Travelling

Yay I'd be flying to Bali tomorrow for a 4D3N getaway! I'm so excited because I haven't taken a plane since 3 years ago to Hong Kong with my girlfriends and it will be my first time on a plane with my aunt's family. I must admit that I have been quite nonchalant about this trip because my uncle settled all the administrative matters and only my mum and I are joining my aunt's family. Wonder how my house will turn out after 4 days with just the guys at home!

From Google Maps!

So, to make the trip more worthwhile, I did some last minute research on Bali! My perception of Bali would be the beach, water games, resorts and perhaps some vague impression of the news on its terrorist bombings (in 2002 and 2005). Some facts to share from Wiki, Bali is an island in Indonesia and the largest tourist destination in the country! The photos of Bali's beaches I found online seem to justify how it could have possibly been consistently attracting so many foreigners.

Incredibly clear ocean & pristine sand!

Looking forward to some sun and thrill at the beach! But I have no idea which part of Bali or which resort we would be going to... After reading up a little, the touristy places are concentrated in the South, perhaps we'll be staying in one of the main tourist areas like Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Oberoi. Something interesting I found out was that the 2010 movie, Eat, Pray, Love (EPL, LOL at the acronym cos I totally assumed it meant English Premier League in the Wiki article), which starred Julia Roberts and most girls raved about, was filmed at the Ubud & Padang-Padang beach of Bali.

"... Ubud, the hill town and cultural and tourist center that was the focus of Gilbert's quest for balance through traditional spirituality and healing that leads to love." 

Awesome! Gonna watch the film later today and hope that I'll get to visit the film sites! 

Alright, enough with the happy stuff, I have a weird mum experimenting with a random scarf in front of my mirror beside me right now. She is hilarious but I shall still rant about what made me so upset and disappointed just now. I have been spending the past week researching on domestic flights, hotels bookings and travel packages to plan for the most value-for-money trip to Orlando, Florida with one girl and one guy who will be my course mates from NUS for the upcoming summer programme at Yale. Because we have an odd number of travelers, as well as the odd mix of genders, I had to ensure that the hotel room we were booking has 2 separate beds and preferably Queen-sized for the girl and I to share a bed and still sleep comfortably. Due to our international flights arriving in NY at 1pm (Wed) and the need to report to Yale by 12pm (Sun), the tight restriction on the domestic flight timings had to be of great concern as well. Moreover, the location of the hotel, whether it provides shuttle services to the attractions, the transport to and fro the hotel and the airport were all of consideration.

Imagine having thought through so much and being considerate to everyone on the trip, yet when you were collating their personal details to book the stuff online, the female acquaintance has to pull out! And to inform me only now, after we have confirmed that we would be travelling together 5 days before our programme, after all my tedious planning, after the guy and I purchasing our international flight tickets to arrive so much earlier. Do you think an apology will suffice? But I'm more or less not as agitated now but troubled as to how I am supposed to spend my 5 days in US because I REFUSE to alter my flight to a later date! After so much trouble and effort to maximize my utility for this trip, it has to be ruined by an irresponsible person... I almost went ahead booking and paying for all 3 of us before re-confirming with them again. I would be even more screwed up if I have done that. So much for putting in so much faith and trust in people I barely knew.

Sigh, thinking of alternatives now but everything seems bleak. 

Goodnight world.