Thursday May, 25 - Bali Update

Sitting on our balcony in Ubud, I am reflecting that we have 9 days left in beautiful Bali before heading to our next destination, South Africa. We have been here for a little over 20 days and I am sad to say my expectations haven't been completely met. Granted, they were really high, as I have been dreaming of Bali for over a decade, I even planned this trip twice - one time actually paying for everything and purchasing a plane ticket only for it all to fall through. But everything happens for a reason because I could not imagine being here without my Richard. But, for as long as I have been waiting to get here, I am not very impressed. I believe the Bali I had in my head did exist at one point, it's just been severely tainted and turned tourist trappy since the famous, and my favorite, book Eat Pray Love.

I will also point out, Richard and I are NOT on vacation, staying in a luxury resort, with a private tour guide to take us around, and 2 straight weeks of time to explore uncharted territory. We are living here for 32 days while we work, staying in a digital nomad co-living accommodation balancing work and play carefully. We have seen some beautiful spots and done some really fun things so I am not by all means disappointed or writing this off as a fail, Richard and I just agree we would like to return and touch on some places locals have recommended as well as long term digital nomads that are more tranquil and serene, untouched, and unique.

We had a blast visiting Uluwatu with our friends but happened to miss every major beautiful sunset which was a total bummer. We tried to see all the "must-see" spots by booking a private driver in Ubud for a day only for every place to be packed, dirty, and underwhelming. We enjoyed Atving and white water river rafting, but I believe I ingested some of the river water and am sitting here trying to heal from the horrible stomach bug that hit me yesterday. I am not sure it is technically "Bali Belly" but possibly, I'd just write it off as something that is bound to happen after being in Indonesia for over a month. Luckily, I came equipped with a badass medicine bag full of anything a traveler could possibly need. I have always been a walking pharmacy when I travel because if anyone is going to get sick abroad, it's me. I have seen plenty of doctors in my hotel rooms, even rode in an ambulance to a hospital in Italy, had puss pockets in my throat in Belize, threw up on the plane here due to a nut allergy, and now dealing with good old fashion traveler's belly. I will link a blog about my medicine kit here soon!

But tonight, we pack for a four-day trip to the Gili Islands! I am beyond excited as I have always heard from Bali goers, to prioritize the Gili Islands. They are 3 islands off the coast of Lombok: Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno. Gili T is the largest and is more of a party vibe, Gili Meno is a very laid-back and relaxing vibe nicknamed the honeymoon island, and Gili Air is Goldilocks - a perfect mix of the 2. We will be splitting our 4 days between Gili T and Gili Meno and I could not be more excited. We have a 1.5-hour fast boat ride in the early am and will be relaxing for our Memorial Weekend through Tuesday!

Hopefully, I will have nothing but great news to report, lots of pretty pictures, and be completely cured from this Bali Belly mishap! Cheers to our final week in Bali as well as my final week in my twenties! Woohoo, 30 here I come...