Day 140 : Swept Away!

I woke up to another beautiful morning in Bali!

Post breakfast, the husband and I went on a short walk around the neighbourhood - through the farms, along the streams, dodging a variety of fauna on the way. Then we chilled out at the villa for a while, before taking off the Samaya resort to have our lunch at their Swept Away restaurant - my find from TripAdvisor.

We tooka  taxi to Samaya resort, with a short break at the entrance of Monkey Forest to see the monkeys - the monkeys here are known to be unruly, so we didn't go in any further, especially as we were greeted by loud cries and shrieks from fellow tourists who presumably lost a purse or a hat or some such thing thanks to one of the abovementioned unruly monkies.

Samaya resort was in a very quiet area of Ubud, but perched on a hilltop, with rooms and restaurants at various levels of the hilltop. It presented a amazing view - one which is done zero justice by the this picture below.

View from Samaya's reception area

To get to the Swept Away restuarant, which is right at the bottom of the hill, we had to take a buggy. Madam was delighted by that! She exclaimed her "car was so cute!" and "Wheeeeee"-ed all the way down.

Swept Away was right next to a beautiful river with rapids - it is the same river that much of Bali's white water rafting is conducted. While the restaurant itself is a few feet above the riverbed, they had a little path all the way down to the river. We walked down the path and splashed our feet about in the clear, cool waters.

The river next to Swept Away

And soon I realized that Swept Away not just had the best location - it actually had the best service as well as the best food! We ordered some black rice with chicken, pasta with chilli prawn, fish & chips and grilled chicken and mashed potato for Madam. They were all, A.W.E.S.O.M.E. Even Madam who is a poor eater otherwise, breezed through her chicken & potatoes ! Their drinks were really good too - I ordered a mixed fruit juice followed by a mocktail called "Oh My God" - a mix of orange juice, ginger and mint leaves - and truly went "Oh My God, it is so good!"

The staff were very good as well. They noticed that Madam had a fascination for the fish in the Koi pond right next to our table, so they got some bread crumbs for her to feed them. They were also super attentive and always making sure we were happy with the food. All in all, it was an amazing experience!

After yet another buggy ride along the steep hilltop, we were back at the villa. We relaxed for a bit and then went on to get our full body Balinese massages, offered free by the villa. How awesome is that!

So the husband and I got an hour of super relaxing massage next to the swimming pool . Then Madam and the husband hit the pool, while I caught up on the blogging with this view as well as the afternoon tea - ice lemon tea & banana fritters - to go along.

I had this beautiful view for company while blogging in Bali!

We felt pretty lazy to go out for dinner and we didn't fancy another night of dinner from the villa, so we ordered in some food from Warung JB - a restaurant close by. I got myself some Crispy Duck, a specialty in Bali apparently, and it was out of this world!! I was a bit apprehensive at first as I never have had it before, but oh my God, what a mistake! I definitely want to give another go at it before I return to Singapore.

Then the husband and I opened the bottle of wine we had picked up from dutyfree. There was also some excitement trying to get rid of a lizard that had entered the room. But after all that quietened down, I settled down with my book #2 - one by Ian Rankin, with my wine for company, and with the sounds of the crickets and frogs as the backdrop. It was, once again, perfect.

360 more to go.   

Day 139 : Surprises of Ubud!

It was a day of surprises, to say the least.

Firstly, I woke up to Surprise no. 1 - this fantastic view of the terrace farms right from our room!

I honestly had no idea I had booked a villa right in the middle of some of the famed terrace farms of Bali! The Airbnb profile had not given that away - or at least I didn't see anything of the sort.

So this basically meant that I was absolutely delighted at what I saw and couldn't stop raving about it!

View from our room at Inang Villa

Over our breakfast of eggs, fruits, toast, banana pancake, juice and tea at an equally adorable dining area at the villa, we saw ducks, roosters, honey bees, farmers, rice being laid on the floor for drying, young boys training for sports, old folks fit as army men/women and what not. It was almost like every single thing fascinated me!

View from the dining area at Inang Villa

Post breakfast, we took the free shuttle service and made our way to Ubud centre. We hung out around the Ubud palace, shopped for a few trinkets in some of the 1000s of little shops, had some Balinese food and topped it all with ice cream.

Which brings me to Surprise no. 2 - while we were having our lunch, I heard a voice behind me "Shilpa alle?" ("Are you Shilpa?"). It was a lady who had recognized me from my sitcom Athazham! While I blinked at her open-mouthed, she went on to explain that she is living in Singapore, is visiting Bali with her family and has watched all the Athazham episodes. She also went on to add that everyone in her family, including her brother and his family in UK, are all "fans". Needless, to say, I was super duper surprised and of course, rather pleased about this unexpected "celebrity" moment. Being recognized in Bali from an online sitcom - seriously, who would have thought!

When we got back to the villa, we were served hot ginger tea and yummy banana fritters, which apparently comes free every afternoon - that would be Surprise no. 3!

After enjoying that lovely evening tea and fritters, Madam and I made our way to the swimming pool. I had sent our helper out on a half day tour, so at least she feels like she had seen around Bali. The husband and I had done all the touristy spots in our previous visit and were not keen on repeating them, especially with Madam in tow. So the helper went off to see Tanah Lot and the Royal Temple, while we chilled out at the villa.

The pool at Inang Villa

After spending a considerable time in the pool Madam and I felt rather tired. So we ordered food early and she immediately dozed off after her dinner.

It was once again pitch dark outside, but I stepped out to the balcony to gaze at the stars and was rewarded with Surprise no. 4 - Fireflies! There were a few flying around, blinking on and off, just a few metres away. I was so excited!! I rushed back in and switched off the lights in our room so that they can be seen better and then dragged the husband out.

He and I spent some time enjoying the sight of these wonderful creatures, with darkness all around and the stars above and it all felt oh-so-perfect!


361 more to go.

Day 138 : Sounds of Bali!

After all the messy last minute deadlines at work and packing that never seem to end, we left for Bali! As always I gifted myself a few books from the airport bookstore, Madam helped herself to a couple of sticker, colouring and activity books and all of us, including our helper who is accompanying us this time, got some tea and juices to go before the flight.

The flight was pleasant - Madam slept through it, so I started on my first book - Shamini Flint's "Inspector Singh Investigates : A Curious Indian Cadaver", which turned out to be a light, engaging, fast paced entertainer. The husband and I also decided to start on the "sinful" part of the holiday and ordered some instant noodles in the flight.

Soon, we touched down at Bali and was welcomed by its new airport. I have been here twice before and the memory was that of a rather tiny airport but the new one is humungous and sparkling, in line with all the new airports these days. Immigration was quick & easy and we were picked up by our driver Ketut who took us to to our villa in Ubud.

We passed by the main streets of Ubud centre and I immediately fell in love with the line of quaint, cosy restaurants, boutiques and cafes on either sides of the narrow road. There is really a very nice, old world charm about this place! Soon we left the "centre" behind us and were heading more and more into the interior or "the village" as Ketut liked to call it. First came a few houses with the shrines at the entrance and then paddy field after paddy field (we guessed that's what it was since it was pitch dark outside and we couldn't make out a thing).

Soon we reached Inang Villa and what struck me first as we got out of the car was the change in sounds. There were no vehicles and no voices except our own. But there were a myriad of other sounds - that of crickets, frogs, birds, flowing water and the breeze. I glanced up at the sky and sure enough, there were more stars up there than we could ever see from Singapore . I decided then and there that this was a place I would be happy to stay in forever.  

We checked in to our two bedroom unit - Madam was quick to pick "her room", enjoyed the lovely welcome drink, drove out a lizard who was hanging out in Madam's room, ordered some fried rice and fried noodles in for dinner, and tucked ourselves into our beds. As I snuggled up with my book, I was amused to hear roosters crowing in the middle of the night!

Needless to say, I slept a very happy sleep.

362 more to go. 

Day 137 : 5.1 Surround Sound Mix Locked!

Finally it's done!

After months of dubs and redubs, screener sound design and mix, trip to QLAB, more redubs etc. etc. etc., finally the 5.1 surround mix for Pularum Iniyum Naalekal has been completed!

Phew! HUGE milestone and so happy it's done!

363 more to go. 

Day 136 : Eka Uvacha!

Yup, she is back. This time with very pro-papa comments.

But first...

Me (reading out a story) : "And her heart was filled with happiness."
Madam : "But my heart is not filled with happiness."
Me : "Why?"
Madam : "My heart is filled with JOY!"
Me : "Oh.. ok,.. "
Madam : "My heart is filled with joy... KinderJoy!!"

When her dad was away on a business trip and I took her to ballet class...

Dad: "How was your ballet class?"
Daughter: "It was good. But not too much fun without you there, Papa." (Such love!)


"Mummy, when you go to office, you go out of my heart. But Papa is always in my heart."
(Needless to say, I rolled my eyes to no end with that one!)

364 more to go.

Day 135 : Dream Team!

Over the last few days, my cinematographer-editor had been spending a lot of time at QLAB, working with Sinoy, Jyoti and Sinoy's assistant Sai on locking the 5.1 surround sound. And every day he would give me detailed updates on how the working sessions went. It sounded like a lot of fun and I felt like I was missing out on it! Also, this was the first time so much work was happening on any of my films without me being present right there. So what's happening this time around is not something am used to at all! I definitely felt sad for missing out, and maybe even a tad jealous!

I had casually mentioned this during one of the update sessions - how I wished I had been there for this last leg of work. I also had regretted not getting a picture with Jyoti when I was in Mumbai and I had not even met Sai on my trip as he was on holiday then.

Anyway, long story short, to cheer me up, this is what these awesome folks did. They actually sent me a picture where am part of the team!

Before

After

The editor clicked the photo and photoshopped it add me in, our VFX expert balanced the colours, and the sound team were such great sports and played along all through! How awesome is that?! Apparently it took several takes since the angles, distance, etc. had to be perfect. But everyone did it!

Needless to say, I couldn't stop smiling for a long time when this "little surprise" came in!

I find myself incredible lucky to have the opportunity to work with these folks - not only are they awesome at what they do, they actually go that extra mile to make someone feel inclusive and happy.

Dream team, this!

365 more to go.   

Day 134 : The Dream!

The husband had been running a company of his own for five years now. And just achieved a milestone - with pre-series-A funding!

I have seen him through the journey - right from when he was having the initial ideas about a startup, through the ups and downs of actually starting up (some of those downs being really, really tough!) and now standing where he is now. I couldn't prouder and happier for him!

So here's cheering for his dream.

366 more to go.