1st note from Reading

I promised my friends that I'll be writing to them through my blog.. so here goes..

Kehadapan Caah, Wilson, Diana, Yatt, Aween and all my family and friends who miss me (hehe.. :D ada ke?)

It was freezing cold in Reading last night. The rain was pouring heavily throughout the day and night, and I got stuck with my writing, as I have been drafting this post since yesterday morning.

I safely arrived at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning after a journey of more than 17 hours. The local temperature was then 12 degree Celsius. Well, endurable (though the low temperature back in my office usually kills me) No jet lag whatsoever, although I could not really sleep during the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Abu Dhabi and from Abu Dhabi to London.

The Etihad flight throughout the journey was not as bad as what I had anticipated after reading the online reviews of previous passengers. Nice meals, pretty stewards and stewardesses, window seat on both flights (my fave!) but only that the seat space might be a bit smaller compared to the flights I have been on. Plenty of in-flight movies to keep myself entertained with, and I could hardly sleep.. unlike the-usual-sleepyhead-me when I'm on flights on business trips.


The two-and-a-half hour stopover in Abu Dhabi was not a bad one too. No doubt the airport is smaller than KLIA, making it a bit congested that night accommodating a huge number of travelers. But it didn't really matter, and the airport staff were friendly and helpful. I also met a Pakistani girl who was on her transit in Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt and we had a small chat. Interestingly her parents were working in Kepala Batas, and because of that, she told me she was quite familiar with Malaysia (I don't think I've been to Kepala Batas myself!)

Some photos I managed to snap from my camera (and a few taken by my hubby)..

Stepping out of the flight exit led to this spectacular lounge. The mosaic design that connected the ceiling to the center pillar easily made me freeze my steps to take a better look on it. Oh well, if it was not unique and elaborate, then I would not think it was UAE I landed in.

Another beautiful ceiling design in Abu Dhabi airport. This shopping lounge led to the boarding gates.

"I'm leaving on a jet plane..~" Etihad aircraft from a distance.

I couldn't really sleep.. and I waited for this moment to arrive.. the sunrise. In real life, it was even more mesmerizing. The light spectrum was just so captivating.

We were gonna reach Heathrow in a few minutes. Just look at that. It was London!

Can you spot London Bridge? :)

Arrived finally! (this shot reminded me of the fighting scene in Die Hard, where after getting rid of the bad guys, Bruce Willis made the cool runway fire torch for the plane his wife was on to land. How romantically thoughtful..) 

Meanwhile.. Mr. Husband was waiting for his wife at the arrival hall..

Mrs. Wife stepped out of the customs exit and spotted her Mr. Husband. She couldn't stop smiling..

The grin was even bigger when he presented her with the bouquet :D So sweet of you sayang..

Finally, they were united again~

So yeah, I have begun my long leave.. and I'm having a great time :) 

Ustazah said..

Ramadhan is here again. I am so thankful that I am given another chance to experience Ramadhan again. And I hope I will use this given chance to improve myself spiritually; to seek forgiveness and blessings from Allah, and to improve my relationship with others. Insya-Allah.

Today was a great day at MISC prayer room. We received a visit from an ustazah. Well, it's not everyday that we, the jemaah, get to listen to 'ceramah' by ustazah. Can't really recall her name, but she was as pretty as Heliza. Soft spoken. A wife of a doctor and a mother of a nine-month old baby and has written a number of religious books alongside notable ulama' and motivators. She's undergoing her Ph.D currently (which made me think, where am I?)

What gained our attention was her topic of the day: Wanita (Women). There were quite a few important topics that she was able to cover within the given one hour: The story of Maryam (one of the four women mentioned in Al-Quran), favorite Islamic issues that anti-Muslims like to create confusion about... and there were few other.. which the one that caught the most attention was polygamy. But trust me, her arguments were clear and concise, and somehow helped the jemaah to understand better.

(Siapa rajin, baca la terjemahan + tafsir surah An-Nisa. I quickly referred to the translation of the verse as soon as we ended the session.. and got my understanding better..)

Before she ended the ceramah, she left us with a quote. It went straight to my brain and heart.

"Sebenarnya bukan perempuan bertudung yang patut dilihat ketinggalan zaman.. sebenarnya perempuan yang tidak bertudunglah yang sebenarnya ketinggalan zaman..... kenapa? kerana itu amalan orang jahiliyyah.. yang suka melanggar perintah Allah.."

The audience paused in a brief silence. I froze. I never thought like that before. Suddenly a few faces came to my thoughts..

.. Sekadar perkongsian di bulan Ramadhan.. moga tiada yang terasa.. wallahualam..

The 101th post

Don't ask me what's with the 100th, 101th post. I kinda just think that these numbers mean well to EE engineers.. well, at least to me. It also seems like I have begun to spend my days without so much thinking of blogging. Is it some sort like a change after marriage? Hmm, I would say not exactly. I suppose the fact that I only have 2 weekends left before I take a long hiatus from the office (and from my family - that's the worst part) squeezes the time I have to complete loads of things.. work-wise and also personal-wise.

But amazingly within these few last weeks, I really had a great time (well, let's also say my 2 weeks in Kerteh was fun too :) Nadi and Wilson are the reason definitely): Zamila's wedding, luncheon with Fatin & Jaja, Edzuan's house warming cum Mikael's 1st birthday party (thank God for the avenue to fulfill my promise to Hazlinda to meet her before I leave!), 2 times of durian feast at home (trust me I never knew that I could eat more than 6 ulas!), some shopping using all the vouchers that I got during my wedding (hihi) and Yayasan UTP Concert 'Tapestry of Colours" filled my time (apart from work and commuting to and fro Sg Buloh - Kajang).

 Alone browsing the Net at Awana lobby.. 

(Can you imagine they don't even have room internet connection.. and they charge RM25 to use wi-fi at the lobby! Whereas other hotels with cheaper room rates offer free internet utilization in the room! Huh)

Friends from childhood.. At Zamila's wedding

 

Alamak Tein, I'm 2 ringgit short!! RM50 notes adalah.. (cewah.. lame gile) Masuk buku 555 eh..

 

My companions for Yayasan UTP concert.. ever loving sisters

I'm currently reading Nicholas Sparks' Dear John.. after falling immensely in love with the movie ( I just love that kind of genre.. love stories..) The novel has not disappointed me so far.. plus imagining the characters while reading as Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried like in the movie makes ambling through the novel even more appealing :)

Ramadhan is approaching very very soon. I am thankful that I have another chance to go through this blissful month. I'm not really certain how I will adapt to a different environment soon.. and with really long hours of fasting (I mean extending 7-8 hours more of fasting from the usual 5.45 a.m to 7.30 p.m).. well, that is something iman has to take control over.. and I trust that a hungry stomach means nothing over accomplishing a day fasting with patience and ibadah :) Insya-Allah..

The 100th post

Usually I like to pick certain dates to update my blog. But for now, that is not the case I guess.

Fairuz is away for exactly a month now, and I'll be joining him in 41 days. Well, I'm not really counting the days to be away from the office for a couple of months; I'm actually thinking how many optimized hours can I spend on work in these 41 days? I dunno. Like always, it depends. Friends told me that I should be excited about it. But hm, I can't feel it yet. I wonder why.. Perhaps cuz the travel's gonna be in the month of Ramadhan, and that fasting in GMT +1 hour could be a really long one to endure.

Since I am practically living a single life for the time being, I have become more.. hm, lazy? Yes I am adapting to the word lazy. Lazy to iron my clothes (and for that I choose to wear the Syrian scarves cuz they don't need to be ironed), lazy to cook, lazy to eat, lazy to blog. Just so lazy! And you know what, I am beginning to get used to it (oh no..) The last time I had time to learn being lazy was the 4 months after SPM, before I went to UM and UTP soon after.

Thank God I still find the office as a place to unwind, albeit the exasperation we all had for the new guy on the block. He really owes me an explanation.

The only thing I'm in for is downloading movies. I go for drama and love genres. I just watched Remember Me (Robert Pattinson was brilliant in the movie), Dear John (my fave!), The Princess and the Frog (I like Tiana.. so strong-willed! :D) and He's Just Not That Into You (pitiful story, and I hate that Gigi.. Oh well, at least girls could learn a thing or two about guys. Oh yeah, served you right Scarlet :)) I want to watch Eclipse so badly that I hope I can make time to watch it one of these weekdays. I'll see how..

Oh yeah, and you know what? I'm also so in the mood to shop. But I shouldn't, after accidentally splurging for my new pair of specs. Maybe I should reserve all the fund for shopping for my time over there. Hopefully I'll get a good bargain for a long coat just like Blair's :) totally love it.

And oh, I recently discovered another type of people that I have never encountered my entire life before, and I must say I don't quite like it: People who ask too much without guilt from their folks. It may be fine if the parents can really afford it, but too bad if they can't. Worse if the parents can never tell it to their children, but tell it to someone else instead. And too bad if that someone else is ME! Oh well, God knows when I will seek justice for the parents.. sigh. I dunno, kids nowadays want to be looked at as cool, and cool means having light-but-powerful laptops, iPhone, iPod (and whatever 'i's they can get!), Sony Cybershot camera, fancy skirts, 3-inch gladiator heels, etc. And all they do is ask their folks to buy for them. Whatever. I am glad I was born in the 80s. Most cool gadgets weren't born yet even when I was in my junior years in the varsity (but 3310 was considered cool back then!) if not, do you think I'll beg my parents to get them for me? Still, I won't.

Hey, the 100th post is supposed to be fun to read isn't it? What did I just write..? Crap.

Aunty Stylo

Today was the first time in my official traveling that I had to (the word is HAD TO) ride on Air Asia. One of the reasons why I am not a fan of school holidays (despite the clear roads on weekday mornings) is that MAS flights would fully booked (to Miri! Can't imagine..). And I hate going to LCCT. And the fact that I was sitting on a Hot Seat position didn't really help either. I dunno, but it felt quite crampy. Well maybe it was just Sharifah being mengada.. I should have booked my tickets two weeks earlier. Sigh.

So today, a lady whom I perceived to be of age 60 (well she did look aged to me) sat beside me in the Hot Seat row. I was busy reading my novel to complete by July. Upon sitting, she started to complain. How small the space was and started to compare with other Air Asia overseas flights she had been on, how hot the cabin was and she couldn't stand sweating. Oh well, I usually do have complaints too; it's just that I seldom voice them out.

I tried to be give the best assistance I could (though I was not the FA!),  so I adjusted her air-conditioning nozzle and directed it to her. She blushed out of ignorance about the nozzle being closed

Because she moved a lot, I couldn't help but to give her a few corner eye gazes. Hm, two handbags: one was Coach in yellow and one was a black Versace. "Boleh tahan brand conscious," I thought. Original or not, that would be another story. Siti Nurhaliza-type scarf (tak tahu, sila google!). She adjusted her wristwatch, clear enough for me to see it was Cerruti 1881. In short, ada gaya mak datin la. Occasionally she asked me a few questions, and I responded courteously. She saw I was wearing rings.

"Married?"
"Yeah.."
"Oh congratulations.. when was it?"
"Just exactly three months ago"
"Aww that's nice.."

I smiled. And I continued my reading.

The seats were filled, and eventually a couple with their two kids sat in front of us. The eldest boy was about 3 years old I think, and it was as if he just began saying a few words. And when he saw the lady beside me, he quickly utter,

"Nenek! Nenek!"

The lady was restless when the little boy called him 'nenek'.

"Nenek pulak. Aunty lah!"

The dad overheard the lady's murmuring. He convinced his son to say "Aunty.. bukan nenek.." He was somewhat guilty-conscious. Ok, nenek perasan muda rupanya.. hehe.

I never had the slightest idea that an elder women didn't like that word. I just knew if I were a pensioner (or almost that age), I would love to be a granny. Well, maybe she was a bit disapproving because he wasn't her grandson afterall. The boy was really cute, and everyone (I suppose) should have a penchant for cute kids. But the case definitely didn't apply for this lady. I was trying to be friendly to the boy when she said,

"Don't bother to play with him. He'll bug you through the rest of the flight. You won't be able to read.."

I understood that she required some privacy for our row. But a kid being a kid, the boy continued to look back at her and said, "Nenek! Nenek!" She remained uneasy with the greet, and tried to divert her attention to her things inside her bags.

I tried to sweet talk her, "Maybe he thinks all scarfed women are nenek.." and I laughed.

But then, as if the boy understood what I said and wanted to prove me wrong, he turned to me and said, "Kakak!"

Oh s**t. This boy did know how to differentiate faces. I was really impressed. I just smiled at the boy and continued my reading. The lady gave a few gazes at me and started talking.

"I didn't have enough sleep last night. I'm feeling drowsy.."
"Oh yeah, why didn't you?"
"My friends stayed over my place until like 2 am in the morning.. you know, the grown up gathering type.."

Basically I have no idea on how she was trying to make me picture. But I just nodded.

"Well, if you love your sleeping hours, maybe you should tell your friends that you have a curfew time to adhere too.." I chuckled.
"Nah, it's okay. They are my good friends. I hope I could get some sleep for a while.."

I nodded and smiled. Speechless.

I really wanted to read, so I tried not to pay attention to her movement beside me. As soon as I realized, she dozed off. Eventually, my eyes were closed and suddenly Kristen Stewart was somewhere in front of me.

The plane safely landed and we quickly got off the plane. We were all waiting for the luggage for quite a while. She saw me and stood beside me. She saw her luggage coming our way when she said,

"Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein! Please look if it's CK. Yes yes.. it's my bag!"

"Aunty ni.. pening kepala aku," my heart murmured.

"Here you are.." I helped her to place her bag on her trolley. She thanked me and bid farewell. I smiled. "Bye Aunty, take care."

I saw her taking a taxi just right before me. That was the last of her that I saw.



Oh well, who knows I might bump into her in this average-sized town. It's not impossible anyway.

Singing & Me

What is Sharifah Zahira without melalak pagi2 dalam bilik air pada hujung minggu? Hm, bukan Sharifah Zahira. Kat residential college ke, kat rumah ke, sama je. I'll sing when I'm happy, and I'll sing when I'm depressed. I look at singing as a form of life's elixir. A form of self expression. A tool to reflect. A means to break away.

As far as I can recall, the interest for singing developed when I was in love with nursery rhymes, Sesame Street and Disney animations. At that tender age, I would be really frustrated if there was one nursery rhyme that my kindergarten teacher taught that I didn't know in advance. Sesame Street and Disney princesses collections filled my time at home. Oh yeah, one of the earliest movies my mom bought for us was 'The Sound of Music', which eventually became our favorite. From which I learnt Do Re Mi. The kindergarten teacher saw my inclination towards singing and art, and made me perform a few songs and traditional dance for our Prize Giving Day. I really loved it.

"The hills are alive with the sound of music.." thanks for the music Maria :)

When I stepped into primary school, the environment to show off talent was quite inviting. Apart from storytelling and spelling competitions, I braved myself to also participate in singing contests. It is still clear to my memory, back in 1992, the school organized a singing competition. At that time, the Malay group Exists was really a hit with their song 'Oh Ibu'. Nearly 80 percent of the contestants sang that song! Together with my 2 classmates Zamila and Wan Norehan, wanting to be different, we sang 'Janji Manismu' by Aishah. We got to the finals, but didn't get to the top 3. 

Again, in 1994 and 1996, school talent time again, haha! But my parents started to notice and didn't really approve of our interest in music. I took note of that. But to me, a hobby is a hobby. No harm in doing it as long as my grades were excellent. No one could deny that I was a tough competitor.

Stepping into secondary school, the musical influence were changed. Beginning in 1996, the boyband fever strucked girls around the world, and my siblings and I (minus my bro) were among them. Simply said, every dance moves in the video clips of the Spice Girls and 'NSYNC were at the tip of our fingers. We then made a performance during Teacher's Day, of Elite's song 'Tamparan Wanita' (Lepas tu kena blacklist dengan Ustazah, hadeh..) We practised a lot for the performance, and Maktok even made her way to school to support us for the audition. Maktok memang the coolest ever. Even my parents didn't know about that (unless if my mom reads this post la..)

Used to really like them.. before they were defunct

Their best album ever!!

(I used to have the idea of saving money and go to Hollywood to meet them)

Not so much of singing in secondary school, because my attention was more to the prefects' matters, Girl Guides and debate competition. Form 5, it was strictly studying and prefects only. My mom preferred if I was only focused into my studies. But being a prefect was a part of my life too (Hey, I was the boss! And school rules were my Code of Conduct, hehe)

After I finished school, I learnt a bit about wasting time (haha) before I got into the University. I had 3 goals upon entering the Varsity: 1) to get final results of 3.0 - 3.5 (which I did, agak malas nak study gila2 dah) 2) to find that perfect guy (found him during the convo, and we are married almost 3 months ago!) and 3) to have fun in my own definition.

Yerp, I had fun. A series of emceeing since first semester until now, and organizing varsity events. I totally loved it. Singing came in a bit later. It was during the final two semesters that I discovered my old interest back again. Thanks to Star Search competition (I got third place I think?) and Euphonious, alike to battle of the band (my group 425 won 2nd place). Even though some time were spent on practising and jamming, I felt safe because my classmates were in my band, and I trusted them to take care of me too. One of the singers, Bong is happily married now with his long-time sweetie. I'm so happy for him.

After joining PETRONAS, I had a few chances to sing during the forums that we handled for the company. (hajat hati nak present paper, bukan nyanyi! Takpe2, chances will come soon Sharifah..) My friend Feisal@Pacat was a great duet partner everytime he was around. After this, he will have to find a new partner to sing with. I'm out of the game permanently.

Well, nevermind, it's worth it, because I've got a lifetime fan :) and a lifetime critic as well, haha!

Honeymoon Episode 2 - Ho Chi Minh City

To Hubby: In case you read this, I finally got to post this entry!

Okay, this idea of having a series of honeymoons came from my husband actually. He loves to travel. Not that I don't like to, but the idea has never really crossed my mind (since I'm mostly travelling on work assignments, so I am quite appreciative of my time in KL..) Believe it or not, we actually have another destination coming.. but I guess we will have to miss it (or go with my sister instead). Husband's not around, and I will just get to see him in 2.5 months' time.

And so, we went to Ho Chi Minh City last month. My husband was here on work matters before we were married, and he told me before that he would love to come back again as a destination for honeymoon, and SHOP! He managed to get us a good deal on the flight ticket price, and also a strategic hotel location in District 1, HCMC.

So here's a lil bit of the story.. enjoy!

About to touch down in HCMC. I was really excited. And I didn't have the slightest idea that HCMC would look like this from above.

Hm, quite a modern airport. I like!

We checked in, and took a stroll after that around the city. It was a busy city. Full of motorists, even at night!

Sweep panoramic version of an area nearby this monumental building. It was a splendid view I must say.

One side of HCMC from our hotel rooftop. Very few tall buildings. Definitely not like KL.

We went out to begin our shopping the next day. Along the road, we saw many stalls selling flowers. Pretty! Flowers of many sorts were being sold here, from morning till evening.

 My husband began the shopping agenda, haha. I must say he is an awesome bargainer. I reserved my shopping for next day :)

*Siapa suka kain cotton sure pengsan tengok banyak sangat kain cotton cantik kat sini :)

We had an early dinner that night at Four Seasons Restaurant, because we didn't have a proper lunch (sibuk sangat tengok kain!) We found out about this restaurant from a website that lists halal food outlet. Try googling Zabihah Halal Food. They will give a complete set of information, from the name of the restaurant, the address, phone number and visitors' rating! Somehow the 'Four Seasons' name reminded me of South Korea. Dunno why. But the food here were great. And most importantly, they were affordable.

 Inside view of the restaurant

Upon breakfast the next day, we stuffed ourselves so that we would not really need to go for lunch. Then we went shopping again. Finding things for ourselves, and yerp, we got a good bargain (after a long arguing with these ladies, and walaupun setelah dibodek oleh mereka, haha! "Ala abang, spend a little more for your pretty wife lo.." that left me blushing, hihi) They were trying to sell the items at high prices, but hubby was uncheatable, haha. Sorry and thanks ladies!

Eksyen je bertudung tu.. bawah pakai seluar pendek, haha.

We dropped our things back at the hotel, had a little rest, and we hit the city again. To take a stroll and enjoy the scene, and to hunt for early dinner. Like the day before. HCMC definitely had a pretty view. Clean city.

The post office.The inside was brilliant

Hehe.. makan ice-cream jap, sebab dah start lapar :)

There was a beautifully-landscaped garden in front of this building. Just had to take a picture here.

We had our dinner at Alibaba Restaurant. It was a restaurant of north indian cuisine. I must say we had great dining here. The briyani and naan were superb! But it was quite expensive. About RM8 just for the dhal gravy. Tapi sedap, I could say it was worth every cent. Eh, Vietnamese Dong!

So after dinner, we walked again to explore the city. The streets were decorated with colorful lights. Youngsters were everywhere, either on foot or on motorcycles. We marched to the riverside and there was a park there, filled with young lovebirds and families who wanted a nice timeout with their little children. 1st time tengok orang dating tanpa perasaan. Kalau kat KL, mau nak lempang je, heheh.

And this was a so-called boat. It was actually a floating restaurant. We didn't dine here, not really a fan of seafood.

The final day, I still had time to finalize my shopping. Got myself 3 baju kurung for USD 60! Hehe.

Bidding farewell to HCMC, and to Ben Thanh especially, hehe.

About to check out from the hotel (sempat lagi tu..) and waiting for the hotel car to send us to the airport.

Farewell Ho Chi Minh City.. from Fairuz & Ira :)

Honeymoon Episode 1 - Bali

Bali was our 1st destination for honeymoon. We secured the honeymoon package way back in August 2009 during Matta Fair at PWTC. It wasn't our 1st choice of destination, but since we couldn't get a honeymoon package for the place that we wanna go ("Adik, tunggu next Matta Fair lah.. this Matta Fair is just for travels until early March") plus that particular Matta Fair was held in the month of Ramadhan (penat + agak malas nak go through every booth), we quickly secured the package to Bali for a fair price. After finding out the real price, we managed to save about RM600++ from the actual accommodation cost. Worth it eh..?

So we left for Bali two days after the reception by Husband's family. A quite tight schedule, it was for us. But everything went as planned, and that we wanted to utilize the marriage leave to the most optimum capacity as possible. A few colleagues who went there for their honeymoon gave their best tips, and their guide was all that we have.

Upon arriving at Ngurah Rai Airport, we could already feel the strong Hinduism influence in Balinese culture. The carvings of Hindu deities were everywhere, but they were not the same like the carvings we have on Hindu temples in Malaysia. They were more to the epic stuff (I guess!) like Ramayana and Rhavan (even Goddess Guanyin was among the deities featured, it got me confused!) For us, yep, definitely a new kind of experience!

A view of the Balinese carving @ Ngurai Rai Airport.

 Though I was not really sure if this was of which epic (Ramayana ada scene naik kuda eh?) but I must say it was a really magnificent statue.

The journey to Jay's Villa took like almost an hour (Bali traffic condition is almost alike to Jakarta. Macet!) The villa was located in a paddy plantation area in Kerobokan. Most of the exclusive villas were located there. As we arrived, we were served with welcoming drink, and then being led to our villa :) Enough reason to make us not go out at all! A few friends have also asked us where this place is. Haha!

 

Us, in front of Jay's Villa

 

 The bedroom, as cozy as it could get

We had our private swimming pool!

The lovely decorated bathtub. Sayangnya nak mandi..

The spacious + airy bathroom

The TV lounge beside the pool

We had our lunch first before..

.. going for shopping~~!! Weee.. @ Legian. Many handbags and surfwear shops to choose from, and of course, souvenirs and local crafts were sold here too. If you're a nightclub or bar goer, Legian is a great place to hang out with friends. They have bands playing at night too. Mat saleh ramai la kat area ni.

After the tiring walk and shopping, it's time to get a few minutes of rest. This was Husband's idea - me going for manicure (it hurt like ouch!)

And dear Husband needed foot massage very badly.. hehe.

After the hand and foot therapy, we went back to the villa to get some rest. Along the way back, we feasted our eyes with scenic view of paddy fields. Their harvesting way were more traditional, cuz it is mainly for household consumption. And as we reached the villa...

.. we discovered the pool was decorated with rose petals when we got back! How romantic..

Well, we were more tempted to have our dinner and not disturb the pool, haha. Nyum2!

We went to Ubud the next morning after breakfast. On the way to Ubud, we encountered many shops that sell silverwares and paintings, not to mention stone carvings as well. We stopped by this outlet, being informed by Pak Supir that this place had the finest handmade silver ornaments. But it was too expensive here. An ordinary silver ring could cost up to RM150! Kat Malaysia RM60 pun dah boleh beli cincin silver Giordano.. duh. So no shopping done here.

Here we were, at Ubud! (after almost 50 minutes from Kerobokan) We got ourselves good bargain for t-shirts and pretty handicrafts. Sarongs here were quite expensive, depending on the type of material they use for the cloth. After shopping, we asked Pak Supir to drive us to a nearby halal food restaurant. He brought us to this restaurant, Natrabu. Tasteful dining. They also have an outlet in KL.

We had our dinner that night at Jimbaran Beach. There were lots of seafood restaurants for tourists to choose from. Wooden tables and chairs covered the long stretch of the beach. It was definitely a lovely scene and a great dinner too!

Our meal.. nyum2!

and while enjoying our dinner, these guys entertained us with "Can't Help Falling in Love".. ahh.. schweettt..

 

The following morning, again we went to Legian beach, to say farewell before we left that afternoon. I managed to get my hair done and Husband got his massage at the salon that morning, before we rushed back to the villa, pack our things, and headed straight for the airport.

To sum it all, 4 days 3 nights vacation to Bali wasn't enough to cover the whole island, cuz Bali is kind of a big island (or maybe because our pace was not that fast). Spa services are cheap here, so take the opportunity to pamper yourself while you are there. I personally did manicure, hair treatment and full body massage during the 4-day visit. But I guess the villa made it a honeymoon worth going. Perfect for newlyweds! :)

Ok, next stop!