Hi! I’m writing this from my hometown, where I have returned from my “Work from Bali” period. I cannot believe that I’m not even in Bali anymore; it has been one of the best months in my life. Waktu masih kecil aku selalu bermimpi kayak, “Duh pengen bisa kerja darimana aja, buka laptop, terus kerja, terus jalan-jalan sepuasnya.”
A digital nomad life. What a beautiful idea.
But I never thought I’d be able to do that in the pre-pandemic era. I never thought I’d have a job that would allow me to do so – or the financial security for that matters.
Bali: Paradise of Slow Living
I think what I miss the most about work from Bali is the “weekend” feeling or like the “Friday night” feeling where you can just release all of the stress and all the deadlines from work and just plan for the weekend. Gak mikirin apa-apa, cuma perlu merencanakan:
Besok brunch dimana ya enaknya?
Main di pantai mana yah?
Enaknya beli/baca buku apa weekend ini?
Kangen banget tiap weekend nyiapin baju renang dan aloe vera buat siap-siap berenang, entah di kolam hotel, di beach club, atau di pantai. I think the primary reason why I love swimming so much is because when I got my eardrums ruptured, the doctors told me that I cannot swim anymore. And now that I got my eardrums fixed, I just want to swim on every opportunity that I get.
Bali ini SURGA BANGET buat slow living. Sumpah kayak leyeh-leyeh di pinggir sawah mereka aja udah happy banget. Vibe-nya beda aja gitu. Sekarang aku berusaha nyari kafe yang sebelah-sebelahan ama sawah pun susah banget di kota. Kangen nungguin sunset, kangen ngeliatin kegiatan orang-orang di pantai, kangen baca buku ditemenin angin sepoi-sepoi.
The End of Working from Bali
My last day in Bali was magical. Everything was smooth-sailing.
Walaupun beberapa hari sebelumnya Bali hujan terus, tapi di hari itu semuanya cerah. Langit biru, awan bergumpal-gumpal kayak kapas – my favorite! Aku memutuskan buat spa di The Organic Spa, have a little pampering time, terus makan red velvet pancake yang ENAK BANGET di The Fat Turtle – terus menunggu sunset di Mano Beach Club. Pesen es kelapa muda dan semangkok buah, lalu main-main di Pantai Petitenget.
Believe you me, the sunset was so beautiful. It painted the sky with a pink-purple-blue hue.
And I cried. I did. Full-on crying.
And it’s not because I’m sad. It’s hard to describe my feelings at that moment.
Then I stumbled upon this quote last week, and I think it perfectly captures what I felt.
You get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place. Like you’ll not only miss the people you love but you’ll miss the person you are now, at this time and this place. Because you’ll never be this way ever again.
Azar Nafis
I needed to face the reality that my “escape time” to Bali is over. I need to go back to my responsibilities, preparing for the next chapters of life as an adult. There’s also a hint of sadness, sometimes I wish when I was younger I wasn’t risk-taker enough or had more adventures. But we move forward with life, we always do.
So all I could do at that moment was cry. The waves came crashing, a hundred times. The sky was turning into all kinds of colors. I just kept staring at the horizon and thinking about my life.
Grateful. So so grateful. It’s like I’m the luckiest bastard, cruising through life with so many kind people surrounding me, taking care of me in their own way. I feel extremely blessed to be able to make some of my biggest dreams come true. I feel extremely happy to be where I am today, to accept myself – all of its flaws and mistakes and experiences.
“Hey life, I’ve come this far! Can you believe it?”
The ocean was silent.
But at that moment, I swear, everything is in its place. It’s a perfect closure for such a memorable trip.
I’ll be back, Bali, probably a hundred times more!
