A post following our arrival into Bali is overdue, I think. I had been meaning to post as soon as I had something meaningful to show everyone, but wasn’t sure whether that had happened. However, at the end of our first full day here in Bali, there’s a collective abundance of items to share.

The title (First Impressions) is meant to refer to Dad and Mum’s first impressions, since there weren’t too many surprises for Annelise and myself. In fact, I was surprised by how quickly Bali (and Legian in particular) felt overwhelmingly familiar, and by how quickly I regained the habits of ignoring honking taxi drivers, disregarding the invitations of pedlars of all kinds of wares, and crossing streets by weaving between streams of motorbikes and cars.

I think Dad and Mum have been most struck by the traffic here. The drive from the airport was punctuated by gasps and exclamations from them as they observed the traffic around us. For some reason, Dad has been very taken by the motorbikes: simultaneously bemoaning their errant ways and wishing that he was riding one himself.

Besides that, Dad has not yet become reconciled to spending thousands (of rupiah) on meals. We have, however, been having a great time, making use of the Mercure’s pools, enjoying wonderful food, and exploring Legian generally.

The biggest surprise so far has been our arrival: the immigration hall was devoid of passengers when we arrived, so we managed to get through immigration and beat our luggage to the carousel by a good ten minutes. You are now also required to have the fingerprints of your index fingers recorded on arrival.

Overall, however, we are thankful for the opportunity to take a break and to be here enjoying ourselves in Bali.