Diary of the Brainy Bombshell: July 2011

I ♥ diving. Jose ♥ diving. We live in Jakarta. Lucky for us there's a cluster of islands called Pulau Seribu nearby. All we had to do is choose an isalnd. I chose Pulau Kotok because we've been there before and the place is pretty decent. When i say "pretty decent" it means there's running water but no water heater, there's air-con but dirty unchanged-found-hair-and-tooth-floss-in-my-bed-what-the-hell-eww-fucking-gross bedsheets. I digress...okay so all we had to do was call the resort, pack our bags, drive for 15 minutes to Ancol (it's like driving from Kota Kemuning to Subang Jaya...really peeps i don't live that far away) pop one antimo each, get on the boat...sleep for 90 minutes and you're there!!!

For those of you who are not familiar with the wonderful drug that is antimo, it's an anti-motion-seasickness drug. Here's a demo of how well it works.

Subject A: wide awake and excited about the trip

...after 20 minutes of ingesting drug...feels drowsy...

...another 10 minutes...completely knocked out and oblivious to the rough choppy boat ride...

...wakes up completely refreshed and ready to holidaaaaay!

i was terribly excited too...then again according to some people i'm easily excitable anyway -_-

Pulau Kotok is a really tiny island.
There's only one resort here and everythings kept very simple and eco-friendly. The cottages are built from trees found on the island itself. There's no electricity from 7am-7pm. (Did i mention there's also no clean bedsheets?). Very laidback, calm and quiet. A real respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

There's little cabannas along the water's edge...

perfect for reading or snoozing...

After checking in and gearing up it's time to DIVE!

(SELF-PORTRAIT...hehe)

It's pretty crazy the things people throw into the sea...

Like this toilet bowl...

...and this bus

then it was time for lunch...We ate outdoors by the sea. So chilled out having my post-lunch coffee, enjoying the breeze and the only sounds are the seagulls above and the waves crashing below...

...broken by Jose screaming cos this fat biawak shocked him from under his chair...

poor thing only wanted some table scraps...

...he freaked out and jumped onto the table..LOL!

Our guide this time round was Ade..

Very cool, friendly, fun, genuine sorta guy. I really liked him.

and he took lots of nice pics for us. And that is a major bonus when it comes to winning brownie points from me.

we paid a visit to the resident turtle...

saw lots of Nudis...

(comparing the size of this with my thumb)

i think now is a good time for me to start learning their names...

Nudibranch Phyllidia varicosa

(erm...ok, i'll just stick to Nudibranch for now)

Clownfish

Pink skunk clownfish or Pink anemonefish, Amphiprion perideraion

More Nemos...i really love them cos their so cute and fiesty.

I took this pic right under the jetty, Just
love the colours and light.

The rooms are quite a distance from the main reception/jetty/dive centre.

It's alrite to walk back alone when there's daylight. But definitely not at night. It's pitch black and there's just too many giant lizards lurking around.

Our room...

the luxurious "balinese" outdoor shower...*note the sarcasm*

our cottage does come with a nice little porch though...

Before dinner there's really not much to do. The lights in our room are too dim to read...there's no TV...so we walked to the Jetty again to hang out...

hey look i'm using my recycable bag from NicNax! :)

All meals are included. It's buffet-style.

The dishes are simple but tasty and wholesome.

After dinner Ade showed us some really awesome underwater pics he's taken over the years.

He also shared some hilarious dive experiences... Then off we went to bed. For lack of things to do. LOL.

It rained the whole night. The next morning the weather didn't look very promising.

and there's a sense of something unsettling about the waters. Something foreboding yet very eerily calm that draws me to it.

soft corals...

more soft corals...so pretty rite...

reminds me of a fascinator

Nudibranch...

i'll never tire of taking pics of Nemos...

And Lionfish Pterois. This is my favourite pic of the trip.

Eh wait...i changed my mind. THIS is my fav pic!

Crocodilefish or Tentacled flathead (Papilloculiceps longiceps)

and finally...more nemos :)

When we've dived enough for the day...nothing beats a nice long nap...

or a dip in the calm, warm waters of the clear lagoon...

A short but satisfying weekend break...Will definitely return. Let's just hope Ade will still be there.

xoxobombshelloxox

Whenever i think of Bali i can't help smiling to myself... Sounds corny but i really do love that place. I asked Jose one day...how do you feel about Bali? He shouted in his usual retarded way "I LIKE!!! There's just something about the island...I'm not sure if it's the great dive sites... yummy Balinese food... friendly service... exotic culture...how walkable the place is...the sunny beach weather...that makes me wanna return again and again. Or maybe it's a combination of all these that makes it so special. Then again maybe it's just the magic mushrooms. Lol.

Kor wanted to bring Elaine somewhere nice as a Valentine's Day gift. Jose and I were itching to dive cos we haven't dived since Sipadan in November so we suggested we all meet in Bali for a holidaaaaaaay.

Jose and i flew from Jakarta to Denpasar after work. We were soooo excited!

(me knitting Xulin's scarf while waiting for plane)

Kor and Elaine were supposed to arrive earlier that morning from KL but when they checked in at KLIA Elaine realised her passport's expired. Big Oops! She had to rush to Damansara to renew it. When she got there she realised she didn't have enough money... And she didn't bring her ATM card...So she had to rush home to Mount Kiara...then alamak no photo...and the story goes on...hahaha...

Well she finally made it at 10pm...Just an hour before us.

We went diving the next day. We chose Tulamben's wreck dive. The wrecks were impressive but visibility wasn't too good. Still, i really enjoyed diving with Kor and Elaine ♥

Few days before this trip i was rushing all over town trying to buy a G12 camera. I really wanted that camera cos it's easy to use and i can buy an underwater casing for it. I did finally get it. I've got Carmen to thank (ya ya i know once again she's gonna say "what would you do without me??"). Even though i didn't take many pics of underwater life but luckily i still put my camera to good use.

With eager to pose subjects...

I swear Elaine looked so good underwater
she could pass off as modeling for Scubapro wetsuits *envious*

We had a quick lunch on the rocky beach...

Jose kept calling me monkey and offering me his banana..what a dork!
And the hippo found that really amusing...another dork.. -_-

and for some weird reason i started to feel tired and unwell. Must have exerted myself earlier trying to squeeze into my wetsuit..sigh...too much good food.

Next day we hired a SUV and driver to bring us around. Time to do touristy stuff.
We went to the Monkey park in Ubud.

These monkeys really wanted to see what she's got under her skirt! haha..No wonder Kor's born in the year of the monkey...OMG damn funny!

Then we went shopping in the outdoor market. It was sooooo hot i tell you.
But somehow that never seems to put a damper on Jose's goofiness.

In the evening we went to Uluwatu for the Kecak dance.

It was my 3rd time (4th for Jose) and i still enjoyed it. To me it's just so spectacular and mesmerizing...watching and listening to the cacophonic interlocking sounds from 50 men representing the Ramayana story...overlooking the Indian Ocean. And when Hanuman comes out to fight the evil men...wahhh..especially when he kicks the embers out of the bonfire...brilliant...absolutely brilliant!

And the sunset you're rewarded with after the show...sigh...super gorgeous...

And like every good tourist...you must have seafood dinner on the beach in Jimbaran.

Jose and i have eaten here every trip but somehow this night felt really special. Nothing beats eating with family on holiday i guess.

After dinner Elaine wanted to eat jagung. The kid selling it to her was so cute. He can speak like ten languages...including Japanese (common rite?..), French (*gasp*), German (really now?) and beat this RUSSIAN! Lol.

We spent the next day just walking around shopping...eating...

...beaching...

Then got dressed up for our V Day dinner. I absolutely had to dine at Rossi. It's my favourite restaurant in Bali. The food is pretty good but it's the location and ambiance that i really like. Very relaxed, chilled out atmosphere with impeccable service. Plus it's right by the main road in Kuta facing the beach (although they've recently built a wall so can't see the beach anymore) so it's perfect for people watching.

Happy 1st Valentine's Day husband! ♥

On our last day we walked everywhere trying to find Elaine a painting she wanted for her house. We scoured the whole area...went into every single art shop and it was really really hot. I must say i was pretty impressed with how patient Kor was (no wonder she said yes...eh wait...maybe it's also got to do with the size of the rock ;P).

Yes Elaine...it is freaking HOT!!!!!

Finally it was time for lunch...
The two of them were obsessed with AngryBird... Non-stop i tell you.

You cannot imagine how good the ice-cold beer was...

Then it's back to our hotel pool for a refreshing swim...

(how awesome is my camera?)

And finally, no holiday is complete without going to the se-par.
Kor and Elaine went to the spa everyday. Actually they went twice a day. Seriously.