Bali

More than 10 years ago, Bali, the island province of Indonesia was rocked by a terror attack. It took more than 200 lives, not counting collateral damages. But that did not stop people from flocking back to the island to look for excellent scuba-diving and even better food. I did just that over the Vesak Day holiday (observed by Singapore).

From huge wreck sites like Liberty Wreck and the nearby Drop Off, to the Gili Tepekong and Manta Point, Bali has lots to offer for all avid divers wanting to experience a very vibant and unique marine fauna. Mola mola and manta rays can be seen almost all year round, depending on your luck and/or perhaps how convincingly you can describe your encounters.

The scuba industry in Bali is growing. At the airport, you can see stacks and stacks of brochures most of them from offering free try outs for curious newbies, to perks like free nitrox to the more experienced. Your only problem is deciding which one to go with.

Even if you are not interested in diving, there are lots to do in Bali. The streets are lined with spas offering all sorts of treatment you can imagine. Cream baths, hair treatments, mani-pedis and other stuffs which I shall not be too obvious about here. All these for half of what you would pay in Singapore.

With so many tourists from all over the world coming to Bali, you can find all sorts of cuisine in Bali. Some may not be as common like french or chinese, but if you look hard enough you can get at least the <insert country name>-Bali fusion. Some of them prepared by actual chefs from <same country name as before>. Bakso, sate, keriting, KFC, Texas Chicken and of course the very familiar McDonald's, food is definitely not a problem.

Nice food and fun activities for really affordable prices separated by a 2.5 hour flight, I will be back!