Bali

[Grateful Diver]

Looking ahead to the end of 2017, when I will be retiring. One possibility at that point will be relocating to Bali ... not sure I will, but it's been a dream of mine for several years. So a couple weeks ago I headed over to take a look at the place from the perspective of possibly living there. It's my sixth trip to Bali, but there's a big difference between going someplace as a tourist and thinking about living there. Of course, I did some diving while there. Not a lot, but I managed three days at Tulamben, staying at a place that was literally right in front of the USS Liberty. I'd gear up at the dive shop, walk down to the water, fin up, drop down, and three minutes worth of swimming had me on the wreck ... didn't even need a surface swim. It was great.

I also did some touring of the north side of the island, visiting some parts I'd never been to before up along the north coast. Found a little town called Lovina that looks like my kind of place, so I'll spend some more time now researching that part of the island. It's not as close to diving as I'd like, but the national park's right there, and there's boat diving to be had nearby. It's about an hour and a half to Tulamben, and less than an hour in the other direction to Menganjen Island. So the diving's still not too far away. But it's a lovely part of the island, and far from the hustle and bustle of the tourist areas in the south.

Anyway, figured I'd share a few pics from the trip ...













One of the things I got to do while I was there was introduce my Indonesian "cousins" to scuba diving. One of them described it as a dream come true ... these people don't take many vacations, and until they met me it never even occurred to them that they might be able to scuba dive. One of them, Denny, is now seriously bitten by the scuba bug. I encouraged him to take a real class ... all we did was a short intro, with about an hour in the pool. But you can see how well they did ... not too bad for two young fellows who had never tried it before ...



Maybe if I do move over there, I'll get back into teaching for a while ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[ScubaJess]

Great pics Bob!
I love that Yellow fish with red background, he is super cute!
If you move over there, I'll for sure come visit! :-)

[Jeff Pack]

While I love the southern part of Bali, the north is certainly far more natural.

[Scubie Doo]

Bob, your bumphead parrotfish is awesome. I love that pic.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jan K]

Thanks for sharing some of the warm water critters.
Can I add my name to the list of visitors ?

[YellowEye]

Great job Bob!
Looks like great fodder for retirement!

[Jeff Kruse]

We tried living in Puerto Rico. We made it 6 1/2 years before we just couldn't take it anymore. The caving was incredible. The diving was ok. The climate was for the most part ok but 100% humidity does cause issues. In PR we could get what we needed but it was never easy. Some things were cheaper like services but goods were more. It all came down to how bad animals were treated, garbage, no consideration for others, awful food, and noise. Bali will have much much better diving but you can't stay underwater all the time. You should definitely do it but only plan for 5 years or so. We have no regrets and we are now much more thankful when things work the way they should in the states. (Although Trump....)

[Grateful Diver]

Great advice, Jeff ... I'm thinking a one-year trial commitment, and take it from there ... if I make if five years, that would be awesome.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[dlh]

A good friend of mine did this experiment just a couple of years ago. She is a big fan of Bali, and after a few vacation visits to the island decided to spend a month living there. Bali is a beautiful place with wonderful people and a fascinating culture. But just as Jeff found in Puerto Rico, it is a third world country with the baggage that comes with that. Stray dogs and neglected animals. Rats, Rats, and more Rats. Poor infrastructure and facilities everywhere. She mostly enjoyed the time she spent there but was ready to come home after a month.

I love Bali and really enjoyed my time in resort hotels, but unless you can manage a resort lifestyle there it might be rough going long term.

[Gdog]

Best of luck to you Bob in this new adventure in your life. It's worth the shot, and you can always come home if it doesn't work out.
The wife and I have long discussed this topic. The number on the wall I throw darts at is 2021, if I can last that long. Who knows, we may try something like what you are proposing. The adventure and experience would be worth it, even if you moved back.
Love your pics. Especially the first one!

[oldsalt]

Thanks for the posting Bob. Good luck in your retirement plans. We, too, considered moving but family obligations, such as my 94 year-old mother, keep us here. No regrets. If you do move, I hope that you continue to post on the board.
Merry Christmas, Curt (looks like Santa, don't you think?)