And so the adventure begins...

So here we are again. Sat on an exotic island miles away from home, on my tod, tapping away on my lap top as I try to remember all the wonderful experiences I am encountering.

I am in Bali and it’s stunning!

The first thing that has struck me about Bali is how clean it is. It is definitely cleaner and better kept than Thailand. The second thing that has struck me is the people - they are so friendly! Obviously, being a tourist I know all they want is my money, but once you get past the ‘what you selling?’ stage, you realise that those big smiles when they approach, are genuine.

The flight over was uneventful. I had a stop off in Dubai for 1.5 hours which was just enough time to stretch my legs and make my way over to the next gate. The second leg of the journey was a 9-hour flight and by this point, I was struggling to stay awake. I knew it was going to be night time when I landed so I tried desperately to stay awake in order to get my body onto the correct time zone. Movies and vodka were my choice of activity, and after about the 5th trip to the toilet, it’s safe to say the couple sat next to me hated me. It’s not my fault my bladder kicks in just as my neighbour falls asleep!

Anyway, so after my flight I grabbed a transfer to my hotel near the airport, somewhat out of it through sleep deprivation and with a killer headache creeping in. This is where I met Albert. Albert is Thai and was over on business for a few days. He too was alone and asked me if I fancied a drink somewhere. Sods law, the second I got into my hotel room my eyes pinged open and da da! I wasn’t sleepy, so I agreed to meet him in half an hour after I had showered.

That was game over. No chance am I going out now. So I popped down to let him know and off to bed I went.

The following day I had a super early start. I found Albert face down, snoring his head off on the sofa in reception so I gave him a kick and told him to go to bed. Turns out he had gone to a bar and didn’t get in until 5am. I’m so glad I didn’t join him going by the state he was in!

I was collected at 6am and off we went to make our way across the island to grab a boat to the Gili Islands. This was where I met Irish/Australian Gary & Eileen. The second these guys got on the bus Gary jumped at the chance to have a good natter (typical Irish!) while his misses Eileen took the opportunity to have a nap.

The boat dock was madness.
No one knew what the hell was going on, no announcements were being made, vendors walked amongst the tourist selling sunglasses, cold drinks and all sorts of wares. It was absolute chaos. Poor Gary was crapping himself in the madness as it was the first holiday he had ever organised solely on his own and by this point he was a little bit stressed out as we didn’t have a fudging clue where to go, which boat to board, or anything! Luckily, we managed to hop on the right boat and made our way to the Gili Islands. Gili Trawangan to be precise. Or Gili T as it is often called. The site of the huge crowds of people on the beach made my stomach turn - there were soooo many tourists!

Initially I had booked a hotel on Gili Meno, one of the sister islands nearby, however after a little research I soon discovered that both Meno and Air were very quiet and probably more suited to couples on honeymoon more so than a solo Sam. So, prior to flying I changed my booking to the livelier of the islands, Gili T. Initially I was reluctant to book here as I had heard how touristy it was, but more to the point I wanted to avoid it because I had heard it was a party island. I didn’t really fancy getting off my face on cheap buckets of cocktails, but having said that, I didn’t want to be on a remote island with nothing to do and no one to talk to - so Gili T it is. Thankfully it is on the cusp of seasons so it isn’t actually as busy as it is during peak season. The beaches are still busy mind which I don’t really like, plus I feel like a bit of a plonka walking around with my selfie stick and go pro with so many people watching…
Perhaps Meno would have been the wiser option?
I say that, I am actually having a great time.

So my hotel on Gili T is a building site.
No kidding. It is actually a building site. My jaw dropped as soon as I arrived and I saw the state of the hotel. Luckily it is only the front of the hotel and the restaurant that is being renovated. Behind the cement mixers, and piles of timber lies a cute little village of huts and bungalows. Thank god for that!
I swiftly dumped my bags, grabbed my beach bag and headed straight to the sea.
It is so nice to finally stop.
And breathe
And sleep
And think
And feel the sun on my skin
And feel the sand in between my toes…
One happy Sam I am!

I grabbed a beer, assumed the position and lay like broccoli for a few hours.
Until it rained...
By this point I was exhausted and my jet lag had hit me round the face like a wet fish, so off to bed I went at c.4pm, in the hope that a little nap would make me feel better.
It didn’t.
I felt worse and my headache had developed full swing.
The plan was to meet Eileen & Gary at some point in the evening and go for a drink. I couldn’t really be bothered to go out to be honest as I felt so rough, but I made myself go as it was still too early to go to bed properly and I needed to stay awake somehow.
What a messy night that turned out to be!
It is apparent that booze is really quite cheap here!
Cheap booze, combined with jet lag and the fact that I had forgotten to eat… School girl error!
Safe to say I was a disgusting mess by the end of the night. I don’t think I have been that drunk in years and I now have a lovely bruise and scratches all over my legs with no recollection what so ever as to how they got there.
Now I know my mum will be reading this, thinking silly girl getting that drunk when you're all on your own. Normally I would completely agree, however I felt so comfortable with Gary and Eileen that I knew they would look out for me. They even walked me home at the end of the night bless them.
I think I’ve killed them though as I get the impression they are feeling a little worse for wear today.
As did I this morning but at least I can now say I have switched my body clock into place, had a good night’s sleep and now feel fabulous!

Hangover or no hangover, I am not going to waste my time here, so off I trotted at 11am along the beach to explore the island. I got about 20 minutes away from the hotel when I realised I was more

hungover than I thought and was starting to feel really dizzy.
So back I headed towards the hotel, found a lounger on the beach and there I stayed all day sunning myself into human form again.

I am here for 4 nights, so rest and relaxation is the name of my game for the next few days. I doubt I will blog much while I’m here as I doubt I’ll be doing anything of interest other than resting and recuperating.
But you never know. Let’s see how we go...
To be continued….