I’ve had four days of work so far
(i work 6 hours a day in a media agency)
and am struggling to grasp this new schedule of mine
of juggling office, my blog, advertorials and freelance work.
Thank God i don’t have much to do for Leftblock till Raya is over..!
Attended my first con call yesterday.
An old friend happened to be part of the meeting
and scribbled a note to me.
I was like, “Awwww…!
Then he continued writing…
“Hello Joyce Jie Jie.
I’m xxxx and been an avid reader of your blog not long ago. I just wanna take this chance to tell you how much you have inspired me but I’m so scare and malu to post as comment. Otherwise, other people will probably laugh at me.
I have heard of you quite a long time ago but never really went to your blog till one day, something just hit me.
I like how you go travel, owning an amazing wardrobe I would steal and you write! I love reading your about your travels because you’re an extra-ordinary traveler! Sometimes, I try to adapt the life values you portray. The best part is you have Clem, who lives with your dreams. Aww. I like a guy called Clem too! 😀
Lastly, I hope to hear more great stuff from you. I hope to see you one day down the street. I missed you in urbanscapes. =(
All the best and may you travel more, so that I can use as guidance. Hehe.
Thank you,
xxxx”
Munduk is stated to be one of the prettiest mountain villages in Bali,
where travelers are reputated for visiting for a night and end up staying a week.
There are lots of waterfalls and hiking trails around the village,
so we headed there to stay for a night before heading back to Denpasar.
There is absolutely nothing more GREEN in the world than Balinese rice fields.
The Hulk comes a close second.
Munduk town consists of one road.
So it’s really easy to find a guesthouse to stay in,
you just gotta pop in and out to check out the rooms/rates till you find one you like.
There was one guesthouse which i didn’t quite fancy,
but i did love the view they had in their restaurant.
My lunch and view. Bloody fucking lovely!
Drove further down the road and found a room with the most satisfying gush of hot water and one of the BEST VIEWS EVER right on our doorstep.
We took it right away. 300,000 rupiah/RM105 a night.
View from inside our room
Happy bunny
Since it was still afternoon, we quickly hired a guide to take us on a hike.
Some places don’t require a guide,
but sometimes it’s really worth it to get one cos they can explain and point out lots of things you didn’t know you’re missing out on!
Our guide was Nyoman, the epitome of Chirpy and Smiley.
(tel: 081 239 73776)
On the way into the forest, we walked down a narrow cement trail with houses and gardens on the side.
Nyoman would call out greetings to most of the inhabitants,
people he’s known since he was a little boy.
He told us about how he used to chase kites into the forest when he was a child, and almost get lost in its intricacy!
Even in the poorest of houses, a massive satellite is usually present to provide cable TV.
Nyoman said if they didn’t have one, the house would only get 4 lame channels to watch.
A dragonfruit plantation!
I’d never seen a dragonfruit plant before and it’s so obvious why it’s named so!
Puff the magic dragon.
Vanilla sticks!
Nyoman also pointed out nutmeg, clove, cacao, pandan, red Bali rice, coffee, black pepper and avocado (which i looked at longingly).
A wonderful array of crops introduced by the Dutch when they took control of the area in the 1890s.
Nyoman said the villagers would use these as makeshift brollies when it rained.
I’m wearing a top from Beautiful Disaster and polka dot shorts from Topshop.
Yeah, i know it’s not ‘proper’ hiking wear.
But what IS proper hiking wear? Shorts and shirt right?
Might as well make it as COLOURFUL as POSSIBLE so if i get lost people can find me.
Waterfall no. 1
I imagined Christopher Robin and Pooh bear skipping down this lane
The hike up to the second waterfall was devastatingly painful for us.
Was about 200m in steep steps.
We were gasping for breath and i stopped to take pictures in the pretense of resting :p
Waterfall no. 2
I hate it when Clem holds me so hard i almost fall backward in the picture.
It’s what people used to do in school!
Easy walk down after that *thighs pain*
Love how i happened to snap a pic just as the little girl was doing a giant leap
Where’s chicken?
We reached the lookout point for sunset just in time to watch its 5 minutes of daily fame.
It looked like the giant cloud was giving birth to a sparkling orange which was then swallowed by the distant mountains of Java.
Can you see the slight glimmer in the picture?
That’s the sea between Bali and Java!
I found a purple petal.
Was enamoured.
Carried it around.
Decided i should return it to nature
and gave it a good chew to see what it tasted like
before dropping it to the ground.
The road outside our guesthouse. So pretty right?!
Looks like a picture story book. Love!
The next morning, we decided to do one last hike in Munduk before heading East to Candikuning.
We hiked down a longgggg path from the main road
with me dreading the climb back up.
And we ended up… at one of the waterfalls we’d just laboriously hiked to the previous evening.
We didn’t know it was the same cos we took a completely different route the day before!
Since we were ALREADY there, we took more waterfall pictures -_-
At least this time my BLUE HAT’s in it 
Next post will be on the market and Bali Botanical Gardens!
Read previous post ‘North Bali – Lovina & Pemuteran’ *here*
When i was 7 years old,
my mother would gripe about my reading in low light
saying it would spoil my eyes bla bla bla.
I ignored her.
When i was 10 years old,
we discovered i was almost blind when a family friend asked me to look at something intriguing, and i couldn’t see it.
I still remember that day.
For a ten-year-old, realising your eyesight ain’t as great as what you thought it was, felt like i was going to be stunted for life.
I felt like i had lost one of my child superpowers to be able to see far, fly high or hide silently.
I was devastated.
In no way was i eager to wear spectacles.
But i had to.
The moment i put on my first pair of spectacles,
i realised just how much i had been missing out on.
I could see leaves in the trees!
I could read signboards from far away!
Everything was sharper!
How could i have lived life without knowing THIS IS HOW I’M SUPPOSED TO SEE?
That’s why when adults tell me they don’t wear glasses because they’re vain or contact lenses because they’re scared,
i’m like, “You’re kidding right… how can ANYONE go through life not correcting something that’s within their reach? Simply absurd.”
But their life is their life, and i walk away from it.
Lesson of the story is: Listen to your mother
Unfortunately for me (and my mother) i barely listen.
Even Rudy used to say to me, “YOU NEVER LISTEN.”
Listen. What a weird word.
After a while it doesn’t mean anything to me .
Listenlistenlistenli stenli tenli see?
Besides not listening, i’m great at disgressing.
BACK TO MY STORY:
So i wore glasses from the age of 10 till 16.
My power (or lack of) back then was 350.
I hated how spectacles got in the way when i played sports or ran,
it always slipped down my sweaty face!
Totally inconvenient.
I was ECSTATIC when my parents agreed to my getting contacts at 16.
Changed my life. Besides going through the tribulating period of puberty, i didn’t want nor need glasses to complicate my doubtful self image as a teenager.
I don’t think it was coincidence that i went out on my first date at 16 either.
Once i wore contacts, i never stopped.
I experimented further when i was in college,
wearing bright blue contact lenses and dyeing my hair blonde,
wearing purple contacts with purple hair,
purple contacts with jet black hair,
gold contacts with gold-brown hair.
It was a fun chameleon phase for me which i think every creative teenager goes through!
Now i regulate between coloured contacts and clear ones.
I’m starting to wear clear ones more… cos Clem says coloured contacts are scary and he can’t see my ‘real’ eyes.
Which i get, because some girls with bright coloured contacts scare the bejesus outta me.
My clear contact lenses are from Bausch & Lomb.
Like who doesn’t know that brand.
Really comfy to wear all day, great for my sensitive eyes.
Clem was adamant that we finish buying everything we needed from IKEA.
I was subsequently pressured to wake up early on a rainy Saturday morn
and be there before 11am to beat the weekend crowd.
Clem wanted to be there at 9:30, i said don’t be crazy.
Maybe he wasn’t off the mark, as there were quite a lot of people having breakfast in Ikano when we arrived!
I had oyster mee sua to energize me before tackling Ikea,
and walked past this toy shop selling something i’ve been keeping an eye out for:
Plastic toy animals!
I’ve been wanting to buy some since last year,
when i thought how i wished i had a random toy animal to place somewhere to take pictures of while on holiday!
Managed to buy a packet for RM25 (which i thought was steep for cheap plastic animals -_-)
But i really really wanted them and so readily whipped out my money after bargaining it RM4 cheaper :p
Clem was standing on the side giving me a look.
“This is not what we came here for!”
Ugh. We spent 4 hours walking around Ikea, measuring and deciding what to buy.
He didn’t think i need so many shelves (was actually a book shelf) to store all my shoes.
I told him he was wrong and that he hasn’t seen half my shoes yet.
I finally got a full-length mirror so i can see what my outfit looks like before going out.
Before this, i had to occasionally stand on the dining room chair to view myself in the wall mirror
Ikea only charges 5% of what the piece of furniture costs to assemble it.
Seeing we bought 2x shelves, 1x wardrobe (more hanging space for me :p), and 2x bedside tables
i thought it’d be so much easier and faster to just pay RM65 than assemble everything ourselves.
Note to all girlfriends/wives: Always keep at least 1 piece of furniture for your manly partner to assemble :p
Hello Ikea man.
So worth it to get them to do everything for you!
They transport to your place, carry everything in,
assemble it all, drill holes into walls for high cupboards to secure them,
and even picked up the pieces after themselves before leaving.
After paying for everything in Ikea, i turned to Clem and said,
“Phew! We made it. We’re still together after Ikea.”
Ikea is fun… but i think it can also be stressful and the easiest place for me to argue with Clem.
I don’t know whether this holds for other couples.
Wait till you go there to furnish a house then you tell me!
Buying some photoframes does not count.
Since we were already in the dreaded mall on a weekend,
we split up to quicky pick up some things we needed.
Clem went to the hardware store.
I went to buy a birthday present.
And some things for myself along the way 
This is why i avoid malls!
I can’t resist something as cute and funny as a giant giraffe head necklace!
Was the last one on sale at MNG, rm49
Also spotted this embellished leather bag i couldn’t resist.
Not on sale, rm299.
At home. Part of our living room.
I instagramed that i decorate our house like this because i CAN.
We were planning to go watch Reza and Liyana sing on Sat night,
but Clem got sick so i stayed in with him..
and played with my new toys!
ROARRRR I don’t snack on black meat!
All animals are introduced to Wilson the Ball God
Zirafah mothership
Sunday afternoon we surprised Sarah for her birthday at 21
Ming & Clouds practicing their smize
I wore a polka dot top from baci,
red shorts that comes with blue belt from azorias.com
The shorts are a wicked bright chili red
and so new they’re not even up on the website yet.
Guess you have to just keep on checking the site 
© 2019 KinkyBlueFairy
