A Brief Taste Of Paradise: A Short Story

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A Brief Taste Of ParadiseBali, IndonesiaThe weather was at its coldest when we were waiting for the bus to take us to the airport. The girls, whose minds were firmly south of the equator, had only worn light coats. They were stamping their feet and jumping around to keep warm. Steam punctuated every sentence although all they could mutter was, "I can 't wait to get to Bali" and, "How much longer until the bus gets here?"

The rest of us had dressed sensibly. We waited until we had passed through customs in Indonesia to perform an onion striptease - peeling off coats, scarfs and shirts - to reveal the T-shirts and shorts eagerly waiting beneath. We landed in Bali for our one week break from winter to ring in New Years on the beach. There were seven of us: a Korean, an American, a Canadian, two Irish, and two Kiwis - an odd mix that never failed to gain a look of "How the hell did you all meet?"

Once out of the airport we were mobbed by overly friendly cab drivers desperately eager to help us find a hotel. We took a ride with the cheapest one who touted an exceptionably beautiful hotel in Kuta Beach. The courtyard was exploding with green growth of every kind. Bali is a volcanic island and remarkably fertile. Flowers bloom year round, trees are a dazzling array of green and everywhere screams of life and beauty. Our hotel was marvelously …show more content…

Fifteen thousand rupiah for a drink! It 's highway robbery! It 's outrageous! It 's horrible! It 's ... less than two dollars. OK, I 'll take five. Everything was cheap. An exceptional meal for two cost about fifteen dollars, a silk sarong about five dollars. When bargaining over trivial amounts you feel you 're taking advantage of people whose economy was devastated by terrorists. After New York was attacked no one said don 't go to New York, but America had no problem labeling Bali as a security

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