day 5 - bali sojourn | documentary | evanhwong photographs

B A L I S O J O U R N

D A Y 5

B A L I I S L A N D
H O R S E · D E W I ·
N A U G H T Y N U R I ' S ·

D E C E M B E R 1 5 2 0 1 2

Bali Island Horse · Dewi · Naughty Nuri's

I fell in love with Dewi, a graceful lovely horse at Bali Island Horse. I had the biggest pork rib ever for dinner. It was, indeed, an Eat Pray Love day for me.

Horse riding is a perfect activity for anybody who loves great challenges, adventures and explore the pure nature, or so they say. I chose Bali Island Horse, a horse riding company providing an exciting horse ride adventure to explore the traditional Balinese village and beautiful black sandy beach stretch 2 km from Yeh Gangga Beach until Klating Beach with a majestic panoramic view of the Indian Ocean during sunset. Photos of me taken by my horse's handler.

At the end of the day, I found myself ending up at Naughty Nuri's Warung in Batubelig for their killer porkribs, reputably the place to go for the best pork ribs in Seminyak. Warung means a street side food stall or hole-in-the-wall joint in Indonesia. Prices are much higher than the usual Warungs, and it caters mainly for tourists as the prices are too expensive for locals.

Photos taken using Sony NEX-F3. No edits except cropping. Click on the images below to expand. Disclaimer: The photos herein and all other albums associated with Bali Sojourn are by no means a documentary. They're all touristy snapshots.

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Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Free and easy day. I was at Kuta town area couple of days before and saw a few tourist booths and found a few brochures for horse riding. Found about two brochures and another couple more online. After some research, Bali Island Horse was chosen coz they have a 2hr plan for only US$60 including hotel/villa transfers! If you're not into horses, there's also ATV rides. My handler brought out Dewi, or Indonesian for Goddess. I melted in awe. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

CHAARRGGEEE!!!!

Unfortunately with my memory of a goldfish I couldn't remember the name of the handler that followed me and became my photographer of the day. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

When I was 5 yrs old I took a trip with my parents to Bangkok, Thailand. My dad propped me up on a black stallion for a photo op. Unfortunately I was such a wuss and cried so bad I couldn't sleep for almost a week. Had phobia of horses since, even though I looove to see them galloping and all. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

But when I got on Dewi, she was kind enough to let me be cool, calm, and collected. And my confidence in riding her grew by the moment. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Evan: LOOK MA!!! NO HANDS!!!
Dewi: Ngeeeheheheheeee-snigger....

Note: If you're gonna go horseriding, use a pair of jeans else you'll get friction burns. That's why they padded my lower legs. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

What a view ahead in front of us. Can't wait to get there... Eh, why we stopped? (After getting the photos back: Ohhhhh..) © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

There were a few other riders with me but for some reason the other horses were not keen to be near water. I had the best one coz Dewi just loooooooves the water! Plus, we had to separate from the stallions coz they get pretty horny when they're together so it was just perfect for us! We waded till the water was up to my knees! © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

We had to take a short break for about 10 to 15 mins, one's to keep the horses less tired, another to rest my butt from the hard saddle. Heh. Posers being posers. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

She's such a sweetheart. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

AAAWWW I JUST WANNA SHNUGGLE AND PACK HER INTO A SUITCASE AND BRING HER HOME! © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Our resting place was just outside a small cave filled with bats. These small bats the size of half a palm only come out at night as they only eat insects. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

A few other horses resting along with us. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Walking up a small hill while the horses rested, we were greeted with a serene sunset. Afterall, we were there for a sunset ride. If you continue down the beach for another couple of miles you'll end up at Tanah Lot, and there's black sands all over coz it was from the volcanic flow years back. You'll be standing in front of a temple looking out to the sea, so I assume the temple is to pray for the sea gods or something. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Time to head back. :( © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Aww Dewi, you've been such a doll to me. *pat pat* © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Love at first ride. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

We had a few more minutes to spare, so I took a u-turn and strode a little more into the sunset. We just don't wanna go back so soon. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Even Dewi was sad to leave looking forlorn... © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Back at Bali Island Horse's stables. Looked at the time and indeed it was 2hrs! How time flies. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

I managed to find which stable Dewi was in, and asked her how she thought our date was. She neighed and peed. Guess that speaks a lot. At least I now I can now leave happily and looking forward to coming back on my next trip. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

After being dropped off at my villa, I decided to try this place that was a fuss of the town, reportedly serving the best bbq pork ribs in the whole of Bali. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

This is their 2nd branch apparently, and has more crowd coz of the location. I had very low expectations so I ordered a starter (chicken quesadilla), their famous ribs, a side of wedges and mashed potatoes, and a bottle of Coke. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Did I say I had low expectations? Did I say this was a starter? Like, OMGWTF LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT THING! GASP! Now I regretted getting this. Still not sure how big? It dwarfed the Coke bottle. © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

....coz when THESE came, I nearly fainted. If you can't tell what's the size of this big full rack, AGAIN compare it with the size of the Coke bottle. And yes, by far... the BEST OF THE BEST of ribs I've ever had in my whole travelling life! How big the rib was? My portion was a good 15 inches long. I SWEAR! © Evan Hwong Photographs

Bali Sojourn - Day 5

The aftermath. I managed to finish EVERYTHING! What's my damage for everything? Less than US$25. I'm serious! If I were to have the same sized meal at American Chillies or Tony Romas, it'll proly be 1/3 the size of the rack and 3 times the price. Actual damage: Chicken quesadillas: 52,000rp, pork ribs bbq: 89,000rp, mashed potatoes: 25,000rp, potato wedges: 25,000rp, coke: 18,000rp. Total: 243,700rp (US$24) with tax. © Evan Hwong Photographs

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Bali Sojourn - Day 5

Our resting place was just outside a small cave filled with bats. These small bats the size of half a palm only come out at night as they only eat insects. © Evan Hwong Photographs