12th June - Saturday - Kuta

Yesterday was great.

I called Nick first thing and asked him to meet me at McDonalds at 12:30
We met up, had some juices at the juice bar, and I confessed that I wanted to go after him last night to call him back. We went and lay on the beach for a few hours, talking and frying in the sun. He held my hand, so sweet.

I just love those first days of meeting someone, where you know you are both attracted to each other, and every small touch is magical.

I needed to go back to the hotel to use the loo, so asked him to walk back with me.
I had a cold shower and asked him if he'd like one. He took it as a come-on, had a shower, and called me in. I don't know who's reading this, so I'll skip the details even though it's all innocent! I feel so comfortable with him, we are so compatible. Anyway, he went back to his hotel about 4 hours later, and myself, I went for a walk along the beach to the shopping centre - on the hunt for some western-style tampons. Unfortunately my sister was right - there is "no such thing" in Bali.

I bought the most discreet package I could find, which was still too big for my bag, and then tried to find somewhere "without the hassling locals", so that I could empty the contents in my bag and discard the box. But EVERY FRIGGIN time I found an empty corner, someone would stop to either try and sell me something, or ask what I was doing!!
It was embarrassing yet also slightly amusing at the same time.

I met up with Nick at the Aussie-type bar in Popies Lane 2. He was really affectionate and just a happy guy to be around.

I decided to take him "somewhere else" for dinner, as he's a man of habit and I was sure that the Aussie place wouldn't be as tasty as a local's restaurant.
We had a yummo dinner at the front of the Aquarius Hotel in Legian st. Then we went to another quiet bar in Legian St (Art Goes) for a drink. Then we bought a couple of take-aways and went back to his hotel about 9ish with the intention of getting 1-2 hours sleep before hitting the nightlife later.

We didn't end up going out. We tried to get some sleep, but I just couldn't sleep (I have the same problem at home when others are in my house, very vivid dreams while still being awake, and I talk, etc). I decided to head back to my hotel. It's Nick's last night in Bali, so he came with me!

We slept in separate beds. I checked out and have moved my stuff to the same restaurant where we ate last night. Only 75,000 per night and right in the heart of Legian St. I meet Nick here at 12:30 for lunch and a last goodbye.

Wow did he look sexy today. Instead of his beach shorts and thongs which is all I've seen him in since we met, he was dressed in jeans, heavy boots, and an open turquoise shirt.



We had lunch and then we went upstairs to where I'm staying so I could give him my address, phone numbers, etc. We lay down and reminisced over the past couple of days, and the first days that we met. The "could've beens", the "funny things", and the "Maybe's".

I've never been this comfortable and open with a man before. He's given me hope that there are perhaps more men like him in the world. And maybe, if he ever visits Australia, or me U.A.E, or wherever the hell he is, things might get more serious, but for now, I'm happy just thinking about the private things he and I shared, that made the short term relationship very special.

After he left, I went on a mission to find Bali Gong - a DVD place my sister recommended. They aren't as cheap as the other places, but they were really nice people and it wasn't that much dearer. The owner used to live in Sydney, though is Indonesian. I bought about 60 of them :)

I took a cab back to my hotel, even though, to this day, I still have no idea the name of this place.

Nick made me promise that I would get out in public with my bathers on, so I got changed and went down to the hotel pool. I can't swim, so was too embarrassed to take a chance on jumping in with other tourists watching, so I lay on the comfy chairs and drifted in and out of sleep.

I noticed a guy mucking around with a scooter in the hotel carpark and when he walked past, I asked him about the scooter, and next thing we know, we are chatting for about an hour or so, next to the pool.

His name is Fred, he's Canadian. He's been in Bali for about 8 months now, working on various projects including a new one which is a "Bali is Safe Now" promotion which sounded really interesting and should help the local people a great deal in the long run.

It's 8:30, and I'm going to head out, find some dinner and maybe check out some different bars in a different area of town.

Walked up Legian St, and ran into Jupri. He wasn't up to much, so he walked me to the nightclub area (3km!). Found a nice place to eat called "WOW!", and ordered Pina-colada and Mie Goreng (Fried Noodles with Egg and Chicken). The food was yum but the pina-colada will be my last, it was too much for me. Bacardi, some other alcohol, pineapple and coconut cream. It made me tired.



The nightclubs and bars were pretty empty even though it was 11pm on a Saturday night. They would normally be very busy, but approx 10 days ago, they were all forced to "Quiet Down" by the resident locals who are disputing their invasion of privacy/quietness. So there is a lack of live music in this area and the music wasn't pumpn` very loud.

I was tired anyway, so we took a taksi back to my hotel and parted ways. I had a snooze, intending to wake up and go to Paddys or Studio 66 or the Reggae Bar, but I didn't wake up until 2:30am :)