Having left school at 15, gone straight into the workforce, and then raised a family, this was something that had never really occurred to me before. But why not? My husband is not with me any more, and my children are young adults, all living away from home. I have earned a ‘mid-life crisis’!
Maybe now is the time to ‘escape’, whilst everybody seems to be ‘looking the other way’, and preoccupied with other things in their lives. If I go quietly, they may not even notice…..
I could go back to Bali and concentrate on my surfing – maybe this time, I will manage to stay out of trouble, and not get injured again. (Although I am secretly quite proud of the scar from my previously split lip) I felt like a fully-fledged surfer.
Having made my decision, I realized that I was going to do what many people dream of, and that my life could now be described in clichés….. “getting off the wheel”; “decluttering my life”; “living the dream” etc etc.
Although the reality of making this happen was not quite so glamorous!
Two schools of thought prevailed:
“You lucky thing”. “Wish I could do that.” “Go girl!!”
Or….
“Are you completely mad?” “Don’t think you can walk back into your job, just when you feel like it!” “How selfish – what about your kids?”
However….
After months of sheer hard work, and several bouts of ‘cold feet’, I walked away from my job and completed the sale of the house – finally boarding the Perth to Denpasar flight on 9 August last year.
How did I feel, looking out of the aircraft window, as we soared higher and higher above the Perth landscape, leaving behind my family and friends?
I felt nothing……. I was exhausted, and with the dull reminder of the previous night’s farewell party still nagging behind my eyes, I just felt a kind of emptiness.
Well. This wasn’t what I expected at all. Where was the euphoria, the butterflies in my stomach, the tears, the fears etc…….
The feelings changed, however, once the warm, perfumed, evening air of Bali engulfed me, on exiting the airport terminal….. It felt wonderful, albeit a little scary. Perfect. That’s what I wanted – to feel like an adventurer, not quite knowing what will happen next.
Well of course, something did happen next…
I had previously promised myself a visit to one of the re-built Kuta nightclubs, to buy a drink, and show a bit of support. Within half an hour of leaving the airport, and wondering what might happen next, I was just leaving the bar with a cocktail in hand, struggling through the darkness, trying to find a seat, when the music stopped; the lights went on; and about 30 Indonesian police swarmed through the building…..
I was almost relieved when I found that it was only a drug raid.
What do I mean “only a drug raid”!! Even though I had nothing to hide, I had heard all the stories. How safe am I here? What will I tell the children from behind my prison bars? What about police brutality?
Although, after about an hour of watching the police quietly, methodically and very politely searching everyone’s wallets, bags, cigarette packets etc (seemingly without finding a thing) I actually began to get a little bored - but of course it’s probably not a good look to ask to leave in the middle of a drug raid!
Eventually, the police allowed me to leave, but by now I was too wound up to go back to my hotel and sleep - which had been my original plan. I soon found myself in a nearby reggae club - which was the perfect antidote to the long and momentous day. The dance floor was packed; the music was wonderful; the cocktails were flowing; and I was having a ball.
Until a table fell from the balcony above, followed by a couple of beer bottles - and then a chair!
Oh no. What now? Will this mean the music has to stop again, and the lights have to be switched on?
Well not exactly – the music continued, the lights stayed low, and the dancers simply moved away from the action above. Everyone carried on as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It didn’t really seem to matter….. the only difference was that the dancers were even more tightly packed together!
I finally laid my head on the pillow about 2am, staring at the ceiling, and thinking back over my day. My new life in Bali had started with a drug raid and a near miss with a coffee table!
Tomorrow, I will hire a bicycle.
That must be one of the more serene and peaceful things to do in Bali……
