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When I travel, I do my research and read a lot. So when planning my trip to Bali, I booked a four-star villa in Seminyak in the south, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Kuta beach nearby. After reading about Kuta's nightlife, I told myself that I would not travel all the way from South Africa to be in a noisy area full of tourists who party every day. Getting my visa on arrival and hailing a cab was a breeze. When my driver started heading towards what looked like an informal settlement, I had to tap him on the shoulder and show him a picture of the villa I'd booked. He turned around with a smile and said 'yes madam that is where we are going'. Panic set in as we drove past houses that looked like shacks. But arriving at the villa, it felt like I was entering paradise. I loved everything about my villa. First thing I did was to book a massage at a nearby fancy spa to relax a bit while waiting for my cab to pick me up for a boat cruise dinner. I had lots of bintang beer and loads of fun. On my way back I was that girl who was falling asleep on other passenger's shoulders. I woke up with a hangover from hell and was dying to eat decent food. I ordered English breakfast and the lady knocked at my door with a beautiful smile to deliver a cup of English tea, reality kicked in that we do have language barrier. On the second day, I visited Kuta and ended up partying there on a daily basis! On third day I went club hopping, it was the funniest thing ever. The next minutes you're at the club dancing and the next minute you are lying on the street with your mouth open waiting for your drink. I ended up paying extra money for transport since I was permanently partying in Kuta. I met a group of very nice girls from Germany who convinced me to go sunrise trekking on Mount Batur. I decided while drunk that I will do it not even taking into consideration that I did not bring my hiking boots and haven’t trained in a while. I visited lots of interesting places including of the locals who lived in poverty but not even once did they asked for money instead they thanked me for visiting Bali and creating employment for their families. The beach where some of Eat, pray, love movie scenes were shot was just ok nothing to write home about. My driver laughed when I asked for the medicine man, I ended up not going because there was no such person in Bali. After a week of partying non-stop I moved to Ubud which was my last stop. I needed to calm down,read and relax a bit. I booked sunrise trekking while in Ubud.I left the hotel at 2am and I wanted to cry. It was tough, some people fainted but I was lucky I did not since I was so unfit. I was struggling; some girls carried my bags and advised me to visit Gili Island. We waited to see the sun, but it only appeared for two minutes, which was a bit disappointing. However climbing an active volcano was an amazing experience. After trekking I slept the whole day, woke up in the evening to book a trip to Gili, left my bags packed in my room and took a speed boat. Worst experience of my life I prayed so hard not to die but arriving there I forgot about the experience. The island was so beautiful, no cars only donkeys. I booked accommodation on arrival. I called the hotel notifying them to keep my bags at the reception and that I was going to collect on my way to the airport the following day. It was during this trip that I learnt to be an adventure seeker. I was also reminded that travelling isn’t always pretty, or comfortable. You have to adjust to a country's way of living and appreciate your holiday. Life is indeed about the journey.