TRI-NATION
TO SE ASIA
(BALI,
PHILIPPINES & VIETNAM)
William
Harry Davies has beautifully expressed the pleasures ignored by humans in his
expressive Poem Leisure:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows
SCHEDULE
14 Nov 22 DEP
BOM : / 23:45….ARR HO CHI MINH 15 Nov/ 06:10 VIETJET 884
15 Nov 22 DEP
HO CHI MINH / 08:15…ARR NGURAH RAI (Bali) /13:05
VIETJET 893
22 Nov 22 DEP NGURAH
RAI (Bali) /01:00…ARR MANILA/ 04:55 PHP AIR PR5381
22 NOV 22 DEP
MANILA/11:00…ARR BORACAY IS./12:05 AIR ASIA
Z2221
23 NOV 22 DEP
BORACAY IS./15:50…ARR MANILA/ 1700 AIR ASIA Z2228
25 Nov 22 DEP
MANILA/ 022:30 … ARR HO CHI MINH/14:30 PHP AIR
PR597
27 Nov 22 DEP
HO CHI MINH/18:30 …ARR BOM/ 22:45 VIETJET VJ883
BROAD EXPENSES
7 days stay at
Karma (Bali) : Rs 23,000 + 4,500 = Rs 27,500/- (per couple)
Air Bnb stay at
Philippines and Vietnam = Rs 7,000/- (per couple)
Air Tkts BOM-HO
CHI MINH-BALI-MANILA-BOROCAY-MANILA-HO CHI MINH-BOM = Rs 1,12,000/- (per
couple)
Local expenses =
Rs 25,000/- (per couple)
TOTAL = about
1.8 L (per couple) ( < 1 Lakh per head for 14 days overseas trip)
Grateful to LtCdr
Vineet Vason for the superb financial planning including Air tickets, with advice
from his adorable children Sahil and Trisha.
THE TOUR
Both onward flights rescheduled and delayed by an
hour, were comfortable and manned by beautiful Vietnamese cabin crew. Although
they had the masks on as per the current norms, albeit their smiles were
evident by the glint in their eyes as they greeted us warmly onboard in their
Red uniforms. Both flights were almost full. Flight transfer at Ho chi Minh was
uneventful where we had delicious breakfast brought by Sunita. Our landing at
Ngurah Bai at Bali just happened to coincide with the Arrival of delegates for
the G-20 Summit that was scheduled for 15-16 Nov. So we were in for a grand
traditional welcome by the local beauties in their tradition colourfully bright
attire (Photos below). Although the Visa on Arrival was smooth, even as the Immigration
Officer Nizad Welcomed us for our second Honeymoon, the Customs declaration
being an online process took some time for us noobs. We grabbed a GRAB Cab and
drove to Karma Royal Resort Candidasa located about 60 kms east of Denpasar on
the Southern Coast of Bali. Enroute we picked up some Bread and light snacks
from a small mall. The Karma Resort is housed at a scenic location by the Sea
of SE Indian Ocean. (Bali incidentally had congenial trade relations with
Ancient Kalinga empire, present day Orissa, that organises Bali Festival on the
banks of Mahanadi annually in the month of Nov, well brought out by PM Modi in
his speech to Bali citizens in the clip below.) We reached around 7pm after a 2
hrs drive from the Airport and were warmly welcomed by the Resort staff. The
smart reception girl briefed us on the package they had to offer including the complimentary
breakfast during our stay. The resort had a lovely swimming pool and the Wasons
were soon seen in water waggling their limbs to rejuvenate. The Resort has 25
elegant Bungalows in a 10,000 sq mt plot overlooking the Candidasa beach. Our
accommodation was a 2 BHK including a Kitchen with cooking facility.
Day
2 (15 Nov) was dedicated to rest,
recreation and planning and a visit to Candidasa Town closeby during noon in
Resort’s Toyota. At the Town we firmed up a tour trip to Eastern Bali by a
local Cab driver named Sopak who was of pleasing mannerism and agreed to take
us around for Rs 500K(IDR), about Rs 2500/- for an 8 hrs trip the next day. In
the evening we strolled on the beach and visited a small forest that housed
elevated Tree Houses owned by Lady Tania. Her Father was a mariner and the
German-Dutch couple decided to make Indonesia their home. She was born and
schooled in Djakarta. After marriage to a localite, She inherited the large exquisite
Forest Property. She invited us for the Musical program on Sunday at her
premises. It was a pleasure to interact with her. We plunged into the pool in
the evening to freshen ourselves in the warm water. Later we strolled out to a
near by local restaurant owned by Lady Marta for a sumptuous Non-Veg meal. The
food was delectable indeed and we were to be her regular customers for the next
few days.
Day
3 (16 Nov). In the morning we went for a
swim followed by Breakfast at the restaurant by the pool (Pics below). Sopak
was at the resort at sharp 9 am with his Toyota. He drove us through the
winding roads up small hills and took us to Tirthagangga, a mesmerising
location in east-central Bali with large pools and step platforms where one
could walk, feed the colourful large fishes, get snapped and visit the holy
Temple (Pics below). The architecture was marvellous. An hour just slipped past
unnoticed as we were on the road to our next halt Besakih Temple (largest Bali
Temple) 30 kms away. This is were the Rain Gods played spoil sport with heavy
rains, but could never dampen the spirits of the two ladies who hired Umbrellas
to visit the temple. Our next point of halt was a visit to Honey Bee Café farms. A cute
lady took us around the farms on a step hill with a number of small wooden
boxes on trees housing bee-hives, explaining the Bee culture and honey and
coffee extraction process. She offered us complimentary Tea/Coffee/honey before
taking us to her store shop. We thanked her for educating us on the Life cycle
of the Bee. Next we came to Goa Lowa on the Coastal Road but gave it a pass as
it was drizzling. By the time we returned back to resort it was 5 pm. We
informed Sopak of a Rest Day next day called him for 18th Nov for
Ubud Tour. In the evening we had a swim in the Pool and strolled out for Dinner
at Marta’s joint.
Day
4 (17 Nov). The day was dedicated for local
sight-seeing. In the morning we went to the Resort pool. Vineet ventured out
for a swim at the adjoining beach before the assorted breakfast. After the
afternoon siesta Vineet arranged for the Resorts Car drop to the nearby Candidasa
town where we roamed around, strolled at the adjoining beach, enjoyed the hot
and delicious chicken/egg soup from a road side vendor, walked in to a Money
exchange for buying local currency and returned. The Dinner was at Marta’s.
Day
5 (18 Nov). Sopak had sent his neighbouring
Friend Rawedeng to chauffeur us for the tour to Ubud. This driver was too of
pleasant manners. Here I like to mention that without exception all Balinese
are charming with a polite nature. There are no beggars in Bali. Our first halt
was at Ubud handloom factory, we did some window shopping and photo shoot
before driving out for Goa Gajjah (the elephant Cave). Goa in Balinese means
Cave, Gajjah is elephant. It’s a forested hilly location with a small T shaped
dimly lit rock carved Cave of 3 local Deities including Ganesha. We walked the
down-slop and up-slop winding rock steps through thick green foliage and a
small waterfall. The fresh Coconut water we sipped was indeed freshening. On
our way out we bought some magnetic mementos and Vineet and I bought some
Balinese collared Shirts at the exit shops after a reasonable bargain. Our next
point of halt was the Cherry of the Tour, the “Aloha Ubud Swings”. Although
expensive, Vineet and I decided to treat our ladies to the thrill of their
Lives. We went for the Package of Rs 1200,000 (IDR) including the flowing gowns
they adorned on the 9 Varieties of huge swings with elongated thick
Nylon/Polypropylene rope pendulums. The flowing gowns in Red and Yellow
transformed our Ladies into real Queens (Pics). Vineet and I were offered a
special treat of Tandem swing with our better halves. After the thrilling
adventurous Swing treats, we stepped into the Butterfly Farm for a photo
session. 3 hours slipped past unnoticed. By the time we left Ubud it was dark
and started pouring. Our drive back home was in heavy rain, but Rawedeng was an expert at the wheel. Before telling
him Sayonara at Karma, we fixed up a date with him for next day’s visit to
Floating Palace and the Gate to Heaven. Since it was still raining, we had bread toasts for dinner in our rooms itself, prior
hitting the bed early.
Day 6 (19 Nov). After the mandatory morning swim we had a sumptuous
breakfast of juices, bread toasts, noodles topped up with Coffee. Rawedeng was
dot on time at 1030 hrs at the reception to drive us around. He first drove us
to a typical ancient Balinese Village where a tourist guide walked us through
his village explaining their culture and traditions. Before departing we made a
small donation for them. Enroute to Amlapuram Floating Palace we exchanged Dollars
into local IDR currency. This place was built by the king of Karangasem
in 1919 and has a white Palace with a few structures in in a medium sized lake.
It was almost completely destroyed in the eruption of Mount Agung in 1963 but it
has been restored. Taman Ujung is slightly larger than Tirta Gangga, with
temples and architectural structures, as well as fountains . We walked up the
stairs leading to a a small garden overlooking the palace from a Birds eye view
about 100 ft high. After descending down, We strolled through the Balai Gili,
the main white palace in the Lake connected with two bridges; a leisure place
for the Royal family. The Gallery in the main Hall had large photos of the
Royal family. Taman Ujung is a lovely
floating Palace where we clicked a number of Photos. Our
next point of Halt was the Gate to Heaven. Pura Lempuyang is a
cluster of Bali temples located high up on Mount Lempuyang. These are some of
the oldest, most sacred and well-regarded Balinese temples atop a high hill
with winding 3km steep road, that you
are mandated to visit in their tourism buses. . The entry ticket is IDR Rs
100,000 (Approx Rs 500) per head including the bus ride. It’s on this mountain
that you’ll find the Gates of Heaven, one of the most iconic and most
instagrammable photo location of the world. Heaven’s Gate in Bali has been made
famous by these images which show people, often in romantic poses, standing
between the gates nearing sunset with
what looks like a pool of water in front of them and a blue mountain floating
on clouds in its backdrop. It’s a pretty magical photo; Lempuyang Temple photo
trick that uses a glass mirror below the lens of your mobile camera (watch the
Photos below). The place is quite popular and abuzz with tourists. The waiting
period for your turn is almost 2 hours, but worth the wait. We practised a few
exquisite poses before our shoot individually and as couple aswell. Meena
suggested the chucking of our Hats up in the Air at the culmination of our
shoot, that drew a huge round of applause from the spectators. It was about 5
pm when we drove back to our resort, through forest with a short halt at a
Monkey Park. When we reached the resort it was 7pm. We decided to relax on the
next day (Sunday) and fixed up the Car for Monday afternoon for visit to Kuta
and surroundings prior to drop at the Airport for our departure to Philippines
past midnight on 22 Nov.
Day 7 (20 Nov). Our morning attraction was a swim in the Resort pool and
sun bathing at the beach front. Breakfast comprised Watermelon/Lemon juice,
assorted cut fruits, bread jam-butter toasts, Omelette, Hot Tea/ Coffee. We
relaxed in our rooms in the forenoon hours and went out for lunch in a local
restaurant. The afternoon was programmed by the Resort for interaction of
guests at the poolside over Hi Tea. We hit the bed early after a refreshing
swim and Dinner at the breezy Poolside.
Day 8 (21 Nov) Departure Day. We had spoken to and called Sopak, our first Chauffeur in
the afternoon to visit Kuta and Denpasar. At 3.30 pm we checked out of Resort
after penning down a handsome review of Karma. Ms BUDA was at the reception to
see us of with her charming smile that’s captured in our group photos we
clicked before departure from the Resort. Sopak drove us to Kuta beach south of
the Airport, that prides in its colourful Beach Walk, beautifully lit elegant
Mall that ranks amongst world-class Malls. Its adorned with eye catching and
flowing colourful fish ponds snaking around the Mall. We did some window
shopping before driving through the City, where we enjoyed a delectable meal
prior to being dropped to the Ngurah Rai Airport of Denpasar. The cheerful
Sopak was visibly elated at receiving a tip as we said Sayonara. We boarded our
flight just past midnight and landed at Manila at 4.45 AM local time that’s the
same as Bali’s Time-zone.
Day 9 (22 Nov) Arrival Boracay. We had to shift to Terminal-4 by Airport’s shuttle bus for
our flight to Boracay-Caticlan. Prior to that we exchanged $100 for 5650 Peso
for our 3 days stay in Philippines. We marvelled at the beautiful islands as we
overflew those enroute to an hours flight to Godofredo Ramos Airport, Caticlan.
At the airport we hired 2 Tuk-Tuks to reach the Northern Jetty. Located at Panay
Island's northern tip, Caticlan offers natural attractions such as the Sanga-an
River's clear waters and Lupo Lupo Lake's migratory birds. At the jetty we
bought tickets for motorboat to ferry us across the clean blue Caticlan Bay to
the Boracay Jetty. From there on it was once again a Tuk-Tuk ride to our Air
Bnb host Annie’s Appt at Ocean view 10 Kms away, amidst the scenic location.
The Flat on the 5th floor was well-kept and overlooked a lovely Golf
course and the white sand beach. We couldn’t meet Annie as she was away to
Singapore. Her house-help made us comfortable in the well maintained flat. We
walked down to the llig-lligan, Pukka Shell beach and Cujo’s Key-hole in the
evening and next morning clicking photos against wonderful backdrops.
Day
10 (23 Nov) Arrival Manila The next morning we called a Tuk-Tuk that took
us to a few more beaches and the environment Mangroves prior to dropping us at
the Jetty. The motorboat ferried us across the clean blue Caticlan bay to the
Airport jetty. Another Tuk-Tuk ride with the cheerful local riders brought us
to the Departure Lounge. Departure
Airport at Caticlan is at the North-western end of Runway, while the Arrival is
on South-eastern end. We took a quick lunch in a Veteran’s Nostalgic Restaurant
opposite the Airport, that was adorned with antique memorabilia of WW-II. The
departure from Caticlan was uneventful and we touched down at Manila after an
hour’s flight. On the approach Meena was fortunate to get a prized click of the
Taal Volcano (Pic below) from her window. Outside the Airport we took a Cab
from the authorised Taxi-stand to take
us to the Air Bnb lodge in Makati 9 kms away. The host here too was away and
the house assistants welcomed us to a medium sized room with two double beds.
We shifted to a bigger comfortable room. After freshening ourselves we strolled
out and had a local meal (Rice-Chicken) in a near by restaurant prior to
hitting the bed.
Day 11 (24 Nov). The
day was hot in Manila we rested in the forenoon and went for excursion to Rizal
Park in the afternoon, one of the main attractions of Manila that is a memorial
of Philippine’s Hero Dr Rizal. Later we ventured into the famous Robinsons Mall
that was well decored in Christmas gaiety. Fruit salad that Sunita bought and
we all shared was indeed delectable. We’ll never forget the our ride back to
Makati, while the driver himself seemed to have got lost. Vineet had to take
google help from a local boy’s mobile. We hit the bed early for next morning’s
departure to our next destination in Vietnam.
Day 12 (25 Nov). We had
to fetch a local Taxi from the road junction about a km away as it was peak
morning hours. The driver was kind and suggested the Skyway to avoid the office
hour jams. We reached the T2 Terminal well in time for our 1230 flight
departure to Ho Chi Minh by Philippines Air flight. Immigration was smooth with
our eVisas in hand. The 3 hours flight was smooth and we landed at Tan Son Nhat
at 1430 local time. Vineet and I exchanged 50 USD each for local VND currency
for our 2 days halt, before boarding the Airport City bus that dropped us to 31
Duong Cach Mang Thang-8, about 7 kms away but took us 45 mins due traffic jams.
The Air Bnb accommodation here was comfortable that was housed above the host’s
Jumpo Kebab Restaurant. The Kitchen and washroom were separately provided in
the adjoining flat. After freshening up we strolled in the Duongs (Streets) of
Saigon, where we chanced to enter a Natraj Hotel owned by a Rajasthani
gentleman Saurabh who welcomed us with a smile and even offered to host us free
even as Vineet introduced himself being from SS Chittorgarh. The Indian meal
was delicious that we savoured almost after 2 weeks. A reasonable discount was
affected by the owner.
Day 13 (26 Nov). In
the forenoon we walked towards the Canal leading to the Song Saigon
River, spotted a KFG to savour a chicken Combo. Later strolled in the Saigon
square area and a few Malls. The evening turned out to even more exciting and
fun filled as we walked upto the Song river that wore a festive look. The river
is tidal affected as it runs into the South China Sea. Walking along the bank
we came across an elite drink promo Musical welcoming the tourists. The
complimentary drinks were refreshing indeed and Vineet even exhibited his
exceptional dancing shills amidst cheering applause of the spectators. We
bought tickets for the Song river one hour cruise that give us an exceptional
colourful view of what the marvel called Saigon is (photos & vids below).
On our way back we witnessed weekender fetes at the Times/Saigon square with
hundreds of young couples and children making merry. We too joined in. Later we
walked back to Natraj for another delicious meal. It was a great day to cherish
and carry the wonderful memories along.
Day 14 (27 Nov) Departure Day. A leisure day, as our departure was in the evening. We lazed in the morning and went for a noon
meal of a Gujarati super Delux Thaali at the nearby Gujarat Restaurant. The
Thaali came at a snails pace, even as the Host msged us to vacate as the
checkout time was 1100 hrs. Vineet had informed about our late checkout in the
initial mail, but there was a communication gap. The Thaali was average and
nothing much to write home about. After a quick bite we got some more VND
exchanged and before packing our bags and taking a Taxi back for Tan Son Nhat
Airport. Enroute we picked up some fruits from a Mall. The Taxi Driver was
sweet natured but despite his poor knowledge of English dropped us at the
Airport much ahead of our departure. We did some window shopping at the Arrival
lounge. During checkin we were in for a surprise at the Vietjet counter as our
tickets in fine print didn’t cater for checkin luggage and we had to pay for
our 40 kg of total check-in luggage. Perils of economy fare tickets with hidden
costs. Our tickets on the flight home at 1900 hrs departure were at the rear
end of the Aircraft and the last few rows were occupied by jubilant vociferous
Gujju group, who made their presence felt of a mini Gujrat flying from Saigon
to Mumbai. The night touchdown at CSMT
Airport T2 was the best that we experienced of the 7 landing during the tour. After the immigration check-out and
grabbing our bags we departed with juppian-Pappiyan Sayonara; carrying with us
tons of beautiful memories of a Super exciting Tri-nation tour of the SE Asian
lands of beautiful people we shall cherish in footprints of Time.
Sha No Varunah
Jai Hind
PS - Do click the videos below twice and zoom those for comfortable viewing
VIDEOS
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(Double click to play)
