expiration date 

ari is helping me out in writing entries of this trip. this is one of his writings. thanks hon!

After breakfast at the Nasi Bali Restaurant, it was late morning when we decided to call up Pak Made to pick us up at the hotel. Luckily, he was available to take us around that day, off we went to the Bali Bird Park.

To be honest, I was only mildly interested when we decided to go to the Bird Park that day. But since Aina really likes birds, we decided to check it out, regardless. When we got the Bird Park, we were pleasantly surprised at the welcoming yet tranquil sight. It was clean, had all the necessary amenities, and the birds seemed lively - you can tell it’s very well managed.

Tasteful landscaping and manicured lawns for more than a few peacocks and other smaller land birds to roam freely.

The restaurant area was an open space that also held small hourly performances with the resident birds.

There were also enclosed areas for tropical birds in the region, as well as birds from all over the world.

There was even an owl enclosure made inside a tiny traditional Minangkabau house called “Rumah Gadang” in the middle of the park.

Overall, I think we agreed that the Bali Bird Park as good, if not better, than the Singapore one.

(more photos of Bali Bird Park).

Then we headed to Ubud for a late lunch at Ibu Oka’s for the legendary roast pig with all the trimmings. We were so hungry that we forgot to take pictures of the food. But it was heavenly… just as I remembered it. Thalia, who had never eaten here before, was ecstatic. Aina had the pork and vegetable soup, but couldn’t get enough of her shared bits of the pork, albeit a little spicy. The meal wasn’t much to look at, rather sloppily put together. But everything in it, the roast pork with crispy skin and spicy herb fillings, the pork intestine sausage, the spicy minced snake beans - they all worked so well together.

The best part was, as we were eating, we saw people ordering durian! So after our meal, we had the tastiest durians as desert. Mission accomplished!

We walked around Ubud after the meal and stumbled upon some really beautiful glimpses of nature down narrow alleyways and the entryway to Saraswati Temple.

We stopped at the Museum Puri Lukisan or the Balinese painting museum. Although it was under renovation and the sky was super cloudy, it still looked amazing. The paintings inside were even more mind blowing. Truly one of the finest collection of Balinese visual arts. Too bad we were not allowed to take pictures within the galleries.

(more photos of Ubud area).

After Ubud, we had barely enough time to rush west to Tanah Lot Temple to catch the sunset. The view was beautiful, but I wish the restaurants there served better food for the price they were asking, though.

(more photos of Tanah Lot Temple).