Last stop Bali....

It wasn't easy to say goodbye to Amed but I was glad to have Sinead with me as we headed to my last stop in Bali. After our lovely trip through the hills of the coast and the terraced rice fields I was feeling content. Our arrival loomed closer and the surroundings got more and more sparse. I was hoping the beach would be everything we'd read about and more. Searching for accommodation on the cliffs overlooking the beach were futile as they were way out of our budget and fully booked. Sinead "ran" down to the cheaper beach huts while I waited up with the luggage. We found a place, though not a hut, on the beach. The small beach surrounded by high cliffs had about 8 warungs (restaurant/cafe/bar) and each had rooms for rent. Our room was lovely. With a brand new bed, mattress, and sheets, it was very clean. The open ceiling wasn't too bad as everyone was fairly quiet. We weren't spending much time there anyways!  I was hoping for a Bali beach to knock my socks off and this supposed dream beach with white sand was not all envisioned. I made the most of it though, relaxing before my last month of travel. Sinead and I decided to treat ourselves and moved to a resort on the cliff which had a pool, where we spent most of our time. The beach was not ideal for swimming, having huge flat slabs of slippery rock concealed under gigantic surf waves. We met a surfer who, coincidentally, was the assistant producer on the Good Wife, one of my favourite shows! How exciting!  We spent our days relaxing and our evenings chatting and enjoying the local beverages. Sinead became such a good friend who pushed me to leave my comfort zone. So I'm glad for the privilege of sharing these last few days in paradise with her. And that was it, end of Bali...sniff sniff.

I realized something though, days later. And that is that the reason I fell in love with Bali is that I also fell in love with myself there. I realized that I like who I am and am proud of what I've done and who I've become. This trip has changed me immensely but it was finally in Bali that I started to feel those changes and love them. So how can I not love a place that made me feel my best!