Poolside and Studio

Tomorrow I’m gone.

Leaving a country is painful, like leaving someone you loved and cherished. And in fact, you never leave just a physical space but you do leave the people that connect you to that land. You are closing the door to all the possible future you might have with them, may they be good, may they make you stronger, may they be destructive. You are saying goodbye to friends, and to all the experiences and moments you lived together, and the one you might have had in the future.

The prospect of leaving a country always make my eyes water, my throat close and my belly ache. I’m not just taking an airplane and discovering a new place, I’m saying goodbye forever to the person I was, at that time and space in my life. This is not only a goodbye to friends but to my self.

Tomorrow I’m gone, and today I’m only half here.

It feels like I’m separated in half. I’m already two person, the one I was yesterday, the one I will be tomorrow. Both brave, both carefree, both sensitive. It is possible to cry of happiness and sadness at the same time and the ticking clock toward my departure create a conflicted feeling of gratefulness, hope and regret.

It’s my last day in Bali and I have to make it count. But the prospect of doing anything else than staying in a warm swimming pool to cure the hangover from the too-many-cocktail from Deus ex machina, Pretty Poison, and Sandbar is not appealing. So we chat, we swim, we float and we laugh. Before everybody get together for dinner, I join Sashi in her recording Studio. It feels special and unique to be there. Tomorrow I’m gone, but I’ll remember, forever of these moments spent in Bali.

Gili Air

Yep. It’s raining again.

I arrive on Gili Air in the afternoon. I planned to meet my friend Sylvain in the evening so I start to explore the area while it’s still day light. It’s a small and intimate island so it doesn’t take me long to walk around. I love this feeling of proximity. We are only four of five tourists arriving in Gili Air today so it’s a piece of cake to find a cool and cheap shack to stay for two nights. (Bambu homestay)
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Rastafari

Back home, there is few things that really annoy me. People pushing me in a crowded place and not apologizing. Being late and people who are late. Even if I must admit being late at all my meetings. It’s in my genes, I can’t fight it, it’s my Latin blood! I hate cold espresso, bicycling under the rain and also tomato sauce stain on a white blouse. Let’s not talk about guys in the street asking if I want to grab a drink with them. No. I don’t want to know you. I’m busy and you are scary. Leave. Me. Alone. Please.
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Circle 

Being on an island could describe the sensation of being trapped, of running around in circles. Like Johnny Cash, you have been everywhere, explored all the caves, inspected under every bushes and walked on every path. All around you is the ocean and you are certain: you have seen it all.
Under the rain or on a sunny day, the island have no mystery for you anymore.
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No dogs allowed 

“I am Muslim!” Said proudly the taxi driver who was driving me from Ubud to Canggu. “And you?”

“Hmmm… I try to take what I think is the best from every religion, but I am not from one confession really!”

The taxi driver didn’t talk to me until the rest of the trip. He looked obviously upset! Whatever is your religion in Indonesia, you HAVE to have one. 

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