The Domenico's: Back to Bali

The very first posts on our blog were about our life changing 6 week trip to Bali nearly 5 years ago. We quit our jobs, packed our things, and took our first big international trip. WE LOVED IT. And not just, it, but Bali. It was amazing!

Boy has life changed in the last 5 years. Over the last year and a half, we've gotten the opportunity to visit several other incredible countries around Asia. We've always said we wanted to go back to Bali, but we began to think, "it may not be what we remember", "that was a different period in our life", "it can't be redone". But we wanted to at least try and see if it was as wonderful as we remembered. Plus, our besties from back home in the states were coming for their first trip to Asia and we couldn't think of another place we would want to introduce them to. We sealed the deal and bought tickets back to Bali for our Chinese New Year holiday.

Good thing we did. It's not a made up mystical land, it is a real life magical place. Yes, it exists in real life! Many people will say, "Oh, but Bali is so touristy," or, "Eat, Pray, Love ruined it because so many foreigners go now", which likely is true if you stick to the well traveled party circuit of Kuta, or the posh Southern path that have developed miles of coastlines into flavorless over the top beach resorts, or even Ubud which is full of hippy women looking for island love. But there is so much more to Bali, its people, its culture, its mountains, valley's and coastlines. There is an element that literally cannot be described with words, it's a feeling you get as you stroll on tiny pathways waiting for the fireflies to appear after the sun has dropped behind the glimmering rice paddy fields; the spirituality that permeates the foothill and mountain regions, the aura of the people as they prepare daily offerings for God, and the conversations you have with the people who have spent their life in this blessed island.