2014 lembongan

Salamat Pagi! Well, what a year we have had!

The most exciting part of this year was the follow through with our decision to move to Bali, Indonesia. But I’ll get to that a little later… Because our year started with just Rob and I flying to Lord Howe Island for our 10 year wedding anniversary in early January, which seems a lifetime ago already. We tacked this on to the end of our Melbourne Christmas celebrations with Rob’s family. What an awesome island it is, a highly recommended holiday destination full of natural beauty!

On February 2nd we took the plunge, packed up the rental house, threw caution to the wind and moved to Ubud, the cultural centre in Bali. Obviously, this turned our world upside down. Living in a foreign country not only brings some amazing experiences but some incredible challenges. The parts we love include regular cheap massages and pedicures, cheap babysitting to allow us to go out to dinner a lot, and generally a more simple and relaxed lifestyle. Although we do miss some of the luxuries of western life, and some of our favourite foods. If you are thinking about it, I would highly recommend you just do it!

dressed 4 temple

The first villa we stayed in was close to Olive’s school, then a couple of months later we moved to a more closed-in house in a nicer area within walking distance of town. At this stage, we also employed a full-time maid which greatly changed our lifestyle.

Olive, who turned 7 during the year, took a while to get into the groove of the new school, missing her Perth friends dearly. Over the year though she has had an amazing time making new and interesting international friends, and learning to speak Bahasa Indonesia quite well, and absorbing it all in her ever-growing stride.

Jetson had to wait until mid-year for a place at the school, which was OK as he got to spend some quality time at home. He and Casper have formed a great brotherly bond. When he started full time in July he never looked back. He has loved meeting new friends and has been totally thriving in school life. He loves his new friends and celebrated a great 5th birthday with them all. He didn’t miss his brother at home as much as I thought, and Casper quite enjoyed all the attention he was getting without Jetson around. Plus I got to spend some more individual time with Casper. He is three now and is an artist in the making. He is always trying to keep up with his siblings and is looking forward to going to school to have his own friends.

2014 gitgitwaterfall

From a travel perspective we have achieved a lot this year, sometimes travelling to renew our visas, but also because we just love to explore, and there were so many great places nearby! In April we came back to Perth to see family and friends. In May we spent 11 days in Singapore. On the July-August 8 week school break, we explored some of the amazing sites in the northern part of Bali and also the Gili Islands in Lombok. For the October school break, we ventured all the way to California, via a stopover in Manila, to visit Rob’s sister Alli, husband Reggie and our new nephew, the gorgeous Romeo! We also continued north for a week in Vancouver, Canada for some chillin’ weather before heading back to the heat and humidity. This was a fantastic trip exploring new parts of the world plus hanging with the family.

Rob’s online business is doing very well and is growing every day. In Ubud, he has had access to an amazing network of inspiring fellow digital nomads. He has found more time to work on his website and has been working hard on building the social media side of things.

I’ve been keeping busy studying for a diploma in sports nutrition to further my career. It has been a great opportunity for me to do this while not working, plus our maid has freed up my time. Oh, the pleasures! I passed the first year and will be moving on to the second year in 2015.

We have enjoyed this tropical lifestyle so much with all the pleasures of travel and the experience of living in a foreign land. So much so that we’ve decided to stay on a little longer than initially planned, and will stay until the Easter holidays next year, before settling back in Perth (we think!).

We hope you have a great 2015, dream big, and may your goals be achieved!

With love from Clare, Rob, Olive, Jetson and Casper

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