake). First, you will descend from Munduk village down to the Lake Tamblingan. There is a trekking guide association office by the lake. This is where you will pay for the local guide (trekking guide). You will start your journey passing through various plantation, such as coffee, chocolate, and clove. You will hear the bird singing in the air, and inhale fresh air to your lungs and think "what a great day." The sun glows above, the lake surface shines like a crystal by your side. After two hours trekking, you will arrive at the other side of Buyan lake. Now what? Do I have to walk back the way I came? It is interesting, but I have done that. Don't worry, here is a little secret, we will take you back on a canoe voyaging through the ...

Touring to Kintamani , just after Tegalalang, you can visit the holy spring Sebatu temple. You will notice that in one of the spring pond, there are coins scatered on its bottom.At first, I wonder why people put there since in our culture, it is not common to throw coins to the pond. Then I found out that they put the coins because they think this is like a "wishing well". You throw coin, say your wish, and if you are lucky your wish maybe granted. (Try wishing Nintendo Wii, I wouldn't mind to have one.) But it is not a "wishing well". It is a holy spring pond. Legend says it was created by Lord Visnu to cure the wounded people during the war against Maya Denawa (an evil king). Some Bali drivers or tour guides create stories to make it more interesting for the tourists that if they throw coins they will get your wish granted.( This is for fun only.) So, if you visit this temple, please donate to the temple directly instead of throwing your coins into the pond.