While i was in Melbourne, i had the chance to venture out on a road trip! We decided to go to Adelaide (because i insisted to watch Jamie XX there since tickets were sold out in Melbourne). Despite being stopped by the police for speeding, the whole trip turned out to be really fun and it was wonderful to see the vast land that could go on forever.

Being in Adelaide reminded me of the place i grew up in, it's a small city and everything is nearby which was convenient if we got hungry! We spent the whole day exploring the city and spent the entire day by the beach. It's very different from the Melbourne's beach, the water is less colder and the waves are not as rough. I absolutely loved it!



After the beach, we headed back to the hotel and got ready to see the gig. The venue looked like the school hall i used to go to which reminded me how we used to have talent show performance there. Funny just thinking about it. Overall, the show was amazing and i was at the very front. I felt pretty worn out by the end of the night especially after spending the whole day in the sea and not getting enough food. But no regrets, it was worth traveling to Adelaide just to watch him performed.

I spent the last of December (last year) and early January back in Melbourne and i had so much fun considering i haven't been there for the last 3 years. Melbourne is a familiar face, i studied there for 3 years taking a Visual Communication degree and living there is nothing like back in Indonesia. Meet people who has lived there and they'll tell you how much they've missed the brunch, coffee, lifestyle, parks and more. I didn't know how much i actually missed all these until i went on this vacation. Hello memory lane.





One of the many highlights of this trip was definitely the beach hopping (hooray for tanned skin) and the road trips. We visited Great Ocean Road and went through a couple of stops and different areas. That day was beautiful, a bit windy though and the water was ice cold! But i couldn't careless because i have really missed the beach and rolling on the sand. For those who's  never been to Australia, summer is during December and winter during the month of June/July. It's no surprise i packed all my summer clothes but then expecting Melbourne to rain once in a while because Australian weather are the most indecisive. You never know when the wind will start blowing at you or the rain starts to pour. Always dress for four seasons!

A few days later we decided to go to Mornington Beach and went to Cape Schanck. It's a few hours drive from Victoria and once you get there, you'll find yourself an astounding view of the ocean and cliffs. We had to go through a 40 minute walk to get down to where the beach is and my friends wanted to show me the pool rocks. I couldn't help but fell in love with all these pool rocks, it was worth the walk to get there! The water was really clear and the tide was pretty high but it died down towards the end. We couldn't stop jumping into these pool rocks and enjoyed the day until it was almost dark. Mind you though, the sunset actually sets around 9PM during summer so it was nice to have a longer day.



While i was Melbourne, i also had the chance to see all my friends again and decided being the designers we are to visit at Ai Wei Wei & Andy Warhol exhibition that was being held in NGV (National Gallery victoria). I used to love going here and visiting all the free exhibitions! It was really good to be in touch with current designs and knowing that ai wei wei loves his cats (yay!)



New year 2016 in Melbourne turned out really fun, we had a rooftop picnic in one of the parking lot in Monash. yes…monash. Apparently the view up there was surprisingly nice, you could see all the fireworks and there was barely anyone there. We played a couple of drinking games, danced to Drake and 1D hah and talked about how ungrateful Zayn Malik is lolwhut (i think). After 12am, we decided to go back to the city, had ramen and by that time we were all trying to keep our eyes open because we wanted to watch the sunrise! We Watched the sunrise in the city where the hills are, near Federation Square. It was beautiful and to be honest i haven't stayed up  to watch the sunrise in a very long time.

One of the many things i have missed and long for is going to music gigs (i'm a huge fan of music and concerts!). i had the chance to see Mac De Marco live and watched him casually crowd surfing while smoking a joint, was rather entertaining and overall i had the best time. Stayed up until 2AM watching a standup comedy and an 'intense' weird performance by the members.

We moved the next day to Teka Teki Homestay, right in the middle of Seminyak. It's located 10-15mins away from the beach within walking distance. Surrounded with great bars, shops and restaurants, it's hard not to wander around the area everyday.

Before moving into this home stay, we actually had lunch at Motel Mexicola. Obviously serving Mexican food and drinks but what's not to love about this place, it's colourful and i'm a sucker for anything that is associated with funny and weird. I'm not an expert with Mexican food around Bali, nevertheless it's worth visiting this place for the feel of it. As for the food, we only had tortillas and burrito. I must say i did enjoy the food but if you want to try the real deal, i recommend Taco Casa in Ubud (check out our next post!).



It sounds like we're distancing ourselves from Balinese food to Mexican. I guess we had plenty of duck and traditional cuisine just being an Indonesian!

First of all, finding this home stay felt like finding a treasure. I booked this place after reading positive reviews and that's exactly what we got, a clean room with 2 lovely care taker and may i add accompanied by awesome dogs. (Scooby & Dian). Oh and a cat too who was barely there but as a cat lover, i understood the nature of cats and it's curiosity to get away. i feel ya Ringo!



Not to mention, once again we were questioned with the "where are your parents?" question. We told the guy who was in charge of the place "it's just the two of us!". He was surprised and said "it's really brave for the two of you to travel here in Bali, enjoy and be careful!". I kid you not, the amount of looks and question we get about our parents is crazy. I don't blame them!

Celsy

Bali has always been a favourite get-away place for us to visit, the people, food, beach and the hidden gems you tend to find along the way. We traveled to Bali with our cousin just because it was the right timing, we actually had a couple of people canceling on the plan but that happens.

We first stayed in Seminyak for 6 days and had the chance to stay in Maca Villas & Spa for a night (Mind you we were on a tight budget, staying at a villa was a pretty risky idea ha!). We love traveling as much as the next person but being a graphic designer (Celsy), it's hard not to appreciate the interior and design for these places. It makes the experience long-lasting!

Maca Villas & Spa is located in the heart of Seminyak specifically in Petitenget. It's actually a quiet place surrounded with a couple of other home stays/villas. We were greeted with drinks and the people was ever so kind. They were probably confuse why 3 girls looking like 15-yr-olds doing on their own here. We booked the villa for 2 people through Agoda, the villa itself cost $300 per night and comes with breakfast and a private pool. 

The living room is huge enough for 3 people, there's a small kitchen area and dining place. One master bedroom that has the outdoor pool view. We loved how the pool is connected with sliding doors and you can open it anytime you want. 


Other than messing around the pool and taking countless photos, the next morning we decided to go for a run at the beach. If you're a morning person, wake up at 5am and go to the beach enjoy the sea because it's worth it. The villa wasn't too far from the beach but it's best to rent a bike to get there. Luckily they provided bikes that are free for us to use and gave us locks. Well technically if we lose this bike we're doomed and we would have to say goodbye to our savings for the rest of the Bali trip.


In the afternoon we chilled at Potato Head Beach Club, ordered some food and watched the sunset. It was pretty cloudy to be honest but waiting for the right seats was worth the view.


Celsy & Tika