“I might have made one mistake; it was the fact that I stayed only for one night. But that could be a reason to come back, no?”
Just one night and everything was great.
I have one wish if I could circumvent what I missed: the opportunity for a vacation with my late dad. I never had one, a proper one, and it feels miserable to date. When I could finally earn enough money and pay the bills, I no longer had the time. People say, you only have what you remember.
I sometimes imagined just staring at the sunset with him, my mom, and my sisters somewhere on a beautiful island. Somewhere we could have a clear bluest sky and ocean breeze, and let the memories find their way to be remembered. Although writing this right now sounds meaningless, I just want you to know that could be one of my wishes with him. Now, let me try to gather all my memories through this post, looking back on what I did with my mom last year in Lombok.
I may like to write a super honest fact: I googled how to soak in a bath-up. This sounds so fucking funny but that was the truth, I had no shame :) to say this. It was my first time having a bath-up in a resort, not to mention that I had checked the brand before using it and knowing the price gave me a little anxiety if I did something wrong. Better play safe.
The time I finally entered my room where I got a free upgrade, I fought myself because I had a very short time at the resort. My schedule that day was quite tight as we could access rooms from 2 PM, so I had to rush everything before the sun went down. Even though we only stayed for one night, I felt blessed by the experiences we took home. My first ever proper spa with my mom (so many funny stories behind this! – unforgettable!) with an amazing ocean view and I ended up in a jacuzzi watching the sunset. In-suite dining for dinner (not to sound exaggerated but all the food was yummy – the bill was high only for diners but all was worth it). Proper Western breakfast with a chocolate tart as dessert the next day, thinking where the ocean ends. The starry sky from the balcony. Pretty sunsets. Serene ocean susurration at midnight with my windows opened.
All were amazing and unforgettable.
I read a random post one day on X that says “At the age of 25, 27 or 30 and up, you will realize you are not just chasing your own dreams anymore. You strive to give your loved ones the best this life could offer. You will understand the saying “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” You will work, pay for the house and bills, then work again. Repeat. There will be nights when you will count your hours of sleep. You will wake up to work for money, finding another side hustle to earn more.”
That is how life works. When I wake up and feel heavy facing the world in front of me, I always remind myself that I may have a short time with those loved ones remaining in my life, and damn nice things are pricey. And the problem is, I do love nice things.
One of the best moments for me personally from the trip was listening to august while watching those mesmerizing sunsets, it somehow gave me the moment of “the world can wait.”.
You know I take pictures of my food :) imagine enjoying those yummies on the floor with an open door and the susurration of the ocean in the evening, a little heaven. I did try capturing everything from this trip with my old iPhone 12 Pro Max, missing my real camera sometimes.
goofydreamer 