Travels

22/11/19 -> 21/12/19

I'd never been to Asia before, I'd never even caught a connecting flight, but something was telling me to tap the sketchy Insta ad offering writing workshops in Bali and transfer my money to an Aussie company I'd never heard of, Global Hobo. I've never been one for taking risks, I'm the type of person who did their homework as soon as they got home from school, but this turned out to be the biggest and best risk I'd ever take.

The month before I left was torture; my anxiety was next level and sleep was not my friend, and neither was the internet - everything I read online induced a panic attack and made me think, 'how the hell am I going to do this, live their for a month?' I researched and prepped as best I could, buying a ridiculous amount of unnecessary 'travel necessities' to shove in my suitcase and make me feel like I was ready to take on this mysterious adventure.

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The airport is always the hardest part, saying goodbye to your parents and enduring a killer 17 and half hour journey to Ngurah Rai International Airport. I felt sick the whole time, but I met two lovely girls on the way that gave me the strength to keep going and not just curl up and cry from fear. The first girl I met was from Ireland and we chatted while waiting for the connecting flight; she was going to a surf camp in Canggu for two weeks and like me hadn't been to Asia before. The second was a Swedish woman who sat next to me on the second flight and reassured me that travelling to Bali would be one of the best things I'd ever do... and she was right.

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After surviving the flights and making it through customs, still feeling sick and now with a cracking headache, I was taken to the villa in Canggu in a car with giant speakers in the back blasting reggae music. At this point, my nerves had vanished, I was just tired and emotional, ready to jump in bed and sleep for eternity.

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When I arrived at the villa it was pitch black and I couldn't see a soul. No one was at the front desk to show me to my room, so I just stood there, trying to make out my surroundings. The sound of a dog barking in the distance filled the silence, as well as my nervous voice calling out 'hello' a couple of times. Finally, a man popped his head around the corner of the kitchen area and helped me carry my stupidly huge suitcase to my room. The day before arriving I found out I was one of only four who had to share a room, and the other two girls were already best friends. Luckily, my roomie was at dinner when I arrived so I could have a good cry and check my mattress for bed bugs (although my mattress turned out to be a slab of foam). I called my parents to let them know I was okay and tried to block out the sound of pigs squealing (though it sounded more like screaming) coming from the dodgy-looking building next door.

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 After discovering the shower room and how to use the 'bum gun', essentially a very high pressured hose next to the toilet, I decided to unpack. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and totally exhausted, but as soon as my roomie walked through the door I instantly felt better. She was the perfect distraction from feeling homesick and we immediately got on well, sharing so much in common. She was from Melbourne and knew a lot about Bali that I didn't, constantly reassuring me when I started to worry about various things.

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I didn't sleep a wink on the first night. I just lay there, every sudden sound or whisper sending me into high alert and distancing me further from sleep. I waited for the sun to come up. I hadn't slept properly in two days.

The next morning, after smothering myself in sunscreen and insect repellent, I met the rest of the group which consisted of 16 girls and 1 guy. I was feeling sick with nerves again, trying desperately to force my breakfast down while making small talk. I was also struggling with the humidity, going from freezing cold England to piping hot Bali was not making me feel the best, but surrounded by cool Australians and a Kiwi, I tried to act unbothered.

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We met the Global Hobo teachers, who would be educating us in travel journalism every afternoon for a month, later that day. I sat on the edge of the pool, procrastinating from showing everyone my doggy paddle and chatting to the others. After the teachers introductions, we went round the group saying why we were here and what we wanted to achieve. I think I said something short about wanting to visit Asia and challenge myself, my voice wobbling, before eyes quickly latched on to the next person.

In the evening we all met at Luigi's for pizzas and drinks. Lacking sleep, I wasn't feeling the most energized, especially when a guy started pouring drinks into people's mouths and we moved to the dancefloor. But I wanted to get to know everyone and was determined not to go home before anyone else. I thought people would call me boring or ignore me, but instead the girls told me how well I was doing with such little sleep, complimenting my will to stay awake and have fun. From the first night, I knew that I'd been lucky enough to be placed with a great group of people, all passionate, opinionated, and kind. I knew that this was going to be a good trip.

The rest of my days in Bali consisted of attending Bahasa Indonesian classes in the morning for two hours at a waterpark, and writing classes in the afternoon at a place called District in Berawa. I really enjoyed learning Indonesian, my confidence growing alongside my language abilities to the point that I could make small talk with people in warungs (roadside cafes) and barter with sellers at the markets. My teacher was a major part of my love for the language, continuously supportive and entertaining, she became a friend to us all and we even follow each other on Instagram now!

Weekends were spent travelling around Bali; we visited Nusa Penida, Uluwatu, and Ubud, where I climbed Mount Batur at sunrise and had a flower bath at a tropical spa. Every day was full of amazing experiences and I adored building strong friendships with everyone in the group. I also developed so much as a writer and received a massive confidence boost on an article I am very proud of and which you can read on Global Hobo (click 'Published Works').

There were definitely difficult times throughout the trip, whether it was from exhaustion, illness, or rising tensions, but when I reflect on my time in Bali, I can only smile. I proved to myself that I could travel to the other side of the world by myself with crippling anxiety, that I could meet and live with a group of total strangers for a month, survive the heat and the culture shock, and write two articles and a travel guide on top of it all. This was an experience I will never forget and has made me so much stronger, independent, and resilient. It reminded me that when things get difficult, when your problems feel like they could swallow you whole, the world is so big and there is so much opportunity, you just have to take a chance.