Who could turn down a trip to Bali?! An idiot, that’s who! After spending a week exploring Ubud, travelling across over to Kuta and riding a moped across dirt tracks to see the majestic waterfall in Tegenungen, I am more than convinced Bali is a little piece of paradise.
My trip started meeting my work colleague Andy at Birmingham airport, packed and ready to go we approached the desk to check-in, only to be greeted by a queue-less, red carpet entry to the business class sector of Qatar Airways, almost like arriving at a triple A movie premiere, the gulf between business class and economy become immediately apparent. We were greeted by the check-in clerk, donning the indistinguishable maroon outfit that Qatar Airways have become known for, she was more than courteous, recommending we spend the wait in the business class lounge where we were entitled to meals and drinks, obviously, it seemed rude not too!
Business Class Suite
After being kindly reminded by a different Qatar Airways worker (still not quite sure how they knew which flight we were on!) we had around half an hour for our flight, we thought it was best to make a move and board it, we headed to the terminal where a mass of people were waiting to board, again, to my surprise, the advantage of business class kicked in and we avoided this completely, instead heading through a separate queue to enter the terminal and board the plane, the only hold-up being a suit donning policeman, questioning why two 20 something-year-olds were going on a business class trip to Bali, something I’m sure you, Doug Scott, would appreciate!
After a conversation about knowledge sharing with the fed, we headed down the second red carpet of the night, this time to the spacious, mood-lit business class cabin, again highlighting the difference in class, I enjoyed a comfy, reclining chair-come-bed whilst enjoying a three course meal and multiple films of my choice, ranging from old to new, to even complete television series. A seventeen-and-a-half hour flight, no problem.
Qatar Business Class Flight
Arriving at Bali, I was taken back by the heat, this was different to the English weather, this was something I could get used to! After getting our bags, we headed out of the terminal, did we make the right decision not to book a cab to the Villa? Yes..yes we did, pounced upon by 3, 4, 5 taxi drivers, we managed to negotiate a good price back to the Villa, although we both couldn’t help but give a decent tip, the traffic was shocking, what highway code? I thought anyone driving here had a death wish, little did I realise I would be within the week.
A bit of navigation later, and we pulled up to the Villa…Wow…Cheers Doug! This was nice, this was better than nice, this was stunning! Two double bedrooms, two en-suite’s, a private swimming pool. This was the place to be.
Bali Villa
Following a good sleep and breakfast, we set off to see Potential Asia! I’d heard a lot about their organic traffic growth and some of the magic beneath the hood, so naturally I was intrigued, what else were they working on, how were they doing it, had they discovered the secret to white-hat SEO?! Having spoke with Harsha, the CEO of Potential Asia, we setup a meeting, and by meeting, I mean a few beers and some good food in a local restaurant to discuss things further. What a nice, smart guy, making sure we had settled first, had some decent food and drink, we went on to discuss what they’ve been working on, a few examples being www.bargainfox.co.uk and http://www.coupofy.com.
I learnt a lot regarding SEO, the restrictions put on specific methods, and forward thinking ways to still achieve great organic growth, following a discussion on some of the cool tech and ideas thrown around at Potential UK, and how implementing these, or a variation on these ideas could possibly help Potential Asia, I noticed our discussion had turned as much from a knowledge-share, which I believe both myself and Harsha feel it definitely was and without doubt had it’s benefits, to a idea spinning, brainstorming session, not just limited to Potential Asia but also some of the companies under Potential UK, a good example being organic traffic growth for www.carrentals.co.uk. But from my time spent working for Potential, I’ve learnt this is what we do, it’s the foundation of the Potential company, hire smart people and smart ideas will follow, Harsha and the Potential Asia team highlight this, they have laid and are continuing to build from this strong foundation.
Potential Asia Team
A few more beers, some delicious food and the passing of a couple of days later, we’d not only discussed a few opportunities, learnt a lot , looked over the tech and spoke to all members of staff, I had a good idea of why everyone was there, it wasn’t just the job, it was the lifestyle, living in Bali and being give the freedom to enjoy its offerings, not being tied to office cubicles, yes, members of staff regularly work on a weekend, but if it feels like a weekend on the weekdays, would you really mind? In between office stops I embraced this lifestyle, me and Andy tried to fit everything into the action-packed week, visiting the bustling markets of Ubud, surfing in Kuta, watching the fire dance, and that’s just to mention a few of the attractions.
So do I stand by my provocative opening sentence? Well, unless you’ve got important prior commitments, you’d need a really, really good reason not to go.….and whilst you are there, why not pop in and see Potential Asia, there a smart, welcoming bunch!