TWO DAYS TRAVEL TO BALI'S SURFING CAPITAL

Journal entry (a direct copy):

19 September

“It’s currently 3am in Kuala Lumpur Int. Airport (KUL), we have been travelling since 4am on the 17th. First flight was a doddle, 2 movies, a meal and a nap later we were there. 7-hour layover was fine. Abu Dhabi to KUL was rough enough, we seen the sunrise and sunset on this flight. Landed in KUL at 10:00am. Airport and check in was a lil scunnering. Realised the initial hotel booked was a 45-minute drive = no go. Booked Sri Langit – total pits. Waited 3 hours to check in. 4pm – 11pm endured it. No food, no shower, no change of clothes (hoping all is well @ baggage reclaim tomorrow)… this is what we signed up for! Dodging cats and listening to a preachy rave/stag do vibe going on next door, we weren’t in the form. Grab back to KUL, a McD’s and now here we are, in a peaceful corner slowly waiting on the last leg to Bali, I actually don’t mind it at all. As Dad said, “Even shit hotels and stinky jumpers are experience, don’t just want the nice parts”. I must add, for the first time I feel excited, it’s actually happening…”

0345 Saturday 17th September. It was time to undertake the journey to the other side of the world, 7,925 miles to be exact. I suppose it’s expected for me to describe the whirlwind of emotions that I was experiencing as I commenced this journey, but, for me this wasn’t the case. My lack of emotion made me wonder if this was something I wanted or should be doing. Perhaps, I could say I was slightly numb as the realisation that this was happening kicked in; a small part of me was always prepared to expect the unexpected that may cancel the trip, a way of protecting myself against the heartbreak that this trip, which was months in the making, may not go ahead. Obviously, this wasn’t the case. Don’t worry, I’m not completely emotionless, the excitement does kick in... eventually.

Travelling from Dublin airport to Abu Dhabi was bliss, flying with Etihad was a huge luxury for us, I mean we’re used to EasyJet and RyanAir, so the treatment felt first class in comparison to the usual budget airline flights. We touched town in Abu Dhabi feeling refreshed for our 7-hour layover until our second flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This flight was rough enough, we seen the sunrise and sunset on this journey. Landed at 10am. We exited the airport navigating the taxi system to discover the hotel we initially booked was a 45-minute drive away. Nope. First hurdle to overcome, straight on the case. We booked Sri Langit, a 10 to 15-minute drive away. Take my word for it, do NOT book this hotel. After a rough flight, we arrived to wait 3 hours to check in listening to what sounded like a cross between a religious rave and a stag do while three 50-seater busloads of people filled the reception and checked in before us, this felt more chaotic than it was because of how scunnered we were. Scunnered with stray cats coming and rubbing their scabby fur against our legs and belongings forcing us to 'calmly' jump onto the seats, anything to avoid contact. Anyone who knows me knows how I much I dislike cats and anyone who knows Shannon knows how much she hates disease, yes we judged. But seriously, these cats weren't in good shape. I mean, if it was now, we would not be phased.

The whole experience was quite something to get us started into the world of travel. We literally smelt but enduring the smell of our own body odor was better than using the mould ridden shower, so wipes it was. Enduring the room from 4pm – 11pm was all we could handle until ordering a grab (we hadn’t eaten yet even though we could see restaurants directly across a 4 lane motorway... I would never be hangry* enough to risk that) to the airport to ride out the rest of the wait there (our flight was 9am), believe me when I say this was more enjoyable than this so called ‘hotel’, it wouldn’t even rank as a hostel, not a chance. Don’t get fooled by booking.com like we did, though this isn’t the only time we have been ‘catfished’ by accommodation, you’ll hear about this later. McD’s in the airport, yes I know, typical western tourists eating western fast food chains everywhere they go. But seriously, it was 11pm, nowhere was open, and a home comfort was justified at this point.

Time differences will always be slightly confusing, particularly when travelling through them. 1500 (local time to Bali) Monday 19th September – We arrived in Uluwatu. Entry to Bali was straightforward but lengthy as we had opted for Visa on Arrival (VOA) therefore we had to face immigration queues twice. My checked bag took a loooong time to be thrown out of the baggage shoot, considering the last time I had seen it was two days prior in Dublin, the fear was totally present. However, this relatively smooth sailing of a journey continued and out it popped. From this point onwards, I always fill my carry-on bag with my valuables (mainly my Highland Bagpipes and laptop/hard drives) so if the checked bag goes AWOL all I’m losing is clothes and items that can be easily replaced, after all, it’s just ‘stuff’, no big deal. Although I’ll always touch wood in the hope that this doesn’t happen.

Time to dive into good stuff.

*Hangry = hungry/angry. Thanks Ellie, this word is now a part of my vocab…

Swipe left to see the photos attached here:

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Our first destination: Bali, Indonesia

Uluwatu, the surf capital of Bali, was simply beautiful; the cliffside, the beaches and independent clothes stores, restaurants and businesses. We stayed in Batu Kandik Homestay for 2 nights which was unfortunately a little out of the atmosphere and slightly tainted our experience of Uluwatu as we couldn’t walk anywhere and always had to rely on Grabs or Gojeks (Asian version of Uber) but we still appreciated this place for what it was and the beauty it held. On our first night we headed straight for the famous Single Fin Beach Bar, right on the cliffside. We spent the evening enjoying a few cocktails, watching the surf, and having dinner appreciating the sunset, just a slight step up from the usual TV dinner?? If this wasn’t a pinch me moment for the first night of our trip, I’m not sure what would have been. Sitting in a relatively busy Single Fins, in the moment I seriously experienced imposter syndrome, it was a strange sensation that made me question if I fitted in where I was and if I was worthy to experience this moment. Ultimately, how on earth was I so lucky to have actually made it? It was official, I really was backpacking for the next 3 months.

We explored the cliff side (businesses had literally built up the side of this area), enjoyed the surrounding restaurants, and visited Padang Padang beach, where we had a run in with a wild monkey, they’re cute from a distance but honestly, they’re vicious creatures. I must admit, I have always been aware that they’re always on the hunt to steal from the next vulnerable tourist. When I was still in a pram, in France, a monkey came out of nowhere (well obviously a tree) and stole my dummy right out of my mouth. As you can imagine I was absolutely stunned, so much so that I didn’t even cry. No chance was I losing anything else to these robbing beasts this time round.

Shannon and I bit the bullet and took our first ride on the back of a GoRide…together meaning 3 people, one bike, as there were no taxis available. On a GoRide you ride on the back of a scooter/moped (sorry Mum but it's the norm). During this first ride I was so nervous and rigid, refusing to do anything other than look straight and hold on, whereas now I hop on without a care, it’s second nature. It’s funny how quickly we all adapt to things and ways of life when it’s the norm in our present surroundings. It’s the same as stray dogs, at the start all I thought was rabies rabies rabies (disclaimer: they definitely didn't have rabies) and would cautiously move to the other side of the road, whereas now I’ll pet them without hesitation. Miss you Rufus X (you’ll also hear about this later).

Having felt that the serenity of Uluwatu was intensifying this imposter type feeling making it harder to settle into this new lifestyle, 2 nights was enough for us. If we were to go back, we would stay in the Padang Padang beach area, this area had some hustle and life about it, bearing in mind Uluwatu is fairly quiet and not associated with a bar/party scene. Our next stop was quite literally the opposite to Uluwatu in terms of the party scene and pace of life. We threw ourselves into the deep end and headed to Canggu for 5 nights.

To be continued...