Bali, the Land of the Gods

If you think that Bali is just about sun bathing, you are absolutely wrong! There are so many other things that you can do in Bali, and here are 13 reasons to keep this city in your to-go list if you've not been there.

Why do people visit Bali?

1. Religious sites

The main religion in Indonesia is Islam, but the main religion in Bali is Hinduism. As a result, Bali hosts many beautiful Hindu temple, such as Ulun Danu Beratan, Taman Ayun and Tanah Lot. These temples attracts thousands of tourists each year, whom (like me) are drawn to them by their unique architecture. 

2. Dolphins
We've seen enough of captive dolphins, what about going out to the sea to spot wild dolphins? Catch a boat before sun rise at Lovina, located at the north western side of Bali, to enjoy the trill of spotting dolphins swimming pass you.

3. Volcano

Bali houses 2 active volcanoes - Mount Agung and Mount Batur. There are many sun rise trekking tours to these volcanoes where you can experience watching sun rise on top an active volcano, or alternatively, you can simply take a car up and enjoy the view while having lunch at 1 of the restaurant around the area.

4. Cycling along the rice paddy fields
Due to the volcanic activities, Bali is primarily an agricultural city. Instead of seeing rice paddy fields from a distance, what about cycling pass one to have a close up look at how one of our daily staples is grown?  

We took up a cycling package from Bali Eco & Educational Cycling Tour, and spent 1 fruitful and educational morning cycling downhill along rice paddies, enjoying the countryside scenery, visiting plantations and entering a typical Balinese house before ending with a delicious lunch beside a paddy field.

5. Dirty Duck
Although it does not have a fanciful name, people flock to Bebek Bengil for a taste of this famous deep fried duck. The gado-gado is equally delicious; do not miss it out when you visit the restaurant.

6. Babi Guling
The Balinese loves babi guling, essentially suckling pig, and Ibu Oka Babi Guling is probably the most famous babi guling (suckling pig) warung in Bali. Join the locals and tuck in to their favourite food at this road side store on your way to the Ubud Market.

7. Coffee
Visit a coffee plantation in Bali to learn more about coffee and be spoilt for choice by the different kinds of coffee available.

Do not miss out the famous Kopi Luwak! The coffee seeds are actually defecates of Asian palm civets, which feeds on coffee seeds. Although it sounds yucky, its taste is far from being yucky and definitely one of the most aromatic coffee I've ever drank.

8. Cheap massage

There are plenty of cheap Balinese massage available for you to pamper yourself everyday, and on our last day at Bali, we had our spa done at Bali Orchid Spa which I highly recommend due to their good services. Bali Orchid Spa also provide free transport to and fro your hotel if you are staying at certain areas.

9. Yoga

In the book / movie Eat, Pray, Love, the main female character went to Bali to seek for spiritual harmony through yoga, and eventually found true love there. If you are tired of urban living and hope to have a few days of peace, stay at Ubud to take up some yoga lessons from The Yoga Barn (http://www.theyogabarn.com/) and seek your spiritual harmony.

10. Markets
Although people criticise the Ubud Market for being just a tourist trap, I enjoyed my trip there, as there is no other places (to my knowledge) that host such a large range of arts and craft works in Bali, and the prices here are cheaper than those sold in Kuta.

11 Beaches

Of course we have to include sun bathing in this recommendation list, which is Bali is famous for. Have fun sun bathing, building sand castle or doing water sports just like everyone else at Padang Padang Beach, Semiyak, Legian, Kuta Beach. 

12. Chill out

Other than chilling out at pubs around Kuta and Semiyak, do pay a visit to Rock Bar at Ayana Hotel to enjoy drinking at the top of a cliff with a sun set view. Do make your way there earlier to avoid the queue as this place is super popular.

13. Weddings
Having your wedding by the sea is something that most girls (at some point of time) dream of, and Blue Point at Uluwatu can make your dream into a reality (at a cost of course). Even if you cannot fulfil this dream, they are open for visit for you to take a glimpse and get you close to your dreams.

Beijing, the Forbidden City

Beijing, the capital of People's Republic of China, has a rich historical past, and a literally rich present, as it is home to the greatest number of wealthy people in China.

Here are 9 reasons why you should make a trip to this Forbidden City soon:

1. Challenge your fear and taste buds
Walking along the street of the popular Wangfujing, you will find many stores selling exotic food like scorpions, starfish, sea horse etc. Some of them are known to be rich in proteins or contains some health benefits. Care & dare to try?

2. Peking Duck
What can be more authentic than having a Peking Duck feast in Beijing? Quanjide is 1 of the famous roast duck restaurant in Beijing, and you can easily spot the restaurant as there are usually long queues of people waiting to enter the store. Try dipping this famous imperial dish in sugar or hoisin sauce or simply enjoy the having the crisp skin melting in your mouth.

3. Being a Good Man / Woman
There is a Chinese saying - 不到长城非好汉 , which means you can only be considered as a good man if you've been to the Great Wall of China. I went to the Mutianyu part of the Great Wall, which is relatively quieter with lesser tourists. The climb is manageable, and I enjoyed the trill of luging downhill at the end of the climb, which I thought is a great fusion historical historical and modern fun.

4. Pretending to be a Emperor or Princess
Many of us would have watched shows with storyline revolving around the imperial family, and would have imagine yourself being the Emperor or the well-loved Princess. Don't stop at the imagination, visit the Forbidden City to take a look at the court where the Emperor and his subjects had their morning discussion sessions, the rooms where the imperial families sleeps, and the backyard where the Prince secretly met his sweetheart.

5. Wonderful scenery
The Imperial family visited the Summer Palace to get away from the heat of the summer, and in modern day language, this is the place where the Imperial family relax and chill. It wasn't at the top of my to-go list in Beijing, but enchanting lakes and parks awed me, and I spent almost 1 full day there. I recommend you to put this place as a not-to-be missed attraction in Beijing.

6. Appreciating the history
Most audio guides in attractions of other countries require you to manually press the displayed number before the audio guides starts explaining, but in Beijing, the audio guides can sense/track where you are, and start narrating as soon as you are close to the location. This wonderful tool serves as a map as well, and you can see which location you've visited or missed as a red light will be shown when you've visited the location.

7. Check out retirement ideas
What hobbies should you take up when you retire? A visit to the Temple of Heaven will provide you with some ideas, where the elders hang out daily to participant in various activities ranging from mahjong, poker cards, taiji and dance.

8. Cheap transport
The Beijing Subway will enable you to reach the various places of attractions easily at a cost of RMB2, no matter where you go. Yes, RMB2 = SGD0.50 per entry. Although the local people complains that their Subway is too crowded, I feel that the "crowdiness" is the same as Singapore's MRT system. Try it out yourself to make a judgement.

9. Understanding the present
Since the economic reforms in 1978, how did China become the world's fastest growing economy? Take a look into the daily life of the locals and listen to stories from trishaw or taxi drivers to understand more about why success is so important to them.