Dear Dayre,
I cannot stop myself from loving to travel, especially now when I can still do it without worrying about other commitments and when I'm so blessed to have opportunities to fly around the world doing what I love.
Wouldn't give this up for anything else in the world, you know?
Aboard my 9am flight to Bali on a bright and happy Sunday! I woke up at 5.30am to do my last minute luggage packing as always.
Made a horrendously careless mistake of bringing along some full-sized products for the sake of photoshoot ops whilst in Bali, while forgetting that I wasn't checking in my luggage and it had to go through airport security!!!
Of coz tio caught and I was forced to hand over my products ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ
I even pleaded with the staff to see if I could dump the contents of my bottles and keep the bottles just for my advertorial but wtf, they don't even allow that?!
So I had to see my poor brand new bottles of skincare products get confiscated and dumped at airport security FML.
Please don't make the same mistake as me if you're not checking in your cabin luggage alright people! ๐ญ
Heart pain lesson learnt ๐
On the bright side, managed to keep some of the smaller bottles of products so yeap.
Beautiful view from the plane just before touch down!
We took AirAsia and it was a very smooth flight, thankfully. The flight to Bali is only about 2.5h, it's that near!
This time round, the purpose of flying to Bali was for a work retreat together with the folks from GetKlarity who invited me along!
It was quite a last minute decision but I'm glad I went ahead with it. #YOLO, right? ๐
So we actually booked our own apartment/villa.. Complete with private swimming pool!! Wahlau.. This is the life.
First thing I did was to take advantage of the pretty pool side for an ootd hahaha!
Shot with my samsung nx3000 with 45mm lens, taken by myself with remote shutter. ๐That's why I'm holding my phone, guys.
I decided to bring my samsung nx3000 on this trip because I knew I might have to do such things like taking my own photos and OOTDs and this camera has got remote shutter as well as smile detect function, extremely useful!
Quick soak in the pool with my team mates!! Notice how I'm still relatively fair in this picture? I'm now at least two tones darker, despite sunscreen and sunblock! #bobian All that time spent in the pool/sea-side. Beach holiday woes lol.
Ravenous during lunch time: thai food! Not too bad and while it's not dirt cheap, it's confirm cheaper than SG thai food!
Actually spent a lot of time working during this trip together with the team but of course it looks like 100% fun on Instagram cos we all know that Instagram is bluff people one ๐
That being said, we also spent quite a fair bit of time just enjoying the whole Bali experience, which includes the beautiful beaches!!! Drove out to Jimbaran beach for lunch one afternoon, and it was super nice. Blue waters, cool sea breeze, and the sound of the waves rushing in and hitting the shores. It's like calming spa music but the real deal!
And hor, I seriously cannot rave enough about…
THIS ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฝ
Where got corn so delicious one?? It was generously seasoned with some magic sauce that was super yummy! Abit savoury, abit sweet, abit buttery with a fragrant spicy taste. And the corn was juicy and crunchy!
Best corn I had in my life. We went back to Jimbaran beach a second time and bought the corn again but from a different vendor and it just didn't taste the same leh!
So if you go to Jimbaran beach, look for this corn-seller uncle. ๐โจ
Must try!!!
The grilled seafood at Jimbaran is also incredible!!! Go for lunch if you want a quieter experience but go for dinner if you wanna enjoy the sunset at the beach.
We did both and I think I prefer lunch cos once it gets dark you can't even see what you're eating ๐ And I prefer to see my food as I eat it. Multi sensory experience!
What Jimbaran Beach looks like at night! Very very crowded but it's sort of romantic except you really can't see what you're eating ๐ฅ
Lobster, crab, fish, prawns and calamari. Plus grilled chicken, mee goreng and all that for maybe $15 per pax? ไพฟๅฎๅฐ็
Don't forget to order a coconut during your meal too! I will never ever get sick of coconuts!!
Bali coconuts are not the small sweet thai ones, but they are still super refreshing and the flesh is so tender and soft when you get a good one!
I'm not kidding when I say the coconut was the size of my head. Can you imagine how much coconut water goodness it contained? ๐
I'm nuts for coconuts! ๐
Working in the pool: best work space ever hehehe!!
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We woke up early one fine morning to head to the beach to catch the sunrise.. Unfortunately, we got a little lost along the way and the sun was already rising magnificently when we decided to just look for the nearest spot we could to admire the morning rays.
It was so surreal!
Like a scene from Life of Pi… But better.
I love the rays of light looking so brilliant and clear. And that tiny sliver of crescent moon just hanging out there watching the magic happen.
Some people prefer mountains and some prefer the sea. I can't decide.. I just love nature no matter what.
But I think I have a tiny bias towards the sea! Because I love seeing wide open expanses of water. While mountains sometimes terrify me with how tall and powerful they are.
So gorgeous, right?
Smile-detect selfie with the GetKlarity team!!!
Went back "home" and stopped by McDonald's drive-thru for breakfast. Sausage McMuffin with Egg meal for $3!!! Sucha good deal.
It was extra yummy too! The muffin buns are softer somehow. Damn good lah.
On my first day in Bali, I got a pleasant surprise in my inbox, from a lovely lady from Axioo, which is only like the biggest wedding photography company in Indonesia?? She saw from my instagram that I was in Bali and emailed me….
To offer me a holiday photography session and of course I jumped at the opportunity!!! So so blessed!
Axioo is starting up a new holiday photography arm called "Sweet Escape", and lucky us got to be one of their first few clients!
Here's the crazy nice beach our photographer Donny brought us to.. It was like the perfect beach with blue skies, turquoise waters and white sand!
The sand is SOOO fine it's like powder. ๐
This beach is such a hidden gem cos I don't even know the name of the beach but it's super nice and not too crowded, plus in the afternoon (3-5pm) the sun light hits the water and the reflection from the blue skies makes the water look insanely gorgeous!
I'll teach you how to get there (if you ever go to Bali). Route your way to Grand Nikko Hotel & right before you reach Grand Nikko, there is a tiny one car wide little road with a BNI ATM machine which is where you should turn in (on the left)!
Super secluded. Would have totally missed it without directions from our photographer!
This road leads to the ultra stunning beach!
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It was a really fun shoot and Donny was so professional and fantastic to work with! I can't wait to see the photos from the shoot.
Apart from some crazy group shots where we got all wet and sandy, Donny also took some solo beauty shots for me *blushes* I feel like I got a peek into the life of my dear @Melissackoh but while I'm sure Mel feels totally natural and glamorous during shoots I felt quite awkward & act ไธไธช. Bwahaha. Luckily Donny is so encouraging & good at giving directions!
One of the hipster eating joints I have to recommend is Grocer and Grind! I was seriously not expecting such cool cafes/restaurants in Bali. But I swear the food at G&G blew our minds! I had the Super G burger (beef patty with cheese bacon egg pickles lettuce) & it was amazeballs!
Affordable by SG standards too!
This is my 2nd time in Bali & I remember the first time it kinda sucked cos I went in a tour group with my family. Enjoyed it so much more this time & realised that Bali is beautiful!