Where To Stay In Bali

Hanging Gardens of Bali, located in Ubud.

If you have plans to visit Bali perhaps the think you don't have to worry about is the place to stay. Since this fascinating tourist attraction never lack of rooms to meet different requirements from their visitors.

There are 6,640 (keep growing) of hotels available all across Bali, in different places with their own unique attractions. It's not the rooms or hotels that you need to worry about, it's where you want to be and how much is the budget that you're willing to pay. Maybe there are few other criteria that you need to consider to suit your personal needs or interest such as location, surrounding areas, types of room, facilities, price and so on.

Hard Rock Hotel, Kuta.

Marriott in Seminyak.

With today's internet technology, to check on these hotels also become much easier. Since the information are scattered widely on the internet the competition become higher and the price become more competitive. It's not just between the hotel that the price is compared but also among the websites that promoting these hotels.

Even though you can search all of these hotels easily, some hotels published their premises with fake photos, or photos of incorrect room and so on. So there are few things to consider avoiding from choosing the wrong hotel. These are few things that I always do before booking my room.

- Check photos from different websites or visitors to get the accurate pictures of the room or place.

- Check on the Google Street for the surrounding areas, as this too can give you clearer picture of the place and the surrounding.

- To check on the facilities as this too can reflect the hotel's capabilities in order to meet your expectations.

-  The number of rooms too is another indicator of the hotel's capability in order to provide better services, even though this not always accurate.

Knowing what you want is the key to find the right place to stay. Sometimes you need to stay at certain locations, to allow you to easy access for other places such as restaurants, beaches, convenience store, transportation, attractions, malls, bars and many other reasons. This can save you lots of time; money and energy at the same time give more time to rest.

Viceroy in Ubud.

Sharma Bamboo House.

Eco Bamboo Home.

Nice place not always necessary to be expensive. Anyway they need to fulfill the basic necessities such as cleanliness, reliable, easy access, hassle free, and clearly stated of operations practices. Yes, often you need to know clearly the hotel check-in and check-out out time or there's any extra charges apply. These small things can still affect customer’s experiences that turn them to loyal customer. Comments from others also can give you some insights about the place but cannot be 100% accurate - some comments are bias or specific to certain time.

Even when you can afford to stay at the best 5 stars hotels, finding the right hotels or places to stay sometimes provide you with extra experiences; that are unique to specific locations. For my personal opinion my experiences always as important as the places where about I’m going to stay as I’m not going to spend all the time at the hotels. Plus most of the times I don’t even use all the facilities provided by these expensive hotels but looking for clean room, good service, nice breakfast, comfort sleep, and the staffs that willingly to help me with all my needs with smile.

Putra Mosque at Putrajaya

Putra Mosque next to Putra Perdana building.

There are two main buildings at Putrajaya that will be easily catches ones glimpse once they arrive there for the first time. Besides there are many others beautiful buildings these two will be the main attractions for its location. The first building is Putra Perdana and the second is Putra Mosque.

Here we are going to see more about Putra Mosque, one of the most visited buildings in Putrajaya. Even though built in contrast to Putra Perdana these two building seems to be a perfect match to be built side by side. Located in by the edge of Putrajaya Lake it can easily be seen by most part of Putrajaya.

Close up view of Putra Mosque.

The interior is simple yet elegant.

The interior of the dome.

The Putra Mosque has unique artistic architecture with pink rose tinted granite that’s totally different from most of the mosques built in Malaysia. Anyway some features make it blend in perfectly to bring in local’s architectures emerge in the first sight. This unique mosque designed resembles few other popular mosques such as King Hassan Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.

The mosque can accommodate 15,000 worshippers at any one time. It also consists of three main functional areas the prayer hall, the Sahn, or courtyard, and various learning facilities and function rooms. The interior (prayer hall) is simple and elegant suitable for all worshiper to perform their prayer in comfort. This majestic designs supported by 12 columns with the highest point below the dome is 250 feet above the ground level.

Putra Mosque during the sunset.

One of the iconic building in Putrajaya.

The construction of the mosque completes on 1 September 1999 with cost of around RM250 millions. It is named after the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj. Putra Mosque becomes one of the mosque unique mosques in Malaysia by combining the Middle Eastern and traditional Malay design elements.

Putra Mosques become one of the most popular attractions in Putrajaya for locals and tourist. Non-Muslims also permitted to visit outside of prayer times without any admission charge. Robes are provided for visitors and they are requires to follow the rules when visiting the mosque.

Next to the mosque are Putra Square, food courts by the lakeside and the Putrajaya Lake Cruise that added visitors’ experiences when they visit this mosque. This will be the opener to any visitor to Putrajaya before they are ready to explore to any other part of this area. 

Forest in The City, KL Eco Park

KL Eco Park, a unique park in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

KL Eco Park is not a new location, it was previously known as Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve which is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. It is an area designated as a forest reserve since 1906 again. The location is next to KL Tower, add the uniqueness of both these important locations and facilitate the visit of visitors.

KL Eco Park has its own attraction for travelers by providing special routes like Route Merbau Trail (360m), Jelutong Trail (300m) and Canopy Walk (200m) with a height of 21 meters above the trees. It is an attraction that helps the visitors to get to know more about the tropical forest.

Gate at KL Eco Park. 

Formerly known as Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve.

One of the trails at KL Eco Park.

Altogether there are about 233 species of trees and 12 species of animals that makes KL Eco Park as their habitat, whereas the species of animals not including some species of birds that not normally seen through the park at certain times.

Although the entrance fee to the park is FREE proposals to charge the visitors in the future has been announced. The fee is to help the maintenance work done more frequently to ensure that the park facilities are in good condition. The proposed ticket prices are RM12 for adults and RM4 for children, while tickets for tourists are RM40 for adults and RM18 for children.

The Canopy Walk.

The bridge of Canopy Walk.

Against the backdrop of the City of Kuala Lumpur.

The path to the Canopy Walk.

If you would like to see more uniqueness of KL Eco Park you can visit this park while it's still free. The admission fee is not too high if it can maintain good facilities with effective management.

Visiting hours are between 7:00 am until 6:00 pm each day.

For more information, you may contact:

Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia Headquarters,

Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, 50660 Kuala Lumpur.

Phone No: + 603-2070 6342

Fax No: 603-2692 5657

Hotline: 1-800-88-5776

Email: webmaster@forestry.gov.my

website: www.forestry.gov.my

Interesting Places To Visit in SE Asia

Bayon, located in the complex of Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

SE Asia (Southeast Asia) is a region that includes some of the countries with lot of history that should be appreciated by not only the people of SE Asia alone, but by all of the world's population. Thus with the help of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the most important sites have been listed so that it continues to be maintained in addition to allowing people to visit it.

Although most of the remains only part of the history, its keep lots of the characteristics of our own uniqueness that lived in the same region. To some extent it reminds our linkages to neighboring countries. Many of us who have near or distance ancestor relationship, while there are many things we do (like food, clothing and speech have in common). Thus, these areas become important and we should focus on, as we are the people who live in SE Asia.

To date, UNESCO listed around 37 areas in 9 countries as a "World Heritage Sites", though more areas listed in the years to come. Through this listing, it is even easier for the visitors to see for themselves the uniqueness of the region. While local residents also benefit from the visits of foreign visitors.

Here is a list of “Heritage Sites” areas by country:

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

2 The World Heritage Sites in Cambodia:

• Angkor complex, Seam Reap.
• Temple of Preah Vihear, Preah Vihear.

Temple complex in Central Java, Indonesia.

8 The World Heritage Sites in Indonesia:

• Borobudur, Central Java.
• Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara.
• Prambanan, Central Java.
• National Park Ujung Kulon, Banten and Lampung.
• Sangiran Early Settlement Area, Central Java.
• Lorentz National Park, Papua.
• Taman Negara Rainforest in Sumatra (3 locations), Sumatra.
• Cultural Landscape of Bali (2 locations), Bali

Luang Prabang, Laos.

2 The World Heritage Sites in Laos:

• Luang Prabang Urban Area,
• Remains of Vat Phou, Champasak

Kinabalu National Park, Malaysia.

4 The World Heritage Sites in Malaysia:

• Mulu National Park, Sarawak
• Kinabalu National Park, Sabah
• Town, Melaka and Georgetown
• Aerkeologi site, Lenggong Valley

Ancient City Pyu, Myanmar.

1 Area World Heritage Sites , in Myanmar:

• Ancient Pyu city, Mandalay

The old church, Church of San Agustín, Paoay, Philippines.

6 The World Heritage Sites in the Philippines:

• Baroque Churches of the Philippines (4 locations)
• Tubbataha reef area, Palawan
• Rice Hill area, Cordilleras.
• Historic Town of Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
• National Park, Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River, Palawan.
• Hamiguitan Mountain Wildlife Area, Davao Oriental.

Singapore Botanical Garden.

1 The World Heritage Sites in Singapore:

• Singapore Botanic Gardens

Complex of the Old Kingdom of Sukhothai, Thailand.

5 Areas World Heritage Sites, in Thailand:

• Historic City of Ayutthaya.
• Historic Town of Sukhothai.
• Wildlife Area, Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng, Uthai Thani.
• Archaeological Site Ban Chiang, Udon Thani.
• Forestry complex Phayayen Dong-Khao Yai, Saraburi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Nayok, Prachinburi, Rayong and Buriram.

Old Government Complex in Hué, Vietnam.

8 The World Heritage Sites in Vietnam:

• Monument Complex of Hué, Thua Thien-Hue.
• Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh.
• Hoi An, Quang Nam.
• My Son Sanctuary, Quang Nam.
• National Park Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Quang Binh.
• Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Hanoi.
• Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, Thanh Hóa.
• Complex View Trang An, Ninh Binh.

Maybe you do not get a chance to visit all of them. However, our visit to these places listed above to some extent gives us many lessons about the history around SE Asia. Undoubtedly every country and region has its own uniqueness, the uniqueness that allows us to better understand one another.

For the locals in the listed country in return, do your best for preserving these important areas. Give all cooperation to the visitors who come to see the uniqueness your area. Your help is an effort that is needed; in addition it also may help your own economic status.