A glimpse of the Greater Sunda Islands - Wanna take a wild guess which part of South Asia this is? PART 1 ni

INTRODUCTORY SERIES - PART 1

(This is the 1st of a 4-part blog that makes up the introductory series to my 6-weeks of travel to Bali and Lombok provinces, of the Indonesian islands)

Turning Dream to Reality!

The imagination of a preteen

I was at high school when I heard about Bali for the first time.... We are talking about the 90s. This was pre social media days and Google dint exist either, I was so curious but i dint know how to look up this place. But I do remember the sea and many, many coconut trees... and that's when i decided as a pre-teen that I'm going to see Bali !

I was riding a bike across a narrow road on the jetty side of Penida island, on one side the ocean, on the other side this coconut grove

A geography class on the 'Greater Sunda Region'

Another faint memory - i remember the geography teacher's voice ring in my ears during a lesson on Asia,

'Islands of the greater Sunda region',

she mentioned many small islands... That's probably the only reason I enjoyed studying geography, that I'll get to learn about a place surrounded by the ocean on all 4 sides.

I remembered the teacher's words as I flew over these islands, for the first time, just a few months ago... Marked the day we arrived at Bali!

A dream takes flight ✈️

Years passed and I read about the Indonesian islands in an airplane magazine. You know how exotic a place feels until you visit it, like it's a dreamland of some sort. As a young person in their early 20s and a traveler at heart, one always wonders, 'When can I go to this place?' Or 'How will I actually go?' I remember many times when on an airplane, i'd be transported to a dreamland, imagining being in the midst of the

Turquoise blue waters and the coconut trees swaying to the music of the island breeze!

At one of the corners of the island Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia. A natural rock structure in the middle of the ocean adding more shades to the already green blue ocean..

Thinking in the 90s

I am talking about the 90s when everything dint seem so accessible the way it is now, when you did not have the chance to look up a whole place on videos even before you reach there, when disposable income was not as much as it in the 2000s, when travel was a week long vacation, and people adopted tour plans and tour guides to go around. So,

Bali to me then seemed like a land far far away.

The moment I reached Lembongan, yet another tiny island, I took off on a bike only to see the road turn to a downward cliff, I was spellbound by the view... Next thing I know, I park the bike and sit there for an hour

Cut to 2024...

After COVID, i decided to travel to at least two countries a year. While that happened in 2023, 2024 was a little hectic work wise. So when I finally decided to take the annual break, it had to be a long one, making up for missing another country. Bali seemed to be a natural choice, without much thought... I am not even sure if it even needed a discussion, my partner and I just seemed to be in sync when I suggested Bali. The

Idea of island hopping for 35 days dint need much consideration

for two ocean lovers... :)

An evening at Lembongan... I was riding to a spot for a dinner date with my Yoga teacher, and saw a mysterious turn, i couldn't help but take it and within seconds...voila! We changed the dinner date location to this spot instead :)

How to get there?

There are multiple low cost carriers available to go to the 'Ngurah Rai International' (DPS) airport, Bali, Indonesia.

Tips on air travel:

- If you're booking a flight with a layover, always ensure both flights are of the same airline (so in case your first flight is delayed, the airline will take care of it, and ensure you get on the next flight to your destination)

- Double check if luggage is included in the flight cost, else pay extra while booking the flight (it's way more expensive if you end up paying at the check in counter)

KL airport ride from one terminal to another... Heart in throat, anxious about missing the flight to Bali .. exercising all the faith i had to surrender to the universe's travel plans... We of course caught the flight :)

#travelmishap : In the interest of wanting a short layover, I booked us of two different airlines, and that led to rushing at the Kualalampur airport from one terminal to another, due to delay in the first flight. It means collecting luggage and checking in again, which is a completely avoidable burden. On the bright side, got to experience a glimpse of the Kualalampur airport area, green and pretty to say the least!

Travel light?

If you're a real traveller, use your backpack, and travel light.

#travelmishap - to have more than one bag on the back could be cumbersome in case of a long travel.

Effective repacking led to this backpack, with the yoga mat tucked in; this was right after I reached Lembongan for my solo yoga camp

Since it was a 6-weeks long trip, we travelled heavy. But we made up for it quickly by leaving most of our luggage at the first stop (to collect it on our return). This helped... only one

backpack and hands free for the rest of the trip.

6 pins on the map!

Bali is a province with numerous islands. We visited a few islands in Bali and some more islands in a nearby province called Lombok.

The next 3 parts of this series will be a

visual walkthrough of the 6 islands we visited in 6 weeks at Bali,

hoping to give you an experience of these islands the way we lived it. Join me in visually experiencing Canggu - in the mainland of Bali, Penida and Lembongan that are smaller islands belonging to the Bali province; Lombok and Gili Air at the Lombok province and Ubud as we culminate our travel back at the mainland of Bali.

Somewhere along the circumference of Gili Air, only cycles available for the people to move around the entire island

This series is dedicated to a college mate of mine, Deepali. She looked at my Instagram stories when I was at Bali and insisted that they all be published in a blog series, alive with pictures, just like the stories. I'm starting this series to give you a visual flavour of Bali, a glimpse of the way I traveled and experienced this beautiful ever so scenic travel destination in Indonesia.