For a long time my husband, Gary, and I had thought about taking a
vacation to an exotic location. We had many of the same trepidations
others have when considering visiting a foreign locale: we don’t speak
the language, whom will we know to trust for accurate and safe
information and guidance? How will we understand the monetary system?
What will we really want to see, and what to avoid? These questions were
all smoothly addressed and taken care of by our wonderful guide, and
friend, Suzi Osborn.
Suzi and I have been friends for a long
time, although we hadn’t actually seen each other for almost 23 years
(Gary’s and my honeymoon!). We were fortunate enough to reconnect via
the Internet and picked up where we had left off. Suzi let us know
about her planned trip to Bali at a time which miraculously coincided
with Gary receiving an unexpected bonus. It is so amazing when The Fates
smile upon you! It seemed like Suzi and I had seen each other just a
week or so ago; she is such a warm, loving soul.
Over the next
several correspondences, Suzi let us know what we should consider when
looking for our transportation and trip to and from Bali: hints about
passports, fees to plan for, and other items to consider. These were all
very helpful as traveling outside the States involves aspects we would
not have otherwise known to even check out. The fact that she had
everything answered and ready to rock in advance was fabulous! I would
encourage anyone traveling to start shopping for airfares well in
advance of a trip, and look into when holidays occur in places you might
be traveling through so you have a better understanding of both flight
scheduling and pricing. By luck, we traveled on Singapore Airlines,
which has made our favorite domestic carrier seem like a cattle car by
comparison. They offered an excellent value and the service and
amenities were ‘over the top.’ If I could arrange all of my travel on
Singapore Airlines, I would.
Suzi and Putu, most probably one of
the finest guides/drivers in the country, met us at the airport, where
we already knew what to expect thanks to Suzi’s information. We then
journeyed to the Ubud Inn (pronounced, “Oo-bood,” not, “U-bud”). The Inn
has a number of buildings in a botanical garden/rainforest setting. Our
accommodation had a relaxing porch, a large bedroom with high ceiling,
an extremely comfortable canopy bed, a refrigerator, and a spacious
bathroom with ‘Western’ style plumbing- a BIG plus in my book! We had
breakfast every morning in the open (but covered) dining area by the
pool, and enjoyed the antics of, and feeding the resident fruit bat
“Mangy” who lives a pretty cush existence there considering he is
disabled by a hole in his wing, and most likely would not survive in the
wild. We were also ‘visited’ on a couple of occasions by some of the
inhabitants of the Monkey Forest right down the road from the Inn. Suzi
said that was a first!
Our trip was a delightful mix of learning
and experiencing some of the more hidden aspects of life and culture in
Bali: learning about the spiritual side of Hindu life, the daily
offerings, the celebrations, visits to temples, and how to demonstrate
our respect for the traditions. We were also treated to lunch with Putu,
and his family, at their residence, which is referred to as a
‘compound’ in Bali; certainly a fond memory of our time there, and one
most tourists never experience. Other days had visits to artisans
workshops, general shopping expeditions (be prepared to buy a bag to
bring home the treasures!), trips to sacred sites, and several
enchanting performances. We also had a couple of ‘free days’ where we
were able to either go on side trips or just enjoy the quiet
peacefulness of the Ubud Inn; whatever we liked. Suzi always made sure
that we knew she was flexible, and would help us find what we might be
wanting, and that we could change our itinerary if needed. One of the
highlights of our trip was the visit to the Elephant Sanctuary and being
able to meet and ride the elephants. It also hosted one of the finest dinners I
have had anywhere.
Our trip was incredible. We felt safe, secure,
and had the company of our guide, one of the warmest people on the
planet, Susan Osborn. If there was anything more to ask for, I can’t
imagine what it would be.
Most Sincerely, Lisa Church, Anchorage,
AK