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It can be a daunting task to travel near or far and to explore places you haven’t yet experienced with your own eyes. It should excite you and prompt questions like ‘how long are we going for?’ and ‘should I bring a book?’ the duration is determined long before the eventual departure in most cases and yes - you should always bring a book! A friend asked me recently when my last holiday was, and I reluctantly said back in 2010 on a family trip to Bali. “Bali!? Everybody has been there! That doesn’t count.” My friend exalted, but for me it most certainly did count. I have fond memories of my short but sweet family vacation, one memory in particular that stands out is the experience of leaving the plane. The cabin doors opened, and I was met with hot, sticky air. I looked down to see my feet soaked in sweat and it hadn’t even been five minutes since I left the plane. This memory is so ingrained in my mind for it was such an odd and unexpected sensation, I remember almost slipping down the stairs on the way to the tarmac bus. “Welcome to Bali! The bus driver yelled as my family and I boarded and found three seats free near a window. The experience was incredibly memorable, and I found myself leaping into the unknown; seeing new sights and meeting new people along the way. Such a journey wasn’t without its perils of course, because I was traveling at a young age it was important to always think about safety. We traveled to Kuta and booked into our hotel, already impressed by the customer service and grand décor that awaited us in the foyer. I remember the strong smell of chlorine as we passed a huge pool in the middle of the hotel, it was around 6pm and people were splashing about and having a great time on their own holidays. Our days revolved around water, if we weren’t sitting beside the beach, we would be in the pool cooling off from the heat. We snorkeled, swam and explored the coastline of Bali over a number of days and it was fantastic. Being slightly rebellious at that age I remember my brothers and I buying a BB gun and shooting each other with it many afternoons beside the pool. The hotel staff were always telling us off and were eager to confiscate it. We had a theory that they had confiscated so many tourist’s BB guns that they would have a whole room dedicated to storing them in the hotel. Although we dared test out that theory out of fear that they would confiscate our last one. There were of course more testing challenges, such as dealing with hagglers and beggars on the streets. This was all so new to me and so I found it quite distressing having many interactions with people, negotiating prices of brand T-shirts and always keeping a watchful eye on your back pocket. The biggest thing that shocked me at first other than the humidity was just how many Australians were around. In some regards it was almost like being in a suburb back home, just with much more diversity to be seen. The people were friendly, always treating you like royalty wherever you went which was an interesting experience while traveling around. It’s not hard to understand why it’s such a popular and accessible traveling destination for many Australians, the currency converts over nicely and for many it’s a familiar feeling of being near the ocean so much. Traveling to Bali for me was an experience to remember, it felt fresh and new and I can still think back and reflect on it fondly even as so many years have passed. It’s about exploring new places, breathing different air and seeing things that you have never seen before. It’s electrifying to travel and see the world with the hope to see vast new cultures and ways of life, and ultimately taking that leap into the unknown and seeing it all for yourself.