When I left you last, it was the end of January, we had just arrived in Bali and we were settling into life in Ubud.
We slipped into a routine quickly with most of our days spent at Hubud, the coworking space where we purchased memberships. After 4 months of having our community entirely online, it was awesome to connect with people who are doing the same thing as us in person. Working at a space like Hubud was the boost of confidence we had both been needing, as being a digital nomad and trying to create businesses online can be a lonely feat sometimes. I have moments where I find myself wondering if my wires are crossed and I missed something about what I should want out of life. Being at a place like Hubud reminded me that I need to continue to forge the path in life that makes me the most happy.
So our days were spent working on pushing out content for The World Wanderers + M.B.Om, advising for Praxis, and creating a course on Udemy called Yoga for Men. We’ve had the idea for our course for a number of months now and it was awesome to see it come to life. We wanted to create a course that provided the modifications for a man who has a tight, inflexible body or who is brand new to yoga so that they can enter a yoga class feeling comfortable and confident to modify as they need.
If you’re interested in checking out this course, you can get it for $10 here!
When we weren’t working, we could be found eating at some of the many delicious restaurants in Ubud and practicing yoga at the Yoga Barn. Ubud is a mecca for wellness all at a very affordable price (compared to home) so we quickly settled into a happy and comfortable life and routine.
After 2 weeks in Bali, we knew we wanted to stay longer and so we began the process of extending our visas, which meant relinquishing our passports to a stranger on a moped who promised to email us with the results of the application. I’ve learned to trust the processes in other countries, but I would be lying if I said that I’m 100% comfortable all the time, especially when it comes to giving my passport to strangers.
After close to 2 more weeks, we were notified that our visa extension had been approved and we were clear for another month in Bali! Hallelujah!
Our AirBnb that we had booked for the first month came to an end and we spent 2 glorious nights on a sponsored stay in a private villa at the Bali Zoo. If you’ve followed my travel journey through its entirety, you would know that we don’t (and can’t afford to) stay in villas with private pools and breakfast service. To say this was a nice treat was an understatement!
We arrived back in Ubud feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to continue making the most out of our time in Bali.
The 2 months we spent in Bali have been the most productive and rewarding time of our entire Asia trip, but, of course, we still took time off to explore the island. On my last solo trip to Bali, I spent time in Canggu, Ubud, Seminyak, Uluwatu and did a hike up to Mount Batur. This time around, we spent a day in Sanur, a day in Seminyak, a day hiking around the rice terraces outside of Ubud, a day exploring the central part of Bali and 3 days on Gili Trawangan off the coast of Lombok.
I loved everything that we saw and did in Bali, but a highlight for me was spending my 28th birthday at Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak. We spent the morning doing yoga and eating a good breakfast before heading to Seminyak where we lounged by the pool all afternoon drinking passionfruit cocktails and soaking up the sun. We were treated to the most beautiful sunset before going for Mexican food. To say it was a day full of all things I love would be an understatement, and I think it was the perfect way to ring in my 28th lap around the sun.
One of the best parts about Bali is that it’s a travel hub and we had the chance to hang out with old and new friends while we were there. Our friend Nathan, who is a fellow travel blogger based in Chiang Mai was in Bali while we were there, and we had the chance to hang out and eat with him quite a bit. Our friends Matt and Liz from the states happened to be coming through Bali while we were there and we spent a day hanging out with them! I also got to meet up with one of my friends good friends and we immediately hit it off. I also had 2 coffee dates with yoga teachers, who share a lot of my interests in yoga and business. Last but not least, we met listeners of the podcast, Michelle and Jake, who are currently traveling around the world with their toddlers. It was so inspirational to meet a traveling family and to see that it is possible to live a life you love even once you have children.
As the end of our second month creeped closer and closer, we knew we needed to decide where we were going next. We’re meeting our good friends Steve + Julia in Japan on April 4th, but we had 2 weeks in between with no plans. We spent a couple of hours looking on Skyscanner + AirBnb to decide what the best option for us was, and we decided on KL! The flights from Bali and to Tokyo were affordable, we know the city so we could focus on work before Japan, and we already knew that it’s a city that we like. So we booked our flights and accommodation and settled in to our last bit of time in Bali, getting as many cheap massages as we could and drink all the affordable green juices.
We drank more green juices and wheat grass shots during our time in Bali than I’ve ever had in my entire life, and after 2 months in Bali, our health and nutrition was better than it’s been in years, if not ever!
We also spent a lot of our time reading. Ryan and I are both currently reading Atlas Shrugged with a Praxis reading group, and on our first day in the coworking space I found the first 3 Harry Potter books. I decided to re-read them since it’s been years. I finished them in just over a week and went on a hunt for the next 4, which I easily found in a nearby bookstore. I finished the other 4 throughout our time in Bali, remembering my deep love for the series, the characters and the wizarding world. Call me crazy, but I couldn’t help wondering if there’s any chance that my Hogwarts letter is still coming….
On our last few days in Bali, we made the trip out to Gili Trawangan, a popular backpacker island off the coast of Lombok. We spent 3 nights on a sponsored stay in a beautiful villa there, and since it was our last 3 days in Bali, we decided to take some time to relax. We slept a ton, read a lot, sun bathed, and took in the beautiful scenery.
I had been resisting leaving Bali because I love it so much, but our 3 days in Gili T felt like the perfect way to close off our time there.
Although, I love Bali the things I won’t miss about life there are the men constantly asking if I want a taxi (No! The answer is always no!), the terrible side walks that are a constant death hazard, the fear of Bali belly (thankfully we didn’t get sick!), the hawkers constantly trying to sell us stuff, and the challenge that is getting an Uber anywhere. I will (and do) miss everything else. It’s rare that I speak with certainty about places that I will revisit because there are still so many other places I want to travel, live and work, but I know I will go back to Bali. Bali stole my heart back in 2015 and after spending 2 more months there, I know it will always have a piece of my heart.
During the last week of March, we flew to KL where we have spent the last 10 days and I am currently writing from! We have spent most of our time enjoying the luxuries of a big city, including going to a movie, and shopping at real grocery stores. We have had a kitchen to do some cooking in and our focus has been backlogging as much work as we can before Japan.
Until next time!