Sharing drinks with Fauzi and Siti in Kuta Bali

Fauzi and Siti are still in Bali, leaving Sunday morning back home to Singapore. I was invited to join them pool-side at their guesthouse for some late night drinks. Fauzi and Siti are staying at Bali Sandat II on Jl. Benesari in Kuta and their place is pretty decent. Right in the heart of the budget travel scene, close to the beach and with a pool.

I asked them what they had done in the last week and in true Singaporean style they said, Shopping. Fauzi has a giant bag about 4 feet long filled with t-shirts and other stuff. We were joined by a lady from Brasil, another from Holland and 2 guys from Malaysia, everybody going different ways but all happy to gather round and share their travel stories. It took me back to my travel days and I really felt the excitement and the freshness of a RTW trip. The thing about an extended trip is you can step away from your daily commitments and live in the moment, something most of us just do not do on a daily basis. Modern life is very planned and organized, not much free time or room for the spontaneous. BootsnAll has some really good interviews with people who have finished their RTW trip.

Among the many interesting topics that came up was the difference in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia. Supposedly very similar they can often confuse locals. Fauzi told me that if there are 2 words meaning the same thing, Bahasa Indonesia always uses the one that is the opposite of Bahasa Malaysia. He also said, They use the more proper words and Bahasa Indonesia is a nicer way of talking.

I am hoping to meet Fauzi and Siti for their farewell dinner tonight.