First of all… Happy New Year to all my loyal readers, may all your dreams and wishes come true for 2024!!! Let this be a spectacular year for us all!

A few months have passed since my last story so I figured it is time to share another story, or maybe more of a summary. After traveling for two months all over the world (USA and Europe) – as my job requires me to do so, and I wanted to be in The Netherlands for the holidays – I am back in Bali. From one of my favorite café’s Over The Moon, I am writing this story while enjoying an authentic Nasi Goreng. I have missed this delicious meal, which Indonesians make best.

My last post was from September and a lot has happened since. Instead of focusing on one adventure, I would like to give a brief summary of the last four months.

Shortly after my project in Singapore in August, another project followed in the same city/country. The second was just a one-week installation and other than working long days, I didn’t do much else here (you can read my experiences on Singapore in the last post). I focused on work so I could go back home (Bali) as quick as I could. One of my best friends; Rob and his family are visiting Bali for an extended period of time and I wanted to hang out as much as I could. They came to Sanur especially for me, but with the unfortunate timing on my behalf, I was still in Singapore while they are in Sanur, except for the last three days. Sorry guys, my bad!

After Sanur they travelled around Bali a bit and stayed in various places. Since I had plenty of free time and since I don’t mind driving all over the island, I would go wherever they are and we hang out there. It was good to see Rob and Dindi again and I got to meet their new addition to the family, their second child; Kaya! What a lovely and beautiful little girl she is! We had a lot of fun going to various places; we went to the beach, to nightclubs and bars, to beach clubs, hanging out at their villa and much more, including yoga classes with Dindi and her friend. Other friends of Rob and Dindi were also there and we had some really good times! Unfortunately, it all ended sooner than we wished.

Speaking of yoga, in the last few months I have picked up my practice more intensely by going multiple times a week and I am definitely reaping the benefits. I am more flexible than ever, even more flexible than in my days as a gymnast. My main reason for doing yoga is to stay strong in my core, to practice my balance but most of all to stay- and become even more flexible. I am looking forward in deepening my practice and I am very excited about a yoga retreat I signed up for in Spain, which is happening in June. I am doing this retreat with two friends and looking at the schedule and photos of this venue, I think it is going to be an amazing experience. Something I will be writing about for sure in due time.    

Padel…. a sport that has gained a lot of popularity the last year. There is a relatively new club in town and I picked up a few games myself. It’s a fun and easy game, but at the same time a very active game and will become more challenging as you become more advanced. I have attended a few beginner classes and it was so much fun. It is also a very social game and I instantly made new friends. I can see myself becoming a regular visitor.

The month November has been extremely busy as well. This month was all about work and doing installations at several hospitals on the east coast of the USA. Although I am an experienced traveler and flyer, I just never seem to get used to long flights… this time it was first a 5-hour flight to Hong Kong, a 5-hour layover and another 15-hour flight to New York. It’s rough… especially the jetlag every time! Other than walks in the park or walking around in the old historical city of Portland, I don’t have much exciting to share about my time in the US. Except of course installing new high-end medical equipment at hospitals. This work always has, and still does give me a lot of satisfaction, joy and a sense of a purpose. Giving a positive contribution to the community in the sense of improving the healthcare is inspiring for me. After spending the entire month in the USA, I flew back to Europe for a short visit to my family and then continue onwards to Slovakia (Bratislava) to travel around a bit with my good friend Nuri. After visiting Bratislava there was a 2-week project in Austria before going back home (this time I am talking about the Netherlands).

The main reason I wanted to come to Europe was to celebrate the holidays with my family. Christmas is my favorite time of year; I always enjoy the cozy feeling in the house and all the beautiful decorations. The holidays are the perfect time to connect with family and I feel blessed to be surrounded by so many loving family members; my parents, my brother, two sisters, my two nephews and niece. We had grand and delicious Christmas meals, mostly thanks to my mother and sister who spent hours in the kitchen preparing a wide range of delicious tapas. I love my family and I always feel very welcome. The older I get the more I realize that this is a precious gift that not everybody has. It makes me longing for starting my own family. I have no doubt I will enjoy fatherhood and I am confident I will manage it well. During the holidays I have been staying with my parents and it was an interesting experience to sleep in my old bedroom again. But since it’s cheap and a full-board accommodation, I am not complaining.

(unfortunately I do not really have any decent photos from the holidays)

I had a lot of free time in the Netherlands, so I did a couple of yoga classes, joined a few bootcamp sessions, read books, go for walks and playing boardgames with family. I meet up with friends and overall, I had a great time. For the new year’s celebration, I was invited at my brother’s house where we enjoyed more nice food and connection time. On new years’ eve I joined my friend Niels to one of his singing performances and just before the countdown to the new year we were back at my brother’s place to hug, kiss and extend the best wishes for 2024, as one does for the new year. We closed the evening with large and beautiful fireworks presented by the whole neighborhood.

New year was the last celebration of my visit in The Netherlands. On the second of January I flew back to Bali. The next thing I am looking forward to is a “3-week basic beginner bamboo design & construction”. Here we will learn all major joinery techniques and the understanding of bamboo design and construction. We will work on a bamboo model and we will also gain experience in constructing an actual bamboo building. I am very excited about this, as I have always been a hands-on type of guy and I like learning new skills. Especially when they might come in handy one day… because you never know.

Stay tuned for my next adventure in this bamboo course, where I will share my building progress.

And before I close this story, just a friendly reminder about the bidet-spray use here in Indonesia, in case you forgot🤣:

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