Meeting Vincent and Akari in Seminyak Bali

Saturday morning I got a phone call from Vincent who has just moved to Bali with his girlfriend Akari.

Vincent is from London and Akari is from Tokyo and they have been living in London for the last few years.

Vincent has posted replies on the blog before so I was looking forward to meeting him and hearing about his travels. We arranged to meet at Santa Fe bar on Jalan Dhyana Pura at 8.30pm. Before heading out I dropped off my laundry to the ladies around the corner. They’ll charge me about 20,000rp for a decent sized bag and the clothes come back folded.

Snapping their picture helped get them chatting and asking questions.

Next stop was the Circle K on Jalan Seminyak for camera batteries. These places are all over the south coast and do a good service. Whoever owns this company has done a great job of getting the staff to ‘jump to it’. They are cleaning, stacking and serving and are always super polite. I don’t think this is the real Circle K from the US but an Indonesian copy.

Down the street from the Circle K these ladies were selling bottles of petrol and I needed a quick refill. I pulled into the curb, flipped open my bike seat, undid the cap and asked for ‘satu besar’ (1 large ) bottle. These usually run 5,000rp are about 2 liters.

Right next to them was this lady in front of a cart selling various items. At night the streets in Seminyak have many food vendors with gas burners going whipping up nasi goreng and other simple dishes.

I arrived first at Santa Fe and got talking to the staff, who at this time of the night out number the guests. Nightlife here kicks off around 11pm and goes late.

My new camera means I can snap away at night at the flash illuminates a large area that I like.

Vincent and Akari finally arrived and we spotted each other straight away, me being a skinny old guy with glasses and them being English and Japanese. We ordered a beer and got into talking about travel and particularly Vincent and Akari’s fantastic adventure.

They met 2 years ago on a dive boat in the Red Sea and have quit their jobs in London to move to Bali. Vincent rents out his apartments in Notting Hill and can now afford to look around Bali for a place to live. They have just spent 6 weeks in Peninsula Malaysia looking around and discussing the possibility of moving there if Bali won’t work. Vincent told me that after quitting his job and actually getting to live a dream of coming out to Asia he was telling himself ‘this was really it’ in Malaysia. On the plane to Bali he realized the Malaysia trip wasn’t the ‘real thing’, this was and it made him nervous

They have heard all about the corruption, the problems with visas etc. and I did my best to offer supporting info and balance out some of the negative aspects. I think they both have an amazing opportunity. Unlike most people who dream of moving around the world, they actually have the will and the means. Both like Karangasem from previous trips to Bali and will take a trip out there in the coming days. I suggested the best thing for them once they figured out what they are going to with their time is to have a quiet place in Karangasem and a villa in Seminyak.

They told me that travelling in Asia is a high priority and they don’t have to work, which means they will look for some activity, maybe business later down the road to get involved in.

Vincent seems a person who does a lot of research and considers every possibility. I think its great that he chose Bali and hope it lives up to his expectations.

For dinner we took a taxi to Bali Bale on Jalan Kunti. I picked this place because it is small, quiet and rather elegant with Balinese artwork all over. My duck dish was 25,000rp.

Akari has lived in London for a few years and actually has a twinge of London accent mixed in with her Japanese. Lately I’ve met a string of people from Indonesia, France, Japan and other places who love London….I don’t get it and I’m from there.

After Bali Bale we jumped into another taxi and headed for Woodstock bar on Jalan Oberoi. My street is close to here and the cool thingh about this little bar is that it backs onto paddy fields. In the lounge area out back you can sit on the bamboo porch or in a hammock, sip a drink and look out at the sawah. I think Vincent liked this and told me when I said you could look at paddy fields he imagined a giant plasma screen with pictures, not the real thing. They both were comfortable and it was great to go over their situation, ‘so much time, so many choices’.

I will help Vincent get his luggage through customs sometime this week. He has 14 suitcases and is worried the customs will skin him. I told him that they are just after a few bucks and anyway his personal affects are of no interest to them.

Woodstock bar is owned and operated by a Dutch couple and enjoys a strong Dutch and European following. One familiar face was Ebong (surf expert ) who had driven up from Jimbaran.

We finally wrapped things up around 2.30 with Vincent and Akari heading back to their hotel on Jalan Dhyana Pura and me going to Liquid Bar. I knew Mick Turnbull was in town for one night and this place is his favourite hangout. Sure enough he has inside with a group of friends from Australia and Japan. Mick works for Cathay Pacific and has got the sweetest deal over here. He get everything paid for except alcohol and works 4 days a week. I found out last night he has accepted a new position in Milan Italy and it will be a shame not to see him around.

I had been drinking water for the last few hours and rode my motorbike a couple of blocks back to the entrance to our street. When I left Dhyana Pura at 3am the place was rocking!

I appreciate having so many options of places to take people when they are visiting. Bali has many cool places and you can find an atmosphere to suit almost any guest.

• Vincent & Akari are checking out the housing scene in Seminyak
• Vincent & Akari are checking out the housing scene in Seminyak
• Monday Sept 29th in Kuta Bali
• Meeting the British Consul in Sanur Bali
• Tuesday Sept 24th in Kuta Bali

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