Bali, Indonesia

Initially, the trip to Bali was planned just to visit my former cabin mate from the ship... (Hi Rini!) So I was completely blindsided when I started falling in love with the island's splendor.

First of all, everything there is relatively cheap. Food, hostels, shopping, transportation, beach bumming, entertainment, and did i already mention food?? Food is cheap AND awesome.

I think my boyfriend and I started falling in love with Bali at first bite. Hello Nasi Goreng, hello Mie Goreng! Very, very, VERY nice to meet you!! Mmmm. Mmmmm.

And we fell even deeper in love with the island when we paid the bill. Twenty thousand Rupiahs, (now don't panic) it's roughly the equivalent of only two US dollars and less than 100 Philippine Pesos for us both. Cheap date? Heck yeah!! :D

This meal was at a small Warung . This is the Indonesian version of our carenderia so don't expect a lot of frills, just some really good food. The warung was about a kilometer from our hostel and we didn't have to walk to get there. Getting around Bali is super easy as long as you know how to drive a motorbike (or in my case, if you have a boyfriend who does. heehee.)

We just rented a bike for 5 US dollars a day, and with gas at about 7,000 rupiahs a liter, cost of transportation is not bad at all. No, not bad at all. :) Take note, however, that driving on the left side of the road does take some getting used to. Also, if you're from the Philippines, having a lot of crazy drivers on the road is nothing new, but for some of our foreign friends, they sure had a lot to say about Indonesian drivers. :D

Highlights of our week-long Bali trip (aside from all the incredible food) included visiting their art capital Ubod, bumming at their fabulous world-famous beaches, shopping at Hanoman Street and biking through the Balinese countryside.

Here are our pictures from Bali. I hope it gives you a glimpse of the many many reasons why Carlo and I fell in love with this place. :D

all smiles as we wait for our food.

sunsets at canggu (and most anywhere on the island, for that matter) are beautiful!

carlo's favorite shop in all of Bali. Deus Ex Machina.

me and our very trusty motorbike.

carlo and his loves.

carlo with dara and ian, some friends of his that we met at the streets of seminyak.

hello, gwapo! heehee

foodtrucks have nothing on this. it even has it's own LpG. lolz.

Bali equals Bintang.

fooling around. :)

at the wonderful beach of kuta

outside one of their numerous temples

the not-so-hidden beach of balangan

what does this facade remind you of? it reminds me of one of those scary japanese masks. :D

ready to hit the waves of balangan??

go baby! don't break your board! hehehe

me and our friend Vanessa with the cliffs of Uluwatu behind us

Kecak dance

Ubod Monkey Forest

nomnomnom!

carlo learning to pound coffee beans

some snake fruit, anyone?

Tanah Lot, their temple by the sea.

with my former cabin mate, Rini. :D thank you so much for showing us around. :D

Bali, we will definitely be back.

St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies

Finally, I was able to go to the beach! :)

Here are some pictures taken from the island where we docked and from the main island. Really pretty place which kinda reminds me of boracay, only tons more expensive. heehee.

Next time i have to remember to bring my bikini. lol. :)

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

yaaaay! i'm finally in the sunny carribean! first stop is the british virgin island of tortola. :) i don't have too many pictures because i think i was out of the ship for a grand total of 45 minutes. but it was still nice to soak in some sun in the sunny caribbean. weee! :D

my ship is the small one to the left. :)

tortola, my first caribbean island! :)

lotsa yachts!

a tortolan jeepney. heehee

chickens crossing the road :) why?

Fresh Maine Lobstah!! :)

They say the best lobsters come from Maine. Time to check out and see for myself how much truth there is in that statement. weeee!! :D

So we were in Bar Harbor yesterday and fortunately, it wasn’t too busy in the kitchen. This meant I had some time to take the tender from the ship to the mainland and get me some real deal Maine lobster!

As soon as we docked, there were already several touristy restaurants which offered a lot of fresh seafood but picky picky me, I wanted to find a place where a lot of locals hung out (tried and tested AND tasted, right?). After walking around a bit, we saw a busy tavern called the Thirsty Whale. Ambience was lively, it looked clean and there were a lot of people inside as compared to the other restaurants in the area. Score!

I ordered the Lobster Roll (Fresh Maine lobster touched with mayonnaise, served on a grilled hot dog bun). It doesn’t sound too glamorous but boy did it taste awesome. The meat was juicy and cooked juuuust right, and the grilled bun was drenched in butter, need I say more? Heehee. :) I mean, the fare wasn’t fancy but who says simple can’t be just as good? It was simply one of the best meals I’ve had in a long while. Mmmm-mm.

Which got me thinking, every time I start whining about my job, I think I’ll just need to remember that awesome lobster roll and hopefully it’ll be enough to remind me why I’m doing this: for a chance to see more of the world and taste the food it has to offer.

Okay, I’m feeling much better, the aches are gone and I’m in love with my job again. :D  

me and my kuya rocky on the tender to the mainland. he's a hoot to be with. sad that he's leaving in 2 weeks. :c

:D

check out the phil flag on that yacht!

what to order??

FOOOD!!! yaaay!

mmmmmm good!!

at the dock with my friend, Aisa.

don't they look like a rock band in this pic? Aegis, maybe? heeeheee. :)

me and two more of my Bisaya homeboys. Juvany and Armand.

what's a visit to Maine if you don't have a photo op with a lobster? :)