Surf, Drink, BALI!!

After having wanting to visit Bali since ya know, I watched Eat, Pray, Love, I have knocked this destination off my travel bucket list. Although to be honest, it wasn't as great as I had imagined it. It was still beautiful and fun, but I definitely had some high preconceived notions of what it would be like.

We arrived in Kuta on Wednesday night and stayed there (beach town) for two nights. My first morning I had a surfing lesson in Canggu, about 35 km away. Surfing was the one thing I really wanted to do in Bali, because it's always been on my bucket list of things to try, and Bali has some of the best surf spots in the world. It was hard! I knew it would be difficult, but standing up on the board as you ride down the wave it difficult. In a little over two hours of being out in the water, I only managed to get about 4 really good waves where I stood up and rode the waves into the shore. The hardest part about surfing had to have been the paddling, though. It was easy at first, but having to paddle way back out in the water after every wave was hard work. And you only use your arms to paddle, your legs are completely useless on your board, so it's one hundred times harder than just swimming back out that deep after every wave. But regardless, it was so much fun, and I definitely want to try surfing many more times. I would love to come back to Bali and just stay in the be achy surf areas for a week or two to surf every single day. My instructor was also really cool. He's such a stereotypical surfer dude. I actually invited him and his roommate out that night but unfortunately we were in two different beach areas that we couldn't find each other.

Three of my Nonsi friends were also in Bali at the same time, so we managed to meet up with them a few times. We were hoping to get together on night one, but Jakub missed his flight from KL, and I was just tired so we made plans for night two. We went to this buffet for dinner where we had all you can AND drink for only $10. I brought mom, and she might have gotten a little tipsy with my friends. It was a good night, and I was surprised how much my friends liked my mom and wanted her to hang out with us. Mom did head home a little before us that night, and in all honesty, I should have gone home then. I got in a slight fight with one of the guys, because we are both so stubborn and say stupid things to each other, especially when we are drunk. But don't worry, we called a truce like we always do.

Day three mom and I headed for the cultural town of Ubud. It was a lot less busy than Kuta, but still just as touristy. The famous thing to do in Ubud is visit Monkey Forest, so of course we went. Although I don't know how much mom liked it. There are over 600 monkeys in the few acres of land that constitute the forest, and they roam wherever they please. I had two of them climb all over me, and after I tried to pull my arm away so they wouldn't rip my bracelets off, I quickly got a slap in the face to let me know that he is in charge here, and not me, and that he can do as he pleases. But no worries, no bracelets were stolen, and only a slight amount of hair was pulled.

There are also tons of markets around Ubud (like most SE Asia towns), and we did our fair share of shopping. I got a bracelet, like I do in every city, and then I bought really cute tote bags that I plan to use as my grocery shopping bags. We also found some beautiful paintings that we bought to put the finishing touches on our newly decorated spare bedrooms. I also got three small paintings for my room in my apartment.

On day four, we met up with the guys again when they arrived in Ubud. They actually showed up at our hotel room door one night to come steal me for some drinks. I was so surprised to hear a knock on the door and look out to find them. Sometimes they really do surprise me. So that night we just went across the street to a little Mexican joint for some sangria!! Mhhh, I love sangria, and so do the boys. The next day we made plans to visit the rice fields outside of Ubud. I haven't actually seen any really nice fields in any of my travels so far, so I had nothing to compare it to. But I knew the views were beautiful regardless. We took a bit of a hike down into the fields while enjoying an ice cold Bintang Radler. I haven't had a radler since this summer, and it tasted just like Moose Light Radler, so it was almost a happy reminder that I'll be able to enjoy my summer drink of choice in just 10 days with my childhood friends.

We also headed to the Hanging Gardens back in Ubud, but as soon as we made it into the entrance it started to pour. So three of us headed to a coffee shop to wait while two of the guys still ventured off in the rain.

Today was our final day in Bali, and also my final day with Sven. I didn't even realize that I had to say goodbye to him today. He was one of the harder ones I've said goodbye to so far, and thank god I'll only have to say goodbye to just the few remaining stragglers next week when I actually leave. Mom and I spent the morning and early afternoon checking out more markets before we headed back for the airport. While Bali definitely wasn't my favourite destination that I've been to during my last five months, it was still a great experience, and I could definitely return in the future, although I would prefer to stay near the beach if only just to surf more. Next destination: Singapore. Only five more days of travelling and eight more days until I board that plane headed for Canada. Seems too soon still to be going home.

~Ally xx

The Land Down Under (AKA My Future Home)

Ahh Australia! I never imagined I would get to travel here, especially during my exchange in Asia. But nonetheless, I have just spent four days in Perth. Looking back now, we really should have booked at least a full week here, as it is an incredibly beautiful city, even if it is relatively isolated and small.

I could say that I fall in love places extremely easily. Maybe it’s my want to find the beauty in everything, or just the fact that I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities to visit so many different cities and countries (especially during the last five months), but I fell in love with Perth in the first few minutes of arriving. Even looking out the window as our plane descended from the sky, I could tell this city was special. Even the places that I’ve lived (Chipman, Ottawa, and Bangkok), I’ve loved them all, but in different ways of course. Chipman is and always will be my true home, Ottawa is where I can see myself spending the rest of my life, and Bangkok is my big city love, where I truly branched out on my own for the first time in my life. But I could so easily see myself living in Perth, even if just for a short period of time. I could picture myself in every area of the city we visited. And this city is laid out so nicely and it’s unbelievably clean. At first, it reminded me of Calgary, I think from its cleanliness and also its lack of big crowds. Regardless, I hope to return to Perth one day for an extended period of time (and hopefully the East Coast of Australia also).

While we didn’t have much time in Perth, we still did a fair amount. Day one was spent wandering the CBD shopping area, including Hay and Murray Street and the outlets. They have free public transportation in most of the downtown area so it was so easy to find our way around the city. Day two we headed for Fremantle, which is just 30 minutes outside the city on the coast. Again, it was so easy to get there as the train runs straight from downtown Perth City to the Coast. We spent that day wandering the Sunday Markets (and getting some nice authentic Australian Christmas gifts), enjoying lunch on the patio, watching street performers, and touring the old Fremantle Prison. The Prison might’ve been my favourite thing from the entire trip. Having just recently watched Shawshank Redemption for the first time, I felt like I was in the same prison. It was surprising to know that that prison was in use up until 1991, considering it was built in the 1860’s, and therefore very dated for a facility in the 90s. Our tour guide was very entertaining and knowledgeable. It was also a little chilling to see the actual gallows that were used to end the lives of 143 inmates. While I’ve never had an interest in prisons or the treatment of prisoners before, this tour makes me want to look into the prison systems we have at home, even just to compare what it’s like today at a maximum security prison to what it was decades ago, and also on the other side of the world.

Day three we headed for the Perth Jetty to hop across the bay to South Perth to visit the zoo. Mom was extremely excited for this, and I can’t lie, I was too. After getting to be up close and personal with elephants (my dream come true) in Chiang Mai, I was hoping for a similar experience with kangaroos. While I didn’t get to hug them the way I did with the elephants, I did find one little guy close enough that I could pet him. But he wasn’t all that lovable back, as he pretended I wasn’t there and continued to eat his plant. Mom was also a little disappointed that we could only find one koala and he was sleeping at the top of a tree so he was barely visible to us. We did see lots of other animals, many of which call Australia home, and also others native to Asia and Africa. The zoo was a bot smaller than I originally imagined, but fun nonetheless. We were extremely surprised to see the zoo mostly deserted, which we actually discovered was quite characteristic of most places we went in Perth. The population of the city is definitely less than what we thought. But coming from the nonstop bustling of Bangkok over the last five months, it was a great change of pace.

On our fourth and final day, and we really only had a few hours in the morning to explore. We went back to the outlets so I could buy a dress I had been eyeing for a few days, and then hopped on our free transport to go to Kings Park. We were unaware of what exactly Kings Park had to offer, but it was mesmerising. The park itself is huge, and so beautifully laid out (like the rest of the city). As we walked along the path, we passed dozens of families laying out on blankets having picnics in the grass, and tons of father-son duos playing Frisbee and kicking around a football (soccer ball, to my North American friends). The park also offers and incredible view of both Perth City and South Perth separated by the small bay dotted with the ferry travelling between the two sides and several sailboats.

But alas, like all my journeys and adventures, they have to come to an end, almost always too soon, however. But my travels aren’t completely over yet; I’m now in my way to Bali where I will stay for five days. 

~Ally xxx

The (Almost) End

So my semester is officially over. The last two weeks have been (somewhat, but not really) stressful with finishing up final projects, presentations and exams. The last two weeks have also been very emotional as I've had to say goodbye to some close friends, and my apartment as well. I've done my fair share of partying in the last few days as it has been my last nights with many people. It currently feels like a ghost town in Nonsi since most people have already moved out to travel for a few weeks before they head home. A few of my friends are still here so I'm not completely alone, but I can feel the depression starting to sink in. I can only imagine how hard it's going to be when I actually leave and won't have the chance to see these people every day again. 

In good news though, my mom is officially on her way here. So while I'm still sad for the fact that her arrival truly marks the end of my journey and time here, I'm very excited for our travels together. I haven't even thought about the places we're going because I'm always busy planning some other trip with friends, but today I sat down and started making an itinerary for things to do in each city. We start off in Perth, Australia next Friday! I'm so excited for Perth, it might actually be the destination with mom that I'm most excited about. We're also headed to Bali, Singapore, and Malaysia. Several of my really close friends in Bangkok will be in Bali at the same time as me, so I am super excited because it means I will get a few extra days with them and I don't have to say goodbye just yet.