[Bali], Nice To See You Again! - Day 3

Dear Pipsqueaks,

Day 3 in Bali started later around 10am, and we still managed to be in a rush to meet our driver. First stop of the day was to the Tanjung Benoa area for beach activity. It really wasn’t a good timing for me, so we avoided water sports altogether. Though, I do have to say, the prices for those activities were off the roof! Of all the places I’ve visited, they rank among the highest. Fly Fox twice in the air, parasailing for 5mins and jet ski for half an hour were all USD35…per person! That’s a total rip off. The last time I was in Bali 4 years ago, para-sailing on a private boat only cost us USD20 per person, and that was for a good 45 minutes too. Seriously, Bali has become tourisly expensive. But anyway, we rationalized having to at least do ONE thing while we’re here, so we visited Turtle Island for USD50/2pax.

Side note: The prices are relatively set – not much point in shopping around the beach as they obviously have agreed on a base price. But, you can always try your luck? Under that kind of sun, we just went for a reasonable bargain when offered.

[Bali], Nice To See You Again! - Day 2

Dear Pipsqueaks,

Armed with only 5 hours of sleep, this morning's wake was more than difficult. Especially having to pack up all our stuff to change rooms. Why? Because...

• damp smell since we checked in - helped a little with the dehumidifier on all afternoon
• food smell in the morning from breakfast - right next to the kitchen area
• noisy as we're the closest room to the lobby/swimming pool - could even HEAR the front desk phone ring when I called in to request for a hairdryer

So, first thing this morning, we requested to be switched as soon as a room opens up. Not wanting to leave our luggage in the lobby (they didn't have a locked storage room), we left hem locked in our room and asked them to transport it to our new room when it's ready. Fast forward until now - after having showered and sitting in bed while writing this - this room is slightly bigger, but has another smell that bothers the nose: piping. At this point, we really can't be too picky. After all, this isn't a 5-star hotel. It is a bit run-down, but what it lacked in maintenance, they made up in service. Staff were all super friendly and helpful with suggestions around the area. You know they enjoy working here and meeting travelers seeing their welcoming smiles.

[Bali], Nice To See You Again! - Day 1

Dear Pipsqueaks,

If you're confused why the previous post was dated Day 0.5 instead of -1, then you're wondering the same thing I am wondering now. Well, it does mention this morning a little, so I'll give it a 0.5 - sounds better than a negative. Anyway, back to what I wanted to write for Day 1 officially...

The morning was slightly rushed as we had to take shower, finish packing & prep the house for a few days of none-occupancy. Mostly, it's because we were just too tired to bother with packing the night before and honestly believed we would wake up early enough to. From my experience, that NEVER worked. See, I had already began to regret half way to the airport for not bringing a jacket, a scarf, my East Pack pouch, and an extra multi-plug. Lesson: No matter how hot the place you're visiting will be, you bring a jacket. You can always take it off if it's too hot, but if you don't even have one to put on when it's cold, you're just gonna freeze and sulk. Luckily, I had someone else's jacket to borrow for the ride.

[Bali], Nice To See You Again! - Day 0.5

Dear pipsqueaks,

It’s been another long while since I last wrote, and there really isn't much reason for that. Sometimes, I just think life is rolling along so fast that I don’t get a chance to think too much about anything. Having just come back from Birmingham for our Council Meeting, I’m currently now en route to Bali for a birthday celebration. Then, the following week, I’ll be off to New Delhi for site visit. Oh my – and it just occurred to me that I won’t be able to visit my friend in Johor Bahru during the Malaysia GPG because I’ll be in New Delhi! Great…there goes another disappointment.

April will be another challenging month with deadlines for multi-sport even accreditation processes and finalization of the Gala Night preparations. It’s never easy working with our Indian friends, but at the same time, I completely understand their frustrating system of “approvals”. Apparently, it’s not enough to just have one approval or signature – it needs to be a whole group of them, which is probably why it always takes forever to get anything confirmed. In any case, we just have to work with the time frame we have and cross our fingers that everything will unfold properly. The only challenge is to make sure everyone pulls their weight – or else, with one site visit, I can already foresee some “oh, was that discussed?” conversation. Anyway, I've already been “kindly reminded” that it is not expected to be the same level as last year’s Gala Night in terms of program and décor. So, it will be very much simpler with a lot less ‘glam’ factor. That’s just unfortunate because I honestly think everyone found the ‘All Stars’ theme last year to be quite enjoyable. Despite having to sit through all the formal speeches, the presenters, awardees and best-dressed all had a good time. We really should keep it up every year so everyone can look forward to it…but oh wells, out of my control for that kind of decision.