B-A-L-I!!! Day 17

Adventure overload!!!

Made it to Bali. 

Woohoo! 

Almost, didn't make it past Customs. 

Scary mo fo times!!!

Was taken back to speak with the top Officer to see if there was a way to overlook my passport being 5 months from expiring. 

Super duper scary. 

I anchored myself right away. 

And said to myself, "Okay kid sh*t is about to get real. Stay calm."

Here is where the author, Elizabeth Gilbert saved me. 

Ya see...

My sister gave me the book Eat, Pray, Love this past summer and I spent the Fall reading it on the subway on my way into work.

Grateful. 

Bc...

Liz's whole "Love" chapter happens in Bali. And she talks about how everyone gets paid off and is running a game. 

Right away when the first Customs officer told me I could not enter the country and I would have to go back home I said, "Nope. Who do I have to speak with? I'm sure there is a fee or some sort of fine I can pay."

In those scary a** moments in life it's like, "Who am I really?!? Can I really push my will on a large man with a gun?"

Yep. 

They lead me back to this smoke filled Customs office where all of these important looking Balinese men were parading around. 

The top Officer I needed to speak with spent the first 10 minutes I was in the office on his cell phone laughing to his friend. 

I interjected to remind him I was there to see him and also to tell him I had a friend waiting. I told him I was going to grab her. He said okay. 

I went out to grab my friend who looked scared. I told her not to worry and that it's just something to pay off & that "I got this." Bc she is a fireball! Usually, we would be able to demand an explanation and push our will. Unfortunately, we can't just lose our sh*t and go all Brooklyn on the place. Cause these guys were the real deal and that does not work. 

Gotta know your audience ;)

I walked back into his office he went on about how there is a book that has the rules in it and that he needs to read me the rules before anything else. And I told him I understood rules are important and asked if there was any fine I could pay? Perhaps pay someone?

He said he had to find the book first Bc in the book is the rules and I need to know the rules first. 

He spends 20 minutes looking for this book. 

Finally, calls us into his office and says he can not find said book. 

But...

We can pay a fine. 

$500 US dollars. 

And IF he had the book it would be outlined there. 

So...

$500 to get into Bali or I get sent back home. 

Instantly, my entrepreneurial mind takes over and slows down time. In these moments I literally sllllllllow everything down to be sure that I am reading all of the subtext and can make a clear decision. 

Thank Goddess.

I told him all I had was $200 US dollars and I wish I had more to give him but that's all I had. And he said he would see what he could do with the head Customs Officer. He left. 

5 minutes later he came back and said fine they would take it. 

Gushed over his generosity and thanked him, gave him the cash and left. 

It was one of the scariest moments of my life. 

As I was leaving the airport, I was thinking of all of my scary travels...Backpacking over country lines in Africa with huge monkeys on the side of the road, getting lost coming home from a London nightclub, getting into a dispute with a taxi driver in Vietnam and him grabbing my backpack to hold me from leaving...

I am lucky. 

Very lucky. 

For all my travels, this was the first time I had to pay someone off $$$ and it was scary as f*ck but ended up all good. 

Today, How lucky are you?!?!? When was your last close encounter? Would you do things differently if you had a redo? Or did you react like a ninja and surprise yourself with your response? 

Man...we are so lucky that we can travel so easily! But...woman sh*t can get scary when you leave your own backyard. ;) 

Xoxo