A Workation in Bali
Last Christmas, I met a lady who worked for a well known multinational company. Although her home was in central Europe, she worked with a global team and spent much of it in online meetings. She combined frequent holidays during the year with working remotely from wherever she was, South Africa, Mexico, Korea…
I thought - I could do that! Or a ‘Helen’ iteration of it.
Originally I had actually wanted to go on a ‘curated retreat’ with other entrepreneurs and business owners, but I couldn’t quite find what I wanted, so decided to stop searching for ‘perfect’ and create an ‘MVP’ self-directed retreat. So, here I am, just back from a solo workation in Bali!
I’m not writing this to skite, but to share a bit of the experience, as my trip has piqued interest with plenty of people.
A ‘workation’ (or workcation) is a combination of work and vacation. I’ve seen definitions range from “a pleasurable business trip” to “a working vacation”, which is more of what I was aiming at. It’s made possible because of remote work and is different from the principle of being a digital nomad, which is more of a permanent style of work and travel.
I chose Bali primarily because:
Good time-zones for working with NZ clients - only 4 hours behind
As an MVP it was cheap and relatively easy to get to
The weather was good at this time of year (other potential locations had cyclones and rainy seasons which I wanted to avoid)
Despite a stupidly early flight time, I kick-started the trip with lots of energy and got stuck into some work on the flight, including writing my intentions for the trip:
Meet some remote workers / digital nomads and hear what is it really like (beyond the social media hype)
Test the principle of remote work, beyond my normal way of working. What works / what doesn’t? Would I do it again?
Get some global perspectives & insights - I always love travelling for the perspectives it gives me, different ways of looking at things, or simply opening doors to things I’ve never heard of
Time to step back and review my own business
A break for me - yes, I admit it, I would drink a cocktail and have a massage!
I have been to Bali twice before - once was 24 years ago as a backpacker, much to the amusement of many people I interacted with who were either not born, or were babies at that time! The second time was 10 years ago with Chris (my husband).
The airport has expanded considerably - it still has the grand orange and white carved archway, but this has been subsumed by the modern airport structure, parking, car-parks, shops etc. that I don’t recall from previous trips.
Seminyak - Bars, Shops & Busyness
I’d booked a taxi through an app called Klook before leaving NZ, which made my initial trip very easy.
My first stop is Seminyak - in the popular south-eastern part of Bali, between Kuta and Canggu.
I stayed in Tanaga Coliving - a 3 story hotel with plants draping down the balconies towards the pool in the centre. The coworking space is open air next to the pool and has a kitchen area at the back. It was empty and I wondered who else was staying?
My room was well equipped - a kettle, fridge and desk, with shutters that open to the ornate roof next door. I originally thought it was a temple, but on reflection I think it is someone’s home! The internet seems great, phew! My phone has adjusted time zones, but my laptop and watch solidly refuse to switch throughout the fortnight!
By late afternoon I was flagging. The surrounding streets were a haze of traffic, shops, bars and restaurants. A decade ago our hotel was on the edge of rice paddies - these have long been chased away with the march of ‘tourism progress.’
I chose somewhere to eat, and savoured my first Gado Gado, a feast of vegetables on rice, smothered with satay peanut sauce while sitting across the road from Frankenstein’s restaurant with women in ‘blood’-smattered nurses outfits trying to entice customers in.
Saturday - I am of course awake early! I walked miles - through narrow alleyways to the beach, dodging scooters squeezing past each other, up and down the beach and eventually chose a restaurant overlooking the surf for breakfast and a surprisingly great latte (I am a Kiwi coffee snob). The rest of the day I spent lying in the shade on a lounger trying not to get burnt. I couldn’t believe I could lie there and be online, check emails and make calls from the lounger for just $8 a day roaming charge. Easy!
Monday morning and I set myself up on a ‘standup’ desk overlooking the pool and work. I was joined by a Dutch woman from a financial services company who is working here for 3 months. She operates on ‘Bali-time’ other remote workers operate to their ‘home’ timezone. She talks with colleagues and clients in the afternoon, while doing other work in the morning. She says it’s working really well as she is doing paperwork and admin which is ready for her team when they start in the morning. I admire her neat travel-friendly second monitor. She keeps a Monday to Friday routine, exercising a couple of days a week at a gym and then weekends are used for exploring. She’s also got a few friends visiting from Holland over the coming weeks.
There are a couple of others who pop into the coworking space for an hour or two, but most people staying are on holiday and using this as a normal hotel which I’m a little surprised at.
Tuesday - I got up at 530am for a Team’s call with NZ which I did from the desk in my room. It was warm and tropical rain was pounding down, but I had to shut the windows halfway through the call as some motorised engine was roaring outside and there were nasty smelling fumes coming into the room - I later get told this was mossie spraying, as the rain brings them out in force.
I later moved back poolside and enjoyed a swim halfway through the day before going back to work!
I did, however, make a remote worker’s novice mistake. I was about to log off for the day when I got a calendar alert - 2 more meetings, this time with the UK! Whoops.
Agitated
I didn’t love Seminyak and was ready to leave when my 5 days were up. I was still waking ridiculously early, but also didn’t feel like I had really relaxed, even when not in work mode. In fact I actually felt a bit agitated.
My mind was wired about being here, and what I want to do with my time. I think I struggled with not being quite sure whether I am in ‘work’ or ‘holiday’ mode or what both should look like. I easily focus on work, but feel a bit guilty at the holiday pleasures!
Logistics was also taking up too much headspace. I’m normally quite organised, but had challenged myself to be more spontaneous to allow opportunities to arise. I failed miserably at this and wanted to default back to being organised!! I had only booked the first 5 nights, thinking I’d meet other remote workers who would make recommendations of great places to work and visit - but I haven’t. It was peak season and I also discovered that Indonesian Independence Day (from the Dutch) was the following Saturday, potentially making travel and finding accommodation hard. I’d been eyeing up a town called Amed in the north-east and spent hours trying to find out what it is like to remote work from and if I’d have the connectivity I needed. Eventually I took the plunge and booked on the basis of a couple of traveller blog posts.
A 2.5 hour journey on Google Maps turned into 5+ hours, with traffic crawling through a couple of villages en route with festivals and funerals on! The traffic in Bali was horrendous; I feel they have already reached over-tourism in many places, but the $$$s this brings to people seems to mean tourists are still loved.
With no public transport, I’d used the Gojek app - the local equivalent of Uber. The total journey cost approximately $60 NZD / $37 USD / £30 GBP, although the poor driver had to add on a trip to the cashpoint when we arrived, as it’s not quite like Uber in terms of payments 😉. Credit cards were fine to use for most of the trip, but cash was useful to have sometimes.
And Breathe
I walked into the Tradisi hotel and felt my agitation dropping away. In fact, as I’m booking in I was asking if I could extend my stay! She laughed at me - people normally book months in advance. I spent the next few days obsessing about logistics again - alternating about moving to a different location, or finding somewhere else in Amed and whether it would have good enough internet. I choose the latter.
Tradisi means traditional. I had a simple room, but the view was to die for - I looked straight through the garden to the sea. The staff were friendly, there was a pretty pool, sun loungers, a yoga platform and restaurant all overlooking the sea. The sea was warm and over the few days I was there I enjoyed snorkelling with brilliant coloured fish, coral and - my absolute highlight - 2 turtles.
I chose this hotel for its proximity to the Blue Earth resort 10 minutes away that purportedly had good internet. I worked in the open air ‘coworking’ space for 3 days, overlooking the sea below and Mount Agung volcano to the side. The internet was excellent for 2 days and ropey on the third. Mostly I “coworked” with a sleepy dog, but a few others did join later in the day (when it was cooler) on a couple of days. Amed has an expat community and many people seem to work from their own homes, or places with air con. I definitely flagged after working for a day in 30 degrees, but walking ‘home’ along the beach was a pretty special commute.
My second hotel was ‘nicer’ in terms of facilities and had good internet for working, but the hotel was not as brilliantly situated on the seafront.
Ubud Coworking
I could have stayed longer in Amed, but, given how unpredictable the traffic was, I felt the need to shift nearer the airport for my last few days. I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to the overdeveloped south again, so headed to Ubud in the hills, although this meant I missed 2 meetups I had been eyeing up - Women in Bali and Bali Startup & Tech Community.
I booked into Outpost Ubud coliving in a pretty suburb called Nyuh Kuning, with discounts at Outpost Coworking ten minutes down the road.
The rooms were set around a garden with fragrant frangipani flowers dropping onto the grass. I loved the outside of my room even more than the inside! It had a traditional Indonesian look, with carved wooden doors that led to a pretty four poster bed draped in mosquito nets (I only got nibbled a couple of times). There was a shared kitchen and coworking space next to my room and a pool across the garden.
I’d just missed the community lunch when I arrived, but headed down to a No-Code Code event in the evening. I spent one day working at the coworking space, some time working in cafes eating yummy food and some time chilling out, falling asleep on a massage table and having my nails painted with flowers! Having been to Bali before I actually enjoyed not feeling the urge to rush around and tick all the ‘must sees’ off my list.
Given how many lovely cafes there were around with good food and good internet, I’m not sure I’d need to return frequently to the main Outpost coworking space, especially as I found it physically uncomfortable to work in - the chairs were too low for the desks. What they do seem to do well is the community-build piece, with a members’ What’sApp group and a range of events.
In terms of meeting more people, I could have attended a couple more networking events, but was not keen on riding a scooter (my own, or with a Grab or Gojek driver), so that was a small limitation. If I was there longer, I’d need to scooter it. Of the small number of people I did meet, online language teaching seemed relatively popular, but I’d say there were more people travelling with a little work on the side, or ‘working it out’ in terms of what they were doing and how it could work for them.
Would I Workation Again?
Definitely!
I came back having felt I’d had time to continue working, take a bit of a step back to reflect, and had a break.
But I might do it differently…
I’d aim to do less ‘work as normal’ and take more time for reflection and bigger picture thinking - both for myself and my clients
I’d acknowledge (especially to myself) that I was allowed to take time off as the ‘vacation’ part of the trip 😂
Having somewhere to stay where the internet is reliable is important and I’d organise this beforehand, so I could be in-the-moment more
I’m not sure how I would manage it if I combined work and a holiday with my husband - that needs more thinking!?
I’m still keen to do a curated group trip, so watch this space for 2025 - and let me know if you have any suggestions
I want to end by saying a huge thanks to my clients and my husband for their support in allowing me to take this time to experiment with a different way of working.
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Helen Shorthouse
Virtual / Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)