“I always remind myself that everything I have is someday gonna be gone…”
I am going to write a prelude that can remind us of something important: If you now have three main opportunities which are money, health and time, and you still have your parents beside you, and you’ve been planning to travel together but your heart is in fickle, shift everything and go. Go to places and spend time together. Do those things that are simply beautiful, that you can’t do when you’re working late for some deadlines. Those things will be remembered and leave smiles when you see the pictures. When you still have time to create memories with your loved ones, do it. Time is ticking faster than you think.
If there is one thing I regret the most now is the fact that when my dad was alive and I had the money, I didn’t go places with him. We had the time but I didn’t have das Bewusstsein. Neither having a family vacation nor just the two of us. It leaves that endless sorrow deep in my heart. It marks in my mind that every single opportunity I have at the moment, to create more and more memories, with beloved ones, I will must do it. Every year I’m home, I always try to make time travelling with my mom. Taking her to places as many as possible, to a proper hotel where she enjoys the bed and view, to her favourite restaurant where she always orders the same menu with warm tea in a red pot, to those night markets where she smiles every time she has her favourite street food, cherishes the time we have together.
The time I had two months in Indonesia, among my excitement to do my own things, my “hello-why-am-I-working-at-home-when-I’m-on-leave” job, and my mom’s house renovation which requires a lot of money (yet it is exciting at the same time), I was excited that I chose to take the risk. I must say it wasn’t really easy this time, since I had to think about each bill I would spend for the vacation and the big plan for the renovation. When I flew back to Indonesia, what I had in mind was actually to do a minor renovation for her kitchen and bathroom by modifying it for a spacious space. Yet, it was such a dream when I stood in front of the small building and saw that the structure had been wholly taken down. It was such a dream indeed. The renovation is going on as I am writing this sentence, I believe that my late dad is smiling above about that. It’s such a thing he would love to do to see his house being renovated.
Before I flew to Indonesia, I had a plan to Labuan Bajo, island-hopping to Padar Island and nearby before going back and spending the last 2 days at Ayana. But I considered the fact that it wouldn’t be easy for my mom to climb the hill even though she would love it. I always took my mom to those I called “easy-peasy” travel destinations such as Bali and Batu (many times!) so why didn’t I try the further and calmer island with no hassle instead? Lombok was the choice.
The day I sat in front of my iMac booking for the resorts, looking for flights, and browsing where to eat, it reminded me that vacation planning is an exciting thing to do. I smiled at the end when I completed the payment and set the date: the twentieth of July, twenty twenty-three :)
We flew for an hour and five minutes from Surabaya and landed on Lombok by one in the afternoon. I got a rental car with a driver right at the airport and drove straight to Senggigi. Along the road, my first impression was Lombok was surprisingly calmer and cleaner than Bali, indeed. After almost an hour of driving, we landed in the resort where uncountable lofty coconut trees and the azure sky welcomed us. I just loved the fact that we had the slow type of vacation I imagined during our 2-night stay. Breakfast in the morning, relaxing doing nothing by the pool, napping, pampering eyes for the golden hour by the beach, chilling in the cottage for the rest of the day, on repeat.
I took the risk by sharing our stays in Lombok with two different resorts. The only thing I was worried about was the fact that how we packed our belongings in our luggage, had to be as simple as possible so it wouldn’t take too much time to unpack and repack. I honestly didn’t check the distance between Holiday Resort and Avila until I was in the car when we almost arrived at Holiday Resort on our first day. I was relieved by the fact that it wasn’t that far :)
I planned the trip without any island hopping to Gili Trawangan etc. because I wanted us to have a relaxing holiday. I did go to places on our past family vacation when I had to manage everyone and everything as if I was a travel planner and damn, it was exhausting. I promised myself I wouldn’t do that for our Lombok trip, but to enjoy every second we had with simple things and create memories.
The day I saw the design of Royal Avila on Booking(dot)com, I said to myself that I would try to pay a visit even for just one night. I didn’t even bother to read reviews but tried to picture how picturesque the balcony of the room that faces the ocean was. When you spend money on a fancy hotel or resort, wouldn’t you pamper your eyes too and capture as many as possible with your camera? Recording videos of sunsets and the shades of blue of the ocean? :) If I go places when on vacation, I choose a decent hotel where I can still sleep comfortably. But when it’s for a staycation in a fancy hotel or resort, I will use the facilities as much as possible, taking naps on a super comfortable bed on Monday when others are working :)
What I loved about our stay in Avila was the fact that the resort was so pretty, it was as picturesque as what I saw on the screen. The receptionist was so welcome, the blue ocean omg I couldn’t stop myself from grabbing my iPhone from my tote bag while we were waiting for our check-in time. They welcomed us with cold lemongrass tea, it was a good start for an unforgettable stay. It’s a new resort so everything we saw was a beaut. I wanted to have the suite room for myself when I booked online but then I thought “The difference could be saved for my mom’s new kitchen set!” I mean? :) everything I have been doing recently must be mathematically wise ((fancy kitchen set is expensive omg))). Little did I know that a little magic happened when I sat and heard, “We are giving you a room upgrade for one, to an Ocean Premier room, where you will have a bath up.” at no additional cost :)
I was so stoked at the end of the trip that we had good times while we still had it, and the fact that I invested the value of my money in something I wished for: an unforgettable beautiful memory :)
I’ll share the room I stayed in at Royal Avila on a separate post cause I have so many :) so this post won’t be too long :) If you wonder, all shots were taken with an iPhone 12 Pro Max with no edits :)
goofydreamer 