BFFs in Bali

I jumped out of bed (well- the top bunk in an 8 bed dorm room) with a huge grin on my face on August 29th. In only a matter of hours, I would meet Jessica at the Denpasar Airport in Bali. Christmas morning had arrived. One ride on the KL metro, one hour long airport shuttle and one AirAsia flight later, I was still beaming with excitement. At Customs, I paid the $25 US for the 30 day Indonesian visa, took my receipt and got in line for the stamp. Only one hour until Jessica's flight lands and then its best-friend-time all-the-time for the next two weeks. Too good to be true. Next thing I know, the Official who is supposed to be stamping my passport is telling me that there's no more room on any of the pages and that he cannot give me a stamp. Talk about a mood change. My perma-grin was instantly replaced with a racing heart beat and tears welling up in my eyes. You're joking, right? After all of this, you're not going to let me into the country? My mind was racing- ok so I'll just wait here for Jess and we'll tackle this together? Or... I'll talk to someone immediately about getting an additional page sewn in? Ya right- I doubt they do that at the airport. But this kind of thing must happen all the time... right? I quickly grabbed my passport from him and started scanning the pages. Not only had I completely neglected to realize that, in fact, most of my pages were pretty close to full, but I also had no idea that the Indonesian Visa needs an entire page. Eventually, the guard's superior gave him the approval to only give me a stamp, but we finally agreed on a small corner on one of the pages where it would most likely fit. Right after he stamped, I gave a huge sigh, and homeboy whispered "Ok, I help you. Now you help me?" What?! He's asking for a TIP now? I explained that I only had $5 US dollars left and didn't have any Indonesian Rupiah in my possession yet. He seemed pissed and threw my passport on the counter while giving me a "you're useless, now go" sweeping hand motion. Welcome to Indonesia...?

My thirteen days with Jessica were, as she would say, "money". We had the MOST amazing time together; basically, I'll refer to that vacation together as our honeymoon. I mean, after living together for nine years and still coming out alive as the best of friends, we deserved something on the honeymoon-level, right? In true "Jessica" fashion, she arrived with enough Sephora products & samples for me to open a mini beauty store here (Jessica works at Sephora's Corporate Headquarters in SF). Face masks, toners, body scrubs, body butter, perfumes- I hit the at-home-spa treatment jackpot. And speaking of spa treatments, during our first few days in Ubud, we hit the spa twice. My only other spa visit was with Kate, when I treated myself to my first pedicure on Koh Tao. We found rave reviews for Zen Spa (http://www.zenbalispa.com/) on TripAdvisor and treated ourselves to the two hour Mandi Lulur Treatment. A traditional body massage followed by a body scrub with turmeric, sandal wood and rice powder, an exfoliation of yoghurt to eliminate toxins, and a fragrant blossom bath. It was absolute heaven, and it was less than $20 US. Win. We went back to Zen again the next day, where I treated myself to yet another pedicure & Jess enjoyed a foot massage.



From Ubud, we took a minivan and then a speedboat over to Gili Trawangan. Out of the three Gili Islands (Air, Trawangan, Mino), we opted for "Gili T", since we heard it had better nightlife and a pretty good backpacker scene. We ended up at the lovely little Sunrise Pondok Homestay; the walk down to the beach was on a small dirt road, usually swarming with overgrown bougainvillea, roaming chickens & roosters, stray dogs and adorable little Indonesian munchkins. During the day, we biked around the island and found secluded beaches, cozy little restaurants and usually stopped at a happy hour on our way home. One day we went on a snorkeling tour, which was a blast- we found Nemo AND spotted an adorable and slow moving turtle! For the most part, we opted for movie nights in our room more often than beers at the loud Reggae Bar down the street, but we did manage to meet up with Vanessa Reid! Vanessa is a fellow '01 Paly Grad who is taking her "bar trip" before joining the legal working world in the Fall. New total is FIVE random run-ins with Paly grads while traveling. Go Vikes.


Jess and I ended up staying on Gili T for seven nights before heading back to the mainland of Bali to tackle the Waikiki of Indonesia, known as Kuta. Unfortunately, our "three and a half hours" of speed boat + mini bus turned into eight long hours of waiting around and then sitting in traffic. Be warned, if you arrive in Kuta during high season, book ahead. We walked around town for over an hour (with our backpacks on- ouch!) asking for a double room at every hotel we saw. Finally, we settled for a room that was so grimy that I even refused to use the shower. There were strange smells and odd stains on the wall and Jessica insisted we find better for our last night together. Just like she did for our first night in Ubud, Jessica treated us to a gorgeous hotel for our last night in Bali together, and we spent most of the day lounging by the pool and planning the rest of my trip together.

The good news is that we had an absolutely perfect trip together. The bad news is that it's over. When I said goodbye to Jess, the reality set in that I won't see another friend from home (unless there are more Paly kids on the loose in Southeast Asia, hah) until Kathryn arrives in Sydney at the end of October. Que triste. On the bright side, I think I'll head to Sydney in a week or so, and I have a few friends from my travels who are currently stationed there. Familiar faces! I'll take it. Once I arrive in Australia, I'll find a room and a paying gig and actually have a chance to stay in one place for about two months. I'm both thrilled and devastated. I love moving around and seeing new towns and beaches and people all of the time. Will I go stir-crazy in Sydney or am I about to embark on the most exciting part of this adventure? Only one way to tell, right?

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,
Maura the "I'm so legit, my passport is full" Explorer