i haven't blogged about bali for the longest time. BUT it doesn't mean i never think of the beautiful island. i think about it everyday. i imagine what my house is going to be. i imagine my dog, my new environment, new friends, even imagining a new pink surfboard!
i am very very busy with work now. i don't have the luxury of the time to go browse online and do research. all i can do now is read forums, look at the beautiful photos of bali in flickr.com and imagine myself in bali.
i don't want to get too obsessed with this moving to bali thing since im not really moving as in living and getting a job there. i'm just going to live there for a month. i know one month is not enough to know what its like to live like a true balinese (although that is not my main goal) so i am still contemplating to stay on for about two or three months more. i'm just worried about the visa thing. i don't want to go through all those visa applications process. i just don't have the patience for it. i will settle with one month for now and will decide later on. i don't want to call it a month-long holiday. i don't want this to be categorized as holiday. i want to actually live and be one of the locals. holiday to me is staying at nice fancy hotels and do all those touristy stuff. i am done with all of that in bali (fine, not all cuz apparantly 8 days was not enough and i was too scared about bomb shit that i only got to hit the beach on our 6th day in bali! pathetic, no?) i am still going to do some sight-seeing but i don't want to do it in a rented car with a driver. i want to use a bike and drive it myself (speaking of which, the driver's license is going to be another issue. for the love of god i can't drive a car and i'm so dependent on my driver!)
all the hardcore planning and extensive detail research will be put on hold for now. V is looking for a house for me now and will send me photos of the houses she has viewed. i know its too early but i want everything to be prepared when i move there.
right now i am eyeing on kuta townhouses in jalan pasar agung, kuta. i know i said i don't want anything modern as i want to stay in a humble balinese home but the pool is very inviting! hahah! i spoke to a nice man named adi and he said there's an available 1-bedroom unit for next year and i get 10% off from my total bill. i hope my friend A who is in bali now will check the unit for me (and send me photos as well!) but i'm not sure if townhouses will allow pets in the unit down. if they don't then i guess i will have to look for some place else where i can take care of indie.
i am still thinking if i want the puppy to wait for me by the doorstep or i'll pick it up myself from, um, wherever indie's from. hehe!
okay, enough about my bali dreams. for now. i have to work hard to fund this project.
only God knows i am extremely seriously excited! =)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
bali birthday
we touched down denpasar airport at 11pm on monday night. it was the eve of my birthday.
"this is it!" i thought. i have been dreaming of going to bali since my cousin showed me her honeymoon photos 10 years ago. paying for my plane ticket was actually seeing my dream come true.
"6 more days darling... counting down to our holiday!" that's his text message a week before our trip. and everyday since then we did a countdown through text messages. we started organizing our trip two months before our target departure date, which is the eve of my birthday.
so where was i? oh yeah, at the airport. a nice man from the hotel named D picked us up. i was so giddy to see my name on the a small placard! A, my travel companion, talked to him in bahasa and after that D shooked my hand and greeted me a happy birthday. awww! my first birthday greeting! =)
we settled at this beautiful 10-room hotel in sanur: tropical bali hotel. and even in darkness i can say the place is beautifully done. lovely. perfect. the owners greeted me a happy birthday as well. yay! "im turning 26 any minute soon!" and the minute the clock struck 12, A prepared 2 glasses of chivas, handed me a lei to put on my head ("for photo purposes", he said), lit up his lighter ("sorry, no candles on a birthday cake") and sang happy birthday. he is the sweetest! =)
few minutes later, text messages started to flood my phone.
"happy birthday! where are you now????"
it was everyone's question. this year i decided to silently celebrate my birthday: no themed parties, no out of town trips and island hopping with girlfriends, no overdrinking and dancing with my former colleagues, no overeating with my boys, and no intimate dinner dates with a loved one. this year, it was just me and a good friend in a far away beautiful island and slowly dreaming of something bigger....
"this is it!" i thought. i have been dreaming of going to bali since my cousin showed me her honeymoon photos 10 years ago. paying for my plane ticket was actually seeing my dream come true.
"6 more days darling... counting down to our holiday!" that's his text message a week before our trip. and everyday since then we did a countdown through text messages. we started organizing our trip two months before our target departure date, which is the eve of my birthday.
so where was i? oh yeah, at the airport. a nice man from the hotel named D picked us up. i was so giddy to see my name on the a small placard! A, my travel companion, talked to him in bahasa and after that D shooked my hand and greeted me a happy birthday. awww! my first birthday greeting! =)
we settled at this beautiful 10-room hotel in sanur: tropical bali hotel. and even in darkness i can say the place is beautifully done. lovely. perfect. the owners greeted me a happy birthday as well. yay! "im turning 26 any minute soon!" and the minute the clock struck 12, A prepared 2 glasses of chivas, handed me a lei to put on my head ("for photo purposes", he said), lit up his lighter ("sorry, no candles on a birthday cake") and sang happy birthday. he is the sweetest! =)
few minutes later, text messages started to flood my phone.
"happy birthday! where are you now????"
it was everyone's question. this year i decided to silently celebrate my birthday: no themed parties, no out of town trips and island hopping with girlfriends, no overdrinking and dancing with my former colleagues, no overeating with my boys, and no intimate dinner dates with a loved one. this year, it was just me and a good friend in a far away beautiful island and slowly dreaming of something bigger....
Monday, June 16, 2008
things i need to settle
1. house to rent for a month. i don't want to move into any fancy villa with 'private pools' and all that luxury holidaymakers normally get. i want to rent a small one-bedroom house that's made of wood. i don't want a modern house, although a pool is nice but i just want to live normally, as in like a local in bali and not a tourist. i want to meet and greet balinese neighbors. and maybe even see monkeys in the morning.
2. gather up a few friends. i already made a two special friends in bali. one was my friend's friend who works at a popular bar in kuta and the other one's a nice mid 40's catholic driver who took me around during my first three days in bali. let's give them fictional names: V and F (obviously its their initials) so yeah, V is such a sweet girl and i love her to bits. she calls me sweetheart and darling and dear. F, on the other hand, seems to be a good father. he's only got one son and he's very proud of him (from all his stories, i can surely say he raised him so well) from these two people, i can extend my network. i already met one through V, his name is I. I is V's suitor, and a very consistent at that. i also met a few local surfers and vendors along kuta beach while suntanning. i know they won't remember me but i sure do remember their faces and when i see them i will give them a big hug (especially that one old lady who came up to me five times cuz she wants to give me a massage for 100,000 rupiah. the next time i come back i will finally let her massage me even if hate it so much!)
3. find a good surfing school. i have over 5 surfing school brochures which i took from the hotel lobby. surfer girl's got my attention because of 2 reasons: 1. i went to an all-girl school from kindergarten to high school, 11 years of my life and i think its just right for me to go to an all-girl surfing school. hehe! seriously though, i miss the all-girls environment. it's crazy and beautiful! 2. their transport and surfboards are pink! and pink is my favorite color. i will be posting specific entries about surfing schools later on and pictures are going to be everywhere!
4. adopt a dog. i need a house that's pet friendly. i already looked at the kuta townhouses but it looks so, um, cosmopolitan. and i don't like living in buildings anymore. i want a landed property where taking an elevator is not necessary for you to get to your home! i hate dogs, i hate pets, i hate everything that needs to be taken care of 'cuz i don't think i can even take care of myself. but this time, i'm going to do it. this is one major test of patience. i will adopt a nice little puppy and i'm gonna name him/her INDIE (for indonesia). indie is going to be so happy and healthy living with me. she/he is going to hit the beach with me everyday and we will have so much fun together!
2. gather up a few friends. i already made a two special friends in bali. one was my friend's friend who works at a popular bar in kuta and the other one's a nice mid 40's catholic driver who took me around during my first three days in bali. let's give them fictional names: V and F (obviously its their initials) so yeah, V is such a sweet girl and i love her to bits. she calls me sweetheart and darling and dear. F, on the other hand, seems to be a good father. he's only got one son and he's very proud of him (from all his stories, i can surely say he raised him so well) from these two people, i can extend my network. i already met one through V, his name is I. I is V's suitor, and a very consistent at that. i also met a few local surfers and vendors along kuta beach while suntanning. i know they won't remember me but i sure do remember their faces and when i see them i will give them a big hug (especially that one old lady who came up to me five times cuz she wants to give me a massage for 100,000 rupiah. the next time i come back i will finally let her massage me even if hate it so much!)
3. find a good surfing school. i have over 5 surfing school brochures which i took from the hotel lobby. surfer girl's got my attention because of 2 reasons: 1. i went to an all-girl school from kindergarten to high school, 11 years of my life and i think its just right for me to go to an all-girl surfing school. hehe! seriously though, i miss the all-girls environment. it's crazy and beautiful! 2. their transport and surfboards are pink! and pink is my favorite color. i will be posting specific entries about surfing schools later on and pictures are going to be everywhere!
4. adopt a dog. i need a house that's pet friendly. i already looked at the kuta townhouses but it looks so, um, cosmopolitan. and i don't like living in buildings anymore. i want a landed property where taking an elevator is not necessary for you to get to your home! i hate dogs, i hate pets, i hate everything that needs to be taken care of 'cuz i don't think i can even take care of myself. but this time, i'm going to do it. this is one major test of patience. i will adopt a nice little puppy and i'm gonna name him/her INDIE (for indonesia). indie is going to be so happy and healthy living with me. she/he is going to hit the beach with me everyday and we will have so much fun together!
i guess that's about it. i know i will have to consider more things as time passes by. we'll see. =)
the dream
from my other blog...
bali is THE place to fall in love! yay! =)
so now i have a dream. i dream that i am going to live in bali. for a month. i will raise 10 million rupiah and rent a one - bedroom apartment there. i will learn how to surf and will forget everything about the past. and no, i will not ask him to move to bali with me. i want to live on my own, just me in my 1 bedroom apartment. =)
i have nine months to save 10 million rupiah. march or
april 2009 is the tentative month.
this sounds weird but this dream keeps me moving on each day. i'm so drained at work that i need something to look forward to. something i am excited about. something special, something important.
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