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Published: April 3rd 2010
Bali Day 1 001
My room ... the two women freak me out a bit17,183 kilometers, 3 flights and 26 hours later, I have finally made it to Bali! Truly an uneventful journey with very little turbulence and only a few minutes delays here and there. My only woe is that I had a window seat which meant that I had to jump over the overly entertaining Filipino couple that was sitting beside me (they were going home to Manila for their 45 year high school reunion). I usually take the aisle so that it allows me to wander around the plane at will. Not being as mobile meant that my feet swelled up to the size of watermelons. I had a serious case of “cankles” by the time I got off that plane!!! How lovely!! The highlight (besides the hearty helping of bibimbap … award winning bibimbap I might add) was seeing the absolutely breathtaking snowcapped mountains as we made our way across westward. I believe that we flew over Vladivostok at one point. Truly stunning! Unfortunately the camera was packed in my carry-on suitcase and I just didn’t have the heart to jump over my seat mates just for that! Well truth be told, both of them were practically sitting in my lap
Bali Day 1 002
The view ... that's the volcano! just as fascinated by the site.
I made it out of the airport in record time seeing that most of my fellow passengers went to the Visa on Arrival line. Having made arrangements for my visa at home, I was essentially the only one going through customs. Me and the whole flight crew! My driver was dutifully waiting for me at the exit holding up a sign with my name on it … which totally makes you feel like a rockstar. I wasn’t the only “rockstar” having made the same arrangements because the exit doors were lined with tons of other drivers. I’m glad that I spent the extra money because by that time my brain was less than functional.
I was greeted at the Lokha Legian with a yummy welcoming drink and I believe that it took about less than five minutes for the guy at the counter to say “you here alone, you not married”. Awww it never gets old! My room overlooks the pool and the weather was just perfect so I spent a couple of hours on the balcony just soaking it in. It reminded me of the very first time that I went
to Cuba with my mom and we arrived quite late and spent the first few hours just like that … on our balcony, soaking in the fact that we were in Cuba while enjoying some Cuban rhum. That was 10 years ago and it was the second time that I had ever been out of Canada … so as I sat on my balcony (sipping tea) in Bali, it truly hit me how much things had changed for me in so little time. And it was on that positive thought that I went off to bed ….
The morning started quite early when the fogging of the common areas started at around 6 am! There was a note on my writing desk about the fact that that was going to happen but I never imagined that it would sound like that! And of course, I just could not go back to sleep especially after I saw that I could actually see the volcano from my room. So I unpacked a little, took a shower and headed off to breakfast …mmmm yummy fruit! There is a guy there that makes pancakes on demand … he seemed to be quite popular
Bali Day 1 004
Torrential rain! so I’ve made a mental note to go check that out tomorrow morning! As I made my way back to my room, the skies essentially opened up. A wall of rain that lasted all of 10 minutes … typical in climates like this! So not deterred, I walked over to Legian Beach which is about 200 meters away from the hotel. And so started my walk ... Legian Beach soon became Seminyak Beach and my short walk ended up being a few hours long. Along the way, I saw many fishermen and of course tons of tourists doing exactly the same thing I was doing. The beach is beautiful but as with any beach near the ocean, seaweed and rubbish pile up and so comes in the tractor that runs up and down the beach. So I just wandered the beach just soaking in the site and of course taking tons of photos. And so I have officially firmly planted my feet in the Indian Ocean! Hours of walking did not help the cankle situation! I then headed back towards the hotel and whiled away the rest of the day by the pool and doing a bit of shopping in
Bali Day 1 005
Beautiful flowers around the hotel the surrounding streets. General laziness was the order of the day ....
So now I am ending the day at Bianco where there are tons of Aussies watching soccer games on large TV screens. I am personally enjoying Beef Radang, a Balinese beer and free internet!
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Anik
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Rendue ...
Salut Caro! Contente de te savoir bien rendue ... mille regrets que nous n'ayons pas eu la chance de se parler de vive voix avant ton départ - bel et bien eu ton message, mais je ne suis pas tout à fait maîtresse de mon temps! ... mais je pense très fort à toi! Quel beau paysage et la plage!!! En te souhaitant de belles aventures - comme toujours! Salutations de tous ici ... nik xox Nik, Nat et Fab