Travels - Lovely Lombok Paradise

14-19 Jan 2013

Lombok, Indonesia

Had an awesome awesome holiday to kick start the new year and am still wishing I was back in Lombok, sitting by the beach and lounging in the pool reading my kindle. We flew by SilkAir - afternoon inbound flights 3 times a week, and reached our hotel after 8pm. Wasn't the most ideal time but oh well. I think we were both shocked when we entered the hotel lobby because it was a lot better that what we expected. I didn't want to spend the money on a nice hotel since we were going to transfer to the next one tmr. J was like "wow" and I was just pleasantly surprised.

The next day we picked up some snacks before heading to Qunci Villa Hotels for our holiday. Got an Ocean View room. The spacious balcony overlooks the sea and the sound of the waves was just so calming (I didn't like the sound of the waves at night though, kinda noisy).

  

Asmara Restaurant  - #3 Restaurant in Senggigi, Lombok

Read up on TripAdvisor and chose Asmara. They offer free pick up and drop off from your hotel. Food was mediocre and disappointing. If you like spicy food, then try Ayam Taliwang - J says they serve their chicken with the "grandfather of all belachans". 

Didn't have any bands playing that night. So we headed back and just sat by the beach enjoying the lovely breeze.

The awesome part about Qunci room rates is that it includes a very very hearty breakfast. You can choose to have breakfast in any of their 2 restaurant (sea facing), or in your own room. The eggs benedict is really really good! They serve mainly English breakfast, with a plate of fruits, freshly squeezed fruit juice and coffee/tea. I loved waking up in the morning and having our breakfast by the beach.

Taman Restaurant - #4 in Senggigi, Lombok

After booking our dive trip we settled on Lunch at Taman restaurant. The main area of Lombok is pretty small so you can mostly walk to all the restaurants once you get to that area. The food was quite ok, better than Asmara in my opinion. I had Mee Soto! Loved it :)

Too hot so we headed back to cool off in the infinity pool. J has been obsessed with his Kindle since I bought it for him for Christmas.

After an afternoon spent reading on our kindles, we headed out for dinner.

Square Restaurant - #1 Restaurant in Senggigi, Lombok

 The offer free transport as well. Arrived just in time to catch the beautiful colours from the sunset.

Had the 5 course set dinner and it was really really good. It was definitely one of the better meals I've had in a long time. I would say ditch Asmara and just visit the Square. (So good we visited a 2nd time but the food was very very disappointing.)

Woke up early and spent our day at Gili Trawangan. The sea was so pristine and the water was so clear! Much much better than nearby Bali. Everything had this laid back vibe and a lot less touristy and commercialized. I hated that about Bali. For someone who doesn't like the sweltering sun much, I was really happy to be at the beach because it was just so pretty. The sky was so blue and there were clean white sandy beaches.

Took a stroll around the island while waiting for our afternoon dive.

The perfect lounging spot after a tiring day of diving. Took the floats out again and just nua-ed the evening away.

The sunset was really beautiful and we had a great view of it. Dinner was at Quali Restaurant at the hotel and the food did not disappoint at all. Really fresh seafood and great service.

Miss waking up to this already. We were so reluctant to leave behind all the relaxing we had the past week.

I miss Lombok so much! Had a really awesome stay at Qunci Villas Hotel. The service was impeccable and it made us feel so welcomed. The hotel grounds were really nicely maintained and a lot of thought was put into the design of the villas. We even met the guys from Living Asia Channel there! It really was a much needed break before we kick started the new year and I felt totally recharged after my holiday.

Definitely heading back again soon!

Food - Jones the Grocer

As fans of big open spaces (and beer), we find the both of us being attracted to Jones the Grocer at Dempsey for it's rustic, almost industrial, interior. I've always loved wood and the effect it has on spaces. It can be used as storage, display, and just adds a lot of feel to a place. I like the fact that the tables are big and allows you to feel almost like you're dining in your own home, unlike other places that have small tables just enough for 2 reminding you constantly that you're in a commercial space.

 Just a note, the Parma Ham serving is kinda big and is pretty salty.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

- Dr. Seuss

Happy Birthday William & Jasmine!

William & Jasmine's birthday celebration

 

It's been a while since we've dropped by Butter, or even went clubbing for that matter! It's so coincidental that they both share the same birthday! Reminded me a lot of of the days we used to spend our weekends there and those were good times. But as they always say, youth is wasted on the young, and body can't keep up anymore. It took me 1 whole week to recover from that single late night. So glad that my body is now feeling a lot more rested after I put in extra effort and started sleeping regular hours.

Coffee - Penny University

25 Nov 2012

 For the price of a penny, one had access to coffee, the company of people from all
 levels of society, discussions, bulletins, newspapers and the latest gossip.

This idea behind Penny University really appeals to me because the best things in life that you can learn should always be free. It's pretty hard to actually find a nice neighbourhood hang out where you can still meet and learn from people, have interesting conversations with them and not actually feel out of place. To be honest, the most decent conversations I've had with people I've met at a coffee shop happened at 2 different Starbucks and not even with any patrons. It was with the baristas there and they started to warm up because I was a regular. Anyway, while I am not a regular at Penn. I can see it becoming a nice hang out in the East, partly because we're really lacking much competition.

 

Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

 The Little Prince

Be happy being yourself

For a couple of years now, I've not really made use of the entertainment system during flights as I usually fall asleep even before the plane takes off. Even when I do wake up mid-flight, I'll just watch my neighbours screen without any sound - I'm pretty sure I annoy people when I do that but I'm just too lazy and cold to remove the covers and set up the headphones and look for a movie. Well, just last week I took an 8pm flight and for good reason, didn't want to sleep because I wouldn't be able to sleep after arriving at night if I slept on the flight. 

I chose a Korean Rom-com titled <All About My Wife>. 

The leading lady is really opinionated and funny. She's tactless, she's direct and in short, grumpy, lonely and mean to some extent. In my opinion, she's just misunderstood and honest. Whoever said we ALL have to be morning people? Her example? The early bird catches the worm. Well the worm was early too and he got eaten! A lot of times we feel pressured by society, or at least we think we're being pressured, to be a certain type of person. Maybe to avoid stereotypes, or to avoid being labelled as something (lazy, unfriendly, loner, uncommitted etc). Everyone has their own struggles trying to avoid being labelled as something deemed bad.

Yes, people can be really mean with their words, but most days, they just want something to talk about. I do believe in the idea of being harmonious and being adaptable in a group. But I do not agree with the imitation of behavior to fit in. Something like herd mentality or group think maybe.  It's really hard to portray with all honesty who you really are - jobs, responsibilities, societal expectations, parents, social interactions etc. But hard does not mean impossible. It would be a whole lot easier if you could just be less influenced by people and expectations and to stand your ground. The things that used to matter now don't matter. The things you neglected and failed to see before, are now beautiful things. Maybe all you need is a little imagination.

Once you know what your rhythm is, you're gonna be just fine.

Food - Wimbly Lu

The name Wimbly Lu reminds me of whimsical and lulu - 2 things that remind me of a childhood memory. I visited on 2 different occasions with 2 different groups of people and each time I had a different feel about the place. Interesting how company changes everything (like being stuck on a holiday with a sucky travel mate). While the food was really the same both times, who I hung out with changed my take away from each visit. 

The first time I was left sitting alone because my friend was almost an hour late. It felt nice actually because the cafe was relatively empty on a Saturday morning and alone time is always welcomed. So I basically sat and did nothing and didn't think of anything much as well. It seems stupid, but did so much to just help me wind down from the work week and allow me to not be in a constant state of rush. I think sometimes I cannot draw a straight line between workday and weekend and it ends up making me very very drained. Need to remember that time wasted is not wasted if it helps to rejuvenate the mind.

The second time, the place was packed and noisy, and so I didn't like the experience as much. I think I tend to get upset a lot especially when my parents put down an idea I have. I then get angry and upset and start wondering whether or not they are just being skeptics, plain disinterested or is my idea really bad. Know what? In my anger I just forgot all about the times they had stood by me, letting me do things my way, letting me learn and fumble and then helping me when I meet with an obstacle or need a push to get things done. Sometimes all it takes is a small simple incident to make you realize how fortunate you really are.