My Epic Journey to Bali Indonesia!

Greetings from Bali, Indonesia! In case you’re not familiar with the geographical location, this beautiful island is situated below the mainland of Indonesia, Philippines and above Australia. It was quite a crazy adventure getting here. My flight departed from Dallas, Texas on November 19th with a short layover at LAX Airport. There was a medical emergency on the plane on our way to Hong Kong and the pilot was forced to land in Honolulu, Hawaii. The airline company set up everyone (over 200 people) with a complimentary stay at Alohilani Luxury Resort located only a block away from Waikiki Beach, which included free taxi service to and from the airport. I’ve dreamed of visiting Hawaii for many years and I finally made it a reality! My only regret was I couldn’t stay for the longer under a different set of circumstances. I got a chance to walk along the beach, watch the sunset from the ocean, explored the city on foot for a few hours, grabbed a beer at a local brewery, and bought a cool Hawaiian shirt. Of course! I took a nap for a few hours, woke up with just over an hour to spare, hailed a cab outside the airport, and arrived at Honolulu Airport with plenty of time leftover. I finally touched down on the beautiful island in Denpasar Airport after 3 days in and out of airports. I bought my VOA (Visa on Arrival) at the airport for $37 and exchange some dollars for Rupiahs. It took quite awhile to get through immigration customs, so I passed the time by reading my only soft-cover book on the tip called Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, by Rolf Potts. This a must-read for anyone looking to get out of their comfort zone and find remote work on the road for months or even years! I don’t have any plans to return to the United States anytime soon. Outside the airport, I found my private driver in a crowd holding a sign with my name on it. He was very friendly with good English speaking skills and we had a great conversation. The first thing I noticed is the steering wheel is on the opposite side and they drive on the left side of the road. Also, the majority of people ride motor-bikes around the island because it’s cheaper gas, the roads are quite narrow, and I’m sure it’s more fun to take in all the scenery. I’ll probably stay in Bali for 2 months, although I haven’t exactly decided yet. It just depends on where my intuition and opportunity calls me. My long-term goal is to backpack through Southeast Asia for at least a year! You can read my previous blog post here. The amount of time isn’t nearly as important as all of the amazing experiences and inspiring people I’ll meet along the way! I will say that it was a pleasure to see Hawaii, if only for a few hours, before embarking on the next chapter of my nomadic life.

This is my favorite candid photo of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu Hawaii.

I’m currently typing this blog post from my luxury villa located just outside the region of Ubud after walking around the city for about 5 hours. The little red Honda Scoopy scooter wouldn’t start, so I opted to explore Ubud on foot which made it a lot easier to take photos and make small talk with random people on the street. It’s only my first day in Bali and everyone here is so friendly, especially the locals! However, it does get slightly annoying when they are constantly asking you if you need a taxi. I considered renting a scooter, but I was enjoying the sights and sounds during my meditative walk. I met a couple visiting from Seattle who worked at Microsoft. I shared a cliff-notes version of my travel story and they were clearly envious of my “lifestyle of freedom”. Afterwards, I stopped for a healthy breakfast at popular restaurant on a hill with beautiful views called Zest Ubud. They also organize events regularly at this place (including my friend Megan Lambert, a relationships and sex coach). I’m excited to get more involved in the community! I’m staying here for at least a month in exchange for professional photos to display on various online booking websites, such as Airbnb and Booking.com. I’m also helping her with marketing and web design for Be-Remote, a digital nomads community for those who embrace combining remote work and travel. You may be asking, how did I find this amazing unique opportunity? Simple answer: I got a personal introduction from a fellow digital nomad Rob in Cape Town, South Africa. I’m realizing that it’s always possible to do everything on your own as a solo-preneur. I’ve been doing everything by myself for so long, which eventually leads to burn out. Teamwork makes the dream work. I want to start building a team of other remote workers or virtual assistants soon to help grow my various business ventures. There are so many online resources to hire freelancers at an affordable rate, especially in the Philippines. One of the reasons I chose Bali as the next starting point for my travel adventures is because it’s one of the top destinations for digital nomads (affordable cost of living, fast Internet everywhere, cheap food and transportation, etc.) according to many sources including NomadList. There are also quite a few co-working spaces in the area (namely Hubud and Outpost in Ubud), and I’m going to attend a free event tomorrow at Hustler’s Villa. However, they’re not exactly cheap and I’m so grateful to have a free place to stay and work in a convenient location. I mostly want to visit these co-working spaces to meet other creative people with similar passions and ask for interviews on my podcast Digital Nomad Ventures.

Thanks for reading! I was inspired to write this article to share a bit of my experiences on the very first day in Bali. I highly recommend visiting this beautiful destination when you get the chance! The hardest part for me is committing to purchase that one-way plane ticket. Side note: most airlines require proof of onward travel for visa purposes since they want to ensure you don’t overstay your welcome, which could result in a large fine for said airline. I used a website called OnwardTicket to receive a specially formatted fake ticket. It’s only $12 and is valid for 48 hours. I had to show a screenshot of the ticket to airline personnel on three separate occasions and they never suspected a thing. This is a better alternative to buying another ticket and then canceling within 24 hours to get a refund.

I would like to organize a 7-day immersive retreat for digital nomads in February 2020. I’m looking for about 6 people who are interested in a business-vacation in Bali. This is still in the early stages of planning and pricing is not available yet. I would like to partner up with a few friends with more experience in this area. Stay tuned and let me know if you’re interested in learning more details! I don’t have a newsletter, so the best way is to shoot me a personal email with the subject line: “Bali Digital Nomad Retreat”.