Life in Short

We were looking forward to returning to Bali after a great adventure in Sri Lanka. We thought we’d give a different area in Bali a go: Sanur. We had met a group of really lovely families in Sanur the last time we went there and we were hoping to build a bit of a community upon our return.

Well, after trying and failing and adapting our plans we just couldn’t seem to catch a break when looking for a house. We had to settle for a place in Nusa Dua, which honestly wasn’t ideal. The place itself was nice, the villa was big enough for 3 families really. There were just some safety things I won’t get into. Chris and I found ourselves missing Berawa and the Sanur community. All in all, we weren’t sure we had made the right decision in returning and to be honest I felt ready to settle down somewhere for a while. I think we both were feeling the exhaustion of constant travel (I know, already!). It’s so funny, because now when we look back on these last months Chris and I both say “I wished we’d travelled SEA more!” We are funny people, aren’t we?! We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and have learnt a whole lot about ourselves indeed.

Chris then very kindly gave me a weekend all to myself where I could sleep, watch movies and just have 2 nights completely to myself. I happily took it, however, spent most of the time in slight pain due to the sudden absence of breastfeeding or pumping (Yep, didn’t think that through!). When I returned, I was fresh as a daisy ready to get back into it. We were two days in and having a really good time, then Bam! I felt like I had expelled my insides from every orifice. I took myself to the hospital thinking that perhaps I had dengue due to body aches and fever, after about 4 days and 3 trips to the hospital I was admitted with a parasite. I spent another 4 days in the hospital constantly hooked up to an IV and given various other things to help me rid myself of its unwelcome guest. I stayed at BIMC in Nusa Dua and was taken care of very well. Thankfully, we had travel insurance and my entire stay was covered. Our insurer was really helpful and supportive, World Nomads, for anyone who wants to know. I returned home but bit fragile and ready to leave the Island of the Gods.

After a few days, I started getting back into the rhythm of things again. Asia does have the added advantage of being able to hire a babysitter at quite an affordable rate (Chris didn’t want me diving straight back in for fear of burnout). After about 2 days, we got back into things and I started to feel like myself again.

Then, because when it rains it pours, the place we stayed in literally started falling apart, Chris did a quick google and we moved to a place in Seminyak for the last week we were in Bali. Seminyak was nice, a little more fast-paced compared to the Bali we were used to and a little more trendy.

After a lot of umming and erring about going to Australia during the horrible fires they were having, we decided to just do it. I’m so glad we did because apart from 1 or 2 days of haze the rest was lovely. It was so hard to believe that firefighters were working so tirelessly not too far away. Goes to show even in the same country how disconnected we can feel and how unaffected you can be depending on where you are.

We stayed with Chris’ parents in Australia and they were wonderful, very patient with us indeed. It was lovely to feel that sense of community you can get when you have family close by, which was something so new to us and as an ex-pat mum of two, it was incredible! Though I hope I didn’t take advantage of the extra help too much it was nice to know the family were around. I loved watching M so desperate to water the garden each day, drink freshly squeezed OJ from Grandad and A run out of the room in the morning to see Grandma. The absolute game changer for me was access to the car, I couldn’t believe how much easier parenting felt having a car!! No carting kids and car seats around, looking at transport routes and packing a backpack full of ‘just in cases’. I had everything I might need in the car, I could go anywhere at any time! Wow! But all too soon it was time to get back to Bali. It was so sad saying goodbye to the cousins and I knew I would miss exploring a new playground with the boys and grandad, as well as hanging out eating yummy food with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

We are now back in Bali. I was dreading coming back after feeling like we were surrounded by such a supportive community. While we were in Australia A had so many meltdowns, probably a new record for him! I thought we’d see even more with another change, but to our surprise, both boys have settled back into life in Bali so well! Yay! We are busy every day and have play dates, classes and yes we are in the pool basically every evening. We are making the most of living in the tropics while we can because our next big adventure is not too far around the bend!