Company trip to Bali

Ok, here's my posting on Bali (16 - 19 June 2006)that I was supposed to do last week but didn't coz I was too busy, with work.

Actually there's a lot of things I've not been able to blog about. I guess I'll just KIV them first. One at a time, la.

All I can remember of Bali... is... is... err... is... Darnit... I can't remember! Haha! Just trying to get out of my alcohol-induced amnesia. @_^

Okay, okay... *ahem*

Bali, on first impression, seem like Kota Bharu, what with the houses and motorists and it's local people. But its not KB, coz there are no head scarves there, thank goodness. But then, I landed at night so I couldn't really see much or gauge much for that matter. They took us straight to this restaurant with four bronze statues of padi women facing against the wind, which reminded me of the Oscars actually. The food was tasty but nothing that I would wax lyrical about.

Our hotel, Inna Putri Bali in Nusa Dua, was quite nice. It's supposed to be 5 stars but then it's really old - they are still using dial phones... in beige to boot. But I love the authentic Balinese ambient and design of the hotel. It's a huge place, and the pool and the beach is about 5 minutes walk from your room. But I don't mind, coz the walk is really pleasant as you amble pass ponds filled with koi and other type of fishes, water lilies, babbling brook-like ponds and statues of Balinese supernatural beings. Some are scary looking, some kinda serene. But all of them are very life-like. Throw on some spotlight and voila, you have great authentic Balinese ambience.

The beach is nice but not as nice as Perhentian or Redang, but better than KB's or PD's any day. The water's chilly and not that murky. The water flows from Antarctica I think and I ended up with a cold right after coming out of the water, and with the sun shining brightly and HOTLY. But my only gripe about the beach is the garbage. There's also garbage floating around in the water! Even though we were near the reefs and there were kelp, I didn't see any fish swim close. Says a lot about the health of the reefs…

We had one free and easy afternoon. The morning activities of games were compulsory but I missed it coz I couldn't wake up! Why? Coz we were up drinking and playing games the night before. We painted Kuta town red. That was fun. =)

It's weird really. I am usually a very light sleeper but that morning, I didn't even hear my phone alarm go off despite it being next to my head. Must be the flight (came on a Boeng 737, 4 hour flight) AND the alcohol.

So that night, during dinner, I got penalized. Actually 4 of us missed the morning activities and all 4 were punished. The two guys had to do dirty dancing whilst me and my roommate, Marilyn, had to do pole dancing, on stage! Pai seh only, coz I've never done pole dancing. And to make the matter more hilarious, some one shouted from the audience that the poles should be replaced by our tall colleagues! >_< This suggestion was of course, met with a roar of approval. What can I do but follow along la, even though I had no idea how to pole dance. Vision of sexy girls and a long metal pole filled my mind, but then doing those wriggles and thrusts was another thing altogether. I tried my best... =P

That night, after dinner, we had another drinking session, and this time all the bottles of the hard liquor came out and my god, everyone was happily drunk by midnight. Some of us went for a midnight swim while others scrambled to their rooms to watch football. I went for a midnight swim at the pool. After that, I wondered down the beach, alone. My first glimpse of the beach took my breath away. The moon was out and it's white light were illuminating the sea and the breakers, and it looked awesome. It looked like angels were getting ready to descend at any moment. I lost myself for an hour there. Just having an Alone time. But it didn't last long, as the group came by noisily to join me. Oh well *sigh* It was good while it lasted.

The next day was the tour day, which I think was a waste of time. The bus took us shopping and only at those tourist traps. So didn't enjoy that. After dinner, we started drinking early and then took a taxi to Seminyak to experience the night life. Naturally by the time they closed the club, we were all stumbling into waiting taxis, drunk and beyond.

Needless to say, I had a hangover the next day. I was fine during breakfast but once I got on the bus to go to the airport, motion-sickness got the better of me. By the time, the bus got to the airport which was thankfully in 15 mins, I felt nauseous and just out of it. All around me, my colleagues milled around, recollecting what they did yesterday. Me, I just sat on the bench and concentrating on not throwing up.

I knew it was going to be a horrible flight home if I didn't do something. So I threw back a whole bottle of coke and went to the toilet and forced myself to puke. For one hour, while everyone else was shopping, I was bent over in the toilet, with a finger down my throat. Some people are just better at hiding their hangovers I guess. Which I found out later, were many.

I guess, I can say that my company trip to Bali was fun, in a haze of alcoholic fumes kind of way. It was a weekend of alcohol bingeing. But then what can you expect when you bring together people from the advertising industry? *wink*