Someone suggested that we start a blog on our adventures so here goes. I struggle with the idea a bit because it seems narcissistic but I'll try to make it useful. Let me know if you find it so, otherwise I'll probably stop.
We are retired, love to travel and to dive, and we "plan" to stay a year or two in various places around the world. First up is Indo for the diving, and Bali seems like a good place to use as a base. We are not rich as such but we do have some flexibility, let's put it that way. After I had a TIA a few years ago (scary but full recovery), it was a good thing because it made us realize that life is not forever so let's go! We do know lots of people that seemingly could retire but don't know what to do with themselves and therefore don't -- Sheesh, we don't have enough time in the day.
So this three-week trip is intended for us to find a villa to use a a base to dive Indo -- thanks again to many of you that gave us insights! Turns out after about a week we found a place that exceeded our expectations and was within our budget so we sent in our deposit and canceled the rest. We wanted full western comfort and therefore we were looking for a "deal" based on a longterm commitment. The whole plan is only possible because we're going to rent out our home in San Francisco, and I sure hope we get what we think we can get (and a good tenant as well -- SF tenant laws are difficult to say the least!). We also wanted a very responsive owner, and I emailed back-and-forth with them quite a bit -- probably drove them a bit crazy.
When we first began this process, we were told that we would have to pay a year in advance, and it turns out most villa owners were good with a three-to-four month deposit (which was a great relief to us). We wanted a place run by westerners because they know better how to run their staff to achieve a comfortable situation for us long-term tourists. A great staff is incredibly important.
We also wanted a place that is large enough for our guests so 3BR 2ba was a minimum. We chose Ubud because there' a lot to do there (albeit hella toursity) since we're going to live there a year -- you can't spend 24/7 in the water -- and it's a hour-plus to the airport -- celebrations permitting.
Most villa owners gave us a discount from their standard rate of around 50%, which is what made it possible financially. Possibly we could have bargained harder if we were willing to play one against the other -- but once we found something that exceeded our expectations and was within our budget, we took it. We LOVE the place and this is the link:
https://www.flipkey.com/ubud-villa-rentals/p733748/
It's much better than the website shows, IMHO. But don't tell anybody!!!
So now we have a bit of time to kill, we're in Amed diving and hoping the volcano doesn't f-up our lives too much but no worries -- nature is in charge. Period, accept that and move on.
Is this useful?
Thanks,
Bill & Emily
