Bye bye Bali

Hi all for the last time from Bali!

Yesterday after I posted, Claire, Reyann and I walked to the Bali Bombings memorial close to our hotel. On October 12, 2002 two bombs went off in Bali nightclubs and killed 202 people. Eighty eight of these people were Australians, and these people were either just working at a nightclub or travelling the world like myself. It gave me goosebumps reading all the names. I can only vaguely remember the event, and I remember as a ten year old being scared that it was exactly one day, one month and one year after September 11. It's pretty tragic how nowadays we have terrorist attacks happen every few weeks now, when in comparison there it was terrifying having them a year apart. 

Afterwards we walked up Legian Street, looked in some of the shops and eventually had dinner at a cafe Ryan had taken us to last week. The weather has changed a lot in the last few days. It's not as humid, but gosh it's got! I had a delicious Mie Goreng and a watermelon juice and a banana juice (I couldn't decide so had both!!). We we re all so full we felt sick but it was yummy!!

Slept quite well, poor Claire was in a room without an aircon but she came and hung out in our room for a bit so at least that was a bit of a cool break for her. This morning Reyann and I woke at 7 and packed up really quickly. After this we just had brekky, hung around with Claire and chatted. At 11am we headed to the airport and now here we are. Reyann has free access for her and a guest to the lounge so I'm currently living it in up luxury with her eating beautiful food and taking in my surroundings - it's amazing!

So here is my wrap. Indonesia is the 55th country I've been to. I've had a great time here and met some lovely people, but my gut feeling to never come here was kind of right. There were beautiful parts (eg rice terraces) but the beaches here overall are very disappointing. I would consider visiting other regions but Bali isn't my cup of tea overall. Australia tops everyone for beaches, nothing will ever quite compare to our pristine sands and the Great Barrier Reef. That's not to say I haven't had a good time, I just think there are lots of other places I would like to go to and I probably don't need to come back here. It's sold and marketed as some kind of paradise, but the reality is people hassling you all the time (especially if you're a solo female traveller), endless heat and humidity and lots of mess and rubbish about. Again - I promise I've had a good time! I just wouldn't rave about it. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends and enjoying a busy but exciting few days before work goes back next Tuesday. 

See you in China in July!!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox