The end of an adventure

Adventure 2015

In February of this year, Phil and I set off on our biggest adventure yet... one way tickets to Germany and only the vaguest of plans... and now it's over!!!!

Eleven countries, eighteen cities and over 7000 photos later and today is literally the last day of #adventure2015.

Tomorrow, we jump on a plane and head back to Melbourne!

Glancing back
How to possibly sum this year in one post?? The highs and lows. The new experiences. What will stand out most in our memories?

Definitely one of the highlights was the time with friends and family on our travels. We actually spent more than 9 weeks travelling with friends and family across the trip!! Not only did we have a lot of fun, it definitely took us home without, you know, actually having to go all the way home!!


Lex and I having a sister moment in Nafplio, Greece

And we got to spend loads of time with family in Germany. We went on an alpine hike, learnt how to cross country ski, attended two weddings and passed a super hot summer in Munich swimming in the Bavarian lakes, eating gelati and rollerblading around the neighbourhood. Good times!!



I felt like a kid again during our summer in Germany - playing outside all day in the sun!

Our trip around Eastern Europe was a revelation - so many fantastic spots like Ljubljana and Sofia. I cannot wait to get back over there to check out Romania, Bosnia and Croatia. Oh... and the rest of Turkey. And Greece. I think this trip just expanded my must-see list rather than shortening it!!




Ahhh... Greece!!

Our time in Bali has really been about appreciating our local area. Last time we were in Bali for an extended period, we travelled all over Bali and to Lombok and the Gili islands. I had itchy feet every time we got back to our apartment in Legian and it drove me crazy being spruiked at by the same people day after day.

This trip, we decided to lean into Legian... We were helped out by the fact that the local area has had a major revive with new cafes, restaurants and we also found some hidden gems - a couple of nearby rooftop bars with incredible sunset views and a fantastic local Thai restaurant, Sawasdeekha.



Legian beach sunsets are just stunning whether you're in a rooftop bar or on a bean bag on the beach

Phil met one of his biggest trip goals in Bali of learning another language - his Indonesian skills are already impressive and I think he'll continue to practise when we're back in Melbourne.

Plus, we still fit in trips to Amed in the east and Gili Air for a bit of snorkelling with sea turtle!

Last days in Bali

Our last week in Bali has been a surprisingly frantic one!! We've spent quite a bit time over the last two months upgrading our two apartments here and in this last week we've running around getting last minute things organised. And with 2 days to go, we still didn't have a couch despite ordering it in early November... aaaahhh, Bali time.


It arrived with one day to go - woo hoo!!!! But it's missing half the cushions

On the upside, they are looking better than ever! It's just a shame we don't have more time to enjoy it... I know, I know, no one's feeling sorry for us.


Jungle balcony!!

To farewell Bali after three lovely months, we organised a tour day... With a 6am start we headed up to Kintamani, where you can get a wonderful view of Mount Batur and the volcanic landscape. We drove through villages and rice fields and drank in the landscapes.


What a gorgeous view!

Our last stop for the day was a glass blowing studio run by a slightly eccentric Californian, Ron, who makes exquisite pieces.

We stumbled across his studio six years ago on our honeymoon and had a long and memorable chat to Ron, who gave us a demo, and we bought a vase as a souvenir.

So it just seemed fitting to revisit horizon glassworks before heading home.


Look at this incredible pelican!!! Our souvenir is a little more pedestrian...

It was great to see that Ron was still cranking out some amazing work and have a chat about the challenges of being an artist and running a business in Bali. If you're ever around Ubud, it's well worth your time to drop in.

With our farewell touring day behind us, we caught a last couple of glorious Balinese sunsets, and a trip to the barber (Phil) and mani pedi (me), we were packed and ready to head home!!

So what was it all about anyway?

This year has been fun, invigorating, challenging, relaxing, reflective... awesome. We've followed our instincts and interests and met places and people we have absolutely loved and won't forget!

I have especially enjoyed writing the blog. I think writing a journal keeps me focused on enjoying each moment - perhaps something to remember for "real life"?

And the lows? Honestly, there haven't been many. I have definitely missed home and our cat and and friends and family. I think I underestimated how much perspective people can bring to our lives... and how much we miss its absence.

Technology fails drove me to distraction at various times as did train delays and crap airport experiences, but we seemed to avoid a lot of the most annoying parts of travel just by moving more slowly and staying longer in each place. I guess we've been pretty damn lucky!!!

In case it isn't obvious from all the posts across the year, I would absolutely do this again and if you're at all thinking about taking some time off to travel... start planning - it's easier than you'd think.

My two long term top travel tips are the Citibank card - only Aussie account with zero withdrawal fees or currency conversion charge. And trail wallet - a brilliant budgeting app that makes tracking the spending kinda fun.

I feel genuinely transformed by this year away, which I wasn't really expecting. It sounds odd, but I feel more like myself - I think a long trip reveals what you would want to spend your time doing if you really have the choice, and therein to some extent, your values. The time away from daily pressures and white noise of modern life has been incredibly beneficial and a good reminder of what's important.


Like finding fun, silly moments on long train trips together

Also, a huge thanks to all our Melbourne people for joining us on our adventure - either in person, or through this blog, on Facebook, via email or just wishing us well. My biggest thanks goes to my favourite travel companion and biggest support, Phil. I love you and the spirit of adventure and fearlessness you bring to our travels. Let's do it again sometime??

What's next??

It's time to head back to real life. After a wonderful year of wandering, I will be back at my desk on 4 January (yikes, that's soon) and Melbourne life resumes.

It's lucky that we have a pretty good life at home!! I'm really looking forward to having family and friends a quick phone call or visit away, our slightly grumpy cat Millie sleeping on the bed (probably on my neck for the first week) and taking my beloved (mum's) doggies for a walk.

Until the next great adventure, signing off....






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One week warning

Just a quick post to say we have... one week to go!!! One week before we get on a plane bound for Melbourne and get back to our regularly scheduled program lives.

In honour of this milestone, I've posted a poll on the blog - the question: should we come home??

Cos it's probably not too late to book a one way to Peru... just saying...

Cast your vote!!




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Hurtling towards the end...

Two weeks
We are down to our last TWO WEEKS before #adventure2015 comes to an end. We've been in Indonesia since the beginning of September and in Bali since mid-September, which is frankly a very long time.

But...TWO WEEKS!?!?!!! Actually it was two weeks on Tuesday when I started drafting this blog post. It's now... I cannot even deal.

Before I go into full meltdown mode, let me tell you what we've been up to...

Lex-ventures
After a minor passport-loss related delay, my lil sis, Lex arrived in Bali for 10 days of Indo fun.

The plan - spend a few days in Legian in our apartment chilling out, then head to the gorgeous Gili islands for some tropical paradise relaxation and snorkelling action.

Our first few days in Legian were fun-filled. We spent her first evening at Merah Putih for a seriously fancy dinner. I'd read about this restaurant and knowing that Lex had loved it on her last visit, saved it for her arrival.


The soaring dining room... It was super dark ahem, mood lit, so hard to get good pics

If you're looking for a high end Indonesian food experience, you might want to check this place out. An absolutely gorgeous space and crazy delicious food - we had some soft shell crab thing that made me want to go back the next night!!


"Soft shell crab thing"

As I mentioned in the last post, we also hosted a really fun pool party for the staff at the Beach Melati Apartments and got to hang out with the guys and their families (especially the adorable kiddos).


Look at that cheeky grin!!

We also revisited the gorgeous rooftop bar down the road from us at double six resort. Bali provided a sunset to die for!!


Yes, you should definitely check it out next time you're in Bali


Gili Air
And before we knew it, it was time to head to the Gilis!! The Gili islands are three small islands just off Lombok and about 2 hours away from Bali by fast boat. And they are famous for gorgeous beaches and incredible snorkelling and diving.


I took an insane number of photos on Gili Air...


An overcast late afternoon on the beach. I love the colours of the boat against the sea and sky.

Phil and I visited Gili Air just over 4 years ago - one of the two quieter and less visited islands - and absolutely loved the peace and tranquility. And... we got to snorkel with sea turtles!!

So we were hopeful this time that Lex would also have a chance to see one of these beautiful creatures under water.

Last trip, Phil and I stayed in a bungalow right on the beach. There is accommodation dotted all around the 4km long coastline. But what I hadn't seen on our last visit was the thriving village in the middle of the island with lots of little bungalows and home stays and local warungs serving up great Indonesian food.


Village life



This gorgeous kitty joined us for dinner one night... This is her just after devouring some chicken skin... from my plate, of course

This trip we booked at Scallywags Smugglers, 10 rooms each with a little garden/ courtyard and a shared pool. It was gorgeous and a complete bargain at $60 a night! Rather than a beachfront location, it was tucked in the middle of the village, which I loved as every time you walk out the door, you're surrounded by kids whooshing past on their bikes, chickens clucking around and local people just going about their day.

It feels a bit like I'm writing their advertising copy for them, but it was just the perfect spot for us.


The lovely private garden


And a blissfully cold pool under shade cloth... It was super hot on the Gilis. Actually it's been super hot in Bali full stop. We've been waiting for the rains since late October, but it's just not happening!!

Smugglers has a beach club and restaurant right on the beach, where you go for breakfast and can reserve sun loungers and rent snorkelling equipment. And, that was pretty much what we did for 4 days!! Some snorkelling, some sun lounging and reading, a couple of walks around the island and a hit of pool time. Tough living, huh??


Beach club

The snorkelling is just incredible on Gili Air. The variety of sea life is mind blowing. We saw more varieties of fish than I'd ever seen before, cool crustaceans hanging out on coral and at one point, a crazy prehistoric looking lizard ran out of the water, fish in its mouth into some rocky outcrop right in front of us. It looked like something straight out of Jurassic Park!!!

And while it took until our last day, we did collect our prize - a long lazy swim with a beautiful sea turtle!!!

Ahhhh....... a great and super chilled trip to Gili Air. Plus, this time I discovered that you can buy sea sickness tablets in Bali that are (a) 50 cents a pack (b) seem to work well for motion sickness prone Phil and (c) knocks me out cold for 1-2 hours so I don't have to face the fact that I am on a vessel that could sink to the bottom of the ocean at any moment!!

Last days in Legian
Lex and I fit in a heap of shopping for the Bali apartments. We discovered that across the road from the photo framing place lives Kecil - Indonesian for "small" and the most adorable fluff ball in the world... She needs her own Instagram page:


Isn't she divine!!! I bought a completely unnecessary dress from her owner - Phil called it "puppy tax"...

Speaking of Instagram, if you're not following @raisinbagels you are missing some amazing shots of our trip this year! Check out Phil's feed. It's wonderful and eccentric, just like him ;)

We planned out Lex's last day - a massage for her at the always excellent Jari Menari, where they offer a four hand massage - 2 practitioners massaging you at once. It's pretty insane! And dinner at our favourite local Indonesian Warung, Yogja. But it didn't quite work out that way... because the universe decided to grant Lex an extra day in paradise!!! Or she misremembered her departure date, whatever; the result was the same.

So it turned out that her actual last day consisted of a lovely breakfast at Cafe Bali, another massage at Chill (my favourite reflexology massage on the island) plus a swim and lastly, sad packing - sob!!


Last breakfast with Lex

Since her departure, Phil and I have been pining... for the end of our amazing year of travel. (Not so much for Lex given we'll be seeing her in less than TWO WEEKS!!!).

Phil has finished his Indonesian classes. I have entered the zone where I have to watch the sunset every single night. It's almost time to go and we're feeling it!!


Last night's offering

But we still have a couple of plans including a huge photography touring day where we're going to drive to the most spectacular spots in Bali and take some beautiful pics!!

Stay tuned for the next instalments...




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Delayed arrival and pool party!!

Cos people wanna hang with us...

You may recall that in my last post, we had just spent a fun and chilled out week with our friends Jo and Nick. They made it home on time and in one piece despite the Lombok volcano disrupting flights day after day...

A mere week after they went home, Lex (aka my little sis) was due to arrive in Bali to spend a couple of weeks with us - yay!!! Despite Jo and Nick's arrival dramas, I was pretty confident Lex would make it on schedule, having switched her flight from "can't-get-our-shit-together-Jetstar" to "we'll-have-you-there-in-a-jiffy-Garuda".

But it seems the universe didn't want Lex arriving hassle-free, hiding her passport the day before her departure and forcing her to the immigration department to get a priority passport issued!!! The universe can be a cruel bitch uh, prankster...

So, a couple of days later than planned, Lex hit the sunny shores of Bali for a now-slightly-less-than 2 week visit!!

Actually, her timing was perfect, as she arrived at the tail end of a couple of construction projects.

A few weeks ago, Phil and I commissioned a Balinese wooden screen for the rather bare balcony of our upstairs apartment. I was a bit nervous about how it would come together, but it turned out beautifully.

And, it was finished on the day Lex arrived:


Breathing some life into the balcony... Can't wait to get a few plants to finish it off.


Balmy sunset...

Incidentally, it's been great to have a longer stint in Bali to make a few changes to the apartments here. We've ordered a new couch which should be arriving any day... I'm super excited to see it!!!

Note: the couch was commissioned directly from a workshop (cos it was half the price) based on a very rough sketch - so pls people, keep your fingers crossed that it looks at least vaguely like what we're imagining...

Also over the past few weeks, all the tiles surrounding the pool have been pulled up and replaced by gorgeous sparkly new tiles. It was a big project, but the results are awesome.


So new and shiny!!


... and speaking of the pool

Pool party!!!

To celebrate the completion of the pool work, Lex, Phil and I asked the fantastic staff (who keep the Beach Melati Apartments running so beautifully) to join us, together with their families for lunch - on us - and a pool party!!

Because the apartment complex is completely empty (thanks to the pool work), we thought it would be the perfect opportunity for the staff and their families to be the first to try out the fancy new pool area with their kids. And a small way for us to thank them for looking after us so well.

It was a really fun day and great to spend time chilling out with the awesome staff and their families.


Look at these adorable munchkins with Wayan


Yuda - there is nothing this man can't fix. This was actually seriously brave, because he can't swim...but he just looks super chill!


Tucking into lunch


Lex obtained an admirer - Dacia - who followed her around all day

To myself, I dedicated the day to my dad, who passed away 5 years ago this November 20th.

He would have loved hanging out with all the guys, meeting their families and especially playing with the kids in the pool. In fact, I think he might have been behind the spirit of the day in the first place. Always thinking of you, dad.

What else??
In the next instalment, adventures with Lex!!

We went to an island - ooh, intriguing, right?? Did we swim with turtles and totally make her holiday? You'll have to check in to find out...

One quick update before I sign off - remember Douglas, our very noisy gecko who moved into our bedroom air conditioner and kept us up with his, frankly creepy, mating call???



A rare shot of Douglas in the 'wild'...

Well, he has moved on!!! No more waking up at midnight to a crooning reptile. Woo hoo!!!

I guess all that effort finally paid off and he found his lady love - awww...

Or else it was Phil smacking the air con unit with a tshirt every time he started up for two days straight?? Either way, I'm sleeping like a lamb!

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There's a gecko in my air conditioner...

Douglas

Since we arrived back in Bali in late October, we have experienced a mostly-nocturnal phenomenon... a loudly squeaking gecko that has moved into the bedroom's air conditioning vent! We have named him Douglas. He likes to squeak out his song several times a night, waking us up in the process - thanks Douglas!!

So many questions - geckos make noises? Geckos have names? Geckos can live in air conditioning vents? He wakes you up - how big is this damn gecko anyway??

So geckos in Bali come in several shapes and sizes. But here in the heavily populated Legian area, you only really see the tiny ones. They're super cute and absolutely everywhere.


So tiny, they're almost translucent...

But once you're out of the busiest spots, you come across the bigger ones, although they're not a super common sighting. I've seen a couple in Ubud over the past few years.


The ones in Bali are generally cuter than this...

Phil and I were sure that Douglas must be a monster of a gecko because of the aforementioned LOUDNESS of his call... (check out this YouTube video - it's not mine, but Ol' Douglas sounds exactly the same).

But he could also have been amplified by the air con unit, so we just couldn't be sure!!

Well, yesterday was finally the day of reckoning... We spotted him!!! Just for a minute, but long enough for Phil to whip out the camera and capture a (rather grainy) candid shot.



Can you see him there - cute right?? It was hard to get a shot in the dark and without being able to get too close, but Phil did a great job sneaking up...

And just in case you're wondering whether it was just a coincidence, seconds after Douglas scampered away, he was back at his post, squeaking away!!

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Speaking of coincidences, tonight Douglas has been louder than ever, prompting me to suggest to him in no uncertain terms that he might like to PIPE DOWN!!

Twenty minutes later, the power in the whole apartment goes out and doesn't look like it's coming back. Sigh, Douglas, you are a rascal...

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Adventures with Jo and Nick

The volcano saga

As I mentioned in my last post, a volcano erupted on Mount Rinjani in Lombok about two weeks ago and has been playing havoc on flights in and out of Bali.

Well, sort of... I think Jetstar may not have run a single scheduled flight to or from Bali in two weeks!! On the other hand, apart from two or three brief closures of the Bali airport, Garuda has been flying their usual schedule pretty consistently. Apparently they are allowed to fly in the military zone which allows them to avoid the volcanic ash.

The point of all this, is our friends Jo and Nick scheduled a quick visit to Bali, from last Sunday to Friday. Woo hoo, right? But they had booked on Jetstar - boo!!!! At the time of the last post, their Sunday arrival date had already passed - booooo!!!

Phil and I were watching Jetstar travel alerts like hawks in the week leading up to the visit, and getting a little despondent as day after days's worth of flights were cancelled.

But by this stage, Jo and Nick had given up on Jetstar and rebooked on Garuda on a flight due to arrive on Monday at lunchtime, so we kept our hopes up. And... they made it late Monday night (WOO HOOOO)!!! We were over the moon when we finally saw them emerge from the airport, and they brought us the best gift of all - duty free grey goose vodka their presence!!!

Nick and Jo in Bali
We only had four days to pack a lot of Bali fun into... But we managed to fit in a ton!!

Super relaxing reflexology, beers on the beach, a few dips in the pool, an elegant rooftop bar, a movie (James Bond, of course), a fancy dinner at my favourite Sarong and lots of laughs and cocktails, of course.

We also managed a whole day at Bali's awesome waterslide park, Waterbom. It helped that it's so quiet here at the moment, there were no queues at all!! You were only limited by how long it took you to climb the giant ladders to get up to the death defying attractions.

Here's some highlights of our fun mini-week in pictures:



Jo and I at Sarong on our first night


We had a delicious spread, including a gravity defying fairy floss cocktail!



Nick and Phil contemplating life... or dinner...



Sunset drinks on a rooftop bar at Double Six - the big round tables are sunk into an infinity pool - super fancy!!


Dinner at Deus ex machina - I think the universe was making up for lost time, because we arrived at the exact moment the ladies' happy hour began... free cocktails for Jo and I!


Phil with our adopted cat for the evening - Nick may have secured her love by "dropping" some chicken on the ground...

The time flew by, as it always does when friends visit, but despite the shorter visit, we had a great time and made some awesome memories.

Next up... my very own sister, Lex arrives in four days for almost two weeks!! I've already got some awesome adventures planned.

And we're down to our last month of what I've dubbed "adventure 2015". It's hard believe how fast time has gone by... Guess we'll have to make the most of it while we can!!

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My (second) island home

Stranded!!!
We've been back in Bali for 3 weeks since our Melbourne/ Kota Kinabalu adventures, and it's fair to say we are very happy to be kicking back here. Which is a very good thing at the moment because... we are stranded!!!

In case you missed it, some volcano on Mt Rinjani (in Lombok) started spewing out piles of volcanic ash which has caused havoc with air travel to and from Bali for almost a week now.


It's really not too bad a place to get stuck in... Here is Phil getting nibbled on by someone's PET OTTER!!!

People who are here are stuck here and those trying to get here are having a lot of trouble...

Case in point, we were are super excited to have our friends, Jo and Nick visit us for a week, arriving on Sunday... Yes, that Sunday that just passed us by (cue rage at stupid ill-timed volcano noooooooo!!!).

Jetfail have just cancelled everything, but in an impressive display of tenacity and determination, Jo & Nick have rebooked on Garuda and will hopefully be here by the time you're reading this post. Fingers crossed, people!!!

Island life
So what have we been up to lately? Or, as some people put it when they hear you're going to be in Bali for a while, 'what do you do there all day???'

I once overheard someone at the next table talking about what they do on a holiday in Bali... 'Well, I get up and have some breakfast. Then I have a massage and once I'm done, it's time for lunch and a cocktail. Some pool time, and a few more cocktails, and it's sunset and dinner. Some days, I barely have time for all that!'

Even without a dozen cocktails a day, it is true that the days in Bali seem to melt away incredibly quickly!!

We had some excitement our first week back with a visit from my dear friend Yules (see here for recap) and it was so much fun giving her a taste of Bali for the first time.

Since her visit, we've settled into a very gentle routine. A morning and evening walk on the beach, a swim in the pool and reading a book pretty much fills half the day!!


I never get sick of walking on the beach at sunset...

If you've seen my Facebook or Instagram posts, you'd be forgiven for thinking that all we do is eat...



Look at that beautiful fruit salad. It cost $3...

But while it's true that we can linger over breakfast and a coffee like nobody's business, there are a few new things we've been trying out.

Phil has been keen to try out body surfing for ages, and has picked up some flippers and a hand board and has been out in the waves daily.

I have picked up a yoga mat (no, not kidding). I have NOT loved my previous Bali yoga experiences, but I am committed to stretching out my very un-bendy self before I get back to office-chair bound back torture! Definitely not yoga as you know it, but so far, so good (ie no tendons have snapped to date...)

Trilinguality
Phil has also been attending one-on-one Indonesian classes three times a week and his language skills are improving in leaps and bounds!!

He has signed up with the Seminyak Language school which is located opposite the Bintang supermarket (in case you're wondering). A particular advantage of going through the school, is they will sponsor you for a social/ cultural visa which I understand allows you to stay in Bali for up to 6 months. Very handy if you want to come over for a while and are keen to learn a bit as well.

Phil's language skills are definitely coming in handy too! We've been devoting a fair bit of time to making some improvements to our apartments here and transactions are definitely easier if you can speak to the tradies. Plus it's just really nice to see people relax when you speak to them in their language.

Spontaneous heroics
And, Phil's newfound language skills actually helped to save TWO LIVES this week!! He was out for an early morning body surf and was approached by a frantic woman yelling that her husband was drowning. Phil quickly donned his secret identity "Super-Phil" (and not for the first time), leapt into the water and swam out to save him.

Unfortunately, frantic (and by the sound of things possibly still-hammered) wife decided she would follow suit, quickly got herself into trouble and had to be dragged out of the water by Super-Phil!!

Lives saved at this point: 1


Looks calm, but not so much...

Super-Phil then decides to engage the help of the locals, uses his awesome Indonesian language skills to convey that someone is in trouble. The guys jump into action and the lifeguards are called in and mount the jetski to go out and save the husband.

But the jetski keeps getting stuck in the shallow water!!


Ill-fated jetski

So it's Super-Phil to the rescue once again, and he leaps into the water to push the jetski out, the lifesavers tow the guy in and the tally is now:

Total lives saved: 2

The kicker end to the story is that when they dragged the guy back to the beach, it became apparent that he was totally naked... classy...

Apparently, the instant he hit the shore, a screaming match started up between husband and wife... and when Phil and a life saver tried to get him to lie on his side because he was coughing up water, he tried to punch them. Super classy dude!!!

He did eventually calm down and thank his rescuers...

I should say that Phil's telling of this story is far more modest, but he did in fact intervene to save two lives and is my personal hero.

(Hopefully) in the next instalment, adventures with Jo and Nick!!

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