What Happens In Bali, Remains In Bali (28.07.06 - 30.07.06)

The trip to Bali was really an eye opener for me. It was quite a good experience. Below is the summary of my trip.

Day 1
I reached air port early and i have to thank Soon Teck for driving Hadi and I there. We had a heavy break fast at one of the canteen of the air port. We checked in at the Garuda counter early and the plane took off at around 10.30am or so. We had to proceed to Jakarta first to wait for another flight which will bring us to Soeharto-Hatta airport. We reached Bali in the afternoon and after which we made our way to the Bali Hard Rock Hotel. It is a 5 stars hotel and the facade and facilities were magnificent. We quickly changed into our shorts and t-shirt and headed to the Kuta beach to have a slow walk to enjoy the scenery. The scenery of the beach was breath-taking although it was a bit crowded with people. We walked the whole stretch of Jalan Raya Pantai Kuta. The roads in Bali resembled that of the roads of Johor Bahru. However, the places seemed to be pretty clean. We searched high and low for restaurants that could provide us with the local cuisine and we found this Chinese restaurant that does sell local food. I couldn't find any halal restaurants and have to result to eating non-halal food. I was cautious too in ordering food in that restaurant. I ordered fried rice with crab and it was damn awful. I really have no choice and I hope God will forgive me for this. Gosh. I swear i will never do it again. My colleagues did a bit of road side shopping and gosh, they bargained a lot. Typical Singaporeans! We chanced upon a massage parlour, a decent one, that charges 75000 rupiah for a whole body massage. I did not want to go for the massage because i only trust my private massager cum physiotherapist. While waiting for our turn, we waited outside the massage parlour. We were pestered by a group of children who tried to sell leg bands. They were selling them at expensive prices. I did not buy any of the leg bands because i condone no child slavery or exploitation. I am sure they earn lesser than what they sell. After the massage, we went to straight back to our hotel to prepare ourselves to club. After all of us were ready, we headed to Jalan Legian where the whole stretch of road provides entertainment because there are many clubs, pubs and discos. Basically, i went to all of them. That was my first time clubbing and it was a magnificent experience. First stop was Paddy's Club. It was the club that the terrorists bombed couple of years back. It was pretty boring because there weren't many people in it. An hour later, we went to The Bounty and it was superb. I bet it was better than any clubs in Singapore. The crowd there was spontaneous. I decided to dance and danced i did. Shafiq, Farhan and i went to the centre spot, just infront of the stage, to dance. Then i saw Hadi on the stage and i decided to join him. I was there infront of the crowd dancing crazily and haphazardly. I didn't know what kind of dancing i was executing. Haha. The crowd went wild every time the DJ changed songs. The club is on the second storey and when the crowd danced, the place felt like as if it was going to crumble. Damn fun! Then most of us decided head back to the hotel but only Shafiq, Farhan, Hadi and I stayed. The four of us went to Embargo to party till dusk. Embargo was 'happening', a local term for lively. Haha. The place was very crowded so much so that we had little space to move around. At around 4 in the morning, we decided to return to the hotel. We managed to hail a taxi and returned to our hotel, not before bargaining for the fare. We managed to bargain from 60,000 rupiah to 10,000 rupiah. Haha.

Day 2
I woke up late and had my breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. The food was scrumptous and delicious. I tried most of the food that they served. Hehe. Then off we go to our own trip. 'Bulb' apparently have this friend of his who drove us around Bali and our first stop was this volcano. I've forgotten the name of the volcano. We made our way up to this mountain through meandering roads at break neck speed. I was asleep most of the time. Haha. When we reach the mountain top, we were mesmerised by the beautiful scenery of the volcano. We couldn't be on the volcano physically because there are no roads at all. Instead, we have to view to volcano on a nearby mountain. We took time to enjoy the scenery and then our favourite activity; eating. Haha. This restaurant that we dine in is not an ordinary restaurant. It is located on top of the mountain, just on the highest slope. We could pratically sit on one of the table which is located on the edge of the mountain, if you know what i mean. It was fucking cold. The whole experience was magnificent. After that, we went to Sukawati Whole Sale Art Market and did some shopping. I didn't buy anything. Haha. Then we headed to this restaurant in Sanur that serves Minang food and i didn't dig in because i was too damn full. After dinner, we headed to this message parlour, Balinese Oriental Message, Spa and Reflexology at Jalan Setia Budi No. 234 Kuta, Bali. When we entered the parlour, i was surprised to see all the messagers in a room that looked like a fish tank and then i instanly knew that we were at the wrong place to look for a massage. All my friends wanted to go for a massage and i so i just joined in the fun. We have to pick our ladies and my seniors booked the beautiful ones and we have not much choices left. 'Bulb' wanted to choose this lady but i grabbed her before he could even breathe. Haha. This messager of mine is very pretty too. Before we entered our room, i told her that i only wanted a professional message and no hanky-panky. She did an overhaul massage on me and it was not that bad. Amidst the treatment, we engaged ourselves in conversation. I asked for her name and she told me that her name is Iluh. She's a Hindu. We talked from food to sport and from religion to her personal life. She's not living with parents who live in the kampung area of Bali. She's now living with her 9 years old sister near that massage parlour. She had just started work and have been with the massage parlour for only 1 month. We talked and talked and talked until we came to a silence. I told her Balinese are very friendly and beautiful people and out of no where she asked me some very hard-to-answer questions. First, she asked me whether i have girlfriend and i told her that i don't have. She again asked me as to why i do not have a girlfriend. I just told her that i don't have time. She said that i was kidding and my reason wasn't good enough. I told her again that i really do not have the time. Then we went into silence again. I digressed and again, she asked me why i do not have a partner. I didn't answer her. Then for the very first time, someone called me a 'ganteng'. Ganteng means handsome in Bahasa Indonesia. I was like 'what the hell'. I laughed after she said that. She told me i'm quite hilarious. Then came the ultimate question. She asked me why i picked her. I couldn't say i feel that she's pretty, could i? So i just told her this, 'Like i've said, Balinese girls are pretty just like her.' I know it was damn lame. After all was done, she led me out of the room and i thanked her. The whole treatment lasted for one hour and after the treatment, i realised that i have chatted with her for 40min and the remaining 20min was the actual massage treatment. I don't mind the cost as the 40min chatting session was a fruitful one. Just before we left, i went to her and asked for her handphone number and she wrote it on a piece of paper. I managed to take a picture with her. Hehe. Some people said that whatever the massagers said might not be true, i think otherwise for i sense sincerity in her. Just by chatting, i have this sense that she was sincere. I could see sadness in her eyes. Who would want to end up like what she is now? Some how, i believe her. Call me stupid or naive, but i believe her. Just don't ask why. After that, we returned to our hotel to dress up to party again. First stop was the dangdut parlour. It was damn cool. It was my first time going to a dangdut joint. I admit i have the moves when it comes to dangdut. So natural. I prefer the live music to the KTV. Haha. Richard and I ended up singing stupid songs from Westlife, BSB and Fool's Garden while Bulb and Shafiq... hahaha (if you know what i mean)...after dangdut, we went to the same clubs and pubs we went the day before. We partied until 4am in the morning.

Day 3 (The Finale)
I woke up late again and i had late breakfast with my friends. They ate quite fast and i was left all alone. Great, this was what i needed. I was all alone. Tranquility. Peace. I needed them all. Reflection. Yeah, i did some reflection. I discovered 3 things. I was a moron in Bali. Secondly, i realised what i need all along is my self-belief. I sat there alone, smoking and drinking coffee while doing some reflection. Lastly, i discovered, EUREKA!, i'm in love with Bali. Such a nice place. However, sad to say i would be leaving Bali behind. I went back to my hotel room to pack my bag and after packing my stuff, i headed to the lobby to wait for my other colleagues. We left Hard Rock Hotel Bali at noon and we went straight to the air port. We boarded a Garuda flight and we landed on Singapore at around 4.30pm. After that, couple of us went to the perfume shop to collect our cologne that we bought earlier before we went to Bali. I bought a Davidoff Cool Water and it was worth the buy. A nice smell for the price of $69 after 20% discount all thank to Hadi. I reached home at about 7pm.

Lessons learnt:
1) I have learned many things in Bali. Firstly, i've learned not to judge people by their faces or by what they do. We always like to criticise people who do low pay jobs like masseur or even road sweeper but in actual fact, we are actually criticising ourselves. We failed to see their inner beauty. What they do and what they are inside are totally different things. I agree with you guys if you detest the job of a masseur, road sweeper or even a prostitute but don't ever discount or look down on them because some times they really have no choice. Would you criticise a road sweep if that worker is your mom? After all, they are humans like us. Instead of looking down on them, we should change them. What's the use of words if there are no actions? I know it is really difficult to change the paradigm of a community let alone a nation but this should be a collective effort.

2) You have to follow the correct role model. It is easy to influence others but it is difficult to influence one self. In order to be successful in life, you have to be yourself. Take what is good from others and discard what is bad. I, for instace, didn't know that i can get swayed easily by others until my trip to Bali was over. I've always thought i was stong mentally. To regret is just a waste of time and what i should do instead is to learn from my mistakes. To err is human but to 're-err', thy name ought to be 'Fool'.

3) Seeing the beauty of both the beautiful ebony and clear sky, the majestic flow of sea water and the beauty of towering volcanoes and mountains, it has certainly strengthen my belief of God. No body can create such beauties. I know i haven't been a good Muslim but i vow to change. Even though clubbing is a nice activity, i admit, but what good will it churn up for you? You go there just to blow your money away. There are also other clean and fun activities to do.

Lastly, i just want to say that i'll be going back to Bali in December to enjoy, relax and most importantly, find her. You can call me stupid, blur fuck, dumb, crap, shit or whatever and i won't give a damn. I don't care if it is a crush or lust, i'm going back to find her. May God be with me.