Bali

At last - something to write about! :o)

Last week I jetted off to Indonesia to hang out in Bali with two great mates from Perth and after about 18 hours of trains, planes and bumming around in airports (thank god for wi-fi and shops) I landed at Denpasar airport ready to begin my latest adventure.

It crossed my mind pre departure that getting into Kuta on the 9th anniversary of the 2002 Bali Bombings might not be the smartest thing but as it turned out there was no cause for concern. Not for a moment during my stay did I feel my safety was in danger in any way. Of course, this may have been due to my travel buddies - a.k.a my bodyguards.

Day One of sitting round the pool with Bintang saw us through a 6.8 earthquake. At first I thought a big fat truck was bumping down the alley behind me until the rolling rumble of the ground beneath me crossed the pool area to the building, shaking the three story building like jelly. Paul and I watched in slow motion fascination as the elevator shaft shook like a Jenga tower, cracks started to appear in the walls and the staff started to pour out of the building. Not one to miss out on the action, Adam was up in his room during the excitement but I think he was more than happy to grab a Bintang when he emerged :o)

That afternoon we trundled into Kuta for a wander round and ended up at Billys Bar. A regular here got us off the Bintang and onto a lovely concoction called Frog Juice. Although already fairly well charged, the frog juice was just too good to say no. So we didnt. Many, many times...

The following day was expectedly very slow until mid afternoon when we ventured back into town again and ended up at a cute little bar with swings in the trees, after checking out the start of the Kuta Carnivale procession which was lining up on the beach. This bar was a great find so was sat and chilled for the evening and watched a beautiful sunset.

And I got to drink from a coconut!!

The next few days were much of the same with the boys heading out til 7am one night while I sat curled up foetel with Bali Belly and battling with a mozzie I was too weak to swat!

We hit the markets on our last day and haggled for a few choice finds. Even the proper shops like Sketchers and Guess were chocked up with incredible bargains that only a good deal of will power stopped me from buying crap I didnt really need.

It was truly wonderful to catch up with genuine mates like Adam and Paul. These guys are like brothers to me and I couldnt imagine better people to have experienced Bali for the first time with.

Now, I'm the first to admit I've never considered Bali as a destination of choice. While never completely written off, I dont think its ever been high on my "must see list", despite the hoards of Australian and International tourists who venture to this destination every year. I now see this was a very closed minded opinion on my behalf.

The sometimes unfortunate reputation this beautiful country can get is mostly not due to the behaviour of its inhabitants but instead its visitors. They abuse a beautiful culture and disrespect its laws and beliefs and the media will play up any one sided story to stoke their desire for higher ratings.

Yes, its a third world destination so dont go expecting the Ritz and gold paved streets. Personally I would rather return to this fascinating corner of the world than revisit some of the more forward thinking, advanced societies I have taken the time to experience. And yes, there are bad people out there and bad things can happen but I think you'd be hard pressed to show me a place where there arent bad people and bad things dont happen. Its happens everyday in our own backyards.

And as for those who make stupid decisions while abroad and return home to blame it on the country they were just in... well... it just comes down to common sense doesnt it? I've said it before and I'll say it again - Common sense is an amazingly simple survival tool.