When people say they’ve stumbled upon a property, they usually don’t mean literally. In the case of entrepreneur Juliane Bailey, founder of Singapore-based lifestyle brand The Jungle Emporium, the decision to buy a property in Lombok stemmed from an unfortunate stumble.
“My daughter broke her ankle the first day we arrived in Lombok, and she had to get surgery in the local hospital and an entire leg cast. That meant we were confined to the villa complex for the whole holiday,” shared Bailey. Staying in one place meant they spent a lot of time strolling along the gorgeous beaches of Selong Belanak, and it’s during these walks that they first spotted a big, attractive villa on top of a hill and dreamed of owning it.
Her husband Nick did a bit of digging and discovered that the villa was, in fact, for sale. With no time to waste, he got in touch with the hotel manager and the couple were able to view it before the next guests arrived. “It felt like a serendipitous moment, like it was meant to be. We immediately fell in love and decided to go ahead right there and then,” said Bailey of acquiring the property in June 2023.