Thursday, February 27, 2014

Indonesia: Bali Day 2 (Part 2) - Bali Mall Galleria, Kuta

After a busy morning in Ubud, racing from attraction to attraction, we were beat and were eager to move on to the next part of the holiday - Kuta. 

The drive from Ubud to Kuta took about 1 hour and a half and we slept the entire way while Joe from Bali Joe's drove us in his ever comfortable van to the main tourist hotspot. Our hotel, Grand Mega Resort and Spa, however was in the outskirts of the town center, a good 10 to 15 minutes drive away. Fortunately, it wasn't completely devoid of shops and stores as there was a shopping mall across the road. Unfortunately, that road was a busy freeway with no traffic light to stall the rushing cars and motocycles for us to cross.



We could only rely on the kind traffic guard to help us cross the road but each time, it was a dreaded scurry to the other side of the road.


The mall was Mal Bali Galeria or Bali Mall Galleria and getting in to the mall itself was quite a puzzler.The nearest entrance for us (coming from the hotel) was through the mall car park. Alternatively, its main entrance was further down the road and to get there, we had to walk past DFS Galleria Mall, its duty-free and higher end counterpart and walk a good 5 minutes inwards before reaching Bali Mall Galleria. Spotting this mall from the street can be tricky as it is not visible from the street. But most taxi drivers would know this mall otherwise you can use the BIMC Hospital as a landmark.

 
Bali Mall Galleria had an open air concept with several garden courtyards with Balinese architecture decorating the gardens. This, of course, meant there was no escaping the humidity indoors. On the bright side, it was a nice change of scenery especially when you are enjoying a cup of Cold Stone ice-cream.



Imagine my joy when I found Cold Stone Creamery here. After a long tiring day, it was a blessing to dig in to under a shaded bench in the mall garden. The Our Strawberry Blonde was delicious with a delightful mix of sweet, sour, soft, cold and crunchy. I am just drooling over it while writing this post.


Of course, there are multiple flavorings and combinations for you to choose from in Cold Stone but so far, the easier and less-of-a-hassle option will always be their Signature Creations.




However, rest assure that Bali Mall Galleria will have you spoiled for choice in terms of food as they have local and international restaurants for you to choose from. A must try (and at a cheap rate too in Indonesia) is their Avocado fruit regardless of what form it comes in.


This little fruit is so good and most importantly, goes well with chocolate. Imagine having it with Nutella...yummy!

The rest of the day was spent in the hotel (review coming soon) as we had to get up very very very early the morning the following day to travel to Lovina.

Also read about:
Bali Day 0 - Strings of Bad Luck
Bali Day 1 - Temple Tour, Ubud
Bali Day 2 (part 1) - Ubud by Foot 
Bali Day 2 (part 2) - Bali Mall Galleria, Kuta.
Bali Day 3 (part 1) - Lovina Dolphin Cruise 

1 comment:

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