Bali Part 1

I’m guessing extreme weather conditions and personal psychological constitution had made it difficult for me to enjoy Bali and 5 Ss- Sun, sea, sand, spa and shopping.

Since I’m a heliophobe, I couldn’t call upon the holy trinity of Sun, Sea and Sand for comfort. Even with the Luxe guide as a solid companion, hopes of finding paradise were marred by torrential rains. Heavy downpour had locked us in and made it difficult for us to get travel around for spa treatments. As for shopping, there are 2 things to bear in mind: in the fashion circuit, Bali is laps behind fashion forerunners, so don’t come charging down the rice padi fields looking for next season’s gotta-have outfit; on the other hand, one should definitely visit bali for interior décor. I absolutely love the Bali Villa look and almost wished I could Fedex my villa back- sans mosquitoes.

Somebody had a feast. And no, it wasn’t me or any of my family members but the damn mosquitoes, which came out in full force once darkness descends.

On Day 1, I woke up with a Weigh A Ton eyelid. I had such difficulty opening my right eye, it felt as if my eyelashes had entangled, making it almost impossible to life up my eyelid. A glance into the mirror revealed something else: a mosquitoes bite had caused my right eyelid to swell to the size of a tiny cushion. On Night 2, the mosquitoes had helped themselves to both eyelids and upper lip. By Day 3, more than a dozen mosquitoes speckled my forehead and the rim of my face- which accidentally reveals I sleep sideways.

I was actually afraid of going to bed because save for a cotton sheet, I was defenseless against the pesky winged bugs which could strike anytime and anywhere. Throughout my trip, I resorted to smearing the bites with medicated oil, feeling comfort from the searing heat as distracted me from the itch. Even I jump a little at sight of any unidentified flying insects.

This holiday season, I must say I saw the silver lining in every dark cloud. Yup, all 600 thread counts of it. Though I was disturbed by extremely-droopy eyelid, I thought to myself, “Hey if this doesn’t subside, I might have to get it surgically removed… maybe the surgeon could accommodate an additional request and give me double eyelids!” As for my mosquito-stung upper lip, whatddayaknow thousands of people pay big moolah to get these lips that made Angeline Jolie famous.

For all my troubles and grievances, this trip made me understand myself more. I’m a Big City girl. I need my holidays jam-packed with things to do. I need to wake up every morning with a sort-of itinerary of places to hustle. I need to be up and running about, sussing out the hidden alleys and backways for new things to discover. My idea of a hellish holiday is to ‘relack one corner’ and chill out because the more I try to relax, the edgier i get.

Save for the fact that it was all about spending time together as a family, the magic of a Balinese holiday was lost on me. Hmm, it's probably just me though.