The People I Met in Bali

My three weeks in Bali were extraordinary. Now, I’ve never gone on a vacation that I didn’t love, never traveled to a place that I didn’t care for. However, there was something different, more special about Bali that I can’t describe. Something seemingly minor, though, draws me to invest in this description: the characterization of four people we encountered who made strong impressions on me, each for a different reason.

First, I want to present David, encountered at the airport in Bali while we were waiting to board our flight for home. We were earlier than required, so had two hours to spend before check in. We sat down in a coffee shop, ordered a cappuccino for me and a coffee for Paul, and settled in. Somehow, at airports, it feels more acceptable to talk to strangers than it might elsewhere. David was sitting alone at the next table and we asked him where he was headed. As we began to talk, we invited him to join us at our table. He was from Australia and was waiting for a flight to Vietnam.

He told us that he was waiting for a Visa to arrive, needed in order to board the flight in about three hours. He was not certain that it would arrive in time. Then, he shared more of his story. He was in his forties and his mother had died the year before. She had always talked about her desire to travel, but had never traveled. While considering her life and her unmet dreams, David made the decision to take a year and travel around the world. He was beginning that journey right now!

We shared his excitement and congratulated him for making this decision, wishing him luck on receiving the Visa in time for his flight to Vietnam. Then, we parted to wander the airport before our flights. After about an hour we crossed paths with him again and asked about his Visa. He was no longer waiting for it, but had changed his mind and decided to fly to Singapore, was on his way to board the plane.

Now, I had only known David for a couple of hours, but his decision had a remarkable effect on me. How often have you known someone who makes an unexpected, startling decision, based simply on his immediate desires? My experience is that our lives are so complex, so intertwined, that we can seldom simply consider our own needs and desires. Just thinking about it makes me feel the selfishness of it. But, is it really selfish? Perhaps not. Certainly not.

I felt really impressed that he made that choice. We didn’t exchange contact information, so I’ll never know who his trip, his year turns out. I bet it will be wonderful and full of growth, spiritual and mental, for him.

Another person I met, Michaela, made a strong impression on me, too, perhaps for a similar reason. We met during our last week on Bali, at a coastal resort in Permuteran. I noticed her at breakfast, sitting by herself at another table in the sand, just a few feet from the Bali Sea. When we finished our breakfast, I approached her table and asked if I could interrupt her solitude. I asked if she was traveling alone. When she responded, ‘Yes,’ we began a conversation. I applauded her for her courage and she told me more of her story. She was also from Australia and was to tun fifty in three weeks. She wanted to travel, though at that time with no willing and available friends, so she decided to do it on her own.

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It takes a lot of courage to do that and I admired her. She was a scuba diver and was signed up for scuba trips. We were both going to be there for a few days, so I invited her to join us any time for a meal on the beach. Then, we parted ways.

Two days later, she found us at breakfast and asked if we wanted to join her for dinner at a neighboring restaurant, a ten minute walk away. We agreed, then met her later, after we had each had a massage at the local spa. At dinner, which was delicious, we shared stories and contact information, each inviting the other to our homes in Australia and the US. I hope we’ll get to see each other again!

The next people I want to share with you here have already been described in a previous blog. This young Indonesian couple, whose names I don’t even know, had the generosity of spirit to invite me (who they didn’t know) to share an adventure with them, swimming in a cave, during their vacation. That swim in the cave was a highlight of the trip for me, so unexpected, so challenging, such a personal triumph.

Our world is filled with adventurous, generous people, just waiting to meet us! Let’s give them that chance. Let’s take a chance!

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