Bali and New Zealand (again).

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Christmas overseas, in hot climes, isn't something I do often and not something I'll likely do again. But on this occasion, in 2019: boy am I glad I did. It was Christmas BC (Before Corona), and quite possibly our last opportunity to travel afar as a family. It had taken a great amount of time and even greater amount of patience and planning to arrive at the point of successfully organising five adults in three different locations to come together and travel quite literally - to the other side of the planet during a Christmas vacation. We traipsed from England to Dubai to Bali to New Zealand, and back, in just under two weeks. It was a tall order. But eventually a worthwhile one.

Bali

I have travelled South East Asia extensively. People had told me this would be akin to travelling South East Asia.. but calmer. More laid back. I can attest to that, albeit my stay was shorter than a week. I pitched us up in a boutique hotel on a long side road (long gone are my days of backpacking). We spent time by the pool (yes the customary infinity pool overlooking Bali treetops) or taking walks by bleeping traffic, or perusing local shops. I got to see Michelle. And the babies! It has been... years. We studied together at university Michelle and I. Since departing London, the wonders of technology have enabled our friendship to stay alive and by sheer fortune, we've met in New York and Singapore and Bali.

New Zealand

I knew I would return. It was impossible not to. The allure of this land along with the family promise that we would visit one day; was too much to resist forever (although the decade of waiting felt like forever). Upon arrival from Bali, at 5am, bleary eyed, jet lagged and tired, we were greeting by family who, thankfully live fairly close to Auckland international airport. It took some cajoling and a lot of chai to keep us awake until 10pm in order to help us adjust to the kiwi time zone, after which we were fine. The cows that roam the fields and peer into the kitchen never failed to amuse and delight me. I was doing yoga in the garden one day only to open my eyes and see large brown bovine ones staring back at me. We hung out with family, visited a vineyard, overate and overate plenty more on Christmas Day, which entailed an excellent barbeque in the back garden. (I'm still not sold on the whole 'Christmas in the sun idea' but the food, champagne and company were excellent). After Christmas we headed north to the Coromandel and spent the remainder of the vacation at the beach. Sea swims, sandy walks, kayaking, golf, community 5K run. I think one of my favourite moments was taking myself off the to Port Road Project, a small, independent coffee shop on the main road: laptop and coffee. For hours. It was so reminiscent of all the travels that I have done solo; always finding a cute coffee shop in which to park myself and percolate my words. Whangmata is exactly the kind of place I could easily stay, forever.

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