For the price we are paying at Yulia Inn, I was dissappointed with the breakfast served. It is as though it cost so much to provide us with a decent breakfast meal! Again, it was toast bread, egg and fruits. And egg - only one type for each guest: scramble/fried/boiled/etc. And geeez. Look at how pathetic they sliced the tiny sausage as deco.....

We quickly finished our breakfast and head off along the street hoping to find a better "valued" accomodation. Can't believe it is still FULL. Finally, my hubby found a decent "homestay" at the Warsi Bungalow. Checked the room...it was by far the biggest & the toilet is spacious and CLEAN too. Too bad there was no air-condition, only a ceiling fan but surprisingly, they have hot water. The price was only RP300,000 and I bet, their breakfast menu is similar to that of Yulia! Here's some picture I took with my modest Sony Ericson Z610i:

We confirmed the room and then we head off to the street again, this time to look for a KODAK camera shop as I forgot to bring my charger along :( It was such a surprise to find that most of the camera shop in UBUD still sell the film-type camera! After a long search, we finally found a universal charger...costly, but I reckoned it will be worth the $$ if I can recharge my camera and take beautiful pictures! It cost me an unbelievable RP 215,000!! And hey, it is MADE IN CHINA. Can't wait to test this out!

We then headed back to Yulia, had a quick shower and check out by 12pm. No extension of check-out time allowed here in Bali. Everything is chargeable =P. Hubby hailed a small van to take us to Warsi Bungalow located along the street and it cost us RP 9,000. After putting our bags at Warsi, we decided to head to this popular place, TROPICAL RESTAURANT for our lunch. Since we saved some $$ on our accomodation, it is time to have a feast! Yay! Luv the sate lilit here =D
After our lunch, we headed towards the Ubud Royal Palace - about 5 minutes walk from the restaurant. Also known as Puri Saren Agung, this place was the home of the last "king" of Ubud, and now his descendants live there. It was also Ubud's first hotel, opening its doors to paying visitors in the 1930s. Still operated as a small homestay style hotel. Hmm...I personally find it poorly maintained, and I didn't realise that is was also a hotel until I researched it over the internet =P

According to our driver Nyoman, the Ibu Oka Babi Guling stall is a MUST try. It is just located opposite the palace. We ordered one small portion to try....hmmm...I still prefer our local "siew yoke"....
*Burp*... time to head back to Warsi, take a shower and rest! While walking back, we saw some bicycles for rent...RP 30,000 per day.....hmmm....*tempted* suddenly, someone offered us a mbike for rent...also RP 30,000...wahh! Faster and easier...same price woh! Unfortunately, both of us doesn't have a mbike license! We declined and walk back to Warsi...

Hubby was still thinking of the mbike...with the bike...we can go to monkey forest and back...don't need to walk sooooooooo far =P. While I took shower, hubby went to enquire for bike rental. He was gone for almost an hour...I wonder...where is he laaa?!! Hehe..he actually went out to "practice" his mbike skills!! Not convinced, I told him that we'll walk to the Ubud Art Market instead of the bike since it is so near....we'll give the bike a try later when we want to go to Monkey Forest.

Ubud Art Market is just like our M'sia Pasar Malam...just that, here, they sell a lot of craft works..more like Chatuchak market in BKK. Bargained and bought quite a lot of souveniers for friends back in Malaysia =) Everywhere you go, there are unlimited sight of nude paintings and this:

Did you notice the lil' hello kitty tag??!!! Odd...hehehe!

Our final destination today would be the Sacred Monkey Forest. Instead of walking, I decided to hitch a ride from this Mat Rempit from KL ...*ahem*...not bad woh...we managed to reach our destination SAFELY!! Yay! Snapped this picture to show his mum!! Kekekeke....

Okay! Back to the Sacred Monkey Forest. Entrance Fee is only RP 5,000 per person and a stalk of banana to feed the monkeys later. Monkeys are everywhere, not as cheeky and naughty compared to those in Botanical Gardens, Penang....we walked around the whole forest and we see lotz of monkeys, and forest, more monkeys, more forest....and lotz of statues!

"Within Balinese Hinduism, monkeys can be the embodiment of both positive and negative forces. The dual nature of monkeys is especially reflected in the Ramayana (a very popular Indian epic poem). Within the Ramayana, Sita (the beloved bride of Rama) is abducted by Rawana (an evil king). Rama (an incarnation of Dewa Wisnu) calls upon Sugriwa (king of the monkeys) and Hanuman (Sugriwa's General) to help him retrieve Sita. However, within the Ramayana, there are also antagonist monkeys like Subali that attempt to assist Rawana. In the end, Hanuman, along with his monkey army, defeats Rawana's evil forces and helps Rama to retrieve Sita.Because monkeys can embody both positive and negative forces, the Balinese both loathe and revere monkeys. Monkeys that occupy sacred Balinese Hindu temple sites (like the Sacred Monkey Forest) tend to be revered and protected by the Balinese. One reason for this is that monkeys, in the form of a Barong, are believed to be capable of guarding temple sites against evil spirits. However, the Balinese belief that monkeys can be negative in nature is reinforced when, for example, they raid rice fields or snatch items from souvenier shops."

Wow! Read more at http://www.monkeyforestubud.com/monkey.html

Thank god for the bike! We don't have to walk all the way back to Yulia! It was fun riding the bike, we manage to see more things and can go almost anywhere!!