Most people, or so I’ve gathered, go on an exit tour when they leave their teaching positions in Seoul. It’s practical, really, because traveling around Asia is so cheap when done the right way. Flights are cheap (at least in comparison), hostels are cheap and somehow the USD is still kicking a decent amount of butt in Asian currency. A lot of people take the Banana Pancake route, which involves stopping in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Having planned my winter vacation in Thailand, I opted for a different, quicker approach to exiting Korea. After spending a year in climate crazy Seoul, I wanted a break. I wanted a fond farewell to Asia that consisted of simplicity, beautiful scenery, nearly non-existent effort, sunshine and relaxation. Lucky for me, Bali, Indonesia offers travelers all that and more. Also lucky for me, my two good friends from Seoul, Andrea and Stephanie, had the same vocational desires as I did. So I booked myself one last hoorah on my way out of Asia and began counting down the frigid Korean winter days I had remaining. (Note: a farewell to Korea blog will be written soon. However, that topic deserves its own post.)
After a red eye out of Seoul and then connecting early morning flight from Malaysia, the three of us arrived in Bali. Almost instantly, Bali had my hart. We took a cab to our hostel in the center of Kuta, dropped off our belongings and jetted to the beach. I’ve seen a lot of sand meeting water in my 25 years. All over California, Hawaii, Mexico, Thailand and even Oregon. Hey, Oregon counts! La Push can be nice! Still, this beach was the beach of all beaches. Yes, the sand was white. The water was clear and blue and chairs with umbrellas were lined up like ants. There were surfers catching waves, which isn’t uncommon, but the entire vibe and attitude of the place was so chill, calm and just generally stoked. To the right was a giant mountain looming in the distance that seemed to be looking over all the beach bums. To the left, all that could be seen was an endless stretch of beach. I felt like I had found my paradise.
The next few days we took in all Kuta had to offer. We shopped (Volcom stores for dayssssss!), surfed (Steph killed it), ate (peanut sauce is the local staple and I am so on board with that), drank (Bintang kicks Chang’s behind) and just soaked up the sun and culture. Along with experiencing Kuta, we went to a few temples, one on a gorgeous cliff and one covered in monkeys that will bite your face off for a banana.
We went to Ubud, which is in inland, central Bali and has what I could only describe as it’s own soul. The last place we experienced was a tiny town on the beach in the middle of nowhere called Candidasa. Andrea’s parents had some sort of unfortunate encounter with the Marriott chain a year or two earlier. As a result of their poor treatment, and Andrea’s impressive weaseling abilities, her family received some free weeks of stay with the Marriott. The kind and amazing person that she is, Andrea cashed some of these free days in and got us hooked up with a free stay at Royal Bali Beach Club. The resort was mind blowing. The best way to describe it is that I am in no way fancy enough to deserve to stay there… and also that no one else there was under the age of 50. The pool overlooked the ocean and our room had two bathrooms. Yeah, that fancy.
Even though Andrea and Stephanie were staying on in Candidasa for a few more days (happy honeymooning!), they made the trek back to Kuta with me for my last day in Bali. We spent the entire afternoon surfing, I got a new tattoo after dinner (did I mention that subtly enough for my mom not to notice?) and we all went out together until I had to leave for my 3 AM flight. It literally was the perfect day.
While out that night I was SO randomly spotted by two Aussies I had met in Chiang Mai who had just arrived in Bail. They were only at my hostel in Chiang Mai for two days, but they were certainly two girls with kindred travel souls to mine. I clicked with them when I met them and was overjoyed to see them so randomly in another foreign city.
My flight from Bali left at 6 AM, which was not ideal. I then had a 3 and a half hour layover in Malaysia, a 5 hour flight to China with a 4 hour layover there, a 12 and a half hour flight to LAX and then a 2 and a half hour flight to Seattle. I’m actually writing this in China, so I can’t update more than that. Writing this has been a great time filler and distraction from my unwavering fear of flying.
Leaving Asia is tough. This past year was the best year of my life for so many reasons. This vacation, in so many ways, was perfect. But, for so many reasons, I’m ready to go home. So, goodbye, Asia. Well, goodbye for now.
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