Escaping To Bali

Halo, cutes! How are you all doing? I hope everything is going awesome with you guys. Eh, guess what? I ran away from home… AGAIN, haha. So, my cool friend who lives in Kuala Lumpur texted me on Tuesday night, saying she would be in Bali with her 2 other friends by the weekend and she invited me to join her 5 days trip.

The first thing that popped into my mind was my awkwardness around new people. All my life, I’ve sheltered myself. I never have many friends since I never really get involved in social gatherings or stuff like that. It’s just not my thing. I am super shy and I can be very awkward around new people. It’s become even more difficult for me since my anxiety kicked in too. I try to be nice and friendly to everyone though, but it’s just never easy for me to start a conversation or find something to talk about with a stranger or anyone I barely know and keep it interesting.

So, going on this trip was a big deal for me. I was nervous and worried about pretty much everything, like, what if her friends didn’t like me? What if I stuck out like a sore thumb among a group of people who love each other? What if I did something stupid and ruined everything? I kept asking myself, what the hell was I doing? Why was I putting myself in a vulnerable position with people I don’t know?

Actually, that wasn’t the only problem. My money was quite TIGHT lately so I told her I couldn't go because the flight to Bali was overpriced. I was surprised when she said she would lend me money to purchase the flight tickets. And she even would lend me some more for every damn thing I need during the trip!!!! Whaaaaaaaat....😳

Wow, I couldn't believe what I heard and I didn’t know what else to say. I mean, she sounded so excited to go on this Bali trip and I knew that she would not take no as an answer. She would find another solution for whatever excuse I gave her. So I thought it would be a complete waste of time to argue with her. I never win an argument with her anyway🙄

Umm, actually... I don’t remember the last time we hung out together. And with all the things going on in my family, I thought I really needed to get out of the house and chill my mind for a while. So, I packed my clothes the next day and took a taxi to the airport on early Friday. I was very excited and also super anxious at the same time. I didn’t know what to expect. I just hoped her friends would like me, haha.

Later that day, my plane landed safely an hour earlier than her. I decided to walk to the international arrivals and just wait for her there. It took about 10 minutes walking from domestic arrivals. It was so hot and I was sweating like crazy, haha. Of course, it’s Bali. Duh!!

As you may know and have seen at the Ngurah Rai domestic departure exit, there are numerous drivers offering taxi. Some of those drivers followed me down, begging me to take their taxi service. It was annoying, but I knew they were just trying to make a living so I tried not to be rude. I shook my head and smiled along the way.

You know what’s so odd? Those drivers spoke English with me😐 All of them. I don’t know how I look like to others, but this happens every time I go to touristy places like Bali, Yogyakarta, Lombok, etc. The drivers, the women who sell stuff at the beach, staff at the hotel and restaurants, basically almost everybody I meet here spoke English to me, thinking I’m a foreign tourist. Sometimes it’s cool, but most of the time it’s just annoying because they double up the price pretty much for foreigners so they charge me double just because they think I’m not an Indo girl. Bah!!

So, back to my run away trip story...
Actually, it was my first time staying at Rumah Kayu Bali. It was my first time to experience sleeping in a bunk bed. At first, I was scared. I couldn't stop myself from thinking a stranger strangle me and then stab me while I asleep, lol. But the fact that I was there with a friend who I consider as a big sister calmed me down. And I must say, it was very comfy. Our room was super clean and, surprisingly, it smelled so good!! My bed was comfortable. Bathrooms were clean too. The staff was very friendly and will help you with anything you need. The location is just perfect because it's very close to shops and restaurants. Well, unfortunately, we only stayed here for one night before leaving the next morning to Ubud. I would consider this place to stay next time I run away from home again. Eh??

We left south Bali around 4 a.m. and arrived at Tegallalang Rice Fields around 6. Guess what? Nobody was there but us so we had the rice fields for ourselves. Yay!! Bali is an emerald green paradise and hiking through the rice fields is a highlight. Actually, the plan was to see the sunrise but it was too cloudy, so...

There were so many stray dogs when we got there. And we had a little company while hiking the rice fields. This stray good black dog hiked with us for  the whole 2 hours! He was following us from the entrance. I remember when we stopped to take a breath and he sat next to us, waiting. Aaw, how lovely. And he even led us a few times. He wouldn’t leave us alone. I like to think he was ‘guarding’ us.. haha. Well, anyway, later that day, we decided to visit Monkey Forest. There weren't so many tourists. Maybe because it was still too early. Good though. Our group was very loud... especially my friend, haha. She had so much fun there, laughing and joking around.

I kept telling myself not to have an eye contact with those monkeys. I was scared of those little monkeys. I kept getting this thought that they would jump to my head and scratch me or anything, haha. A bit silly, yes?

Moving on to another place, we decided to visit the market near Monkey Forest. I can't remember the name, but it's very close from the monkey sanctuary. I didn't take a single picture there because my phone was dead. These are the pictures taken after we left the market. There were many small stores around the area. And we bought gelato ice cream😋

Later that day, we went to Tegenungan waterfall. So, I'm confused, why they play such a loud club music? I mean, it's ruining the sound of  the waterfall. Who comes to this place to drink and party though? It's just so weird, haha. When we were there, everybody was taking selfies, enjoying the view and stuff. Nobody was dancing around and drinking. Nobody seemed to enjoy the music.

I Have Two New Cool Friends! Yay!! 🤟🏼

Okay, so luckily, her friends are the nicest people I’ve ever met. They made me feel so very welcomed. I spent five days hiking rice fields (it was after raining throughout the night which made the hiking slightly challenging but the views were absolutely stunning), trying new food I never tasted before, sleeping in bunk beds, visiting the waterfall, seeing dolphins in the morning. It was amazing. It was a perfect holiday. I had a very good time with these three beautiful souls.

I really can’t wait to go on another adventure with them again. They are all such a fun, friendly, lovely people. I feel so happy and so grateful having a chance in my life to meet and get to know these three pretty souls. I had a very good time with them. We were all laughing the entire trip!! They are all such good people and I would absolutely hang out with them again. Actually, this is the first time I feel like I’m with the right people simply because being with them is so comforting.

This is exactly the kind of trip I actually want. NO DRAMA, NO CONFLICT. Keep it simple and just HAVE FUN! Unlike those who claim themselves as my friends, these three good people treat me very nicely. None of them treated me badly by creating some crazy assumptions about me, accusing me of doing the things I didn’t do or yelling at me in public. I felt so much appreciated. Okay, so, I think I really should do this more often then. You know, hanging out with good positive people and surround myself with those who can lift me up.