Posts Tagged ‘Indonesia’

Moving to Bali – A Brief Overview of the First Six Months

Written by Kate • July 4, 2019 •
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the pool and yard at our first villa
The tropical plants and large pool in our yard

In January 2019, my family and I moved to Bali, my partner, our 4 year old twins and me. We bought one way tickets and had two months of housing booked through Airbnb. Beyond that, we would just wing it.

Because of my passion for yoga, we decided to try Ubud first to see if it was a good fit. We were so fortunate to find a house right near the Monkey Forest and had to walk past by countless monkeys to and from the street.

They grabbed at our bags and at the fruit off the trees at our villa. They were scary and thrilling at the same time.

Baby, held by Mommy
Photo Credit: Dion Hinchcliffe

I started at the Yoga Barn, taking classes six days a week. I needed the walk, the adult interaction, and the exercise. I was badly out of shape and getting back into shape was difficult. I almost wondered if I was too old, at 50, to get into good shape and realized that was a silly question. My children are fours years old. Their Mommy needs to be in the best shape possible, as fit as possible, to help them have a great childhood. And this thought served as all I motivation I needed.

We met our Balinese babysitter, Kadek, who would take care of our kids for most of the next few months, allowing me time to do my yoga, get some massages, shop for food and essentials, and see Ubud a bit. My partner worked in a bedroom while the twins got used to Kadek, who eventually became a trusted and beloved friend.

The kids checking out the rice terraces at our first lunch
Rice terraces at lunch

The first month was spent in Nyuh Kuning, a beautiful small village to the west of the Yoga Barn and south of Ubud Center. The second was in Peliatan, in a very cute villa that had connecting bedrooms and twins beds for the kids. This home also had two part time staff, who did a lot of the cooking and all of the laundry. Such a treat!

We then had to renew our visas, so we chose Singapore to visit. Singapore is not my cup of tea but there some great moments there. More on Singapore in a later post.

Then the village of Mas, and then the village of Lodtunduh for another month. After Lodtunduh, we decided to move to Sanur to allow the kids more access to their favorite activities in Bali, the beach and the indoor playground Peek A Boo.

For our second visa renewal, we decided to head to Malaysia instead. My partner was traveling for business so it was just me and the twins for 2 nights/3 days. I love Kuala Lumpur (KL). What an absolute treat. More on KL in a later post!

Sawyer uses his shirt to hold a bunch of sand, on cloud 9
Sawyer in his happy place, the beach.

Then back to Sanur for a few more months. We’re now about to head to KL on our second visa renewal trip and we intend to get social visas this time so we can stay the remaining 4 months of our trip before we head to Turkey in November and Chamonix, France for December through February 2020. We’ll back in Bali in March 2020, if all goes as planned.

So far, so good.