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For whom the eye rolls |
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Part 1: The trip When Jase first posted the plan for this trip on the Web page, I couldn't volunteer fast enough. I had been to Bali before and regretted not diving there. I was afraid there wouldn't be space for me. I remember specifically when the news came that might have put the trip in jeopardy. A bunch of us were returning from weekend dive trip to the Kuantan Wreck. We had just gotten off the Oriental Queen at Endau and were waiting for the bus ride back to Singapore when someone fired up their annoying hand phone and announced the news of the bombing in Bali. The topic of our planned trip didn't surface much at that moment. Many were concerned about people they knew who might have been there. Over the course of the next week several governments published travel warnings about Bali and we all started to evaluate our plans. There was no right decision for everyone and we all respected each other's position. A few decided not to go on the trip, but most reasoned it was probably as safe as anywhere else in the region. Eleven divers elected to make the journey. Jase had hyped the trip very well and the description had many of us sold from the beginning. Simple phrases like, 'unlimited shore dives', 'wreck dives', and 'excellent pina coladas' kept rolling through my mind. I for one couldn't wait for this six day/five night holiday to begin. Most of us flew to Bali on the same flight. It was relatively uneventful and Jase never noticed the right landing gear falling off. Ai Lin was probably the most interesting person on the flight. At first I thought she had never flown before. She was looking around like everything was new to her. She even seemed a little talkative and apprehensive. It turned out she has flown for years and years. We were just the lucky group to see her first flight in economy class. She was smiling and chatty, but had a look of, 'So, this is how the little people travel.' Welcome to my world Ai Lin. We were met at the airport in Denpasar by the staff of Tauch Terminal. They were very eager to make us feel comfortable in Bali. They had a huge welcome banner they unfurled for our little group and necklaces of flowers for each of us. Some of us looked a little too good in our necklaces. |
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