Kuta beach and wasting time

Sometimes people forget the beauty of a holiday is in the simple fact that we can just do absolutely nothing. Lets face it, most of us always plan our days… meetings, deadlines, clients. For me, I have photo shoots, I have to meet designers, I have to meet my management, I have to write this blog, I have to do this, I have to do that ..bla..bla..bla..

Well, I woke up this morning ..ehm..sorry, I meant this afternoon thinking one thought: “What do I have to do today?”. You see my body may already be in Bali, but my brain hasn’t really caught up yet. I still think of things I have to do. It took another hour and the sound of the nice Balinese staff delivering breakfast in the afternoon to really wake me up to the fact that today is the 1st of January and I am in the greatest vacation spot on earth!

So I ate my afternoon breakfast, put my best bikini on, covered with an oversize t-shirt with a little Balinese sarong and started to walk outside. I just walked with my girlfriend without having a destination in mind. How wonderful is that? J

We decided to go to Kuta beach. At first I hesitated since the sun seemed to be hiding this afternoon. But the sun never failed me in Bali before, so I just hold on to my faith and went to the beautiful and very crowded Kuta Beach.

And it sure was crowded. For those of you who have been to Kuta beach, I think you know what I am talking about. It is far from the exclusive beach ala Ritz Carlton in Jimbaran, Bali. This is the kind of beach where everyone goes there. The crowd, the sellers of sun glasses, street vendors, the semi nudes tourists all fused into a single unit screaming at me saying “you are here at Kuta beach!”. Loud and clear. And I got it.

I understand the appeal of this little beach. It is a melting pot of people and their various intentions that truly makes Kuta beach what it is. No snob can last being here more than five seconds. If you want to sit peacefully, soaked the sun and not be bothered, this beach is not for you. The moment you find your chair, they came to you with their trademark smiles… the vendors offering you sunglasses, fruits, Balinese sarong and everything else under the sun. Being able to smile back and say “no” is a required skill to be on this beach. That is until someone comes by and offer you something you can’t refuse.

For me, my moment of weakness came in a form of an old lady offering the best beach massage for US$3! I could not say no to her. I was in massage heaven for an hour. During the massage, I learn a view things about her. I always knew that one can’t be in Bali without being intoxicated by the niceness of these people. I mean common.. the woman was giving me a massage with all her might for almost an hour and I gave her $3bucks ! She was so nice and enthusiastic makes me feel kind of bad. Until I realize that it was wrong to feel that way. She is doing her job with the kind of pride even Bill Gates would envy. This is a path that she chose to take and she is doing this to the level of subjective perfection she can actually attained.. I am a proud to be her client. It doesn’t hurt that she is actually very good at what she does.

I don’t how long I fell asleep after the massage. I was awaken by the sound of children playing around me, I look up and there it was.. the most beautiful sunset these eyes have ever seen. I really look at the sun. I mean really look at it.. perhaps searching for meaning of life and all the deep thoughts a human can have.

Not really… I am just trying to wake up after wasting my entire day doing absolutely nothing. Wasting? Naah..Today is the first day of 2006. I just thank God for the life I have, the family who love me, and the love I can’t explain with reason or logic. Oh, and I am thankful for the lady who just gave me a massage just now. Thank you.

Now back to sleep…

Tiara