After moving abroad in July 2014, I started compiling monthly roundup posts about life as an expat in Asia and all the nitty gritty that goes on behind the scenes here at Travel Lush. You can find all of my previous monthly roundup posts here. As I’m writing this, all I can think about is how quickly the past…
Bali might be a small island but every time I visit I’m wowed by the fact that there are so many beautiful and vastly different places to visit in Bali. And the best part is that every one of them is completely different. From rice terraces to tiny islands to turquoise beaches, Bali really does…
(UPDATE: As of May 2019, tourism is booming on Nusa Penida. I just want all of you travelers out there to know that the off-the-beaten-path destination described here has changed a lot since my visit. That being said, I still love Nusa Penida and definitely recommend visiting. Happy travels!) I’ve said this before but I’m…
When most budget travelers think of Bali, the first thing that pops into their mind is, “It’s too expensive!” As a long-term, frugal-minded traveler I came close to skipping Bali altogether during my two-month trip to Indonesia. Guidebooks and friends alike warned me that this world-famous island would be way too pricy for my $40-a-day…
The first time I rode a motorbike I was terrified. I was vacationing in Hawaii when my family peer pressured me into renting a scooter. Though my family views me as both a laid-back hippie and an adventurous traveler, I am actually a pretty anxious person. So I was petrified as I swerved my scooter onto the highway and…
By the time we arrived on Nusa Lembongan my boyfriend, Aaron, and I had traveled through Southeast Asia for exactly 203 days. For nearly seven months we’d lived out of backpacks, cohabitated in tiny (and often grimy) hotel rooms, and spent virtually 24 hours a day together. We’d proved that we rock not only as…
I kicked off my flip-flops, waded into the warm Balinese water, and clumsily hoisted myself onto a rickety 20-foot boat. The motor grumbled as we forged into the deep-blue ocean, the small vessel bobbing up and down on the ocean’s rounded swells. The journey would take nearly two hours, but despite my slight nausea I…