So first thing’s first, I’m a 29 year old Australian and until this month I had never been to Bali. That statement makes me feel like I’m standing up with a verbal confession in group therapy. I’m not sure why I never got there before now, maybe I felt compelled to travel further first – to the countries of my parents, and my grandparent’s heritage; from a feeling of responsibility. Maybe I just didn’t understand what all the fuss was about with all the reports of leather goods and sun-tans that washed off in the shower the day you got home?
Based on the fact that some of my friends have been there more than a dozen times each, and there’s now a major advertising campaign featuring a Ketuk character & a quintessentially Australian traveller ‘Rhonda’– it was quite timely for two of my close friends to have an overseas wedding in Uluwatu, Bali, last week.
I have to admit, stepping off the plane into the humid, smokey entry-area at Ngurah Rai Airport was a surreal and strange experience… Maybe it was fear of a surprise-baggage-contents-mishap (!), or perhaps it was fear of the unknown… but, as I arrived in Bali, I honestly felt further away from home than all my other travels around the world (and we were just a measly five-hour plane ride away!) – thank god for my two travel buddies Tez & Bec, who helped navigate the airport visa queuing and ‘express’ underground entry options!
I remember comparing this feeling ‘on entry’ to my feeling ‘on exit’ leaving the country 8 days later. I could laugh at my apprehension now – “oh that sheltered , unworldly Julie… she is a silly, naïve girl”. The fact is, Bali was made amazing, safe & incredible, purely by the beautiful Balinese people living within it. What a special, ever-smiling, welcoming culture of people!
I’d like to say a special thank you to Sandy & Joel, my friends who celebrated their love and made a commitment to one another in this amazing setting. I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to experience & discover so much of this amazing place that you both love so very much. Without this wedding I’m not sure I would have seen Bali any time soon – but now I understand what all the fuss is about!
Today, in this special post – I’m letting pictures do the talking; you’ll see we crammed quite a bit in to the eight-days… All or Nothing!
Kicking off with pictures from the wedding, because they are the most impressive of all! The wedding was held at Villa Latitude, atop the cliffs of Pandawa / Secret Beach on the southern coast of the Bukit Peninsula in Bali.
Plenty of pre-wedding gatherings at iconic Balinese venues including Sarong Restaurant, Chandi Restaurant, The Breezes Resort and Cocoon Beach Club!
Chill-time The W Hotel, Seminyak
(This is a young girl in a bright yellow wedding dress!)
Adventures to Echo Beach (Canggu), Blue Point Beach, Karma Kandara, Nammos Beach, El Kabron Cliff Club and Padang Padang Beach.
Finishing off with a few night’s stay at The Temple Lodge, a villa built within nature, magnificently perched atop the white cliffs of the Bukit peninsula on Bali’s southernmost tip.
Hope you enjoyed the adventure through Bali as much as I did!
March 26, 2013 3:39 pm
Indeed, a beautiful country with adorable people. If I had known I would have given you the address of a friend of mine (we used to play in the same rock band when we were kids) who came to Bali on vacation and never left. It was 25 years ago. Just one thing though (and I wish I was your age as it is so much easier to travel now), the world is quite big and incredibly beautiful. So much so that there are only a few places that I have been to several times. When you are young, you might think: “this place is cool I will come back one day” and in fact, you might never come back. So enjoy every moment as I know you do. I hate sounding like an old mofo like that though.