I enjoyed Bali very much on my first trip back in 1993. I’ll try to find and share the photos I took back then. The negatives are still there, but the prints are either missing or not in good condition.
I was travelling solo then and I’ll never forget an elderly couple from Norway I met on that trip. They asked me why I chose to travel alone. A swinging single back then, I explained that I liked the freedom. Having travelled with friends and family before, I as already quite familiar with the hassle of travelling in a group. Instinct told me that solo is better.
“But you have no one to share all these experiences with.” the Norwegian auntie said. She was obviously enjoying her trip very much.
I went back to Bali in 2006. It was a far less satisfactory trip. I tried to explore a few interesting places off the beaten track, but I was held back by a tremendous amount of inertia. I realised that I should have trusted my own instincts. Years passed since then and my children are now in their teens. While they were still malleable, I’ve travelled with them to Malaysia, China, Nepal, India, Taiwan, Australia and of course Indonesia.
So why Bali? The main reason is, there is too much to see here and I really don’t have a lot of time. Stay tune to find out how this trip turns out. Whatever the case, I’ll be back.
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