Padang Bai

Tuesday September 24th we bought bus tickets to go to Padang Bai. This turned out to be a full minibus where Nico had to sit on my lap until we came to Ubud where some people got off and some new passengers joined us. Then we cramped our three butts onto two seats and Nico actually fell asleep for a while.
When we finally arrived in Padang Bai I was a bit confused. I thought this place was supposed to be a bit slow, but when the boat from the Gili Islands came in and we tried to just get through all the people it didn't feel slow or relaxing at all.
We got a double room with shared bathroom and toilets (there's nobody to share with so that's no problem) at Beji Bay Resort and we have a pool :) It's low season so there's practically nobody at the hotel, so it's mellow. We chose this place because it's close to Blue Lagoon Beach, a beach that's supposed to be nice and where you can snorkel the coral reef. We went there today and was a bit surprised. The beach was nice enough, but the corals stretched all the way to the beach so the waves smashed into the corals and made it quite hard to get out to deeper waters to be able to swim and snorkel. We rented snorkel equipment and a life vest for Nico and got through the waves so he could see the corals and all the fish. This was fun and all until he saw a big fish. Neither me nor JT saw the fish so we don't really know how big it was but Nico says that it was about 40cm long, had white eyes and a big snoutelike mouth. He got so scared that he didn't want to snorkel anymore so we took a break. After a while he wanted to try again but now the tide was low and it was a BIG challenge to get out without hurting ourselves on all the corals that now were surfacing. Now we didn't see much, and luckily we got back in with only me getting a little scratch on one knee.
Padang Bai isn't as busy when there's no boats coming and I like this place better now than when we first got here. Our neighbour is Top Inn witch is a restaurant, tourist information, you can do your laundry, they can arrange taxi or boat wherever you want to go, and they have quite cheap accommodation. The food there is great and they are really conscious about the way they prepare the food, and they make everything from scratch. It's absolutely fantastic! They also have a Silver Smith that's working all day long making jewelry. Today Nico bought a necklace with a turtle, and we got to see the final steps while he made it.

Dinner at Top Inn

Blue Lagoon Beach

Our pool :)

We decided to stay here for three nights, so we'll head off again on Friday. Our plan was to go to Gili Air and from there go to Amed, but after talking to a guy here that says that there was no boat from Gili to Amed (even though it says so in our travel book) we might change the plan... or maybe not.... who knows :)

Live life and love it <3

Lotte

Meet Mr Coconut

Hello, my name is Mr Coconut.
I was found by Nico in the sea while he was swimming and playing with his dad, and I am so happy that he brought me up and gave me new life!! Before I was just an old coconut, but now I can be EVERYTHING! Nico uses me like a drum, he throws me around like a ball, he fills me with water and throws me back into the sea so he can find me again. The best thing is that he calls me a "kalabas", which is, according to him, something you can fill with stuff. I don't really know what it is, but he lights up when he says I'm one, and that makes it so fantastically special! He brings me everywhere; the beach, restaurants, supermarket and at night I lie outside their room and watches over them.
Nico is my best friend and my savior :) I hope he will bring me along when they leave Sanur in a few days. That would be so great!

                                                                    I'm a drum :)                                                                                   

Nico is a great ventriloquist. Finally I have a voice!

-Mr Coconut

We're in BALI

Thursday 19th we arrived here in Bali, and we have enjoyed these three days here in Sanur on the south east of Bali. We're staying at Pollok & LeMayeur Hotel in a room that I think is the cheapest one here. The toilet is in the shower and there's only cold water in the shower. At first I thought this was crap and was a bit disappointed (most disappointed of my own disappointment because I know what cheap means), but after a few days here I actually don't mind anymore. Outside it's beautiful and the beach is just cross a small street with small markets and places to eat, so we can't complain :)

Yesterday we had our first coconut and Nico also found one on the beach. Unfortunately Nico didn't like it that much.

 I don't know if you can see it, but it looks like the coconut has a face :)

Today we had one goal: To have smoothie bowl for breakfast, and we did! And it was GOOD :)

After a late breakfast we went to the beach. Of course I'm a bit red now, even though I stayed in the shades alot. I guess I underestimated the strength of the sun even if I really thought I was being conscious about it. Tomorrow we'll be waring t-shirts to let our shoulders rest a little :)

It's so fun to see how much Nico likes to play in the water! He's wearing his swim goggles and is diving in and swimming under water. Today he and JT stayed in the water for hours before they had to come up to eat.

After a nice cold shower we went to the nearest restaurant where they play only Bob Marley and have lots of pictures of him. The food was delicious.

 Bob Marley is in the background :)

Now we're back home. Nico is drawing and JT is trimming his toe nails, while I'm writing this post. We figured we'd have a slow Saturday at home.

Tomorrow we'll have smoothie bowl for breakfast again and relax at the beach again (trying not to get burned) :)

We have met a few of these sweet beings :)

Now it is REAL!

Now it's REALLY happening! Today my parents drove us all the way from Sandefjord to Gardermoen B&B where we'll stay untill tomorrow. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 14.15 so we don't have to hurry or get stressed at all. We can just enjoy the unfolding of the dream :) 

We haved been so lucky to have family that's always there for us, helping us with everything from moving to giving us a place to stay where we have nothing, and driving us two hours just to turn around to drive back home. Thank you so much!

Seven years ago we posted a photo of me and JT with our backpacks when we were ready to leave for Australia. We now recreated the photo with some of the same backpacks, with a new familymember and his small backpack with toys.

Seven years ago:

And now:

I still can't really believe that we will actually leave tomorrow. But the day after tomorrow, when I step out into the sunlight in Bali, I might believe that it's true :) 

Live life and love it <3

Lotte

All we have is each other...

This last week we have been living at my parent's house in Sandefjord after packing all our stuff into storage. Now we don't have an apartment, I don't have a job - all we really have is each other. It's a bit scary, but I also feel free. There's so much freedom in having little. Some may say that we're crazy, and I can see why, but for me living with lots of stuff that demand a lot of time and upkeep, and also requires money, is crazy. I don't want to be working my ass off just to be able to keep up with the latest trend, buying a bigger TV or a new couch, just waiting for the summer holiday. To me that sounds crazy. In Norway it requires lots of money just to be here; housing, electricity, food. The ticket to be in the game is so expensive that you easily get lost in the game just by getting that first ticket. Our easy living lifestyle is not so easy here in Norway, and is one of the reasons that we're going to Bali. Another reason is the weather. We just LOVE summer and the winter darkness in Norway doesn't tempt much.
Two weeks from now we will actually BE in Bali for real!!! I'm so excited, but it still feels a bit unreal. Sometimes it dawns on me and I suddenly get really stressed and I start questioning everything. But then I remember why we're doing this, and I just get so excited that I want to scream out loud :)
This is just life, and I want to fill it with experiences and memories, not things and money. I believe that the Universe will provide us with all we need and that our gut will lead us in the direction we need to go. We don't have all the answers but that's what makes this so great!
We'll update the blog with pictures and post about our life (ups and downs) in Bali.

Join us in this crazy, joyful journey, traveling through life :) 

Live life and love it
-Lotte