Cambodia to Bali.

Since I last wrote a lot has happened. I went back to the school for my last two weeks in Cambodia. I've been to Singapore for a weekend and now I'm sitting in a hammock in beautiful Bali, enjoying my few weeks before I go home. 

Yes, home as in home, home. 

I just don't know where the last couple of months have gone, it's crazy how fast the time has flown by and my thoughts keep meandering to finding a job when I get back...but less about that for the moment.

Going back to the school in Cambodia was the best decision. I mean, I didn't get to see everything I wanted in Cambodia but that stuff will always be there. The children I've gotten to know and the other volunteers, well they won't be there if I come back in a few years. Easy decision. And while I didn't get my old classes back I got to help out in other areas I didn't the last time round. For example: supervising a Microsoft Office class, teaching ABC's to brand new beginners and also 'helping' out with PE. I also just spent a lot of time sitting out in front of the school with the kids, the other volunteers and Visal, the most head strong two year old in Cambodia.

The night before myself and Cecile were due to leave the village for good there was a party in the village, though not for us. It was an amazing way to say goodbye and see all the kids happy and dancing. What happens in Cambodia is that everyone dances around a table with flowers on it and all the kids were trying to give us flowers to put in our hair. There wasn't a flower left on the table within an hour and us volunteers looked like we had gardens growing out of our heads. It was so nice to say our last evening was spent dancing up a storm on the streets of the village surrounded by all the children we've been teaching the last couple of months.

Needless to say I balled my eyes out crying when I left the village the following morning. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it but Visal gave me a cuddle and the girls followed me out the gate waving goodbye. I cried the whole kilometer walk out to the main road in the blistering heat carrying my backpack. How embarrassing. But then when I was waiting for the 'bus' an old Khmer lady offered me a seat on her bag of rice so that cheered me up a bit. There was also an old man on the 'bus' who seemed to think my white skin was absolutely hilarious.  I'm even tanned at the moment. 

So then, I hopped a plane to Singapore to stay with pals, Katy and Matt, and not only that but to meet the one and only Katie Finn after 6 months apart. I won't go on too much about Singapore since I've already been there and we'll go back again before jetting home at the end of March. 

At this exact moment we are in Kuta, Bali. It's a bit unbelievable to be honest. We were looking at the map and just can't quite picture that we are on this little island in Indonesia below the equator.  Not that it was easy getting here. Katie asked me that morning if I'd ever missed a flight and until that day I could say that I hadn't. And we jinxed ourselves, not for the last time, because we did in fact miss our flight to Bali. Spectacularly.

Here's what didn't go our way:

- we just didn't leave early enough. It's a fact but we just didn't anticipate the rest of our problems.

- couldn't book a taxi. 

- couldn't hail a taxi when on the street. 

- had to walk to the metro station and the metro was an asshole. 

- couldn't pay for a ticket with a card and had to change money.

- had to change metro trains twice on top of everything.

- arrived at airport and proceeded very wilfully to the wrong terminal.

- check-in lady at wrong terminal didn't spot our mistake very quickly and tried to check us in for at least 15 minutes. 

- we had to take a train to the right terminal. 

- Desk staff at AirAsia less than helpful. 

You can just imagine the sweat coming off us. Although Katie said travelling must suit me because if this was six months ago I probably would've tortured and murdered a few innocents along the way and I 'seem calm' now. So nice when friends can be honest with each other. In the end it only cost us 35eur each to catch the next flight out at midday which, as luck would have it, we were just about on time for. 

So, after our interesting journey we finally arrived in Bali. We are staying in a little hostel called Granny's where we've met great people, spent the day on Kuta beach watching surfers getting bashed by waves and later today we are heading to culture capital Ubud further inland. 

We might have missed our flight but, whatever.