TROUBLE IN PARADISE

So here it is, the long awaited for post about the bad and the ugly during my trip to Indonesia.

Since this is an entire post dedicated to the negative aspects of my trip, please feel free to ignore the words and instead enjoy the beautiful photos of Gili Air if you prefer. The least I can do in such a buzz kill of a post is include dreamy pictures to go along side them.

Let’s begin shall we?

Previously to arriving at Gili Air, we encountered a disturbing event during our stay at Sapulidi Hotel in Ubud. We had come home from dinner and drinks in town and gone straight to bed since we knew we had many adventures planned for the next day. Our doors did not lock automatically since we were staying in a secluded villa, but we did not think twice about doing so when we returned home from our night seeing as we were staying in a well established/resort hotel.

We awoke the next morning to find out that someone had entered our room in the middle of the night while we were sleeping, and stolen our belongings. We woke up to our backpack was laying outside with clothing and items thrown out everywhere. Eric had his laptop and iPad taken, and my gold ring was gone.

I felt violated and scared. I did not like the idea that someone had been so close to me without my knowledge, in a place that was supposed to feel safe and secure.

Of course, partial blame is on ourselves for leaving the door unlocked. But when traveling on holiday, you do not want to feel as though your safety is at risk even at a well established, secluded hotel. This also was not entirely the hotels fault, but regardless they reimbursed us accordingly and we very much appreciated it. It is something I have to address and unfortunately, I would not recommend this hotel. I understand that bad things happen. In poor countries and in the wealthiest areas of the wealthiest countries. This was a personal experience, but it would be wrong for me to tell others to stay here, when it would be unlikely that I return.

Then we arrived to Gili Air, one of three Gili Islands. Gili T is considered the ‘party’ island, Gili Meno is the ‘honeymoon’ island, and Gili Air has a little of both. There are no cars on Gili Air. The only modes of transportation are by donkey carriage or bicycle.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the humidity in Indonesia is out of control. The only other experience I have had with a humidity level relatively close to this was my trip to the Bahamas.

On the first day of our week in paradise, I got sick. Real sick. And sunburned. Fried to a crisp.

They warn you about ‘Bali belly’ which, for those of you who are not familiar, can be comparable to ‘Montezuma’s revenge’ in Mexico. Without going into too much detail, you can imagine the misery. I was in bed with a fever, sun burn, and the worst nausea in paradise. And this sickness lasted for three days straight.

I didn’t want something like this to ruin a holiday, so I attempted to participate in activities with Eric when possible. We spent time at the beach, ordering drinks {h2o for me!} by the pool, and rode our bikes around the island. It wasn’t ideal, and I complained, but when on the Gili Islands…

Luckily, I finally started to feel somewhat better after a few days. That’s when my skin decided to have a go.

For those who do not know, I’ve suffered from eczema my entire life. Fortunately, it is something that has been at most, an uncomfortable and inconvenient skin issue without much suffering involved. But it can get extreme at times. Especially in humid climates.

I am used to dry heat in California and my skin has a very difficult time adapting to anything else. The smallest amount of humidity will usually cause my skin to be irritated and get quite upset with me.

So you can imagine what it would do in a country with almost 90-100% humidity.

It erupted.

I was covered in a skin rash on a majority of my body. This may be TMI for people, but I can’t imagine I am the only one that suffers from this skin condition. The only way I can describe the sensation of eczema is the feeling of an ant crawling on your skin. Constantly. The larger the affected area the larger amount of ants. And that’s when you are stable. Add movement and it’s game over. That’s when it becomes painful. Again, I wanted to participate in all of what Gili Air had to offer and attempted to accompany Eric around the island.

And then the heat rash kicked in.

In addition to the itchy and painful eczema, my skin began to blister all over my body. I was doing all that I could to care for my skin while still attempting to enjoy my holiday but I knew at this point, it was not worth the struggle. I couldn’t get dressed without wanting to break down in tears. I felt defeated and couldn’t recognize my body anymore. I wanted so badly to make the most of my time in paradise, but it was near impossible to do so without making myself {and Eric} miserable.

We knew it was time to get some help, so Eric {being the best partner anyone could ask for} immediately jumped on a bike and made his way to the local pharmacy to speak with a doctor. He came back with antibiotics and bandages. After speaking with the doctor, we realized that in the attempt to keep myself clean by showering three to four times a day, I was only creating a bigger problem. There is no water filter system on the Gili Islands and I had been showering in bacteria ridden water for 6 days.

By the last day of our trip I was wrapped up in bandages, looking like a wounded soldier. And could not be more ready to leave paradise.

I wanted Eric to make the most of his time on the trip, even when I couldn’t, so he took a diving class one afternoon and snorkeled around the island multiple times. He even was able to ride a sea turtle on one of our last days! I cannot recommend diving personally since I was in the hotel room watching the American Idol Series Finale for a second time {can we give a quick shoutout to Kelly Clarksons live mash-up of her hits? #legend}, but he said it was amazing and absolutely worth it.

I watched a lot of National Geographic to convince myself that I was outside enjoying the beauty that surrounded me.

So there you have it.

My honeymoon holiday turned holiday from hell.

As a recap: a robbery which lead to an entire day spent at the police station, the worst kind of food poisoning imaginable for three days, sunburn, a skin rash covering the majority of my body, and blistering.

Again, this wasn’t Indonesia’s fault. For the most part. {but be careful of the chicken just in case…}

It was just a series of unfortunate events that happened to occur in one of the most beautiful places in the world. You don’t always get to decide when bad things happen. Or where. I don’t regret my trip to Indonesia. It has been on my bucket list for as long as I have been interested in travel. I most likely will not be returning, but I would highly, highly recommend it to those who can cope with humidity better than myself.

^ the sunsets alone would convince me of a visit

On a positive note! We were able to catch up with one of Eric’s best friends from his hometown in New Zealand while on the island. He happened to be traveling the area with his girlfriend, and joined us for dinner and drinks while listening to a live band. It was great to see a friendly face all the way on the other side of the world and for Eric to reminisce with a close friend from home.

Upon arriving back in the UK, on top of everything else, I soon realized that I had lost my passport somewhere between the airport, tube station, and my walk home.

I surrender. The white flag has been raised.

BUT, I refuse to have my last post related to Indonesia be a negative one, so stay tuned for my final post with even more stunning photos of Gili Air, a recap of my {slightly more enjoyable} times on the islands, and the importance of traveling with the right partner. ^ like this guy!