JJ in DPS 20th – 24th Jan 2023

So here we go again guys…

TheJTwins in Bali for Round#2.

So it must have been that Daddy and Mummy wanted to escape the harsh wintery cold in Korea from last month that they planned for a beach vacation in the tropics soon after!

Actually it appears Daddy, Grandpa and Gugu-J had it organized back in Oct so we have a little CNY get-together this year – a far cry from last year when borders were still shut, reunion dinner setup was 5-max per table, masks-on during Lo-Hei (how very odd and un-CNY-like!).

Well, no such problem now!

We get organized for an early pick up in the morning and JieJie and I hit the sack early the night before so we would all be bright eyed and bushy tailed.

#throwback to 2018 – our last trip to Bali.

No prizes for guessing where we’d be staying, we head back to the all-too-familiar Hilton Bali Nusa Dua, Benoa. Daddy and Mummy apparently had been to Bali few times (on one occasion whilst Gugu-J was here!) and prefer the Hilton over Marriot and Melia (all within the same Nusa Dua enclave). What better reason also since Grandpa-J is an ardent Hilton loyalist.

We arrive at Denpasar airport late morning and get picked up by the Hilton driver.

He spoke to Grandpa, Gugu and Daddy about some important (G20 back in Sep2022?) meeting recently in Bali when he drove some important people in his van (not in their ‘designated’ car codenamed ‘The B****’ flown in AF1/AF2 since that would have been way too obvious!). Daddy was apparently in the same seat as Mr. Joe (last name we won’t divulge!) We were obviously coaxed to take a pix!

Familiar surroundings…

Sprawling grounds and breath-taking backdrop amidst the Indian Ocean.

Buggy ride to the Nusa Dua lounge while waiting for the room to be ready.

 

Hanging out

 

Our originally booked Family King Deluxe which we camped out at for the first night.

We were subsequently upgraded to the Villas. Daddy says they must’ve been really kind (and hugely generous) since both rooms were accorded upgrades to the Villas, 5011 and 5012 both adjacent to each other (maybe thanks to Grandpa’s HH Diamond!).

There are even 2 outdoor showers! Like who would actually use one?

Buggy rides are cool but nothing beats the awesomeness of powering your own buggy!

On day 2, we drove to Ubud to see the Rice Fields
[Disclaimer: Rental car and obviously not the buggy].

Tegallalang Rice Terrace.

More pix…

Lunching mid-way at Ubud Swing restaurant before our almost 2 hour drive back to Nusa Dua.

While distance wise it was only some 40km away, the travel time was due to the narrow trunk roads cutting through different small segments of town (some were mainly making and selling rattan-ware/furniture, some glassware while others were peddling fruits/vegetables.

There’s still time to hit the beach before dinner.

CNY Reunion Dinner…

Playing pool after dinner – check out the original expert and her moves.

Early morning CNY Day CRABBING (originally planned for but dampened by the early morning downpour)…

We did head out eventually and (guess what?) rescued 2 fishes!

We did have a 2nd attempt at it the next morning, but unfortunately found nothing more than some nice(r) seashells. Thanks Gugu for being a sport and getting us up before 7!

CNY morning breakkie, thereafter more pool!

 

And remember the fishes at the lobby? Hello again!

CNY bai nian!

In the afternoon Yeh Yeh, Mah Mah, Gugu and Mummy head to the Mandara Spa while Daddy chaperone’s us… I think we had the better end of the stick, WOOO! BTW Daddy tries to coax us to go to the Jungle Kids Club! meh…

Jie Jie wanted to take this funny elephant looking water spout/tap…

While walking back to our villa, we spot an all too familiar face, oh hello! But look there’s an army of them! And they all look the same! Yikes! Beware the monkey troops have taken over!

Soon it was our final night (we call in dinner) and packed up for an early morning check out..

Rise and shine! Guess who’s the last to crawl out of bed?

Bags lined up for collection while we have breakkie at the Nusa Dua Lounge and waiting for our airport transfer.

Bags lined up for pickup!

See ya Bali, until the next round, Terima Kasih for yet another great trip, special shout out to Eka, Pak Bagus, Pak Kevin, Pak Ougy and Astuti for great service at Bali Hilton!

Bali, Indonesia (Feb 2018)

JJ in DPS 12th – 17th Feb 2018

Type: Camping in the hotel over CNY.

 

SQ946 departs Changi on time and arrives shortly into to DPS at 1946hrs.

Clearance was smooth and soon we were in the arrival terminal.

It was good to be back in Bali since Daddy and Mummy had been there previously and were hoping to bring the kids to the beach there one day. This was that ‘one’ day we had talked about previously. Couldn’t help however but notice the heat as we go out to the arrival area as we were greeted by our driver who would be bringing us to the hotel.

Traffic was not a concern at that hour and soon we were at the beautiful hotel grounds (couldn’t really take in the sights until the next day when we were finally able to explore the sprawling grounds!).

Photo credits Hilton Bali*

*Note this property was previously the Grand Nikko Bali till circa May2016 when it was acquired by and rebranded to the Hilton group.

Kids as usual lose no time in taking photos while Daddy J checks us in.

We get upgraded to a family room (with bunk beds and pool view).

I think we could have stayed in the room all day with the kids super excited about the double-decked bunks, climbing up and down, and (almost fighting) about who would get the top bunk. We finally agreed with alternating J1 and J2 every subsequent night 🙂

Got up to a nice breakfast the next morning post which we spent some time exploring the grounds. It was a huge hotel, with multiple pools (i think 4 spread across the site).

First stop of course was the Kids Club which we had read a lot about (2 levels – top floor with foosball, game consoles, board games, first floor with an outdoor and indoor area; the outdoor houses a wooden-decked playground, sandpit, rock-wall, trampoline and the indoor with a kids activity area*).

*The Kids Club runs multiple kids’ activities throughout the day – and even offers parents the opportunity to ‘drop’ your kids and optional kids’ lunch and dinner menus.

After couple of rounds on the foosball table, we decided to hit the beach!

Jon tries his hands (and legs) at rock-climbing the next day (part of the fixed-timing activities).

Kudos to the staff who were very helpful and supportive the whole time!

  

At the beach, we catch some hermit crabs… yummy (just kidding!). No crabs were hurt in the process!

We got a nice invite to attend the Manager’s Welcome Drinks Session the next day, which we happily accepted.

Had some nice canapés sipping Pina Colada and the Blue Fizzy drink by the pool after which we went for our own Chinese New Year Reunion dinner.

Part of the 5 most memorable experiences from the kids were ‘Drinking the Blue Drink by the Pool!*”

5 Best things about this trip (according to J Twins!) in cascading order.

5. Sipping Blue Fizz by the Pool!
4. Spending time with Daddy and Mummy!
3. Kids Club!
2. Beach!
1. Bunk beds!

 

Camel Feeding – also part of the Kids’ Club activities.

Overall, the 5 days here passed by swiftly! We had alternated between the following as part of our daily routine:

Breakfast – Kids’ Club – Beach/Pool – Nusa Dua Collection (10min shuttle bus ride away for lunch and shopping) – Beach/Pool… we also found some time towards the end for tennis with the kids!

Soon it was time to bid farewell to Bali.

Jo zooms off with the potter on the trolley back to the Lobby where Daddy J checks us out while we feed the kois in the pond around the lobby/foyer area.

 

Given our flight back home was early on Saturday morning (17th Feb), part of the plan was to relocate to Hilton Garden Inn (situated right next to the Denpasar airport!) which we transferred to after checkout on Friday. From here, it was a 5min Blue Bird taxi ride to Kuta Mall!