In Reply to: a bali love story posted by rabbit on Tuesday, 13. September 2005 at 11:21 Bali Time:
I must admit, I have been pretty blown away by Bali - in more ways than one. It seems to have this mysterious way of bringing people close together, relaxing people, making people realise the important things in life, teaching people how to have fun again and just simply making you fall in love - especially with the beautiful Island of the Gods.
Every time I have been to Bali, I have had one 'love' story to tell or another...it's quite funny to look back on now though!
January 1996
I first went to Bali with my Mum when I was quite young. Mum decided we should go on holiday seeing as we'd both been through a 'rough' time lately. It was my first time on an overseas holiday and my first time away from home really - by that, I mean without my Dad and sisters. I was VERY excited but nervous. When the plane landed, I was not impressed by what greeted us. It was such a HUGE culture shock for me that I just hated the place.
Driving from the airport to Kuta was like experiencing a nightmare. I was horrified that friends of mine thought this place was absolute paradise and that everybody I knew who had visited Bali had spoken so highly of the place. I felt like screaming at my Mum and asking her what I had done so wrong to deserve to be taken to a place so horrible! I couldn't believe that this was her idea of a holiday!
When we got to our hotel I calmed down somewhat. Our hotel was a down a little laneway off JL Legain. When we got to our rooms, I thought I would leave everything packed as it was seeing as I had no intentions of staying in this place for much longer. I thought I could phone my Dad and he'd organise me a way of getting home. I told my Mum this too but she just laughed at me and told me I'd been too spoilt my whole life and that soon enough, I'd get used to it. Needless to say, this didn't impress me. I then went into hysterics and told Mum that I would stay the whole 10 days then but that I didn't plan on leaving the hotel once (as it was the only place I felt relatively safe).
I almost stayed true to this promise that I made, both to myself and to my Mum about not leaving the hotel. I stayed in our bungalow day and night, only venturing out to have a swim every now and then. I didn't eat in the first 7 days we were there - and by that, I mean not a solitary thing. I couldn't eat - the climate was not what I was used to and I just didn't feel comfortable eating in this strange place.
After our 7 nights there, Mum came into our room telling me that I really should get out and experience Bali - she even suggested that I might end up liking it. That night, I decided to go out to dinner with her - besides, my poor Mum had been very excited about this trip - thinking her and I would do all the water sports together, go out for a drink and a dance, go to Ubud and see the monkey forest, see the volcano, meet new people and just generally let our hair down for a couple of days - and yet, I had been a complete b*tch and somewhat the beginning on of her holiday.
When I first left the hotel to walk down the dark, dodgy laneway that led to JL Legian, I was incredibly nervous. I was shaking and my heart was beating so fast. I thought something terrible was going to happen. I seriously thought the Balinese were going to try and mug us for our money. My Mum had to hold onto me so tightly, I ended up getting bruises! That night we went to the Adhi Darma (spelling?) which wasn't far from our hotel. It was quite late for dinner but I noticed that every restaurant around us was absolutely packed! I also noticed that there were a lot of Americans around. That's when Mum told me that the US Navy were currently in Bali. I couldn't believe it! The whole street was absolutely buzzing. It was like this electricity that just affected everybody and there was no escaping it! Whilst I still didn't eat at the restaurant that night, I did enjoy myself. Mum decided to risk asking me if I wanted to go and have a drink with her somewhere (non-alcoholic of course) so I thought I'd risk it and off we went.
I started to relax and let myself be absorbed in everything around me - all the people, the traiffic, the smells, the laughter, the music playing from the clubs/pubs, the dogs fearlessly crossing the busy street, the busker playing the guitar and singing along to Pearl Jam's 'Better Man' (a rendition that would have made Eddie Vedder very proud), the beggars with their children (who were much too young to be out) asking for money and the smiling faces that greeted me no matter where I looked. I started to think this place wasn't so bad.
Later that night, Mum and I ended up meeting a few Americans who spent the remainder of our holiday making us laugh, keeping things interesting and sharing their stories with us. That group of guys were the nicest I think I have ever met. They were completely respectful, caring and rather funny. I'm not sure why it was either, but they made me feel safe in Bali. One of them in particular, Jason, who acted like an older brother towards me, took me out for the following day in Bali and showed me things through his eyes - certain things I was probably too young or too naive to see or notice suddenly became very clear to me. Jason managed to explain certain things to me that would otherwise have left me confused. To this day, I still remain in contact with Jason. I still have the letters he wrote me, the pictures of all of us together and the $2 note he scribbled on for me stating simply 'Bali 1996 - Good times, good memories and good friends. Love your big brother, Jason'.
Back then, it was very hard for me to comprehend why these poor people were happy regardless of their circumstances. It was also hard for me to experience a different way of life, one that I was not accustomed to. Once I started to allow myself to open up to Bali and its people, I never looked back - nor did I ever question its beauty or its magic.
I remember how hard it was for me to leave Bali that summer. I didn't want to leave now I had found this little piece of heaven. Everything was so simple in Bali - everything made sense and everything was so clear. I just didn't want to go back to a young teenage life full of confusion, full of dramas and full of complications. I think I actually cried at the airport on the way home! I was a different person after that holiday. I don't know why, when or how but for some reason, Bali changed me and it was in a way that I could never explain, nor understand - all I know is I was better for it and that this is when my love affair with Bali began.