It's been 1 year. Unbelievable. How time flies. Apart from the horrifying 'shaky' situation recently, it's been a pretty fantastic year living here.
Life here has been pretty cruise-y & relaxing. Lots of exploring new places, hanging out at the beach, pampering & massages and just enjoying the very laid back and simple living of the people of Bali. Furthermore, with the cost of living and the prices of goods, necessities and bills being pretty cheap, really, what's there to complain about?
We're fortunate enough to have found a fabulous house where we could call home and our landlord's happy to continue letting us stay for another year. We've also received wonderful visits from friends & family throughout the year that helped make our stay more memorable and we've met some interesting & lovely people along the way.
Of course there's a lot of stuff that I miss both from Malaysia & Oz - friends & family being the biggest thing; to the little things like Oz's hot chips, chocolates & gossip magazines or Malaysia's mamak stalls, Gardenia bread (it's a bit hard to find good soft bread here!) and ice kacang with chocolate syrup.
But if we leave Bali, we'd surely be missing all the big things mentioned above, as well as the little things as below:
But if we leave Bali, we'd surely be missing all the big things mentioned above, as well as the little things as below:
1. Cheap parking & ever so helpful parking attendants
- Some places you go to like the beaches and some shopping centre, you'll get charged about only RM0.60 per entry. In a lot of other places - it's free. Regardless of whether they charge you or not, there's almost always a parking attendant to help you find parking, park the car and control traffic (ie. stop cars for you!) when you leave. You don't even have to look left right, front or back when parking or leaving. Just hear them guide you, "trus, trus" (straight), or whistle till you're perfectly safe. I thought this is just so cool.
2. Fresh & cheap fruits & vegetables
- I remember a friend in Oz making a comment about how expensive it is to eat healthy. Fruits & vegies are just expensive back home. Not to mention the organic ones. But here, they are super cheap. Ayisha's school serving strawberries for snack time cheap. Eating organics aren't that much more expensive too. Some places, like one organic shop near our house, sells much cheaper fruits and vegies that we felt we should eat organic! Then there's the endless roadside stalls that sell juicy watermelons, corns, papayas and sweet potatoes. We definitely eat more fruits and vegies here than anywhere else we've ever lived.
3. Help is cheap
- Having a Pembantu (helper) is very common here both for the locals and the expats. Some households have more than 1 pembantu. A lot of people are quite surprised to know that we don't have one, even though I'm not working. Over here, especially if you have kids, you have pembantu lah.
However, I do have a gardener, a pool cleaner, a pickup/ drop off laundry service and a house cleaner. They all come about 3-4 times a week. The price for all these? Cheaper than having a maid back in Malaysia and cheaper than what our friend in Oz paid for a cleaner per session. The service? OUTSTANDING.
They do an excellent job, very honest with great work ethics and just some of the loveliest people. I don't have a problem with them at all. I can call any one of them at any time and they'd try accommodate our needs as best as they can even on their day off. Sometimes I do feel a bit wrong having all this help when all I do is take care of Ayisha. Like one time, I have the pool dude, the gardener and the cleaner working at the same time - to my front, left & right. Ayisha was napping and it was one of those rare moments when I was sitting back on the couch and wanting to watch some tv. Upon realising all these people working hard around me, I got up and went to the kitchen to 'busy' myself instead!!!
But then again, we would never be able to afford all this help if we're back home. Also, like Ibu Eiloh, my cleaner who lives in our neighbourhood, she used to come knocking on my door every other day to ask if I needed help and she was just so ecstatic when I finally decided to have her come clean the house. So, I guess we're helping. :p (Iyooolah tu!)
4. Simple living & loving life people of Bali
- I love how the Balinese and the people of Bali live here. They are very spiritual people and there's nothing more important than their rituals, ceremonies and other many celebrations they do here every month. Other things are put on hold when they join together and help each other as a family whether there's a wedding, birth or death in the community. A lot of roads get closed when ceremonies happen but it's the norm. No one gets frustrated, everyone is accommodating and no honking or impatience on the roads seen when there's groups of people marching & parading on the streets with food on their heads and music playing.
People always seem happy here too. No matter where they are or in whatever situation they're always smiling. Being on the roads of Bali can be quite stressful but if you just go with the flow& relax, you'll find yourself smiling too. ie. one motorcyclist almost got knocked over and after realising he's ok, he's got such a relief, thankful, big smile on his face - I can't help smiling too.
Family is important. There's the ceremonies and occasions they have almost every week that keep them together as a family, then there's also the simple going to the beach/park family time after work & on weekends. I guess as they're not stuck in traffic or trains after work and the close & easy access of the many parks & beaches, they get to enjoy a lot of family time together.
At the end of the day, it really doesn't really matter where you are as long as you have your loved ones with you living & growing together. I do however feel very fortunate and so blessed for the opportunity of living here, to learn and to remind me of what is important in life. All and all, it's been pretty amazing. Here's hoping for another year of happiness, fun, blessings and lots of love.
- Having a Pembantu (helper) is very common here both for the locals and the expats. Some households have more than 1 pembantu. A lot of people are quite surprised to know that we don't have one, even though I'm not working. Over here, especially if you have kids, you have pembantu lah.
However, I do have a gardener, a pool cleaner, a pickup/ drop off laundry service and a house cleaner. They all come about 3-4 times a week. The price for all these? Cheaper than having a maid back in Malaysia and cheaper than what our friend in Oz paid for a cleaner per session. The service? OUTSTANDING.
They do an excellent job, very honest with great work ethics and just some of the loveliest people. I don't have a problem with them at all. I can call any one of them at any time and they'd try accommodate our needs as best as they can even on their day off. Sometimes I do feel a bit wrong having all this help when all I do is take care of Ayisha. Like one time, I have the pool dude, the gardener and the cleaner working at the same time - to my front, left & right. Ayisha was napping and it was one of those rare moments when I was sitting back on the couch and wanting to watch some tv. Upon realising all these people working hard around me, I got up and went to the kitchen to 'busy' myself instead!!!
But then again, we would never be able to afford all this help if we're back home. Also, like Ibu Eiloh, my cleaner who lives in our neighbourhood, she used to come knocking on my door every other day to ask if I needed help and she was just so ecstatic when I finally decided to have her come clean the house. So, I guess we're helping. :p (Iyooolah tu!)
4. Simple living & loving life people of Bali
- I love how the Balinese and the people of Bali live here. They are very spiritual people and there's nothing more important than their rituals, ceremonies and other many celebrations they do here every month. Other things are put on hold when they join together and help each other as a family whether there's a wedding, birth or death in the community. A lot of roads get closed when ceremonies happen but it's the norm. No one gets frustrated, everyone is accommodating and no honking or impatience on the roads seen when there's groups of people marching & parading on the streets with food on their heads and music playing.
People always seem happy here too. No matter where they are or in whatever situation they're always smiling. Being on the roads of Bali can be quite stressful but if you just go with the flow& relax, you'll find yourself smiling too. ie. one motorcyclist almost got knocked over and after realising he's ok, he's got such a relief, thankful, big smile on his face - I can't help smiling too.
Family is important. There's the ceremonies and occasions they have almost every week that keep them together as a family, then there's also the simple going to the beach/park family time after work & on weekends. I guess as they're not stuck in traffic or trains after work and the close & easy access of the many parks & beaches, they get to enjoy a lot of family time together.
At the end of the day, it really doesn't really matter where you are as long as you have your loved ones with you living & growing together. I do however feel very fortunate and so blessed for the opportunity of living here, to learn and to remind me of what is important in life. All and all, it's been pretty amazing. Here's hoping for another year of happiness, fun, blessings and lots of love.
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