When I first landed in Lombok, I didn’t realize that Sasak was a tribe on the island of West Nusa tenggara. I thought Sasak people were somewhere else, among the thousands of islands in Indonesia. Coming from Java, the only place I know like the back of my hand would be Java and Bali, even these two have their own differences especially in language and custom. Nevertheless, my very first exposure to lombok was interesting. I first learned the language from Juna, my airport driver who took me to the hotel. Lombok was interesting in its own way but I would not be back there anytime soon. If you want to check out the new thing that you can do in lombok, some of the articles are below :

Other than those, it’s known for its surfing paradise and also amazing beaches. I won’t lie, the beach is amazing, better than some beaches in Bali. But again, the place would really take time to be domestic friendly. For now, I can understand why foreigners love the place so much. Some parts of me enjoyed the place had I not been scammed but that’s part of my experience. I learned something new during my adventure. Without those, I wouldn’t grow nor would I have any interesting tale to tell you about.

Ray and I headed in different directions. He's back home and I am going to Bali on my own. My life's the same everywhere I go but after landing in Bali, there was a slight confusion. What am I going to do in bali? Am I a tourist? A digital nomad? What am I? Now that I am staying in Bali, it slowly pulls me in to stay longer. My hometown isn’t far from Bali, just an hour flight and an extra hour for driving. To think of it, the quality of life in Bali is unmatched. Maybe for some people, this isn’t paradise but for me, it’s a nice life around here. In yogyakarta I would spend a lot of time working from starbucks, from cafe to cafe but in Bali, I can use the co-working space membership that grants me monthly stay to use the space and their wifi. That would mean I cut cost a lot. And at home, though it’s nice that I don’t have to pay rent, I would still spend a lot on cafes.But here, I no longer have to visit cafes. Eating out is also fairly reasonable not to mention, the networking events around where I could talk about what I do and also introducing people to hive. Who knows, right? They might like the idea of hive and could maybe develop something. As much as I know, there is drama brewing around, I still believe in the potential of hives. And I guess, all it takes is some believers like myself to keep a place like this thriving.

I started to get settled in Bali. It was on the 19th that I landed and was still exhausted. But now, on my 4th day of stay here, I started getting the hang of it. In Bali, motorbikes are the option. Without it, that would be a disaster. Though I can’t drive, I am very thankful that grab drivers are around the area. From what I remembered, they weren’t around but these days they are around and it makes the whole thing easier. I like that way because ordering food and many amenities are going to be way easier. When it comes about accommodation, many places are still offering cheaper options. That is because Bali is still trying to recover from the pandemic. I was lucky to get some nice places and hoped that I could get more deals living here. By now, I even think about moving to Bali permanently rather than living in Yogyakarta where I realized the quality of living is different. Even making friends seems to be way easier in Bali because everyone seems to be having the same mindset where they are also trying to connect with other people.

Since it is earning the title of Nomad hub, it’s kinda true. You can meet like minded people and even connect and/or find opportunities to work from anywhere. Sure, if you see there are many more bloggers' lifestyles, they are really just a fraction of the people who work from Bali. Having to be around them makes me more productive and even makes me want to explore another part of remote working. Even if I have to start from scratch, I would not mind that. It would be really nice to explore a new realm and find more opportunities.

If you are in Bali and you want to meet up, let me know! I am around until about 2-3 weeks before moving back to my parents and thinking about fully or partially moving to Bali instead of Yogyakarta.