Am finally back in Singapore, decompressing this weekend after spending the last three weeks in Bali working/playing my little heart out. This is my third year in a row there, and it has been an eye-opening experience as I am left with bittersweet memories of my time spent there.
The Good.
The most amazing part of my time in Bali came from spending time with Suri (my monkey princess), who has the biggest heart and the warmest disposition. Dog walking in the rice fields, constructing human pyramids, ferrying me around on the back of her motorbike, going for ecstatic dance classes, awesome movie nights, sharing with me copious amounts of good food, teaching me acrobatics, and catching me when I fall…. Aawwh… all of my best memories of this trip are connected to you. I will walk to the ends of the world (or a rice field) to help you if you ever need me to. 
Nick. You are a friend that I will always respect, love and trust. Your spirit of giving, forgiving, positive energy and general silliness is just infectious. You are a natural born teacher, and the work that you do for the poi community at large is so astounding. For you, I can only wish you happy days ahead, and possibly a semi permanent street address in the near future? 
Banyan. Dude… you crack me up. I’m so glad that I got to know you a little better this time! Motorbike rides with you were super fun, and I will never forget how you managed to sew that large hole in your pants while still wearing them! Hilarious!
The Bad.
Was initially planning to stay in Bali for a much longer time, but I cut my trip short because I was being fed to the Balinese mosquitoes alive, and really missed the comforts of modern living at home.
The Ugly.
Met some individuals whose negative and inconsiderate actions really altered my experience on this trip. [You will be subjected to my complaints about these people if you choose to read more...]
First, there was a person, who overstepped his boundaries when he openly introduced drugs to participants at the retreat. Handing out Acid like candy is NOT OK – it is both unlawful and disrespectful to the work that the retreat organizer put into organizing the retreat. Am also hugely disappointed at the small group of retreat participants who felt that it was OK to drop acid at the retreat. How do you think that made other participants feel around you? How drug smart are you to drop Acid with first timers without minders or a backup plan? Did you pause to consider how your actions could potentially land the retreat organizer in trouble with the law?
Then, there was a friend of mine, who would spend all his time complaining and worrying about how the sky is falling. His constant stream of vocal negativity and neediness was really something that I had trouble dealing with on a daily basis (really not welcomed especially when I’m meant to be on holiday). He was also really inconsiderate and oblivious to the fact that if we both agreed to be motorbike buddies, it is unfair to make me wait for hours for my ride home every night. My breaking limit came when he made me wait till 3:30am one night, followed by a 90min wait the very next day because he wanted to spend more time with a pretty girl he’d met at the retreat.
Lastly… there was a real display of stinginess with money when it came to tipping the Balinese staff at the retreat resort. The total amount collected resulted in each person tipping a miserly 30 cents per day. Shocking. If you can afford a flight halfway across the world, surely you can afford to tip a little more than that? This sense of miserliness reared its ugly head again when retreat participants refused to pay taxi drivers an extra $2 dollars per person for additional driving services rendered by the drivers. I am left disgusted and underwhelmed by this type of ungenerous behavior. Especially with an individual, who got riled up and openly accused the taxi drivers of being cheats because the drivers did not follow the American way of doing business. What the? If you ask drivers to drive further, and 2 hours longer than initially agreed… surely paying them an extra $2 dollars per person is acceptable?
So… that’s The Good. The Bad. And the Ugly of this trip to Bali. The past three weeks have left a bittersweet taste in my mouth and has definitely opened my eyes to all the different types of characters that you can meet while traveling. Some of whom I have formed deep friendships with, some of whom I need to have conversations to resolve certain issues with, and some of whom… I would probably stay away from. Really looking forward to spending the next few months at home in Singapore. Home is where my heart is nowadays.
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