Bali. 02 Nov- 05 Nov (extended to 06).

This was my 10th time to Bali. Bali never fails to fill me with things to do. The mountainous agung batur and rafts and viewpoints. The beach of jimbaran and kuta. The exclusivity of nusa dua. The happening seminyak, canggu, and more. The spiritual and forested ubud. The far north diving hidden gem Lovina. WOW! 

After 10 times, there are still culture lifestyle I have yet to discover. This trip we have a closer encounter with "Death" and "Cremation". We saw the life cremation of a corpse and the entire ritual without coffin. We went to a "Wayang" museum too where the largest collection of Asian puppertery culture is well treasured and documented. Volunteers at the venue are so passionate with the collection and history behind every unique puppets, wayangs, and more. It's really a hidden find. 

This trip, I did something different, to go on a Hot Air Balloon. I guess the only experience I had was the one at Malacca, this was great too. One day, will be at Turkiye for the most iconic flight. The rest of the itinerary was mostly similar to the ones I had previously, but revisiting these places after pandemic gave me a weird sense of hope and relief that some defining culture still lives on, such as Bebek Bengil, Babi Guling, and more. No temples on this trip, neither any sea sports, Rafting was there though. Most of my travels requires cultural activity and fine dining so we went to Mandappa this time. We stumbled across Room4Dessert, which I found particularly interesting to curate a dining experience based on Hot and Cold desserts and food pairings, and cocktails ofcoz. So I thought it was a trip for J birthday, but I realised after spending some time, he enjoyed the trip very much as it was the first time overseas without C, and he certainly discovered more things about himself, his leadership, and People Management. 

Glad it was still a very balanced itinerary for the group, to go on the Hot Air Balloon, the Rafts, the Food, and the Party. We had missed so much Sunset Activities due to the lack of it on the first 3 nights, and thus had to eat into the first half of the next day always. Luckily the itinerary was planned to have activities only after 11am, so we are able to adjust. And the group was very flexible on it. They enjoyed themselves, each with a particular favorite segment. Oh yes, I had the Moroccan Hammam Bath. This was so interesting, I decided to book myself a flight to one of the most challenging, dangerous, and complex country in the world, for 2023 February. Excited. Looking forward greatly. Glad I could also share my personal development journey and gave alternate views on certain matters here and there, and grateful on the vulnerability and frankness each of them have given me. Thank you! WS was considered someone harder to understand, by the people around, but I think I have a better understanding on his thought process. 

Due to flight delayed, we did a crazy last minute decision to stopover at KL with ZH, and took a grab up to Genting for a 3 hours run before rushing as the last passenger on last call to run into the plane. Amazing experience though this was the 2nd time already, rushing for flights.