Exhausted. I'm always pressed for time, it's a habit that has been hard to shake, leaving things to the last minute. Wednesday evening was no exception I was late for check in. I sat at Paddington station waiting for the Heathrow Express to Terminal 3. I had a mammoth 19 hour flight to Bali en route to Seoul ahead of me. I bordered KE908 and slipped into a disconnected slumber. A couple of in-flight movies later and some Korean rice porridge I was walking around Incheon International Airport as I waited for my connecting flight to Denpasar, Bali. 2 days worth of traveling for 2 days in Bali. This was going to be an interesting next couple of days.
The 7 hours or so spent on the flight were probably one of the more memorable flights of recent times. The hostesses were gracious and polite even going out of their way for some small talk. I had the rare luxury of having an empty seat next to me allowing me to stretch out and relax; the calm before the storm if you will. Bali welcomed me with humidity and the slowest customs procedure known to man. There must have been 5 customs attendants servicing at least 400 passengers. At just after 1 am on the 3rd October I emerged from Denpasar airport.The next 48 hours in Bali would involve a surprise, a wedding, a feast and memorable times held together by plenty of alcohol and a blatant disregard for sleep.
Surprised. I received the informal Wedding Invitation towards the end of August. Prior to leaving Sydney I had penciled in a return trip to Bali to attend the ceremony. Unfortunately there are some things that you can't script. My RSVP:
Not Attending. At the time my answer was influenced by two things: I had no Annual Leave and the costs of the flights to Bali were pushing £1200+. That was my story, at least up until last week. I had just been paid and disposable income to play with. This prompted some serious thinking, what is the cost of an attending a close mate's wedding? What is the cost of missing a close mate's wedding? I logged online for one desperate check of flights and prices. To my surprise Korean Air had available discounted flights, £630 return. I calculated that over my short stint of employment I had accumulated approximately 1.92 days of annual leave.
The following day I asked my boss if it would be possible to take a couple of days leave. I had only worked for 5 weeks but what did I have to lose? The minute he said yes I bought the tickets and emailed my friends back home letting them know that I was going to Bali! The only people I didn't tell were the bride and groom...
Memorable. It was just after 1:00 am I had my backpack slung over one shoulder. I peered down the road. Double checked the address of the hotel.
This was it, but nobody was around. I had been given the details and been told to wait here. A cab pulled up and a blonde Paris Hilton-esque girl stepped out. She was followed by a smiling yet familiar face, it was my friend. "I had to tell him I was going back to the hotel room with the girl so he wouldn't get suspicious. This is going to be awesome I can't wait to see his reaction".
I dropped off my stuff and we headed back into town. Ocean Beach Club was where the groom was spending his last evening as a bachelor. It was almost 2 am and the rest of my high school friends and the groom's friends were there. The Bintang was flowing and most people were relaxed and merry. The surprise itself was best described as slow motion. I snuck up behind him and propped my arm around his shoulder as somebody took a photo. He peered over to see who he had just taken a photo with. A couple of seconds passed and then it registered. It was all captured on film and this pushed the festivities early into the morning.
The lads had let me crash their hotel for 2 nights which was fine by me. Due to overbooking they were forced to relocate to another hotel for one night. The sun was already mid sky by the time we left the hotel. We were taken to the new rooms at Kuta Seaview and hurriedly got ready for the ceremony. It was then we discovered that the hotel had no ironing service.
Traffic that passes along Kuta Beach can be best described as horrendous, we negotiated a cab fare to Nusa Dua Beach Hotel where the ceremony was due to start at 3:00 pm. At 3:05 we stepped out of the cab, we were frantically asked around looking for the Santi lounge. Not only were we late, we were sweaty and we were all dressed in un-ironed shirts with varying degrees of crinkles and creases. This was a catastrophe!
Relieved. We burst through the doors to find the groom sitting on the lounge in shorts and looking like he had just woken up. "You guys are early" he hoarsely mumbled. "What happened to your voice?". "Too much screaming last night, it hurts to speak". By the time 4 pm rolled by we had ironed our shirts and cooled down, we were ready for the ceremony.
Beautiful. The 25 or so attendees of the Wedding comprised of immediate family and close friends. The location was spectacular, a small pagoda stood nestled on a grassy knoll not more than 5 metres from the sand. It was a warm afternoon and those who had come appropriately dressed were perspiring. Back, armpit, brow sweat were common sight with even knee sweat making an appearance. In the background Balinese instruments filled the air with a therapeutic soundtrack. It was a nervous wait for all, none more anxious than the groom.
There was a scuffle of feet as people ran off with their cameras, the commotion had begun. The heads of hotel guests turned, smiles beamed and cameras became active as the bride made her way down the path. Escorted by women dressed in traditional Balinese attire and her two sisters she smiled all while being received by a smiling hushed crowd. None more happy than the groom himself. The Balinese percussion ceased as the wedding host began the ceremony.
The wedding was a spectacle and was quite entertaining. For those wedding purists this would have been considered a disaster. There was mispronunciation the groom's name until the Wedding Planner had a quiet word in his ear to rectify this. Guests were constantly moving in and out of their chairs trying to snap the 'perfect shot' (I included). Finally the money question: "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" and it was his answer that summed up the whole wedding. Without hesitation he replied with "Absolutely". The traditional "I do" had been replaced. The crowd chuckled but that was symbolic of the whole procession. It was enjoyable, entertaining and done for the right reasons. It was the public display of the union of two people. For them this union had happened long before the wedding arrangements, before the flights were booked, even probably before the proposal. This was merely a formality. An absolute.
The reception was a sumptuous banquet enjoyed in front of a Balinese Stage performance. Coming from London my dulled taste buds were treated to a wonderland of dishes. Dinner finished and we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the post-wedding celebrations. Showering for the 3rd time that day we changed into more appropriate gear: Boardies, t-shirt and flip-flops. We club hopped to the main tourist locations: M-Bar Go, Paddy's, Bounty that was until it started raining and a blackout fell upon Kuta. People were standing in pitch black venues, that was the sign for majority of the wedding group to call it a night (bride and groom included). We finished up the evening at Double 6 for some late night drinks.
Sunday morning, traditional Balinese/Indonesian food for breakfast, a nice well deserved massage and some strolling through the markets. We grabbed a couple of drinks and booked ourselves into Karaoke at Discovery Centro. The VVIP room, catering for up to 20 people, booked by 5 guys. It was like the old times, unnecessarily excessive. 2 hours worth of singing and we were done. My Bali experience had come to an abrupt but memorable end. Goodbyes were said and I was dropped off at the airport at 1:30 am Sunday morning. 20 hours later I was sitting at the Heathrow Connect platform waiting for the train to get back into London.
Worth it. This trip hands down has been my favourite adventure all year. Throughout my journeys I've immersed myself in new cultures, met new people and sampled new foods. This was all that and more, conversation, laughter, song and dance shared by familiar faces. It was an event, the coming together of friends for the celebration of love. Thanks to the guys and congratulations to the newly weds.
