So I had a birthday.
About a year or so ago I realized I had a big birthday
coming up. So, I decided what better place to go then BALI!!! (It’s in
Indonesia).
I’ve heard great
things about it – from the activities (diving, etc) to the parties. So, I sent
an email out inviting any of my back home crew, and then made the plan.
….and it happened. AND I had some of my girls join me from
the states (and abroad)! Megan Beazley was the first to say she was coming (I
didn’t doubt for a minute she’d say no). Then a few months before the trip, my
4th grade BF, Becca Holcomb, emailed and told me she was coming.
THEN, my cousin, Jessie, said she wanted to visit me on her holiday. Turns out
it was the same time as my birthday, so she planned to join the fun. While I
was in Myanmar, I became friends with another foreigner teacher (Natasha), and
she decided to join me in the islands for my birthday….and then the last one,
another teacher (from my year in Korea) saw that I was going to be there, so
she came out as well!
So, Sunday April 13th came….and a reunion
happened. Cuz Jessie and I met in the airport, and then we made our way to the
hotel to meet Beaz, who had arrived earlier in the AM. We exchanged travel
stories, had dinner, and then headed right to bed, as we were all so exhausted.
But that doesn’t mean the whole trip was like that…
Day 1 (Monday) - we got up, snagged some free hotel
breakfast, then went off to book SURFING LESSONS! Yup, that’s right. This trio
was going all “Blue Crush” on this holiday. We booked the lessons, and then had
poolside drinks while we waited for them to start. We met some Canadian surfers
at our pool (they were sponsored by Billabong) and they tried to give us
surfing tips, which of course we didn’t pay attention to. Silly us. Then it was
lesson time! We met our instructor, grabbed our longboards and rash guards, and
headed to the beach. We already felt super surfer-ish. We spent some time on
the sand practicing our stand up poses, and then it was TIME TO HIT THE WAVES!
We all took turns getting up on waves, and we were able to stand up for a
little. It was awesome. The waves were rough, and it was exhausting, BUT it was
a great feeling being able to stand on the waves. I got on one wave and FELT
like I was surfing. I actually felt the wave under me, and thought “Oh, so THIS
is what surfing is like!” After a few hours, our time crushing waves was up.
Then it was off to BBQ dinner for $5!! We made it to the Sky
Garden, paid our $5 (50,000rupiah) and chowed down. We had a few of the free
beers before they were gone, and then had salad, pasta, pizza, BBQ chicken,
seafood kebabs, and etc. We are our fill, made friends, and then we headed over
to the free cocktails at 9pm. We hopped out with our new friends to start a
night of dancing and fun. Once we had our dancing shoes nice and warmed up (and
plenty of cocktails in our tummys), we headed off to new dancing locations.
Beaz headed home, so it was just the cousins left. We made some friends on the
street, and bar hopped with them. Then, since it was about 2am, it was time to
head home….the girls we going on a trip in the AM…
Day 2 (Tuesday) – Beaz and Jessie got up, and headed off on
their downhill biking adventure. I on the other hand, slept in, grabbed some
breakfast, and relaxed by the pool. By the time they got home (around 5pm), I
was relaxed, packed (we were checking out on Wed), and ready to hear about
their adventure. They shared their stories, and then we had dinner and called
it an early night. Beaz and I woke up around 11pm, to awake for our newest
arrival – BECCA! But when we woke, we had a message saying her connecting
flight was delayed and she wouldn’t arrive until noon on Wednesday. So we had
to figure out arrangements for her since we were leaving for the Gili Islands
at 7am.
Day 3 (Wednesday) – the 3 of us got up, checked out, and
headed to the GILI ISLANDS! We met my girl, Natashia (from teaching in Myanmar)
and hopped on the boat. We stayed on the boat for a few hours, dropping off and
collectine people from the other islands. We also made friends with a group of
English guys, which we would continue to see for the next few days.
Once at the island, we got settled in the hostel, and then
went to the beach. It was GORGEOUS! The water was crystal clear blue, and
wasn’t full of trash like Kuta Beach. We relaxed on the beach, then headed to
the market for dinner. BBQ it was. It was delicious, and then it was time to go
back and get ready for our first night out on the island. Tonight’s party was
at the Irish Pub. PERFECT! So, after having some drinks at the hostel, we
headed to the pub, where the first people we ran into were the English guys
from the boat. Turns out they were all on a trip that their friend (one of the
guys with them) was paying for…he had won a million Euros in the EU lottery!
So, he treated his best friends to a trip to SE Asia. Whelp, since it was
almost my birthday, they helped countdown, and then it was the first birthday
shot – A JAGER BOMB! Then we drank and danced the night away, and didn’t get
home until who knows what time.
Day 4 (Thursday) – MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY. My first present?
BECCA FINALLY ARRIVING! She hopped off her boat around 12:30pm, and then we
showed her the island. Well, we showed her the room and then we all proceeded
to nap (except Jessie, who was doing her VERY first SCUBA DIVE). Once Jessie
was back, it was time to see the beach, and then grab dinner at the market once
again. And then? TIME FOR THE BIRTHDAY PARTY! We suited up with glow sticks,
party hats, beads, beers, and energy shots. Then it was time for the first bar:
Jiggy-Jig. We met some Danish girls who sang happy birthday to me, and then my
next gift came…BEAZ IN A DRINKING CONTEST! She had to down the following: a
Joss Shot (an energy powder chased with a vodka shot), A Jager Bomb, a Smirnoff
Ice, and a Dr. Pepper Shot. She had to do it faster than the previous female
winner – a Canadian got 25 seconds. Beaz did it in 24.17seconds. WOOOO!!!!
Then, we continued over to the Reggae Bar to meet my friend Allison. We saw her
for a few minutes, then the reggae bar sang happy birthday to me onstage, and
then we hopped over to the Irish Bar where we ran into the English boys once
again, and made new friends with people out for the night. We birthday partied
into the night, until the bars started to close.
Day 5 (Friday) – GOODBYE to Beaz and Jessie. They hopped on
the boat out at 12:30, and it was just me and Becca left. We had lunch, and
then I headed out to do some scuba diving of my own. On my diving trip, I was
REALLY hoping to see some sea turtles, but it didn’t happen. BUT, I DID see an
Eagle Ray. I thought it was cool, but apparently it was AMAZINGLY cool, as my
instructor was SUPER excited, and hadn’t seen one before. Afterwards, Becca and
I had dinner, and made it an early night. We were exhausted from the nights
before, and we were leaving the next morning.
Day 6 (Saturday) – BYE GILI T! Becca and I headed off on the
1230pm boat, and then arrived in Ubud at around 4pm. We headed to dinner, and
then went and saw a fire show. We booked our adventure for the next day, and
our way back to Kuta so we could catch our flight out.
Day 7 (Sunday) – 230am…ugh, what an early wakeup! BUT it was
for good reason. A hike on an active volcano (last eruption in 2000), to see
the sunrise at the top. So we got up, and headed out to Mt. Batur. We met the
rest of our group for the mornings hike, grabbed our flashlights, and off we
went. It was pitch black, and we had to use our flashlights all the way up to
the top. At the halfway point there was a fire going, and refreshments, so we
stopped for a short break. Then, it was time to finish up! We made it to the
top while it was just getting light, and watched the sunrise come up over the
OTHER volcano while sitting on a volcano. We had breakfast at the top, and fed
the monkeys that were lingering around. Then, after about an hour or so, it was
time to head down. On the way down (which was MUCH easier), we picked tomatoes
to eat along our path.
After the hike, we headed to a coffee tasting. Yes, a COFFEE
TASTING. We tried about 8 or so different coffees made in Bali, and then we
tried the famous Bali coffee: the coffee made from the poop of a catlike
animal. Sounds gross, yeah? WELL IT ISNT! It’s very rare, and very expensive.
But we saw the animals, and saw how it was made. The animals eat the cocoa
beans, then when it poops it out it looks like white peanut brittle. Then, they
clean, roast, and crunch the poop beans up, and make coffee out if it. So there
ya go!
After the coffee, we didn’t have too much time, so we headed
back and got ready for our trip back to Kuta. Once in Kuta, we grabbed a room
at Kedin’s again and then headed to our favorite BBQ place. Ok, well MY fav BBQ
place – I was just happy Becca got to try it out!
Day 8 (Monday) – we got up early, and headed to the
airport…time to head back to Myanmar. Not Becca though, that lucky girl still
had about 2 months of SE Asia.
After a day of travel, I arrived back in Mandalay (Myanmar)
in time to get ready for work and start a new week of class.
I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to
celebrate my birthday with me, and can’t tell them enough how much it meant to
me to have them take the time and money to travel to the other side of the
world for a week of bday celebrations.
Mingalabar,
Apes J
