Postcards from Italy

It was an amazing adventure that started out from a DIY paint by number which I got to work on. It was a painting of an Italian Riviera. And I knew that I wanted to visit that painting. So starts the Italy trip planning, in the year 2013, for two weeks. And the key place of visit was the Cinque Terre, 5 towns that look like my painting. I just got back last week, and I am unsure how I should start the blog entry of my trip as there are still severe backlog of other things I have been meaning to blog about. But life is short, and I've decided to just do what I love as this is after all, my own personal blog. So I thought I'll start by sharing with you postcards from Italy. The two on top are of Vernazaa (right), and Riomaggiore (left), the two place that we stayed at in Cinque Terre. The photo was taken at an awesome jazz cafe at Manarola on one rainy afternoon while we were waiting for our train to take us back to Riomaggiore.

My mother has asked that I send her postcard while I was there, as I have cultivated a habit of sending postcards home from places I've visited in the past. She also does not have access to the internet, so postcards were a way for me to keep in touch with her while I am away. Postcards were cheap enough at Italy, you could get some for 50 cent Euro (SGD 0.85) or less. But the postage was ridiculously expensive, at 2 Euro(SGD 3.39)  per card! And it's not even a stamp! It's just a postage label sticker! Pist! I think I send a total of 7 cards home, 2 to myself, 5 to my parents. Luckily 2 of the postcards were sent from Vatican City which understood the concept of stamps. The postcards above are of Venice, and Burono (an island near Venice), and the photo was taken at a cafe at Rome Termini Station while we were waiting to check-in to our hostel.

This last photo was taken in Milan one rainy afternoon while we waited to visit the Last Supper which eventually was not open due to strikes. Somehow I like photos that documents the places that I've been. I did got some postcards from Milan, but those were the first batch, and I didn't manage to take a photo of them. Anyway, this one is taken with a Milan guide book I borrowed from the NLB in Singapore. I took along with me 3 guide books (Milan, Venice, and Rome). It's strange that there are always room for books in my bag even though I'm backpacking :)

It was a great trip. At some point I did get exhausted and missed home. But it is a privilege to be able to travel, and so I will love every minute of it and not complaint. I should target to backpack for one month next time, before my body gets too weary from old age. I love the fact that after one week of backpacking, my arms and legs were all shaped up nicely.

Stay tune as I slowly reveal more photos from my trip. Cheers.

Ubud Food - Bebek Bengil (a.k.a Dirty Duck Dinner)

Ubud is famous for ducks, and Dirty Duck is a must try when you're there. It's located south of Ubud central, and it's probably the most expensive meal we had while we were there. It's basically slowly smoked duck. But it's so famous that the location of the restaurant looks like a typical tourist trap. We probably spend around SGD 40 to SGD60 there? Can't quite remember, but to me, it was way too expensive for my taste.

As per recommended by the internet, get a private hut, and go during the evening to watch the sunset. When we went there in May 2013, we didn't care where we sat. The whole restaurant look like a private villa with it's own garden, pond, and padi field view.

But basically this is what you will be there for, the dirty duck set which we ordered came with a whole duck, vegetable, satay, two drinks, crackers, and white rice. We ordered additional drinks (rice wine) which probably pushes the price up. To be honest, the satay there was really really nice! That was the only reason I went back for the second time 2 years later. But frankly, I think this place only deserve one visit, cause there are way more cheap and delicious food all over Ubud. By the way, note that the Ubud Food blog series only blog on local Bali food. We didn't try any "foreign" food as there wasn't any point traveling to a foreign country only to eat food you are familiar with is it? If you do that, shame on you!

Ubud Food - Ibu Oka Babi Guling (Roast Pork Rice)

 The very first meal we had in this wonderful place was the Ibu Oka Babi Guling which is smack in the center of town. It's almost just opposite from the central market/palace/temple. You can't really miss it. As kiasu travelers, the internet warned that we should be there by 1030am to watch the coming of the pigs. And so even though after a heavy breakfast from our homestay, we made sure we were there by 1030am. Below is a photo of the location for your reference.

 I thought it would be interesting to do a process photo on the making of the babi guling. You can see freshly slaughtered pigs being transported to be cooked. In fact, you can hear the killing of pigs in the early morning or evening as well if you know what it sounds like. The pig are then roast and arrive being hand carried on a motorcycle as per the second photo. It is then delivered to the shop. So if you just hang around the road where the shop is, you will see continuous parade of roast pig arriving.

Tour bus also arrive continuously, and you can see tourist and locals digging into the roast pork rice. If I remember correctly, it's rather affordable, maybe around SGD2.80 per standard set? This photo below shows a complete balance meal, with vegetable and roast pork on it. Somehow the meal was too herb intensive for me, but I don't mind eating once in a while.

Italy Trip Itinerary

This is what my Italy trip looks like at a glance. This is the plan stage of it. I'll blog out the actual happening once I'm back. Why Italy? Because of the food, and because of Cinque Terre. Initially I was even thinking of skipping Rome all together, but thought it rather silly if I flew all the way there and not visit the Vatican or see the Colosseum.

Here is an overview of my trip, (I'll link up the blog entries as I go along)
1-Nov (Friday) - Flight to Milan
2-Nov (Saturday) - Milan Duomo
3-Nov (Sunday) - Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza (1 arrival), (2 hiking to Monterosso), (3 dusk), (4 church)
4-Nov (Monday) - Cinque Terre: Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore (1 Pier), (2 Town), (3 Hillside)
5-Nov (Tuesday) - Venice
6-Nov(Wednesday)- St Mark's Square
7-Nov(Thursday)- Rigoletto
8-Nov(Friday)- Venice
9-Nov(Saturday)- Rome Walk: Spanish Step, Trevi Fountain
10-Nov(Sunday)- Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
11-Nov(Monday)- Colosseum
12-Nov(Tuesday)- Vatican City
13-Nov(Wednesday)- Rome
14-Nov(Thursday)- Milan
15-Nov(Friday)- Last Supper
16-Nov(Saturday)- Milan
17-Nov (Sunday) - Reach Singapore

Extra:
Accommodation

Flight: Finaire
Train: Trenitalia
Accommodation: Hostelworld

Ubud Name Card

Sometimes I use this blog as a storage space for my memories. Instead of keeping the physical name cards, I'll take a photo and transform the information to softcopy and upload it here for sharing, as well as for referring to in future. So let me tell you a little about each of these cards here.

From top left, Kue is a bakery/cafe show at the north east side of Ubud. Its a nice place to just chill in the afternoon. The serve wonderful vegetarian felafel there. The serving is so big you will have no space for the wonderful desserts they serve!

Below that is Warung Babi Guling, central north of Ubud. I don't really like it as it's kinda herb-ish for me, but its good to try.

To the right is Warung Lada, I love the black sauce chicken there, and it's a great place for lunch or dinner. Sit at the 2nd floor and you have a nice view of the streets below. I love staring out of the window from this warung.

Rai Pasti is also another place I keep going back to for it's Bebek Goreng (fried duck). It's on Monkey Forest street, and the restaurant is facing a small padi field. Great place for dinner and watching the sunset. Love the sambel that comes with the Bebek Goreng. I think they raise the price the last time I went (May 2013). But it's still affordable and offers great food!

Nasi Ayam Kedewatan is somewhere west of Ubud I think, not to sure as our host Dewa took us there via car. Nice atmosphere for breakfast, and not too expensive.

While I was there alone, I had my first pedicure at Verona Spa, a little alley at Monkey Forrest. I couldn't find it again when I went back in May 2013. It's only like SGD7 for a pedicure. It was the first time I had my feet filed off all its dead skin. Kinda embarrassing, but a wonderful feeling. Somehow my pedicure always last like a month, so it was definitely worth it for me. The bright red color lasted a long time as I couldn't bare to wash it off after.

Bottom is Jati Home card, the place I stayed at both time. Cost for a double room was 250,000 (SGD27.25) per night, and single room was 200,000 (SGD21.80) per night, breakfast included at a lovely homestay overlooking a padi field. Somehow the serenity wasn't there any more when we went back in May 2013 as where we once hear the sound of toad and birds in the middle of the night, we now hear jazz music and pop songs from nearby night places. Sad really.

Lastly is Fukutaro Japanese Restaurant. I know what you're thinking, Japanese food in Bali? And 2ndly, is it safe? Well I had extra cash on my first trip there, and since I was early in the airport, I decided to give myself a treat and went in here. They had the mince tuna rice I love so much, so I ordered one. And just to be safe from food poisoning, I ordered a coke to kill any germs from the raw fish. I think the lady serving me asked if I would like anything else, and I ordered the karaage (friend chicken). It was like the best tune minced meat rice and karaage I ever ate outside of Japan! It was that good for me! Would highly recommend this place if you have time to kill in the airport.

Yes, it has been more than 2 years since my first trip to Ubud, but I'm still slowly blogging about it. Planning a trip, and blogging about it after the trip is my way of stretching the trip to last longer than it actually is.