I’m always sharing all the fun and happy experiences I had on my different trips every Tuesday but there are regrets as well. In this post, as I share with you this series of photos taken in Bali, I’ll also share some of the travel regrets that I have had in my journeys.
Lets begin in Bali where these photos were taken. On one of my trips here, I had a really bad encounter with a close girlfriend’s ang mo (caucasian) boyfriend, G. After a gorgeous wedding party celebration with an open bar, G got so high that he did some crazy skinny dipping (and cannonballs) into the pool where all the girls were swimming in! Subsequently, he ran around the estate naked and even flashed the wedding photographer insisting that he snap a picture. Finally, he tried to throw me into the pool and a tussle begin which resulted in him using force and hurting my wrist. It was so painful that the bride suggested calling for a doctor. Most of the girls around me were appalled by his actions but his girlfriend and my close friend, C, was by then already too drunk to realized what went down that night. I was so upset with G that I refused to speak to him after. The post wedding pool party ended at about 4am.
The next morning, both G & C appeared at my hotel room door at 7am to try and get me prepared for the fishing trip that we had agreed upon before the wedding. I was absolutely grumpy because I didn’t have enough rest, my wrist was hurting badly and I was upset with what G did just hours before so I simply waved them off with a black face and said I wasn’t going. I never got a chance to explained what happened to my close friend, C, who could tell from my behavior that something was amiss. Naturally, G, went ahead to tell her his version of the story which basically revolved around me being uptight and petty. He even told her that he had taken the effort to pull me aside to give his apologies when all he did was pull me aside to tell me off, insisting that I was making a mountain out of a molehill and never once apologizing for hurting me. To cut the long story short, my close relationship with C was affected for months afterwards because G forced her to cut off ties with her girlfriends.
Even though she finally saw through the manipulation and multitude of lies that G was feeding her and our friendship remained strong, my regret is that I wished I had been more assertive with my girlfriend about the situation at that time instead of taking the passive aggressive route. I had abandoned our original traveling plans and just headed off on my own together with other girlfriends and the wedding couple. I had a great trip with beautiful memories but I wished I had been more forthright immediately with C about G so that she didn’t have to suffer with him for as long as she did. Luckily, this story is water under the bridge and her experience with G only made her a stronger woman.
My next regret happened in Amsterdam. I had found out that my partner was lying to me and got really mad. I spent 3 unhappy days moping in the hotel and didn’t enjoy exploring the city. I’m glad we worked things out but I wished I had made up my mind to forgive him sooner so I didn’t have to ruin my holiday plans. I literally spent thousands of dollars, flew across continents, to hole up in a hotel and cry all day.
On one of my trips to Korea (about 10 years back), I spent a five figure amount on shopping in one week. Not only was I being absolutely reckless with my finance (considering how very young I was then), I clearly had no concept of cultural appreciation. Instead of taking in the sights and experience, I shopped day till night (Korea has 24 hours of shopping) and shipped home boxes of clothes, shoes and accessories. I had since been wary of going Korea and getting into that crazy shopaholic mode. However, I’m glad that it was a situation that never reoccured and I don’t think it ever will. In fact, I’m planning a long holiday in Korea next month.
What’s most important, however, is not the travel regrets I have but the lessons I’ve learnt. I’m determined not to let these incidents mar the way I feel about the places and I will keep visiting these countries as well as other new places. Traveling is a journey of experiences, and no one can guarantee it will only be good experiences. Nonetheless, bad experiences makes one of the most memorable lessons in life.
Happy Tuesday! Spread the wanderlust dust around!