WILLARD J. KOOKMEYER | Culture
NEVER TAKE ME BACK
Mt Eden couple Hannah and Josh Nichol arrived home from a ‘relaxing’ winter getaway in Bali in absolute pieces today, having barely survived one of the most traumatic experiences of their comfortable, upper-middle class lives.
As the doting parents of two adorable toddlers, Zoey aged 18 months, and Samuel three, they’ve spent the last two years deep in the trenches of parenthood.
It’s been a grind, and Josh and Hannah rightly felt that their tired little family unit deserved a break from what’s been a prick of a kiwi winter. Somewhere they could relax and reconnect, without the daily juggle of work, daycare and soul-sapping admin.
Bali came highly recommended by friends, with its appealing mix of poolside relaxation, reasonably priced cocktails and the opportunity for some cultural excursions outside the confines of their 5 star resort.
“It didn’t start well,” Josh recounted this morning as he drained a fourth bottle of Steinlager, his thousand yard stare reminiscent of Martin Sheen’s at the end of ‘Apocalypse Now.’
“I was really looking forward to the flight – having a graze, leaning into a few Pinots and catching a couple of new releases, it’s been a while since we went to the flicks.”
“Instead I spent the whole flight walking up and down the aisle, first with Zoe then with Samuel, who couldn’t sit still for two seconds.”
“We finally arrived at the resort 12 hours later, but the four hour time difference was a nightmare. The kids woke up at 3.30 every morning, and when they did actually sleep, it wasn’t long before they woke up again, freaked out about being in a strange place. So the four of us basically just squashed into our bed every night.”
Josh gave Bali what he would call “a generous 1 star out of 5”.
“We could have gotten better value for money if we just started burning cash on a bonfire in the backyard.”
More to come.
