Hello, there!
How's 2014 treated you so far?
Of course, this entry is meant to keep my word.
My Bali experience was awful.
Not only did I not get to enjoy the sun, the sand and the beautiful beach babes that weren't even in sight, I felt like I wasted a good five days worth of studying for my Finals.
My family had gone to Bali the same period a year ago, but they came back with all smiles and praises for Bali.
Me?
Well, let me get into the whole trip first.
The Bali trip went on from December 22nd to 26th, exactly during my study break right before Finals that started on the 31st.
The flight to Bali was a definite sign of worse things to come, where there were frequent spells of turbulence.
I am not a person to easily get headaches but that time my head really felt pain.
I was nauseous and uncomfortable, and the only thought I had on my mind was, "please don't throw up, please don't throw up,".
We landed at Ngurah Rai Airport close to midnight, the start of the 23rd.
It was pouring violently and the hour-long wait at the immigrations was not the warm welcome I was expecting.
We only got to our hotel close to 3AM and were scheduled to go sight-seeing come 10AM that same day.
We set out to Bedugul, where there was supposed to be this huge beautiful lake atop a mountain.
It took hours to manoeuvre through the traffic jams and hoards of people on the road.
The heavy rain was certainly not helping.
I am not a big fan of rain, especially on a holiday trip where all there is to do is done outside.
The first day in Bali was a total bummer and Bedugul didn't seem all that magnificent as I would have expected.
To be fair, the rain had a lot to do with the place looking all gloomy and wet and damp and uninviting.
We went to the temple there but there was simply nothing to be fascinated about.
I did get some photos but they are not of fond memories.
Throughout the trip, I felt ultra reluctant to shoot anything.
For one, both my brothers were using the prime lenses, so I only had the 18-200 to work with.
Moreover, the constant need to wipe off the rain from my face became a major turn off.
I came back with a little over 300 photos, and only about 50 usable ones.
We didn't do anything or go anywhere later that day.
Only to Discovery Shopping Mall for some scouting and dinner at Pizza Hut.
The next morning it still rained unforgivingly.
We set off straight to lunch at a Minang food restaurant and then hauled to a huge souvenir shop near Kuta.
The rain stopped around 4PM and we were dropped off at Hard Rock Hotel at Kuta.
We walked around all the shops, dwelling the streets and dodging any stray drop of rain that fell.
The streets of Kuta weren't interesting.
There wasn't much life as much as there were other tourists going in and out of all the Billabong, Quiksilver, Volcom stores and massage parlors.
Kuta Beach was the hugest disappointment of all.
The beach was filled with trash, junk, dead branches and also what looked like a "sea raccoon".
I was deeply hurt to see a beach in such a way.
My vacation mood totally died that instant.
I just felt like going home and it was only the second day.
I woke up the third day due to my mother's exclamations of a sunny day.
We were due to go out for more sight-seeing at noon and I relished the chance to just sleep my sadness away.
However, I am not the type of person to sleep in, so naturally I was already up by 9.30AM.
And that's when I saw it.
Sunshine.
The sun was finally shining and the torrential rain just wasn't there, as if it was a Christmas miracle.
The third day was Christmas Day, and it automatically became the highlight of the trip.
After some time playing in the pool, we went on to feast on the best of three lunches we had in Bali.
It was at a Sundanese food restaurant, and it was really nice.
After lunch, we visited Tanjung Benoa, where there were all these boats.
It was scorching hot when we got there but the real reason we had to change spots was because the place wasn't at all suitable for simple relaxing and possibly swimming.
So we headed to Kuta Beach, with hopes that the sun would still shine when we got there.
We reached Kuta Beach around 5PM and the sun was just nice.
But then Bali gave me more reason to keep frowning and dreading the day I decided to come along.
Kuta Beach was still as filthy as a garbage dump, but that was expected.
Although it did break my heart.
Just looking at the condition it was in really made me angry.
The beach wasn't just filled with tourists, but also these irritating and super unpleasant women and men that would approach us and offer massages and Henna tattoos, respectively.
It made me unbelievably uncomfortable, especially when the women would touch our shoulders or give us pats on the back while offering their massage services.
It grossed me out, honestly.
I just wanted to chill on the beach under a big umbrella and reflect on what a bad trip I was on.
But no, I had to repel these unsuspecting beggars, too.
I got up, took out my camera and hoped that shooting some photos would distract me.
Ironically, the thing that would save me from all that was the same thing I despised and blamed for such a horrible experience.
It began to rain.
So we hustled back to the van and had our last dinner in Bali at Pizza Hut, again.
You would think that nothing worse could happen now that it was the final day of the vacation and all that was left was to head home, right?
Wrong.
A year ago, the airport was significantly different from what it was when I was there.
And we would all only realize it after we'd already checked our luggage in and went through the immigration to the departure halls.
That morning, the plan was to wake up, get ready and head straight to the airport after checking out from our rooms.
Lunch was supposed to be had at the departure halls, where there were restaurants.
Alas, there weren't any restaurants to have our lunch.
We were starving and distraught.
The interior of the airport was undergoing renovation and restoration, and all the restaurants were closed.
We had to settle on tuna sandwiches and rubbery French fries.
At that point, I gave up on expecting anything better to come out from the trip.
All I wanted was to get on the plane, get to LCCT, get in the car and get back home.
And after about 10 hours from Ngurah Rai Airport, we reached home.
Just in time for the Liverpool vs Manchester City game, too; which we lost.
So there you have it.
My whole Bali experience.
I think the fact that I felt kind of guilty for actually ignoring my revisions set the whole mood for the trip, where the addition of non-stop rainfall totally put out any glimmer of hope of a fun vacation.
It's just that when my family came back from Bali a year ago, they enjoyed it so much and only had good to say about it.
Maybe I put too high expectations on the trip or maybe it was just bad timing.
Anyhow, a week has passed since the trip.
I don't know if I'll ever go back to Bali.
Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that I got travel and spend time with my family, but I was utterly disappointed by everything that I really can't say I enjoyed myself.
I'm still optimistic for 2014.
I don't know where I'll visit next but I'm excited to go places and see the world.
I finally got to see The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty today and I was in awe.
It was a spectacular movie about just getting out of your comfort zone and really have a life.
But let's save that story for another day.
How's 2014 treated you so far?
Of course, this entry is meant to keep my word.
My Bali experience was awful.
Not only did I not get to enjoy the sun, the sand and the beautiful beach babes that weren't even in sight, I felt like I wasted a good five days worth of studying for my Finals.
My family had gone to Bali the same period a year ago, but they came back with all smiles and praises for Bali.
Me?
Well, let me get into the whole trip first.
The Bali trip went on from December 22nd to 26th, exactly during my study break right before Finals that started on the 31st.
The flight to Bali was a definite sign of worse things to come, where there were frequent spells of turbulence.
I am not a person to easily get headaches but that time my head really felt pain.
I was nauseous and uncomfortable, and the only thought I had on my mind was, "please don't throw up, please don't throw up,".
We landed at Ngurah Rai Airport close to midnight, the start of the 23rd.
It was pouring violently and the hour-long wait at the immigrations was not the warm welcome I was expecting.
We only got to our hotel close to 3AM and were scheduled to go sight-seeing come 10AM that same day.
We set out to Bedugul, where there was supposed to be this huge beautiful lake atop a mountain.
It took hours to manoeuvre through the traffic jams and hoards of people on the road.
The heavy rain was certainly not helping.
I am not a big fan of rain, especially on a holiday trip where all there is to do is done outside.
The first day in Bali was a total bummer and Bedugul didn't seem all that magnificent as I would have expected.
To be fair, the rain had a lot to do with the place looking all gloomy and wet and damp and uninviting.
We went to the temple there but there was simply nothing to be fascinated about.
I did get some photos but they are not of fond memories.
Bedugul, Bali.
Overly generous skies.
Throughout the trip, I felt ultra reluctant to shoot anything.
For one, both my brothers were using the prime lenses, so I only had the 18-200 to work with.
Moreover, the constant need to wipe off the rain from my face became a major turn off.
I came back with a little over 300 photos, and only about 50 usable ones.
We didn't do anything or go anywhere later that day.
Only to Discovery Shopping Mall for some scouting and dinner at Pizza Hut.
The next morning it still rained unforgivingly.
We set off straight to lunch at a Minang food restaurant and then hauled to a huge souvenir shop near Kuta.
The rain stopped around 4PM and we were dropped off at Hard Rock Hotel at Kuta.
We walked around all the shops, dwelling the streets and dodging any stray drop of rain that fell.
The streets of Kuta weren't interesting.
There wasn't much life as much as there were other tourists going in and out of all the Billabong, Quiksilver, Volcom stores and massage parlors.
Kuta Beach was the hugest disappointment of all.
The beach was filled with trash, junk, dead branches and also what looked like a "sea raccoon".
I was deeply hurt to see a beach in such a way.
Sea scrap.
My vacation mood totally died that instant.
I just felt like going home and it was only the second day.
I woke up the third day due to my mother's exclamations of a sunny day.
We were due to go out for more sight-seeing at noon and I relished the chance to just sleep my sadness away.
However, I am not the type of person to sleep in, so naturally I was already up by 9.30AM.
And that's when I saw it.
Sunshine.
The sun was finally shining and the torrential rain just wasn't there, as if it was a Christmas miracle.
The third day was Christmas Day, and it automatically became the highlight of the trip.
After some time playing in the pool, we went on to feast on the best of three lunches we had in Bali.
It was at a Sundanese food restaurant, and it was really nice.
After lunch, we visited Tanjung Benoa, where there were all these boats.
It was scorching hot when we got there but the real reason we had to change spots was because the place wasn't at all suitable for simple relaxing and possibly swimming.
So we headed to Kuta Beach, with hopes that the sun would still shine when we got there.
Tanjung Benoa, Bali.
We reached Kuta Beach around 5PM and the sun was just nice.
But then Bali gave me more reason to keep frowning and dreading the day I decided to come along.
Kuta Beach was still as filthy as a garbage dump, but that was expected.
Although it did break my heart.
Just looking at the condition it was in really made me angry.
The beach wasn't just filled with tourists, but also these irritating and super unpleasant women and men that would approach us and offer massages and Henna tattoos, respectively.
It made me unbelievably uncomfortable, especially when the women would touch our shoulders or give us pats on the back while offering their massage services.
It grossed me out, honestly.
I just wanted to chill on the beach under a big umbrella and reflect on what a bad trip I was on.
But no, I had to repel these unsuspecting beggars, too.
I got up, took out my camera and hoped that shooting some photos would distract me.
Ironically, the thing that would save me from all that was the same thing I despised and blamed for such a horrible experience.
It began to rain.
So we hustled back to the van and had our last dinner in Bali at Pizza Hut, again.
Bright day at the beach.
Coke and a dirty beach.
You would think that nothing worse could happen now that it was the final day of the vacation and all that was left was to head home, right?
Wrong.
A year ago, the airport was significantly different from what it was when I was there.
And we would all only realize it after we'd already checked our luggage in and went through the immigration to the departure halls.
That morning, the plan was to wake up, get ready and head straight to the airport after checking out from our rooms.
Lunch was supposed to be had at the departure halls, where there were restaurants.
Alas, there weren't any restaurants to have our lunch.
We were starving and distraught.
The interior of the airport was undergoing renovation and restoration, and all the restaurants were closed.
We had to settle on tuna sandwiches and rubbery French fries.
At that point, I gave up on expecting anything better to come out from the trip.
All I wanted was to get on the plane, get to LCCT, get in the car and get back home.
And after about 10 hours from Ngurah Rai Airport, we reached home.
Just in time for the Liverpool vs Manchester City game, too; which we lost.
So there you have it.
My whole Bali experience.
I think the fact that I felt kind of guilty for actually ignoring my revisions set the whole mood for the trip, where the addition of non-stop rainfall totally put out any glimmer of hope of a fun vacation.
It's just that when my family came back from Bali a year ago, they enjoyed it so much and only had good to say about it.
Maybe I put too high expectations on the trip or maybe it was just bad timing.
Anyhow, a week has passed since the trip.
I don't know if I'll ever go back to Bali.
Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that I got travel and spend time with my family, but I was utterly disappointed by everything that I really can't say I enjoyed myself.
I'm still optimistic for 2014.
I don't know where I'll visit next but I'm excited to go places and see the world.
I finally got to see The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty today and I was in awe.
It was a spectacular movie about just getting out of your comfort zone and really have a life.
But let's save that story for another day.
"Always hope. Never expect"
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