Is This... Home?

I've lost track of how many times I've visited Bali.

"Many times" is the only answer I know.

I've been there as I was younger. I've been there during my young adulthood, and getting more and more often as I grew older. I've been there with my family. My best friends. My significant other. My love of my life which is myself. I've been there for leisure, for business, for temporary living, for soul searching, you name it. During Ramadan, during Christmas, during Eid, even during Nyepi, you fvcking name it!

You want to hear something inappropriate but could really be the sole answer to this strong connection between me and Bali? My parents went to the island for their honeymoon. Not long after their wedding. So I might be conceived there. Ew, really, but this is important to track where all these feelings came from.

But hey.

Aside of that sole disturbing fact,

I do have this very deep connection with the island.

I feel like there's something that keeps calling me back. I swear I've mentioned this one too many times in my previous Bali posts, but this time, somehow, the calling gets bigger day by day, gets louder and stronger.

The biggest wake-up call happened just in my recent 2-month stay in Bali. I was in Ubud for two weeks, and I found this local laundry service which was ran by a very friendly and warm Balinese family. My last visit to their compound was specifically nice, ended up with me hanging around their super nice Balinese house drinking Balinese coffee talking about Balinese stuff and eventually...

About buying a house in Bali.

Honestly, for the whole 2-month stay I've been having that idea. A lot. Especially during my random visits to areas a bit further off Canggu, around Pererenan and Munggu. The rides across paddy fields, passing by local houses interspersed by expat villas, feeling the vibes of pristine untouched local life situated not so far from Bali's infamous hurrah—the idea was just, so nice.

And that visit to the Balinese family house seemed like validated my then-unnoticed dream. It didn't have to be exactly a Balinese house, because from what I heard from the Balinese family that kind of house is legacy and you can't just build something like that as a non-Balinese. I didn't even know what type of house, or even villa, that I wanted.

I wanted a house, in Bali. That's it.

Maybe that's why I've always felt this way towards Bali. Maybe that's why I constantly get all those callings from invincible Bali spirits. Maybe that's why I got all those wounds from falling off my motorbike, so I had a blood contract with Bali—and maybe that's why I got all those stitches on my foot, so I'd be forever bind by the story of Bali.

Alright, this is it. I've had enough signs. There's just one thing left. Not a question, just a confirmation for me before I really am gonna go with it.

I'm not supposed to ask this because...

I feel like I know the answer. Know too damn well.

But for one last time, I really want to confirm to myself.

Isn't This... Home?

Stitches

Okay about the accident.

Yea, let's cut the crap because I've made my preambules on my previous post eh.

So this, is a tale very unlikely to happen in real life.

Why, because, it could really get superstitious the more I think about it. And this is Bali. An island full of spiritual air and unseen prowess. I'm not practicing Hinduism, but this kind of thing, for me, will still happen anyway regardless any religions.

Wait! This has nothing to do with ghosts or goblins or any horror shit, no. This is more about karma. About getting punishments from things you're not supposed to do but you do, about getting what you deserve from things you're not supposed to say but you say.

Now.

It was on October 30th. Halloween Night...

A friend of mine was apparently also in Bali. With his newlywed wife. I knew he was coming, but we hadn't made any appointments yet so that day, I still explored by myself. It was not until I finished swimming in southern Bali when I got a text from him.

Now this guy, is one of my best friends from high school. A guy I talked a lot of shit with and joked around with, even until today. So our texts back then was just like that. Full of foolish returns, and somehow inappropriate. But in summary, all we wanted to arrange was to meet at a bar later that night.

Then I went back to my hotel to get myself ready. With sheer excitement of going to a Halloween party -which by the way, is always an occasion frowned upon by my Dad- alongside some friends, I jumped to the shower, cleansed the sea salt off my body, grabbed my towel, swung my arms to wrap the cloth around my back and bang—

I elbowed the glass rack. Which fell instantly off the wall.

On it were super heavy, made-of-stone toiletries containers.

All those flew down to the ground, not on the floor...

But on my foot instead.

The shower water then turned red. At first I thought it was just a scratch, but for seconds after, it turned to be a small pond of blood. I tried to check my foot which was covered by the debris of the glass, and there it was, opened like Sauron's eye, the wound from the incident.

I've never had an open wound that wide. In fact, as far as I remembered, I never had an open wound at all. I'm a very careful, calm person. As a kid, I tend to just stay at home reading comics, watching cartoons, playing consoles as opposed to my little brother who were outside all the time, playing soccer, swimming through the drainages, got scratches and stitches and broken ankles.

So seeing this kind of shocked me, to the point that I didn't quiet believe it. I was rather in denial, to be honest, thinking that it would eventually close if I dab cottons and apply Minyak Tawon on it—the usual way I treat scratches from my cats. But it was really wide, and so I called my Mom just to make sure that it was just an okay wound, but her respond was not the type I expected. She -and my aunt who was just near her by that time- urged me to go to nearest hospital. But a hospital is not an option. The nearest one is quiet far, and the blood wouldn't stop coming out of the wound.

But I know God already planned this way ahead so He prepared everything for me just so neatly. Just across my hotel, there was a clinic. With 24-hour emergency. I was sure this was an emergency so there I went, with my right leg walking so weirdly thanks to my over-exposed foot wound.

The nurse on call was just like my Mom. She didn't see it as something that can be treated the usual way. A fucking stitch operation needed to be done, she said -without word 'fucking' of course. I really didn't fancy that suggestion. I always hated the idea of getting stitches. Out of all my family members, I was the only one clean and free from stitches -except that one from my circumcised weewee. And I didn't plan to lose my stitch-virginity, and lose my world record, here, in this small clinic somewhere in Bali.

She wasn't fully sure though, as she needed to wait for the doctor on call to examined my wound first and made the decision. He was on the other clinic by that time, on his way to the one I was, after receiving the call from the nurse. So I had to wait in vain, still hanging on to the small and somehow false hope of being able to walk out of that clinic stitchlessly.

The doctor arrived, and with no further ado, repeated what the nurse said. Again, I was speechless. I asked if there were any other ways to avoid stitches, but no, there were no other ways. I asked if it was okay if I just got regular treatments regardless doctor's suggestions, and yes, apparently I could, but then I had to sign this fucking contract to which I stated that I refused to get doctor's treatment so I wouldn't sue him, nor the clinic, if anything were to happen to me in the future as the effect of my refusal.

FUCK IT OF COURSE IT SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!?

How could there be such fuckable contract in this world, it was beyond me.

Okay. Long story short.

They started operating my foot.

That experience was beyond any imagination of mine. The worst part was when the doctor injected anesthesia into the circumference of my open wound. Several times. And it killed me each time. Metaphorically of course. But seriously, the pain was nasty I wish I never had to experience that again.

Once the chemical worked, my foot started feeling numb. And that's when the stitches came in. My God. So that was how it felt like to be stitched. To have needles pierced through my skin, out of the other side,  then got pulled and the whole thread was like sliding smoothly following the movement of the needle. FUCK! Even now my stitch tingles if I remembered those moments! I could feel the whole process, as the needles and threads were dancing. It's as if I was Woody when he was being sewn on that reparation scene in Toy Story 2. Thank God it was painless.

During the whole surgery -is it too much if I called that a 'surgery'?- I video-called my Mom. You know, just to keep me sane. The doctor and the nurse kept entertaining me though, while they're digging through my skin and get the wound closed off. But theirs were just formality, and I need somebody who would actually entertain me. Gosh I still can't believe I had to go through that all alone.

The not-even-an-hour surgery felt like a lifetime. You know the typical sayings in books or movies where a dying man sees his whole life flashing before him? Yes I had the exact same experience. I was practically semi-dying. Because my whole trip had now been ruined. No, not just because now I had to temporarily walk like a crippled, but more because, this stitched foot, can NOT get wet during recovery.

I mean.

How could you NOT GET WET, in freaking BALI?

It was as if I could do nothing. And that's true! Because my plan for this long trip was to discover hidden beaches, explore further off coastal villages, ride up north to visit as many waterfalls as possible, AND IT ALL INVOLVES GETTING WET!

So yea all those ideas of me swimming, skinny dipping, sitting under the harsh waterfalls, snorkeling like the first time I had my WFB, all just flashed before my eyes. And practically everything else I did before, including the Green Bowl beach I just visited right before I went home and took shower, and everything else I should be doing after, including that Halloween party I should be doing with my friends, all just flashed before my eyes.

The fact that my trip semi-ended and all my plans crumbled hurt even more than the stitches itself. Even hurt more than when the anesthesia wore off.

But yea, I think that's the karma I deserved.

I couldn't think of anything else but those words I exchanged with my friends right before the incident, but I'm pretty sure there were more than that.

Maybe because I planned for that Halloween Party which my Dad forbid. And as a gift from karma, I got the literal cosplay of being Frankenstein. On my foot.

Or maybe it's the playlist I set for the trip. It had song "Crash Into Me" in it, and there you go, the heavy ass shampoo bottle and the glass rack really crashed into me foot.

Or maybe, this was simply just God's reminder that I couldn't be too excited about anything I planned, because anything could be flipped in just a sec by Him.

The artists.

The art.
Of course I have the photo of the open-wound version and the unveiled,
un-bandaged stitched version but even I could faint from looking at those lol.
Let me know if you're curious though :)

The canceled Halloween Party gang.
Okay you know what's creepy? My friend got his own portion of karma.
He was driving a bike in Nusa Penida and his wife got stung by the exhaust pipe.
It was quiet a terrible experience from what I heard. Messy.
This karma game is really not a joke.

Well I couldn't be mad about this.

I know karma exists and I know how it works.

Although...

What happened not so long after this incident, though it was still a part of this karma saga, really drove me to the verge of my sanity. But I'm not gonna tell you in this post because otherwise it'll be a novel.

So this karma-vibe story,

Is stitched to the next post

Work From Bali: The Encore

xxx.

Just the recap of the 2-month stay.

xxx

The 3 Musketeers

Let me open this post with a photo. 

And now, let me switch to Indonesian.

KARENA GUE MAU BANYAK NGOCEH DAN APALAGI INI OCEHANNYA BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN ORANG-ORANG BAHLUL DI ATAS JADI YA LEBIH ENAK PAKE BAHASA INDONESIA GAK SIIIIIHHH???

Oke.

Ini kisah perjalanan tiga bujang ke Pulau Dewata. Sebuah trip yang telah menjadi wacana berwindu-windu lamanya, yang akhirnya kesampean juga. Trip bersama bagi mereka, untuk pertama kalinya.

Wk sedih amat. Tapi emang iya, gue, Werdhi dan Ocit gak pernah jalan-jalan bareng sih. Seinget gue ya, maap kalo ternyata udah pernah. Ini juga baru kesampean karena Werdhi mau nikah. Jadi mau ala-ala Bachelor's Trip gitu deh. Soalnya pas Willy kemaren kan ada Bachelor Party semalam suntuk yang berakhir dengan tewasnya seseorang -gatau siapa, dan jangan tanya- dan ditutup dengan deep, sexual talk di apartemennya -siapa lagi kalo bukan- Natasya. Plus si Mpi ulangtaun, dan karena dia di Bali, ya pas banget gak siiiii?????

Long story short, akhirnya bisa terjadi juga trip ini. Cuma 4 hari karena susah cari jadwal yang bener buat semuanya. Itu pun hari terakhir gue masih keganggu dengan miting-miting gak penting yang mengharuskan gue untuk existing. Jadi kalo ditotal-total ya cuma 3 hari dah quality time-nya.

Anyways, gue gak hadir pada kesempatan kali ini untuk menjelaskan satu per satu apa yang kami lakukan dan kunjungi selama di sana. Seru kok, beneran, dan mostly belum pernah gue lakukan juga -ke beberapa secret beaches, nonton kecak di Uluwatu, sama ke Nusa Penida. Tapi again, bukan soal itu yang mau gue bahas lebih dalam.

Tapi soal kebersamaan kita.

Jijik gak? Jijik sih, kayak, orang-orang ini gak cocok gitu gue "so sweet"-in wkwkwkwkwk. Tapi kali ini gue mau serius dulu deh. Karena jujur, dari kurang lebih 10 taun kenal sama orang-orang ini, gue belum pernah merasa jadi sedekat ini sama mereka. Traveling does show us the true colors of people, right?

Dan gue mau mengakui sesuatu, tapi semoga manusia-manusia yang terlibat di dalam pengakuan ini gak pernah sekalipun menemukan postingan gue ini sehingga mereka gak kepedean sianjir males banget kalo udah pada kepedean.

Oke fokus.

Ini pengakuan gue.

Dari sekian banyaknya trip gue ke Bali, trip yang satu ini, bersama Werdhi, Ocit, dan sekilas ditambah Mpi dan Dindut juga, menjadi salah satu yang paling berkesan yang pernah gue lewatin. BUKAN BERARTI YANG LAIN GAK BERKESAN YA, WER, CIT, JADI SEKALI LAGI, JANGAN KEPEDEAN. Lantas kenapa?

Karena gue merasa kita semua rooting for this trip.

Semuanya semangat, semuanya gak ngikut-ngikut aja atau terserah-terserah aja. Gak ada yang males-malesan -bayangin seorang Ocit bisa excited tuh apa bukan sebuah pencapaian!?!?- dan gak ada yang berpangku tangan. Ya mungkin karena cuma bertiga anyway ya, jadi gampang buat saling mengingatkan -dan saling menghajar kalau-kalau ada satu yang mulai kurang ajar.

Well jujur Aries-nya gue mayan keluar sih di trip kemaren, di mana gue bertindak sebagai ibu kos yang ngumpulin duit semua orang buat kita belanjain bareng-bareng. Jadi gak sebentar-sebentar itung-itungan karena semua udah gue yang pegang dan gue yang bayar. Dan untungnya dua begundal itu mangut-mangut bae. Gue juga yang mastiin kita harus bergerak dan serba tepat waktu biar gak ada plan-plan yang miss HAHA maaf ya jiwa solo traveler gue kadang emang gak bisa dibendung, padahal lagi traveling rame-rame :">

Alarm yang gue pasang tiap malem biar kita selalu jojing selama di Bali.

Trus ya, gue juga ngerasa trip ini lancar banget.

Gak ada drama, gak ada sungut-sungutan, all smooth sailing and flawless. Ujan gak masalah, yang ada malah joget-joget berdua Ocit di depan stage Finns bareng bule-bule sok akrab. Kehalang odalan on the way ke Sanur gak masalah, meskipun deg-degan yha karena kalo ketinggalan boat ke Nusa Penida berarti besokannya mesti do it all over again padahal hari itu udah sampe Sanur trus bingung mau ngapain.

Siapa pun yang ngasih ide, yang lain pasti hayuk. Nyanyi-nyanyi kecak sepanjang perjalanan dari Uluwatu ke Seminyak, hayuk. Turun 100 lantai ke pantai bawah Kelingking, hayuk -meskipun Ocit kayak udah mau tewas. Beli minuman, hayuk -yha ini mah emang doyan. Ciwik-ciwik didrop di lobi hotel trus cowok-cowok bye langsung ke pantai, hayuk. Gue disuruh bawa motor melintasi rimba Nusa Penida meskipun beberapa kali mau kepleset, hayuk -gila ye seorang Vicky Amin disuru motoran di pulau yang masih 80% alam, sadis emang GAK LAGI-LAGI!? Werdhi disuruh boncengin gue yang udah setengah tidur jadi mesti nyetir sambil jagain biar gue gak jomplang dari motor, hayuk. Ocit disuruh traktir gue makan Subuh-Subuh karena dia yang bikin kita meninggalkan La Favela jam 2 malem, hayuk -lagian siapa sih orang di dunia ini yang masih pagi udah pulang!? Mpi disuruh nyamperin ke villa atau makan ikan di Sanur, hayuk. Dindut disuruh jangan flight pulang dulu trus extend satu malem bareng kita, hayuk. OCIT DICENGIN KARENA TIBA-TIBA PULANG BAWA BINTANG RADLER 0%, HAYUK -HAHA NGAKAK BANGET SIH INI UDAH RADLER 0% PULA MENDING MINUM UC1000 ANJIRRR BERFAEDAH ADA VITAMINNYA.

Ini... apa karena kita udah dewasa atau gimana dah jadinya pada legowo gini? Gampang amat padaan wkwk. Ya dari dulu juga emang gampangan sih kita, main culik menculik jaman SMA udah bukan merupakan sebuah hal yang patut dipertanyakan. Tapi ini beneran deh, orang kan kalo udah traveling pasti punya agenda masing-masing ya, ini kok lagi pada luvly banget???

Well.

Sepertinya gue tau alasannya.

Yang mana juga merupakan alasan terakhir kenapa menurut gue trip ini berkesan banget.

Karena kita tau, mungkin ini gak bakal keulang lagi.

At least buat gue. Gatau deh Ocit Werdhi pada mikir gini apa nggak. Tapi ya coba diinget-inget lagi. Trip ini aja terjadi buat celebrate Werdhi yang mau nikah. Which means after this dia udah bukan lagi manusia lajang. Which means cari waktunya dia udah hampir impossible karena bakal udah punya keluarga. Willy aja akhirnya gak ikutan trip ini kan.

Ocit pun diem-diem udah punya gandengan -jir siapa sangka. Gada yang tau kapan dia nyusul Werdhi. Kayaknya sih very soon. Ini orang dari jaman kapan tau selalu bilang dengan gaya sotoynya, "gue sih walopun udah kawin tetep bakal bisa kumpul-kumpul" cuman ya tau apa kita heyyyyyy anak muda?? Manusia boleh berencana tapi Allah yang memutuskan -- Hadits Qudsi.

Well kalo ketemunya ketengan sih gue yakin masih bisa kejadian. Kayak gue sama Ocit only, atau sama Werdhi dan keluarganya, atau janjian sama Dindut pas lagi sama-sama di Bali. Kalo sama Mpi sih yaudah lah paling gampang ini wkwkwkwkwkwk. Tapi buat bisa ramean kayak gini, gue rasa bakal susah sih. Ngumpulin buat ketemu sebentar di Jakarta aja ujung-ujungnya kembali jadi wacana. Apa lagi trip yang harus commit begini?

Yah, mungkin karena itu kita jadi lebih rooting dan semangat buat trip ini.

Jadi lebih lepas, lebih ikhlas. Biar jadi penghujung yang manis buat masa muda kita.

Suka banget versi ketawa karir ini bangsat :')

Paan si.

3 Musketeers kan vibe-nya harusnya macho, penuh aksi, penuh ambisi. Di Bali kemaren udah kayak gitu, tapi napa di postingan jadi mendadak mellow gini wk.

Ya gapapa lah sekali-sekali.

Dari awal juga udah dibilang ini bakal jijik so...

Here's to complete the jijik-ness of the 3 musketeers.

Tuh bonus Mbok-mbok genggeus.

Well now you guys know.

That one of those Musketeers,

Is actually soft on the inside

Dancing with a Stranger

Imagine that you meet somebody you know at heart.

But this time they're acting different. Stranger different.

You went to this club you've always been to, danced the moves you've always danced. And that was it. No talks, no exchanges. Just dances to the music, as strangers usually do.

It's exciting, yet on the same time, confusing.

Because they seem to be ignoring you. Yet they want to connect with you. You seem to know exactly what you need to do. But still they're playing hard to get. Their moves, their signals, make you think about the things they do. Until they left, without saying anything. You know they want you to come, because basically you know them. So you come. To their place. And they light the fire. And now you know exactly what you have to do. You take control. Start dancing again the way you danced inside the club. This time more intimately, more warm, as if the stranger in them had gone, and that somebody you know at heart finally come back.

Crazy how they play with you like that.

But this stranger feels addictive.

That when you wake up the next morning, you feel like you're clearly not over them.

That when the night comes back on, you feel like you don't want to be alone tonight.

Look what you made me do, Bali.

I'm dancing with somebody new.

Your new you.

It's still you, yes,

But it's like dancing with a stranger

Two Sides of A Coin

I've been to Bali for, too many times.

But never once in those "too many times", did I visit the island as

A solo traveler.

Crazy how I've never been there alone! Because I always travel solo. Vicky Amin equals solo traveler. Yet Vicky Amin never been solo traveling to Bali? Yea I myself don't know exactly why. It's always been with my friends, or my family, but never with just myself.

So it just felt so weird to treat Bali this time as I treated any other travel destinations. Because all these years, I've always traveled Bali differently. Nicer hotel, nicer dining, car rentals, not too ambitious itinerary, because well, I was always with somebody. Now that I was alone, it's always the cheaper local foods, and going here and there by ojek, and packed schedule, and even a hostel with sharing dormitory! Something I always do when I solo travel abroad, but never even once in Bali!

I even made new friends during this super short trip. A French, an Australian, and a numerous locals. One was my dorm roommate. One I met at the club. The rest were everywhere else. Exchanging stories, exchanging contacts, listening to each others small talks and brags. Something I always do when I solo travel abroad, but never even once in Bali!

It's so weird to be for once a traveler in this place, and not a tourist.

But it's even weirder because I was bearing one other role there.

Also a new one, a role I never did while traveling to the island.

A business traveler.

Yes. The reason why I dragged myself and forced my ass to do this semi-urgent solo trip to Bali, was partly because I had this article to cover. For a Singaporean news portal. What it was about, and who I was contributing to, it's still a secret because I'm currently still cooking it.

I don't know which part I enjoyed the most: solo traveling part, or this article covering part. Because I'm actually living life as a travel contributor here! Making appointments with sources, coming down to multiple venues to gather information, holding a freaking interview with each informants, getting completely-new insights while trying to dig some other completely-different things, pivoting through my plans and making last-minute changes, discussing the topic with my editor remotely, starting to write down anything that came up my mind, laying down restlessly thinking about how I could nail the final article, dang! Can I stay like this forever??

With the fact that this was also my first solo trip to Bali, turned this trip to be wholesome despite the short duration. At some point I even felt like the 3-day trip brought way richer experience than any of my previous Bali trips, combined.

Just a hint of the article I'm covering.

Mandatory solo traveling memento: Vicky Amin's selfie.

Imagine.

It was just only two of my faces, two sides of me which colored this trip.

What if I came here also as an explorer? Or a content creator? Or an investor?

And what if I came here for a week? Or six months? Or even move in here?

There are many other Bali adventures waiting for me to uncover.

So maybe next time I must arrive here with my other side.

Which one?

Silence

Whenever I think of Bali, I don’t know, I think of “Home”.

Sounds cliche yes, but blah who cares—I really do feel so. Because every time I’m there, I feel I’m welcomed. Like I belong there. And every time I leave, unlike any other places where I’ll feel bummed because I have no idea when to come back, I never feel that way for Bali. Because I know sooner or later, no, SOONER, I’ll find myself back in the island again.

And so my way of traveling to Bali has been gradually changing. From visiting the tourist spots, either with friends or family, to the nights of endless clubbing, to island hopping, go all the way to the furthest point and finally recently just come and go in a staycationing style, now I don’t feel I have to be in a rush and forcing my time to go here and there every time I return to Bali. The island, from the place where I seek wild fun, has now become the place where I seek peace.

It finally brought me to the idea of going there during the island’s less-popular time to visit, which has always been a dream to me in past few years. Yes, I went there during their sacred day,

Nyepi

It’s a religious new year celebration for Hindu people where they will be bidding their gratitude to God for the past year, and cleansing themselves for the upcoming days, by staying inside their houses for full 24 hours, strictly no going out, no lights on, no electricity and no activity at all. And this just doesn’t apply only to Balinese—it’s for everybody, including expats, and tourists.

Coming to Bali during Nyepi, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I saw it as a way to bring up my peace-in-Bali game to the next level. And so this year I did join their celebration.

Before

I arrived one day prior the celebration. It felt weird because the locals left the central area for their own hometowns and villages to celebrate Nyepi with their families. I’ve never, EVER seen Bali so empty. But still I went out during Nyepi eve to catch their traditional ogoh-ogoh parade -it’s a very amazing bunch of mythical creature floats operated by real people! Then back to the hotel room, to start the sacred contemplation.

Oh, hello, Mr Ogoh Ogoh

During

I woke up feeling normal. Because in hotels, everything works the way it usually works. Electricity still on, wi-fi still on, staff still work—what’s different is that NO ONE can leave the hotel precinct. Not even a step out of the front gate. It’s just nice to stay inside maximizing the room and hotel facilities, read books, watch movies, snack on the provisions bought just the day before, actually talk with other guests—for us non-Balinese it’s a good way to unwind and relax yourself!

The vibe was totally... paradise-like...

I several times took a peek on the residential areas behind the hotel and man, it’s totally dead empty. I imagine staying inside, with lights off, no TV and especially this year, local government helps enhancing their spiritual experience by disabling cellular connection! I crazy admire their total willingness to make the most of their ritual!

It's totally a life you need after months of endless working!

So the sun starts gliding down. Dinner is served early because the hotel outdoor needs to stick to the rules of no lights. Pools cleared, lounges and lobby are emptied, and everyone returns to their rooms just before it’s completely dark. We are still allowed to turn the room lights on, but only two or three, and dimmed. Meanwhile outside, even just the corridor in front of room doors, are all out.

But that was one of the best back-to-nature experience to me. I went out, still, in complete darkness of the hallway, looked up to the sky, and the vast ocean of stars were there before my eyes. Bali was completely dark, so light pollution were totally lifted out that it made the sky so vividly clear to naked eyes.

After

6 AM the next day, everything went back to normal as if nothing happened before. There were some more traditional rituals, but most tourists felt like they needed to start exploring again and caught up to one day they ‘lost’—well, other tourist, not me.

Because this time, I was totally here to experience the celebration of Nyepi.

And so I did,

And it became the best silent treatment

I have. Ever. Received.

Terima Kasih, Dua Ribu Enam Belas

Each of 2013, 2014, and 2015,

Served different themes for me.

The combination of those three was all centered in traveling and my ambition to befriend the world, and my ultimate trip to Japan by the end of last year wrapped it up re~al good.

It was too big, and emotionally slash financially draining. So I promised myself that for the following year, 2016, I’d be staying still and just focusing on the other aspects of my life. The more realistic and essential aspects of my life.

And that’s why for 2016,

I assigned the 366 days as

“The Year of Settling Down”

This is the face of somebody who's ready to settle down. Taken in Bali, 00:02AM

The year of building my career. The year of figuring out what to really do with my life. The year of no big trips, no short-term jobs, no soon-resigning plans. No.

It's my year to start acting as most professionals do, daily.

All began by my first overseas-remote job with the company I did my internship with in Japan, as well as working on two more books I released this year, followed by a series of interviews I walked into –after all, work-from-home type of job won’t be enough right?– which led me to end up in Ogilvy. Yes, an advertising agency. I’m back in this industry HAHA. And this one is a big one not just locally, but worldwide. So no, I’m not planning to go out soon. I’m settling down.

Very "settling down" that even my traveling life revolved only around two of my favorite cities. However it was okay, because

It’s also my year to travel in a calmer sense as locals do, daily.

Opened the year in Bali (again), laying low in Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan, then returned to the island two months later for only relaxing at a good hotel and eating out here and there. Then when it came to my annual trip, I only flew to Singapore. Nothing big like the previous three, only Singapore, and all I did were just visiting an island, cycling with my earphones on, reading a book by the ocean, interacting with locals, eating out here and there. Then I went back to Bali again during Ramadan, which was, so not a trip regular tourists would want to do. But I committed to have a local-sensed type of journey so yea, there I was in Bali, fasting, and no swimming which was, kinda odd for a so-called Bali trip eh? Finally three months ago I was back in Singapore. For nothing but F1, and its awesome concert. A trip many of my friends and relatives responded with “Are you serious? Just F1 and then home?”. Well, “No”, I answered. “Because I also met some friends, even a highschool friend, and of course I went eating out here and there too,” so yea, I’m settling down with this habit.

So settling down that now, here I am, typing the last paragraphs of 2016's last post in Singapore (again), as I want this year to end in this dear city. Country. City—oh, whatever.

Anyways. Yea.

I want my career to be like exactly like what I'm doing. Regular ones where I need to commute like cool businessman, work on a desk like I’m a busy office worker. And writing ones too, where I bring my notepads everywhere I go, seen walking around public places carrying my laptop, or sitting on the corner of a hip coffee place somewhere. I wanted to settle down this way, and I did it this year.

And I want Bali and Singapore to be a part of my settling down plan too. Traveling back and forth to both cities for thrice each, waking up on the first day of 2016 in one, and counting down the last seconds of 2016 in another, well, it just showed how "I want them to be a part of my plan too" eh? I've always wanted to settle down with these cities, and it seems like I did.

But the best part of 2016 is

How these two, career and traveling,

Both went side by side so well all year long.

A type settling down I been dying to have.

And this, is the face of somebody whose "Settling Down" plan worked
the way he wanted it to be. Taken in Singapore, 00:25AM

And pretty soon, when I could add a little more of traveling, and less of work, I'll find every year me saying to myself—just like this year I'll say:

"Thank you, 2016.

Let's restart, shall we?"

Homey Holiday

I've been talking much about Bali.

How I adore the island, the atmosphere, the people, and of course, the scenery. I never get bored of this place, and I've always had the urge to write everything about it—from the very first time I landed my feet there, started blogging about it after the second visit, then back and forth, back and forth, with different stories and companions, until finally I reached the time that I don't feel like writing about it anymore. I'm still in love with Bali, I just gradually lose my interest to keep reporting about my journey every time I finish a trip.

Like after I returned from Lembongan during 2016 New Year holiday. It was sick and crazy nice, but I didn't even have the interest to write about that because I knew, I'd be back really soon. And I did. Just last weekend. Initially I'd want to not write anything about it.

But somehow, I can't.

Because this one was different.

All these years, I've always traveled to Bali with tons of objective. Exploring this side of Bali, that side of Bali, this beach, that beach, Gili, Menjangan, Lembongan, blah blah blah. All was fun, oh really. Never once in my lifetime I visited Bali, and had a bad time in there.

And now, as it seemed like I've been to almost all Bali's top destinations, I felt like it's time to enjoy the island in a new way. Not to spot a new place, but to celebrate the whole place, in a new way. A more relaxed way.

Yes, a way to live Bali,

With not much of an agenda.

I call it Bali staycation.

Enjoying the island, by doing nothing.

Hotel, swimming pool, hip eating places, hotel, swag cafes, laptop by the rice paddies, hotel, clubs, nice drinks, good meals, hotel, slow bike ride, book by the beach, hotel, bright sun, hotel, rain, hotel, cotton candy sunset, hotel, hotel, hotel.

Damn.

I stayed in Batu Belig area, and not even once going much too far away from my hotel. For some people it may be considered a waste of time, but, honestly, it was really worth the waste. Beyond valuable, precisely.

Because apparently,

Bali is a good place to apply

The art of procrastination.

I've unlocked another way to enjoy the island.

And I've always found more reasons to return.

Well Bali,

You just can't ever fail me

In Summary

Ever since I made a book of my own,

I never stop scheming for more projects.

Like, if I travel here, what can I write to sell to publishers or editors? Ya lately it's always been like, let's sit down and think about the value I can obtain from each places, then go. If nothing's precious, find somewhere else! Starting from months ago I always made myself sure to always bring some stories back home from a trip. And to be honest, I even have like six to seven rough titles for my next books.

Including Bali.

It's been like forever since I want to release a guide book about Bali. Because, well, I fond for the place. It's not that I've been to every place in Bali, but I'm halfway there tho. Spent most of my time in the south, went once to the east, even crossed to Gilis, I'm sure I'm halfway there.

And just a month ago, I extended my vocabulary of Bali.

To the place I never thought I could make it through.

Menjangan.

Sky wasn't that good tho, but still, it was sick

Shit. Sorry to pick that word, but seriously, shit. I never expected to go there. An island far far away from Bali's touristy place where everybody travel to. The place that is so empty, you won't even think that it's in the so-called tourist-hectic Bali that you've always known!

But I did, somehow. And it was sickly amazing.

The closest settlement to the island is Pemuteran. And from this little town, the underwater wonder is beyond compare already. I snorkeled like, three times? Well I forgot but exploring lives below water surface in here, that's just the thing I'd proudly brag to my kids in the future.

Pemuteran and things I found down under

And now the Menjangan itself.

Frankly, I'm speechless. It's past midnight now as I'm typing this post, but that's not the reason why I'm losing words. It's because Menjangan's just worth the silence. Words can't exactly tell what I experienced, even photos can't do. You have to actually be there, to feel the grandeur of our authentic maritime life. And choke yourself to panicky as you start mumbling in amazement, saying good things about your God, and the frikking salt sea water suddenly flow into your snorkeling tube--yea it happened to me.

I won't say much about what it's like under there. I went to Amed, I went to Gilis, I went to Philippines, and Menjangan was better that all three of those combined.

The best I could get from Menjangan ocean floor

I said it already to all my other social media assets. That Menjangan has officially been the highlight of all my Bali trips. I mean, if I meet some other traveler who asks me about Bali, that sacred name will always be the first thing coming out of my humble mouth.

Because it's that great. It deserves the exposure, the spotlight and I'm not exaggerating. Menjangan summed up everything about Bali.

I'm not finished.

With Bali, I'm not finished.

The Nusas will be my next stops.

But whatever happens there, really,

Menjangan will always be my thunder

Eight Legged Karma

"Universe conspires."

You know when you felt like everything around you, together hand in hand trying to make you feel some certain experience, yeah the phrase was all over my head when I had a vacation last week in

Bali and Gili

Left is Gili Trawangan and right is Gili Meno.

So I, my friends and my friends' friends, we sort of believed that there was this big karma thing following us along our trip. Or maybe up till now? Only God knows.

There were five of us. Call us V, A, R, K and J -suspects are under identity protection due to the fear of ongoing karma. We spent two nights at this ethnic-down-to-nature stay named, let's say TS. The place was, ethnic-ish and culture-ish and, umm, down to nature? So yea it was like a cottage full of plants and wooden floors and bridge, lied next to a big rice paddy, stuff like that. No wonder if you see bugs and giant insects crawling around the living room.

Not to mention a spider. A gigantic arachnid. Creating nest. In the girls' room. I saw the creature a while before the girls arrived in Bali. Well I planned to inform them but I forgot. Until the next day, K and J reported us a paranoid moment they had last night with the spider, ended up with committing a murder. Yes, they killed the spider.

And so the karma began.

Started with the most tolerable one, felt by R. She didn't kill the spider, she's the one with the least interaction with the spider, so nature punished her by only spilling some booze on her dress. Lucky her.

Worse thing came to A. He was the one inviting all of us to stay at TS, that's why. So when we were about to return home from Ubud, the car he chartered was kinda broken, and he had to deal with all the mechanical thing for two hours while the girls and I went shopping. We were jerks I know, leaving him alone with the car and the bli blis. Maybe that's why the universe kept the best karma for us.

I, however, was placed the third on the list. You know where I did wrong right? I knew that there were a creepy crawling creature nesting near the girls but I didn't even say a word about that? That's kinda crucial. So the ocean paid off the spider's grudge and gave me this terrible seasickness along the way from Bali to Gili. To make it worse, I threw up six times :)

Left is me and my karma. The pic was taken on our way back to Bali, that's why I'm smiling.
On the right is J, and one of our karmas. Go on reading to find out :)

Well the worst part now, of course, happened to the assassin duo K and J. They both also got the seasickness I felt, and mother nature summoned an extra karma for them. The late spider sent off his two best friends for K and J.

We were at the Monkey Forest when K got her 'company'. Ha, Monkey Forest. Seemed like we were teasing the karma and approaching danger, eh? Well by that time we hadn't noticed about all these coincidence so, yeah... A devil monyet ambushed her. No signals, no prologues, it just attacked. Poor K, she was shaking and looking extremely pale.

Now that we realized about the karma, we put our guards on. But unlucky J, when we were at El Kabron to have dinner, she was blinded by hunger and the meals and subconsciously let her walls down so... A giant praying mantis took this chance and jumped to her face as the revenge for the spider's death. Shocking. She couldn't ever avoid that.

No picture of J and her praying mantis, sorry, it happened so fast no camera was prepared.

Well yeah. Karma exists.

And we paid to what we did.

On that exact time like, right away.

I learned so many thing from this.

That animals possess a strong, intense relationship.

That land and sea are mystically linked one another.

And that Bali, is sacred

Wait a sec, I just realized a thing: monkey, and praying mantis? Is this... Kung Fu Panda?? Oh wait--OMG! R's nickname is Panda! :(

Universe did play something with us...