At the beginning of the year, one of my close friends in law school asked if I had been to Bali, Indonesia and if I, along with our other friends, wanted to tag along his trip. I had just spent two weeks in Sri Lanka and the UAE at that time, so I was not precisely raring for another journey. Bali is neither, likewise, on my list of preferred destinations, as I felt back then that it was too mainstream a vacation. I am a snooty traveler like that. I would have instead saved up for more challenging or unpopular destinations. The only factor that enticed me was that it would be a trip with my friends.
To give some context to my eagerness towards the invite and the novelty of the idea–I have never traveled overseas with friends. I’ve gone backpacking for months, in total, traveling through India, Sri Lanka and most of Southeast Asia on separate occasions–but these were all by myself. In other instances, I would be traveling with my family on less ‘adventurous’ and more convenient destinations, but never with friends. Thus, despite my initial hesitation, I said, let’s go! I booked my ticket half a year in advance of our planned escape. Soon enough, I warmed up to the idea and looked forward to it as the date approached. I even volunteered to handle the itinerary planning, hotel bookings, and all the ground arrangements with a local driver.
It turned out to be a memorable trip. I have enjoyed traveling solo all these years, but traveling with friends who you get along with is immensely gratifying. Bali, likewise, exceeded my expectations of a mainstream travel destination.
I shall be posting my chronicles of the trip on separate blog entries pertaining to particular days and destinations during our vacation over the next few days.
