There was no chance to write blog posts while I was away or for the first five days I’ve been back. Travelling on your own is exhausting, plus I got the usual Bali belly and other ailments one picks up when moving around from place to place. I’ve needed recovery time.

Let’s explore that a little.

First, there’s this…

Four of Wands: The joy of returning home

My heart took a genuine leap at the sight of my home city’s lights from the plane – as cold and miserable as Melbourne is right now. You get tired of living out of a suitcase, organising how you’re moving from one-place-to-another, and eating food that isn’t quite right for you.

Then there was this…

Four of Swords: Resting

Not the first night, as I didn’t get to close my eyes until 3:30am, and couldn’t sleep in past 10. But I was out cold for 13 hours the next. And have found myself napping during the day since, not a usual occurrence.

I’ve consulted this…

The Hierophant: A medical authority

In this case it was my sister who manages a medical clinic. I picked up something in Ubud which left me with a hacking cough. Virus? A physical response to all the mould there? Who knows! My legs are also covered in bites (despite the DDT I slathered on them) and minor injuries I sustained during my adventures.

We decided I should do this…

Four of Cups: Wait and see if it’s as bad as it feels

As it’s turned out, everything is healing in Melbourne’s much drier climate. What looked alarming in Bali appears non-threatening now. Yay!

Sometimes this doesn’t happen after a holiday. Quite a few travellers have contracted Dengue Fever in Bali recently and have found themselves experiencing this…

The Tower: Their body falling apart

I’m very relieved not to be amongst them. I guess that DDT was good for something after all.

There’s also this post-holiday…

Eight of Pentacles: Working your way through all the things you need to do to get your old life back

Emptying the suitcase, shopping for food to fill the empty fridge, endless loads of washing, and putting everything away. Usually takes me a week to clear away holiday detritus.

Maybe you do this…

Two of Pentacles: Jump straight back into work and sort holiday shizz when you can

Interesting that so many four cards have appeared in this spread. The number four represents foundations and stability. It makes sense that re-grounding ourselves back in our usual routines is a big part of holiday recovery. Right?