<< bAcKtRack..may09 :: pLaygRound bubba sHrimp..

i was talking to my good friend rai last night & he mentioned bubba gump…
he reminded me of the crazy pictures that i have owed him from then… 😛

tonight….strangely the taste of “fried can of trash” came back to me…
i decided to dig in my folders for that moment that i missed…

i miss the badminton drinks + dessert menu…

i miss the menu..
including everything in the menu..

i miss the silence that doesn’t feel awkward among friends..

as we waited for dinner…

and still waiting..

good old bintang..
(not mine!!)

something something which i alwaus order when i am there…
but i can only remember what it is when i am there… 😛

and it’s huge….

rai & his “alcoholic” tee shirt..
zoning out…

zoning in…

me giving rai the “are you sure you want to eat my food” look…

fun of the restaurant..

the “bucket of trash”…
love the shrimps & everything junkie in it!!…
(comfort food)

some fancy cajun fish thingy…

forrest rai..

the signature forret shoes…
got to get a pair of those if you want to be a forrest… 😛

and the day of fun ends with a crazy shot…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: h!ppY sHop…

it sure was an interesting sight down the quiet & not so busy road at sanur..
a mobile shop..literally…
it drives around selling you things…
not even like what we had in singapore before…
the container stores which were short term…
and they don’t move… 😛

i must say i was quite impressed with the space inside…
& the ventilation…
although the stuff being sold aren’t necessary the real stuff ….(should i say….oddments?..)
it was still fun checking it out…
i thought the owner will sell more “designeeeeeee” stuff…
but then again…this is bali…and a small town in bali…

yupz…that’s april & her “chan-nel”!!…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: sApi wOnderLaNd..

i have never seen such beautiful cows..
their skin certainly look better than mine!!…

this place by the beach where they live…
sure beats any farmhouse…
we were just walking on the main road when we bump into an opening & walked in…
to stumble upon this heaven of the cows…

i never really have any urge to want to touch a cow when i see one befor.e..
but these…are just so beautiful…
look at the shine on their skin!!…
like they have a beautiful tan…

yupz…a picture to remember sanur petting zoo by…

so what lies ahead of us to discover?…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: tHe aMusH..

my colleagues turned friends april & inez were coming to bali to join me on my 2nd week of holidays…
it’s funny how the 3 of us come together in office…
anyway…what matters most is that we figure out that we all eventually can hang out…
also a good chance to really know each other better..
like they all say..
travelling together is the best way to know a person better..
because all the “colours” will come out like in chromatography….(ok..i know i have said this before..)

the night kenn left…
april & inez were coming the next morning…
rai & i decided to “welcome” them to bali… 😉

first sighting of april…
i was hiding behind the pillar…
& rai was sent to “welcome” them… 😛

“welcome to bali!!”…
rara!!….rara!!…………..rara!!……rara!!……

that was it…

inez’s excitement over her long awaited holiday…
but her strategy proved to bring her a long way…
sleep now play later!!…hahaha…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: we meet aGaiN…

ervin & i are bonded by the physical distance between us…
we got really close in a very casual way the last time i was here in bali & i was invited to visit her home town back in central java…
her family became mine from then on…
it is such a beautiful thing..
distance & language didn’t keep us apart…
the true beauty of it all…

this trip round..we had so much fun…
& shared some private times of private talks together…
we were to take loads of pictures…
so that my new god parents back in central java can have a look of me & how i am getting along… 😛
yeah..me & my new hair…
(in the process of growing it back to the helmut!!)…

i always miss her when we part…
it’s like we seemed to have such good chemistry…to talk about anything & everything…
i like to hear her opinion from her perspective..
how she will deal with certain issues…
how she has overcome the ups & downs in life…
somehow..solutions & words of wisdom are so much more simplified…
like it’s just there…
sometimes i will wonder why do my thoughts go so haywire…

besides all the serious stuff..
there’s of course all the shopping & eating tips we share..
the fun part!!… 😉

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: tHe cHildRen of bALi…

children just have their magic on people…
and i supposed..some adults like to abuse this magic…

there’s only so much i can do for them…
buying a postcard…some souvenirs..more sarongs…

i will like to think it’s because they are being forced by circumstances to do what they do..
but i hope that they will be some good returns for these children at the end of the day…
as long as they are not being abused…given a proper home to live…
going through some hard times might actually do them a little good…

to appreciate life more maybe?…
to not take things in life for granted maybe?…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: lOv!Ng pAdang bai

as much as this place has seldom been highly recommended..
the waters in padang bai has never fail me…

it’s good that the journey there isn’t so long as well..
maybe i should consider doing more dives there next time..
i feel that i always try to cover a lot of places..but never had enough time to really understand or see more of it…
(just like nusa penida..i think i should do like a 3 days straight at nusa penida next round…i am just so loving the mantas.. 😀 )

it was really a good beginning..
a turtle welcomed us the moment we got into the water..

turtles…i haven’t seen them for the longest time..
they were amongst the first friends i meet when i was doing my open water course in manado..
i can’t be more lucky.. 😉
i think since then…the 1 other time i met them was in thailand..

i love anemones..
especially if i can find some friends living in them..
like a small crab…if not some shrimps..

hotties of padang bai..
the scorpion fish…
a white one this time..

fire sea urchins…
i can’t believe how amazing they look until i saw them with my own eyes first time here in padang bai as well some time last year..
i saw a few this time round..

but only 1 of them has the hitch hikers on..
the coleman shrimps..

i love cuttlefish!!..
i think they are so cute..
like just some floating device moving around..
love it when they change color in the water..
this one i meet is actually pretty big… :O

a stargazer..
beautiful name isn’t it?..
don’t expect too much when you meet one…hmmmm…
a scorpion fish?..a stone fish?…
the family of “uranoscopidae” apparently…(google says so)…
the ability to camouflage is definitely its forte..

i have met puffer fish..porcupine fish…box fish..
of all sorts…shapes & sizes…
but this is the first time i ever seen a puffer fish puffed up..

so funny right???…i don’t know why but i keep imagining it to be like a tennis ball in slow motion when in the water…
someone ever told me that in a puffer fish’s lifetime..they can only puff up twice…
but i just did a google &….
it seems like it’s just another urban myth…

octopus…
they always give me the feeling of being unfriendly & aggressive..
(yeah..i was actually fighting with this one with my pointer…)
i think it’s because of their gives & its body form which seemed to give the feeling of “superiority” over other sea creatures..

1 of my favourite shot in this entire trip..
the eyes of the eel already feel very unreal to me…
the feel of this shot seemed to even more surreal..

both of us really happy with our last dive of the trip…
(since tulamben this time round was quite a disappointment…oh well…)

so when will i be back again?..
soon i hope..
want to meet the coleman shrimps in the fire sea urchin again… 😉

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: avOcaDo..hmmmmmmm…

my favourite drink in bali…
(besides lemon C for my daily dosage of supposed vitamin C & papaya juice which is supposed to “regulate” me)..

it’s not often that i find that in singapore..
and it’s not really that cheap too..

i was really surprised when rai told me there are a lot of avocados in bali..
and it’s really not very expensive because it’s easily perishable..
they look a little different from the usual ones from america..
a lot bigger i must say… 😛
they are dark brown or dark freen in color..
and they come in odd shapes..some are round…some are more elongated…

the creaminess of a avocado juice…hmmmmmmm…
a different kind of high…
when drink without sugar but with a hint of sweetness from the chocolate condensed milk..
nice nice nice…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: kEnn tHe not so v!rgiN…

kenn the bali virgin certainly isn’t a rookie when it comes to shopping..
he actually beat me to it in our 1 day out to kuta..

want to see how well he did?…

project :: r!ch fArmers iii :: i heArt mAntas…

no..they are not that ones who ate steve erwin..
(btw..these sea creatures are as afraid of you as you are afraid of them)..

mantas are the only thing not on land that can take my breath away..
literally…
like i will almost forget to breathe..haha..
the sight of them makes me clam…which of course helps to regulate my breathing so that i can stay below longer to watch them..