Chrysanthemum

New tatt who this. Thank you Yande from Conscious Arts Tattoo Ubud for the ink!

So I didn't just go to Bali for a holiday... But to also get a tattoo! Anyway here's the story.

I've been wanting to get a chrysanthemum inked on my body for a long time, and I guess now it's the right time. I would say it's a symbolic one too. Now that we're closing the flower farm (in fact we're doing our last delivery next month-ish I think). Also it's sort of a reminder of the past 10 years of my life. And the last 3 years too, where this chapter of my life slowly comes to a close.

When I went back home for good 10 years ago, I never expected myself to land among the flowers. I watch them grow, bloom and slowly die in the past 3 years. The past 3 years was really something that is unexpected. But somehow all the timing makes me realise, there is a reason why I landed among the flowers. So yes this tattoo serves as a farewell gift for this chapter of my life.

In Buddhism flower is a symbol of impermanence. It's a reminder that nothing lasts, like how a flower will wilt one day. So it's quite funny how people think that flower offerings are something beautiful but deep inside there's a deeper meaning to it! This tattoo serves a reminder of impermanence. I mean who would expect whatever happened in the past 3 years. No one expected it, no one wanted it. But it came and altered everything that came on its path. Life is a constant change. Nothings stays forever.

I never expected to land among the flowers

The flowers have taught me a lot of lessons. But one of the biggest lessons I learned is the idea that you cannot stop a flower from blooming. Just like how you can't stop life from unravelling what it has in store for you. I learned this back 4 years ago when our flowers began blooming 1 month before their expected date. And I realised... There's nothing we can do. There's no use crying over them, cursing them or so on. They just bloom, and they will continue blooming.

I would say this is a beautiful metaphor, teaching, and reminder that you can't stop things that are meant to happen for you in life. And as Alan Watts said: no amount of anxiety will make a difference to what is going to happen. But for me I've also learned that no amount of hope, despair, anger, sadness and so on will stop the things that are meant for you to happen in life. So live your life bravely, go on with courage. have faith, keep going - cause you can't stop the flower from blooming.

This is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's also reality. It's the truth. There's no way you can go around trading it or changing it with something else. 

Anyway I got this tattoo at Conscious Arts Tattoo in Ubud. I actually found them a few years ago from Instagram cause I follow tattoo hashtags haha. I like their designs so I thought of getting inked at their studio. I got inked by Yande. I love his works! I actually wanted to get a tattoo of a top view of this chrysanthemum flower but he recommended this angle instead, which makes sense cause you can see the flower blooming from this angle but not really from the top. So yeah trust your tattoo artists hah.

The tattoo took 1.5 hours (with 10 minute break) and the consultation took about 30-45 minutes ish. Well now I know how it feels to get inked for this long. I think I can do a sleeve mwahaha. Once again thank you Yande for this tattoo! If you want to get a tattoo and you're in Ubud, do check them out!

Alright that's all from me and this trip to Bali. I don't have any ideas for my next tattoo yet. But I still want to get a sleeve done haha. Hopefully I'll get some inspiration and ideas soon heh. See you again Bali!

Bali Trip 2023 - Solo

I think one of the greatest things life has gifted me is the love for solitude
(That's not me, although I wish I can have a picture like this taken haha)

This is kind of a random post but it's just a collection of thoughts about traveling solo.

A lot of people are kind of weirded out that I went to Bali alone. Some people even thought I'm "lying" and that I'm actually meeting someone (like a partner HAHAHA I wish) in Bali. But actually I mean... I'm quite used to doing things alone. And traveling alone. I mean since 2013, I've been traveling by myself haha. And in fact, I miss this a lot! After 6 years I finally get to do it again.

Perhaps it's because I've been doing many things alone since my days in Singapore. So I'm fine with being alone. But actually I think I'm just a lover of solitude. I like being alone, and I think there's nothing wrong with that. I even have that philosophy that if I can't be happy alone, what makes me think that I can be happy with someone else haha. Sounds morbid, but I'm a strong believer of independence.

I think one of the greatest things that life has gifted me is the love for solitude. Although as I grow older, I now prefer being alone in "quiet places". I start to feel out of place being alone in crowded places. Perhaps it's just age haha. This is why like I don't really go to music festivals now. I'll still go to concerts of my favourite artists though. So like if you give me a choice, I'd rather go to a mountain alone than to go to a music festival haha. I search for peace and solitude now.

The thing I love about traveling alone is... There's gonna be less drama haha. Well of all the trips I went with people there's no drama obviously! But by traveling solo, you're going to eliminate this problem hah. And I feel free to do whatever I want. Eat whatever I want to eat. Go to places I want to go. With a group, there needs to be a consensus and therefore we won't be as free as this hah.

Also about food, since I'm a vegetarian, I don't want to trouble people to accommodate to my diet when traveling. So yeah there's that. Unless of course I go with a fellow vegetarian :P

But the thing is yeah I love traveling solo. Did I ever feel lonely when traveling? Not really. I feel wild and free haha. Although well uhh I did wish that one day I will get to travel with someone else, my partner and other half or something. But for now I'll just continue traveling solo.

Anyway after this short trip I think I'm going to make Bali a yearly trip! You know, just 3 days of traveling in Bali and being alone and refreshing and recharging. I have plans to explore other parts of Bali. I'm thinking of going to spend a weekend at Uluwatu next year. Or go to Ubud (there's so many gems over there!). To be honest I think 3 days is not enough. 4 days will be more ideal. I'm thinking like 2D1N in Ubud, and 2D2N in a beach area. Cause I love beaches.

Alrighty that's all from me. Hoping to make this yearly trip to Bali a reality! 

Bali Trip 2023 - Food

Right now to continue about the trip, let me talk about the food I had in Bali! So as mentioned in my previous post, I decided to make this trip a relaxing one. Like I literally only have 2 objectives/goals in my mind for this trip: that is to relax, and to try all the vegan food (that I want to try). I didn't go and do touristy stuff or go to many places. It's simply a trip to chill and relax heh. 

So I didn't have many places in mind except for the places that I know through Instagram (where I see many people eating haha). Most of the places that I visit are actually found from Google heh. I just typed "vegan food" and many of them pop out. I did a list of places that I want to try, and I plan my days according to them. What to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Man, it's such an awesome trip. All I think about is what to have for food later! Hahaha.

Anyway here are the list of places that I went to in order!
- Pels Supershop (Canggu)
- Dreamwaves Doughnut (Canggu)
- I Am Vegan Babe (Canggu)
- Manggis @ Canggu
- Sayuri Healing Food (Ubud)
- Moksa (Ubud)
- Secret Spot (Canggu)
- Gelato Secret (Canggu)
- Kynd Community (Seminyak)

All of the food at these places look amazing. But one of the cons of traveling solo is... I wish I could try all of them, but well yeah, I only have one stomach. So I just ended up ordering whatever I feel like eating there. Most of the time however I would ask for the staff recommendations! 

So here goes the vegan food that I ate during my trip to Bali.

The Pels burger and their chocolate tart. So good!

So I went to Pels Supershop at Canggu for my day 1 lunch. I had their burger and it's super good! One of the best vegan burgers I've ever eaten. The patty is made from beans, beet and grains and they're juicy, flavourful, and the cheese binds everything together. I wasn't full yet so I decided to have their chocolate tart too and it's wonderful as well. The best Asian rating for dessert: not too sweet.

Eating doughnuts by the beach is definitely a wonderful dream

Next I went to Dreamwave Doughnuts for a mini doughnut picnic by Canggu beach. I was spoilt for choices! All of the doughnuts look so good I wish I could eat all of them haha. So I asked the staff for recommendations and their best seller is the banoffee pie and chocolate fudge. Their kemangi (basil) pistachio caught my eyes too. Since I'm on a holiday, I have decided to forget diet and ordered three haha. And yup, all of them are amazing. My favourite is the kemangi pistachio though!

Marinara pasta with vegan prawns. What's a trip to Bali without coconut!

After burning off the doughnut calories (hopefully) by walking down the beach, I went to I Am Vegan Babe for dinner. I see a lot of people eat here on IG haha so I wanna try! I was however quite bloated from the doughnut. I wanted to try their burger but the table beside me ordered it at it looks super huge. So I opted for the marinara pasta with vegan prawns! I also ordered their creamy mushroom baguette for starter and they're amazing as well. I think there's a hint of sherry wine in there. And to top it all off, what's a trip to Bali without coconut water mwahaha.

Tofu scramble and hot chai to start the morning

Manggis is one of the cafes that I wanted to try in Ubud, but I know I won't have the time. So I was very happy to see that they opened a branch in Canggu! And it's like a 5 minute walk from my hotel haha. So I visited them for Day 2 breakfast. Are you really a vegan if you don't have tofu scramble for breakfast? That's what I had mwahaha. It's super tasty and hearty. And my goodness the portion size is super generous. And I wash it off with a cup of chai. Beautiful breakfast.

This raw vegan key lime pie is amazing! 

While waiting for my tattoo appointment I went to Sayuri Healing Foods at Ubud. They're famous for their raw cakes and dishes Man, all of their cakes look super amazing! I don't know which to choose but their raw vegan key lime pie caught my eyes. I had a slice of that with their ginger and lemon cooler (cause the weather was hot). I have to come back to try the rest of their cakes! I wanted to like visit them after my tatt but it was getting late and I wanted to catch the sunset so... Next time I guess :')

Moksa signature sampler platter and raw vegan cheese platter

Next up is Moksa at Ubud. This is a restaurant that is high on top of my list cause I've seen a few videos on YouTube and the food looks incredible! There's also famous for many of their raw food. Continuing with my raw vegan adventure, I decided to get there raw vegan cheese platter for starter, their Moksa Signature Raw sampler platter, and their passionfruit cheesecake for dessert. And my goodness it's amazing! Okay let me breakdown the food for you.

Cheese + grape is amazing. Their cute raw vegan lasagna haha.
Raw vegan food always amazes me.

So I sadly forgot the types of vegan cheeses but I know there's jack pepper, blue cheese and cheddar I think. I can't believe these are vegan and raw. Cause they taste super cheesy and creamy. Pair it with the grape and raw cracker. Yum. For the sample platter it's pretty great as well. I love their raw lasagna which is made from zucchini and raw vegan bechamel sauce. There's one salad in the platter as well and the dressing is amazing! Again, sorry I forgot the name of the samplers haha.

Moksa raw vegan passionfruit cheesecake. Hands down best cheesecake I've tried!

And the highlight of the meal is the raw vegan passionfruit cheesecake. Which is the best vegan cheesecake I've eaten. It's super well balanced, and I can't believe the crust is raw?! Like it's super caramelly, it has a nice depth of flavour and it pairs the raw cheesecake filling. 10/10 meal!

Last dinner in Bali at Secret Spot. Generous portion, fulfilling meal!

Okay for my last dinner in Bali I decided to go to Secret Spot. Okay there's a few choices that I have actually. I wanted to go to Warung Pande Vegan for some traditional Bali food but it was closing soon. And there's a few others I want to check out as well. But I decided to stick with Secret Spot. Once again I asked for their recommendation and I went with their Southwest chickn bowl. It's a tofu fritter on a bad of salad. And also their cauliflower wings. They're good and super filling!

Tofu benedict with tempeh bacon! Definitely coming back here.

Last but not least for my last proper meal in Bali, I had breakfast at Kynd Community. They're another spot I've been wanting to try and wow their place is super lovely! Love the pink touch and white palette of the restaurant. I was spoiled for choice once again but decided to have their tofu benedict with tempeh bacon and it was very yummy! The tempeh bacon is amazing. I have to come back to try their other dishes too cause everything sounds supper yummy heh.

And that is all for my food adventure in Bali! Well I did have some gelato and cake, and also the lumpiang at Berawa beach haha. Canggu is definitely a vegan paradise. So many vegan eateries and I think most of the others have vegan options too. I think it's great if you can travel with friends so that you can share a bunch of them together. But well, I'm a solo travel lover so I will make do with that. I can't wait to go back to Bali again and try many other foods especially the ones in Ubud!

Till next time Bali, my stomach will wait patiently hah.

Bali Trip 2023 - Day 3

After a night of partying, the balcony in the morning was super quiet heh
Good morning Canggu, and yes it's a lovely stay with you

Right it's finally the last day of my trip. It was a pretty chill day for me, albeit a bit rushed towards the end haha, once again, it's time management issue hah. Anyway I didn't have any plans for today except for: trying Kynd Community (a vegan cafe), buying stuff back. That's it! So I started my morning quite late at about 9 AM. I took a Grab to Kynd at Seminyak. It was also an interesting Grab experience as it's an electric motorcycle! Super quiet and it was a nice ride on a Sunday morning.

The infamous pink wall at Kynd!

I had my breakfast at Kynd, and yes all the food look so good. I was spoilt for choice haha. But I ended up choosing something simple - their tofu benedict with bacon tempeh! The bacon tempeh was really good. And as usual, I washed it all off with chai haha. I finished breakfast at about 11 I think and booked a Grab car to Denpasar. To go to Titiles, which is a famous shop selling pork products heh.

When you're a vegetarian but you're also a filial son and brother
who buys pork ham for your parents and siblings

They're famous for their pork ham, which is something my family always get when we go to Bali or when someone goes to Bali. I know I'm a vegetarian but I'm also a filial son and brother. Of course I have to get them haha. Oh also I was told by my sister not to get shocked if I see wild animals on their shop. And lo and behold, why is there a cute deer chilling at the entrance of the shop hahaha.

I finished my ham shopping at 12, this is when I was dilemmatic. So I was wondering if I should finish all my shopping now, and go back to my hotel, pack them up inside my bag (I brought a separate bag), and leave for the airport. Or, if I should go back to my hotel now and chill out for a while before I go to this huge ass shop near the airport to buy more stuff while on the way to the airport.

The first option sounds a bit weird direction wise as it means I would have to make 2 trips. The second option sounds more feasible, and I decided to go with it. BUT. Once again I underestimated Bali's Sunday traffic haha. Okay I will tell you why on a later part of the post.

Last meal of the trip in Bali :( Biscoff cheesecake and iced chai!

So I went back to my hotel from Denpasar. The ride took about 45 minutes I think. I arrived back at the hotel at 1 PM, and decided to kill time at Manggis again with a slice of their biscoff cheesecake and, you guessed it, chai. I went back to my hotel and booked a Grab Driver. Basically you book a driver by the hour (minimum 3 hours I think) and you can go anywhere within this limited time. I found a driver at 2:30 PM. He's a lovely driver and we talk along the way.

I asked him if it's enough time (I have to be at the airport by 4 PM) to shop and stuff and he said it should be fine. Well it was fine, I reached that shopping place at about 3 PM but... I forgot it's a Sunday and everyone was flying back. So the shop was kinda full. Thankfully I know what I wanted to get (no shopping heh, I just grabbed what I needed). And also thankfully they have a cardboard packing option! And they even have a delivery option! But I was running out of time, so I just packed them up.

Time check it was 3:30 PM, I still have one shop to go as the thing I was looking for wasn't sold here. But thankfully the shop is like right before the airport so we went there again. And lo and behold, another queue! HAHAHA. But anyway I managed to reach the airport at 4 PM. And I took Lion air this time, and uh huh, all of their counters were snaking long. My goodness hahaha. In a stroke of "luck" however, my flight got delayed. But whew, I was rushing my ass off in that afternoon.

Which brings me to my previous point, I should have chosen the first option. I think I could have done all my shopping in the noon and went back to my hotel. At least I won't feel so rushed haha. But oh well you learn new things every travel! Alright another post for this, I wanna talk about it!

Anyway yes my flight was supposed to be at 17:30 but when I reached my gate, it was still full of people and the screen wasn't showing my flight number. My flight ended up flying at 6:30 PM I think. It was a smooth flight, and I had a great drive back home too with no jams.

That is all for my trip to Bali! It's a great trip I must say. A trip that is long awaited and I feel it's a trip I deserve. I don't wanna sound mystical and spiritual but somehow the universe "pushes" me to go for this trip heh. From the sudden change of date, to the ease of ticket and hotel search (mind you it was a long weekend!) a week before the trip, and the wonderful weather and more. I came with the goal of just relaxing and taking a break. And at the end of this trip, that's what I felt.

Well I'm not gonna miss you Bali. For I think we'll see each other more often, hopefully!

More posts coming sooooon.

Bali Trip 2023 - Day 2

Alrighty time to continue on day two! I saved day two for something special and I was leaving for Ubud on this day! But err things didn't go to plan in the beginning haha. So I really had a great sleep the night before. I think I slept from like 9-10 PM ish till 7. Actually I overslept! Haha. My plan was to leave my hotel at 7, have breakfast at 730 and leave for Ubud at 8-ish. My plan was to walk along the Campuhan ridge. But yeah I woke up at 7 and ended up having breakfast at 8.

Good morning Canggu from Manggis. Chai all day, everyday.

I went to Manggis which is another vegan cafe near my hotel. They're actually located in Ubud but I'm so happy that they opened a branch in Canggu! And it's so near my hotel haha. I had some tofu scramble and oh yes, I drank chai in almost every meal when I was in Bali haha. Seize the chance baby! I finished my breakfast at about 9 and booked a Grab to Ubud. Thankfully I found a driver that grabbed my booking (pun intended). He's a lovely driver and we chatted along the way.

And... This was when I realised I should have left Canggu earlier. Cause it took us 1.5 hours to reach Ubud! Hahaha. Okay lesson learned, should Google my trip beforehand. We left Canggu at 9 and I reached at about 1030. Went to Sayuri Healing Foods first to try their raw cheesecake. It's super gooood! I need to come back to Ubud to try the rest of their cakes and food haha.

Ubud Grab Bike adventure and Moksa at Ubud. Lovely restaurant!

At 11... I did something special. Okay shall not spoil it for you but I got a new tattoo mwahaha. Separate post for this! My tattoo session was 2 hours (including consultation). I finished at about 1:30 PM and I went to grab lunch at Moksa. This is a restaurant I've been wanting to try and I'm glad I finally did! Although as usual, I wish I have 3 stomachs to try all of their food heh.

Lovely paddy field and prayer altar in front of Moksa

Lunch was delicious! It was about 3 PM when I finished lunch and I made my way back. Okay here's a funny story. So like most other people out there I relied on Google Map to go around when traveling. I was trying to find my way to the main road where I thought it'll be easier for me to find a Grab. I asked a local too about how to go to the main road and she told me to follow this path (also similar to G Maps). So I just followed her directions and go straight. Upon reaching "the main road"... 

One of the best part of traveling - finding a gem while getting lost

It turned out to be a beautiful small paved road that is just enough for a motorcycle haha. But wow the view around me is beautiful! To my left and right are paddy fields. The sky was a clear blue (and also hot) and I had a lovely walk! I thought it was a "compensation" for not being able to walk on the Campuhan ridge haha. Although my newly tattooed arm was also stinging and sore haha. 

The end of the road lead to this, but I made it out to a housing complex haha

Anyway I reached the end of the road and it lead to a small village path, and I eventually made my way to a housing complex haha. But that's where I found a minimarket and booked my Grab heh.

Beautiful end to this trip. Thank you Bali!

Anyway I made my way back to Canggu. Reached at about 430 PM I think. I took a shower and cleaned my tattoo (which was amazingly painful haha). I headed straight to the beach again for my last beach walk of the trip! This time round I went to the north. From Berawa Beach > Nelayan Beach > Canggu Beach > and tiny bit above that. The weather was better than the day before.

One of the rare times where I feel at bliss, and at peace.

The sky was blue, the sea breeze was super lovely and sunset was amazing. As usual I put on music on my ears and just walked and walked and walked. There was a tiny bit of beach further up north from Canggu Beach (I think it's still Canggu Beach) and I sat there to journal while watching the sun set. It was in this moment that I feel really grateful that I went for this trip. That I managed to fully enjoy myself in the past 30 hours or so. I felt bliss wash over me as the sea breeze was blowing, and the sky was painted in hues of orange and gold. Such a lovely feeling.

Finally some gelato. And beer.

I made my way back to Canggu Beach as the sky was getting dark. Booked another Grab to Gelato Secret as my aunt recommended me to try some gelato in Canggu haha. Had the only vegan option which was mango sorbet and cappuccino oatside gelato! Then I booked another Grab to Secret Spot for dinner. Had a lovely dinner there and decided to try Kura Kura beer. Another beer I've been wanting to try haha. I bought some cakes to go to have them in my room. That's all for day 2!

It was 9 PM by the time I reached my hotel. You know you're no longer "young" when you decided to spend the rest of the night in your hotel room eating cakes and sipping tea haha. It was kinda ironic as I could hear the blasting sound of music from 2 music clubs at the balcony of my room. But well I think I've passed that age of partying and clubbing. Eating cake at balcony and drinking tea is lovely.

*inserts this is fine meme* 

Bali Trip 2023 - Day 1

Okay so lets start with day one of my trip!

I arrived in Bali on Friday 2nd of June at 1030 AM ish. I took a Batik Air flight (my first!) from Jakarta and it was a very smooth flight. I took Grab from the airport and went straight to my hotel. The ride took about an hour and I arrived at 12. Way too early for check in. I stayed at Citadines at Berawa, which is a beautiful hotel and it's near the beach! I decided to walk around the beach first.

Omg my first trip to a beach in 8 years :')

I've never been to the beach in 8 years heh. The last time I went to the beach was 2015 with Brenda and Jeslyn at Pelabuhan Ratu. Way too long. It was mid noon and it's freaking hot, but I couldn't bear my excitement of being at the beach again haha. I decided to walk south down from Berawa Beach. Walked for about 30 minutes I think and I saw an exit so I went there. Booked Grab bike to go to Pels Supershop, which was the first vegan cafe on my list. Okay I'll dedicate a separate post for food!

My vegan chai and chocolate tart from Pels Supershop
While I escape the scorching Bali sun heh

Went to have a bit of lunch first and it was delicious. The sun was scorching so I ended up just staying at Pels for a while heh. I checked the time and it was almost 2 so I headed back to the hotel to check in. I really love Citadines, the hotel is super modern and I love the room too. There's a minus point though; it's near Atlas and W beach club so it could get noisy at night (you can hear the music). But for me personally I don't find it a problem. I slept like a baby in my two nights there.

Watching people with six pack right in front of me while I enjoy this banoffee pie doughnut 

]from Dreeamwave is a weird kind of flex. Don't worry I walked it all off. Hopefully.

I didn't get any sleep at all on that Friday actually. I did manage to score like 30 minutes of sleep on the plane I think. So I decided to just rest and watch TV at the hotel for 2 hours. At 4, I headed out again. My next destination was Dreamwave Doughnuts. I saw many people recommending it! I bought 3 doughnuts and decided to have them on the beach for a picnic. Not gonna lie, eating doughnuts while people with six pack are running in front of you is a weird kind of flex.

It was about 5 PM when I finished my doughnuts and I decided to start my first beach walk. I walked from Canggu Beach > Nelayan Beach > Berawa Beach > Till the end of the South side (I don't know what it is called haha) > Back to Berawa Beach. All I did was just listen to music and walk along the beach. It was super blissful and I really really enjoyed my walk there. It really feels like I have forgotten life for a while, with just music in my ears, and the sounds of crashing waves around me.

Just music in my ears, and words on my journal. Bliss

I stopped along the way to do some journaling too. It was nice. To just stare at the wide ocean in front of you and let the words of your mind flow through the pages of your journal. As the sun was setting, I sat near the entrance to Berawa beach which was near my hotel. And I had some lumpiang as I watch the sun set haha. It was a beautiful end to my first day :')

Of lumpiang and sunset. What a beautiful end to my day one :')

After that I booked another Grab bike to go to I Am Vegan Babe. It's a famous vegan cafe and I've seen many people go there. Had a lovely dinner and then I headed back to my hotel. It was 9 PM already! I showered and I just got knocked out right away heh. I was so damn sleepy! I didn't get any sleep at all remember haha. Anyway yes that's all for day one! Definitely a fantastic start to my trip.