Bali was incredible. Where do I even begin? We arrived last Saturday to our resort right next to Jimbaran Beach and it was the most magical place I have ever seen. We stayed in our own private villa, which meant I could sit on my canopy queen sized bed (yes, I had my own room) and look out the window at our private pool surrounded by trees covered in frangipanis. To my right was the kids’ room, and to my left were the master suite, outdoor living area, and fishpond.

 

View from my bedroom

It was hard to pry ourselves away from the hotel. We had the sweetest Balinese man, Kariana, drive us around in his little buggy to basically wherever we needed to go on the resort – the infinity pool, the spa, or one of the many Asian restaurants. We spent a few days lounging by the pool, but we also managed to break away from our little oasis to experience the real Bali.

The streets of Bali have absolutely no road rules. On first glance, there appears to be two lanes on the road, with the suggestion of keeping to the left, but the roads are entirely overtaken by motorbikes. Scooters are everywhere. They drive pretty much wherever they want, weaving in and out of cars. Whole families will ride on one bike – I don’t think I ever got over the shock of seeing 5 people squished onto one bike, with babies sandwiched between mom and dad. Kids as young as 8 or 9 years old would be driving, and a few times I saw people carrying live chickens by their legs as they rode on the back of a bike. The streets reek of a combination of rice, incense, sweet cigarette smoke, and BO. Outside of every building/store/home there are incense burning. They’re placed in these little hand-woven grass baskets filled with rice and flowers – it’s Balinese tradition to give these offerings daily. They are given as thanks for the new day and as hope that it will be filled with good fortune.

My offering of incense

We drove all over Bali and saw so much of the tiny island. We drove by thousands of rice fields, toured several temples and a coffee plantation, ate lunch at a tiny lookout where we had a great view of the mountains and volcanoes, and watched a Balinese dance that represented the fight between good and evil spirits.

Rice fields

Fresh water temple

Balinese dancer

But my favorite part of the week was our trip to the Elephant Safari Park. At the park, elephants roamed freely. Babies played in the lake while the adults took tourists on rides through the rainforest. I got to hang out with some of the baby elephants and took a bunch of pictures with my new best friends who’d hold my hand with their trunks. Later on, we rode a sweet 32-year-old elephant named Kusuma through the park. A Balinese man sat on her head and guided us. It was truly amazing – I can still feel myself rocking slowly back and forth with her long, lazy steps. Elephants are such strong, tranquil creatures and I’ve always felt drawn to them. I was so happy to cross another item off my bucket list by meeting my spirit animal!

New baby friend

Elephant hugs

Christian, Tea and I with Kusuma

The week was a dream come true. I am so lucky to be with such a sweet family who has truly taken me in. Growing up, I was always such a homebody and I liked nothing more than being with family. That feeling has unfortunately disappeared for me in the last couple years, and I’ve started to believe the typical feeling of homesickness doesn’t really exist for me anymore. Every now and then I’ll feel that ache, but it’s for a place that isn’t there. Which is why I could not be in a better place than I am now. While on holiday, another exciting thing happened – the Hockridges invited me to stay with them longer than I'd originally planned. I am feeling so blessed that this journey continues to fall into place for me. I have been welcomed into a family who has its quirks, but they love each other so much and they are happy. While they may not be the most traditional family, they remind me of that traditional family type I always had and loved growing up, and that safe feeling of home that I was afraid I’d lost is coming back.