After a series of events, we’re going to have a family holiday in Club Med in Bali.

A little trouble for a start

At Melbourne airport Long Term Car Park, as we got out of the car with our luggage, we saw the shuttle bus coming. So my sis, nephew and I hurried on. We went to the front of the bus, up the step onto the bus stop platform, and get into the bus.

The driver looked very displeased and said, ‘You should’ve used the ramp,’ pointing to it at the other end of the bus stop. I said oh, we didn’t realise there’s a ramp back there. He continued saying, ‘Well, I guess today is your funeral,’ rolling his eyes, sighing and all the rest to show just how unhappy he was.

I was irked. I thought to myself, ‘No one’s gonna die for carrying the luggage instead of using the ramp, you first world fool!’ But then there’s another voice in me saying I should respond kindly. When we were getting off the bus, he was still talking down to us, sighing, and shaking his head in disapproval. I had been wanting to punch him in the face but instead I said, ‘Thanks, and sorry for not using the ramp just now.’

That’s obviously not me by nature. But because of my worldview:

• I knew I should give him better than he deserved, not as he deserved.
• I tried to see him as another human being (i.e., not a random idiot) and imagined what his life might be like.
• I was well aware of my bent to retaliate in kind (e.g., to throw insult or roll my eyes at him too etc). I also realised, even in being kind, I could still recognise myself wanting to make him feel bad. And I know that’s not right.

I guess it could’ve been something to be dismissed entirely quickly, but I think it’s also a chance for me to learn. It’s easy to feel wise and calm until provoked, and I see here it takes very little to provoke me. That’s not good, I hope I’ll be better next time.

Day 1 – A strange welcome

It’s the first time we had been to Club Med.

Just personally, I felt it weird the way we’re welcome.

They brought us up the stairs to this welcoming area, sat us down, served us drinks, while 3 of them stood there briefing us on details of the stay. It just felt so weird. Thanks for the ice drinks, but you don’t need 3 people there and you don’t need to be standing up. So weird, anyway..

Mom and my bro’s family arrived a few hours later from Jakarta.

Day 2 – Settling in

Very quickly it’s clear this place isn’t designed for locals (Indonesians like us). The seats at the restaurant were so low, or tables too high (it’s like they’re designed for Yeti or something, we’re too short!). My bro said not only for Caucasians, but felt like it’s particularly designed for Aussies, with all the free flow drinks for example.

The bartender asked my bro, ‘Where are you from, Sir?’

‘Jakarta.’

‘HUH..? You’re from JAKARTA… ??’ like he’s seeing an alien.

‘Yes, I am stranded, I don’t know what I’m doing here.’

(Bartenders giggling away)

Mom finds the experience like a cruise (except it didn’t move) because it’s inclusive of food and activities. Anyway, she just thinks it’s a waste of money haha. But it’s true that you don’t get good value. She said it would make sense for people (in Australia or Singapore) who look after their children all year while also working, they’ll appreciate the Kids Club and childcare available in Club Med while they can relax on their own. For our kids, they’re only in the Kids Club for half a day and didn’t want it anymore for the rest of the stay. So didn’t quite work for us.

The food (while we have lots of as there wasn’t much else to do) and the rooms were just normal. In fact, some parts aren’t clean, the sliding door to the balcony was broken and the housekeeping didn’t replenish supplies. My bro’s family happened to be a thirsty bunch, there’s only 1 bottle of water given per room (of 4 pax), they requested for more water at night which wasn’t delivered. I asked again in the morning but the reception said we had to just wait for the housekeeping which only started working at 9 am. There’s a water dispenser at the reception, but the hot water dispenser was also broken.

Anyway, before we went to the swimming pool I quickly went to my room to get something and in a rush accidentally kicked against the wooden bed frame so hard. My nephew saw it as he was standing at the connecting door between our 2 rooms. As I kicked, tripped and fell on the floor, he watched in horror. I writhed silently on the floor for my good toes for the next minute, he closed in looking really shocked, then after a few moments ran over to the other room. And never returned. 😶 I thought he was getting help, but no. This kid just got shocked when I tripped and fell, and then when there’s nothing new to see anymore, he just left. So unsympathetic. 🤨

Day 3 – Suckling pig comes

In the morning, finally we joined a Yoga session. We missed it yesterday because we’re not informed of the change of venue. There’s an app you can refer to, which was not up to date. Different staffs gave us conflicting information on the time / place, it’s very confusing. One thing commendable was that they did try their best to help you. The girl made a few calls and walked with us to finally find the right place and even went back the distance to bring us the Yoga mats. Likewise, the housekeeper (after Mom complained to her 😆) started to do a proper job afterwards. But it would be better if they did it right the first time.

My sis and I also went to a few other fitness classes. However, I didn’t go back, especially not to the Pilates class. The instructor wasn’t doing her job properly and was busy flirting with one of the men in the class, it’s distracting and unprofessional. And rather disgusting.

By this time, we’re really craving for the real Balinese food. There’s very little options for Indo food despite being in Indonesia! So my bro kindly used Gojek (Uber Eats equivalent) to get babi guling (suckling pig) to me.

We said the most worthwhile thing in this trip was getting my nephew to the water (because of a trauma, he’s terrified of the pool). We tricked him little by little and he finally stepped into the water while not yet swimming.

Not only was his sister swimming comfortably, she was making many friends in the pool! She said to a big man in the pool, ‘I thought you’re from America.’

‘I’m from Africa. Do you know where that is?’

‘No.’

‘We have.. lions, elephants, giraffes, .. ‘

‘How come you come from the zoo?’

The man exclaimed, ‘NOO! I came from a place where we have these animals. In the wild!’

‘Why do live in the zoo?’

The man turned to his little daughter and saying with pride, ‘Oh, come on, let’s tell them about our country!’

And they kindly invited my niece to join the daughter’s birthday party that night at the main restaurant. But she didn’t even remember. 😅

One more good thing in this holiday is I didn’t bring any book nor a laptop. So no reading and nothing to type on. Back to pen and paper! There was an afternoon when the sky turned pink. I walked on my own to the beach, sat at the gazebo and just enjoyed the view until the sun set. It was pretty.

Everything considered, we were thinking we should get out of Club Med a bit .. (to be continued)