Taking the Long Way Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

I just spent 15 minutes in an internet cafe typing an entry repeatedly as the connection kept dropping out, so here goes one last try... Yesterday was a day that I have been waiting for for so long I can hardly believe its already over. Luke and I headed out to Sydney airport where we met Kirsti and Josh to board our flight to Denpasar, Indonesia. We were sent off by a multitude of well wishers which was great. A special thanks goes out to Dom for his gift of complimentary Qantas Club lounge passes which meant that we got to relax in style (not to mention with free food and drinks!) before our flight.

The 5.5hr flight was uneventful AND all our bags arrived in Denpasar too so I was very happy :) We got in at 9pm local time, which is 3hrs behind Sydney, so after a few beers we were all ready for bed. I was up early today and went for a walk with Luke about to get our bearings. He's been here a couple of times before as well so we are both pretty familiar with the lay of the land. After breakfast with Kirsti and Josh we all went out to see the sights of Kuta and just enjoy having nothing to do and no where to be! The only thing we did all day was go en mass to get pedicures and massages (which even the boys loved).

In a few minutes I'm meeting up with my friend Yan who I met the last time I was in Bali in 2005 and we have kept in touch since. He's recently opened his own tour business so we plan to organise our 'program' through him to save being constantly harassed by people on the street to book things with them. After that we're heading out to Jimbaran Bay for a seafood meal.

I'm just loving being away and still can't believe that I'm finally away!

Now I know that heading to Bali as my first stop may seem to be just heading along the well-worn banana-pancake circuit but there <B>is</B> method in my madness. I've been to Bali three times before so I've done all the touristy stuff there more than once, so I can spend my first two weeks just chilling out and gearing up for the big year ahead without feeling the need to get out and look at everything everyday.