Life is an adventure. Let’s go!

Island of the Gods.

Bali always sounded so exotic to me. I blissfully made it my home for ten years when I arrived in 2009. My relationship with this magical island actually started long before, back in the early 70s. My English dad and Indonesian mum were living in South Sumatra at the time, they just got married in Singapore, and went to Bali for their honeymoon. Perhaps I was just a twinkle in their eye.

In the late 1990’s I passed up an opportunity to visit Bali. Someone advised ‘don’t go, it’s so touristy’ made me change my mind, and head to Lombok and the Gili Islands instead to get off the beaten path. Looking back, I felt missed out on what could have been a very special time. However, I’ve always remained drawn to Bali, hoping I’d still get to visit one day.

My wish did come true and I eventually made it to Bali. What started out as ‘my year of living dangerously’ away from my corporate job, ended up becoming my own version of ‘eat, pray, love’ and finding new freedoms with a lifestyle change. This is where I met my American husband, built a home, got a dog, and started our beautiful family.

In Bali I embraced the culture, the ceremonies, and the lifestyle; the coming together of people from different countries and backgrounds; and their creative spirit and entrepreneurial drive. I also made many Indonesian and Balinese friendships. Growing up with two different cultures, this crazy mixing pot, was a natural fit. I loved the festivals and colors, the super spicy food, the rainy season, the dry season, riding around on my scooter, and the sticky heat. And everything from the stunning beaches and cliffs of Bukit, the lush greenery of Ubud, mountains, lakes, and rice paddies, the chaos of downtown Kuta and Seminyak, the pop-up of new, hip, and happening scenes, to chickens and cows in my own backyard.

Everyone wanted to come and visit. And it was so fun to show people around and help plan their trip to Bali. I worked for a women’s wellness retreat and volunteered my time with an environmental non-profit agency before joining a luxury hotel brand to manage their PR & CSR programs. I then worked as a wedding events coordinator for an exclusive boutique cliff-front resort.

I have a lot to share about going to Bali on vacation, as well as living in Bali and understanding how all the different cultures come together in harmony. If I’m honest, when life presented a time for change, I wasn’t sure I really wanted to leave the home we created there. Planning ahead for my family’s future, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and be ready for your ‘where to next.’ This is when we packed up and headed to the United States to start our new adventure.

Bali has changed a lot in the recent years, but it remains very special to me. Yes it is so much more developed today with mass tourism and the boom of insta-travel-spiration. You do need to travel a long way to get there, but as a vacation destination, there are many unique experiences to suit everyone. Anything you want to know about Bali, just ask me. I hope to go back and revisit some of our favorite places with our daughter. Underneath all the shiny new development, road conjestion, and big resort hotels, there is still the true magic of Bali, its many temples, spiritual energy, and all the amazing people I’ve met, know, and love. Astungkara!

Notes

• https://uluwatusurfvillas.com/
• https://escapehaven.com/
• https://escape.banyantree.com/
• https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/dpsolol-umana-bali-resort/resort/

Photo credit: Stijn Dijkstra