I’m a sucker for a white Christmas, filled with fluffy snow, candles burning, people laughing, even ice skating. I love it all and especially Christmas in NYC-it’s all so magical. Of coarse, I don’t remember the last time we actually had snow on Christmas, but still, that’s besides the point. So when we decided to spend Christmas south of the equator, I was a bit bummed because I couldn’t imagine spending the holidays in anything less than a coat, hat, gloves and boots! But…the Christmas we had in the tropics has convinced me otherwise, and if I could spend it in a bikini for the rest of my life, I’ll be a happy gal.

Christmas was on day 4 of our stay in Bali, and we decided to do something adventurous and different, so we booked a boat trip to Nusa Lembongan for the day. Lembongan is a small island off the coast of Bali-two hours on a speed boat from Sanur. We had no clue what to expect, just that there will be beaches, fruit juice and sunshine. We boarded the fast boat and took off on our two hour journey-it was a fast and bumpy ride, one that gave me a panic attacked, tears and all (I tend to psyche myself out by thinking of all the things that can go wrong. On this boat, I imagined a wall of water crashing into us-and when I looked around, I couldn’t see any life-vests. My funny husband said “why do we need life-vests?” when I asked…that’s when the tears started and the breathing stopped. I am such a sissy). Panic or not, the view was breathtakingly beautiful, and once we got to our destination, it was more than worth it!

We arrived at one of the three “drop off points” and walked just a bit inland.. we had a map with us and started to walk towards a beach-any beach at this point, being as clueless as we were- but slowly realized that the uphill climb in the extreme heat just wasn’t going to cut it. We flagged down a “cab”- a truck with an open passenger “cabin” in the back- and for around $8, he gave us a ride to Dream Beach. We weren’t sure which beach to go to, because there are quite a few on the island, but we were happy we went with Dream Beach because, well, the day was like a dream. We got to the beach and there is one resort located right on the beach- open to the public- so we enjoyed a delicious breakfast.(at this point, I’ve eaten more fruit than ever in my life-and fruit juice was my crack)

After breakfast, we spent the rest of the day at the resort, napping in the sun, swimming in the infinity pools, strolling on the beach below, drinking more fruit juice, eating, laughing, relaxing. The resort charged $4/day/person for access to its facilities…and this was probably the best $4 we’ve ever spent. So, how was Christmas in the tropics? See for yourself:

We took another cab back to our boat, and while waiting for the boat to arrive, we enjoyed a snack at another resort that has beautiful views of the marina. While there, I went to use the restroom, and on my way down the many steps to the restaurant, I spotted a GIANT lizard to my right…I mean, GIANT. HUGE. I looked around and realized that I was all alone. With the GIANT lizard. I started to call out Greg’s name, but every time I moved an inch, the lizard moved with me. I was looking at it from the corner of my eye, and the lizard was looking at me from the corner of its eye (or so I imagined). After what seemed like eternity, the lizard decided to make a run for it-to the same restaurant I was heading to. Unfortunately, instead of using the main entrance, the lizard decided to try entering through the wall-without much luck…after which it immediately ran away. I was safe-but will always remember that lizard.

What’s next? A post about our dreamy getaway in Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. Stay tuned 🙂