Back in February, we built a thing 🥰. [Final part]

We now have a nice new closet, but the light switch looks ratty, so off it went. Doing your own electrical work is one of the Dumb Ways to Die, but thankfully Faizal knows how to replace the switch while taking all the necessary safety measures 😅

And that’s a wrap. We turned an idea envisioned on paper into reality. We were exhausted by the end of it, but we’re very happy with the result. 🥰 ...

Back in February, we made a thing. 🥰 [Part 4]

Here we were putting together the drawers, the accessories, and the NJYSON laundry closet from IKEA. We also made cleats as per the manufacturer recommendation, for added support. ...

Back in February, we made a thing. [Part 2] ...

Back in February, we built a thing. 🥰 [Part 1]

We decided to upgrade our bedroom closet. At first we were looking at IKEA stuff, but they weren’t the exact fit. Either something was too short, too long or sticks out somewhere. Then we found a few off-the-shelf modular closet systems which are customizable for a better fit. Drawing inspiration from Pinterest on possible combinations I did a few sketches, Faizal then modeled it on the computer for maximum accuracy. From the model a BOM was generated, and we did a thorough price comparison exercise, optimising components from different sellers and opting to make the shelves ourselves. The cost reduction was substantial, and well worth the effort.

We spent about a full week completing this project. I enjoyed painting the walls and working with some of the power tools (achievements unlocked!). Even though the closet system was designed to be installed with minimal tools/customization, we really made it our own and added quite a few refinements. We stamped our logo and signed on one of the side panels, just for the memories. Can’t wait for our next project! ...

[1 Dec 2023] Goodbye Bali!

This is my last super long overdue post, and I’ll be done with Bali haha. Bought a sandwich and doughnuts at the airport, because we were starving. It started raining when we took off, but the flight wasn’t too bad. Took a video of Brian Chan’s appearance in the inflight video. I missed the opportunity during the inbound flight haha 😝 Food was alright, I was quite happy the flight attendant told me to grab as many packets of salted peanuts I wanted (flight wasn’t full, unfortunately), I wish I didn’t stop at just two handfuls 😬

The best pie susu in Bali in my opinion is Pie Susu Enaaak. I’m so glad they were on GrabFood, and I had them delivered to our resort that same morning. These pictures were what made me miss them the other day and I ended up making my own at home. Yum!

And that’s a wrap! #endoftrip

#balitrip #triptobali #baliholiday #honeymoon ...

For sahur tomorrow: egg paruppu.

How did I not know about this thing before? Paruppu muttai aanam is basically dhall with eggs, which to me sounds like a great breakfast item. This turned out so hearty and flavourful, although I think I’ll let it simmer 5 more minutes longer to soften the lentils a bit more. Gonna have this with roti canai tomorrow. Can’t wait!

#eggparuppu #paruppumuttaiaanam #parputelur #menusahur #nakmakanmasaksendiri #homecooked #indianfood #indiancuisine ...

[30 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 5] We spent the day just chillin’ and hanging around the resort.

For brunch, had the nasi goreng daging we brought from home, topped with fried egg. We had a product update session in the afternoon, and they served pretty nice kuih and coffee. We spent some time by the beach until sunset, and took a dip in our plunge pool in the evening.

Wish we had more time just chillaxing like this.

#balitravel #balitrip #trip #honeymoon ...

[29 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 4] After what felt like endless hours of driving around in our van, we finally stopped by Jimbaran to catch the sunset and have a seafood dinner.

We didn’t feel like paying extra for the Honeymooner tables, but ours wasn’t bad at all. We ordered a decent platter of lobster, squid, scallops, shrimp, and barramundi. However, the food arrived lukewarm at best, so we really found the meal rather meh. Heating up the food for dinner the next day made it so much better though.

#balitrip #triptobali #honeymoon #jimbaran #blueoceanseafood #seafoodplatter #grilledseafood ...

[29 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 4] After lunch, it started raining. The rain stopped by the time we got to Ulun Danau Beratan, but unfortunately it left a thick fog which blocked any chance of us getting a good look at the mountains. Ah well. Tak ada rezeki kali ni.

#triptobali #balitrip #honeymoon #ulundanuberatantemple #ulundanuberatan ...

[29 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 4] It was a beautiful sunny morning when we got to Tanah Lot.

It was pretty cool how they built structures into natural cliffs and rocks shaped by years of erosion. It was low tide, so we had a pretty good access to the main temple here, Pura Tanah Lot.

#tanahlot #tanahlotbali #honeymoon #balitrip #triptobali ...

Ramadan treat: apam mekar.

I don’t know why I keep making food since it’s just the two of us, but I really can’t help it 😂 Still couldn’t get that full bursting effect, will keep on trying. Tastes great though.

#apammekar #resipichenom ...

Bahagianya hidup finally ada kedai jual authentic Terengganu fare reasonably near my house.

Available on Grab too! Ordered a whole bunch of their menu items to try. Unfortunately their kayu keramat and pulut lepa (with fish filling!) were not available. The nasi dagang was legit, nasi lemak was nice although still can’t beat Warung Pok Mang of course. The fish was also quite small and they didn’t give any nuts/bilis. I felt that the nasi dagang was better bang for buck.

Also ordered akok, pulut gaul nyior and tepung kapur. Pulut was well executed, akok was nice (although according to Mummy still not fully authentic Ganu akok), tepung kapur tasted decent but I think the slices could be thinner to make em less chewy.

Will definitely order again!

#nasilemak #nasilemakikantongkol #nasidagang #nasidagangterengganu #akok #tepungkapur #pulutgaulnyor ...

28 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 3: Final stop before heading back to the resort, some martabak!

The few days we were here, when we were on the road during our tours during the day we kept on seeing stalls selling martabak and ‘terang bulan’ (apam balik) but they weren’t open yet. Apparently they open in the evenings. We were quite curious to try it, so Agung took us to a halal stall near our resort.

We got the martabak telor (savory, with meat), and the pandan martabak manis/terang bulan with coklat+susu (chocolate rice and sweetened condensed milk. My kidneys! 😂) Both were quite nice, although I think I still prefer traditional apam balik with nuts and sugar and perhaps some corn. That took care of dinner for us, and wraps up day 3 😊

#faizahltravels #balitrip #balitravel #honeymoon #baliholiday #martabak #martabaktelor #martabakmanis #terangbulan ...

28 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 3: The final stop of our tour today: the rice terraces of Tegallalang.

There were a few places here that offer similar attractions, and ours was Alas Harum Bali. Seems like they offer rooms you can stay in as well, there were a bunch of people chilling in pools surrounded by all this greenery. Why they were blasting dance music instead of enjoying the serenity of the place was beyond me.

We toured around the area to see the sights and take pictures, and finally went for the main attraction: the giant swings. We chose the couple swing, which swings 20m above the ground and lasts for two minutes. It was surprisingly freaky 🙈 and at one point I think we both started feeling a bit queasy. Ah well at least it makes for a nice picture, we thought, but it turned out we forgot to tell them we wanted pictures, so they didn’t take any to send to their photo booth. Thankfully we took a video using my phone.

This place was so full of tourists. While it is indeed lovely, we enjoyed it the least because of the crowd. Ready to head back now 😊

#faizahltravels #balitrip #balitravel #honeymoon #alasharum #alasharumbali #tegallalang #tegallalangriceterraces ...

28 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 3: Lunch at Grand Puncak Sari Restaurant.

We opted for the buffet, since we didn’t wanna wait for our food. Food was alright, my complaint was they don’t keep the buffet food on warmers, so they were mostly cold. Their bakso soup was kept hot though, which was super comforting especially in the rather chilly weather. It rained on our way here, but thankfully it was clear when we arrived at the restaurant. Because the rain stopped, the clouds covering the mountains lifted, and we got quite a dramatic view of Mount Kintamani and Lake Batur. As always, Agung helped take photos of us at a few spots before we headed off to our next stop.

#faizahltravels #balitravel #balitrip #grandpuncaksari #lakebatur #mountkintamani ...

28 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 3: Lunch at Grand Puncak Sari Restaurant.

We opted for the buffet, since we didn’t wanna wait for our food. Food was alright, my complaint was they don’t keep the buffet food on warmers, so they were mostly cold. Their bakso soup was kept hot though, which was super comforting especially in the rather chilly weather. It rained on our way here, but thankfully it was clear when we arrived at the restaurant. Because the rain stopped, the clouds covering the mountains lifted, and we got quite a dramatic view of Mount Kintamani and Lake Batur.

(Continued in next post)

#faizahltravels #balitravel #balitrip #grandpuncaksari #lakebatur #mountkintamani ...

28 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 3: Visited a coffee and cocoa plantation next.

We were first given a tour of the various plants grown here. Beyond coffee they also had fruit trees like mangosteen. All the coffee they sell here are Arabica, and whatever Robusta they had on their grounds was for self-consumption. They produce luwak coffee but they claim that theirs aren’t from captive luwak. The workers apparently would go out and collect luwak droppings in the wild. Therefore they have a limited production of luwak coffee because it takes a while for them to accumulate a sufficient quantity for roasting. We shared a small cup of luwak just to try it, but didn’t buy any. Couldn’t justify paying that much to consume digested coffee beans at home 😅

Got a close up look of a real luwak just chillaxing freely on the grounds, which was a treat. Even though it started pouring towards the end, it was an enjoyable visit 😊

#faizahltravels #HoneyMoon #balitrip #triptobali #coffeeplantation #abiankusumasari #luwakcoffee #kopiluwak ...

28 Nov 2023 - Bali Day 3: Batuan Village.

Our next stop was a woodcarving shop. So many amazing pieces, with incredibly intricate detail and superb workmanship. Faizal was completely geeking out and that was quite amusing to see 😂

We took our time to go ooh and aah over almost every item there, before picking up a Barong mask to bring home. Something Faizal can use as inspiration for his new woodcarving hobby, interesting but not too complicated (and doesn’t really break the bank)

Fun fun!

#faizahltravels #honeymoon #balitrip #batubulan #triptobali #woodcarving ...