What happens in Vegas…..

So I finally get the whole girls trip thing.

Like TOTALLY get it.

And I am really starting to wonder about the whole finally getting shit when you’re 40 thing!

40 and suddenly (and surprisingly) single and questioning everything about myself I believed I knew for sure. And then I get to go to Malaysia (not Vegas, but the line seemed fitting – it’s just I want the girls to know that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas UNLESS you are travelling with a blogger. Then nothing is sacred. Not even the 3am video blogs!).

I went to Kuala Lumpur with 10 other ladies from Western Australia for our friends 40th birthday, in the year of fortieths. Some married with kids, some in long-term relationships and some single. All amazing and funny and….well hilarious. We set up a secret Facebook page just for us (called very classily the KL Cats), to contain all the bad selfies, the late night video blogs, the face-down on the carpet at 4am photos and lots of inappropriate references to cats.

Here’s what I loved (in no particular order)

Getting on the plane and finding myself seated next to two of the other girls for the flight to KL (and amazingly the flight home!!). We did not book in together, did not check in together and did not select seats, and apart from asking the cute guy sitting between us originally to move forward one row so he wasn’t stuck between us with bleeding ears, it was simple. On a plane of, I guess, 300 people. We high-fived heaps about not forking out the $18 to select seats with Air Asia. Winning!!!!

Forking out whatever it cost to have Big Breakfast Air Asia style on the way over and the way back. It looked like this, but when you think you are starving on plane, tastes so great.

Staying in a fancy high-rise hotel in the middle of KL, with full buffet breakfast and afternoon tea and cocktail two-hour and snacks ALL included. And the SkyBar which is a pretty great bar as long as you don’t mind waiting ages for drinks and are stable enough not to fall in the pool that runs down the middle. Oh the view!

Getting a super, great back-up roomie after my original roomie couldn’t come on the trip (and I missed you so darling, but if it couldn’t have been you then I am so glad I got the roomie I got). Early on (like the first ten minutes) we had to have a discussion about sharing the KS bed and our own levels of comfort with seeing each other naked. To which she said ‘It’s Ok I’m German’. I didn’t know what that meant (like, was she cool with seeing me post shower trying to get dressed? What if I accidentally touched in her in bed?) until our mutual friend said “oh, have you never seen German porn?” and I guessed that meant she was OK with nudity. NOT that I’ve seen German porn. But I have heard about it now. And only accidently touched her in bed with my foot once.

The food.

Our own Batrender Bar (yes, it became the Batrender bar after a grammatical error on a FB post) in the birthday girl’s room, stocked with all the duty-free alcohol (1L/person) and mixers scammed from the cocktail two-hour manager who became our new best friend. I did not know I like espresso martini’s or curry flavoured Twisties. But now I do.

The shopping. Shopping with friends who say things like “oh you won’t be able to get back to KL for ages” and “you look amazing in that” and “what a bargain!!”. And then shopping at the China markets for gypo rip-off bargains as well.

My first attempt at video blogging inspired by my roomie at 3am. I didn’t let her get a word in edge-wise. I will not post the full 3 minute blog here because it might incriminate us BUT here is one I made immediately afterwards. Loving myself a bit. Still didn’t let her get a word in.

[wpvideo BnvzMB6j]

Making sure I was not entirely shallow and first world, and attempting cultural experiences like the Batu caves and temple. Even with all the people, and the chickens and the flavour of 2.30am margarita in my mouth as I climbed the 300 steps it had this atmosphere of holiness about it. A massive cave that creates a natural temple, and a place of worship. There were babies being blessed and prayers and gold head paint. The coconut water at the bottom saved me. And the afternoon nap back at the hotel. I do have some good photos though.

Getting dressed up every evening for cocktail two-hour, like real, true fancy ladies. I can’t say that our Aussie yobbo-ness entirely left us in even in our frocks, but we did look good. And were the most fun and most remembered.

Dancing.

Making everyone wear my “show-stopper” Minerologie lipstick. Made those ladies ‘Pop”. Think I may have said that every time we re-applied.

All the inappropriate cat jokes on the FB page.

Sleeping in. Except the one time we took it to far and missed the alarm to get up for the buffet breakfast. That was devastating.

The friendly taxi drivers. Except that one who may or may not have smoked too much weed and was driving really slowly with his head resting on the window. My roomie and I were fearful that our other friend in the back who was asking him about his “gunga” and his ‘hashish pipe” and to “check his fingernails” was inadvertently going to do a drug deal and get us all arrested and executed for drug use. We did ask him to stop at Macca’s on the way home, but then got fearful about leaving anyone in the cab alone with him, so we kept going and got room service instead.

That steak burger I ordered at 4am. It was heaps better than Macca’s.

Laughing. So much. You ladies are hilarious. I too am pretty funny, but was trying to tone it down so I didn’t get in trouble with the birthday girl. She did give me a (very small) talking to about taking too many selfies and hogging the dance floor, and distracting men who I would not be interested in (due to gap year) from other ladies (who were not on gap year). It was possibly the funniest conversation of the trip, and I do want her know I am not offended and it is true. I should tone it down. Complete show off.

The selfie stick the birthday girl brought me to make taking good selfies easier. Unfortunately none of us know how to set the self-timer on our phone camera’s so it meant there was lots of waving the selfie stick around and not many photos taken. Except this one, where we were using it for evil to photograph the cute guy sitting behind us on the plane. Afterwards I realised we could have done this without the selfie stick. But it seemed really funny at the time.

Beer towers. They are really fun.

Going for pedicure’s and massage to help prepare for the next event.

And MOSTLY – Just being myself with my friends (old and new) and wanting to do nothing more than enjoy their company, eat yummy food, hang out in fun bars, dance, shop and have some leisure time. I have not actually EVER had a holiday without children, except my honeymoon (where we went to Thailand and I spent my entire holiday being pole-danced in front of by stunningly beautiful Asian women) that was NOT about training or personal development of some kind. And I’m not begrudging that because I’ve been to some awesome places and learnt some amazing stuff, but I didn’t realise how an actual holiday for leisure is a different thing (especially when our new best friend at cocktail two hour asked if we were in KL for “work or leesure”. Leesure. Ha ha). And I took a WHOLE bag of workbooks, notes and things to complete and the book I brought at the airport was one on public speaking. The good news is, once I realised what I’d done, I put them all in the cupboard of my hotel room and didn’t get them out UNTIL I had a two hour wait at the airport in Perth on the way home. Holidays for leisure are the best. I think perhaps they are the point of holidays. Otherwise it’s travel for work. And I have travelled heaps for work, and have been able to justify that with myself and my children and my ex-husband and the guy who is not my guy. But a kid-free holiday for leisure. That is SOMETHING ELSE. I’m sure there are plenty of people in the world that do not need reminding of this, but I am not one of those people and neither are many of my friends. Just do it. Once a year at least. Go for a holiday for leisure with your girls or your man and some other couples, without kids and do the things that involves less luggage, less snacks, more shopping, more nights out and food kids don’t eat. Give yourself a chance to find yourself within the life you already live instead of waiting until you are 40 and suddenly (and surprisingly) single and have to question everything you were sure was true about yourself and the world.

And don’t forget to set up a secret FB page to cover the event. It is GOLD. I’d put a link here for you to log in, but you know….What happens in Vegas….