reminiscing Bali's cuddle

Before I learned about backpacking and travelling on a shoestring, my travels were

more like the cozy-comfy ones, thanks to my forever generous cousin Ate Cris who have always financed most of my lovely-wonderful travels.  For sure, my Bali trip in 2008 was not an exemption. Actually, I was not part of this trip during its "planning stages". My mom and dad were the ones invited for my cousin’s graduation treat in Bali but because it was not possible for them to take the trip, my sister and I took their place. So the moment I learned that we’re part of this trip, I was so giddy I couldn’t wait to -- Ready. Jetset. Go!

A little bit of corporeal suffering must be experienced first

before finally arriving in the land of gods

Our flight itinerary was Manila-Jakarta-Bali, leaving Manila at around 9 in the evening and arriving at Soekarno-Hatta airport by midnight. Our Bali flight was around 6am though which meant we had to stay outside the airport and wait until around 3am for the domestic airport to open. So my big sister and I sat on one of the hard benches outside the airport; there were no lounge chairs, too bad.  



waiting in vain at Soekarno-Hatta airport



Out of curiosity and boredom, we started to people watch. There were not so many people though except for some passengers waiting for their flights. We also spotted a man who was cleaning the dirty floor tiles. 

Some men we saw were smoking we could smell cigar from our seats and some women were wearing head scarves, which is not actually surprising as there are millions of Muslims in the country. 

Since the airport was not so busy then, we felt bored and yes, sleepy, as it was already past midnight. I wrapped myself with my pashmina shawl and tried to doze off.  But the wandering mosquitoes were good at sensing their prey! I was so disturbed I couldn’t sleep and I got mosquito bites all over. Beyond doubt, my plaid shorts and yellow cardigan ensemble was very much fitting! *insert sarcasm here*

The moment the domestic airport opened, we rushed to get in just to wait some more minutes for the check-in counter to, of course, open. At last it did! After waiting to check in, we had to wait once more and that was for us to get on board.  When we finally did, I rushed to pick my seat. AirAsia back then didn’t have seat assignment so my sister and I swiftly got on board afraid to get the “loser” seats. And then I snoozed a bit. After almost two hours, our plane finally touched down. *so relieved *




Godly welcomed in Bali

 My cousin, aunt and uncle picked us up at the airport and we later went to the market to buy some fruits, meat, veggies and whathaveyou. As I was looking around, I saw this old school weighing scale, which looks similar to what we have in the Philippines.

After a few more minutes of road trip, we finally reached our lovely abode for the next three days -- Villa Adindha. :)




 

dine and whine



Balinese god





My big sis signing the guestbook

 The villa nestles in the best site. It is far from the crowded, touristy areas of Bali. Surrounding it are bright green rice terraces which create a beautiful scenery and bring a lot of soothing fresh air. The house itself has three charming bedrooms with a view of the ocean and the terraces, of course. Further, it has an open living and dining area where we dined, chilled and enjoyed each other's company. The yinyang-inspired swimming pool is also so inviting, we enjoyed taking a dip in it.

My dear cousin really has the eye for choosing the best accomodations when travelling. Hence, hitting the road with her does not only mean sightseeing, food hunting, and girlbonding. It also means that after satisfying your wanderlust, you get to rest your soles and relax your tired body in one of the best, most comfortable place, that is Ate Cris' pick.

Merci beaucoup Ate Cris! :)

****

wander: Villa Adindha (Jalan Pantai Pererenan, Pererenan, Canggu, Bali)
wonder: “When we share - that is poetry in the prose of life.” --  Sigmund Freud