So we will be the first ones to admit: we have done a terrible job keeping up with the blog.

Though, it’s for what I see as a very good reason: For the past few weeks we were living the island life.

There are two main factors that make island life and productivity  improper bedfellows:

1. Beautiful islands = way too much lounging in the sun, swimming, snorkeling, bike riding, hammock swinging, Bintang drinking, sailing, surfing,  beach party dancing and sunset watching to be done. And you do want to spend all of your time doing these things. And it is totally worth it (and I have zero guilt about not diverting time to the blog).

2. Lack of reliable wifi. We stayed on 2 islands — Gili Air, which is heaven, by the by, more on that later, and Nusa Lembongan — and in both places a strong wifi connection, like one with enough bandwith to say, stream a short video, was not to be found.

I could live the island life for a while and not get tired of it. Paradise.

Also, the massages in Indonesia are so cheap and wonderful, about $5-6 for an hour if you bargain. And you always bargain. Jamie is setting a goal to get around 40 massages before the end of the trip.

We’ve started measuring the value of all things in massages now. For example: If it costs $10 to rent stand up paddle boards for an hour…. ehhh that’s like 2 massages.

Travel Tip of the Day: Check on your bank’s international ATM fees. I sooo wish I had switched banks before I left — Bank of America charges a buttload of fees, which usually isn’t too big of a deal but the ATMs here only let you take a max of $150 at a time, and you have to pay for almost everything (hotels, transportation) in cash!

— Michelle