Confessions of an expat: things I miss about Australia while living in Bali

I've been residing in Bali for the best part of two years now, but there’s nothing like coming back to Australia to notice what I’ve been missing.

Many of us are oblivious to the perks we enjoy in Australia... Until we head overseas.

From no-fuss wait staff to a cool winter's breeze, there's a lot you miss about Australia when you move to the Island of Traffic Jams. 

I've been residing in Bali for the best part of two years now, but there’s nothing like coming back to Australia to notice what I’ve been missing. From the smell of eucalyptus to fresh drinking water, there are plenty of reasons why it’s good to step foot on home turf again. Here are the top eight.

Fresh, clean drinking water 

You can't trust tap water in Bali quite like you can in Australia...

Whether you’re at a park, a sports oval, a hotel – or simply in the bathroom, kitchen or backyard, there’s something singularly liberating about being able to drink water from the tap without fear of inviting a wiggly creature to set up house in your small intestine. That that tap water is fresh and clear, and as good a match for any in a swanky glass bottle is something to write home about. 

The scent of eucalyptus

You only know what you've got, once it's gone.

The exotic flowery scents of Asia forever lodge in the olfactory regions of the brain; from the cempaka flower aroma of Indonesia, to the jasmine notes in the lobby of a luxury Thai hotel. Similarly, the smell of eucalyptus comes back in full force on native soil. The scent of peppermint gum wafts through your nostrils as soon as you step off the plane at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport (and gets ever stronger the closer you get to the Yarra River). At Hobart Airport, lemon myrtle fills the air.

Pubs, vineyards and farmers’ markets 

Ubud may be uber-cool, but it's not got wine like the Barossa.

Weekend farmers’ markets with fresh, homegrown and handmade produce; vineyards with exceptional wine at affordable prices and market umbrellas that entice patrons to spend long leisurely lunches amid the green striped vines; pubs that dish out top notch pub grub and serve craft beer in laidback beer gardens… Australia’s food and wine scene is its other ‘great outdoors’. 

No-fuss service

I don't need you to fawn over me. But also: please don't forget my order...

There’s nary a global city that doesn’t have a barista influenced by Antipodean coffee culture. But it’s the no-fuss professional service of Aussie hospitality that clinches the deal. It is a nuanced style that balances deference to diners while also being able to exchange a bit of casual egalitarian banter. It is knowing when to deftly take away an empty licked-clean plate away (without first interrupting as to whether it’s finished); and knowing instinctively if a wine glass needs topping up, which dessert to recommend and when the bill should arrive at the table.

The seasons

Who needs a coffee when you can get a cold gust of wind to the face at 7am?

Living full-time in the tropical heat makes even the most heat resistant among us long for the seasons, or at least a stint of cold weather. I miss those chilly mornings that startle you into wake mode when you leave the house mid-week and keep you tucked up in bed with a good book at the weekend. I’ve also come to appreciate the memory of hot showers, that first sweet smell of spring, and that long-awaited, mid-September, 20-something degree day that heralds the coming of the warmer months.

Twilight

Moving to Bali is great, but there are a couple of snags...

Similarly, I miss the long twilights that are part of day light saving, particularly during summer holidays. It’s when the kids go to bed late and rise even later, when dinner is barbie-cooked snags and fresh salads, eaten al fresco; and when there’s still time for a short walk after dinner as the day cools and the fruit bats fly over. 

Quiet streets

If traffic isn't your jam, maybe think twice about relocating to Bali

Imagine every street was as cacophonous as Melbourne’s Hoddle Street at peak hour or Sydney’s Military road on a sunny weekend. This is how the traffic often feels in Asia. And when you’re on a motorbike, as fun as that is, you’re inhaling a cocktail of pollution, the sootiness of which leaves a grainy flavour on your tongue not to mention a black smudge in a tissue at the end of the day. Equally aggravating to the senses is noise pollution. The roar of a hundred motorbikes on any given street makes Australia’s bigger city streets feel serene in comparison.

Clean, green spaces

Think Bali is perfect? That's rubbish.

In the 1980s the ‘Keep Australia Beautiful’ ad campaign kicked off a movement that has done just that, kept Australia oh so beautiful. We don’t know how lucky we are for our litter-less beaches, our squeaky clean streets, our well-kept playgrounds, and our protected riverside parklands. That we can walk through them, ride around them, play and picnic in them at our leisure – and care enough to take the rubbish home with us, is another thumbs up to Australia.

See also: 

The 10 best coffee spots in Bali

Booze, bogans? The trouble with Bali

I hired a private villa in Bali (it was a huge mistake)

Originally published as Confessions of an expat: things I miss about Australia while living in Bali